DIG5050

I relic and coin hunt in my local area mostly at old homesites. I’ve done this type hunting for about 40 years when time and family life allowed for it. My first factory made detector was a Garrett back in the ‘80’s. I enjoy using both Apex detector and D2-9”. I bought the Apex soon after it was released. I had previously owned a ML Sovereign so I knew the virtues of SMF machines. More recently , the GTI-2500 was nice technology, but the Apex felt like heaven to my arm to swing especially since I’m older. I learned the Apex and could hardly wait for each day I could go out and use it. I still like it and use it today, anywhere the soil conditions allow. Being rechargeable, having wireless headphones and 5 tones, SMF like the Sovereign, but so much lighter than my old machines was and is a win-win for me. I will use the D2 when the soil conditions are tougher, and like that I can tweak a few settings to the soil conditions. I wish I could do even a subset of similar adjustments with the Apex as it would be the icing on the cake for me. I eagerly await the “Storm” like a lot of other Garrett fans, and I hope they address some of the (lack of) adjustability of the Apex. Meanwhile I’ll keep using and enjoying with both machines. Let’s hope it the Storm appears soon.

Bob, that is a nice assortment of targets you found. It looks like you had a good time at this site. The bright yellow CB is not to my liking, either. Soon after the release of the Apex, the Sly Lynx Garrett Apex cover popped up on Amazon. They had black, camo, and pixel camo. They are nice covers and hide the bright yellow color (!) as well as keeping the display from becoming scratched, and helps keep the keyboard clean. I ended up buying the camo and pixelated camo versions, and after nearly 4 years of use, still look like new. Alas, I no longer see the camo or pixel camo versions available. On the new “Storm” release I would like to see black or camo. HH, Bob,!

Let me rephrase that. Approx 2yrs ago I bought the D2-9” RC with WS6 and at the time I paid about 3x what I paid for the Apex/WHP. Lower cost options for the D2 are available now.

Yes, the D2 keeps one on their toes regarding charging all of the various components. The really annoying thing regarding my D2 is the MI-6 pin pointer that sometimes refuses to link. Un-pairing and repairing it seems to help temporarily. Sometimes I spend more time cycling the MI-6 power trying to get it linked than its use pinpointing the target. My carrot never has this problem. Plus, it’s another thing that has to be charged routinely, too. I keep a spare 9V battery in my car for the carrot, so it can be changed quickly if needed. Both offer a light weight swing effort, but the Apex has the lead when used with the Ripper coil. Either way, I like the S-type shaft. I hadn’t thought of the CF shafts to lighten the Apex swing weight, Thanks for that suggestion! 🙂

I, too, was hoping for Garrett to release an update to refine the code of the Apex as well. The core program is good, but could use a little tweaking to make it even better. Tweaking it would be a great way to increase the value to the current users and lure prospective buyers to consider the Apex. Simply allowing limited adjustability of the recovery speed, audio enhancements as mentioned in this thread, toggling the backlight on when changing detecting modes etc., would be beneficial to the all users. That notwithstanding, I have spent many hours with the Apex in the last 3+ years too, and found many, many desirable targets with the Apex, some of my best. As Bob and others mentioned, working slowly around iron infested sites can yield some nice non ferrous targets. With the Apex, one has to spend a little more time working amongst the iron sounds to hear the non ferrous targets. The D2 can locate these targets a little faster due to the adjustable recovery speed. Recently I was at an old homesite where there was plenty of metallic trash in the ground. I went over the sight with the D2-9” and was able to recover 5 coins and some relics. Then, on another afternoon, I went over the same area with the Apex equipped with the Ripper coil and extracted two more coins, a key lock, and more relics. In my Ohio soil, I find the D2-9” hits an 8” buried dime sized target better than the Apex with the Raider coil. But, again, the D2 cost 3x as much as the Apex. Both machines offer great performance and easy-on-the-arm and shoulder swinging for extended periods of time.

Bob, I read your interview “Bob Stickler-the detectorist”, and chuckled to myself regarding your first detector, the BFO project described in a Radio Electronics Magazine. I read the same story in that magazine many years ago, and had to build one. My coil was wound on a plywood blank with hole saw cutouts to reduce its weight. My dad affixed a broom handle as the shaft. Its performance was meager, but it did work if the metal object was large enough.. The industry has come a long way since. I enjoy using my Apex with the 5x8 coil, too. It’s super light, and I do well with it. It’s been a good detector for me and my 70 yr. old arm for the last 3 years. You're a real treasure to the detecting community for all your contributions over the years. Keep swinging, Bob. 🙂

Some of my best finds of the last 4 years were made with my Apex. It seems to work well in my Ohio soil, at a lot of the old homesites I visit. Steve, how would you describe “more horsepower under the hood” of the Apex. What would you add, remove, change etc. I have my own ideas of what I’d like to see changed in the Apex if indeed the Storm was a refined Apex but would like to hear others ideas.

Nice bunch of coins, and the barbers are beautiful! Good job, Mark!

DSMITH, this sounds like a training issue with the persons responsible for pulling all the parts of an order, and a quality control failure in that no one verifies the contents of the order’s fulfillment before shipping it. Seems pretty easy to fix.

My 1236-X2 is sitting in the basement collecting dust. I’ll have to get it out and try it at a difficult old homesite with a lot of iron in the ground. Thanks for the inspiration, blackflag! Blackflag, you mentioned a 5” coil. I have the 8” concentric coil; I wonder if any other coil sizes/types still exist for this machine?

That’s an awesome find. What coil do you have on your 1236-X2?

Still available for sale!

Will it work on Oak Island?

Includes belt mount clip, new Fisher chest mount, Price dropped to $375.

The “Storm” name, if it’s called that, meh. The camo motif is pretty cool though….lets hope the hardware and firmware within can be up to par with the looks. Otherwise…..

Sure looks like coil no. 1 is defective in some manner. Maybe a bad cable connection where the cable enters the coil housing or something loose inside. Rusty is a great customer service rep. for Garrett. I’ve dealt with him in the past as well.

Been detecting for almost 40 years. Glad I started in this hobby. Now that I’m retired, detecting provides exercise and a connection to the outdoors. I don’t live near any ocean or lake so I relic and coin hunt. Detectors have never been better and more featured than now. Pinpointers, small shovels, hand diggers, sand scoops, finds pouches, etc., are plentiful and easy to source. Wireless audio, wireless pin pointers, heck even wireless coils to control box are all available and make the detector so much more enjoyable to use. Detecting takes practice to learn your machine, patience in digging targets and willingness to dig junk, time to research your area if you want to look for older things. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Steve H, incognito is good. Much better than non-partecipare. There are some good ideas here and in other topics on the Garrett thread in the DP forum that might give them some food for thought….🐣

Hey Steve H, or anyone else for that matter, know if Garrett people ever visit this forum?

Garrett usually makes detectors that are fun and easy to use, i.e. the Ace SF series, Apex and AT series, that allow one to get out there and hunt without a lot of fiddling with settings. I hunt with an Apex and the D2. The Apex does a decent job in most situations, once learned. The D2 is obviously more capable, and has the complexity of many settings to adjust, which is both good and bad and expected; one pays a lot more for the performance and flexibility of the D2. Some detectorists comment on the high price of the Apex, but at the time it was released, I believe it was the only other SMF detector besides ML offerings, and the Apex was priced below most of them. Since the offerings from Nokta and the release of the ML Xterra Pro, The Apex now seems lacking for the $ cost. I was hoping like Jeff McC said above, that Garrett would update the Apex with a some of the settings that I and others have asked for, so far nothing in over 2 yrs. Some firmware changes would make the Apex more of a contender considering the other offerings available now at lower cost. It's still not too late to update the Apex firmware with a few more features before the next product roll out. Perhaps the new Garrett detector will incorporate some more advanced settings, but keep the same fun factor, ease of use, ergonomics of the Apex, build quality and water proof capability of the AT series. Bring it, Garrett.

F/S Fisher CZ-20 Detector w/8" coil, all original, like new condition. Works as it should. It was used for a couple of seeded fresh water hunts. The detector has not been in or anywhere near salt water. The detector has been stored with battery door loose to preserve battery door gasket. Detector, Manual, 4 new alkaline batteries, belt mount clip, (new)chest mount, UPS to your door. $425 Paypal F & F, CONUS. For any other questions email me at mlmolnar382@gmail.com

I mostly use the Apex to coin and relic hunt. I have the Ripper coil, Viper coil(standard with my detector) and Raider coil. The Ripper is great for shallower targets and junky areas, and is super light to swing. The Viper is good for all around hunting and can hit 6-7" dimes in my local mineralized soil . The Raider coil covers about the same amount of ground, and goes a bit deeper than the Viper coil. It comes with the price of more weight to swing. I have not tried the Reaper coil, but assume it would be heavier and more fatiguing to the arm, and probably deeper than any of the others. As far as MF to SF operation, I have only used the SF when EMI caused too much chatter in the SMF mode. Otherwise the detector seems to work fine either way in my mineralized soil. I hope your questions are answered. I you are hunting for gold, I would use it in SMF mode. I don't know if switching it to SF mode at 20Khz would benefit you. Maybe someone else will comment on that.

What would you like to know about the Apex/Viper coil, in MF or single frequency?

I almost always do what my wife says. When my wife says I should go detecting, I go detecting...

Nice finds, Ge. The barber dime is sweet! I’ve only found a couple of those in a lot of years of hunting for them. It sounds like the 11x13 coil is working well for you. My son has an 11x13 and he really likes it. I’ve tried swinging it and it feels heavy. HH with that beast!