Nuke em

I hate the 1/8 inch headphones , its totally unnecessary . I don't care if it makes the machine look ugly or a few grams heavier . I want 1/4 inch sockets. I don't know about the GG Gold headphones but all the ones I have tried are now lower toned than the old GG NDT's . I am sure I tried Sun Ray Pro's many years ago but in the end went to Gray Ghost . I think there are only 2 other types I can try and they are Jolly Rogers and Black Widows , the latter I have had before a long time ago and sure they were good then . Though the cable is heavy I think and using it on the ET made it stretch and went wrong as I recall . Minelab must sort this out , if they want to make machines with lovely fluty tones then we want to hear them in the headphones exactly at that pitch. I am going to nag on and on till Minelab listens or answers . But will they ?

I bought a pair of Nox GOG phones and they are Mouse quiet . Why are almost all headphones fitted with bass or quiet speakers ? They are now on the sales list along with 3 x pairs of new Gray Ghost NDT , 1 x unused Koss phones for ET and a Garrett black Mk 2 Pro pointer and a Tele Nox carbon stem . Its not the mid tones that are the problem . Its the low tones and the very high tones. If you put the volume all the way up on the new phones it bellows but the lower tones don't seem loud or sharp. Its like having an A4 piece of paper and drawing a line from bottom left corner to top right corner to represent the tones for the old Gray Ghosts and then drawing a line that starts a lot flatter bottom left then half way along goes up but not to the top right corner for the new Gray Ghosts . It has pretty much knackered my ability to separate tones on the Nox and ET for low end targets . I only hope Minelab reads this , if or when they bring out a new machine I only hope they bring out headphones that make exactly the same tones and sounds the machine makes. Minelab have been in the habit of chucking in the box any old things . And we know they are cheap , I've seen them . Koss are £67 or so in the UK and they can be bout for little over £20 on Amazon with Minelab on them. And the Nox phones I saw somewhere they were £29 I think ? yet with Minelab £129 or so . Paying that money is hard enough but when the phones are just not right its down right p!55 taking. I really didn't want to rant but I have been forced too . I need decent high toned headphones and I am running out of options fast.

Whats the use of having headphones that sound nothing like the sounds the machine makes? Detector Pro makes lots of different headphones and all but the old Gray Ghosts and old Nugget Buster NDT have bass tones . Black Widow ?? Koss are bloody awful , great for listening to music on a player but detectors ? NO. The Nox phones are the same. Just a headphone that is made in China I think and sells for around £30 . Yet Minelab sticks its name on it and sells them for around £130 . And they are not good enough for the job. When I was on the beach a couple of days ago I run into 2 people with Nox's and they had the Nox phones , I said to them about the phones and said try these old Gray Ghosts . They saw the difference. Then I told them they cant get them now because someone at Detector Pro changed the spec a couple of years back . What a let down. But the biggest let down is when the company making the detectors doesn't give us the accessories we need for the job . You would see my point if you heard the tones I do in my old phones. This is the difference . A Soprano singer like Sarah Brightman v the big black man ( no race thing intended) in the film The Green Mile . That's the difference. And it does make a difference .

I think because of the limited target numbers and functions on the Vanquish I think it will not take as many of the sales of the 300i and 400i as Minelab would like. And the Apex is likely to wipe the floor with the 540 and even the 600 Nox . My other post is on Minelab section as that's where my issue is right now. Roll on the Apex . I think this is going to be a good machine. I think there will be a higher ender soon too.

Last year I bought 2 new pairs of Detector Pro Gray Ghost NDT from my local dealer and early this year 1 more pair . I buy them like that to keep me ahead in case they stop making them with all the new machines coming out with their own phones. When I tried 1 early last Month I found that the tones had changed . In the past I have praised these headphones as being brilliant for all Minelab machines , being able to simulate the exact tones the machines make without headphones. When I discovered this I have now decided to take them back to the shop and in the mean time I bought 2 pairs of Nugget Buster NDT . When they came I checked them and to my horror they have the same dumbed down muffled speakers too. 1 of the sets were faulty anyway so I sent them both back. Maybe Detector Pro doesn't understand the issues with Minelab machines and their tones / sounds . But if you have a detector that has fluty tones and you have no choice but to buy bass toned headphones that sound nothing like the tones on the machines speaker then whats the point having that machine ? Garrett I feel makes good headphones that suit their machines . XP make great headphones (not WS5 ) that suit their machines. I am sure other makers put in headphones that go well with their machines. Minelab are renowned for making great sounding machines then totally letting them and themselves down with bass toned headphones that for many of us have trouble hearing the targets if low Bass toned . I used sound to pick out targets and only look at the numbers if not sure . With the newer Gray Ghosts / Nugget Busters I am stuck and always having to check target numbers . When doing beaches that are trashy to the hilt it is important that we are given the best headphones that simulate the exact tones the machine makes . Anything else is cheap rubbish . We saw that with the Koss phones on the Explorer's and ET and CTX , we have seen it with the cheap but high priced with Minelab Logo headphones on the Nox . When using my last remaining higher toned Gray Ghost NDT phones I get the targets nice and sharp. The newer types are like listening through a damned pillow. If Minelab or Detector Pro etc are worried about Health & Safety and damaging hearing of people then put volume controls on them , which I will add Detector Pro does. All other Detector Pro headphones that I have checked are low toned except maybe ? as I the past the Black Widows . At least I hope they are the same as they used to be . The headphones issue is one of the reasons I have gone to Garrett for my next machine. If Minelab let the side down again I will not buy a Minelab in future . The right Headphones are vital pieces of kit and if you are going to have a machine that has fluty or whistle tones then the Headphones that come with them MUST have the same tones . It can affect a detectorist opinion of a machine and his / her ability to use or understand and hear deep targets . Wake up Minelab on this important issue . STOP giving us rubbish Headphones that don't do the job . Your machines are great most of the time . Your Headphones or copies of others are just plain pants. I am not getting at Detector Pro or at Minelab though it sounds it . Detector Pro doesn't know any better I think . But Minelab damned well should . Rant over , for now !

I think the 540 and the Nox will suffer . And why buy something that has very few functions like the Vanquish 340 and 440 and pass up a new lighter and more modern looking machine for something that looks like a blushing Ace ? I do need waterproof but not for £300 + more than the non waterproof , and that's what will affect sales of the Nox when others see that for themselves. I am looking forward to seeing and buying an Apex . And another post that I will put on here will explain much more clearly why . Not the machines though ! Must get typing .

With the word ACE in the title its going to replace those I think or at least be a big boost to them. The Apex is I think going to kill Vanquish sales , its likely to be far better and has many more settings than the Vanquish. I don't care about waterproof on this machine. They are going for a lower end model not middle or top end. And I know some will say Simple X "As I call it"! That is simple and has 1 frequency and is I have heard a lover of Iron . I actually think it is a middle end machine and will take orders from their own top enders like the AT series. I will be buying the Apex . With numbers from 1 to 99 and 5 tones it will outgun the Nox on target info "multi tone on the Nox is poo" . It can be used in single freqs though there are not the places to save your own programs in each mode like the Nox. As for battery replacement , if the machine isn't waterproof then it most likely can be stripped down , maybe the battery can be done by any old Joe Bloggs ? Anyway I am on the list and I haven't anything that puts me off. Yet.

It has a lot of similarity to the Nox and Vanquish . But Multi Flex could be a version of the V. Flex tech in the Terra ? The Terra can use 3 different frequencies in its coils , maybe now the Terra patents have run out ?? they have worked a new Multi Freq machine from that ? Anyway at £500 UK it is much cheaper than the Nox and similar capability barring a few settings and the same price as and better settings than the Vanquish . I think Minelab may have either opened Pandora's box or left it open for all to see. Surely this Apex isn't a poach of the Nox Patent or has it run out already ? But if so then why didn't anyone jump on the FBS tech when its patents ran out ? Or have they ? Anyway I have to say that this Garrett is the first normal Garrett that I have seen that could be a machine I would want so I have ordered one. Worth a browse !

I got that but i thought it was a hoax.

Here are my settings . I use Beach 2 Ground Balance if necessary . Noise Cancel if necessary . Volume Adjust 25 (advanced)= 1 , 12 , 17 , 23 , 25 . Threshold Level 9 (advanced)- 1 . Target Tone 5 (advanced) = 1 , 10 , 17 , 23 , 25 . Accept/Reject -9 (Advanced) = -1 , 8 , 19 , 25 the rest . I rarely use the Horseshoe . Recovery Speed 4 (Advanced) = F2 = 9 . Sensitivity as high as possible . I also use Gray Ghost NDT headphones which i feel are the best by far for tones , most or all else are muffled to me.

Last night after work i took my Nox with the 11 inch coil this time for another search of the beaches i went to 2 days ago. I took the Bus to the beaches further along beyond where i finished the other day . I started at around 10 pm and found a few coins but soon found that area was too built up for any successful hunt so i went to where i finished last time and worked back to where i started last time . Again i saw that there were new holes about , and again i started to find coins near and around where these holes were . It was a lot harder this time and the beaches are building up due to the longer tides and the sea hitting the beach straight on . I didn't stay out as long as i thought i would and finished at 12.45 am . I counted up and went home . My total for this search was £20.53p and a unidentified Pre Decimal Penny and a George VI Farthing . My next hunt will be either Saturday night or next week sometime . Someone on my last hunt post wanted my settings , i will put them on here when i have had some sleep .

Thanks . I will put my settings on here tomorrow with my next beach finds . Saw some else searching earlier whilst driving past but the tide was on the way in . If he hasn't been where i have then i might be in for another good search . But that depends on the weather and the waves . Its a bit choppy and from the wrong way.

I have picture records back to 2013 and written records since 2007. Gold is quite hard to find, a mate says on those beaches we search that its 1 Gold for every 7 Silver. Since 2013 its been around 4 Silvers for me. Hopefully tonight will be a Gold night.

I am certain that I had much more than the other person , unless he had a Gold ring ? But I didn't see the sign that Gold would be found . The beach needs a lot more taken off yet for that if older stuff like Gold is to be found . He was leaving targets all over the place , even near his holes . Unless you are very used to night hunts its a hazard of night hunting , you cannot always see what the good areas are . I don't think he was using a Minelab , most other machines don't have very good tones and many good targets are left thinking they are pull tabs / ring pulls . I leave nearly nothing . But with a Minelab you get a better idea of targets and can take an educated guess at times .

First , Happy New Year to everyone . Today I had the chance to go out for the first time this year. Last year my total finds were £1632.53p in coinage , 1 returned Platinum ring , 13 Gold rings (1 returned) and 44 Silver rings and around 20 other Silver items and 20 junk rings of all types, Titanium , Tungsten , Steel etc . I searched 72 times for around 500 hours in total , maybe a bit more . This year I have set myself a much lower total due to commitments doing decorating which will take some time and not having the time to get out as much also because of my Oz Holiday soon . Work also gets in the way with shift work . Today I got my Nox with the big coil on and the 11 in coil in my rucksack and went to the beach at 5am by Bus and got to the beach just before 6am . I checked out the first 2 beaches and found that someone else was detecting in the distance in front of me as I saw his headtorch . I in any case searched in his tracks and found a few missed coins . When I got to the end of the second beach and crossed over to the next beach it was getting lighter and I saw it looked a lot better and detected the areas that looked best , I didn't see many holes but started to find targets here and there . That carried on for around a mile over 3 hours and before I stopped I found a large Silver ring . Where I stopped there are public toilets so I cleaned up my gear and switched coils to the 11 inch so I could search better between the Iron nails that litter the beach . I counted up before starting back and it was £55.15p and some foreign coins and a George V Penny and the Silver ring . I started back and found targets I missed but it was mostly quiet so I must have hammered it quite hard but shortly before I finished at 11.45am I found another Silver ring and a George Vi Penny and a George Vi Half Penny and a very worn Victoria Half Penny . My total for this search was £65.31p , 2 Silver rings , the 4 Pre Decimal UK coins and 5 Foreign coins and a Decimal 1970's Half Penny (discontinued 1982-3) . I have set myself a target of £700 , 6 Gold and 20 Silver rings for this year , more will be a bonus . But as cash is now getting very rare due to the cashless society I will be surprised if I find many fresh loses this year . I will also do 50 hunts unless I can get more in . Believe me it might take 50 trips to get my target ! How times have changed :( As for the Nox . I don't find it the most informative machine to use , target info is a bit poor . But I do have to admit that if the trash levels are not to high its a good machine to use . I have been using the 15 inch coil a few times and I find that coil the best for the machine . Normally I find the stock 11 inch coils are the best for most machines but I find the 15 inch coil is the best for the Nox . It gives it a bit more depth and I find its capable even in amongst the Iron nails better than the 11 inch coil !! . Maybe its settings but I use very low reactivity . I also find that the new V2 software has made it easier to tell not only Crown caps with I have been finding less but it gives better signals on Aluminium bits or blobs , I makes them scratchy on my settings most of the time. I do dig many of them just to be sure of them but I seem to suss them nearly all the time . My next search will be on Monday night from 9pm till 3am or about .

After a long think about the machine i have decided the Vanquish is too much like the Nox with most of the guts out of it . I will be getting a Simplex in the new year . My name is on the list at my local dealer but they have around 50 ahead of me . I ain't in a hurry though . But it is my next machine. I bet thats what you bought Chase , Yeah ? The only other thing i want other than that machine is an 11 inch X35 coil for the ORX . Then thats my lot for the foreseeable future . Till Minelab wets my appetite with a new ET / CTX replacement .

RNB battery packs are the best and run 12.5 v . Why chest mount ?

You will only ignore any other metal if there is no other metal other than Gold there . Gold can come in anywhere from just above Iron to close to Silver if a big target .

I wouldn't have thought so . I think Steve would be more interested in similar coils that the Vanq 540 pro will have but for the Nox ? Thats what i think . Me too! I think what he said on another thread about Minelab and coils is true.

I have decided the Vanquish is not for me . Its a cheap watered down Nox 600 and wont be enough for me. The Simplex is the same , it works well but it is cheap for a reason . Bloody good one though. I'm going to wait for something else from Minelab . But i still want to get my hands on these cheapie machines to have a look . If i had spare money i would buy all the machines and my house would like a Detector armory . But i have to have discipline .

On Monday morning i went to my best beaches early in the morning , the tide was in but going out and the tides are short at the moment . I didn't expect much . I started to detect and found a few coins here and there , it was enough just to wet my appetite so i kept going . I got to a groin and entered the next beach which i knew would be a lot quieter , i found a few coins and then with my ET i got a target reading 12 19 . I am always suspicious of that number and this time proved why . I dug down and out popped a nice 18 k 5.9 g Gold Signet ring , by this time the tide was showing that the beaches had scuffed out quite a bit . So i searched below the cut and down to the waters edge , i carried on till i reached 2 wooden groins and after that turned round and started back . At that point i found a Silver ring and after talking to a person who saw me and talking about detecting i carried on . Then i saw another Detectorist and we talked for a while . When we parted i found another thin Silver ring and not long after that a bit of Silver from what might be a Chain . Further along i found another Silver Signet ring then a heart shaped locket which broke when i tried to open it . When i reached the area i started i stopped and went to the Bank to pay in my last Months finds then got the Bus home . I stayed on the beach for 4 and a half hours and found the Gold ring , 3 Silver rings , the bit of chain pendent , the Locket and 95 Euro Cents , 2 small other foreign coins and £35.17 p in change which i have cleaned and will Bank next Month. My next hunt will be next Tuesday morning or Friday next week . I might take the Nox but that depends on the conditions and the weather . I get so much more from the target info on the ET and it is easier . But if the beach in the right state i will take the Nox and give V 2 a go .

I dont know if the have the same tones as the NDT . I have found that with other Gray Ghost types .

I would go with 1/8 in but Gray ghosts are so good on Minelab and the cheapies they sell with their machines sound muffled .

The box is big enough . Why didn't they put a 1/4 in socket on it ?

Steve , Do you know if i could use an adaptor to use my Gray Ghost headphones plugged in to the machine ?