My Nokta Gold Kruzer. It Must Be Me!

[Lead Detector]

So if you have read other posts of mine, you know I've had problems with some of my detectors. My new to me, but used garret atx (shipped off yesterday for repairs), my new to me, but used fisher goldbug 2 (just got it back from getting repaired yesterday), and now my nokta gold kruzer (bought new a few months ago).   Here's the story on the nokta GK. When I first received it, I solely used the small DD coil. I probably had it out in the desert looking for tiny lead a half dozen times. It ran smooth as can be in max sensitivity almost everywhere I went. One day I hit a wash with tons of hot rocks and black sand. The Gk started overloading like crazy. I turned the sensitivity down till it would stop overloading and ran smooth.  Ended up at level 60 . (99 is max..70 is default).  When I got home, I rinsed off the coil, and turned it back on. It overloaded instantly at the default setting of 70. I'm thinking I must have some black sand in the coil cover. Removed the coil cover and rinsed clean again. Same issue, overloads in mid air at default settings.  I put it away, and figured I'd look at it later.  Long story short, it improved, but not fully recovered.  No matter where I'm at, it overloads as soon as you set the sensitivity to 90 or above. The threshold has never been as smooth as it once was either. I swapped to the larger 10" concentric coil. Works perfect...smooth as can be at max sensitivity.  I contacted nokta and explained my issue, filled out the form. Several days later I get an email saying a new coil is on the way. It arrived today. I grabbed the GK, went to pick up my new coil, and stopped in a nice open area to test it out. First I powered it up with the original coil..set sensitivity to 90..it overloads in the air like I expected. Next, I throw the new coil on. Power it up, and it instantly overloads at the default sensitivity level of 70. I turn it down to 69, and it stops.  I ground balance it, and swing it over a bit of ground, then touch the coil to the ground, and it overloads.  I shut it off In Disappointment and head home. After dinner I remember I need to bring it in for the night. I grab it out of the truck, and power it on, just to see how it acts in my yard. No sound...it's powered on, but no sound at all. I swing it over my truck and not a sound, and no reading on the display at all. It shows its powered up and that's it. I power it off...unplug the coil..plug the coil back in..power it on...still no sound or signal. Now I'm thinking my detector is broke. I put the original coil back on, and it was music to my ears...sound on, and gives signals as it should.  I know what you are all thinking, because I'm thinking the same thing! The only common denominator is ME! tell me I'm wrong.    I do want to close this off by saying,  I love the gold kruzer, and its an amazing machine, and nokta's customer service has been top notch so far. Looks like I  need to contact them again. I'd buy the GK  again in a heartbeat. 

[Mike_Hillis]

You may be wrapping your coil cable too tight. 

HH

Mike

[phrunt]

A long shot but have you tried a factory default reset on it with the coil on that's playing up while it's playing up and seeing if it recovers?  An interesting experiment, although you probably have a faulty detector with a bit of an intermittent fault.

Factory Default /Save (FD/SAVE) With the FD/SAVE feature of the Gold Kruzer, you can save your settings or restore factory defaults. Save function saves all settings except for the ground balance, tracking and frequency shift. The device starts in the last mode where the save function was performed. To save your settings, select FD/SAVE on screen. Two dashes (--) will be displayed on screen. Push the right button. When ''SA'' is displayed, press the SELECT/E.U.D button once. You will see lines rotating in the middle of the screen. When the saving is completed, the lines will stop rotating and the SA text will disappear. To go back to factory defaults, select FD/Save on screen. Two dashes (--) will be displayed on screen. Push the left button. When ''Fd'' is displayed, press the SELECT/E.U.D button once. You will see lines rotating in the GB window on the right side. When the process is completed, the lines will stop rotating and the Fd text will disappear

[Lead Detector]

21 minutes ago, phrunt said:

long shot but have you tried a factory default reset

I did do a factory reset. Nothing changed. Nokta had me send it in for repair. I just received it back a couple days ago. Now it's default overload setting is 80, instead of 90. Oh well, I guess I'll use it as is.  

[Gold Kruzer Jerry]

My gk did the overload thing also in a wash over black sand. I adjusted the gain down and it stopped the overload noise. 

[Lead Detector]

2 hours ago, Gold Kruzer Jerry said:

My gk did the overload thing also in a wash over black sand. I adjusted the gain down and it stopped the overload noise. 

Yes that is normal. Mine started to overload at specific gain settings no matter where I am, even in the air. When new, it did not do this. 

[Gold Kruzer Jerry]

Could you tell me the settings you use on your GK for nugget shooting ?

I’m judging learning how on how the settings work out ?

Thanks

Jerry

[RobNC]

On 2/23/2024 at 3:15 PM, Lead Detector said:

I did do a factory reset. Nothing changed. Nokta had me send it in for repair. I just received it back a couple days ago. Now it's default overload setting is 80, instead of 90. Oh well, I guess I'll use it as is.  

Sounds like you have settled for mediocrity. Or is it just my imagination?

I would contact them again. You purchased a new machine, it should perform up to your expectations from an operational standpoint. Maybe they will replace the machine with another one if you talk to them.

[Lead Detector]

2 minutes ago, RobNC said:

Sounds like you have settled for mediocrity. Or is it just my imagination?

I would contact them again. You purchased a new machine, it should perform up to your expectations from an operational standpoint. Maybe they will replace the machine with another one if you talk to them.

I'm actually still dealing with them. I ended up buying a second hand gold kruzer from a member here, just so I could trouble shoot it myself. I swapped coils and the used coil performs perfectly.  I made a video of how both coils performed on both machines. The used coil worked great on both, and my original coil would overload both at a gain setting of 80. I sent the video to Andy, and his response was "I find it odd". I emailed him 2 weeks later asking for an update on a new coil, and no response. After 10 days of no response, I emailed Dilek.  Sounds like according to Andy the case was closed. I think I got the ball rolling again, and made it clear, I have no interest in nokta products anymore, until they expand their US customer service. I will not deal with Andy any more.   I started this process Dec 4th of 2023. I had to buy a second detector to trouble shoot and figure out the problem myself.  I bought a gopro with chest mount so I could make an uninterrupted video of the issue.  Non of this should have been necessary.