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What Makes Equinox Special


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Steve..... well said.   Ive liked the potential of this machine from the beginning too.   Its given me a lot more options ..... really opened up an area of smaller gold hunting on the beach.   Thou we dont have the phones we are learning quickly just how good this machine is for salt water.   Ive said it before....... its got everything we asked for in a wader to replace the Xcal.   Some are going to take advantage of this added sensitivity ...... some will continue to hunt the way they always have for the larger gold dismissing this machines real potential.   Its not going to miss a big piece of gold that the other machines hit on.    We've just started........ lets take a look at the end of the year... because the proof to me is always in the end of year finds.

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A previous post by Daniel really caught my attention, but I don't recall if it was on this forum or another.  The reason it caught my attention is that early on with the release of the Equinox I had two questions concerning the technology in certain soil types.  One soil type is the iron bearing red clays of the mid and southeast U.S. .  I had mused to myself that if this technology allowed 2 inches deeper with correct ID(not just iron grunt) in those soils, then the relic hunters would flock to it over single frequency VLF's, and not have to pay for more expensive PI's.  Daniel reported not 2 inches but a clean 3 inches.  If you look at either of those figures as a percentage of the overall depth a single freq VLF is capable of on coin targets in benign soil, then there is some there there.  There is a DIV this weekend and hopefully some participants are Equinox equipped.  If some experiment with Gold mode it could be even more interesting.

The second soil type is one I have a more personal interest in.  Black sand saltwater beaches of which I've seen zero reporting by end users.  They present a challenge because in essence there are two ground balance points to be dealt with.  A conductive salt ground and a ferrous iron rich ground.  The ferrous ground kills depth and varies as a percentage of clean sand to black sand ratio.  Even using a couple of CZ20's with standard and large coil these beaches kill depth like the iron rich clays.  Typical depth on a U.S. quarter is 4 to 5 inches with a CZ. 

Metal detector Stockholm Syndrome.  Some people seem owned by their detectors instead of the other way around.  If they own a Ford you had better not mention Chevy in their presence!  I own a lot of different detectors and brands with varying strengths and weaknesses.  But on pleasant summer evening you can find me strolling along a freshwater beach with a cold beverage in one hand and a Fisher ID Excel(red flames & all) in the other hand.  I love that little detector because it is fun to use!

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My buddy just rolled into Culpeper with his Nox 800 and GPX 4500.  He says there is still 4 to 5 inches of snow on the ground right now but rumor is, they are going to a farm where the pulse machines may not be required.  

People sure are giving the Nox a hard time.  I'm use to it though...I'm from Tennessee but am a die hard Bama fan.  I catch flak all the time.  I seldom go anywhere without my Bama hat.  Haha

Hope to do some hunting today.  I was up all night with my pistol, shotgun, and coon light down at the barn.  Some idgit low life came in about 3 a.m. in my driveway at my barn; we think they were trying to steal our baby goats.  So I am a little tired.

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Perhaps instead of being evangelists for the EQ, we should all go dark.  Just post finds, or nothing at all, or whatever, but stop touting the EQ.  

What I find, most people resist change, it's human nature.

The older we get the harder it is to embrace change.  Let's be honest, the demographics of detectorists is skewed towards the right on the age graph, so there's a lot of resistance to change there.   What surprises me the most, is the amount of existing Minelab fans in that camp.

My hunt partner is a perfect example.  Cannot tell you how long he held out with an old school flip phone....sigh.  Now that he has a smart phone, I literally cannot get him to put it down.  We go on a road trip and he's answering emails, making calls,  texting and looking at the forums WHILE HE'S DRIVING :wacko:   He's been equally resistant to giving the EQ a chance.  He did some cursory air tests on it and already exclaimed it did no better then his beloved Exp2!  I forwarded and asked him to read the Treasure Talk blogs, especially the last issue that explains in more detail why the EQ is different.  He hasn't so much as read the manual, instead calls me to spoon feed him "OK, so what do I do?, how do you set this up?".   Very disappointing to say the least.  

To be honest, now I kind of hope he sells it off, perhaps I'll finally have a leg up on him when we revisit our old haunts :biggrin:

 

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Low Tide, I can give you a description of what it was like to hunt a patch of beach that has sections of heavy black sand in layers. The Equinox had a lot of funny chirpy reactions to the black sand sound-wise but the targets (coins), came through. I tried turning the sensitivity up and it got more chirpy but it also increased the depth (went from 20 to 24) and targets sounded a touch stronger. I turned the sensitivity down (from 20 to 18), and the chirpy-ness was less but still there and targets were there too.

I was running Beach 1 with some adjustments that mimicked the settings in a video Dirtfishing made for Park 1 settings. Which I find is a great approach to running this detector.

Although I don't know this for a fact, I believe any detector would have had problems with this area. There were at least four distinct layers of heavy black sand in the first 7 or 8 inches. I was going to take a picture at the time and now wish I had, it was an interesting test.

Hope that means something for you. Best... 

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There sadly is a point where you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

One of my favorite forums used to be the Metal Detecting Equipment forum. Some really top people used to hang out there and talk detecting. Genuine old timers in the industry. There came a time however when I wanted to discuss some new detector model, and the consensus developed that none of this new digital stuff was as good as those fabulous old analog detectors. I knew then and there the forum was doomed. It turned inward with old people discussing old detectors, and anything new was put down immediately. The forum died a rapid death after that because people like me wanting to keep up on the latest went elsewhere.

Metal detecting had always been technology driven, and I think we are entering a new era where multifrequency, combined with computer processors and sophisticated signal processing, is finally delivering results we can see in light weight, affordable packages. The choice in my mind is simple - keep up or get left behind. I don’t want to be that old curmudgeon sitting in a corner waving my old detector at “all the kids and their shiny new toys”. That way lies the pasture, and I am not yet ready to be put out there.

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8 minutes ago, phrunt said:

You won't need to worry about that with the younger generation of detectorists coming through, they're used to all their gadgets needing replaced every year or two with a new model.  

Funny you mention that Simon. There was quite a bit of complaining about Nokta / Makro putting out new models too quickly! :rolleyes:

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Part of what draws me to any hobby is the history and legacy, as well as the future.  I enjoy the 'study' of where it came from , and where we are, which helps me better grasp where we are going.  I think Phrunt is correct, the newer generations are more "open" to the disposable technology mindset.  Computers, Phones, Gaming Systems... are only as good as the moment you purchase them, and the next day there is something bigger, better, faster, more. 

I used to be an avid golfer (until a more important hobby took my non-family free time ;))  Golf is a great example of appreciating the history as well as the new tech.  I can tell you that I enjoyed playing with the set of my grandfather's forged blades and persimmon woods, as much as I enjoyed playing with my brand new computer designed, custom fit for my swing, titanium oversized, performance enhancing clubs and balls.  To me detecting is a lot like golf...

As you can see from my current detector arsenal... I am anywhere from beep and dig to newest tech.

<--------- 

I can make great finds with any of them, and have.

Having said that, just like Nike, Callaway and Taylor Made have shown... updating technology and releasing new equipment on a frequent basis is maintaining relevance in the marketplace.  To Steve's comment above, Nokta / Makro gets that... and I would most likely buy a new detector every year (or even more frequently) if I felt it was an advancement in the type of hunting I do. 

My two wheats.  Tim.

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Couldn't have said it better Steve!  

There are valid reasons AOL, DVDs, and landlines have gone the way of The dodo:rolleyes: 

Myself I enjoy trying new things, and I understand that not everyone may be in a position to do so.   Before the Equinox came out the used detector market was fairly stable, so it wasn't that big a deal to sell off an old unit to purchase a new one, but the market dropped out after the Equinox was announced, but I think I will finally be down to two machines- the EQ800 and the Makro Multi Kruzer, between those two machines I cannot imagine a site I couldn't tackle.

 

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1 hour ago, phrunt said:

I have noticed the masses of second hand detectors flooding the market lately, Xp Deus, Ctx 3030's, Nokta's and all sorts of things are going up for sale.  It's a great time for someone wanting to get into the hobby to buy a second hand machine that's still remarkably good up for a reasonable price.

 

Many at fire sale prices :wacko:

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