Jump to content

Equinox In The Pacific North West


lost

Recommended Posts

I am thinking of buying a nox 800 would like to know from anyone who has used it in Washinton State and Oregon. Would like to know how it preforms in my areas (I have a Sovereign GT and a AT Pro)the GT to heavy for me to use anymore. If you do use it what setting would you use. I hunt mainly for coins schools old parks. Thanks for the Help

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I use it on the mid-coast Oregon, on the beach and parks right out of the box with factory settings.  Have had no problems getting silver at 8" where my park soil is mostly sand and bottoms out with compacted small rock.  Hits deep at the beach too with stock coil.  You will not be disappointed with the 800 or 600, in MHO.  GaryC/Oregon Coast

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, lost said:

I am thinking of buying a nox 800 would like to know from anyone who has used it in Washinton State and Oregon. Would like to know how it preforms in my areas (I have a Sovereign GT and a AT Pro)the GT to heavy for me to use anymore. If you do use it what setting would you use. I hunt mainly for coins schools old parks. Thanks for the Help

I have only borrowed an Equinox 800 for a few minutes use a couple of time so I'm not a lot of help with specifics about it.  I do own and use two of the Minelab Vanquish 540 Pro Pack devices to keep the most-used 5X8 DD on one of them and the larger 9X12 DD on the other for more open areas, such as a beach, wide-open grassy park or hunting plowed fields and the like.

I have lived in Oregon most of my life with the bulk of that in the greater metro area of Portland on the west-side of Oregon.  I currently live in Vale, in far Eastern Oregon.  I lived in the Portland area when I started using meal / Mineral locators the start of March 1965 and spent most of the first 18 years Coin Hunting city parks and schools and anywhere I possibly could, to include farm fields after strawberry harvest.  I did occasional hunting of ghost towns and homesteads or any older site during that period, mainly in Oregon and Utah and Nevada, but also in Wyoming Idaho and Washington on occasion.

Since July of '83, however, I have concentrated on relic Hunting activities in older and more out-of-the-way locations, mostly in Eastern Oregon, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, California, and several other states across the country, and, on occasion, a bit in Washington.

I currently rely on my Nokta FORS CoRe's w/'OOR' DD and 5X9½ DD coils mounted, FORS Relic w/5" DD mounted, and XP ORX w/5X9½ DD mounted for most of my serious Relic hunting in nasty dense trash.  I also use my Nokta / Makro Simplex + w/11" DD, Vanquish 540's w/5X8 DD and 9X12 DD munted, and a Tesoro Bandido II microMAX w/6" Concentic and Silver Sabre microMAX w/6" Concentric mounted for some Relic Hunting needs, but especially for urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting tasks.

With my Detector Outfit and the limited amount of time, by comparison, that I devote to urban Coin Hunting, the Vanquish  540's handles my needs from Minelab.  That said, I have several friends who own and use the Equinox 800 and like it, especially for Coin & Jewelry Hunting more than for their Relic Hunting.  If you get the EQ-800, which is a very good 'general-purpose' detector, I will suggest this:

► Spend the time to learn it well.  Start with the default programs and master them before advancing to other programs .... and don't get too carried away with a lot of function adjustments.

► Get the 6" DD coil to help enhance the versatility and performance of the Equinox in trashier or more confined spaces.

►Remember to Ground Balance whenever you use it.  Automated GB or Manual GB, it's best to adjust it before hunting.

Monte

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Monte

Thank you very much for taking time to send a very helpful  response  As always. Thank you very much for shearing you vast knowledge with me. Hope to see you out detecting and buying you a beer or something and BS awhile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/1/2020 at 12:17 PM, lost said:

I am thinking of buying a nox 800 would like to know from anyone who has used it in Washinton State and Oregon. Would like to know how it preforms in my areas (I have a Sovereign GT and a AT Pro)the GT to heavy for me to use anymore. If you do use it what setting would you use. I hunt mainly for coins schools old parks. Thanks for the Help

Hip/chest-mounting that GT is the only way to go. I own them both and the GT chest mounted is the lightest by far. 

 

Dave

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎4‎/‎9‎/‎2020 at 2:51 PM, lost said:

Monte

Thank you very much for taking time to send a very helpful  response  As always. Thank you very much for shearing you vast knowledge with me. Hope to see you out detecting and buying you a beer or something and BS awhile.

You're welcome, and I now own an Equinox 800 and will mainly use the 6" DD since I hunt very trashy sites.  Adjusting my Detector Outfit it is now as shown in my 'signature' on the left.  I'd enjoy getting together to BS, but since I never drink alcohol I'll let you spot me for a Diet Dr. Pepper.

Monte

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to agree with Cal_Cobra. Send your Nox 800 to me so I can dispose of it for you. I've had a couple of Sovereign GT's over the years and I think you should stick with it. Great at the beach too.  😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For 'lost,' a bit of an update: 

 

A good while back I lived in the Portland, Oregon metro area.  I am not a big fan of Beach Hunting, but the coast was close for some periodic getaways just for something different.  I had two models that worked well for me on the salty beach, and one was a Minelab Sovereign XS 2aPro.  I tried a Sov. GT but the colorful plastic housing was too easily dinged, nicked or chipped and I like to pamper all my detectors so I let it go.  Never made it to the beach with that one, but if you're looking for a detector for ocean beaches, you already have one.  So shop for something that might do it 'different' or possibly 'better.'

I dedicate the majority of my detecting time to Relic Hunting places like ghost towns, homesteads, stage stops and RR depots & sidings, and all manner of old-use places that have an abundant supply of Iron Nails and similar trash.  Bolts, fencing and other Wire-Iron type stuff, and when I say 'abundant' I am talking very seriously annoying amounts.  It causes a lot of good-target masking so I need to use detectors that can provide me the best of performance in those applications more than anything.

As I mentioned on the 9th, I had just purchased an Equinox 800 w/6" DD coil because I rely on smaller-size coils that better fin in and around dense brush, building rubble and discarded debris.  This is day #6 working with it and I have tomorrow left.  I only give a new detector, to me, one week of testing and filed use, working with any adjustment features, to see if it might match or excel other models in my Detector Outfit.  If so, it stays.  If not, then it's a detector I'll let go

The Equinox 800 is a very good detector and can provide ample in-the-field performance for many applications, but so far, ... for me ... it only has a day left for me to find some needed adjustments in order for it to earn a spot on my den way display.  Otherwise, I break out the 'For Sale' sign and send it off to someone who might want it and need it.

Maybe some reader has found a settings solution to help it handle a lot of Iron nails well, but right now, I have it handling my Nail Board Performance Test in one program with 2-Tone, but even though it barely passes that test, it falls short of the performance I get with a Tesoro Bandido II microMAX w/6" Concentric, a Nokta FORS CoRe w/ 4.7X5.2 'OOR' DD or a 5X9½ DD coil,  a FORS Relic w/5" DD coil, an Impact w/7" Concentric or 5" DD coil,  and an XP ORX w/5X9½ DD coil.  They all get 8-out-of-9 hits, and my Minelab Vanquish 540 w/5X8 DD gets 6-out-of-8 but it also has limited operator adjustments.

This gently-used package will make someone happy for their wants and needs, if it falls sort for what I'm looking for.  So in your case, give  possible new models some serious consideration before you buy to make sure it is a good 'fit' for your needs.

Monte

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...