New Minelab Manticore

[GB_Amateur]

7 hours ago, strick said:

In fact @klunker tried to throw my wm12 down the mountainside the first time I tried to use it around him.

I think we'd take that sentence more seriously if the subject were ANYONE else.  Everything you said after that just went in one ear and out the other.

[Sinclair]

On 11/4/2022 at 7:24 PM, phrunt said:

Highly likely, it would just be a Bluetooth LE receiver, just like at the moment you can buy Bluetooth aptX transmitters and receivers.  

 

They didn't work for me with the Nox. The ones I've tested seem to mute / sleep, if there's no audio for a period of time. I've always had the feeling, I've missed someting.. can't describe it any better. So my fear is: waiting for - and testing a lot of new gear is necessary again..

[steveg]

Sinclair,

I second that.  I bought a Garrett Z-Lynk system to use with a Tarsacci MDT-8000; every half hour or so (if I recall), the unit would "go to sleep," and while that's a GREAT feature (battery saver) for such a system when NOT in use, I don't know why it would turn off like that when it WAS in use, while detecting.  In any case, that made me lose trust in the system very quickly, and thus I quit using it; I'm hoping that there is a "better way" to get audio to our ears, with the Manticore.  I wish manufacturers would NOT mess with "proprietary" stuff when it comes to headphones.  Detecting is so much about what you are HEARING, and we all have different hearing capabilities.  Once we find what "works" for us, specifically, and then get used to the subtleties of the way tones are "rendered" by whatever particular headphone we are using, it makes switching to a new machine that may NOT support that headphone, very problematic.  It's a VERY poor business decision, on the part of any company that would do that.  Proprietary coils, fine.  Frustrating, but fine.  Proprietary charging systems, proprietary batteries...fine.  Whatever.  But making the part of the system that renders sound to our ears proprietary -- limiting us to a specific option?  Awful.

Just an example...the Equinox bluetooth headphones from Minelab are a "BT80" headphone (Minelab calls their version ML80).  I have always used a differently labeled BT80 headphone (after losing my Minelab pair soon after I got the machine).  Much later, as a backup, I acquired another Minelab pair, and on one particular hunt, used these Minelab-branded BT80 phones instead of my regular BT80 pair.  It was an awful experience, as the sound was ENTIRELY different.  What I came to learn, was that different models of BT80 have different sound "profiles;" some accentuate the low end (bass), and others the high end.  Minelab phones accentuate the low end, I came to find out, and with that sound profile, the high end (i.e. high tones from copper and silver) are very "washed out" or "muddy" or -- not sure how to describe it.  Simply "dull," and "not sharp."  So, it made trying to focus on deep high conductors VERY difficult on that particular hunt.  Based on the sound profile built into the Minelab phones, I never have used them since -- in favor of my other-branded pairs of BT80 that accentuate the higher-pitched tones.  And the frustrating thing, for me, was that I couldn't find any "specs" that made it clear, to me, WHICH BT80 phones are "bass heavy," and which ones are more crisp with the high tones.

The moral of the story is, finding headphones that "sound right" can really differ, from person to person, and thus -- having a wide range of options is preferred.  And so, forcing someone into one specific, proprietary set of headphones is a VERY, VERY POOR business practice, in my opinion.  At least, with the CTX, Equinox, etc., there was a Minelab wireless module available so that one could at least use their favorite set of WIRED headphones.  But I'd MUCH rather have a wide range of WIRELESS headphone options.  The WORST CASE scenario would be NOT ONLY a proprietary restriction to a single, Minelab-branded WIRELESS headphone, but ALSO the non-availability of a Minelab wireless adapter (WM).  If both of those things prove to be the case (proprietary wireless, and no wireless module), I'll be GREATLY frustrated/disappointed.

Steve

[JCR]

@steveg  That is strange. I have never had a problem with either of the two Z Link set ups I use.

[dsb]

26 minutes ago, steveg said:

Just an example...the Equinox bluetooth headphones from Minelab are a "BT80" headphone (Minelab calls their version ML80).  I have always used a differently labeled BT80 headphone (after losing my Minelab pair soon after I got the machine).

I lost mine also and got the BT80's.  Was used to wired phones and must have left them on the bumper.  Cant remember price but was much lower the ML phones. The maticore phones look better built somewhat, the ML80's feel like egg shells.

[steveg]

31 minutes ago, JCR said:

@steveg  That is strange. I have never had a problem with either of the two Z Link set ups I use.

Interesting.  I have read elsewhere that on non Garrett machines, the Z-Lynk can have that issue (turning off every so often).  Had I not read that, I'd have assumed I got a bad unit, and returned it.  But, since this was mentioned by others using it on non-Garrett machines, then once I found that being the case on my MDT, I was not surprised...

I'm now confused, though, since you don't have this issue using it with your MDT...

Steve

[steveg]

15 minutes ago, NAGANT said:

I lost mine also and got the BT80's.  Was used to wired phones and must have left them on the bumper.  Cant remember price but was much lower the ML phones. The maticore phones look better built somewhat, the ML80's feel like egg shells.

Also being used to wired phones, and very similar to what you did, I left mine on my pickup-truck bed cover, on one of my first outings with the Equinox, and then drove off...  DOH!  I had used the non-Minelab BT80 ever since -- until that one hunt a couple of years later when I used the Minelab "ML80."  UGH.

Despite the build quality, if the Minelab Manticore headphones are as "muddy" and "washed out" on the high tones as the ML80 phones are, and if there are NO other options available, I'm going to be very, very disappointed...

It is entirely ridiculous, in my opinion (I know, I'm repeating myself, but HOPING Minelab is listening) if there is only one, one-sound-profile-fits-all, proprietary headphone that can be used with the Manticore...

I guess if this turns out to be the case, and enough of us SCREAM, that it would be at least POSSIBLE that they could decide to go ahead and produce a "WM" type of module down the road...

Steve 

[Sinclair]

You’ve nailed my feelings, Steve.

For me that whole „audio thing“ is so important, it’s almost a dealbreaker!

[Minelabdetexpert]

On 9/8/2022 at 2:34 PM, la torche said:

For the depth tests which are in French, to be simple I retain 2 French currencies that you can look on the net to compare them with your currencies:
-10 cts Napoleon III 10gr in bronze / diameter 30.02 mm detected at 50 cm.
- 5 Fr gold Napoleon III 1.61gr in gold / diameter from 14.4 mm to 17.7 mm detected at 25 cm.
What gives me a problem with the test bench is that the Manticore is unstable whereas we have described it as very stable, the seller explains that it is in a disturbed zone, nevertheless I note that the depth is clearly there .
I tested Equinox 800 in Airtest in all metals:
- 10 cts Napoleon III he detects it at a maximum of 33 cm. ID 23
- Celtic gold coin 1.81gr in gold and silver diameter 12 mm detected at 21 cm Maximum. ID 13
I don't have 5 fr gold but we are about the same weight and size. The purists will tell me you have to compare the same element in the same conditions and I hear them but 50cm and 25 cm on the gold in the video. Similarly I think it is not by chance that Mark Lawrie detects 2 Roman coins, I think there was a desire to do "extraordinary" for this test, because the site was chosen as potential for discovery because 1500-year-old coins are not found everywhere in Europe, it would be too easy, it is said to be 1h30 from Paris.

It wasn't mark that was there, sorry, and yes, on that day itself a gold stater and few silver novel coins was found as well

[GB_Amateur]

2 hours ago, steveg said:

I bought a Garrett Z-Lynk system to use with a Tarsacci MDT-8000; every half hour or so (if I recall), the unit would "go to sleep," and while that's a GREAT feature (battery saver) for such a system when NOT in use, I don't know why it would turn off like that when it WAS in use, while detecting.

I see others haven't had this problem; neither have I using the Z-Lynk T/R pair with the Fisher F75 and White's TDI/SPP.  If there is some kind of handshake going on between transmitter and receiver..., but why would that be affected by which detector or which headphones are being used??  Might be worth asking Garrett.

I'm with you, both with my dissatisfaction of the ML80's mushy audio and with strongly wanting to use my favorite headphones (Sunray Pro Golds).  At worst I'll have the option of plugging those directly into the control unit ("wired" mode) but I hope there will be some other satisfactory solution.  Recall back when there was a pole here about what audio output method Equinox users preferred?  The WM08 got about 10% score.  There's your answer as to why no proprietary option is being provided.  But I'm optimistic the fast, modern Bluetooth the Manticore uses will have a good selection of options.