Andy Sabisch
Active member
First I wanted to make a point that seems to have eluded many of those posting on forums and Facebook groups when it comes to the Simplex+. For some reason people have come to believe that Nokta|Makro has claimed that the Simplex is the newest high-end detector that will beat all other detectors on the market. They are trashing it before they even have had one in their hands saying that those that have are shills for the company and can’t be believed. There was one individual that questioned by report from Detectival because my hands looked to clean to have dug anything . . . . Seriously? If that is where your mind goes when looking at posts, maybe you need to find a different group to join or simply stay off the computer. Nokta|Makro was made one claim and that is the only thing entry level about the new Simplex+ is the price. The performance it offers has increased as they finalized the production model and to be honest, it should be selling for double the price when you look at the features it offers, the versatility it provides and the optional accessories that they will have available in short order unlike other companies that rolled accessories out months after the delayed release. The Simplex+ does what it is intended to which is to give people a low cost detector that will give performance that most would expect to pay more for . . . and not to replace their flagship detectors such as the Anfibio, Impact and others.
OK, now that I got that off my chest, let’s look at the Simplex+ and some US hunting. In the States, most of us are primarily coin hunters and as a result, features such as Target ID and discrimination / notch are important due to the non-ferrous trash most sites contain. Relic hunting here in the US is like coin hunting in Europe where if it is not ferrous (iron), you have to dig it as it could be a small Roman coin or a cut thin hammered silver coin. Understanding that difference, let’s look at how the Simplex+ did at a few local sites here in Michigan where we were looking for coins among aluminum, tin foil and other non-ferrous trash.
I will preface this report with the note that I use the Anfibio since it was released and am quite familiar with the settings and functions on that unit. To start with we did some testing around our house which dates to the late 1890’s. Not expecting much as we have hunted it numerous times with other machines, I opted for the front yard which is littered with nails. Selecting the PARK (COINS) mode, I made a few adjustments including running the FE Volume to “0”, notching out the range of “0” to “20” and ground balancing the unit using the bobbing method. The larger nails gave broken signals but were easily distinguishable as being trash. Smaller nails were not even heard. Despite the small area to search, I did recover a few coins that we had missed before and most had iron trash in the sides of the holes.
The next stop was a nearby school which while we were not expecting any rare coins to appear, it would give us the chance to see what different TIDs and tones were on in-ground targets rather than relying on air tests which have never impressed me especially on the multitude of YouTube videos that use them as an attempt to show what a detector can do. In ground, actual targets is the real test of any detector.
Opting for the RELICS mode due to the three-tone response it provided, I repeated the adjustments I had made earlier; i.e., discrimination, FE volume and Ground Balance at the new location. One thing that the team at Nokta|Makro has said will be assessed for an update to the software (remember, the Simplex+ is upgradeable via the Internet) is that any adjustments you make to the settings of the 4 search modes are not saved when you turn the unit off. They are easy enough to redo but just remember that if you tweak the unit in the field to get maximum performance, make sure you remember what you adjusted so you can repeat it the next time you head out. Not a problem, just something to keep in mind at this time.
Having tested the Simplex+ on the test garden at home, I knew what numbers should be associated with coins but as this was a test run, I dug most of what was detected to validate the accuracy of the Target ID values as well as the depth indication. Unfortunately I had forgotten to charge my Anfibio wireless headphones and they went dead shortly after starting to hunt. Switching back to the internal speaker, I was quite surprised at the strength of signals from targets that were in the 6” to 8” range. There was no mistaking them as the coil passed over them!
The picture attached shows what was recovered in the hunt including the trash which again, I recovered to validate what I thought the target had been . . . . a few things of note:
1) The coil centered accurately over targets and by detuning the unit in pinpoint (press, release and re-press the Pinpoint touchpad) it was easy to zero in so that a hole was 2” or less across. The target would be under the center of the coil just forward of the mounting point (see the photo attached)
2) If the Target ID jumped around even when wiggling the coil a few inches side-to-side, it was always trash – can slaw, a ball of tin foil, etc. Remember, this is for coin hunting so relic hunting or hunting overseas, you simply need to dig those signals but for coin hunters, erratic TIDs = trash.
3) The indicated target depth on coin-sized targets was pretty accurate. I was surprised at the first few 8” deep coins that came through like they were half that deep but the depth indication was pretty much dead on.
4) This is one thing that kept messing me up . . . the PINPOINT button is NOT the one at the center of the control panel . . it is the one to the left of that one. Several times I pressed the center button when I wanted to go to pinpoint and guess what . . . it turns the detector off . . . remember that the PINPOINT is not the center button and you will be fine since remember, the settings are not saved. You would think I would have learned after the first time or two but I guess I have a thick skull (or at least that is what I have been told)
5) The tones – while were 3-tones based on the search mode selected – differed from those on the Anfibio in terms of what type of target generated what type of tone. Different is simply different and not wrong so if you have experience with the Anfibio or Impact, there is a relearning that you will need when you pick up the Simplex+.
So in summary, I was very impressed at the depth the Simplex+ was hitting targets and providing a consistent TID that said “Dig Me”. I had to keep reminding myself that this was a sub-$300 detector and not one of my workhorses I normally take in the field. As end-users start to get their orders and spend time in the field, reports will come out that echo this sentiment I am sure of. There will probably be dozens of videos showing people unboxing the detector and doing air tests to show off recover speed or some other function but for me, I want to see the actual in-field results rather than what tells little of how the machine performs. Watch for the posts and remember, the intent of the Simplex+ was to offer people looking to get into the hobby or wanting a high-quality backup detector just that and without breaking the bank . . . and with that goal in mind, Nokta|Makro has hit a home-run for sure!
OK, now that I got that off my chest, let’s look at the Simplex+ and some US hunting. In the States, most of us are primarily coin hunters and as a result, features such as Target ID and discrimination / notch are important due to the non-ferrous trash most sites contain. Relic hunting here in the US is like coin hunting in Europe where if it is not ferrous (iron), you have to dig it as it could be a small Roman coin or a cut thin hammered silver coin. Understanding that difference, let’s look at how the Simplex+ did at a few local sites here in Michigan where we were looking for coins among aluminum, tin foil and other non-ferrous trash.
I will preface this report with the note that I use the Anfibio since it was released and am quite familiar with the settings and functions on that unit. To start with we did some testing around our house which dates to the late 1890’s. Not expecting much as we have hunted it numerous times with other machines, I opted for the front yard which is littered with nails. Selecting the PARK (COINS) mode, I made a few adjustments including running the FE Volume to “0”, notching out the range of “0” to “20” and ground balancing the unit using the bobbing method. The larger nails gave broken signals but were easily distinguishable as being trash. Smaller nails were not even heard. Despite the small area to search, I did recover a few coins that we had missed before and most had iron trash in the sides of the holes.
The next stop was a nearby school which while we were not expecting any rare coins to appear, it would give us the chance to see what different TIDs and tones were on in-ground targets rather than relying on air tests which have never impressed me especially on the multitude of YouTube videos that use them as an attempt to show what a detector can do. In ground, actual targets is the real test of any detector.
Opting for the RELICS mode due to the three-tone response it provided, I repeated the adjustments I had made earlier; i.e., discrimination, FE volume and Ground Balance at the new location. One thing that the team at Nokta|Makro has said will be assessed for an update to the software (remember, the Simplex+ is upgradeable via the Internet) is that any adjustments you make to the settings of the 4 search modes are not saved when you turn the unit off. They are easy enough to redo but just remember that if you tweak the unit in the field to get maximum performance, make sure you remember what you adjusted so you can repeat it the next time you head out. Not a problem, just something to keep in mind at this time.
Having tested the Simplex+ on the test garden at home, I knew what numbers should be associated with coins but as this was a test run, I dug most of what was detected to validate the accuracy of the Target ID values as well as the depth indication. Unfortunately I had forgotten to charge my Anfibio wireless headphones and they went dead shortly after starting to hunt. Switching back to the internal speaker, I was quite surprised at the strength of signals from targets that were in the 6” to 8” range. There was no mistaking them as the coil passed over them!
The picture attached shows what was recovered in the hunt including the trash which again, I recovered to validate what I thought the target had been . . . . a few things of note:
1) The coil centered accurately over targets and by detuning the unit in pinpoint (press, release and re-press the Pinpoint touchpad) it was easy to zero in so that a hole was 2” or less across. The target would be under the center of the coil just forward of the mounting point (see the photo attached)
2) If the Target ID jumped around even when wiggling the coil a few inches side-to-side, it was always trash – can slaw, a ball of tin foil, etc. Remember, this is for coin hunting so relic hunting or hunting overseas, you simply need to dig those signals but for coin hunters, erratic TIDs = trash.
3) The indicated target depth on coin-sized targets was pretty accurate. I was surprised at the first few 8” deep coins that came through like they were half that deep but the depth indication was pretty much dead on.
4) This is one thing that kept messing me up . . . the PINPOINT button is NOT the one at the center of the control panel . . it is the one to the left of that one. Several times I pressed the center button when I wanted to go to pinpoint and guess what . . . it turns the detector off . . . remember that the PINPOINT is not the center button and you will be fine since remember, the settings are not saved. You would think I would have learned after the first time or two but I guess I have a thick skull (or at least that is what I have been told)
5) The tones – while were 3-tones based on the search mode selected – differed from those on the Anfibio in terms of what type of target generated what type of tone. Different is simply different and not wrong so if you have experience with the Anfibio or Impact, there is a relearning that you will need when you pick up the Simplex+.
So in summary, I was very impressed at the depth the Simplex+ was hitting targets and providing a consistent TID that said “Dig Me”. I had to keep reminding myself that this was a sub-$300 detector and not one of my workhorses I normally take in the field. As end-users start to get their orders and spend time in the field, reports will come out that echo this sentiment I am sure of. There will probably be dozens of videos showing people unboxing the detector and doing air tests to show off recover speed or some other function but for me, I want to see the actual in-field results rather than what tells little of how the machine performs. Watch for the posts and remember, the intent of the Simplex+ was to offer people looking to get into the hobby or wanting a high-quality backup detector just that and without breaking the bank . . . and with that goal in mind, Nokta|Makro has hit a home-run for sure!
Great write up on the simplex.....Nokta is on the move.