RobNC

Dog,

Thank you for the positive words. I've tried the asking thing too and get the no treatment. I realize that is always a possibility. With the heat right now it isn't helping my mood, haha. I will not outright give up at this point but may take a break for a bit. My work is going to get unbearable for the next few months and had hoped I would have this outlet before and maybe during that time. It is a let-down.

Joe,

The place he is destroying is an old closed school. I know where the guy lives, who he works for (hoodlums), etc. He even spoke to us one day and talked about how he had snuck in places and been ran out. I told him to his face that "some idiot is digging craters and leaving a damn mess and that puts a black eye on all people who metal detect." What did he do? Lie and try to blame it on someone else. But when I seen his shovel I knew it was his holes. After he left I checked where he was and sure enough, the proof was there even though he had made a weak attempt at covering it up. 3 years of past experience working in a prison helps me sort truth from crapola and call a piece of dung fairly accurately. The guy is just a rotten apple all the way around. Dang shame the idiot uses an Equinox too.

Yes the "no digging" thing is in effect in all the surrounding counties near here as well. One has nerve enough to be blunt and say no metal detecting also. It's downright hostile against metal detecting these days.

Today I received a new in the box Pro Find 35. I have not opened it and may not pending what I decide to do.

Thank you Minelab, I appreciate you taking care of this customer.

I'm glad you are getting out and have places to hunt and enjoy metal detecting. Any finds are good at this point.

Rock on!

My usual places are being eliminated one by one. Most of my places are public in nature. One of my favorite places I tried to hunt today and there was a police car sitting there. A bad sign.

So I pulled around the back like normal and notice everything locked up and new cameras installed... So he comes back there and I speak to him. I told him we had been metal detecting that place over a year and now notice it locked up. As he put it, "fighting and stuff".  In other words either drug related, gang related, or general hoodlum behavior. This has happened a lot to me lately, good places being off limits now for nothing I've done.

I went to another place where a known idiot has been that likes to dig craters. I had hoped he would have moved on by now but no. Instead it looks like a mine field now over the entire area. That moron has dug so many holes it is unreal. Always the same, dirt left on the ground and a non packed remnant of the plug in the hole. That was enough for me today and another place permanently marked off my list.

I'm starting to get frustrated more and more and today I even told my wife "Between the hoodlums and idiots messing things up, I may as well just sell all my equipment and give this hobby up."  Anybody else feeling this way? I enjoy metal detecting but here lately it's peeved me off about how other people's behavior can impact my hunting grounds..

Amazing finds! I love to see stuff like this.  A big difference between what you can find over there vs the garbage here in the states. Like even in the bare places over there you still find things we just don't have access to.

Cute pup with you too. Hope you find an entire chest of gold!

Really ridiculous the amount of stuff OBN finds. If I didn't know any better I'd think he has an alien implant in his head that helps.

On 3/22/2020 at 2:40 PM, Rick N. MI said:

If the Vanquish was waterproof I would get one just to have the smaller coil.

If you listen to the posters that have flooded Equinox units that would lead you to believe the best practice may be to stay out of the water. In light of that, the Vanquish seems to be doing the trick long as people don't get too far near the control pod.

OK OK I'm going to update with this new version soon as I get time enough to fool with it.

I'm always willing to test things out. Unfortunately my free time is very limited and I'd rather be finding things than trying to figure out a new way of acting by my metal detector.

So far things seem positive, especially concerning the ID numbers, which is a welcome thing.

Another thing just crossed my mind. Perhaps the real differences between the 800 and 600 is more the control pod housing difference (1 switch and button for user profile shortcut button). It sure seems like it would be more cost effective to created 1 circuit board with the only difference being the switch mentioned and control housing with that button. It probably has a code that "locks" it to being a 600 vs taking 800 code. Just a thought.

Sort of like how in the past some video cards could be flashed with another bios from a totally different model that boosted performance. In those cases the boards were identical, with the firmware being the limiting factor on extra speeds  along with heatsinks being added.

Unfortunately it appears you can't rely on the Target ID at extreme depth which is no surprise.

We do know that big iron "wraps around" and will show a 39-40 target ID. So.. the questions is how deep are you willing to dig and possibly hit big iron and not a hoard at all? Maybe I'm wrong but I do have 39 and 40 notched OUT on my EQ800. Perhaps I'm missing treasure chests and large silver hoards. All I ever hit with it were deep nails with those ID's.

Decisions, Decisions!

I am wondering if the new 4khz frequency is factored into multi-frequency mode. The wording is a bit confusing about the update but it also mentions it being a single frequency addition so maybe it is not used in multi mode at all.

Yeah "stability enhancements" is really vague and pretty much standard minelab practice. Like.. WHAT needed stabilizing?  It's annoying to see such general statements without a little bit more detail. Did they stabilize the ID numbers, the backlight,  noise cancel routine, iron bias, just WHAT did they "stabilize and enhance"?  It is frustrating but Minelab is not the only company that does this sort of thing.

It's on its way back to Minelab now. Sent it Thursday

The issues I am experiencing are odd to say the least. Here they are:

- At times the pin pointer will beep when nothing is around. It may let out a series of beeps even if it has been turned on less than a minute. You can turn it with point tip up and it will beep like something is at the tip but nothing is.

-Sometimes the pin pointer gets stuck and just lets out a long continuous beep and does not stop until you turn it off.

- At times the vibrate function works and in the middle of use may stop but the beep still works. All this without any button pushes or adjustments.

The thing is just weird, and it does not matter what kind of battery you put in. It's never been submerged. I have cleaned it but not submerged it. Only use a damp cloth on it.

I've done multiple "factory default" resets on it. It may work ok for about 3 digs then begins to act stupid again. Nice pinpointer when it works.

Well I have a Minelab Pro Find 35 and have mentioned it is unstable and erratic. It is STILL UNDER WARRANTY. 

I did contact Minelab about the issues. They responded back and asked for more information. I responded back with the requested information. And for a few days heard NOTHING.  This got me thinking and not in a good way. Is it possible that where I purchased it from did some dicey things? The serial number was provided to Minelab of course as well as dealer name and date of purchase.

Does anyone know what kind of checking they do on such things? Better yet, how long would it take to get a definitive answer from them? Yeah yeah its just a pin pointer but not a cheap one when it was purchased last year.

The X35 coil does not require an external battery. Only the HF Coil has an external battery.

You will need a USB charger though.

Real Simple

Create a controlled learning environment at home. Bury some coins and mark them. Run your detector over the targets and note the different sounds and ID readings. Make a map of your test garden if needed!

Above all else, be patient with yourself and the new machine. It takes time to form a bond with a detector. Unfortunately as I know all too well some machines are not for everyone.

Do not expect to go out the first time and get pockets full of coins or other valuables. Be realistic and know there will be good and bad days for all of us. Do not give up!!

23 minutes ago, Rick N. MI said:

Minelab emailed me a shipping label.

I'm wondering, just how did you talk them into that? Every time I've had to send something back due to being defective the bastiges make me pay. Not just concerning metal detectors, but all things.

So what's the trick? Do you complain a lot and say it is a disgrace? Let us know!

My new ORX with 11" X35 coil arrived today.It's charging up now. Looking forward to becoming familiar with it.

As someone on here told me before I got the Equinox "Keep the ORX". I've often heard the ORX and Equinox compliment each other. I do miss the ORX. So after thinking this over I went forward with the ORX, except this time with the X35 11" coil not the HF 9" coil. It really is the only detector I've used since the car wreck last year that didn't hurt my neck and shoulder. Equinox I can do but usually no longer than 2.5hrs 3 hrs tops.

And this time I'm not going to part with the ORX nor the Equinox 800. If anything goes it will be the Teknetics T2 with all the coils. I have not hunted with it since the Equinox came. It has sit in its box. Yep I might sell that one for sure in the very near future.

Thank you for the information, much appreciated. I've been looking at videos most of the day. Amazing how fast time goes by when you do that. I've seen some good and some bad concerning the Deus. Like you mentioned there are a lot of settings. And if you make too many changes well that could really goof things up. 

Perhaps the most discouraging thing I seen  was a few comparisons of buried targets where the Deus and EQ800 were tested along with the Simplex. Simplex was hitting things neither the EQ800 or Deus could hit. That was quite troubling to me.. hahaha

Thank you again for the words of wisdom from a long time Deus owner.

You did mention the MXT. I sort of wanted to also have a whites machine in the stable just for history sake. None of the whites units are really low priced, at least the ones that are worth having. Just how does the older MXT stack up against the Equinox and Deus? I'm curious about that. Deep down inside I'm just a tinkering mad scientist, always have been.

Most of the hunting I do is at schools and trashy places. I'm primarily a coin hunter. It's the older house sites that throw me for a loop. I will be keeping my Equinox 800 regardless. Thinking of selling my Teknetics T2 LTD with the 5" round coil, Cors Shrew and Cors Scout Coil.

How much better/worse is the Deus vs the ORX? I liked the ORX and it was really kind to my shoulder (that is still goofed up due to car accident last year and multiple idiot teen dirtbike/3 wheeler accidents.)

What fascinates me about the Deus is the light weight, multitude of settings and ability to adjust the tones in a way the ORX never could.

Looking at Uber expensive detectors. As we all know White's is on the way out and the V3i will not be available long. This may be the last chance to get hands on a factory new unit. In light of that it has crossed my mind to get one as a historical investment. Now with all that out of the way, we know it is heavy and that it loves batteries but can use Ni-MH batteries in the pack. Weight, nothing we can do about that. My mind is more about the longevity of the V3i, is it a very durable detector?  I know all about the multitude of settings, and that is one thing that draws me to it. A Tinkerer's dream, more like a computer than a detector. Bottom line, is it worth the price?

XP Deus. Had an ORX a while and loved the weight and ease of use. Hated the wireless headphones and they dug into my ear but I tell ya when it is hot weather that would sure be better on you. The ORX was somewhat crippled compared in settings, only giving 3 tone audio. It also had higher frequencies than the X35 coils do. The model I am looking at is the one with WS4 headphones and 9" round X35 coil.

Between those 2, which is worth the bucks??

Thanks

Rob

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

The safety hazard probably has little to do with electrical safety but the fact that lithium ion cell batteries are inherently thermally unstable and if the packaging is breached as a result of corrosive intrusion of say, salt water, into the battery compartment or mechanical damage to the battery pack (say from a poorly placed cutting blade) a thermal runaway fire could result.  So while the risk is low, the consequence could be high.  Whether XP Is overstating the risk, who knows.  If you know what you are doing, great.  If you don't, it is no laughing matter.

It's all about being careful with things and not rushing through it. The HF coil batteries are easy to replace and it's as simple as a connector being tightened as I believe you mentioned. Now on the non HF coils it's a bit more involved. Still very reasonable job to do though if someone takes their time and pays attention to details.