The Simple Reason Why Equinox Is Special

[Steve Herschbach]

The reason Equinox is special really is simple. It is because it is truly different.

Any detector is a set of parameters. At the most basic it boils down to combinations of frequencies and coils. VLF or PI. Whatever.

Take any detector to a spot, and detect until you can find nothing more of interest. Now, by simply changing the coil, you can make more finds missed previously. You have to change the parameters.

Hunt a spot to death with detector A. For example a Garrett AT Pro running at 15 kHz. Now switch to a different detector, perhaps Whites MXT running at 14 kHz. Slightly different machine with slightly different coil and frequency. A missed find or two commonly appears because what one machine misses another may hit. Jumping to something like an E-TRAC is an even more radical change, and again new finds may be made.

Short of firing up a PI and digging every item out of the ground, most experienced detectorists know that no one detector gets it all. For that reason I am a contrarian. If everyone else is using detector A someplace you can bet I am going to give detector B a go. I have found that being different often pays off for me.

The are limits to sheer physical depth. The fact is more depth is not the secret to new finds in many cases. We need different processing methods that can find items missed by what went before. Unfortunately in recent years it has got to where “new” detectors are just old detectors with a fresh coat of paint.

I think now people are starting to realize what Minelab has been saying all along. From http://www.detectorprospector.com/metal-detecting/minelab-multi-iq-technology-details-explained.htm

”Multi-IQ is Minelab’s next major innovation and can be considered as combining the performance advantages of both FBS and VFLEX in a new fusion of technologies. It isn’t just a rework of single frequency VLF, nor is it merely another name for an iteration of BBS/FBS. By developing a new technology, as well as a new detector ‘from scratch’, we will be providing both multi-frequency and selectable single frequencies in a lightweight platform, at a low cost, with a significantly faster recovery speed that is comparable to or better than competing products.”

and

“Within the Multi-IQ engine, the receiver is both phase-locked and amplitude-normalized to the transmitted magnetic field – rather than the electrical voltage driving the transmitted field. This field can be altered by the mineralization in the soil (in both phase and amplitude), so if the receiver was only phased-locked to the driving voltage, this would result in inaccurate target IDs and a higher audible noise level. Locking the receiver to the actual transmitted field, across all frequencies simultaneously (by measuring the current through the coil) solves these issues, creating a very sensitive AND stable detector”

and finally

“For each frequency the detector transmits and receives there are two signals which can be extracted which we refer to as I and Q. The Q signal is most sensitive to targets, while the I signal is most sensitive to iron content. Traditional single-frequency metal detectors use the Q signal to detect targets, and then use the ratio of the I and Q signals to assess the characteristics of the target and assign a target ID. The problem with this approach is that the I signal is sensitive to the iron content of the soil. The target ID is always perturbed by the response from the soil, and as the signal from the target gets weaker, this perturbation becomes substantial. With some simplification here for brevity, if a detector transmits and receives on more than one frequency, it can ignore the soil sensitive I signals, and instead look at the multiple Q signals it receives in order to determine a target ID. That way, even for weak targets or highly mineralized soils, the target ID is far less perturbed by the response from the soil. This leads to very precise target IDs, both in mineralized soils and for targets at depth.”

Got all that? Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t because while I get the gist of it I admit this stuff is over my head. More to the point for me personally it does not matter enough to me to make the effort to get my head fully around all that.

There are going to be those that think it’s all hogwash. Whatever. Having used Equinox myself I figured out real fast the basic truth here - Equinox truly is different than anything else to date.

That is the Equinox Edge. The secret is in the difference itself, not the details of the technology. We have a rare opportunity to put a detector over the ground that is not an old model with a fresh coat of paint. From an in use operational perspective there are no true experts with this machine. I got a head start, granted, but I have a lot to learn about Equinox because for most of my use so far I was trying to learn a moving target. It’s only now I can actually learn the machine.

Again “It isn’t just a rework of single frequency VLF, nor is it merely another name for an iteration of BBS/FBS.” Anyone who takes off the cynic hat and actually believes that statement should really know all they need to know. Fresh slate, we all start from scratch. It is the fact that Equinox is different that makes all the difference in the world. It can’t put finds back in the ground, but if you are going to have a decent shot at making new finds in old ground you have to try something different.

And that my friends is why Equinox is special.

[flakmagnet]

Admittedly the technology is over my head, but after reading about it, seeing what it can do and when that wonderful intuitive sense we get every once in awhile kicked in, Equinox was an obvious choice. It's going to be an exciting learning curve with lots of teachers here to point the way. 

[Mtwolf2270]

Great read steve and so far I love my 800 tomorrow will be the first true hunt this week has been just testing and learning. 

[Skate]

Steve is this generations EF Hutton. When Steve speaks, you better listen. 

[Tiftaaft]

4 minutes ago, Skate said:

Steve is this generations EF Hutton. When Steve speaks, you better listen. 

Word!

[TallTom]

What you say about being a contrarian makes perfect sense, Steve.

Only one problem.  EVERYONE is buying an Equinox!  You're not going to be a contrarian for long.

 

[Randy Dee]

.

Thank you Steve for a great explanation of the important facts of the differences between the Equinox and the other previous technologies in detector performance. It sunk in.

My Equinox 800 is arriving today and first job after fully charging will be in my garden and the test bed.

 

 

[Tiftaaft]

7 hours ago, TallTom said:

What you say about being a contrarian makes perfect sense, Steve.

Only one problem.  EVERYONE is buying an Equinox!  You're not going to be a contrarian for long.

 

I may be wrong, but from what I am reading and seeing... this machine in different modes makes it contrary to itself!  :)

[Steve Herschbach]

It is actually like owning several detectors and I hate to stir the waters even more right now but the mode names themselves are just general guides. For instance, prospectors might want to know that if mineralization gets extreme the Beach modes may offer benefits, especially in alkali ground. Or people hunting wet fields doused in fertilizer may want to keep the same thing in mind.  There is a lot to learn here still.

[MarXthespot]

1 hour ago, kiwijw said:

Sad days ahead.

Very sorry to hear such tragic news JW.

Sincerest prayers and sympathies to all his family and friends.