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I finished my 2020 Field Training of customers a couple weeks ago at Rye Patch and was able to run the 7000 without interruption for 6 days. My best day was 12 nuggets but I also have to admit that on 2 days, I was skunked (the 2 days I was swinging new ground looking for a patch. ). Almost all the gold were whisper signals most folks are not good at and in a particular wash near the burn barrel, I pulled 7 in a day. I even called over some customers who were hanging around to let them listen, watch and learn. It just amazes me this detector can pick up nuggets at 14 to 18" deep and they are less than 2 grams. Now I would never expect these kind of results in the Spring though so make sure you know your ground and timings. I was able to also watch Lunk dig his 1 ouncer and it blew me silly how it had been missed by the older machines. Anyway, we had a great trip, fabulous customers/camaraderie, some delicious meals (Thanks Chef Rusty) and good gold. I'm starting to see a pattern when training though. The lady customers seem to pay more attention and their proper coil control gets them more gold.

Been a while since I posted to this thread, this year has been good for me on the gold front with some nice finds. Theses pics are of some of the pieces I found during testing of the NF coil, I’m now at liberty to show them off on this thread. I’ll be posting up a fair few more pics of gold finds once I get the thread revived. I’ll also include some pictures of what the locations look like as this is sorely lacking this day and age due to secrecy. This thread is not meant to be political, just sharing some of my gold finds for others to enjoy. JP Fern leaf gold, sold this one for AU $150 per gram Nice solid 9+ gram piece found deep on the edge of this gully

Grams my friend. If it were ounces, I feel Lunk and I would still be out there. I've yet to hit a 34 ounce trip, but have been fortunate enough to earn a few multi ounce trips. This pic is probably one of my all time best ever and it was with a VLF. 25+ ounces with over a pound of Au. Just think if we would have kept all the gold we found back in the days?

From a semi-noob perspective, I'll throw in my 2 cents. I've had an old cheap detector for years and from time to time, I'd take out to the mountains and swing it around mostly finding nails and a few old bits of iron until I took it on vacation to Florida last year and found my first old silver ring. I was hooked. I spent the better part of a year researching everything I could about metal detectors, brands, models, features, etc., comparing everything I could learn about them and decided I wanted a detector that would give me the best probability of finding good targets in any conditions and environments with a price I could manage. The field quickly narrowed for me to the Equinox Series detectors. I decided on the 800 because I wanted the gold prospecting capabilities and more advanced user editing features as I grew in experience. I got the 800 for my birthday last April and haven't regretted my choice. It seemed a little daunting at first, but I was comforted by the fact, that I could just use the factory presets while going through the learning curve and was able to make good finds from the first time out with it. I still use many of the presets with success. The 800 has actually made me want to learn more about detectors and detecting, and with the almost unlimited information, tutorials, books, forums, and friendly users to help at every turn, I have rapidly grown as a detectorist and an Equinox user. I cannot recommend 800 highly enough.

The Bose headphones are superb especially if you work in timbered country. Most wind noise through trees is low frequency and the QC cuts that noise right out, they are also good if you work in areas where there is a lot of road noise from vehicles etc, but not good if you don’t like surprises when a car drives right up to you and you don’t hear it 🤫 😳 They work very well with the SP01 Enhancer and the B&Z booster, with the GPZ I feel a ‘booster’ is a necessity using the Bose QC NC headphones. I run my volume on 7, Volume Limit on 10 and Threshold 25 then vary the sensitivity to whatever the are I am working can handle. Suggestion: Set the sensitivity early in the session not later on as your ears/brain become accustomed to loud variation and you will not get an accurate idea of how variable the volume of the audio is. I start at 9 and slowly increase from there listening to the general detector behaviour anywhere from 9 to 15 is my general range working in my areas in Difficult. Be aware Normal has much higher volume levels than difficult so it might pay to lower the Main page volume a bit lower for booster use. JP Pics of the 3 ounce ugly duckling nugget I found last year, before and after shots. Pic of a 24 gram slugster found at 2+ feet a few weeks back

Some pics of my now sold crystalline collection. JP Palmer River Crystal piece I found many years ago Enrichment piece, not crystalline but beautiful

As many have said here, the Equinox can be used simply or it can be highly adjustable and confusing too. If a newbie detector person gets their hands on a 600 or 800 and is very patient and diligent, they usually do very well as long as they put in the hours and don't stray from the factory presets like Park 1 and Beach 1. Some "experienced" users that I have tried to help insist on jumping into all of the settings including doing wild and crazy things with single frequencies that just confuse them and leave me scratching my head after repeatedly recommending that they leave their Equinox in multi unless they are in a high EMI situation or want to momentarily investigate a particular target further. I was at a hunt recently where an experienced detector user of the Garrett AT Pro that I have tried to help, decided he would use 4 kHz on his Nox 800 for the entire hunt. He had the sensitivity cranked up and was hunting in moderate mineralization. Needless to say he did not find much and his hot running 4kHz detector was interfering with everybody's detectors, especially the poor XP Deus users if he got within 15 feet of them. I have experienced others making the same mistake insisting on using other single frequencies for long hunts and coming away complaining about crazy VDIs and poor results, compared to their experiences with selectable single frequency detectors from two other very famous companies. I also hear Garrett Ace and AT Pro users constantly complain about the Equinox hitting too many targets, the weird tones on the Equinox along with the compressed target ID scale. Did they not do some research before hand? So, for those that have experience detecting with beep and dig detectors and earlier Whites like the XLT, DFX, MXT or the Minelab X Terra Series, the transition is pretty good. I hear plenty of complaints from Garrett, F75, T2, Deus and even Minelab Explorer, Safari, Etrac and CTX 3030 long-time users. Many seem to have more trouble adjusting to the Equinox way of doing things.

I added a Fisher Arm Cuff. They are inexpensive, tough, and have legs or feet to keep the detector upright. I added Sheep skin (wool). (The real thing, not fake sheep skin). It's cool in the summer and warm in winter. I use 3M aerosol adhesive.

Were I in your shoes, I would get him the Equinox 800. It's as simple as you want it to be right out of the box and he can grow into it as he gains confidence and knowledge of its capabilities. He can then tweak it to enhance/realize its potential. It's a great machine for either beginner or advanced detectorist.

If he really likes the Minelab Equinox, he has made a good choice. They are outstanding detectors and if taken care of will last a long time and hold their value. Choosing between the 600 and 800......... I would get the 800 just because it comes with so many extra features and both wireless option accessories. If you are buying from a US dealer like Gerrys Detectors, they will steer you in the right direction too. Just ask plenty of questions. I often get to help new detector users and people switching from beginner and intermediate level detectors to an Equinox model when they join our metal detecting/treasure hunting club. The people who have never used a detector before or used very simple detectors like beep and digs with no screen and with only a few controls are usually easy to teach and do very well on the Equinox. Those that have had a longer time detecting on Garrett Ace series or AT series detectors for instance, that they have gotten used too and people who really think they know what they are doing but in reality don't....... seem to have the hardest time. The Equinox, like phrunt and GB has said can quickly pose the user a serious question which is "do I really want to learn how to metal detect or not" because even in its simplest Park 1 default settings, a new user will hear and have to deal with targets that would probably be poorly detected or just undetected by most single frequency beginner to intermediate level detectors. So, just the amount of detectable targets can overwhelm someone that has some previous experience whereas someone who has no expectations or previous experience will not know the difference. For a brand new detector user that is willing to put in the work and be patient, the Equinox 600, Equinox 800 or a Vanquish 540 would satisfy most of their detecting needs for a long time. The Equinox as opposed to the Vanquish, is much more versatile, more adjustable feature wise and can be used just about anywhere in any weather conditions. The Vanquish 540 has less features and has some limitations when it comes to weather and soil/underwater conditions. If money is not an issue and your husband appears to be super pumped up about detecting, I would get the Equinox 800. If you think he just wants to get an idea about whether he likes detecting or not and money may be an issue, the Vanquish 540 might be a better idea. Most people do not realize how strenuous recovering 50 to 100 targets in a detecting session can be. I'm 65, pretty fit and detect just about every day for at least 2 hours. I do 100 or more forward lunges to get down on one knee and back up during those sessions since many of the places I hunt have shovel use restrictions. The same can happen at the beach too whether using a hand beach scoop or scoop shovel. So, swinging the detector is the easy part. Learning what it is saying and recovering targets is much more involved.

I question whether or not the Minelab Equinox is a good first detector. Yes, it has canned settings so it doesn't need a lot of adjustments to be able to find metal. However, the 11" stock coil isn't as forgiving as small coils and we've seen plenty of people here (some even experienced with other detectors) question everything under the sun (bad settings, unit is a lemon,...) with this detector. I had been detecting for 3 years with multiple detectors before getting an 800 and it took me a long time to get comfortable with it. (I hardly go out without it now.) One of the things that's a must with any detector is reading and understanding the manual. The ML Eqx manual is the best I've ever seen, but that's because it covers about everything. I think back 5 years when I was getting back into detecting (after 35 year layoff) and recall all the terminology I was unfamiliar with. A simple to operate detector with a simple manual can be a helpful starting point. There are many good detectors out there for less experienced users. But you said your husband has an eye for Minelab so I suggest the Vanquish line. It has the same inner workings as the Equinox but has fewer things to be concerned with and the lower end models come with a medium sized coil. (You can get the top end model with two coils, one large and one small.) Another thing to keep in mind is that detecting is more than just the main detector. For most detecting you pretty much need a hand-held pinpointer ($100-$150), a good digging tool (~$40), a finds pouch (can be as simple as a nail apron, but there are advantages to multi pockets -- better ones are another ~$35). I can make a list 2-3 times this long of accessories I have. So getting a moderately priced detector and including a $200 gift card (or just cash) for the accessories makes a lot of sense to me. Finally, if he likes the Vanquish he can later step up to an Equinox and have the Vanquish as a backup (or even encourage you to get into the hobby and go detecting with him, swinging the Vanquish). Here's a link to Gerry McMullen's outlet site. (click here) He's not only a good guy with over 20 years experience helping others find the right detector, but he's patient and knows how to put himself in the shoes of the less experienced customer. Also he has integrity so you don't have to be concerned about him steering you towards something you don't need that makes him more money. In some ways he's old-fashioned -- likes to communicate face-to-face or over the phone. (Oh, and does he like to talk!) He may or may not agree with my recommendation but he sells both Vanquish and Equinox (and many others, Minelab and other manufacturers) so whatever direction you end up going he will be quite helpful.

Hello all. I'm brand new to metal detection and am interested in just finding interesting stuff and being outdoors. Also, I am an amateur astronomer and would like to find a few meteorites. This site looked interesting and secure so I joined.

The missing man's wife posted on Facebook that the victim had gotten into a truck with a stranger and then disappeared, in Gold Basin while prospecting. The charges we see here are "premeditated murder". Which is pretty specific, and the further charges make it sound like they tried to hide what happened afterwards. So, the chances of it being something off the cuff like a fight leading to a shooting are slim sounding at this point. From the reports, looks like a planned murder. Hopefully not over gold/greed, but all parties were prospectors.

I think defacing USA coins is illegal, too. If you're anything of a packrat (like I), you just have a jar (or jars) to toss the copper alloy cents into and wait until copper goes up enough to make it worthwhile to sell. Copper is a commodity, afterall and a jarfull makes a good doorstop, counterweight,.... Most silver alloy coins we find are also numismatically worthless but their bullion content is the consolation prize when we find them (and confirm the date+mintmark isn't a semi-key or better). I have a pocket of my detecting pouch for coins and jewelry. The other 'finds' pocket is for trash. The Zincolns go into the trash pocket to be sorted out later. IMO, that's where they belong, along with those people responsible for their continued minting.

Current copper spot price is $3.29/lb. 145 copper pennies in a lb at 95% purity, so about 152 uncirculated copper pennies together have a lb of copper content. Add a few more to account for wear and you're still around 2 cents worth of copper each. As with any alloy, there will be cost associated with separating the alloy components. It's illegal to melt them but that doesn't seem to concern some.... Zinc, OTOH, is currently around $1.25/lb and since zinc pennies are lighter it takes more of them to add up to a lb. Bottom line is that the bullion value of them is less than their face value. Toss in the fact that many we find have been partially eaten away by galvanic action and their worthlessness is even more apparent. (It's been pointed out here that the Federal Reserve is required to redeem them at 1 cent each even if degraded, so apparently even the eaten up ones still have face value.)

I vote on the green being algal growth.

Please read. If anyone builds their own hookah system, please keep in mind you are putting air in your lungs. Oil (exogenous lipoid pneumonia) or particulate matter can lead to illness or death. All true diving compressors are carefully designed to emit no oil using sealed bearings, etc. All compressors can fail, so having an excellent filter system is also critical, even if the compressor is properly designed. You'd hate to be breathing aluminum particles because a part is prematurely wearing out. Finally, air lines for tools may outgas dangerous fumes when carrying hot air, especially when new. Only use proper food grade air lines designed for breathing air. Bottom line - don't go too cheap! Just in case you are one of those people who think mineral or vegetable oil is safe.... it is not! Oil in lungs is oil in lungs - not supposed to be there!! "However, a wide variety of other oily substances have been reported to cause the disease, including petroleum-based lubricants (e.g., Vaseline), oily nose drops, laxatives, spray lubricants, and lip gloss. 59 Risk factors that predispose to aspiration include gastroesophageal reflux disease and neurologic or psychiatric illness. In one case, exogenous lipoid pneumonia was reported in a commercial abalone diver who presumably aspirated aerosolized mineral oil contained in the unfiltered air generated from his surface air compressor."

Like Phrunt said, the Equinox is not really that hard to use. When I first got my 800, I took it out put it in Park 1 did a noise cancel and started finding stuff. And I learned more as I went along. It can be as simple as you want it to be. The wireless headphones and wireless module alone are worth the price difference between the 800 and the 600.

definitely an eroded light colored intrusive igneous rock with lots of quartz and feldspar and with phaneritic texture from the chart above. Since the green material is only visible on the half that was exposed, the green stuff could be organic or it could be feldspar weathering to epidote. If the green material covered the entire rock it could be original epidote or peridotite/peridot/olivine.

A fun fact I learned some time ago is that $1 in quarters weighs the same as $1 in dimes (about 22.6g), so if you separate them from your nickles and pennies, weigh them in grams and divide by 22.6 you can make a pretty accurate estimate on how much you have without counting them.

Hi, I am new to this site and looking at purchasing a metal detector for my husband for Christmas. He has always wanted one and really likes the Minelab (not sure why), I was looking a at the 600, though reading about the 800 it has extra features. As this is his first, and I know he will use it. Which one would everyone recommend and as a beginner would these be suitable? Thanks so much! Annie THANKYOU so much to everyone, I have read all the comments and must say this is an amazing group and so helpful. I defiantly think I will be getting him the 800 and letting him know to join his group! Thanks, Annie

It's definitely getting worse out there. Meth, cartels, rampant unemployment, criminals looking for a hideout. And it attracts a huge contingent of "Mad Max" style sorts from the cities who don't really take law and order into much consideration after being out there for a year or so. I still have professional business down there which I need to attend to occasionally otherwise I'd skip it and look at moving on to better places, but I have to say that for the first time in my life I'm going to have to start carrying my pistol with me for some other reason than being in bear/lion country. It makes me sad beyond words that this is the reality there now as it shouldn't need to be that way. This place used to be so vastly empty, calm, peaceful, and beautiful. We shouldn't have to watch over our shoulders constnatly while detecting in nature, in a civilized country. 😞

well done Gerry

Just another option is the 600 special with wireless phones plus a 6” coil which together costs just under the base 800. The 6” coil is great for target rich and trashy areas.

Ah maaan! I am seriously wanting to put my coil over RP!!! Excellent, excellent.

You and Lunk are on the gold, WTG!

Excellente!

Awesome trip!!!🤑

Fabulous finds! It was great hunting gold with you and the guys as always, Gerry.

Yes, larger coils pick up more targets per swing, and are more likely to have both good (desired) and bad (trashy) targets in the field-of-view at the same time. As far as finding low trash sites, that's quite a tradeoff. I can hunt my back yard which wasn't used much (the only owners before us never had kids and AFAIK spent their time indoors) so my yard is pretty quiet. But if I go to a park or school (which is where the goodies have the best chance of being as far as accessible public sites) there is iron and aluminum trash aplenty. Are there quiet parts of these sites? Sometimes, but those are both trash quiet and good finds quiet. People didn't segregate the areas they threw trash and the areas they dropped coins and jewelry. Lost items occur where people spent their time, and a big part of that time was spent eating and drinking (with associated screw tops, poptops, aluminum foil,....) The really old sites around me previously had buildings which were razed but their nails were strewn everywhere -- thus the origin of the iron trash. It appears I'm in the minority on my suggestion of getting a simpler detector to start out. I'm just basing it on my experiences but maybe mine are the exceptions. Jeff's comments about newbies being less confused with a feature-packed new detector than many experienced users is quite interesting (and paradoxical).

Steve H. is right on the money with his warnings! Homemade equipment is risky at best, and deadly at worst! Even if you are buying air for Scuba, you should make sure that the filling station in use is certified at least quarterly! I'm not a Scuba diver but i did use Positive Pressure Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for 30 years! We filled our own bottles, but the compressor was serviced and certified by an outside vender! The mineral based oil and moisture is filtered out of the air, and metered before use! I think one of the safest and cheapest ways to go, is the raft and Scuba bottle setup, with hose an regulator! Many dive sites and shop's sell these! And a few people on this forum use these! Safety is never cheap! As far as 20' or less on the Florida coast is concerned! Depth is only limited to your equipment! It's ok most anywhere as long as you don't have a metal detector! A great deal of the East Coast waters of Florida are leased by various Treasure Salvagers, and strictly enforced! Possible imprisonment, fines, confiscation of vehicle and equipment are probable if convicted!👍👍

Last status on my faulting Apex ( false signals ) , my dealer ( Lutece detection in Paris ) has contacted the European Garrett support,based in Germany From what they said there are actually a few faulting machines that have been sent back by customers . For some of them , the pb came from a faulting coil . So they asked me to send my Apex back to them for analysis. Then it looks like the situation in Europe is similar to the US. A positive thing ,the Garrett support is reactive and they listen their customers ... 🙂 I will continue to update this thread as soon as I have more infos ..

I’d done this post sooner but I’m really under the weather. Anyway, me and Cliff hit the beach Sunday at 4am... why because I forgot to set my clock back. Cliff had his AQ and we wanted to do some testing... but we forgot the targets. So we did do some found target comparison. It reminded me why I don’t do a lot of wet sand hunting. Deep hole and a lot of them wit us concentrating on whisper/weak targets. Cliff did his 5 hours and had one of those days.... he broke his SunSpot scoop. After he left I did another 3 hours. There hasn’t been a lot of targets out there but I managed the silver ring and this nice 375 made in Italy bracelet. 9” long 13 grams .... $325 day I’ll take that. Always great to hunt with friends.

Nice! Thank you for sharing

Good post thanks for sharing

The equinox 600 would be excellent assuming gold prospecting isn’t the primary goal. It comes with Bluetooth capability but only wired phones which could prove annoying to someone just getting started. Many dealers are offering a holiday package for the 600 which includes the Bluetooth headphones. It’s a great deal.

Go for the 800 if its his first detector then its better to start off with the extra settings and learn it well. For the extra dollars the 800 is well worth it..

Looks like Volcanic Tuff to me. Take a look at the table below and the YouTube clip. This is the best overview of igneous rocks out there.

I've been using a Coin Popper for close to 35 years. The overall length is 12". See center of photo. They were advertised in the old Western Eastern Treasures Magazine. I had two. One was lost. I had to replace the wooden handle / grip a little over 20 years ago with a custom made nylon grip. The lazy S shape of the shaft is key to easy probing and target removal. In conjunction with my Pro Pointer AT, i can recover items in the first 3" +- very easily, if the electronic pin pointer can reach it. If I get deeper than that in grass maintained areas like the yard of an old home or a park, I prefer to cut a plug. On occasion the circumstances may require No Plugs in which case I will pin point as best I can and probe for the target. Like Mike mentioned above, "touch" is important. If the target is located in the first 3 inches, i can slip the end of the probe under the edge and lever the item up and out. Very quick and easy. If deeper, I can cut a slit above the target with my lesche, slip the end of the probe under the edge of the target and lever the item and some dirt up through the slit. Think of a baked potato. Once removed, any dirt is pressed back into the slit and the slit is pressed closed. Brush up the grass and it is very difficult to tell anybody has been there. I've modified many, many screwdrivers of various shaft shapes and lengths. I have brass probes (that bend easily) . No contest that this Coin Popper has worked the best for me. I do like keeping an old screwdriver (8-10") in the car / truck if the off season (winter) just for testing ground, whether it is frozen solid and not. A quick poke with the screwdriver reveals if I can cut a plug for deeper targets. Rich -

Looks like it has a lot of quartz in it, so I would guess that is what it is. You might want to check it for some gold inside it. But what do I know as I am new to this also.

If it`s a CAT it excretes gold as waste, bloody elementary geologic........

Probably just bits of your excavator bucket. Does it happen to be made of gold? That would probably explain why there are so many in such a small area. I’d invest in a steel bucket, much more durable. Although it could be exhilarating to continue using the golden bucket that I think you’re using, since it creates the illusion of finding nugs no matter where you dig! Just a thought... Daniel

While trying to keen up my record before I upgrade my computer, found this old receipt of refined gold (Panned Gold) that I cashed in to get a new Whites VLF detector. There was a bit short of 3 oz I am happy that I did not cash in any nuggets back then. The purity was as close as you can get to 92% when cleaned 91 grams but AUD $16.12 a gram was good but now it is AUD $82.36 but the price of a top detector has risen high than the gold price. PJ Williams Precious Metals.pdf

The RNB battery replaces the battery cover on the Vanquish, and it is rechargeable. There are a couple of Youtube videos on the battery, and it appears to be widely available for sale with U.S. dealers. The manufacturer is RNB Innovations.

PI detectors are like shotguns when it comes to frequency, and transmitted frequencies is a meaningless number. The 96 frequency thing was actually an in joke, with Garrett tweaking Minelab over it's reliance on transmitted frequency claims in it's marketing. The ATX does have ground tracking, and the TDI does not, but the ATX tracking is no big deal - I always left it off. But it is nice to have available as a fallback position for truly extreme ground. Personally I have lobbied for many years for an ATX circuit in a light weight, less expensive, dry land prospecting version. The ATX is actually the newer, more advanced circuit over the TDI, and has far more room to grow. The main improvement would simply be upgrading the circuit and battery to allow for more power. But the current housing is a fail for most gold prospectors. I'm not holding my breath, but the shakeup does offer me a glimmer of hope. The easier path for Garrett unfortunately is to just leave the ATX as is, and slide the TDI SL into the lineup as the lighter, less expensive PI.

Very cool, thanks JP. Sounds really interesting and thanks for the detailed description. It also shows once more that good knowledge of the geology is the foundation for success, with you being a living example 🙂

Clermont is not known for its lode deposits, there are a few on the southern end but generally it was a very large alluvial gold producer in its hey day. There are a number different gold deposition events, some are the typical gold shedding from reefs and mullocky leaders, although because of a number of upheaval events, some of the reefs are now flat laying so the gold has weathered out differently. There is also evidence of conglomerates in the area with what we call pudding stones often scattered about (hard boulders made up of water worn quartz rubble bound with silicious material ), some of these stones are gold bearing and have possibly been pushed around the landscape via glaciation and ended up weathering out gold into the environment once they start to oxidise (Although I think the glaciation might have been more ice sheet variety than the deep valley gouging variety up in your north, with the alluvial locked up in the glacial material sitting atop the original gold bearing country beneath). I am also pretty certain some of these conglomerates when layed down were flat laying like sedimentary siltstone shallow alluvial fan deposits and then in a subsequent upheaval event have become folded into a vertical position mixed in with the slates, its really weird to find water worn nuggets high on the hills sitting on slopes with rough quartz rubble and the odd water worn country rock stone or in a lot of cases just sitting in weathered schists with little or no wash at all. Right on top of the hill the country is pure slate/schist with quartz stringers, then there will be an old boys shaft with the collar made up of intermixed slate and water worn pebbles. In essence the gold occurrences for metal detectors in Clermont are associated around country rock that is auriferous in nature then through the process of upheaval, capping off by basaltic flows then subsequent weathering, glaciation and conglomeration then more upheaval with long periods of the country eroding, more than likely a different direction, has left the gold scattered about but generally adjacent to its original source in shallow surface deposits on the hills, ridges, slopes and modern drainages. At one stage in the long distant past Clermont had an extremely high rainfall which was part of the coal deposits, over time the country has dried out and become more dessert like with a lot of the top soils removed leaving the less fertile shallow alluvial/colluvial soils behind, perfect for metal detecting. JP

I'd just like to jump in at this point, firstly i'm in the UK living on the North Devon coast and detect the huge sandy surf beaches we have locally. I have an Equinox 800 with the 15" coil and a Whites TDi beachhunter and have had them 18 months each detecting 4-5 days a week. Yes the Nox is deep but I find the TDI much deeper. I also find that on my benign sand the TdiBh is deeper with ground just clicked on and running full gain and delay set at 15. Just before Christmas I had 2 platinum rings of 11g and 12g, both giving high tone. I am in fact yet to get gold or platinum giving a low tone. I find the TDiBH just if not more sensitive than the Nox on small stuff and regularly dig earring backs and very small gold.

You hit the nail on the head with your first point. Regarding your second point "...once I open the plug...", I can add my experience with Garrett Carrot compared to White's Bullseye TRX. Because of the directionality of the TRX I prefer it before I dig (assuming the target is close enough to the surface to give a signal). I also prefer it when the target is still in the ground. However, after the target is out (but still not secured), the multi-directional property of the Carrot makes it easier to find the desired object. I have considered having both with me and using the one that fits the situation. Kinda like the double six-shooter gunmen in the old westerns, one on each hip!

The F-Pulse is more stable and sensitive than the Carrot or TRX. The F-Pulse is most sensitive at the tip, and can be detuned to zero in on targets. The F-Pulse can be used at the beach or in areas of high mineralization where non-pulse pinpointers are unusable. The F-Pulse has a bright adjustable LED. The Carrot and TRX are great pinpointers, the F-Pulse is better.