Tiftaaft

Sounds like some great site options you have Bayard. And I like your approach... canvassing the ground with the Etrac for keepers, then going back over with the Equinox to snag the more masked targets. How do you like the 2 tone option on the Equinox? Is that similar to what you are running on the Etrac? Tim.

This is great information. My ground is difficult here in the northwest... maybe not as difficult as you are describing, but there is an invisible 6" floor (or less) on detection in some areas. I have found similar results with the faster recovery in my area, I just wasn't as scientific about my conclusions around them. Definitely an AHA moment. Thank you! Tim

I have hunted a few times with the "just barely audible" threshold... but have opted (at least currently) to zero it out due to it causing some echoing on target tones. Most everything tone related is pleasing to my ear with the equinox... from 2 tone to 50 tone... it sounds good to me.. but with the threshold, the echo is unpleasing to my ear... that may be just me.

Thanks Steve, Some days, I can only get out 30-60 minutes due to work and family obligations, but I hear the Equinox calling out to me from my car everyday now. haha. I am fortunate to have a couple of old locations near to my office. :)

Lunch time hunt today - 30 minutes swing time. 1920's park I have detected at least 25 times (because it is close to work and I can get there and back within a lunch hour). Park 1, Two tone w/break at 19, Recovery 3 (6 on E800), Iron Bias 0. I would call this an iffy signal for the Equinox.. bouncing 25-30 on the id, repeatable but maybe 3/4 or 3/5 passes. Pinpointed to the exact center of the hole, target was on the side of the hole where the carrot is - it looked to be on edge. Hard to tell from the pic, but from the top of the ground to the target... 7.5" '37 Merc. Refilled the hole, got another high tone 24-26.. pulled a wheat (not pictured) from the bottom of the hole, opposite from the Merc. Also pulled a few 5-6" copper memorials from the same area. Tim.

Great comments Chase, you said it much better than I did. Of couse my intent was to draw "detecting power" comparisons between the common features between the 600 and 800. And it is those enhancements in features that work to justify the additional cost of the 800, and those features do set it apart from the 600. As you outlined above, my "100% of the power" statement was to say where parallel settings can be drawn between the two machines, the performance differences are non-existent. That being said, one of the things I am most excited about when receiving the E800 is bumping the recovery up to 7 or 8, which in certain locations could be a significant advantage over the 600 from what I can tell from your and other's tests and hunts. I also agree that anyone considering either machine should go in with eyes wide open, and consider what the differences are while making an informed decision. My comment, which mirrors yours, is that for most users, choosing the 600 over the 800 isn't settling in my opinion. :)

Thanks GBA! and thanks for remembering my "Quest for Silver" post :). I did go out there for a short hunt right after I received the Equinox, and didn't know what I was doing... I am planning to head back to that school later this week and see what I can find. Since my original post about that site, I have spent 2 or 3 hours there, with very little to show... but I am hoping the Equinox will change that. I almost went there last night, but decided to stay closer to home since I had limited time... and found the silver rosie... in my short Equinox hunt at that school, I did find another wheat, and several nickels... but I have a much better feel for the Equinox now, and I am hoping to complete my quest :) Can't wait to hear how you fare with the E800!! Tim.

Thanks Skate, I didn't call you out by name above, but that was an oversight. Your posts have been extremely helpful in my path to learning the Equinox... so thank you! Yes, I had no expectations on finding silver in this location... it was quite a surprise. :)

Thanks Fish... I don't think you will be sorry by getting the 600... it is a great machine!

As I have mentioned in various posts, I was on an early pre-order list for the E800… and I will remain on that list until my E800 is available. Based on several of the threads and comments by Steve H. and others, when an E600 came available, I had to act, and I am glad I did. Mostly due to the fact that I would be GOING CRAZY reading about all the early experiences from those that were lucky enough to get an E800 in the first two shipment waves. Yes, there are things that I will utilize on the E800 when I finally receive my pre-ordered machine, but I don’t feel like I am leaving any detecting power on the table with the E600. I have had the E600 in my possession for 2 weeks now, and have had it out swinging every day. Some days only 45-60 minutes as my work and family schedule would allow, and other days longer hunts. I have tried to target a few locations that I know like the back of my hand… a few older sites, and a few newer sites, but all I know what to expect from the ground… this is the best way I can measure the performance of the Equinox. Compare it against my numerous experiences on the same ground I have swung the Etrac, CTX, Explorer SE Pro, Tesoro Vaquero and even to some extent the Garrett ATX PI. I am not exaggerating when I say that the Equinox performs as good or better at all these sites than any of the machines I have mentioned above. My settings journey started the same as most new Equinox owners… Stock settings. Park 1/Noise Cancel/Ground Balance/start swinging. Then check targets with AM, or in Park 2… toy with Field 1 and 2… even take a few swings with the beach mode just to hear how it sounds on a target. The Equinox is a feedback machine. It started providing me information almost immediately. Over the past two weeks, I have gravitated to mostly using Park 1 with sensitivity between 18-22 depending on the ground, 50 tones, recovery at 3 (which is maxed for the 600 and equivalent to 6 on the 800) and iron bias at 0. Before I move on, I want to thank some of the early testers for guiding me to these settings, and being open to sharing their testing and experiences with us on the forum and in PM… Steve H., TNSS, SteveG, Cabin Fever, Tometusns to name a few… but not to slight all who share their information through the forum threads. Shout out to all of you! Along with a pile of clad... and more nickels by ratio than I have every dug... and mostly running in the Park 1 settings above, I have been successful in pulling wheats from areas that dried up to me and my other detectors a year ago. One location, I pulled 1-3 wheats from a 25 yard square at an old park in 5 successive days. Then went back and popped a 9.5” Aluminum Washington State Tax Token. It sorts through trash and iron and it goes deep. I should also say I planted a quarter at 7” last spring in this same area as a test. I was not able to hit it with the Etrac, the Explorer gave me a squeaky iffy signal on it, the Vaquero hits it in super tuned all metal only, and the Equinox bangs on it in stock settings. My first extended hunt (2 hours) also gave me my first Equinox silver. At another old location around an old ballfield, I got a solid 14 ID, that I nearly passed on, thinking it was probably a pull tab… but the signal sounded round and smooth… so I turned around, pinpointed, and dug a 6” plug to find a silver war nickel. Last night, I found myself at a school near my house which was built in the 80’s but is a good testing ground for my detectors… with clad down to about 4 or 5”… but last night, I wanted to test out the 2 tone setting. I went into the advanced tones settings and move the tone break up to 19. 18 and below – low tone / 19 and above high tone. I then set out for the trashiest part of the field, just outside the front doors of the school in the playground next to the basketball court pad. All kinds of aluminum targets littered throughout. I usually avoid that area because of the machine gun chatter or nulling from my other machines. Last night, my first target was a clear as can be high tone surrounded by low tones, but easily identifiable. 24-27 on the id. 6” down amongst the trash… 1959 Rosie. Why a silver coin was in a modern school that was orchards before, I can only guess, but the Equinox found it. So, my first “my Equinox experience” post is two fold. 1) The Equinox is for real. I’m not the first to say that, and I won’t be the last. But I share that opinion with all the rest that have said it, and 2) The E600 is a sleeper machine with 90% of the features but 100% of the detecting power of the E800. There have been many great posts outlining the differences between the two machines which are must reads. More important to me than “is the E800 worth the extra $250”… (and honestly, I feel it is worth the additional money for the E800… at least for me), but is it worth waiting for the E800 to become available when you could probably be hunting with the E600 by this weekend… each of us will have a different answer to that… and not everyone is able or willing to buy both like I have committed to doing. But if I had made the choice for only one machine, and opted for the E600 and have it now, rather than waiting for the E800… I would have absolutely no regrets, knowing what I know now having used the E600 for the past 2 weeks. Tim.

Amen to that SteveG and GB.

I dug a war nickel this past weekend, 5 or 6". Solid 14 in the ground, solid 14 in the air.

A really great write-up Wayfarer. Thank you! You commented: The Equinox is a very good, but not great, detector for deep coins. For deep isolated coins, the CTX still reigns supreme. However, the current thinking is that the vast majority of yet-to-be-found silver coins are still there not because they are deep, but because they are masked. The Equinox unmasks far better than the CTX does. So you may actually have a better chance of coming home with silver with the Equinox because it unmasks so much better than the CTX (or, I'm assuming, the various other FBS machines which I haven't used). I am curious to know how you have found in the way the Equinox hits those "unmasked" targets. Is it a broken chirp of a high tone around a null or lower tones, or can you zero in on the target with repeatable hits? I spent some time with the 600 this weekend, mostly in Park 1, and I found it a little chatty in my ground... I'm just not sure if I should be chasing those quasi-phantom high tones, or if you have found that you can get a solid tone by narrowing your sweep over the target. Thanks in advance for any advice. Tim

Steve, this brought me out of hiding for a brief time. Just received my 600 yesterday - will have the 800 as availability allows. As always, thanks for the great information... it is very helpful! Tim.

I spoke with Brian last night. Customer Service the way it should be done. Thanks Brian, and Steve. Tim.

That is a cool buckle Fish. Looks like a Crusader with the cross shield in the bottom of the scene. I like that it is upright orientation. Would be cool to know what it was used on. Tim.

My issue is the protocol of the pre-order. When I pre-order something (and I have pre-ordered a fair amount of items in the past... and will continue to do so - no matter how bungled this specific product release has been), I do so with certain expectations based on past experiences, and an understanding of business ethics. In my mind, the purpose of a pre-order is to allow the retailer/dealer enough advanced notice and ability (and in some cases the funding which is why I don't criticize the dealers that also requested pre-pay for the pre-order) to order and receive enough stock to cover the demand on the release date. It is also my expectation that when I pre-order a product, that I am going to receive my order on the day it is released. And my item will be sitting at my retailer or will be shipped to me with my name on it, on the day it is released. That is the assumption that I (and I think all of us) have on the pre-order process. I know the old adage about "assume", but it isn't total speculation, it is multiple experiences that drive the expectations. As a former retailer, and a business that accepted pre-orders on many anticipated releases... I also built my expectations from experience with my manufacturer's/distributors on my ability to ensure the pre-order I accepted could and would be delivered to my customer on the release date. I believe this release blind sided the dealers as much as the customers. We all (customers and dealers) had previous experiences that led us to believe the release was a full release... especially with little or no communication from the manufacturer about their intent. And do not mistake my comments... while this product release probably set records in anticipation and pre-orders for any metal detector in history... it is also the poorest product release I have ever witnessed personally. I can only hope that valuable lessons were learned by the decision makers to a)work diligently to rectify the current issue and b)ensure this doesn't happen again. At the end of the day, business is about customer service and how well a business can provide excellent customer service. There is plenty of room to run here. So... long winded response to the quoted comment by TGO above... but my short response is: I won't refrain from pre-ordering again. But I now have a new set of experiences that have altered my expected results from the pre-order process. 6 months from now, when all the pre-orders are filled, and every small dealer and big box store has Equinox E800's and E600's on the shelf readily available for anyone else who wants to walk in and buy one... and we are all out hunting and enjoying this amazing hobby/sport (and by all accounts this amazing machine).. this past several months of anticipation, disappointment and ultimate relief will be mostly replaced by just a general bad taste in the back of our mouth... until the next NEW NEXT BEST THING is released. ~Tim.

Agreed GBA! I have only found one half (clad Kennedy mid-70's). It is my most elusive coin denomination by far! I have even found more Canadian Toonies lol.

Beautiful coins George!! Thank you for sharing! That seated half is incredible!! Tim.

I also had an AT Pro early in my metal detecting days. The stability of the Tesoro (especially when compared to the AT Pro... at least in my soil) made it a no brainer for me. I'm gearing up for the Equinox, but it has big shoes to fill.. depth, stability, discrimination, and even id (though with the Vaq, it is a thumb know id). Can't say enough about the Tesoro Vaq.

As long as we are making a list.... Am I the only one that liked the pinpoint trigger on the CTX? I thought that was a nice touch (pun intended)... Anything I can do to keep my muddy glove off the screen is an ace in my hand. :)

Thanks MO, Yes, that would give me the ability to put an extra high tone section in the high conductive range... at the cost of small gold sounding like iron. Give and take. Tim.

When I programmed my CTX, one of the things I wish it offered was a 6th tone bank with ability to customize. Or said another way, a ferrous bank, and 5 non-ferrous banks (or more). This may have been addressed or answered in another thread, but is the E800 capable of creating more than 5 customized tone sections on the "ID-ometer". The great video by Bill S shows how to move each of the sections in 5 tone, and change the tone and volume for each... which I will make some similar adjustments when I finally get my E800... but it leaves me wanting just a skosh more... one more section for those dime/quarter/silver tones (in my soil), so I can differentiate between copper (Indian Head to Lincoln cent) and clad dimes/quarters/halves/dollar - silver coins (understanding some thin silver coins may hit down in the copper or even zinc range). I have a tendency to dig almost anything at and over a nickel tone, so this isn't a huge issue for me... and of course the 50 tone will give a calibrated range of tones from bottom to top... but having that sweet high tone jump out above all others would be a nice thing. :) Tim.

I know this is a repeat post from the videos thread, but I thought it was to the point relevant to this thread. Another interesting data point to the difference between the different modes and their performance. Even though this is an air test, and in the ground, mileage may vary... but a controlled test with useful findings none-the-less.

Happy to share anything I can... I love the Vaquero. It is a power horse in a discreet little package and is sneaky deep when set up right. And Tesoro discriminates iron as good or better than any machine I have used. I am interested to hear about how it performs for you! Happy Hunting. Tim.