have dectors really advanced that much in 10 years?

[bigfoot1]

here is the deal.I have three higher end machines.my gtax1250 has to be about 12 years old.I find myself reaching for it first and leaving the atpro in the truck.I dont really notice any real performance or target id improvements over it.
Sure I have untold hours swinging ol trusty but I also like some of the features like volume control,extra freqs.,previous mode switching and more.
I guess what I'm asking is whether or not we are seeing the same level of huge improvements we did in early 2000s or is the vlf machine tech.getting maxed out?

Heck a gti2500 is still expensive as is the etrac and they arent exactly new either.

 

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[Jason in Enid]

If won't use it enough to really learn it, how would you ever know if it's better or not?

When I first got my E-Trac, I wanted to toss it back in the truck and keep swinging my 6000Di Pro Sl. Why? Because I had a LONG time with the 6000 and I was confident with it. I forced myself to exclusively use the E-Trac until I learned it. Once I did, I sold my 6000 because it NEVER did what my new detector could do.

IF you are going to buy a new machine, take the time to learn it.

 

[Hot zone]

I like the old machines with knobs, I would even like a knob on a good pin pointer... Holding a button down and counting beeps to set sens is lame...when you can have more and faster adjustment turning a knob... Everyone is just so enamored with digital everything... Not me ..

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Jason's made some good points, that .... there might be improvements, that our human stubborn nature just doesn't learn or avail ourselves of.

But all-in-all, no. Not many advancements in the last 10 to 15 yrs. (Heck, the explorer XS is now about 15 yrs. old, isn't it ?? And the only thing the 3030 incarnation the explorer has added is more whistles, bells, waterproof, etc...). So it seems that science has hit a wall of diminishing returns on what can be done with signals sent into the ground and received back with info. Ie.: laws of physics, or whatever, using current technology.

Contrast to the 10 or 15 yr. period from 1960 to 1975, or 1970 to 1985. Or 1975 to 1985, etc... Heck, if you didn't upgrade every few years in those periods, you had an ABSOLUTE DINASOUR on your hands, haha

 

[bigscoop]

I see most manufactures facing a couple of problems. First is "quality".....if you build them to last forever then at some point that market is going to stall, then what? Not to mention the increased cost. I think we're seeing this in just about everything now.

Second, it's much easier and cheaper to keep reinventing the old technology so it continues to look new VS investing in those new and uncertain and costly think-tanks.

But having said all of this I do think there is a lot of room for advancements but one has to remember that we're talking, "consumer use", and not, say, military use where money for these new advancement projects might be available.

 

[Jason in Enid]

..... And the only thing the 3030 incarnation the explorer has added is more whistles, bells, waterproof, etc...). So it seems that science has hit a wall of diminishing returns on what can be done with signals sent into the ground and received back with info. Ie.: laws of physics, or whatever, using current technology.

Spoken like someone who has never owned one! There is a LOT of advancements in the 3030. I never take mine in the water, and I don't use the GPS. There is a reason that only a tiny percentage who buy them give them up and go back to a different detector.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I like the old machines with knobs, I would even like a knob on a good pin pointer... Holding a button down and counting beeps to set sens is lame...when you can have more and faster adjustment turning a knob... Everyone is just so enamored with digital everything... Not me ..

It's not the people wanting it, it's that it's faster, cheaper and more durable to produce. Those touch pads are single piece with a data cable. If a button goes bad, it takes a couple of minutes to swap it out. With knobs, a tech has to go in and physically unsolder all the connections, replace and re-solder all the points then test to make sure everything it good to go.

 

[bigscoop]

Ah, the 3030 saga continues. I think part of this is due the difference of opinion in the term, "advancements".

 

[Msbeepbeep]

I'm with hot zone when it comes to knobs over touch screen. I'm more comfortable and feel I have more control. That's why I got the M6, it has knobs and pretty much does what the next model up does, less the bells and whistles, which just add to my confusion.

I also think to some degree you are all right, it's a little of everything. We were more familiar with the old machines, I could tell what the coin was by the sound on my old 4900 DL. Can't do that yet with the M6, except for silver because the tone is very high pitch, & I depend on the screen info.

The more you use a detector the better you understand it, having said that I am sure there are detectors I would not get along that well with. We all have our little quirks when it comes to detectors, tools, and cars.

There's a manufacture that is going out of business that created devices that see into and thru walls, we could use one of those once in a while! Probably has a whopping price tag!

When the detectors can show you a picture of what is under the coil THAT I would call an advancement!

 

[liftloop]

supply and demand
a good i dea will sale keep the the coast high for production reasons some are mast produced just siting there for quick sale. some build as they sell. high price keeps volume low.. my take... it's just that... what some detectors company's get for giving you nothing when it come to functions,repair and how long they will fix it...as fare as depth yea, information, yea. sound yea....they improved a lot over the years...


liftloop

 

[liftloop]

ground tracking alone is ten times better now than 20 even ten years a go...

 

[bigfoot1]

I will say that I have hundreds of hours on all of my machines,its not the question.The question is more about leaps in technology or the lack thereof.I could be wrong but it all seems so familiar and maybe even stale.yes ground tracking seems better,but comparing actual field use I find little to be excited about.Brand loyalty has never been a thing for me except perhaps in pinpointers...I wouldnt trade my propointer in.

I have been and am the proud owner of an explorer se,mxt,gtax 1250,at pro.not to mention the several real oldies from the past.I just miss being wowed like we used to be.I feel we are maxing out on vlfs.dunno.

thanks for replies..I keeping what I have untill the wow factor returns

cheers

 

[Bloodline]

Electricity and Magnetism can only be manipulated so many ways.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I will say that I have hundreds of hours on all of my machines,its not the question.The question is more about leaps in technology or the lack thereof.I could be wrong but it all seems so familiar and maybe even stale.yes ground tracking seems better,but comparing actual field use I find little to be excited about.Brand loyalty has never been a thing for me except perhaps in pinpointers...I wouldnt trade my propointer in.

I have been and am the proud owner of an explorer se,mxt,gtax 1250,at pro.not to mention the several real oldies from the past.I just miss being wowed like we used to be.I feel we are maxing out on vlfs.dunno.

thanks for replies..I keeping what I have untill the wow factor returns

cheers

Electricity and Magnetism can only be manipulated so many ways.

Yep, in the OLD OLD OLD days, they were still figuring out exactly what they could do. It was all new territory and there were LOTS of designs. The ones that worked best were kept and copied by others while the older tech fell away. Eventually (1980's) most detectors had mostly the same circuits inside them. since that time some companies have stagnated, others have kept trying new things. Minelabs BBS and FBS was the next step forward. Not a leap, a step. Until someone invents an entirely new method of detecting metal under the ground we will be forced to live with incremental steps. You can only push so much power into the ground without being overloaded with feedback. We are currently at the max power possible. Today it's about analysis and interpretation of the return signal.

 

[bigscoop]

Yep, in the OLD OLD OLD days, they were still figuring out exactly what they could do. It was all new territory and there were LOTS of designs. The ones that worked best were kept and copied by others while the older tech fell away. Eventually (1980's) most detectors had mostly the same circuits inside them. since that time some companies have stagnated, others have kept trying new things. Minelabs BBS and FBS was the next step forward. Not a leap, a step. Until someone invents an entirely new method of detecting metal under the ground we will be forced to live with incremental steps. You can only push so much power into the ground without being overloaded with feedback. We are currently at the max power possible. Today it's about analysis and interpretation of the return signal.

I believe there is a good possibility that the entire field can be manipulated in such a way to produce a whole new technology. I think this will be the area that might possibly bring about a noticeable advancement.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Spoken like someone who has never owned one! There is a LOT of advancements in the 3030. I never take mine in the water, and I don't use the GPS. There is a reason that only a tiny percentage who buy them give them up and go back to a different detector.

Jason, yes I've gotten to fiddle with one, and hunted along-side those using them while flagging signals back and forth. And close-buddies who were quite proficient with the previous generations of etracs, II's, etc... who themselves could make careful comparisons. And the consensus seems to be that .... aside from whistles and bells, here's the arguable improvments:

a) that whereas the "point of diminishing returns" on coil sizes on the explorers was the 10.5" coil, yet the 3030 does indeed seem to go a little deeper with the 17" coil. Contrast to the older explorer predecessors, where .... by adding to the 12" or 15" coils, all you did was increase swath on coin-sized targets. Not more depth. So to that degree, yes, it's an improvement. But then again, it will be selective environments where you could get away with using a coil of such large size.

b) the recovery speed is arguably better, for junky areas.

c) seems you can run the sensitivity hotter, as the stability is improved. Ie.: a place where perhaps the Exp II could be run stably at 23-ish in a given locale, yet the 3030 can ramp that up to 25 or more in that same locale, while keeping stable.

Have I given it fair space? If so, then you can see, if both machines are using the 10.5" coil, then in most situations, you did not gain much. And in fact are at a detriminent, since there's no in-line sunray probe option If the 3030 ever got the ability to have an in-line probe, a bunch of us would come scratching and clawing into the upgrade camp

 

[Frankn]

The simple answer is, if you are talking about detecting power, NO.
My detectors are over 13 years old and will find anything the newer ones will. My XLT has more features than most new detectors. My Hays 2 Box will go over 6' deep with ease. My PI Is turn on and go and will go down 4' for large targets. So What's left, color screen, multi frequencies, perhaps a weight reduction, all sales gimmicks I would rather not pay for. Buy the best and then your wallet can rest. Just my thoughts. Frank...-

 

[happycamper08]

The next leap in technology will be when a pulse machine gets a real discriminator.

 

[DDancer]

About the only real advancement in the last 10 years have been the integration of multi-frequency machines and refinements there of. Not really a huge leap in metal detectors but a nice refinement. Other than display tech and integration with computers, Bluetooth tech and possibly user friendly controls not much has changed.

The GTI 2500 was brought up as a kind of reference point. To me it kind of represents a panicle of development for the garret lines. My original machine was a GTI 2000 and I upgraded the guts to the 2500. About the only thing this did was give it a minor increase in the base models abilities. Nothing after that has impressed me.
Even my current DFX has only given me a bit more flexibility with its multi-frequency selections other than that its proven to be a much more difficult detector to deal with.
In reference to the GTI I find I'd almost prefer the GTI to the DFX if only for simplicity. Anything else nowadays has not impressed myself of others that I speak with.

What ya like is what ya trust

 

[Keppy]

The simple answer is, if you are talking about detecting power, NO.
My detectors are over 13 years old and will find anything the newer ones will. My XLT has more features than most new detectors. My Hays 2 Box will go over 6' deep with ease. My PI Is turn on and go and will go down 4' for large targets. So What's left, color screen, multi frequencies, perhaps a weight reduction, all sales gimmicks I would rather not pay for. Buy the best and then your wallet can rest. Just my thoughts. Frank...-
/QUOTE].. And that is the truth ….