Yes, he did say this, but I don't think this tells the whole story -- which he explains later on. I'll try to explain what I'm saying, below.
BUT -- before I post this, I want to make it clear that I am NOT making any definitive statement as to what the machine will or will not do, in terms of depth. I have never even touched one so how could I? I have no way of knowing. BUT, with that said, there are a few things that I think must be understood, and after explaining what I mean, I'll speculated just a bit...
First of all, NASA-Tom lives in Florida. In most places he hunts, AND FOR SURE the location that he tests his machines (his test garden), his "dirt" is almost entirely composed of non-mineralized sand. In other words, it is as close to an "air test" as you can get, essentially, for an in-the-ground target. And here is why that's important to keep in mind...he says 14" is his max depth for a dime, on his Equinox. Meanwhile, neither I, nor anyone else that I hunt with, in almost four years of swinging our Equinoxes, have ever dug a single dime with the Equinox deeper than 9". Never. Not once. Further, I have two 10" deep dimes buried in my test garden -- one silver, one clad. I can not get even a peep on either one of them, with my Equinox.
SO -- why is that? Why can NASA-Tom achieve 14.0" on a dime, with his Equinox, when I can achieve 9" max? TWO REASONS (which we all know) -- the amount of mineralization in my dirt, and EMI.
SO, to continue, NASA-Tom says, again, that he can hit that 14.0" dime in his test garden with his EQX, but -- he can achieve this only about 10% of the time. So, WHY ONLY 10% of the time? Because of EMI. There are times EMI renders his 14" dime undetectable. Obviously, the mineralization of the soil in his test garden isn't changing, but his EMI does, and so does ours -- from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, and site to site.
SO -- why is all of this important to the point I eventually intend to make? I think it is important to understand that in terms of "raw depth," the VLF-IB platform -- which of course all of our current detectors utilize with the exception of PI machines -- is pretty much "maxed out," in terms of depth capability. There is just not all that much more that can be squeezed out of this particular technology -- and this is a fact that is largely agreed upon by all of the physicists and engineers who build detectors, that I have ever heard talk about the subject. After all, a Fisher F75 -- which is what, 15-year old technology -- can ALSO hit NASA-Tom's 14" test-garden dime (if I am not mistaken). We have been "near" the maximum, in terms of the "raw depth" capability of the VLF-IB platform, for roughly 2 decades.
BUT -- and here's the important part -- there ARE still gains to be made, in terms of REAL-WORLD depth capability. Again, though NOT much gain is left to achieve in terms of "raw, maximum depth," or "air-test depth," so to speak, the gains to potentially be made are in terms of HOW CLOSE a machine can come to achieving that "maximum depth," or "air test depth" for coins IN THE GROUND. Specifically, these "real-world," or "in the dirt" gains can potentially be achieved by...
1. Improving a machine's "bad dirt handling," so as to allow MORE of us, in DIFFERENT areas, who experience different, more mineralized types of dirt (unlike NASA-Tom's "pure" sand) to get closer to reaching that 14" raw depth maximum on a dime.
2. Improving a machine's "EMI handling," so as to allow MORE of us, who deal with various forms of EMI, to get closer to reaching that 14" raw depth maximum on a dime.
3. Improving on a machine's "ID algorithms" (which is related to #1, above) so as to allow MORE of us to get an ACCURATE ID on the deepest targets, INSTEAD of IDing those fringe-depth targets as "iron," so that we might actually be more apt to dig a target that is closer to that 14" maximum.
SO -- in his "perfect" dirt, NASA-Tom has indeed stated that his ability to detect and accurately ID a dime at 14.0" with his Equinox (which he can achieve about 10% of the time), has improved to 14.2" with his Manticore (which he can achieve about 70% of the time), BUT -- and this is what my long-winded post has been leading up to, in terms of my "point" -- I think it is important to say that THE 0.2" INCREASE IN "RAW" DEPTH THAT THE MANTICORE ACHIEVES, DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE REST OF US WILL ONLY SEE 0.2" DEPTH GAIN ON REAL-WORLD TARGETS.
Why do I say this? I say this BECAUSE, if we assume that the Manticore handles bad dirt better, handles EMI better, and is able to ID targets more accurately, then...that means that ANY OF US, whose dirt type and EMI issues PREVENT us from EVER digging a 14" dime, or even a 10" or 12" dime, may now be able to "come closer" to that 14" raw depth maximum. In my specific case, which -- again -- is a "max depth" of 9" on a dime, I personally may very well, with a Manticore, now be able to detect a dime to 9 1/2", or possibly 10", or maybe even a bit more. In other words, the objective of the Manticore's technology is to try to MITIGATE those reasons why most of us are unable to even come close to a VLF-IB machine's "raw maximum depth."
So, is the Manticore able to mitigate the factors (bad dirt, and EMI) that PREVENT us from detecting a coin anywhere NEAR the maximum capability of the unit? I have no idea, personally, but according to NASA-Tom, the answer is YES. Given that he does not achieve that 14.2" maximum depth in any of the "inland" sites he hunts, he has noted that he IS experiencing much more significant depth gains. In fact, a couple of posts AFTER he noted the 0.2" increase in ABSOLUTE max depth, he also noted that DUE TO BETTER EMI MITIGATION that is built into the Manticore, he is averaging TWO INCHES more depth, with his Manticore, at "inland" sites (i.e. when he is "coin and relic hunting," not "beach jewelry hunting"). TWO INCHES? That is awfully impressive...
Now, will the REST of us gain 2" depth? I have no idea, but I suspect not, as most of us deal with far more highly mineralized soil than he does. BUT -- I DO feel pretty confident that we will achieve quite a bit more than 0.2" depth increase, if switching to the Manticore...
Just my two cents..
Steve
