Steve Herschbach

Makro Kruzer Series Makro Multi Kruzer Multi Kruzer Display & Controls Multi Kruzer Display Splash Gold Kruzer Display & Controls Gold Kruzer Display Splash Details on the new Makro Kruzer series here

Nice looking display! Click for larger versions....

I got a cheap drone last year to explore the concept. What I discovered is I want to go detecting more than I want to launch a drone. I managed to not use it even once. Kind of pathetic but it is the same success rate I have with thinking I am going to take videos while I am prospecting. It all seems like a dandy idea, but once I hit the ground I go into work mode and stuff like that seems a waste of time. Still, the drone I believe is a good idea for the right situation.

Not at all. I wade quite often using chest waders and I have never fallen in yet. That said I figure for working in and around water that the submersible headphones are the way to go - one less thing to worry about.

I have never used Equinox ground tracking on a saltwater beach. In general I do not trust ground tacking in a saltwater or salt flat / alkali environment and I use manual ground balance under those circumstances. That is not anything to do with Equinox - that's just me. Accurate target id is always a function of proper ground balance. Every mode on Equinox stores it's own ground balance setting separately and so ground balance is mode specific. The ground balance number reflected in Beach Mode will be a different number than that displayed in another mode for instance, even when on the same ground. On any detector it is recommended that your update the ground balance if you do something as simple as change the sensitivity/gain level. The same applies in each mode where the underlying frequency "mix" varies and therefore whenever a mode change is invoked it is a good idea to update the ground balance setting if you have moved around at all.

No, the wired phones that come with the Equinox 600 are the same as come with the Gold Monster, and they have a simple 1/8" jack attachment. The connection is not waterproof.

The Equinox is fully waterproof or totally submersible out of the box. It can be used in pouring down rain or dropped in the water while wading without fear. It has a built in waterproof speaker and built in wireless. If the pod is submerged to a foot (for instance) you can no longer hear the external speaker and the wireless can’t transmit from underwater. So all we are talking about here is how to hear an Equinox when the pod is underwater. As long as the pod is at or above the surface the external speaker or wired/wireless headphones or WM08 may be used. It should be obvious that the optional waterproof headphones come with a waterproof connection that mates to the waterproof connection on the detector pod. Now you can hear the detector while the pod is submerged. You can also stick your head underwater. Unlike some waterproof detectors you can adjust the volume of the headphones via the volume control on the detector. Some waterproof detectors have no volume control. The waterproof headphones are optional and so if you want to use the Equinox and stick your head underwater, yes, you need an accessory item - the headphones. Minelab Part No. 3011-0372 If you want to wade and stick the pod underwater but not stick your head underwater, you can get the optional Minelab 1/8” to 1/4” adapter cable. This cable has the same 1/8” waterproof fitting on one end and a standard dry land type 1/4” female jack on the other end. Attach the waterproof end the the detector. Keep the 1/4” end out of the water and dry. Like run it up your arm and attach to your shoulder. Now plug any 1/4” style metal detector headphones in and detect with the pod underwater. That is it - all the options you have for sticking the pod underwater and hearing the detector. The wireless headphones that come with the Equinox 800 are rechargeable. If they go dead while in the field, they come with a cable that has a standard male 1/8” stereo plug on each end. One end plugs into the headphone, the other end plugs into the Equinox directly or the WM08. The connection is not waterproof.

Overlap depends on time and place. If I am on a patch looking for the last missed nugget at depth I may advance the coil an inch at a time and hit it from four directions. If I have 100 miles of open terrain to cover I may not overlap at all. A fifty percent overlap works for me a lot of the time.

You never know unless you try. You have the coil so the only investment will be time.

I use screen protectors on all my detectors. I have never come close to wearing out a touch pad on any detector so I don’t worry about that. I won’t be surprised to see some sort of aftermarket cover for the entire pod appear someday.

The Equinox can employ automatic ground tracking. I don’t know what methodology is used. There is no control for ground balance adjustment speed. Tracking is either on or off.

The Equinox is pretty boring in this regard - it is solidly average and not much different than the majority of detectors on the market. In other words not particularly prone to tipping over but easy enough to knock over. It’s been a non-issue for me.

Well I did not say it has no advantage, just that compared to BBS and FBS Equinox seems to struggle more with flat steel. Unfortunately I can't make any better comparison than that because of last minute tweaks (Iron Bias) and my lack of any real time using the Equinox directly compared to the units in question under conditions that would allow me to comment with confidence. I was confident enough that the final version Equinox was going to be at least as good if not better than the competition that I went all in with it personally, selling my Impact and even my CTX. I have a lot of respect for the NokMak detectors however and know they can get the job done in the right hands. One area it would appear NokMak has the edge for the foreseeable future is coil selection, and that more than the detector itself can provide the edge needed in dense trash. I know it's not fair to compare an Equinox with 11" round DD coil to an Impact with a small concentric coil but I have never been one to play fair with detectors. I have two ghost towns on my hit list as soon as I can make the time for it - hopefully soon. The thing is at this point I am no longer testing Equinox against other detectors, as I did enough of that already to be able to decide which direction I wanted to go. From here on out I am just taking Equinox detecting and doing the best I can, but how it fares against other detectors is now in the hands of others to sort out. I am recusing myself from all that both due to my direct involvement with Equinox plus an actual lack of interest on my part. Once I make a decision I am not one to second guess myself and so while how Equinox compares to other detectors is of burning interest to others for obvious reasons, it is not on my radar. All I honestly want like everyone else is for the thing to wrap up and ship!

Charts are usually constructed using simple air tests. The big caveat on all discrimination systems is that ground effects and nearby targets can cause target id numbers to read both lower and higher, so all this really only works on relatively isolated targets in mild ground. It all goes out the window for anything more complex, and in places like Europe with thousands of years of history with different types of finds to be made, you simply dig all non-ferrous targets. Therefore constructing charts they are only for reference under perfect conditions, and they must be able to be duplicated by others. Air test with moderate sensitivity a few inches from the coil. You want clean, solid repeatable numbers. Trying to go farther will just give you erratic numbers that bounce all over the place.

Yes, as discussed earlier on this same thread All detectors, no matter the frequency, etc. cannot be more sensitive than what it takes to detect salt water if you want to detect on a salt water beach. If you make the machine more sensitive, it will pick up the salt water. There are numerous small items that read identical to salt water, in particular small or thin gold and platinum jewelry. If the detector is made to find this stuff, it WILL detect salt water. If you make the detector ignore salt water, it WILL miss these items also. There is no fix for that, VLF, PI, multifrequency, it does not matter. The salt range and the small non-ferrous range overlap. Beach Mode is as hot as it can be made on gold without detecting salt water. That is the unavoidable speed limit. The simple way to get around it is to use a hotter mode, but then you WILL detect wet salt sand and salt water. You have to decide up front - do you want to detect items that read exactly like salt water? Then go hot, but you will have to avoid salt water and wet salt sand. Or, do you want the detector to not signal on wet salt sand? Great, use Beach Mode, but know that it will miss items that read exactly the same as salt water. Everyone seems to think they can have their cake and eat it too in this matter. You can’t. Not using current technology.

There are quite a few areas of conflict and confusion when it comes to metal detector terminology. The manufacturers largely agree on some things, but now and then one will toss in a monkey wrench to confuse things. It has been on my mind as the subject of an article at some point. Some examples: automatic ground balance - this can mean preset ground balance, "ground grab" or ground tracking all metal mode - this can mean a true unfiltered all metal mode or a discrimination (filtered) mode set to accept all metals multifrequency - this until recently meant a detector processes multiple frequencies at the same time. Now it can also mean a detector that allows you to select a single frequency from a choice of multiple frequencies. Minelab Metal Detector Terminology Tesoro Detecting Glossary White's Glossary of Terms

Welcome to the forum! Lots more info coming soon but as to exact dates when it happens your guess is as good as mine! The digital issue of the March Searcher magazine should be available January 26th

Yes, confirmed, three selectable frequencies.

I am assuming for now that the Multi Kruzer is selectable single frequency like the Nokta Impact, not actual multifrequency. I wish Nokta/Makro had not done that. Up until now everyone in the metal detector industry agreed that multifrequency meant simultaneous multiple frequency operation. Now explanatory asterisks have to explain even that term. Maybe Makro will surprise me and say otherwise however so take this post with a grain of salt. Selectable Frequency And Multiple Frequency

After the GPX came out I quit running DD coils. A DD can aid with ferrous trash (the GPX disc function only works with DD coils) or electrical interference (the GPX cancel mode is designed for DD coils). DD coils can also help with the worst of the worst ground. For me though its mono all the way.

Minelab Replacement Handle SD and GP (without button) and Sovereign GT part # 3011-0166

At a waterproof 3 lbs I would think the Multi Kruzer will put a dent in Nokta Impact sales, it being not waterproof and 4.2 lbs for about the same price. The Gold Kruzer at a waterproof 3 lbs and 61 kHz with built in wireless looks to shake up the "over 30 khz" single frequency nugget detector market. Fisher Gold Bug 2 71 khz 2.9 lbs $764 Makro Gold Kruzer 61 khz 3.0 lbs $749 (includes two coils) Makro Gold Racer 56 kHz 3.0 lbs $699 Minelab Gold Monster 45 kHz 3.2 lbs $799 (includes two coils) White's GMT 48 khz 3.9 lbs $729 Note that the Makro Gold Racer is $699 with one coil and the Gold Kruzer $749 with two coils. That would seem to effectively kill the Gold Racer unless they drop the price. (2/8/2018 Note - at least one dealer has dropped Gold Racer to $594)

That was the intent when I started the Minelab Equinox Advanced User's Guide but I stalled out on it from being too busy plus things being in a state of flux have made it a moving target. But yes, I still intend on plugging away on it.

I buy those 3-packs of leather gloves at Costco.

The Multi Kruzer lets you select between 5 kHz, 14 kHz, and 19 khz similar to the Nokta Impact ability to select between 5 kHz, 14 kHz, and 20 kHz. Selectable Frequency And Multiple Frequency