ColonelDan

~ Exceptionally clean and operationally sound ~ Never used for diving. Waste deep wading at most a few times. ~ Unit cleaned and cables siliconed after each use; detectors always stored in A/C room. ~ Contact: coloneldan@bellsouth.net 1) Excal II ~ 10” stock coil with cover ~ Anderson straight shaft ~ Professionally installed pinpoint mod ~ Gray Ghost Amphibian headphones ~ Anderson knobs ~ Knob guard ~ Additional NiMH battery with custom on-shaft mount ~ $925 shipped to lower 48. PayPal friends and family

Great report on a great adventure! Enjoyed every sentence Steve...thank you. Soldier on....

I previously posted my experience at Key Largo Florida this past summer when I was detecting on a very hot beach and had a cover over the EQX control box. After about an hour, the EQX started to malfunction...buttons and screen. After removing the cover and letting the EQX cool down, all returned to normal.

I can see the merit in adjusting the mid level zone from a high of 19 down to 18 with the high zone set at 19 and above instead of 20 and above. Good call Alluminati...I just might have to give that a shot.😉

My first machine was a Jetco Mustang (1970) and yes, it made you dig it all. Beep and dig...absolutely no discrimination capability. It had one knob...on/off and volume.

His initial comment was an indicator, for me at least, as to what this review would be; " do not try to open the detector control box. Having spent 15 minutes attempting to uncover my machine, I completely destroyed the housing." My question: Why in the world would any user even want or need to open the control box? Am I surprised that he destroyed the housing? No. What am I missing here? Just the confused view from my foxhole...🤔

Forgot to mention...not only does gold show up anywhere along the 1-19 scale, I have seen times where it also rang up higher...in the low 20's for example so I dig a lot as you can imagine. It all depends on metallurgical composition, soil conditions, depth etc. So if you're looking for gold, be prepared to dig for it. 😉

Yes, depending on soil/sand composition, depth and orientation of the target. I personally dig everything in that range. Do I dig a lot of aluminum? Yes, but I’d rather do that than pass up gold in an attempt to second guess myself. Now if the tone and VDI jump around erratically, I can bet it’s a bottle cap. But that’s just my experience along our beaches where I do 99% of my detecting. Good luck...

Now this is just from my testing and experience on our Florida beaches...your mileage may vary as I always say. Gold, being a mid level conductor, I've found ranges anywhere from 1 -18/19 on the Equinox. Small chains have been detected at 1,2,and 3 while larger gold objects range higher depending on the K. Of course the soil composition also impacts the VDI. Having said all that, aluminum also rings up in the 1-19 range so you'll be digging junk too but that's the price we pay if we want to focus in on gold. Just the view from my foxhole...

The LS Pelso headphones use speakers and although I haven't done a formal decibel test, these are the only headphones I've used where I had to turn down the volume. I don't know about the Black Widows but I can tell you that I replaced my Gray Ghost Amphibians with the LS Pelso headphones.

Just FYI.....On 8 Sep, I posted my review of the LS Pelso waterproof headphones for the Equinox...link below I waited to get my own however until the new version with the longer cable was delivered to Kellyco. They came in this past week and I immediately picked up a set and tried them in my test garden and backyard. I was honestly hearing more tones and more clearly than ever. The volume was much more than adequate. They fit over my hat better than others I've used and were very comfortable as I stated in that initial review. The extended cable made a world of difference as they have a 24" straight section that connects to the control box and can be routed and attached under the detector shaft all the way to the shaft's back end where the coiled section begins....a big improvement! My first impression of these headphones was not only confirmed but enhanced...so much so that I picked up a second set for use on my CTX 3030! Kellyco now can supply these headphones for multiple detectors: Equinox: https://www.kellycodetectors.com/catalog/ls-pelso-underwater-headphones-with-long-cable CTX 3030: https://www.kellycodetectors.com/catalog/underwater-headphones-compatible-with-ctx-3030 Kruzer: https://www.kellycodetectors.com/catalog/underwater-headphones-kruzer Disclaimer: I am not an employee of Kellyco nor am I under any obligation to Kellyco for these reviews. My sole purpose is to share my experience with our metal detecting community.

Until Steve tackles this in more detail, here is a YouTube link that outlines the process. A good YouTube! Although he sets this up for his particular situation and preferences, the process is the same. Instead of using his tone breaks/zones and tones, I used VDI/Target ID -9 to 0 as Zone 1 with tone 1; Zone 2, I set as VDI/Target ID 1-19 with tone 12 and Zones 20+ (all remaining zones) as Zone 3 assigning a common tone of 25 to all those remaining high zones.

Yes, Steve said he wanted to post such a step by step on it. I’m sure you’ll see it soon.

Certainly no offense taken whatsoever. 😉

Sinclair, I totally agree. Settings should be personalized and adapted specifically for the environment in which you hunt. My settings for central Florida beaches would not work as well in New England. For that reason, I always say that this works for me and this is "Just the view from my foxhole." If 3 tones works for others and they prefer it, so be it. If they prefer 5 or 50 tones, so be it. One size doesn't fit all in this hobby! Soldier on...