GB_Amateur

My exact thoughts. Seems I read many years ago that fresh falls have scientific value for similar reasons. Maybe it had spent too much time on the earth already, although that Utah desert isn't exactly teaming with organisms (other than detectorists and the occasional meteorite hunter). 😁 Good stuff, regardless.

Whoa. I have occasionally felt guilty throwing uncommon (but English language) words into my posts. Not anymore! I even studied Italian a bit but apparently not deeply enough to recognize that word. Steve, I'm going to have to ask you to quit picking on our 'Midwest capital'. Well, that's if your term is meant in general. OTOH, Gerry just a day ago took a swipe at Minelab Americas which is located in a Chicago suburb. If that's the subtle dig in your comment, have at it. Sincerely just kidding you guys while awaiting for the official announcement (less than 3 hours from now). Don't want to be guilty of "pot calling the kettle black." (Jeff, you may prefer: Il bue dice 'cornuto' all'asino.) 😏

Is that a gold coin? Nice finds, regardless.

I don't have the MS3 headphones. I do have the Z-lynk T+R pair and use that with some of my detectors. I also have the Garrett MS2's (1/4" jack coiled cable headphones). They sound muffled compared the SunRay Pro Golds when used with any of my low latency T/R systems (particularly my bread-and-butter Minelab WM08-Equinox combo) or when just plugged directly into a detector. I don't know if they have the same speakers as the MS3's, though. (They certainly look the same on the outside.) For the price (some sellers list them at ~$25 with free shipping on Ebay), the MS2's are decent. But there's no comparison for my ears with the Pro Golds. Not surprisingly, a factor of five in cost makes a difference. As always, people don't all have the same hearing so YMMV.

The recent Codan report said something about "late 1st half of FY23" for expected release of a new detector. I think their fiscal year begins 1 July which would mean a Christmastime availability. But that depends upon a lot of things, and I wonder if that might be an optimistic estimate given its purpose (i.e. news for shareholders and potential stock buyers). I won't be surprised if we don't see them until February (when the first Equinoxes were released). Hey, I'd be thrilled for all of us if it comes earlier.

That's approaching Legend price-range? American translation: 1.6 lb. 😁 How is the balance?

You and I both. I guess not enough people raised a ruckus with the awkwardly placed (single memory slot) 'user profile'. "Squeeky wheel gets the grease." (The other manufacturers either listened or figured it out themselves....) No one so far (I haven't read all the posts, though) has wondered aloud regarding the audio interface. Maybe we'll find out tomorrow (or is it today already in Australia ?).

They do seem to be fixated on Nokta/Makro according to my interpretation: M(inelab's) anti- CoRe (early Nokta coin & relic detector).

Nailed it. Here are some images of many -- Glenn, maybe you'll find the exact one.

That's southern Arizona??!! Welcome to the forum, Ed! You probably know this, but make sure to look into whether a site is claimed before removing any minerals. There are some decent GPAA claims near you. Kevin Hoagland hangs out down there (don't know if he lives in AZ now) so he's acquired some decent spots for the GPAA in that area.

Looks a lot like the Equinox (note it's multi IQ), but with graphics and a carbon fiber shaft. How it performs?? I wonder if they'll reveal this at Detectival.... 🤞

...from a new forum member. Please see:

"Patent applied for?" It's pretty decorative (as well as utilitarian) so I'm leaning towards those who think it is something worn as part of clothing, etc.

Thanks for the video, Andy. Did the rain shower affect the detecting (activating the salt)? Didn't look like your diggings showed the telltale red hue of damp soil. You initially showed the ML Equinox with 5"x10" Coiltek NOX. Did you end up doing any searching with that?

Yes, there may be a convention among meteoriticists as to what distribution determines a strewn field. Waiting a while probably won't hurt things much. I understand your feeling of responsibility to further knowledge, though -- a kind of individual vs. community dilemma.

Too late. 😏

Reminds me of the definition of a 'coin spill'. How many coins in a clump are needed to call it a spill? (OK, back on topic...) You found four meteorites in a few (person-)hours. I don't think it's yet a good comparison with Gold Basin (in terms of size, etc.) where thousands of person-hours have led to all its finds. I wonder if the on-bedrock correlation has importance (it might...). Is that a selection effect -- your choice of where to detect? Is the wind erosion selectively uncovering those and there are more hidden by soil? The more/less uniform composition (assuming you've X-rayed all four) would indicate to me that they are from the same parent meteoroid. That alone should indicate you've found a strewn field. Finally, the reason Wyoming isn't a common spot for meteorites shouldn't be much of a factor, IMO. (It's also not known for metal detectable gold, and you've shot that commonly held fallacy all to hell.) Definitely a selection effect in Arizona with all the detectorists (both gold hunters and meteorite hunters). There's also the dry lake bed correlation which I still don't understand. Low flora activity likely makes them easier to find, and low rainfall areas mean they last longer? Besides, there may be an advantage for Wyoming having unknown meteorites: The low population means recent falls (last couple centuries anyway) are more likely to have gone unnoticed. Good stuff and I look forward to reading more as you delve deeper. (BTW, on a related note, are you concenred that revealing the location of your meteorites would lead to competition for your primary goal finds?)

As a start to answering my question, here are some catalog entries: 2006 catalog -- no TDI models shown 2008 catalog -- Pulse Scan TDI at $1599.95 MSRP 2009 catalog -- Pulse Scan TDI (no price shown) 2014 catalog -- TDI/SL at $1299.95 MSRP 2015 catalog -- TDI/SL at $1299.95 MSRP 2016 catalog -- TDI/SL at $1299.95 MSRP 2017 catalog -- TDI/SL at $1199.95 MSRP (Note: price drop for this year, but back up next year) 2018 catalog -- TDI/SL at $1299.95 MSRP Apprently the original big box Pulse Scan TDI was discontinued and the Pro introduced (and subsequently discontinued) in those four years that I'm missing (2010-13). If memory serves me, the Pro cost about the same as its predecessor. Also, the tan version of the SL as well as the TDI Beach Hunter aren't shown in any of the catalogs I have, so both released after the 2018 catalog??

Jim, you seem to have taken over for Reg as the guru of TDI/SL mods, at least here on this site. (I'm sure Carl knows a ton, too.) So I have a couple questions that are vague in my memory: 1) Do all of the SL variations (including SPP) gain depth with higher voltage battery packs than stock, or just some of them? 2) Can all (or any) SPP's be modded to work the same as the SL's -- i.e. add the conductivity switch and the pulse delay pot? 3) Is it true for all SL/SPP variations that turning off the ground balance leads to more depth performance?

Could it be kurrent lettering from 19th Century northern Europe? But even those had many different fonts and also variations by region (e.g. Denmark vs. Germany). Here's one example:

I have an SPP also (got it from Steve H.) and wish it had the conductivity switch that is on all other TDI's (well, is it on the TDI Beach Hunter? Don't know about that special use version). Long ago Steve wrote up a piece about coin hunting (it's still here on the site) with the original Pulse Scan TDI model and he made use of the conductivity switch in that application. Besides silencing high or low tones (your choice, besides the option of hearing both -- only option on SPP), it also is a bit quieter if you select high or low, according to the manual. If you happen to get into ground that allows you to leave Ground Balance off, it detects considerably deeper (at least mine does with the 12" mono). I recall reading that there are circuit variations on the TDI/SL (including the TDI/SPP) which lead to performance differences. For a simple detector those variations seem to produce complications in some cases. Still, maybe the most affordable Ground Balancing PI out there. Works with all GPX compatible mono coils -- a great plus in itself.

I'm curious as to the history of production and sale of the various TDI models. I know the original was called "Pulse Scan TDI" and had the large control box. Eventually that was replaced with the TDI Pro (also with large box). The SL came after the original (but after the Pro??) and its offspring were housed in a smaller, lighter housing but also used less battery power and thus didn't punch as deep. How long was each in production/distribution? And if you care to go even further, what were the prices? I think both big box units retailed ~$1600 initially and the SL more like $1300 when released, but those prices evolved. Also, did White's have MAP prices on these that differed from retail?

Yep, those historic sites with so much iron (good and bad) apparently cover the entire spectrum of dTID's, whether or not those signals include ferrous grunts (dTID < 0 on the Equinox). One thing that seems a bit strange with the Eqx (and I might just be using selective memory) is how often 13 is part of the signal. For example, it's pretty well known that some hot rocks in gold producing areas out West will hit 13. It would be good to hear from the designers/builders/manufacturers if there is some reason for this or if it's just spurious. Thanks for being so open-minded when it comes to my observations. We all (myself included) should exercise that human quality more often.

Thanks for the excellent video, C_C. As always you extract some attractive finds. Looks like F350 has a lead on that unknown button. I have a couple comments (not criticisms but more/less observations): 1) No Indian Head cents were minted with the 1856 date. First year was 1859 (and as you know that from alloy 12% Ni, 88% Cu -- aka 'fatty'). There were some IH pattern 'coins' dated 1858 but the chances of one of these being in the ground anywhere (let alone as far West as you detect) is astronomically small. So we're all left hanging as to what that date is. 😎 2) You mention iron composition objects sometimes giving a dTID of 13. That's interesting since I've noticed that a dTID of 12-13 (USA nickel sweetspot), when mixed with iron grunts (dTID < 0) is almost always a non-ferrous target. (I think the iron grunts are either from the ground or from nearby ferrous trash.) I do occasionally get fooled with an old crown cap, though, giving that nickel sweetspot dTID. Since I don't typically reject good dTID's which have iron grunts, maybe those crown caps are mixed ferrous-nonferrous signals -- I don't remember/notice. (Note: I don't use any discrimination when coin&relic hunting with the Equinox; just turn down the iron region volume.) Are you getting iron comp objects with dTID 12-13 and no associated ferrous indications?

I did. ⭐ for me? 😁 (BTW, I think I can beat you in post word count most of the time; not sure about this one though.) Jeff, for your test setup it seems to be a close decision. You'll get more $ for a used Deus 2 than a used Legend, but if you end up selling the 'keeper' later that difference may wash out. One thing I wondered about is separation between non-ferrous good targets (e.g. coins) and iron (e.g. nails) which the Deus 2 (and Deus 1 for that matter) is claimed to be superior to all(?) competitors. Is that not a concern in your hunting sites or have you already determined that in this application (including ground conditions) the difference in performance between the two is negligible?