PimentoUK

Would this need some modified elbow cup, to also raise your elbow by 3/4" ( 20mm ) ?

Quote:"This sensor will be strongly influenced by the soil" This is an important point. I have no idea how the ground pickup of this coil would compare to that of a 5" ( 125mm ) round DD, or a larger ( say ) 17" x 12". My hunch is that it is somewhere inbetween: more than the small coil, because it's longer ... but not as much as the 17x12 because it's not so wide. So I think "strongly influenced" is an over-statement. The Detech Arrow is simply a long DD, like the Cleansweep. It's interesting to note that the Bigfoot has a different design. The Receive coil is figure-8 shaped, positioned above a rectangular Transmit coil. This means the ground pickup from the front half of the coil approximately cancels out that produced by the rear half of the coil. So a significant drop in total ground signal results. It's far from perfect: - if the coil is slightly tilted toe-up / heel-down, there will be a difference between the two halves. Additionally, there will be much less EMI pickup, as the two halves of the '8' pick up similar radio signals, thus cancelling themselves. This could be handy in the urban environment where parks tend to be located. The downside of the figure-8 coil is well-known: one half of the coil gives an inverted signal compared to the other. This would mess up the target detection and discrimination of a machine designed for just one half. Hence the Whites machines have a 'Bigfoot' mode that accepts either coil 'polarity' .

Exactly. Recent drops ( recent 20 years, maybe ) can be quick to recover, most of the time a good electronic pinpointer will hit them, so the 'plug' can be small and shallow. A mechanical pinpoint probe can help eliminate larger deeper items. Arrow ( and Cleansweep / Bigfoot ) coils are basically 4" coils, so you should be expecting little more than 5" depth on 'coin-size' items. It will depend somewhat on the detector it's used on, you ( Het ) didn't state this important fact in your summary. I think a Fisher F75 ( which I own ) would have plenty of excess sensitivity available to get the best out of an Arrow. I would expect if you were unhappy with it, it would've been easy to re-sell, with only modest financial loss.

You need to improve your branding, to distinguish yourself from all the other cheap Chinese brands. Calling it a GC-10xx immediately tells everyone it's yet another Gold Century machine from China, indistinguishable from the same GC-1078 sold under the "Eenour" name, and doubtless others. Think up an original name for it, it's not a power-drill or a garden waste shredder. Don't call it a "Professional" detector. Firstly, it's not at all professional. Secondly, everyone knows that over-stating low-end products is a common marketing practice. Describing the poorest quality batteries as "Super High Power", for example. Years ago, a friend of mine had an "Al Carter Professional" mountainbike. It was the worst pile of cheap garbage you could possibly find. Describing it as 'waterproof' , when it's just the coil that is submersible is a bit misleading. Don't include a cheap folding spade. Just sell the detector, headphones. Let the buyer use his own spade or trowel. If you must include a digging tool, a small hand tool would be preferred.

It's rare to see a 100 Megohm resistor in a product. And those multi-turn pots with the ball-bearing reduction gearing are cool, 1970's tech. As one of the most probable mishaps that could've happened is the "reverse-battery power", Carl's suggestion of the regulator pass transistor failure is a good one. But that does raise the issue of what else that's 8V powered could die ... and has the -8V survived OK?

Changing the number of turns on the ferrite rod will have little discernable effect. It will change the operating frequency, because it will change the inductance of the coil. Inductance varies pretty-much in proportion to the square of the number of turns. So if you added say, 30% more windings, your inductance increases 70%, and the operating frequency will drop 30%. This might make it a little more sensitive to larger/better conductivity targets, eg a US 25c coin, but may reduce its performance on tiny gold nuggets, ear-rings, thin chains. This is speculation, as we have absolutely no idea what the innards of this fake pinpointer are like. Some are close copies of the Garrett, some are nothing at all like it. Nearly all have a simple microprocessor at the heart of them, and that puts a restriction on what's possible with modifications. If you had a genuine Garrett Propointer, you would have a much easier job of modifying it, as it's been reverse-engineered, and people ( including myself ) have some idea of what changes can be made. But these clones/fakes/etc are a complete unknown.

It's best to leave the electronics alone if you've no idea what you're doing. If it still works, but has poor 'depth' , it's still useful as an emergency backup.

One more way of cheaply obtaining some of this PTFE/glass sheet: Air fryers are now very popular, and there are liner sheets for the innards of these being made, including by the previously-mentioned Toastabags brand. An example: Air fryer liner You may find these in local stores, or searching eBay etc for: "air fryer liner"; "air fryer PTFE" should turn up the right product. Clearly they are riddled with holes .... but with some skillful cutting, you should be able to make the washers OK.

Quote:"Even better a Nox ID Mode, where you can switch to the Nox number of ID's if you want to. Can't be that hard in software ..." I commented on the idea of User-selectable ID scaling in the "Equinox Improvements" thread: Eqx New Features thread In summary, different search modes should have differently-calibrated ID scales, with a user-selectable choice of the existing "single scale" for those who like it. That post was written before the 900 / Mandingo were released, but the general idea is still applicable.

Hmm, the 'clear' ones seem different, and usually seem to have fewer use cycles. Keep searching for the brown ones, probably these? toastabags gold toastabags

The "toastabags" are described as food-grade PTFE in some listings, I've edited the post to show this. Even a 10cm ( 4 inch ) square would make a fair few washers, definitely enough to share out with your detecting friends. I've no idea why the sheet is 'envelope brown' ... my Tygavac sheet dates to the mid 1980's, and it's the same colour as that sold today. One other possible washer material ( untried ) is polypropylene sheet. This is sometimes used for plastic bottles, like shampoo. Check your toiletries, kitchen cleaning products, etc for PP markings. This is a 'relative' of PTFE, and shares some of its slippery nature. A single washer cut from a bottle wall will fit under the nut without any space issues.

Yes, that's the stuff. But a quick scan of eBay USA suggests small quantities/samples are not available, the cheapest seller I could find listed at 7 Dollars ( plus a few direct-from-China listings ). There is an alternative, that should be OK : toaster bags. Try searching for: "toaster bag" ; "toastie bag" ; "toastabag"; "non stick toaster"; "grilled cheese toaster" These are often sold in small boxes or 2 or 4 ( in the UK ), very cheap: toastie bags US ebay: toastabags US They are likely something that you could buy in a store,( rather than online Amazon/eBay etc ), looks like a two pack for 3 or 4 Dollars should be possible? The specs for the "50 times reuseable" ones state they're food-grade PTFE, and from the photos, they seem to be the same stuff; pale brown with a woven pattern.

One thing I notice with my Equinox coil fixing bolt/nut is that it's very stiff to turn. I assumed it was mostly friction, and not much to do with applying compression to the clevis washers and coil ears. It makes no sense for it to be that stiff, when the coil ears are vulnerable. So I decided to experiment with some PTFE/teflon washers underneath the head of the bolt and nut. These are cut from a thin sheet of PTFE-coated glass fabric. My sample came from the composite industry, Tygavac branded stuff that's used when autoclaving glass/carbon fibre items. However, it's widely available these days for a variety of less exotic uses, including heat-sealing. There's sellers on eBay offering small quantities at low prices. Some sell 10cm square sample pieces for a dollar or two. Search for: "PTFE heat sheet" or "heat press sheet" and look for brown-coloured stuff. Cut it out using a sharp knife and scissors. I stuck on some masking tape, so I could mark out the cutting lines easily. A pair of compasses could be used to draw two circles, or use the nut as a template to draw round.The central hole is 8mm ( it's an M8 thread ), outer diameter is 27mm. You really only need one washer, under the nut, if you can ensure you don't tighten the bolt, only turn the nut ( my recommended practice ). Nut and bolt heads are near-indistinguishable, so, if you pass the bolt through from the cable side of the coil, then the nut will always be on the easily accessible non-cable side. Does it work ? Yes, there's a big drop in friction, I actually feel like I'm tightening the bolt, rather than just wearing away plastic. I'm sure I am less likely to over-tighten the bolt as a result. Attached picture of my set, for guidance.

I'm pretty sure that only two pins are needed, the 0 Volts ( ground ) and the +5 V. The two data lines are simply left unconnected. And it shouldn't be too hard to work out which wire is which ... they may even tell you in the owners manual ?

If that happened here in the U.K, the clean-up would be easier, as the majority of our 1c-equivalent coins ( 1 pence ) are steel, plated with a lustrous layer of the finest copper. So a magnet would do a good job of 'sweeping up'. Hopefully it would be completed before they turn into brown bubble-surfaced garbage.

It's just bitten me, too. Doesn't seem to like links to external websites, turned my entire post red, said I have to wait for approval ..

Hmmm, tricky questions, and setting off my "uh-oh??" alarm too. The EBL PP3 batteries are 600 mAh. That's what every seller states they are, and it's what their website say, too: EBL PP3 Li So if you've seen some claiming to be 650mAh, I'm getting suspicious they are fakes/copies. Yes, there are now other brands of two-cell Lithium PP3's, and some claim, and may actually be, higher capacity. I'm sure it's possible to squeeze a few more mAh in the box. Trouble is, EBL seem a good brand, and they've been making these PP3's for a while, now. All these other Chinese 'brands' I've never heard of ... Now.. the AA cells. You got me worried as soon as I read 3300mWh. This is the warning trigger for wierd and wacky stuff. Sure enough, I think you are referring to these things: Lithium AA The answer is a big NO. They consist of a lithium cell, ( about 800 mAh capacity ), with some magic electronics board** integrated in the package, to drop 3.7V down to 1.5V. They are not what you need, they produce electrical interference, and need a special charger. You just need plain old NiMH ( nickel metal hydride ) rechargeable cells. Any old crepe will do, they will outlast the PP3 easily. Even AAA cells would be OK, as many of them are 900 mAh+ capacity now. You might even have some suitable AA's at home, or maybe a trickle charger for them. I use some pretty low spec NiMH's in my Fisher F75, they still run it fine. If you in the market for some AA rechargeables, however, the best brand is generally considered to be Panasonic Eneloop. There's a few 'flavours' including the LSD / Low Self-Discharge type, which stay charged up for months on end. ** Buck mode switching regulator

Quote:"I hope it´s interesting for you too" Unfortunately, these tests are almost meaningless. Half of the 'depth' difference you are seeing is caused by the larger search-coil on the Legend. I assume you have the LG30, 30cm x 23cm ( 12" x 9" ), and your G2 clone has the 11" x 7" bi-axial clone coil? If you had a larger coil for the clone ( a proper brand one ) you would find the air 'depths' increase. In-ground testing is the best way to sort out what works when comparing multi-frequency vs. single frequency. [What would probably be more interesting is a comparison between the Teknetics G2+ and this TX850, with original search-coils, and with genuine Tek coils.]

I would suggest the Equinox, purely based on the cost of the two machines. Just buy it, get out hunting, and you'll eventually work out if there would be any benefit to upgrading to the Manticore at a later date. All detectors "pay for themselves" at some point, but the Equinox is going to achieve this more comfortably, and it will be just as fun and rewarding to use whilst doing so.

A promotional video for the D2-based two-box machine: D2 hoardhunter

No experience of the Mark1 machine ... but know my electrics. The reason that two 9V batteries ( in parallel ) are suggested to replace 6 x AA, is related to current draw, and battery life. One alkaline PP3 may have adequate capacity, but still may not respond well to heavy current demands. If you use NiMH rechargeable PP3's, they usually have rather modest capacity ( about 180 - 280mAh ) , so you would still likely need two in parallel. One alternative solution: Use Lithium PP3 rechargeable batteries. EBL seem a good brand. They have two lithium cells in series internally, plus some charge regulating etc electronics. They have a decent capacity ( 600 mAh ), plus can handle higher discharge current rates with no troubles. So only one of them would be needed to substitute the 6 x AA's. The EBL PP3's are commonly sold as a 'bundle' of two or 4 batteries and the 'special' charger. On the 8 x AA's side: One PP3 and two AA's is a bit ugly, plus the AA cells will outlast the PP3's by a significant amount. I guess weight is the intent of this battery replacement exercise. 8 x AAA would be an obvious solution. A rechargeable pack of 9 x AAA NiMH cells ( or 10 cells ) would also be an idea, though you would have to make / improvise a charger ... not too difficult if you have electrics skills. Open up a PP3 NiMH, you will typically find 7 small cylindrical cells ( probably 1/3 AAAA ). A bit of surgery to remove 2 cells changes this to 5 cells. Modify two PP3's like this, and you have essentially two 6 Volt PP3's , giving the required 12V when run in series. Again, some simple custom charging arrangement would be needed. More advanced solutions: Make a custom 3 cell lithium rechargeable pack to replace the 12 Volt / 8 x AA pack. Electronics skills are definitely needed here, as you will need a 'battery management system' ( BMS ) circuit board to ensure the cells charge up evenly. These are easily found on eBay, 5 dollars or less. But the charger needs some thought. The cells themselves could be rescued from 'used' disposable E-cigarettes ( Vapes ). You may have friends/relatives who use these, ask around.

A small handheld metal detector may help locate it if you're sorting through boxes. Us detectorists use a device known as a 'pinpointer' or 'pinpoint probe'. They are essentially custom versions of electricians cable-finders / plumbers pipe-finders for finding nails / electric wires in a building. If you own, or can borrow from friends/relatives a cable-finder, it may be of some use. There are some cheap pinpointers available these days, look on eBay. Alternatively, the 'Security Wand' type of metal detector, used by security guards to check for knives etc on people, can also be used, and there are some cheap versions of those available.

I'm not totally in agreement, Simon. I think the issue you're overlooking is this: To take something average, and make it a bit better, doesn't increase the manufacturing costs much. To take something high-end, and make it a bit better, means it will cost much more. Example: To make a 250 Dollar mountain bike 500g / 1 lb lighter, you just need to change some plain steel bits for plain aluminium, and it would then be a 275 Dollar bike. To make a 2500 Dollar bike 500g lighter, you need to start swapping high-grade aluminium with carbon fibre, and swapping cromoly steel with titanium, and you have a 3000 dollar bike. The Manticore coil may only be modestly higher in performance than the Eqx, but that could come at a price. Quote:"Minelab proved with the Vanquish they can make Nox coils a lot cheaper than they do" Yes, it's true that they are very similar. The electronic pre-amplifier in the V is not made to such a high spec as that in the Eqx ( not such a low-noise design ), which may make a dollar or two difference. But .. the design work, and manufacturing know-how that went into the Eqx coils, has carried over to the V coils 'for free'. Sales of the Eqx have more than paid for the R & D etc costs, so producing a slightly toned-down version is easy. " .... and then the X-Terra[Pro] comes out and further reassures us we are being taken for a ride" X-TerraPro coils are not made to the same standards as Eqx/V coils. They only have to work at 5kHz to 15kHz, so they don't need fancy expensive 'pseudo-Litz' multi-strand wire, probably just a single solid enamelled wire, or maybe bifilar/trifilar winding of thinner wire. That would save a few dollars. The pre-amp is probably cheaper ( maybe not such a low-noise design, and it won't have the bandwidth needed to amplify 40 kHz signals ), plus it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't have any security chip in it at all. And it's probably not nulled to to the same standards as Eqx/V coils, which saves manufacturing time.

Quote:"The Manticore coil? No reason it should cost much more than an Equinox coil, except for Minelabs "If the detector costs more, charge more for the coil" history." I'm sure this IS part of the pricing strategy. But ... the Manticore does have more electronics inside it. It almost certainly has some accelerometer / rate-gyro inertial sensor to measure sweep direction / speed. And the Manticore coils operate up to 50 kHz ( IIRC ) rather than the 40kHz of the Eqx, so it's likely the coil windings may be built to more exacting standards. And the fine-tuning of the mechanical assembly ( nulling the coil ) may be done to a higher standard. The multiple stiffening ribs also point to them trying to achieve greater stability. Plus they have to recoup the extra R & D costs they must have spent on the coil.

Quote:"I never liked the T2/F75 ... because of the single-button interface" They could've done more with the interface, especially considering it's really a two-button interface. But the rotary encoder's button is lamentably under-used. On my F75 [early model] the sole function I recall it had was as a 'cancel' function when setting up a notch pattern. I'm sure this was never even mentioned in the User Manual. As I rarely had need for notching of any kind, I never used the 'cancel' button. It did serve a secondary function - pressing it 'woke up' the interface. One use of this was if you were wanting to switch between 'Disc' and 'All-Metal'. If you left the menu cursor at the top of the list, you could switch between Disc/AM by rotating the encoder one click cw / ccw. But the processor has a time-out, so this function doesn't stay working. Pressing the encoder button 'wakes up' the processor, and then the encoder will function as Disc/AM select. My 'plan' was to automate this action: Rotary encoder rotation can be simulated. Intercept the two quadrature signals, and pass them through XOR gates. Then "one click cw" or "one click ccw" can be done easily. The remaining 'logic' comprises timer functions to activate "encoder button push" , followed by " encoder rotate" , plus a front-panel push-button to trigger the action, toggling back and forth ( or 'press and hold' to toggle ) In practice, it would all fit in an 8-pin microcontroller ( Microchip PIC / AT Tiny etc ) , so there would be hardly any hardware, all software. [[ sorry for off-topic ]]