New Manticore Owner Any Tips

[Tom B]

Hi Guys,

I just bought a NIB Manticore here locally and thought I would ask the folks that have been using it awhile, for any tips.

I might have made a mistake, I was looking online and found a good deal on an M8 coil, so I bought it, and it arrived this afternoon. After doing a lot of research on Manticore coils, it seems everyone recommends the M15 coil. 

Time will tell, next week we are going to be sunny and 60 degrees, so I am going to turn the Manticore loose.

I have been detecting 25 years, and have used the Nox 900 and the D2, I currently own a Deus 1, with 9" and 11" coils, and the Manticore with 8" and 11" coils. Dang this hobby is addicting 

[JCR]

I bet you are going to really like it.

[cuniagau]

2 hours ago, Tom B said:

Hi Guys,

I just bought a NIB Manticore here locally and thought I would ask the folks that have been using it awhile, for any tips.

I might have made a mistake, I was looking online and found a good deal on an M8 coil, so I bought it, and it arrived this afternoon. After doing a lot of research on Manticore coils, it seems everyone recommends the M15 coil. 

Time will tell, next week we are going to be sunny and 60 degrees, so I am going to turn the Manticore loose.

I have been detecting 25 years, and have used the Nox 900 and the D2, I currently own a Deus 1, with 9" and 11" coils, and the Manticore with 8" and 11" coils. Dang this hobby is addicting 

Tom,

First off, Congrats on your new Manti and the M8 coil.  That M8 coil will be a big plus in parks or iron infested areas.  

Tip #1:  Air test targets in all the different Audio Themes and Tones.   Chose the one that sounds the best to your ears.  My hearing is poor from early '70's Army with little to no hearing protection.  So I chose Enhanced and Medium and also Two tone.  I almost only hunt salt beaches and have very little experience on turf but in my first 11 months with the Manticore, I pulled 37 gold rings and 14 "other" pieces of gold from the beach.  Also 106 silver rings and 101 "other" silvers.  So I do have some positive experiences with my chosen Audio selection. 

Tip#2:  Get some hours on the Manticore just using the factory presets.  This will give you a base knowledge of what the detectors language is telling you.  The factory ferrous upper and lower limits are quite adequate until you have some time on the machine and understand what needs to be changed and for the most part the changes will only need to be tweaked.  

Tip# 3:   Long press the Noise Cancel button.  If on turf, Ground Balance.  Recovery speed might vary with your natural swing speed but for the most part get in some hours on the presents before venturing too far too quickly.  

Tip #4:  Get some hours on the machine before doing much changing.  I cannot stress that enough!!!  You have to know what it is telling you before you really understand that you can get the setting sideways really quickly if you change too much too soon without a justified guess in your mind on what you EXPECT from that change. 

Tip# 5:  Don't watch YouTubes as most will have you making changes that you may not really understand until you get some hours on the machine.

Tip# 6:  Have I mentioned that you need to get some hours on the machine before making changes???

Tip# 7:  Have fun, dig everything so that you know for sure what this incredible detector is able to tell you.

Tip# 8:  (you can insert this one anyplace you want)  Run in all metal and no discrimination!   You will learn it's language a lot quicker when you hear everything and know how ferrous and no ferrous react when both are under the coil at the same time.

Tip# 9:  Don't forget the 2D line.  A nice roundish spot on that line coupled with a good solid tone, with a good solid TID will often be a nice precursor to a nice target under the coil.

Tip# 10:  Remember it is called metal detecting and even Manti can tell you only so much.  So, forgive Manti if the target is just a piece of trash.  The trash has a story too, just like a gold ring or a silver coin!!!

[fishersari]

What @cuniagau said.. for me coming from equinox 800.. don't treat it like an equinox .. its a different beast, different language, different pixel.. changing setting like an equinox without knowing how the manticore response was a disaster.. at least for me lol.. 

Your 25 years of detecting experienced should be no problem to tame da beast me think . Happy hunting on whatever machine you decide to use 🙂

If you want to watch Manticore on youtube.. I suggest  "Metal detecting oregon and beyond" channel.. His 1 year journey transitions from e trac to Manticore.. the hate.. the love.. etc.. 

[Tom B]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info, next week we are going to be sunny and in the 60's, so I will be able to go out and play.

Funny, even at 66 years old, it's still fun to hunt for treasure. When I lived in Arizona, I spent a lot of years hunting for gold, coins and relics, in the Bradshaw Mountains and Superstition Mountains. I never found a large treasure, but I always found something worth keeping, and just being outdoors was worth the time invested

[Daniel Tn]

If you don't like the M8 coil, you will have no trouble selling it.  I would bet right now, you could get exactly what you paid for it new.  I got lucky and found the M15, which I think will fit my needs better...but that M8 seems to be the hot ticket item right now.

As for advice/tips.  For just getting started, I would recommend bringing the Ferrous Limits closer in to the center line...moreso than the factory presets.  This will help you not to get fooled by iron/nails as much.  It's similar to the iron bias on an Equinox, but with more user control/customization.  As you kinda get a feel for the machine...you can start opening the ferrous limits back up.  

[GB_Amateur]

Welcome the Manticore Users Club!  Lots of good advice so far.

On 1/26/2024 at 11:17 PM, fishersari said:

...Don't treat it like an equinox....

I'll go one step further -- don't think of it like any other detector.  Sure, it makes noise when there is metal in range and that noise is loaded with info, but it speaks its own language.  Here are a few more recommendations:

0) Read the manual cover-to-cover before your first adventure.  After a few hunts, go through it again.  In the second pass you can skip sections you know you won't use, but you don't know which those are if you haven't been through it completely once already!

1) If you are on land, set the sensitivity at 17 (or lower, not higher).  I know this may be counter to other detectors -- only halfway up the scale -- but in my experience so far (test garden and field) the Manticore is every bit as deep on 17 as my Equinox 800 at 22-23, and in some settings it's (measurably) a bit deeper.  People on beaches (without black sand present) can crank up the gain for better depth but if there is even moderate mineralization (like I have) you just end up deteriorating the Digital Target ID (and 2-D screen Target Trace) by turning up the sensitivity.  That's my experience (and others', too).

2) There are an encyclopedia's worth of sound settings on the Manticore, at least compared even to the Equinox.  Don't get discouraged if the factory settings (and there are many of those already depending upon mode) aren't to your liking.

3) If your Manticore isn't running the latest software update (there has been only one made available to users so far), you are OK at first but I would consider getting it upgraded fairly soon.  (Pretty easy to do.)  Although the upgrade doesn't have a lot of changes, there are some and easier to learn once than unlearn and relearn, IMO.

Enjoy your new tool!

 

[Dug D]

12 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

1) If you are on land, set the sensitivity at 17 (or lower, not higher).  I know this may be counter to other detectors -- only halfway up the scale -- but in my experience so far (test garden and field) the Manticore is every bit as deep on 17 as my Equinox 800 at 22-23, and in some settings it's (measurably) a bit deeper. 

I can tell you from a fair amount of frustration the above is correct. The Manticore does so well with EMI I had a tendency to just keep going higher and higher in sensitivity.  Good targets will hit well at low sensitivity, just an fyi Pepsi caps hit harder than coins they are annoying.  

[King Cnut]

Do not run the machine hot unless your on clean ground is the best advice i can give and I have had my manticore since it came out on my iron infested mineralised soil I run 18 sensitivity and the manticore is a dream to use 😊

[masslawman]

Some great information posted here, thanks. Waiting for my Manticore to be delivered, can't wait to try it out