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Equinox 600 Questions


J SLade

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Hello,

I've had my EQX since last year and gotten in about 30 hrs in the field so far. Overall I'm quite happy with it but there are a few areas where it's still giving me issues. I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice on one or more of these.

   1) Whenever I bump something with the coil the detector falses and gives me a "good" reading. Typically the harder the bump the higher the VID. I've checked that the cable is wound tightly around the shaft and the connector is screwed into the case tightly so I'm not sure what else it could be. This isn't much of an issue on lawns but unfortunately the vast majority of my detecting is in the woods around old cellar holes where it's impossible not to bump into sticks and  bushes.

   2) Periodically, my detector will start warbling and squawking for anywhere from a few seconds to 1/2 a minute. I don't bring my cell phone with me and I routinely do a noise cancel so that isn't the problem. I've noticed that it tends to happen as cars are approaching me so I'm thinking that it could be a TPMS (Tire pressure monitoring system) or something similar. Any ideas on a fix or workaround would be appreciated.

In terms of how I typically run:

   1) I have the latest software update

   2) I typically detect in Park 1 or Field 1

   3) I usually use the stock 11" coil but occasionally switch to the 6"

 

Thanks

 

Jeremiah

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57 minutes ago, J SLade said:

1) Whenever I bump something with the coil the detector falses...

Try the following Google search:  detectorprospector.com Equinox bump

There's been a fair amount of discussion on this including some very recently (last couple days).

57 minutes ago, J SLade said:

2) Periodically, my detector will start warbling and squawking for anywhere from a few seconds to 1/2 a minute.

Definitely sounds like EMI.  I don't recall experiencing this (that is, goes away after some number of seconds).  When you say 'periodically', could you be more specific?  How many times in an hour?

One thing you can do (but given that the duration is fairly short it might not be the greatest troubleshooting help) is to switch to 20 kHz single frequency (oops, that is best for the Eqx 800 but that isn't allowed on the 600, so try 15 kHz) and see if it's still present.

 

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HI GB, Thanks for the quick response.

1) I tried the search term you recommended and found a few entries. Overall there didn't appear to be much consensus on what was causing this problem. I saw some reference to ground balance, sensitivity, and recovering speed playing a role but nothing definitive. For context, my problem seems to occur regardless of ground balance level and i typically run with sensitivity between 18 and 22 and recovery speed of 3 (equivalent to 6 on the EQX 800).

2) "Periodically" was not the correct choice of words. I should have said "intermittently". I can't point to a specific correlation besides the approaching cars that I mentioned in the original post. I will try the 15 kHz switch next time and see what happens.

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I’m sure there will be more advices coming soon. In regards to bump sensitivity, generally it is not considered a problem as Nox is a very sensitive device. There were some reports of broken cable that can cause this though. But if you move the cable by hand and it doesn’t happen, then it isn’t the problem. My personal experience, that the latest firmware has least of this, including better EMI rejection.

In regards to EMI, if it gives constant TID, you may try to notch it out. For example, some electric fences give me TID 30 every 5 seconds. I notch it out. There can also be radars in the area, that can give repetitive TIDs as well periodically. If it is repeatable, try notching it out. If TID is all over the place, then, perhaps, sensitivity or recovery speed must be lowered.

Best regards

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Hi,

I live in a suburban area with tons of EMI and moderate to highly mineralized dirt.

I often hunt in basic Park 1 and Field 1 when I am coin and jewelry hunting. I rarely am able to hunt with the default sensitivity setting of even 20 however.

I have found that lowering sensitivity helps both of the issues you have mentioned, especially EMI. You can auto noise cancel all day but most EMI is not going to be solved by auto noise cancelling since most EMI consists of multiple frequencies. When the source is just one frequency it is easier to deal with by auto noise cancelling and by hunting in a single frequency.

Coil bump is just a fact of life with ALL very high gain detectors. The Equinox 600 has a high level of transmit power. Auto ground balancing so there is little to no coil response when the coil nears target free ground in pinpoint mode, turning down the sensitivity below 18 or until the coil bump stops and keeping the coil as level as possible throughout your swings are all ways to alleviate coil bump. If you continue to get actual numerical target ID numbers when you gently bump the coil after doing all of this you might want to check both of your coils and see if one has more coil bump responses than the other coil at basically the same settings.

Jeff

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1. Happened to me soon After getting my nox and sent it back. ML saidHigh sensitivity.  Had it over a year now.  I didn’tLike their answer but it turns out it was high sens. At the beach even scanning over a footprint and not hitting anything will do that. When that happens I litter it a couple notches.  I Read the book by Clive C. or Andy S. It helps. They talk about running a stable machine. 
 

2. could be the cars but also Wi-Fi and I found a building storm will do that. 
 

good hunting. It will come together with more time. 

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16 hours ago, J SLade said:

Hello,

   1) Whenever I bump something with the coil the detector falses and gives me a "good" reading. Typically the harder the bump the higher the VID. ---- This isn't much of an issue on lawns but unfortunately the vast majority of my detecting is in the woods around old cellar holes where it's impossible not to bump into sticks and  bushes.

   2) Periodically, my detector will start warbling and squawking for anywhere from a few seconds to 1/2 a minute. ----  I've noticed that it tends to happen as cars are approaching me so I'm thinking that it could be a TPMS (Tire pressure monitoring system) or something similar. Any ideas on a fix or workaround would be appreciated.

In terms of how I typically run:

   1) I have the latest software update

   2) I typically detect in Park 1 or Field 1

   3) I usually use the stock 11" coil but occasionally switch to the 6"

Thanks

Jeremiah

Jeremiah,,

As mentions by others, this type of falsing can occur with most detectors, and the general causes are:

Sensitivity/Gain too high for the area, or site conditions, or even for the particular search coil in use.

Other settings that might allow too mush external or ground signal, such as operating at '0' Discrimination in some places.

Comments or Reminders:

► 'VID' is an abbreviation for 'Video'.  'VDI' would be an abbreviation for Visual Discrimination Indication which is the Numeric target read-out on the display.  A different method of Target ID, and the numbers are also used for adjustment referencing.

► Keep in mind these are electronic devices, much like our cell phones, hand-held radios, GMRS devices, etc., and should be handled with care.  It's natural to occasionally bump a coil into something, but we should take care and try NOT to do so.  The internal wire windings and any components were designed to remain in a proper alignment for peak performance.

► You didn't mention if you were searching in Multi-IQ or using a selected single-frequency.

►You also didn't mention the Disc. setting being used, or if you activated the 'Horseshoed' button to Accept all Disc. segments to respond to both Ferrous and Non-Ferrous metals.

► Also, you didn't mention if you Ground Balance at each hunt site or not, and leave it at the 'default' setting.

My Suggestions:

Use the Sensitivity as high as possible, but reduce it, if necessary, to maintain stability.

Regardless of the site environment, the coil used or the settings chosen ... ALWAYS ... Ground Ba;ance.  This is especialy true if using the 'Horseshoe' button when all Disc. segmnents are accepted because some search mdes can preset an issue if the device is not properly GB'ed.  Do it in both SMF operation or with a selected Single-Frequency search.

Those two suggestions should or could help, along with a remainder to not sweep too briskly and do your best not to impact any hard surface.  Park hunters who only work grassy places don't deal with this much, but when I started Relic Hunting ghost towns, homesteads and similar places where I dealt with sagebrush, dense weedy areas, small trees, rocks, cellar holes, and all manner of building rubble 51 years ago, I learned quickly to avoid solid-substance impacts.  Many of today's detectors are a lot touchier than long ago due to their higher gain and sensitivity.

Monte

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I'm no expert but I've had that chirp/warble happen and it always had to do with EMI be it under ground or overhead utility. Phone lines are buried just about everywhere and as Monte addressed about the multi-freq it seemed to me with mine as if it was keeping rythim with what I believed to be the frequency switches. I'd cycle through them and it would stop. That and backing sensitivity all the way down to even 16. Then after just a little while bumping it back up to 18-20 again and be back to normal. I run mine at 18 max in my yard because it has so many ring pulltabs. The previous tenant loved Schlitz beer lol. But that was my fix if it's the same you're talking about. The picture attached is just one of the coffee cans I have filled with just ring pull tabs. Might as well get paid for digging them lol.

IMG_20191101_194904~2.jpg

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