A Few Observations On The Manticore, After About 50 Hours (and A Few Recent Nice Finds)...

[JCR]

Chase's post above lays out the approach needed to be consistently successful detecting in the real world today. Knowledge is needed but it's application is key. Force of will won't change conditions or make up for mismatched set up of the machine.

I think his post should be included in Steve H's compilation of Classics.

[CliveHamy]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:04 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

No matter the circumstances, great finds Steve!

Results are as I’ve been expecting and reported almost a year ago based on my prototype experience with the machine and what I know about the main thing Manticore adds to Equinox - a large boost in transmit power. 

Sparky target id is also an artifact of boosted transmit power. Basically Manticore is a high strung Equinox with a graphic display and main way to tame the beast is reduced sensitivity until you get a handle on its high performance engine. This would be directly via the Sensitivity control, or through the use of lower power modes, or both together.

I’ll point out there are two major types of “high mineral” to deal with. The western U.S. we mainly deal with magnetite. In Australia it’s maghemite, and the way of dealing with either is different.

Hi Steve, what's your (or anyone else's) view on the mineralization levels in England, especially the southwest where we have red soil? I've not got access to someone with those machines that can measure it. When I ground balance here the numbers are generally around 35 to 48 on my Nox 800, can I read anything into that? I'm trying to understand how mineralised my area is to help me decide whether it is worthwhile buying the Monty. i.e. if it counts as highly mineralised, its probably not worth the investment for me. Low mineralization and it may be worth the risk. 

[JCR]

To get a general idea of relative mineralization;

Set the detector to a Single frequency with moderate sensitivity.

Adjust the Ground Balance to the lowest setting. Make sure any ground tracking is off/disengaged.

Hold the coil waist high & engage the Pin point button and hold while lowering the coil to the ground. Note the response.

Repeat the Pin point procedure with a mid level GB setting & a max GB setting. Note the relative responses.

Little to no difference in the 3 GB point responses means little to no mineralization. The more difference, the more mineralized.

[Steve Herschbach]

My experience detecting around Colchester at least is that the ground is moderate at worst.

Easy mineralization test. Drop magnet in soil. Pick up. The more magnetite you see, the worse the ground. In compacted soils you will have to work the magnet around into the soil or make a loose pile of dirt.

This super magnet was literally dropped onto a Tahoe beach and picked back up. It was clean when dropped…

[okara gold]

On 8/11/2023 at 5:32 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

My experience detecting around Colchester at least is that the ground is moderate at worst.

Easy mineralization test. Drop magnet in soil. Pick up. The more magnetite you see, the worse the ground. In compacted soils you will have to work the magnet around into the soil or make a loose pile of dirt.

This super magnet was literally dropped onto a Tahoe beach and picked back up. It was clean when dropped…

Hey Steve... You made me think of how much magnetite is in some locations in the NY Adirondack Mountains. These are a few before and after pictures of a water hunt in one of the lakes up there 2 Summers ago. You would only have to dig in the water a few times and the magnet was full. When I lived there full time my Excalibur was almost useless on some of the beaches as it would hardly get any depth at all. That was the main reason I went to hunting only with a PI, and that was the Infinium. What a huge difference that made. 

 

[midalake]

9 hours ago, okara gold said:

Hey Steve... You made me think of how much magnetite is in some locations in the NY Adirondack Mountains.

With a Rare Earth magnet, I can get build-up like that in two scoops. Full magnet in 5 scoops. 

[RSmith]

I was reading a post about someone having troubles with Manticore on a freshly plowed field with very loose soil, and someone replied that the only way they have been able to have any luck in those conditions was to use a higher recovery speed. 

That got me thinking about the two old farmhouses I had so much trouble with. (See my earlier posts)

One thing I completely overlooked was the soil there, was a dark black color and so loose I could dig a hole 12 inches deep easily with just my fingers. 

Could it be that the compaction of the soil has a huge effect on the recovery speed? 

Maybe as much or more than the mineralization?

Is it possible the mineralization is addressed by the ground balance, and the compaction level is addressed by the recovery speed?

RSmith