Giving Nokta FORS Gold a Spin

[Steve Herschbach]

I am checking the Nokta FORS Gold out for its nugget hunting capabilities but I see that it of course has other applications. It basically is just a FORS CoRe tweaked for nugget detecting. It is making a good first impression but I need another week before I report back on what I think. Stay tuned!

 

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[NiagracountyNY]

Good luck steve.If the gold works as well for you as the core has me,you should be pleasantly surprised.Looking forward to your review.

 

[Keppy]

Good luck steve.If the gold works as well for you as the core has me,you should be pleasantly surprised.Looking forward to your review.

Well Steve & Niagra i am thinking of getting a Cores .. All i see about them seem's very good..

 

[supertraq]

Well its been well over a week

 

[NiagracountyNY]

Well if he had bad news we would have heard already.......He's prob loaded down with gold somewhere.

 

[Keppy]

Well if he had bad news we would have heard already.......He's prob loaded down with gold somewhere.

.. Steve did find some nice Gold with his ..Nokta Fors …and gave it a very good review over in his forum .. You can see it over there if you can't wait for him to put it up here..

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Here is the Readers Digest version. And by the way, a week is nothing when it comes to learning a detector. I generally need at least 50 hours of running time to get a handle on a new unit and that usually takes more than a week.

I am glad AzViper stirred the pot to get the ball rolling. I will be honest and admit I never considered getting a Nokta simply because they are a company I knew nothing about from Turkey. I guess I am chicken that way but I tend to stick with what would be considered mainstream product. The bottom line is I have discovered that Nokta is a company that builds quality metal detectors and they appear eager for their detectors to be well received in the US. I expect them to go the extra mile in backing their product up.

The Nokta FORS Gold is easily the equal of any of the other mid-frequency nugget detectors and exceeds them in many ways. Depth of detection and sensitivity are among the best but do not expect to match a high frequency detector for small gold ability, though the Nokta is close. What I am seeing is across the board good performance for VLF nugget detecting combined with exceptional ground handling capability. The key features:

1. The FORS Gold runs in pure all metal mode while displaying target id number in the handle mounted LCD window. This allows for best performance with an eye towards dig it all detecting, yet allows obvious junks targets to be verified and ignored if desired. The key is no mode switching is needed, and time waster and ultimately something that wears out controls.

2. You have all ground balancing options possible. There is the easy push button and bob, or "grab" type ground balancing. There is pure manual adjust up and down ground balancing. And there is full automatic ground tracking.

3. There is an efficient tone based discrimination mode, called Boost Mode, that can be used to easily sort out ferrous trash and most hot rocks by either tones or outright discrimination of these undesired targets. Yet detection of gold nuggets is only minimally affected.

4. There is a three tone mode aimed more at coin detecting that makes the FORS Gold suitable for almost all detecting tasks, whether coin, relic, or jewelry detecting. The only area to expect only moderate performance would be on saltwater beaches, where all single frequency detectors suffer. The FORS Gold is a true do it all detector.

Look at all the other gold nugget detectors out there and ask if they can run in all metal mode while simultaneously displaying target id numbers on screen, and if they offer ground grab, manual ground balance, and automatic ground tracking. The surprising answer will be no. No other nugget detector offers all these options in a single unit. Only a few top end expensive coin detectors do so but they lack the nugget detecting power of the FORS Gold. This alone makes the Nokta FORS Gold a unique and valuable addition to the VLF nugget detecting world and one worth serious consideration.

Here is 3.3 grams of gold I extracted from highly mineralized trash infested ground with the Nokta FORS Gold. The kind of place PI operators run from due to all the junk. Frankly, I was just expecting to find bullets that day and so was surprised when gold nuggets started appearing. Including what turned out to be a very delicate 2 gram piece of lacy gold. I can say the Nokta FORS Gold easily exceeded my expectations.

Many thanks to AzViper for getting the ball rolling and to Dilek Gonulay at Nokta for affording me the opportunity to learn about Nokta and its fine products.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/m...i-review-metal-detectors-full-disclosure.html

 

[ronniecruisin]

Hi Steve. Was very interested to read your very informative review of the FORS. The burning question for me though, is, with your knowledge of Australian conditions, how do you think the FORS would go here.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

I think it would do about as well as you could expect a VLF to do, with the possible exception of the Eureka Gold. The FORS Gold has excellent ground handling options but at the end of the day it is locked into 15 kHz. The Eureka with its 6.4 kHz option may be able to handle extreme conditions the FORS Gold would not, but until somebody in Oz gives it a go comparatively I cannot do anything more than speculate on that. I have some pretty tough ground here but I do not have a Eureka at my disposal so I am unable to find out directly myself.

I wonder how the Eureka in 20 kHz would fare against the Nokta in 15 kHz and how their tracking systems compare?

 

[kyskinner]

nice review Steve thanks

 

[ronniecruisin]

Thanks for the quick reply Steve. Well, we'll soon find out, because I'm getting one on Wednesday. I'll give it a good test here in Central Victoria in OZland and post my observations. Probably of no use to US members, but some may find it interesting. Regards to all....Ronnie.

 

[NiagracountyNY]

Very Good review steve.Im sure Nokta will appreciate your honest opinion.Its too bad they didn't add a beach mode to the Gold like they did the Fors Core.That would be a good suggestion for the company.Thanks for taking the time to share your thought's and experience's with us .

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Ronnie, any observations you have at all I would find useful and be appreciative of. Thanks!

 

[ronniecruisin]

Consider it done Steve. I personally have been hanging out for an honest review of the NOKTA. It's been hard to get any useful feedback on these machines, so thank you for your excellent in depth review. It sold me! Having said that don't feel I'm going to blame you if the machine doesn't perform the same here as in the US. I know there will be differences. I've been detecting a number of years here in OZ and I know how bad the ground can be. I'll keep you all informed after I've had a decent go with it. Thanks again Steve...Regards....Ronnie.

 

[supertraq]

Here is the Readers Digest version. And by the way, a week is nothing when it comes to learning a detector. I generally need at least 50 hours of running time to get a handle on a new unit and that usually takes more than a week.

I am glad AzViper stirred the pot to get the ball rolling. I will be honest and admit I never considered getting a Nokta simply because they are a company I knew nothing about from Turkey. I guess I am chicken that way but I tend to stick with what would be considered mainstream product. The bottom line is I have discovered that Nokta is a company that builds quality metal detectors and they appear eager for their detectors to be well received in the US. I expect them to go the extra mile in backing their product up.

The Nokta FORS Gold is easily the equal of any of the other mid-frequency nugget detectors and exceeds them in many ways. Depth of detection and sensitivity are among the best but do not expect to match a high frequency detector for small gold ability, though the Nokta is close. What I am seeing is across the board good performance for VLF nugget detecting combined with exceptional ground handling capability. The key features:

1. The FORS Gold runs in pure all metal mode while displaying target id number in the handle mounted LCD window. This allows for best performance with an eye towards dig it all detecting, yet allows obvious junks targets to be verified and ignored if desired. The key is no mode switching is needed, and time waster and ultimately something that wears out controls.

2. You have all ground balancing options possible. There is the easy push button and bob, or "grab" type ground balancing. There is pure manual adjust up and down ground balancing. And there is full automatic ground tracking.

3. There is an efficient tone based discrimination mode, called Boost Mode, that can be used to easily sort out ferrous trash and most hot rocks by either tones or outright discrimination of these undesired targets. Yet detection of gold nuggets is only minimally affected.

4. There is a three tone mode aimed more at coin detecting that makes the FORS Gold suitable for almost all detecting tasks, whether coin, relic, or jewelry detecting. The only area to expect only moderate performance would be on saltwater beaches, where all single frequency detectors suffer. The FORS Gold is a true do it all detector.

Look at all the other gold nugget detectors out there and ask if they can run in all metal mode while simultaneously displaying target id numbers on screen, and if they offer ground grab, manual ground balance, and automatic ground tracking. The surprising answer will be no. No other nugget detector offers all these options in a single unit. Only a few top end expensive coin detectors do so but they lack the nugget detecting power of the FORS Gold. This alone makes the Nokta FORS Gold a unique and valuable addition to the VLF nugget detecting world and one worth serious consideration.

Here is 3.3 grams of gold I extracted from highly mineralized trash infested ground with the Nokta FORS Gold. The kind of place PI operators run from due to all the junk. Frankly, I was just expecting to find bullets that day and so was surprised when gold nuggets started appearing. Including what turned out to be a very delicate 2 gram piece of lacy gold. I can say the Nokta FORS Gold easily exceeded my expectations.

Many thanks to AzViper for getting the ball rolling and to Dilek Gonulay at Nokta for affording me the opportunity to learn about Nokta and its fine products.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/m...i-review-metal-detectors-full-disclosure.html

Good review,and i should have put a or LOL after my reply..I'm just a curious old fellow,,

 

[ronniecruisin]

Hi. Steve and All. Well. Even though due to other commitments I have not been out a lot with the FORS, I can tell you It does work reasonably well here in OZ. It is probably a bit noisier than the States because generally mine reads around 84 and up on the ground readout here in Central Victoria. With tests I have conducted with small gold the FORS seems to be more sensitive than most other VLFs I have used in the past. Don't know about anyone else but mine makes a typical telephone ringing when overloaded. According to Nokta it should make a siren sound. What does yours do Other than that the machine seems to be working fine. A gremlin inside the machine playing with the sounds maybe? Anyway will keep you informed. Very pleasant machine to use I have to say. Ground tracking is very good indeed....Regards...Ronnie.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

Mine makes telephone ringing sound. It does not matter what the sound is as long as there is an overload sound. Thanks for the report.

 

[ronniecruisin]

Hi. Steve. Nokta insisted the sound was a siren, so my dealer just sent em a video. He said the same as you. They all make that sound. Sooooooo the only conclusion one can come to is ....The Turkish version of a siren is obviously a bell sound. Whatever it is I have to say I'm enjoying this machine more and more. Things I like Good sensitivity to gold, ( better than many VLFs I've had.)....Ergonomics. Very comfortable to use.....Love the Auto Ground Balance button(one of the things I like on a ML) ...Love the Ground Tracking Feature..(works really well) Love the simplicity of the three modes...(well thought out and covers all the bases)..And one more point. Picked up a return earth copper power cable with my Whites PI. Cable is about 10mm dia. And around two feet deep. The ground where this is reads about 85 on the mineral scale so quite high. The Nokta had no trouble picking up the same target with the standard coil.....Pretty good methinks for a VLF in Hottish ground. Regards to all...Ronnie.

 

[ronniecruisin]

Hi. Steve and all. Have been giving the Fors a bit more of a run here in OZ. It does suffer a bit here in our ground. But then so do all VLFs. Can sometimes be uncertain whether there's a target or not. Does produce a number of false signals. Can even make the overload sound on some ground with no target under the coil. Sweep speed is also a bit more difficult than some. Slowly sweeping tightly over the target can cause no sound at all on return sweeps. This unit seems to like wider faster sweeps to sound both ways over a target. Also found it to be not so good at separating multiple targets in rubbish sites. I did have an XP DEUS. That machine was amazing at target separation. But having said all that the FORS knows when it's over a good solid target like a coin etc. Gives a good positive signal then. Is definitely affected by our hotter ground though. Regards...Ronnie.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

The overload on bad ground is basically another way for the detector to tell you to reduce sensitivity or gain. Many VLF detectors overload on bad ground but do nothing. Nothing as in they cease detecting targets and you never know it.

The White's GMT is another rare detector that reports when an overload condition occurs. The machine makes a harsh buzz and the meter reads "BAD GROUND REDUCE GAIN". That is exactly what the Nokta is telling you with the overload signal on bad ground or hot rocks. The Nokta at 50% gain is already running hotter than many machines. Try not to worry about losing depth and see if you can actually get better overall performance by reducing the sensitivity. And thanks again for the report!