Steve Herschbach

Don’t know, I have a table covered with mini and micro and every other darn thing and I really don’t have problems. For $30 it’s not something I lose sleep over.

Dave, out of 100 chains, how many do you think are clean signals versus crappy signals? It’s rare to be able to ask a person who has found enough to really be able to make a sensible answer to that question, and sounds like you are the man!

Multi Flex is just a marketing name made up in a meeting. It does not mean it derived from anything prior. People just make this stuff up. I was in on the brainstorming that lead to Multi-IQ. One of my contributions.... Bar-B-Q...cooks the competition! V-Flex was all about sending the signal from the coil to control box in digital instead of analog form. It has nothing to do with the processing other than the conversion from analog to digital is done at the coil instead of in the control box. The coil and control box talk to each other.

I just received the latest version of the TaoTronics yesterday as a matter of fact. I was surprised how tiny it is, half what I imagined looking at the pictures. I plan on using a Velcro tab to stick it on my Goldmaster 24K, Time Ranger Pro, DFX, and when I get it, the Impulse. I assume it will work with my Equinox phones, which I am just fine with. Anyway, I wanted one solution that would work for everything. I’ll report back when I get a chance to try it on all my machines.

True that, but any multifrequency unit is far less prone to up averaging than a single frequency detector. In my ground a deep rolled up beavertail reads as a dime on every single frequency detector I have tested. That is a big jump, and quite annoying. Not an issue I encounter with multi.

I ran over my Golden Mask rod for the Equinox. I don't own a F75. Trying to get some Fisher components is like pulling teeth. Just try and find the armrest cuff for the F75/T2, let alone rod assembly.

I have three Equinox so not an issue for me. I only need two to be waterproof. I would be more than happy to give up waterproof in return for having easy field replaceable batteries. 99% of my Equinox work is on dry land.

I’ve already cut the pod off an Equinox handle before... a prototype I had to destroy, but I scavenged they battery out of it so I have a spare. Basically no big deal, just cut where the gray meets the black, using care not to cut battery wires visible in photo. They run through a removable rubber grommet plug in bottom of the pod into the handle. The F75 pod attaches to the handle with a simple bracket and one screw. Should be easy to put a similar bracket on the Equinox pod, making it removable. If done right the F75 pod can go back on, and if three AA batteries and a dummy work, no mods to the battery case, whole thing could revert to F75. You do not want to open the pod, can’t be done without destroying it. This is just for illustration. Make cut where black meets gray.

I have very seriously considered trying to buy a used F75/T2 or a Chinese clone. Take the pod off. Take the Equinox pod off the handle - Just cut it off. Mount the Equinox pod on the F75 grip, attaching the battery wires from the pod to the battery wires that route to the underarm battery box. That should allow the Equinox to run off three removable AA batteries plus a dummy. Worst case gut the battery box and put the Equinox battery in it instead. Better balance, better handle, replaceable batteries! If I can find a dead T2 or F75 that would be perfect. I think this would be a great project, but I’m not willing to sink $200-$300 into making it happen. Replacement Minelab Equinox battery with battery door/plug (separate part)

All that blah blah blah to say I like your Equinox setup Tom because it emulates the F75 with S shaft, post grip, and under elbow counterweight. Now if we could just fix the grip diameter to be a pistol grip like the a Deus! But that means moving the battery.

I agree Tom. I think what GB is saying is we do not see a need for a counterweight with either rod running the 6” coil. Nor I for the 11” coil on the straight shaft for just the reason you mention. Just not enough weight to matter to me. Now the 15” all day long... yeah, a counterweight helps me. I like S shafts but some of this S shaft versus straight shaft stuff gets a bit silly with detectors weighing under 3 lbs. I’ve run a lot of really heavy detectors, and for me balance has always been more important by far than whether the detector has a straight shaft or S shaft. The shaft style affects rotational torque, but in really heavy detectors you are probably suspended from a bungee which totally changes the equation. Rotational torque is overcome by sheer hanging weight. Nearly all big gun prospecting detectors are straight shafts suspended from a bungee. All the design work goes into balancing large coils with rear mounted control boxes and batteries. A 7 lb GPZ 7000 swings remarkably well for the weight because it’s perfectly balanced. But you better have a harness if you run that machine for long! I can swing a GPX 5000 with 18” coil all day long week in and out, and with less strain than swinging an unbalanced lighter detector without a bungee. The Equinox with 15” coil and no counterweight is a killer versus a properly balanced but much heavier GPX on a bungee. My all time favorite for weight, balance, and a grip that my hand likes is the Fisher 75. 3.5 lbs but perfectly balanced, and better than swinging a lighter Deus or anything else I have ever used. Way better than the Equinox. It’s not all weight, but balance, and yes, rotational torque. It all adds up, and the F75 as far as I know put more science into designing those factors than any other detector made. Fisher F75 metal detector

I think sometimes we just don’t like detectors and like others for myriad reasons that have nothing to do with performance. The tones, the feel on the arm, even just the look of the detector, all add up. Cars all get from point a to b but we all like different cars. Most detectors these days actually will do the job also.... we just each like different ways they get the job done. It makes some desire to crown any one detector the best for everyone an exercise in futility. The best detector is the that gets you out finding stuff. It would be a boring world if we all liked exactly the same things and agreed on everything. Every forum thread would have a post, followed by replies that all said “I agree.”

Random comments. I’d certainly expect the 5x10 elliptical to outperform the 5” (actually 4.5” round), with the much larger coil area, on coin size targets. Too bad there is not a 10” round in the mix, which would complete the picture. However, on a sufficiently small target I would expect the difference between the small round and the elliptical coil to close and the 5” round to possibly pull ahead. Target size also matters in coil comparisons, and using the appropriate coil for the appropriate possible target size is one of the tricks in detecting. Small target, small coil, large target, large coil. Notice in the chart below that the medium coil actually does not give the best depth on any of the test targets. It would if the right target was picked, maybe a half pennyweight nugget. The right half pennyweight nugget might show 5” with the 10” coil and 4” with the other two coils. The chart shows how setting the target size actually determines which coil is best. Coil Size vs Depth Fisher Gold Bug 2Source - Field Testing the Gold Bug 2 by Gordon Zahara The difference you found in the air versus ground test on the 5x10 versus 7x11 is interesting. The larger coil has a clear advantage in the air test, that all but disappears in the ground test. Nice illustration of how air tests can mislead once ground effects are added to the equation. In extreme ground the smaller elliptical may actually outperform the larger coil.

Sadly, the Golden Mask rod for the Equinox appears to have been discontinued. There was a late version made that came complete with all required Equinox mounting hardware, but now I can’t find it for sale anywhere.

That’s a real nice customization job Tom, well done! This guy on eBay is selling Equinox ready S rod assemblies for a very decent price.

I dig everything until I decide not too. There are no rules, I do what I enjoy at the time. Sometimes that means digging everything, and sometimes cherry picking only the very best targets. The key to this hobby is you better be enjoying it or you won’t last, so do whatever you have to do to have fun.

Sorry Tom, but we are cleaning it up now so we can pay for the retirement home. But I’ll leave a nugget for you, I promise.😉

Welcome to Equinox nugget detecting Tom, and job well done! You may even have an edge over some VLF old timers because the Equinox requires out of box thinking with the range of options available. Gold Mode and Park 2 are great starting places for nugget hunting, both with features a person might appreciate depending on the situation. And don’t forget the beach modes as a fix for alkali ground. https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/7468-my-tips-on-nugget-detecting-with-the-minelab-equinox/

Nope, but sure looks fun!!

Very nice Norm, congratulations. Yes, I loved my CTX, but did not take me long using the Equinox and it went away. Honestly the CTX is a really great detector, and there are some stuff it might find and Equinox would miss. But I think there is even more a CTX will miss and an Equinox find on balance in our ground. Still, a bit of a wash perhaps. It just kind of boiled down to the weight of the machine at the end of the day and the fact that the Equinox is no question a better prospecting detector than the CTX. But with rings like that, who needs gold nuggets!

That is actually a picture of my previous V3i sitting next to my previous DFX. Both gone now, I just posted the picture since DFX and V3i were being discussed. As of right now I have a V3i with the latest version of the D2 coil I got three years ago, and a DFX I just got to run my Bigfoot coil. I'm keeping the V3i for one simple reason. It is an amazing example of metal detector technology. I do not think there will ever be anything like it again as new detectors focus on simplicity. The V3i is the ultimate in controls - every aspect of the detector, including the fabulous color display, can be customized. It is like owning a build it yourself detector kit with a built in oscilloscope. I'm not normally what I would call a detector collector, and not sentimental about stuff, but this machine I am keeping just because of what it is. It is a powerful detector and I really should use it more, but it actually is kind of a collector machine for me and I want to keep it in pristine shape. The V3i is on it's last days, with various components no longer available, and likely to be discontinued once White's existing stock of parts runs out.

"I had a Vision, a beautiful Vision......." That Bigfoot coil of mine gets around! Garrett already had dibs on "Treasure Vision" so White's had to find a new name, V3 and then V3i. A pity really as it was a break from the three letter alphabet soup we normally got from White's.

Gotta admit after doing this for 45 years I've still not figured that one out. Look for reasons to dig, not reasons to walk away. When in doubt, dig it out!

Three year old on-going thread on the subject over here....

Can't go wrong with either the CZ-21 or Excalibur. I'm a big Equinox fan, but as a diver myself I'd never consider an Equinox for you. It is way to tempting to go "just a little bit deeper", especially if you are finding stuff. I think the CZ and Excal are equally capable, more a style and preference difference detector nerds love to argue over, but I am very comfortable that I could do as well with either machine. Overall though no doubt that you see more Excaliburs in use than anything else, and there is good reason for that. They work.