Wishing Nokta Would Create A Modular Metal Detector Like The Legend With Plugin Upgrades!

[EL NINO77]

On 12/10/2023 at 11:16 AM, Guinea1 said:

The concept of utilising AI in metal detector technology certainly has the potential to bring more to the table.  Or at the very least add some very interesting and flavoursome condiments to spice things up a little! 

In my opinion Nokta (Nokta/Makro) started nothing short of an industrial revolution in the metal detecting industry by always giving their customers more for less.  I remember the days when you used to have to purchase a coil cover separately for your new detector.  But Nokta always gives you the full-package and then some more!  Wherein, I have bought quite a few of their metal detectors in the past and been completely blown away by the quality of the protective covers for the machine which were included for free.  Covers which fitted the machine like a glove and were made to a really high standard.  Does anyone else recall the days of third-party covers which fitted the machine everywhere except in the right places?  It’s those little attention to detail which have always stood Nokta out from the crowded market place.         

Plus, I sure you I’m not a Nokta fanboy either and that I own other metal detectors aside Nokta products.  But I think the biggest let down I’ve ever experienced purchasing a metal detector before was the one that parachuted in from the sky.  I remember opening the box thinking the company had gone backwards regarding the robust build quality they were always renowned for.  Prior to purchasing that machine, I don’t ever recall having to purchase a better-quality stem, arm cup and 3D printed coil reinforcement parts!    

Perhaps the Swiss army metal detector is already in production.  But my money is firmly placed on Nokta bringing out a spork that turns the whole metal detector industry on its head in the very near future!    

I have a different opinion on it.....just Minelab made a revolution by coming to the market with the Equinox detector, the affordable multi-frequency Equinox 800/600 detector....

If we look at the company Nokta, it also strongly models itself on this minelab Equinox model with its Legend detector...

Another real revolution was made again by Minelab.. when it launched the Vanquish 340... a multi-frequency detector for 240 euros...

Now to the main thing... and the main target... for every company that manufactures detectors is to make money... and according to that, this is how one company...

It must always offer an interesting product for its price...

[Guinea1]

On 12/14/2023 at 1:41 AM, EL NINO77 said:

I have a different opinion on it.....just Minelab made a revolution by coming to the market with the Equinox detector, the affordable multi-frequency Equinox 800/600 detector....

If we look at the company Nokta, it also strongly models itself on this minelab Equinox model with its Legend detector...

Another real revolution was made again by Minelab.. when it launched the Vanquish 340... a multi-frequency detector for 240 euros...

Now to the main thing... and the main target... for every company that manufactures detectors is to make money... and according to that, this is how one company...

It must always offer an interesting product for its price...

Definitely food for thought EL NINO77.  You have made some really good points. 

And still on the subject of revolutionising detectors made by different manufacturers over the years etc.  I think the White's Spectra V3i definitely deserves to be up there with very the best.  I’ve owned a few of them in the past and never ceased to be amazed at the technological wizardry of this machine.  For it’s time, it was unbelievably advanced, especially for the detectorists who liked to tweak with the settings.  Though, in hindsight I think more research should have gone into the coils available for the 3vi to get the very most from the detector.

Personally, I think it’s Nokta who are the ones driving and steering the competition driven price market in the metal detecting industry at the moment, which is currently benefitting customers from all the different manufacturers having to play catch up with each other.  These price wars are creating lots of interesting spoils of war on the detecting market battlefield.  So, I for one salute Nokta for having the bravery to fight on the detecting manufacturers battlefield against some pretty powerful foes. 

I remember the days when a new detector from certain manufacturers, often entailed nothing more than a rebadge and fancy colour scheme, with very little real technological evolution inside the control box.  Thankfully those days are long behind us now and detector manufacturers realise they have to offer their customers real tangible technological advancements if they want their custom.  I feel Nokta as a detector manufacturer, does this by the bucketful and at really exceptional prices! 

[Geotech]

On 12/9/2023 at 3:40 AM, Guinea1 said:

What I would like to see is modular metal detector created by a manufacturer like Nokta, where you can buy plugin upgrades which change the machine into a higher preforming detector without having to purchase a completely new unit.  Something similar to the old modular Treasure Baron units designed by George Payne.

That would transform the slim, lightweight Legend into a big, bulky detector. Besides, the Legend (and all the other newer models) are 100% DSP so there is no hardware to upgrade. And the firmware is upgradeable, so you could argue that the Legend already supports plug-in upgrades.

The original concept for the White's V3 was to start it out as a more basic detector (far fewer options) and sell progressive upgrades at, say $99. The upgrades would already be programmed in, so for $99 you get a passcode that unlocks the next level of features. The brass didn't like that, so it was released with everything. However, in the VX3 model this concept was sneaked in, though it was never implemented. So a VX3 could be upgraded to a V3i, if the computer that generated the passcodes hadn't been trashed. I think this model of upgradeability is a bit harder to swallow, in that you've already bought the detector with all the features, you just can't use them until you pay extra. I know the auto industry is doing this, and I don't care for it a bit.

Many years ago, in the last-gasp dying days of film cameras, I owned a Minolta 7000i. It had plug-in modules (about the size of a normal SD card) that could add modes and features to the camera. That would be the most likely path for a "modular metal detector" these days. But with the Legend, what would you add that's not already there? And would you pay extra for that?

[phrunt]

Minelab's response to Nokta's aggressive low pricing was to raise it's prices which has now allowed Nokta to announce a price rise on the Legned too, I don't see a price war going on, a model war is going on, with brands racing to the bottom releasing better and better cheaper detectors, but when it comes to price they've managed to make the more expensive detectors cost even more.

Good for beginners, not so good for those that buy into the higher end detectors.

Having codes to unlock software features would be great, I wonder how long until we see keygen's coming out for detectors to unlock features 😛

[Jeff McClendon]

With the Nokta Score, Double Score and Legend all sharing the same housing and shaft systems, I think it would be cool to be able to buy just the system control unit. There is only one Phillips head screw to remove and everything including the battery is inside the system control unit. Then again, those detectors are so inexpensive maybe it's not worth it. 

Nokta have already seen the need for and provided the option to purchase their own updated shaft systems and arm cuffs for the Legend which are plug and play. Why didn't Minelab do that with the Equinox 600/800 when so many complained about having to buy decent shafts for those detectors soon after releasing them????????

[Guinea1]

@Geotech, thanks for sharing the insider information regarding the V3 originally intending having purchasable progressive updates.  Which is something I never knew.  But what I do know, is the V3i was definitely way ahead of its time and still is in many respects!

When I started this post about a modular detector similar to the Legend, it was just wishful thinking.  Which is why I like forums such as this for exposing the Swiss cheese size holes in one’s ideas.  Though I suppose, if I had a crystal ball.  It’s probably an AI detector which is on the horizon eventually, but I haven’t got a clue what such an AI detector would entail but the concept certainly fascinates me!

[phrunt]

I think the most important feature would be a very accurate GPS and onboard colour screen mapping system so you can tell exactly the ground you've covered colouring it in as you go; we probably miss a lot more finds by not covering ground well than we do by not having the latest and greatest detectors.

[Chase Goldman]

3 hours ago, phrunt said:

I think the most important feature would be a very accurate GPS and onboard colour screen mapping system so you can tell exactly the ground you've covered colouring it in as you go; we probably miss a lot more finds by not covering ground well than we do by not having the latest and greatest detectors.

I would like a coil coverage sensor as well, but it isn't happening with GPS.  Not precise enough.  If you miss just a square cm of ground coverage then you've possibly missed a target.  GPS is never going to give you that level of precision. You need something like drone mounted LIDAR or some other precision optical sensor that is tied into a gyroscopic coil position sensor as well as GPS.  I envision something that feeds a pair of Augmented Reality glasses that enables you to peer out onto your site from any position or angle and shows you how much of the site has been "painted over" by one or more sweeping detector coils while the drone or whatever was monitoring them.

[Digalicious]

There's only one new detector I want, and here's how it can be achieved:

The manufacturers lock all their engineers into a room, lock the door, and tell them they can't leave until they've come up with a detector that can differentiate between aluminum and gold 😁

What you say Carl?




 

[jasong]

24 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

I would like a coil coverage sensor as well, but it isn't happening with GPS.  Not precise enough.  If you miss just a square cm of ground coverage then you've possibly missed a target.  GPS is never going to give you that level of precision. You need something like drone mounted LIDAR or some other precision optical sensor that is tied tied into a gyroscopic coil position sensor as well as GPS.  I envision something that feeds a pair of Augmented Reality glasses that enables you to peer out onto your site from any position or angle and shows you how much of the site has been "painted over" by one or more sweeping detector coils while the drone or whatever was monitoring them.

IMU units are precise enough to do this. And now optical AI analysis can augment the IMU, which opens up more doors, but probably more for prospecting than relics for that part. 

A while back I posted about wanting the IMU/augmented reality idea to be implemented and I found some ML patents that were very vague but which I interpreted to likely be something very similar to this. Wether they implement it or not, who knows. Probably cost us $12k though. But I do think it's coming on some detector or another eventually. 

*This can technically be done already BTW with a bit of Python programming, an IMU on the shaft, an RPI4 and a set of those Meta Rayban glasses. I bought a set of the cheap Chinese knockoffs and it never arrived, got my money back, and lost interest in trying for now.