Has Minela outsourced ??

[diggindirt]

I think that if china, malasia, indonesia and taiwan were to stop production of electronics the world would grind to a halt, most electronic stuff from tv's to pc's are made over there or parts of them at least, even if they are assembled in other countries, even the best makes

The thing is, we're talking about high quality electronic components with tight specs/tolerances for detectors assembled and put together with 100% quality in mind.

Garrett, White's, First Texas, even Bounty Hunter are made right here in the USA.
Now I know for a fact, that White's doesn't cut any corners in parts and production quality. They make everything in-house with only high quality stuff made to factory specs.
Garrett's models are produced here too with a high ISO standard in their production.

This doesn't mean that quality can't fall through with things made here, but these company's do their best to address issues when they come up and there's pride with their products.

Before Minelab was purchased by Codan, the quality standards were extremely high in their production and final assembly of product.
I've owned Minelab in the past and never had to second guess myself on this thought.

I can tell you for sure that the quality will suffer just from the relocation of the company and all the training required from new and low paid personal.

If you want to believe that it will be the same Minelab as far as customer service and quality goes, well I'm not going to argue and anyone can think differently.

I'm not trying to start any bashing here, just laying out the facts as I see them. I don't really care what high end electronics company goes to Asia, the end result will suffer in quality.

 

[Dig]

I sent an email directly to minelab asking just this question and they never replied. Personally if they dont respond to the concerns of their consumers I say use someone else. A company who forgets where their money comes from is a company that is doomed to fail.

 

[diggindirt]

I sent an email directly to minelab asking just this question and they never replied. Personally if they dont respond to the concerns of their consumers I say use someone else. A company who forgets where their money comes from is a company that is doomed to fail.

Yep, I agree 100%!

 

[Critterhunter]

It all depends on how well they "watch" the factory and production runs. Many places like China will sneak in cheaper components with less tolerance requirements in order to fill an order under contract, or they'll run off their own units with cheaper parts to be sold on the black market so long as the equipment is already set up. I've seen this happen in the RC community with motors and other electronics. They even clone chargers and the software inside them in some instances, yet they often don't have as tight of parameters in the design which can be very risky when charging batteries. However, there are still good quality "clones" out there so long as you do your research and read the forums when it comes to RC stuff, but I wouldn't trust that at all when it comes to metal detectors where things being slightly out of specs can mean the difference in depth due to circuit noise and the resulting lower sensitivity levels that need to be used.

What scares me more than anything about many of our products no longer being made in the US is when it comes to times of war. If we can't build what we need and other countries decide not to supply it then we would have been in a world of hurt during WWII. I lean conservative but one thing I don't like at all is this "free trade" stuff, which usually means we get the short end of the stick. You simply can't compete with the low wages and company taxes of products being produced elsewhere. That's when tariffs need to come into play to level the playing field IMHO until they start paying their workers the same wages we would get, or not having the company propped up (Japan) by the government so they can sell at below cost to put the competition out of business and corner the market. Once that's done prices go back up. Saw it happen with TVs and they've been trying it with steel and cars for decades.

 

[crazyman]

People seem to be more upset about the poor customer service and lack of parts and detectors as opposed to the move. They never bothered to post a simple message on their site for their loyal customers about the move. A simple explanation that during the transition services such as production of certain detectors, repairs, parts and customer service would be limited would have been the thing to do. When your waiting for months on a new detector order or part or repair without customer service support I heard this or I heard that on the forums from others that have no clue also just doesn't cut it. Poor customer service will turn people in another direction fast even when brand loyalty and performance are there.

 

[Critterhunter]

Seems like the market should be ripe for some "non-official" Minelab repair centers in the US and other countries.

 

[diggindirt]

Seems like the market should be ripe for some "non-official" Minelab repair centers in the US and other countries.

That's why I'll purchase "used" down the road.

 

[kered]

My remark was soley to illustrate that made in china doesn't always mean crap, as long as regular tests to standards are kept things could be ok, when the standards, ie inferior components, quality control and isos etc aren't followed that is when problems start, surface mount mainboards aren't hand made any more, its all done by machine the best PC mainboards, memory etc all comes form asian countries and is the best because standards are met.

 

[crazyman]

Some of the new Minelab detectors that people have had on back order for months have been arriving and this is what it says on the new box.

Designed by Minelab Electronics, Australia
Assembled for Minelab Electronics, Australia
under contract by subsidiary of Plexus Corp. USA.
Made in Malaysia

 

[Beachcomber]

if they are made in Malaysia they should only cost about half of what they did when they were made in Ireland. JMHO

HH

Beachcomber

 

[diggindirt]

Some of the new Minelab detectors that people have had on back order for months have been arriving and this is what it says on the new box.

Designed by Minelab Electronics, Australia
Assembled for Minelab Electronics, Australia
under contract by subsidiary of Plexus Corp. USA.
Made in Malaysia

That's really too bad!

I bet the prices of "USED" machines will start to hit a new high!

It's not the same Minelab.

 

[Neil]

People seem to be more upset about the poor customer service and lack of parts and detectors as opposed to the move. They never bothered to post a simple message on their site for their loyal customers about the move. A simple explanation that during the transition services such as production of certain detectors, repairs, parts and customer service would be limited would have been the thing to do. When your waiting for months on a new detector order or part or repair without customer service support I heard this or I heard that on the forums from others that have no clue also just doesn't cut it. Poor customer service will turn people in another direction fast even when brand loyalty and performance are there.

I agree here with you crazyman. and to add to this, since minelab has already started making detectors in malaysia(by what Im reading), you have to wonder if they ever will get there customer service going full on again. theyve not returned my calls either. Ive got a Sov GT and an Etrac still on warranty but unless things improve those will be the last new ones I buy.

 

[meggie]

This may be old news to some of you but check out Minelabs latest news bulletin of the " Minelab Times" for information on their current production.

http://www.minelab.com/__files/f/18305/ML%20Times%20April%202010_web.pdf

 

[diggindirt]

This may be old news to some of you but check out Minelabs latest news bulletin of the " Minelab Times" for information on their current production.

It states since 2009 Codan made these changes. The Minelab product before 2009 was just about completely made in Ireland and Europe from everything I've been able to find and gather.
It's easy to write a positive press release to convince all that the quality will continue with a move to Malaysia to cut costs, but only time will really tell.

JMHO!

 

[Critterhunter]

The T2 and other machines from that company are looking pretty good now since they are I think made in the USA and come with a 5 year warranty. I can't go to Whites even though they are made here due to the lackluster performance of their current machines in certain respects. At least the T2 is said to get close to a Minelab in depth, although probably only in low mineralization. I think the T2 is also 12 or 13 khz (?) and so I'm not a big fan of that but the machine seems to have a lot of other things going for it. I wonder if they are going to crank out a lower khz machine for more mineralized ground and to hit harder on copper/silver, though from what I hear it's no slouch as it is. I see the G2 is a even higher frequency machine so I have my doubts if that new unit will do any better than the T2. Isn't there a T2 LTD just like the F75 LTD, which is said to get deeper than the normal F75? Is it even deeper than the T2? Unless something comes out that strikes my fancy I'll probably opt for a T2 LTD as my backup machine.

 

[Neil]

Critter if you do any low light hunting you might want to look into the F75. Im on the beach early and late at times and having a backlight is real handy. to some it doesnt matter but to me it helps. Ive got the regular f75, not the ltd. now I should mention the regular t2 doesnt have a backlight but the ltd model might.
Im pretty sure they make the big SEF coils for this also, something you seem to like

 

[Critterhunter]

If I need a back light I'll just stick one of those light/tiny bicycle lights on it that snap on the shaft and can be adjusted, or stick it on there some other way. With those little LED bulbs they get some pretty amazing run time. Which reminds me, I saw a guy modded an MXT's LCD screen to add a back light. Pretty easy and nifty little install. Maybe I'll pull my T2 apart if it's not under warranty and add my own LED. Simple as pie, but thanks for the info. If I get either one I'm going to want the LTD version because I hear it's deeper I think on both models. I think (?) the Fishers are more pricey used, though?

 

[diggindirt]

The F75 is an excellent hot machine! I know someone that uses one and kicks real butt with it too.

Yes, and it's made in the good ol USA

The one thing I remember about it is the slight learning curve. I was told you need to spend some time with the machine and not run the sensitivity too high.
That's the one mistake new users experience and they'll get some chatter because of that.

Once you learn and find the correct settings in the area you're hunting, it's an amazing machine with the fastest recovery time I've witnessed!

When I save some bucks I'll get one eventually!

Thanks!

 

[Neil]

If I need a back light I'll just stick one of those light/tiny bicycle lights on it that snap on the shaft and can be adjusted, or stick it on there some other way. With those little LED bulbs they get some pretty amazing run time. Which reminds me, I saw a guy modded an MXT's LCD screen to add a back light. Pretty easy and nifty little install. Maybe I'll pull my T2 apart if it's not under warranty and add my own LED. Simple as pie, but thanks for the info. If I get either one I'm going to want the LTD version because I hear it's deeper I think on both models. I think (?) the Fishers are more pricey used, though?

The f75s are a bit more money new so used they carry a higher price tag as well. when the ltd versions came out guys were selling them cheap, now they have gone back to their usual resale price and some have sold their ltd models and gone back because that extra depth you mention comes at a price, the machine is more affected by emi or whatever affects them(thats what Ive read, never used one so I dont know for sure). the backlight on the f75 is fiber optics and always on and the battery life is incredible. I know its got alot of options, the delta pitch variable tone is a sweet little option Ive got to try more, I usually run it in using all metal motion mode.

 

[Neil]

The F75 is an excellent hot machine! I know someone that uses one and kicks real butt with it too.

Yes, and it's made in the good ol USA

The one thing I remember about it is the slight learning curve. I was told you need to spend some time with the machine and not run the sensitivity too high.
That's the one mistake new users experience and they'll get some chatter because of that.

Once you learn and find the correct settings in the area you're hunting, it's an amazing machine with the fastest recovery time I've witnessed!

When I save some bucks I'll get one eventually!

Thanks!

it will chatter if not set up right thats for sure
its got very good ID both on the meter and tones and its very sensitive to both low conductors as well as regular clad coins. gets as deep or nearly as deep as my other machines in the dry sand at the beach. and your right about the speed, it will hit targets close together and sound each off correctly even at a good sweep speed