Deus 2, Nokta Multi, Equinox 1000, All In 2022!

[Steve Herschbach]

We have the Deus 2 just announced, Nokta/Makro Multi on the way, possibly the next generation Equinox from Minelab, and maybe even another Garrett multifrequency model to follow Apex, all coming in 2022. I guess we should even toss First Texas in there, as they just officially discontinued the CZ-3D, with the possibility something new will replace it soon. If this does not mean we are moving past single frequency, I don’t know what does. Or are we? There will no doubt always be a place for a finely tuned single frequency detector. However, if you consider Deus as selectable frequency, and Equinox as selectable/multi, then very many of us have already moved past a simple single frequency detector as our primary detectors.

This is the thread to speculate on what is coming, where we are, and where we are headed. 2022 is shaping up as the year SMF (simultaneous multifrequency) finally takes off for real. In some detectors, it’s just companies chasing the latest marketing catchword. Multifrequency is only as good as the way it is implemented, otherwise we’d all have been swinging White’s DFX ages ago. It’s not enough to make a SMF detector, it also has to have genuine performance advantages. About the only given is that any multifrequency machine will outperform a single frequency on a saltwater beach. The rest, however, is very much up in the air.

For some detailed explanation of the technology, and a history of past selectable and simultaneous multifrequency detectors, see my write up on Selectable Frequency And Multiple Frequency

Where it all started, Fisher CZ-6 and Minelab Sovereign, both released in 1991. I think Fisher wins claim to being first, since Minelab takes a swipe at them in their Sovereign introduction. Notice how the misdirection on transmitted versus received and processed started on day one. 

Fisher CZ-6 Quicksilver. The technology: Dual frequency Fourier Domain Signal Analysis. Patented state-of-the-art analog/digital electronics transmit two VLF signals (one 5 kHz, one at 15 kHz) deep into mineralized soil. The receiver circuitry had two ground compensated target signals to analyze, compare and identify. The result? Deeper targets, more accurate target identification. Wet sand is no problem for the CZ-6, it compensates for salt and ground mineralization simultaneously! Source Fisher CZ-6 Datasheet
 

 

"The Sovereign" is the first of the latest generation of metal detectors from Minelab featuring Minelab's new technology called Broad Band Spectrum or BBS for short. This revolutionary new technology which is unique to Minelab has already been awarded patents in the USA, Canada and Australia and has several pending. Unlike other metal detectors which operate at just one frequency, or even the "newest" two frequency machines, "The Sovereign" actually transmits over a wide spectrum of frequencies. The resulting signal that is received from a target buried in the ground is processed by a microprocessor that removes interference caused by ground mineralization which limits the depth at which targets can be found, and often results in inaccurate target identification. The remaining signal can then be analysed to determine the actual composition of targets even if they are deeply buried, or if the ground is mineralized or salt water is present. Thus it is the only detector that can simultaneously reject both salt and mineralization while at the same time accurately discriminating the target, making it ideal for black sand beaches and many desert areas. In many areas that are highly mineralized and have been heavily searched in the past, "The Sovereign" will prove that many of the valuable targets are still there waiting for a Treasure Hunter with the proper detector to locate them. Source Minelab Sovereign Instruction Manual

[CPT_GhostLight]

Well it's beginning to look like 2022 could be an expensive year. 😎 No detector will ever be the do all, be all... or will it? But with the spirit of competition very alive and well, we win, and this coming year may be the best ever for detector choices.

[Steve Herschbach]

For me it's all pretty simple. Equinox hits on more of my detecting needs across the board than any other single detector. The big defining issue, for me, is an ability to work very well in saltwater, while also being top of game for finding gold nuggets. Before Equinox, those two things were always mutually exclusive, requiring two detectors. That is because tuning out saltwater tunes out part of the gold signal, and detectors made for saltwater use never were any good at gold prospecting. Equinox changed that, in that it is both a top tier saltwater detector, and one of the best gold prospecting VLFs made. The fact it's top of class for coin and relic detecting is almost a bonus for me, but something I also desire

We all have our key criteria, but mine is fairly simple. Just be as good as an Equinox, but be better balanced, or better waterproofed, or both. The same capability, in a better quality package, is all it would take to sell me. Access to more coils faster, via third party support, would be a huge plus also.

I have a Simplex, and frankly, I don't find the Simplex to be any better in the ego department than the Equinox. Both are straight shaft, whereas I prefer a S shaft on detectors weighing under 4 lbs, straight shaft on models over 4 lbs. Deus sets the standard there, so the XP offering has promise for me just based on that. I prefer Equinox tones to Simplex tones, so hopefully the NM model is better there. XP on the other hand, would have to go waterproof and wired coils to suit me. Long story short, it will not be easy to make me switch from Equinox, and I'm not inclined any longer to just buy and try. Either they look like a serious replacement for what I already have, or I'll just sit it out and wait. I'm not going to get sucked into any "it goes deeper" nonsense either. I've done this too much, and am tired of splitting hairs in that regard. Again, this is just me, but I'm looking for an Equinox in a better balanced, more waterproof package, whether it is from Minelab, or any of their competitors. Anything else, and I'll pass.

The truth is I am almost at detecting perfection with just two detectors right now, the GPX 6000 plus Equinox 800. The 6000 is my primary detector, with Equinox for everything it can't do. I do have a 24K as it has a slight edge for small nugget detecting over Equinox, mostly via it's coil designs, which are more made for nugget detecting than the Equinox options. But that's a quibble, and I could live without the 24K before I'd go without the Equinox, if I had to choose. The only real lack I'm feeling right now is for a PI detector that will handle hot rocks and beach conditions where the 6000 struggles. Something GPX 5000 or even just ATX class, but in a better, lighter package. Impulse Gold maybe?

So the only detector I am really in the market for is another PI. I'm quite happy with my Equinox, and it can only get replaced by something at least as good, but which also improves on the Equinox weak spots. So I'll follow all this with interest, but I have no plans of getting any of these new multi models just to try them out and report on them. I'm pretty well done with all that, and it will be up to others to do that sort of thing. I just don't have time for it any more.

[☠ Cipher]

I’m ready for these new machines, financially and otherwise. I’m just wondering how relevant machines like my CTX-3030 and V3i will be by the end of this. Will they be completely supplanted or will they still have their place. Will anyone else incorporate a color screen or some form of graphics that really bring simultaneous multifrequency to the next level? To me, that 3 frequency color spectrograph of the V3i has been supremely helpful in sorting trash from treasure, and one target from another in pinpoint no motion. I’m also a fan of CTXs target trace and ability to display multiple target results. But color screens are also power hungry, requiring a bigger battery, more circuitry, and more weight. It seems like we are heading in the opposite direction. If all of 2022 releases are just an equinox by another name I won’t be as motivated to buy as I would if at least one combines all the best of simultaneous multifrequency designs. The equinox 1000 or whatever it ends up being is going to be the main event or grand finale of this SMF blitz in my thinking. That’s the one most likely to combine the best of equinox and CTX features. But XP or NM may surprise me next month. There’s some reason we are seeing the screens or control boxes last. Maybe a surprise coming. And don’t forget the Rutus Atrex, which we know will/does have color graphics, including signagraph. The pity for Rutus is that the Atrex is not waterproof, which is another good way to waste what multifrequency has to offer.

[Steve Herschbach]

I guess the problem there is catering to people like me who hunt by ear. I appreciate a great display, but end of day, it sounds good, I dig it. As a prospector, most of my detecting hours are with machines that have no target information on screen. Water hunters also lean more on audio that screens for obvious reasons. There just does not seem to be much demand driving that part of the design equation, so Rutus Atrex may be your best hope, although if I am reading right, it is selectable frequency, not SMF.

[phrunt]

I guess my thinking is more along the lines of Steve, I don't want anymore detectors now unless they bring something to the table I don't have that I'd benefit from, I already have too many detectors that never get used.   My introduction to Nokta detectors was buying the Simplex, I realise it's an entry level detector but other than some features others don't have like vibration and a flashlight it brings nothing to my collection and I'll never use it, in fact I don't even like it.  I like where they're heading with build quality and extra little features like I previously mentioned but what matters the most to me is performance as unless it's the best at what I'm using it for I see no point using it.

The Deus 2 can potentially bring something to the table I don't have so I've got a keen eye on it, The Nokta I'm not so sure so it's very much a wait and see.  Nokta did something to the Simplex to make aftermarket coils difficult, Nel announced coils for it some time ago but they never arrived, perhaps they couldn't agree with Nokta on terms of making them and any costs involved.  This to me is a bad sign for the Nokta MF, an advantage it may have had would be aftermarket coil variety.

Nokta have made some very bold claims about their MF, so if they're correct maybe I will want one. 

I don't mind paying more for better, price isn't really a factor coming into play with VLF type detectors as they're all within reasonable price ranges for what you get.

It's great to see others starting to compete or at least trying, the more the better...  Even if all it does to benefit me is force Minelab to release the Equinox 1000 sooner I'd be happy 🙂

It's not like me to want to sit out new releases like this, but I've reached peak detector... I for the first time don't really want anymore VLF's.

[EL NINO77]

First of all, it is an effective deep detection or unmasking of a good signal masked by iron .....

Target identification can be very important ... if you focus on detecting a certain type of target .....

 A certain type of signal graph can be important ... because it suggests what type of signal it can be .... and especially if you use advanced signal processing for comparison - such as "Multifilter" and "Smart audio" at Atrex ...

 The color screen not only increases the comfort of detection, but it can also help to read the signal from the signal graph faster ... and I can say that a person will quickly get used to good things ...

 This year I had the opportunity and I have the opportunity to use 2 new multifrequency detectors of 2021 .... AKA INTRONIK and RUTUS ATREX ... both detectors are very effective in detection ...

This means proving targets really effectively ...

I can say that every Top detector of a manufacturer I own ... may have a special advantage in a certain type of detection in a given type of detection ...... and that is ... why I will prefer it, for example, over another type of detector. in front of another detector model .... which I also own ..

If new detectors from Minelab, XP, and Nokta macro come out in 2022 .. I will have to prove improved decoction properties not only against my predecessors ... but also against my competitors ...

[☠ Cipher]

11 minutes ago, EL NINO77 said:

First of all, it is an effective deep detection or unmasking of a good signal masked by iron .....

Target identification can be very important ... if you focus on detecting a certain type of target .....

 A certain type of signal graph can be important ... because it suggests what type of signal it can be .... and especially if you use advanced signal processing for comparison - such as "Multifilter" and "Smart audio" at Atrex ...

 The color screen not only increases the comfort of detection, but it can also help to read the signal from the signal graph faster ... and I can say that a person will quickly get used to good things ...

 This year I had the opportunity and I have the opportunity to use 2 new multifrequency detectors of 2021 .... AKA INTRONIK and RUTUS ATREX ... both detectors are very effective in detection ...

I’m more of this line of thinking. If we aren’t going to keep moving forward in visual tools there’s little sense in moving off the tools I already have. I use my ears first but my eyes are still very much in the decision making. Lots of targets sound good, but there are dead visual giveaways that it’s a hard pass. This is very important in cherry picking or not tearing up public spaces too bad by digging too many plugs at one time. 

[Steve Herschbach]

Hey, don’t get me wrong! I’m not against better display methods at all. All for them in fact, and if they can be had on my future machine, all the better. I was just stating what I see as the reasons why there seems to be little impetus towards that sort of thing.

That said, I’ll never pass on a target that sounds good, just because a display says otherwise. The best discrimination I have is my eyeballs, and I’m not afraid to use them! 

[phrunt]

Maybe my waiting will pay off after all.