Target Identification & Features That Don't Always Improve Performance

"Lets Remember That This Blog Is Just My Opinion"

In this blog I'd like to talk about the concept of target identification, amongst some other points, I've always been intrigued by this certain aspect because it seems to be massively important to so many people. When I first got my Fisher F19 I tried to get onboard with the whole VDI thing but I soon realised that it just wasn't for me, it really seemed to slow down the whole process of digging targets. By now, anyone who reads my blogs and watches my videos know that I value audio over numbers and screens, that's just my personal preference but I understand completely why many like to hunt by the numbers. 

Not everyone wants to dig everything and they like to be selective about what targets they choose to dig. in regards to park hunting I can see the sense in this but I believe to be a successful detectorist I genuinely feel that you have to dig all nonferrous targets. If you've got parks and land that you have the permission to hunt on a longterm basis then it's only going to work in your favour by doing this. However, this seems to be a concept that's slowly disappearing because more and more people are relying on the machine they're using to make the decision for them. 

I've explained that people get into the hobby for all different reasons, many don't care about the finer details, they just want to turn their machine on and dig when it goes beep, some are more technically minded and others 'me included' want to understand everything about the detectors they're swinging. "Hey .... I know I come across as anal in the way I look upon all of this but that's just the way I am and I'll be the first to admit it".

So Where Am I Going With All Of This?

Before I proceed let me remind you that I swung the Equinox 800 and I swing a Nokta Legend when hunting the foreshore, so for those that might jump to the conclusion that this is an anti "digital" machine debate, it isn't at all. If anything me using the Legend, almost daily, really helps to "level the playing field" in regards to what I'm trying to explain. I really do enjoy using this machine, but as stated before, I pay zero attention to the screen.

Are We Having The Wool Pulled Over Our Eyes By The Mainstream Manufactures?

When you look at the leading manufactures of metal detectors I think it's safe to say that the performance is very close on all of them regarding depth, discrimination at depth, target I.D and separation. Now some might disagree with what I'm saying but you can literally separate the performance levels of the big three by a cats whisker. I believe, on a digital platform we've pretty much reached the limits in regards to performance. I understand updates might come out to enhance certain areas, or to fix bugs in the initial software but I stand by my point, with the Legend, Deus 2 and Manticore, give or take a few areas, the performance appears to be very very close - which is great for us the consumer.

So How Do You Keep People Buying The Latest Releases? Simple, you market them in such a way that people genuinely feel that they will find more with the latest and greatest. This simply isn't true, I've explained that 99.9% of this game is the land you're hunting, great land can make an average machine look fantastic, in the same way, land with nothing to find can make a fantastic machine look abysmal. 

Here's Another Angle To Think About

As with the machine point mentioned above, does land loaded with treasure that's easy to find make you a better detectorist than someone that has really quiet land but manages to pull targets at really good depths or amongst really heavy iron and trash? I think most of us know the answer to this question. Let us remember it's not a competition, but I feel the need to touch on these points because there's so many elements involved within the hobby that can warp the reality of metal detecting.

I Digress ...........

So what are we really being offered when it comes to the latest detectors? firstly a slightly different look, there's usually an improvement in regards to the screen and how clear the information is. For instance, larger VDI numbers, clearer depth indication, an extended target I.D range and maybe a mineralisation bar. Obviously there's other features but I've picked the first that springs to mind. Are any of those visual features going to find me more in the ground? for me personally, no they won't, I don't care about the VDI, the depth of the target is meaningless because I'm going to dig it at what ever depth it might at and I really couldn't care less about how mineralised the soil is. A unit with a really acute ground balance option will sort the potential problematic mineralisation out straight out the door.

Then we move on to build quality and ergonomics, firstly build quality shouldn't be overlooked on any metal detector at any price point, a well built machine should come as standard, it shouldn't be an exception. You should never have to buy after market products to make any machine better in regards to its durability. Selling a new machine on its 'improved build quality' is really just creating an illusion of a new feature that shouldn't be a focal at all. Moving on to ergonomics, this is important especially if you're getting on a bit and have aches and pains, swinging something light-weight will allow you to remain in the hobby for as long as possible, which is fantastic. However this has now become another selling point that isn't going to help me, 'personally', find more things in the ground. I'd rather have a heavier machine with fantastic performance, which requires me to use a swing harness, as opposed to a light machine that's limited in what it can achieve. 

Now lets go back to target I.D, this to me is the main focal point with all the machines that are coming to market, be it the "big three" or other lesser brands, target I.D seems to be the element that they push the most. The 2D screen on the Manticore is basically an extension of target I.D but from what I've seen I find the feature to be questionable, someone might be able to convince me otherwise - I have an open mind. Some say it's genius and amazing, I just don't get it. The selling point was "it gives you more information", but for me personally, if it's non ferrous I'm digging it and by the time you've arsed around looking at the 2D screen deciding if you're going to dig it, you could've already dug it and moved on to the next two or three targets. I don't believe it provides any innovative benefits at all apart from 'justifying' the price tag of the unit. It reminds me of the CTX 3030, I believe a lot of the price was for the GPS mapping system, it was demonstrated that the Equinox 800 was pretty much on par with the abilities of the CTX 3030. You were paying money for something that was meaningless when it came to actual metal detecting.

The Deus 2 seems to demonstrate a slightly better stable I.D on targets that are a little deeper but it appears it's still nothing to write home about. For the most part the numbers seem jumpy and if you've got land that's badly contaminated with both iron and trash then digging by the numbers becomes an impossible exercise. I've demonstrated this on the Thames foreshore with both my Equinox and Legend, there are so many targets on each swing, if you're digging numbers then it's best you go home. On the beach I can see some sense in VDI for number lovers because targets aren't so brutally close together but far too many items fall within the same numbers and the risk of walking over treasure is increased dramatically. 

When I look at everything mentioned in this blog, what are we actually paying for that's innovative and enhances these newer machines to excel in "out & out" rare metal detecting, I have to come to the verdict that, apart from slight cosmetic changes and small enhancements with a few extra fancy bells, whistles and bows, I'm really struggling to see what the future is going to hold for the manufactures and the machines they're going to come up with. I don't want gimmicks and distractions I want something that's made for one thing and one thing only, and that's to find metal in the ground. Let us remember that the hobby is called metal detecting for a reason. 

Far too many people think that the 'latest technology', across the board must be the best, I just don't see it that way, sometimes you've got to go back to move forwards. I saw the same thing happen in music, bands use digital technology for ease of use, nothing more, and the same thing happened with carp fishing here in the UK, a huge demographic realised that the leading tackle manufacturers were catching the anglers wallets, the anglers weren't catching anymore fish with the products they were being sold ....... sound familiar?