Keith Leppert

Yes, the guys can help you with an Etrac.    If you want to set up a repair on it, go to www.detectorrepair.com and set up a ticket.   🙂

1 hour ago, D&P-OR said:

Keith---Do you repair Etracs?

Gerry -

All of the warranty repairs are now handled in Chicago…. We will have none of those going forward.  Our focus will be the non-warranty repairs…. Including some models of which are long out of production.   Those probably will not be touched by the new techs in Chicago, but Im not going to speak for them and exactly what they will be able to diagnose.    So yes, we can repair most of the older models in PA, but also some of those are old enough that the parts are not available.   If you have any question if a specific model can be repaired, just ask.

As for other brands,  we could only take care of generic repairs (coil wires, capacitor changes, battery connections, and some switches, etc.) as we don’t stock parts for other brands.   Not opposed to looking at them, but realistically there are other options in some cases that make more sense for the consumer if another service center has the parts available to them.

Hope my rambling makes sense, and that all is well for you.

Hi Gerry-

Glad to hear the positive review of your interaction with the folks in Aurora.  As for Detector Center, we are not going anywhere…..   we will happily repair any out of warranty detector…. Just give us a call at 814-283-4270 or via the web as usual at www.detectorrepair.com

Thanks!

Hello everyone -

It is true, Minelab is taking over warranty repairs and performing them “in house” going forward.  However Detector Center is not going anywhere…..  while we are not taking on any new Warranty repairs, we will continue to perform repairs on your favorite detector that is out of warranty.

We also are going to update the website so that some parts will be able to be purchased online.   That is going to be a few more days but that component of our website should be fixed shortly.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need something, either at the website www.detectorrepair.com or 814-283-4270.

Thanks!

I used to be a dealer, but sold the business over a year ago.   So by mentioning my old company understand I get nothing from mentioning them except to help a friend.

Give Fort Bedford Metal Detectors a try..... I think you will like their personalized service.

www.fortbedfordmetaldetectors.com

814-215-1732

Hi Steve!

On 5/27/2021 at 7:24 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

Are you attempting to contact Minelab corporate, or the U.S. service center? They are two separate outfits, with actual detector repair sublet out to Detector Center. Detector Center is Keith Leppert of Ft. Bedford Metal Detectors. Good folks. Minelab “Customer Care” seems non-responsive lately, but Keith is normally on top of things.

This is the Minelab U.S. service center:

Detector Center
190 Oak Shade Road
Alum Bank, PA 15521
Phone numbers are 630-401-8154 and 630-401-8159

email info@detectorpro.com

These are the Corporate Offices:

MINELAB AMERICAS INC
123 Ambassador Drive, Suite 123
Naperville, IL  60540, USA

Customer Care:
1-877-SOS-MLAB (1-877-767-6522)
Toll Free: 1-888-949-6522
T: 1-630-401-8150
F: 1-630-401-8180
E: service@minelabamericas.com for Service
E: info@minelabamericas.com for Consumer products
E: countermine@minelab.com.au for Countermine products

Hello everyone -

I saw the need to follow up on this for clarity.

Detector Center is an independent but Minelab dedicated Authorized Service Center.  

This business is staffed by technicians who repair detectors, but Minelab's Naperville office handles the initial processing of your concerns and put the repair process in motion.   To set up a repair, first contact Minelab Service at the following contact points:

877-767-6522    or service@minelabamericas.com 

The address to ship your detector after you first contact Minelab for initial processing:

Detector Center
188 Oak Shade Road
Alum Bank, PA 15521

Thank you everyone

Hello everyone.... I just heard about this coil today.    Of course if there was any info out there on it I knew it would be here!   🙂

It was interesting reading that this concentric coil can be run on DD mode and will reject iron like a DD coil... did I read that right??   All I need it to do is reject the shallow iron.  If it does that, the east coast relic hunters will be wanting one of these...   🙂

Dew - It is indeed ground balancing even in beach mode, just as you have experienced.  ?

I can say that for sure that the ground balance does indeed work in all modes, including both Beach 1 and Beach 2.   I'm told that the way it works is different in each mode, which is why the number displayed is not the same from mode to mode.   In some cases the number may not vary from zero, but this does not mean that the balance is not working as designed.

PG- I'm not that far from the general areas I suspect you hunt and have a GPZ that I use from time to time for "those relics"  ? 

If you would like to get together sometime to see if the GPZ will help in your application, I would be happy to get with you.... hopefully it would not be below zero like it is here in PA at the moment however.

Keith

814-215-1732

Steve-

Let me answer your last question first, since it's the easiest to answer.    When I used these wireless devices I simply plugged the transmitter into the headphone port of the Gold Screamer.   It was then tucked into the outside of one of the GPX's arm cuffs.   If placed too close to the Screamer or the GPX control box, you could hear a bit of interference (from either the Deteknix or Garrett)

Now to your first question.   Prior to last summer I was like you, skeptical that any add-on type of wireless system could perform as well as a hard wired set of headphones.... but I was wrong.    The capability does indeed exist.  

When we tried out the Deteknix wireless systems, we discovered a few plusses and minuses.    Their two specific models that build the wireless receiver directly into the headphones worked very well from a latency standpoint...  there is NO lag.   But the sound quality from the speakers they used in either their over the ear phones or their on-ear phones was not what I was used to... to me they sounded a bit muted, but I believe this to be due to the speakers used to build them.  

Deteknix also has a model which uses the same transmitter but on the receiving end has a dongle that allows you to use your existing headphones (or speaker).   We found that these work perfectly from a sound perspective.    The audio response you hear is exactly what you would hear if the link was removed - they nailed it from that perspective, which is what I was looking for.  

However, there are two characteristics of the Deteknix system that I do not like. One is the battery life - the max duration of continuous use of the receiver until the battery is exhausted is about 6 hours.   Also, lets face it... these are made in China, and how long will they endure the abuse to which I will subject them while relic hunting?

Garrett solved these last two issues... the run time is an advertised 30 hours, so making it through a few days of hunting should be easy.  Plus we know they make some quality products and stand behind them, eliminating the concerns I have with the imported product.   It's just that based on my experience that the Z-Lynk doesn't work as good as they could specifically with a GPX.  But that I suspect is a limited case,  and expect to see the Z-Lynk being used by a lot of people with a lot of different detectors over the next few years.  

I was excited to try out the new Z-Lynk with my 5000/Gold Screamer/ Grey Ghost combo, and was able to do so a few days ago.    Last summer and fall I had been using the Deteknix W6R6 setup to essentially do the same thing as the Garrett system.   The Deteknix worked very well overall with the exception that I could use them no more than 6 hours at a time, because the battery would be dead around that point.    The Garrett system has a 30 hour run time so I'm thinking that problem is now solved.   :)

But after the hunt the other day with the Z-Lynk in place of the Deteknix, I can confirm Des D's claim about audio issues with some detectors.    While the Z-Lynk worked well overall, I noticed that there was a very small amount of audio loss with my combination of detector/battery/headphones.   The clarity and volume was just a little different than what I was used to connecting the headphones directly to the Gold Screamer.   This may be fine for some/many, but to me it was noticeable.   I could always turn up the gold screamer a little to offset the loss of volume but the slight loss in clarity would still be there.   

After a few hours I handed the system to my buddy who was hunting with a 5000 and had the stock battery attached to the side of the control box to gauge his opinion.   He experienced the same issue with his combination (he was also using Grey Ghost phones).   A third fellow at the site had a pair of Killer B headphones, so we tried the system with those also... no change.

Overall they do work ok, and I'm sure that there is something specific about the GPX's audio output that is different than what was designed into the Z-Lynk's input.    Absent of other options from other manufacturers, I would continue using them on my GPX unless I was hunting an area where I needed to hear only the super deep, faint targets. If you get them, just be prepared to possibly have just a tiny bit of clarity loss using them with a GPX series detector.   However I expect that to be an unusual case and expect they will work perfect on a Garrett like the ATX, AT Gold, etc. and probably a bunch of other detectors.     

Hello - some of you know me, but for those of you who don't I am a relic hunter from the East Coast where we use GPX series detectors to find Civil War relics.   I also am a dealer of Minelab and other brands, so this new product was of interest to me when I first heard about it.   

We finally were able to get our hands on some of these new batteries....  last week just before the fall Diggin' in Virginia relic hunt we recieved the first of our shipment of them and were able to put one to the test, and I thought you all might want to hear some feedback from some hands on time with it.

The Diggin' in Virginia hunts are three day events that are basically sunrise to sunset hunts which makes a great place to test a product like this one.     Our continuous run time with a 15x12 SEF hanging on the end of the lower rod was 4.5 hours.   So at least when new, a pair of these should be able to get you through a normal day.   

Size wise and weight wise its really similiar to the Gold Screamer.... but it does lack the Goldscreamer's adjustable amplifier control.    

Also, the cover is designed in such a way that either this small battery or a full size "stock" battery can be adapted to fit into it.    

I hope that helps if anyone is interested in them.

Our customers overall have been very pleased with the performance of their NEL coils, particularly those using them on an AT Pro.

Rege -

I've seen a few of the big SEFs at hunts lately - it seems to be gaining some popularity in the Virginia relic fields.   Someday soon I will have to try one for myself.  

This looks really interesting for those of us on the East Coast using GPXs for relics.... its about time someone decided to make us a new coil to play with!   Lol

Steve-

Thank you for the welcome! I'll be sure to stop by from time to time...

We do keep some of the GPZ accessories on hand, as there are a few of these machines on the east coast.... Plus with the website a customer can pop up from anywhere at any time.

It's tough to use the GPZ in the Civil War camps... But it can be done. Without iron reject all those tiny surface nails not heard when using the GPX can overwhelm a user swinging the GPZ. But if you can get in the areas where the targets have been thinned out, with a bit of paitence some deeper relics can be found.... Such as the confederate camps where guys typically dig just about every signal. At the DIV last spring I did find quite a few relics with it, but most of those low tones which are bullets. When you do go over a bullet with the GPZ, there is no doubting it. The prized buttons come in nice and loud as a high tone when you get over one.... But as you noted so does the shallow small iron. At the end of the week I was starting to figure out the tones, but it's tough to discern which signals are worth digging and which ones to pass.

At this time, for the vast majority of relic hunters will not have the paitence to use a GPZ, and opt to keep swinging a GPX for best results. But there are a few who will adopt it. I know of one fellow (a non-dealer) taking a new one to the fall DIV.... And I'll be curiously watching his results. Long term I don't see a large group of relic hunters adopting this machine, but there will be a select few that figure out how to harness it to work for them.

Hi Steve-

First post on your cool forum, although I do browse here from time to time to see if I can glean any tips from the gold guys that can be put to use here on the East Coast while relic hunting.

Anyhow- I see you mentioned us in your post.... We do stock these covers, and some of the other GPZ accessories. By now anyone's favorite dealer should either have in stock or be able to get virtually all of the GPZ specific accessories, as there was no restrictions to us on our most recent stock order.

I know that doesn't help you decide which coil cover is best, sorry! Unfortunately I haven't used mine enough to wear one out yet.