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Just got back from 3 days in Oceanside, CA it was nice to get out of the cold here in Utah. Came back to 9 inches of snow this morning. Didn't take a PI this time because I wanted to see how the Equinox 11" coil and Vanquish V12 coil compared to each other on the beach. Area I hunted was North and South of the pier. This beach can be awesome after a big storm. I've been there before when one day you can literally pick up targets off the hard pan because the sand has been totally stripped away and the next day 2 ft of sand has washed back in. Sand was pretty deep this time all 3 days, in areas at about a foot you would hit a rocky layer where the targets would settle. Tried hunting in the water with the Equinox a few times but it was just too rough and took way too long to recover good targets. So most of my time was spent between the towel line and waters edge. Nothing exciting found, a bunch of change, and ear gauge and 1 junk ring. A few people have said that the Vanquish appears to be Equal to the Equinox in Beach 1 mode and I would have to agree. I ran the Equinox in Beach 1 sensitivity at about 21 and the Vanquish in Jewelry mode, iron bias low. sensitivity 1 notch below max and both machines were very quite. Switching off between the two I didn't really notice any difference in depth both machines recovered several nickels and quarters at the 12" mark and pennies and dime around the 9" mark. Most stuff I recovered was 6" or more in depth. Target ID on the Vanquish is rock solid on good targets, even the deeper Quarters and Nickels I dug gave a solid ID. ID's that were jumpy always turned out to be a corroded piece of aluminum or zinc penny. The only area the Vanquish struggled was in places where there were multiple targets and especially targets mixed in with iron. Because this beach is replenished from time to time with sand pumped from the harbor and other areas, there tends to be places where boat parts, fishing hooks and other junk congregates. I had several instances where I had to use the Equinox because there were just too many targets to separate out the good ones. One in particular I ran into with the Vanquish but had to switch to the Equinox turned out to be a small piece of aluminum, a stainless ear gauge, and a quarter mixed with iron trash in a small 1 foot by 1 foot area. The Vanquish was unable dial in on one target although I could tell there was more than just iron there due to the mix of positive numbers. Overall I would have to say the Vanquish is the most capable beach detector I've seen in it's price range (unless you need waterproof). I felt quite confident I wasn't missing much when using the Vanquish unless I was in a junk filled area. Great detector for a beginner, child, to loan out or as a backup for your Equinox. One thing I did notice when changing between the 2, the Vanquish is a little nose heavy compared to the Equinox. If you're getting one for a small child to use I would suggest getting one with the smaller coil or switching it out to the smaller one on the 540.

I've heard several guys comment that the Vanquish has a more solid id on targets than the Equinox. Isn't that what you would expect from a machine running half the number of segments. I'm certainly no expert but that just seems to make sense to me. With 25 on the Vanquish and 50 on the Equinox. I suspect even less jumping on the 440 & 340. You just simply have a larger area to drop the signal into which given the opportunity might cover more segments if they were available. Just thinking out loud...🤔😁

The Minelab Vanquish was first reported as in development in April 2019 and is finally now shipping to dealers worldwide. I am not counting the early pre-release to one big box store, Dicks Sporting Goods. This also was not unexpected. Almost all dealers except a few told customers not to expect the detector until early 2020. In that regard the Vanquish is pretty much on target. Still, I wanted to officially note that it has been nine months passing between first mention and general widespread availability. The trend, and it’s not just Minelab, has been for ever earlier mentions of detectors on the way. The Nokta/Makro Simplex and Fisher Impulse are a couple other recent examples. It appears that waiting up to a year or more is not out of the realm of possibilities. I’m just putting this out there to generally address the inevitable “when’s it going to ship” questions that arise when new detectors are announced. The answer is, later rather than sooner, and don’t hold your breath.

My reason for asking this question is because Minelab dealer like Rob’s Detectors don’t have none to sell. If I never get one it will be a cold day in hell before I go to Dick’s Sport to buy one. I don’t know why are what’s the thinking of Minelab by limiting it to a big chain and not to the little guy at the same time. I like the personal service like Rob and others like him offer . I’ll pass on some guy that don’t know what end is up and nothing about what he’s selling. Chuck

Good, short and realistic YouTube video on the Vanquish 340. Goes over the features and basic performance by an experienced reviewer. Jeff

Here's a video of the Minelab Vanquish 540, Equinox 800 and eTrac comparing some targets while relic hunting. The area is challenging because there are not many targets left and the EMI is terrible. Steve if this should be under Comparisons feel free to move the post. Thanks

I may have missed any information already posted here or elsewhere concerning the Vanquish series versus Bottlecaps. I am not referring to aluminum caps but rather steel caps with their various coatings and Aluminized Mylar type inserts. Information on orientation, inner part of cap facing up or outer facing up would be helpful along with stage of corrosion. The depth and where appropriate the Hi/Lo iron reject would also be interesting. The above inquiry came to mind as I wondered if noobies with a Vanquish will be able to move across the landscape and not become discouraged by digging Bottlecaps? For experienced users I also wondered if this series might become a go to picnic area hunter leaving just the Aluminum trash to be dealt with? In situations where I have wandered into picnic areas, having Bottlecaps go away would be well worth the sacrifice of losing some depth by not using a higher gain machine!

I found an interesting YT video Vanquish 340..This makes it easy to convert S -Shaft to direct -Shaft ...For example, if you ever want to do that ..I consider this a sophisticated Shaft design at the Vanquish ...

X-ray coil Minelab Vanquish 340 from me 🙂

I am a high school golf coach and my players gave me a $100 gift certificate for Dicks Sporting Goods which is one of the best all-round sporting goods stores in the Denver area. I don't shop there very often so I thought "I'm interested in the Vanquish but only in the 340 since I already have a Nox 600 and 800". I hate taking either of my Noxes or my XPs to tot lots and bark play grounds and I often am helping newbies learn how to detect so for $99, I ordered one on Wednesday Dec. 18th. I received it today, Sunday Dec. 22nd. I gotta say, I was very surprised at the build quality, light weight and operation of the Vanquish 340. Coming from a Deus/Orx owner and a former owner of several Nokta Makro detectors, that is saying a lot. It is easy to adjust for comfortable custom fit and lightweight enough for a child , I don't mind the RED after all, I really like the way the buttons feel, simple operation that anyone can use, very much like the Equinox tones, response, target IDs, intuitiveness and one or two quick horseshoe "all metals" button presses and I can check for iron identification or just stay in no targets discriminated. Again, it really does detect like an Equinox and detects and feels nothing like a Go-Find or even an X-Terra. In coin mode it did high tone false on iron depending on depth so I did dig some rusty nails at 6" to 8" that gave numbers in the high 30s. I was hunting in a silver coin area and would have dug them anyway......in coin mode iron and small foil are supposed to be discriminated. I still dug pull tabs and larger can slaw. Crown caps really do have broken nulling audio and so did those nails so I will have to remember that audio nuance. I really did not miss the lack of an onboard pinpointer. For shallower coins (surface to 4") it gave a clear double beep right over the coin. Dug some nice pre-1982 copper pennies and 2 wheats at 8"...........not bad for a 10"X7" coil in moderate to high mineralization and I was not running it on max sensitivity. In my backyard test bed I have a buried 6" nickel and 6" quarter that every detector I have tried can respond with some kind of audio and totally incorrect numerical target ID. The only detector that I own or have owned that could correctly identify both of these targets was the Equinox. Well, the entry level Vanquish 340 correctly identified both 6" targets AND gave the correct depth. That is saying a lot especially on the 6" nickel which every other detector I have every swung over it (the list is long and includes every manufacturer's detectors, XP, FTP, Garret, Whites, Nokta Makro, Tesoro and including Minelab=X-Terra 705 ) have totally failed to identify this 6" nickel in 4 to 5 bar dirt (F75 and F19 Fe3O4 meters) So, the Multi IQ system in the Vanquish is for real. I really would like to know what the multi frequency range is for the Vanquish too. Mine hit a 2/10 gram small nugget at 3" in the ground and I did not have the sensitivity at max!!!!! I still haven't had the courage to try the Vanquish coil on the Equinox just to make sure (I know Minelab said it will not work.....) Jeff

I posted My Minelab Vanquish 540 pro review on another forum last week but have added quite a bit since then. Video link is at the bottom as well with some of the tests I performed for those that are interested. Ergonomics are good compared to most detectors out there, it’s light weight and I like the layout of the menus and screen. I can tell it’s aimed at the Garrett Ace series of detectors. The 540 pro pack is a good value for the money. But if a person is on the fence between a vanquish 540 Pro or the Equinox 600, I would pay the extra $150 and get an Equinox 600. Performance wise it’s a beginner metal detector and that shouldn’t be a surprise as the price reflects that. Menus are easy to navigate and straight forward. It’s a great metal detector for someone who doesn’t want to dig junk. ID is accurate and almost identical to the Equinox ID numbers. If a person runs the Vanquish in any of the modes and uses the stock high iron bias, virtually all iron trash and bottle caps are eliminated. I’m going to make some performance comparisons between the Vanquish and the Equinox for those that want to know how it compares. Not saying that one is better than the other because it’s all going to depend on what you want to use each one for. The iron bias on the Vanquish in high is about equal to F2 level 6 on the Equinox and on low equal to F2 level 2 as far as I can tell in side by side comparisons. Modes I’m sure have different weighted frequencies and it’s anybody’s guess what they are. So other than the weighted frequencies I think recovery speed is the big factor in each. All modes are 5 tones. Relic mode I feel is about like having the recovery speed on the Equinox 800 at 1, Jewelry mode about like level 3 and Coin mode about like level 4 or maybe 5. Recovery speed is not adjustable on the Vanquish. Recovery speed on the Vanquish vs the Equinox was based on coins with no iron near it. So, this is where it gets interesting. There’s got to be more going on than just recovery speed behind the scenes on the Vanquish because I was very disappointed with it’s unmasking abilities in any of the modes even with the small 5 by 8 coil. A few simple tests were performed. First, I laid 4 rusty nails in a row long way with a penny, dime and nickel between each nail. The coins were about 1.5” between the tip and heads of the nails. The Equinox 11” coil can easily see each coin at a recovery speed of 3 and even 2 with a controlled sweep speed iron bias at FE 2. The Vanquish couldn’t see the coins even with the small coil with iron bias set at low. I had to put the Equinox at recovery 0 iron bias 9 to perform as bad as the Vanquish. Next I placed a coin below a nail 2” the nail was 6 inches away. The vanquish couldn’t see the coin in any mode at any sweep speed with the V12 coil. It could see the coin with the V8 coil. In my yard I have 3 dimes buried at 4, 5 and 6 inches. My soil is bad 4-5 bars on Fisher F75. Most detectors can’t hit the 6” dime and not call it iron. For example XP Deus with 9” HF coil, Makro Multi Kruzer, Fisher F-19, and Teknetics T2 with 7 by 11 coils all call it iron. Equinox and eTrac hit it fine and ID it as a dime. The Vanquish in relic mode is useless in my ground I can’t even hit the 4” dime. In jewelry mode calls the 6” dime iron, in coin mode it hits it one way but ID’s 26, so not bad. But this is clean ground as in no iron near. I took it to my local park to try out for a few hours and I was pleased with it’s performance. But I wondered what I was walking over based on my test with recovery. My question was kind of answered on one signal I got. It was a long weird signal in the 25-26 range. Good but too big to be a coin or so I thought. So I grabbed the Equinox and sure enough there where 2 dimes about 4 inches apart. One was about 3 inches deep the other 4. The vanquish couldn’t separate the two coins unless in pinpoint mode. Next, I took a trip to the Great Salt Lake Marina and State Park here in Utah to see if it could perform in the mega salt environment. I ran the Vanquish only in the jewelry mode as I figured it was the one best suited for the beach. I was able to push the sensitivity to 8 out of the water and 6 in the water without too much falsing. This surprised me because I can’t run the Equinox out there unless in the Beach modes and even then, it’s pretty noisy. But stability comes as a price and that price is depth. I located about 9 targets with my other detector that were anywhere from 2” to 10” deep. Of the 9 the Vanquish could only see 2 of them and they were both junk, one was a piece of can slaw at 2” the other was .22 brass at 4”. The other targets were a swim cap buckle, .22 long brass, 1 nickel, 2 dimes and 2 pennies. They were all in the 7-10” range. Now on a normal salt water beach with no black sand the Vanquish will probably perform better. I haven’t had the Vanquish out to a relic site yet but will try in the next few weeks weather permitting. Most likely will do signal comparisons between the Vanquish and Equinox. I worry how it will perform in my iron infested site, we will see. It’s going to be a good metal detector for my daughter, which was my intentions of buying it in the first place. She won’t be digging many rusty nails or other junk and can cherry pick coins easy. It should also work good on the beaches in California when we vacation. Overall good value and I think Minelab did a good job for the market it’s intended for. Comparing the Equinox to the Vanquish is kind of like comparing the Simplex to the Anfibio. The low priced models just aren’t going to perform at the same level although they have good DNA.

Beach Hunter Dec 3, 2019 - Minelab Vanquish Beach Review Finds Silver

Iffy Signals Dec 1, 2019 - We took the Simplex and Vanquish to a 1675 permission and compared some signals throughout the day.

So is Vanquish a finished, shipping product, or is it not? Most dealers say no, but Dick’s Sporting Goods apparently has them. They are showing as in stock on that company’s website. Regular dedicated metal detector dealers at the end of the line? What’s up with that?

Does the switch to single frequency and watching for number changes work on big iron? Hoping, hoping (Thanks Steve, I felt a bit guilty hijacking that thread)

Iffy Signals Nov 29, 2019 - Minelab Vanquish 540 Depth & Recovery Test with 8" Coil

Posted 11/17/2019 https://fccid.io/Z4C-0041 Minelab Vanquish 440/540 User Manual

Getting Started With The Vanquish 440/540 Version 4901-0304-4 Minelab Vanquish 440/540 Getting Started Guide Minelab Vanquish 440/540 User Manual Minelab Vanquish Color Brochure Minelab Vanquish 440/540 Quick Start Guide

Minelab Vanquish 440/540 User Manual Version 4901-0305-2 Minelab Vanquish 440/540 Instruction Manual Minelab Vanquish 340 Instruction Manual Minelab Vanquish Color Brochure

I am not really looking for a new detector to add to my arsenal. I think my Deus, Equinox, and GPX cover the bases pretty well. I keep an MXT and F75 DST around mainly for nostalgic reasons (like a guitarist collects guitars) and because they were classic designs in their day with solid performance, features, design, and ergonomics bar none in the case of the F75. I laso keep my Tek Delta around because it was the detector with which I really learned how to detect and helped me form a passion for the hobby. Plus they all support concentric coils which are advantageous under certain conditions. So why was I still drawn to the two new low cost offerings by Makro and Minelab? There is always something refreshing about a stripped down, back to basics detector design that incorporates the latest tech and capabilities (e.g., Multi IQ for Vanquish, straight forward single frequency detecting with decent all metal capability, and a waterproof package for the Simplex). Why get another detector, when my main arsenal seemingly consists of detectors that should easily outperform either Vanquish or Simplex? The answer is simple, performance diversity. Hitting a site with a different detectors of diverse capabilities, features, performance usually pays of if you have the luxury of time and access. Last week, at several different types of CW relic sites in Virginia I was able to use the diverse capabilities of the three detectors I mentioned in the second sentence of my post and each delivered with keeper finds under the conditions to which they typically excel. The GPX penetrated deep into highly mineralized soils of those Virginia fields to snag a number of deep non-ferrous brass and lead targets including my first US Cavalry bit boss - a "bucket lister" for me. The Equinox with its Multi IQ capabilities and diverse modes (including gold mode) was able to ID and lock onto shallower no-ferrous targets in the mineralized muck of multiple non-ferrous and ferrous targets which enabled me to ultimately pull several non-ferrous keepers out of a single hole. And the Deus gave my tired arm a break while deftly navigating between huge chunks of big iron in pitch mode that enabled me to literally visualize the large target footprint of these big iron targets and as a result snagged some actual ferrous CW relics including stove leg and some antique door hinges and other unique ferrous keepers. So what does this have to do with Vanquish and Simplex? The Vanquish is a very capable entry level detector with some high-end features (Multi IQ) and a cool coil selection and neat stem design but, not surprisingly, very limited setting customization options and missing features that appropriately put in a couple of notches below the even the Equinox 600. Some of the missing features are quite frankly head scratching as far as I am concerned (e.g., not fully waterproof housing, lack of user firmware update capability, no single frequency mode option, and while the coil selection is compelling, those coils are not also compatible with Equinox - a missed opportunity IMO - confirmed with me in person by Debbie S of Minelab at last week's dig). Sometimes manufacturers tease higher end features into their new lower-end offerings that are otherwise not available in their mid or high level offerings. Other than the decent coil selection, there is no such situation here. The Equinox envelopes the Vanquish completely. Bottom line, the Vanquish is solid and provides "multifrequency for the masses" but brings nothing to the table for Equinox users. That is not slam, it is a fact and frankly is not unexpected. If the coils were cross compatible with Equinox, I might seriously consider picking up a Vanquish solely for the opportunity to use the coils on Equinox while getting a fairly decent emergency backup or grab n go machine in the process. But with the coils solely married to the less capable Vanquish and without the capability to wring the most out of them, it is a pass for me. The Simplex on the other hand is limited to single frequency and the emphasis is on solid basic performance and ease of use. Yet Nokta has packed it with some high end features such as fully waterproof, wireless ready (and cheaper than the wireless variant of the Vanquish), firmware updates (updates and bug fixes have already been released), and the promise of some decent accessory coils consistent with the Nokta track record on their other recent detector designs. So there are slight feature advantages that in the Simplex design that provide something a little more compelling in the "basics" than Vanquish, though Vanquish does have Multi IQ going for it. Since I do not own a Nokta or Makro detector, the Simplex provides the performance diversity that the Vanquish does not, IN MY CASE. This would not necessarily be true of those who might own a Kruzer, Anfibio or Impact. For those folks, the Simplex probably looks to them the same way the Vanquish looks to me or the typical Equinox owner. At this price point, the performance diversity is worth it. I get Nokta's signal processing which is lacking in my arsenal, a decent VCO all metal mode (which I prefer over the processed discrete tones of the Equinox in the non-gold modes) and the prospect of decent accessory coil choices with user upgrade-able firmware in a waterproof package. It is still entry level and fairly basic, but compelling to me from a performance diversity standpoint, nevertheless. Remember, this is only my opinion and is applicable to my particular situation based on the detectors I already own and the type of detecting I like to do (primarily CW and Colonial relic hunting). It should not be misconstrued as Simplex is better than Vanquish or that these detectors can outperform their more expensive and capable cousins. So do you find either the Simplex and/or Vanquish compelling even if you do own higher end detectors already? Discuss your thoughts below.