Will The Lower Rods From The X-terra Work On The Equinox?

[Dan(NM)]

If someone in the know could verify this, I'd be more than grateful.

[Ridge Runner]

Dan

Here I am just wanting to get the Equinox in my hot little hands and worry about the shafts later. It’s best to cross one bridge at a time.

Do you have one on order? I don’t know if I can wait much longer. What ever it is I just got to hang in there like everyone else.

Chuck

[Dan(NM)]

 I do have one on order and have an opportunity to pick up a couple of lower rods for the Xterra. But, if they won't fit, I don't want to waste my money on them.

[Ringmoney]

The Xterra bottom stem is 19mm. I was hoping that a middle shaft off an Xterra would fit the Equinox as I hate straight shafts but I was told the Xterra shaft was narrower.

[GB_Amateur]

Used a digi-caliper to measure the X-Terra's upper end of the lower shaft O.D. -- just under 3/4 in. (0.745 in or 18.9 mm).  ID of lower end of upper shaft is about 0.005 in. greater than 3/4 " (to maintain a comfortable slip fit).  I've not tried to mix and match shafts to the X-Terra, but I have used the lower shaft of my Fisher Gold Bug Pro in my White's TDI/SPP.  I even tried the lower shaft of the 40 (!) year old Garrett Groundhog in my TDI and it fit like a glove.  It's nice when manufacturers conform to standards, even if that wasn't their intent in the first place.

[Steve Herschbach]

I have no calipers on hand but after double and triple checking my EQX800 lower rod is exactly 3/4” or 20mm so by your measurements a hair larger than the X-Terra shaft?

[GB_Amateur]

3 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I have no calipers on hand but after double and triple checking my EQX800 lower rod is exactly 3/4” or 20mm so by your measurements a hair larger than the X-Terra shaft?

If the Equinox lower shaft is a bit larger than the X-Terra, that should be OK for using an X-Terra lower shaft in an Equinox upper shaft.  The other way around (Equinox lower in X-Terra upper) could be a problem, though.

 

[Derek McLennan]

Hi Guys, I am Derek McLennan one of the Equinox development testers based in the UK, Scotland to be precise and as I have an old X-Terra 305 and the Equinox, I thought I would let you know the answer to your question. The short answer is that the X-Terra bottom stem will fit as it is around 1mm smaller in diameter than the corresponding female end socket of the Equinox stem. This obviously leads to a bit of movement in the bottom stem, but this can be taken up with the tightening mechanism on the Equinox stem, but I am unsure how strong or stable this would be longer term or within some specific detecting environments (e.g. stubble, rough plough, rocky ground, surf, underwater, etc). There is another issue though and you will find that the ball bearing locking pin does not fit into the Equinox locking hole on the middle stem - the X-Terra ball bearing is obviously slightly larger in diameter than that on the Equinox. So, this may in turn lead to even more loss of joint stability and the X-Terra stem rotating during operation while attached to the Equinox. I have attached some images for you and hope this helps.

[Dan(NM)]

Thanks Derek, that's what I needed to know!!

[Steve Herschbach]

Derek, welcome to the forum! Folks, this is the Derek & Sharon McLennan of the DUG THAT OFFICIAL MINELAB EQUINOX 800-600 GROUP who are based in the U.K.

Looks like we had it figured right but no way to know about the pin lock hole size being different without trying and pictures say it all. Thanks for joining and chiming in!

My one trip to the U.K. was fantastic and I hope to return someday.