Mark Gillespie

8 hours ago, Ridge Runner said:

I’ll make it short and maybe sweet.

The Equinox is not like any I have had in the past and yet should carry me in the future beyond my detecting days.

That’s what I expect out of the Equinox and I’ll settle for nothing less .

Chuck

That's kind of how I feel, being 60.

Why do you want the Equinox?

Maybe I should say why I want the Equinox?

For me it is the accumulation of years of detecting and knowing, that in most cases new technology brings new benefits to the hobby.  For the past 20 years I’ve seen a huge leap in technology.   Both the computer industry (actually had a computer business for 10 years) and of course metal detectors have excelled at a phenomenal rate.   Faster CPU’s allow more data to be processed and analyzed, for both.   Like most treasure hunters I’m looking for the so called edge that allows me to excel in the hobby.  The presumed hunted out sites come alive with additional treasures.  This adds more excitement and rewards as time is spent learning a new machine.  Then, all of a sudden you believe in the detector you’re using and the finds seem to come with little if any effort on your part.  Amazing, yes, humans have the ability to excel if they believe in something and detecting is no exception.  Now I’d like to bring in a particular machine.  The V3i when running three frequencies opened up many a site where I live.  My buddy, who first purchased the V3i whipped me at every site when it came to finding silver, so his nickname became Fred Silverman, hence the phrase.  We spent many hours comparing targets and the majority of the time my machine didn’t give as good an audio or ID than his.  I had the best detector that could be bought “not mentioning the brand”, but that didn’t make a difference.  Then I bought a V3i and sure enough it made a difference for me as well.  Loved the machine, but for me it was too heavy to hunt long at a time and having neck problems prevented me from keeping the machine very long so I had to sell.  Bought a Deus, super light weight, but even it couldn’t compete with my friends V3i, multi-frequency.  We did side by side comparisons, over several months, but even the Deus in my area couldn’t compete, so I sold.  Coming full circle, the Equinox has what I’m looking for:

Multi-Frequency like the V3i

Light weight like the Deus

Extremely fast like the Deus

Adjustability like the V3i and Deus

Multi-tone like the Deus and V3i

 Better price point, cheaper than both

Then I must add all the other features wireless and waterproof.

Just how I feel

36 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Sometimes the bandwagon is the right place to ride!

I believe it is........... this time...........

I'm struggling not to jump on this band wagon, but I'm afraid I'm loosing.  

On ‎1‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 2:31 AM, BeachHunter said:

Cool finds Skate. I like the fact you’re hitting those nickels. Gold is sure to follow. Good luck!

I do the same thing when it comes to nickels.  Over the years, the majority of all gold rings I've found  ID at nickel or just below. 

Awesome find, you're ahead now.

After you've had the top of the line detector from what ever the manufacturer, it's almost impossible to settle for a lower end machine from the same company.  Case in point, over the past several years I've owned, actually remember, seven Fisher F75's, some original and some the LTD mode.  I've had the opportunity to try lower cost machines like the Gold Bug Pro, F19, F5, but can say for surety I've yet to find a machine that comes close to enjoying anything like the F75. 

I recently purchased a new F19 with the intentions of only using for relic hunting, but even though it is a great machine, it still can't fill the void filled by the F75.  Just amazing, you get what you pay for, in most cases when it comes to detecting.   It's something how companies put out a flag ship machine then do spin offs of lesser performance an features. 

I would like to add one good point.  Believe it or not I can tell by sound, almost 100% of the time when it's a hair pin under the coil.

But to begin with it all sounded the same.  Now, if I could hear a difference between a beer pull tab and a ring, that would be fantastic.

ANY NEW WORD ON AVAILABILITY?

On 1/7/2018 at 11:04 AM, MontAmmie said:

I've had 3 detectors (so far).  Every one has paid for itself within a year or two in finds.  When I started the hobby, I was a fat, middle-aged, pre-diabetic housewife/nurse.  I've lost 40 pounds since then and I'm in better physical shape now than when I was 40.  Would I have done that with an expensive gym membership or a treadmill?  No way.  I'm lazy and I can think of every excuse in the book not to move my butt.  But on that beach swinging my detector?  Oh man, that's a whole different ball game!  "I've been out here 5 hours, covered 3 miles of beach twice, and I'm bone-tired, but oh look at that cut over there!  I just gotta hit that before I leave!"

The money I've saved in medical costs alone has probably paid for my detectors and equipment many times over.   Not to mention the years of good health it has added to my life.  My metal detecting equipment is truly priceless.

Awesome story, I hope I can detect another 20 years.

So true Steve, my SL has found more hair "bobby" pins than I knew existed.  And yes you will need to dig it all, but ever so often something real nice comes up.

Keep us posted on how it performs.

I'll even add something more.  Years ago I found a round ball of metal a little larger than a golf ball.  The item was pure white and not knowing what it was at the time I pitched it in my relic pile on my back porch.  A few years later I was rummaging through the bucket of metal and came across the ball.  Then suddenly I realized it was a civil war grape shot.  Remember seeing the same ball in a local museum.  Now that created a very big issue with me because I can't remember where I dug it from.  I've spent quite a bit of time pondering on where, but to this day I don't have a clue.  I might add, I've always kept a journal of my finds, location and date, but for some reason I failed to record that find.

22 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Both have the same Beach Mode, but the fact is that A. Beach Mode works only in multifrequency and B. Nobody has any idea how Minelab mixes and matches different frequencies in different modes other than that Beach Mode multifrequency is not the same as Park Mode multifrequency for instance. So while the Beach Mode is identical on the Equinox 600 and Equinox 800, until Minelab clears all this up it is all speculation as to what Beach Mode is doing different than say, Field Mode.

Put another way, Field Mode multifrequency will not work in saltwater but Beach Mode multifrequency will. What we are seeing is a true digital program based detector where different modes are for all intents and purposes different metal detectors.

You know Steve I have wondered the same thing about the V3i and the Deus and the different programs.  Even though each program can be modified, I always wondered if hidden in the back ground were some sort of settings/internal adjustments I didn't know about.  Being a programmer from the late 90's I can see a line or two of code performing special functions for a special feature.  That is the internal secrets we may never be aware of.  But that's okay, if it works great.

I hunt old home and school sites.  Schools long since shutdown and homes no longer occupied.  I have several special sites I hunt with my TDI where coal was used for source of heat for decades.  These sites are basically a wasteland (because of the coal waste )where grass and other vegetation is sparse.  But the TDI has pulled a many good target from these sites.  I will be very interesting to see how the E. does and reacts to these extreme ground areas.

9 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

There is a very important thought process at work here. Nobody, but nobody, not me, not the other testers, not even Minelab, knows exactly just what the Equinox is capable of and what uses people will find for the various modes and frequencies. To a large degree there is a bit of a "throw in the kitchen sink" thing at work here. Then turn it loose in the wild and see what everyone does with it. Collect feedback and data, and incorporate into later models down the road.

Why include single frequencies? Good question. The genuine answer - why not? They can do it so they did. But it will mostly just be a way to show people how great Multi-IQ is and how Minelab's statements regarding single frequency really do have a basis in reality. So far for me the single frequency modes are mostly just a fallback position for extreme EMI mitigation.

But that is not to say that tens of thousands of users worldwide experimenting with all these modes and frequency options will not discover uses or oddball applications that nobody anticipated. I never knew I would end up using my cell phone more as a GPS than as a phone until I got it and used it. Equinox is the same thing. It really is new, and figuring out just exactly what it does in the real world and how best to apply it for different uses is going to be a huge part of the fun here once the machines hit the street.

My thoughts exactly.  I was one of the original testers of the Eurotek Pro and can say I had a blast experimenting/testing to see what I could find wrong and what functions performed according to what the engineers wanted.  It might be a low cost machine, but performs extremely well in heavy iron sites.  To me, the fun of learning a new machine is what matters.  Then comes the surprise find I didn't see coming.

Life is short and you won't go around but once.  Have fun....

11 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The Equinox pinpoint automatically ratchets or zeros in on the target.

Wow, that's awesome.  Not many machines (V3i) have that capabilities.  I usually have to do the narrowing down manually using the pinpoint function, but it takes time.  Awesome feature.

Wow, that's an XF walker.  Awesome. 

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

You have to remember that Recovery Speed / Reactivity / Detect Speed trades speed for depth. In general, the higher the Detect Speed, the faster you can sweep but there is a depth loss at high Detect Speed settings. Conversely, a slow Detect Speed gives enhances deep targets and prefers a slower sweep speed. In areas with sparse targets where you want max depth, run a low Detect Speed and slow down. As trash gets denser, increase the Detect Speed to get better "see between" capability that reduces target masking effects. Higher detect speeds also tolerate faster sweep speeds.

Recovery Speed, Recovery Delay, And Reactivity

Sounds like the machine will basically run very similar to my Deus when it comes to speed/depth etc.

Good to know, thanks

I don't normally ask questions but one has me very curious.

Concerning the Equinox:

Does the machine loose depth if sweep speed is reduced or is there a sweet spot speed?

Most all VLF machines I've had looses quite a bit of depth as sweep speed is slowed.

Steve you are very good at posting pictures with great detail.  Thanks for all you do.

I really like the external speaker in the very hot summer months. 

4 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Thank you Wayfarer also for restating so well just how I feel about it. I can grab the Equinox and head to nearby parks and feel like I have a decent shot at coming home with silver. It really is the wheaties that are most telling. I dug about 100 coins dating 1956 and earlier from common park locations. A couple dimes is one thing but this also indicates volume.

The weather has been quite mild for a week now and I am thinking southern facing areas should be thawed out, so I am grabbing Equinox and going to give it a shot today. Report later....

You're lucky with a break in the cold, it has settled in where I live, no warmth in site for at least 8 days.  With temps in the single digits and several day not reaching 32 will delay my hunting.

Keep us posted on your outings.

I'd like to add to my comment.

It is a wonderful eye opener when a new machine suddenly opens up hunted out sites with so many good finds.  I had the same thing happen to me several years ago when the Fisher F75 first came out.  Actually the complete story is posted on the Fisher lab website under F75 field test report #2, http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/field-tests/f75-Mark-Gillespie-Report.htm 

Don't take it wrong by my mentioning this, but after reading the main post I'm now convinced the Equinox will give similar experiences to each one that purchases one.

With all that said I now realize why you were selling all those machines back in the fall.