Steve Herschbach

I agree.

He said he would dig anything NOT locking in at 20/21. That is usually a very safe ferrous indication, but somewhere I am sure there is a nugget in bad soil that would read just that. No form of discrimination is 100% trustworthy.

Nuggets can make almost any sound. The classic is “zip-zip” but nuggets on edge can produce double blips. Specimen gold can make all sorts of trashy signals. Naturally occurring gold comes in infinite mixtures of shape and purity, and this makes anything more than generalities dangerous. All each person can do is through trial and error determine what is true of their particular location. Whether you skip targets because of target id or audio, the fact is it is gambling of a sort, with the odds only increased by field experience. Anything other than digging it all is more art than science. I have dug a lot of nuggets over the years from other people’s holes and dig piles that they abandoned as “no good”. This 3.5 ounce specimen for instance came out of a shallow dig filled with leaves. I got a really broken trash signal. I figured it was trash and dug it mainly to get rid of it. Imagine my surprise when this popped out with a single scoop! Anyway, I like you plan. There is always something to be learned, even if it is just digging trash and hot rocks. Less than 5 and more than 90 are pretty safe to pass on however. It is the borderline areas where it gets more interesting.

From White’s Facebook page: ”Starting next week we'll ship out the first orders of MX7's! This is a lightweight metal detector for serious treasure hunters who are looking for an affordable option to many of the higher-priced models on the market. The body, coils, PCB, and rods are all made here in the USA. Just in time for Christmas and shipping with a free Digmaster and Utility pouch for under six hundred bucks!”

Yeah, kind of vague. Also the vague reference of the really “new” stuff coming within a couple years. Within meaning a few weeks or 1 year 11 months. Anyway, from their Facebook posts I had assumed all the info on the F75+ would be released last week. Either that’s not true, or we have already heard it. Unless some remarkable information is being withheld this is not “the next generation” First Texas model we have been waiting on so long.

I love it when people chime in with answers - thanks gents! I will answer the third question first. In one of your posts you dismiss using the Gold Racer in highly mineralized ground. I will have to deal with a lot of this next summer. Would you discuss the issues you had with highly mineralized ground? That is nothing to do with the Gold Racer per se. I tend to dismiss all VLF type detectors in highly mineralized ground in favor of the PI models or GPZ. The ultra hot detectors like the Gold Racer are even more problematic in severe ground. They can be made to work, but there is a point where a PI makes more sense. Other than that, I agree with the previous responses that you may be trying to hard to avoid digging. Normal operation while nugget detecting is “dig all targets”. If I get into ferrous trash I will skip what I call “hard ferrous hits” which on my Gold Racer are target id numbers in the 20-22 range. From there it is mostly about how much digging you can stand. As particular undesired items are found if certain numbers keep coming up trash or hot rocks you might ignore them also. Always remember however that every target skipped increases your odds of skipping a gold target. In highly mineralized ground almost all targets read ferrous past a certain depth, including sizable gold nuggets. Hang in there. I have been shedding detectors lately and I took my Gold Racer, Gold Bug 2, and Gold Monster for testing in some VERY severe ground. Serpentine bedrock and soil running close to 50% magnetite content. The Gold Monster at 45 kHz and Gold Racer at 56 kHz easily detected test targets in the soil that the 71 kHz Gold Bug 2 could not touch. The Gold Bug 2 has an edge for the tiny bits, but its depth on larger gold in severe soil is actually quite poor. I have known this since the Gold Bug 2 came out but it is eye opening to see it again so plainly. Part of that is the ultra high frequency, part of it the concentric coils. The Gold Racer can do better on deeper gold, but also is more complicated and harder to tame in bad ground. Long story short I am ditching lots of detectors but the Gold Racer stays.

First Texas is more interested in telling us about the new pinpointer than that F75+. I check every day and so far it appears to be a standard F75 with Boost Mode added. There is talk of transferable warranty and warranty extensions but it is a bit unclear. May have to do with upgrades? Hints of more but nothing firm. So far this looks like a intermediate machine between the regular F75 and F75 Ltd.

The beach performance of the Equinox 600 and Equinox 800 is going to be identical. Again, the Equinox 800 Gold Mode might offer an advantage to those hunting micro jewelry in the bone dry sand. That mode would be useless however on wet salt sand. Micro jewelry detecting is not for the faint of heart because in reality it turns into aluminum foil detecting. For what nearly all people consider to be beach hunting the two detectors are identical. Since water hunters often hunt strictly by ear the extra audio customization options are the main thing the Equinox 800 offers to beach hunters versus the Equinox 600.

I think it does perform better than “what is out there” as regards VLF detectors where I am but I am not prepared to vouch for Oz performance. I have found it wise to leave that for Australians who are on-site

The Equinox detectors handle mineralized ground extremely well for a non-PI detector. It cannot be compared to detectors like the GPX 5000 and SDC 2300 when it comes to handling the worst mineralized ground - they are markedly superior in that regard. If those are the rulers you measure with, VLF detectors will always come up short.

Hello Luis - welcome to the forum! I used Google Translate for this translation below. Your English is probably better than my Spanish! "Hello everyone, excuse me if it's not the right place, but I'm looking and I do not see the new members section. My name is Luis and I am from Spain. I have been following this forum for a long time and would like to continue learning from all of you as a registered user. Thanks and regards. Forgive my English, I am using a translator."

Hi Daryl, Welcome to the forum! Where the Equinox 600 and 800 share features they are identical, so no worries about any of the modes on the Equinox 600 being any less powerful than the same modes on the Equinox 800. Multi-IQ is identical on both models - there is no difference between the Equinox 600 and Equinox 800 in the Multi-IQ frequency range processed. The two obvious differences as touted in the poster below are the "Gold Detecting Mode" and the "Advanced Detector Settings". The Equinox 800 also comes with Bluetooth headphones and the WM08 wireless module instead of the wired headphones included with the Equinox 600, but those options can be added to the Equinox 600 if you desire. In fact many popular aftermarket Bluetooth headphones and even the Apple Air Pods will work with both of the Equinox models. OK, so the Gold Mode. This is a threshold based all metal mode running at either 20 khz, 40 khz or multifrequency (MF) that is intended for chasing very small items, like small gold nuggets or what is referred to as "micro jewelry" i.e. stud earrings, thin necklaces, etc. Gold Mode does not have different tones for different target types. Instead, it features what is referred to as VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) audio where both volume and pitch change with target intensity. This is not a mode most people would use and unless you are nugget detecting or hunting beaches and tot lots for micro jewelry I am kind of doubtful that a person just starting out would have a use for that mode. More to the point, Multi-IQ processing is so good that the extra sensitive Park 2 and Field 2 mode common to both models is almost as good at finding small gold as the Equinox 800 Gold Mode. While serious nugget hunters will want every available tool, I know I could use the Equinox 600 to hunt gold and do as well or better than many single frequency nugget detectors. Do not underestimate the power of Multi-IQ. The Advanced Detector Settings is referring to the options marked with an asterisk in the image below from the Minelab Equinox 600 / 800 Getting Started Guide (click for larger version). I have highlighted the areas in question with a red box. The Equinox 600 allows you to turn the backlight on or off. The Equinox 800 has Low, Medium, High, or Off. This is only of interest to heavy users of meter backlights. Both Equinox models have automatic Noise Cancel functions but the 800 also offers a Manual override. If you hunt in areas of high electrical interference (EMI) or around lots of other detectors, this can be helpful in finding the quietest setting with the least interference. For normal use Automatic is actually very good however and is probably all most users will need. The Equinox 600 features three level of Detect or Recovery Speed (Reactivity on a Deus). Low settings are better for areas with sparse targets, high settings for dense trash. The Equinox 800 has eight levels for finer tuning in the densest "carpet of nails" scenarios. Low settings offer more solid hits on very deep targets, but poor separation of closely adjacent targets. High settings have great separation, but the clipped audio responses required in dense trash make it harder to hear very deep targets. Use a setting as low as possible that achieves the desired target separation. The Equinox 800 has a User Profile button that allows the operator to jump straight to an alternative Detect Mode. This can take multiple button pushes on the Equinox 600. For example, to get from Park Mode 1 to Beach Mode 1 takes four pushes of the Detect Mode button to cycle there. An Equinox 800 user can program the User Profile for a jump there in one button push. Nice but this is just a convenience feature. There are of course the 20 kHz and 40 kHz single frequency options on the 800 that are lacking on the Equinox 600. These two extra single frequency options are available on the Equinox 800 in the Park, Field, and Gold Modes but not the Beach Mode, which is multifrequency only. Again, in my opinion the real power of Equinox is Multi-IQ, so the Equinox 600 lacking these extra frequency options is likely to prove to be of little consequence for most people. To reiterate - Multi-IQ is identical on both models. There is no difference in the Multi-IQ frequency range processed between the Equinox 600 and Equinox 800. Most metal detectors work such that all target tones have the same volume. A relatively new feature allows some detectors to set the volume of the ferrous (iron and steel) tones to be lower, which can be much easier on the ears in locations full of ferrous trash. Both the Equinox 600 and 800 can adjust the ferrous tone volume. This is particularly useful in the two tone mode, where one tone is normally ferrous and everything else a different tone. The Equinox 800 goes a step farther in allowing even non-ferrous tone volumes to be adjusted. Maybe you have coins set to give a high tone, but you have a hearing loss in the high tone range. The Equinox 800 allows you to increase the volume of the high tone response in relation to the other tones, making it easier to hear. This is most useful in the five tone mode. Both the Equinox 600 and 800 allow you to set the threshold level volume, but the Equinox 800 also allows you to set the threshold pitch or tone. Again, this is good for people that have hearing loss issues in particular ranges. The tones used in Single Tone, Two Tone, Five Tone, and Fifty Tones come factory preset on both models, but the Equinox 800 allows you to change the pitch of these tones also via the Tone Pitch setting. Finally, there is Tone Break. The positions on the target id scale where one tone shifts to another is factory preset. Both the Equinox models let you adjust the point where ferrous tones shift to non-ferrous tones - a very important feature. However, with the Equinox 800 the other non-ferrous audio controls really come together knowing you can also adjust the break points between the non-ferrous tones. This means you can create totally custom audio discrimination modes on the Equinox 800. 50 tone mode is exempt, so this is most useful in five tone mode. You can move the break points around as you please with the Equinox 800, and even use this to create four tone and three tone modes. You can move a couple target id segments to both read in the ferrous range and assign them a similar tone for instance, so two of the tones will be ferrous, and the three remaining tones assigned to non-ferrous items as the operator pleases. This is an incredibly compelling feature for people like me that hunt almost entirely by ear with the target id numbers only coming into play after the fact. Still, more of an advanced user function for sure, which is why only the Equinox 800 has these options. The thing is all these tone setting options do not really make the machine detect deeper. Advanced users or people with poor hearing appreciate these things, but the options on the Equinox 600 are still quite good. The bottom line? The Equinox 600 is really all most normal people would need and even then it has more features than most detectors. With the exception of Gold Mode both Equinox models will find targets equally well. The people who want the extra features on the 800 generally know who they are. If you are worried about it and not sure, only $250 can allay those fears! The discussion of audio options above may be confusing for some. It is very hard to put into words what a video may show in minutes. The following video does a good job of illustrating the advanced audio customization features on the Equinox 800. Finally, here is a post elsewhere on the forum by another person explaining all this in their own way, which may also help. 3/23/18 New blog on the subject - https://www.minelab.com/anz/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/equinox-600-vs-equinox-800

You can go back to the old firmware version no problem. You can download all prior versions from the bottom of this page.

Hmmmm... if you mean download to your computer, I just did that with the file and no problem with my PC. If you mean it did not load properly into the Impact - that I can't verify but I will see if we can't find somebody else who can. A regard headphones the update has this warning: "IMPORTANT! If you do not have the RED EDITION of the 2.4GHz wireless headphones but an older version and would like to upgrade your detector with this software version, please check the WiFi channel of your detector first and make sure that it is NOT set to channel 4 or 5 but to one of the channels between 0-3 before uploading the software to your detector!"

Another response from Minelab: “The Li-ion battery in the EQUINOX detectors is easily replaceable. Minelab has not yet released official information as to whether or not a user can change the battery over without voiding warranty or if we recommend the battery is changed by a dealer or service centre. Further information about battery care and maintenance will be provided in the EQUINOX Instruction Manual, which has not been released yet. This will be available when the product is available. The EQUINOX detectors are not designed to run from AA batteries. However, you can use a standard USB power bank (as you do with mobile phones) to recharge the built-in battery and operate the detector at the same time.”

I assume the M6 at the same price will not be around much longer.

Brilliant JP - I never thought about the fact that detectors that use wireless headphones might interfere with each other if on the same channel. Something to be aware of as more and more detectors go to wireless audio.

Welcome to the forum! Sorry, I don't know where you can get these other than ebay and Classifieds sites.

The reality in detector land (or forums at least!) is that we are endlessly attracted to the latest new shiny object. There is a pattern with Minelab. New model introduction. Detractors pile on, say no way. Large debates ensue. A year later everyone owns one and the question has been more or less settled. So we move on to the next new model and start over. The buzz at the moment is the Equinox. New detector, same old story.

Nothing is perfect. When you design a detector everything's a trade off. Battery compartments are the classic leak point in waterproof detectors. You only have to get an improper seal once to flood the battery compartment and /or detector. Waterproof detectors have abnormally high failure rates and warranty issues in part due to this. The CTX could be considered a classic example of concerns over battery seals. I have used lots of waterproof detectors, and every time I seal the battery compartment I cross my fingers. No matter how careful you are there is always a little risk involved. It's also a pain. My ATX I have to charge the batteries every two days. There are two battery doors. Every two days, pull batteries in evening to charge, and clean o-rings and door seal areas. Put back together in morning and hope I got it right. With Equinox just attach the magnetic charger and you are good to go in the morning. Dealing with battery compartment seals is a low level ongoing job with most waterproof detectors that I will not miss. The reality is the Equinox is designed for the future, not the past, and new detectorists in particular are used to owning things that need to be charged regularly. Lithium Ion battery technology is vastly improved now, and if Minelab says that they expect the battery life to exceed three years under normal use then I am taking them at their word for it. The catch of course is what defines "normal". Normal detectors are sitting in closets getting no use. If I am out detecting like crazy, normal does not apply. Maybe the battery will only make it to two years in my case. Don't know, as only time will tell, but the benefit here is compelling. On the other hand having a battery built into the coil is a no-go. Wireless signals do not normally transmit underwater, and so the Deus coil, for example, loses the connection with the controller or headphones when the coil is submerged. The solution is to run an antenna wire from the coil up to a point above the water or, if the control box is to also be submerged, to the control box. Wireless also turns $200 coils into $400 coils and limits coil availability. On the Deus, sold as a dry land detector, this can still make sense. But for a detector sold for use in water wireless coils make no sense at all. The thing is that these are design choices that get made in every detector, and the Equinox has its share. For some people (me!) the design choices make sense. Others will feel just the opposite, and that's fine. That is why other detector models exist - so we have choices.

The SDC 2300 is not even remotely dead! In fact if you take the price out of the equation, it is the number one machine I would like to see complete newbies get as a first gold nugget detector. It is remarkably simple to run, and if any little bits of gold remain in mineralized ground to be found, the SDC will find them. It's one of those detectors that can find gold when nothing else can. The only catch is that in real mild ground a hot VLF like a Gold Monster does very well also. In my case it's actually simple. Once I got a GPZ 7000 my SDC 2300 was going unused. I usually am in fairly moderate ground and I run the GPZ as hot as it can run. It hits gold not quite as small as the SDC, but it punches far deeper on larger bits. Now, I might miss some tiny bits, but keeping a $3000 detector around to clean up tiny bits is over the top even for me. For the ground I am on the Gold Monster serves a similar task for far less money, with the added bonus of ferrous discrimination. I am not saying the Gold Monster is better than the SDC 2300. It is a factor of ground mineralization and money and how much the machines will get used. Gold Monster $799 <------------------------------------> SDC 2300 $3750 Low Mineral Ground <---------------------------------> High Mineral Ground In low mineral ground the Gold Monster excels but as the mineralization increases, its performance suffers. The SDC retains far more capability under the most adverse conditions and so is the better choice in extreme ground. Somewhere in the middle there is a vague crossover point between the two. What you are really paying for in the SDC 2300 is not the ability to find small gold, but to resist extreme mineralization and hot rocks that foil the VLF detectors. The Gold Monster makes more sense for me given my situation, and the fact it is half the weight of the SDC just seals the deal. If I was on bad ground chasing small gold more often the equation would change in favor of the SDC. What I really want is a dry land SDC in a light weight package at a lower cost, with accessory coils!

I certainly did not say there is no market for more expensive detectors that have features that justify the price. My point is made purely in reference to the huge number of single frequency VLF detectors, and that would certainly include most of the First Texas stable of detectors. With the ever increasing number of models from companies, especially flooding the 13 - 19 kHz segment, it was only a matter of time before a shakeout occurred. I think Nokta/Makro was more the start of it than anyone. There has been a parity for years where a 14 kHz White’s MXT at $799 set a performance / price point. For what seemed like ages I described $799 as a bang for the buck “sweet spot” because every company has a great mid-frequency do-it-all machine near that price. You could price almost any detector by comparing it to the $799 models and seeing how it fit into the equation. Lower price and higher price models came along, but that $799 price point was very resistant to change for a long time. I would now say that $499 is shaping up as the new “bang for the buck” single frequency VLF price point with $599 for more deluxe models. 15 kHz Garrett AT Pro $552 19kHz Fisher F19 $449 14 kHz Makro Standard Racer $499 18.75 kHz Minelab X-Terra 705 $499 13 kHz Teknetics T2 Classic $499 14 kHz White’s MX7 $549 The whole mid-frequency (teens) VLF segment has been so flooded with models that for the last two years all I could think about each new introduction has been "just another mid-frequency detector". They are good detectors, no disputing that, but single frequency really is old tech at this point and any decent engineer can make a very good single frequency VLF detector. The Chinese have been remarkably slow to get up to speed with metal detectors compared to other consumer products. They have cornered the market in counterfeits but have yet to make a serious impact with legitimate detector models. That also is changing and I will not be surprised to see very good, very low cost detectors from China also putting pressure on the low end. Another trend just showing the tip of its nose is the decision by Teknetics to emphasize factory direct sales over dealer sales. The Teknetics website has been refashioned as TekneticsDirect.com "Factory Direct Sales Of Metal Detecting Equipment". I floated the idea of somebody doing the factory direct thing for years - in fact I suggested it to Troy Galloway a long time ago. It would have helped the Troy detector problem of too many fingers in the pie and resulting uncompetitive pricing. Tesoro was another brand that could have gone that way as they lost dealer shelf space. Just cut out the dealer and sell online for dealer cost, bring prices down dramatically. This looks to be the new Teknetics model going forward and it can also act to pull prices down if it catches on. It is ironic that the company that for so long did nothing but push prices higher that Minelab has made such a dramatic turn around and has in fact now become the outfit pushing prices lower. I guess they saw the writing on the wall and instead of fighting the industry shakeout decided to trigger it.

Welcome to the forum! Controversy is fine but be forewarned that forum rules are vigorously enforced

This video features the Deus but there are lessons here for anyone chasing fringe targets....

Getting a bit gray myself - luckily men look more distinguished as we age, right gents?