ColonelDan

Granted, our beaches are relatively low in mineralization where I normally hunt. But since all beaches are different, my simple reasoning is this; if sand isn’t supposed to be there, I want it outta there. ?

I suggest you start to drill your holes from the inside of the cover. That way there's no ridges left on the inside to impede the flow of water. Just the view from my foxhole...

Here is a photo of how I modified the coil cover on my EQX 800. Works fine for me on our Florida beaches. One swipe in the water and the sand flushes out.

I drilled a series of larger holes on the wider areas of the cover and numerous small holes around the narrow rim area.

Deep 1, I've been drilling numerous holes in my coil cover for years and, like you said, it works fine and the coil itself is still protected. After years of hunting the beaches, I found that with a solid coil cover, no matter how well you try and seal them, salt water and sand gets in there. The real problem comes from the indisputable fact that once in there, the sand has no way to get out thus the problem. After I drilled holes in the cover, the water flushes out the sand and I'm good to go. When I get home and remove the coil cover, I find there's only a few isolated grains of sand left...not nearly enough to cause any problems whatsoever.

Super!!!! Soldier on....

Agree with Steve's note from ML. 99% of my hunting is on Florida beaches and the GB works as ML rep states...Beach mode is not locked on 0. Just the view from my sandy foxhole! ?

Thanks....that's exactly what I thought of this design so I'll have to pass. Now were I a land hunter and a backpacker...yes, by all means I'd have one.

Steve, That's a great modification and I just might be right behind you as customer #2 when and if that becomes available in the States. The only real concern for my situation is how sand from our beaches might affect the operation of the telescoping shafts and the locks over time. No matter how careful one is and how precautionary you think you've been, beach sand gets on and into everything. Thanks for the post...

Our beaches along the east coast have been heavily replenished and coupled with no significant nor’easters, finds from the 1715 fleet have been rare as hens teeth. When conditions improve, the EQX will do just fine!!! Having said that, come on down and give it a go.

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...

I previously posted a similar thread on this forum but thought I'd expand on and share my reasoning for using 3 tones. I've now used this exclusively/extensively and like it more every day. Over the years, I've tried numerous ways through a combination of VDI and tones to better identify targets that were under my coil. It didn't take long for me to discover that trying to cut the tone and VDI distinction too fine in an attempt to accurately identify targets was unproductive. Through some trial and error, the obvious finally became clear. VDI is not an exact science by any stretch. Target ID can be affected by numerous variables such as depth, soil composition, the metallurgical make up and orientation of the targets in the soil. Expecting a consistently exact value for each possible target was unrealistic. I finally concluded that what I wanted was only an indication of what might be under my coil rather than expecting or trying for a precise ID. Can VDI and Tones do that for me? Yes After realizing what I wanted or needed from of a tone/VDI combination, I settled on a 3 tone option. Below are a few bullet points that summarize my case or reasoning for adopting that 3 tone solution. ~ My attempt at using 50 tones proved impossible for me...information overload! I then tried 5 tones and although much more understandable than 50, I felt that 5 tones was really unnecessary and might even be overkill. Why? ~ ALL targets fall within 3 categories/zones of conductivity of Low, Medium or High so it made more sense for me to focus on those 3 zones and then align the tones accordingly. The tones provided information on what zone I was dealing with while the VDI gave me some rough indication as to where that target fell within the range of that zone. ~ I also wanted a system that wasn't apt to cause me to ignore good targets because they were similar in make up to worthless targets. Example; gold and aluminum are both mid level conductors and generate similar VDI within that range, I therefore didn't want to exclude anything within the Mid or High level conductivity scale. Yes, I'll dig aluminum so as not to pass up potential gold and dig other high conductive targets so as not to pass up silver. ~ I tested quite a number common targets of varying size and metallurgical composition and came up with some common VDI ranges that I see on our beaches for each of the conductivity zones. I then modified the 5 tone option to 3 tones which suited me just fine for the beach hunting I do. My results: Conductivity VDI Range Tone Low -9 to 0 1 Medium 1 to 19 12 High 20+ 25 ~ In my work with a local museum however, the 2 tone option could also be used. When digging museum quality artifacts, iron is a valued metal so I dig everything. I also dig it all when I detect along Florida's Treasure Coast as remnants of the ships fall within the iron or low conductive range and are often times found along our beaches. Just the view from my foxhole...your view may vary.