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Back In The Game Vx3 Or Equinox 600


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Hi guys, after 20 years Im going to get back into the hobby. I need help deciding on the VX3 or the Nox600. Money is no problem. Please dont convince me otherwise, it took me awhile to narrow this down. Iv enjoyed reading all your posts and stories. I will be searching land and water. Whites says their coils are fully submersible. Minelabs entire machine is submersible. I dont want to spend hours configuring settings. Which one detects deeper? Any constructive input in greatly appreciated. Thanks. 

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I can't say anything about the VX3, never used one, and dont hear of too many talking about using it. The equinox is hot new machine at th he moment with lots of people using it.

I have an equinox 800 and can say I've been very pleased with it. If money isn't an issue you might consider getting the 800 instead of the 600. Just looking at the detectors the $250 price difference might seem a bit much for the extra features/settings, but the extra $250 also includes the wireless headphones and a wireless module for corded headphones or earbuds.  Those are worth most of the $250, so you essentially get the extra features/settings for free. That's the things I thought about in making the decision anyway. 

I came back after being away a long time too. It was surprising how nice the wireless headphones is. Not having a cord connecting you to the detector makes setting the detector down and digging so much easier.  I really didn't think it would matter much,  but it did for me. I probably snagged the damn cord on stuff more often than most though.

Good luck!

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Personally I like the V3i.....

A bit of a learning curve but in my opinion worth it.

I have hunted with a guy that has a nox 800.

I hit everything he did.... Not saying there won't be times when that doesn't happen but there were no real advantages or disadvantages demonstrated on our outings.

As to the extreme level of adjustability of the V..... Once you find a range of settings that fit your hunting you really don't have to tinker with the settings much.. Just make sure you have a good ground balance and if there is EMI you may have to make some adjustment for that but I haven't really had much problems in that regard.

So............. Whats the bottom line. Learn your machine and you will do fine with whichever one you buy.

 

 

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8 hours ago, Lacky said:

I can't say anything about the VX3, never used one, and dont hear of too many talking about using it.

The White's VX3 is the less expensive sister of the V3i.  It has fewer settings/options/graphics than the V3i but some people prefer that compared to the V3i's dizzying myriad of options and settings.  The V3i comes with a DD coil; the VX3 with a concentric.  Wireless headphones are (effectively) an $-add-on option for both.  In many ways the VX3 is to the V3i what the Minelab 600 is to the 800.

That's the executive summary.  For more complete info see Steve's https://www.detectorprospector.com/metal-detector-database/

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I recently purchased the Nox 600. I will say I did a ton of research however my research did not go into the Whites so I guess I wouldnt be able to tell you which may be better in comparison however, everything you mentioned that you are looking for, the Nox 600 wont have a problem doing.

If money isnt a problem, my first thought is, get the fully waterproof machine in case you ever do need/want to go completely under water.  

The 600 has been extremely easy to just start up and go. The first time I took it out, I was able to dig up some change as well as trash of course at the park without much trouble, but my point is, its very easy to use the machine. You will still want to read through the manual and learn some tips about the machine, but as a newb myself, I assume anyone would want to do that no matter how easy the machine is to use because the more you know the better.   One of my favorite things about this machine though is the ease of use. I literally power it on, choose the mode I want to detect in, do the EMI balance, and the ground balance which takes no more than 30 seconds, and then go.

Also the ID numbers are easy to get comfortable with pretty fast. I have identified at least 90% if not more, of the coins my machine has found before digging them up.

In all honesty, I couldnt be happier with the machine and dont believe anyone would be upset with it.

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6 minutes ago, phrunt said:

I've read some people saying it isn't good at target ID's, I honestly don't know how it could be any better,

That is just insane! I would love to hear what the complaining is all about because I agree, I dont see how it can get any better. Its nice and crystal clear to me. Maybe they got a faulty machine lol.

Aside from the humor. The IDs are awesome.  Besides, the IDs are an additional feature of newer machines! I remember when I was little I would detect and have just 1 tone to play with, no screen or anything. I think I did end up getting better machines that gave me more features when I was little but I had no idea what I was doing and just dug everything up.  But now to be able to accurately guess what you are about to dig up based on a tID just increases the pleasures of the hobby.

 

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22 minutes ago, phrunt said:

I am like you Edwardaskis, I am very comfortable with the target ID's on the Equinox, I've read some people saying it isn't good at target ID's, I honestly don't know how it could be any better, it locks on and leaves me without a doubt on coins even at depth.  One of the things that impressed me the most about it is just how good it's target ID's were.  Maybe it's just my soils.

I think there are a lot of factors that affect TID, and the soil mineralization can be one of them.  As to whether that affects all detectors I can't say.

I ran into another detectectorist a few months ago while out hunting.  He told me that the Minelab E-Trac had better target ID but that he could swing the Equinox much faster.  The fact that he was using an Equinox 800 at the time indicated to me which he thought was more important.  People vote with their actions.

 

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While TIDs are nice they can also cause you to miss a good target.... 

I use them as a rough reference and dig most targets in any questionable range.

We tend to get a little lazy and place too much trust in a target ID...

I would have missed this if I depended on TID as it cam in as a screw cap if I remember correctly........

415 grains of 10k

fullsizeoutput_118.jpeg

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The VX3 and EQ600 are pretty similar detectors.   They both offer 3 frequencies selections.  They both offer multi frequency choices.   Settings are pretty similar as well.

VX3 has better graphics, more target id aids, and a better coil selection. 

EQ600 has a better ground cancel circuit.  And you have more control over the audio tones as compared to the VX3. 

My main beef with the VX3 is that I can't adjust the correlate setting.  Its locked into 20 points. 

My main beef with the EQ600 is that it only offers a peak phase shift target id. 

I dunno...be a hard choice for someone coming into the hobby today.   My advice is that since you have narrowed it down to these two...pick the one that looks like the most fun to hunt with.   You'll find stuff with either one..so that extra little thing called enjoyment factor is important.

Good luck.

HH
Mike

 

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18 minutes ago, johnedoe said:

While TIDs are nice they can also cause you to miss a good target.... 

I use them as a rough reference and dig most targets in any questionable range.

We tend to get a little lazy and place too much trust in a target ID...

I would have missed this if I depended on TID as it cam in as a screw cap if I remember correctly........

415 grains of 10k

Holy crap! look at that monster. I would probably faint if I found that. Great find!

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