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Minelab VS Minelab
- Thread starter SWMO Mark
- Start date
Jason in Enid
Active member
Nobody has an equinox to do that kind of test. The only people with them are the factory testers and they are bound by legal agreements to what they can and cant say. If those comparisons have been done, we wil likely never know. Just have to wait until end-users have the chance
An official , very credible well known user of the CTX3030 and an official tester of the Equinox posted info on an Australian forum , but had the post removed after he realised he was in breach of his duty to not disclose his results:
I copied the text and posted it here at this link on this forum:
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?107,2397030,2397730#msg-2397730
where he has said
"Definitely new technology and as for how it performs in the field I have been testing it for some time now and will say without any doubt it hits coins at depth that CTX has missed. I pinged a penny at about 13 inches on an oval. I took it to the bottomless pit and pulled three threepence and one shilling in a session along with other coins that had clearly been victims of the CTX masking them out"
david di
I copied the text and posted it here at this link on this forum:
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?107,2397030,2397730#msg-2397730
where he has said
"Definitely new technology and as for how it performs in the field I have been testing it for some time now and will say without any doubt it hits coins at depth that CTX has missed. I pinged a penny at about 13 inches on an oval. I took it to the bottomless pit and pulled three threepence and one shilling in a session along with other coins that had clearly been victims of the CTX masking them out"
david di
dewcon4414
Well-known member
Unfortunately what hes trying to say is....... someone setting at a desk will decide the end program. Its got to accommodate/function in each of the programs and its possible we may not get these same results in all. We are always at the mercy of the programmers perception of what the tester is telling him. You ever played the game where you get several people together and have one start a conversation and each down the line whisper what they were told then at the end have the last one repeat it? Im hoping the beach guy is setting by the programmer lol.
Dew
Dew
Jason in Enid
Active member
goodmore said:
If raw depth was the only thing that mattered, we'd all be swinging PI detectors. "failure out of the gate", what nonsense.
It will have the same bells and whistles as the lower end FBS units. It will have right around the same size stock coil. When I say depth I am talking about useable depth. Unusable isn't really worth mentioning is IT? IN fact I am not sure what unusable depth is. If the detector beeps dig it up. It isn't rocket science. If the Equinox can't compete with a 12 year old Etrac then it is indeed a failure out of the box. Sorry if that upsets you. In fact I see the Etrac and Safari being eliminated in the product line. Probably the 705 too. We now have access to 40 kHz without changing coils. Why bother with the old.models at all? IN fact I'll go out on a limb with another bold prediction. The CTX will have to drop to 1500.00 retail to survive. GPS and a few different colered dots are not worth the price difference. The first detectors the Equinox is making obsolete is Minelabs own product line. If it can't do it nobody will buy it.
goodmore said:
Goodmore,
I just am not able to follow your here.
First look at the price and weight factor.
Definitely eye catching.
Next, some what ifs?
Wonder if Equinox can do 90% of what Deus can do in iron?
Wonder if Equinos can do 90% of what Etrac can do on open turf?
Wonder if Equinox is superior in all aspects vs the At Max?
One detector for the price paid.
If true above would this detector necessarily be a failure?
Not to mention smaller coil is available for Eqquinox vs Deus.
I don't think Minelab's intent was to one up every other detector model out there (all facets), but instead is offering a light weight, waterproof all terrain option for folks.
I'll make a wager right now.
Equinox both models combined will be the best selling Vlf detector we have ever seen period.
Not even close.
Now, will folks maybe find other model(s) they still like some aspects of and continue to use?
Certainly.
How many folks have Etrac and At Pro for example.
Maybe I am wrong here, what I have said.
We'll wait 2 years, I'll come back here, we should have a pretty good idea, how the Equinox has taken hold.
For what $649 for the 600 model, I'll take one of those just to keep in my truck for gee whiz, when I am out and spontaneously want to hunt somewhere.
I think some folks may buy one of the models just for a backup detector too.
I have never seen so many threads, posts, interest, comments, on metal,detecting forums since I started reading forums. Late 2010.
Does this translate into Equinox sales?
I think so.
The waterproofing and weight even if this detector was just mediocre performing(for price paid) likely would still sell very well,
Maybe not break records but still sell well.
Goodmore the clue will be.
Watch classifieds between April-Oct 2018 for At series being sold.
Then you'll likely know what's up.
Bold move on pricing by ML. I agree, the biggest hit will be to their own existing product line. But consider this.
Their current models are about done their run as top sellers.
The Eq, if it lives up to it’s promise, will really hurt Garrett and Whites sales and put a dent in First Texas high end machine sales for a while.
The real attraction is the initial cash flow of the rush to buy the new model will “juice” the balance sheet and make for a terrific report to shareholders.
It’s all about the stock price. The directors and managers of Codan don’t get to spend Codan profits on new cars, boats, holiday homes - but a 25% rise in the share price surely will do that when they cash in.
Good move or fail? Nobody knows yet, but it is bold as all get-out!
Their current models are about done their run as top sellers.
The Eq, if it lives up to it’s promise, will really hurt Garrett and Whites sales and put a dent in First Texas high end machine sales for a while.
The real attraction is the initial cash flow of the rush to buy the new model will “juice” the balance sheet and make for a terrific report to shareholders.
It’s all about the stock price. The directors and managers of Codan don’t get to spend Codan profits on new cars, boats, holiday homes - but a 25% rise in the share price surely will do that when they cash in.
Good move or fail? Nobody knows yet, but it is bold as all get-out!
The detector will do what all Minelabs do. They know how to build them. Every beach hunter out there is waiting for the Equinox. The first company to make a multi frequency water machine takes the prize. Garrett failed twice with the pro and max. Xp failed with the Deus. Nokta failed with impact. All great detectors, but not what people wanted. Sure many dirt hunters don't care about All Terrain. But If you can have the feature on a cheaper detector or one close to the same price you take it. All the Equinox has to do is deliver on performance. We have heard trickles of info. We heard it has depth and is very quick in recovery. If it performs then Minelab has a best seller. If it can't out perform an old Etrac or safari then it dies a miserable depth. Now who out there is going to bet against Minelab? As i said above....the first to feel the competitive sales of the Equinox will be Minelabs other detectors. And that is a benefit to Minelab in the long run. If you like your other dirt machines.....fine. But the game is about to change. More detector for less money.
Minelab's game has changed.
Volume sales is their goal.
Drive some others out.
Will they?
I think so.
It really doesn't matter if Etrac or CTX sales are hurt by Equinox.
As long as the loot (sales) stay in the family.
Crushing blow is really the goal.
What I am wondering, will Minelab have enough hats to go around to give with each Equinox!!
This what they have done could be game set match.
And with time, we may see an fbs unit similar style be rolled out.
Not now.
Equinox, they want it to be the focus.
And it will be.
Really simple here.
Minelab's market share is fixing to increase (worldy) and in the USA.
Volume sales is their goal.
Drive some others out.
Will they?
I think so.
It really doesn't matter if Etrac or CTX sales are hurt by Equinox.
As long as the loot (sales) stay in the family.
Crushing blow is really the goal.
What I am wondering, will Minelab have enough hats to go around to give with each Equinox!!
This what they have done could be game set match.
And with time, we may see an fbs unit similar style be rolled out.
Not now.
Equinox, they want it to be the focus.
And it will be.
Really simple here.
Minelab's market share is fixing to increase (worldy) and in the USA.
Jason in Enid
Active member
Architex said:
How dare you use such language!
It’s future success or failure is in africa. Sell hundreds or thousands per month there - or fail. We make no difference in that equation.
It’s a big money game in the gold detector biz - and North American amateurs are just icing on the cake (if that).
Not saying it will do badly or well - I have no data - but sales in North America or OZ are not all that vital.
It’s a big money game in the gold detector biz - and North American amateurs are just icing on the cake (if that).
Not saying it will do badly or well - I have no data - but sales in North America or OZ are not all that vital.
IDXMonster
Well-known member
Are there actually published sales numbers that show they sell hundreds of thousands a MONTH in Africa alone? Seems a bit far fetched to me....
I said hundreds OR thousands per month - not “hundreds of thousands” per month.
That was my estimate of what the total sales of gold detectors at the height of the gold rush in the last years was in Africa. That is the “drug rush” which shot profits of the manufacturers through the roof in the mid 2000’s. Now apparently it has slowed down to “replacement” levels. Bad news for everybody - except maybe Minelab who have sold lots of GPZ7000’s in the last 2 years.
I base my estimates on the only public info on the subject. Since Codan (who owns Minelab) is a corporation - they have to report to stockholders. Google their annual reports for the last 5 years - you will see how theirs profits rise and fall with African gold seeking and the resulting detector sales.
Their PI machines did well, now the GPZ does well, but selling VLF gold machines into that market against the established Gold Bug 2 and Gold Bug Pro Detectors is tough. We will see how that goes in ‘18 and beyond.
What they really want is a light PI detector with better capability than the TDI and lower weight and battery demand than the GPX for about $1k. Sadly no such machine exists.
My opinions only - of course.
But compared to that market - for gold machines - we are peanuts.
That was my estimate of what the total sales of gold detectors at the height of the gold rush in the last years was in Africa. That is the “drug rush” which shot profits of the manufacturers through the roof in the mid 2000’s. Now apparently it has slowed down to “replacement” levels. Bad news for everybody - except maybe Minelab who have sold lots of GPZ7000’s in the last 2 years.
I base my estimates on the only public info on the subject. Since Codan (who owns Minelab) is a corporation - they have to report to stockholders. Google their annual reports for the last 5 years - you will see how theirs profits rise and fall with African gold seeking and the resulting detector sales.
Their PI machines did well, now the GPZ does well, but selling VLF gold machines into that market against the established Gold Bug 2 and Gold Bug Pro Detectors is tough. We will see how that goes in ‘18 and beyond.
What they really want is a light PI detector with better capability than the TDI and lower weight and battery demand than the GPX for about $1k. Sadly no such machine exists.
My opinions only - of course.
But compared to that market - for gold machines - we are peanuts.