Equinox Vs. CTX In Mineralized Ground

[Chase Goldman]

I do a lot of relic hunting in Virginia especially in the mineralized fields near Culpeper.  I am sure many of you are familiar with the organized hunts conducted in and around that area.  Obviously, I have seen a number of vlf detectors struggle under these conditions (AT Pro, F75, MXT, Deus, and even the CTX).  Just as with most of those who frequently hunt there, the PI detector is the detector of choice vs. a vlf.  I personally use a GPX 4800 and have also used the Garrett ATX with good success.  When hunting I carry along my Deus strapped to my daypack, because I can but also because it acts as a pretty good pinpointer on steroids if I get into a pit and can use it to quickly scan the tailings.  Being single frequency, it is obviously limited there but under certain circumstances it is usable.  But my question isn't about the Deus.  It is about the CTX vs. Equinox.  I have seen the CTX struggle there just as bad as the Deus or any of the other VLF machines.  Sure, we will all get lucky and find a relatively shallow keeper target with our VLFs but not consistently.  Target ID is non-existent.  I consistently hear about how the Equinox should excel in mineralized ground.  I am also hearing about CTX owners who are excited to get their hands on an Equinox because it should do better under similar mineralized ground conditions.  Since the CTX is a multifrequency FBS machine that I have seen no fare well in the what can be considered very hot soil, what is it about the Equinox and MultIQ (or othewise) that is raising expectations that it can perform better than the CTX under these conditions.   I am not expecting PI like performance under these conditions, but I just want to better understand the differences in the CTX and Equinox designs that will enable the expected improved performance.  Thanks.

[Steve Herschbach]

Hopefully somebody will be able to run both in Virginia and let us know, because I don't know.

Minelab has been very specific to testers that they do not want us speculating on BBS vs FBS vs Multi-IQ until the engineers themselves tell us what the technical differences really are and what to expect. I expect those explanations to come in the next few weeks. I will immediately add to that discussion when it comes my own personal thoughts on where various strengths and weaknesses of the three systems are at.

I think everyone is caught a bit off guard because Minelab is thinking AT Max versus Deus versus Equinox when many longtime Minelab owners are thinking Excalibur vs CTX vs Equinox. Usually when discussing detectors you want to stay apples to apples, and that usually means how do similarly priced detectors compare. Things get stickier when trying to compare a $900 detector to a $1500 detector to a $2500 detector - and all three still have their place. The bottom line right now is Minelab is focused on competing with the competition and so explaining this Minelab versus that Minelab is a little less of a priority at the moment. Important of course, and info soon, but if you want them to ship Equinox then that is where they need to focus all the effort right now. It's an all hands on deck thing at the end.

Anyway, Minelab by rights gets first swing at all that, and then when the gloves come off a few of us testers can take a stab at it. Let's get real though - it will all stay up in the air until those end user videos show up from Culpepper. I am pretty sure Daniel (TN) will be on top of it, and he will be quick and to the point with a thumb up or down. 

 

[Mtwolf2270]

I will not begin to speculate on FBS vs multi iq etc. What I will add is I too hunt in Tennessee moderate mineralized and I hunt in Culpeper 4 to 5 times a yr with  the organizned hunt I am part of. I have tried the ctx, t2 and  atpro etc all struggle up there in hot soil as you stated. What I have heard from a dealer who was lucky enough to use the nox abit in hot soil in Culpeper. He stated that they dug a hole placed a cw bullet in the hole and at over 6" the only machine  that heard and gave a soild Id was the nox. Now I trust him as he is a good friend but I was not there. Like you I use the gpx 4800 up there but if in fact it will work better then the rest then I can see irony patches, trashy areas and huts as a place this machine could be very useful. I am high on the pre order list and plan to fully test that theory out here and in Culpeper. 

[stumpr]

The Equinox made it to DIV 39. It was tested in the Culpeper red dirt. I did not personally see the testing but talked with the Minelab dealer who was present during the testing. I don't want to violate any forum rules by providing the dealer's name but if your a DIVer, you know who I am talking about. Give him a call, he can fill you in on the details. I will say this, the Equinox is not going to out hunt a GPX (depth wise) in heavily mineralized ground. As you know since you hunt the area, not all Culpeper dirt is razor hot. I think accuracy of ID will suffer in the hottest of that ground but will surprise you in respect to most VLFs.

[Chase Goldman]

1 hour ago, stumpr said:

The Equinox made it to DIV 39. It was tested in the Culpeper red dirt. I did not personally see the testing but talked with the Minelab dealer who was present during the testing. I don't want to violate any forum rules by providing the dealer's name but if your a DIVer, you know who I am talking about. Give him a call, he can fill you in on the details. I will say this, the Equinox is not going to out hunt a GPX (depth wise) in heavily mineralized ground. As you know since you hunt the area, not all Culpeper dirt is razor hot. I think accuracy of ID will suffer in the hottest of that ground but will surprise you in respect to most VLFs.

Actually, it was DIV 38 and the site was a little further north than the typical sites near Brandy Station.  I was there, too (The Minelab crew did not make it to 39 but were there at 38, including, I believe, the President of Minelab Americas who briefly spoke).  Mineralized, but not as mineralized as the heart of Brandy Station, etc.  I pulled some nice relics with the Deus including a Parrott shell there and can attest to the fact that it was not quite the test as the Brandy Station area sites but mineralized none-the-less (I too was able to detect a minie ball at about 6 inches with the Deus, but was unable to ID it like the Equinox, so that's something to be optimistic about, at least).  Unfortunately, even though I saw it in action, I was unable to swing it myself in the field because the Minelab rep always had a few folks lined up and ready to swing, big surprise.  I was able to swing it indoors before the hunt but that was as close as I got.  Liked the balance, but at that time I had no idea what the buttons meant or anything and basically got to hold it for all of 1 minute.  Would have like to have seen it in action at 39 which was the typical mineralized DIV nightmare, that is where I saw the CTX flame out badly with a pretty experienced CTX detectorist (but relative DIV novice) at the controls.  Being unfamiliar with the CTX I could give him NO pointers on how to set up his machine other than to allow him to translate Deus-speak parameters into CTX settings.   I will have my GPX but I will also be swinging an Equinox part time at DIV 40 (as I am sure a few others will as well) at that will be a great and realistic test of its mineralized soil performance with more than a single data point using a prototype unit.  Looking forward to it.   Yes, I don't expect it to do miracles or to even touch a GPX in capability but I hope it is closer to GPX performance than CTX performance when it is all said and done.  The poor CTX performance observed at DIV has me a little wary and is why I asked the question in the first place.  Hope to see you folks out there in March if you are going to DIV.

[Mtwolf2270]

The ctx is my go-to but not in Brandy or even parts of orange the ctx does not do well in that soil but niether do vlfs. I am optimistic based on the fact that muti iq is not vlf and it's not fbs it's a new tech and it was designed to handle all soil types even mineralized soil by ignoring the ground according to the minelab video about multi iq. Time will tell and we will soon enough know if it is any better in that evil dirt lol. Like you all have said it's no pulse so gpx is King for me in that soil. My hope again it can handle hot dirt better then the rest for those spots littered with ration can and carpets of iron we usually steer away from with the gpx. 

[stumpr]

Sorry about the confusion on DIV numbering. However, the Minelab rep did try the Equinox that weekend at another Culpeper site and that was the test report I alluded to. I agree with your synopsis on the GPX. Having used the Deus for the last three years and having the frustration of using it only for scanning trash pit/hut dirt, I am ready to try the Equinox. See you in March!

[Chase Goldman]

Hope so too.  The situations you both describe is where I use the Deus in DIV but would like something where I can get an ID deeper than 1 inch which is about the limit for the Deus in Brandy Station Dirt (it will detect deeper but you have no idea if it is ferrous or non-ferrous, most of the time).  Lol.  Looking forward to March and seeing what this new detector can do with the hot stuff.  Happy hunting to you both in 2018.

[dewcon4414]

I have no expectation that the EQ is going to out perform FBS as a dirt machine.   We also know conditions very based on area....... the machine may be its equal in one area and fall on its face in another.   Same goes for programs..... we may find out its competes welll on the beach but now so well relic hunting...... lot of that has to do with expectations vs results.    If i find my $800 (military discount lol) can be the Xcal or CTX equal in the water..... thats huge for me just because of its advantages..... light, gold freq for dry sand, and having a TID screen with some program capabilities....... and its simple.