cudamark

I like your overall assessment, and I agree with almost all of it except for maybe some of #2. Let's say that both Minelab and XP were coming out at the same time with the Equinox and Deus 2 respectively. Minelab had many years experience in making waterproof machines, and XP had yet to make one. My money would have been on Minelab to make a dependable waterproof detector, with XP a big question mark. Since we now know some Nox machines have had leaking issues. it's easy with hindsight to think XP would do a better job. XP's track record of a quality built unit surely helps reassure that bet, but since this is their first stab at waterproofness (is that a word?), I would have still put my money on Minelab......and probably lost it. . We shall soon see. If they had a complete Deus 2 package with the big coil, I'd buy one today just to see what it will do! 😀👍

Oh sure, I'm sure there will be a few folks that will stick with the AT's for whatever their reasons are. I guess my point was that their reasons are seemingly flawed in my mind. Many members of our local detecting club (and I'm sure others) tend to be stuck in the past, with the attitude that "I've been doing it this way with this machine for over 30 years and I will keep doing it that way". It's like trying to get your grandfather to try a new food dish. They won't even taste it before turning their nose up. You can even prove the superiority of a new piece of gear and they will still use the old one. I'm sure part of it is the success they've had in the past with "old blue", but, I also think it's the potential learning curve that may be daunting to them. We have some members that still have an old flip phone because they claim the new smart phones are too complicated. If that's truly the case, I guess they're probably better off not upgrading. These people probably won't be buying a new machine anyway, instead, if and when their detector dies, they'll probably just find a used one exactly like the one they had. As for a $5 F11, they could give it to me for free and I still wouldn't use it. I already have several detectors from the past that are gathering dust, and they don't cost me a thing at this point......except closet space! 😄

Me too, not that I have any scientific studies to point to, just my observations while dredging in Northern California. I was running a 6" dredge years ago before they outlawed it, and while looking behind the sluice discharge I would see schools of fish just waiting to eat what we were dredging up! They seemed more than happy with what we were doing. Not only that, but, we were removing lots of mercury out of the river too. Most of the gold we were finding (I'd say about 80%) were coated with the stuff.

S shaft? Not a fan, and neither are any of my detecting buddies. Straight carbon fiber shaft is the only way to go IMO. AA batteries? Not for me anymore if I can avoid them. Cheaper in the long run to use the latest and greatest battery tech. You need more coils than what is currently available? I don't use but half the ones I have now! (I have them all, both stock and the Coiltek ones) Multi IQ is so forgiving, that even using the largest coil can be used in most trashy areas once you get used to it. Waterproofing, sure, I'll give you a slight edge on that, except in salt water where the AT's fail miserably Made in America? OK....So only Garrett or Fisher for you? Are all their components made in America? I seriously doubt it. Everything has become so global these days it's hard to tell true made in America products anymore. Shallow coin targets, well, even a Walmart or Harbor Freight detector will find those, so, yeah, the AT will too. Tot lot finds, Not in my book. I find much more with the Nox in a tot lot (mainly tiny items or deep items) than any other detector I've used, period. Not even close. YMMV of course with different conditions, but, this is what I've found in my area and with the places and targets I detect.

I absolutely agree, but, Equinox made them realize that their days were truly numbered since they had nothing on the drawing board to compete with in the near future. Their days of living on repainted old tech were over. If the Nox release had been delayed to market or hadn't been so successful, they could have survived for many more years and possibly have come up with something to challenge Nox. Their leadership was very shortsighted for sure. Keeping up with the latest tech with good R & D is crucial in electronics these days.

Models get obsoleted all the time, even before Equinox, but, I think we can safely say that the Nox put nails into many coffins. Not all, of course, but, why would anyone buy an AT of any model over an Equinox? Fisher model.....please. Is there one thing an AT or F? can do that a Nox can't do better, or, at least as good? Brand loyalty maybe? Regardless, even if you don't think Minelab has obsoleted any particular single frequency machine, they've sure obsoleted a couple of companies (Tesoro and White's) and put one or two others on life support.

I'm a bit curious about the backlight adjustment also. I tend to run it at a low light level at night so I can keep my night vision.

I like to make it even easier......I just dump the kale in the garbage bin on my way from the car to the house. No point in wasting perfectly good coconut! 😄

Working fine with me. Nice interview and a few things clarified or that I hadn't heard about before. Will someone please give Dilek a headband or scrunchy! 😄 I still haven't heard what the 13" coil and waterproof headphones are going to cost. They did say they should be available at kick-off next month, but, It would be nice to know the price and if they'll have another package that would include them, and maybe the 6" coil and battery too.

Looks like I'd need to figure out what all those damn symbols mean again! Why can't they just have words instead? Can't be that big a deal to have programmable language software for different countries.

I used to nugget hunt and I belonged to the local prospecting club for a few years, but, then reality stepped in and slapped me in the face. If I could find enough in the way of gold nuggets in my local area, that would be one thing, but, just the fuel costs alone kept me in the red. A simple look at my finds from my various hunting venues showed me the error of my ways. I was finding MUCH more gold and other valuables at my local parks and beaches than I was prospecting. The target recovery process was much easier on this old body too! Now if I had a claim near by that had some decent size nuggets.....

I don't know about the "green" ear stiffeners trunkmonkey was referring to, but, I have several aftermarket lower shafts that use the round rubber washers, and they accept the "gray" ear stiffeners that I bought just fine. I can't imagine there being an issue since the washers rub up against the coil ears, not the stiffener.....at least in all the setups I've seen.

Intriguing! One thing i see missing, that is a must for me, is a BIG coil for beach hunting. I haven't used anything under a 15" diameter coil for the last 10 years. 11" coils just don't make it for me these days. It'll probably make the D2 a bit nose heavy, but, I can deal with that one way or another. I'll be curious to see how well it will work in salt sand and water. The D1 never impressed me at all in that respect, and the squeaky sounds it made were "fingernails on a blackboard" to me. If the new tones actually sound like the ones in the video, that's a definite plus. I was actually going to buy one years ago until I heard the tones! It looks like I'll have to keep this thing on my radar, and depending on it's price with all the options I will want, it just might get me to pull the trigger.

I tried the link above.....If they want to expand into the U.S., having a website in English would be a good start.....

My condolences too, George. I know the feeling. I'm heading out to Minnesota next week for a celebration of life for a detecting buddy myself. My fourth such sadness in the last 10 years.