Missing My Equinox 800 While It's In For Repair

[Norm S]

Yesterday morning I sent my 800 to Naperville for repair so I decided to hunt the same area with my E-Trac. I went out this morning and the 1st 15 minutes I would have traded the E-Trac for a coffee and a donut. Then I realized I was swinging way to fast so I slowed down and hit a cpl of targets. I wanted to hunt the same area I had been hunting with my 800 to get some sort of a comparison based on previous finds with the 800. I know it's not scientific because it's possible there wouldn't be anything in the area.

I found a little over $4 in two hours and two of the coins being Liberty $1 coins. I had been averaging $6 in clad for two hour hunts all week with the 800. What I found is I have to work a lot harder with the E-Trac than the 800. Aside from swinging slower when I would hit a target area with multiple VDI's I would have to slowly cover the area where I was getting tones and especially if I seen a quarter VDI flash. It does not separate targets well and I dug a lot of cans this morning. I don't think I dug 3 cans all week with the 800.  I also dug an unusual amount of pennies . The ratio was 4 pennies to each dime. 

I didn't get as clear of tones as I do with th  800 and nothing as deep as I been getting with the 800. I admit I am a bit rusty with the E-Trac but the 800 is ready to go out of the box. The pre programmed modes of the 800 are much better suited to hunting out of the box without tweaking anything. 

Right now I can't say the 800 is better than the E-Trac because so much of it is skill level. If you compare cost of detectors the 800 is a clear winner. I am no expert with the E-Trac and know it has much more potential than I am getting out of it even though I have downloaded most of the popular programs. 

As of right now I am not ready to dump the E-Trac but I will have a better idea which detector I think is best when I get the 800 back. If I feel the 800 is the clear winner when i get it back I will sell the E-Trac and buy a 600. I have had so much euphoria over the 800 and I am trying to be honest with myself but I sure hope my gut feeling is right

[parkgt]

Always good to have two capable machines!

[relicmeister]

I'm glad I have an 800 and a 600 so that if one gets flaky and has to be sent in, I will be unaffected during the repair and shipping. 

[NSC]

I hope Minelab USA are quick for you

Never mind too much I had a Etrac for years and it was a silver magnet.

The Etrac ergonomics that did not agree with me but I happily put up with it and made some memorable finds with it.

Happy swinging 

 

[chicoquadcore]

Whats wrong with the 800?

[mn90403]

Norm,

Did you post somewhere else the reason for having it repaired?  Was it dropped or something?

Mitchel

[Norm S]

Mn90403 Yes I did make a post earlier about why it needed to be repaired. It started screaming in pinpoint mode on it own while I was digging a target. I turned it off and back on and none of the buttons worked and the VDI'S were going crazy so I tried a factory reset and got a FP message meaning pre sets were restored but it didn't help. None of the buttons worked  so I called Minelab and sent it in for repair

[mn90403]

Ok, thanks ... I'd say when you send it there then they will probably replace as they did with the 7000s in the beginning.

Mitchel

[Steve Herschbach]

I have really taken to the Equinox myself to the point that I don’t feel much like using any other detector. The key is that I honestly do feel like I can do ANY type of detecting with it and be just fine. In theory I might get a little edge using this or that other detector for some one particular thing, but in no case do I feel the edge is worth actually switching to another detector. I will therefore definitely end up with a couple Equinox detectors, one that will see use in saltwater, and one that stays out of saltwater unless needed because the other one fails.

Minelab seems to have really committed to improving service just before Equinox was launched. Wise move, as reports are that problems are being fixed quite promptly. Slow service now would be a real disaster on top of slow deliveries, no accessories.

http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/3027-minelab-service-rep-seems-is-watching-at-least-some-forums/?do=findComment&comment=34003

http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/4323-kellyco-no-longer-services-minelab-new-minelab-service-centers/

 

[Cal_Cobra]

I'm liking my EQ800 so much, that once the hoopla slows down, and ML gets caught up, and we finally start to see some people selling off their EQ600's or EQ800's at honest used prices (not price gouging due to demand exceeding supply) I may pick up a backup unit.  That way no matter what fails (headphones, coil, control box, mechanical issue) you have a backup unit.  

There's a long thread on findmall about people sending theirs into ML for the wobble issue and apparently they are fixing it and doing so quit quickly, so even though the wobble issue should've exist in this day and age of modern manufacturing, at least their expeditiously taking care of the issue.