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This is a short, 3 minute video of Deus 2 with HF2 coil and beta 3.04 software loaded on my WS6. So, no external speaker. I am using XP wired headphones with the volume on both the headphones and the WS6 maxed out. The audio is still no where near optimal. I apologize for that. Manticore is using its external speaker so don't compare the volume levels. Instead turn up your viewing device volume as much as you can and listen especially to me trying to ground balance the HF2 coil. It never really happened. Off camera I tried repeatedly and failed. Manticore running its multi frequency prospecting mode ground balanced within 5 seconds and was able to run much more quietly while having outstanding sensitivity to these two lead targets: 0.09 grams at 1.5" depth and 0.15 grams at 3" depth. Sensitivity was set on 20, recovery speed 5 and all targets accepted. As stated in the video, I could raise the coil 2 to 3" above the targets before the audio response got too weak to hear. This Beta 3.04 ground balance issue on highly iron mineralized dirt using FMF Goldfield is troubling. The HF2 coil performed as best it could in my opinion but it is just handcuffed by the software. I only tried the HF2 coil running Goldfield with 88 kHz max frequency, sensitivity 95, reactivity 2.5. Reactivity 2 was impossible to use due to ground noise. Reactivity 3 made sensitivity to these targets much worse. I was able to raise the coil about 1 inch above the targets before the audio really dropped off in volume. Compared to V2.00 software using the FMF 9" coil, the HF2 coil with beta 3.04 is a big improvement but the lack of getting a quiet ground balance and all of the falsing from the ground itself just tosses a hand grenade into using it for a location like this. Yes, I have found sub gram gold and specimen gold at this location using the XP Deus and XP ORX running the original HF coils.

I've got this spot that has lots of nails and other iron objects including pieces of tin. What settings should I use on my Manticore to get the most desirable items detecting? Thanks for any advice.

Disclaimer: long read. I spent several hours with the Manticore in the goldfields in the high Sierras and thought to provide some insights and impressions. First of all, the purpose of the Manticore for me is the ability to hunt for gold nuggets in really trashy mine sites. As you know, the Sierra Nevada has been visited by a few gold prospectors before (?), and prospecting at popular mine sites without any form of discrimination, that is based on target IDs, is pretty much hopeless. Sometimes, digging up everything with PI/ZVT is possible if you take on a really submissive mindset, but it is for the most part highly unproductive and will make your day nothing else but miserable. I tested the Manticore with the sole purpose of finding gold in trashy and highly mineralized mine sites, and by using various test nuggets ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 g. What ended up working best for me was: Gold Field mode with Prospecting audio theme, treshold 17, pitch 22, volume 14, sensitivity 16, revovery speed 6. The 0.1 nugget gave IDs between 8 and 12 and the 0.4g nuget around 22. Of note, the y axis on the screen( ferreous potential) is pretty much useless for detecting small nuggets, and both nuggets consistantly showed up at the upper and lower boundaries, unless right under the coil (then also in middle). So, don't trust the ferreous paramter when you hunt for small gold. When you detect a repeatable target, swing over it several times from different angles with short swing range and slow speed. In particular with the 11 inch coil, the target ID can be all over the place if the coil picks up too much ground signal as you move over the target of interest. So, make sure your "drill down" swings are tight. This should get better with the smaller coils, but for the 11 inch coil you need to be tight. Despite auto tracking on, I have not noticed that targets were tracked out. So, it's ok to take your time and examine a target from various angles with several swings. Importantly, the IDs should remain tight when you do that, like.+/- 3. Too much of variations can indicate hot rocks, which generally showed up for me in the 27 range, but can also be as low as 2. Often, the hotrocks give a slightly elongated trace in the very upper ferreous region of the 2D screen. This was pretty consistant, but might depend on the hotrock composition of the area. Again, don't look at the ferreous indicator when you suspect a nugget, it may or may not work and will fool you often. By far the most impactful parameters are sensitivity and recovery speed. In mineralized ground, the 16/6 setting worked the best for me. Anything above sensitivity 16, or max 17, or recovery speeds below 6 made the machine totally unstable and practically useless. If your ground is alot milder, you might be able to dial up the gain (or dial down the recovery speed), but this will highly depend on your conditions. I can just say that if some sort of ID is important to you, then you MUST tame the machine down, in particular in hot ground, otherwise all benefits of target ID will go away quickly. Under these conditions, the depth is only modest with the 0.1 nugget disappearing beyond 1-1.5 inch depth. To be able to detect at the edge, you need to keep the treshold on and listen for slight wispers (often without any ID dispalyed). This is absolutely essential to get some sort of depth, and this has not changed since the earlier VLF days, despite all the modern advancements. For the "full bore enthusiasts", this might work for PIs if your brain can handle it, but will NOT work for the Manticore, or any other VLF that I have used for that matter. If sensitivity is too high, you will not hear a nugget even when it is directly under the coil. So, be warned, as the Manticore has alot of power to offer. Do frequent GB and noise cancel, this helps, albeit not as much as for the 6000. I actually like the pinpointer feature, but the hotspot is at the tip of the coil, not at the center which I believe the manual says. Overall, the Manticore is a great machine for my purpose, but you need to find the sweet spot in settings to maximize the target ID quality for digging less trash, and to have a chance for a succesful day at a mine site. The depth and sensitivity under these conditions are modest at best, with depths detectable down to 2-3 inches for the 0.4 g nugget and about 1 inch for the 0.1 nugget. However, then with mostly reliable and consistant target ID numbers. There is absolutely no comparison to the 6000, which in this soil and under these conditions beats the Manticore by a huge margin, as expected. In mild soil this difference could shrink, but for sure not where I hunt. However, the 6000 is totally unproductive in highly trashy areas and the Manticore can save the day. So, gold can be recovered at super trashy sites with the Manticore, but expectations need to be managed. GC

After 386 days of ownership and an average of 160 sessions of use, The Manticore ceased operation today due to flooding. Although, data in hand, after the first 55 days the instrument had reached the break even point, now we will see what happens after the lab service... I will keep you informed.

So, been quite awhile since I have posted any good finds, not for lack of trying! I'm not as skilled or as lucky as many on this forum! But I had an interesting situation at one of my local beaches that was a learning experience, and actually sorta fun! I'm not generally a water hunter by "trade" for various reasons! One of the most notable, is that in a good part of my "detecting range", it is highly illegal to water hunt due to treasure leases with the State of Florida! Most of which are "owned" by the Mel Fisher family, which sublease to Treasure Coast salvagers, and are highly monitored by them, and law enforcement! So that's my disclaimer, and information for the unknowing! But there are beach water area's that are fair game for those who don't mind the generally murky water, and constant wave battering! One of those areas had an unexpected sand stripping event several day's ago that I had to try my hand at searching! Now to be up front, no treasure, or even clad was found in the water!😵 But nonetheless, it taught me much about the specific geology of the area, and how to search it! It was a rapid learning curve, as the monthly low tides don't wait for anyone to get there s**t together! I was using the Manticore with the M15 the first day, as I had hit a few beaches, and on the way home, stopped at this one! It is definitely too large for wavy water, and was overwhelmed by multiple targets! Nonetheless I managed a handful of lead and some beach clad up on the sand! Oh, and by the way, a scoop is useless in this situation, and I got tired of tossing it on the beach, or keeping track of where the waves took it! So, I come back day two a bit wiser, and ready to rumble! Waterproof headphones, my M9 coil with green bumper, and armor on my coil cable to prevent ruining it on the rocks, and left the scoop in the truck! I thought for sure I was gonna get at least a ring or two with my lead weights this time!🥁 And no🤯; but a crap load of mostly old lead, and way too many signals to dig in an hour! So, the last day, at now the "not so low" tide, half the rocks were covered, and the water was near zero visibility, so search and especially recovery was slow!😵 I was just able to managed a few more sinkers; still a ton of signals, some of which were the same aluminum can bottoms locked under the shelves, that i hit the previous two days, and it was done! No treasures!😬 So, in F350 fashion, I saved the "best" for last! I detected up the slope leaving the beachfront, into and old grassy area on the way to the shower! I got two pennies, but one was a 1927 wheatie, so it wasn't a total loss! I was rewarded immediately by some hidden fire ants that lit me up, as soon as i filled my hole!🤬 I will have the ankle scars to remember that find! I gained valuable experience, along with the makings of a potential ammo loading hobby!😉 And some great exercise! I haven't tallied up all the lead, but I'd say it was north of 100! I'm still convinced that the rings are in there, somewhere, but that will have to be another story some day!🤞🍀👍👍

Hi Folks, I've been pleasantly surprised with the pinpoint mode on the Manti compared to the NOX800. With the old NOX the perceived wisdom on the NOX thread was when in Pinpoint mode to ignore any VDI readings and depth (spade) indication as these were frozen at the last grap/sweep in the motion mode and just react to the location info the pinpointer mode was telling you. However it seems that the Manticore whilst in pinpoint mode shows and gives continuous updates on the 2D display and VDI of what it is seeing, and it seems to show even more resolution when doing so. Do you think the target info the Manti is showing in pinpointer mode is accurate and useful, or should we ignore it like the NOX? We'll probably dig it anyway.

I found 11 of these unknown objects. They might be brass. I also found these brass? objects that say case on the front. Maybe somebody will know what these are.

I own a Manticore with m8 m9 coils. I intend to spend some time this summer in the goldfields and am wondering if I should invest in a dedicated gold machine like the Whites/Garrett 24k or similar VHF technology or with the coils I own for the Manticore whether my success rate would be comparable to the dedicated gold machines.

A friend without Youtube filmed this video so I'm putting it up for him, he was playing around with his Algoforce and comparing it to the GPX 6000 and Manticore in some black salty sand and he did a good demonstration of how well the Algoforce can handle these difficult conditions that the GPX 6000 cannot handle at all. He's using a MK2 Sadie in the video, you can make it work even better and deeper with a less sensitive coil. I've had good results in my testing with the 11" Commander Mono in this sort of situation. I've never understood when someone says the GPX 6000 handles tough conditions well, just because the packaging says all gold, all soils, all the time doesn't mean it's true 🙂 The older GPX models were much better in very tough ground like this black sand. I've seen the same results as in this video around here, the 6000 fails badly in tough black sand conditions where the earlier GPX 4500/5000 worked much better and as you can see in this video the Algoforce also does very well and can even accurately Target ID accurately in the black sand. The GPX 6000 also fails in hot rocks around here that the Algoforce handles well. We have some of the worst black sand in the world in NZ at some of our West Coast beaches, I'm yet to take my Algo to the worst pure black sand beaches but the mixed sand and black sand beaches I've tried so far, it's worked remarkably well. I hope to get a chance to go to some of the really bad beaches soon as I'll have a good advantage over the previous attempts by people to detect them, I think, the Tarsacci that was touted as handling our beaches was a massive failure and didn't work well at all, I expect the Algo is going to do much better from what I've seen so far. I'll get some video when I make it to a good black sand beach showing how I go.

This is for people who have used both. Not really interested in opinionating from those who are just speculating. I have been hanging tough with my Equinox 800 package, in large part due to the coil selection. Both the D2 and Manticore have left me wanting in that department so far. XP holding out on the 5x10 coil, and Minelab holding out on, well, just about everything up to now. But at least the M8 and M15 coils are reaching user hands, and I am hopeful we might see a Coiltek 5x10 someday. But to keep it on the straight and narrow lets consider two coils only. The Deus 2 with 9" round as it's smallest option at this time, versus Manticore with 5x8 M8 coil. In general if coil sizes were identical I think most people would give the D2 the edge on picking non-ferrous out of a nail bed. But coils rule in the end, and I suspect the smaller M8 coil might tip the equation in favor of the Manticore for hunting dense trash. I'm also a small gold nugget guy as most people know. While some have knocked the Deus 2 for small gold capability my buddy Condor has one and does quite well on small gold with it in my opinion. As in I have been impressed. Yet another person (abenson) has the M8 on the Manticore and has killed it on some impressively tiny gold, but did note coil knock as an issue, something not seen on the Deus 2. That is however very dependent on sensitivity and even more so ground balance settings, so jury out on that for sure. Long story short I am strongly considering on replacing my Equinox 800 by next year with either the Deus 2 or Manticore. I tend to lean into small coils with VLF so the 9" or M8 are a real focal point for me. Frankly, if XP released the 5x10 for the Deus 2 it would probably be game over for me, but they really don't want me having that detector so are refusing so far to release that coil for the Deus 2. Yeah, I have heard the reasons why not - falling on deaf ears here. You out there XP? Give us the 5x10 for the Deus 2 and we can end this debate now. Until then however the Manticore M8 combo rates high with me, not least because I am simply more used to the Minelab way of doing things with menus. XP is a more radical shift for me. And in the long run I do think the Manticore will have the better coil selection, as we can at least hope for limited aftermarket coil support. Something we will never see with XP. Blah blah blah I do go on. So what do you people who have used both think about the D2 9" combo vs Manticore M8 setup?

As I write this problem I honestly feel like an idiot, but hey, it's a good thing to share the idiocy and avoid problems for others. I have a stuck lower end on the shaft of my Manticore. Despite the long-lasting lubricant I have applied in the past to each freshwater bath after saltwater sessions, I have now found the lower end causally stuck in place in the middle segment. I have tried soft and hard methods to remove it by sliding it down, but no amount of pulling or pushing will do. I also heard some carbon crunching noises that I did not like at all when I tried using a table stand with a sliding hammer. Good old candle wax is still the best...I just needed to use it first.

If you talk with a gold prospector, saying about a gold chain as the hardest item to uncover, it is a joke. In my still modest 20+ years experience, I found no more than 12 or so. Every time cause of a pendant still there in the same hole, or at least an eye visible piece. Long story short, I found at some depth (2" more or less) one little pendant with a weight of only 0.32 gram. I know, the shape can do miracles in terms of response to the coil, but hey...With the M9 this opened my eyes and that's the reason for the title. There will be no more progress on a Vlf to avoid salt and listen to chains. I'm sure now. Still today, smaller items barely covered in sand can be reached but forget about decent depth perception of it, not underwater. The low conductors program performs to a limit where I can barely realize if I'm running way hot at 22 or something reacts for real to the coil. Wrong program underwater, wrong approach to the usual work, I know. Using different settings and programs will only get You a blind machine like many others on micro targets. Steve explained long ago the "salt against chains ratio" and now, again I crashed my nose on it. For peace of mind, I'm considering to stay for some time with a pulse machine and forget micro targets for a while... I think that I've been lucky enough to push the Manticore to the limit underwater in salt. Skull

I used my Manticore in the ocean surf for the first time yesterday in Beach Surf/Seawater mode. Though it detected quite well finding targets so deep I couldn't even recover them, the pinpoint function did no seem to lock on and work very well. Has anyone else experienced this?

Larry here- about 8 years detecting (minus 4 surgeries), I started with a White's DFX, which I still have, and last year bought a Minelab Manticore. I enjoy finding period relics (where legal!), but of course jewelry and coins are fine, too. I am still delving into Manticore settings and variations, and wishing I had started detecting when I lived in the Northeast! This forum was recommended by an experienced detecting friend, so I'm happy to be here.

I got the Minelab Manticore in early January or February 2024 I think, (Thanks Gerry from Gerry's Detectors) but it was too frozen here to start using it much until early March when the thaw out started slowly happening. I have just started to scratch the surface for turf hunting with the Manticore. I have had a couple of short gold prospecting hunts with it and no water hunts. I have almost exclusively been using it at public parks with it setup in All Terrain General Multi, with all targets accepted and with sensitivity between 22 and 25 of 35 using the 11" coil. Today I recovered the 67 and 68th (my age is 68) silver coin/ring/relic since my first hunt with the Manticore in early March. To say that I am surprised and amazed with the Manticore would be a vast understatement. I keep detecting logs. In 2022 I recovered 20 silver rings/coins with the Nox 800 and Legend. In 2023 I recovered 32 silver rings/coins with the Legend and Deus 2. This year, I may be able to break 100 with just the Manticore. None of these targets were less than 6" deep. Most were 8"+ and without the very deep Fisher F Pulse, finding them with a less deep pinpointer and just a screwdriver would be really hard. So, this post is not about me. It's all about the Manticore and the F Pulse and the difference they have made at hunted out parks in just 4 months. Found some old tokens and a 1909 S V.D.B. Wheat too.

Yet another question about the Manticore versus Deus 2 (only put in a different way).------If you own both of these detectors---is there any "real" reason to keep the D2?---Talking about for relic/coin hunting in mineralized grounds.----Assuming a person has all the available coils for each detector.-----I have my thoughts concerning this---but---would like to hear the opinions of others.

Has someone of You tried in saltwater the Surf and Seawater program? Hard to explain precisely the fact but I heard a weird noise like the first time I tried the goldfield mode on the nox 800 when on wetsand....Unusable and noise at every shape change on the ground... Among the four, this should be the quieter against salt contamination but hey...I think there's something about high frequency here that makes this possible... Sorry for lack of more details but that's what I can say as for now...

I'm recently short of time to search, but almost sure there's still no trace of a 10x5 for the Manticore. Even if really satisfied by the 8x5, trust me, the exact same 10x5 for the Nox will be my last Coil when this happens! @Coiltek Do the miracle please...

Hi! Pretty busy these days delivering everybody's Amazon packages and whole food deliveries and save Mart, and then Walmart spark while I work the other 40 hours a week trying to create education management systems and stuff to help my kids which I will one day hopefully be able to release to the public. Anyhow, I've got my f75 LTD that I run with me from China and I love it. However, having once had a GPZ 7000 and a gold monster I long for those things. I'm pretty busy right now so I'm okay that I can't purchase them again yet, but looking at the manticore discounts, combined with the fact that I just got permission to metal detect in a pretty famous house built in 1938 here in Reno, I was kind of thinking about springing for a manicor actually financing one. When the summer comes next year or the spring, I'd like to hit some more trails around Carson City. Maybe spend some more time in Tahoe with my family. I can't go on those schools seeking dreams right now, but I'm wondering Is the manticore really a lot better than the f-75 LTD? It seems on fine gold it is. You know I stop all the time wherever I'm at w at and bring my f75 out of the car and look around. Sure would be nice if they had some collapsing rods for that I hate the push button thing to j disassemble the rod. I know the manticore is a little bit more compact. But is it better than the f75? I'm not going to do that dig I think until spring even though I'm dying to do it. I thought about calling the Reno you know guy and seeing if he wants to video it. I don't want to ruin the hunt using my f75 when I should maybe step up to the Manticore.. Well I'm looking for a place to buy one right now and use the discount depending on what everybody says about how it works compared to the f-75. I mean the Black Friday discount. I went to Rob's detectors and I saw they had a military discount 15%. I taught kids nearly 20 years and adults Is it only military that gets the discounts when buying metal detectors? If anybody knows of a teacher's discount let me know. I did a ton of searching and I can't seem to find anybody that upgraded their f75 to amanticore. And it seems like my f75 is a little more than a glorified pin pointer. Ice looking at getting the Garrett wireless headphones for it in that new 12-in coil that fisher made. Funny enough, my profind 35 is acting pretty weird. When I looked at the shopping cart for the $199 coil, and the headset and the pin pointer it was like five or 600 bucks really close to the price of a manticore... Maybe I'll just buy that old coil and line my ducks up. Maybe the manticore hmmm.. Sure do love this forum

Will a PI get better depth than a VLF in low mineral ground? Garrett Axiom, GPX 4500, Minelab Manticore, XP Deus 2. Forum member abenson via his Relics & Rings YouTube channel.... And another, PI vs VLF Buried Gold Nugget from .011 to 2.7 grams featuring Garrett Axiom, XP Deus 2, Minelab Manticore, GPX 6000….

Hello, This past Monday, I sent an email to Minelab customer service stating that my Manticore ML 105 headphones weren't functioning. The headphones wouldn't turn on, nor would they take a charge. Within a couple of hours, I had a response from them. This was only six days ago and I already have my NEW headphones paired up with my Manticore. Keep in mind, I am currently on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska and EVERYTHING takes longer to get to my location by mail. I am totally impressed by Minelab's customer service! On a side note, make sure you check for the latest version of software on your headphones as well as the Manticore. My headphones needed to be updated, however it only took about two minutes. John

I coach high school boys and girls golf and when the Fall season is over I like to celebrate by going to a couple of high altitude sites in the Colorado central Rockies that have been a fun place to go in the past at this time of year. I started out with the Garrett Axiom at a gold prospecting site. It had been several months since I had used the Axiom for other than testing. What a super nice, easy to use and easy to swing pulse induction detector. The site I hunted is really trashy so I wasn't expecting much in the way of gold. Just too many targets and too little time. So finding no gold was not a big deal. The targets on the left side of the photo were found with the Axiom. I was running the 11X7" Mono coil in Fine/Slow. Sensitivity 4 was too noisy, but sensitivity 3 was outstanding. Plenty of really small targets around 0.10 gram were found. This area is full of green mantle type hot rocks and magnetite. The Axiom handled the magnetite fairly well and also only sounded off with characteristic longer wailing type responses on those hot rocks. Extremely hot ground. I did fire up the Manticore with the M8 coil and Steve G's non conductive shaft at that site for a few minutes to test it. Absolutely no issues with the coil detecting the shaft. Thanks Steve G.!!!!! I then went to an 1870s relic site not too far away to run the Manticore with M8 coil and Steve G. shaft on some similar hot ground that is also full of square nails, rusted tin and lots of other rusted iron artifacts. I have hunted this site with Deus 2, the Legend and the Equinox 800. Iron falsing has always been an issue and I know I am going to dig some iron. I basically feel lucky if I can find anything that isn't ferrous at this site. I was in a 3 hour time crunch so I just ran the Manticore in 5 tone All Terrain General, sensitivity 23 which is where ground noise stopped being an issue, and bumped the recovery speed up to 6 and hunted with iron responses accepted. I didn't adjust anything else. 2 tones are what I have used in the past with other detectors and most people would recommend that. Yeah, it was a cacophony and very mentally taxing but I think I did OK. At least I had some idea about the conductivity. There are lots of tiny to small pieces of flat lead lying all over this site about as thick as a modern paper plate which can read from 05 up into the 30s depending on size. I could have disced them out but I wanted to hunt wide open since this really is a machine gun rapid fire, thick carpet of targets from surface to 6" deep site. None of the non-ferrous targets that are in the photo were clean hits. They all had ferrous contaminated audio responses even though none were deeper than 6". The Manticore with M8 coil was awesome not only for target separation and for hot ground handling but also for navigating around the small boulders, gnarly sage bushes and young aspen trees that cover this site. Bigger coils, even 9" coils just can't handle this place. The targets in the center and right side of the photo are from the 1870s relic site and are just the ones I kept. I left many, many other dug ferrous targets at the site. Yes, those are US Seated Quarters.

Amazed this week by the kind of events. Since last Monday, maybe I've been more productive on the wetsand than on the seabed, calculating effort and dedicated time. By the way, a heavy ear ring and a few coins opened the week and Tuesday an eyeballed wedding band and a thinner religious ring dug on the seabed declared the end of the short yellow stripe... Not too bad, considering 13,27 grams of 18K in total, slightly over the weekly minimum I keep in mind to run things in the right way. Have a great weekend You all!

Slow... There's no other word to describe this last week, for the rythm, for the finds, for the sand back to the highest level and people between me and the water everywhere, again. I got back from France Monday night and due to Atc problems the flight was delayed with clear consequences and a few hours to recover after a heavy rain and "gym training" weekend in EuroDisney. This makes me to be late at the beach and Tuesday morning I'm almost unable to wear my wetsuit and bring the usual artillery around. I decide to go on the wetsand and relax with the shovel and waders. Being in one of the less attained spots, by me and by people, I slowly cover a stretch of brand new sand and due to the lack of coins and tons of foils I decide to move away. 20 minutes road to discover a better ground far from there, but the new invasion of beach late warriors get me crazy as hell. Not now, not again! So without to spend even a minute more, I move away to another spot, this time at half an hour from the previous. Again, there's peoples from I don't know where, but the last summer window in my area it is like a revolution for them and the "beach call" brings them back between my feets. I decide to call it a day as I don't hunt anymore among peoples, not in the water, not on the wetsand. Wednesday morning, same far spot, this time early, the water was not that calm and heavy waves were pushing me inshore consistently. Two hours fight and nasty compressor rollover makes for a quit but I insisted and found a small ring, at least to see the lovely colour again. Nothing more than some coins and less of a gram of 18K in total. Thursday morning, with an old friend and dive buddy, together we've been at a special beach under a Castle, after the beach owner removed all of umbrellas and sun chairs, We were expecting some peace, at least. Of course, We found even less coins and more and more people from abroad swimming over our heads when diving🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬. To close quickly this tragedy, even this morning, with heavy equipment, there was like two meters of sand not far from the first drop off and this, in the home gulf it is a sign of patience needed. I can't calculate how much fresh drops are buried under the gulf now, but I need back a dredge or an efficient device that can blow overburden fastly.It is not a quick job, it is a nightmare back from many years ago. Have a great weekend all of You.

I was fortunate to have Steve’s Detector Rods send me a sample lower rod to test on my Manticore. I hope it’s because he values my honest opinion as a detector user more than just being a detector dealer? Also, since I reached out to him about an option of a non CF lower shaft before all this blew up, that probably had some play into it as well. The rods address the issues discussed here. To me, part of metal detecting is a way to unwind and walk away from todays worldwide issues, politics and pressures we all allow to build up in our bodies and minds. Swinging a detector is my Therapy. One thing about my detector preference, is the ability to tweak and fine turn it to get most depth on bigger gold, best sensitivity to smaller gold or specimens and smooth operation when swinging the detector in my desired locations. When I do swing a detector, I also want to have peace of mind knowing I’m getting best results. Now with the factory setup of Equinox 900 and Manticore, I no longer have the confidence that I’m getting best performance. I no longer feel I’m hearing all targets and or especially potential targets (iffy’ s) when I’m hearing the signal response of my detector as it beeps on the carbon fiber shaft. Side note - One of the reasons I don’t use Minelabs advertised VLF gold detector, the old technology Gold Monster 1000? The Equinox 800, 900 and Manticore are more capable detectors, with added features and better performance. Those 3 models of detectors are not advertised by Minelab as Gold Prospecting capable detectors and to this day I have no clue? I guess the Marketing Team working behind a desk, knows better than real genuine gold prospector detectorists? Anyway, the 800/900/Manticore all are better VLF gold detectors than GM-1000. So, I’m going to take advantage of my knowledge and put them to use. When doing so, I prefer to set up my detector to run best results and smoothest operation. The EQ-800 was great and new improved EQ-900/Manticore models should have been even better and for many reasons are. But that Carbon Fiber shaft is a mistake and a thorn in my buttocks (both of them). Here’s my 1st impression of in the field use. I ran my Manticore in Eastern, OR at an old Prospect site that’s produced good gold in years past with VLF detectors. This area recently burned and so I desired to swing where it’s now more open and not thick with brush. Here’s my findings and some other info of importance to me. Detector is more quiet when bumping into rocks and stumps, which is the majority of my Gold Prospecting VLF detecting style. I turned Gain/Sens up to 25 on detector and it ran ok with more False Chatter but not as much as I expected. So I turned it down to 21 and it really smoothed out. 20 seemed to be a little better. Interestingly, my go to on GAIN for dredge tailing piles is 19. So, yes I was happy with added Gain of 20/21 but at the same time, this was not dredge tailing piles and so maybe at that location, I’ll be back at 19? Reall hard to say until I get there. Noise during target Recovery - When laying detector down and lifting it up off the ground during target recover. This was the biggest difference I noticed. Detector was much more quiet and reminded me of using the Equinox 800 with hardly any issues. The reason? Each time a person lays detector down and picks it up, the stock CF shaft is seen and makes the Manticore scream. This new non CB shaft takes care of that issue. Just having a more quiet detector during operation is worth the value spent on a non CF shaft, in my opinion. Realize, my hunting in ore dumps, side banks in placer digs and tailing piles are all steeper terrain and so the detector can easily move, slide, rock back and forth…which used to drive me nuts. The non CF shaft alleviates most of that. Quality - built of the non CF shaft. Certainly ranks high and I even like the silver color as it separates my unit from those around me. The diameter of the shaft is just as great as the stock shaft from Minelab and maybe even a hair thicker when I put it in the clevis, hardly any need to adjust the back screw. It feels a little more snug, which I prefer. Texture of the shaft, is on par with the factory shaft provided. To me, that’s important because when I hunt in saltwater, some materials will easily wear and mar up from the find sand (early CTX 3030 shaft for example). Weight of Steve's non CB lower shaft is 2.2 oz Weight of stock lower rob by Minelab that makes all the extra noise, is 1.8 oz The difference of .4 oz. Length = Steve’s rod is 23 ½” vs stock lower rod from Minelab at 22 ¼”. Now, I myself prefer the smaller 22” and in fact hope Steve cuts them down to 22” as an option. I take trips all the time and get n planes and fly with my Manticore. The airlines carry on size dimensions are 22” x 14” x 9”. This is a big thing to me since I fly with detector at least 6 times a year. Also realize, the Manticore has a lithium Ion Battery, so it’s illegal to have in normal luggage under the plane. Cool Factor = Tops. Why be the same and have your detector looking like everyone else you hunt with. Overall, I’m quit sure the majority of guys who use the Equinox 900 and Manticore detectors for Gold Prospecting, will in fact enjoy the benefits of the non CF shaft. I also feel just like I do with a new detectors as I’ll start getting more time on it in a variety of detecting situations and see other benefits as well. Minelab, are you listening? You dropped the ball this time. Having some Engineer guy tell Simon all the excuses why you used a CF shaft is a bunch of BS. The better option would have been to reach out to those who originally mentioned the issue and provide us an option of fix of the error made. Telling us the EQ-900 and Manticore are not advertised as gold detectors is weak and the rest of the excuses made, I’m not even going to waste my breath/time with rebuttal. At least we have other metal detector manufactures and accessory businesses out there that provide a more responsive approach to helping get it right and keeping the end user (customer) happy with the product they purchased. Thank you Steve’s Detectors Rods for doing what should have already been done by Minelab. You my friend, understand the importance of Customer Satisfaction. Steve, you'll need to update your business card with the new and hot selling non CF rods as well.