UKD2User

3 hours ago, midalake said:

I run an Audio Response of 6 at the beach. I found with all of the depth testing we did the odds of missing deep targets increases greatly if the Audio Response is lowered. In fact, this is one setting that allows the Deus 2 to be better than the Equinox on depth. 
If it was not for the black sand at my location, I am confident the Audio Response would be 7.  

I agree, I don't like lowering AR much below 5.

Maybe I'm just lucky, I find it's very unusual to have EMI so bad - over such a large area - and having fairly benign soil/sand generally - that I need to "detune" the machine.

Something that all manufacturers could usefully do is get someone on their engineering teams with a deep understanding of psycho-acoustics.  I think that, given the laws of physics and the current state of the art, the real progress yet to be made is in helping the user "hear" good targets better, at whatever depth, than the "trash".

e.g. this kind of thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_masking

8 hours ago, Tom Slick said:

Just drill a small 1/8" hole in the top of the rod near the controller clip to let the air escape.. 

Or just tip the thing sideways for a moment or two (the shaft and handgrip are open at the bottom)?

1 hour ago, Cheddar said:

when you are digging with one hand and pinpointing with the other. and your shaft wants to detect your head, it gets pretty annoying. i am connected via headphone wire so i am not too concerned about losing control

I guess a small strip of lead wrapped round the shaft ought to fix that?

29 minutes ago, Cheddar said:

this thing is floating up over my head while im diving. assume its the air pocket within the handle.

anyone have this issue and dealt with it?

there are many ways to add weight to it i suppose to keep it from floating. im thinking of adding some weight to the hollow handle and sealing it off.

I think you've got to be careful what you wish for - I'd be much happier for mine to float to the surface if I lost control of it.

1.10 - they (seem to) have fixed the clock !!  😁

7 hours ago, Dan(NM) said:

I tried the bone conduction headphones today for 4 hours and wasn't really impressed with the tonal quality. Trying to get some feedback on what other types of waterproof headphones you guys are using. Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

I think that the bone conduction headphones are intended to be used for total immersion - I don't think you get the intended effect if your head/ears are out of the water.  The RC switches to square tones (I believe) automatically when the bone phones are plugged in - which perhaps explains the tonal difference.  Bone phones use high impedance piezo transducers to achieve the waterproof rating - they are not really going to yield a "hi-fi" quality sound.

I usually use the WSA2XL 's on the beach or in the rain.  If I were going completely underwater, I'd stick with the bonephones - although I think that Gray Ghost over-ear phones are also available (they're quite a bit more expensive and probably also use very similar piezo transducers, so sound quality may not be very different).

In my experience, silver - as well as gold - can ring up ID's like pulltabs.  You can (sometimes) hear the difference, but I dig them all.

2 hours ago, StuWW said:

This was the response to my email to Minelab in Ireland regarding the headphone situation.

"At this time there are no alternatives to wireless audio other than the supplied ML105 Headphones or the ML85 headphones that ship with the EQUINOX 700 & 900 detectors.

This current limitation is because the MANTICORE and EQUINOX 700 & 900 detectors utilise our new proprietary low latency wireless audio codec that is not used on any previous products and delivers faster, higher quality audio than is possible with standard Bluetooth.

I am unaware at this time of any future developments that extend the variety of compatible wireless audio devices with the detector, but I shall raise your desire for a Wireless Module option for the MANTICORE as a feature request to our Product Development team.

The ML85 On Ear Wireless Headphones are expected to become available soon via our Approved Dealer Network with Minelab Accessory Part Number: 3011-0465 - ML85 Headphones.

The ML85 Headphones have the same physical form-factor as the ML80 Headphones that the EQUINOX 800 shipped with.

There is currently high demand and initial stocks in UK may be limited, but most dealers would be in a position to order these for you. Our UK Distributor can be contacted directly at the below details:"

"....the MANTICORE and EQUINOX 700 & 900 detectors utilise our new proprietary low latency wireless audio codec that is not used on any previous products...."

I'd be surprised if Minelab have gone to the trouble of writing their own audio codec (there are so many excellent ones out there already, including the new BT LE ones).  I strongly suspect that ML have deliberately made no 3rd party BT gear interoperable, and that this is a deliberate financial/marketing decision.

7 hours ago, cuniagau said:

........But it appears to work ONLY with 3rd party headphones with a straight male plug as the issue seems to be with the 45 degree plug, if I am reading GB_Amateur's post correctly.....

 

That does sound like one of these mechanical 'plug not sitting properly in socket' kind of things. Hope you find a solution!

6 hours ago, brys said:

Gary?

Without wanting to attempt teach anyone's grandmother to suck eggs, I notice that the ground - in my part of the northern hemisphere anyway - is getting very dry.  I know this affects my ability to detect - and dig(!) - targets at depth at this time of year.

10 hours ago, Magic12 said:

I Hope it’s a 2 Box 

multi frecuency Coil

i own most of the 2 box detectors ever made 

and they my favorite detectors next to PI Units with coils 1 meter X 1 meter

I've never used such a machine.  What kinds of stuff have you found with yours - at what sort of depth?

Could part of the problem simply be a mechanical one? Aplogies if I'm stating the obvious but:

I know that the EQX800 (and I assume the MC) have a 1/8" stereo jack socket for external wired phones.  One possible gotcha is that the jack socket is surrounded by a threaded ring/bezel which can get in the way of 'fat' jack plugs, preventing them going all the way into the socket.  Even a mm or two is enough to stop the connection working as it should. On more than one occasion, I've had to get a sharp blade and carve plastic off the moulded plug to get it to seat fully in the socket.

56 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

Ha.  Those code names are better than the actual names.

I quite agree!

4 hours ago, Sinclair said:

Z4C-0054 is definitely X-Terra Pro specific - no word on Manticore anywhere. How ever - the tech being used will be the same on the X-Terra Pro, Equinox 700/900 and Manticore. You're right, some documents will stay confidential, my fault.

You're right, I quoted the ref for the XTerraPro by mistake.  I think that ML have used the chip/SoC to implement a "closed" wireless subsystem for these machines, but I hope I'm wrong. Interesting to see the codenames they used for the machines:

Manticore = "Sirius"

XTerraPro = "Tormentor" (I wonder which Turkish competitor it was intended to torment? 😁)

3 hours ago, Sinclair said:

I assume all of the documents were relatet to the X-Terra Pro. They've been only temporary confidential - pre release I guess.

Nope, if you read the doc it's: a) related to the Manticore specifically, and b) seeking permanent, not temporary, confidentiality re. these items.

I haven't had time to study this in detail.  I have noticed my clock going badly out of whack at least once since I upgraded everything to V1.10

I believe, but haven't yet tested my theory, that the clock goes wrong when pairing a different coil and/or some other accessory.

I've seen something out on the internet showing what someone purported to be a reply from XP, in response to a request to fix the clock problem, saying that XP didn't see fixing this as a high priority (or some other words to that effect).

My personal theory is that the problem may lie in a piece of code that XP themselves have licensed from someone else - and that they actually have no control over how to fix it.  It's not uncommon these days, where individual chips are in fact little systems in their own right, e.g things like wireless communications.  If I'm right, this would tie in with the idea that pairing is a trigger for the problem, as it may well involve running a piece of someone else's proprietary code.

At least I can keep my cellphone on and the D2 is clever enough not to be bothered by EMI from it - and keep time that way.

I think it's funny that the clock goes wrong, because actually, when I'm having a good hunt I lose all sense of time anyway! Maybe what would be most useful would be an alarm to tell you dinner's ready!

I wonder if this slowness is part of a deliberate business strategy to 'smear out' revenue/profits over multiple financial quarters - to satisfy corporate bean-counters and/or allow senior execs to "earn" juicy bonuses for meeting performance targets.

I've just read the FCC Filing for the MC and this document is interesting: https://fcc.report/FCC-ID/Z4C-0054/6366018

It suggests that ML want to keep secret - for the foreseeable future - four documents, three of which contain the word 'wireless' in their title.

I notice that the SoC device that ML are using for their wireless linkage can effectively be used to create 'open' or 'closed' wireless connections using protocols covered by the BT specs.  That is, they may have chosen to use BT, but in a proprietary - closed - way, which would make third-party devices fail to connect.  e.g. at its simplest, they may have built in some logic that says, "...if the manufacturer ID code of the device trying to connect is not equal to "Minelab Pty" then fail..."

Now I understand your original reference to hunting!

I'm 50% Scots!

Looks like part (chanter/drone) of an old bagpipe?

58 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

This object is made out of lead.

It was found on a late 1800s USA high altitude mountainous site that is in an area where cultivating the ground for farming on any kind of scale larger than a small back door garden would be impossible.

Ah! 😀In that case, the ideas that it's a measure/scoop for powder/shot/mercury seem much more likely.

I think that the spoon-shaped thingy is probably off a seed drill. examples here: https://finds.org.uk/database/search/results/q/seed+drill+spoon

and here (second photo) : https://ehive.com/collections/8551/objects/965859/seed-drill-spoon-feed-drill

3 hours ago, phrunt said:

......

I thought I'd hate the Deus 1 wireless coil stuff, but it's grown on me, I don't mind it, I'd prefer coil cables but in a way it's nice and quick to change coils and works perfectly fine.  I don't like the fact it's planned obsolesce with the coils and batteries but other than that, it's pretty good and reliable.  I can put batteries in my Gold Bug 2 decades after it's release and I want to as it's still a good detector today, can I with my Deus 1? I don't know...

I think it's fair to say that changing the LiPo battery in the WSA headphones, the WS6 and the D2 Remote is quite a lot easier than changing the battery in a cell phone.  Changing the battery in an XP coil is slightly less easy, but perfectly do-able (there are YT videos out there).  I would not let LiPo-phobia hold you back! 😀

3 hours ago, okara gold said:

Thanks for that information! I didn't know they were called Dandy Buttons. I'm researching their history and it's really interesting. No idea where it was made. I guess by measuring it you can get an approximation of its age.

This isn't my find, but another good example: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1030235