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diggindeep
I got a Vanquish 540 before Christmas last year. It's not that impressive in iron. As Monte has said it does very poorly on the NBPT even with the small coil.

I got mine Monday the 10th, and No, it isn't a great choice for handling heavy Iron and Nail contaminated sites.

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diggindeep
It does OK in a park or relic site if there's not a lot of trash around and is a great low priced detector for the salt water beaches. Great depth and very accurate ID in those scenarios.

I've only had the past 2½ days to get out with it, but Yes, it can make a very good Coin Hunting unit. Very functionable depth-of-detection and visual TID is also very good in typical urban coins and jewelry producing sites.

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diggindeep
I've had it out quite a bit along side the Equinox. A few hunts at a local park, 3 days on the beach in Southern California and 2 of my less trashy relic sites. It's not as deep as the Equinox and doesn't handle adjacently located targets very well.

A fellow was using an Equinox at the park I was at and I couldn't discern any difference in performance in Multi-IQ and comparable settings on located targets. He had the 6" DD and I was using (and enjoying) the 5X8 DD.


I

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diggindeep
'm still a big fan of multi frequency detectors though. A lot of the places I hunt require a metal detector to go deep and handle mineralized soil or salt water conditions, the multi frequency detectors fit that bill, including the Vanquish.

Here we might differ a bit. I've owned and used several Minelab Sovereigns and 6 or 7 Explorer-series models, plus I've had both of the more limited frequency-count models from Fisher and White's. They could do what they could do, and that was fine. But I'll use them, like I will the Vanquish that I am really liking, in the sites where they can work okay and I can benefit from what they provide in performance.

But at the same time, I've been hunting highly mineralized environments for over half-a-century, and made in-the-field comparisons with my own units as well as done some side-by-side work with friends using their favorite SMF, only to find that there are many times when my single-frequency models excel.

Yes, there are times an M-F detector can work just fine, and no argument with regard to the Vanquish ... except for the times when they don't. Dense iron contaminated sites or on a 'stash' of hidden silver coins. You can check that with the EQ-800 and Vanquish using 5 Silver Halves on top of a Silver Dollar, or 2-Silver Half-Dollars on top of 2-Silver Dollars. All uncarded and making bare contact. Multi-IQ isn't always great, nor are some of the single-frequency offerings that struggle with those two test set-ups..

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diggindeep
The Vanquish would probably be my last choice when hunting a Ghost Town though.

Not my last choice, but certainly not one of my first picks, either. I'll be headed off to a ghost town today and will use the Vanquish w/5X8 DD for a while just to evaluate it some more. There are a few cleaner areas, but a lot is just terrible iron conditions. I'll have my deducted Relic Hunting Team of detectors to handle those conditions.

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diggindeep
I do plan on holding onto the Vanquish, as I can always loan it to family members and friends. For the price there really isn't anything that can touch it's performance except maybe the Simplex and that would depend on the site you were going to be hunting.

I know mine is going to stay as part of my Coin & Jewelry Hunting Team of detectors. I have a Fisher F44 if I need to offer-up a 'loaner unit' to friends or family, or to help get permission access to a site. I don't loan out my more favored detectors, and the Vanquish is working into that category.

When I do my evaluation write up I'll point out my likes and don't likes, of which every model has some. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy putting the 540 Pro to work on a variety of locations to better learn what it provides, and to have fun. That's what I have always enjoyed about this hobby, is getting out to have 'fun!'

Monte

"Your EYES ... the only 100% accurate form of Discrimination!"
Stinkwater Wells Trading Post
Metal Detector Evaluations and Product Reviews monte@ahrps.org ... or ... monte@stinkwaterwells.com 503-481-8147Detectors: I rely on an assortment of personal favorites I happen to like that work for me when and where I need them.Pinpointers: Makro & Pulse-Dive .. Headphones: Killer B's 'Hornet' & 'Wasp' ... Detector Pro's Gray Ghost XPNote: Detectors are listed alphabetically by Brand. Models are chosen based on search site conditions.*** All working well today to make memories for tomorrow. ***