Simplex / How They Do It ?

[RobNC]

26 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Thanks Rob, It's great to read different perspectives and it's good to see everyone can have this discussion in a very constructive manor and not get fired up at each other and upset when someone disagrees with them, it's a testament to the forum Steve's created and the great users it attracts as this is likely a very controversial subject to many.  It's all just opinions and what a person thinks suits them best doesn't necessary reflect what suits everybody else, especially when different countries are involved.  We can't even buy White's detectors here and shipping out of America is crazy, I can't think of a more expensive place to get something shipped from. UK is cheap, China is usually free, Ukraine is cheap or free (For Mars/Nel coils) Australia is cheap... 

Shipping is a rip off here in the US, that much is a given. We have to deal with high shipping costs within the country and even from state to state. Big companies like FedEx getting richer with every package.

I use a Mars Pinpointer and must say it is the best pinpointer I've ever owned. There are some really hungry companies not in the USA that are making a quality product (like the MarsMD pinpointer mentioned). While I would prefer to buy and use things made in my own country that is getting harder to do. Quality has decreased horribly, the price has risen and "Made in the USA" doesn't mean what it once did. This isn't just concerning metal detectors. Feels like to me it is that big companies here could care less about what they are making anymore. Their goal is to get richer and spend less on the products to get there.  It's a shame we built one of the longest operational spacecraft here in the US back in the 70's (The Voyager 2) but today we struggle to make the simplest of things and have them last for a reasonable amount of time. The problems are clear- greed, complacency, arrogance, and laziness. Not a doubt in my mind that Whites and Garrett could make some really groundbreaking detectors if they truly wanted to but there is nothing yet pushing them hard enough to do so. Will they wake from their slumber and realize it is 2019 now, and people have changed. I remember when I was young time and again I was told that you could tell if something was good or not by seeing how it "felt". The heavier the better was the old-timers thought process. But once you get older, start having some pains due to accidents or injuries that solid product becomes a real pain literally to enjoy using.

Even XP lowered their prices. And hey, they created a really innovative product. Competition keeps manufacturers honest, even if it is delayed honesty.  Not picking on XP here, they make a nice product. Who would have ever thought such a light detector could be so strong and actually work. But they got it right, and I don't know if anyone else can quite match what they've done. At least they relented on price. No such sign of that from a lot of the others.

The thing or things a person enjoys is the beauty in us all because it is different for every person. All I know is that I want something that works and if I take care of it doesn't fall apart in my hands or cease to work after a day. If I must pay more, let me know it is worth it and stand behind it.

[Lacky]

Rob, I agree with much of what you are saying and definitely take a wait and see approach myself. I dont think anyone is wanting the other companies to fold though.  They want, and have wanted for years, for them to be innovative and lead markets again. When a former market leader stops leading people get frustrated,  their loyal fans most of all.

[Lacky]

It's worse than that Rob. Many companies actually design products to fail after a certain number of use cycles so that the product has to be repurchased. It's a sad state of affairs.

[Minador]

I'm new here, I've seen your site many times and you always have interesting insights.  I thought I had an account but tonight I finally signed up.

Anyways, I've seen the news on these machines and have been very curious about them.  Where are these detectors made, in Turkey, or elsewhere?

It will be interesting to see how geopolitics plays a role.  Tariffs and such.  Competition is good and hopefully there continues to be a variety of manufacturers coming up with better products and pushing the limits.

Happy hunting,
Mark

[BeachHunter]

Welcome to the forum Mark. Good luck!

[Nokta Detectors]

On 8/16/2019 at 3:11 AM, RobNC said:

While I am glad to see this detector is nearing release I'm really wondering how many bugs will be in the initial offering units. In the grand scheme of things we really do not know how long they have worked on this but surely it has not been much time. How about some positives on this detector so far?

• Waterproof to a reasonable depth
• Looks strongly built
• Backlit display
• Non-complicated operation
• Wireless audio capable (although not many details on that, do they mean their proprietary headphones or more generic compatibility like the Equinox has?)
• Notch Capable
• It's very reasonably priced

Now let's get on down to more technical stuff. It's single frequency with minor shifting to reduce interference it says. However, just how good is the shielding inside of this detector? How about the coil construction-is it worth having or is it a really cheaply made coil that will be weak in the field and pick up a lot of noise from the environment? These things matter a lot. We live in a world full of radio waves and electrical noise. To me personally what detector makers should be working on now is a better way to filter out interference.

There was some discussion on how this detector will process signals. Will it be a faster processing unit or slow as a tick.  While no one is expecting a high end detector at this price it would be truly annoying if this Simplex is a very slow swinging type detector, and unable to process at a speed which a lot of detectors do today.  Again, will this detector be using the cheapest components available with higher variation (think resistors and such, 5% vs 10% vs more,etc.)

The most important thing though is how will they service the customer after the sale. Will they ask you to send it in and keep it a couple months to repair it. We just don't know at this point. While I realize Dilek does a wonderful job one person can only do so much.

I'm not knocking Nokta/Makro or the Simplex. However what they do not have is the money and service presence a lot of older detector companies have. With any new product there WILL BE problems, and a bad release can tarnish a lot of people's memories for a very long time.  I remember when I bought my first detector and got back into detector after a decade of being away from the hobby. It was a Makro Multi Kruzer. I truly regret buying it because it was a lemon. And at that point and waiting quite a few days for a response concerning the problems they wanted pictures and video of the problem. By then I had already sucked it up and taken a loss, trading the machine off. So yes, I have seen the bad side of their units. When it did work a short amount of time before it got worse the target ID was very erratic, and the machine itself was very susceptible to interference. It never would ground balance, among the other problems.

Long story short, I'm not against trying another Nokta/Makro product but I would not be willing to spend a lot on a higher end model they offer until the company matures a bit more and has a higher service and repair presence with documented and maintained customer happiness after repairs. While we have already seen the demise of Tesoro, many others in this thread have thrown rocks at White's, Garrett, and First Texas/Teknetics/Fisher in an almost wishful way for them to fold up. If they do fold up, what will we have then? I will tell you what- Far worse prices and even less innovation and competition.  Nokta/Makro is doing us all a service by being competitive, and I will give them that. But are they Sprinters or marathoners? Those other companies mentioned above that are still in business are marathoners. They've been around a good while, especially Garrett and White's. Notice I'm not mentioning Minelab? I'm not because their arrogance and price gouging is well documented. Do they make good stuff- yes they sometimes do but charge us a lot of money for it and in the past their service sucked. It's better now but let's see how long they will maintain that.

Something is for certain, If there was less competition Minelab would go right back to how it was a short time ago, charging outrageous amounts of money for their product. And White's? Yeah I agree their stuff is overpriced too.  After some time out in the market, and after a fair amount of reports come back YES I would be willing to try the Simplex out.

Hello Rob. Just happened to read your post and would like to make a few comments ..hope you do not mind.

Please do not let the price of Simplex+ mislead you. As our Simplex+ video says, the only thing that is really entry level about this detector is its price. This is what we say as the manufacturer of the product and we will leave the rest to the actual users of the product to comment upon as whatever I say here will be biased.

 Now regarding myself and service –  It is totally my personal choice to respond to end users and interact with them as I really enjoy it ...and more importantly I feel like I must understand the customer profile and their needs from first hand experience to be able to perform my job the best way I can as the Sales&Marketing Director of the company. Of course, Nokta Makro is not a one-man show.  I have a team of sales and operations guys reporting to me as well as many other departments who make it all happen. In addition, we now have a service center in the USA and the turn-around time is pretty good so far. 

Are we sprinters or marathoners? I can only speak for the current team including myself as I do not know what the future will bring. All I can say is that we made an announcement end of 2014 when Nokta bought out Makro. Within that announcement we said ''...We will not only offer a richer product portfolio to our customers but address the whole market demand with products at different price levels.'' This is exactly what we have been doing for the past 5 years .... standing behind our word. 

We have been working hard, really hard to reach where we are today and will continue to do so as the limit is the sky. However, regardless of where we end up, we can promise our customers that:

1.     We will never forget the fact that we owe it all first to our end users

2.     We will never close our ears and we will continue to listen to the actual users

3.     We will maybe make mistakes but will always try to be open and honest about them

4.     We will stand behind our products and our valued customers

Just wanted to point these out … thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment.

Dilek

[Ridge Runner]

Hey Lady

 I’m one that knows how great your service is due to the fact I got one detector defective straight out of the box.

 I got better service direct from you across the water than with some in the USA . Not one time did you ask for me to pay shipping are did you drop me . I guess you could say you stuck with me through thick and thin but never left until you knew I was happy.

 Dilek I’ve said the same in the past and I’ll always speak up for you and your company.

 Chuck 

[LowTide]

While we are on the subject of Dilek...........firstly I have never purchased a product from Nok/Mak and therefore I am agnostic about what they offer.  But I have read many forums and posts about the company and to/from Dilek herself.  She has always comported herself very well in her public dealings with customers and I would believe that it likely carries over to private communications.

I do have one concern for Dilek in her position at Nok/Mak and that is burnout.  I was in a similar position in Consumer Electronics for several decades before retirement.  Being on the road for multiple days per month in a high stress trade show environment takes it’s toll.  Trying to juggle family life especially as a young mother simply magnifies that stress.  I would hope that once a month she takes 15 minutes to clear her mind and re-assess her priorities as we all get to make life’s journey one time.

[Ridge Runner]

Good morning LowTide

 Being we all human and not all easy to deal with.makes a job Stressful.

 You use the term burnout,well this is something we all have in any job. Dealing with some people on detectors I’d say that Dilek has gone as far as a total flame out . But I don’t believe she’d never show it because she may turn around and someone says thank you. One thank you can heal a lot of wounds .

 Dilek is working for a company that is not sitting on their hands watching the world go bye. You don’t have to take my word just look at the number of new detectors they have come out with.

 LowTide I don’t think you have to worry about that Lady she’s got what it takes for the long haul.

 Chuck