Steve Herschbach

A pinpointer with decent sensitivity to small gold plus functional ferrous discrimination would make an awesome standalone tool for working bedrock crevices with a gold pan.

Ah Mark, you sneak - you got yours! Hopefully mine will ship with everyone else's by end of next week to distributors, so I may see mine in a couple weeks. I have been very happy with my Carrot, but seeing the new FT model is pulse induction it was a no-brainer purchase for me. I have every confidence it will punch deeper in severe ground than standard induction balance pinpointers. Always nice to hear confirmation however!

Mike, you and I are in total agreement on this issue so I totally sympathize. It like buying race cars only to be told all we can get are consumer grade tires. I want race tires to go on my race car! The analogy is an apt one because detector companies prefer to be in the detector business and do look at coils as being something they are just as happy to have somebody else do. People do want coils but the number of coils that go unsold at manufacturers and dealers and then end up in the trash (or sit on the shelf forever) is actually amazing. That’s no excuse not to get up to date with modern coil designs however. If people can make money doing nothing but make coils then obviously manufacturers can do the same. As you know though even the third party people seem to meet yearly to agree not to make certain coil shapes and sizes.

That will depend on the number of targets per hour. Rare beach beeps are not going to drain the headphones as quick as 15 beeps per swing trash detecting. I have not run a full test to expiration thing myself but the spec I have access to indicates that 15 hours should be a reasonably conservative figure. 20 hours is indicated as a maximum but that would be under the rare beep scenario, and probably only when brand new. For what it is worth these are one of the few headphones that I have ever received with a detector that I actually like and use.

Raw small gold typically gives low target id numbers, single digits, but you have to incorporate personal experience on your ground when relying on such things as gold nugget will read anywhere from foil to aluminum can. Here is a thread that details the subject. When in doubt - dig it out!

Thank you JP for all you do and the kind words. I am like you in that I am used to running a GPZ day in and day out and so when I switch to VLF my concern for depth is not paramount. If it was I would keep swinging the GPZ. It's not that VLF depth is not important, but when talking prospecting detectors and VLFs it always has to be stated "great depth - for a VLF". I don't want people thinking that a $900 VLF somehow changed the rules versus the big gun prospecting detectors. Just like the Aussies that thought the Gold Monster was going to outperform the SDC 2300 on hot Oz ground. I would like to try and keep this all as real as possible.

Well, just to be very clear - I do not know the technical details of how Gold Mode is doing what it does. I may have went astray in mentioning all metal modes and attempting to define them. That is not what is important to me or what I was trying to convey. I was just trying to describe what Gold Mode acts like, nothing more. For me the big difference in Gold Mode is the way the audio gets processed. There may be far more to it than that from a technical perspective. I am just trying to describe the difference from an end user perspective. The only reason I mention the classic threshold based all metal mode is that it provides a frame of reference for the old-timers in the game.

Nuggets found using Gold Mode, MF (multifrequency). Largest 9.8 grains, two smaller 0.6 grains each. Full report here. OK, there has been a lot of speculation on Gold Mode, and with Equinox shipping out in the next couple weeks I can now offer the basics. Gold Mode is designed to help optimise the finding of very small items. That normally means small gold to most people, so it has been called Gold Mode. A question that has been asked a lot. Is Gold Mode a true threshold based all metal mode? Not as I would define it. On many VLF detectors a true, raw, unfiltered response can be seen via some pinpoint modes. All metal non-motion response. Next would be a motion based "first derivative" all metal mode, that basically adds motion filtering to the raw pinpoint signal in an attempt to keep an even threshold while in motion. This mode has no discrimination capability at all and just signals targets. This is the classic "true" all metal mode used on early induction balance prospecting detectors. Next would be "second derivative" filtering that is the classic motion based discrimination we see on most detectors today. Then along came dual channel processing. Many detectors started layering a visual discrimination channel onto the all metal channel, creating detectors like the that have a visual target id while in audio all metal mode. The X-Terra also has what is called "Iron Mask" while in Prospect Mode, which apparently incorporates a ferrous reject into the channel or employs a layered parallel channel. I don't know the technicalities, just that the feature is there. Are these "true" all metal modes? Not by old school definitions. And so to me at least Gold Mode does not fit that particular definition. The threshold, while it exists, responds more to items that are nulling on masked items (which may include ground and some hot rocks) than to ground variations in the classic sense as would be expected of a pure all metal mode. However, the extra capability offered sure does not have me pining for a true threshold based all metal mode. Gold Mode can run at MF (multifrequency), or 20 kHz or 40 khz. It does fit the definition of being an all metal mode by not being able to employ target tone identifications as is available in all other modes. You have a single tone, but it is adjustable for pitch. You do however have full time on screen target id numbers displayed at all times so you do have visual discrimination ability, but Gold Mode goes one more step, and you can also block/mask/notch just like you can in other modes. This is particularly important for the very low numbers down around -9 and -8 as some ground and hot rock responses roll in around there. Blocking low end ground responses causes the threshold to null (assuming you have it set loud enough to hear it) and so the nulling effects can alert you to ground changes and a possible need to tweak the ground balance if you are running in manual. However, what makes Gold Mode different in my mind is the processing, and in particular the audio, which employs a VCO based boosted audio that conveys the target in a way that gives a fuller picture of target intensity. The other modes have the standard Minelab modulated "beep" that simply gets weaker or stronger depending on the size and depth of target. The Gold Mode VCO based "rising/falling" response is more akin to what is seen in machines that produce that "zippy" response on tiny targets. The bottom line is Gold Mode can provide stronger audio responses on tiny targets. The large coil is fighting this a bit as a smaller coil or an elliptical will provide even tighter, zippier responses. The Gold Mode is not an automatic magical solution; it is simply a mode processed in a different way that can be advantageous in some situations and not in others. I expect given how some of us are very particular about how machines sound and act that this will be a mode some people really love and others might hate. VCO tends to have that effect on people. To sum up, Gold Mode is optimized for tiny targets, the most obvious way being with a boosted VCO type response on tiny targets, but there may be more to it than that I am unaware of. It does have both volume and threshold controls and while it is monotone the pitch can be varied. There is full time on screen (LCD) target id information as will as the ability to individually mask responses, mostly intended for hot ground/hot rock/ferrous responses but it may be used on non-ferrous targets also. Anyway, for those who think this is a key issue for them between Equinox 600 and Equinox 800 I wanted to try and clarify this a bit while people are still in pre-order mode in case people want to rethink things. To me the Equinox 800 is something I have to have based on the audio and other advanced tuning options, and Gold Mode is just an excellent bonus. in other words, I would still get the Equinox 800 even if Gold Mode did not exist. That's just me however and for others that lean differently hopefully this helps you out. https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/7468-my-tips-on-nugget-detecting-with-the-minelab-equinox/

My recommendation is for experienced detectorists in to toss preconceptions out the door with Equinox, including mode names and suggested uses. That's all fine for most people but what Equinox needs is a team of really curious people to simply accept it as a new item and figure it out from scratch. Preconceptions formed with other detectors will likely just get in the way, and for those most comfortable with old ways of doing things a potential turn off. Gordon is a really sharp cookie and Minelab is lucky he has been involved in this.

I can offer one insight on dedicated versus multipurpose. It is extremely important to understand that what helps one detectorist may hurt another when you design a detector. For instance, making a detector very hot on gold nuggets can also make it not work at all in saltwater. Making it work in saltwater makes it weak on gold nuggets. Fast recovery means better target separation, slow recovery more depth. Etc. In theory it is a matter of more frequencies and more adjustments, but that also can get in the way of a person who only cares about one task. And hardware can be either general purpose or task specific. If you decide to build a prospecting detector, all feedback and changes are made for one thing only - to make a unit great for prospecting. Even then competing desires require compromises to be made. Now try making a detector that satisfies field hunters in the U.K., park hunters in the U.S., and beach hunters everywhere. Toss prospecting in to complete the kitchen sink. Imagine the demands made and compromises that occur. That is why Equinox will be a great all rounder, perhaps the best ever made, but expecting it to somehow be better than a collection of separate dedicated units is a hard ask. And that in a nutshell is why detectors like the Excalibur and Gold Monster will continue to exist, and why prospectors in particular will not be ditching their dedicated units in favor of generalized units. Gold prospecting is one of the most technically demanding types of metal detecting and what makes a detector great for gold prospecting often makes it unsuitable for most other uses.

No apology required Chase. Try being on the inside trying to relay accurate information while not getting tripped up by final tweaks and tuning. That is why I keep saying over and over again to people certain things have to wait for final shipping versions to appear. Anything else is premature at best and misleading at worst. It’s a fine line to tread. No doubt Mark Lawrie was employing the latest firmware versions and observing dealer responses and feedback which could result in another tweak. He would be an idiot not to take advantage of such a situation and Mark is no idiot - far from it.

If you are caught by an enforcement officer in Alaska they may just warn you or throw the book at you. I have been told directly by enforcement people in Alaska that hands and pans means that and so much as feeding your pan with a spoon is a violation. It’s easier to find places in Alaska where no such rules apply and far less stressful than wondering if your activities are being filmed for legal action.

For nearly everyone coil diameter is a measurement of physical size, nothing more. Internal windings are a different issue. How does this rationale work with DD coils? Figure 8 windings? Stacked co-axial? Whatever, the 5.3 is what it is and people sure do seem to love it or hate it.

Great post Cipher. Feel free to provide links when doing this sort of thing - saves people from having to do scavenger hunts via a Google.

Mineralized ground is not the same thing as coal waste so I will be surprised if Equinox does not struggle in that stuff just like all the others.

Correct, price is one of the ways CTX is not faring well versus less expensive competition, though if the CTX was the same price it still would lose lots of sales to Deus in particular, for reasons you mention and more - like recovery speed in trash. The bottom line is CTX is expensive and heavy and so a new platform had to be developed to compete with the hot sellers from Garrett and XP. The only point I am trying to make is Equinox is designed to compete with the Garrett AT series and XP Deus and will succeed or fail based on how it does versus those detectors. If people want to buy an Excalibur or E-TRAC or CTX instead Minelab certainly won’t be upset.

Wow, I guess I still get surprised now and then. Minelab has yet to learn that the time to sell accessories is when a customer has the credit card out and is buying the detector. Time to talk accessories. Now, no coil prices, no ETA - that is going to cost them and dealers lots of accessory sales. Many people will get the detector and after the excitement dies down, decide the stock coil is good enough.

Gold Mode started out with 20 and 40 kHz options. MF was added and made the default. To me that was one change but if you want to make it two that’s fine

Here is what Gordon Heritage, one of the testers, has to say about iron bias. It agrees with my understanding of the control. He posts as ironhearted_gog on the Minelab Owners Forum. The control is quite subtle from what I have seen so far - not some magic weapon. Turning it all the way up does not eliminate flat tin steel, hardened steel bolts, or other problematic items that trouble VLF detectors.

Thanks for the report Lunk. Same old story - hard to beat dedicated gold prospecting detectors designed for a single function with machines designed to achieve many functions. The Gold Monster excels on tiny gold and is still my first choice for that particular task. The pure simplicity of the thing makes it a better tool for a person who only cares about small gold nuggets, nothing else. Chase, Gold Mode started as having only the 20 kHz and 40 kHz options. That was reported on before you became a member here. Then MF was added as an option. Minelab has previously stated machines will ship by end of January. Some people interpreted that to mean detectors would be in hand before end of January, but the reality is nothing has changed as regards announced delivery times.

The number of transmitted frequencies is a marketing thing. All that matters is frequencies received and processed. Even more important is how the frequencies are processed.

For those who are not sure what the discussion is about, version 4.1 adds a new function - Ground Sensitivity. Page 35 of the new 4.1 Owner's Manual:

Most raw nugget gold is far purer than jewelry gold. 14K gold is 58% gold, the rest usually silver. Most nugget gold I find runs from 80% to 95% gold, the remainder mostly silver.

Hi dew, The addition of multifrequency to the Gold Mode did nothing to change the underlying fundamentals of Multi-IQ. The statement is a generality, nothing more, that attempts to describe the difference between BBS/FBS and Multi-IQ in simplistic terms. The Equinox was designed to compete with the Garrett AT detectors and XP DEUS more than anything else. If that was not already obvious the leaked dealer meeting photo should make it so! That is the bar Minelab set for themselves. That is also an admission that the CTX is lacking in the ways needed to compete with those detectors, which are outselling it by huge numbers. Addressing that is what Equinox is all about, not replacing the Excalibur or CTX 3030.

I have added part 3 of the Multi-IQ series to my ongoing compilation Minelab Multi-IQ Technology Explained