Chase Goldman

So, so glad to be sitting out the Minelab waiting list hoopla insanity this time around...I know its both a blessing and a curse to you dealers. Will get around to checking this out sometime next year after I have full year on my current flagship detector. I presume they'll still be manufacturing these MontyCore's six months from now, dontcha think? Or I may hop on board one dumped to ebay by delusional pseudo detectorists who figure out it's not Harry Potter's magic wand (no detector is) and who still don't realize that hard work, learning and clicking with your machine (whatever it may be), research, location, location, location, and a little bit o' Luck are the true ingredients for successful and enjoyable detecting. After all, just because you own a set of Tiger Wood's golf clubs or LeBron James' shoes doesn't mean you can play like them. 🤣🤣🤪

Bingo!

Real.

Minelab is not going to run a Black Friday deal on a detector that has not yet been released. ML has no knowledge of the dealer pre-orders and in many cases people who have more personal relationships with dealers are placed on lists without even putting down a deposit. Bottom line is that you are pondering a situation that is not going to happen.

Agreed, I hope so too.

FWIW - The six-inch round coil was not available until about 5 months after the Equinox was released. I confirmed this by going back through old posts on the forum. Looks like we started seeing people doing tests and comparisons in August - September 2018 (The Equinox was released in late January 2018).

See below. Ignore the fact that the TID stays constant at 78 regardless of the target displayed. The more stable the target ID the more "linear" the "oval" remains. I think slope in either "hemisphere" corresponds to target ID. I don't use the feature because I get more information from the target audio, but I might experiment more with it, in the future.

Yep. I agree regarding "sounds round". But to that point, as long the target ID is stable, then you won't even get that indirect "size" differential indication between a coin and a larger diameter object like a non-ferrous mason jar lid, for example. Not trying to be argumentative (we both are basically agreeing with each other) but I am just trying to illustrate to others that this whole hype regarding target trace directly showing the relative target size is likely a fallacy. I think we both agree the target trace blob size is really revealing target id variability/uncertainty. Regardless of whether target trace gives you direct or indirect target footprint information, to determine relative target "size" I often lift the coil to get see how soon the audio signal trails off or trace the target footprint using the built-in non-motion pinpointer feature - those can often give you a good relative footprint check (or at least tell you that you are not swinging over a coin sized object) for relatively shallow targets.

I presume your Equinox handles those conditions better but if it is "silent search" in multi-tones it should also be silent search in 50-tones. However, if your Equinox still has noise issues under those conditions, then I can understand that having 2 or 5-tone chatter might be less audibly fatiguing than 50-tone chatter, so on that basis I understand what you are saying. I too often detect in high emi/high mineralized conditons. And, as a result, I have actually moved away from tone ID and now prefer the Pitch audio (with separate ferrous tones for targets below the ferrous discrimination breakpoint) provided by my Deus 2. That basically turns my machine into a ferrous/non-ferrous dig machine but with some additional target information provided by the pitch audio vice a discrete tone (the downside is that I rely more heavily on visual target ID). My understanding is that M-core will have a similar Pitch audio option for all modes (currently Nox only has pitch like audio in Gold mode). Looking forward to that feature. Combined with target trace to visually show ferrous targets and silent ferrous discrimination, it might actually surpass D2 in functionality.

Theoretically, if you are discriminating ferrous and have the machine properly ground balanced, then even in 50 tones it will still be silent until you get a target.

It's anyone's guess on release date, the unveiling hype on M-core started earlier in the year than Equinox (August 2022 vs. Oct 2017). Equinox started arriving on dealer's shelves around the end of January 2018 but all dealers were only receiving a handful of units each on initial shipment. Assuming the same lead time, release before the end of the year is not out of the question, and I assume that the distribution will also be limited to a few units per dealer regardless of waiting list size or internet presence (i.e., high volume dealers like K-Co will not necessarily be favored). At the time, Equinox actually brought a number of game changing features at a revolutionary price point (FAST simultaneous multifrequency with multiple search profiles, multiple selectable single frequency, wireless audio, (supposedly) waterproof, rechargeable, and relatively light weight all for less that $1K). Four and half years later, that stuff in pretty much standard on the leading edge, high-end VLF induction balance detectors (Equinox, Legend, Deus 2 (except for the price point part - but it also wire free) and even the mid-level Apex checks those boxes but with lesser SMF performance and recovery speed). M-core looks like it fixes a lot of the flaws of Equinox and adds some features like improved customizable audio and, of course, target track, but you are paying a pretty penny for those fixes and added bells and whistles. It will likely eventually replace my Equinox barring some as yet unknown flaw. So in that respect I can understand statements like I will not use my Equinox again (same way I feel about my Deus 1 now that I have the Deus 2 in my hands, but the price of the Deus 2 is essentially the same as the Deus 1 was when it was first released). But is it truly a game changer in the sense that Equinox was in 2017? Even buying into the egregious marketing mumbo jumbo like 50% more coil power and the target trace blob size baloney, the answer is...not really IMO. It seriously is NOT going to "change the way we detect", just as the revolutionary Equinox did not obsolete ALL single frequency detectors (but it DID usher in the age of the multi-use multi-frequency flagship detector). That's why I am not on any waiting lists and will not lose sleep over release dates like kids who can't sleep on Christmas eve. I have the Nox and the Deus 2, a killer combo. I am learning the Legend and, as of now, am not desperately waiting for M-core to obsolete my Equinox or anything else I regularly use, with great success.

Exactly. I would also go further and say that it IS not related to the shape of the target at all but solely related to the variation (i.e., uncertainty) in the M-core's ability to discern a precise ID for the target. It just so happens that large rusty objects are very likely to exhibit this behavior.

I seriously recommend not drinking the marketing hype kool aid.

If I could give two thumbs up for the advice Jeff just posted for you, bobinyelm, I would. He pretty much covered the bases in terms of the state of the art in detectors using the vlf induction balance principle for gold prospecting (pulse induction is the other detector category geared towards serious prospecting but state of the art tech there is much more expensive). And as others, including Jeff, have mentioned, Equinox 800 and Legend (and to a lesser extent Deus 1 and Orx) have the added advantage of being do-it-all detectors (coin, beach, relic in addition to gold) and the Equinox 800 and Legend are also waterproof with the Legend edging out the Equinox in terms of user interface and ergonomics. When Nokta finally releases their 10x5 elliptical accessory coil for Legend tonaccompany their stock 11" coil and 6" round, you will have the same advantage of ground coverage in addition to tight swing ability and light weight that Equinox users currently enjoy with the Coiltek 10x5 for Equinox. Legend and Equinox 800 both have wireless audio transmitters built-in. The MXT is a classic (I have kept mine as a sort of detector Hall of Fame emeritus collector's item) and in its day was a true all purpose workhorse similar to what Legend and Nox (and to a lesser extent Deus 2, because it currently lacks micro gold capability) are considered today. The big differentiator in the newest crop of multi-purpose detectors (vs. MXT), besides modern microprocessor-based, programmable operation and user interface, is the incorporation of 1) multiple selectable single frequency modes and 2) game changing simultaneous multi-frequency operation modes which combined with sophisticated, fast digital signal processing enables superior ground handling and more sophisticated iron discrimination/filtering as well as more reliable target identification (not just detection) at depth.

That's how I have it set up on the remote. While hunting for the past week in high mineralized ground, I was pretty much just swapping between Deep HC (in pitch tones) and Relic with notch set at 00. It was great and I had some great success with it this week that I will post seperately.