Rx And Tr Questions

[GB_Amateur]

14 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

ML went with a higher capacity battery to compensate for the drain just to keep run times reasonable.  Manticore AND Deus 2 have certain program modes that result in higher power drain.  So this more power thing may only be invoked during certain modes.

There was a fair amount of bitching on forums (What?  Say it ain't so, Joe!) about the Manticore's spec of 9 hours operation time (as well as up to 7 hours charging time), all that with a more powerful battery.  This is consistent with significantly more power usage compared to the Eqx 800, particularly if that is a function of frequencies transmitted which likely (waiting for ElNino77 to get one and put it under the microscope, or one of those 'scope' things ?) are different for different modes, as you point out.

[Steve Herschbach]

Well I’m just a dumb kid from Alaska, and it seems to me to be a simple boost in TX, nothing new, had that switch on my V3i. Great for low mineral ground, maybe no use at all in the worst ground. It’s been grabbed as a marketing number and it is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. Get people all excited over nothing or at most a small improvement. This thread proves that what they do works and that’s why they do it. When at the end of the day it’s just another top tier detector that is in the same ballpark with several others. It’s not up there two generations ahead of them, or anyone using them by now would be getting rid of anything else. In actuality Minelab seems to be in the rare position of doing a little catch up with XP and the Deus II.

I like tech talk but as a real life user I don’t care if the machine is powered by a squirrel running in a wheel. In all honesty the specs can be great and the performance not so much. I’ll refer you to Garrett Apex as an example. My advice is keep the eye on the ball, ignore the tech spec techno babble and anything that says this is anything more than just another good detector among several. If you want real info, pay attention to the handful of real users on this forum who know their stuff and what they say about the machine after real world use.

Finally, never forget that ground rules all, and it is likely these machines will differ as to what is best determined more by where they are being used, than any magic under the hood. Some will swear this is best, some will swear the other is best, and both may very well be correct, based on their respective locations i.e. ground and target mix.

[abenson]

My initial thoughts on the Manticore is that it's a beach detector and a good one at that. Very deep at the GSL, and the extra power is obvious when I compare it to the 900. But put it on mineralized ground and that extra power does nothing for it. Where I live most of the ground is 4 bars on an F75, some parts as low as 2 and some as high as 5. I've been doing a bunch of testing between the Manticore, 900 and D2 in my yard and at some local parks (4 bar dirt) and to be honest there is very little difference in depth capabilities between the 3. As far as the 2D screen goes, it's worthless after 5 inches around here, you just as well use the audio and VDI to make a dig decision. I'm also thinking that deep nails are going to be a real problem on the Manticore, but I will save judgement for a later date after I have some more hours on it.

[phrunt]

In the areas I’ve been so far the 2D target trace is doing as advertised to near the edge of detection on coin targets, it’s working well to very good depths, I think for me it’s far better than the early model Nox, I’m unlikely to buy a Nox 900 now, unless it’s better for prospecting it’s a big step backwards I think.

I wouldn’t buy a 900 based on prospecting alone as I don’t use VLFs much anymore for gold except for very specific circumstances and the 800 and 24k have them covered well.

[abenson]

On the beach target trace works good, even on deep targets. Iron so far on the beach has not been a problem either. I'm digging targets down to 14" in depth and finding some good stuff. On land it's a totally different story. I really never thought the target trace would work all that well here anyway from past experience with FBS machines. They also had a weakness for deep nails and deep targets in general. It doesn't bother me that it doesn't work past 5" here. There are plenty of other features I like about the Manticore, for example, all the audio options available, for me to keep it. Even if it becomes a dedicated beach machine.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

23 minutes ago, phrunt said:

In the areas I’ve been so far the 2D target trace is doing as advertised to near the edge of detection on coin targets, it’s working well to very good depths, I think for me it’s far better than the early model Nox, I’m unlikely to buy a Nox 900 now, unless it’s better for prospecting it’s a big step backwards I think.

I wouldn’t buy a 900 based on prospecting alone as I don’t use VLFs much anymore for gold except for very specific circumstances and the 800 and 24k have them covered well.

You are in low mineral ground Simon, that’s the key. White sand beaches and turf are where this machine should shine, or just low mineral ground in general. People in high mineral ground will be just as likely to be wondering what all the fuss is about. Andy is reporting just what I’d expect in his ground, and you are reporting just what I’d expect in your ground.

Kind of puts the YouTube internet tests where you have no idea what the ground is like into perspective. And all the detector wars on the internet with people trying to prove they are right, and the other guy wrong. “Well I’ve used both these detectors and this one is better - you calling me a liar!” Rarely does anyone stop to consider that both sides may be right.

[abenson]

I'm going to add to what I said earlier. I'm not sating 5" is the max depth for these machines, I'm simply saying that target trace is not at all accurate after 5". I can hit a 6" dime with all 3 machines and get enough of a VDI to tell it's something high conductive. At 7" all bets are off. Both the Manticore and 900 report high VDI's almost like iron wrap. The D2 is actually the most stable and reliable it will give mostly no ID but about every third pass will throw up a 91, which is pretty close to what a dime should be on the D2. Target trace is really all over the place, I've seen mixed iron/coin traces, snake like traces from the top to center line and snake like traces that stretch 1/3 of the length across the middle line on deeper pennies and dimes. And yes I have dug nails that report just like a coin.

[Gold Catcher]

I would be interested to hear more about gold in mineralized ground, and how well the target id works with small gold and at what depth. I am considering to upgrade my VLF capabilities, currently I only have the GM. But my sole focus is gold, not relics. The iron meter on the GM is pretty much useless, unless the gold is litterally touching the coil, pinpointer style. Would like to know if the Manticore or 900 id works better.

GM

[Steve Herschbach]

Equinox blows the Monster away for ferrous id, which is one of several reasons why I still have the Equinox and not the Monster. The Monster can hit just a little bit smaller gold, but in all other respects I think the Equinox is the better nugget machine.