Manticore Puzzle

[TroyLPN]

2 hours ago, PimentoUK said:

"I’ve always wondered why polycarbonate plastic (LEXAN) has not been used in an instance such as this? That stuffs tough !!!"

The Eqx coil is moulded from a PC & ABS blend. My hunch is they used an inappropriate blend - too much PC , or not enough PC.
Plastic failure is not my area of expertise, but I recall stress-cracking to be a characterisitc of PC, so if anything, I would speculate using less PC in the blend would be better.

If they used the same stuff for the control pod that might be why lots of them developed tiny cracks around the battery charging port and started leaking when immersed in seawater.

 

[phrunt]

Polycarbonate seems very tough, X-coils have traditional plastic skid plates and they made a sample set of polycarbonate clear ones for testing, they're not being sold but are undergoing testing, one was sent to a full time prospector in Australia to test it out, he was going through skid plates every 6 months or less, wearing holes in them.

He sent this photo of a traditional skid plate after a few months

Completely worn out the edges on it, he replaces the tape around the edges every 2 weeks too, this photo is with the tape removed to see the damage.

This photo was the polycarbonate one after the same amount of time/use with its tape removed.

You can see its held up very well, it spends its life being bashed around on the ground, he's a big coil scrubber so was a good person to test the skid plates.

And this is the skid plate after a year of use, this is unheard of for him with the traditional plastic used on skid plates, they never last more than 6 months.

On this bottom photo you'll notice the small cracks on the sides, this is the downfall to polycarbonate, it does get stress cracks and because it is a bit more brittle where as the softer plastics used on the normal skid plates don't get this problem.  It doesn't affect it as a skid plate but as a detector coil ear it might not be the best if it cracks like that.   He's pretty confident this skid plate is going to last another year or two yet as its just not wearing out, the cracks might be what takes it out eventually.

[GB_Amateur]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:18 AM, NCtoad said:

Minelab must have only electrical engineers working for them; not a single mechanical engineer on the payroll!   It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

I suspect they have as many or more mechanical/civil/materials engineers than we have here.  (Pretty sure Chase is some kind of engineer, but not sure which flavor.)  One thing is for certain -- we have a lot of armchair engineers here, myself included.  😁

This thread (and many other Manticore threads) provide good data for someone working on an advanced degree in psychology -- to make it their thesis topic.  Most people haven't even had Manticores in their hands but that doesn't stop some of them from criticizing it.

[Hunterjunk]

Wow !  This sort of got out of control . I was not expecting much comment so really surprised . Lot's of opinions about .  Eisenhower's quote about opinions on the eve of the D day landings comes to mind !

My post was in no way meant to knock the machine  , Minelab , or their engineers but does reflect my experiences over the last 12 years of detecting . I have owned and used various Whites , Makro , Nokta and Minelab machines and have had very few problems until receiving one of the first Nox 800's in Aust . While the Nox is a wonderful machine for making finds my breakage list reads like the "Who's who" of detector failures . Hence my observations about the Manticore , they are not predictions and I hope the machine is trouble free .

I guess I qualify as one of the "weed wackers" as 75% of my hunting is in thick scrub on 1800's mine sites . Arm breaking hunts of 6 to 9 hours are the norm for me and as a self funded retiree I get out more than most . I have had coil lead failures on Detech and Minelab coils only so am wary of thin flexible cables in heavy going .

My trade was fitter machinist / tool maker with maintenance of injection molds being part of my work . My opinion only but I would not design  the ears the way they are . I see one opinion is that this gives some flexibility . To me flexibility means more bending of the plastic which can only end in failure . I have some industrial nylon that will machine up into a strong ear replacement .

Managed to get out for a quick 1.5 hour beach hunt last night . The state of the tide left me few options so hunted a very trashy and noisy area . Could only hunt at a maximum gain of 25 and there was plenty of moaning at this level but I always run my machines hot and use my ears as a filter . Metallic items came through the background clearly and the target trace seems quite good . For those that don't like to tighten their coil bolt much you will probably have to put a small cable tie etc. through the coil bolt to ears as my bolt worked loose twice .

As with any new machine there is a learning curve . The results below are from the most basic settings and understanding of the machine . Dug some junk just to check out the target trace system . For purely coin shooting I think the target trace will be great . Apart from the ferrous indication though it's not something for relic hunting . Very pleased to get a junk ring and some coins from this spot with a pre decimal 1955 sixpence very welcome . Some good times to come with this machine and I hope you all get yours soon . Merry Xmas .

 

 

 

[Hunterjunk]

Another short hunt in a flogged area last night . Tried out just using the TT system and found it can be tricked by certain targets . Coins really sound great though . In the pic below there is a half silver ring . I was impressed by the depth of this target and while target trace was poor at best the signal was tight with a great tone . While the target id was only 22 it was a signal you have to dig .  The pull tabs ID'd from 30 right through to 42 depending on size depth and orientation which is a bit more than I hoped for . On the plus side they signal with a very bright tone and doing 180 degree opposed swings most showed some irregularity on target trace so with experience most will be eliminated . Loving the adjustable screen lighting that goes to a much lower light level than the Nox . Noticed that Gerry in his great post did not mention any coil bolt loosening . Mine will come loose through coil movement so have used a small cable tie as per photo below . Very much enjoying the grip shape as opposed to the Nox .

 

 

[PSPR]

4 hours ago, Hunterjunk said:

......  The pull tabs ID'd from 30 right through to 42 depending on size depth and orientation which is a bit more than I hoped for . On the plus side they signal with a very bright tone and doing 180 degree opposed swings most showed some irregularity on target trace so with experience most will be eliminated . Loving the adjustable screen lighting that goes to a much lower light level than the Nox . Noticed that Gerry in his great post did not mention any coil bolt loosening . Mine will come loose through coil movement so have used a small cable tie as per photo below.

I hope you are right on the pull tabs, Hunterjunk.  And unless you plan to change your coil out regularly you might try a little thread lock on the coil bolt from time to time.

[phrunt]

I'm hoping the coil bolt problem is isolated to your detector, not being rude but the last thing we need is a fault appearing already so early in the release.

 

[Jeff McClendon]

On 12/21/2022 at 12:06 PM, GB_Amateur said:

This thread (and many other Manticore threads) provide good data for someone working on an advanced degree in psychology -- to make it their thesis topic.  Most people haven't even had Manticores in their hands but that doesn't stop some of them from criticizing it.

Somebody got through to me early on that I wasn't a marsupial inside a pouch and I could stop using the word you and we when I really, truly meant just little old me........

I haven't held a Manticore either so I've tried to keep my comments about it within the realm of reality.

I have held and used its little brother the Nox 900. I wondered about that short coil screw working loose. I wish it was a bit longer. I have yet to have a Vanquish or GPX 6000 coil screw work loose.....with their similar design but I do pay attention to them.

[TerryinHawaii]

My coil bolt kept coming loose until I really tighten it up.  I do like the cable tie idea. And I will try that idea.

[GB_Amateur]

44 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

I wondered about that short coil screw working loose. I wish it was a bit longer.

I've played around with the Equinox 800 screw and those on its accessory coils, including the Coiltek Nox 5"x10".  I wish I had taken better notes, but my recollection is that although they are metric threads, its very close to one of our SAE sizes (5/16" x 18 tpi?).  Anyway, there are likely repacement metric screws which will work -- probably much more easily found in other parts of the world than here, though.  Retapping for SAE is also doable but I would save that until other options are exhausted.