Manticore M11 V M15 Sensitivity

[Tony]

7 hours ago, midalake said:

Hi Tony

It is odd to see a larger coil that can hold higher sensitivity. I have had larger coil options on many different detectors over the years.

My question is: have you fringe depth tested compared to the 11" coil?  

I would be concerned this coil may not be working correctly.  If you are for sure getting the same depths or better...........Don't ever sell that coil!!! 

Definitely no problems with the M15 coil. I have done some basic tests on my gold wedding band and it is an inch or two ahead of the M11. I got a sneaky suspicion that my GB on the M11 wasn't set correct when first using it....and the result was the Sensitivity couldn't be set optimally. I feel the M11 is the coil of choice for anytime the coil is under the water.

[Tony]

57 minutes ago, Skate said:

I have 6 hours of beach time with the 15" coil. It was mostly dry sand/towel line and all I can say is it is deep. Deeper than any other non PI machine I have used. I think I have figured out whether or not something truly is iron and worthy of digging but if you are going to use the 15 on a beach you must dig everything. I dug a quarter in the dry sand that had a non-ferrous tone but red numbers in the 40's and 50's. It was down at least 18" in that the dry sand was no longer dry but wet. The key to dig was the tone and by no means was it good or clear, rather it was just not iron. You cannot go by any of the basic signs like you would if digging in the dirt, you have to dig everything. 

The 15" is the real deal. I have a job tomorrow to try and find a couple of gold bracelets. I took my wife's gold bracelets out and compared my 800 with the Coiltek 10x5 and the Manticore with the 15 to see which machine I would use to find them. The 15 identified each different bracelet/chain by tone and TID, the nox and the 10x5 never even saw them.

The manticore represents a new day in detecting capabilities. It's a game changer. 

I feel exactly the same way as you do. The transition to running the Manticore is easy for me as I have used PI detectors for beach hunting since about 2001. I'm going out on a limb here but I suspect the Manticore can match a high powered PI on mineral free beach sand. When I get time, I will do a beach test with my GP3500 (14" DD coil) against the Manticore with the M15. The 2D screen is awesome but as you say, the audio is critical......for the deep targets then my brain goes into PI mode.

[Tony]

We all love a good air test right ?

Well it's kind of useful when comparing coils on the same machine.

My 7g 18K wedding band. Detector at 15 Sensitivity had a very smooth and unbroken threshold.

Settings were:

• Beach Deep
• GB at 0
• Sensitivity at 15 (outside at home)
• Prospecting Audio
• Ferrous Limits 4 and 0
• Recovery at 2
• All Metal

M11 Coil.....slight break in Threshold at 18"

M15 Coil....slight break in Threshold at 20"

Depth advantage to the M15 is around the 10% mark. This is about what I expected. These are astonishing air tests and I understand don't necessarily translate into in ground conditions (definitely not black sands). My beach sand are mainly "Florida style". I will do a series of buried tests with the same ring at the beach when I get time....stay tuned.

 

[phrunt]

The telling thing to me with the Manticore and depth was much like the CTX I can swing the coil a few inches off the ground and still hit deep targets, the same targets the Equinox needed scrubbed along the ground to see, even though the Equinox hit them well when you were scrubbing it just hated having that air gap which meant in long grass or even rough lumpy sand its performance was limited and the CTX and now also the Manticore do better.  

I believe the later model T2's had a boost mode to deal with this same situation, I don't have one with boost mode unfortunately to know if it worked as described.

From the T2 Manual.

bP: Boost This selection is an enhanced sensitivity version of the 2+ # OF TONES selection. It is particularly useful when searching for deep targets in a non-trashy area, or on a site where vegetation makes it necessary to raise the searchcoil several inches above the surface of the ground. It will also produce excellent results on trashy sites provided that you slow down your sweep speed; sweep the coil slower than you would when using 2+. When bP is selected, the response characteristics of the All Metal Mode are also modified; these characteristics include less noise and a slower response speed.

The CTX and Manticore both have this ability to handle an air gap.  I can't explain it, but a deep target the Nox 800 can hit on very well with no air gap it rapidly loses with the air gap.  All shallow targets can have an air gap, it's once they start to get deeper.  The even more puzzling thing is if a coin is at 18cm and the Nox hits on it with a close to the ground sweep, raise the coil up 5 cm and the target disappears, yet that same target could be 23cm in the ground, effectively the same depth and the Nox will hit on it with a close to ground sweep.    The CTX and Manticore hit the target either way.  

It's always baffled me, as detectors tend to give their best results in the air, the mix of air and soil changes the game.

[NJ Art]

The T2 boost mode worked wonderfully over the top of the early planted rye. It was a button magnet, but it loved deep iron no matter how many directions you swung around it.

[TampaBayBrad]

Got my 15" yesterday, but don't plan on making a beach trip until next week. Will report my thoughts then. I'm liking what I'm hearing from you guys. 

[Airtemisa]

Now that you have more time on your M15, are your thoughts similar as the first days, or you have another opinion?

I'm thinking of getting one, and your help is appreciated! 

Thanks

[TampaBayBrad]

11 hours ago, Airtemisa said:

Now that you have more time on your M15, are your thoughts similar as the first days, or you have another opinion?

I'm thinking of getting one, and your help is appreciated! 

Thanks

I have been 5 or 6 beach hunts of about 6 hours each with the 15" and love it both in the water and sand hunting. I can't offer any reason not to buy it, so go spend your money. Ha!

I have not done any direct depth comparison in-ground tests with the 11" and 15" side by side at the beach to comment on how much deeper it is if any. I do know I'm pulling dimes VERY deep with the back side of my scoop 6" deep in the hole below the sand's surface on several occasions. The need for more depth is kinda nullified in the water at my sugar sand beaches because once you hit a certain depth, the sand keeps falling back into the hole and you'll have a heart attack trying to dig any deeper. Near impossible. It's easy to loose a target due to it falling deeper as you dig if you miss it the first couple scoops.

But the 15" is staying on my detector, no doubt. Both in the water and out. I love the extra coverage per swing.

[Yooper]

How do you feel about the weight of the 15"? I have a CTX 3030 with the 17" and its a beast, but I have the ML harness to help with that.

 

[TampaBayBrad]

2 hours ago, Yooper said:

How do you feel about the weight of the 15"? I have a CTX 3030 with the 17" and its a beast, but I have the ML harness to help with that.

 

If you're a water hunter, the extra weight is not very noticeable at all when in thigh high or deeper. You may feel that it is a bit nose-heavy on land after a few hours compared to the 11". I run my stock shaft fully extended to the red lines, if you run yours shorter, it won't be as noticeable. When I run the M15 on my longer "tall boy" stork leg (about 5-6" longer than a fully extended stock shaft), it is nose heavy on land, but fine in the water.

You're 17" 3030 coil weighs 907 grams and the M15 only weighs 650 grams. Try it without the harness and see how you do.