UT Dave

It got up to about 40F today, I had to take the headphones off - too warm. Used the speaker, which was fine on a deserted beach with not much wind. I'm going to NEED an earbud solution soon though. Just can't hack headphones when it gets warm. I already have AptX earbuds for my 800, so something like the unit @Dug D just posted is likely in my near future. - Dave

Been getting silver almost every time out with my Manticore so far, even at the park. But I've mostly been on the beach where I have consistently been getting Mercs. Yesterday just a '47 Rosie, but still silver. Today, I got my first gold with the new machine. A very solid two way 25 that wasn't shifting. Just 25, 25, 25 both ways. Showing 6" deep - which is kind of shallow for good targets on this beach and that's about how deep it actually was. I'm pretty sure I've got a nickel down there. Nope! 14K white gold, 6.4 grams - it's tiny, barely fits over the first knuckle of my pinkie, but I'll take it. And just to keep the sliver streak alive I guess, I also pulled a very tiny, ornate little silver ring. Not stamped, but the acid turned red and pretty much all silver comes out of this salt black - the below was after some electrolysis and silver polish to take down the black to more of a gray. It started as a much larger black encrustation that I suspected was silver due to the 80's it rang up and because it was black not green. Until the acid turned a nice blood red I still wasn't positive though. - Dave

I'm not holding my breath for the coils to become available. And I'm pessimistic about the cost when they do finally show up. But I'm only a couple weeks out from starting to choose between my 800 with the 6" coil and the Manticore with the 11" coil on some types of sites and as of now, I think the Nox is not getting retired yet. - Dave

The top google hit explains PD pretty succinctly and better than I could: WHAT THE TECH? USB-C AND POWER DELIVERY EXPLAINED – Goal Zero However, a quick read of that, and a quick read of page 14 of the Manticore manual, it's clear that the Manticore isn't Power Delivery "smart". The Manticore does not even have a USB C port. This is all the manual has to say on the matter: "You can use your MANTICORE detector whilst plugged into a portable power bank. This means you can continue detecting even if the detector battery is flat. Connect the power bank to your detector using the supplied USB charging cable, and continue detecting." Therefore, I don't believe there is actually any advantage to using a PD capable power bank on the Manticore. It reads as though the onboard battery will go flat and they you'll be running off the power bank. Possibly, what will actually happen is the onboard and power bank batteries will run down simultaneously, but that isn't how the manual reads. But, anyway, after some quick checking, it looks to me like Power Delivery is a non starter for the Manticore in any case. The cameras I use mine on, have USB C ports specifically designated for Power Delivery. - Dave

I use it with my cameras for shooting star lapses and on the cameras at least, it behaves as you wish - the power bank runs down, then the onboard battery. I am not sure, but want to say the connected device needs to be Power Delivery "smart" to work that way though. - Dave

Power Delivery basically means it is meant to do what you want it to do 😁. I'm not certain one of these will keep up with the Manticore, but PD is the only kind that has a chance I think. This is the one I have. Amazon.com: Anker PowerCore+ 26800mAh PD 45W with 60W PD Charger, Power Delivery Portable Charger Bundle for USB C MacBook Air/Pro/Dell XPS, iPad Pro, iPhone 14/13/12 Series, and More : Cell Phones & Accessories - Dave

I do watch @abenson Relics and Rings videos. But very few others. Nobody else I watch regularly at all. - Dave

@BigSkyGuy has a thread on adding a powerbank to his: - Dave

Hmm... Mine paired super fast. Much faster than my 800. But... Yesterday, when I went to use them, they weren't paired anymore and I had to go through the pairing process again. Mildly irritating and I hope it's not going to be a "thing". They paired super fast and easy though at least, again. Three Mercs yesterday. The Manticore is on a silver tear for me. - Dave

I don't think he's asking about the red line under ferrous numbers. I have not seen what he's asking about myself, I don't watch many videos. But I've read about it. Apparently there is a version of the Manticore firmware out there that puts a red crosshair on the 2D screen for the current target reading and puts the ferrous numbers in red, not just a red underline. But, I have not seen any of those videos, a link to one might be helpful. - Dave

I've only used Prospecting audio for about half an hour on the beach. Didn't care for it, same reasons as @abenson. I like full tones, that's how I ran my XLT and my Nox and it seems to be how I'm going to like running my Manticore too. - Dave

Killed it for sure! I only found one coin with my Manticore today but it was a Walker half too. Silver four hunts in a row with it, I'm not complaining at all. - Dave

Absolutely agree with the less sensitivity so far with the Manticore. Today on really nasty wet salt, I was running 21 most of the time, went down to 20 more than up to 22. Ground balancing often, the machine would start telling me when it was time. Kept the machine running a bit chirpy, but not too bad for the conditions. Pulled two silvers from 12-14 inches each in that nasty salt. At 20 sensitivity. And the silver Washington was banging hard 90-92 at 14 inches. - Dave

It's a must have for me, too. I hope $500 isn't real as well... I might actually just choke on that and rethink things. - Dave

I'm allergic to gold (and nickel). I dug a thin 14K chain last summer that I doubted was real (hallmark on the clasp too tiny to read). Put it on around my neck for the short drive home. Walked into the kitchen 20 minutes later and my Wife asked if I found anything good. I said this chain but it's probably fake. She said, no it's real, you're breaking out in a rash already 😁. - Dave

I'm wondering, would chopping some off the end of the shaft serve the same purpose for you as moving the pod? Seems a lot easier to do, if it would? I've cut hundreds of CF arrow shafts to length with a cutoff wheel. Never any muss or fuss. - Dave

In the few hours I have on the Manticore so far, I'm finding it pretty much exactly like the Nox as far as iron falseing. Yes, it does it, no it doesn't fool me very often. I actually haven't dug a "surprise" iron target yet with the Manticore. But it's early, very, very early for me. I will dig surprise iron with it, lots of times, I'm sure of it. But, so what? I feel like if I'm not digging some surprise iron in certain sites, I'm missing good stuff. And as someone as interested in the history of the sites I search as much as I am interested in silver dimes, not all of those iron surprises are bad. I actually dig a good bit of iron on purpose, on some sites. - Dave

May simply be differing definitions of "small". I think Mr. Lawrie mentions some small jewelry type targets? Those aren't "small" compared to a tiny gold nugget? I don't know. Rightly or wrongly, I give some credence to what bona fide engineers that worked on a project say. So I'm inclined to give the benefit of doubt and think that tiny gold nuggets were not what he was referring to. But, it's all in interpretation and contexts and agendas and so on and so on. - Dave

What has caused me to think the Manticore handles EMI better than the Nox is that the long press actually quiets the machine down. Whereas on the Nox, for me, noise cancel never does anything at all. To the point I've stopped bothering to even use noise cancel on the Nox. I just lower sensitivity and/or go 20Khz. With the Manticore though, it starts out chucking with the EMI, but actually does get quieter or even gets all the way quiet with a long press. Certainly gives the impression it's working better than the Nox. But, you guys got me wondering again 😄. - Dave

My wife spends about $300 a month at the hair salon, the nail salon, the eyelash salon. I figure I'll keep buying myself new toys as I see fit until her hair falls out. - Dave

So on the original question, are we Beta Testers? I utilize and work with beta testers regularly in my job. By my understanding and definition of a beta tester, I would say emphatically no, we are not beta testers. We're early production rollout customers. From the business perspective there is a significant difference. But some of the effects on the user are the same 😂. - Dave

I haven't got in the habit of using the 2D screen yet. Keep forgetting to even look at it when I hear a good signal. The silver ring yesterday, I just heard a high tone and saw 5 bars on the depth meter and got to digging. I do want to learn the 2D screen, and will, but I really need to start reminding myself it's there. So far, about the only time I've looked at it, is on targets I think I probably shouldn't dig, and so far, yup, I shouldn't have dug them lol! - Dave

Got my first silver with mine today too, ancient silver ring about as roached out as silver can get, 12" deep on a beach at the Great Salt Lake. I don't have enough time on the machine to even comment. So far though, yeah, I like it, not wowed, but not unhappy. The EMI advantage I have seen too, and that was my main reason for buying the Manticore. It's deep on the GSL beach, I think. So I'm happy. No complaints. But not wowed, either. Yet. Don't need to be wowed though. Happy is good enough. - Dave

Hey, hey, hey now... Let's not get carried away. I like Foghorn Leghorn. - Dave

Holding some things back for the CTX replacement, perhaps. I've been involved in enough "which features go where, so we can sell against the middle" strategy meetings, this has a kind of familiar smell to it. - Dave