Recently, there was a cool Live stream with Dilek Gonulay in a private Detect America group on Facebook. Participants put many interesting and important questions, and Dilek was super honest with her answers. A lot was said about the new Simplex update, about new coils, about the global COVID-19 situation. In particular, metal detecting rallies were discussed, and how Nokta Makro performs in current realities. Of course, the community could not stand a discussion of a new multi-frequency detector by Nokta Makro, and when it is to be released. We wanted to share such important information with Detect History readers, as well. So many thanks to Detect America people who allowed us to provide a text version of the interview here. If you would like to check out the Facebook group, follow this link. A special thanks to Frank Lopergolo, Steve Pacifico, Ronnie DeGhetto, and of course to Dilek Gonulay! Below, you’ll find some of the most important points that were discussed. Interview Frank Lopergolo: How much time was spent on developing the new updates, how much time passes between the updates, and how much time you needed to provide this last one update? Dilek Gonulay: We were trying to follow the feedback from customers in the first place, and this needs time. I’ve been personally reading lots of feedback and comments. Generally, every couple of weeks we tended to add something new to the planned update, based on the feedback. I cannot say how much time, exactly, because this process of planning is gradual, and the duration depends on how many comments we get, and how many things we need to add. It makes no sense to release an update with one little thing. Updates are made on a more or less regular basis, of course, but they are still based on feedback from customers. Sometimes, we get lots of negative comments on our other machines, so we have to develop an update that would allow us to fix the bugs in the first place. And then we think of adding some new features. To be honest, as a company, we don’t want to release updates merely for the sake of updates. Frank Lopergolo: I have to say that I personally have seen many different updates from the metal detecting companies, and you know, sales are what salesmanship is… many companies are saying they make the depth of rich bigger… and you were the first company that would say that you added slower processor speed feature. You know, everybody wants to go faster and faster, but slower processor speed means more depth of reach, and this is the actual science behind the depth of reach. You are addressing the science of things, not making a search coil three inches bigger. And your company is definitely not the one throwing updates for the sake of announcing an update. Dilek Gonulay: Okay, I just wanted to add more to what I was saying. I know we’re talking about Simplex here, but of course many our users have Anfibio or Kruzer or whatever other product. And obviously they become upset when we release updates for Simplex, and not for their machines. However, it is so super easy to make updates for Simplex, because it has just been released, and we get tons of feedback. On the other hand, when we consider MP update and I ask what do you guys exactly need, I don’t really get a clear answer, because this model has 12 modes, three frequencies, and a bunch of other settings that all function. Frank Lopergolo: Thank you. So when’s the next one coming out, what’s the next update now? (joking) Dilek Gonulay: Actually, there is an update planned. I have released a video this morning, about customers who are not happy with the quality of the audio. Some were complaining saying the audio was too loud, while others told us after the update that the sound was too low and they couldn’t hear anything. We’re getting a lot of such comments, so I think we’re giving an update on that very soon. On the other hand, I know about the issue with the pinpointer interference, and many customers get upset that we did not fix it. However, I’m trying to explain that with interference, it is not only about software, and not everything can be fixed via software update. Frank Lopergolo: I have been getting pounded with questions about new simplex coils. So, people want to know whether, and when, coils are coming out for. Dilek Gonulay: Hopefully, I will be able to answer that soon, but I don’t want to give an exact date. This quarter is going to be off schedule, because we are working at the factory, but due to the pandemic, we are not working full capacity. We’ve got over 220 people in the building, which is too crowded, so we had to cut down the number of people in the building per working day. Some employees work remotely. However, I would say, by the end of May we will see the first optional coil. Not sure whether we will be able to release two coils at the same time, but we are planning them. And speaking of the coils, I want to give a very important message here I made a video about this, this morning, it was mentioned in the video that I released. Now, some people seem to be not happy with the upgrade. The point is, I have noticed that people update the device, switch it on and immediately tell they don’t like this or that. They do not actually go in the field to test it with the new software. But the problem is that people try to reverse the update back – please don’t do that. It is important, because all optional coils will be functioning only with 2.76 software or higher – not lower. So, if you are not planning to buy any additional coils, you can avoid update, or reverse it. But believe me – just give it some time to get used to it. If after a while already in the field, you consider you don’t like the software – please contact us and tell what is wrong with it. Also, I would like to comment on the absence of software update for Mac. And I truly apologize to all the users who are using MAC’s and you know who cannot update the Simplex on a Mac machine. In the future, however, this will not happen, because I have given the engineers a clear message that people are not happy they cannot upgrade on Mac. So, I just wanted to tell the Mac users that, we are sorry and we’re working on it. And by the way, there is an aspect I would like to discuss with the metal detecting community. In my opinion, one of the biggest advancements we have made is the ID. Many detectorists tend to identify their potential targets not by tone, but by target ID. And many people were telling us that the machine does not give ID for deeper levels. I always say that you should orient more on the audio tones rather than on ID, because this is how it works. On the other hand, coin hunters and like are much about IDs, and we understand this feature is important for them. So, we decided to embrace it, and fixed that. Frank Lopergolo: Yeah, we preach the same thing. Why would one use these new metal detectors without activating the tools? If you have a toolbox, do you use only hammer? Try to use everything! The tools and features work best in combination, and you should learn, learn what the numbers are telling you, or what the tones are telling you, and use these in combination. The machine does not have an intention to trick you, but it can sometimes, if you do not use it to the fullest. Steve Pacifico (reading comment from the viewer): Someone wants to know if that little rubber plug on the headphone jack is waterproof or not. If they fail to close it, will the water get into the device? Dilek Gonulay: No, the connector itself is waterproof, so it generally does not matter whether the plug is open or closed. If you do not close it, it is not waterproof, of course, but the connector itself is waterproof. Yet, if you do not use the jack, we totally recommend to keep it closed. Frank Lopergolo: We are talking all business about the machine, so I would not like to drift away, really. However, but for the virus, we actually were supposed to be in Illinois. So, I’m assuming you are not coming to the US at this point, right? Yet, there are a couple of events later in the year that haven’t been cancelled yet, for example in New York. So we can hope you’ll be coming to the US then? Dilek Gonulay: Unfortunately, we don’t know anything at this point. I believe nobody really knows how long it will all take, whether they will open the borders soon, whether we are allowed to fly or not. If everything goes back to normal, then yes, definitely. I was pretty upset it was all cancelled. So, if there are events that are not cancelled and taking place, and we’re allowed to travel, I will hopefully be there. Frank Lopergolo: Are you guys bothered by the virus in Turkey much? Dilek Gonulay: Oh yeah. To be honest with you, I stopped following the news. I used to watch it every night, but it’s just so depressing. The last time I watched the news the numbers were over 80,000 of cases and around 2000 deaths. Compares to US it is low, of course, and I am so sorry US has such big numbers. Our company continues to work; many companies in Turkey work from home, but we don’t, and everybody gets affected. We can’t do production at home, you know. To be honest, unless at least some manufacturers keep on going and producing for domestic and export, we will be facing much bigger issues than coronavirus. Some people must continue to work and support the economy, and we are among them. Steve Pacifico (reading comment from the viewer): The question is whether it is possible to have colored LED in the pulse, because it makes it easier to see underwater. They want to know if it is possible to have series of LED that light up in different colors, for different targets. Dilek Gonulay: Yes, we could basically do that color separation. It is possible, and we are working on different actions and variations. Let me make a note on this, and I’ll bring it up on our product meetings. Frank Lopergolo: I’ve been tossing out a name out there about a new simultaneous frequency detector. Is the name really already announced? Dilek Gonulay: If we talking about the new simultaneous frequency detector, its future name was shared only with a very, very limited number of people. Frank Lopergolo: Now, getting back to the important stuff. When is this multi frequency machine coming out? Dilek Gonulay: I don’t know, Frank. We’re working on it. Everybody is asking me this same question, but to be honest, we were not planning to release it soon. We were planning to release it this year, but with the corona now, I don’t know how long we will be working in such manner. I don’t know if the release will be pushed for the next year or now. Just really don’t know at this point. End of the Live Stream P.S: I believe this was a cool and informative interview, especially for those detectorists who prefers products by Nokta Makro. We at Detect History could only wish other manufacturers would have been as open and accessible for the global detecting community. Michael Moore 2 years ago
