many of us are older, some are younger but will soon be older. Maybe some people keep a good back but, as for me, I have degenerative disc. I have it in my upper back but I can swing most any detector (according to where I am hunting)... however, the meter or screen... if I have to bend my head forward to see it, especially if I am in AM trying to clean up at a place... watching for any non-ferrous VDI numbers... I really suffer from it the next day. One detector that does not cause me this problem is the SovereignGT simply because the 180 meter (especially mounted on an offset and tilted up a little) is mounted a ways down the shaft and I can see it without craning my neck down, it is about like looking at the coil.
As screens and meters become more and more common it would be a huge plus to me if I could have all the info available or switch it to just a depth guage on the side and some big VDI number display... and especially if you could figure a way to make the screen be a little more in line with the eye and the coil... maybe a pod that plugs in like a coil cable that can be either mounted on the handle or on a slightly offset mount a little more down the shaft. Maybe it is just me but comfort is a big deal when a person gets a bit older... balance, weight, and ergonomics are very important to me.
For example... I don't know why but sometimes I can hunt longer and without pain with an E-TRACthan I can with a T2 or F75 even though the ET is a bit heavier. I don't think it is a balance thing, though that may be a little bit of it since my damage is cervical (between the shoulderblades and holding anything out from my body can be a problem after a bit) but... the ability to easily reach down and adjust the length of the ET/Explorer shaft when it begins to bother me really makes a difference. I can in a matter of about 5 seconds tweak the length of the shaft so I do it a lot when I feel any discomfort it and it really helps, especially if I am working up and down a slope. Now I don't expect anyone to redesign a shaft and really I expect Minelabto drop the design in the future because it is more heavy and expensive... however, weight and a few buck isn't every consideration... adjustability is really important...
I know that younger people and especially perfectly healthy people don't have a real clue about what constant pain is about until maybe later in life when they get it too.
So, if this reaches any engineer ears.. try to think about more than weight and balance... consider trying to find a way to make machines that have a screen that can be seen with a mere shift of the eyes. Even if it is a more costly option... I would gladly pay for it... because you cannot put a price on less pain if you live with it.
If anyone else has any suggestions from experience, I am all ears. Please tell me what has helped you if you have cervical or any upper back pain and you've found something that helps. Meds and massage help (no happy ending, no "love you long time) massage here) laff.
Anyway... I just thought i'd throw that out as I realize technology is advancing by leaps and bounds these days and there may even be a wireless way to do it or... what I really dream of... a sort of combo headphones and headsup display of some kind.
Man... wouldn't some heads up display that you could either wear as a clip on to glasses or as sunglasses or any kind of glasses be something???
I hope we go there one day before I am too old to use it. Maybe a company like SunRay could make some kind of heads up display glasses or screen that attaches to a headphone band and could somehow work with some detector. Maybe I am just dreaming but I hope not, pain will get your attention and chronic pain will really get your attention... and no, not detecting is not an option. I have toyed with the idea of going to audio only... but I really don't want to... but I may have to stay with machines that have really good audio that covers the whole range so I don't look so much.
Anyway, as technology advances and if it becomes something that isn't that hard to do... please do it guys! I mean, who imagined even 25 years ago where we would be with technology, I don't even think there was an internet 25 years ago. No GPS and since I am 58 yrs old... I was a grown man with teenage kids before I ever heard of a cellphone... a bagphone, remember those? A few years before that we were in 'high cotton" with a Commodore 64 computer and a C-prompt... and Frogger. So I know if the technology isn't here (actually I am sure it is here just maybe expensive) it will soon be not only available but cheap to do... if anyone wants to do it.
Thanks for listening...
Julien
As screens and meters become more and more common it would be a huge plus to me if I could have all the info available or switch it to just a depth guage on the side and some big VDI number display... and especially if you could figure a way to make the screen be a little more in line with the eye and the coil... maybe a pod that plugs in like a coil cable that can be either mounted on the handle or on a slightly offset mount a little more down the shaft. Maybe it is just me but comfort is a big deal when a person gets a bit older... balance, weight, and ergonomics are very important to me.
For example... I don't know why but sometimes I can hunt longer and without pain with an E-TRACthan I can with a T2 or F75 even though the ET is a bit heavier. I don't think it is a balance thing, though that may be a little bit of it since my damage is cervical (between the shoulderblades and holding anything out from my body can be a problem after a bit) but... the ability to easily reach down and adjust the length of the ET/Explorer shaft when it begins to bother me really makes a difference. I can in a matter of about 5 seconds tweak the length of the shaft so I do it a lot when I feel any discomfort it and it really helps, especially if I am working up and down a slope. Now I don't expect anyone to redesign a shaft and really I expect Minelabto drop the design in the future because it is more heavy and expensive... however, weight and a few buck isn't every consideration... adjustability is really important...
I know that younger people and especially perfectly healthy people don't have a real clue about what constant pain is about until maybe later in life when they get it too.
So, if this reaches any engineer ears.. try to think about more than weight and balance... consider trying to find a way to make machines that have a screen that can be seen with a mere shift of the eyes. Even if it is a more costly option... I would gladly pay for it... because you cannot put a price on less pain if you live with it.
If anyone else has any suggestions from experience, I am all ears. Please tell me what has helped you if you have cervical or any upper back pain and you've found something that helps. Meds and massage help (no happy ending, no "love you long time) massage here) laff.
Anyway... I just thought i'd throw that out as I realize technology is advancing by leaps and bounds these days and there may even be a wireless way to do it or... what I really dream of... a sort of combo headphones and headsup display of some kind.
Man... wouldn't some heads up display that you could either wear as a clip on to glasses or as sunglasses or any kind of glasses be something???
I hope we go there one day before I am too old to use it. Maybe a company like SunRay could make some kind of heads up display glasses or screen that attaches to a headphone band and could somehow work with some detector. Maybe I am just dreaming but I hope not, pain will get your attention and chronic pain will really get your attention... and no, not detecting is not an option. I have toyed with the idea of going to audio only... but I really don't want to... but I may have to stay with machines that have really good audio that covers the whole range so I don't look so much.
Anyway, as technology advances and if it becomes something that isn't that hard to do... please do it guys! I mean, who imagined even 25 years ago where we would be with technology, I don't even think there was an internet 25 years ago. No GPS and since I am 58 yrs old... I was a grown man with teenage kids before I ever heard of a cellphone... a bagphone, remember those? A few years before that we were in 'high cotton" with a Commodore 64 computer and a C-prompt... and Frogger. So I know if the technology isn't here (actually I am sure it is here just maybe expensive) it will soon be not only available but cheap to do... if anyone wants to do it.
Thanks for listening...
Julien
