Joe D. Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 ย ย It's like many have said previously about the first run of any detector, or related equipment! Until it's been out in mass for awhile to work out the inevitable bugs, it's not truly tested! ๐๐ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dances With Doves Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 On 9/27/2021 at 4:35 PM, Jeff McClendon said: I sent the Viper coil, control box and MS-3s in for repair/evaluation. Garrett returned the same Viper coil to me after checking it. So, I am moving on.ย This appears to be another perfectly good detector that just can't handle the iron rich/volcanic ash filled moderate to high mineralization in my area. Simultaneous multi frequency detector technology is definitely not equal from one technology to another even within the same manufacturer........Minelab BBS and FBS technology detectors get mediocre results where I often detect. Minelab Multi IQ is excellent here.............. ย Hi Jeff.Did the X-terra handleย your bad ground better then the Apex ?Also whatย X-terra coils did you like in your ground forย ย ย rings and coinsย ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff McClendon Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 8 hours ago, Dances With Doves said: ย Hi Jeff.Did the X-terra handleย your bad ground better then the Apex ?Also whatย X-terra coils did you like in your ground forย ย ย rings and coinsย ? The X-Terras I owned all had jumpy and unstable target IDs in discrimination modes here on targets deeper than 3โ, very much like the Apex. So I mostly used my XT 70 and 705 with the 18.75 kHz elliptical coil for gold prospecting and relic hunting in all metal prospecting mode.ย ย The Apex having the SMF option gave me some hope that it might do better here. Didnโt happen. Abensonโs embedded video earlier in the thread showed the same behavior that I experienced with both Apex detectors I tested. In a โdig it allโ scenario the unstable kaleidoscope of tones and ID numbers can be excused. If โdig it allโ is not an option โฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆ.. not much fun.ย This interesting paragraph is from page 9 of the APEX User's Manual. The second sentence definitely applies to my situation and Abenson's too especially if you substitute the word deeper for the word small....targets: "Target ID can vary widely based upon the targetโs size and thickness because small, thin pieces of metal cannot conduct electrical current as well as thicker pieces of metal. In addition, mineralized soils can cause Target ID errors, especially for small targets." I have been very impressed with the Apex as an emergency/alternative ย gold prospecting detector. Its sensitivity to .1 gram sized and larger sub gram sized gold is better than my former AT Gold even with the Viper coil. I wouldnโt hesitate to use it for near surface gold prospecting IF the ground is not too mineralized.ย Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palzynski Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 12 hours ago, Joe D. said: ย ย It's like many have said previously about the first run of any detector, or related equipment! Until it's been out in mass for awhile to work out the inevitable bugs, it's not truly tested! ๐๐ For me they have not tested the Apex enough before releasing it to customers. I mean serious testing by experienced users . They probably wanted to release the Apex as soon as possible , I am not sure that it was a good idea ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kac Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 Figured I would resurect this thread after giving the apex some serious hours in the field. Things I do like: Well balanced Light weight Excellent separation in iron and around trash Iron wrap on large silver is minimal and often non existant (can stack more than 10 quarters and still get a good high pitch tone to dig though numbers will max at 99 starting around 7 quarters with Ultimate 9" coil) Things that could be better: Audio takes some getting used to. Bit too short making it seem like there are more targets when larger targets are present and can be tricky to isolate. Once a target is isolated the machine will lock in fine and give good tid's. If Garrett used the AT Pro audio the machine would be tough to beat. Noticed when beach hunting there is a substantial gap between ground balanencing from dry to wet sand so jumping between MF and MS can be a pain without having a manual ground balance. In other words as you hit dry sand it may have some wet sand below making the MF noisy but MS is too much of a shift giving up too much depth. All dry sand or all wet the machine runs like a champ. Lack of manual ground balancing makes it a bit tricky hitting that in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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