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So here it is, my maiden voyage with the AQ. I was able to get in a 2½ hour hunt at the beach today. My goal was to dig every signal that sounded good and some that did not but piqued my interest. For the most part I stayed in tone mode, sensitivity almost full, and the rest in the preset settings. I did try all metal and mute modes as a check occasionally. I hunted the dry sand mostly since it was high tide but did venture on the saturated sand a bit. Results>>>>Humans are slobs LOL. I dug a ton of garbage just to get a feel for the machine. I like the quick, loud response it gives when you get close to a target. I also like how easy it is to pinpoint with it. Batteries lasted the hunt plus about an hour more for the land hunt I did later. The second battery lasted about the same. Way longer that I expected them to last. About 3½ hours each. Coins sounded terrible as to be expected, aluminum screamed as did the bottle caps. No gold this hunt but a cool looking Amethyst pendant, a nice (fake) stud, a nice chain that I was hoping was silver but was stamped Italy 14K …yeah right, China special - copper showing through. The land hunt later was to hopefully find Iron canister shot for an 1812 war project I visit occasionally. It definitely found a lot of big iron at very good depth, but none of them would be round shot. My first impression of the machine? I like it and will probably do better when I have the beach for the day and the seasons change. If you are after coins and little junk, this is not the machine for you. If you are an experienced PI guy, you will probably appreciate this machine. I will use it for gold as it was intended, but still hunt for silver with the GPX. On the beach it handled the EMI well. On the land hunt and about 40 feet from the train tracks, it got a bit jumpy at times but still better that the GPX. Not sure how much depth I loose during that though. It will be about 2 weeks until I can get to another beach to hunt. Work always gets in the way!

A couple of night ago I did a beach session hoping to take advantage of a bit of surf and wind waves I had seen in the afternoon. In that afternoon session I couldn't find any surf/wet targets but I did find one silver band in dry sand using Park 1. I thought there would be some low tide waves so I went back out from 1-3 AM. I walked about a mile before I found my first penny and then I got to my spot where the wave energy had been concentrated. I picked up a few coins and junk and headed back to where I started. I stopped to look at my settings and noticed that I had tracking off and I turned it on in Beach 1/23/50/6/0F2. I went about 20 feet and I got a 20 target number. That is a number I skip sometimes when I am 'saving' myself from making too many holes. To my surprise there was a ring in my scoop and in my light it looked pretty good! It looked like a ruby and diamonds but it was a 20! What gives with that? Here are the other items I found on the hunt. This was the same beach I couldn't find much just a couple of days before and when I gridded it I had been skipping some of the 20 signals because those are all pennies, right? Now I had just found this ring and it felt good but I didn't have my glasses. How many rings did I skip by not digging all of my 20s? When I got home I checked the ring. Cheap and not gold. Nice looking and I was disappointed but then I realized that the decision to skip many of the 20s (pennies) was a good choice so I could dig a quarter. One quarter equals 25 penny holes. The cheap ring made me feel 'good' if you get what I'm saying. This afternoon I went to a different beach and it is also normally a producer but not now. Near the end I finally got a 'round sound' at 10. This makes me anticipate. It was a ring but a black, stainless steel ring. Not valuable either. Wave intervals are over 15 so I don't expect much up and I'll have to spend more time wading and get lucky for the old stuff as few swimmers are around for new drops. It is always a learning experience to get out. Mitchel

Hey guys, I've been using my Nox 800 underwater (salt water) for some days now (7 underwater hunts total, about 2 hours each), and thought I could share some first results, plus give a nice and cheap alternative to the minelab yellow headphones for underwater use if anyone interested. My first ever snorkel-dive with Nox in my usual pebble beach was by using just the speaker (no headphones) with my head submerged, and as expected, I soon realized that this wasn't enough...even with my head underwater was very difficult to hear through the speaker due to extremely low volume even in calm sea...(however, as already posted in my first topic in the forum, I was still able to get my first whote gold ring with Nox using just the speaker 🙂). Anyway, in my second hunt I bought the Minelab's yellows, but to my experience with them, again I wasn't able to hear the signals good enough underwater due to their low vol especially after some minutes underwater when the soft earpads and the space between was geting full of water. Furthermore, the yellows are huge headphones and I need to be more descret in my beaches this time of year. In my last hunts however, I tried something different and wanted to share my experience...I bought a pair of 100% waterproof and submersible swimming in-ear headphones especially designed for swimming and watersports that had some quite good reviews from athletes around... the product is the "H2O Surge+ waterpoof headphones" (company is "H2O") and bought them for $40 through Amazon...(arrived from amazon UK). Well guys, in my last underwater hunts with them, my experience is tremendously good....their sound quality underwater and their volume is honestly out of this world, and I'm not kidding...especially when comparing to Minelab's yellows. Volume is high enough to hear even the tinniest faint signal and you feel the tone inside your ear like hell... their earplugs completelly seal the external sounds also, and their sound-tones & bass quality is very immpresive for such a small pair of headphones. These small earbuds come with a 3.6ft straight cord so at least for me were comfortable enough while snorkelling and still able to leave the Nox in the bottom (chest depth max) while relaxing in the surface with my mask waiting for the "recovery fog" to leave. Their speakers are 100% waterpoof (IPX8 rating) and can be submerged to 3.5m depth no prob. The company states that maybe sometimes they need equalization (blowing air inside them) but sinnce now I didn't need it. However the cord is thin so you mast be carefull not to stretch it, and if you feel to you can make an easy mod to seal the hole-plug of the Nox where they are inserted (I made a simple yet effective mod by drilling a small hall to the original plastic protective threaded plug of the nox, and used 2 perfect fit o-rings inside to seal the 3.5mm jack connection while screwing the plastic plug...you already know that the nox is waterproof in that point also, but better safe than sorry and made the extra mile to seal it better). As already stated, the H2O earbuds are designed for athletes (especially designed for swimming and watersports) and come 5 sets of earplugs to fit perfectly in every ear...in my ears they fit so nice and they completely seal external sounds and water from my ear canal. Don't wanna say much more about them, and waiting to see how they handle overtime, but as for now I'm totally impressed with them and their volume and sound quality, and my finds went immediatelly up. Furthermore, In fear of flooding the Nox in the future as many other members experienced, and in order to make it more usable underwater while snorkelling, I made some extra mods. I totally water-sealed the machine by: a) using silicon paste inside the battery compartment inside the handle (removable if needed but should be a pain to remove)...b) used marine epoxy paste to seal the control box and screen perimeter where the plastic parts join together, and also sealed the point that the control pad meets the handle (critical point there).... c) completelly sealed and eliminated the external speaker (will never use it anyway)...d) made a custom shaft by modifying the original lower shaft to shorten it and also drilled a small drain hole near the bottom...I know I may void the warranty with my mods, but took the risk and now I'm using the machine underwater with piece of mind. Results: As already said, I have used my Nox underwater for 7 hunts till now...about 2 hours each. Attached some photos of the finds. In these +/- 14 hours I have: - 4 gold rings: All are solid gold (14k & 9k the smallest one), except the large and heavy one wich is bi-metal silver with 14k gold piece on top. (ps. the top white 14k gold ring with small diamonds is the one I posted some days ago) - 1 crusifix (silver with gold Christ) - Almost €22 in change - 82(!) old clad coins (all are pre-euro drachmas..no worth unfortunatelly, but yeap 82 of them in these 14 hours) - Good amount of lead sinkers (including some huge ones) - 2 spoons, 3 keys, a jank pin jewel piece, a junk watch, and a live HXP-95 military cartridge (strange to find it underwater though..!) - Aluminum junk: MINIMUM!..we're talking almost no junk comparing to dry hunt!!! I think I gonna love this underwater thing!!!!! 😄 Ps. My Nox settings if someone's interested are: Beach 2, Recovery @5, Iron Bias F2@0 , 2 tones only (pitch 1 for iron / pitch 23 for non-fe), notch only -9 to -7 to avoid ground/ceramic rocks underwater (all other is open and able to hear iron from -6 to 0 in low vol pitch 1), tone break @0, sensitivity @17, GB manual by pumping sideways (have uneven bottom), no threshold. That's all 🙂 Happy hunting everyone! Argyris

I went back to an area that I had been over with my 3030 at least two times, this time with the NOX 800 and came away with this nice Barber. It wasn't deep, just next to a piece of trash too close for the CTX to separate. Norm

Here is a tiny part of a long and complicated story. As I've mentioned, I was a White's dealer. White's had a few very powerful distributors. They also had an old contract with Kellyco they came to regret but could not get out of, leading to some strange shenanigans, but that is another story. Enter the Internet. White's basically feared the internet, and prohibited most dealers initially from even mentioning they were dealers for White's on the internet. The excuse was that they were trying to protect the dealers from undercutting each other. But what they were doing was favoring the distributors, who also just happened to be dealers. They could sell via the internet, but the lowly dealers could not. Dealers were in effect having to compete with their own suppliers. People tend to revere Jimmy Sierra, but he had a huge chunk of the White's pie, and did everything he could to protect his slice, at the expense of everyone else. A big part of what took White's down was having distributors way past the day when they were still needed, but old relationships and contracts had them over a barrel to some extent. Eventually White's listed dealers on their website, and the most you could do as a dealer was place a White's logo on your website, which linked to the White's dealer info page on the White's website. You still could not do direct sales on your own website. In theory you were allowed to sell a small number of detectors outside your immediate local area, but you could also be sure somebody would complain if you did. White's wasted a huge amount of time chasing down and chastising dealers for the crime of selling their detectors on the wrong side of some line. Then White's tried selling machines on their own website, and gave a kickback to the dealer into whose area they were selling. Having local dealers but then getting between the dealer and the local customer. How weird is that? It was insanity. I was a multiline dealer at the time, and a very large White's dealer based purely on the numbers I moved locally. I was also early in seeing the potential of the internet, and drove many more sales via our website. Of Fisher, Garrett, Minelab, Tesoro, and eventually XP. But White's was basically invisible on our website as I simply went with what I could sell online without getting hassled... at the expense of possible White's sales, since they were not even represented. By the time White's lightened up on dealers it was too late. I'm sure it was Jimmy fighting all this to the bitter end that had a lot to do with White's finally cutting ties with him. The net effect of all this distributor control and full scale suppression of dealership selling via the internet was predictable. Dealers switched to emphasizing other brands. Any casual consumer Googling for metal detectors would hardly know White's existed. It was just not benign neglect of the internet, it was active suppression of the greatest marketing tool ever invented. This was one reason why newer people getting into being dealers ignored White's in favor of other companies that allowed internet sales. Many newer dealers were only becoming dealers to take advantage of the internet, and were not interested in regular storefront sales. White's cut themselves out of the loop.

I bought 2 batteries just to get me through a hunt. Sometimes I hunt for 9 or 10 hours, so I will change machines and go to the GPX to balance out my time. One thing for sure is the AQ does not compare weight wise to the GPX . I charged both batteries and barely used one for some air tests. Then I put them back on the charger to freshen them up. Rested a couple of days and then charged them again and went for a hunt on Thursday. Each lasted me the 3 1/2 hours. Don't know if repeatedly touching up the charge did anything to get me the full amount the first time out or not, but they lasted. But when they go, they go fast! No time to delay in changing batteries, just do it right away. I'll post my first hunt in a thread today.

Mitchel, 2 of my nicer rings this year were from the same hunt and both rang up "19-20" on the Nox. Yes, most targets in that range are zinc pennies but now I get excited when I see those TID numbers. BTW-both are 14K and about size 10.

And as promised the pic of the German 1st WW buckle found by my friend Kevin ( 15 years old ) and his Vanquish 340 ... Btw in an area where they were US troops during 1918 , fighting with the French against the Germans ...

The reasons most businesses fail is that the person steering the boat won't take advice of the most loyal team members telling them that the boat is off course. It's that stubbornness, denial, and unwillingness to let others have a say, that crashes a business. The best thing that could happen to White's is new blood at the top.

Reading your post I'm happy for two reasons. First one, I'm maybe claiming too much from my machine, continuously complaining low battery duration not far from your result. Second one I'm almost to the point to live in peace of mind with the idea of aluminium targets at some depth. Even using GB to hear two tones, I still dig monster holes in a place where I've done good results before and a little after lockdown times. Fooled by little fishing sinkers but holy God! I guess the Vlf failed dozens of times there.

Can't speak to the authenticity, etc. of the standard model you found for $250. But don't pay $650 for the Pro since the Fisher F19 has all the features of the Fisher GB Pro and then some, and new you can find it for $450 total (ConUS shipping included) on Ebay. That's with the 5"x10" coil. If you want the 7"x11" coil instead, the Bounty Hunter Time Ranger Pro (same features as F19) should be available for $400 from some dealers. (If it were me I'd pay the $315 for the used F19 I mentioned above before I'd fork out $450 just to get a warranty. But that's me.) There has been quite a bit of discussion here as to why Fisher wants more for the Gold Bug Pro than the F19. Apparently it's all in the marketing. Just one more reason to come here and get the real scoop before committing you $.

My first metal detector in 1972 was a White's Coinmaster 4. I became a White's dealer in 1976. Over the years I owned the following: White's Beachhunter ID, White's Coinmaster IV, White's Coinmaster V Supreme, White's DFX, White's Goldmaster, White's Goldmaster II, White's Goldmaster V/SAT, White's Goldmaster 3, White's Goldmaster 4/B, White's Goldmaster 24K, White's GMT, White's M6, White's MXT, White's MX Sport, White's Surfmaster II, White's Surf PI, White's Surf PI Pro, White's Surf PI Dual Field, White's Sierra Pulse Pro, White's TDI, White's TDI SL, White's Vision, White's V3i And as a dealer I "borrowed" and played with countless more models. Right as of this moment I still have a DFX, V3i, and Goldmaster 24K I got in the fall of 2018. It's just now sinking in that after 48 years of using White's metal detectors, I have probably officially purchased my last new White's. I guess it is not impossible yet somebody could purchase the company and somehow take things on to new and improved models. Unfortunately, I just do not see that as being very likely. The name may continue, but White's as an industry leader is probably nothing more now than a memory. It's hard to believe that a company that produced something as sophisticated as the V3i in 2009 is now done.... I was still harboring a hope that somehow a V4 would see the light of day. In fact I figured they either pull a rabbit out of their hat, or it was over. Unfortunately it proved to be the latter. I do know one thing. My V3i is in pristine condition, and I am going to treat it with kid gloves now. If there was ever a detector that might become a collectors item, the V3i is it. I do not think we will see anything remotely like it ever again. The Goldmaster 24k is a very good detector, and thanks to Tom Boykin I got to use it early on and write my last big review of a White's detector. I always felt a little bad about the MX Sport debacle, so it was nice to end things on an upbeat note. A picture of my last detector from White's Electronics, quite a difference from my first "big box" Goldmaster in 1973.

I was really looking forward to hitting the beaches hard this weekend with the holiday crowds, great tides and new swell coming in but a couple of days ago the news reported that my local beaches were going to be re-closed just for the 4th of July weekend. I thought I would sneak in a hunt before the closure went into effect so I took the TDI BeachHunter and headed down to one of my favorite locations to detect a couple hours after high tide. There was a decent slope going down to the water and in the light of the nearly full moon I could see several patches of black sand- both pretty good indicators that there were going to be some targets. Even though the tide was still fairly high I was able to work in the wet sand and shallow surf and I started to find an encouraging number of clad coins with a surprising amount of quarters in the mix. This was shaping up to be an excellent hunt. That's when the local police SUV came by and told me that the beach was closed and that I needed to start making my way off the beach. Now, I have hunted this beach dozens of times at all hours of the night and day and the local lifeguards have always let me be when they saw me. The only other time I was asked to leave was also by local law enforcement. I was disappointed since I had just found a productive patch of sand but I said "Yes Sir" and went back to my car to change batteries and put on some different clothes. I thought the officer was actually giving me a little wiggle room when he said, "start making your way off the beach'" instead of "leave the beach" so I went back to hunting and never saw another patrol over the next 6 hours. But I did see many more people including 3 or 4 other hunters. I detected some other nearby spots before heading back at low tide to hunt the site I started at. To my surprise and indignation there was a claimjumper detecting on my claim! I decided to give him plenty of space and started to work the fringes of the "paydirt" where I was still digging targets. However, to my surprise, the other hunter left shortly after I arrived and I think I know why. I couldn't make out what detector he was using but judging from the number of good targets that I continued to find, some even in his scooped out holes, he was either a beginner or had a detector that couldn't handle the modest amount of black sand- maybe both. This area was not that big- perhaps 20' wide by 100' long but I found enough targets to keep me busy for the next couple of hours. I found a couple of rings and a couple of bracelets and I was certain that one of those bracelets was silver. I really like the TDI BeachHunter. It is the most recent addition to my "arsenal" and one that I have the fewest amount of hours on due to overall beach conditions this past year and the pandemic impact. It's been compared to the Fisher Impulse AQ Limited but from what I've seen I believe that the AQ is deeper. The BeachHunter is deep and is really sensitive to both small and gold targets but its pulse delay is 10us compared to 7.5us on the AQ so I'd like to compare "all metal" performance of both detectors when I am able to land an AQ. I drove all the way home wishing I had found gold but happy to have found a big silver bracelet. Unfortunately, when I took a closer look at it I saw what you can see on the the bottom right of the photo- the silver plating wearing through. Arghhhh! Well, at least, I found enough clad to pay for gas this time! GL&HH!

Good report, You kicked butt for 2 plus hours...WOW! Lotta targets......No doubt from the pictures drysand is Nox territory, or VLF ...I think the "AQ" will shine for you this winter when the tides are low and you can slip out into the wetsand...Those are the hunts I'm excited to see for you. ..☠️

Well I live in Florida, 12 minutes from the beach and I’m leaving the porch light lit all night just in case one comes my way.

Mitchel had a moment with a ring. I had found 8 gold ones that day but could only find 7 when showed them to my wife. She told me to look on my finger. 😵 That one fitted quite good.

You probably should avoid swapping components between the two setups (especially the pinpointers) as you may be "confusing" the control module (perhaps the other pinpointer was not completely unpaired from the module or glitched during the unpairing process, who knows - but it just sounds like a recipe for confusion). Kind of a first world problem for those of us who can afford two or more complete ORX setups, I suppose. Anyway, there is no email but the contact address and phone number are: Detector Electronics Corp.23 Turnpike RoadSouthboro, MA 01772508-460-6244 The support web page is: https://www.xpmetaldetectorsamericas.com/xp-service-and-repairs Or if you misplace this bookmark just google XP Americas...not so hard. Happy 4th Relicmeister.

Yes, that was the first thing I noticed about the headphone cable....and the power cable for that matter. they really stick out like a sore thumb. What I did until I find a better method, is to run the cable back under the arm rest between it and and the battery pod. That way the stress (if it gets any) will be on the cable almost a foot from the connector. I may tape it similar to what you have done though, so, it at least points in the right direction!

This is the other from the same area. It's bigger.

This webpage helps answer, and it looks like instead of the USA nickel alloy composition (25% Ni, 75% Cu) the Canadian mint used nearly pure nickel from 1968-1999 for dimes, quarters, and halves. Pure nickel is ferromagnetic so presumably these are attracted to a magnet also, besides those minted 2000 and onward which are primarily steel (boo!). I may have found some Canadian dimes in those 99.9% nickel composition years -- I'll see if I can find them and check with a magnet. Or maybe one of you would... Update: just checked a 1975 Canadian dime with a magnet. Yep, they attract! So although that won't tell you if it's iron (2000-present) or nickel (1968-1999), it should in most cases (I don't think 1982-1999 5 cent pieces which were same alloy as US 5 cent pieces) tell silver from non-silver. All the valuable stuff I learn here everyday....

Last year I bought 2 new pairs of Detector Pro Gray Ghost NDT from my local dealer and early this year 1 more pair . I buy them like that to keep me ahead in case they stop making them with all the new machines coming out with their own phones. When I tried 1 early last Month I found that the tones had changed . In the past I have praised these headphones as being brilliant for all Minelab machines , being able to simulate the exact tones the machines make without headphones. When I discovered this I have now decided to take them back to the shop and in the mean time I bought 2 pairs of Nugget Buster NDT . When they came I checked them and to my horror they have the same dumbed down muffled speakers too. 1 of the sets were faulty anyway so I sent them both back. Maybe Detector Pro doesn't understand the issues with Minelab machines and their tones / sounds . But if you have a detector that has fluty tones and you have no choice but to buy bass toned headphones that sound nothing like the tones on the machines speaker then whats the point having that machine ? Garrett I feel makes good headphones that suit their machines . XP make great headphones (not WS5 ) that suit their machines. I am sure other makers put in headphones that go well with their machines. Minelab are renowned for making great sounding machines then totally letting them and themselves down with bass toned headphones that for many of us have trouble hearing the targets if low Bass toned . I used sound to pick out targets and only look at the numbers if not sure . With the newer Gray Ghosts / Nugget Busters I am stuck and always having to check target numbers . When doing beaches that are trashy to the hilt it is important that we are given the best headphones that simulate the exact tones the machine makes . Anything else is cheap rubbish . We saw that with the Koss phones on the Explorer's and ET and CTX , we have seen it with the cheap but high priced with Minelab Logo headphones on the Nox . When using my last remaining higher toned Gray Ghost NDT phones I get the targets nice and sharp. The newer types are like listening through a damned pillow. If Minelab or Detector Pro etc are worried about Health & Safety and damaging hearing of people then put volume controls on them , which I will add Detector Pro does. All other Detector Pro headphones that I have checked are low toned except maybe ? as I the past the Black Widows . At least I hope they are the same as they used to be . The headphones issue is one of the reasons I have gone to Garrett for my next machine. If Minelab let the side down again I will not buy a Minelab in future . The right Headphones are vital pieces of kit and if you are going to have a machine that has fluty or whistle tones then the Headphones that come with them MUST have the same tones . It can affect a detectorist opinion of a machine and his / her ability to use or understand and hear deep targets . Wake up Minelab on this important issue . STOP giving us rubbish Headphones that don't do the job . Your machines are great most of the time . Your Headphones or copies of others are just plain pants. I am not getting at Detector Pro or at Minelab though it sounds it . Detector Pro doesn't know any better I think . But Minelab damned well should . Rant over , for now !

Thank you, I agree. I love to turn on the detector and hear a target on the the first couple of swings in the wet sand. The average distance between targets was about 10ft which isn't bad but how I long for those conditions where you get a signal or two with every step. Yes, great to get back on the beach after mostly hunting lakes this year. I, especially, enjoy hunting on the beach, under a bright full moon, wearing shorts and a t-shirt with plenty of targets to dig.

Got out to my test garden finally (weather is bad and I'm sensitive/allergic to chiggers but finally toughed it out -- I may pay for that in a couple days). I'm going to give an intro and if you're not going to read it (and heed it) then you probably shouldn't read the rest, either. Introduction to and Fundamentals of Metal Detector Depth Measurements One of the most often asked questions about detectors, new and old, is "how deep will it detect?" That's an easy question, too easy. The only appropriate answer is "that depends...". Let's take a look at what this depends upon, in not necessarily the order of importance: 1) Target goal -- coins, large jewelry, small jewelry, gold, platinum, or silver jewelry, natural gold nuggets (and what size), non-ferrous relics, ferrous relics, large caches, small caches...? (I'm sure you can think of more.) 2) Natural ground conditions -- wet, dry, how mineralized (i.e. Fe3O4 content), salt content, ground phase, surface rubble, hot rocks, cold stones? 3) Site conditions -- ferrous & iron trash, aluminum trash, lead shot and/or bullets and fishing sinkers, gun casings? 4) Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) -- too many to mention; you've just got to figure out a way to work around it by adjusting your detector, etc. 5) Detector options -- what coil(s) do you have or plan to use? 6) How do you determine if a target signals or not? Other factors also exist, such as the skill and (very important) objectivity of the detectorist doing the test. These are impossible to quantify but should not be ignored. Now that we've defined parameters, let's get on to the test I actually performed. Obviously I didn't cover all possible situations! Conditions of this test 1) Target -- (two different) -- 5 inch deep USA Memorial Cent (95% Copper, 5% Zinc) and 6 inch deep USA Jefferson 5 cent piece (25% Nickel, 75% Copper). 2) Natural ground conditions -- pretty dry (but not like late summer desert). We've only had about an inch of rain in the past 4 weeks. Fe3O4 reading of 2 to 3 bars on both the Fisher F75 and Fisher Gold Bug Pro. This could roughly be characterized as 'moderate mineralization'. Grass covered smooth ground with no rocks that my detectors are sensitive to, and no known salt content. 3) Site conditions -- Around these two buried targets I've removed all background metal that any of my detectors are sensitive to. 4) EMI -- now we're getting to the painful part. Residential neighborhood and close to my house, so I have to deal with various sources of EMI. I'll discuss more below when I talk about the settings I used. 5) Detector options -- Since I'm doing a comparison test I chose coils which are roughly equivalent -- for the F75 I used the Detech Ultimate 13 inch round; for the Equinox 800 I used the Minelab 12" x 15" (largest of the three available coils). As mentioned, using square root of height X width for an eliptical, that gives 13.4" as the equivalent round coil in the case of the Equinox elliptical. I consider that close enough, and the best I think I can do finding coils that match these two detectors. 6) How do you determine if a target signals or not? This has to be subjective. I used a threshold technique in all cases, listening for a clear signal above threshold (similar to how native gold detectorists typically hunt). In most cases I could squeeze out another half inch, maybe hearing a warble, but when that happened I backed off that half inch and confirmed I was getting a clear signal -- then recorded the clear signal depth. For the Equinox I had the added feature that I could look at the digital target ID and see if I was getting something close to expected there, although in the end my ears were just as good of an indicator, and maybe more objective. My depth resolution was 1/2 inch, meaning that was the smallest increment I used. That's also my estimate of the measurement uncertainty. My method was to stack up wood 'shims' next to the target (not covering the target sweetspot, if that even matters) -- slightly off to the side. Thus the coil rode the top of the shim pile. Note that each coin was only a certain depth in the ground (5" for the 1 cent, 6" for the 5 cent) and thus this is a kind of hybrid ground+air test. The values below are the total target-to-coil distance, so the sum of depth in ground plus coil height above ground = shim stack height. Detector Setups (modes & settings). Fisher F75 Ltd ("black") Motion All Metal mode, Ground Balanced, Gain = 99 (max), threshold just above silent (a bit wobbly), internal speaker. (This was the only mode and settings used. I'll comment later on why.) Minelab Equinox 800 -- 3 setups (all ground balanced separately): a) Field 2, multi-frequency, recovery speed = 5, iron bias FE=0, no discrcrimination (all 50 channels open), 2 tones, gain = 22 (highest I could operate and not be swamped by EMI). b) Gold 2, 20 kHz single frequency, recovery speed = 5, gain = 25 (max). (Note: EMI was terrible in multi-frequency, even with lower gain.) c) Gold 2, 40 kHz single frequency, other settings same as b) above. Results. For the 5" depth-in-ground 1 cent (high conductor) the F75 picked it up 1/2" deeper than the 800's a) and b) settings above (I didn't measure for c) settings). That is, total target --> coil distance 11 inches for the F75 and 10.5 inches for the Equinox. So slight edge to F75, but right at the (estimated) uncertainty limit. For the 6" depth-in-ground 5 cent (low conductor) the order of performance (worst to best were as follows): Eqx setting a) -- 11 inch total target --> coil distance. F75 & Eqx setting b) -- 13.5 inch total ------------------- these two tied in depth. Eqx setting c) -- 15.5 inch total -------------------- clear winner for these conditions! Summary, Conclusions, and final comments. I emphasize that these kinds of tests depend strongly upon conditions. I've tried my best to define what conditions and settings I was dealing with / using. In particular I had to conform to the EMI environment present. The F75 was slightly better (but at the limit of uncertainty) for the high conductor. Half an inch, at least in my book, isn't much and other factors (e.g. target ID accuracy) could easily outweigh this small increment. But the F75 did outperform, slightly. For the low conductor, the Eqx 800 in Gold 2 mode and operating at 40 kHz was the clear depth winner by 2 inches. The most surprising thing to me is that Gold 2, 40 kHz clobbered Field 2 Multi by 4 inches! Previous testing has shown that the discriminate processes of the F75 are noticeably inferior depthwise for my test garden. I did try the F75 in non-motion all-metal, a mode that today is almost unheard of (but it was standard back in the late 1970's), although many detectors use this mode for their pinpoint function. In some air tests I've done with large objects (Weber Kettle charcoal grill where you measure not in inches but in feet!) this mode is super sensitive but because of its instability with time and other quirks it's not a commonly used mode and I was unable to get it to stabilize (it may have been picking up on nearby iron trash in the ground which the other modes and detectors were insensitive to). The Equinox in particular has hundreds to even into the thousands of setting combinations. I chose the ones I thought were both most appropriate and also most sensitive to the targets, within the EMI limits of my site. I'm not interested in investigating further unless there is a big gap (oversight) in my tests. One final point about the Equinox vs. F75: as pointed out in the initial post in this thread the F75-plus model sells for $650, which turns out to be the same price as the Equinox 600 (and $250 less than the Eqx 800). But the 600 model doesn't have a gold mode, so it looks like if you lock the dollar cost to being equal (ignoring the cost difference when buying larger coils for both F75 and Eqx 600 where the Ultimate coil in USA is about $50 cheaper than the ML 12"x15"), the F75 has a bit of a depth edge in my test garden, and particularly my EMI environment. Of course depth isn't everything, to most of us anyway. And as always YMMV!

Sadly, I placed my last order on Wednesday. The factory was open to dealers for one day only. I wanted the GMX Sport but they were sold out so I ordered the 24K with the 6” round Concentric and 10” DD Elliptical coils with covers. I wanted the 4x6 but they didn’t have any. I think they should have made Friday the last day. We received the email in the morning and only had until 3:00 p.m. to get our orders in. In my conversation with Jack, he mentioned that there may be a sale in the works but couldn't tell me anymore than that. He had to cut our conversation short so that he could get all the orders out that day! Too bad the employees and some Distributors/Dealers couldn't come up with the funds to buy it.

Thanks. Luckily for me those targets were all relatively shallow. Pinpointer used before the shovel was, for most of the bottlecaps. But the AQ does pinpoint extremely well using the side of the coil. It saves a lot of time. The upper beach I hunted is grated so that it is smooth for the public. Judging from the area it seems they or the ocean has deposited a lot of sand. So targets are either shallow or the deep ones are far and few between. That's ok because it give me time to learn from reading and watching videos before my season kicks in.

Nice Barber, hard to find in my parts!

Sorry Mitchel, I don't want you to feel bad but I don't want you to miss out on any big gold rings either. I hate zinc pennies but I agree with your wife on this. 🙂

There is no 11" HF coil. The HF coils come in the 9" round and the 5X9.5" Elliptical coil. If you want a 11" coil you'll have to go with the X35 .

Hopefully just an honest mistake.... Two used Gold Bug 2's (each with 2 coils) sold for between $500 and $600 each within the last week. They looked to be in very good shape. (Pretty sure Fisher still doesn't honor warranty transfers on most detectors so that wouldn't be relevent.) That 'original Gold Bug' as it's often called doesn't come close in used prices realized. The Gold Bug 2 is still at least close to state-of-the-art. As Simon and Steve mentioned, the 'new Fisher Gold Bug' (of which there are many varieties -- base model, Pro, F19, Teknetics G2, Teknetics G2+, Bounty Hunter Time Ranger Pro -- see Steve's Database) all run at the same frequency as that one shown in the photo -- 19 kHz, and with quite a few features. Here's a used F19 (manufactured just 8 months ago, and appears hardly used) for sale (fixed asking price, not up for auction) for $315 (includes conUS shipping). That one comes with the 5"x10" closed elliptical coil which is preferred by many of the gold detectorists who use these detectors.

Great find Norm, I find the 800 to be great at finding items next to trash that others have missed. Good luck on your next hunt and stay safe out there.

This is from the lumbering days in Michigan. It would be hammered into the end of a log and logs were floated in lakes and rivers. This one must have broke when they were hammering on it. I was in Pickerel Lake detecting. http://mauriceeby.org/My_Books_files/Great Lumbering Era 4.pdf When I was a kid this was a boys camp. Now it's a county camp ground. I was detecting in the water where the beach is. That's a native Brook trout stream running thru it. n

Thanks Steve it seems to be running faster, but it has just one problem for me. I still haven't found any gold with it, maybe one day it will show itself to me. Thank you for all your hard work on this wonderful site and your dedication to this life!

For small nuggets sitting on bedrock covered by a thin layer of dust and dirt, try one of the small "hand Bellows" sold on amazon along with a good set of tweezers.

Keep in mind that many of the most popular PI beach detectors sold for decades had/have no ground balance. They generally rely on the lower pulse delay anywhere from 10 uS to 20 uS to act as an inherent salt and ground canceling setup, with threshold autotune doing the rest. The White’s Surf Dual and Garrett Sea Hunter, for instance, do not ground balance.

That Mi-6 Pin pointer with the ORX is GREAT! The best Pin Pointer I've ever used. Not that I've used them all but I much prefer it to the Garretts or White's TRX. Rechargeable, Waterproof, Adjustable, Sensitive, and you can even use the detector to find it if you forget and leave it at your last target, what's not to like about it? I have the two HF Coils and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. They each have their place. I've been super happy with my Nox 800 but after I got my Orx I haven't used the Nox. Not because the Orx is better, but it's just so fun to use. It's so lightweight, the wireless coils make changing them super easy, and the detector is the fastest I've ever used. Wish I had gotten the Deus when they came out. All that said, the Nox 800 and the ORX have me covered for my type of hunting.

Minelab didn't tell me anything. Just that they had it and I will be getting it back soon.

(From the article:) Tell her to move that pick farther away from her finds. She's making me nervous!

Nope, not magnetic in the slightest.

The price of v3 in China is as high as $2300. And Chinese users just want the White’s company to provide Chinese software. White’s refused. You know that 3030 provided a Chinese interface as early as 2012. And they only sell for $2,000.

I have considered the 10mm for 25 years but have yet to pick one up as I actually went the other way and sold all of my autos 23 yrs ago and just pack one of my revolvers out in the woods. Top is .357 and bottom .44 which i often carry either of regularly - both are 5 shot and loaded with what most would consider extremely HEAVY loads. I live in the woods and most time have no need for them, they're just another tool to pack on my hikes. Worn in a typical pancake holster on back of right hip I've not found any trouble of interference with my detectors at all. (Haven't tried a GPZ yet). Many encounters in last 50 years constantly in the woods/mtns with bear, mtn lion, wolves, elk and moose, but the last time I had to shoot was on a canoe fishing trip last week of August 1984 - a black bear turned and charged at us by the river and 2 out of dad's .41 and 3 from my .357 stopped it literally on my feet. Carrying pepper spray was our alternative at the USFS which most did not - noise of yelling, slapping axes broadside against trees etc. have thwarted charges/feigns from bear, elk and lions on a number of occasions. My boss was chased up a tree one day by a black sow that had twin cubs just because a cub looked up and bawled from across the swamp - she saw him and went right for him. Three others had to chase her off. After that he would often pack his pistol besides his bear spray. We had a grizzly sow with twin cubs hanging around above us while metal detecting for nuggets on a claim one day last year... didn't wear my gloves, no headphones, turned up the volumes full on the detectors and kept careful watch - they moved away up the hill. I even pack while my wife/kids and I walk around our place with 3 encounters with wolves right in our yard. A sidearm can be quite handy if you have a need.

Girlfriend/wife with beach house v having an AQ only........that’s a tough one ☝️

I think the F5 is the better park and school detector. The features make it a really good coin and jewelry machine and with the 10" concentric coil it pin points better than the Simplex. This is important when detecting nice lawns and being able to pop coins without doing damage to the grass. The Simplex lacks some of the "Coin Shooting" features of the F5 but is probably the better all around detector. Not up to par with the F5 for coin shooting but still a good performer for that task, but a better detector for hunting relics and using for old home sites, ghost towns etc. The Factory is currently producing two additional smaller coils for the Simplex which will expand the Simplex's versatility. Both are very nice detectors. Just decide wher or what type detecting you'll be doing the most of and go from there. I'll second the Minelab Vanquish series. For the money, They would be my first choice if spending around $300.

Your site runs smooth and fast for me! Thanks Steve!!

You are so right . I have been enjoying this hobby since 1995 and I absolutely love it. There is nothing more exiting then that distinctive gold color in your scoop, although part of me wishes for the days when a wheatie penny used to me excited LOL. I am on Ricks list and I can guarantee that anyone who puts in the time to learn it will not pay a dime for the machine besides it brings out the mathematician in me: SMALL RINGS = BIG STONES Thanks Vic

There are very many threads on the Equinox here - a whole sub-forum in fact. The Equinox is probably the best selling metal detector in the world, so it is not like it is a risky proposition. I suggest you dig into the forum for further information. The Monster and Equinox both have advantages on certain types of gold versus the others, the type of things expert split hairs over all day long. Fr whatever it is worth I had both and sold the Gold Monster. Whatever it did better than an Equinox was so minimal if anything that it was not worth keeping it in addition to the Equinox. Personally I preferred the White's Goldmaster 24K over the Gold Monster, but with White's future in question will no longer be recommending it as an option. https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/4236-minelab-equinox-versus-gold-monster-1000-for-prospecting/ https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/5255-gold-monster-1000-vs-equinox-800/ https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/9992-video-minelab-equinox-800-vs-gold-monster-1000/ https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/forum/53-minelab-equinox-forum/

Pier tear outs and storm take downs, and pallets in the burn pits just to name a couple of sources.

Some finds two years.

This is the real story!

Detecting sure does make you forget everything else in life for those few hours. The way it works for me is if I find gold the boost kicks in and I keep going for a little longer 👍 If I don’t find anything good I quit after 5hrs or so. If it wasn’t for detecting some of us would be in much rounder shape 🥴 HH

Heck, by then I hope we are seeing the digital version. Alexandre pulled out the stops on this one for what can be done with analog, and the only way to take it to the next level is some serious digital signal processing. What I can separate with my ears, a microprocessor and the right software should be able to do as well or better.