Should all high end detectors have online updating Capability!

My Deus impressed me with this ability. Did not keep the CTX long enough to have an opinion!

Me personally...I have owned just about all the detectors that have featured online updating, and haven't used that feature on any of them. It could potentially be a great benefit to updating/fixing bugs. The problem is, manufacturers that have put this feature on detectors, seldom have utilized it. XP has probably been the only one to really bring updates/upgrades over the life span of the detector. The CTX...the only major update/upgrade for it was the sea water program. They set it up to be a great thing but fumbled the ball.

No! Otherwise China guys will produce replicas

Anything that can be updated........ can be hacked. To me its and added cost...... like a clock, GPS ect. Im a beach hunter....... keep it simple and powerful .... which can keep the price down too. Also, like was mentioned....... doesnt seem the detector companies find it cost to their advantage to update your detector FREE. BUT......if guess if you are in a hurry to get the machines out and DONT have reliable testers its easier and cheaper that a recall.

In the beginning I thought it was a great idea. But as time has gone by I think it turned into a novelty item. Updates are few and far between. By the time the update comes out most equipment is limited by hardware. This isn't just the detector industry. Home theater equipment usually has an update when you purchase it and then you never see another one. The question is how much is added to the cost for the feature? I would rather sell and move on to a newer model myself if we are talking Deus type updates. If we are talking software corrections I have to ask why am I paying for it.

Internet updating is an efficient way to deliver bug fixes. It provides insurance that a person or persons getting that latest new detector will not have to mail it in for a bug fix. Surely you can all think of recent examples.

The problem comes in thinking a manufacturer should continue to spend money and resources to deliver extra functionality for free. You either have to pay more for the detector up front to finance this or pay for the update. Nothing is free, and these guys don’t generate free cash like Apple does to pay for such things.

In my opinion it is simple proved fact that manufacturers are pushing product to market before it is fully tested AND in such cases where machines are fully tested - well, stuff happens. No testers can duplicate the efforts of thousands of users to find bugs. The problem with testers is they know how to run detectors. Novices try setting combinations nobody would ever think of, and a bug gets found.

I do not expect something for nothing but I do think that if a complex new detector is offered I will feel much better being an early adopter knowing I won’t have to mail my detector in for a simple bug fix or update that can be handled in minutes over the Internet. Once in place some manufacturers can use the feature to offer a function updates if they wish to gain aided customer loyalty. Personally I would be happy to pay a few bucks for an update that adds a feature my detector lacked when I bought it.

The fact is at this point bug fix update capability over the Internet is included in numerous items far less expensive than a detector and there is no good reason to exclude it on higher end detectors, even if it never gets used. It helps eliminate the old “wait a year before buying one” concern many people have about buying new detectors. It is also insurance for the manufacturer. They can get to market and instead of being afraid to acknowledge bugs, they can employ early user feedback to tweak and improve product.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2017 01:53AM by Steve Herschbach.

Other than for fixing bugs as has already been said, units like the Deus, Rutus etc allow for many of the settings needed to alter the machine as you need it.

Didn't Nokta provide additional capability in their Di4 mode with their last update?

Regardless, I can see more than just bug fixes being performed.
Most modern electronic devices can have their software upgraded to allow new feature sets and additional settings.
Why would detectors be any different?
This is the direction electronics have been moving for a while. Detector manufacturers are simply catching up.

It's worth pointing out that manufacturers don't produce bug-fixes and new enhanced features specifically for the benefit of non-paying existing owners. They put the new software into the current machines on the dealers shelf, making them more appealing to customers.

I see it as a sign of forward thinking on the part of the manufacturer, and I'd rather spend my dollars with a forward thinking manufacturer than one who is stuck in the past.
Having said that, I fully understand there are many folks who prefer, or are slow to part with, their old tried-and-true machines. Each to his own. Room for both.

Wayne

Pleasant Garden, NC
AT Max, Nokta Impact, MX Sport, Nokta FORS Relic, GPX 4800, Infinium, Racer, Deus, F75SE, Nautilus DMC II (order of acquisition, last to first)

Does an archeologist argue with a plow? A bureaucrat with a bulldozer?

SuchMuch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No! Otherwise China guys will produce replicas

We cant have the Chinese doing that now can we -

[www.jiesworld.com]

[www.earthscan.co.nz]

Interesting website - shows how US and other brand owners have offshores production of their GENUINE products to China.

Of course, No metal detector manufacturers are on that list that I could see. The only one I know of with Chinese production is Bounty Hunter who source a portion of their Bounty Hunter Jr. machines in China - the rest are made in El Paso.

Rick Kempf
Gold Canyon AZ- where there is no gold



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2017 01:52PM by lytle78.

you would think so if they want to remain in the game ..but they may not be capable of such things

Not necessarily.

I do think having the capability makes for easier refinement to when detector is being developed and when feedback is garnered from in field testers.

Could having this capability extend detector platform life?
I think so.

I also think a manufacturer could if they are not careful depend on this capability and could depend on too heavily to clean up so-called " messes".

I could even see where a detector could be say temporarily be update capable for like I said above in field testing before official release then sealed up not giving actual users capabilities.

We as users really never know just how much better a certain model detector can really be tuned.
We are expecting and some may be thinking any and all manufacturers are supposedly doing this.

We are it seems are never told when a certain model detector when being manufacturered say over the years in its making, when a component is changed spec wise for whatever reason, just what is the overall effects caused.
And sure there may be an in house update applied and we as users/purchases may or may not know what has actually transpired.
To manufacturers maybe they think the change is so small it is " not important" hence not deemed reportable.
I see comments like hot units or whatever being said, is there a connection here??

At the very least I think ALL detectors should at turn on, or have a method to reflect actual programming by version ID.

No hocus pocus should be done here either, meaning call an actual changed version the same as the previous when a change has been done.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2017 12:55PM by Sod-buster.