Why Is The Equinox Sent Out For Testing Now?

[Ridge Runner]

Steve H

You said it don’t hunt to ask. Well here I go.

Just how long have you had the Equinox???

I say Minelab should of had one in your hands before it ever came public.

my thinking they sent you one when they ask if they could pull off something on your forum. That’s a statement and a question.

I just had to stir the pot more. You guys don’t understand that it’s no fun if you let a sleeping dog lie. Inquiring minds want to know.haha

Chuck

 

[Ridge Runner]

I was just reading forum rules and I hope I haven’t step out of line.

In no way shape or form will I be negative about any detector that Minelab produces.

When I get my Equinox I’ll give your ears a rest. I got lots plan for it and trips to go with it.

Chuck

[Steve Herschbach]

There is no forum rule against being negative about metal detectors by any make or brand. The only rule as regards that is I prefer honest opinions based on personal use over "I saw a video" or "never used it but I think"...

The only reason I go out of my way on this forum to say up front it's a fan club is to warn the trolls that they are not welcome here. If the reason to be here is to be negative for no reason other than being negative, then this is the wrong place.

"How long have you been testing Equinox Steve"?

Violation of NDA

"What issues did you see along the way"?

Violation of NDA

"How does Minelab's testing work"?

Violation of NDA

"What is in the NDA"?

Violation of NDA

To quote myself "Oh, and one last thing. Yes, I have been involved with Minelab on Equinox development and quite proud of it. Unfortunately I can't say a single other thing about that other than to confirm it! It is all about what happens from here on out that matters."

I can say it takes years for genuinely new detectors to get to market. People assume things happen a lot faster than they really happen. Engineers tweak and tune right up to the last available second. Ask any engineer - no detector is ever "finished". An engineer can always find something to improve and will do so for eternity.

Absolutely every part of the detector has to be made to work well with every other part. People have no idea how much work goes into getting a tone just so or the some other minor detail. EVERY aspect of the detector requires a decision be made, and often making one decision compromises another. Changing one line of code to fix one thing can break another thing. The reality really is that the devil is in the details, and it is getting that last 5% right that makes the difference between good and great. And the tiniest problems sometimes are the hardest to resolve. It is not uncommon for a detector to get 95% done and then stall out in that last 5% trying to fix one tiny but possibly fatal issue. Anybody remember the Pulse Devil? It never got past that last 5% point.

It is only when somebody finally says "good enough, stop" that things go to the next level.

Every day you push for quick delivery is one less day an engineer might get to come up with another small improvement. You don't want the detector tomorrow. You want it when it is right. Give the engineers all the time they want/need!

16 hours ago, Ridge Runner said:

The part I don’t understand is why Minelab is sending a Equinox this late in the day for testing.

All of us here are thinking Minelab would be announcing the date the dealers would be receiving them.

I am aware of absolutely no public official Minelab announcements regarding timelines or dates. Some dealers are passing on rumors is about it. The Garrett AT Max was announced in May and started shipping in September after customer commentary made Garrett decide to add a volume control. That is four months. And look what happened with Deus V4 (no, you won't see anything near that long with Equinox!) Equinox was announced two months ago. Christmas is a completely arbitrary date as far as the engineers are concerned. Marketing and dealers may not like it but the Equinox will only be released when it is deemed to be the detector we all want, and no amount of posting will change that.

Why this early announcement stuff? One upmanship with each company trying to get ahead of the other guy. Announcing something is coming causes people to wait that might otherwise buy something else. It also lets dealers clear shelves of old inventory. The benefit for us can come from all the pre-release commentary and discussion. It allows Minelab to make possible last moment changes based on commentary or have answers ready for things they did not anticipate.

The firmware update capability is a huge insurance policy. With something this new and this complex it is almost 100% that some little thing will crop up later. Not anything major - that would get caught. But some little thing about performance with some odd combination of settings would not be a surprise. With most machines that would require a round trip to a repair facility, and as popular as this machine is going to be that would be a disaster. Now all it will take is a download and a few minutes to apply an update. That should offer at least some degree of comfort to those on the early buy list.

[Ridge Runner]

Some may say we don’t know anymore than we did before.

Well sometimes what’s not said has more meaning than what’s said.

I know some of you think I need to go see a Doctor. Well I did and he told me if I wanted to live I needed to stop all this wine women and song. Just to let you know I feel better already. I stop singing.

Chuck

[Tiftaaft]

Highest respect for you Steve.

Tim.

[jjm861]

Here are my thoughts on the timeliness of the Equinox release.  Minelab is very very smart with their marketing on this one.  However, I also think there is a fine line between announcing their new detector and the timing of announcing the actual Equinox release date.  Do I think the detector will be for sale before Christmas??  Even with all the rumors out there, I like everyone else, know one but Minelab really knows. 

From a marketing standpoint....AND....if detector is ready to go, Minelab could announce the release date before the holidays.  Regardless, I think we are getting close.  Here is why:

1. Specs have been released. 2. Quick start guide available. 3. Equinox Accessories made public.  Just a WAG, but I think we are getting close to Minelab at least announcing the released date.  When we all have one in our hands may be a different story.

GOD BLESS THIS IS FUN.....ISN"T IT?  ; - )

[Cal_Cobra]

Brandon said he's been testing the nox for the past 9 months (and that was a month ago, so make it 10 now).

I don't doubt that Steve has also been testing it for an equal time period, and both being bound by a NDA were unable to talk about it, until it was announced at Detectaval, and even then, were apparently exceedingly limited by what could, and what could not be discussed.

Now ten months is a long time for a field test, so I believe we will start to see some units trickling out by the end of the year, but then again I'm more of a glass half full versus half empty kind of guy 

[scoopjohnb]

I look at it from another point of view. We’ll pay for one,... but we’ll get a unit that is performing great straight out of the box. It will have more detecting ability than most people can muster up. 

Fieldtesters in general get a half finished detector that goes “boink” every now and then. And a lot of cræp from people who don’t have the foggiest about a fieldtesters job discription.

Happy to wait and see what magic Minelab and it’s Secret Agents can come up with :-)

In the mean time I’m more than happy to pass by the kitchen and smell the goodies cooking on the backburner.