mh9162013

Can't argue with this advice. The Vanquish-then-Equinox progression seems like a very solid approach, even if going from a 340 to 600/800. I put a decent amount of time into my 540 before I sold it. I hated to "give up" that learning I did with it, but I just can't justify the price of an Equinox...for now. But my soil is too minerlized to go deep with the 540, so I was approaching its detecting limits. I may take out the 340 for my next hunt, though. It uses the V8 coil and I want to re-check a curbstrip that turned up mostly trash with my AT Max and the stock 8.5x11 coil.

Quite the hunt! Nicely done!

GB: I think F350Platinum was being sarcastic/silly.

I know, especially when you factor in potential dealer discounts. But it's a bit easier to negotiate down an individual seller selling a used AT Max than it is a used Equinox 600. So that's the primary explanation as to why I currently swing the AT Max and not the Equinox 600. But I'm always on the lookout for a good deal on a used metal detector. Perhaps I'll be wrong and this N/M Lightning will outperform both Equinoxes. Then we'll see the used metal detecting market flooded with people selling their out-of-warranty Equinox 600s and 800s. If so, guess who'll be shopping around? 😀

That's because it's rarely used in its pure form in jewelry. It's usually alloyed with other metals that drastically reduce its conductivity compared to its pure form. Most gold rings will be 10, 12 (50% gold), 14 or 18k (75% gold). This brings its conductivity down closer to aluminum, although depending on the object's size, it can still ring up as a high conductor. In contrast, older American coins are often 95% copper or 90% silver. Both metals are very good conductors that close to gold's ability to conduct electricity. You're right about gold's stability and corosion resistance and how that contributes to its wide use in industrial applications.

Unlike pure gold, pure platinum is a relatively strong metal. So it doesn't need to be "diluted" as much as gold to create an alloy suitable for jewelry. Often, platinum in jewelery will be 95% pure. Oh, and platinum is highly conductive...maybe moreso than gold...I think. It's at least in the same ballpark.

Great finds! Is the Tiffany & Co. ring made out of white gold, sterling silver or platinum? On a possibly related note: what does a platinum ring come up as for most detectors? Same as a silver coin or quarter?

All of this sounds intriguing. I really like the idea of (easily) user-replaceable batteries. Although the weight stands out, especially given its straight shaft design. I truly believe I could make more finds with an Equinox over my AT Max. But I just can't justify paying twice the price. Plus, the Equinox has other drawbacks which annoy me. But with the Lightning...who knows? Here's my prediction: The Lightning will have street price of $500 (USD). It will have more features than the Equinox 800. It will have better SMF performance than the Apex, but not quite as good as the Equinox 800.

Great comment Phrunt, and I'd like the parse the above quoted section a bit, as well as use it to get on my soapbox. I think that a company can produce high quality products that not only last, but are reasonably easy to repair. And at the same time, the company is pumping out newer products every few years or so. Or at the very least, the company doesn't put restrictions in place that limit the ability of the consumer to make their own repairs on a machine. I think the bigger picture here is that metal detecting is a hobby that requires discipline, patience and thinking. I think many of the "younger generation" lack the ability to do any of those 3 things. Or if they can do those three things, they aren't looking for a hobby that requires them to do those 3 things. In case you're wondering, some may put me into this "younger generation" group, as I'm under 40. I used to be in R/C cars and trucks back in the day...we're talking 2000s or so. This was a point where RTR (ready to run) models were really starting to become common place. Many of the "old school" R/C enthusiasts turned their nose up at this idea b/c new entrants into the hobby were better off taking the time to build their model cars before running them. However, the younger generation wanted to start driving their toys almost immediately. Now, RTR cars are the norm, and finding a "kit" is fairly rare, except for maybe the more higher-end or professional models. I saw this mindset in action at a hobby shop around 2008 - some guy came in with his gas R/C truck and said it didn't seem to run right. The hobby shop owner asked what the customer did to try and figure out what was going wrong. The customer said, "nothing, I just figured you could get it to work for me." If more and more potential metal detecting customers have that mindset (which in my opinion, is very troublesome and explains a lot of about today's society, but I digress), I think the failure to produce newer products more frequently is only a small part of the problem. Just like there's been this rebound in the "geek" and "DIY/maker" groups that encourage people to make things and learn scientific, engineering and mathematical concepts (heaven forbid!), I think the metal detecting hobby needs that kind of boost. That's what companies need to focus more on, in my opinion.

Now that's money well spent! Who knew that part of metal detecting included not just learning our machines and researching places to hunt, but also "winning the hearts and minds" of those around us?

Sounds like a great time hunting! 😎 The past few hunts for me have been all clad. But I've thoroughly enjoyed the time spent metal detecting. My thought is that as long as I'm not skunked (skunked = failed to find at least one coin or really cool relic), I've "succeeded." So once I find that first coin (even if it's a Zincoln), the rest of my hunt is "playing with the house's money." 😃

One thing I do to try and avoid these clueless people is put an effort into cleaning up the trash I see. Sometimes I'll try to make it a bit obvious. For example, I've been hunting for a bit and have some trash collected in my trash pouch. If I see a park employee or "civilian," I'll not only make an effort to pick up trash around me (which I do even if I think I'm not being watched), but I'll empty my trash pouch in a nearby trash can so other people can see it. At the very least, if someone is going to call the cops on me or kick me out of the park, they can do so knowing that they're kicking out one of their trash-picker-uppers.

On my current list of parks to hunt, I have three; 2 are just down the street and 1 is a short drive away. One of the three has an explicit no-metal-detecting rule, but the rule only applies to the ballfields. The walking trails, disc golf, tot lots, etc. areas are fair game. And park staff have seen me several times hunting and haven't said anything. The park that's a short drive away has no explicit rule against metal detecting (based on my research). And they also have park staff that have seen me hunting, but have left me alone. But I don't hunt carrying a shovel; just a small digger and coin probe. But I wonder if I'll need my Sampson shovel to get to the silver, which may be 6-8 inches deep. This thread has actually motivated me to focus on some hunting at my park that's a short drive away to look for silver. I will leave early tomorrow morning and bring my Sampson shovel, but will keep it in the car. I'll see if I can dig deep (enough for potential silver) with reasonable effort, but only using my digging tool. We'll see how that goes before I pull out the Sampson. I'm willing to risk drawing the ire of a member of the park staff. But I have the attitude that once I do, there's a chance I can't go back. So I'm increasing my "boldness" incrementally. That's another reason why I'm starting out at these parks very conservatively, with only shallow digging with my digger and coin probe: let's get the easy clad that's just below the surface before catching the eye of park staff or a "Karen." Once the clad has been largely found, I'll need to dig deeper. Only then, should I try to "risk it" by digging deeper. Bottom line: I am firmly of the belief I am breaking no rule, law or regulation. But there's the law and there's what people try to enforce. So I try to tread (and dig) carefully.

That's interesting, b/c that's the exact opposite of how I hunt (in parks). I only focus on coin targets that are shallow enough where my F-Pulse pinpointer can detect it from the surface. This means, as you might expect, that I only get clad and miss out on the silver/older coins. But I take this approach to avoid major digging in parks. But I also take this approach b/c most of my parks are fairly new and I don't expect them to have much silver. Additionally, there are so many clad coins, I can't bear to skip over them out of principle. However, there is one park that has some older areas where I might look into focusing on silver instead of clad. In my front yard, which is (was) basically virgin soil from a landscaping and metal detecting perspective, my wheatie to silver ratio is about 6:1. Thanks for your post; it's produced a lot of interesting responses.

I agree that the FTP Tek-Point and F-Pulse are superior to the Garrett Carrot...at least in terms of hunting for coins in parks and yards. I think one reason many people use the Garrett Carrot is b/c it's a good, solid pinpointer that comes from a well-known American company. So it's the first pinpointer they buy and b/c it does a good job, they never consider trying another type. I would have been that way with my Minelab Pro-Find 35 if it weren't for the fact that I like to mod my machines and I got a Carrot for free when I flipped an Equinox 600. But after seeing the TRX and the XP MI-4, then after using the F-Pulse for many hours now, I won't go back to the Garrett Carrot except if my F-Pulse gets busted and I need to go hunting while I await its repair/replacement.

I only see that happening if they drop their current VLF Ace line and upgrade their AT line...which is very possible.

Speaking of "clones," do you think some of these sellers are selling anything? I just came across an Equinox 800 on Facebook for under $46. It appears to be a listing for a new metal detector. That's such a low price, I don't know how the seller could make money even if there was a Bounty Hunter, Radio Shack or Hazard Frought machine under the hood. My thought is that they take your money, but never send anything. Then they hope you either let it go or get reimbursed by the Facebook Marketplace buyer protection policy.

I know a year or two ago, I believe it was Garrett that posted a survey on one of the major metal detecting message boards asking for feedback about a new product. That's not the same as monitoring what people are saying about you online, but given Garrett's online marketing abilities, I'd imagine they're doing just that.

You know, the fact that you're saying that is very telling. I would imagine all of the major metal detecting companies would monitor the major hobby message boards to see what people are saying about them. Sure, it's not going to be a perfect representation of their customer-base, but it'll at least give some insight, especially among the more hardcore customers and hobbyists.

I'm not waiting on FTP to produce any new, groundbreaking detector. But Cipher made a great point about the F-Pulse, which is a pinpointer I love using and has replaced my Carrot as my primary pinpointer. So I'm hoping that FTP will produce something nicer and newer. Until then, I've got my AT Max which will take a while to outgrow...assuming I ever do. And if I do, there's the Equinox 600/800 to look at. Although by that point, the "Equinox 1000" will probably have been out for a year or two....and perhaps Garrett will have released the "AT Apex," too. Fisher does have a soft spot for me, as the F2 was my first detector and was a very sentimental gift. So if the F70 or F75+/SE/Ltd gets released in a weatherproof form factor (yet all other features remain the same), I'd probably be willing to move over to those detectors...maybe. Depends on how well I'm doing with my AT Max.

I think it's safe to assume that the answer to the bolded question is "no." The only question is how many of the prospective TRX buyers went to the Carrot versus the competition. We have no idea what the answer to that question is. Therefore, I don't think we can conclude that Garrett would have had a net positive result if it were to reissue the TRX. On the flipside, I don't think we can conclude that they would have a net negative result either. However, I conclude they would have a negative net result given Garrett's dominance in the pinpointer sphere of metal detecting. I reach this conclusion because the higher percentage market share you hold, the larger your loss in sales if a new product comes in and starts being sold (all else being equal). Let me use an example to show what my thought process is. Let's say that in a given day, 100 pinpointers are sold in the entire world and they're sold from the following companies: 30% = Garrett 7% = XP 7% = Minelab 7% = Nokta/Makro 7% = FTP 42% = Chinese knockoffs and Hazard Frought products Now Acme, Inc. steps into the metal detecting world and starts selling the TRX and markets it as well as Garrett would have if Garrett were to market the TRX. Assuming the above sales proportions stay roughly the same, which company do you think would take the biggest hit in sales? NOTE: I understand that Chinese knockoffs and Hazard Frought products probably make up a higher % of sales in terms of units sold. But I also know that if you're going to buy a TRX, you're probably not considering buying a Chinse knock off.

Good point. If their next metal detector is on par with the F-Pulse (even with its initial hiccups) in relation to the competition, then their next product will be worth waiting for.

If I recall correctly, the TRX retailed for about $145 or so. Most others (Carrot, Pro-Find 35, F-Pulse), etc. were retailing for $120-$130. Then there's the one from Nokta/Makro which retails for $85 and seems like the best "deal" when it comes to pinpointers.

Because the two detectors might cannibalize potential sales. If Garrett could sell enough TRX pinpointers w/o hurting their Carrot sales too much, I'm sure they would do it. But it's my theory that they can't. Maybe for every 2 TRX pinpointers they sell, they reduce their Carrot sales by 1. Depending on their profit margins for each device, the investment needed to make this happen and the anticipated warranty costs Garrett may face with the TRX on the market, this ratio might not be big enough to make it financially worth it for Garrett. Or, maybe Garrett is working on a re-releasing the TRX and we'll get an announcement next month. Or even better, Garrett will release the "Carrot II" this fall and it'll basically be the TRX in the current Z-Lynk Carrot's form factor and it runs off of 2 AA batteries.

My gut tells me Garrett bought White's for anti-competitive and IP reasons, not the acquisition of White's customer base. I could be wrong, though. I don't see why Garrett doesn't release more White's product though, either directly (like the 24K) or indirectly (by taking a White's product and using it as a starting point for a new product). I know that Garrett doesn't want to release a product that competes with something they already have. On its surface, the 24K competes with the AT Gold. But I get the impression that when it comes to gold machines, the AT Pro is NOT at the top of most people's lists of non-PI detectors to purchase. I think this same concept can apply to beach machines. I've heard that White's had some pretty good PI beach detectors...at least machines that are better than the Sea Hunter Mk 2. So why doesn't Garrett release a White's beach machine? It shouldn't directly compete with the Sea Hunter, since that can be used for diving...and the Sea Hunter it's not the best or most recommended PI beach machine out there from the research I've done on it. And it shouldn't compete directly with the Apex, since that's more of an all-around treasure hunting machine and is not designed to get very wet very often. But perhaps Garrett's accountants crunched the numbers and decided that it would cannibalize too many of their potential Apex and Sea Hunter sales? Or maybe Garrett is doing all of the above, but they're not working as fast as I and some of us might wish they would.