explorer users..please help :)

[anton]

Hi all

i currently have a quattro,which to be honest has almost turned me completely off minelab,due to its horrible recovery rate,constant losing target signals and a few other little 'niggles'..at the moment i spend most of my hunting time at the beach (dry and wet (to the waterline) and the quattro performs well on the beach (besides the fact most of my holes become huge recovering the target ),and while the quattro does good here,its just not a 'fun' machine. im considering an explorer 2,for not just the beach,but as my land hunter as well(and because it has a backlight),because the quattro is pathetic hunting anywhere in any trash conditions,unless you hunt in all metal.. my question for you guys is..

what is the recovery rate like on the explorer?
and,if i am not that impressed with the quattro,might it be a similar experience with explorer?

Anton

 

[John LA]

I have the Explorer XS and the recovery time seems slow to me. I also find the machine heavy but I feel it does a very good job of target identification.

 

[staloch]

Hi
Ive been using Monelabs for about 10 years. The recovery speed of the Explorer takes time to get used to. The Explorer is a different from other machines i have used but if you take some time to learn it, you will be glad you did. Another wonderful feature that is free with the Explorer is all the help you will get from minelab users on these forms. The Explorer users will answer any questions you might have. Also, look on the other forms, they just dont seem as active as the Explorer Forms.
Just my imput
Corey(nd)

 

[cachenut]

Well I have exp II and it seems so much faster than my XLT and it is not heavy at all. It works so fast they added audio options to lengthen the tones so you can hear them. In fact without them I hear too much already.

Fast option will speed recovery and shorten tones. Too fast for me. Deep seems to lengthen tones and slow reovery and bring up deep targets. It also helps to pick out the srongest target and I get it out of the way if there seems to be a coin down there. 98% of the time it is the coin.

I suggest if you are having pbms with recovery you dig some of the junk out of the way and check again.

Or swing a little slower.

Slow recovery helps with deep cons and requires a slow swing for just that reason.

Maybe you need to change and not the detector. Slow swings. Really trashy areas are a pbm even for the explorer. Dig junk first if it looks like a coin is there too.

Guess where coin is and wiggle (3 inch swing) over target.

 

[AK in KY]

In my opinion, you should spend more time learning the Quattro before buying the EX 11. I don't think you would be happy.

AK in KY

 

[MJP (IL)]

If you don't like the Quattro, you probably won't like the EX. They are based upon the same technology.

 

[Mike Bearden]

Don't take what I'm posting here as an insult or a thrashing in any way shape or form, that's not my intention. I don't know how long you've been detecting but your post sounds very familiar to the many I've seen over the years.
Some points I want to make may or may not pertain to you directly but some may benefit from it.
The Quattro is just a user friendly version of the Explorer, plain and simple. The Explorer itself is probably the MOST advanced detector ever produced, sure it has some faults or quirks that some users don't like but all in all (I feel) it has the BEST electronics available on the market.
To many times I've seen people buy a high end detector like the Explorer and expect to fully understand what it's capable of right out of the box. Simply put, until the end user spends enough time for everything to click and understand the detectors language it's not going to be FUN. And, there is NO magic wand/detector that can be bought and waved and the user expect the finds to just start popping out of the ground.
I don't own a Quatrro but I did use one for a solid 2 months, every day, and well after learning the Explorer. I'd have to say it is EXACTLY what it was designed to be, a user friendly Explorer.
Same great depth, and, depending on how it's set-up to hunt it can be just as quick as the Explorer if you're willing to LISTEN to everything (hunting wide open screen).
Sure the EX II is quicker to recover while in disc mode than the Quattro but it's more of a software and extra features issue than anything else, that goes along with the extra price of the EX II.
I know hunting with a wide open screen is noisy but most of the people that are successful with an Explorer or Quattro hunt strictly by sounds anyway. This wide open screen process will REMOVE the constant nulling and then the recovery speeds goes way up ... even on the Quattro. Both machines were designed to hunt slow ... period ! That's how the software is loaded into the detector from the factory, it takes more time to cover ground but the Explorer/Quattro won't miss much for others to find.
I guess it all depends on what the user is willing to put up with for the rewards. Just because a wide open screen is noisy doesn't mean much to me since I've learned the Explorers language. After time, my mind just simply turns off to the junk sounds and when I go over a good target and hear a good one, well it just stops me in my tracks and then I look at the screen if I need to.
Kind of like learning how to drive a straight shift car, once you've done it enough times, you just don't think about it anymore, make sense ?
The Quattro is a good machine, no it doesn't have a back light or some of the other options of the Explorer but it is a powerful detector in the right hands. Either way, if you put in the time to learn the EX II or the Quattro ... you will be rewarded with good finds.
The forums are GREAT for asking questions and getting tips on this and that but when it comes to high end Minelabs, nothing will beat time spent in the field or the thousands of holes dug during the learning curve.
Remember one thing, any high end detector is only as good as the users ability to use it. For what it's worth, after almost 4 years of using the Explorer, I think I'm about 3/4 of the way thru the learning experience ... it's an amazing detector and every time I THINK I have it figured out it teaches me something new.
Good Hunting
Mike

 

[Joe G]

Excellent response! I'm glad to know that after 4 years of using it you're still learning. I'm into this thing for about 8 months and, while I've found stuff from the get-go, I'm just starting to understand the Exp "language"

 

[Mike Bearden]

Thanks,
I kind of sit back and LURK more these day's rather than posting.
Sometimes I just feel compelled to speak out, always more than one way to skin a cat or run a Explorer
For someone with only 8 months of Explorer use, you have done well my friend. I enjoy reading your post and seeing the finds.
The Explorer is truly a detector for folks that WANT to learn and are willing to pay some heavy dues to get there ... but nothing else compares !
H.H.
Mike

 

[Ray(MaconGA)]

n/t

 

[Cody]

I find it interesting that it was to a simpler version of the Explorer and then to the X-Terra. I have had several discussions with the staff at Minelab about this. A major concern for me is the cost of the Explorer and us poor folk in Oklahoma. Not more than two weeks before the X-Terra hit the market the new staff at Minelab called me and we again talked of the problem with the high retail of the Explorer for us poor folk. However, it is also interesting that we are back to single frequency, at any give point in time, but a much improved form of SF.

So, it looks like Minelab is hearing what is said and is attempting to bring the cost down, has heard our cry to give us a light weight detector, simpler to operate is a desire by many, and long long battery life. However, single frequency at about 7.5khz is not dead yet.

Have a good one