Chase Goldman

Tom - Thanks. I know the stock shaft is cut (mentioned it as a disadvantage in my post) but was wondering where this elbow thing can be obtained to see if other useful mod mechanisms are offered there. Also, I see that Ms. Molewhacker is using the locking pin swivel trick, but she also mentioned she is getting a mod to the control head to enable it to be folded down, so was wondering where that can be obtained.

Thanks, yeah that makes sense. Looking for something that can get a little additional ID depth on relics in high mineralization vs. other vlfs like Equinox or Deus but has some some disc ability in thicker iron where the GPX tends to just continuously blank out if using iron reject. The smaller coil helps with navigating between the junk. Looking for targets that would be typically masked to the GPX and slightly out of reach for the Equinox or Deus.

Curious why you no longer have it.

It all depends on whether they picked the right US oufit to be their contracted repair center. This will be a great test case.

Well since you asked, appears to be a passable functional alternative to the collapsible telescoping shaft. But IMO seems like too much clap trap, requires cutting of the original shaft to install which might make it unnattractive to resell, adds weight below the grip where it definitely is unwanted in a toe heavy machine, and having that massive elbow in my swing sight line is unsightly to me. My collapsible telescoping shaft actually sheds weight instead of adding it and combined with the small coil sets up well for detecting in pits and huts, along vertical surfaces and in tailing piles in close quarters which makes it a great "pinpointer on steroids" for relic hunting. Yes, the collapsible shaft costs more but at the end of the day I have two perfectly functional shaft systems rather than one for about twice the price (I could sell the original shaft if I was so inclined to further defray cost). So, the pros and cons seem to even out, but I like and use the added versatility in tight situations the collapsible shaft affords me (i.e., I can actually use it while collapsed, unlike the folded shaft setup), so I am a fan of that vs. the folding shaft. Regardless, I am interested in where more information on the folding shaft mod and the folding control head mod can be obtained. No information in that regard was provided that I could see.

Actually, it is probably only two frequencies combined in a manner they see fit to give a wide multifrequency spectrum based spectrum analysis of Equinox units. The two frequencies vary slightly depending on the channel chosen by the noise cancel circuit. The diagram above is very confusing as it shows the discrete single frequency selections of the Equinox 800 as they fall in the multiffrequency spectrum, but that has nothing to do with the two transmit frequencies chosen to be combined to create the multifrequency spectrum. Bottom line, don't worry about it. Minelab is not bothering to shed any light on what frequencies they are using and it is frankly immaterial in the multifrequency context just as Steve said in the post just prior to yours. Just enjoy your Vanquish for what it is. A very affordable multi frequency detector.

They'll probably just replace it wholesale rather than bother paying the labor to open it up and repair it. They do that with the Equinox and it costs 3 times the Simplex.

Reset it again.

Not seeing this unit taking off like gangbusters here (based on forum buzz alone), which would need to happen for Nokta to make it worth their while to develop a concentric accessory coil for it. We'll see if it picks up steam after the holidays and as people are able to get out as the weather warms up. Hope Nokta can refute this observation.

Also, and I may have misinterpreted this, but Alexandre implied here that future specialized Impulse variants would likely use digital vice analog processing or at least different "technology" which might address the above limitations associated with the AQ version.

Interesting, not one XP machine in either club. Most of the relic detectorists I hang with are using a Deus or Equinox (or both). I have seen an interesting trend of folks moving from Equinox to Deus. Those folks usually moved from AT Pros or Whites MXTs to Equinox and then on to Deus in iron infested sites. The various central Virginia relic hunting hroups are dominated by the GPX due to the soil conditions, with ATX's and TDI's coming in a distance 2nd and 3rd. On the beach, hard core water detectorists still appear to prefer their Excals with some smattering of Equinoxes and Beach type PI's. On dry sand, it's the Equinox and AT Pros.

Man - I did not want to do that (spook you)! Rooting for the 13-S. That is valued at over $400 in minimum Grade 1 condition. Hope it works out in your favor.

Jerry - you’ve cleaned it off enough to verify it is a 1913 and not a 1915, right? Comparing your pic vs. PCGS pics of the ‘13 and ‘15 uncirculated strikes, the last numeral in your pic more closely resembles the “5” vs. the 3, but it is still hard to tell because of the coin condition and the fact that I am just using a zoomed in version of your posted pic. Just putting it out there because I can’t just look at the posted pic myself say there is no doubt that is a 3 or 5. But then again, I’m not a coin grader, so what do I know... The irony is that I went back and forth on 3 vs. 5 on my Mexican Half Real so went to PCGS to look at some strike pics, so it is fresh in my mind. Great find, regardless.

For me the value of detecting is more about the activity than the finds. The hobby pays for itself in fun, solitude (de-stress), amazing scenery and sights, the exercise, and enjoying outings and discussing all things detecting with friends. Most of my most prized finds have little to no intrinsic or collectable value. Paying for the detector with finds is not something that is even remotely part of my detecting equation because that is more like work, which is the exact opposite of why I detect. I don't begrudge folks who measure their success with with how many buckets they fill with gold, jewelry, coins, and relics. But even if I were successful enough (and had the opportunity to spend all my spare time detecting) to consistently recover valuable finds, I still wouldn't be paying for my detectors because I have never sold a single find other than recycling some clad through coinstar, much to the consternation of my wife. So, I guess with respect to the "have you paid for your detector?" metric, I'm a failure as a detectorist.

First up was a CW period US Cavalry bit boss found at the site of the largest Cavalry engagement of the Civil War - The Battle of Brandy Station (GPX 4800) The next is an 1830 Mexican First Republic Half Reale (XP Orx) The third is a purposefully flattened Eagle Coat button used either as a checker piece or Poker chip (Equinox got me into the fire pit where it was buried a along with some other relics including a lead backing to a cartridge box plate, a sword hanger piece, minie ball, and broken glass and dishware). Honorable mentions... A gold locket found at the beach in the dead of winter and an antique cross pendant

Rick - you killed it with that write up. Excellent info. Bookmarking that post for future reference. Thanks so much. Enjoy putting it through its paces. Looking forward to your additional reports. So I see that being able to master the sweet spot between ATS, the Reject breakpoint setting, and pulse delay for the target(s) of interest will be the skill that determines your level of success (unless you just want to go max depth and Dig it All in AM (though ferrous may still give you a telltale double tone)).

In the absence of a manual, a summary breakdown of what the controls do combined with an explanation of the various tone modes (in the same post to avoid having flip around the threads, having trouble interpreting Le Jag’s post) would be helpful when you have a chance, Rick. Thanks.

I believe this too. To maintain depth, they are probably not dialing back transmit power on the Vanquish like they do in Beach mode on the Equinox. This may keep it from being as stable as Equinox on salt beaches with black sand. But makes it a decent all around detector, especially on high conductors.

Jeff - Why not Park 1 on the Equinox which more of a high conductive coin mode and might be more comparative of the Vanquish coin mode? Park 2 is optimized for mid-conductors which would tend to better illuminate the aluminum junk. Also, since the 340 has high iron bias on by default, yet you set F2=1 on the Eq, not surprising those crown caps sounded off. Thanks for running the side-by-side, good info.

Agree, especially since the coil is only compatible with Vanquish, not sure you could even unload the coil. It doesn’t make sense for 340/440 users to get one who have the 10” coil, so that just leaves 540 non-pro pack buyers who made the conscious decision not to get the coil in the first place so your target market segment is almost non-existent. You’d be better off not getting the pro pack.

Probably a railroad police badge for the Virginia and Tennessee railroad which existed with that name between the 1850’s through approximately 1870 when it then became part of the M, N, & O railroad group and eventually became Norfolk and Western and then Norfolk Southern. Which means this badge probably pre-dates 1870. Cool find.

Why are you selling the 8” coil?

True - note that even with all metal (no discrimination) selected - iron bias will still affect the target signal regardless, but it will be a stronger iron signal with less falsing if it is on "high". Note also on the Equinox - "0" iron bias does not mean "No" iron bias. "0" is just the minimum setting for whichever iron bias filter you are using (FE or F2) but there is still some bias filtering taking place even at "0" setting and "0" FE does not equal "0" F2.

Incredible finds, Dan. Both in terms of what they are and the condition they are in. Great job by you and your team.

At the Diggin' in Virginia hunts Debbie S. from ML is usually in attendance and they raffle off a ML donated GPX. This last time around in November, they made it a point to mention that this would be the last GPX 4500 raffled off at DIV as the model was discontnued. I guess it will be a 5000 next time and the raffle chance ticket prices will also likely go up.