Goldpick

Congratulations on a fantastic find and another bucket lister. Am yet to join the gold coin club myself, hopefully there is a gold sovereign out there with my name on it (wishful thinking)!

Here are the latest results from the same site, finished off with I think around 64 silvers all up in total over 4 outings, plus I've added in the results from the very first outing which wasn't posted previously. Ended with over 280 coins ranging from the 2000's through to the 1870's - took around 30 hours of detecting to achieve those results on the Deus. Pretty amazing to think that 1/3 of my 174 silvers for the year came from a single site and only four outings. Going to be damned hard to top that in 2020.

Sometimes it just pays to save up a bit and go with the local distributor, especially considering the cost of shipping, poor exchange rates, import duties and also having to pay 10% GST on top of that. That's if you can find a seller willing to post outside of the US. It wasn't long ago that the oz dollar was at parity with the US dollar, and GST only existed on purchases over $1000, though unfortunately those days are long behind us.

Roobar/Bullbar, some thing really, and a good piece of insurance. More important to have a good LED lightbar to hopefully see wildlife before they become an issue.😉

It was actually in Victoria, I live just over the border!😎 Getting very hard to find the older sterling Florins these day, hence why it is always memorable to see one unearthed - actually 2 so far from this site. Both hunts were each about 6 -7 hours long, so was happy to be swinging such a lightweight detector for the duration - the legs were a different story.😟

You have done pretty damned good yourself, very lucky to have such productive ground literally in your back yard. This spot was a couple hundred kilometre round trip from home, so dodging Kangaroos and Wombats was part of the excitement. I managed to collect a Kangaroo on the way home from the first outing, smashed my front grill though the bullbar did its job thankfully.

Had a bit of luck detecting recently with the Deus and 9" HF coil at a country town, gathering by the result the location hadn't seen a detector before. Ended up with 44 silvers on two successive outings, plenty of predecimal coppers and a bit of petrol money to help cover costs. Most of the silvers are .925, with the odd 50% silver makng up the later dates - the green looking shillings are 50%.

An interesting difference between Garrett US and Garrett Australia sites is the OZ one having the full lineup of NEL coils for the Ace and AT series. Am surprised that there hasn't been a partnership with NEL in the US considering many of their You Tube "users" do run with NEL coils. http://www.garrettaustralia.com.au/nel-coils/

I am surprised that you managed to bend it, I have the short handled version and it has lasted several years so far - and also used in some pretty hard packed ground. Though your version being longer and having more leverage might put more stress on that section that connects the handle to the blade. Maybe you should try some quality Aussie products: https://tygerstainlesssteel.com.au/

I would assume the speaker volume on the ORX wouldn't differ from the Deus, and if that is indeed the case then it should be loud enough for general coin/relic detecting. The only times that I do have difficulty on hearing fainter tones is when close to road traffic, very windy conditions especially with "tree" noise in forested areas, or trying to hear over waves at the beach. If I am working an area where deeper targets are expected or where you are at the point where the tones are starting to become consumed by ground mineralisation, then probably better off reverting to headphones to hear the finer nuances. If prospecting I'd say you would benefit from sticking with headphones using the inbuilt volume control, especially for those targets that may only be a break in the threshold and easily overlooked when using the external speaker. Another option is to chest or wrist mount the control unit vs shaft mounting.

To put things in perspective, there is literally no talk regarding the Vanquish on our forum here in OZ, only disappointment on how it has been packaged in what looks to be a pretty cheap housing - supposedly to mimic the styling of the Ace series of detectors to draw customers away from the US product. Yes I know the Vanquish range is directed at the budget end of the spectrum, though with regards to build quality, Notka/Makro have really set the bar high on what you should expect for your hard earnt dollars. Question is whether Multi-IQ will be enough to win over the budget market, or has Minelab underestimated on how well the Simplex+ would be received for a single frequency detector, both by those new to the hobby, and more interestingly by the more experienced detectorists who already own/have owned more advanced detectors. Aside from performance, you cannot deny how much of an effect the perceived build quality has on making a choice on a detector, and the Simplex to date has received plenty of glowing reports in that respect. Another point to consider is lack of a facility to provide software updates on the Vanquish, hopefully things are well sorted prior to release to resolve any niggling bugs (thinking MX Sport debacle). Whilst I may sound overly critical for a detector that has yet to be released, first impressions can possibly make or break a detector. First time I saw the Vanquish I didn't mind the shaft design, though the control box was a definite meh, not something I'm not used to saying about what are usually well designed and innovative products from Minelab. I can only hope that Minelab's gamble to lure prospective Ace owners away from Garrett pays off, or will it simply alienate some, I guess we will soon see. Hopefully the performance side of things will impress enough to make the build/looks fade into the background, might not even enter the mind as being an issue for those new to the detector/hobby. One thing for sure is how budget and even mid range detector pricing is going to change over the next year or two in response to these new releases, and on how some manufacturers intend to remain competitive with their current lineups.

I still feel that it was a missed opportunity to not make the Vanquish series at least weatherproof (not counting the control box covers), just as FT did for the F11-F44 series. Especially the case if these detectors are going anywhere near the beach/salty air. I guess it was simply overlooked when made as a direct competitor to the Ace series of detectors, though Minelab could have raised the bar a little higher just as Nokta/Makro did with the Simplex +. As for DP on the F75, I really wanted to like it, though I found it was a little disappointing when compared to 99 tones (fulltones) on the Deus or even multitones on the Explorer/Etrac.

I doubt whether Fisher manage to sell any F19/GB PROs or G2+ here in Australia having such high pricing, there are simply too many other deeper/faster machines out there with selectable frequencies (including approx 20kHz freq) at more attractive pricing and with a more comprehensive feature set. Want any of the above detectors here then you are looking north of $1200-1300au to own one which is quite frankly ridiculous for older platforms. Want a Bounty Hunter Discovery 3300 here and you are looking at just under $700au which makes you wonder how much they are milking from you. Whilst I know some of that pricing is due to the weaker AU dollar, some of these numbers just don't stack up, nor do they do First Texas any favours on managing to sell any detectors here. As a comparison the Equinox 800 sells for nearly the same price as a an F19 here, bit of a no brainer on which to go for. About time FT extend discounting beyond the US if they want to remain competitive globally.

The overall cost of a detector does not necessarily imply that it is the best detector for yourself nor for the areas/sites that you will detect. I would put more weight on the person who learns their given detector inside out vs someone who simply goes out and purchases the most expensive detector available expecting to make immediate good finds. Also a lot has to do with the types of detecting sites available to you, and the likelihood of making good finds on them. For some people buying the most feature packed/expensive detector available can be a recipe for being overwhelmed with the number of settings available, or to find that they never require all those settings to be successful in the first place. Sometimes keeping it simple will allow you more time to detect and less time fiddling around with endless program options and settings. If you do not have overly mineralised soil and do not beach detect, then there may be no advantage to extending yourself to purchase a CTX, the Anfibio is pretty much top of the range from the Nokta/Makro stables and should serve you well. In my area quite a few detectorists have actually moved on from the CTX to lighter detectors including the XP Deus and Minelab Equinox, as not only are they more enjoyable to swing for longer periods, they also perform just as good if not better on the older sites with abundant junk and iron. Personally I think you need a few good months on a detector to see whether you gel with it or not, if you don't then it may be time to move onto something different. The tones on offer is a real killer for me, if they don't suit my ears or offer descriptive audio then I won't expect to get much further on that particular detector, and once again that is something you only learn over time.

There might be some merit going with a pulse induction pinpointer like the Fisher F-Pulse for prospecting, especially on highly mineralised ground. Problem with many of the VLF units is that they tend to sound off on ground mineralisation when run at higher sensitivity levels, requiring re-tune or lower sensitivity to remain stable. From what I have seen the F-Pulse has good sensitivity to small targets vs other PI pinpointers currently on the market (ie. can be run at high sensitivity without being affected by surrounding mineralisation). If I had to go with a VLF I would recommend an XP Mi-4 due to including a pitch audio mode as well as the regular "beep" audio which is more accurate on smaller targets, plus it outstrips pretty much every other pinpointer on the market for features, has higher waterproof rating than most, and all parts are fully replaceable. I currently use the XP Mi-6 which is the wireless version for the Deus, the Mi-4 has most of the features of the Mi-6, just minus the wireless capability. The Garrett AT Propointer which I also own is a great pointer for coin shooting, though it does lack outright sensitivity to small targets compared to say the Mi-6, TRX and F-Pulse (there are several tests online proving as such). I have also used the Whites TRX in the past, and whilst it is a very sensitive pinpointer, and the higher settings can achieve good results on bench tests, it does get very unstable when dealing with highly mineralised soil. Unfortunately mine was one of the earlier ones that had poor audio levels, a not so bright LED, and the vibration unit failed after a year or so ( possible water ingress through the speaker hole membrane). You do have to remember that your typical pinpointer is really built in mind for coin/relic hunting and not specifically for sub-gram gold pickers, probably better off with a plastic scoop over the coil for the real small stuff. I am a little surprised that no manufacturer has come out with a high frequency pinpointer specifically for gold prospecting other than the Falcon MD20, I guess there just isn't such a high demand for a product to make it worthwhile.

I did read a while back on a comment from Tom on Dankowski about how the electromagnetic field on a concentric is much broader and less focused than that experienced on a more focused/narrow field on a DD coil. That might possibly go some way to highlighting to iron caps and pushing the TID value higher on a DD whereas the concentric may be less prone to doing so. Just an observation on my part, not sure whether it is entirely correct.

Although my Lesche was a good solid digging tool, I did ultimately wear the blade down to the point of it cracking, so they don't necessarily last a lifetime (depends on how actively you detect). Since then I have imported a Raptor Model 31c to Australia and it has performed very well over the last few years - digs very neat plugs and has shown very little wear so far (aside from the foam grip). Although we have to pay gst on imports, I do think it pays to purchase quality products in the first place rather than go cheaper and settle for something second rate (ie. Welded mild steel, non-heat treated etc). I also have a min shovel and long handled stainless shovel, though still prefer using hand tools for most recoveries. Phrunt, I also tried searching for that Stanley tool in Oz and had no luck sourcing it or even a website listing it - almost looks like an NZ exclusive to me.

Seems a bit crazy to run a business without any direct contact number, even if it is a secondary source of income or a home run business. Quite the opposite here in OZ with Phasetech selling Makro/Nokta detectors, couldn't ask for a better and more knowledgeable person to deal with on sales and after service. Hopefully Dilek will get you all sorted.

It is very frustrating and very hard to not sound like a broken record everytime this topic rears its ugly head, though we keep on keeping on in hope that US manufacturers will listen, cull their excessive detector line ups, and consolidate existing technology into a few new multi-use detectors to remain competitive and relevant to the market. Why it is so hard to even come up with a selectable frequency detector to replace aging flagship models like the F75, T2 and AT Pro series is beyond me. And that doesn't necessarily mean having to innovate with new tech or be in the form of a cell phone on a stick style detector which may take eons to develop, simply rework existing units into new weather/waterproof lightweight housings that offer the sorts of features that other manufacturers consider now to be standard offerings on their detector lineups. The positive feedback from the Simplex+ so far from our European counterparts is proof that if you package existing tech into a new lightweight platform and market it at an attractive price, then it can be a recipe for a good financial success. Sometimes I look at my trusty G2 and think of the possibilities if they were to rework it with a couple of extra frequencies, multi-tone options (including 99 tones with good modulation), with a refreshed weatherproof housing and maybe a boost mode for a bit more depth capability. Probably just dreaming, though something that should be relatively easy to develop if the will is there, and if they are willing to listen to customer feedback.

Regardless of how the other detectors performed against then Simplex, what you can take away from that video is on how far the bar has been raised now for entry or even mid level detectors, and on what features they should offer in their respective price bracket - netherlone on their more expensive models. Features such as adjustable iron audio, ground balancing ability, upgradeable software, screen backlighting, wireless headphones, lithium batteries, fast reactivity, waterproofing and informative audio (vs beep & dig) may well be the new benchmark for any detector from entry level and upwards. That's a pretty incredible list of features that is going to be hard to match, and may cause some real grief for those companies that have sat on their hands for way too long.

There is some closer shots of the control box in the link below (scroll down a few posts). Seems we now have quite a few current/new detectors running a similar design control box/shaft setup. https://smartmetaldetecting.forumfree.it/?t=76961673

A few pictures starting to appear: https://forum.kimbucktwo.com/viewtopic.php?p=338091#p338091

Could possibly be an issue with the on/off button membrane, if so I would be contacting Fisher for a warranty repair if still covered, I doubt whether it would be user repairable.

Thanks for the research and replies, I appreciate it. Will link the topic to the buckle owner.?

Hi guys, a fellow forum member here in Australia detected what I presume is an eagle buckle a few days ago (guessing US in origin). Any help in identifying it would be appreciated. As a side note, we have had a few US Civil War buckles found this year in Oz, most would probably have originated from US prospectors trying their luck our goldfields.