Hi folks, first I'd like to say thanks to Steve H., Chase, Phrunt, CJC, Strike and many others that have been contributing over the years. I have been following the Nox and now the Manticore forums since early 2018 and your advice has been brilliant in helping me to get the best out of the NOX 800. I appreciate that the answer to the Topic I've raised depends a lot on ones detecting environment, experience levels, funding and objectives. In my case I'm a NOX 800 user in the Southwest of England primarily interested in discovering artefacts in the rural Devon countryside. I have two roles: one as a hobbyist where time on Club digs and my own permissions is limited, so I want to ignore Iron (BOAT - Bit's off a tractor) and find interesting stuff in the limited time. The Romans did not have a massive presence, and the local British tribe the Dumnoni did not have coins until the Saxons took over in about 650AD, so our fields are quiet with the occasional hammered coins, buckles, horse brasses etc. (My default setting is Field2, sensitivity 22-24, All metal, rest standard, no discrimination)  My second role in retirement is as an archaeologist teaching students to use MD in archaeological excavations, checking excavations and spoil heaps. Here I have to change my hobbyist approach and discover all metallic objects as they are all indicative of human activity. I find the Nox 800 excellent but as a hobbyist I wish I did not dig so much BOAT!

I've been following the Monticore forum closely and nearly bought one earlier in the year, the idea of being able to determine (via the 2-d display and enhanced audio) whether an object is likely to be Iron before digging particularly appeals to me in my hobbyist role. However the price, and the less than glowing reports (depth, ID and software update issues) makes me wonder whether the Manticore provides any extra depth or Identification compared to my trusty Nox 800. I appreciate that it takes time to learn and get the best out of a new machine and that you folks have only just started on the journey, but my question for you all is:- Does the Manticore really provide any extra depth and Identification compared to the Nox800?  (All the other fancy features are secondary)

Many thanks in advance

Cheers Clive H. 

Thanks to all those regular contributors who’ve help me master the Nox, I’m hoping to understand the Montisarous better. Some questions re 2d trace,

1) the horizontal line is conductance, how does it compare to the NOX VDi readings? I assume it starts at 0 and goes to 99, is that equivalent to the Nox 0 and 40? Or Nox -10 to 40? I’m assuming the former as the ferrous negative numbers are plotted on the vertical scale.

2) I get that the vertical scale is for ferrous cantered around a zero line in the middle, but what is the basis for above or below the line? I see Iron nails above, and a beer top below, but how is it doing that?

Great thanks Dan - Were you using AM?

Also. Some people report that Iron can screw pinpointing, Did you use pinpoint mode at all, and was there any difference between the location centres with pinpoint compared to "normal" wiggle/cross centring?  

Cheers

5 hours ago, ColonelDan said:

I hit Cocoa Beach Friday and the conditions were much changed and improved over my hunt on Daytona Beach last Sunday.

During that Sunday hunt, I reported my observations of the 2.0 update focusing on the F2 function. You can read it here:

https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/10845-my-observations-of-eqx-update-201-and-iron-bias-f2-at-daytona-beach/

There was a lot of EMI on the Daytona beach that Sunday and the overall conditions were such that I found the sweet spot sensitivity settings ranged from 13-16. At Cocoa Beach, the conditions were markedly different which allowed me to range from 18-22.

Regarding the F2 function, I found the sweet spot centered around level 5 at Cocoa. When I first arrived at the beach, I buried my test sticks to determine the best combination of sensitivity and iron bias.

 

I define the sweet spot as that which gives me good separation on two distinct targets...a bottle cap and a gold ring...the bottle cap giving me a distinct iron grunt and the ring a nice mid tone. Sensitivity was set at 20 and F2 at 5. Anything higher than F2 at 6 and the gold ring was masked..a single tone. Any thing lower than 4 and the bottle cap increasingly rang up as a fairly good target...again, a single tone.

Throughout the morning, I dug several targets that my EQX told me were bottle caps just to validate the F2 function...and by golly, each time the target was indeed a bottle cap!

During the remainder of my hunt time, I trusted my 2.0 EQX and never dug another bottle cap unless it was one of those pure aluminum twist off caps and of course, pull tabs...they both still sound great...something we’ll just have to live with at this stage of metal detecting technology.

Bottom Line: For those new to beach hunting, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to “dial in” your settings as conditions do change from beach to beach. Secondly, I have great faith in the F2 function for the beaches I hunt.

Excellent experiment Dan. Can you confirm how you did the experiement, I can read it two different ways. - Were the two sticks/targets buried at the same time when you tested, if so how far apart? Or where you just testing F2 on one stick/target , and then replaced it with the other and tested that? What mode was this done in, I assume  Beach 1 or Beach 2?

Anyone have a suggestion how the results would change if in Field2

Cheers.

8 hours ago, ed 1 said:

hi, have just updated my equinox 800 with the latest software. On checking my favourite profile (field2) found that it doesn't pick up gold signet ring, some hammered silvers, pound and 2 pound coins. Field 1 does pick all of these targets up. Anyone got any ideas as to why this should happen? Good job that I checked or would have wasted a lot of time and effort. Regards Ed

Hi Ed, I'm in the UK just been out today, I use Field2 as my prefered. I tried out the F2 at 6 for the first time recently, Noise Cancelled and Ground Balanced as normal, other setting as standard. - All seemed Ok with me, found a couple of corroded coins 200 years old + all seemed OK to me. I'm out again tomorrow evening, I'll check out your list. (Iron Falsing still a hassle, I've changed my approach recently - digging a lot more iffy signals if they are more that 2spades indicated (4") deep.)

What location were you in - Field?s, what was the ground like - lots of signals every swing or quiet?, what sensitivity did you use? I assume if it was recent the ground was wet - so good conductivity?

3 hours ago, Jackpine said:

Tom's clarification was needed and welcome. It seems the F2 settings are his baby that he convinced ML to implement.

So F2 4 and higher gives increasing levels of rejection of bottle caps and round iron.

Settings below F2 4 give increasing levels of sensitivity to masked/tilted coins in iron at and increased level of audio fatigue.  I've used FE 0 since almost day one So will jump right to F2 0 and see if I can handle it in that bed of nails site comparing targets to FE 0 for sh@ts and giggles.

The question on my mind is that blackened earth from the fire, will it have an effect on the outcome? 

 

Hi Jackpine, what is the link for Tom's clarification? I'm trying to understand the equivalence of F2 at 5 and above compared to FE. Anyone know Is F2 just an extension of the FE tones above and below FE0, or does it do something extra/different? My challenge is to not waste time being distracted by Iron Falsing. I'm fed up digging horseshoes and Iron crap at 13, on the off-chance that the variable signals I'm seeing may be deep or on-edge coins. I check using AM and 5Hz but too many still fool me (UK fields, Field 2 using standard settings) 

I often detect in the remote fields of Devon where the mobile signals are marginal. I sometimes get the "going beserk" effect, especially when the data signal is marginal and it seems the mobile is trying to make contact with network. If I switch my iphone completely off, the interference goes away. I could argue then that the interference is a good idea, it reminds me to switch off, (mentally and device) helps me concentrate on detecting without getting interrupted! 

Cheers

On 7/30/2019 at 2:00 PM, strick said:

Actually I did not think about my cell phone as being the problem even though I remember reading a post about that a while ago...I will pay more attention to that...I did detect yesterday for about 20 min in a park with the phone in my pouch and no problems...I'm still not sure if I have a problem as it's only happened a couple times ...I do take off the coil cover and clean regularly...thanls for all your help fellas I'll get back to you  when I figure it out. 

strick

Hi Strick, I occasionally have the same symptoms when I go out to detect at different locations. Normally I leave my mobiles on for convenience sake, but when the Nox goes haywire VID (not always) I find that switching my phones off completely stops any re-occurrence. I do not know what exactly causes it, whether it is location update, or text or email updates, or loss of 4G then re-connection, but it does seem mobile related. 

On 5/31/2019 at 8:17 PM, phrunt said:

I used to go swinging in a Park with my other detectors not doing so well, getting the occasional coin, I didn't really know what I was doing.  I then invested in an Equinox.... my skill levels didn't improve but my finds sure did.  I found my first gold ring shortly after, then a few more rings and over a hundred coins in the first week of seriously using it for that style of hunting.   It turned me from a complete amateur to someone walking along swinging with confidence.  I even felt worthy of wearing Minelab clothing and look like a real detectorist ?

Minelab were kind enough to send me this gear. Tell me I don't look like a Detectorist in it.

Which one is you?

On 2/28/2019 at 3:30 PM, GB_Amateur said:

"What are you listening for?" is too general.  (Wish there were a video lesson showing how 50 tones are interpreted.)  Here are a couple more specific:

1) What tone clue will cause you to look at the screen?

2) What tone patterns cause you to dig?

3) How good is your tone resolution?  Specifically, when you hear a tone, what is the range (+/-) of TID's that you can consistently discern by ear?

What are other properties of 50 tones that you key on?

 

 

Hi GB, really good questions, highly relevant to both 5 tones and 50 tones. I suggest that you have a read of Clive Clynick's book "Equinox An Advanced Guide" he goes into great detail on all of these aspects, but a warning, I suspect that it will be difficult to factor in all the considerations immediately. Probably best to work on specific aspects first and build up experience upon experience in layers.  I agree with both Chase's and Steve H's comments. What 50 tones does over 5 tones is give us more insight into what's going on. A clear 50 tone signal gives us more certainty about the purity of a target than a 5 tone that may represent something across several VID's.  

Cheers Clive

PS Metal Detecting is like going down the Grand Canyon, when you think you've covered the distance to the bottom, you realize you are only half way there.

On 2/20/2019 at 10:32 PM, Chase Goldman said:

Found the answer to my question above.  The QCC 3005 chip found in the latest model Soundpeats Engine headphones only supports APTX  "Classic" which implies that neither APTX LL nor APTX HD are supported.

Reference here:  https://datasheets.globalspec.com/ds/3510/Qualcomm/73F98650-C624-4252-9AAA-3CED5DB51059

Good to know.  Newer is not necessarily better.

The Amazon US  link to the "older" Soundpeats Engine earbuds that appear to support APTX LL is here:  https://www.amazon.com/SoundPEATS-Headphone-Earphones-Sweatproof-Smartphones/dp/B07KPWCTDR/ref=pd_ybh_a_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WGB8HP918NT0RTRZAHGK

2

Hi Chase

No worries, about the earlier post context confusions. On APTX LL these manufacturers don't make it easy for us do they! My advice to folk is to buy a copy that's been reported on this thread as being proven APTX LL before the supply dries up. Worst case they could be kept as cheap (but good quality) backups.

Cheers Clive

I replied to your post because you expressed a desire to compile a list of true APTX LL. headphones/earbuds. 

It was convenient to add the rest of the info. so people can see useful information.

I agree that it depends on whether the APTX LL is enabled or not in the headset/earbud firmware, but my point was that if it has been enabled then the low latency performance would be as per the spec. and therefore what we desire. 

Hi Chase. Yes the Soundpeats Q12's are real APTX Low-Latency, the + symbol appears on the Nox. I spent a lot of time in Airports and on the web looking for APTX Low-Latency earbuds at a reasonable price, there is the danger that APTX is described by Marketing blurb as low latency when it is not "APTX Low Latency" - as you know, and sometimes like the Soundpeat Q12's the box just says APTX and not APTX Low Latency which it is, so its a risk relying on descriptions. Hopefully people will continue to post in on this thread and we will end up with a list to help people.

Sennheiser have a couple of true Low Latency models but I did not fancy paying £150+ or so. In one case you need the version BT 6.0, not the newer 7.00 version. which is not true Low latency

Re Low latency speed, the key issue is that true APTX Low Latency comes from the specific Qualcomm chip being used. It is that chip that defines the latency speed. So all earbuds using that chip should have the same low latency speed. (unless additional buffering is used)

Finally on comparative sound quality. My tip is to download a free hearing test app on to your Phone and use it to do comparative tests on different headsets/earbuds. That way you can check out your own hearing, and compare the relative responses across a frequency range. Crude but effective. Also somewhere I have posted that there are some earbuds that come with their own hearing test app. You do the test, and it uploads the settings compensating for hearing losses at different frequencies into the earbuds, so great for those heard of hearing.

On 2/18/2019 at 8:11 AM, goldrat said:

Hi Clive ,

             Recently read a excellent review on a wireless ear bud model # SoundPeats Engine Q40 . Iv'e corresponded by email on at least 7 occasions to purchase ? Head Office stated Amazon don't stock this model Soundpeats own online store haven't listed it . Finally they assured me that online SoundPeats Japan stock this model . They gave me a direct link and you guessed it all in Japanese . Complained to Head Office , now awaiting a reply . All reviews on your model Q12 are excellent  .

Cheers

goldrat

Hi Goldrat, I bought mine via Amazon-UK, seemed to be from the SoundPeats distributor in the UK. Cheers Clive

On 4/30/2018 at 7:09 PM, Mark T said:

I think it would be a good idea to have a thread just for after maket Bluetooth headphones for the Equinox as there must be many many different ones out there if people could give their views on what they have bought and what improvement they have over the ML80's.

I have bought these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A0EAYDI/ref=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_1

advantage over ML80's much better low tones (no boom sound) better overall tones (tighter) they are super comfortable and have much larger ear muffs the head band fit is great if you have a larger head they are slightly lower in volume but not by much than the ML80's.

As posted before I found the following on Amazon. They are definitely APTX Low Latency, only about £25K /$25 good audio quality, Great for the winter, I can wear my hat over them!. I use them instead of the Nox headphones now. Easy to synch with the Nox, and I notice that they also take phone calls when I'm out. A question does Minelab do a wireless pinpointer?

On 3/30/2018 at 11:02 AM, Bhogg said:

Hi All

I was just wondering if there’s a way to use other Wireless Bluetooth headphones/ Earbuds instead of the one’s that came with the detector?.

Just asking as my ears can get quite sweaty with the over ear headphones on during summer months and it’d be great if I could use another option. 

As I’m sure many others I’m guessing would be in the same vote as myself.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Hi Folks, looks like technology has become more affordable. I searched the market for APTX Low latency earbuds and came up with these very affordable at £25 approx $25 from Amazon UK:-

Q12 Plus SoundPEATS Bluetooth Headphones Magnetic Wireless Earbuds IPX6 In-Ear Bluetooth 5.0 Wireless Earphones (9 Hours Playtime, APTX-LL, CVC 8.0, 10mm Drivers),    They sound good, (I could not tell the difference from the NOX headset) and easy to synch with the Nox. I can now wear a hat in the cold, and not worry about my headphones getting wet in the rain (IPX6), and good backups if preferred. Also, a tip for those with doubts about their hearing, download one of the hearing testing apps such "Hearing Test" as and test your hearing using different headphones and earbuds. It is a way to check your hearing sensitivity across the frequencies, and compare devices, (reassure yourself about quality). There is even some earbuds that allow you to check your hearing and adjust their responsiveness across the frequency range to compensate, the setting are uploaded into the buds. They are the MEE audio EB 1 Bluetooth® headset, but at £152 at bit expensive unless you really need them.  Happy Hunting, Cheers Clive

Hi Nuke em, Some great finds, thanks for sharing them. What part of the UK are you in? I'm not getting the same luck, what settings are you using? - I assume Beach 1for Dry settings, and Beach 2 for wet sand and in the water. - Are you making any changes to the basic settings.

Normally I prefer the fields inland, but I've tried the beaches here in Devon. My Nox seems much better than my old Garrett especially in sea water, first time out I discovered two old sixpences, but not much else since. Hence my question about your location. I assume its in a more popular location? I generally search two beaches, one that is busy in Summer, but I suspect that there are other detectorists that check the beach every day. The other beach was used to practice the D Day landings, it's remote, windswept, and pebbly,  so not the crowds, I do find .303 cartridges and shrapnel.

Any tips on avoiding can slaw? I find whole cans at 22, but fragments at any number down to about 7. 

Finally does anyone know what ZHU YA LIAO ZHI XIE KE LI means? (I've tried translations on the web) I've found a packet washed up on the beach - size of a T bag, with lots of printed Chinese writing and those words. I assume it's a sort of herbal medicine. Cheers Clive

I'm sorry but I do not regard the Video as a scientific test. For start has anyone noticed that he is using a metallic pen to write down the results and he leaves it within range of the detector! The pen is not there for the first 800 test, then its placed to the side but within range for the second 800 test, then it is even closer/more central for both 600 tests, and he also moves the coil a bit for the 600 test. (Is there any metal under the table?)  You can hear the detectors bleeping as he writes! Who knows what influence it has, a bit like having some iron near a finder. Each time the pen is in a slightly different position! Laugh out Loud.  

Hi Steve, a great report, I really enjoyed it, especially your observations on our British ways. 

What settings did you use whist during the trip? I assume Park2 with an increased IB? Or were you in your favorite gold mode?

P.S. the Wavery white lines go with the Pedestrian crossing, means no stopping, and always fines, points on the License if seen by the police.

Re the Weather, we have new weather fronts (with rain) coming in all year round from the West roughly every 3 days, so very variable. Sometime between May to September, we will have one week of blue skies, warm weather no rain, due to a stationary high pressure zone, but we never know when.  The North is Colder than the South, so as mentioned the best time to come is when the farmers let you on their fields. Pasture and Meadow is available all the year round, but long grass is a pain.

Cheers Clive

I use the RavPower Qualcom quick charge 3.0 iSmar+, for my noxit has two ports so I do headphones as well, but anything that works with the nox

On 5/9/2018 at 7:02 AM, Dubious said:

I also have and use the Sennheiser cx 6.00 earbuds and also the Avantree Audition Pro headphones.  I like them both, and no problems so far. 

Hi Dubious, I've been searching for APTX low latency earbuds, very hard to be sure from the product descriptions that they are LL. Are the CX 6.00 BT definitely Low Lotency in the NOX meaning?. Want to be sure before paying £80+. Does anyone know of any other Earbuds that are definitely LL Aptx?  Amazon seem to show two others as Low latency but I have my doubts:- 

Bluetooth Headphones, BlitzWolf Magnetic aptX Stereo IPX4 Sweatproof Wireless Sport Earphones In Ear Earbuds for Running Gym (Low Latency, 8-Hour Playtime, Microphone, Volume Control, Secure Fit) - Black £23.99

Bluetooth Headset, Rockrok Wireless Sport In Ear Headphones Sweatproof Earbuds With Microphone for ios and Android (Bluetooth 4.1, APTX Low Latency, Noise Cancelling, Tangle Free Cord, Volume Control) £14.85

Cheers Clive

Hi Andy

Somewhere on this blog (NOX FAN CLUB)  was a topic which had a link to a clip of someone testing many, many types of gold rings. They recorded their weights, purity etc and VDI's it was pre the latest update. The VDI where in a wide range depending on weight and purity. I remember all were solid tones and VDI numbers, except a few interesting cases where the rings were split, or wrap-around not a continuous band and in those cases the VDI's moved around. (A bit like with horse-shoes! ) If I find the post again I'll provide the link.

Hi Steve On handbooks, I see that we've got V2 of the instruction guide out. Can you tell us how much has changed, and is it worth us all printing out the latest copy? I've done that, but could not see any changes (not a thorough check). Is there a corrections sheet, could save the planet a lot of paper and printer ink!, Cheers Clive

8 hours ago, Randy Dee said:

Here's a video showing the recovery of a hoard of Bronze age axes. they date to around 1000BC. There are 47 axes (17 Palstave and 30 socketed) and 5 fragments of an ingot.Gordon using his Equinox 800 The hoard has been report to PAS, and we hope to return and film any excavations on-site in the future

 

Brilliant finds, great reporting, thanks for the target ID's, what did all metal show up? and what Mode did you use/prefer, I assume either Field 1 or 2? Cheers Clive

On 4/1/2018 at 6:52 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

Thanks for posting that Bryan - I added a link back to the original post and thread.

The F-Pulse takes a little getting used to after using the Garrett Carrot (Pro-Pointer AT) a lot. It does want to interfere with my Equinox more than the Carrot. Rather than change the frequency on the pinpointer so far I turn the F-Pulse on before doing the Equinox frequency scan, and that generally does the trick.

I have my F-Pulse set for vibrate only, high sensitivity. It does want to signal on the ground after power up, so I do the tip to ground, tap button once retune procedure.

One thing I liked a lot initially is probably the biggest difference I see in use. The Carrot ramps up very quickly when you get near a target, and the vibrate mode therefore feels more intense. F-Pulse ramps up more slowly (better modulation) but that means it feels weak on deeper targets until you get closer. In my ground the one touch ground calibration was critical because the weak ground signal is identical to the weak signal from a deeper target.

With more hours under my belt now I think the Carrot has a slight edge for actual in use simplicity. F-Pulse takes a little more work and patience, but does deliver a performance edge.

Bottom line is I like them both very much and am keeping both for sure. I will have to do a follow up review on both once I get a bunch more hours in. Right now however if I had to recommend a pinpointer to a total newbie I would still probably recommend the Garrett over the Fisher as it seems just a little more direct, a little less finicky overall. Easier to get up and running out of box with no prior experience with pinpointers.

According to Carl in the thread referenced above the type of AA battery employed in F-Pulse might cause issues, making the recalibration process posted by Carl and copied above invaluable.

Hi Steve Re:- "The F-Pulse takes a little getting used to after using the Garrett Carrot (Pro-Pointer AT) a lot. It does want to interfere with my Equinox more than the Carrot. Rather than change the frequency on the pinpointer so far I turn the F-Pulse on before doing the Equinox frequency scan, and that generally does the trick"

I've noticed the same problem with interference with the NOX . Does this approach work without having to be repeated throughout a day? i.e. switch on the F-pulse, then the NOX, then you can switch off the F-pulse until you need it? Also if you do adjust the frequency on the pinpointer and then turn it off, will it remember the frequency for the next time? If so does it remember it if you have to take out the batteries, or have you got to do the whole process again? (I've got R1 software and get frequent lockup's) Finally, if you have a break, and switch off your NOX, do you need to do either process again when you start out again, or will the NOX have retained its previous settings?   Cheers Clive