Nokta/Makro Smf Live Launch

[☠ Cipher]

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

Although who knows what it looks like now nearly 6 mos later.  Dilek posted here on Sept. 14, that they basically had to go back to the drawing board with the physical design due to issues identified during prototype testing and some of the features/descriptions she talked about in earlier videos had changed.

 

This is always possible. Mostly I was hoping the extra draw on power is due to one of my wish list items, that being color graphics. It’s a question she’s never been asked about, which surprised me. I’d have thought there’d be more interest in that, but then again, how many people have ever experienced these graphics to know if they want them, being that they have been on machines in the $1,500-$2,500 range. 
 

Personally I think they should ditch the whole Simplex shaft system if it requires an awkward seeming battery setup, or find a way to cram the juice into the shaft somehow, and just introduce an optional underarm battery as a secondary source since the rail system is already in place for it. 

[Chase Goldman]

1 minute ago, ☠ Cipher said:

This is always possible. Mostly I was hoping the extra draw on power is due to one of my wish list items, that being color graphics. It’s a question she’s never been asked about, which surprised me. I’d have thought there’d be more interest in that, but then again, how many people have ever experienced these graphics to know if they want them, being that they have been on machines in the $1,500-$2,500 range. 

Given their repeated emphasis on cost/value and simplicity of operation as a driving force, I would say the chances of such a feature appearing on the Nokta machine would be slim.

[Rick N. MI]

I like a detector that comes apart, giving me the options of hip mounting or using another shaft. It sounds like this one can't do that. If it's well balanced it should work just fine.

[GB_Amateur]

5 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Balance makes a huge difference in any detector, and actually more than makes up for any weight added as far as comfort goes. F75 design pretty much nails ergo for zero rotational force, and perfect balance.

Steve, thanks for saving me a longer post than this one as I was going to say exactly that.  Between my ~3 lb ML Eqiunox fitted with its stock 11" round DD coil (with S-shaft that I 'stole' from the ML X-Terra 705) and the 3.5 lb Fisher F75 (with either the stock 7"x11" DD or the aftermarket Detech Ultimate 13" round DD), long hours (4+ in my case) leads to more back issues with the lighter Eqx.  That discomfort is a bigger problem with the (heavier) ML Eqx 12"x15" DD coil.

As always, I like options and having a battery system that can take multiple types of batteries (e.g. lithium rechargeables, Nickel-Metal-Hydride rechargeables, and alkaline disposables) is my preference.  I realize that strapping on an external power source when the non-removable rechargeable battery on some detectors runs out is an option, but it adds weight (and imbalance) to a hopefully already balanced detector as opposed to a swap out.

Having said that, for a waterproof detector, swappable batteries could lead to bigger engineering headaches (and weight?) than a dedicated non-removable rechargeable.  Not being a water detectorist, it's less of a concern for me, but for others....

It's too bad detectors aren't made in two versions -- waterproof and non-waterproof.  (Actually White's did this with a couple of their models.)  That might save some cost for those who aren't interested in waterproofness, although maybe some (or all) of that savings would be offset by extra engineering cost.

(I hope all this is on-topic.  We'll know more in 2 1/2 weeks!)

[PhaseTech]

Steve, you hit the nail on the head re shafts. 

For me, the original Racer was perfect. Balance and handle angle. Racer 2 they went to the more forward leaning handle which twists the wrist forward. It is fine with very small coils, like 5" or 7x4 on the Gold Kruzer, as there is very little downwards pressure. For the 9x5" coils, I found the Anfibio or Impact shaft to be the best. Impact although heavier, is better balanced with the batteries right up the back. Anfibio is the same with the optional battery pod, but that obviously increases overall weight. 

The Fors series design is also excellent, especially for running larger coils, as there's more weight up the back and less on top of the pod. This is almost a perfect design for me. If this platform ever got relaunched, (imho it would be very suitable for a gold machine), I'd change  the middle and lower shafts to carbon, and it would be awesome. 

My main interest in this new machine is 2-fold.

1. How well it does on the beach

2. How well it does on gold (lots of new customers still want a good all-rounder) 

Also, it will be interesting to see if ID's on fringe targets and large ferrous is improved. 

[Johnnysalami1957]

I would like a cigar lighter and a bourbon dispenser for when I take a break from thinking about digging.

[☠ Cipher]

18 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Given their repeated emphasis on cost/value and simplicity of operation as a driving force, I would say the chances of such a feature appearing on the Nokta machine would be slim.

I’m very much doubting that I’ll see what I want too, but then their slogan is “do not accept paying more for less.” By this I’d say it’s a safe bet that it will cost less than equinox, yet offer more, but more of what? More of a robust housing I’m sure. Maybe more battery life. It would seem that they would also try to outdo the feature set, I just wonder how. More frequency selection? more frequency mixes? Or maybe some visual graphic that others in the price range lack. It wouldn’t necessarily have to be in color. It could be done via shading or thickness of lines. I’d be willing to bet that the continuous display of a graphic like a spectrograph draws more energy than color itself though. Not everyone finds such things helpful, but for anyone who loves other SMF machines, if you ask them what their favorite features are they are almost always going to say the Spectrograph along with 3-frequency pinpoint no motion, signagraph, polar plot (x,y) and target trace. There’s a part of me that wants everything in one machine, but there’s another that would be happy if all the SMF machines I already have remain relevant for having features others lack.

[mh9162013]

17 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

It's too bad detectors aren't made in two versions -- waterproof and non-waterproof. 

Isn't the Minelab Excalibur II a waterproof version of one of their land-based machines? Maybe it was the Sovereign?

[Rick N. MI]

Yes, Excalibur and Sovereign are the same. Excalibur is waterproof.