PhaseTech

Simultaneous Multi Freq just isn't as effective in bad ground as Pulse Induction is. I have used the Equinox in a few bad ground spots where other single frequency gold units struggle to work, and in all cases the Nox in multi was very impressive on the test targets, but start moving around and it is a different story. In most cases the Equinox ran better in 40 kHz and even more so in 20 kHz. But no harm having the Multi option there, because there would be many places it would (does) work very well. 

So yes, a Multi Monster would be awesome. Or should it be called the Equinox Gold?? I actually think a gold focussed Equinox would be the better option. Much easier to make, and all that would be required is a solid 7" elliptical coil and new software.  

The Anfibio comes with the 11" round, whereas the Impact Pro comes with the 11x7" and 7"x4". So if you are going to be working tight areas, or super thick trash, the smaller coils with the Impact will give you better results. But if you are going to work more open areas, the extra depth of the 11" round will be appreciated. If you ever do night hunts, the back lit buttons of the Anfibio are awesome. 

TDI audio and ability to use GPX coils, with ATX sensitivity would be a start of a half decent PI gold machine. 

The standard Minelab GPZ14" coil is $1195 AUD

The Minelab GPZ19" coil is $1495 AUD

So for an aftermarket coil being built in Bendigo, I think $1295 is very reasonable. 

SD2100 for me. Why? It found my very first nugget, so thank you SD2100 my old mate 

Geo Sense? I'd rather it have Geo BLOCK, and GOLD Sense 😁

On 11/25/2020 at 5:27 AM, phrunt said:

I was about ready to pull the trigger on the Gold Kruzer a few months ago and just expected it to have Nel coils, when I saw it doesn't I backed off, my plan was the Kruzer with a snake coil, I wanted a waterproof high frequency VLF for my summer creek detecting and I needed a coil like the snake for the task.   I was very annoyed when I found that wasn't going to work out as they only make Gold Racer coils.   Seems weird to me as the Kruzer you'd think would be the better seller, they're both about the same price in NZ.

There is pretty much no difference in shape between the Snake and the stock supplied coil. 

Yes that is correct. Remove the screw then a light tap on the back of the control box will release it from the mounting bracket. It is usually a nice snug press fit onto the bracket. Just make sure you support the control box with the other hand so it doesn't fall. 

There's weight, then there's balance, then there's how sturdy the arm cuff is, the angle of the handle, the position of the coil ears etc etc......all combined determine how "nice" it is to swing a detector for extended periods. All those elements combined I refer to as Swing Dynamics. 

In no particular order here's the units with the best Swing Dynamics for me

• CTX3030 
• Anfibio
• Impact with 9x5 coil
• Vanquish 440  
• Racer (particularly with any of the smaller coils) 

X-Terra would be No.1 if the middle shaft was slightly shorter and hand grip was a little softer. Something about that shaft that makes the coil stay parallel to the ground even on a wide swing. 

I used to like the Minelab World Adventurer booklet, and the Tesoro booklet where it was finds from around the world, plus a whole lot more: tech tips, new products, technology discussions, stories, etc etc. 

Just not sure on the demand for non-waterproof machines would be, as there are so many waterproof options these days. But there would definitely be demand for a waterproof version of the Racer platform, i.e. some of the weight under the armrest. I'm thinking lighter weight CTX3030, or waterproof Impact with some grams shaved off. But waterproof means great for beach use, so would team up nicely with Multi Frequency, or even PI. 

But in saying that, the chunkier shaft of the Anfibio feels nicer in the hand than the Kruzers even though it is a little heavier. It is real nice to swing with some of the smaller coil options. 

On 10/12/2020 at 11:07 PM, Sven1 said:

I have made the suggestion to Dilek, that they should have come up with a beginners entry level detector of the Simplex in a strictly land version. It could be built much lighter and balance better with lighter weight smaller sized search coils. The Terra-Simplex would be a great seller. A concentric coil would make it bang on for pinpointing for the beginner but, that would mean new circuitry as the Simplex was designed around the DD. 

Sounds like the Racer 2 with 7" Concentric coil 😉 

Well I am the opposite. All metal modes for me have always been for finding small targets in bad ground. The Gen modes on Impact, Kruzer and Anfibio all excel at this, with much smoother operation in mineralised soils. In my view it's not about depth, but about practicality. What I mean is that in Gen, I will hear a nice repeatable tone change which will pull me up and I will investigate. When checking the same response in say DI2, the signal is often stronger, but when detecting in DI2 over the ground I will get many false signals, so it's just not practical to hunt like that. Investigating every response is too frustrating, and lowering sensitivity to a point where it only beeps on targets........now this is where Gen goes "deeper". Random signals blend into the threshold making genuine target responses easier to identify. 

If you want depth on the Anfibio in clean ground, I'd use 4-tone. 

Actually a few things to know about Quest (as far as I am aware):

- They were the first manufacturer to put pulse induction into a hand held pin-pointer

- They were the first manufacturer to have a USB rechargeable pin-pointer

- They were the first manufacturer to put Li-Ion batteries internally into a detector 

- They were the first manufacturer to make dedicated wireless systems for detector users

I may be wrong but the name change came about for three reasons:

1. People struggled to pronounce Deteknix properly

2. It sounded similar to Teknetics 

3. But most of all Detecnicks in the UK wouldn't have been too happy 

Of their older detectors, I liked the Q40, but the newer Q30 and Q60 have some amazing features. 

The Q30 is like the answer to the Simplex, but is more adjustable, and even has a cam lock on the handle, to adjust the handle position. Also 5m waterproof. If I can find the time, I'd like to do an unboxing video, but there's already quite a few on YouTube, so not sure I'd be able to say anything that hasn't already been said. [If anyone has anything unique they'd like to see, let me know, as I'm starting to plan the next 12 months of videos.] 

As a retailer, I can say that they are a good company to deal with. Product improvement suggestions are all taken on board (and often implemented in lighting speed), shipments get processed quickly, and any warranty issues are dealt with very swiftly. 

Kac - "In the manual says I need a wireless module to connect the headphones to the Gold Kruzer. Problem is the case I have doesn't have a port on the side to plug a wireless module"

No, the wireless in the Gold Kruzer is built in. You can just pair the headphones straight up. Earlier machines had the plug in wireless hole, but only a blank was in there. When you bought wireless headphones, you'd get a wireless dongle that you can insert into the side of the control box. 

Later machines started to incorporate the wireless into the control box so a dongle wasn't required, and the hole or slot was blocked off. The only issue that arose was if someone with an earlier unit bought a set of wireless headphones, and it didn't come with the dongle. This only happened with a couple of my customers, and I just sent them a dongle and all was sweet. 

On 8/7/2020 at 1:32 PM, Bootyhunter said:

Nokta/Makro Enigma 

Kind of the opposite spectrum from "Simplex", and its mysterious and complex. Nm please feel free to use this, I only ask for a free one and accessory coils in return for the name!!  

I really like Enigma

Lots of good points. I actually liked the Goldmaster V/sat better than the GMT. A few guys I trust said the Goldmaster 3 was even better.

1 hour ago, midalake said:

Am thinking that I have not used the FE2 function.  I have been off the machine a while.  Can someone answer: Does one function mute the other? Or are you still able to run both settings? As in FE and FE2 at the same time? 

Thanks.  

Only one can be active - you are either in FE or FE2

To put it simply, FE02 is a lot more aggressive at blanking a mixed iron signal, so undoubtedly some masking can occur given the right target cluster. 

Something that I wrote and posted somewhere?? 

The full ID scale on all Nokta Makro machines is 00-99, but they have used different ferrous/iron ID scales (or ranges) on their different detectors, i.e. 00-10, or 00-40.

So what is the difference?

A wider ferrous range is good for relic hunters so they can accurately set what level of iron they wish to ignore. This as a result compresses the non-ferrous ID scale, so you get more stable ID's, but can group certain targets close together. A very wide ferrous range is also used on detectors intended for gold prospecting, because there can be a very fine line between hot rocks and gold, especially nuggets that can have some form of ironstone attached to them.

A very narrow ferrous ID scale is more geared towards the coin hunter, as it spreads out the non-ferrous scale, giving you greater separation between good and bad targets. This is important when notching out troublesome junk targets such as say pull tabs, so you are less likely to reject good targets in the process.

As a handy reference, I thought I'd put up the ferrous scale used in their various units:

FORS CoRe, Gold and Gold+ use: 00-40

Red Racer: 00-40

Gold Racer: 00-40

Fors Relic: 00-20

Racer 2: 00-10

Simplex+: 00-15

Kruzer 14 & Multi Kruzer use: 00-15

Gold Kruzer: 00-40

Anfibio 14 & Multi use: 00-15

Anfibio 19: 00-40

The IMPACT is quite unique in that it uses two different scales depending on Search Mode.

DI2, DI3, DI4, DI99, COG use: 00-15

Deep, Gen, VLX & STA Modes use: 00-40

On 8/1/2020 at 9:12 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

Just stuff a GPX in a fully waterproof Equinox housing for under a grand and I’ll be fine. 

Then you'll have 8 million prospectors swarming the gold fields and every last speck will be sucked up in 4 months. 😁

On 7/11/2020 at 5:13 PM, geof_junk said:

I think the weight of the coil might be the principle point in getting one..

Yes exactly. 250-300g less weight at the end of the stick on each swing quickly adds up. (I know from swinging the 12x8" Evo compared to the 15" Evo). It would also improve balance by shifting the balance point further back. Also no raised bar along the front half of the coil would be welcome, so I don't have to twist my wrist 90 deg when I'm using a scoop. 

All wired headphones I have tried on the Simplex have been super loud! 

Recon-ST's (same drivers as Sunray Pro Golds)

Yoga earbuds

Sony MDRv55 headphones

Technics dj headphones

Anything half decent quality around 32 Ohms should be giving you plenty of volume 

Worked with Des for many years while we were both at Minelab, and worked together (even through it was remotely) on many new detector projects. Was happy we got to meet in person a couple of times, and kept in touch quite regularly. A good friend gone. RIP Des

If it meets the following criteria, it should be a success here in Oz.

1. Must be able to handle highly mineralised soils. If it can totally blank out hot rocks like most modern Minelab's do, that will go a long way in becoming a success

2. Long run time, preferably 10 hrs plus

3. At least as sensitive as the SDC

4. Good EMI immunity

5. A good range of coils - three different sizes at launch is a good target 

6. Light but also robust. I.e. don't shave too much weight and we're left with a very flimsy toy. 

7. A manual analog frequency tune pot. 

8. An adjustable tone - probably should be top of the list!