News

Kevin Hoagland recently did a full and comprehensive field test of XP's Batea gold pan. Here's his final thoughts and conclusion, you can read the full article over at the XP detector website. The XP Batea is not a novelty pan, it is a serious tool for the gear box and one that I think you will find yourself using more and more often than you think you will right now.

It is a bit bulkier than what you are used to, but the design of the flattop grip area makes all the difference in the world. Think about it this way, take your favorite gold pan and put a shelf around it to make it even easier to hold onto and use. Now to the part about it being innovative. The Defragmenter is, as I said earlier, the key and the smartest thing I have seen done to a gold pan. Riffles are one thing, but this unit tears down challenging soils like I have never seen without the chance of blowing your gold past a riffle.

Will it work on the densest clays you run into in some areas? Not entirely, but in the clays that I have panned so far in testing it is far better than anything I have used next to a mud paddle on my drill breaking down clay in a 5-gallon bucket. I almost forgot to mention this key factor as well. The Batea I used in South America was heavy, made of wood, and cumbersome. The XP Batea is none of those, coming in at 800 grams /28 ounces, or for those of us that weigh everything in troy, just a bit over 25 troy ounces. You will find that it is lighter than a couple of the plastic pans I bet you have in your kit now.

I can assure you that this Batea weighs in a lot lighter than the metal Batea that was introduced in 2019 and the XP Batea has the advantage of the Defragmenter and being able to have a magnet slid up the side of the pan easily. The XP Batea has found its place in my gear box.

I just have one more test to do: I wonder how it’s going to work as a dry pan? I’ll let you know. Color: The blue color, although not an uncommon color for gold pans, helps in seeing the gold better in any lighting I tested in. Honeycombed flat top and hand area: Allowed a better grip and ability to work the pan properly. Defragmenter: Breaks down material quickly while stratifying and creates a great deal of turbulence in the Batea while working the material from rough to final cleanup. Having to get used to a new way of panning: I am a little torn on if this is a PRO or a CON. As a prospector, learning new ways to do anything is something I enjoy. Really big pan: I can see users easily overloading, making it heavy to deal with and not utilizing the Defragmenter to its fullest. One last thought, if the Batea just doesn’t fit your needs or wants in any way, XP has also introduced a four-zone pan that is a bit more traditional in shape. One of the zones has a new and very interesting recovery area that I will be testing soon.

Kevin Hoagland is the Executive Director of Development at the Gold Prospectors Association of America and the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association of America.

RNB Innovations have just introduced a brand new Lithium battery designed for the Minelab Vanquish series of detectors. We're proud to stock these USA made batteries that can power your vanquish detectors for upto 30 hours on a single charge!

The RNB-6000 Vanquish Battery pack is available on our store now and will work on all Minelab Vanquish Models including the 340, 440 and 540. It features USB-C charging, plus charging status indication lights, with high quality lithium ion cells providing 6,000mAh, or upto a possible 30 hours of metal detecting!

If you have any questions on this, or any of the other products we sell, please don't hesitate to contact us, happy hunting!

After over 50 years in the Industry, whites have decided to retire and sell all technology, branding and machines to Garrett. We are sad to see the whites family retire, but glad their name and products can live on under the garrett banner.

Garrett CEO Steve Novakovich commented, “The White family and the Garrett family have had a high level of respect for one another as competitors in the sport market for decades. Now we at Garrett are proud to combine our respective legacies as Garrett continues on as the premier American metal detector company.”

We hope Garrett can continue to bring the whites tradition to metal detecting and the name live on. What are your thoughts on the acquisition? Let us know in the comments below!

Just received your Garrett Ace Apex Metal Detector and have some questions? Check out the Faq below and if you have any others please free to contact us! 

I JUST RECEIVED MY APEX AND IT WILL NOT TURN ON. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

The Apex uses a lithium rechargeable battery. These batteries are shipped from the factory with a minimal amount of charge. Sometimes this charge is used up during production testing. We recommend charging the Apex for 4 to 5 hours prior to use to ensure a full charge. The battery icon on the LCD will blink to indicate that charging is in progress.

APEX IS SAID TO FULLY CHARGE IN 4 TO 5 HOURS. MINE HAS BEEN PLUGGED IN FOR 6 HOURS AND IT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE CHARGING VERY FAST. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

The rapid charging system in Apex requires 500 ma. (1/2 ampere) to achieve the fastest charge. Most wall chargers can supply this amount of current. Older USB chargers may only be able to charge 100 ma. If you find the charging slower than expected, try another voltage converter. It is also best to avoid devices such as a computer terminal or hub that allow more than one USB cord to be connected. These devices often limit the amount of power available. Your Apex should be switched off during charging to speed the charging process.

HOW LONG WILL A CHARGE LAST ON MY APEX?

The Apex battery is designed to provide approximately 15 hours of operation from a full charge. This time will vary since different operating frequencies and backlight settings will change the amount of power required.

WHAT KIND OF LIFE CAN I EXPECT FROM MY APEX BATTERY? I HAVE HAD OTHER RECHARGEABLE DEVICES THAT RUN DOWN AFTER ONLY A YEAR OR SO.

The Apex battery is the same battery type used in most cell phones. These batteries hold their charge well when stored and provide many charge/discharge cycles and therefore a long life. Based on the information received from the battery manufacturer, one could expect that after operating the Apex for 8 hours per day 5 days per week, the batteries would still have 80% of their capacity after 4 years. This is no guarantee but is a good indicator that the batteries will last a long time.

CAN I CHANGE THE APEX BATTERY?

Changing the battery is not too difficult but if ever needed, this is best done by the Garrett factory or a certified Garrett service center that has the proper tools and knowledge.

CAN MY APEX SOFTWARE BE UPGRADED?

Yes, the Apex is designed to be upgraded using the micro-USB connection. When a software update becomes available, Garrett will advise customers via its website and social media.

CAN I USE ANY OF THE GARRETT Z-LYNK WIRELESS PRODUCTS, SUCH AS THE MS-3 HEADPHONES AND THE PRO-POINTER AT WITH Z-LYNK, WITH MY APEX?

Yes. Any Garrett Z-Lynk wireless product is compatible with Apex. If you have another preferred brand of headphones or earbuds, you can still use them with the optional Garrett WR-1 Z-Lynk receiver module.

CAN I USE WIRELESS HEADPHONES FROM OTHER METAL DETECTOR MANUFACTURERS WITH APEX?

No. The Z-Lynk wireless technology is proprietary to Garrett and is not compatible with competitive wireless headphone brands.

CAN I USE BLUETOOTH® HEADPHONES OR EARBUDS WITH APEX?

No. Other wireless technologies are not compatible with Z-Lynk.

WHY DID GARRETT CHOOSE A WIRELESS SYSTEM THAT DOES NOT WORK WITH OTHER SYSTEMS?

The Z-Lynk system was developed because it has the lowest “latency” of any current or evolving technology. For instance, with traditional Bluetooth the delay in the transmission of sound allows you to swing several inches past a target before you hear a beep. The Z-Lynk system is up to six times faster, so you hear the target sound while the search coil is still over the object.

I WANT TO USE MY REGULAR WIRED HEADPHONES WITH A ¼” DIAMETER PLUG, BUT APEX HAS AN 1/8” CONNECTOR. WHAT DO I DO?

Garrett has an accessory just for this. It is a 1/8 inch to ¼ inch adaptor. The cord is long enough to allow you to mount the ¼ inch jack under the
armrest to keep stress off of the wires and keep them out of the way.

THE APEX IS DESCRIBED AS “WEATHERPROOF.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Garrett’s Apex is constructed to prevent rain and blowing rain from entering the detector housing. Care must be taken to be sure the rubber covers are inserted into the USB and headphone openings to achieve this protection. Apex’s search coil and lower stem are fully submersible, but the control box should never be submerged. Any small amount of water entering the housing can cause the detector to quit working.

THE APEX CURRENTLY HAS ONLY ONE SEARCHCOIL, THE STANDARD 6” X 11” DD VIPER™ COIL. WILL THERE BE OTHER COILS OFFERED FOR THE APEX?

Yes. Garrett is currently adapting it's popular 5”x 8” and 8.5” x 11” DD coils for use on Apex and has other coil options in the works.

CAN I USE MY EXISTING ACE SERIES SEARCH COILS ON MY APEX?

No. The new Viper coil and any future Apex search coils are low-impedance, broad-bandwidth coils that support the new Apex Multi-Flex™ multi-frequency technology. Prior ACE coils are therefore not compatible with an Apex detector.

With 2020 slowly coming to an end, it's time for our annual Top 5 Best Metal Detectors for 2020 roundup, Let us know what you think of our list in the comments below and if you have any questions on these, or any metal detectors we sell, please don't ever hesitate to contact us! Happy hunting!

Ever wanted to bring the little ones detecting with you but didn't have enough equipment to go around and keep them interested? Well, Nokta Makro has you covered! The pre-order for our new Nokta Makro Midi Hoard - Kids Metal Detector Series is now live. We're accepting pre-orders at this time and there will be very limited availability for these machines. We do not have an exact ship date yet, or an idea of quantities available to us so be sure to get your order in to secure a place in the queue.

Getting them started young is a great idea to build a great bond with kids and grown-ups hobbies, we think Nokta Makro hit it out of the park with the specs and styling of the new kids metal detectors. Sporting a bright green color scheme and vibrant display, these machines will be perfect for both younger boys and girls to join in on the fun of the hunt! recommended ages are 8yr - 12yr and up!

If you have any questions about the Midi Hoard - Kids Detector Series, or any of the other metal detectors we sell, please don't hesitate to contact us! as always, you can let us know what you think in the comments below, we'd love to hear what you think of these new detectors!

US banks have a big problem. Coins. As we begin to feel the early stages of the long term economic effects of Covid-19, banks are trying to new methods to gets coins into their drawers. Some banks are now offering an incentive to cash in those coin jars and piggy banks, we think this is the best time to get in and cash in your clad! The lack of coins currently in circulations is staggering. 4 Billion were estimated to being in circulation at the start of the year, with current estimates saying less than half are currently in circulation due to COVID 19's economic impact. Making matters worse, the US mint cut back operations to keep employees safe during the COVID peak so fewer coins being minted and fewer coins in circulation have caused what we're calling, the great COVID coin shortage! Metal detecting is a great way to get out and dig up some coins, it's shockingly easy to dig up a few dollars in clad from any local park or field, who knows what else you may find? What do you think about the coin shortage?

Let us know in the comments below!

Over the last several months we have been busy building the new website. Our previous platform was coming to its end of life and no longer being supported. We made the decision to upgrade to the latest version but we were unable to migrate customer accounts and orders. The new website is in complete PCI compliance and is more stable and secure moving forward.

Customer service, security and privacy have always been important to us at bigboyshobbies, we hope you enjoy the new website along with its new features. If you had an account with us on the old platform you will need to create a new account on this platform for new orders moving forward, you can do so by clicking here

For orders that were placed on the old platform that have yet to be processed (like back orders) rest assured, your orders are still safe and will ship as soon as we are able. We will be making the old data available in the coming weeks so if you need access to your past orders, please contact us for the new URL once its live.

If you have any issues with the new website, please don't hesitate to contact us at any time. Happy Hunting from everyone at Big Boys Hobbies!

 

Please comment below and let us know how we did! 

 

Garrett announced Today online the new APEX Metal detector. You can check them out on our website. Multifrequency with wireless Z-LYNK technology should be a hit. We are SUPER excited about this one!

Click This link to see them on our website for pricing. Garrett APEX Metal Detector

What do you think of them?  Will you be buying one?

We've heard from the community about the difficulties surrounding the Simplex software update process. Here's How to do it:

1 - Visit https://www.noktadetectors.com/metal-detector/simplex-metal-detector/ - on the left hand menu, click the "Software Update" Tab to locate the download link, click the red link to get the latest software version and download it. (enc-simplex-system-2v76.zip as of the time of this post)
2 - Once the file has been downloaded, extract the files from the zip onto your desktop
3 - Run the DetectorUpdateSetup.exe file from your desktop, install the update tool software, a new desktop icon will be created
4- Run the "Nokta Detector Update Tool" from your desktop "Select Simplex from the drop down menu and proceed with the following instructions on screen.

You can bookmark the simplex webpage for future refrence, when new software updates for the simplex are released, they will be posted on the top of that page, in red.

if you have any questions or would like more information on the Nokta Makro Simplex metal detector, please don't hesitate to contact us and happy hunting!