XP Orx, Garrett Apex, Nokta Legend Target ID Accuracy

[Jeff McClendon]

3 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Thanks for the video Jeff, it seems the Apex is the wrong choice for someone in difficult soils, I'd love to try one in my mild soils and see how it goes, as the Ace 300 I have is absolutely brilliant in mild soils, it has one of the higher deep coin ID accuracies of my detector herd when using the big Nel Torando coil.

The problem is the Apex costs more than an Equinox in NZ so it's just not logical to buy one.

What was wrong with the Legend, the screens backlight kept going out for a second then flicked straight back on?

Nothing wrong with the Legend. I can set it up so that the screen backlight will turn on when a solid target is detected. Many Nokta Makro detectors have had this feature as an option. 

[phrunt]

That's pretty neat for night detecting! A good idea.  It just looked strange in the video.

[PSPR]

I also noticed the Legend going dark.  I'm glad I know about that before mine arrives.

I've heard that the Apex is difficult until you figure it out.  Garrett needs to up their game in the VLF area.

[JCR]

Thanks for posting the video. That is a slick test set up you have made with the foam insert & PVC pipe.  Have you observed any notable difference in your high mineral soil using the foam to hold the test coin vs the coin being under a layer of actual high mineral soil? Are your paving stones mineralized as well?

[Jeff McClendon]

22 hours ago, PSPR said:

I also noticed the Legend going dark.  I'm glad I know about that before mine arrives.

I've heard that the Apex is difficult until you figure it out.  Garrett needs to up their game in the VLF area.

The Apex is a straight forward easy to learn detector so the only thing left to "figure out" is will it work well in difficult soil conditions.

Apparently for some including me, the Apex doesn't if good target ID accuracy on coin sized targets deeper than 3" and achieving advertised depth are what is needed .

The ORX would not be my first choice for coin/jewelry hunting in high mineralization and high modern aluminum trash either since target ID accuracy and maximum advertised depth are severely affected and digging restrictions (can't just dig it all without being banned from city parks and private yards, etc.) makes using the ORX pretty frustrating. 

In scenarios where there is milder mineralization, no digging restrictions and digging all good sounding targets where basically ignoring target IDs is the way to go.....no problem with either detector.

[Jeff McClendon]

31 minutes ago, JCR said:

Thanks for posting the video. That is a slick test set up you have made with the foam insert & PVC pipe.  Have you observed any notable difference in your high mineral soil using the foam to hold the test coin vs the coin being under a layer of actual high mineral soil? Are your paving stones mineralized as well?

The sandstone is from my area (Fountain formation sandstone) and it has fairly high magnetite. The ground underneath them is really bad. 

I look at using the foam/PVC pipe this way.....it is way more realistic than air testing for sure and I can use it for trash, relics, nuggets and jewelry too. The 6" nickel and 6" quarter along with the other targets in my test area are all "in the ground" well established targets. I don't see much difference between the established targets and the PVC/foam setup.

[JCR]

Thanks, that is good to know. In the past I have used a dug trench & placed targets in the undisturbed sidewall. After a while the walls start to crumble. Now I just use permanent buried test scenarios.

[palzynski]

2 hours ago, PSPR said:

I've heard that the Apex is difficult until you figure it out.  Garrett needs to up their game in the VLF area.

I have tested the Apex during 20 hours and I have never really figured it out ?  ...  Either in clean or in iron trashed areas ...  Garrett needs to redesign a totally new machine if they want to have a chance to survive in the VLF detecting world because the competition will not wait for them , either ML , Nokta , or XP ...   Just my opinion 

[PSPR]

I'm beginning to realize that the best detecting location is the backyard of metal detector owners.  Just find their test bed and dig up those targets!!  Sounds like a good way to find coins, rings and jewelry fairly consistently.  LOL 

I know I left a small gold ring in the back yard of the house we sold in Florida when we moved to Texas.  My detector was packed away and I dug out the spot I buried it but couldn't find the gold ring without a detector or pinpointer!!!  My loss.