mh9162013

I think the bigger issue is that many businesses aren't paying enough. The average cost of many thing have gone up over the past few decades: college, medical care, housing, cars, etc. (there are some exceptions, like many mainstream electronics for consumers). But minimum wage has not kept up. I know many people don't earn minimum wage, but it creates a floor that many other wages are based off of. In other words, the wages for many workers haven't kept up with the cost of living. And working as a tree service employee is not only hard work, but it's dangerous! Which makes your tree expert's cost of doing business higher since he probably has more expensive workers' comp insurance premiums and possibly is subject to more government regulation (this might require him to hire a CPA and attorney). But I agree that the attitude of workers is also not helping sometimes. Too many people think that just because they show up or have a degree, they're entitled to X, Y or Z. But they need to have the attitude of, "what can I do for my employer?" to really stand out. Or as Ray Stantz (from Ghost Busters) put it (I'm paraphrasing): "You don't know what it's like to work in private industry. They expect results!" I'm not saying that workers need to be subservient to their bosses or that all that should matter is their job. But most employers exist to make money, not give other people a job. And I think that fact is often lost on people. Heck, I didn't learn that lesson until I was in my mid 20s looking for a job after grad school. Gordon Gecko put it best: "it's all about bucks kid. The rest is conversation."

You forgot to include the AT Pro and AT Max.

Those are some sweet finds!

Why can't he sell anything else? Fisher Research Labs sells plenty of high quality detectors.

From what I've read here and in other message boards, the modes in the Vanquish detectors may have some ability to adjust or otherwise deal with changes in ground mineralization. But it's not adjustable and it's probably not ground balancing as we understand it. Rather, it's probably that MIQ tech has a built-in ability to deal with different ground conditions, but only up to a point. Whether this "point" is naturally a part of MIQ or manually put in there by Minelab engineers, I don't now. Here's a good thread that discusses this issue: https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/16241-official-minelab-vanquish-ground-balance-info/?tab=comments#comment-167663

That's very true. But the only real way to combat what you described is to educate them. But many people don't want to be educated (or don't even realize they need to be). And the companies like this, because it makes it easier to market to them. Whether you're Minelab or First Texas, you want your consumers to be on a need-to-know basis.

But there can be, and I think the price of the F75+/LTD and AT Max are perfect examples of that. Sure, they're much cheaper than they used to be, but in terms of what they can do compared to the competition, they're very overpriced (at least in regards to traits that most detectorists value).

This forum is definitely not a good representation of the typical metal detector customer. The level of knowledge, experience and expertise from most users here is incredible and certainly seasoned veterans outnumber the greenhorns. I think many Americans who want to dabble into metal detecting or are curious about it get a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV, some Chinese model or something similar that costs less than $125. Or are you talking about metal detectorists in NZ? If so, I can't say why they would or wouldn't buy a $250 Simplex over a $100 Tracker IV. I'm sure supply issues and marketing play some role, though.

I think they exist because they sell well. A lot of people thinking about getting into the hobby are more likely to buy a $200 machine than a $300 one. Yes, a company can make more money from the $300 machine than the $200 machine. But they'd rather sell the $200 machine than no machine at all.

I think that's part of it. The other part is that it would destroy sales and/or revenue from lower end models. I love my AT Max, but is it worth the current retail price? HECK NO! In my opinion the AT Max with a coil cover and MS-3 headphones is "worth" around $400 (MSRP) or so in value compared to the Simplex and Vanquish 540. But what happens if Garrett sells the AT Max for $400? The AT Pro's MSRP goes to $350, Ace 400 goes to $300, Ace 300 to $250 and Ace 200 stays at $200.

After using the 540, I don't think the issue was bringing MIQ to new users without complexity. I think the challenge for Minelab engineers was finding the right balance between showing users what MIQ could do in the Vanquish series without cannibalizing Equinox sales. In my opinion, the right balance was found by not giving the Vanquish machines the ability to ground balance. While I wish the 540 could ground balance, I completely understand why Minelab chose not to include that feature. On a metal detector capability scale (for the typical detectorist) from 0 to 100, with the Equinox 800 being 100, it's my somewhat-educated opinion that: 0 = Using your hands, a fridge magnet and a shovel 35 = Go Find 22 60 = Vanquish 340 65 = Vanquish 440 70 = Vanquish 540 85 = Vanquish 540 with ground balancing (doesn't exist, I know, but if it did...) 92.5 = Equinox 600 The absolute numbers aren't the point. The point is that adding ground balancing to the 540 takes the 540 too close to the 600 for the average metal detectorist.

Oh, these rechargeable lithium AA cells definitely have something going on to protect and manage the cells. Something needs to reduce the 3.6 or 3.7 nominal volts (and closer to 4.5v or so when charged) to 1.5 volts. Also, you need something to cut off the cell to prevent over discharge. And the RnB packs likely have a BMS that does similar duties, including balancing the cells, like you mentioned.

Most likely: yes, yes and yes. I used the Tenavolts in my Fisher F-Pulse for some brief indoor testing and I measured no difference with them and Eneloop NiMH cells. This doesn't surpise me as my Garrett Carrot works identically whether using a 9v battery or my AAA to 9V adapter (which contains a voltage booster). As for my Garrett AT Max, I'm not going to use the Tenavolts in them. For one, I don't think my kitchen observations were a fluke. For another, even if it is a fluke, the AT Max is so sensitive to EMI and chatty, I don't want to use batteries in it that even provide the impression that they're altering my VDIs numbers and/or sounds. Also, the AT Max works just fine with Eneloop NiMH cells. I just thought the Tenavolts would provide a good weight savings. I may see if I can make a AAA NiMH pack to use in the AT Max though for times where I want it to be as light as possible (and am ok with a 2-3 hour run time).

What's "BMS?"

I did my testing in my kitchen. I know EMI is more of an issue inside than outside (usually), but I wanted more consistency to determine if the Tenavolts were producing noticeable interference to the AT Max and I felt doing a test inside would be more likely to provide that consistency. You're right, my results could be a coincidence. But others have observed EMI from the Tenavolt cells and how they've experienced interference with their radios (not sure what kind). So given how chatty the AT Max is, I'm not surprised that using the Tenavolts produced noticeable EMI. RTG pack? Do you mean an RnB pack? I've heard good things about it, but I won't buy that pack out of principle.

Tenavolts update: Using Duracell alkaline cells, I turned on my AT Max in my kitchen. It was in Zero mode and got no audible interference up to 3 (out of 8 ) sensitivity. But when going to sensitivity settings 4-8, all I got was this steady loud noise. This isn't surprising. These results were the same regardless of which of the 4 channels I was on. I repeated the same experiment in my kitchen, but using Tenavolt cells. The results were identical, except: With the Duracell alkalines, the Target ID Cursor (the little black dot that moves back and forth along the VDI spectrum depending on the type of signal detected) would randomly move back and forth, but mostly around VDI numbers of 20 and 60. With Tenavolts, the Target ID Cursor would mostly move back and forth along the VDI spectrum from from numbers 60 and 80. The Target ID Cursor observations were only present when on 7 or 8 sensitivity. This applies for both Duracell alkaline cells and the Tenvolts. So it appears the Tenavolts are having some effect on the AT Max. I don't know if it will have any practical implications, but something to consider for those using Lithium cells with built in electronics.

To you users of these regulated-buck-booster lithium AA batteries, are these still holding up well? Also, have any of you experienced EMI from these cells? I just bought a pack of Tenavolts, which are very similar (at least in concept) to the AmpTorrent cells mentioned earlier. I normally use NiMH cells for almost everything, but some of my son's motorized toys are REALLY sensitive to the lower voltage of nickel-based batteries. Anyways, while running his toy R/C car that use 3 AA cells, I noticed a drop in effective range when it got too far away (which was basically 20-30 feel away). I know some users of the Tenavolts say these won't work in some radios due to the RF interference. Given their weight difference, I thought the Tenavolt cells would be a gready addition to my AT Max. But b/c of the AT Max's propensity to suck up EMI, I wonder if that's a good idea. I have a Fisher F-Pulse on the way. I may try using the Tenavolts in there first. Pulse induction is suppose to be more resistant to EMI compared to VLF? Or is that not true at all? In case you're wondering, my voltage booster in my Garrett Carrot doesn't produce any noticeable interference or change in performance compared to a regular alkaline 9V battery.

Mercs are the coolest looking coins, in my opinion. So no, don't throw it back. 😎

I've heard anecdotal evidence about more recent troubles with MIQ EMI...as if the past year or so, people are having greater problems with it. So increase in solar radiation due to the Solar Cycle would make a lot of sense. It might even explain other issues concerning a machine's level of "chattiness." Now, I wonder if it even played a role with the Garrett AT Max and why so many people had problems with how sensitive it was. Perhaps during Garrett's testing of the AT Max (which I imagine was a bit abbreviated given how it was based on an already existing machine and tech), there was a relative "lull" in sun spot activity. Then when it was released in 2018, sun spot activity was higher than during it's testing stage (mostly during 2017, I imagine) Instead of a Maunder Minimum, we had a "Garrett Minimum." EDIT: Looks like from 2017-2020, we had less solar activity as Solar Cycle 24 ended and Solar Cycle 25 began. https://www.almanac.com/content/solar-cycle-updates-and-predictions# And there was a spike in solar activity, but it came in late 2017.

Then send us all a copy...😝

I thought it might have been a soda bottle cap! Wow, that's a lot of gold...

I agree with much that has been said here. But here's my theory as to why Garrett isn't selling a TRX yet. Much has been said about how the re-release of the TRX would cannibalize sales of the Carrot. But many of us here have said how it doesn't have to be that way. That's b/c of how different these two pinpointers are. I agree. However, it's my assumption and understanding that the bulk of Garrett's sales go to customers who are just casual hobbyists. These are people who don't really care about the nuanced differences between the various pinpointers out there. My guess is that Garrett's accountants projected what a TRX re-release would do to their overall revenue stream. And while they would sell plenty of TRXs to people like us, this gain was overshadowed by casual consumers buying the TRX instead of the Carrot and vice versa. Just my theory. Another theory is that they are currently in the process re-releasing the TRX, but are making some tweaks first, like Z-lynk wireless, etc.

Kinda like the difference between backpacking or thu-hiking versus car camping.

I didn't mean to come across that way, but I can see how my prior comments might be perceived that way. However, in today's political climate, combined with how so many people are just asking for a reason to call the police or complain, I think that doing everything you can to not stand out is a good approach to take. Is it fair? Probably not. But the world isn't based on reality, but the perception of reality. So if you're dressed in a way that is more likely to induce a negative perception, I think it's something to be avoided...or at least it should be a conscious decision. But wearing military-esque gear or clothing isn't going to elicit the same negative perception in all areas. Like you already alluded to, "when in Rome..."

My experience with titanium is limited to camping gear. But in my opinion, titanium's advantage is weight, not strength. Again, in the camping context, stainless steel is far more durable than titanium in most applications. So I think if you needed a light duty shovel, titanium would be a great option to save weight. But if you planned on really using your shovel in a way that would make you consider reinforcing a steel version of the shovel, then titanium may not be the most durable material. It's almost my understanding that titanium doesn't hold an edge as well as steel. I could be mistaken, though.