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I have the Coiltek 11" round coil for the SDC and after hunting with it for about 36 hours at Rye Patch last week I agree with Strick in that I would only recommend it if you are looking for more depth on bigger gold. In my opinion the larger coil turns a detector that is special in it's ability to hit on small gold into a more ordinary machine that will find larger pieces deeper than the stock coil but is not as deep as the 5000 or 7000 on pieces over .5 grams. I had hoped that it would be close to as sensitive as stock on the .5 gram and smaller and better on the larger pieces plus having the benefit of significantly more coverage but I don't believe that is the case. What I found is that I did find my typical number of .5g -1g pieces that I would have found with the stock coil plus some deeper .75g - 1g pieces that I am fairly certain I would not have found without the Coiltek. The downside is that I only found a couple of pieces that were under .5g when I normally find 3-5 in that range on a typical day. I base my observations on average daily results of having spent somewhere between 300 hrs & 400 hrs detecting at Rye Patch since getting the SDC in Sept of 2014. Other observations on using the Coiltek: It has a much more subtle signal on the small nuggets at similar depths than the stock coil so you could easily miss a target that would be a screamer on the stock coil. It is quite a bit less stable in the threshold and more prone to hot rocks making it tougher to stay focused enough to hear the fainter signals. I do like the Coiltek for hunting tailings in Idaho where I live. The better coverage and significantly better depth on larger specimens are worth the trade off in sensitivity on small stuff. The added weight is enough that if you don't normally use some kind of assisted support (bungee , Hip Stick etc.) you will definitely want to get something.

Very few to my knowledge have been from the battery end..... more so from the screen.... and oddly some still work when the operator noticed it. Id think if it was the battery youd be getting a real response. Ive had mine under water for hundreds of hours....... so i agree with Chase ...... if you get intrusion it wasnt right in the first place and we have a GREAT warranty here...... use it. I have been reading a few more of the machines may need BURPED ....because of weak sound, there is a post of that. Im here to tell you..... if you guys think you are going to NOT have any trouble with ANY machine you put in the salt water you are mistaken. Plan for it...... be glad you find enough to pay for those repairs when the machine is out of warranty...... thank ML for the 3 years, it could have been 1 like on the Xcal. I also talked to Keith at ML PA about those after market battery covers. He didnt recommend me and has had a few machines that those may have created the problem.

Not being the shy type I will bet there are more coils for the Simplex by year end then there are for the Equinox after two years.

Just got this cool note: "This email is to let you know that you are the winner of the Minelab’s Find of The Month competition for September 2019. Congratulations! We thought your story and finds were great!" Funny thing is they run this competition but I can find no place anywhere that they actually announce the winners anymore. The last announcement seems to be from November 2018. You would think they would want to promote it on their Facebook page at least. I guess just getting people to submit stories is the main goal but they would benefit from letting people know they actually do award the prizes also. Whatever - thanks Minelab!!

I believe the key to success with the new F2 mode is mitigating audio fatigue. The other day I was hunting an old beat to death site with good success using F2 2 and recovery speed 4. Anything lower than 4 was overload for my ears and what I mean by that is the slightly longer drawn out iron responses creating a cacophony of noise. I was hunting at my normal sweep speed as well. Note: watch out for old nickels hitting just below the normal nickel 12-13 bounce. Got a 1905 V that was mostly a solid 12 but bouncing to 11 as well with a bit of iron in the plug directly above the nickel. Reminded me of the Fisher CZ 5 where you dig all nickel foil bouncers in old sites and parks. I have had good success on old nickels using park 1. Tom D had stated Park 1 is good for nickels and he's correct on that IMO.

Steve I think that it should have read "Minelab’s Find of The Year" Glad that they have honored you with their message, but they need to correct their sentence. Congrats.

Hey all, I just joined the forum and wanted to share my experience with the Equinox 600 which I just acquired recently. I am completely new to the Equinox series of detectors and so spent a lot of time on here reading what Steve and others have generously shared over the past year. I really wanted to get an 800 but I found a 600 on craigslist that I could not pass up. I got the 6" coil and just recently had the chance to try it out in Northern AZ for a couple days. I set it up in Field 2, with some adjustments, and went at a patch Id found gold in before. I was really surprised at how fun the Equinox is, and how well it sniffed out some tiny lil nuggets among the noisy hot rock infested ground. I guess I was just so pleased with how it performed that I had to share. Smallest nugglets took 4 to make a grain.. (Scale is tiny too) I dont think Iv seen anyone post a nugget found with the 600, lots of jewelry of course but not much nugget action. I assume its because most people serious about prospecting are leaning towards the 800 in general (I am!) I actually picked up an 800 that I cant wait to try out and compare with the 600. Anyway, I can share my settings if anyone is interested, and also if anyone has been using the 600 for prospecting Id love if they chimed in on this. Cheers! Also, just want to thank everyone here for sharing so much knowledge and experience, and I hope to be able to contribute to that as I learn more..

the "patch" as I found it, was on the side of a gently sloping hill. I had found one bigger piece (gram+) previously which was deeper than say 4-6" with sdc. I returned with a 12"evo on the 4500 and didnt find anything else. When I went back this time, i just scraped a few inches off of where Id found a smaller piece and found another, then another. So I just used my pick and scraped back a few more inches in every direction. As it turned out, the tiny pieces (which most id missed with the sdc) were within the top 2 inches, nothing deeper (or nothing deeper than I could detect) and no bedrock in sight. I was hunting a narrow parameter of signals (0,1,2,3) ignoring everything esle (but hearing and seeing 0 through40). Signals were bouncing all over from iron and hot rocks which I removed if I could isolate them without digging too much. Moving the coil really slow to pick up a solid tone, or id# and then giving it a little wiggle from different directions to lock on seemed to work. I really dont know how big the patch is haha, but what I found was spread out within about 15'x10'. If I had known this was the case, I would have brought a rake and pulled off the rocks first, detect, then scrape back an inch or two, repeat, being methodical and going slow. I'm sure that I missed a few with my sloppy procedure, and not allowing or investigating -3,-2,-1.... and also not playing around with the settings to get it dialed in better.. Sure did enjoy not having to chase false signals and ground noise though!

If the voltage did not drop almost instantly to 1.5 volts that might work. Reality is probably “no”. From https://data.energizer.com/pdfs/lithiuml91l92_appman.pdf: From ”Although the higher OCV of the LiFeS2 system is 1.8 volts, the nominal or rated voltage is 1.5 volts which makes it a suitable replacement for alkaline and nickel systems. The battery voltage will drop when it is placed under load. For this reason, the higher OCV will typically not damage electronic components, but device designers should take into consideration that the OCV of fresh batteries can range from 1.79 to 1.83V. LiFeS2 batteries fully meet the ANSI specification for a 1.5V battery. When a drain has been applied to the battery, the OCV drops dramatically and then slowly recovers with time.”

And if your Nox has a manufacturig defect that violates watertight integrity of the housing, that cover and insert is likely not going be 100% effective. The Nox is designed to be watertight down to 10 feet. If your Nox leaks under those conditions it is defective and should be replaced under the terms of its 3-year warranty. As far as I can tell, ML is honoring the warranty for that situation each and every time on the rare event it does happen. Also, be careful about applying a cover like the one described as the Nox needs to be able to dissipate heat from the housing under high outside ambient temperature conditions and bright sunlight. Some users have reported screen blacking and erratic behavior under extreme heat conditions even with those commonly used slip-on black vinyl sleeves with clear faceplate protectors. Buyer beware. HTH.

Hey kac, I built a couple like that a few years back. I still use my original one. I can tell you the t-handle design works great for me. I didn't like the lesche style handle when trying to cut through the turf. In harder soils they put alot of pressure on your palm. The t-handle does a good job of eliminating that. Also nice for leverage while loosening soil deeper in the hole. Your design looks good, simple and effective. I used an old #2 shovel for the blade of mine. It is thin but strong and cuts the roots like no other. Good luck with it

Subject pretty much burned itself out but here you go.... https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/10450-my-nox-is-toast/ https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/6908-my-equinox-has-drowned-and-waterproof-headphones/ https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/10640-another-flooded-nox/ https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/10644-with-the-reports-of-drownings/

On Monday morning i went to my best beaches early in the morning , the tide was in but going out and the tides are short at the moment . I didn't expect much . I started to detect and found a few coins here and there , it was enough just to wet my appetite so i kept going . I got to a groin and entered the next beach which i knew would be a lot quieter , i found a few coins and then with my ET i got a target reading 12 19 . I am always suspicious of that number and this time proved why . I dug down and out popped a nice 18 k 5.9 g Gold Signet ring , by this time the tide was showing that the beaches had scuffed out quite a bit . So i searched below the cut and down to the waters edge , i carried on till i reached 2 wooden groins and after that turned round and started back . At that point i found a Silver ring and after talking to a person who saw me and talking about detecting i carried on . Then i saw another Detectorist and we talked for a while . When we parted i found another thin Silver ring and not long after that a bit of Silver from what might be a Chain . Further along i found another Silver Signet ring then a heart shaped locket which broke when i tried to open it . When i reached the area i started i stopped and went to the Bank to pay in my last Months finds then got the Bus home . I stayed on the beach for 4 and a half hours and found the Gold ring , 3 Silver rings , the bit of chain pendent , the Locket and 95 Euro Cents , 2 small other foreign coins and £35.17 p in change which i have cleaned and will Bank next Month. My next hunt will be next Tuesday morning or Friday next week . I might take the Nox but that depends on the conditions and the weather . I get so much more from the target info on the ET and it is easier . But if the beach in the right state i will take the Nox and give V 2 a go .

Well said but it's doing a remarkable job up at the high settings--killing even alloyed slag. Looking at Steves chart didn't realize that it was an expanded range on both ends = better drawing of targets out of iron??? My intital "cap beater" F26+ range tests (In 2 tone to liven it up--take the cotton...) were impressive and seemed to offer a good solution for those brutal slag and cap infested beaches. Much as I like to complain I open my mouth and nothing comes out...!!!

No, the pinpoint low volume bug is a fault. It should not matter what the coil is over; when you engage pinpoint it should come on at the same volume level every time. The whole time I was in the UK it happened randomly, and I just hit the pinpoint button a second time and the it would work. Or I would just ignore it since I could hear it, just at a very low volume. Other detectors do not do it and neither should the Equinox. I'm surprised it did not get addressed in the latest update. Half the time I don't use pinpoint at all, just eyeball the beeps. In any case for me it is such a low level annoyance I really don't pay any attention to it. But this thread was about a separate issue, which is why I asked the question.

All-new patented 8"×12″ Dual Field coil for improved depth and sensitivity. Bonus 7.5″ Dual Field concentric coil for a limited time! To hunt all day, you need a lightweight detector that still provides high performance. The TDI SL Metal Detector has pulse induction power that provides unbeatable depth and sensitivity and is designed specifically for prospecting and identifying relics. Special prospecting features make life easier, such full-control ground balance that filters out the iron mineralization of hot rocks, black sand, and other tough grounds. This compact detector weighs only 3.5 pounds with its waterproof 7.5" x 12” High-Q Search Coil, which offers deep detection depth. Other accessory coils are also available. The rechargeable NIMH battery lasts up to 6 hours, and a backup AA battery back will power all-day exploration. Owner's Manual (for TDI SL series, none specific to High-Q) White's TDI SL High-Q Camo metal detector White's TDI SL High Q Technical Specifications* Internet Price TDI SL High Q $1099 (available in both tan or camo colors) Technology Ground Balancing Pulse Induction (GBPI) Frequency 3250 - 3370 Pulses Per Second Autotune Mode(s) Slow Motion Ground Rejection Manual, one turn control Soil Adjust Ground Balance On or Off (two position switch) Discrimination Conductivity switch*, 10 - 25 Pulse Delay Volume Control No Threshold Control One turn control Tone Adjust No Audio Boost No Frequency Offset One turn control Pinpoint Mode No Audio Output Speaker, 1/4" headphone socket Hip Mount No Standard Coil(s) 7.5" x 12" High Q plus bonus 7.5" round Dual Field (Limited Time only) Optional Search Coils Over 100 accessory coils available by White's and others Battery Rechargeable NiMH & AA Operating Time Up to 6 hours Weight 3.5 pounds Additional Technology The TDI was designed specifically to be able to use Minelab SD/GP compatible coils. However, performance can vary and the pulse delay may have to be advanced to compensate for coil differences that result in overload readings. Notes *The TDI is unique in that it can suppress audio responses into two different classes. Targets have a high tone or low tone audio depending on how the target relates to the ground balance setting. In general high conductive targets give a low tone and low conductive targets a high tone. The TDI can be set to allow for one response or the other. See White's TDI Coin Settings for more details on this control. *Notes on Technical Specifications - Detailed notes about the specifications listed in this chart. White's TDI SL High-Q Tan metal detector White's 7.5" x 12" High-Q coil for TDI series White's 7.5" round Dual Field coil for TDI series

If memory serve me correctly as a 17 year old I found myself swinging a Garrett A2B in one arm, the other arm holding a pick over my shoulder. No hat, no water, not GPS, just enthusiasm. Those days are long gone, getting back into electronic prospecting I found myself using a sling bag, it held water, gps, phone and a 5w handheld radio. A small pick hung off it and until I got myself a larger pick it was adequate. Problem was that I always had a reason to return to the car for something, which ate away at my swing time. I needed to equip myself so that I could operate for hours without needing to return to the vehicle. The addition of a decent size pick forced me to adopt a rig that allowed a large degree of independence. A molle battle belt and suspenders combined with a heavy duty leather belt formed the basis of my prospecting rig. A leather holster for the large pick, first aid kit, two way radio, GPS, phone, water bladder and water bottle, etc. I can simply add or detract as circumstances dictate. In remote areas I have a Personal Locator Beacon and additional safety gear, at other times an Ipad and phone replace the PLB. Snake first aid kit at all times, one in the car and one as part of the permanent first aid kit on the rig. I always leave trip information and details with family before going out, keep my first aid training up to date and maintain my gear, with particular care for keeping the car up to spec at all times.. I can now go out detecting without needing to return to the vehicle for a whole day. No more time wasting going back and forth, more swing time results.. safety and convenience. Pays to keep the gear mounted on the rear panels of the belt away from the front, less interaction between the detector and stuff. Easier to bend and dig. The water bladder carries 2 litres of water with ice cubes to keep it cool all day. The weight goes unnoticed and the pick is back far enough to not interfere with the detector. Set the rig up correctly and balance your load, the weigh disappears.. The rig in the pictures is my second attempt using a better battle belt and harness. Easier to thread the leather in and out between molle panels to hold the leather pick holder. Because of this rig I tend to wander off further and further, making the GPS and a map even more essential. The GPS to mark the location of the vehicle and to mark interesting locations, the topographic and geological map allows trip planning on the go. All a far cry from the 17 year old swinging the Garrett A2B with nothing but a pick.. All the best, Karelian.

I agree about the Deus. I also agree about the theory of what you are saying. And I still think it’s a relative non-issue from a practical standpoint for machines this light. The Deus is an imbalanced nose heavy detector, but at the weight level it is at it simply is not a big deal. Since you edited your post to comment on “a lot” I will do the same. I read ALL the forums Rick.

Better for what? Finding small gold? No way. Handling difficult ground and hot rocks? That is what a PI is for more than anything else. In moderate to low mineral conditions with few or no hot rocks you are better off with a VLF and since this is the White’s forum 24K or GMT. If those machines are having fits due to the ground or the hot rocks, then you switch to a PI like the TDI. My little saying is “use a VLF when you can and a PI when you have to”. People talk about finding small gold with a PI like the TDI but it’s all relative. Compared to the 24K the TDI is relatively blind to tiny gold and wiry, spongy gold. For my northern Nevada low mineral, small gold locations I prefer the 24K to the TDI. PI detectors, since they ignore the ground far better than a VLF, have an inherent ability to run much larger coils than a VLF. In bad ground a large coil on a VLF is actually counterproductive, since ground feedback overwhelms and negates any hoped for depth advantage. That’s why you rarely see coils larger than about 14” employed on VLF detectors. Since PI detectors are far less subject to ground issues they can run much larger coils effectively, making them superior at finding larger items at greater depths. It is not unusual to see 18” coils on PI detectors and coils up to 36” are employed regularly by some users.

Not to quibble, but to me the ultimate and original cell phone on a stick is the XP Deus. I think a little before the first version of the Deteknix Quest Pro was the Minelab Go Find/National Geographic series........ Jeff

I wonder if that form factor somehow facilitates IP68 environmental qualification as all three of those detectors are waterproof to at least 3 meters. In fact, I was surprised to see ML move away from that form factor for Vanquish. Which is NOT waterproof, btw. I would really like to see Nokta repackage the features of the Anfibio into the Simplex form factor and include the ergonomic streamlined UI (even if the price leaned more heavily towards Anfibio than Simplex). But I would settle for the “simple” addition of an additional higher operating frequency selection (e.g., 24 kHz) to a Simplex ++ deluxe model. Regardless, the streamlined simplicity, economy, and mid-to-high level performance capability of Simplex+ is more intriguing to me than Vanquish, and I might just spring for the Simplex to see what it can do out of the box. There is something strangely liberating about knowing that you can’t tweak settings and just gotta make do with what you have in your hands and trust that the designers have it optimally tweaked for 95% of situations, right out of the box. Reminds me of my Tek Delta days, a detector I still keep around for sentimental reasons and because it has an awesome concentric 8” coin grabber coil. And I like my Equinox form factor so what’s not to like about Simplex.

Thinking about the sweep speed. it would be nice, on the SL, to have a small bit of circuitry to allow the filtering to be adjusted on the fly. Something to allow the capacitance in the filter to be changed...even a 3 -position switch would be great. I'm going to be thinking about that this winter....which, according to the weatherman, is going to start this afternoon. Supposed to be 16 in the morning, with light snow on the ground. Jim

I didn't realize you wrote that, Steve. But I am glad a I did the sweep speed mod to mine. I have to sweep a bit faster, but that's no big deal. I prefer that to having to sweep really slow to detect the small stuff. It's possible the C56 & diode mod helps in that regard...making the SL more sensitive. Jim

“They” is me... I wrote up that spec sheet based on my involvement in the orIginal TDI project from day one. Before day one actually. Anyway, all motion detectors have an optimum sweep speed unless it’s adjustable, as in the White’s V/SAT control. Simply bury a target and sweep over it to find the best sweep speed. There is too fast and too slow and “just right”. A lot of modern VLF detectors do best at a pretty fast clip and people actually hurt themselves slowing down too much. But again, specs are just an indicator, only actually testing your machine will give you a feel for the proper sweep speed. Some machines are forgiving in this regard and some very picky. Knowing this is another thing that gives an operator that magic edge. The TDI in general benefits from “low and slow”.

Chase, that makes sense, i will keep that in mind! Thanks! And i just replaced my arm cuff with a Jeff Herke aluminum verson from Steve! Can't wait on Minelab to upgrade! That's when i found the broken coil tab, so i haven't got to try it yet!

It should provided it is constantly submerged or being doused by wave action (though the silicon can act as a thermal insulator of sorts and if the heat is being generated in the housing electronics, the water can’t remove that heat as effectively with the silicon barrier, but yeah, probably a non issue in the water). Also, many water hunters I know often hunt at the tide line or in the wet sand during their detecting session and in direct sunlight, without water cooling off the now exposed but silicon sealed housing, things can heat up really fast.

Note they said the Auto-Tune was "slow motion". That means if you swing it too fast, the A-T can't keep up. I think that may be what Reg Sniff's sweep speed mod was designed to cure. I also noticed in the video how slow they were swinging. I can see that in a patch, but you wouldn't cover much ground in general searching. Jim

I sent the US service department an email last night requesting instructions on returns. I'll post here when I have a reply.

I’ve said this before and so many things is way back when. In the early 70’s I hunted with a guy that couldn’t talk and also couldn’t hear . He and I both hunted with a 66 TR from White’s. I found that this company made items to help people like him. One was it had a vibrate unit that plugged into the speaker plug that I put in for him . To me it worked great but he liked to watch the big meter that the detector had . You put it on your arm like you do your watch and it worked the same as the Simplex will. Sorry guys I just had to give you another history lesson. Chuck

There’s a YouTube channel that talks about snakebite management in Australia. I have a cool compression bandage it has a marking on it that looks like a rectangle and you only put it on tight enough to stretch it until that rectangle turned into a square. That’s pretty neat , as long as you’re not already blinded by the venom. Maybe should practice put it on in the dark

They call them body recovery systems in WA------ 12 hour average response time---- dont know that for sure ,,but thats what i heard while there... i certainly doubt they would help much if you were ever bit by a snake way out bush... I read somewhere...maybe about a taipan...just sit down light a ciggy and relax, you wont have to worry about putting the cig out.. i believe more importantly that you know where your rig is- i lost mine this year and was only 100 yds from it.... but i dug out my phone and saw where i marked it on the map plus app... turned left and walked right to it... i wasnt even off Trents claims yet !!!! Navigation.... number one mate bandage kit 2 Radio contact number 3 Have fun number A1---- lolol

Thanks all

I still like to complain, in general, but certainly not about this F2 implementation. Still working it out, but I am liking F2 5 as a sweet spot over my tried and true FE 0. Will give it a workout in some mineralized, iron infested relic sites in about three weeks and will learn a lot more about it. Can't wait.

All threshold based motion type detectors have a threshold autotune or reset rate, either preset or adjustable. I added a link to the tech notes. Plus here is a detailed article... https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-guides/steves-guide-metal-detector-autotune-threshold-sat-vsat/

Yes, they are. Thanks for confirming what I posted above (requoted below), it is nice to know I am not getting bogus info out there. Maybe I need to write less per post so the important info gets seen. . In any event, hope ML comes through for you on this (I see another user was able to return to ML under warranty with the same issue so the odds appear to be in your favor). . Good luck! As Steve said, it is a generous warranty package from ML compared to other detectors so take advantage of the protections to your investment. Well, since all Equinoxes are still under warranty (3 years), why not get them replaced by ML? I have heard of this happening to other users and ML has honored the warranty for this issue.

It is no secret I have a huge dislike for most people in general. The more nosey they are, the bigger my dislike of them. I figure I mind my business, and they should mind theirs. But that is often the opposite of what most do. One day I had a crazy idea and the even crazier part is, that it works, and works extremely well. I have an old park close to my house that I like to detect, but it is popular with snobby people that walk/job the walkways around the park. They will give you the stink eye big time. The crazy idea was...I had noticed the local city workers usually wear a hi vis safety vest when they are working, and nobody even seemed to pay them any mind or attention. So I bought one and gave it a try while detecting. It works so well I will never go hunt a public area without it. I guess people just assume you are doing cleanup work or some kind of maintenance and leave you alone.

Also from field:

Unless the Vanquish coils turn out to be compatble with Equinox (which would be great, but unlikely), don't hold your breath on an Equinox compatible alternatuve to the 6" round. After nearly two years, ML has not even hinted at launching additional coils for Equinox and there doesn't appear to be any active effort to do so from third parties either. On the other hand, I have all 3 coils and except for unique situations, I find the 11" stock just makes sense for 95% of my detecting situations from beach, to park, to relic hunting.

I appreciate you posting that. I have been trying to convince people the 600 is nearly as good as the 800 for gold nuggets, but since the 600 lacks that magic “Gold Mode” it does make people skeptical. You are officially now the “Equinox 600 Nugget Master”! My Tips On Nugget Detecting With The Minelab Equinox

Expect cool days and below freezing nights. Still, it's the best time of the year! Ice fog rainbow.

Should you of found the cross around the New Orleans area it would be near the 1920-1935 era. It is showing the cross with the sun in the center of it. That design was used in the French areas near N.O. due to the religious beliefs at the time. Some Catholics were converted Voodoo believers and they held on to some of their beliefs. Hope this helps.

Looks like it has a the flat spring metal momentary switch so either it isn't releasing OR there might be some moisture behind it causing it to short. If it's under warranty id give Fisher a hollar. Should be an easy fix for them.

I could guess from your Avatar image that you have a Fisher F44/22/11. Could you give a bit more detail? What detector? How long have you had it? Did it always do this or just start recently?

Hi JW, I have never had a problem with PI detectors running stock coils and things like boot lugs. 18” and larger coils seemed to be where I might run into the issue.

It is indeed a scoop in my pocket, and yes, I have been known to grow my hair quite long back in the day. 1980 on old U.S. Army "mechanized mule" with 4" subsurface dredge hauling into Franklin Creek in the Fortymile - more hair- less belly!

One thing I always found fascinating at Chisana was the effort expended to bring water to bench locations - gold bearing areas far above the current stream area. The terrain is steep, and the bedrock is fractured to great depth. This made ditches a poor solutions for much of the area, and wooden boxes or "flumes" had to be constructed to carry water to the desired mining areas. Just getting the lumber to the site was a major undertaking. The gold bearing creeks are well above treeline. That being the case the lumber was whipsawed in the valley below then pulled by horses to the valleys above. More impressive was the engineering feats involved. The flume would start far upstream at creek level and then follow a more gentle grade than the creek itself, eventually bringing water miles downstream and hundreds of feet above the current stream level. In the process gullies were bridged and the entire structure built across cliff faces. Most of the old flume system is gone or in serious disrepair, but sections remain to tell the tale. Click on images for larger views.... View down lower Little Eldorado Creek - flume high on hill in distance Closer look at flume above mouth of Little Eldorado Creek And closer yet... Upper Bonanza view of flume system - much of the wood has been scavenged over the years Flume crossing cliff areas Detail of flume construction Flume winding around the terrain The old flume system close up To be continued...

Hi Mitchel, All my forum posts are written directly on the forum. The latest versions save work automatically in event of a computer crash, etc. Try it. Start a post, but don’t actually submit it. Leave the site, then come back and start a post in the same location - the stuff you typed before should be there. However, I do prefer using a PC instead of my phone since there are more formatting options in the editor menu. The pictures of course get edited offline and then imported. I do have a bad habit of banging stuff out and posting too quickly. Then noticing errors later and having to edit. I am glad you are all enjoying the tale. I will be slowly bringing it all up to the present and my visit to Chisana this last July. Lots more to come still.

Posting an update - took my detector to a remote beach to test on Sunday and no chatter issues, so looks like my back yard has really bad interference. I was able to solve the issue with the advice in this thread - lowered the sensitivity to 17 and had no issues. I think the reason i thought it was working previously is i mistook threshold for volume when i unboxed it and was running at a lower setting so didnt notice the noise (rookie mistake). This video is pretty good at describing the issue - glad i’m not the only one who thought i’d have to return my unit:

One thing to always try when having issues like this is go to multiple locations, or at least more than one. It is impossible to know how much EMI there is at any location. Just because other detectors did not react does not mean there is no EMI. There are plenty of machines that run quiet as a mouse in bad EMI but which at the same time lose significant performance due to it - "silent EMI masking". Other machines avoid it by running at a frequency that misses whatever EMI there is. I went to a location yesterday where I could not get the Equinox to shut up until I got down to sensitivity 10 in multifrequency and around 12 if I ran in 20 kHz. Terrible EMI location for some reason. I am not saying what anyone is experiencing is EMI - just passing this along for people with a new detector using it for the first time at their house or backyard.

I use my pinpoint almost every time, and it seems to work fine, except once and a while I notice the volume fades out....I think it detunes to something and fades, so I just move the coil away from the target area and re-pinpoint and it works fine. The volume fade is more like a quirk/bug then anything and not really too annoying IMO. When the PP works, it works great, spot on X marks the spot IMO.