ON THE HORIZON = MDT-8000

Badger in NH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I guess I've had the MDT 8000 long enough that I c
> an give a short review.
>
> The performance of the MDT on the wet sand is noth
> ing short of amazing. It is without a doubt the de
> epest VLF beach detector on the market today. Not
> just deeper, 20% to 30% deeper on the wet sand tha
> n any other target ID machine.
>
> The build quality is superb. Very light and well t
> hought out.
>
> Things I would change.
>
> I wish the menu settings would stay where you put
> them instead of automatically going back to the vo
> lume setting after a few seconds.
>
> The pinpoint button is not easy to hold down due t
> o the angle of the screen. Pinpoint mode should st
> ay on and turn off with one push of the button.
>
> The screen is a bit too small and the letters/numb
> ers too small to read easily at a glance.
>
> The coil should be round with the pivot attachment
> at the center.
>
> The coil cover needs to be re-designed and made ou
> t of a stronger, longer lasting material. It also
> needs to be easier to get on and off. (Dimitar tol
> d me he is working on this.)
>
> Overall, I'm still very happy with the machine. I
> just need to make time to use it more.

These observations would propel any machine to Stardom. Nice

Here .... there isnt that much depth between most of the PIs and VLFs...... and i think the Nox gets close to them already..... BUT the MDT puts us past them even with a larger coil. Those it may not ..... like the new TDI...... well, ive got disc and a TID screen. The very thing that makes many of us choose a VLF over a PI anyway.

I hunt deeper than most people will just because im in the Gulf...... so more waterproofing would be a plus. I kind of agree on the mode staying on until i turn it off as well.... i have to think about what im doing.... that takes time lol. I ... NEVER use the PP button..... however that MODE button to me is the most important one. Why because i hunt in AM.... all the time..... so a larger button would be ideal. Thought about replacing the PP button with the MODE..... but the MODE button is in the right place i believe. Im still at a loss to tell you the benefit each freq may make to GOLD in the water and if 12 and 18 NEEDS to be improved to function better in the water OR...... is there so little difference since 9khz makes this one of the quietest machine ive used out there. This thing is like an Xcal in PP modes with NO noise when used in AM.

I kind of like the small screen...... but not sure about the back light staying on..... thou clearly we get more than 5 hours on the battery..... yes single battery. I hunt 7 or 8 hours a couple of those maybe before the sun comes up so the back light is on...... and still walk away with full bars..... AND two batteries comes with it that can be easily bought.

Im one of those guys who like a sealed battery that i never have to open........ why, because im normally the issue if it floods. So im very careful when screwing on the cap.

Id like to see a round coil too but for a different reason...... the lower shaft is a tad larger than id like. It displaces a bit more water... but not like the CTX which is like moving a dead horse out there. BUT the coil moves well..... just really lite to work with. Id like to see the connector moved toward the center.......BUT i have to admit im not getting nearly the coil flip i thought i might. It stays put very well. Now that coil cover..... i really like the material, but it can be hard to get off and if you dont do it carefully you could break it. I use one of those small bottle openers and work it off slowly. I didnt think id like the cable behind the ears..... but ive not noticed very much vibration.... likely because the coil is pushed up against the shaft in one direction and in the other water displacement from the lower shaft really helps. I would NOT want it in front of that shaft.

You didnt mention the locks....... there my friends is what everyone should be using on a beach machine. Easy to remove the lower shaft.... doesnt lock up and you dont need a second spring button to keep the lower coil from moving.

M8s was a good add on the phones AND cable...... how many pins do ya need and they are smaller to work with. The phones have great sound and quality... but i use Tonys just because of the piezos giving a bit better modulation when using AM. I think a good many of us go looking for aftermarket phones hoping to get an edge no matter how good the phones are that come with it.

The machine and shaft is REALLY made well. Dimitar send me a video of the screen area which was off the box.....he laid it down on the concrete and hit it HARD several times with a hammer and it didnt damage it..... i dare any other company to do that. We have discussed deeper use of the machine and smaller gold. The reason he designed it more as a gold ring machine was ...... because WE didnt seem to want to hunt for really small gold. BUT...... ive tested a LOT of gold there is only 2 things i have it wont get the Nox does.... a very tiny cross and a open hollow gold earring..... but neither will my other machines and the Nox .... i dont know how it found them... must have had the coil RIGHT. Im still digging the same ole tiny stuff..... punch out from chairs, rivits, small foil.... really small stuff.

Badger and Dew,

That is EXACTLY the kind of data I seek..... so as to rapidly advance technological foray.

1. TOTAL Honesty
2. The Good
3. The Bad

More data like this (it's like a mid-term report card) from other Tarsacci owners.... is in high-regard. . . . . . . and for ALL Manufacturers. I'm really curious how Daniel TN is doing with his MDT-8000, both coils; from severe (failure) Culpeper dirt.... to high-mineralization...… to medium-mineralization.

20190328_192350 by Daniel Teague, on Flickr

Daniel Tn. = A picture paints a thousand words! WOW!

Wooooooooo did i just see the words...... BOTH COILS? what did that mean?

Daniel, can you please share your relic hunting settings?

Dew, yeah I caught that too, hmmm

Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2019 03:05PM by Aaron.

Tom, since people are giving their opinions I will voice mine. I for the most part am satisfied with the detector. The arrow buttons are a bit awkward when salinity balancing for me. The location. If I were left handed they would be perfect. Maybe switching with the GB button would make it easier on my thumb. My only other issue is the battery compartment screw cap and battery connection. The fine threads on the cap could be easily stripped I think or cross threaded. I think it is the weak link in the machine. The duration of time submerged needs to be addressed as well.

On another note, I assume since I have not heard back from you, that you have not had time to talk to Demitar or my tracking question is off limits.

Carolina...… I JUST got off the phone with Dimitar. "Tracking" only tracks mineralization...… and NOT salt.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Carolina...… I JUST got off the phone with Dimitar
> . "Tracking" only tracks mineralization...… and NO
> T salt.

Thanks Tom

Hummm that might be good to answer my question about running up the SB deeper with the heigh freq. put it in tracking then play with the SB and sensitivities.

This does help give more/better direction.

I've been quietly lurking in the shadows, hunting here and there with the MDT. Time has been short, as I have been under a tremendous work load and schedule...hard to hunt, fish, etc when you work 8 to 9 days a week. haha



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2019 03:01PM by Daniel Tn.

Went out for a short hunt today and was concerned IF I would be able to hunt very long since at the start of the hunt I was at 3.6 volts and showing 3 bars on the meter. Almost 4 hours later, still at 3 bars and the voltage is now showing 3.5 volts.... pretty amazing battery life on this machine!

Tried working with 12KHz in the water but couldn't seem to get it to settle down to my liking so I was back to an almost totally quiet machine in 9KHz.

Cliff

Went out for a short hunt today and was concerned IF I would be able to hunt very long since at the start of the hunt I was at 3.6 volts and showing 3 bars on the meter. Almost 4 hours later, still at 3 bars and the voltage is now showing 3.5 volts.... pretty amazing battery life on this machine!

Tried working with 12KHz in the water but couldn't seem to get it to settle down to my liking so I was back to an almost totally quiet machine in 9KHz.



Cliff

Cliff...... we heard ya the first time.>< poke poke lol. Im doing the same thing i think with PMs.... forum is slow so i hit the ole button again. Ive yet to do that ..... two batteries....and ive been opening the cap everytime so a put a recharged beside the machine....and the machine lights up the room when i put the battery in. I agree... those batteries even with the back light running really last.... and im hunting in AM so more target response.

I tried 12khz today ....ran Tracking some to see if that helped...... but ran it on normal SB. Didnt seem to make it smooth enough to catch what i was catching in 9khz. Running hot today...... MAX... Threshold and sensitivity ....get that occasional digit pop from EMI i think. But it was junk day out there for the jewerly... even with 3 or 4 hunters i ended up with a hand full of small earrings..... 3 rings..... and a gold earring..... that was only gold in color once i checked it at home.... ugh. Im not disappointed that i have to hunt in 9kzh..... seems to run very well.... even hots its quieter than an Xcal in PP. I did one of my ..... i going to dig a good bit of the targets today in AM........ amazing how many bobbie pins there are... seemed to come in around -24. I checked every target...... i was looking for non-ferr deep that might read iron. Got a few .... that changed..... but i was surprised not that many and there was some pos digits in there. So im pretty pleased with depth and ID...... either that or im digging more targets.... lol.

The month is done, i didnt get as much time on the machine as id liked..... but heres a few golds i did find. I also attached some of the small trash jewelry from yesterdays hunt. Beach has been picked over pretty well..... didnt show the pull tabs, rivets, and tiny pieces of melted aluminum. But..... the machine will get you digging the small stuff too. Has anyone dug any iron that turned out to be non-ferr deep? A little time on the machine and some coil control and i think im getting a pretty good read on iron even when i cant see the screen. The chain is 7 grams and the one ring with the diamonds is 7.5 grams. So..... over the past few months id say the detector is paid for.







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2019 08:17PM by dewcon4414.

Dew...… I like to see that tiny stuff. Glad it's being found. And..... nice gold chain...… with some heft.

------------------------------------

Weird/Unique data (thus far):

About 70% of the Tarsacci MDT's are being used UNDER water.
About 70% of the Tarsacci owners.... are forum-silent. . . . . . deliberately (and confirmed) not wanting additional competition. (This is approximately the: 'detectorist-standard-norm' for this industry. On par.).
These 70% Tarsacci forum-silent folks have no relationship/bearing to the 70% underwater users.

End Data. ----------------------

Tom..... initially i was uncomfortable NOT grabbing the Nox... afraid i might miss something. But like ive been saying .... ive only found 2 targets with the Nox the MDT didnt hit on very well.... tiny cross and open hollow earring.... but the Xcal and CTX didnt even know they were there. It just runs so quiet in AM 9khz in the water...... just wasnt a machine doing that AND still getting good depth.... even on the little stuff. Competition, lack of gold targets, sand sand sand....... so i can understand not posting much. But if there are that many out there in the water.....id sure like to hear how they are running their machines..... and maybe some pictures of a typical days hunt. I think you get a lot of information from what ones digging up. From my testing......a penny seems to come in around 13ish...... and most of my gold came in 9 and under. Iron tends to want to wrap around between 26 - 30 so going from AM to disc to check targets i set my NOTCH at 28.... it knock out the falsing pretty well... those ping pong that might come thru are very slow compared to a non-ferr target. Another thing ... bottle caps seem to hit around the 15 to 20 range.... well above a penny and WELL ABOVE gold. In the water those bottle caps also tend to turn into iron a good bit of the time. My beaches seem to be loaded with Xcals and Noxs now.... im NOT missing recent drops but its nice to know you have a bit of a depth advantage.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2019 04:22PM by dewcon4414.

Tom, is it me OR is your math (percentages) wrong? Maybe I was just tired last night when I read it but the percentages didn't seem to add up....
I normally don't post much (in the past few years) until this machine.....now.... I post a bit more however I think I fall into two of the 70% categories so there has to be an overlap.....lol

Dew, I'm in total agreement with your last post especially the comment on the Nox.

One thing I have noticed with the Tarsacci in finds....I have suddenly had in increase in chrome or nickel plated fishing hooks being found and sounding off as a good target. What I can't say at this time is if they were "marginal sounding" targets. I need to be more alert when finding them so I can say for sure. I can't remember finding any with the Equinox....

Dew, our April count was almost the same although you beat me in the total gram department..... I am still about a month and a half behind you in time on the machine so mine isn't paid for ….yet!

Cliff

dewcon4414 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tom..... initially i was uncomfortable NOT grabbin
> g the Nox... afraid i might miss something. But
> like ive been saying .... ive only found 2 targets
> with the Nox the MDT didnt hit on very well.... ti
> ny cross and open hollow earring.... but the Xcal
> and CTX didnt even know they were there. It just
> runs so quiet in AM 9khz in the water...... just w
> asnt a machine doing that AND still getting good d
> epth.... even on the little stuff. Competition,
> lack of gold targets, sand sand sand....... so i c
> an understand not posting much. But if there are
> that many out there in the water.....id sure like
> to hear how they are running their machines..... a
> nd maybe some pictures of a typical days hunt. I
> think you get a lot of information from what ones
> digging up. From my testing......a penny seems t
> o come in around 13ish...... and most of my gold c
> ame in 9 and under. Iron tends to want to wrap a
> round between 26 - 30 so going from AM to disc to
> check targets i set my NOTCH at 28.... it knock ou
> t the falsing pretty well... those ping pong that
> might come thru are very slow compared to a non-fe
> rr target. My beaches seem to be loaded with Xca
> ls and Noxs now.... im NOT missing recent drops bu
> t its nice to know you have a bit of a depth advan
> tage.

Tom, Dew, Cliff : I have yet to see my Tarsacci give a steady or constant ID on any target buried. A quarter is the closest constant buried signal. Only once they are out of the hole do I get a steady ID. Direction and sweep speed does not seem to make a difference. These are wet sand and in the wash knee deep targets salt water beach. Am I misunderstanding you on your target ID or could I have a issue with my machine? I make my decision to dig on three things. Sound, shape and size and positive or negative symbols on the screen.

Thanks

I’m experiencing the same exact thing w my 8000 in fresh water and dirt.

I need send it back to Dimitar anyway, I’ll have him check it out.

Aaron: sorry to hear you must send it back. Guess I will have to do the same. Serial #29 for me and you? Keep me posted please.

Thomas

She a bit tricky I agree. It seems to require a combo of coil control, centering the target, and a slight wiggle. You might also find MIXED mode will help you find and center the target on the coil a bit better. I’m sure we are most likely trying to run to HOT......so out of the water there seems to be a lot more screen jumping....EMI maybe with us running to hot. I still get a pretty good read on iron......negative digits...with wrap around HIGH digits in the +28 range. I don’t care about the neg digits...im watching the positive ones......I want them in the gold range under 13. Also going from AM to disc.....with 28 notched out...if it’s iron ping pong isn’t a consistent FAST tones...slower and spuratic because of the notch. When the box is underwater I think some of the sensitivity my reduced the amount of EMI. Out there I’m looking for a target use those methods to I’d iron pretty well. A noise cancel might help.

I know NASA Tom has emphasized experienced users for this unit, but as it runs in such a unique way you have to be able to disconnect a lot of your expectations based on that experience (somewhat like with the Equinox only more so, IMHO). I expect there will be misunderstanding of this analysis, but I hope there will be some who see my point. These units are so fast and so precise that it's IDs are being misinterpreted as inaccurate or bad data.

Past(or)Tom
Using a Legend, a Deus 2, an Equinox 800, a Tarsacci MDT 8000, & a few others...
with my beloved, fading Corgi, Sadie

Carolina - I think Dew is right, it’s a matter of properly centering the coil over the target. Being it’s a extremely sensitive unit like PastTom said your gonna get things like that. Reminds me of the F75 LTD, took me many hours to finally get the hang of that. I found a tiny Civil War era percussion cap @ 4”, w the 8000, it hit pretty hard.
My unit is #24.

Pasttom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know NASA Tom has emphasized experienced users f
> or this unit, but as it runs in such a unique way
> you have to be able to disconnect a lot of your ex
> pectations based on that experience (somewhat like
> with the Equinox only more so, IMHO). I expect th
> ere will be misunderstanding of this analysis, but
> I hope there will be some who see my point. These
> units are so fast and so precise that it's IDs are
> being misinterpreted as inaccurate or bad data.

Pasttom: I respect your comments as well as I do Dews also. For those that don’t know me, I have 40 years detecting, starting with a BFO detector and clearing all the nails out of NC with it I think lol. At the present I own 17 detectors and have spent the time learning all their quirks. I really don’t think the Tarsacci is all that different other than the salt balance. Coil control, especially in the water has always been crucial. When I say my machine does not ID well, it is after many attempts of different settings, and coil sweep speeds and angles. Depth of target does not seem to matter. There are two constants I have noticed. The ferrous non ferrous indication ( + & - ) is 98% correct on target ID. The other constant is 06. Most of the time this ID is displayed randomly ie +21. +06. +06. +17. +23 +06 +06. No matter the target most always +06 is one of the random target ID’s. I come from a dig it all mentality mostly if the tone, size and shape is correct, so this is really no big deal I guess. It’s just puzzling seeing others report pennies here, gold there so on so fourth. Thank you all for your concerns and reports.

On another note, I took my Tarsacci to a battlefield location the other day, and the ID on three ringers (12) was fairly consistent at 8 inches deep. I ended up with (7) 50 cal. & (3) small arms cal. unknown and (2) seed ticks in a three hour hunt. Back to the water for me!!!

Carolina Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> ol. At the present I own 17 detectors and have spe
> nt the time learning all their quirks.


"T" ...........that has to be a record...

Blood Member of RingKeepers
2020......Gold Rings....73....Misc Gold 1 .......Silvers ...110

I just received my Tarsacci today and cannot wait to give it a good work out. I do have CDV AKA Cliff whom I spend a lot of time detecting with and all of you to help me along the way and will post my finds and my experiences with it. I am not a retiree so my beach hunts are on weekends only on the West coast of Florida.

I think I am down to 11 and seeking to find homes for many of those, so I understand a bit about that. Not knowing exactly others experience and skill levels and trying to make somewhat general commentary I hope you didn't feel slighted. I've more experience with the 'nox though I first swung a Tarsacci over 18 months ago. I have seen the range on targets stretch in ground with zinc pennies going 50% over AND under their surface readings (and some that still read that far out). I could well be wrong, but I think it is not the machines issue. I think it is reading environment variables into the equation and maybe even variations in the coin/target itself. This is mainly what my comment was based upon that the game has changed and needs rethinking about IDing. I am still working through this in my head and maybe was premature in voicing it.

I am really glad to see a lot more guys with 8000s. It was kinda lonely for several months. It's a great unit and there is a lot to discover in getting premium performance with it. At the same time it is easy to get frustrated not fully understanding its unique interactions. I love the spirit of teamwork and growth on this forum. That is why it is the first thing I check almost every morning.

Past(or)Tom
Using a Legend, a Deus 2, an Equinox 800, a Tarsacci MDT 8000, & a few others...
with my beloved, fading Corgi, Sadie