Coin Relic Hunt Equinox 900

[longbow62]

Congrats on the nice finds in what sounds like very tough dirt.

[Jeff McClendon]

11 minutes ago, longbow62 said:

Congrats on the nice finds in what sounds like very tough dirt.

That dirt is so bad that there is no way to hunt it wide open. All I would hear would be iron grunts coming from the ground itself. Rejecting the first 10 digits of the iron target ID range takes care of most of the magnetite and hot rocks/hot ground responses and still lets me hear enough responses from man-made iron targets. 

It is also great to have the Equinox Multi IQ tech which makes it possible to hunt sites like this without having to turn sensitivity way down. The only single frequency detector that I have been able to use at sites like this are Deus 1 and the ORX but at lowered sensitivity. Otherwise, single frequency detectors overload on sites like this if the coil gets anywhere near the ground even with lowered sensitivity.

[Zaj56]

New member here...I have just switched from the 600 to the 900 and am just starting to get used to the expanded vdi and the jumpy numbers. Ironically, the settings I have been using are identical to the settings Jeff mentioned with the exception of the sensitivity which the soil here in SW Pa. allows me to run a bit higher at 23. I really like the dp tones for relic hunting and use the vibration with it. The more I use the 900 the more I'm liking it!

[Jeff McClendon]

20 minutes ago, Zaj56 said:

New member here...I have just switched from the 600 to the 900 and am just starting to get used to the expanded vdi and the jumpy numbers. Ironically, the settings I have been using are identical to the settings Jeff mentioned with the exception of the sensitivity which the soil here in SW Pa. allows me to run a bit higher at 23. I really like the dp tones for relic hunting and use the vibration with it. The more I use the 900 the more I'm liking it!

Welcome to the forum!

Just having the Depth Tones ferrous/non-ferrous VCO audio option was a step in the right direction with the newer X-Terra Pro, Equinox and Manticore models.

I wish it was called something else since from its name it should be used to get a bit more depth. However, it also has the ability to separate a bit better and most of all add more depth as in tone quality to shallower non-ferrous targets in a sea of somewhat falsing iron at least from my experience.

I don't care for the sound quality of the Depth Tones non-ferrous pitch subjectively. I like the way Pitch tones (same concept) sounds on Deus 2 and the Legend a lot better. That could be an internal, deliberate choice by Minelab engineering or it could be related to the sound quality of the ML 85 headphones supplied with the Equinox 700/900. 

[GB_Amateur]

I agree with Zincoln.  That 1886 is pretty rare and although the photo doesn't show its detail (and no reverse) I'm going to say it grades at least VG and quite possibly F.  Could be a 3 figure coin assuming the discoloration doesn't detract too much....  As was typical back then, except for the first year of issue very few of the early years escaped circulation and subsequently a lot of wear.  I think that is true of the 1886 adding to its 3.33 million (fairly low) mintage to its value today.  My mom had an 1886 in her collection that was really trashed. 

I recall in a book I read (don't remember which) the author said to look for ghost towns that were present during a particular time period that had scarce-to-rare coins.  His example was a mountain ghost town (I think maybe also in Colorado) that only existed a few years but bracketted 1877 and thus the key date Indian Head Cent. The other thing going along with that is the condition of the coins, with not many years get worn down.

If the ghost town you were in fits that concept could there be the even rarer (and 2-3x valued) 1885 just waiting for your detector to beep?  Fun to contemplate!

[Jeff McClendon]

2 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

I agree with Zincoln.  That 1886 is pretty rare and although the photo doesn't show its detail (and no reverse) I'm going to say it grades at least VG and quite possibly F.  Could be a 3 figure coin assuming the discoloration doesn't detract too much....  As was typical back then, except for the first year of issue very few of the early years escaped circulation and subsequently a lot of wear.  I think that is true of the 1886 adding to its 3.33 million (fairly low) mintage to its value today.  My mom had an 1886 in her collection that was really trashed. 

I recall in a book I read (don't remember which) the author said to look for ghost towns that were present during a particular time period that had scarce-to-rare coins.  His example was a mountain ghost town (I think maybe also in Colorado) that only existed a few years but bracketted 1877 and thus the key date Indian Head Cent. The other thing going along with that is the condition of the coins, with not many years get worn down.

If the ghost town you were in fits that concept could there be the even rarer (and 2-3x valued) 1885 just waiting for your detector to beep?  Fun to contemplate!

Thanks Zincoln and Chuck for reminding me about the possible value of the 1886 V Nickel I was lucky enough to find. I knew there were two main V Nickel key mint dates somewhere in the back of my brain when I noticed the date. I was more excited by the 1876 Seated dime at the time but ignorance really is bliss sometimes. 

 

[glacialgold]

On 5/10/2023 at 4:03 PM, Jeff McClendon said:

I like the way Pitch tones (same concept) sounds on Deus 2 and the Legend a lot better.

Jeff, could you go into some more detail re: pitch tones, especially for the Legend? I watched a few videos and have the general concept down (I think), but I appreciate your ability to make these kinds of features clear in writing, which is how I better digest information. 

[Jeff McClendon]

4 hours ago, glacialgold said:

Jeff, could you go into some more detail re: pitch tones, especially for the Legend? I watched a few videos and have the general concept down (I think), but I appreciate your ability to make these kinds of features clear in writing, which is how I better digest information. 

I am not an audio electronics engineer or anything close to it. 

All I know is Pitch audio in the Equinox 700/900, Manticore, Legend and Deus 2 is characterized by having Voltage Controlled Oscillators where especially the non ferrous tone is a proximity tone that changes its intensity and pitch with a change in input voltage. They have a VCO modulated low tone for ferrous objects and a very modulated VCO higher tone for non ferrous objects. In these detectors, the ferrous/non-ferrous tone break is moveable and the volume of the ferrous tone and non ferrous tone is changeable. That is all that can be changed on the Equinox 700 and 900. I don't know about the Manticore. With the Legend and I think Deus 2, the actual pitch of the ferrous and non-ferrous tones can be changed to suit ones hearing. On Deus 2 its audio equalizer can also change the quality of the tones as can changing from PWM to Square Wave audio. Changing the recovery speed/reactivity will also elongate or shorten the length of the audio tones on all of these detectors.

On the Equinox 700/900 and the Legend, the other tone options available for the Park, Field and Beach modes also have some slight modulation in volume that is similar to VCO as far as having some target proximity characteristics. The actual chosen pitch of the target tone changes very little however.  Depth/Pitch tones has a much wider volume and pitch modulation especially on the non-ferrous tone which gives a clearer picture of depth, size and even amplifies the difference between ferrous versus non ferrous. This really helps me in a sea of iron trash to separate non-ferrous from ferrous, when I am trying to hear deep, partially masked or poorly oriented targets or when I am trying to hear really small targets. 

Hope that is what you were asking.

[glacialgold]

39 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

Hope that is what you were asking.

Yes, and thank you! This very much helps in both gereral AND detailed understanding.

[Cal_Cobra]

Nice hunting, congrats on the coins!