steveg

Tom, I would like to chime in here, with some thoughts. SO many people talk about "handle angle" being a problem on certain machines. This was a frequent discussion also, back when the Minelab Explorers and E-Trac were causing people issues, which many were blaming on "handle angle." I would like to say that handle angle IN AND OF ITSELF is very likely not the SOLE issue, for many folks. It's a COMBINATION of handle angle AND nose-heaviness/imbalance. Here's why I say that. If you put your arm out in front of you, as if you are wanting to shake someone's hand, and hold your wrist LOOSELY (not under strain), and then move your wrist into different positions up and down, as if you were casting a fishing lure, for instance, there is a whole range of wrist positions that are not inherently painful, unless you have some sort of wrist injury or something. The ISSUES arise when you have to hold a certain wrist position UNDER STRAIN, for a sustained period of time. In ergonomic terms it's called "repetitive stress." And that strain, of course, with respect to detecting, is your wrist having to do the work to lift the coil, and keep it floating for a sustained period of time. That's the "repetitive" portion (sustained for a long period of time), while the "stress" is the WEIGHT of the coil that is having to be lifted...so -- repetitive stress. Now, UNDER that stress, different folks might find different handle angles to be more or less comfortable; different muscles, ligaments, tendons, etc. are employed when your wrist is in different positions. So, certain folks might find certain handle angles to be more comfortable for their wrist, GIVEN that their wrist is being placed under "stress." BUT -- my POINT is, a LARGE contribution to the fatigue/pain that is felt, is due in large part to the COIL WEIGHT, and not JUST the handle angle. Those TWO variables should be considered IN TANDEM, as it's the COMBINATION of the two that leads to the issues, in most cases. Imagine taking your machine, removing the coil altogether, and then swinging the shaft back and forth. Can you see where at that point, the amount of fatigue or pain would very likely be substantially reduced, if not eliminated entirely, DESPITE the "handle angle?" THAT is why balance is so important in a shaft. That is NOT to say that if swinging an imbalanced, nose-heavy machine, that you may not find certain handle angles more tolerable than others. In such cases, that just means that the muscle groups used to swing a nose-heavy unit with handle angle "A" might be more comfortable for you PERSONALLY, than the same machine with handle angle "B." BUT -- my point is that if the machine were BALANCED, to where your wrist was under little to no strain while detecting, there would be a much WIDER range of "handle angles" that could be used, without causing any wrist issues. I can tell you for sure, that I've had dozens of customers with wrist fatigue/pain, and after swinging the machine with proper counterweighting, that wrist pain disappears. SO -- the moral of my story is this...IF you have a machine that is imbalanced, but does NOT cause you pain (such as your Deus with 13" coil), then that's great. Stick with it! BUT -- if you have a machine that DOES cause you pain, and yet otherwise you really like the performance of the unit and everything else about it EXCEPT the so-called "handle angle," you may not have to give up on the unit. Most "handle angle" issues are actually likely to be largely "balance" issues, and as such can be remedied much of the time by simply balancing the shaft, and thus taking all the strain/stress off of your wrist. When the counterweight "lifts" the coil FOR you, as opposed to your wrist having to do so, much of these issues tend to "disappear." Just wanted to toss that out there, for anyone interested... Steve

I want to know how to get that done, too (the new tones). ENORMOUS improvement, in my opinion... Steve

nickeldNdimed -- THANKS for the additional feedback! That is really good news. And if the shaft is doing so well for you that you may not be forced to go with a smaller/lighter coil, then that's REALLY good news! I'm really glad it's helping you out! Thanks! Steve

mh -- yes, it's as nickeldNdimed said. On my straight shaft, I keep the distance between the handle, and each of the arm cuff holes, the same as on the stock Minelab shaft. On my S-shaft, it's the same way. The four arm cuff holes have the same spacing, and are the same distance from the handle, as is the case with the stock shaft. Thanks! Steve

Yes sir; as others have said, black will be available... Thanks! Steve

rvpopeye -- now that was funny! LOL! Steve

Steve, Yep, we did chat about it, and you took a picture showing two screws, and a cable that would have to be disconnected... Sounds like it's not going to be a real easy one to do... Steve

Yes, as Gold Catcher said, I'm making GPX 6000 lower rods now. To build a complete shaft, though, I'd obviously need to be able to design an upper shaft, and the difficulty there is figuring out just how the control box/handle assembly, and the arm cuff, attach to the shaft. It's tough to figure those details out, without having a machine "in hand," and that's the dilemma. If I HAD a machine to look at/measure, I would know pretty quickly if I could produce an upper shaft without too much difficulty. If anyone can "break down" the machine, and take some pictures of how the components attach to the shaft tube, AND could provide an accurate measurement of upper shaft outer diameter, I may be able to figure it out from just pictures. But otherwise, having the machine "in hand" would certainly allow me to evaluate the possibilities. Thanks! Steve

Turhan, It looks like you have found a solution that you wish to pursue. If it doesn't work out, for some reason, let me know; I'd be glad to build you a dive shaft, to your length specifications. Steve

Pimento, You may be right; I wasn't reading it that way, but if that's the case, then yes -- the lower rod can be inserted as you suggest. Turhan, I can build a "dive shaft" for you, at whatever length you need; I am also happy to build a shorter lower rod, with spring button installed, if that helps anything. Thanks! Steve

I agree that that would be nice, but like others I simply use a Bluetooth LL transmitter on the MDT, and Bluetooth LL receiver on my headphones, as others are alluding to. Steve

Turhan, I could build you a three-piece shaft, but it would be a bit different than the Tele-Knox shaft. On mind, the upper section would detach from the other two sections for transport, while the lower rod could collapse entirely into the middle section. So, you'd have two sections when disassembled -- the upper section, and then a roughly equally sized middle/lower section (lower collapsed fully up and inside the middle section). I'm not sure what country you are in, but I have shipped all over the world. While it's costly (shipping internationally is expensive, and most countries levy "VAT" or "import duties" on the package), I'm willing to work with you on a design if you like... Thanks, Steve

nickeldNdimed -- LOL! I love the title of your thread! Made me laugh, LOL! Seriously, though, THANKS for posting your thoughts, and I'm glad you are pleased with it. To answer a few questions that have come up... Yes, the reason for the handle attachment position being where it's at, is as he said -- too much closer, and it would interfere with connecting the coil cable to the back of the control box (not an ideal positioning/orientation of the coil connection, when an S-shaft is part of the equation). Yes, there's only 1 hole for control box/handle attachment position, but I CAN customize, as nickeld said, so if you'd like a second hole, no problem. Yes, I could build a custom 3-piece S-shaft; it would involve a cam lock up there not too far from the S-handle, and then a middle and lower shaft as nickeld noted. Think Garrett shaft -- their stock S-shaft is a three-piece, and it would be similar on mine. Finally, I appreciate the interest, and I'm happy to have finally been able to "meet the needs" or at least "the desires" of some folks who really wanted to try an S-shaft for the EQX. I will be offering these for general sale soon -- probably a couple of weeks. I'm working on getting my field testers set up with theirs first, and I'm going on a vacation next week. But, as soon as I finish the ones promised to my testers, I'll start offering them to anyone else who is interested... Thanks all! Steve

Thank you, Hamid! You too! Steve

Hamid -- It is indeed a very interesting machine, and yes -- on a beach that has mineralized sand in particular, it certainly exceeds the depth performance of standard VLF units (including currently existing multi-frequency machines). Steve

LOL! That's sometimes what I feel like, digging down to the deep targets that the MDT 8000 manages to see! Steve

Geezer -- I agree with everything you said, above. As for a thread on the Tarsacci two-piece lower shafts I build, I have posted in multiple places that I'm selling them, BUT, my guess is that you are wanting details, and I'm not sure how much detail I included in these posts... Here is one post I made with some degree of detail, over at TreasureNet on my "dealer" site there (I talked a bit about the shafts, the ability to do a "tall-man" shaft, etc.). What I did not mention there, however, is that I can customize to reduce hydrodynamic drag even further (the smaller-diameter shaft sections I use, as compared to the stock shaft, reduce it substantially to begin with). In other words, instead of the middle and lower shafts being roughly equal in length, I can build them with shorter middle sections, and longer lower rods -- effectively resulting in even more of the shaft being at the smaller "lower rod" diameter. Anyway, it's too much to talk about succinctly, and many aren't interested in my long-winded, detailed way of writing! So, I try to spare folks' eyes from "glazing over!" LOL! BUT -- I'm happy to talk in as much detail as you may want; if you want more information, just send me a PM or email -- steve@stevesdetectorrods.com. Just FYI -- the price on the two-piece lowers is $89 plus $10 shipping... THANKS! Steve

Dew, So much still to learn, LOL! Steve

Steve -- Makes sense. I stand corrected! Next time I talk with Dimitar, I'll bring up the small coil topic. Steve

Cal -- yes, and no. Yes, being that there ARE many different VDIs associated with the war nickels, ranging from regular nickel VDI up to almost penny VDI! I ALSO confirmed that there ARE many different compositions, BUT -- what those compositions are, is more difficult to discern. I had someone at a university here do some X-ray fluorescence, which is good -- BUT I found out that it's only good when you have a baseline to compare to, as you need to set up the machine with certain inputs based on a known baseline. You can't just put something in, run the analysis, and then get an accurate composition out of it. You have to set it up in certain ways, based on what you are looking to find or expect to find... It's complex, but that's kind of how it was explained to me. Bottom line, all three of them (ranging from 13 VDI for one, to upper teens on the second, and low 20s on the third) showed MUCH different metal compositions... CRAZY! Steve

Way to go, Dew! Excellent job! Glad you got to experience the jumpy VDI...one of my main complaints with the unit... Steve

Dew -- Yes, sir -- I have become a dealer! I didn't say anything on Tom's forum, out of respect -- as I believe he is still a dealer, and do NOT want to step on any toes! But yes, I've become a dealer! And I am SO glad to hear about your thoughts on the cam locks. I know we talked alot about that, and it was you -- in part -- that convinced me to include the option for "button holes" on my Equinox shafts, WAY back when I was designing them. So our discussions on the need for the spring button/button holes has continued for years. In light of that, I'm so glad that you were willing to "give it a try" (shaft without button holes) with your Tarsacci shaft, and THRILLED to hear that it's working out well for you! Steve

Cal -- it was war nickels... Steve

Dancer, Nope, you are certainly not outgunned! Congrats on the gold and the coins; here's hoping for some more favorable conditions! Steve

JCR -- Interesting , thanks for sharing. Yes, I will do what I can to share my thoughts with others regarding the unit. The issue for me, for now, until I learn it better, is that I only hunt with the Tarsacci in limited areas. I am not yet confident to take it into a trashy park, and let 'er rip. I am not good enough with the unit yet, and so for me, it helps with the learning curve (i.e. not to overload my brain TOO much) to hunt in SPECIFIC sites where I know the sites VERY well. That way, I know what I EXPECT to hear in the ground, and thus when the Tarsacci sees it, it's easier for me to interpret what it's telling me. I also am aiming for SPECIFIC targets in these sites -- in other words, I KNOW I have cleaned out essentially EVERY coin-like target down to 9" deep, and so all I have to do is focus on the DEEPEST non-ferrous targets (i.e. the soft tones, which are of course either very small, or very deep). BUT -- the result of this "targeted" usage of the MDT is that I don't use it every time I hunt, and thus I don't learn it as quickly as I otherwise would (and thus, less info to share). First and foremost, I'm an old coin hunter, and often am doing so in trashy spots. SO, when my buddies want to go coin hunt at a trashy site, I still opt for the Equinox (and honestly, when cherry-picking coins in a trashy site, I might ALWAYS opt for a unit other than the Tarsacci, for certain specific reasons that you probably already know). That is not the Tarsacci's "sweet spot." BUT -- it's definitely a tool to be used in certain sites, and in many of them, it is a CLEAR "trump card" for those sites. I expect there are other surprises there to unlock; I'm nearly sure of it. More experience on the unit should help me to unlock those -- such that I may find myself using it in a greater diversity of sites than I currently am thinking. But I can say this...if I were Civil War relic hunting in bad dirt, this would be a go-to machine for me without a doubt. Steve