mn90403

If this detector had a closed coil you could dig and detect at the same time!

If you notice, there are no dealers on this thread. You also got the same answer from your dealer as I did from mine. He can't say how many he will be getting or how many anyone else will be getting. (Minelab controls that info) Also, some dealers have their allocation sent directly to the dealership and then they send it to the customer. Some are sent by the distributor (middleman) or Minelab but they need to have the customer list in order to do this.

Did the dealer ask you to preorder? Or rather Pay at the time of order? (Everything is a preorder!)

Chase, I stand by my statement. My dealer is sending me a detector next week (if FedX delivers it to him) . If not then it will be later. The beaches will still be there for me. I hope the waves come in and make it easy the first couple of uses. Mitchel

Steve reminds me of a friend who always told me this story. I think he got it from someone else but he insisted it happened in one of his classes at SDSU. Dick told me he showed up for a final exam like all the others in the class of about 200 or so. I don't even remember the name of the course (science or social science) and the professor revealed the final exam question. This class was given sometime in the early 70s. Written on the board in front of all the class was the one word question: Why? The professor left the room. The exam time was 2 hours. All the students were left to consider an answer. Should they tell 'why' they had taken the class? Perhaps tell what they learned from the professor? They were given no clues but had to write an essay. Should they reference the study materials or special projects they did through the quarter? Why, why? Well, many students stayed for the entire 2 hours writing their papers. Some did not. When the grading was done and posted for the exam there was only one A+ score. All other scores were lower by some fraction. What was the answer that gained the top score? Because. Mitchel

I hope soon then for you. Individual dealers might have some explaining to do to their customers. Sometimes explanations are excuses and sometimes they are reasons. You don't keep your customers with an endless supply of excuses. Mitchel

DetectingMO, Do you have a relationship with a dealer where he knows you are GOOD for the order? My dealer Bill knows I'm not shopping him and my check and credit card are good. I'm not much of anything to Minelab but my dealer Bill is as good as gold to them. He told me Minelab knew there was going to be a fire storm so dealers could just tell everyone it was based upon order and/or deposit time. Minelab can't micromanage a dealer but they are also not going to disclose their entire distribution plan either. Mitchel

Welcome to the 'fire storm' that Steve anticipated. Do you think Minelab should take the time from their busy schedule to take my phone call and ask them where MY unit is? Just as soon as they take MY call then it makes YOUR unit get to you more slowly! Minelab (any company that has a distribution network) needs to deal in bulk. They design, test, manufacture and package metal detectors. Their DEALERS sell them. They have to use the people they have to do what they do best. Steve said it. There are not enough detectors to instantly fill the demand. Why? Well, just think of the financing cost of prepaying all of the materials and shipping. It is simply not possible to take a company who produces dozens or hundreds of units a month to ramp up and produce tens of thousands of units. What do you do with that production over-capacity when you meet the demand? Minelab told the dealers they would have a pecking order. That order was based upon deposits on hand. Some dealers followed the rules and perhaps some did not. We don't know for sure. Minelab has put out several new detectors and new detector technologies in the last 5 years. It seems that they have learned and taken some of our advice and that of their testers and dealers and created what may be the highest selling detector ever. Good on Minelab for that. I trusted this early on when I read what Steve had to say and placed an order. My dealer told me Minelab would respond to him better and send my detector if I reduced it to a deposit. That has been done and I hope to get my detector next week. We'll see how good it is in my hands after that. Bill tells me that they are within a week of a plan they put into effect last fall. I'm satisfied. Mitchel

The 'storm' right now will be 'Where is mine?' How much longer will it be before they are 'on the shelf' and I can just buy one. 'I've been waiting since last summer ... 'Why can't I have mine now?' etc, etc. The pent-up demand has had the fuse lit. How much time before you get more? That storm. Mitchel

Steve, I'm going to be getting my Equinox next week. I assume it will not be fully charged. That will be the first thing I do is charge it for a few hours. What should I do while I'm 'waiting?' I know there is the Quick Start Guide . I know there are the Beach 1 and Beach 2 modes. Is that where I should 'walk' it before I try to make it run? Do you recommend people have a test garden of just go for it? Mitchel

I didn't make my Equinox purchase from Gerry. I didn't have to prepay because of my 'relationship' with my dealer but Minelab wanted to send to prepays first so I followed the rules. Bill will have my detector this weekend and send it to me. I'll have it for my beaches early next week! I'll tell you when I get it. Dealers don't want to get caught in the who's first game. Please don't ask them how many. Steve has said the fire storm was about to begin and now it has. Two months from now it will probably be out. Mitchel

If you are not reading all the threads then you would have missed this: I did get confirmation this afternoon of shipping to me...yippie. Gerry said that. Mitchel

Vez, Nugget hunting is quite an adventure. The way I see it is that you have two locations. You can go over to the Carolinas and have a go at it on a couple of GPAA or public sites for a little color. The other choice is out West. I'm in the West and from time to time find gold but not every trip. I live about 3-6 hours from good gold country. It would be difficult for me to tell you to make a trip out west for gold but certainly try it if you are coming for other reasons also. We who hunt for gold learn to enjoy the locations where we find it as much if not more than the gold itself. Take Arizona as an example. Gold can be found in deserts, washes, and mountains. The animals, cactus and flowers are all part of the experience. Read and watch the videos and when you have an excuse to make that trip, pack your detector. Mitchel

While researching the Welcome Stranger nugget I found a story about the Welcome nugget. The Cornish miners did really good! Does anyone know any relationship between these two nuggets and/or the proximity? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Nugget Mitchel

Here are some stories about The Welcome Stranger Nugget https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/articles/3019 http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/history/australia-home-to-the-worlds-largest-gold-nugget.aspx https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Finding_the_Welcome_Stranger_nugget

Gerry, I'm a few steps ahead of you. I know there is going to be a virtual detecting 'game' and real finds by way of using Google Earth. You'll be able to take your detector and go to anywhere in the world. It will already be scanned to a depth of 6 feet or so and you can find the minerals on your computer. News flash ... you can now make finds with your Smart Phone. The vocabulary has not been invented yet to describe the thrill of this type of virtual detecting. And the beach finds ... you get the idea. Mitchel

Skate, I envision the day when you can have an Equinox in each hand! You were an easy target. I couldn't resist. (Maybe someone beat me to it.) Mitchel

The CTX advantage for me was in my coil of choice ... the 17" coil. At some point on the beach the standard coil was not producing and I got a 17 for coverage. (Is there a better coil for beaches?) It turned out the real coverage that paid for that expensive coil and the CTX was the additional depth (3-4" over the 11" coil). It makes the beach come alive for me. It is also very simple. Max +3 and beach mode is all I do. I don't slot anything unless I am just patch hunting and only have less than an hour. On my beaches it often times max's out the 12" depth mode. That was the advantage it gave me over the SE Pro 11/12 coil. I can't use the big one it in a park or field. I mention this because the Equinox is first going to be saddled with that same open spoke 11/12 coil that Steve is not fond of. I think my CTX will get better depth than the Equinox until the bigger coil comes out. I have both of the other coils on order. I know the big one will pay for all of it. Mitchel

My Equinox has my wife's name on it. It is light and is better than the SE Pro it replaces for her? Well, we hope it does but she is going to let me use it when she is not with me! If I find lots of new goodies with it she'll make me stay at home and she will go on her own. Mitchel

SPMA Fred was trying to say ...

The Legend of Rich Hill enhanced! https://latestcasinobonuses.com/news/editorials/the-mystery-of-rich-hill Well done.

Whatever ...

Parks might be everywhere but they are a hassle. I live .5 miles from a beach that has many targets and within 40 miles of dozens of beaches. This will be my first use as far as time to compare it to my 3030. Next will be to take it to some trashy areas and look for gold nuggets. Mitchel

Thanks for the followup. Most of the first half I didn't have the audio on so ... I missed what you picked up. Apologies to the film stars and I am glad they made it the best they could. It shows someone without beach experience can use it. Experienced beach users will use it better. Who are the beach testers for Minelab? Have they posted any videos? Mitchel

Thanks for the posting. I was able to see it without using my Facebook. I have some 'non-Equinox' observations about the video. One observation that I noticed for sure was you can tell a lot about someone from the tools they use. They are using a gold scoop at the beach! I've never done that. I have a proper beach scoop but maybe they could not put one on the plane? This makes it look like to me that the beach is not their great comfort area. Another observation was it looked like they picked an 'isolated' beach? That tree canopy which made it look so romantic might be a long distance from a decent parking lot or any shops. I'll take a beach that has had some living done on it over an isolated beach most of the time. JP's video said they detected around some gum trees for coins because people shaded there and left things under the trees when swimming. Those are some clues we can all use. I liked the audio of the 800. I use my 3030 in smooth mode because I can't stand the normal sound. I was afraid the 800 was going to be difficult on my ears but I'm ready for it. Mitchel