MontAmmie

I do already have a boatload of rechargeables that I run my camera flashes on. What would REALLY be great would be a way to use a solar panel to recharge.

I'm interested in the outcome of this experiment, Steve. Some of the places we go in Montana are 50 miles from the nearest light pole. We do have a generator, but Hubby likes to charge the RV batteries while I'm out playing in the dirt. Being able to juice up some rechargeables and have them for backup power would be awesome.

I'm going to need a new pin pointer since I'm guessing that Sunray DX-1 on my DFX won't work with my new EQ 800. Which of you dealers wants to make me an awesome deal on a Teknetics or a Fisher PI unit? I'll order from Kelly (when they get them in stock) if no one PM's me. But I'd rather "keep it in the family" (in my best Al Pacino voice, which isn't very good).

I won't be putting my 800 on EBay, but it will be for sale sometime in February for the purely amazing and rock-bottom price of only $1999.99. Plus tax and shipping, of course.

Yeah, I was a subscriber to his channel and I tried to enter his contest. Yes, it has been "cold" here in Brevard county this January and I've been watching metal detecting videos on Youtube. Anyway, he put a note under my comment saying "Draw is only for subs". What the heck? I was subbed long before I entered his contest. Did he maybe forget to mention it was for guys only or perhaps 53 year old grannies need not apply? Needless to say, I'm not subbed to his channel now!

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.

C'mon Minelab, it's January already! JK. Sort of.

Sign me up too. My house is on wheels.

Him? Read a metal detecting forum? I think he finally got tired of hearing "Minelab, blah blah blah........5 frequencies! blah, blah......Equinox blah, blah blah" and told me to just order the damn thing already. And be sure and get near the top of somebody's list so I can get it like yesterday and go out and play with it and give his ears a rest. I can't wait to see what ALL of us find with it!

I've had my DFX for 15 years and I was way overdue for an upgrade.

I decided that 26 probably wasn't going to be my lucky number. So I contacted another dealer and put down a big deposit on one. Number 6 sounds waaayyy better than number 26 and he says he's supposed to get more than that in the first shipment. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm number 26 on the list, but it's a non-deposit dealer, so I'm thinking some people may back out.

Jonathon, might I be so bold as to ask how far you had to chisel down in that hard pan to liberate those tiny little relics? The hole in that last photo looks to be about 3 or 4 inches deep. You don't have to come right out and tell us, just post some smiley faces in a row and we'll count.

We're leaving Indian Harbour Beach on April 1st. I'd like to have my 800 a couple of weeks before that so we "can get acquainted properly". It should be an interesting summer. I'll be detecting some of the touristy beaches south of here like Ft. Lauderdale, then over to the Gulf coast for a week or so, then on to some freshwater lakes and rivers in Mississippi and Alabama, then some dirt fishing in Tennessee, then finally west to Montana to see if the EQ and my Infinium can find me some gold nuggets. Some folks are telling me I should do a you-tube channel! But if I did I'm afraid detecting would then become like my photography "hobby". Medstockphotos is a good second income, but honestly it has drained every ounce of joy out of what used to be pure fun and relaxation.

Does anyone know if a VA card will work? I'm about ready to pre-order an 800 (for Hubby). The only thing I worry about is if I pre-pay for one then for some reason Dealer #1 doesn't get enough on the first shipment and I have to wait for mine. Meanwhile, Dealer #2 gets a whole pallet-load of them, only I can't get one because Dealer #1 has my cash tied up.

So I'll be getting an 800 in my hot little hands on March, 20 2018. Gee, thanks for clearing that up guys.

My husband's cell phone battery died about 6 months ago. There is a Cell Phone store 1.5 miles from our house and it took them about 10 minutes to install a new one. So, no, I don't worry about cell phone batteries. A metal detector, which will probably need to be mailed to a service center for who-knows-how-long, after 2 or 3 years of use, actually is a concern to me. "DUG THAT OFFICIAL MINELAB EQUINOX 800-600 GROUP" I don't know who runs it, but they must be at least affiliated with Minelab in some way or Minelab would make them remove the "official" part, right?

Looks like I'm getting some haters on the FB page for pointing out that Li-on batteries are usually only good for 2-3 years, at best. If this is the direction that Minelab wants to go with the EQ, then that is, of course, their prerogative to do so. However, I just hope they will be completely upfront with consumers about the lifespan of the battery, and the exact procedure which will be necessary when the battery degrades. Those of us purchasing an EQ off the shelf need to check the date of manufacture. Apparently the battery will start to degrade on day one, whether it is being used or not. Also we need to be careful about leaving it in the car trunk in July as heat seems to cause them to degrade faster.

Why can't they just use some rechargeable AA's like my Infinium and my DFX? Easy to find, recharge and replace as needed. I know it has to be waterproof and all that, but it shouldn't be that hard to make a waterproof battery compartment!

Hey Steve! I had a question that I posted on the official Facebook Equinox page, that no one seems to be able to answer (officially anyway). Maybe you can shed some light on this? "I have a question about the built-in lithium battery. I know they last a long time and can be re-charged hundreds of times. But what happens when the battery wears out? Will you have to send it to Minelab to be replaced? I plan to use my Equinox for many years! Thanks!" Sherry

I've been in "the trenches" few times since the hurricane. I didn't find much except lead fishing weights. The upper beaches were stripped bare of targets during the fall storms, nothing but seaweed and pieces of canslaw. The hunting is dismal here in Melbourne and even I'm starting to get discouraged. No gold or silver for 3 weeks (unless you count yard sales) and even the clad is scarce.

I think I know where this is. Looks like one of the old houses in Coolidge, Montana that we visited a couple of years ago. Yeah, I was just itching to fire up the DFX, but I think that might have been frowned upon.

OMG I hate those things. They are a perfect 08 from every direction on the DFX. Just like Hubby's 14 K wedding ring.

You guys are making me cold. It's gonna be a bone-chilling 66 degrees at 7 am tomorrow, but I'll be putting on my sweatpants and long sleeves and hitting that low tide anyway!

Let's see, he's swinging that DFX really fast and it looks like the coil is about a foot off the sand. I've never been blessed with a bigfoot, so maybe it will still find stuff like that, I dunno. I know mine wouldn't with a stock coil. Regardless, I hope I can still swing mine at 89 years old.