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Lighthouse

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  1. I bet there's a VERY high probability Cabela's will be sold out by midnight tonight! The first round was a covert release... this round will be VERY HIGHLY publicized around the forums today.
  2. BOOM! Just ordered mine from Cabellaaa's!!! Got an online confirmation #... Still waiting for the email verification and tracking #.
  3. Yeah. Learning how to use the 800, or any detector for that matter, will indeed be a whole other thing. I have yet to put my hands on a machine, but I've already logged hundreds of hours as a detectorist sleuthing potential locations. As a matter of fact, one location I've been most excited to detect was discovered to be severely compromised. As most of you will probably relate, it's one thing to search Google satellite images, and street views in your jammies and slippies, and totally another to actually go to the location. I found an old log cabin church built in the 1850's right in the middle of the city. Satellite images, and street views showed it to be PERFECT. It literally is in the back yard of house in a neighborhood. The beauty of it though, is it all backs up to public access. Behind this neighborhood is an old library with a walking path instead of an alley separating the neighborhood from the library grounds. Lots of huge oak trees and grassy areas leading up to the church, which looks out over the back courtyard of the library. The icing on the cake is the church is somewhat next to the parking lot for the library. Easy in, easy out, discrete location, and the church itself is fairly non-descript. It's about the size of a large detached garage with a loft. To the casual passer by it looks like a small horse barn style workshop in someones back yard. I happened to be in the area on Friday, and thought I'd check it out to see if it's everything I thought it was going to be. SURE ENOUGH, the entire area is surrounded by makeshift construction fencing protecting bulldozers and front loaders in the middle of a giant hole in the ground. Apparently, at the end of last summer, the library decided to start ripping up the walkway and parking lot. The ground is LITERALLY turned upside down. Almost 200 years of pay dirt... GONE! That said, I REFUSE to give up on the location. You can bet when I finally do get my hands on my 800, and when the ground thaws, I will be back there with my hard hat, and reflective vest dropping my coil on any slivers of ground they haven't ruined.
  4. My story is simple: I've never once, ever in my life, have ever been out metal detecting. I currently own zero metal detectors. As a new years resolution, like with every year, I seek a new way to expand and improve my business in some fashion. This year it happens to be incorporating metal detecting into my picking repertoire. To be honest, I'm a little embarrassed, and feel like a slow learning dope for not recognizing the activity until now. Metal detecting fits both my working, and personal lifestyle... and just who I am as a person. I very much sympathize with everyone who's been waiting since September 2017, as I've only been waiting since mid January. It's forums like this that have 100% sold me on the EQ 800. With a full blown case of cabin fever (It gets worse every year), I too am impatient and frustrated. As a matter of fact, I'm only here for the moment to help pass the time until I can be out in my back yard this spring, clearing spots with my new 800, so I can set up my tents, camping stoves, and such for the first time in 20 years.
  5. That's what I figured too. If this next round of releases doesn't have greater accessibility, then I'm going to start to worry about getting mine by my hopeful April 1st date.
  6. I think it comes down to, "spoken for by who?" In our digital age, there are pretty reliable matrices in place to measure who is and isn't actually loyal to a manufacturer, purely based on sales. I don't think greed has anything to do with it, outside of any manufacturers normal motivation to maximize profits in a supply and demand scenario. Moreover, being 45 years old, I don't see any evidence of corporations being any more or less "greedy" than they were 100 years ago. The thing that has changed in a HUGE way though, is how we access favor, credibility, and relationship with those we want something from. Sure, 50 years ago, the person at the front of the line for blessings was the guy whose wife baked a pie for the pastor every week. Now, its the person who comments the most/best on his Facebook page. That said, I get it. I too am an impatient consumer regarding this particular product. I also wish my local dealers were on the Christmas cards list of the president of Minelab, but that just isn't the case.
  7. It appears that Cabela's was allocated an inventory based on history of previous sales, matched with a history of business relationship with Minelab in this PARTICULAR GENRE of metal detectors. What I'm observing is which dealer/s have the best relationship with Minelab in this particular GENRE of metal detectors. That is to say the $300 - $1500 price range. Your local small shop that has ONLY worked to sell 3030's, 4500's, and 7000's for example, will get less priority than those that sell X-Terra's, Excalibur's, and Gold Monsters. The next logical observation is, "OK... So why doesn't Amazon and WalMart have an allocation then?" My guess is they buy in bulk and carry inventory. That means that Minelab gives them a "bulk discount", to store at their individual warehouses, making less profit. In other words, sure Walmart carries X-Terra's, but probably orders 10 at a time from Minelab once every 3 years, with a 35% profit margin. Cabela's on the other hand is a drop shipper, likely only making a 10% margin for simply taking an order, and NOT carrying inventory. Thus Minelab makes its max profits via Cabela's, matched with a history of Cabela's having the most sales in this particular genre of detectors. In the end, I believe Minelab will indeed stock your Big Boy's, Kellyco's, etc., they just simply chose to launch what I believe to be a very limited inventory at this point, with the company that made the most business sense. So, it's not Minelab per sey, just the relationship individual dealers have with Minelab given a currently limited inventory.
  8. I was able to obtain an exclusive photo of round 2 of the Equinox 800's shipping out.
  9. Thanks everyone for taking the time with your feedback. At the beginning of the hunt for my first detector, I had around $3K set aside for the new venture. Since then, I committed to the 800 for several reasons, including its more reasonable price point. Due to weather conditions in my area, and with my start up plan overall, I really would like to have a unit in my hands by the beginning of April. It seems like for that to happen, I'm just going have to trust someone, and shell out the $900 in a pre-order scenario. That said, I have 2 more questions for my experienced friends: What website is the most trusted by users for ALL brands of equipment, reliability of delivery, and has the most available accessories, parts, and machines? What website has the most reliable reviews of machines of all brands?
  10. Being a true newbie, currently owning 0 metal detectors, I've decided that the Minelab Equinox 800 is going to be my very first machine. Luckily for me, I've only known about it's existence since middle of January, unlike most of you that have been in the hot seat since September 2017. That said, being a newbie, I'm not of a mind to toss $900 at a website, dealer, even a brand not knowing the whose who of the industry, and not knowing when I'm actually going to have the thing in my hands. So my question is this: For those experienced detectorists that have a long history of using, and dealing with Minelab and their new product launches in the past, how long do you think it's going to take for me to just "Point of Purchase" one of these units? In other words, how long until I can just walk into my local dealers shop or Sporting Goods store and 1 or 2 units will be just sitting on the shelf?
  11. LOL! Yeah... My neighbors are going to think I'm nuts when I go to set up a small grid in my back yard, and start burying 14k earring backs and indian heads. "What are ya gardening over there? Those won't seed ya know???"
  12. Looks like Invision Community software will allow you to bring in just about any size image for the header, and automatically crop it to fit, allowing for up and down repositioning. That said however, for the more technically minded, even those that have cropping softwares, I measured for the most optimized area that will maintain 100% of the integrity of your imported photo. 1210 pixels wide x 200 pixels high, @ 72dpi is its exact surface area, or a ratio of 6:1. For those that want to get super technical, a ratio of 121:20 for a spot on WYSIWYG. Anything close to that, the Invision software will pretty much maintain the integrity of the original image, without excess pixelations, distortions, or need for repositioning. The further you get from those dimensions however, the more pixelated and distorted the image will appear.
  13. Sorry if this isn't the place to ask but I couldn't find another place on the forum. Just wondering what the width and height in pixels the photo for my profile header can be. I have photoshop so the exact dimensions would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.
  14. As one that has never detected before, there are 3 appeals it has for me, and honestly, I'm surprised I haven't thought about doing it until now. #1 The technology. It seems Minelab has the best interface with fully automated digital screens, gps, maps, etc.. I've been waiting for this type of stuff since I was a kid in the 70's, and actually had a very small part in its development. #2 The research. I am really looking forward to getting a unit in my hands, then working at researching and identifying locations that I feel will be successful. #3 OF COURSE the finds. I've been a treasure hunter for as long as I have memories. I may end up talking to a few "groups" in the beginning, kind of like this one, just to get started, but for the most part I'm a pretty independent guy with his own ideas. I do good with mentors however, and even a friend or 2 with similar interests. But I've never been very successful in groups. Oddly, I get the feeling that a lot of Detectorists are that way too.
  15. That's just it isn't it...? As a newbie, I'm trying to figure out why there isn't a turnkey machine. Why would I have to spend $8500 tax and accessories to get the worlds best gold machine that finds ONLY GOLD? or $2300 that finds ONLY COINS? It just seems to me that its a software issue to accommodate different HEADS that perform different tasks. Why aren't one of these companies building a machine that is waterproof and takes 50 different heads for around $5K? A machine that "Does it All"? It seems they are all building a "Box" that performs a certain task according to the "heads" capabilities. We live in a digital age. It's seems they should all be building a "Box" that has EVERY FEATURE capable of loading the correct software for 75 different heads. Ergo... You buy one "Box" for life, and a specific head and its accompanying software to load onto that box. So for example. The rod, arm control, and box Cost $1500. But you want to have the worlds best gold finding Desert head? For another $3000 you get the head and its needed software to load onto the box. You want the worlds best under water and desert gold finder? For another $4500 you get the head and its software to load onto the box. You want to find coins and relics on Grandmas old farm? For $1300 you get that head and its software to load on the box. And so on... You want GPS and maps add ons? For another $200 you get package A. For another $400 you get package B. For another $750 you get the all inclusive. It feels like there are 100 different micro tasks with 25 different machine types, and 70 different heads trying to accommodate those tasks. I'm talking about a MACRO machine that does it all, with micro accessory ad ons. Is that possible?
  16. First off, thanks for taking a minute with me. Secondly, VERY COOL map. That looks like it was a lot of fun to put together. So here is where my mind is at: With regards to frequencies and coils and such, being a newbie that has never owned a machine before, I am starting to catch on a little from the conversations I've been having, but still a little lost. I won't know for sure until I actually buy my first machine and just start detecting. That said though, before I plunk down $1K-$4K on a set up, I want to be sure my first machine fits my ultimate goals. The ultimate goal is to own 2 main machines, understanding that there may be a few specialized machines in between. My first main machine, I want to be a Hi-Tech coin finder, that can also be very sufficient in finding Gold. My second main machine I want to be used as a monster gold finder ONLY. All arrows seem to point to Minelab to accommodate those goals, with them having a wide range of Hi-Tech machines used by professionals. Obviously the monster gold finder is going to be either the 5000, but more likely the 7000. Which leaves me back at pulling the trigger on my first machine. At first I went back and forth between the 3030, and the E-trac, with the E-Trac winning the race for no other reason than it was the most recommended. Again, I'm a newbie that is still learning how it all works. But then I found that Minelab was coming out with the Equinox 800. So understanding all of this, what are your thoughts now?
  17. Before I found the Equinox 800 (Still waiting), I was set towards the E-trac, which was competing with the 3030 in my mind. So question: Being you seem to have experience with both, which of these two as a coin detector, would be best to easily jump to a hard core gold finder? The 3030, or the E-trac? Then as a follow up, any first impressions on how the 800 is going to fare as a gold finder?
  18. I checked it out, and it's a good looking machine for sure. As a newbie though, my mind is toward the release of the Equinox 800. HOWEVER, what you are saying about this V3i, and the fact that it allows for "growing into it" does interest me. It looks like I still have a little time to research before the 800 hits the market. For my purposes, it would be nice to be into my first machine by the time the snow melts here in Minnesota... Usually around first of April. Thanks for the tip.
  19. Thanks man.. I do appreciate your input. I can almost GUARANTEE you that I will be owning a Garmin in the future. So you know, I'm pretty green to all the technology surrounding the professional prospecting business. I'm a pretty quick study, but who knows. My fervor towards this project is picking up steam daily, but there is indeed a learning curve that I have no choice but to be at the mercy of...
  20. So I went to the app store, typed in "Backcountry Navigator PRO" and didn't get that specifically. Lots of stuff to buy called "Topo Maps"... Is there another name for it? Obviously the land ownership overlay is a HUGE tool I would like to use.
  21. Sorry for my ignorance, but which coils, and what function would each perform?
  22. Thank you everyone for taking the time. So Mine Lab it is. Not sure which one yet, how many coils, etc. but for what I'm ultimately trying to do, and my penchant for choosing a brand and sticking with it, all arrows are pointing to Mine Lab. Now to figure out which package. I hope to have this settled, and my first detector purchased by the end of February.
  23. I was reading further, and it looks like they charge for simple pin drops, that being the main "other" function I'd use it for outside of navigation. I think ultimately, I want something for an iPad. I intend to do a lot of typing/note taking. However, I am worried about an iPads ability to ALWAYS transmit a signal.
  24. I think I'm catching on now. I think I'll try that Avenza. The Garmin is definitely one of the things I was imagining, but I'm in no way ready to use the features the device offers for the monthly charge. Ergo, I'd be paying monthly for nothing right now. Ultimately, I just want to be a specialized Gold guy. For some reason I have this notion that if I take meticulous notes (recording all my finds locations, weather, time spent, routes I took, topographies, etc.) that I'll end up unlocking the secret of exactly where to find the cheese no matter where I'm at in the world. Kinna silly yeah? Also, I'm still trying to figure out what my first detector is going to be. At this point I'm just trying to get a plan together so I'm ready in May for my first expedition when the snow is gone and the heat returns.
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