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SDC Not Working As Water Detector, Get A Nox?


c47gold

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My name is Hank.

I have detected for years in both fresh and saltwater with an Excalibur I with great results and I love the detector, but it finally died, so after reading Steve's great reviews on the Equinox 800, I'm thinking of getting one. 

I purchased a SDC2300 some time ago because I thought I would go out west to hunt for gold, and could also use it in the water back home here in Virginia too. However, I was surprised that although it is waterproof to 10 ft, when I first took it into the ocean, it has a tendency to float! The excalibur would stay on the ocean floor no problem, but the 2300 just wont stay down.  I have to keep trying to push it down but the waves coming in and going out make it impossible to hold down and detect. Never had this problem with the Excalibur even in rough water. The 2300 is just as heavy as the Excalibur yet it just bobs around in the water. My question is, can the Equinox 800 perform as stable as the Excalibur in the ocean? It's so light I wonder if it will stay down.

Thanks.

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The Nox is great (I own one) but I recommend you hold off on that Nox purchase and start doing some research on the Deus II which is about to be released this month.  Check out the recent Calabash Digger posts testing the D2 on the beach and elsewhere.  Although I have not heard any real issues regarding positive boyancy on the Equinox, the Nox is notorious for having issues with water intrusion on submerison (not a robust design on the head unit seals).  And even though ML is standing behind Equinox with a 3-year warranty, the Deus is 5 years.  The D2 on the other hand is dive rated to 60 feet.  Not that you are going to dive with it, but just an indication of its robust watertight integrity.  If cost is a factor, Nokta is coming out with an Equinox clone of sorts, but perhaps with a better watertight design (time will tell) and at a price point a couple hundred dollars below the Equinox.  FWIW

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Hi Chase. Thanks for that ifo, I'll check out those two you mentioned.

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7 minutes ago, c47gold said:

Hi Chase. Thanks for that ifo, I'll check out those two you mentioned.

Yeah.  Keep the Nox in your sights as a possible choice, but you happened to be looking just when these two other detectors are going be released.  Actually, good timing on your part.  You have a few options to consider.

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16 hours ago, c47gold said:

The 2300 is just as heavy as the Excalibur yet it just bobs around in the water. My question is, can the Equinox 800 perform as stable as the Excalibur in the ocean? It's so light I wonder if it will stay down.

It’s not weight above water that matters, but displacement. The SDC is a fail as a water machine for the exact reason you mention. Unfortunately you missed my posts about that.

Equinox is just fine in water, though it’s leak rate has been higher than one would like. It’s hard to sort as it’s so popular even a small percentage of fails would mean a lot of leaking machines. And some serious hunters use for three years with no leaks, others have had multiple machines leak. Good news though is no hassle replacement under warranty for three years.

Despite the issues the Nox has been one of the most popular water machines ever. It does get the job done very well.

 

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  • The title was changed to SDC Not Working As Water Detector, Get A Nox?

The Equinox 600 is priced at a point if it leaks after the 3 year warranty runs out you would be happy enough to replace it, rumour has it in that situation they will just sell you a control pod replacement anyway which is quite cheap.  If the only reason you were considering a Deus 2 was for possibly better water proofing for a detector you plan to use in the water not for diving then that's not really a good reason given the price difference.  We also don't yet know how it holds up either although with its dive rating you would expect it to be good. 

I know the leaking exists as a problem but I don't think the percentage of leaking units is as high as it may seem, you hear about the few that leak, you don't hear about the many thousands that don't.  I also wonder how often the leaks occur to those that exceed its depth limits. 

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Thanks for those comments Steve and phrunt. I went in the ocean today with the dsc2300 to test it out again. I think the problem is with the coil, which is solid and let's the water push up on it. My old Excalibur coil offers almost no resistance. The water just flows right through it. It (See photo). I'm leaning towards the equinox cause I really like the fact that it is so light and so versatile. Swinging heavy machines around for hours is no fun anymore at  PXL_20220110_015231230.thumb.jpg.00e022842b6475eb864d3642df03176e.jpg75! 

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Main problem with SDC is it is a hollow, air filled cork, both body and coil. The housing was never designed as a true underwater detector, but as a swim proof military mine detector. The F3 Compact came first, and Minelab merely recycled the housing into a gold prospecting detector. And then added beach detecting to the marketing effort.

https://www.minelab.com/usa/countermine/detectors/f3-compact-landmine-detector-by-minelab

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Too bad Minelab seem to have forgotten they were trying to market it to us treasure hunters! 

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Steve. Has Minelab made, or going to make any changes on the Equinox to fix these leak problems other than replacing the machines under warranty or selling new control pods?

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