Tag: best metal detector

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Nexus swept the competition

For many years, the theory has been promoted that analog detectors are obsolete devices that have gone down in modern history, but their time has irretrievably passed. Is it really true that only modern digital detectors have a raison d’être and are currently leading the way among prospectors?

Less and less often you hear about real knobs in which the main organ was hearing and only hearing. An experienced Seeker/Detector will add something else… separation among the iron. Yes, this is the only solution that limited the iron masking effect of non-ferrous objects.

The test below shows the Nexus MPV3 and a coin covered with various types of nails. Already in the first stage of the test, 99% of digital devices, even from the top shelf for over 10,000. PLN is not able to repeat this test!!!

What happens in the second part does not even require a comment. This cannot be done on any other device. Remember that this detector has full discrimination!

If you have any doubts, write under this article.

YouTube player
Posted on by — Leave a comment

XP DEUS II programs table

Thanks to our colleague CPT_GhostLight from the PROSPECTORDETECTOR forum, we have a nice table with a list of programs for XP DEUS II:

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Minelab Manticore and Multi IQ+ technology

The first outing with Minelab Manticore was not successful. I had considerable doubts. After all, the price is about 10 thousand. PLN does its job and we have above-average expectations. The detector frighteningly distorted the color and no change and raising the iron limits (FERROUS LIMITS), or lowering the sensitivity and ground calibration did anything. I was stuck. I tried various ways to deal with the change in reactivity and frequent detuning, but it did not bring the expected results. The device was unstable and it was difficult to figure out what was the correct signal from the target, and what was ground interference and color-distorting iron.

Yes, the place is very difficult, and not because of the soil, which is easy and sandy, but because of the amount of iron in it. Minelab Manticore requires a bit more knowledge and experience from the user than devices from the lower price range. Here you have to think hard about what program we will choose for the prevailing conditions and how we will set it. In my case, I decided to change the program from a FAST setting to LOW CONDUCTORS. So low guides. Why? Old and fine silver has a very low ID and is located right next to iron.

The next step was to determine the iron ranges (FERROUS LIMITS), here the matter is not so simple. Low value more color distortion but less masking. I decided to set the upper value for fine iron – such as nails – to 6. This is slightly less than factory 7. The extreme version is 4, but I do not recommend it at the beginning, maybe when you get used to the equipment. It gives amazing results.

Recovery speed is a parameter responsible for the separation. Here I stayed with factory 5, and sometimes I use 6 in a place with more traffic 😉 Higher value, better separation of objects and more stability, less range. At low values, you have to sweep slower and the equipment becomes less stable. Fortunately, we can influence this with the speed of the sweep. When we come across a garbage can – we slow down, and when it’s clean we can easily speed up. Patience and experience, humility, and there will be results!

It remains to set the sensitivity. The principle is always the same as in other detectors. We go up and watch how the detector behaves. Unstable work, we have to go down. Along the way, we do NOISE CANCEL, i.e. scanning channels to look for the best one. We can combine this with the sensitivity adjustment and choose the right setting. It is worth holding the interference reset button longer until you get one repeatable channel after each scan. In the case of Manitcor, the algorithm analyzes the interference and selects the best channel for the given operating frequencies selected with the program.

Audio. What audio to choose in a place where iron and its natural oxidation make even shallow objects practically inaudible?! I chose the ENHANCED option with noise reduction and it was a hit. Finally, the number of tones. It has been known for a long time that simple audio is the best in a dump or among the iron. One ton fell. Modulation? I chose SIMPLE, which is the smallest difference between a strong and a weak signal. Why? A large value for the MEDIUM or RICH parameter makes it easy to get lost with a large number of different signals, especially high tones from piercing iron. We want to check every signal and not miss anything!

Ground calibration remained at 0, although tracking did not introduce significant changes. The maximum corrected value is 2. The device cannot be manually adjusted by the pumping process here – too much iron!

Let’s go back to the results obtained, and this one completely knocked me off my feet! The spot I passed through revived and began to produce signals that were previously inaudible to other devices, and I spent almost two years in this place! It’s a strange feeling to pull stuff next to your pits and footprints … MultiIQ+ software Minelab does the job in combination with very fast hardware. The sensation is shocking when the detector separates the masked signals with the iron and the 2D graph becomes a checking tool. How to do it? The matter is simple because it is very easy to distinguish interference from iron and ground in the ENHANCED audio. In case of additional doubts, we look at the chart and rotate over the target by 90 degrees. In this case, after rotation, the TARGET TRACE signal in the conductivity axis, signaling the so-called color returns to iron. The chart gives us amazing opportunities to check the signal. For example, it shows large iron objects masking low conductors, small iron showing color, but also a pair of different objects next to each other. The dominant of the stronger signal changes with the change of position over the object. It’s just brilliant! If we add interference, mineralization, and different types of conductivity, we have a full picture of the possibilities!

YouTube player

Finally, is the detector worth 10,000? zloty? Certainly not in this country. We simply cannot afford it and no matter how good the ratio of our earnings to price is, it is unacceptable. Too bad no one talks about it!

Judge for yourself and remember to comment on this article and on our social media.

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Nexus vs rest of the world

The race is on for the best, free flashlights, vibrations, water resistance, 50% more power, 2D, 3D, and 6D graphs … thousands of slogans and advertisements attack us from every side. What do we get in return?! Often the same thing just in a slightly different package. Do you know this feeling? In a good restaurant, the old proven pork chop served with mun mushrooms and mars fern moss looks like an exotic and unknown dish. After the first bite, reality returns…

In all this, Nexus Detectors seems like a relic of the past. Old, but well-made knob detectors remind us of the years that are behind us. Nothing could be more wrong, because inside there is electronics that is light years ahead of everything we know!!

Advertisement?! You’ll find out soon, some people will pick up their jaw from the floor or buy hemorrhoid ointment, such burning can’t be endured without anesthesia!!!

Ok, relax, the working time on ten batteries is not overwhelming, but you can always change them in the field, the weight, depending on the probe, is survivable, because the balance is great. Yes, it is not equipment for beginners, although they will master it with a little patience.

Why am I so excited like a pedophile in a toy store?! The reason is simple – a performance that other manufacturers can only dream of. Depth and stability of work are unattainable by any other device! I write this with full responsibility! There is a video at the end of this article that shows it all in detail, but it’s nothing compared to full EMI immunity and virtually no iron masking! No other device has such capabilities and it is not a minimal difference, it is a gap that the leading manufacturers have not been able to overcome for years and do not even come close to a meter.

What will we see in the movie? A very interesting test of a small coin close to the nail, so interesting that it cannot be repeated on any other device. The minted silver coin, however, is a low conductor and lies close to the iron on the conductivity axis, but is not masked by it!

Another test is a mass of aluminum tear-offs from cans and a coin also without a problem. Tests did not in the air but on the ground full of iron in the so-called. 3D configuration. Total shock, it looks like a completely impossible thing to do on another, even the latest metal detector!!! Yes, it’s a single operating frequency in addition.

Be sure to follow this blog regularly! We have such a detector and we are not afraid to use it! Price and availability? Only on request, and with these performances, the price is justified, which cannot be said about other manufacturers!

YouTube player

 

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The revolution that is not coming

I have a strange feeling that the world of metal detectors is stuck at a certain point. We have been waiting for spectacular changes for years and they are not coming… maybe they are coming differently, but on a different scale than we expected.

Minelab Manticore or XP DEUS II are really good devices, but do they bring anything groundbreaking apart from the dose of well-known solutions?

Certainly, SMF devices are better than what we know from the past, but they are also not without their flaws. The advantages include stable operation in more difficult conditions and better ID compared to single-frequency devices. More accurate signaling of objects from both ends of the scale – low and high conductors. This makes detection easier. This makes detection easier, e.g. old and fine silver is the beginning of the scale close to iron, while large is its other end in SMF, it works really well.

What disadvantages? Less resistance to EMI interference – after all, we work in a wider frequency range and slightly worse performance when it comes to depth.

In my case, I always choose an advantage in the form of better identification and separation in iron, and this can be different, opinions are divided here.

It must be remembered that such a Nexus MPV3 is completely immune to EMI interference, which makes it much deeper and, after adding the adaptive speed of separating the target, insurmountable … unfortunately, you have to pay for it and it is a device for conscious detectorists. It is not light and consumes 10 AA batteries in a short time. Something for something as they say.

We also have the Tarsacci MDT 8000 with hybrid PI and VLF technology. A mix of pulse device performance and VLF discrimination. The detector is really deep and works great in iron or with magnetic stones. Unfortunately, target signaling and its interpretation is no more difficult than in VLF and SMF devices.

It’s better, multi-frequency detectors are more stable. Such a good old Whites Spectra, using three frequencies, is much shallower and very susceptible to interference. It will not separate as well, especially in iron. In addition, under high-voltage lines, there is no chance and nothing will change it, no change of settings.

It remains to wait and watch what the next years will bring, I know that it will be interesting, that’s for sure.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Minelab Manticore is a mythomaniac dream

Minelab announced the birth of a new detector called Manticore some time ago. The hype is huge and the expectations are even higher. It is true that the Yankees laugh at the new name, but they raise the bar extremely high, after all, the successor of Equinox or its improved version must live up to expectations.

Well, the price of almost PLN 10,000 is a pure abstraction only for a few and I want to laugh watching on YouTube when storytellers tell how good the device will be. They probably have a hunch… or the cards say so 😉

The truth is that we know absolutely nothing and despite the numerous shows of the Minelab team traveling around Europe, we know even less … After all, the show must go on and that’s what modern marketing is all about. Announcement Announcement?! Why not … that’s what Minelab did and exactly on December 1, 2022, in a moment we will find out about another piece of news … and what!!! How to have fun! The Americans say it’s fun at the customer’s expense. We’ll see.

Everyone is excited about the new 2D system based on Target Trace known from the Minelab CTX3030 model, but this is a completely different matter and the similarity here is purely marketing. Both detectors are different technology and way of managing and displaying an ID. A new opportunity has opened up for a wide identification of iron, which is good, but how it will really work and on what basis it will turn out in the field. The ability to distinguish between large and small iron is a big plus, and the extended scale may also allow better separation of low conductors from high ones. The question is what will happen when there is a pair of them under the probe? How the software will work. Questions and more questions.

Speculation continues. Numerous Equinox experts are already making screenshots for equipment together. I will not be a hypocrite I ordered myself … I’m curious too.

Unfortunately, as in the case of XP DEUSA II, it takes a few months in the field – other tests are just dreams of storytellers who buy equipment one day to sell it the next. Best of all, they don’t put any effort into learning, they assume it’s supposed to be like that, and they borrow the detector for a day or two, so what kind of reliability are we talking about here?!

I watch numerous comparisons in laboratory conditions on the test track … and I want to laugh. People are commenting on a device they don’t know and haven’t spent several hundred hours with! They assume that the borrower has such knowledge and has set it up well, and on this basis, they make an assessment! So they don’t know the detector themselves and they can’t even set it!!! They don’t even know what function it has and how it differs from others!!! So what kind of tests and credibility or reliability are we talking about?!

In a simple way, they implement untruths, for those less grasped they have a story about numerous data in Excel tables. Spells mary grandma’s wife see you soon. It’s in its purest form treating the recipient like a moron, nothing more.

There is also a lot of repetition, I am a master, I understand this equipment, etc., I mastered it to perfection, it is to confirm the leader himself in his perfection and it is in vain to look for field tests or demonstrations and explanations of individual functions and settings. Goebbels himself said that a lie repeated many times becomes the truth. And so it is in this case.

It is a waste of time to produce fairy tales and tell nonsense that others swallow like pelicans. You have to redo it yourself to understand it, put in time and money and an infinite amount of work. Time is priceless nowadays. All the rest is an addition, on which various more or less autistic megalomania and mythomania prey… or maybe it’s Asperger transmitted by droplets? I do not know.

Below is a video that will illuminate you a bit more, still hot!

YouTube player
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Minelab Equinox 700 and 900 the fish rots from the head

Has become. Minelab announced new models… Equinox 700 and 900. That’s how they did it… they refreshed the line. So what do we get and how is the new model different?!

A flashlight has arrived, vibrations, a wider ID scale, improved ergonomics, a scale for iron from -1 to 0, and for higher conductors from 1 to 99. They went crazy.

Looking soberly, the changes are cosmetic beyond the scale, but how about the price, in our country, it is the dominant factor. Let’s see what the difference is … GBP 799 for the 700 version and GBP 1099 for the 900 version. This means at the current exchange rate of PLN 4354 and PLN 5989 net …

To sum up, PLN 5,356 and PLN 7,367. Is it supposed to be an alternative to the almost PLN 10,000 Manticore and a response to the fans of the brand who said that someone exaggerated the price? This is how the mouth closes efficiently. Pure marketing. You can not afford it?! Buy yourself a cheaper one… see what we have prepared for you. A slight facelift and refreshed device can be yours.

How does the price compare to the competition? The answer is simple. Miserably. It’s cheaper than Manticore but still expensive. Adding a few goodies won’t make us justify 20% more. There is no chance, although the manufacturer was based on this assumption.

Maybe it’s a matter of prejudice, but Equinox has never convinced me and many of my colleagues feel the same way. After a year of use, I got rid of the device without much regret. It is possible that it was a mistake, but compared to the old XP DEUS model, Whites Spectra or decent DeepTech analogs, I did not see any greater depth, better identification, or stable work.

It is possible that the new models are much better, but I see no reason to be interested in them. Whether this is a mistake time will tell.

Coming back to the prices, well, we live in such no other conditions and only a few can afford expensive devices above PLN 2,500. It is worth remembering and reminding each time because it is not the individual who indicates the goal, but the majority.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Depth or separation?

Depth or separation? The eternal question and sleepless nights. I choose to separate objects because this is the most crucial thing in the places where I am able to search. The race for a few inches leads to nothing constructive, but the ability to see in iron does. Scrap heavily masks targets, and it’s not big objects and nails, but also decay dust – its condensed oxides!

The electronics of the detector have to process a lot of signals in a moment, and if we add other conductors to this, the time to generate a signal is very short. Larger signals effectively cover the response of small objects – higher conductors.

The level of mineralization of the substrate, the sweep angle, the conduct of the probe, and the frequency of work are important. All this has a dramatic effect on the effects. Wrongly selected detector and incorrectly set, and there is no chance for any effects. I have experienced this many times and it was very painful. A change in approach, improved probe guidance, and higher operating frequency, and we begin to hear signals previously unavailable.

So what is my recipe for a lot of iron? It depends on many parameters, but to simplify … a higher separation speed of the so-called recovery speed, higher operating frequency, lower sensitivity to conditions, and lower discrimination. Slower sweep, still parallels to the ground. You can also raise the probe slightly up … so if we are fighting with large disturbances from the ground. It will be shallower this way, but we will hear objects that we had no idea about before.

Finally, you can use a single high-frequency operation, an adaptive refresh rate device (Nexus MP V3), or a hybrid PI/VLF detector (Tarsacci MDT), but who can afford that?!

You can find more on this BLOG and on YouTube and social media on Facebook. Speak soon. Comment under the article.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Nexus is a completely different detector

Nexus MPv3 is a detector so different from currently presented detectors that it is difficult to compare them directly. Expensive, heavy, and difficult to use, but perfectly made. Worth every penny for me, but obviously not for everyone.

Why is it worth spending a fortune? First of all, you need to have a lot of experience, a small ego, a lot of humility, and patience. Success requires hard work, only then it tastes the best.

MPv3 is in a completely different league when it comes to performance. No known hardware comes within a meter of the Nexus. Does this mean that it is the best equipment in the world? No. Perfect for old places, but expensive and requiring full understanding.

In addition to the depth of detection, we get beautiful analog audio and a guide signal closely related to the ground calibration, giving a full description of what is happening under the probe. Pure analog power packed into ten…yes ten AA batteries.

Nexus opens old spots and helps close new ones to the end. The whole thing makes a hell of a good tool. Modulated VCO-type audio, depending on the settings, allows you to favor particular conductors. The VCO LED indicator works in a similar way. It’s also adjustable. We have a pair of colors for each guide from green, to orange, blue, and white. It’s a big simplification.

The combination of all these possibilities results in a devilishly effective device, although demanding, but also quite forgiving of mistakes. Perfect second detector for me.

You will find out more soon. Remember about our social media and YouTube channel.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Nexus Standard MP V3

Nexus Standard MPv3 is the next incarnation of the metal detector of the already famous manufacturer. Georgi is a true genius, no doubt about it.

The new detector is not for everyone and not because of its price. It’s all about service and understanding and taking the time. It’s a very difficult device. This is IB (Induction Balance) technology.

The IB metal detector is capable of discriminating between different types of metal objects, such as bottle caps and coins, by distinguishing the amplitude of the corresponding reception signals. In addition, the detector is equipped with a tuning adjustment, which is used to eliminate the influence of ground disturbances with a high content of iron and mineralization.

So in a nutshell and strongly simplified. What does it give? Ability to work in an environment with a lot of iron and mineralization of the substrate!

Unfortunately, this requires a lot of knowledge and awareness from the operator to fully understand the machine. Time and experience plus humility and focus. There is no other way. One mistake in the settings and the whole intricately arranged house of cards collapses.

Nexus Standard MPv3 is a typical knob, where the role of identification is taken over by a multi-color LED display. In addition to additional audio, we have a VCO-type selection knob, discrimination, coarse and fine ground calibration, and mineralization switch … there is a bit of it and it’s not easy to get the hang of it. I am full of optimism and the producer gave me full support. Remember to subscribe. It’s time to face this beast. We’ll see how I do. Courage is added by the fact that the set includes a double probe 2x 10 inches, the so-called low-frequency butterfly, which is supposed to translate into depths unattainable for other devices known to me. We’ll see.

Below is a description of the functions and calibration showing how complicated this device is.

Ground calibration. GB in the MP V3 is divided into two knobs – GB Fine and GB Coarse. The fine adjustment is 10 turns for fine-tuning, and the coarse adjustment is one turn for coarse tuning.
To adjust the ground balance, turn both GB knobs to position 10 clockwise. While moving the probe up and down, rotate the Coarse GB counterclockwise until the detector generates a soft signal as the probe descends.
Then tune with GB Fine by turning it counterclockwise. Continue fine-tuning GB in the final phase only with the help of GB Fine.

You can also do GB in reverse order. Turn both knobs to 0, fully counterclockwise. Then adjust GB Coarse until you get a soft signal as the probe goes up, then adjust GB Fine. The MP V3 Discrimination Control needs to be set somewhere around 3-4 on the scale (similar to the MkII) to avoid iron digging. It is best to select the setting on-site after checking several signals.

Unlike the MkII, the MP V3’s discrimination is very soft and forgiving, meaning there is no danger of clipping too much, everything is done in very small steps.

The LC-MC SET knob is used to turn the RGB LED meter on/off and to adjust the cutoff point between the low (LC) and mid (MC) leads. If this control is set to the left (0), only the lowest conductors will be colored green – hand-minted gold coins, Roman gold coins, any small gold coin or artifact, and very small pieces of foil.

All other non-ferrous objects will be marked with either orange (medium MC conductors) or white/blue (high conductors). If you turn the LC-MC SET to the right, some
hand-minted silver coins will be marked low guides as well as most lugs.

Mineral Control can only be used on highly mineralized soil containing magnetite. MC Fine stands for precise regulation of mineralization. The sensitivity of the detector will be slightly reduced, but this will allow you to reach the audible threshold of objects near strong sources of interference caused by mineralization.

The leading signal the threshold in the MP V3 should be set to the minimum audible level at all times like a constant, stable hum so that the deepest small objects can be detected and all others give a really good sure response.
This setup will ensure that the V3 performs far better than any other detector in existence, even the MP V2 (which is a beast in its own right).

The VCO setting is only intended to be used to identify uncertain, deep objects in the cluttered ground. The VCO should be set so that the first green LED just lights up. This will adjust the VCO tones to an audible level between lows and highs.

VCO is the best way to identify very uncertain (weak signals) targets at maximum depth. When searching in the cluttered ground, the guide signal needs to be quiet so that constant use of the VCO audio is not a nuisance.

If you get your hands on one of the 11.5-inch CC probes, you’ll find that the V3 in VCO mode is unbeatable in iron-strewn areas. No digital detectors can come within a mile of what this V3 detector can do with the right probe, according to the manufacturer. We’ll see!

The general advice is to keep the search coil approximately 10 cm off the ground at all locations and maintain a stable guiding signal. Once the target is located, if uncertain, lower the search coil closer to the ground. If the LED meter shows nothing, use the audio VCO to check the target.

Iron will not be indicated on the RGB LED meter unless the discrimination control is set to a value close to 0. In this case, iron will be indicated green as all other low conductors.

The battery test will show levels from 10.5V to 11.5V. So, when the battery test shows less than a full green LED bar, it means the batteries are nearing full discharge.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

XP with panel or without?

The question is simple with or without a panel? ORX, DEUS, and DEUS II are available in the lite version, where the control electronics are replaced by wireless headphones, also with buttons and a display. So which set to choose? Logically, the best and full, unfortunately, the price difference is significant, and on the other hand, you have to pay more later to buy a panel. It is bad either way. So what decision to make?!

If it is to be the first detector, then we can safely give up this add-on. Why? For a simple reason, we have to go by ear and we don’t have a display with ID numbers or a graph. We learn organoleptically from scratch as it should be – that is, by ear! It only pays off and increases our skills. Such mastery of the equipment gives you a lot and allows you to avoid mistakes at the beginning of the road. The second plus is not wasting time on moving the device when we do not fully understand certain functions and dependencies – less chance for wrong setting and skipping items. Finally, the last thing is weight loss, we can live knowing that our equipment is the lightest in the world!

Are you advanced and want to update? Buy yourself a panel, this solution is for you! There is one more option to work with the equipment, first listening and then verification on the chart. That’s how some programs work, and it works.

We have experience and we understand how the detectors work, then the panel is a chance to squeeze out additional possibilities, change the audio or precisely adjust it to the conditions or your own preferences.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The silent killer

There are days when all the monotony is dazzling. And this time it happened. A narrow strip of land, your own buried holes, footprints, and… bang! Signals appear coin by coin. Not that immediately some spectacular silverware. Popularity, but what satisfaction!

One clear thing came to me that has been bothering me for a long time, but let’s start from the very beginning. The premiere of XP Deus II and Nokta Makro The Legend, a number of videos and opinions, and in addition strongly divergent. I own both devices myself, so I started testing. It’s a bad time of year. Summer. Hot and a lot of UV radiation, which, as we know, negatively affects the probes. One place and still the same effect. The work is stable for a while, and then it is difficult to master the device. It does not indicate interference, only the ID jumps, it is difficult to track the target, and the identification scale closes from start to finish. Then I put it down to UV and temperature, and in part it certainly was, but I didn’t take into account the biggest problem of SMF technology … EMI interference, and the quiet ones that you can’t see.

In a regular VLF device, one frequency is easier to manage in terms of external interference, we can see more and we have more control. In the case of a multi-frequency and, moreover, simultaneous device, no longer.

For example, to put it simply, if the device uses two frequencies and one of them is disturbed and simply does not work, we have no chance for correct identification, tracking, and signaling of the target, and the depth performance can be forgotten.

A typical example from my tests is a Minelab Equinox 800 under two parallel high-voltage lines. Quiet and stable and at the same time 5 cm shallow!

The same thing happened to me with Deus II and The Legend. Hence the opinions on the Internet that the equipment does not work and sucks. Mistake! It’s EMI interference. How can you get rid of them and what can be done to make working with the SMF detector problem-free?

We start with detuning from interference (scanning is usually automatic). It is worth carrying out this process from time to time just in case. The next step is sensitivity, we go down to the level of stable operation of the detector and lack of interference, and excitation. All freaks twisting to the max will die in this place. The target’s signal will not cut through the interference. It’s like driving a car with a high beam in the fog. Suicide. The ground calibration, was corrected and checked. You can find how to do it on my YouTube channel.

How to verify? There is a method for this, apart from effective and stable work and a handful of coins in your pocket, you can use the so-called leading signal threshold. Stable means the detector is operating smoothly and the signal is set correctly.

you don’t believe? Video below of a man running XP on Deus I alongside Deus II. After this maneuver, the last version does not signal the coin in audio. After detuning, the coin signal is back!

YouTube player
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Nokta Makro The Legend real SMF

The Collins Dictionary defines the word “legend” as follows: When you refer to someone as a legend, it means that they are very famous and admired by many people. That’s a definition that certainly includes the Nokta metal detector – it means both famous and universally admired.

There are multi-frequency (MF) detectors and there are simultaneous multi-frequency (SMF) detectors. Both have their followers, so which is best? It depends entirely on where you regularly look and how you look, not forgetting other aspects of fun. These will include consideration of after-sales support, accessories such as probes, warranty repairs, and even dealer reputation.

MF detectors offer operators a range of frequencies from 4kHz to 81kHz, depending on make and model. What MFs don’t do is generate multiple frequencies at once, unlike SMF. Because MFs transmit one selected frequency at a time, their electronic target analysis systems are less complex and therefore less expensive to manufacture. This is usually reflected in their much lower price. Many seasoned MF aficionados prefer to tune their detectors to the frequency that best suits the type of target they are looking for… eg gold, minted silver, copper, and even iron objects.

Nokta Legend is a real SMF that transmits 4kHz, 10kHz, 15kHz, 20kHz, and 40kHz synchronously. Why? Straight. SMF is a catch-all system. Lower frequencies penetrate deeper into the ground/wet sand, while higher frequencies – although slightly less so – are more sensitive to small gold objects. A single MF frequency option is also available to the user.

At a price of around PLN 3,835 along with “promotional offers” that include additional probes and other accessories, it is hardly surprising that the Legend is so highly regarded. Don’t be fooled, this is a technologically advanced detector with features usually only available on the market for detectors worth over PLN 7,000. What makes it stand out is that it has an average price.

From a commercial point of view, it’s a damn strong mix. Nokta placed the Legend electronics in the same housing as the Simplex+ model. The build quality and architecture are typical of a Turkish manufacturer. The model is solid and based on the experience gained in the production of other detectors. As sailors say about yachts: “If it looks good, it will sail well.”

Where we have garbage and iron, a small probe should be used, and anyone who searches the shoreline knows what I’m talking about. Beach seekers often avoid cluttered areas like the plague. Other tough guys work in these conditions, pushing the capabilities of their devices to the limit.

Large-diameter probes are not my ideal choice in cluttered areas, due to one major disadvantage: vulnerability to “target masking”. In the case where we have two objects – one garbage and the other, e.g. a gold ring – both entering the field of work, and the garbage object is often the stronger signal of the two and “masks” gold. Some areas were not only loaded to the brim with garbage and all sorts of metal objects but also lost jewelry. Not surprisingly, these places are almost impossible to search with large-diameter probes, and I mean the 11-inch Legend probe as well. As you might expect, many Seekers steer clear of littered areas. The key to unlocking the loot is a probe with a small diameter of no more than six inches. The likelihood of two targets falling into the small diameter of a small probe is much less likely.

I hope the 6-inch NM probe (LG15) will stand out, as does the elliptical 9.5″x5″ (SP24) used in my Simplex+.

It’s obvious that electronics and water are a poor combination. So, if you’re taking your expensive metal detector anywhere near water, especially salt water, it needs to be waterproof to survive accidental submersion. The Legend is fully resistant up to three meters. For diving maniacs, you can buy headphones for diving on a cable. Same as Simplex+.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Test track or practical knowledge?

In the past, I had a lot of inquiries as to why I don’t have a test track. It doesn’t work for a simple reason. It doesn’t work. You can compare the cutters together on the same day and it will still be a demonstration test, not a comparative test. For a simple reason, external factors affect what happens to the detector. Temperature and UV radiation change everything, and if we add the processes taking place in the soil under the influence of these factors, we have a complete picture.

I remember one day we went to the old spot after the rain. The temperature dropped below 20 degrees Celsius and the ground was damp. Coins started popping up like mushrooms after the rain. A week later, at around 28 degrees, nothing came out, but the next week at 23 degrees, more came out!

We followed in our footsteps. In addition, there are EMI interferences, the quiet ones, and those we can observe. All you need is a transmitter to send data packets and you can go home. Half the trouble, as you can see and hear after the behavior of the device, unfortunately, the quiet EMI simply cuts off the possibility of detection, which I don’t even know about. At such a moment, it would be enough to put a coin on the surface and the device simply does not see it.

The heat causes the probe to drift, despite numerous patents compensating for this condition, from painting it white to changes in electronics or software. This is best heard after the lead signal if we have such an option.

Another example. XP DEUS II. The RELIC program is all set up for the seat. The first 20 minutes are brilliant. Stable audio, leading signal. After 20 minutes, despite detuning the interference every 20 minutes, it’s not fun anymore. I can clearly feel the deterioration of performance and stability. This can be seen in the lead signal, which clearly undulates when sweeping over a clean area … I mean conventionally clean because it is full of iron.

Also, only work in various conditions gives a full picture of the device, do not fall for the tricks of testers who have not devoted a minimum of 200 hours to the device in various conditions. Real knowledge comes after 2000 hours and then questions arise about what is a natural process.

I encourage you to ask questions in this article.

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Tracking or not Tracking?

Ground calibration is the basis for ensuring the detector’s operation in difficult conditions, it can be carried out manually or automatically. There is still Tracking, i.e. the function of continuous ground tracking.

Good on clean substrates where mineralization often changes over a short period of time. There is also a downside, false signals can be caught, and objects will need to be swept several times to generate the correct signal. Tracking can get completely lost on magnetic stones or with a lot of ceramics and iron. Large clutter also makes things difficult, it’s all a matter of work algorithms and accompanying filters. Values can be averaged and this is where false signals appear.

Manual tuning gives the greatest guarantee that the metal detector is properly calibrated to the ground. Unfortunately, there are also places where the amount of iron makes it difficult to calibrate manually and automatically, and then it is worth starting Tracking … just do it wisely.

We look at the values and if one value is scrolling all the time, just disable the ground tracking. Ready! We have the value we were looking for. The machine did it for us! It remains to check it from time to time. How? Simply pump the search coil over a clear spot, if the signal changes or you hear an excessive response from the ground, re-tune.

Good positioning is crucial for stable operation and proper signal for a given object and decent depth, and we must remember this every time.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

How foil masks signals

A great demonstration of how foil, magnetic stones can mask signals. So is iron. Comparison of XP ORX and Tarsacci MDT 8000. Enjoy watching.

YouTube player
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Minelab Equinox vs Tarsacci MDT coin conglomerate

As you can see in the video below, Minelab lays out such a goal as a conglomerate of coins. It’s a difficult goal. Tarsacci is being tested.

YouTube player
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Whites Spectra uncompromising detector

Whites Spectra is a unique metal detector. Complicated to use at first glance, but giving amazing configuration options. Why is it so special?

Firstly, it is a detector working in three frequencies at once, and secondly, it has a mixed mode, not like the RUTUS in the mono version, but a stereophonic one. What does it give? Both static and dynamic channels work simultaneously and are not switched between each other as happens in the mono version. We hear all the time about the multiplicity of depth and types of targets. It’s hard to miss items and we know what we have under the probe. This is a great comfort of work and if we add to it great identification, this device, despite its age and not very high speed of object separation, is still an unsurpassed model for many manufacturers.

There are also disadvantages, apart from the above-mentioned complication, the weight of the entire device and the color display are not very visible in direct sunlight. It is true that the Sharps LCD has great contrast and good backlighting, but it will not be at the level that black and white screens give.

Another problem is the power source. Factory batteries last literally for a while and are a pain to use and charge. Much better to switch to a pack of 18650 lithium-ion cells (3 pcs.) and an electronic charger. I use such a set myself and the working time is three times longer. I bought a basket for three such cells and designed and printed the housing.

The factory seat post is also not the most comfortable, but you can easily adjust something lighter.

The work itself and the ability to configure after each other give virtually unlimited possibilities. The initial learning about the equipment, it requires a lot of patience and perseverance as well as knowledge of the English language. Dedicating a few months to learning pays off in the field in the form of better identification, easier fastening on the target, and not tiring work. Fewer random sounds are also a big plus.

The ability to configure allows you to adapt to many scenarios and types of searched objects. The separation of software and hardware settings as well as filters allows you to configure the detector for yourself also in terms of audio or displayed ID and pictograms and ending with colors. This is something unheard of nowadays.

The V3i version allows you to use the XY plot option for additional item identification. We see as many as 3 frequencies in a graphic form, which allows you to better determine the conductivity and type of metal in some approximation. Even XP has used this in the XP DEUS I and DEUS II models.

The last thing is the depth indicator. Not as graphic as we know it now, but in cm and all the time in a dynamic mode without the need to track how it was done on other devices. In this simple way, we can distinguish what is surface garbage and what is a valuable item lying much deeper.

Bob Canaday, the late creator of the Whites Spectra, was undoubtedly a genius, and it’s a pity that none of the current metal detector companies have undertaken to continue his legacy.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Growing up the place

Growing up the place. How to do it? New equipment costs a lot and usually not everyone can afford large investments. We start by checking what we have and what our colleagues have. We do a summary.

  • Frequency – when the metal detector has variable frequencies to choose from, we look for the lowest one. We set. Then discrimination – the enemy of every Detector, down as low as possible or switching to All Metal modes, we gained in range.
  • Filters – reactivity, the lower the value, the deeper the device, but it separates objects worse. We’ll deal with that too by simply sweeping slower. Other than ID or magnetic stones or identification of caps, it is worth turning off.
  • Sweep probe – maybe it’s worth working on better tracking over the ground? Movements should be slow – about 2 seconds from extreme positions and smooth and parallel all the time to the ground level.
  • Seat post – adjust so that the probe is 3 to 5 cm above its surface. The next centimeters are ours.
  • Sensitivity – it’s time to set it to the level of stable operation and get rid of interference. This is our greatest enemy, shortening our ranges. We always use automatic detuning or manually look for the most stable channel or operating frequency.
  • Ground calibration – something often neglected. It is worth doing it precisely in a clean place. We check and repeat as we work. We track the values and, if necessary and possible, manually adjust the conditions. The next centimeters depend on it!
  • The size of the probe – is significant, despite the common opinion, although the truth is that technique counts. For cluttered places, a smaller one will be ok, for large and clean and relatively even areas, a larger one will be useful, which will improve efficiency and range.
  • The seat itself – the most bizarre thing – the direction of the passage. You need to change the overlap on the objects. Across, diagonally along. We go around every signal for about. I suggest using the Tect O Trak application based on data from the GPS of our phone. It’s a lot of comfort and organization of work, especially when we return to our favorite place.
  • The power of nature – you can use rainfall and wind, which cause the soil to lower over time. Often coins can lie washed out on the surface. Meteo forecast is Windy and Meteo apps.
  • Wunderwaffe – it is also worth borrowing a PI frame detector and walk the same place with a device that only sees larger objects and at a greater depth, we will skip surface debris.

If you liked this article, give it a like and remember our social media:

Youtube

Sklep Omnitron
Omnitron Metal Detecting Group
Intagram

 

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Battery and metal detectors

Nowadays, detectors have integrated batteries, is it good or bad, and how to care for this type of solution? Find out in the article below.

Modern power sources are already mostly integrated into the device. Field exchange is not possible. For some, it’s a disadvantage, because you have to remember to charge before going out, on the other hand, going for replaceable batteries in the middle of nowhere can often be completely futile, and we don’t always remember to take or check spare ones. The disadvantage can also be the number of charging devices. Such XP DEUS has a link in the probe, wireless headphones, and in the RC control panel … it’s a lot, although there is always an alternative, if the headphones are discharged, we have a panel and a loudspeaker, if vice versa, only headphones, and limited settings options.

You can always take a power bank with you or recharge it in the car, but it also takes time. Both solutions have some disadvantages, but what about the durability of such internal batteries? This is where electronics come in handy. Internal circuits manage the charging cycle. The service life is several hundred or more cycles, so it will be enough for some time, and the manufacturer provides for replacement, which can be done on your own or commissioned to the service.

How to charge? As I mentioned above, everything is managed by electronics, and the power of the charger affects only the time of the process itself. The USB standard reigns, so the matter is simple, we are looking for a connector or a charger. For your own safety, it is worth taking care of a good quality solution. YouTube is full of videos of spectacular fires of cheap USB chargers!

The detectors have charging indicators and the process itself takes a few hours, but what is the best way to check if the detector is charged when there is no such indicator or it does not work properly? In a very simple way. We touch the charger. Cold means the process is finished, warm means that we have to wait a little longer.

How often should we charge our detector? After every exit? Always connected? How to store?! The principle is simple. We discharge to 20% not to the end, so as not to burden the cell thermally, overheating drastically shortens its life. Charge to 80-100% capacity. During storage, the battery should not be more than 80% and less than 20%. It’s always worth checking. We will avoid problems in the future.

The replacement itself is not complicated for most solutions, although there are some that require a few gymnastics. For example, XP has a battery built inside the probe, which brings the problem of cutting the resin and refilling it after changing it. Fortunately, there are kits with instructions and there is nothing to worry about if we have a minimum of motor skills.

At the very end, the type of removable batteries. It’s not an easy topic. The market is full of substitutes. The simple rule is only branded and from proven sellers. Cheap cells do not work or only work for a while and fail at the worst possible moment. It is also important to check whether the device will work well with the batteries. They have a slightly lower operating voltage (they last for a shorter time than alkaline ones) and the electronics can play tricks on us, incorrectly signaling the moment of discharge. Strange behavior, and lack of stability of work and ranges are also not uncommon in such a situation. It is worth checking in the documentation attached to the detector what can and cannot be done.

If you liked this article, please share it on social media and comment below.

YouTube player