When the Turkish company Nokta Makro announced at IWA 2018 that it would present next year (2019) a budget metal detector with the ability to dive to a depth of several meters and with wireless headphones for only 399 euros (without ears – 299 euros), the entire digging community first there was a collective gasp, and then skeptical conversations appeared – “will they be able to?” At IWA 2019, the first working prototype was presented, which I myself managed to hold in my hands and look at, and, I’ll tell you honestly, from that prototype to the serial version of the metal detector, the Nokta company has come a very serious way and, already in the fall of 2019, the metal detector appeared on the shelves of all stores all over the world.
Not without pride, I can say that our blog team participated in testing working prototypes and, thanks to us, changes were made to the final version of the metal detector, which raised the device to the level at which it ended up in the final version and which most buyers have received at the moment.
Let's take a closer look at the device itself. Who wants to watch a video on assembly, setup, menu and testing of the device, then the video itself:
The first video is a general overview of the Simplex – what's in the box, supplies, prices, differences between new and old (pre-production reels), settings and menus, how the device reacts to different targets (examples of coins, rings, various finds, including gold finds – what the targets sound like on the Nokta Simplex metal detector) and general conclusion.
Device design
The Nokta Simplex Plus metal detector is created according to an interesting concept – a straight rod with a block mounted on the handle, a non-adjustable armrest, and clamping clamps for the middle and lower rod.
This design allows for better distribution of the already light weight of the metal detector – 1.2 kg, allows you to quickly fold the device into a compact state for transportation in a car or in a backpack/case, and the use of a straight rod is very convenient for digging with large coils – 13″ and larger.
The handle is comfortable to hold and your hand in wet gloves will not slip. The diameter of the handle is also sufficient to avoid constantly squeezing your palm and causing problems with your hands at a very young age.
Together with the durable rod clamps, you can quickly disassemble and reassemble the device, just one click of your finger and the whole structure is lined up ready for digging.
The clamps themselves hold firmly, but do not forget that it is better to store the metal detector with the clamps open – this way you will extend their service life.
The coil in the standard configuration of the device is a regular 11″ DD round. For the price of the device, for 299 euros, the Double D coil is a very good kit and choice; other manufacturers will have to catch up and start offering a similar kit or even better. Also, a round coil increases the depth of the metal detector, but with a round coil the device recognizes nails and other objects worse, it has been noticed that with rectangular coils nails stand out better. But, this is in particular, for the most part, soon such a large manufacturer of coils for metal detectors as NEL will release its entire line for the Nokta Simplex Plus model. Important note – coils from Nokta Anfibio and Makro Cruiser do not work with the Nokta Simplex Plus metal detector – the device shows a coil error.
On the front panel of the unit there is a screen (it gets scratched easily – I highly recommend purchasing a cover for the metal detector right away) and 6 buttons. All the buttons are intuitive and will be easy to understand, but just in case you are too lazy to read the instructions and want to quickly understand the buttons without a video:
A little tip, use it!
On the back of the unit there is a speaker (we do not recommend covering it with anything, except with a case), as well as an LED flashlight and connectors for connecting the coil cable and next to it a connector for charging the device, and it is also used to connect an adapter for wired headphones (and underwater including headphones!).
The cable from the coil is inserted easily and firmly fixed; in this regard, I like Simplex’s solution; for example, with Garrett ACE it is sometimes inconvenient to insert the cable – the unit’s body gets in the way.
The armrest is completely plastic and is firmly planted on the bar – it is impossible to change its position.
The armrest is very durable, but it is not recommended to jump on it – it is not for such loads. I was digging in my jacket and for me the size of the armrest was enough for a comfortable search for half a day, and I usually don’t go beyond that. It is self-adjustable in length, the plastic diverges quite easily, but does not compress much.
We can confidently and generally say that the Nokta Simplex+ Plus metal detector turned out to be a very successful solution in its design – it is lightweight, convenient for comfortable searching, the length of the rod is sufficient for a person of average height. I myself am taller and sometimes it was inconvenient for me to walk with the Simplex for a simple reason – the bar was extended to the maximum, I was literally looking at my feet with the device, and if you extend the lower bar to the very maximum, then it begins to sag under the weight of the reel, which, theoretically , can lead to breakage of the lower rod, and I wouldn’t want that at all. But this is a problem for people with a height of 194 cm and above, while others will not find such a problem.
Search characteristics
At our test site, the Nokta Simplex showed good results for its price, confidently taking all those targets that a device for 299 euros should see, and weeding out those targets that metal detectors for 800+ euros can detect confidently and not very well. But here you need to understand that with time and experience, you come to the realization that the depth of the metal detector is not the main indicator and the bulk of finds lie at depths of up to 25 cm and no more. Yes, the depth of detection is very important, especially if you dig in broken fields, but the most important thing is still the correct discrimination of targets, the correct identification of the target, so that the coin on the edge sounds a colored signal, and not a black one. But still, there are still plenty of unbroken places, the main thing is to look for them, not to give up and to correctly approach the logic of finding places to dig – no matter how much anyone talks about knocked-out fields, finds are still found in large numbers literally “not far from home,” and this is true, The last couple of years have given me this idea.
What’s interesting is that Simplex discriminates metals very well and it does this not only by numerical indicator (you have to dig everything), but even more by sound. Whether it’s a coin, foil, a cork or a nail, all objects sound differently, the main thing is to try to understand the sounds of the device, and they can be tight, sonorous, stretched out and short. Of course, it is good to have an ear for music, but one can only sympathize with those who do not have such an ear, but such people will receive more finds, because they will dig literally everything!
The device also sees small coins well, and even more so large ones. Such half-kopecks were raised on a place that had been broken over the years by cops and they sounded confidently 85-87. And the depth was about 15 cm, which is quite good for a small coin.
With the metal detector, it turned out to be easy to find the center of the target, to distinguish different targets, you just need to just go to the cop’s place and dig for all the signals for the first hour or two, then it becomes clear how the metal detector reacts to them. If you spend the first few hours using this technique, then in the future you will be able to dig very productively in garbage areas, because the device perfectly picks out targets against the background of nearby targets. In this way, I dug up the buttons that were between the black signals (iron), and the buttons jingled very well, I could freely highlight them on the littered patch of the field.
Conclusions on Nokta Simplex Plus
As it is written in the slogan for the device – very simple for a beginner and impressive for a professional. Loud words, but in this case I can confirm their correctness; this device, a digger with extensive experience and knowledge of many MD models, impressed me with its simplicity and functionality. You can buy it as a first device, you can also recommend it as a second metal detector for a professional – put it in the trunk of a car and you can always have a device with you that you can use to dig anywhere and any time.
You should definitely try it in water to see how it will withstand immersion, but in December the water is not for swimming, even in a warm suit you don’t want to get into such water, and then also change clothes in the cold. Let's wait for the summer, then it will be possible to supplement the review with details on the dive.
No worries, friends!
PS Who has already bought a Simplex – share your successes in the comments! And who else is thinking about it – write why you like/don’t like Simplex?
