TallTom

I don't want to belabor the point about ground balancing, so I'll just quote from page 11 of the Simplex User Manual: SIMPLEX+ is designed to work without ground balancing in Field and Park modes on most terrains. However, for experienced users and on highly mineralized grounds, ground balancing will bring extra depth and stability to the device.

Agreed, and I was not as reasonable (gracious? kind?) in my comment as I should have been. Let me try again. Yes, the video posters DID do a lot of work to create the test conditions and perform the tests. They were clearly more familiar with the Equinox and the Deus than they were with the Simplex. (Not surprising, since the Simplex is brand new.) I appreciate all that and don't want to discourage others from performing similar tests. Please, everyone, do more comparison tests! Make videos! However, I concluded they were a bit surprised the Simplex did as well as it did, and that the other two did not outperform it substantially, and, as a result, that caused them to ground balance and tweak the other two in order to make sure they could perform at their best. My point was simply that if they had also ground balanced and tweaked the Simplex, it might have done even better than it did. And it did extremely well, straight out of the box, untweaked, by detectorists who were unfamiliar with it. It appears that new users of the Simplex are likely to discover it's easy to find deep targets, at least in the type of ground these testers used. That's good to know and it's a valuable contribution by these testers. Thanks, guys!

I was surprised to see that they didn't (apparently) ground balance the Simplex+, or try different settings or modes. For the other two detectors, they ground balanced and tweaked. What's the point in comparing detectors when you don't give them all an equal shot?

Your links didn't work for me to download the Simplex User Manual.

I noticed that Nokta has posted the English language PulseDive User Manual on their website. https://www.noktadetectors.com/wp-content/file-download/pulsedive/pulsedive-user-manual-en.pdf It looks good! They asked me to edit it and I had very few corrections and suggestions for it. If you find any errors, let me know and I will pass them along to Nokta. They might not accept all user suggestions but they have been very good about that in the past.

The specs on the PulseDive say it's waterproof to 200 feet (60 meters). That should handle the rain just fine. The idea is that it can be used by SCUBA divers, not just shallow water hunters.

There's one more new model to keep an eye on now. Nokta announced its PulseDive a few days ago, saying it would ship to dealers and distributors on April 1. They announced it configured with a coil for $189 and without a coil (just a PI pinpointer) for $119. We don't know yet if the street price will be the same or lower. But at that price, the pinpointer is competitive (or better) with the others on the market. I'll be curious to see early reviews and user feedback. I hope to have one in my hands soon.

Dilek said 12 kHz in her announcement video. I was surprised, considering their preference for 14 kHz in other detectors.

As I recall, the Racer 2 can use the the Nokta/Makro proprietary wireless headphones, which does not use a standard Bluetooth interface. Details for using the Nokta/Makro headphones are in its manual, which is at: https://www.noktadetectors.com/wp-content/file-download/wireless-headphones/wireless-headphones-green-edition-en.pdf

Dilek made the product announcements at the show in Germany. Two products. Here's what I recall: 1. PulseDive -- $189 complete with coil, $119 for pinpointer only. Available to dealers and distributors on April 1. Pulse detector and pinpointer combo, waterproof to 60 meters (200 feet). Links with green wireless headphones already available. Available in yellow or black. 2. Simplex -- $299 -- "Hopefully available by summer". Entry level detector. "The only thing that's entry level is the price." Four detection modes (all metal, 2 tone, 3 tone, beach). Runs at 12 kHz. Weighs 2.9 pounds. Comes with 11 inch round DD coil. Waterproof to 3 meters (10 feet). Can use existing Nokta/Makro wireless headphones. Does automatic ground balancing and tracking, not manual. Someone please correct me if I got anything wrong. She didn't give any specs (that I recall) other than what I listed above. I'm sure specs will be coming soon.

On that web page, the photo on the right is clearly the PulseDive. I assume the picture on the left is the Simplex, although not much detail is visible.

Well stated, Jim! I'm not even a gold prospector (other than a time or two dipping my toe into some panning, so to speak), and I found the entire story fascinating and extremely well written. Steve has a real gift for writing, which is evident to anyone who has done a lot of writing and editing. His enthusiasm for prospecting, detecting, nature, and even flying, is a delight to read. So kudos to you, Steve! Your website is a model of how one should be designed, organized, and managed. Your writing ability and rational analysis of detecting and prospecting topics make your site a pleasure to read and participate in. Thanks for all your efforts. This story is just the latest example of how well you succeed. --Tom

Small technical point: The Kruzer is waterproof to 5 meters, about 16 feet.

But I thought the Equinox was a game changer, not a head turner!

Those of us who read forums looking for rational, intelligent discussion and reviews of equipment can quickly recognize that that's what you provide, Steve. We like it. (At least I do.) I'm betting that any equipment manufacturer that wants objective, intelligent feedback about their equipment will continue to ask you to keep providing it in the future. But you could be right about manufacturers who only want "yes-man" feedback, not objective, critical feedback.

What you say about being a contrarian makes perfect sense, Steve. Only one problem. EVERYONE is buying an Equinox! You're not going to be a contrarian for long.

Those 2-5 year olds have married mothers who wear wedding rings and tend to their children, sometimes dropping things along the way.

Thanks for the welcome, Steve! I'm a long-time lurker and admirer of your reviews and analysis. Regarding the wind and microphones, I'm no pro about this myself, but I continue to be amazed how much sound on videos is overwhelmed by wind noise. I'd think people would at least try to shield the mike with their body to reduce the problem. Have the wind at your back! Also try a little masking tape or, yes, a sock.

Does ANYBODY who posts videos about ANYTHING know how to shield a microphone from the wind?