Bohemia Miner

1 hour ago, V3i/MXT Pro said:

What I miss is the ability to analyze each individual frequency separately while running in SMF mode… The V3i does this well.

I didn't have the same problem with that one either.  It ran smooth.

Walt

On 9/17/2022 at 2:16 AM, Jeff McClendon said:

one of my favorite quotes about the most recent SMFs=Equinox, Deus 2, Legend.....

"Long story short nobody needs to defend or hype any one of these machines. They are all very capable detectors. Anyone that can’t do well with one of these models needs to go back to detecting school, rather than blame the detector. We are fortunate to have not one, but three great options to choose from, all delivering good top tier performance."

I don't particularly like the detecting performance of the ACE Apex so I would not include it among those three listed.

I'm not blaming the detector (or my detecting skills), Jeff.  I’m just stating the facts as my experience sees them.  In some cases, SMF (regardless of make or model) is a hindrance and not an improvement. Walt

P.S.:  The Apex may not have all the filters and programmability of the other two, or three if you count the Dues (which I have never swung), but it’s still SMF.

1 hour ago, Geotech said:

As mentioned 100 or so times on these forums, BBS & FBS are 2-frequency detectors, not 17 or 28.

So, are you saying that Mount Minelab touting that the Sovereign and Excalibur operate on 17 (something like 1.5 to 25 kHz) frequencies and 28 (1.5 to 100 kHz) for the Explorer platform was all Hype?

Walt

I was in a Treasure Hunting Club meeting one night and someone asked “What’s the Purpose or Advantages of (Simultaneous) Multi-Frequency?”.  I went on to explain how different metal objects react to a specific frequency better than others.  Some (lower) go deeper and handle mineralized ground better, while others (higher) like small lower conductive targets such as gold.  He owned a Nokta Makro Anfibio MF, but can only choose one at a time.

So far, my experience hasn’t always been good.  In areas with a high concentration of Iron of various sizes and stages of degradation, which can ring anywhere on the VDI Scale, a single frequency Metal Detector excels.  I found the same thing in a trashy park, recently.  There were too many signals with so much noise, I had to run in a single frequency to quiet everything down.  Even then, I had to wiggle the coil and PULL a target out from the various tones around it.

Now, I’m not talking about the tried and true, Minelab BBS (17) and FBS (27) technologies.  They don’t seem to be plagued by these problems possibly due to the fact that the frequencies are more plentiful and closer together.  Neither have I had a problem, with Dual Frequency machines like the DFX and CZs.  Most likely because they have fewer frequencies that are farther apart.

These are just my educated guesses and not based on any technical data as I’m not “That Guy”.  I’m just a Dealer and end user. The ones I’m in reference to are the Equinox, Legend, and Apex where the majority of their frequencies vary by 5kHz. Walt

On 8/11/2021 at 2:13 PM, kac said:

Garrett says nope not compatible. Guess that solves that.

That's the same answer I received from them.

Walt

My Legend sat in its box for several months before I had time to put it together and take it out.  The software was V1.05.  I updated it to V1.09.  Does anyone know if that includes all previous versions (V1.08, etc.)?

Thanks!

Walt

12 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

I do a lot of my detecting at 10,000 altitude where just picking up a short pick or moving a basketball sized boulder can make a person winded. Many of these places are hydraulic pit mining sites and talus slopes and are loaded with magnetite and every metamorphic rock is a hot rock. Since these are fault zones.......there are lots of metamorphic rocks!!!

I have used a Gold Racer, Gold Kruzer, Goldmonster 1000 and the 24K at these sites. To say they had trouble ground balancing would be a huge understatement. Gold Racer, Gold Kruzer and the 24K would literally overload at half sensitivity....... Using the Goldmonster 1000 for 8 hours at half sensitivity and ground balancing it every minute got old really fast. The amount of coil knock sensitivity......lower the sensitivity some more....... To say I got skunked at these sites with those detectors again would be a huge understatement. 

Using the Equinox in its Gold programs set on Multi at these sites is like swinging a less than 3 lbs, steady/quiet threshold, well ground balanced, super sensitive to small gold PI that I can run at or near maxed out sensitivity......and I don't get skunked using the Equinox either. I have no doubt that the Legend will do the same at these sites from the testing I have been able to do.

So I guess overall depth is all relative and dependent on many factors.

Thanks, again, Jeff!  Nice report!

Walt

2 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

 

My 24K is for sale on Ebay right now.

You shouldn't have any problem selling it, Jeff.  My Whites went for $575 with free shipping, the stock coil, carry bag, and finds pouch.

Walt

I asked Garrett why they made the 24K and not the GMX.  This was their response:

"Good day Walt .

Thank you for your inquiry . As I am not an engineer , I will tell you what I think is the reason . I will also forward your email to the engineering department for their evaluation . If they do respond , I will certainly pass it on to you .

When Garrett acquired Whites , Whites had just recently released the GM 24k and it had just started being used in Africa.  Garrett had a strong customer for that type of unit in the African gold fields where it isn`t as wet as where you are . There was no need for the huge expense in redesigning the unit to be waterproof at that time nor did time allow . It is my understanding that  Garrett was not interested in designing or redesigning new Whites units at that time. Instead they decided to just modify the 24K to their liking for the current African gold rush before its over. Now this is not to say that it couldn`t happen someday , but right now they are busy on numerous other projects. And as I`m sure you are aware , the coil on the Garrett 24K is totally submersible . Doesn`t help in the rain situation much but in the water`s edge and shallows its better than nothing ."

Thank you for understanding .

Best regards,

Rusty Curry Customer Applications Advisor 1881 W. State St, Garland, TX 75042 T: 972.494.6151   |  F: 972.494.1881 rusty.curry@garrett.com  |  garrett.com

4 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I don't work for anyone, I work with some people, including Nokta/Makro. What I am currently using has nothing to do with anything. The main problem is the Legend is just too much like a detector I already have. I like my detectors to be wildly divergent in capability, to cover different bases. I have no need for detectors with severe amount of overlap. Bottom line is Legend was just too much like my Equinox for me to be interested - ironic, since they largely copied Equinox thinking that would get them sales. True, if I had neither, then I might end up with a Legend. But going from a Nox to a Legend would basically be a lateral move from my perspective. I thought the Deus 2 different enough to take a peek, but even that I wish I had passed on now.

I am really trying to embrace Nokta.  A dealer in Salem, Oregon allowed me to borrow his Simplex.  My first time out I found more Treasure than trash.  I was so impressed that I became a dealer.

They seem to have it in for that "other" company.  Their last two machines were almost identical copies, with one's namesake leaving nothing to the imagination as to which detector they were competing with.

I love the fact that they listen to their customers and make adjustments accordingly.

I suppose I could have just gone with my Demo Gold Kruzer but thought the GB capabilities of the GMX would have some sort of impact on success.

Thanks!

Walt

P.S.:  What you swing shouldn't really affect any of us, but your experience has led us to believe that maybe we should emulate our leader.  😁

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Never used a Legend, so no comment. I would say that dedicated VLF being better than multipurpose VLF for nugget detecting is not really accurate anymore. Old school thinking. As far as waterproof, since the vast majority of nugget hunters do not need anything more than a rainproof detector, and that's what Garrett made. You seem to think it is not. Almost nobody detects for nuggets fully submerged, so fully submersible is simply not a requirement.

As far as people falling down in creeks with detectors... don't do that. I lived and detected in Alaska almost all my life, much of it in pouring rain, and while crossing and working in streams. Nothing like beaver dam crossings. I think I dipped a detector once, but let's say twice in case I forget one. Dry the thing out, get back to business.

Sometimes it takes a while for the lightbulb to go on, Steve.  With Minelab and Garrett in your Moniker, you probably wouldn’t be swinging a Legend. 

Yeah, that Specialty Detector mentality has been embedded in my brain since 1999. Old habits die, hard I suppose!

I know the 24K is Rainproof (Weatherproof).  I just figured if they were going to make an 18kHz “AT Gold”, then an AT higher frequency would make more sense.

As far as fully submersible, I wasn’t really looking for that.  As you mentioned, nobody hunts nuggets underwater.  I’ve crossed a creek with a detector two times.  The first, I stepped into a hole, and my “Farm” boot filled with water but the GMT stayed dry.  The second, I slipped on a rock and it went into the drink.  It was an AT Gold, so no damage. I brought it alone for just that reason.  I am not the most agile person on the planet, which is a nice way of saying, I’m kind of clumsy.  With me, there’s always a 50/50 chance, I’m going in!

As always, thanks for your input, Steve.  You are the backbone of this site and the Expert to which we all turn!

Walt

14 minutes ago, phrunt said:

I'm sure you'll like it, the 24k handles the hot rocks around here so much better than my Equinox does.

You were lucky to get the coils with it, I wanted to get that little 4x6" DD but its impossible now to find one.

I have an extra.  Brand new but no cover.  I was thinking about going up to Centreville Electronics NW and picking one up.

Thanks!

Walt

I went ahead and bought the unit.  It still has the original Noni AA batteries in it.  It came with the 8" Round Concentric and 4"x6" DD coils plus the "Sport" Waterproof headphones.

Although I really appreciate Jeff's comments and the time he took to answer my question, I still couldn't shake the fact that I've always heard (and touted) that a dedicated Gold Prospecting detector will outperform a Multi-Purpose machine, or it should, anyway.

I wish I could have heard from Steve as well.  I'm guessing he's traveling or unplugged at this time.

I honestly believe this will do what I need it to on our streams here in Oregon.  I really can't understand Garrett not using this platform instead of the Rainproof 24K.   Unless it was just quicker and easier to reproduce.  Other than the Nokta Gold Kruzer, there are no waterproof Higher Frequency Gold machines on the market unless from a company I'm not familiar with.  As a dealer in a state that has both a significant amount of rain and at least 10,000 waterways, the first question I'm asked is: "Is it Waterproof?". 

Walt

21 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

Your ground conditions at your prospecting sites maybe totally favorable to the GMX so it can run hotter. Mine aren't.

Depending on where you're at in the state or which side of the cascades you're on:

volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks, ophiolite, schist, sedimentary sand, mudstone, and shale.

Thanks!

Walt

Thank you for that in-depth report, Jeff.  I always look forward to your opinions.

I think I should have been more specific in my topic: GMX vs Legend in Prospecting Mode (just changed it).  I had thought that with the XGB Ground Balance the GMX would have been the better machine.

Walt

I decided to start another thread.  I have an opportunity to purchase a barely used GMX Sport with two coils (still has the original Noni batteries).  I also have the Legend.  I want to hunt for nuggets around in the streams here in Oregon.  What would be the advantages if any, of the GMX over the Legend?  Any other comments would be welcome.

Thanks!

Walt

On 12/3/2021 at 3:44 AM, Dan(NM) said:

According to Dilek, the pinpointer they were working on is being redesigned to pair to the Legend. The Pulse dive will not pair up to the Legend.

I just found this out today.  I'm a little disappointed that the Summer Special comes with a Pulse Dive Pin Pointer.  This is almost an embarrassing point for a dealer.  Especially after I told the customer, they would.

Walt

So, which one is best?  A Search  Profile (Park, Field, Beach, Prospecting) or Target type 'Mode" (coins, relics, jewelry, etc).

I'm glad I finally learned to use the search feature of this forum!  I was on the Legend FB page and one guy said companies should go back to "Modes" based on Target type.  Which led me here.  I figured that the innovator, Minelab, and the Copier, Nokta would not have gone there if Search Profiles "conditions/locations" weren't better and the wave of the future.

Thanks!

Walt

5 hours ago, General Mayhem said:

Hi Phrunt,

           Yeah, not much of a price difference in your neck of the woods, be a no brainer in that case to go with the 7000. For me the price difference is a bit over 3000 CAD. My fears on the price increase is not so much on Garrett's part, but dealers. As far as I know dealers can charge whatever they want for it, the MAP is just the lowest they can advertise it for and the MSRP is just that... a suggestion. Who knows really though, if I could predict the future, I'd be far wealthier 😂

Welcome to the Forum!

I've been a multi-line dealer since 2005.  As you mentioned, MSRP is a suggestion.  I don't know of anyone who has ever charged more for a detector than that.  Most utilize the MAP.  But once they walk into your store, you can charge as little as you want.  You can give local club members an extra 5% off, etc.

To the best of my knowledge, Garrett has never introduced a model at a ridiculously low price only to raise it substantially later.  They have accountants or "Bean Counters" if you will, who most likely examine the marketplace, figure in the R&D plus Design, Manufacturing, and Marketing costs, then come up with a price that would fit the consumer's pocketbook as well as make whatever they consider the minimum profit would be.

The only shortage that may come about is Garrett (like other companies before them) catching up with all the Pre-sale backorders.  You have plenty of time to make a decision.

This is an excerpt from the release letter I received from my Distributor here in the US:

"Axiom’s manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is $4,700 and its minimum advertised price (MAP) is $3,995. Discount rates for Axiom might differ from your normal rate so check with Garrett to understand your specific pricing. The Axiom is eligible for Garrett’s Military Discount."

Good Luck!

Walt

P.S.:  I'm not trying to sell you a detector.  I just wanted to add some perspective from a Dealer's standpoint.

I mainly use the SP24 coil on the Simplex.  I don't like swinging the 11" Round in the parks.  Even though it's a little heavy, I prefer it for coverage on the beach.

I'd do the same with an LG24.

Walt

I’ve been selling Metal Detectors for about 17 years now.  I’ve always felt there was a need for an inexpensive PI machine, whether for Beach, Surf, Underwater, Prospecting, or Relic Hunting. 

Minelab had its SD2100 with manual GB.  If you couldn’t justify the cost of their latest GP model, there was the SD2200 with Auto GB plus some extra features.  I loved the Garrett Infinium L/S and was disappointed when they REPLACED it with the ATX rather than leave it as an entry-level Beach and Prospecting unit.  The fact that you could hip-mount it and take all that weight off the rod was very attractive when considering the 6-pound ATX.  It Pin-pointed right off the tip of the coils better than any other detector I’ve used.

Imagine my excitement when White’s introduced the TDI & then Pro with its chest and hip-mount capabilities.  They took it one step further with the SL model at 3.5 pounds, affordable, AND the ability to utilize Minelab and after-market coils in addition to those produced by White’s

Nokta Makro will be filling a needed niche and if they stay true to form, will have many features at a great price that won’t break the bank.

Walt

On 1/22/2022 at 11:33 PM, phrunt said:

So, the great news is Nokta are working on a Pulse Induction Gold prospecting detector, it was delayed a bit due to other projects, I can only assume the Legend but it's back in development now and to be honest I'm quite excited about it.

The market has long needed a good quality low cost relatively high performance PI option.

While I don't expect them to match the performance of the GPX 6000 or GPZ 7000 that's not overly necessary, they're likely going to put their detector in a very competitive price bracket to enable a larger number of people to take up prospecting with a PI detector.  I would not be surprised if the performance exceeds my expectations though, Nokta never ceases to amaze people with the products they come out with for the price they sell them. 

I figured it's time to start a thread on it so Nokta can get a bit of feedback from various detector prospectors as to what they'd want in a new PI detector.

I'll kick it off with something that I would like, for me I would love the detector to support existing GPX coils, not GPX 6000 coils obviously, the earlier GPX coils.  People have a bunch of these things, manufacturers have started long running businesses solely around making coils for the GPX series of Detectors, there are literally hundreds of coils available for the GPX detectors, this would give the Nokta machine a big head start and a also attract a lot of buyers to it knowing they can use their existing coils.    There are a range of coils available for the GPX to suit just about any environment with DD, Mono, Concentric, Anti Interferance and so on, a coil for every occasion in every size you can imagine.  It would just really make sense for Nokta to take advantage of that if at all possible.  Other detectors are running GPX coils fine so technically and legally it's not a problem, it is more so if there detector is designed to suit them.

They could even do what Fisher were intending to do and do a Land (gold) and Sea (beach) version of the detector to get more out of their R&D.

I could go on for ages on the features I would want it to have and I'll do that in time if others don't chime in with the same requests.  So, what would you want in the new Nokta Makro PI Gold machine?

That was one of the things I loved about the White's TDI and SL.  The fact that you could use ML coils on them.  NM should do the same.  I thought it was a stroke of Genius!

Walt

On 4/8/2022 at 4:49 AM, Badger-NH said:

There's not much Alexandre can do besides try to sell the idea to detector companies. My gut feeling is that FT is done with the AQ. Innovation doesn't seem to be their thing. We haven't seen anything new from FT since they got into selling detectors except for a re-packaging of what already existed.

 

That is what Tesoro did before they went under, repackage Jack Giffords (Dad's) technology.

FT has other irons in the fire so I don't think they'll sink as fast.

Walt

Firstly, I looked on Fisher's website and can not find either this or the Gold Prospecting version listed.  Am I missing something?

Second, is this being designed and made in the US or somewhere else?

Thanks!

Walt

I looked for this topic before posting so I wouldn’t duplicate something that’s already been discussed.  Nothing came up.

I remember back in the day, you used to have to send the coil in with the detector when having it repaired so they could also tune it (the coil) to the machine.  This was on those with Auto GB.  According to Vince Gifford at Tesoro, Manual GB didn’t care because you could manually “tune” it.

I was also told that as a result, accessory and aftermarket coils won’t work as well as the original coil that came with it for that reason.

Is this still true?

Thanks!

Walt