thoughts on these new releases.

[chub]

I own a F75, AT Pro, and a Etrac. I am deadly with either one. But there is limitations in all of these detectors. I see a hot mess with that many functions in the new machines. You only hunt one mode at a time. Even fbs machines only use one freq at a time. I say get a detector for the hunt you want to do. These all purpose detectors lack one thing, to do one thing well. You need a special coil for every hunt to get the max out of the machine. Isnt that where it really is, buying accessory's?

Ill share this. When I had my F75 upgraded to the LTD2 I was very surprised at how quiet it was. Didnt notice much difference in depth. But stock coil is best coil for me now. The sniper coil is deadly and fun. Very light machine. Lil long to back pack. Great on battery life and has several modes. I do believe the upgrade cost me targets though. I got used to the noise and could hunt through it. May just buy a old gold handle F75 for hunts too.

Im glad new machines are coming out. I cant wait to see the post of finds and such. But unfortunately I do not see any reason to buy a new machine at this time. Im good. But the Mojave has caught my eye. I think it is a true new machine.

Well said. Reminds me of when the 'enduro' bike came out....as you said...multi purpose machines dont really excelle at any one thing.
The rebranded patriot etc doesnt really fool anyone.

Is the mojave new tech or just good value?

I dont really have the knowledge but it would be interesting to see a spread sheet of sorts with all the manufacturers releases side by side over the last 15 years of so.

chub

 

[chub]

The impact you are carrying around the weight of the three frequqency options all the time....even though you can only use 1 at a time. To me that was thinking inside the box. The minelab sovereign (discontinued) has multiple frequencies that are in use simultaneously. So is detector tech going forward or backwards?
The Nokta team are brothers apparently and have 'joined forces' yet the two brands remain? Makro only really has one product. the racer. It may have been intended that way that with the makro bieng the loss leader. Right now the impact isnt really great value like the racer 2 was. And is the same price as the Fors series where I live.
I think financially Garret did the best move for themselves. Expanding on thier two best sellers, the Ace 250 and AT pro. In that price range they have the waterproof detector segment pretty much to themselves.

CHUB

 

[Kurios1]

I would prefer "Command Vehicle" over a transport unit. More manly and aggressive.

 

[Kurios1]

Loads of great feedback on this thread. For me personally I am just a curious guy that needs to experience first hand what a certain machine will do in MY own hands. That's led to me purchasing a handful of various machines. I have found my preference for a machine is ease of use setting up a machine and the tones. My DFX was not that easy for me to set up so I went to Minelab Explorer 2 and found it to be a nice change and I enjoyed the tones more than the DFX. Then the Makro Racer came out and I wanted something lighter and found it to be a great lighter weight and simple to set up option for me. Then I decided to upgrade to the Racer 2. I love that machine and have enjoyed it since it arrived this spring. I have been viewing all the hype on the Impact and would love to see if swinging it would provide any true separation between my Racer 2 and it. The speed and lighter weight of the newer technology is my preference today as I am aging and like to get after the goodies as quickly as possible. Battery life isn't really a factor for me as I always have plenty of rechargeable Panasonic Eneloop Pros on hand as well as AA standard batteries.

So I guess it comes down to personal preference and if you have the money why not end your curiosity and take a shot on a different detector? I usually get mine used of an auction sight for half price or considerably lower than retail for a nearly new or excellent condition machine. I also agree that learning one specific machine and maximizing your experience with it makes all the difference. If you are a diligent dig it ALL type person even the most basic machine will find you loads of good finds along with the trash. I reckon my next purchase will be an Impact after they have been around for awhile. I have already seen a few being sold used in great condition for less than retail. Also not afraid to order stuff from reputable sellers overseas. My Makro Racer 2 came direct from Turkey and landed on my doorstep in about four days! I purchased the Pro package new on this machine and truly love it. So simple to set up and go. Pretty simple and short learning curve as compared to other machines I've used. My two cents for this topic.

 

[Rick K]

Just a point about the Patriot. It is a reskinmed and re-branded Fisher F70. That isn't done to FOOL anyone however. First Texas will cheerfully tell anyome who asks that it is so.

The "rebranding" is actually much more than that. It is part of launching a new line of "rebranded" machines which are reduced in price and sold ONLY direct from the factory. It's a mew comcept and time will tell of it works out or not.

 

[chub]

Just a point about the Patriot. It is a reskinmed and re-branded Fisher F70. That isn't done to FOOL anyone however. First Texas will cheerfully tell anyome who asks that it is so.

The "rebranding" is actually much more than that. It is part of launching a new line of "rebranded" machines which are reduced in price and sold ONLY direct from the factory. It's a mew comcept and time will tell of it works out or not.

I think you are correct...It may only possibly fool a newbie? It is an interesting ( and possibly very clever ) marketing concept. The F70 is said to be quite underated. Rebranding itself is an interesting concept and doesnt really qualify as a 'new' product so I should not have included it here.

Any rumours for something new on the minelab horizon?

Chub

 

[b3y0nd3r]

Well I have used a dozen different metal detectors over the years. So I feel that I have enough experience to make a judgement on any of the detectors I have used. I can tell you that some machines excel better than others in some areas. I can also tell you that I have recently purchased a "new release", and it excels in a lot of categories. Does it do something new? I feel it does. The machine can really differentiate between a good and bad target with the same TID through audio(it is very pronounced and you dont need a "tuned" ear to benefit). A lot vets in the hobby feel that refined audio will be the next reachable frontier, and to me, this machine has started down that path.

So, to say a certain detector is "nothing new" and is "hyped" and you haven't even used it, tells me that there is a prejudice involved.

 

[Honest Samuel]

Tesoro Mojave is a new detector, and great value. #251.10. I have one.

 

[Rick K]

Really new detectors in the near future.

My bets:

Better discrimination between various medium conductors, lead, gold jewelry, aluminum - never in our forseeable future.

Shape recognition - other than perhaps long vs not long and perhaps circular vs. non circular - same as above.

Significantly better performance in highly mineralized ground with discrimination as good as today's best - to full depth - a near certianty - I'm guessing within two years.

Doing the last bit above would require detector technology never previously put on the market - no "tweaks" of current single or multifreq systems will achieve this.

Who will do it? My money is on either Minelab, First Texas - or both. Why? Because I don't think anybody else has the knowledge of soil physics, advanced signal generation and signal processing to do it.

Disclaimer - these are my guesses only - and I often guess wrong!

 

[chub]

Well I have used a dozen different metal detectors over the years. So I feel that I have enough experience to make a judgement on any of the detectors I have used. I can tell you that some machines excel better than others in some areas. I can also tell you that I have recently purchased a "new release", and it excels in a lot of categories. Does it do something new? I feel it does. The machine can really differentiate between a good and bad target with the same TID through audio(it is very pronounced and you dont need a "tuned" ear to benefit). A lot vets in the hobby feel that refined audio will be the next reachable frontier, and to me, this machine has started down that path.

So, to say a certain detector is "nothing new" and is "hyped" and you haven't even used it, tells me that there is a prejudice involved.

Nope, No predjudice at all. I was simply stating that I believed there would be many shootout type videos emerging if ALL the new releases were significantly better than existing machines.
I would love to see the AT pro vs AT max in depth. I would also love to see the impact Vs racer 2 or fors.
I think it was fair to say there was a certain ammount of hype over the impact. Its only marketing.
I dont think anyone said the impact or AT max was "nothing new" in those words.
Im not brand loyal, Im looking forward to the shootout vids! If the Impact can slay a $5k minelab Im all for it!

Chub

 

[chub]

It does raise an interesting point.Would you say you can differentiate between a tab and a ring with the audio of the new machine? If it can without an experienced ear then this could possibly be a real breakthrough.

Chub

 

[b3y0nd3r]

It does raise an interesting point.Would you say you can differentiate between a tab and a ring with the audio of the new machine? If it can without an experienced ear then this could possibly be a real breakthrough.

Chub

Well I can tell you I dug two silver rings in the same hole on the first day because they sounded great and had a TID in the 70's at about 3-4 inches. I might test it out if I can find a tab and a ring with the same TID.

 

[chub]

Nice! Tabs for me always come in the gold range so 45 -55. Most gold I find is near 50 (so right in the middle of the annoying tab range). Silver signals for me can often sound like wine bottle tops. It would be interesting if you could programme the confidence meter to set off the vibrating handle if it was on full confidence to give you another dimension to accurately identify a target.

Chub