midalake

Also>>> XP should be ashamed of themselves for making noise cancel so hard to find. I had no clue how to find it and did not do it all day in this test. Thanks for the chitty button controls XP.

Yes. On a salt beach it is.

The Bad: While Iron up-scaling appeared to be in a better place there was one standout. Large Old Nails. I NEVER have dug one of these in two years of hunting with the D2 here. Today I started getting wrap-around targets that registered 80-86. This mimics my 10-peso coin, which comes in around 82 . After some trial and error, it was possible to hear Iron blanking on a 360 look and some elongation as compared to a coin object. But was much more difficult on deeper nails. This might take some ear training that I did not have to worry about before.

The good>>> Found more old pesos today than the last four put together. Same beach sites. I could tell the depth difference right away. Nonferrous targets just sounded better on the whole scale. Less chirpy, and good on 360 looks.

I am probably going to rant but will try to get all the information out. Been using .71, since inception and now just changed to 2.0. Summary: I was really impressed with the overall difference between the two operating systems. Beach and Beach Sensitive used with 9"coil. Will provide all my settings if you want. With 2.0 1. Better handling of Black Sand mineralization. 2. More punch power, with better TID's 3. Better TID at depth. 4. Not as much Iron up-scaling [but a caveat] 5. WAY---WAY easier on the ears with mineralization noise. Identical sensitivity and the ability to hunt one or two-points higher sensitivity. 6. Good job of still blanking bi-metal coins. I started right away with positive results. VERY deep coins that were reading strong in volume and TID. Noticed good iron blanking and Black Sand disruption was more muted on the ears. Meaning easier to pick out targets from ground noise. Today's take, with trash:

That would be VERY acceptable. But I find it difficult to run with a sensitivity of 86. Lots of ear fatigue even at that level. I will have 2.0 out today and will compare to .71. I have been running .71 for a week straight, so am up to speed. Going to set identical programs I was running in .71.

I am going to be finding out shortly. Does anyone know if V2.0 handles mineralization better? Especially black sand?

Most likely zero help. But in mineralization [black sand and salt] I get swing chirps when moving the coil more aggressively, at the stop on each end. I have not updated yet. But when I do the update tomorrow, I will look at these swing chirps. Maybe the OP has mineralization?

Yup. 😎

Gosh Steve, I am not a name names kind of guy. But there is more than one old schooler that owns a forum website. You are NOT the person I am referring too. I don't write books, nor do vids.......😎 I am VERY old school myself, but still keep my ears open and try stuff. Well yes! SMF can and does fall on its face in Black Sand. But we can discuss some ways for SMF to cut it better. There are ways, and some do it better than others.

I am fighting through Black Sand conditions right now that might be close to that. I don't like that the poster did not show his settings. So easy to change the limits on a Manticore to notch a nickel. I was planning to start a full Black Sand discussion here and will, but I need a few more days of comparing machines and different modes. I know there are some old school people that will tell you to test a nickel when looking for gold. There is even one of these old schoolers that own their forum. Testing today's MF machines on nickels and saying it is comparable to gold is the most absurd thing in the metal detecting community today. Hopefully I can get this discussion going after the weekend.

Gold on the Equinox can be 1-22, even 23-24 on big chunks.

That is all crusty stuff....got to be more there!!!!!!

Your water leaking is covered for 3 years. That is the realistic part.

A little bit of devil's advocate? The OP sounds very experienced [maybe] Regardless, it is EASY to get set in a certain way. I have been guilty of that in the past. I debated a lot about my direction after GT Sovereign use. Even with my limiting Black Sand that requires me to run less sensitivity on both the D2 and Equinox [at times] . I would NEVER give up my MF machines!!! EVER. I learned from years of running the sovereign and digging EVERYTHING, I was wasting my TIME. Now focused on my 3–4-hour hunting sessions and being able to do my WHOLE length of beach daily puts more GOLD in my pouch than digging everything and doing 1/2 the beach in a day. I can confidently say this after 5 years of MF use compared to 25 years of Sovereign use. Of course, if you are young, healthy and think you need to dig it all.........Have at it!!!

Great trip!!! Yes, save the steaks for back home!!! LOL Can't wait to get into that fresh Tuna sushi! I should be out for my first day Saturday, starting the winter season. Going to encompass New Years and Easter. Hope the gold gods are kind!!!!!!

Gosh I came from YEARS of hunting with the Sovereign. In pinpoint all metal mode, this detector worked just like a PI. NOW, that I have used the Equinox and Deus 2 for many years. there is NO WAY I am going back to a detector that is a dig all machine!!! Recommend taking the leap to MF machines!

The current D2 coil at 8 3/4" is not small enough?? The Detector with the best separation values in the world. Not knowing any better, I might think it was April 1st. Or do they need to make a 3" coil?

OK, that's good enough for me. I am engaging the 13" coil this season and was just wondering. I will give it some trials on iron compared to the 9" I would love a coil that sounds off less on those bi-metal coins!!! Thanks!

Outstanding, Van! You have that Manticore humming! Can't wait till we get detectors back on the beach together! Good luck today!

A little more explanation??? The how's and why's!

Ya they are tough yet. Anyone waiting for Coiltek coils better not hold their breath.

In my testing the Manticore is a chain killer. 😎

Hi Tony It is odd to see a larger coil that can hold higher sensitivity. I have had larger coil options on many different detectors over the years. My question is: have you fringe depth tested compared to the 11" coil? I would be concerned this coil may not be working correctly. If you are for sure getting the same depths or better...........Don't ever sell that coil!!! With the modern machines, Equinox, D2, Manticore.....I have been setting my sensitivity where I know that fringe target will respond, and I can hunt comfortably without a lot of falsing. Then if I need a better look at just that one target, I up my sensitivity, two points or more if I can.

Not buying any of that. Except [maybe] for a specialty solo HF coil. Which very few people would buy due to its limited application.