Doc

Again Tough, because you want to have access to the battery, but also because of the rod that is attached to the main body. Some way you have to go around that rod, and the way we do it now is with Hook and Loop Velcro® type closures. You would probably have to remove the entire cover to access the battery. Doc

I like the silicone idea and for some machines it would be easy, others not so much. Equinox, would be easy. AXIOM, that would be a challenge. I would have to let my plastic people take a look at that. But when you get to the arm cuff covers, I don't think silicone would give you the comfort and they would probably be hot. Doc

Yes. You can't get anything made here. I tried over 25 years ago to give the business to an American company. They charged 5 times what my company in China does. And guess what, they sent them to China to be made. So they basically did nothing but have China make them and charge me 5 times more. When I can I get merchandise made here in the U.S. My picks are all made by an American company. Some things we import from Australia like our bungees, some things we import from Taiwan. Batteries we buy from an American distributor, but once again they are made in China. I have been doing business with the same company that makes covers for 25 years. They are amazing. I first started doing business with the father who owned the company, then he passed and his son took over. Considering the current state of affairs with China I hate doing business with China. But the companies I deal with were all part of Hong Kong and British rule before China took back over. I might add that I am the one who actually designs the covers and sends a somewhat awkwardly sewn initial design to my manufacturers, They are the ones who refine the design and send me an initial prototype. Then I tweak it, take it to the field and use it, see what it needs what works what doesn't modify it and send it back. This goes on back and forth for about 3 months until it's all perfect. If you know of an American company that can produce my covers with the same quality at a competitive price please let me know. They have to be capable of producing 1000 of the same cover at a time in 30 days. And they have to be capable of sometimes producing 3 different designs at the same time, so that's 3000 covers. Doc

Just to give you an idea. I just sent those 3D printed models of the Axiom, the Manticore, and the Equinox 900 off. Total weight 2 pounds! Total cost including import duty? $442. What a joke. Doc

I've probably have 8 pair of knee pads that I have bought from Home Depot and everywhere else when I see something that I think looks good. There is nothing like these Knee Pads They are fantastic. I don't say that because I sell them, I say that because they are. They are jointed, which I am sure keeps them from slipping around because they bend with your knee. Doc

I can't stand it when these stupid rumors get started. It's lead lined and blessed with Holy Water drawn from the sacred waters of Lake Mead and blessed by this old homeless guy that lives in a boat that sunk 50 years ago but is now on dry land because the lake is so low. Or does he live in a van down by the river? Doc

Dig4Gold, I didn't take it that way at all. No problem. I'm not sensitive about things. I just like to be sarcastic every now and again. Attacking me? HA! I've been married 53 years. I know what attacking looks like. You were just sharing your experience and how you use the cover. Some people don't use the arm cuff cover, although for the life of me I don't know why they would not use it. I'm just happy that people buy my products and find them useful. -Doc

Did you use a search engine? Just click on my logo at the bottom of this message. I have a secure website that is scanned everyday. Or go to my website by typing in docsdetecting.com then search for knee Here's the link. Knee Pads - Doc endorsed! "Best Knee Pads I have ever used!" - Doc's Place (docsdetecting.com) Doc

Also be aware of the fact that this banana yellow detector has some special features. While I have not found anything yet with the Bananaramadetectajama, it truly is whisper quiet, it's the lightest detector on the market, does not have a peel, and is very easy to find if it falls off the back of your quad while going from point A to point B. 🤣 Doc

They are even better. Most comfortable knee pad I have ever owned and the most utilitarian for what we do. You will be amazed they beat anything out there. I bet I have over $300 worth of various knee pads from Home Depot. They may be good for laying carpet, but not for metal detecting. Doc

Dangerous stuff sending detectors overseas. We have enough companies trying to rip off Minelab and other detectors. I'm certainly not going to be responsible for allowing someone to be able to take a look inside at the electronics. Then there is the sheer expense involved and the risk. Send a $6000 detector to a foreign country and then back again and risk it getting stolen or damaged? NOPE! Then there is the Customs duty that the receiving country tries to charge on a metal detector coming into their country. The U.S. customs trying to charge customs again when it comes back to me. It's a big hassle. Better to send plastic molds with a value of $2. They can look at them and tell they have no commercial value. So 3D printed molds are the way to go for numerous reasons. Doc

Mike, I'm almost 74, I have a hard time remembering how to get home at night and you think I can remember EVERYTHING? I mean that's like asking Minelab when they came out with the lighter GPX6000, "Why didn't you guys think to make the GPX5000 lighter?" Things evolve, and most times it's something I experience that prompts me to make an improvement. In this case it was the darn sun bouncing off the screen when I used the Gold Monster. I've never used a sunscreen on my detectors before but I have a cataract in my one eye, (already had cataract surgery on the other eye.) And the glare causes problems. A lot of the time it is the customers who give me suggestions and constructive criticism. I suppose I will have other folks who say, why did you put a sunscreen on there? I don't need it. Just like Dig4 Gold complained about not needing the HAND GRIP. Which is a good thing because it's NOT A HAND GRIP! It's a CORD WRAP. He doesn't need it because he doesn't change coils. But plenty of other people do change coils. Perhaps he should inquire of Minelab why they included two coils with the Gold Monster when he only uses one. Just like I suppose some people won't need a sunscreen because they only HUNT AT NIGHT, or they are BLIND. It's all good guys, I do the best I can with what limited grey matter I have left. 😁 Doc

I've had several customers ask why there is a wrap around the plastic support under the battery door. It's a very important feature that may save you hundreds of dollars! That's a pretty bold statement, right? Minelab designed that upright support with a small molded clip that you are supposed to force the coil cable into. That clip is so tight repeated insertion and removal will end up damaging the coil cable and you may end up having to buy a new coil. Changing coils is something that can happen frequently with this machine because, as you know, it comes with two coils. To eliminate this issue with the possibility of damaging your coil cable, and to make changing coils a much simpler process I designed a cord wrap to hold the coil cable so you do not have to force the cable into that plastic clip. The cord wrap holds the coil cable securely and safely and takes about 5 seconds to secure the cable. Additionally, the cord wrap has a hole in it. So first you want to unscrew the battery cap retention wire and temporarily remove the retention wire from the battery cap. Run both ends of the wire through the hole in the cord wrap and then re-attach the battery cap to the wire and tighten the wire together. This insures you will not lose your cord wrap. When you open the hook and loop closure on the cord wrap to secure the coil cable inside, the retention wire holds the cord wrap in place and attached to the detector without interfering with its main purpose of making sure you don't lose your battery cap. As usual I came up with the cord wrap because in using my Gold Monster I noticed that forcing that coil cable into that plastic clip was marring the cable insulation. The cord wrap was a simple, fast solution that can help avoid problems down the line. Doc

Thank you Lunk. -Doc AXIOM 3D Model being printed. Already printed the head and arm cuff. Doc

Designing detector covers is an art form I have learned. Anyone can throw together something to keep the dirt off of their detectors with some cloth and a sewing machine. But if you want a tough well made well fitted cover, there are some hoops you have to jump through. Designing a cover is no small feat. First I have to make an exact model of the detector. Next my fabricator who has been making my covers for over 25 years gets to work testing different designs, different prototypes. By the way those prototypes and designs are not cheap. Each one costs around $500 for the Master Designer fee, and the shipping back and forth. So it's not unusual to have 4 to 5 prototypes before the design is modified and refined. So before the first production cover is even sewn together I can have a minimum of $2000 to $3000 wrapped up in it. Well up to now I have been making models by wrapping a detector in shrink wrap, then building a dam around the detector and pouring silicone around half of the detector, allowing 24 hours for the silicone to cure, then turning the detector over and pouring the other half of the silicone mold. Another 24 hours. Then removing the detector, putting the two halves of the silicone mold back together and pouring a 2 part resin into the silicone mold. 5 hours later I have a perfect mold of the detector to send off for cover design. Well I have finally got into the 21st century and invested in 3D technology. No more pouring silicone for me. Just some 3D magic and I have a perfect detector mold. Currently in the works, Equinox 900, Manticore, and Garrett Axiom. This 3D tech speeds the modeling time significantly. Happy New Year all! Hope this will be a wonderful year for all of us. The last 3 years have been tough on everyone. As long as you're not addicted to eggs, this year shouldn't be too bad. Doc Doc

You don't know what caution is? Let me ask you something, when you're at home and you get up in the middle of the night and it's dark and you stumble your way to the bathroom, do you stand up and pee or sit down? Because if you sit down, it's because you are exercising caution because you know your wife will rip off your head if you pee all over the roll of toilet paper one more time. So I think you probably know what caution is. 😁 Merry Christmas, Doc

So I got a kick out of all of these tests I had to go through for life insurance. All because of my advanced years. The blood tests are a normal part of the testing, but there is the "ELDERLY" tests you have to take, Really had not thought of myself as elderly, but whatever. So the medical examiner lady comes out and draws blood, takes blood pressure all of that stuff. Then says I need you to do some tests required for the elderly. OK, WHAT? Walk across the floor at least 20 feet and turn around and walk back. I said and do what? She says just walk. I said what in the hell does that prove? So I walk across the floor and walk back. The lady says great. Now I have to answer these questions. "Did the applicant seem confused by the instructions? Did the applicant need assistance to get into a standing position? Did they stumble or fall during walking? Did they need assistance by way of another person a cane or a walker? I said seriously? You have people who are 73 and can't walk across the floor? I do 5 miles on my treadmill every day. Come to my warehouse and you will see me 15 feet up in the air moving boxes around on the top of the industrial storage racks. Then I get a phone call from someone that says, this is a Cognition test for the elderly. I am going to read a list of ten things and you have to swear you will not write them down. OK, I swear. She reads off the list and I give them back to her. Cake, Park, Caution, Marriage, Rest, Notice, Boat, Planet, Knee, Phone She says you wrote them down. I said No I didn't. She says well you gave them back to me in the same order that I gave them to you, no one does that. I said well maybe no one has taught over 50 classes on enhancing your memory like I have. And guess what, if you call me out of the blue 6 months from now I will still be able to tell you that list in the same order. So she says well maybe you can explain to me how you do it. I said sure. The first thing I did a long time ago was to associate words with numbers. Because we only learn new things by associating it with something we already know. So what do you associate with the number 1? She says WHAT? What do you associate with the number 1? She says I don't know, just the number 1. I said that's why you can't remember your grocery list. You have to have a picture word of something you associate with the number 1. See I practiced a little and I have an item associated with the number 1, and it's a telephone pole, because a telephone pole looks like the number 1. For number two my memory peg is a light switch, because it only has two positions, on and off, it also has 2 screws, so the number two is a light switch in my mind. I have 20 pictures that represent the numbers 1 through 20 in my head. Takes about 5 minutes to learn the list you practice it a couple of times for a few weeks and now you know it for ever. Just like you know how to count to 20. So You said cake. I said the number 1 item is cake and my memory peg is a telephone pole. A telephone pole looks like it could be a candle so I have a telephone pole sitting in the middle of a smashed cake in my mind. The second word you gave me was PARK. In parks there are swings that go back and forth just like a light switch. So I see a park with a swing set with a light switch. And I explain the entire thing to her. Number 9, my memory peg picture is a CAT, you know 9 lives, and all of that. Well her 9th word was knee, so I imagine a rabid cat biting me in the knee. Granted it takes you a while to get fast at associating new words with your memory peg pictures but you get used to it quickly, and its fun and it keeps you sharp. Bottom line is we are not as forgetful as we think we are it's just we are so much older we've heard it all and we really don't give a shit. We all say we are bad at people's names. No you're not! You just don't care enough to listen. I make myself good at people's names. I just went to see my dermatologist. Her name is Tasha, the front desk girl is named Frankie, and Tasha's assistant is named Abby. When you are going to meet someone listen to what they tell you their name is. LISTEN. Hi my name is OLIVIA. Olivia, that is a pretty name, like Olivia Newton John? Oh I have a great aunt named Olivia, (in your mind connect something about your great aunt Olivia "I hope you're not a nasty old hag like aunt Olivia.) Trust me you will remember the lady's name Olivia. Listen to the name, repeat the name to the person, mention something about the name and associate the name with someone you know. Or a famous person. But I got off topic. She says OK that's pretty impressive. Obviously you don't have dementia, who could remember all that shit? Then she apologized for saying shit. I said hey as long as my wife's grocery list isn't longer than 20 items I don't need a piece of paper to remember what's on the list. There are a lot of memory enhancing tricks you can use. Name the Great Lakes. Can't do it? What if I told you to just imagine HOMES around a great lake? What if I told you HOMES contains the first letter of the name of each of the great lakes? Can you name them now? Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior OK so this is totally off the topic. I just needed to talk for a bit. Merry Christmas all, Doc

I feel the same about you. Merry Christmas to you and Robyn. Doc

It's still on here:

Gus passed in 2017. He was suffering from severe dementia. Wonderful man, who is missed by many. Doc Paul Lagerstrom Obituary (1942 - 2017) - Boulder City, NV - Worcester Telegram & Gazette (legacy.com)

Every 6 months I get these rumors that I'm dead. I think Gerry McMullen starts them. 😁 Gerry knows I'm not dead because he is a dealer for a lot of my detector covers. I know how this happens. It's because it is hard to get in touch with me via phone. Oon the average day I have around 20 to 30 orders to get out. This time of the year it hovers around 50. Unfortunately, I just can't answer the phone. You know us metal detecting folks love to talk. I had a customer who kept me on the phone for an hour and 45 minutes on Friday and it really threw my entire day off. I didn't get to the post office until 8:30 that evening. We business customers are allowed to go to the main post office in the rear where they had overhead doors up until 9 pm so that is great when I am running late. The best way to get in touch with me if you have questions is to email me at docsdetecting@gmail.com. That way if I get a break throughout the day I can answer your email. If you need to talk to me directly put your phone number in the email, but don't expect a call back immediately. It will probably be after I have every customer's package ready to be shipped. I love my customers and I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to getting tied up on the phone telling stories. So if you start talking to me about gold prospecting chances are my sense of time flies out the window. I am easily distracted. So I have to stay on task. Please do not take offense if I try to keep our conversations short and sweet. Just know that I will get your order out as fast as I do all of my customers. Usually if your order is in before 2pm, it's going to go out the same day. If after 2pm it may go out that day but more likely the next. Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and thanking you for all the business you have sent my way over the past 30 years. And I'm still not dead. I don't even have anything wrong with me. And after an extensive battery of medical tests as well as COGNITION tests for "THE ELDERLY" I just got approved for more life insurance for another 10 year term. Which means the insurance company is betting I am going to live longer than when I turn 83, while apparently I am betting that I am going to die before 83. Living in Las Vegas, this seems like a strange bet. Don't forget it's Christmas time, and my story that I wrote in 1999, "All That Glitters" A Prospector's Christmas Story is still available to read for free at: A Prospector's Christmas Story - Doc's Place (docsdetecting.com) It's also available in book form for Christmas giving. Best wishes to all of you and your family during this Christmas season. Doc

Wow Steve, Thank you for that write up. Glad I saw it before I took the Axiom into the field. I like you would rather have that higher sensitivity and not need it, than feel like I needed more but didn't have it. I remember the old Minelab SD2100. We would intentionally manually ground balance it to be positive. It was noisy but it also gave you extra depth. Your ear just learned to pick out real targets from the chatter. Seems like you have put in a lot of time and effort that will benefit anyone who uses this new machine. Doc

I too am amazed, or is it amused? But you know me too well, I have never been accused of being a great business man. My dad always told me you'll never be successful in business if your philosophy is. "We lose money on every deal but we make it up in volume." Doc

Two pallets? No problem. 😃

Just unloaded 4 pallets. Doc