scoopjohnb

Daniel Tn got the same VIP treatment I experienced. Talk about a spoil sport :-) Anyway people are talking iceskating here at the moment,... so no worries at all!

Don’t worry about it Gerry,... people are just trying to get their hands on it any way they can,... Understandable. Minelab is trying to pump out as many as they can,... Understandable Dealers are trying to please their customers with the few units they are receiving,... Understandable. No major hickups as with software or build quality are coming to light,... a breath of fresh air considering other product launches. And it has the ability to update if need be. It’s business as usual if it were a new Iphone or @pple gadget. But we’ve haven’t seen this kind of feeding frenzy in metal detector land before. The reasonably priced Top performer. It just has obsoleted a whole lot of stuff. Even tried and trusted relationships :-) Just wish mine would drop out of the sky like the first one did,... Now that would be pretty awesome!! In stead it will be delivered with the UPS truck as per usual on a daily basis to our shop the same as all the rest of the shipments. Which I haven’t had the time to check out this week due to being stuck behind the chainsaw grinding machine all week!!! Business as per usual :-)

The dealer can’t do anything the internet can’t. And the big stores can surely do something your local dealer can’t,... order enough of them to start with! My dealer is shifting the handfull of Nox 800’s into peoples hands who are continually badgering him where their order is at. Understandable. But that isn’t exactly a First in First out way of doing things. To keep my sanity and refrain myself from giving my dealer a piece of my mind. Well,... Currently paid up in full on the importers waiting list and couldn’t care less if it arrives tommorow or in six months. Probably get a small coil and fix myself up a sniper.

Tracking in a field is a bit of a nuisance, especially the very precise tracking of a Minelab. Any kind of harvested, plowed or worked field has ups and downs in the terrain even if you try and keep your swing level. So the machine is continually seeing more and less mineral. And your tracking is trying to keep up. Best result for me at least is perform a GB on the crest of the ground. If your in a field where you expect good stuff, GB next to each target you intend to dig. Not only will this add depth, it might give you a more trustworthy ID from one target to the next.

That probably is the case,... I’ve never had a minelab track out a target it flashes an ID or tone at. I’m talking about the targets you just hear a slight raise in threshold whilst passing and need to get the coil sweet spot just wright to hit it. Kind of hard to explain when you’re not a beach hunter,... during a swing you will hear the ground change and it’s a slight jump in the usual ground noise. On the CTX its a burp, just like the ID circuit is trying to process something, but it fals short. The X-terra likes to have its threshold just below audible and again its a faint burp, but nothing on the ID. The MXT is a real masterpiece with these targets, the 11” DD digs targets that my pinpointer has a hard time seeing up close and it diggs deep on medium range conductors. If there is any wind out there or you can’t block out external noise,... you simply don’t hear them. We need an apple retina display with an easy on the eyes green color that’s in tune with the All-metal side and changes to bright red on a target. But I’m probably asking too much.

It wasn’t the e-mail, the D did enough damage on its own. Ever since I wake up at night now and again with a cold sweat and shivers running down my spine. The doctor told me I had PTDD “Post Traumatic Deus Disorder” He recommended an X-terra once a week, but warned me that although I would feel better in the longrun,..... I’d still stick out like a sore thumb at rallies. Well I can’t tell you how high or low the answer scales on the professionality rating,... I guess it was like their GB tracking,.... in the ballpark :-) No hard feelings though. Anyway, we are getting off track here. This thread is about NOX tracking and manual GB.

I actually once wrote them an e-mail about what I liked and didn’t like about the D. They replied that I probably was a Minelab user. I compare the D to Microsoft Windows. Every windows user knows exactly what version they are running. Us Mac users just turn on the Puter!

I don't know how it exactly works, for instance you can wiggle your coil across a target and coax out a good signal. But if you simply place your coil above a target it faints away. It is sort of a SAT Self Adjusting Threshold but only in the ground balance. I prefer the tracking on my Minelabs to the Deus tracking,... not that the Deus didn't achieve a correct GB in tracking. Just that there was a real difference in depth between tracking and manual GB on the Deus. It seems they added a little too much stability on the Deus. You can run an X-terra in GB Tracking with an offset. So if for instance you're hunting a plowed field with hot variable ground on your X-terra,... you engage tracking and apply a little offset. Or you simply GB often. Didn't notice the tracking offset in the Nox manual,... maybe they sped up the auto GB or gave it Ground Grab. Should have a Noxy in my hands by the end of next week,... that will clarify a few things.

Minelab does a few things for the users comfort. You can equal users comfort to a stable without chirps and false beeps operating detector. When you’ve got tracking they eliminate the ground noise so the unit becomes stable, but how can the detector know if it’s a really deep target or ground noise that needs to be eliminated. When they provide auto-sensitivity the unit again becomes stable, but the detector doesn’t know if it is noise coming in from ground, small targets, emi or again deep whispers of targets. So basically they provide comfort and ease of use. Running in manual GB and manual sens requires a lot more work and you tend to slow down. But you are looking deeper, smaller, you are trying to squeeze every drop of detecting performance out of the unit. A correct GB is important for shallow targets because you want 100% correct ID on standard targets like pulltabs or coins. When a target ID is off or bouncy that is where detectorist experience comes in. But believe me a detector is a lot less hard to learn when the designers have opted for an exacting ground balance and a tracking which keeps up with you. Turning off the autopilot “auto sens and tracking GB” and going full manual you need some experience as a skipper :-)

The ground balance does indeed change on a beach, even when just on the wet sand. The number one beach unit, the Excal has tracking and it has a reputation for finding the “worthwhile” gold on the beach. Most use it in pinpoint mode so you can hear the ground changing and adjust sweep speed. It does have a tendency to track out faint hits. Along comes the CTX and use it in tracking and open screen it does just as well as an Excal. Deeper,... wouldn’t say so. So why on earth did you pay premium?? That is where the ground balance button comes in. Get a good ground balance update regularly and the CTX will detect deeper and smaller than an Excal. And will provide you with positive ID most of the time. So why get an SDC? Well because it’s a PI it handles salt better, it has a slow tracking and will hit smaller deeper than the CTX and it digs stainless fishhooks with a vengeance. I really like stainless fishhooks, especially in summer when they turn into lost jewelry!! Tracking on a possible fast machine like the Nox has its place. Flying over a park hitting surface coins with positive foolproof ID,... fun for the clad stabber,... a great recon for the coin hunter. And then you switch to a lower gear,... manual GB. It’s still wait and see for me,... but I’m very optimistic!!

You do get a lot of bang for the buck!

Mr H everybody needs some R&R now and again,... so go on and have a break! Thx for all the info provided on the Nox. It will be at the back of my mind when I go detecting and it will certainly lessen the learning curve ahead. Now where did they put the ON button again?? Go and find yourself some Gold any shape or form,.... it’s the only cure!

When I enquired as to the availability update, my dealer just went quiet. Shrugged, looked genuinely sad and I can understand his sentiment. He probably can’t utter the word Equinox any more out of sheer frustration. Just like a party going full swing and suddenly the beer runs out,... major bummer!! If you’re half drunk because the beer ran out,... you’ll have a slightly lesser headache the next day. But come the next party you’ll bring a sixpack yourself and a decent single malt for backup :-) I haven’t given up, not in the least.

It’s the first symptome of Nox intoxication. People start seeing and hearing things that weren’t there before!! :-) These individuals should really contact their local MD. Because prolonged exposure to relatively low levels of Nox may cause nausea and persitent headaches from excessive bending down and digging.

#1 You are positively 200% wrong Sir! Not having enough time on my hands to go Fishing is why I took up Detecting. Batteries charged, gear in the car/4x4 and you’re away. You can pick up detecting as you left it behind. Those 2000 year old targets aren’t going anywhere. Maybe George with his Ace 250 will find that Viking hoard, but after all the commotion is done and gone. He’ll have to go visit it in a Museum. I prefer the Outdoors. I say NO to smaller yards,... you need a bigger yard. Preferably with a driveway you can see anyone coming from a mile away. 2 things that go with a big yard: John Deere tractor and a Stihl chainsaw. But pick very carefully because both will last longer than most modern day relationships. When the grass is too long to go detecting, you mow the lawn. When the ground is frozen too hard to dig, you cut down firewood. When the rain is pouring down in winter, you put another log on the fire and enjoy the warmth of summer in your home! #2 My wife agrees with you on that one. I,... well let’s just say we beg to differ. I’m not into the Chick flicks, veggie dishes or walks in the park “other than with a detector”. The dog mostly agrees with me as well. We like a steak on the BBQ and walks should be in the countryside or by the sea where he can run, chase, dig, sniff at hearts content. Likes his fresh caught fish as well. I’ve seen people turning into this single minded focussed on succes monster. Be it a gold coin, hefty bank account, fish of a lifetime, car of their dreams, etc, etc. But what happens when you achieve your goal, achieve your dreams,... just like a silly computer game you push a button and go to the next level. Even harder, more difficult to obtain, requiring more of your time and resources. People aren’t addicted to detecting, fishing, working, earning, etc etc. People are addicted to that adrenalin rush you get when you achieve your goal. My goal in life, after they removed the brain tumor. Before I was this monster always wanting more and more. My goal in life is to wake up in the morning with a smile on my face. Enjoy my family, work, fishing, detecting and try to give my honest sincere 100% effort at it. That’s my gold every day!

Thanks for the write up Mr H. Indeed it brightens up a rainy Newyears day with some much needed enthousiasm and Go Get Em!

I like my secret sauce,... beats anything out there!

Bought a few fishing reels a month before my summer holiday,... they arrived just in time for me to spool some line on in oktober and manage a few practise casts. By then I was studying every evening for my boating license. It goes how it goes. My dealer,... starting to sound like a junkie needing a fix, tells me I’m in his first shipment. But given my luck it will show up when the heavens are pouring down with rain, sleat and snow. Throw in a little frost for good measure why don’t you. Anyway got the boating license,... time to figure out how to get the boat :-) Pretty amazing this new Minelab has got the detecting community behaving like hardcore @pple Kids waiting inline for their next tech fix.

Welcome aboard Randy, Usually we are a jolly bunch of no nonsense scrap metal diggers. I’ve just been informed by my dealer it’s going te be january 2018 that I’ll receive my unit. He will have a demo unit between X-mas and Newyears I can go and wiggle in the shop. But it just isn’t the same thing is it. Rather than throw a fit on the forums, I just go out on a sunny winters day and swing my 3030 boat anchor. Even if it only finds me scrap!

I look at it from another point of view. We’ll pay for one,... but we’ll get a unit that is performing great straight out of the box. It will have more detecting ability than most people can muster up. Fieldtesters in general get a half finished detector that goes “boink” every now and then. And a lot of cræp from people who don’t have the foggiest about a fieldtesters job discription. Happy to wait and see what magic Minelab and it’s Secret Agents can come up with :-) In the mean time I’m more than happy to pass by the kitchen and smell the goodies cooking on the backburner.

They are realy getting down to the nitty gritty. Should be a real fun machine.

They’ve conquered the Deus problem,... goodie,... goodie.

A word that has grabbed my attention is Performance. And why would you dump a CTX and keep an Equalizer 800,... please endure the petname. I can only speculate but here it goes. CTX runs at 3 kHz and 25 kHz or something like that, because nobody is telling us the secret recipé. I can only accumulate knowledge read from reliable sources and my own experience. It either finds high conductors or it either finds small low conductors. But doesn’t really like that mid conductor range. Most serious tectorists have caught on to this and the CTX is often seen in the company of a Deus. Then we’ve got the 15-ish detectors. Great relic hunters, love the mid conductors and people generally like them. Or they plain hate the things, more of a local dirt, targets kind of thing. Enter the 800 and the word performance. Just imagine what it would be like if you were running a 5, 10, 15, 20, 40 kHz detector simultaneosly with decent performance. Not a perfectly tuned specialized unit but a Recon unit. And then you drop out of Multi into single with a tad more performance. Targets recovered,... now lets get in the special unit with peak performance for the intended purpose. It would certainly obsolete a lot of stuff. Just had to use the O-word didn’t I :-)

If you kept the CTX, ... then you would have completely turned towards the Dark Side. Not all hope is lost yet!! I’m not going to touch my 800 for a whole day when it arrives,... if it can beat those machines. It’s just too hot to handle! I’m sticking to my earlier pet name for the Equinox,... THE EQUALIZER!

I’m a dealer in powertools and this year they decided to bring on the marketing hurt to battery powered tools. Everyone else is doing it,... so they decided to do it to. And then the cræp hit the fan spinning in overdrive. I’ve been talking battery shop from here to kingdom come and when you hit the order button,... stuff is on back-order. And then you talk some more transit and delay time shop to a disgrunteled customer. Marketing worked because people realy thought they needed it. Anyhow, I’ve got my name on a list for an 800. But it sure isn’t going to ruin X-mas if it doesn’t arrive on time. But if we run out of cranberrie sauce and someone forgot to order the eggnog,... there would be some serious crackerpulling going on!!