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What Are The Steps?


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I'm looking for a "Quick Start" step-by-step from experienced professionals using the Equinox 800.

Imagine a fella standing alone on a sandy beach, on a Sunday morning. He is proficient with tools and electronics, but he has NEVER held a metal detector in his hands in his life. A person walks up and hands him a fully charged Equinox 800, a pointer, and all the appropriate digging tools and says, "Find all the GOLD and SILVER jewelry on this beach", then walks away. The fella turns on the unit, syncs his headphones, then begins the step-by-step process of tuning his machine to find all GOLD and SILVER on that beach, which are as follows...

So what are the advised settings and tuning process he should go through before he starts walking, swinging that machine, successfully on the hunt?

Also, I humbly request we save time by skipping all of the "It takes years..." speeches. I get it. Moreover, I respect and honor the time and experience you have, which is why I'm here asking the pro's. Just looking for a quick start, 3 - 5 step process and settings guide given the above parameters, to begin those years.  

Thank you in advance for taking your time to help.

~Lighthouse  

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minelab-equinox-quick-start-1.jpg

The very first thing I would not do is go to the very worst place you can think of for the maiden voyage. Do a little bench testing with coins or whatever to get familiar with target id numbers and controls, then go detecting. The presets are actually very good, needing little more than adjusting the sensitivity. My first outings I like sand boxes or beaches - easy digging - to get familiar with machines and targets by digging everything.

The Quick Start Guide above sets out the steps. Choose a starting mode or search profile based on the descriptions below. The assumption seems to be that the defaults settings are no good, so start messing with them right away. The truth is the exact opposite - I highly recommend sticking with the factory default settings with minimal adjustments (sensitivity, number of tones). In my opinion the best way to go wrong with Equinox is to not trust the defaults when starting out.

Instruction manual pages 23-24 (emphasis added):

Park 1: General / Coins
Park 1 is optimised for modern coins and larger jewellery with a default discrimination pattern set to reject many common aluminium foil-like targets (Target ID 1). Therefore this is the ideal profile to start with to learn EQUINOX, before experimenting with the other Modes and more specialist settings.

Park 1 Multi-IQ processes a lower frequency weighting of the multi-frequency signal, as well as using algorithms that maximise ground balancing for soil, to achieve the best signal to noise ratio. Hence Park 1 is most suited for general detecting and coin hunting.

Park 2: Fine Jewellery (Fine in this context means small)
Park 2 is better suited for smaller targets and greater trash densities. It will detect a wider range of targets including low conductors (or higher frequency) targets, e.g. fine jewellery. All non-ferrous targets are accepted by default. Recovery Speed is also increased to clearly identify good targets masked by iron trash.

Target Tone is set to 50 to allow greater audible target identification rather than relying more heavily on the visual Target IDs. Park 2 Multi-IQ processes a higher frequency weighted multi-frequency signal while ground balancing for soil.

Field 1: Coins / Artefacts
Field 1 is for general hunting with high trash rejection. This assists in locating desired targets more easily. The default discrimination pattern is set to reject Target IDs 1 and 2 (most coke signals).

The first Tone Break is set so that Target IDs 1 and 2 will produce the same low tone as ferrous targets. Field 1 Multi-IQ processes a lower frequency weighted multi-frequency signal, as well as using algorithms that maximise ground balancing for soil, to achieve the best signal to noise ratio. Hence being most suited for general detecting and coin hunting.

Field 2: Fine Coins / Artefacts (Fine in this context means small)
Field 2 suits locations with high target and trash densities. It will better detect small hammered coins on their edge or at greater depth. The default discrimination pattern is set to reject Target IDs 1 and 2 (most coke signals).

Target Tone is set to 50 tones to enhance audio identification and Recovery Speed is faster. The first Tone Break has been set so that Target IDs 1 and 2 produce the same low tone as ferrous targets. Field 2 Multi-IQ processes a higher frequency weighted multifrequency signal while ground balancing for soil.

minelab-equinox-park-field-search-profiles-detail.jpg

 

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You're 100% correct Steve.....................

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Thanks Steve for your input.

So what I'm hearing you say is just trust the manual/intended functions of the machine. To further reiterate, in my scenario, you're saying #1: use beach mode, #2: ground noise cancel #3: then detect, understanding that gold and silver hits have a specific numerical value. Sound about right?

I posed the question as I did, maybe hoping to fish out a way outside of the manual and intended functionality of the settings, understanding that some of you pro's may be finding better success say on a beach for example, using a different mode and setting other than the "Beach" mode.

My hope is to eventually become proficient enough with my settings, where I can go to a beach once, and walk away feeling like I thoroughly cleaned it out the first time. It's my understanding that can be done if you hit on the best setting the first time, not necessarily using the factory suggested settings. Am I being unreasonable in the expectation to eventually achieve that goal? 

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12 minutes ago, fredmason said:

LightHouse;

that depends on what the meaning of clean is...

My coil has went over the top of every square inch of that beach, and I've gleaned from it every possible piece of gold and silver there is to find, up to however many inches down my detector goes. Remember, I'm a 100% newbie. That said, I'm sorta understanding that for me to accomplish that task, I may have to go over it twice using 2 different setting... or maybe 3 times, I don't know. I guess that's maybe the discovery of information I'm trying to accomplish here, I just didn't know how to initiate the question being as inexperienced as I am.

Further thoughts?

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21 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

My hope is to eventually become proficient enough with my settings, where I can go to a beach once, and walk away feeling like I thoroughly cleaned it out the first time. It's my understanding that can be done if you hit on the best setting the first time, not necessarily using the factory suggested settings. Am I being unreasonable in the expectation to eventually achieve that goal?

I wish metal detecting worked that way. It’s easier if you accept you will never walk away from any place knowing all the good targets are gone. There are no magic settings that recover all the good stuff unless you are wanting to maybe try recovering every single metal item on the beach. The reality is you are going to probably use some level of discrimination, and discrimination is more a judgement call sort of thing than a certainty.

But for saltwater beaches basically it boils down Beach 1 for anything not actually sopping wet, and Beach 2 for in the water. Freshwater beaches you can use any mode since freshwater is more or less invisible to the detector. So on freshwater beaches or bone dry portions of saltwater beaches you can experiment with the Park, Field, and Gold Modes if you wish. That could offer an edge on micro jewelry like single post ear rings or fine chains.

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5 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I wish metal detecting worked that way.

LOL! I was REALLY hoping it did, but have now received the official verification that it doesn't. LOL! I assumed it didn't, but again, there was a glimmer of hope it did. ;) 

 

7 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The reality is you are going to probably use some level of discrimination, and discrimination is more a judgement call sort of thing than a certainty.

Yeah right. OK. I am 46, so falling to my knees for every 9-12 hit is probably not going to happen... Buuuut, am I understanding correctly that in certain modes, a 9-12 maybe "deep gold" in certain settings on a beach for example? How deep will my 800 go on ANY setting btw?

 

12 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

But for saltwater beaches basically it boils down Beach 1 for anything not actually sopping wet, and Beach 2 for in the water. Freshwater beaches you can use any mode since freshwater is more or less invisible to the detector. So on freshwater beaches or bone dry portions of saltwater beaches you can experiment with the Park, Field, and Gold Modes if you wish. That could offer an edge on micro jewelry like single post ear rings or fine chains.

OK... Good stuff here. Thanks.

BTW, I haven't even opened the box yet. We just had a snow storm hit the midwest, so just a little bit longer. I have this feeling that I will get too anxious though, and end up digging with an ice pick. ;)

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48 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

BTW, I haven't even opened the box yet. We just had a snow storm hit the midwest, so just a little bit longer.

Why not open the box, assemble the unit, charge it up, put it on a non-metal table (or chair) away from metal (including away from metal in the table), turn it on, do an auto frequency adjust (to minimize EMI, I think they may call this 'noise cancel') and play around with some test targets in Park 1?

Yes, it's better to be outside, but you can familiarize yourself with the controls, tones, etc. inside while you await real spring weather.  Either have a computer or smartphone with the manual open or (my preference) print out the manual.  After getting familiar with the operation mode (I'd stick to Park 1 until you've had some hunts under your belt), charge the headphones and sync them up to the control unit.  It actually is easier to do the synching inside where it's not too bright to see the LED's on the headset.  (I learned that the hard way.)

It's a tough unit; you're not going to hurt it.  :biggrin:

 

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