Manticore For Prospecting

[phrunt]

I've been doing a bit of tinkering and trying out my Manticore compared to my Equinox 800 on gold "flakes", while I did find a 0.03 of a gram flake with my Manticore the other day it appears it's not as good as the Equinox on small gold from what I've seen so far and this is only overall tiny target sensitivity I'm talking about, overall who knows, early days.

To keep it fair I've been testing the 11" coil on the Equinox 800 vs the 11" coil on the Manticore.

The Manticore just doesn't seem as sensitive overall.  Even with the Manticore on 30 sensitivity with both detectors in default gold modes (Nox in Gold1) the Manticore is only performing like running the Nox on 18 sensitivity.  The Manticore on 20 sensitivity doesn't even pick up a number 9 pellet touching the coil where as the Equinox on 20 sensitivity gets over an inch on it.  35 sensitivity on the Manticore was getting too much EMI where I was using it to be able to compare it to the Nox however I've tried it at a place it did work reasonably and based on that and other sensitivity levels 35 sensitivity on the Manticore wouldn't outperform 25 sensitivity on the 800 on tiny targets.

I was hoping this increase in coil power they market the Manticore as having would benefit tiny gold detection but it doesn't seem to be the case. 

Both multi-IQ+ and single frequency 40kHz are not performing as well as the Nox 800 on small targets in comparable modes.

From what I've seen so far the Nox 900 is likely the better choice for prospecting, better by being based entirely off the Equinox 800 plus it also has some higher sensitivity settings that may help.  It also supports the 6" coil which to even be remotely competitive on small gold sensitivity the Manticore would need and is not getting.

Basically so far I've not been able to get the Manticore to even match the Equinox 800 on small targets, regardless of the higher sensitivity settings, the scale seems different, 20 on the Manticore doesn't match 20 sensitivity of the Nox's small target performance.  30 seems more like 20 on the Nox and 25 on the Nox which I usually use prospecting seems to outperform 35 on the Manticore, problem being 35 on the Manticore is difficult to use in many places (it does work OK in some locations) where as I can use 25 on the Nox in most places.

Still early days and more time may have me a bit more impressed by it as I learn it more but so far I'm thinking the 900 and obviously 800 would be the better choices for prospecting.

[phrunt]

I will clarify in case my post was confusing, now I read it back it even confuses me 🙂

The Manticore needs run on higher sensitivity settings to achieve the same results the Equinox 800 can get on lower sensitivity settings, but the problem is it's hard to run the Manticore on these higher sensitivity settings due to EMI when you get to the 30 - 35 sensitivity range where as for me at least I normally always run my Nox on 25 when prospecting. 

The Manticore may very well end up similar in performance overall IF you can run it on it's highest few sensitivity settings. 

I think the Manticore on 30 on tiny gold is similar to the Nox on 20 with the sensitivity settings, the Nox on 25 (max) is slightly outperforming the Manticore on 35, I think mainly due to the Manticore being troubled by EMI at 35 more than the Nox is at 25.

Where the Nox is going to have the advantage is by having the smaller 6" coil, which is crazy the tiny gold it can find.

I just can't see the Manticore with it's 8x5.5 M8 coil matching the small gold performance based upon what I've seen so far comparing the Nox 11" vs the Manticore 11".  I was hoping the extra power to the Manticore coil may increase small gold sensitivity, after all that's what they did with the White's/Garrett 24k and it's very much worth reading that link if you haven't already.

It's a shame they're not doing the 6" coil for the Manticore, hopefully Coiltek come out with a 5 or 6" round for it, the EMI will be less and possibly the higher 30-35 settings maybe more usable and it then match or better the Nox, but with the Nox 900 now having more sensitivity over the 800 that maybe a difficult challenge for it.

It makes me wonder if as a coin machine the Manticores 0-30 sensitivity is the same as the Nox's 0-25 but on a different scale, with the same top end sensitivity and the boosted sensitivity over the Nox is when you go from 31 to 35 in the red line zone.

I'm not overly bothered it doesn't appear to match the Nox, not enough to go out and buy a Nox 900 as I rarely use a VLF for gold and the 800 and 24k do the job for me anyway.  It is a bit disappointing though, hopefully my early testing is wrong and I change my mind with more time behind the wheel.

[deathray]

Thanks for the write up. Been waiting for someone to compare it to a Nox. Of course, like you said, no small coil yet for the Maniwar

[abenson]

Got to agree with you Simon. My first initial indoor tests on gold between the D2, Manticore and 900 were not too impressive. I was going to save any comments until after I had a chance to get to the goldfields and try it in some real ground. But I tested a fairly round .07 gram nugget with the 3 and the D2 did the worst, had to practically touch the coil to get it. Manticore I could get about an inch off the target and the 900 was at least 1/2 to an inch farther above the target than the Manticore.

So far the only place I really like the Manticore is at the beach. It's a top performer there. Had it park hunting a few times and was not impressed, would rather use the 900. The only place I haven't had a chance to try the Manticore yet is relic hunting. From what Tom Dankowski has said on his forum I may not like it relic hunting either. His comments to those who are trying to decide is-On land if EMI is not an issue get the 900, if EMI is an issue get the Manticore. If you primarily beach hunt get the Manticore. My relic hunting spots are fairly remote so I'm thinking the 900 will be the one to use for me. I'm at lest a month away from a relic hunt to test the Manticore out.

[Chesroy]

2 hours ago, abenson said:

Got to agree with you Simon. My first initial indoor tests on gold between the D2, Manticore and 900 were not too impressive. I was going to save any comments until after I had a chance to get to the goldfields and try it in some real ground. But I tested a fairly round .07 gram nugget with the 3 and the D2 did the worst, had to practically touch the coil to get it. Manticore I could get about an inch off the target and the 900 was at least 1/2 to an inch farther above the target than the Manticore.

So far the only place I really like the Manticore is at the beach. It's a top performer there. Had it park hunting a few times and was not impressed, would rather use the 900. The only place I haven't had a chance to try the Manticore yet is relic hunting. From what Tom Dankowski has said on his forum I may not like it relic hunting either. His comments to those who are trying to decide is-On land if EMI is not an issue get the 900, if EMI is an issue get the Manticore. If you primarily beach hunt get the Manticore. My relic hunting spots are fairly remote so I'm thinking the 900 will be the one to use for me. I' at lest a month away from a relic hunt to test the Manticore out.

Makes my head spin 🤪one minute ive decided the Manticore is the one to go for then reading comments from  people that have them I'm not convinced at all 🙂.  No rave reviews unless you are a beach hunter(I'm not)then an easy choice I think. The 900 seems to be holding its own very well indeed. Decisions decisions my 800 has served me very very well.

[Dan(NM)]

38 minutes ago, Chesroy said:

Makes my head spin 🤪one minute ive decided the Manticore is the one to go for then reading comments from  people that have them I'm not convinced at all 🙂.  No rave reviews unless you are a beach hunter(I'm not)then an easy choice I think. The 900 seems to be holding its own very well indeed. Decisions decisions my 800 has served me very very well.

After 40+ hours with the Manticore, the wow factor just isn't there like it was for Equinox 800. I don't salt water hunt, just freshwater. I've only used it at the same swimming hole, so maybe it'll shine at another location.

[phrunt]

 I'm very disappointed with the Target ID stability on the Manticore too, even in air tests its far less stable than the Nox 800 and not just because of the expanded ID numbers, its more unstable than that.

The CTX is still king as the deep silver cherry picker in a mild park setting that's for sure.  The Nox appears to be the better prospecting machine, so it looks like the Manticore is the better for the beach, I'm not yet sure where and if I will use it for my needs.

It's not the WOW machine their marketing made it out to be.

[phrunt]

1 hour ago, Chesroy said:

Makes my head spin 🤪one minute ive decided the Manticore is the one to go for then reading comments from  people that have them I'm not convinced at all 🙂.  No rave reviews unless you are a beach hunter(I'm not)then an easy choice I think. The 900 seems to be holding its own very well indeed. Decisions decisions my 800 has served me very very well.

You have to decide if you need either, you possibly don't unless your 800 has a deficiency that you need resolved like you hunt a lot in water and don't trust your Nox or you haven't put a aftermarket shaft on it and want it to be telescopic or something but its a big price to pay for a telescopic shaft.   I don't think someone sticking with a Nox 800 is missing out on much at all., fantastic detector, it was the game changer.

[CPT_GhostLight]

While I don't have a Manticore yet (and I may wait for the CTX4040 😉), I've been following the development and release closely. I'm thinking, as SteveH and others have surmised, that the Manticore was not intended as a gold machine, even though there is a gold mode, and that it was intended as a coin and jewelry machine to replace their aging silver slayer, the E-Trac.

Again as SteveH has mentioned, the Equinox was a proof of concept release to test their Multi-IQ technology in coin, jewelry, relic, and native gold hunting and it passed with flying colors. Minelab then released their new gold seeking PI machine, so the next thing to replace was the coin hunter machine. And if Minelab logic follows, the replacement for the old Excaliber II should be next and then the replacement for the CTX3030.

These are just some opinions, I could be wrong.

[Chesroy]

5 minutes ago, phrunt said:

 I'm very disappointed with the Target ID stability on the Manticore too, even in air tests its far less stable than the Nox 800 and not just because of the expanded ID numbers, its more unstable than that.

The CTX is still king as the deep silver cherry picker in a mild park setting that's for sure.  The Nox appears to be the better prospecting machine, so it looks like the Manticore is the better for the beach, I'm not yet sure where and if I will use it for my needs.

It's not the WOW machine their marketing made it out to be.

Disappointed for you  thx for your honesty it does seem to be the consensus from what I can make out.