Steve Herschbach

An error in VDI number and quarter/dime reporting has been noted in the early version of the new 6” concentric coil for the White’s MX series. I can’t imagine not digging anything reading in this range anyway, but it is something to be aware of. If nothing else it could affect resale value on the coils so if you have one and this is a problem it can be addressed under warranty once a fix is applied. Stay tuned.

I assume you are asking about pulse induction metal detectors for gold prospecting. There are two main types of PI. Those that ground balance and those that do not. Those that do not are relatively inexpensive beach detecting machines. Only consider ground balancing PI detectors for gold prospecting. Right now the least expensive new with warranty option is the White’s TDI SL Special Edition which can be had brand new with warranty for $1049.95 If I was on a budget looking for the most power for under $1000 I would be looking for a used Minelab GP detector. The GP 3000 can be found used under $1000 on a regular basis. If you shopped hard you might even find a GP 3500 for under a grand. Assume the batteries will need replacing. Minelab only supports detectors for 5 years after they are discontinued. There may be alternative third party service options but I would assume that with any Minelab more than 5 years after being discontinued you are on your own if there is a component failure in the control box. Since the GP 3500 was the last of the series and was discontinued in 2006, all Minelab GP and the earlier SD models are outside Minelab’s official support period. The GPX 4000 was discontinued around 2009 and so is also outside the support period but because all GPX detectors share components there is probably less issue there. The GPX 4500 and GPX 5000 are still in production. You don’t have to worry too much about older Minelab SD and GP models when it comes to counterfeits but the GPX is another story. Counterfeit GPX models are very common. Minelab Stop Counterfeits Page Known Counterfeit Manufacturers Bang for the buck brand new I recommend the GPX 4500 for around $2600.

Virtually all controls trade one thing for another. The iron bias is a filter. Employing filters affects how well a detector can detect targets, and aggressive filtering does by its very nature have a negative effect of the ability to detect some targets. For instance, iron bias set too high can suppress false signals but cause you to miss a non-ferrous target in dense ferrous trash. A lower setting will reveal the item, but allow more false signals. It’s a balancing act. If you want the best unmasking performance leave the control at zero, but you will dig more ferrous items as a result.

FE Volume is not the same thing as Iron Bias. You have FE Volume on the 600 also if that is your preference. Iron Bias changes how the detector actually detector ferrous items and helps control ferrous falsing. FE Volume is nothing more than a volume control for ferrous responses and has no effect on ferrous false signals. How Metal Detector Discrimination Works

There are a large number of variables that determine a gold nugget target id, but in general the larger the nugget, the higher the target id number. Here are some examples with real nuggets....

Published on Apr 21, 2018 - Metal detecting a hoard of medieval hammered silver coins!!!

It will be whatever it is. I am not interested in the 15” as much for depth as for covering more ground per hour. Sometimes covering ground is way more important than depth, especially when targets are sparse. And in my case Lake Tahoe is way closer than saltwater so reduced sensitivity is not a problem for freshwater detecting. I do have more interest in the 15” coil than the 6” coil for much of what I would like to do this summer so hopefully we will see them before summer is over!

Yes, that is all normal except the part where VDI does not matter. It does. There is a very common and and ongoing commentary about target id numbers that where it seems to me that people think detectors put good stuff and bad stuff into neat and tidy compartments with no overlap. It simply does not work that way. For every good item there is a trash item that reads the same. It is all about percentages and odds. Detectors have no idea what they are detecting. Items like coins that are the same every time in theory give you the same number every time. Trash unfortunately comes in every size and shape and so there is no way to eliminate all trash. Coins do read the same every time out of the ground, but put them in the ground, and add a little corrosion, and they also vary in how they read out. That is not to say you have to dig everything however. You simply need more time and experience in learning how detectors really work and then the nuances of the Equinox in particular. What you are experiencing is well known as "ferrous wrap" or "wrap around" or just "iron falsing" where what are normally low number targets shift to high number targets. Since a silver dollar reads about 38 almost anything reading 39 and 40 is more likely to be ferrous wrap than a good target. The normal cause is too much sensitivity but it happens no matter what with many ferrous items.. Flat tin steel, hardened steel bolts and screws, steel washers, AA batteries, etc. all will fake out detectors and fall in various "good item" target id ranges. How Metal Detector Discrimination Works Dealing With X-Terra Wrap-around Seeking To Understand Wrap Around XP DEUS Iron Falsing Ambiguous Responses To Targets and How To Decipher Them The Minelab X-Terra is as close to the Equinox as anything, and the free Understanding Your X-Terra book has a lot of good info that crosses over to the Equinox. In particular, see the discussion on ferrous wrap starting on page 76 and then a technical explanation on page 80. Anyway, I don't want to hijack this thread any further. There are several threads referencing target id (VDI) numbers on the Minelab Equinox Essential Information reference thread you will want to take a look at.

Excellent finds - thanks for posting! I really need to quit with the coin detecting and start jewelry detecting with my Equinox. The machine really does love gold - and so do I

Minelab had manufacturing facilities in Australia, Ireland, and Malaysia. The Ireland facility supposedly closed but I have seen recent references to items still being assembled there. Most of the manufacturing is now done in the U.S. owned Plexus facility in Malaysia but there is also stuff still made directly in Australia also. It's possible the Ireland work is also done in a Plexus facility - they have plants around the world. At least a few dollars of the money paid to make an Equinox does filter back to the USA via Plexus and its stockholders. From an Equinox box.....

A possible idea regarding this pod cover for some people.... http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/6179-zagg-clear-screen-protectors-for-the-equinox/?do=findComment&comment=65928

Minelab was trying to keep that coil as light as possible which does leave space for sand. It could have been epoxied up level with no holes or gaps, but then people complaining about nose heavy would complain even more. I will probably dedicate a coil to water hunting and take the time to run a good silicone seal completely around all the edges of the scuff cover. I don’t worry about sand abrasion but I work in and bang on rocks a lot, and want that little extra protection. I have spent enough time swinging a Garrett ATX and Minelab CTX w/17” coil underwater that Equinox is a dream by comparison as regards water and swing resistance. I am more curious about how the 15” coil will handle in the water than the stock coil - no worries there.

I agree this might be the way to go, but it is very hard to find a scoop like this. Lots of Googling found me a company that specializes in this type design - Lucky Scoop. They have several models and most seem like great designs for micro jewelry. http://luckyscoop.com/en/beach-sand-scoops https://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-LUCKY-scoop-Sand-scoop-METAL-DETECTING-beach-hunting-/251697133399

The more options the better in my opinion. The nice thing about a detector being an obvious huge seller is one year from now we will have gone from no accessories to possibly one of the largest arrays of accessories available. Everyone is going to want to jump on the bandwagon making every aftermarket goody that anyone desires.

I will be using Equinox for gold prospecting and that can be hard on a detector, so a full pod cover seemed like a good idea to me for that use at least. One tip I will offer having done this before. A loose cover like this will get dust or even sand inside. This material trapped between the inside of the cover and the screen can abrade the screen. I therefore use a screen protector in conjunction with a full cover like this. The real reason for the cover is more to protect the keyboard from gritty gloves and the control box edges from getting beat up rolling around in the rock piles.

Well, just ordered one myself. Product review soon.

Suppliers eBay home page

A metal detector depth meter is nothing more than a signal strength indicator calibrated to a particular coin. That being the case there is nothing a meter can tell you that your ears can’t tell you as well or better. All depth meters are inaccurate on any item other than the coin they are calibrated for. Further, most (not all) detectors are only a accurate when using the stock coil. For all these reasons I have never paid much attention to depth meters. Between the initial target sound and the sounds when engaging the pinpoint function I learn all I need to know about target depth. The main “problem” with Equinox is targets are delivering full signal strength for quite a few inches. With most detectors signal strength drops off immediately. That makes it easy for those detectors to gauge depth. So do we want to “make” the Equinox more prone to losing signal strength faster just to get a better idea of depth? The more people use Equinox, the more I think most people will find that the depth meter will fade as being a major issue. Best wishes for early results with the new machine!

Africa. And gold machines, not coin detectors. You guys have it all backwards. The high price of the WM08 just makes it easier for all us 800 owners who have one and never use it to sell it to 600 owners for a decent price, yet save them money. I don’t see anyone being put off the 600 because it would cost big bucks to add something they did not want in the first place. But if they do want one, I bet plenty of 800 owners would be happy to give theirs up for $159, a solid $100 savings for whoever buys it. Though you would have to give up your spare charger cable also so they have a way to charge it.

If there were such a beast I would expect it would be in the newly released TDI SL Special Edition. That unit appears however to ship with the same NiMH battery pack as the prior TDI SL so my guess is that it has not happened. Or not happened yet at least. Hopefully Tom will chime in to help you with your decision.

The easiest way to determine going values for used stuff are the eBay Sold Listings

I have a friend who is always trying to get me interested in treasure hunts but it was never my thing. I love metal detecting and prospecting, and the whole using research to look for gold nuggets thing appeals to me. So many treasure tales however are just that, tales, and sorting what’s real from what’s not.... well, just never got into that. Figuring out geology and where Mother Nature hid her treasures appeals to me more. That said I do understand the fascination people have for such things though. I am a bit surprised in this day and age of the “reality show” that a new Treasure Island show has not been created where contestants do the Fenn thing on a much smaller scale. Each season could be a new treasure.

New clue... https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/17/millionaire-forrest-fenn-hid-treasure-in-the-rockies-and-left-a-clue.html

Translator at work... I think the “he” being referred to is the Equinox 600. The 600 is a perfectly capable machine for hunting small gold. Park 2 and Field 2 are hot on small gold. If using Field 2 be sure to use the horseshoe (all metal) or change the target id 1 and target id 2 back to non-ferrous accept responses - see below. Gold prospectors in bad ground will want to be open minded about possible responses in the 0 and -1 areas also. Instruction manual pages 23-24 (emphasis added): Park 2: Fine Jewellery (Fine in this context means small) Park 2 is better suited for smaller targets and greater trash densities. It will detect a wider range of targets including low conductors (or higher frequency) targets, e.g. fine jewellery. All non-ferrous targets are accepted by default. Recovery Speed is also increased to clearly identify good targets masked by iron trash. Target Tone is set to 50 to allow greater audible target identification rather than relying more heavily on the visual Target IDs. Park 2 Multi-IQ processes a higher frequency weighted multi-frequency signal while ground balancing for soil. Field 2: Fine Coins / Artefacts (Fine in this context means small) Field 2 suits locations with high target and trash densities. It will better detect small hammered coins on their edge or at greater depth. The default discrimination pattern is set to reject Target IDs 1 and 2 (most coke signals). Target Tone is set to 50 tones to enhance audio identification and Recovery Speed is faster. The first Tone Break has been set so that Target IDs 1 and 2 produce the same low tone as ferrous targets. Field 2 Multi-IQ processes a higher frequency weighted multifrequency signal while ground balancing for soil. Also see the side box Difficult Areas - Coke.... “Generally coke has a Target ID of 1 or 2. For this reason it is rejected by default in Field Mode. Note, this could result in some small non-ferrous targets being missed.”