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MINELAB MANTICORE: DATA & PERFORMANCE
Posted by NASA-Tom
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Re: MINELAB MANTICORE: DATA & PERFORMANCE July 25, 2023 08:38PM |
Well, I know I've been somewhat "radio silent" since getting my Manticore. I simply haven't had enough hours on it, to offer much of any substance. Even now, 6 months in, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the Manticore, and its audio (in part due to lack of hunting opportunities). Still, one thing I can say, is that this is one FALSY machine, for sure (I haven't downloaded the update yet, as I want to really learn the machine FIRST, and I only have about 40 to 50 hours on it...nowhere near enough). But WOW. Falsy, falsy, which makes the audio VERY busy, and fatiguing to decipher. And that is with near-factory limits settings...
I am beginning to understand what Keith Southern talked about for all those years, about "bleedy/blendy audio." But, understanding what that means, and understanding how to decipher it, are two TOTALLY different things.
I am on vacation in PA now, and have gotten some hours on the machine on consecutive days. I've hunted a couple of sites with a good many square nails. As always, the deep square nails are my nemesis...as many of them sound "good" from many directions. I STILL have not learned how to decipher...but at the same time, it's hard to complain as I'm having some success.
Sunday, I dug two deep, old coins -- a very nice 1876 Seated dime, and a 1783 1/2 Reale. On NEITHER of these targets was I sure I was digging a coin (versus a good-sounding, falsy square nail). I THOUGHT they both sounded better than a square nail, but I have been fooled many times. BOTH had quiet iron grunts OVERLAID with high tones; not the solid, louder grunts from a more substantial iron item, but more like the type that you get from soil mineral. Still, both coins were a mix of high tones and those quiet grunts, overlaid on top of each other. Both were about 7" to 8" deep; the high tones on the dime were solidly upper 90s (WAY too high), and those on the Reale averaged lower, 70s and 80s. (The dime air tests 79-80, and the Reale 64 to 68). SO -- on both, I felt that I had to dig, BUT, on neither did I feel confident at all as to what I'd be digging. I venture to guess that on both targets, the EQX 800 would have hit them solidly, without the iron grunts, and with less up-averaging...and I would have been very confident that I was digging a coin. I would expect the dime would have ID'd low 30s, and a very soft, clean hit on every sweep. I do NOT like that the Manticore seems much more "unsure" than the EQX, as to what the target is, when deeper than a few inches, in both Oklahoma and Pennsylvania dirt.
Meanwhile, on Monday, I managed a 6" to 7" deep 1837 Seated dime. This one was registering mid 50s ID, pretty much from all angles. I was NOT expecting silver, but thought maybe Indian Head. I was SHOCKED when I popped the plug, and the silver coin fell from the bottom of the plug. I immediately put the pinpointer in the hole, and from the sidewall, pulled about a 1 1/2" long, 1/4" wide rusty blob of iron. I was surprised that I didn't ever hear a high tone with this target, but instead consistent mid tone. This was clearly a case where the two targets "averaged together" to report a MUCH lower ID than I'd have expected. I've never dug a silver coin before that was that far off, in terms of ID. I wonder if this is something that the MC will do, moreso than the EQX would have? Based on what I assume to have been the distance between the two targets (both at roughly the same depth), I would have expected to hear at least SOME high tone reports, from some angles, as I circled and swept the target, instead of the fairly consistent, averaged mid 50s ID from pretty much all angles.
So, overall, I thus far have a love/hate relationship with the Manticore. It is finding me stuff -- and some GOOD stuff, and yet I do NOT understand the machine's language. Nearly everything, except shallow coins, have some amount of iron grunting, and pretty severe up-averaging. Meanwhile, the falses on this machine are overwhelming. A large number of nails false, and NOT just high-tone falsing. Some false mid-tone, also. So, overall, at any given time, I largely have no idea what is under the coil, and thus knowing "what to dig" is very difficult. And I have yet to dig a deep silver coin, that sounds "clean" and lets me know what I'm digging. Several years back, I dug an 1888 Seated dime about 30 yards from the 1876, above, and at similar depth -- with my Explorer SE Pro. I KNEW I had a good target. With the Equinox, it is pretty easy in many cases to call an 8" deep silver coin. I do NOT have the sense that the Manticore will give such clean, clear reports on deep silver. But, again...I'm finding stuff...so it's not like the machine isn't quite capable. It's just perplexing, and somewhat maddening for me, at this point...
Just my two cents, after my first 50 hours or so.
Steve
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2023 01:08PM by steveg.
I am beginning to understand what Keith Southern talked about for all those years, about "bleedy/blendy audio." But, understanding what that means, and understanding how to decipher it, are two TOTALLY different things.
I am on vacation in PA now, and have gotten some hours on the machine on consecutive days. I've hunted a couple of sites with a good many square nails. As always, the deep square nails are my nemesis...as many of them sound "good" from many directions. I STILL have not learned how to decipher...but at the same time, it's hard to complain as I'm having some success.
Sunday, I dug two deep, old coins -- a very nice 1876 Seated dime, and a 1783 1/2 Reale. On NEITHER of these targets was I sure I was digging a coin (versus a good-sounding, falsy square nail). I THOUGHT they both sounded better than a square nail, but I have been fooled many times. BOTH had quiet iron grunts OVERLAID with high tones; not the solid, louder grunts from a more substantial iron item, but more like the type that you get from soil mineral. Still, both coins were a mix of high tones and those quiet grunts, overlaid on top of each other. Both were about 7" to 8" deep; the high tones on the dime were solidly upper 90s (WAY too high), and those on the Reale averaged lower, 70s and 80s. (The dime air tests 79-80, and the Reale 64 to 68). SO -- on both, I felt that I had to dig, BUT, on neither did I feel confident at all as to what I'd be digging. I venture to guess that on both targets, the EQX 800 would have hit them solidly, without the iron grunts, and with less up-averaging...and I would have been very confident that I was digging a coin. I would expect the dime would have ID'd low 30s, and a very soft, clean hit on every sweep. I do NOT like that the Manticore seems much more "unsure" than the EQX, as to what the target is, when deeper than a few inches, in both Oklahoma and Pennsylvania dirt.
Meanwhile, on Monday, I managed a 6" to 7" deep 1837 Seated dime. This one was registering mid 50s ID, pretty much from all angles. I was NOT expecting silver, but thought maybe Indian Head. I was SHOCKED when I popped the plug, and the silver coin fell from the bottom of the plug. I immediately put the pinpointer in the hole, and from the sidewall, pulled about a 1 1/2" long, 1/4" wide rusty blob of iron. I was surprised that I didn't ever hear a high tone with this target, but instead consistent mid tone. This was clearly a case where the two targets "averaged together" to report a MUCH lower ID than I'd have expected. I've never dug a silver coin before that was that far off, in terms of ID. I wonder if this is something that the MC will do, moreso than the EQX would have? Based on what I assume to have been the distance between the two targets (both at roughly the same depth), I would have expected to hear at least SOME high tone reports, from some angles, as I circled and swept the target, instead of the fairly consistent, averaged mid 50s ID from pretty much all angles.
So, overall, I thus far have a love/hate relationship with the Manticore. It is finding me stuff -- and some GOOD stuff, and yet I do NOT understand the machine's language. Nearly everything, except shallow coins, have some amount of iron grunting, and pretty severe up-averaging. Meanwhile, the falses on this machine are overwhelming. A large number of nails false, and NOT just high-tone falsing. Some false mid-tone, also. So, overall, at any given time, I largely have no idea what is under the coil, and thus knowing "what to dig" is very difficult. And I have yet to dig a deep silver coin, that sounds "clean" and lets me know what I'm digging. Several years back, I dug an 1888 Seated dime about 30 yards from the 1876, above, and at similar depth -- with my Explorer SE Pro. I KNEW I had a good target. With the Equinox, it is pretty easy in many cases to call an 8" deep silver coin. I do NOT have the sense that the Manticore will give such clean, clear reports on deep silver. But, again...I'm finding stuff...so it's not like the machine isn't quite capable. It's just perplexing, and somewhat maddening for me, at this point...
Just my two cents, after my first 50 hours or so.
Steve
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2023 01:08PM by steveg.
