Tiftaaft

+1 on Tony's waterproof headphones.

This sounds like a blast! Unfortunately I traded out my Tesoro Silver Sabre for the Silver Sabre micro-Max. If I can get my hands on a pre-85 Tesoro... I am definitely "in". Tim.

I own both, and my answer to the question would be "yes". Honestly, the 600 has only a few limitations to the 800, with both using the same technology under the hood. If the extra features are something you feel you need, spend the few extra dollars, but you are giving away any horsepower by opting for the 600. They are essentially interchangeable in my arsenal for standard park or beach detecting. It is nice having the user settings option on the 800, so there are times when I'm testing settings and want the flexibility of switching back and forth between settings on a target, but generally I reach for the one that has the coil on it that I want to use and never look back. That's my two cents... other's mileage may vary. ~Tim.

Since the update, I have been exclusively in F2 after some field tests. (Steve, I also took the poll as such :)). I bounce between default of 6 and lowering to 0 if I am "re-covering" a site that I have been at a time or two before (which is actually most of the time... so I'm usually in F2=0). I agree with some of the other posters that the sound in 50 tone is more nuanced than in FE if you know what you are listening for... and the only way to gain that is taking time with the coil on the ground and digging a lot of targets in the wild. Usually in Park 2, recovery 4 FWIW. ~Tim.

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I hunt the 15" 95% of the time. With practice it does an extremely good job separating for its size.

Fair comment GBA. You are right, I am passing up some potential wheats with more disc. 18+ is my normal disc mode, but wide open is my preference in old parks, and then battle the discrimination between my ears. Tim

Great write up Mitchel. I have been out a few short hunts with the 15 testing 4k. I have found similar stability you describe. I can't say I have ever found a guitar part in all my hunts... that tuning gear is fun! I wonder where the rest of the guitar went ;). Tim

Thanks GBA! Good to be back. I moved for work from the moderately weathered Pacific Northwest to Houston Texas, and the transition has taken longer than I had hoped with regards to my detecting. But happy to start getting back in the "swing" again. Hopefully some goodies (and pics) to come soon. And to take my own advice from above, my gold jewelry setup is Field 2, multi, 50 tone (most of my hunting regardless of intended targets in this setup) and depending on my patience at the time, either wide open (a la horseshoe) or 6 and up. Just can't swing without stopping for a 28+ (a silver ring isn't gold, but still a good find in park). I also tend to lower the sens... usually not looking for deep gold in parks. If I am going deep, its all about old coins, so notch in nickles and either 18+ (IHP) territory, or 24+ to catch the wheat coppers. Of course the real trick is going where there's gold. My gold rings have been on curb strips, and sports fields and a few small child's rings in tot lots. (BTW gold mode in tot lots is pretty fun, though I didn't realize so many people still wear bobby pins). Haven't one a lot of beach/surf hunting but obviously a lot of the gold finds we see are beach finds. Hopefully my new "Gulf" home will change that.

Good thread, nice to see a thread actually about detecting tips and tricks. 😉

Nice finds Dan! I really like the thought of that two tone setup! Can't wait to give it a try!! What kind of depth were you getting? ~Tim

The Predator Raptor is my go-to. Perfect "u" shaped plugs that disappear when you replace them. And the weight is perfect. I have a couple of Lesches, and a White's digger... but the raptor is the one!

I am still getting comfortable with it myself... but it is all about coil hours on the ground for me. The more I hunt the better I understand the Equinox "vocabulary". Tim.

Great thread!. Thanks everyone for taking the time to detail your personal experience and results with the Equinox. Hap, I bet you didn't know the Hornets nest you were poking when you posted your first question... haha (and I mean that in a good way). My experience has been very similar to Bryan's here in the Pacific NW, though my finds have not been as impressive. I have been running my 800 with the 15" (I agree with Bryan, it is a beast!!) In field 2, 50 tone, all tones (with a custom disc similar to Bryan's for really noisy areas), recovery 4 and IB-2 (though I have used IB-0 a fair amount). I have a 30's-40's park near my work that I am currently meticulously gridding and I am pulling some nice finds at the 8-10" range. I am starting to hear the nuance between a shallow target tone and a deeper target tone and probably more importantly understanding the "shape" of the target based on the tone. I start getting excited when I hear that mellow round high tone and my depth meter is at 4 bars plus. The WLH/SLQ combo was 9.5" at least, and was solid tone from one direction, but I had to work for it (note the "ring" on the back of the WLH where the SLQ was resting until I recovered it). The hunt with the Ike was 2 days ago during a lunch break, 45 minute hunt. All the coins pictured were 7"+, except the Ike that was about 6" (and singing solidly at 37-38). I gravitated to field 2, but will probably cover the area again in park 1 or field 1 as reference to the discussion about the differences in the machine programming between 1 and 2 settings. And I will also kick it down to IB0 to see what I have missed by masking some iron co-located targets. Thanks again everyone for the masters class of information above. Tim

Dang Bryan!!! That is impressive right there!!! Tim.

I dug one of these a few weeks ago at an Elementary school... next to a pencil (must have been the lead in the pencil that rang in at a solid 12 ? haha) . But I had no idea I was digging a coin cleaner! Can't wait to try it t! Thanks for the tip Bryan. ~Tim

Perfect Goals Steve ! Especially the "fun" part! ~Tim

I was fortunate enough to dig an 1897 V Nickel at an old park yesterday. In the ground (about 9") it was a solid and repeatable 11 TID. I air tested it after cleaning and it read 12-13, just as a nickel should. I credit depth and soil conditions to the lower reading in the ground. ~Tim

Gorgeous coin! Amazing find! Congrats!! Tim

Just wanted to update my own post, pretty excited to have checked a goal and bucket item off the list so early into the year. Sorry for the poor quality picture, the date on the 1897 V is pretty smooth, so I had to do some filtering to help it stand out. ~Tim

I haven't felt like my F-Pulse has functioned correctly since I received it late last year... but I attributed it to operator error, and not giving it the learning curve time it deserves (I have been too quick to revert back to my old standby). But after reading through this thread, I want to see if it is me or the device, and may end up contacting Fisher customer service. I really want to like it! I think the PI tech is awesome for my use, if I can connect with it. I have a detector pro pistol that I pull out every now and then, another PI pointer... good stuff. But my carrot performs for me day in and day out, so when I'm heading out in a short hunt window, I usually grab that one. ~Tim.

You are the MAN Tom!!! Great finds and great display. Thank you so much for sharing your results... as well as your techniques and settings throughout the year. This post definitely gives me something to shoot for (and never hope to attain ;)). Glad you are loving the Equinox!! Tim.

I like your goals Nox, especially the one to enjoy the time detecting more and not be worried about the actual finds that day. Good advice!! :) Tim.

Wow Brian!... that makes me feel like I am in grade school and you are working on your master's degree. Your goals really make me stop and think.... and potentially re-assess my goals. I want to know more about the coins you found that were masked, and if I am missing them by my hunting style... bottom line... awesome goals!!

Since it is the start of the new year, I was just wondering what everyone's top few detecting goals are for the year. My goals seem modest at the start of the year, but there is usually an item or two on the list that I have to hustle to achieve. ;) For 2019 - my top goals are: Best my gold jewelry count (which would be 7 pieces of gold this year... I forecast that my foil/pull tab count will also be a record this year too). Hunt in 6 different states Finally find the elusive (to me) 1800's coin (closest so far was a 1902 Indian in 2017) Nugget hunt for the first time (and hopefully not the last) Of course I have some other goals around silver coin counts, wheatie counts, hours hunted, and a few new locations that I will be embarking on my updated "Quest for a Silver Coin" challenge, but these are the ones that will be a challenge. So guys and gals, let's see 'em! Happy 2019 Hunting everyone. Tim.