PhaseTech

Looks cool. That shaft attachment is very GPZ like. Knobs, no screens in a slick modern design, exactly what you want for a serious beach hunter. 

My only immediate thought/concern is it looks like no Freq Shift/Noise Cancel function?? That would severely limit where on the beaches I could use it, unless it is very immune to EMI. 

Running a GP series or GPX4000 or 4500 in the Salt timing will as part of the timing lose some very small low conductors. 

Also a big DD will achieve the same. But the actual Iron Reject circuit will only reject iron target that it is sure is iron, i.e. small and deep iron will still signal as normal. 

Thanks for linking my article Steve. 

You can find some excellent info on the Anfibio, straight from the horses mouth here: https://www.noktadetectors.com/anfibio-settings/

Well worth a read for current owners, but a few little nuggets of info there for prospective buyers wanting to know a little more. 

When you were experiencing the noise, did you try changing frequency? 

Did you try reducing sensitivity? 

Also make sure your coil cable plug is done up nice and tight. It can wiggle loose after a period of time, and many users may forget about it as it is concealed inside the shaft. 

On 1/29/2019 at 7:42 PM, Myles said:

I just found this thread while trying to find out what is wrong with my Nokta and I have the same situation right now. Was there a way to fix this problem?

Not sure what the outcome was on that one, Dave J only ever made 1 post. 

Can you give us a bit more information like coil, settings, location, and what you have tried thus far. 

On 2/1/2019 at 2:42 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

The GP Extreme timings are not set up for salt though an anti-interference coil (salt coil) can help. The GPX series added Salt Mode. See Minelab GPX Timings

I used to run a GP extreme on the beach. If I was away from powerlines I'd use a DD in Mono and Sensitive, and if that moaned a bit I'd go to Salt mode. Worked well. When near power lines or other interference, just run in Cancel. The GPX4500 was better, and I could run a Mono coil due to having other goodies like adjustable motion speed and Rx Gain, but you could never actually ground balance on the wet sand. The GPX5000 in Salt Gold is the first PI that will work perfectly with a mono coil on the wet sand. Just wish it was waterproof ?

Hi Steve, don't worry I have no interest in buying one, just trying to figure out why they go for so much on the used market. Is it because they are rare? Is it because they are so hyped up? 

I reckon I have a few old Tesoro catalogs kicking around. Always enjoyed them. Lots of articles, tech tips etc. 

Hey Rick, performance wise, what does the Diablo micromax compare to? 

On 1/22/2019 at 7:01 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

Just to clarify. In metal detector land VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) audio refers to audio that increases both in volume and pitch when approaching a target. So it is not just a low tone that turns into a louder low tone, but a low tone that turns into a louder, higher tone. This makes for a nice mellow threshold, but the detector will literally squeak intensely on strong targets. Nearly all VLF nugget detectors feature VCO audio. Most coin machines do not have it to the point where lots of coin hunters have no idea what VCO audio is.

Example Minelab Equinox. Park, Field, and Beach Modes - no VCO audio. Both Gold Modes use VCO. Some people hate VCO. Some people like it so much Minelab has been getting requests for a VCO option in the non-Gold Modes on the Equinox.

I love VCO audio. It's what makes the magical "Zip-Zip" sound on tiny gold nuggets.

Long story short, phrunt is right, the Gold Monster does have VCO audio. But since he only mentioned volume it triggered my "long winded explanation" mode! 

Yep, I think traditional prospectors who grew up on VCO audio, find it strange or odd when they get into a coin machine with a simple BEEP audio. The first beep detector I started to enjoy for coin hunting was the X-Terra series, but always felt more at home with the Sovereign, and it's all-metal mode. Also why I like using the Smooth audio on the ctx3030, just gives you that bit of modulation - not in parks though, only while beach detecting. 

When I used my first Nokta machine, the Fors CoRe, that VCO 2-tone mode just spoke to me. I fell in love with it. The same with the Fors Gold+, and I used that a lot more for hunting shallow coins than I did gold detecting. I like that the latest machines like the Kruzer and Anfibio have a choice of VCO or Beep modes. This seems like the obvious thing to add to the Equinox in a future software update. 

Thanks for putting those videos up. Pretty clearly demonstrates why one is a gold machine, and why the other is an all-rounder.

Yes to me, the Equinox has a reference threshold, not a traditional threshold like in gold detectors. It is hard to explain but I'll have a stab at it. The Equinox threshold is always there and always constant, and doesn't matter how low or high you have your Sensitivity. The noise/chatter/target responses are one thing, and the threshold is another thing. On most gold detectors, the noise/chatter/signal response/threshold tone are all connected and all affect each other. 

Two things I wish Minelab would add to the Gold Monster. 1. Ability to switch tracking off, 2. Adjustable threshold. 

On 1/8/2019 at 6:55 PM, phrunt said:

Do you think something like an Equinox or other HF VLF will perform better than a GPX when in Cancel with a DD under power lines?

The VLF can handle power lines much better but would it be comparable in depth to the PI in that scenario? I can run my Gold Bug Pro and Gold Monster 1000 maxed out under power lines no problems at all.   I still haven't found a working viable solution for me to use my GPX under power lines that I'm happy with, the DD didn't solve the problem for me, Cancel was OK but I felt the detector was gutless when in Cancel and thought perhaps I'd be better off swinging something else instead but didn't want to have to walk back to the car to get it ?

The GM isn't scared of power lines even in manual 10.

The Nox copes pretty well with high voltage too, but you have to adjust the settings accordingly, usually just disabling multi IQ and going to 40khz is all it takes.

I'd love to find a solution to my GPX and high voltage power lines but so far I've had no luck, the DD did improve things but not as much as I'd like, my smallest DD is 11", so perhaps I need smaller?

If it's bad ground, then a VLF or Multi will never match a PI for depth, even if using a DD in Cancel. But in mild ground, I reckon things could get interestingly close, especially on very small gold. 

Yes, most high freg VLFs perform very well under high voltage lines, Monster, Gold Kruzer, Eureka in 60 kHz, and others. And you are right with the Nox, you will get better stability in one of the single freq options compared to Multi. 

And with your last question, if you didn't have luck with an 11" DD in cancel, I don't think going to a smaller DD will be the answer. Going down to say an 8" DD, such as the Detech may reduce noise by a small percentage, but you will just further reduce depth. I have used a 10x5" Commander DD in cancel, and it purred like a kitten, but with only a 2.5" width winding, you can imaging I wasn't about to dig any deep targets ? But for the GP series that are not equipped with any of the smooth timings, but do have cancel modes, those two small DD's are great to have in the kit! 

If using a DD coil in Cancel, you can often tweak up the machine to get back some of the depth loss. Depending on ground conditions of course. For coin/button sized targets, I'd use Normal timing, and possibly even Sharp depending on the ground. 

Put simply, the AI's or DD coil in Cancel is your best defence against high voltage power lines or electric fences. 

Basically you can get them as stable as you want. On very wet sand and in the water you will need to get the ground balance near zero. Depending on where you set the sensitivity, you may get a false when you knock the coil on the sand. If you don't have many rocks and can maintain a steady coil height above the sand you can up the sensitivity and still run very stable. 

My preference is to ground balance in Beach mode, manually up the ground balance to 1 or 2 (better for jewellery) and use Gen (all-metal) mode. This gives me a threshold and iSat adjustment. In this mode I feel I can pick the deep targets a little better. 

I've also tried the Mars 7" DD coil on the Anfibio in the water and it cuts through the water with ease and is super stable. 

They are very slightly louder on the Anfibio. I find that by lowering the tone slightly, they are a touch louder again. 

The 11" round adds about an inch of depth over the stock 11x7" (depending on target), and is better for pushing it through the water. I reckon the relic guys who do a lot of open field work are going to love the 11" on their Kruzers. 

The GK24 is my favourite all-rounder. Runs great in more mineralised ground. I've ordered some flat bottom skids for it, so I use it in more areas. 

Grab and Auto GB or GB Reset are all essentially the same thing. Quick Trak is another one used by Minelab. 

What I love about the Gold Kruzer is you can do a quick Auto GB (or Grab as some like to call it), and then offset it simply by pushing the + or - keypads. 

I agree Steve, there is really nothing to not like about it. Add the adjustable tone break and iron volume in the 3-tone Micro mode and you have a very powerful unit at your fingertips.

One thing I haven't mentioned is that I really like the Boost. It is a more gentle boost compared to a lot of other units I've used over the years where the Boost was like hyper drive and made it too hot to handle, and pretty much non-useable. The Boost on the Gold Kruzer is the perfect compromise. The other thing I like about it is you can use it as a temporary Boost by holding down the Boost button, or lock it in by double pressing the button. Locking the Boost is great for when you're at the "scoop sweeping" stage of your target recovery.

I hadn't seen an overview type video on the Gold Kruzer, at least not in English, so decided to do one. 

It's just a bit of a run through of the machine and a run across some ground and a few targets. Hopefully of interest to anyone wanting to know a little more about it. 

I think the 11" stock Anfibio coil will be great on the Kruzer. Something to get a little more depth, but not add much more weight out the front. 

Another one:

On 10/17/2018 at 10:22 PM, Northeast said:

In the end, as Reg Wilson has recently encouraged me, it just means I need to get out there and do some more testing, testing, testing with different settings, ideas, theories and see what works for me.

Again Pat, thanks for the reply, it is much appreciated ?

And I'm sorry 1515Art if the thread got hijacked a bit - hopefully there is some info in there that you can use too.

That's it, everyone's ground and EMI is different, also hearing ability and preferences, headphones used, or speakers etc etc. there are so many variables. I share my settings because they work for me, and may help others to give them a starting point that has produced results. But yes, users need to play around and find out what works for them, in their spots. I also change my setting combos a bit over time. As you gain experience you tend to experiment a little more, and may find a combo that works in certain situations. Back to the sP01, I like the crispness that Filter 2 gives to the signal, particularly on the SDC, but last time out with it on a flogged patch, I was digging barely breaks in the threshold. On these signals, Filter 1 gave a more recognisable response, due to having a bit more "body" to the signal.

I come from an audio background so when it comes to being able to manipulate sound, you can never have too many options in my opinion. 

Mars coils are out and available. 

I have Mars Tiger 13x10" and Mars Discovery 13" round coils here to suit the Kruzers and Impacts. 

Very light for their size. 

Smack bang on the money mate! 

A machine such as this has been needed for a long time, but no manufacturer has delivered.