My thoughts on the Vanquish series.

Metal detecto

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*Note, I am not associated with Minelab at all, but it would be cool if I was! These are my honest thoughts, I frown on and never shall or will be biased.*

The entry-level market. Very big deal everywhere. All the big-name brands in the past decade have been shooting out new and cheaper and better detectors into this market because as they say, you don't buy a CTX for your first hunt. I've had the Garrett ace 250, traded that for a Simplex+, Then traded that for a Vanquish 440. That is my main detector ever since.

So, going along with the title, onto the vanquish series. It's a multi-frequency detector meant by the manufacture to crush the market with a red-blurred monopoly. It's that simple. The vanquish comes in 4 different models, the 340, 440, and 540 (including the pro pack). They come with 3 coils compatible, the V8, V10, and V12. those are the technical stuff, onto what I think.


The vanquish itself, good machine in general. I Will give it an 8.5 out of 10, 1 being worst, 10 being best. So, decent machine. The pros and the cons. \

Pros:

Multi freq

Compatible coils.

telescoping rods.

Easy button layout with VDI.

Backlight (540 only)

Bluetooth APTX LL (540 only)

Custom modes (440, 540 only)

Depth indicator.

Goes negative for Ferous objects (convenient)
_______________________________________________

Cons:

Not waterproof

The headphone jack is hidden

No pinpoint for 340

Short battery life

LCD is a bit fragile.



So! All in all, this machine is good in my experience, and I go beach hunting a lot. No chatter, so the vanquish's muti IQ really kicks in there.

IF you are starting on this hobby, also check out the Nokta Makro Simplex+, the Garrett ACE series, or the Tesoro compadre.

Thanks for reading!
 
the vanquish (in my view) was/is a "sleeper" right out of the gate!
340 is a tremendous value for a beginning detector that will "shame" other more
costly detectors. heck,i have even got used to the "red" color. to be honest, the way this detector performs it could be colored sh*t color brindle, and I would be fine with it.i own the 540,and have the 12 and 8 " coils.it's all I want and need in a detector. goes some deep, with
very accurate v.d.i.and I always enjoy hunting with it! believe the face "may" be fragile over time so I always wear the raincoat.

(h.h.!)
j.t.
 
I have been away from the forums for a while, but still enjoy my Vanquish machines!
The 340 with the 8” coil is a sniping beast, and you will not notice the lack of pinpoint button.
 
So! All in all, this machine is good in my experience, and I go beach hunting a lot. No chatter, so the vanquish's muti IQ really kicks in there.

Thanks for reading![/QUOTE]

In your "How to beach metal detect, First time." post on the 25th of March (a Thursday), you said you were going to a beach for the first time on "next Monday" which would have been the 29th of March. Today is the 7th of April. That's a few days over a week since your first outing at the beach. I know you just posted your 12 yrs old recently but 8-9 days experience is not a lot.
 
vanquish with 8" coil on board is "deadly" in the !!!!! I use the 12" coil for more wide open parks with less junk. multi-iq gives an "edge" when hunting 'cooked" public sites. simple, lightweight,effective.been hunting over 35 years, and this detector allows me to experience
the feeling of ''anticipation" once again no matter where I take it. "short money" fun.who can put a price on that?...I'm just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.
 
Metal detecto: said:
The vanquish itself, good machine in general. I Will give it an 8.5 out of 10, 1 being worst, 10 being best. So, decent machine. The pros and the cons.

Pros:

Multi freq

Compatible coils.

telescoping rods.

Easy button layout with VDI.

Backlight (540 only)

Bluetooth APTX LL (540 only)

Custom modes (440, 540 only)

Depth indicator.

Goes negative for Ferous objects (convenient)
_______________________________________________

Cons:

Not waterproof

The headphone jack is hidden

No pinpoint for 340

Short battery life

LCD is a bit fragile.



So! All in all, this machine is good in my experience, and I go beach hunting a lot. No chatter, so the vanquish's muti IQ really kicks in there.

IF you are starting on this hobby, also check out the Nokta Makro Simplex+, the Garrett ACE series, or the Tesoro compadre.

Thanks for reading!
Regarding your 'Pro' list:

Multi-Frequency, as in SMF for Simultaneous M-F, isn't always a 'positive' thing because there are occasions when a Single Frequency can have an 'edge.' That's what some SMF models also provide operator-selected single frequencies,such as with a Minelab Equinox 600 or 800, or the Garrett Apex.

Back-Lights can be useful if they supply enough lighting to be useful at dusk as well as during the night. I owned 3 Vanquish 540's so it wasn't just a single device, and all of them had a very wimpy Back-Light. Not only was it not bright enough to be functional all the time, but it was a Red color, which didn't help, compared with models I own or have owned that had a WHITE back-light.


Regarding your 'Cons' List:

Not Waterpfoof is really only f interest to a select number of hobbyists. Most of us don't work out into the water to submerge a detector, nor anticipate accidentally dunking or dropping it in the water. Matter-of-fact, a huge percentage of detecting hobbyists never get into water at all, and when they do hunt a beach it is usually only in the dry sand. My Simplex + is supposed to be waterproof, but my 7 or 8 other detectors aren't. Besides, one of the biggest issues we hear about regarding a lot of waterproof detectors, from any manufacturer, is that they leak!

Headphone Jack size, or type, and location is important, and I agree with you on this one. Not only is it on the control housing, it is in a poor position on the front-facing side, and uses that dinky little ⅛" mini-plug.

Battery Life or Run-Time is another weakness I found with the Vanquish 540's I owned. Using the Minelab brand Ni-MH batteries or a set of Eneloop Ni-MH, or four good-quality AA Alkaline batteries, the V-540 ran those batteries down much quicker than any other make or model detector I use / have-used that also was powered by 4-AA's.


Otherwise I didn't perceive the LCD display as being 'fragile' and had no issues with them. One of the 'Pro' category things I liked about the Vanquish models was the really nice physical packaging, and the comfortable balance regardless of the search oi used.

I will add one here for the 'Con' category, and that was the bad-behavior or unsatisfactory performance I had when I was Coin Hunting some very popular high-use areas and encountered 'coin spills.' Three or more coins, all together and touching / somewhat stacked, or edged-up to each other. Often I did not get a decent audio response, and the VDI was also not anticipated. Typically, with most detectors, it would produce a 'blended' signal from the different coin conductivities.

The V-540 worked okay when I was in an area where individual coins were more separated by 3"-4" or more, but didn't impress me when I encountered a small spill of 3-or-more coins. I had mentioned it in passing with a fellow or two in an e-mail, but a friend of mine, who is a very avid detectorist, tried a V-540 and came cross a small 'spill' with a US 5¢, 10¢ and 25¢ coin, on the surface and in plain sight in the grass. He was quite unimpressed as well.

You can duplicate this 'test' by placing a 10¢ & 25¢ on the ground, side-by-side and toughing. Then place the 5¢ coin on top of the 10¢ but slid to the side to expose a crescent moon-shaped portion of the 10¢. Check that out and see what responses you get. I used my 'Custom' mod that only rejected the first two Disc. segments, and I tried that with all 3 factory modes to confirm. I was using the 5X8 DD coil most of the time, but twice I had such an encounter with the 9X12 DD and it, too, didn't work well.

Was it due to the Multi-IQ and circuitry design? On four of the 'coin-clumps' I also checked them with a 12 kHz Simplex + w/8X9½ DD, 19 kHz FORS Relic w/5" DD, 10 kHz Bandido II µMAX w/6" & 8" Concentric coils, Silver Sabre µMAX w/6" coil, and an Apex w/5X8 DD, 8½X11 DD and a 5" NEL Sharp coil. Also, I checked them using the Apex MF and MS SMF frequencies as well as the individual 5 kHz, 10 kHz, 15 kHz and 20 kHz frequencies.

With every detector and every coil and any of the frequencies used, I got a good, clean audio response, and with models that produce a TID visual response I had a good, anticipated VDI read-out. Didn't happen with the Vanquish.

Just my comments.

Monte
 
So! All in all, this machine is good in my experience, and I go beach hunting a lot. No chatter, so the vanquish's muti IQ really kicks in there.

Thanks for reading!

In your "How to beach metal detect, First time." post on the 25th of March (a Thursday), you said you were going to a beach for the first time on "next Monday" which would have been the 29th of March. Today is the 7th of April. That's a few days over a week since your first outing at the beach. I know you just posted your 12 yrs old recently but 8-9 days experience is not a lot.[/QUOTE]
Lol...I'm glad someone called him out. 12 yrs old ? Not so sure about that anymore. 3 detectors in a few weeks is a bit much. Way too many inconsistencies that don't add up. "The truth shall set you free" hasn't sunk in yet !
 
...... 12 yrs old ? Not so sure about that anymore....

I don't know Detecto's age and will give him the benefit of the doubt but I was surprised by his claim of age from reading his post before that admission. I don't really care either way.
 
I don't know Detecto's age and will give him the benefit of the doubt but I was surprised by his claim of age from reading his post before that admission. I don't really care either way.

I cant claim I know any better...but I will just mention that a teacher once told my mother that I was "10 going on 40". I also stopped playing with just about all kid toys by the time I was 10. My PhD stepfather also started introducing me to PC's when I was about eight. From there I mostly had big boy interests which I still follow 40 years later. In some ways I was already kind of an old fart before I even went to college and even mostly dated girls older than me. In my twenties I even contemplated dying my hair grey so people perceived as being older than I was. Even as a musician I didn't play with guys in my age group they were usually at least 10 years older than me, and none of my close friends were any younger than I was.
 
I own the Minelab Vanquish 540 pro pack and I absolutely love it. This detector goes deep with good readings. I also like the tones. I have not complaints.
 
*Note, I am not associated with Minelab at all, but it would be cool if I was! These are my honest thoughts, I frown on and never shall or will be biased.*

The entry-level market. Very big deal everywhere. All the big-name brands in the past decade have been shooting out new and cheaper and better detectors into this market because as they say, you don't buy a CTX for your first hunt. I've had the Garrett ace 250, traded that for a Simplex+, Then traded that for a Vanquish 440. That is my main detector ever since.

So, going along with the title, onto the vanquish series. It's a multi-frequency detector meant by the manufacture to crush the market with a red-blurred monopoly. It's that simple. The vanquish comes in 4 different models, the 340, 440, and 540 (including the pro pack). They come with 3 coils compatible, the V8, V10, and V12. those are the technical stuff, onto what I think.


The vanquish itself, good machine in general. I Will give it an 8.5 out of 10, 1 being worst, 10 being best. So, decent machine. The pros and the cons. \

Pros:

Multi freq

Compatible coils.

telescoping rods.

Easy button layout with VDI.

Backlight (540 only)

Bluetooth APTX LL (540 only)

Custom modes (440, 540 only)

Depth indicator.

Goes negative for Ferous objects (convenient)
_______________________________________________

Cons:

Not waterproof

The headphone jack is hidden

No pinpoint for 340

Short battery life

LCD is a bit fragile.



So! All in all, this machine is good in my experience, and I go beach hunting a lot. No chatter, so the vanquish's muti IQ really kicks in there.

IF you are starting on this hobby, also check out the Nokta Makro Simplex+, the Garrett ACE series, or the Tesoro compadre.

Thanks for reading!

Good post.

I would add for the pros.....
-The All Metal on/off button is a great addition for detectors in this price range. There have been other Minelab VLFs (Equinox, X-Terra) with this quick way to check for iron when using a discrimination pattern with no iron included.

-with the latest software update or with the newest Vanquish 540s you get 10 levels of iron audio volume. That is a real biggie.

-ATPX Low Latency Bluetooth is compatible with many aftermarket headphones and earbuds that sound better than the stock ML 80s.

-the pinpoint function on the 440 and 540 is outstanding. I wish the Equinox and X-Terra pinpoint functions were that easy.

Cons.....

-as noted the battery life is woeful especially with Bluetooth and the backlight functions ON even after updating the software.

-No User Adjustable Ground Balance!!!!!!! for those of us in iron mineralized areas, that is a really big negative.

-I am not into drawing attention to myself when detecting so RED is not my favorite color for a detector.

Overall- fantastic entry level detectors.
 
Good post.

-the pinpoint function on the 440 and 540 is outstanding. I wish the Equinox and X-Terra pinpoint functions were that easy.

Would you expand on this a bit? I own a Nox 800 and a Vanquish 540 and from my experience, the pinpoint function is virtually the same. The only difference I see is that you have to hold the pinpoint button down on the Vanquish, but they both have the two bars that come together when dead-on.
 
Would you expand on this a bit? I own a Nox 800 and a Vanquish 540 and from my experience, the pinpoint function is virtually the same. The only difference I see is that you have to hold the pinpoint button down on the Vanquish, but they both have the two bars that come together when dead-on.

My Equinox and Vanquish do not have the same "level" of pinpoint function. On a 50 to 100 target park hunt with my Nox 800, I will have to reset the pinpoint function at least 25% of the time because the pinpoint audio is muffled, too loud, or the speedometer signal level will not center over the target. The same used to happen with my X-Terras. I have not had to reset the pinpoint function at all on the Vanquish models I have owned and though simple, it has worked very effectively.

So the operational word in my post was "easy" which to me is what makes the Vanquish pinpoint function much better and much less finicky and frustrating for newer users compared to the Equinox. I know users that have owned an Equinox for quite a while that simply refuse to use the pinpoint function on the Equinox since it is so unpredictable and sensitive to user error.
 
hddeuce03: said:
Would you expand on this a bit? I own a Nox 800 and a Vanquish 540 and from my experience, the pinpoint function is virtually the same. The only difference I see is that you have to hold the pinpoint button down on the Vanquish, but they both have the two bars that come together when dead-on.
Brief comment here is that I was glad to read that post as well as his reply to you.

I had an Equinox 800 for a short while, and I have borrowed one from two friends before that. I have also owned three Vanquish 540's. I preferred the Vanquish Pinpoint function over the Equinox because I, also, had to do a re-set more often with the Equinox to try and achieve the accuracy and performance of the Vanquish.
 
Brief comment here is that I was glad to read that post as well as his reply to you.

I had an Equinox 800 for a short while, and I have borrowed one from two friends before that. I have also owned three Vanquish 540's. I preferred the Vanquish Pinpoint function over the Equinox because I, also, had to do a re-set more often with the Equinox to try and achieve the accuracy and performance of the Vanquish.

the keeping it "simple" concept certainly resonated with minelab's approach to
marketing the terrific vanquish series of detectors.just ''another' example of how
"pleasant" it is to hunt with the vanquish. multi-iq in a "crackerjack" easy to use package with outrageously good functionality. wonderful value, and a ''ton" of fun!

(h.h.!)
j.t.
 
jmaryt: said:
the keeping it "simple" concept certainly resonated with minelab's approach to
marketing the terrific vanquish series of detectors.just ''another' example of how
"pleasant" it is to hunt with the vanquish. multi-iq in a "crackerjack" easy to use package with outrageously good functionality. wonderful value, and a ''ton" of fun!

(h.h.!)
j.t.
Something I like about many detectors I have preferred through the years. The ones that are 'easy-to-use' with 'very good functionality', a 'great value' and, for sure ... 'a lot of fun!'

In readjusting my Detector Outfit to accommodate my change in living location (Eastern Oregon to Central-West Texas) and types of hunting I'll do (more urban Coin Hunting and minimal Relic Hunting old gold mining era and RR ghost towns), and especially to fit my health and mobility condition, I have thinned my line-up to two one or two models from Nokta / Makro, two favorite Tesoro's, and a set of one Garrett model.

As for the Minelab offerings, the Equinox and Vanquish models are good, in their own way, and work fine for the needs of a lot of people. That's great. I owned one '800' and two V-540's. For me and my wants and needs, although there were some things I liked about the Equinox, I personally preferred the V-540, with both coils, but especially the 5X8 DD in most average urban locations.

However, I do get into places where I deal with a lot of very dense iron nail conditions, as well as urban Coin Hunting where I find small clumps or clusters of coins. In those encounters, the models I have and use now all out-performed both the Equinox and Vanquish devices, so in my trimming I let the Minelab units go. The last V-540 Pro Pack I traded straight across for another favorite Garrett just to have as a 'loaner unit' to replace the V-540.

There were very practical reasons for doing so, and someone out there now has a Vanquish 540 and I'm sure they are going to enjoy it. Simple and Fun to use!

Monte
 
My Equinox and Vanquish do not have the same "level" of pinpoint function. On a 50 to 100 target park hunt with my Nox 800, I will have to reset the pinpoint function at least 25% of the time because the pinpoint audio is muffled, too loud, or the speedometer signal level will not center over the target. The same used to happen with my X-Terras. I have not had to reset the pinpoint function at all on the Vanquish models I have owned and though simple, it has worked very effectively.

So the operational word in my post was "easy" which to me is what makes the Vanquish pinpoint function much better and much less finicky and frustrating for newer users compared to the Equinox. I know users that have owned an Equinox for quite a while that simply refuse to use the pinpoint function on the Equinox since it is so unpredictable and sensitive to user error.

Thank you for the explanation. Honestly, I rarely use the pinpoint feature on either detector anymore. I use the "double-d wiggle" which is extremely accurate for me.
 
In your "How to beach metal detect, First time." post on the 25th of March (a Thursday), you said you were going to a beach for the first time on "next Monday" which would have been the 29th of March. Today is the 7th of April. That's a few days over a week since your first outing at the beach. I know you just posted your 12 yrs old recently but 8-9 days experience is not a lot.
Lol...I'm glad someone called him out. 12 yrs old ? Not so sure about that anymore. 3 detectors in a few weeks is a bit much. Way too many inconsistencies that don't add up. "The truth shall set you free" hasn't sunk in yet ![/QUOTE]

Yup my thoughts exactly
 
John Madill: said:
Monte: said:
However, I do get into places where I deal with a lot of very dense iron nail conditions, as well as urban Coin Hunting where I find small clumps or clusters of coins. In those encounters, the models I have and use now all out-performed both the Equinox and Vanquish devices, so in my trimming I let the Minelab units go. The last V-540 Pro Pack I traded straight across for another favorite Garrett just to have as a 'loaner unit' to replace the V-540.

There were very practical reasons for doing so, and someone out there now has a Vanquish 540 and I'm sure they are going to enjoy it. Simple and Fun to use!

Monte
Which Garrett did you opt for Monte?
Note that I said 'another favorite Garrett' and that would be the Apex. Most of my urban Coin Hunting is done in places where I often encounter 'clumps' or 'clusters' of coins, in contact, or it is an old vacant lot with structure debris that leaves a lot of Iron Nails behind. The other out-of-town sites tend to be ghost towns where I am especially dealing with frequent areas with dense Iron Nail conditions, or other ferrous debris.

These types of 'tests' as well as in-the-field encounters, showed that I had excellent performance in those challenging conditions with my two favorite Tesoro's w/6" Concentric coils, my Nokta FORS Relic w/5" DD coil, and my Nokta / Makro Simplex + w/5X9½ DD.

Also, my three Garrett Apex devices. My primary-use Apex sports a 5X8 DD 'Ripper' coil (similar to the Vanquish 540 5X8 coil), and my 2nd Apex has their 'Raider' 8½X11 DD for wide-open and sparse-target areas. The 3rd Apex I keep a small, round 5" DD NEL 'Sharp' coil mounted for the very dense trash .... hoping that Garrett will make their 4½" Concentric for the Apex to replace it.

All of these models in my Regular-Use Detector Team can handle all of the Iron Nail or 'clumped' coin clusters better than the Vanquish 540. Both in audio responses on repeated sweeps from different directions, as well s both their audio and visual Target ID. If coins were more spaced apart, or if it wasn't very closely-positioned Iron Nails, the Vanquish 540 worked OK, but it failed in the challenges I related.

I like the Vanquish comfortable light-weight and balance, as I do the Apex model, and I had kept the V-540 on-hand especially to use as a 'loner-unit' for friends and family. However, through the years one thing I have encountered is having people ask /question why I let them use one particular model while I preferred something different.

So, I traded that V-540 Pro Pack for an Apex w/MS-3 wireless Z-Lynk headphones. I used the same settings I use on my three Apex devices, so the only difference is I am grabbing an Apex with a coil I prefer, and the 'loaner-unit' sports the standard 'Viper' 6X11 DD. We are then using the same detector model, the same settings, and the same wireless MS-3 headphones.

Now they can't complain about me using something different .... and they are also going to get better in-the-field performance from it.

Monte
 
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