Erik Oostra

My Gold Bug used to be a backup to the Equinox 600.. Then the 600 became a backup to the 800.. Now the Deus II is in the mix but it plays along nicely with the others as my scuba detector, with a PulseDive as its backup.. The PulseDive is slowly making a comeback as my main scuba detector simply because it's bombproof and simple to use.. Although it's got a tiny coil (just 8"), if you take your time it can be just as deadly as the Deus II.. At the moment I'm having trouble seeing the Mongrel as part of my arsenal..     

The Mongrel's search mode settings look pretty straightforward.. 

The Mongrel's search mode settings seem simple enough.. 

13 hours ago, Hamid said:

That's so sad news. It's not reasonable price,  I will never buy.

10 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Good Luck trying to explain the premium pricing over Nox.

These are some offers at Miners Den in Australia: Mongrel - $2,499 or CTX 3030 -$2,695 or Equinox 800 - $1,249.. Which would you go for if you had the bucks? 

8 minutes ago, unox said:

my Deus 2 cost me $2499 as well.

I was trying really hard not to make the comparison.. 🙂 That's also what I paid for my Deus II.. I was hoping for something a bit cheaper as well, that price would have to justify a hell of a performance gain.. 

A Mongrel will cost you $2,499 in Australia.. More than twice the price of an Equinox 800.. It better be good! 

1 hour ago, Ridge Runner said:

This new detector sounds like it’s got a lot going for it and in turn could add to finds for you down the road .

Funny stuff Chuck, I really like the idea of not even turning it on.. 😆I don't think I'll jump in there like I did with the Deus II.. It didn't increase the amount of finds nor does it punch any deeper than the Equinox.. I'm not a great fan of the whole wireless nonsense, as a scuba detector it still needs a whole tangle of wires to make it work.. But if the Mongrel preforms well in field test (especially on the beach) and punches even a little bit deeper than the Equinox (I'll be happy with an inch) then the Deus II is out the door.. I don't really need any more detectors but I'll hang onto both my Equinoxes only because of the range of coils I've bought for them.. The 600 will be dedicated for scuba with the PulseDive for deeper waters, I've had just as much luck with it as the Deus II.. That's still far too many detectors than I really need, but like you say sometimes it's a pleasure owning something that you don't need.. Especially on old favourite workhorse like the Equinox, to sell them would be like sending them off to the knackers..      

3 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

I won't sully your thread with names 😀

Don't worry.. I'm starting to think of it as the 'Mongrel', seeing it's a cross between the Equinox and CTX.. 

20 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

That the Equinox with 15" in the background?

It's the 14x9'' Coiltek.. 

6 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

What will this be. I'm already seeing Beast.

Maybe this 1605 woodcarving of the Manticore will make you unsee Beast.. Mongrel might be a better name..   

11 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Either way, I don't care about the marketing mumbo jumbo, if it performs even 10% better than my Equinox that's 10% of extra performance I didn't have before. 

Spot on!

Here the chief engineer (Mark Lawrie) explains the 'power' aspect of The Beast a bit better:

14 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

The key is 50% more compared to what. 

He makes the comment whilst the punters are comparing it to the Equinox.. He also says that power wise it's comparable to the CTX 3030.. It might be seen as marketing hype but I think that's because people assume that 50% more power to coil means it's 50% more powerful than other detectors..   

The Minelab engineer in the videos mentions a couple of times that the Manticore has "50% more power, electric, going to the coil".. Will this, together with more advanced signal processing, make a difference in how deep the beast will punch? Is it really as simple as: more power = a stronger electromagnetic field = greater depth.. And if this really does make such a difference, then why haven't other manufactures cottoned on to this? 

The more I hear, the more I'm liking The Beast.. It seems it punches deeper than the Equinox and CTX because more power is provided to the coil.. If its battery performance is the same as the Equinox (or even if it's worse it will still be a lot better than the Deus II), then it's a real contender.. This together with the fact that Minelab has build this thing from the ground up makes me hopeful that they're on to something that'll surpass what came before and live up to the marketing hype.. Which is something XP and Nokta failed to do, they just copied.. If The Beast does meet expectations in the field, I'll sell my Deus II to get my hands on one.. I just hope that Minelab will forgive my temporary desertion to the XP camp and welcome me back to the flock.. 😬     

I really like the sales pitch on the video, especially because it says all the things I was hoping to hear.. From what I can make out, the Beast's multi-frequency is build from the ground up with larger spectrums and higher frequencies than the Equinox.. It also has a great range of coils to start off with and it's lighter than the Equinox.. It's also waterproof down to 5 metres and its handle vibrates.. Even if its raw beast power doesn't punch any deeper than the Equinox, these factors already make it a winner in my book..     

If this latest offering really is an improvement on the Equinox then Minelab will be on another winner.. But if the closeness in performance of the Equinox, Deus II and Legend is a pinnacle of what is possible to squeeze out of vlf technology, than it'll probably be just another ring-in.. (and it won't catch on because of its crappy name).. 😁  

The large coil looks great, as a beach hunter I hope this is the smallest coil in the Manticore's range.. 😁  

Another great article, covering the whole world instead of just the treasures found during the European drought.. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-08-27/drought-dried-riverbeds-hidden-treasures-climate-change/101370438

Are any European relic hunters on this forum making the most of the low rivers and lakes? Some are completely dry exposing all sorts of ancient things.. Or haven't we heard anything because you're all out there and don't have time to post about your huge hauls.. Or maybe it's just too hot to go outside?  

It's a bit like gold prospecting in areas which have been burned down.. Another great example of the advantages of climate change.. 😬 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62619397    

11 hours ago, geof_junk said:

The bank employer was get mad at the machine and was very happy when it was all over. ☹️ 

The island's only bank won't even let me run my coins through their machine.. they took one look at the bags of dodgy looking coins and told me I had to join the bank before they'd think about it.. also at the pub and some shops they'll only accept corroded coins when they can see the Queen's head.. ☹️