Garrett Apex

[vferrari]

Great job by Garrett. If Apex lives up to its paper stats in the field, then they have a winner and accomplished what Minelab should have done with the Vanquish but fumbled away by cutting too many corners. Forget about multifrequency for a second, Garrett has put out the least expensive multiple selectable single frequency machine out there and it even has more single frequency choices than the Equinox 600 (5, 10, 15, and 20 for Apex vs. 5, 10, and 15 for Equinox 600).

 

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[vferrari]

How did Whites pull off Multi-freq with the V3i (did they license it from Minelab?) - Can you patent a device that works on multiple frequencies .. I like the machine but for me personally I don't fing the advantage of running mulit freq unless you can see what each freq is doing (like the V3i) - Not sure they did enough to get me to give up my ORX though, but I might give it a run.

Yeah, Whites licensed it from ML, ultimately

 

[SultansOfSwing]

Great job by Garrett. If Apex lives up to its paper stats in the field, then they have a winner and accomplished what Minelab should have done with the Vanquish but fumbled away by cutting too many corners. Forget about multifrequency for a second, Garrett has put out the least expensive multiple selectable single frequency machine out there and it even has more single frequency choices than the Equinox 600 (5, 10, 15, and 20 for Apex vs. 5, 10, and 15 for Equinox 600).

Id prefer the waterproof capability over having a 20khz single frequency and only being rain resistant.

 

[xr7ator]

This "simultaneous multi-frequency" will depend entirely on how well they implemented it. Until people get to really shake it down, it is just three words that marketing came up with. Let's hope it earns the respect of the real users. But from what I've seen, Garrett isn't much of an innovator these days, so, we'll see.

You know, it's a good thing that we have companies like Garrett and Whites. Otherwise, companies like Minelab and Dues would probably have never been in existence.

 

[☠ Cipher]

This "simultaneous multi-frequency" will depend entirely on how well they implemented it. Until people get to really shake it down, it is just three words that marketing came up with. Let's hope it earns the respect of the real users. But from what I've seen, Garrett isn't much of an innovator these days, so, we'll see.

Correct, and I do find it suspicious that I can't find any testers. Doesn't mean they don't have any, but usually we'd hear some kind of peep by now, at least in promotion after intro.

 

[vferrari]

Id prefer the waterproof capability over having a 20khz single frequency and only being rain resistant.

I hear you. But I'd rather not pay $200 more for waterproof and wireless headphones (the cost of the 600 plus wireless phones) for the handful of times I would actually use it...and still not have 20 khz. Maybe Garrett can learn something from Nokta who figured out how to do waterproofing for $300. Can still get plenty of water hunting done in the surf or river/lake wading without submerging the control box and can keep it tethered to prevent it from falling in the water. I use 20 khz more than multi relic hunting. I only really use multi at the beach and am not really into getting knocked around in the surf - too old for that, so something that won't melt in the rain and salt spray/splash is really good enough for me. I guess Garrett had to save something for the future AT Pinnacle Multi-frequency to justify the increased cost.

 

[☠ Cipher]

How did Whites pull off Multi-freq with the V3i (did they license it from Minelab?) - Can you patent a device that works on multiple frequencies .. I like the machine but for me personally I don't fing the advantage of running mulit freq unless you can see what each freq is doing (like the V3i) - Not sure they did enough to get me to give up my ORX though, but I might give it a run.

The DFX was licensed from Minelab as an offshoot of BBS. V3i was entirely an in house design with no connection to Minelab.

 

[relicmeister]

Gotta say it appears Garrett did manage to hit a sweet spot here that will do well in the entry level market ( and no doubt sell plenty to old school detectaholics) as well , and enable them to compete and stay relevant in the field for the next couple years anyway

 

[Iron Buzz]

You know, it's a good thing that we have companies like Garrett and Whites. Otherwise, companies like Minelab and Dues would probably have never been in existence.

That's a lot like saying that it is a good thing we have companies like Ford and General Motors, otherwise companies like Toyota and Honda would never have been in existence.

 

[Carl-NC]

The DFX was licensed from Minelab as an offshoot of BBS. V3i was entirely an in house design with no connection to Minelab.

The real story is strange. When the DFX (actually, it started with the Beach Hunter) was being developed, one of the White's engineers insisted it infringed on Minelab's '360 patent. So White's contacted Minelab and offered them a royalty on every BH and DFX, and that's what happened. When I joined White's I analyzed the patent and determined that, no, it did not infringe. So there was never a need to pay Minelab.

Both the DFX and V3 were developed entirely in-house at White's. The V3 is exactly the same approach as the DFX, but without royalty payments. The '360 patent is now expired.

Final tidbit: the '360 patent had nothing to do with BBS/FBS, it was a method Minelab never took to market.

 

[vferrari]

The real story is strange. When the DFX (actually, it started with the Beach Hunter) was being developed, one of the White's engineers insisted it infringed on Minelab's '360 patent. So White's contacted Minelab and offered them a royalty on every BH and DFX, and that's what happened. When I joined White's I analyzed the patent and determined that, no, it did not infringe. So there was never a need to pay Minelab.

Both the DFX and V3 were developed entirely in-house at White's. The V3 is exactly the same approach as the DFX, but without royalty payments. The '360 patent is now expired.

Final tidbit: the '360 patent had nothing to do with BBS/FBS, it was a method Minelab never took to market.

Great backstory, Carl. Thanks for sharing that.