ColonelDan

Just clarify, I hunted in All Metal on the dry sand and disc in the wet and surf. Most times in the dry on many other beaches, I can run 18-22 sensitivity. This weekend I adjusted the sensitivity to suit the local conditions...as I always do in order to smooth out the EQX operation and reported those settings in my OP. As I reported, there was also more than average EMI in that area at the time.

I hunted in All Metal...as I always do. F2 was designed for All Metal and that's what I use on our beaches anyway. I may use Disc in the wet and surf if conditions call for it. I also use 0 threshold....again, just personal preference.

As promised, below are my observations of the Equinox update 2.0.1 with concentration on Iron Bias F2 when used on Daytona Beach. Emphasis is on “MY”observations. These are mine and mine alone. You’re observations could very well differ depending on your beach...they’re all somewhat unique. The beach I hunted was at the Bahama House Hotel in Daytona Beach Shores. The conditions were sanded in but I did hit it at low tide. I can’t speak to or test in an environment that some characterize as a “bed of nails” since we don’t really see such conditions on our beaches. The junk we routinely have that causes detector problems is bottle caps from a variety of manufacturers, pull tabs, can slaw and aluminum foil with a few tent stakes thrown in now and again. Primarily I wanted to observe the 2.0.1/F2 function based on detected targets found at an actual beach using various 2.0/F2 settings vs the 1.7.5 FE iron bias function. You’ll not find any “scientific data” here as these are just my subjective observations….as was always the objective. Bottom Line Up Front: As fully expected, update 2.0.1 F2 is better at identifying various forms of “junk” alloy than 1.7.5 FE in this beach environment. Observations: 1. The signals I got from a variety of bottle caps not surprisingly differed depending on the metallurgical composition. Not all bottle caps are the same although they ring up as junk if they aren’t 100% aluminum. Some have more aluminum than others while others have more ferrous material. Success in identifying those signals ranged from “no doubt junk” to “no doubt good targets.” The all aluminum twist off caps for example still ring up solidly as good targets...same with the ever present pull tab but I have to dig them or risk missing out on gold. 2. I once again confirmed the importance of properly “dialing in” the settings appropriate to the environment. The relationship between sensitivity, recovery speed and F2 made a big difference. I found that a lower sensitivity (13-18) was best when paired with a recovery speed of around 3-4 and an F2 setting of between 5-7. Those were the “sweet spots” for me that day at that beach. Anything lower on the F2 scale than 5 the more the targets sounded like “dig me” targets. Anything above 7 and I sensed a potential masking issue. Again, just what I saw that day in an environment that had significant EMI I might add. The sweet spots will differ when EMI is not as much of a problem. The takeaway however remains...”dial it in” regardless and you’re detecting life will be much improved over the FE settings on the same targets. 3. I didn’t detect any caps in the surf so my testing was limited to the wet and dry areas. I did try my test sticks again as well and they confirmed what I was finding in the “real world.” “Dial me in Colonel and you’ll be rewarded.” 4. Not many targets that day but I did find a productive coin line...which even yielded an English 20 pence coin. Conclusion: I’ll use F2 with a high degree of confidence and be diligent to “dial it in” after noise canceling based on the local conditions. Any additional thoughts from your beach experience is highly encouraged and most welcome. Just the view from my foxhole...

The purpose of my preliminary test was twofold: 1. How much better F2 ID'd a bottle cap than FE...the difference was stark as I noted in the OP. No question, F2 is much better. No more pumping or drawing the coil back to see if we get the tell tale iron grunt. 2. How the signal was affected, if at all, when a good target was in close proximity to the bottle cap. As noted, the closer the two targets were together, a compromise signal was heard. It wasn't the high tone of silver and it wasn't the iron grunt, it was a single "compromise" medium tone. My takeaway from this very preliminary test was if I get any solid tone other than the erratic iron grunt which definitely indicates junk, I'll dig it. I may find a bottle cap in the hole but chances are very high that it will be close to a good target. My plan for Daytona Beach is to confirm this test bucket result on an actual beach. I also plan to initially dig some bottle cap signals to verify and validate, in my own mind, the upgrade is working as designed....a personal confidence builder you might say. Stay tuned...

Prior to testing the new Iron Bias F2 update at Daytona Beach this weekend, I ran a few preliminary tests using a silver quarter and a bottle cap; first an"air test", then using my beach sand test bucket. Just to ensure a degree of controlled conditions, I ran Beach 1 and Beach 2, recovery at level 3 in both tests adjusting only the iron bias level. The first test was simply placing the two selected targets on the ground and running my coil over them using the original 1.7.5.FE settings and then each level of the 2.0.1 F2 settings. The difference was stark. The new update performed as designed by clearly ID'ing the bottle cap with an iron grunt while hitting on the quarter with the familiar high silver tone. I did notice that the closer the two targets were in proximity to each other the tone was a "compromise" between the grunt and the high tone. In any case, 2.0.1 performed the Iron Bias function much better than 1.7.5 FE under those "air test" conditions. I then moved the test to my beach sand bucket. The bucket shown here is filled with sand taken from New Smyrna Beach. I also have several gallons of actual sea water taken from that same area that I use to soak the sand prior to conducting my wet salt sand tests. Disclaimer: I've noticed that New Smyrna Beach doesn't appear to have experienced any adverse environmental effects from this lack of sand and salt water since I brought it home! I used the same two targets for the test as before: the silver quarter and the bottle cap: I inserted the bottle cap at the 3 inch level and the quarter at the 6 inch level at angles that placed them close to each other in the center of the bucket...the cap being obviously above the quarter and closer to the surface than the quarter. I found that under these conditions, I had to adjust the F2 level in order to achieve distinct tonal separation. It wasn't as clear cut as in the "air test" scenario. Under these conditions, I found F2 at level 3 was best at separating the two targets. Preliminary Observations: 1. The 2.0.1 F2 does ID/separate iron much better than 1.7.5 FE...have no fear there. 2. Given the need to adjust the F2 level in order to achieve the best result, I suspect this will be true when I get on the real beach this weekend...I'll keep that in mind. I'll use my test sticks to determine the best setting for the area I'll be hunting. My test sticks: A gold ring, a bottle cap and an iron washer (not shown) I bury these in the wet salt sand and then adjust my settings accordingly to achieve the best level of performance. 3. One important reminder. Leave your phone in the car. I forgot to leave it in the house on my first run and my wireless Quest headphones soon reminded me of my forgetfulness with all the chatter! More to come when I return from the beach...the actual battlefield test!

I have (2) 800s. I left #1 with update 1.7.5 and updated #2 with 2.0.1. I plan to test both in wet salt sand this week/weekend and post my observations. Stay tuned.

Initially, I saw no difference in the Fe menus of my 800 after installing 2.0. But then I figured it out..thanks TNss. I'll test both my 800s on the beach this weekend leaving #1 on the 1.7.5 update and #2 on the 2.01 update to see if the new update works as designed and if there's any distinguishable difference. I'll report back on my findings.

In hunting our Florida beaches, I prefer 0 Threshold and all metal...particularly in the dry sand. In the wet sand, I sometimes use disc but still run 0 threshold. Works for me...

I really like that design. It's not only a great way to pack and go, but I see it as a perfect way to adjust it for length to fit my 10 year old granddaughter! I'll be getting the 440 for her as a replacement for her GoFind 40. Good post Steve!

I never expected the Vanquish to be a competitor of the EQX even when I first got wind of it. Given Minelab's statement that the EQX would "obsolete all single frequency machines" I saw it more as an obvious X-Terra replacement and an super upgrade to the GoFind. I'll get the 440 for my granddaughter for just that reason...an upgrade to her GoFind 40. Yes, I wish it had been waterproof but when the time ever comes that she actually enters the surf to detect, an EQX will be in her future. Until then, weather/water resistant it will be. Just the view from my foxhole...

Chase, great comparison. Your observations will be very helpful to many I’m sure. I intend to get the 440 for my 10 year old granddaughter as an upgrade to her GoFind 40. We hunt mostly on our Florida beaches so multi IQ is more important to me than the Simplex waterproof benefit. I’ll take the Minelab water resistance and multi freq over the Nokta single freq and waterproof housing for the kind of hunting we do...especially since she never ventures into the surf anyway. When the day comes that she may be proficient enough to get into the water, an Equinox will be in her future and the Vanquish will go to her younger brother. One other reason I’ll take the Minelab is based on years of familiarity with and confidence in Minelab products. Just the rationale from my beachside foxhole.

I was at the Treasure Coast on Wednesday 4 September...right after Dorian left our area. All along A1A many, if not most of the small access points were locked and some actually had police cars blocking entry. Surfers were parking along the road side and making their way to the beach through heavy thicket! We were able to get to Bonsteel and it was a bust. Mushy sand throughout. The expected erosion was just not there. Numerous detectors were there however. Comparing results, only one that I met found anything of note. A small silver Reale about thumbnail size and paper thin. Obviously, I couldn’t see the entire Treasure Coast but Dorian did us no great favors where we were and we covered a pretty extensive distance. Other areas may have been better suited for hunting but again, the areas we saw were covered with soft mushy sand and no notable targets other than a few modern coins. 😨 The most important favor Dorian did for us Florida coast dwellers however was staying so far off our coast and sparing us the damage it could have done. Having gone through my share of hurricanes, I am eternally grateful for such favors! Thank God!

Good point!

I recently dunked mine in a lake by accident where I was hunting Second Seminole War artifacts and it has been OK. Having said that, I've played it safe and considered both my CTX and EQX as "water proof" where rain and accidental dunking are concerned only. At my age, I don't have any desire to hunt in deeper water so if the EQX can stand the rain on our Florida beaches and an occasional wave splash I'm OK...but that's just me. Going cheap on gaskets was the issue with the CTX initially. I would have hoped they had learned their lesson. It seems that the EQX is suffering similar issues. My Excals, at least in the past, have passed the waterproof test...but that has been several years ago. Bottom line: I don't intend to take my EQXs under water. However, if Minelab advertises the CTX and EQX as waterproof at 10 ft then it should be just that...period. Make it truly waterproof or don't advertise it as such. There should not be so many problems like we’ve seen due to design issues. just the view from my foxhole.

Rick illustrated the facts much better than my view from 50,000 ft. Good job Rick 👍

Bottle caps are not at all uniform in their alloy structure. Different companies use different metal mixtures so to speak. Your detector is trying to analyze the metal object beneath the coil and sees a somewhat complex compound so it reports back what it's seeing. Also, the shape and state of preservation affects the signal. A crushed, rusty cap will give off a different signal than a pristine one of the same type. It's not that the detector is at fault in my view, its a precision machine that's trying its best to analyze the impure metal it sees. At least this is what I've discovered on our beaches....other views of the battlefield could very well differ.

Took my new set up to the beach for a few hours for their first trial run as a “team.” Steve’s Detector Rod. This two piece shaft was the best I’ve ever used...bar none. It was solid as a rock, as in no wobble whatsoever, and light as anything I’ve ever used. With the counter balance weight, it was better than swinging my old Deus with a 9” coil. Steve weighted mine using 16 oz of lead shot in a 4.5” long cylinder. He set it up that way so swinging the 11” coil would emulate swinging his 7 oz shaft with a 6” coil installed! It works exactly as intended and designed. Bottom line, I couldn’t be more pleased. This will be my shaft of choice for the very very long term. You can read my original review of Steve’s work at the link below: Quest APTX-LL Wireless Headphones Initial thoughts: My order only took two days to arrive from Hong Kong! Extremely comfortable over the ear design. External build quality looks good. They paired up with my EQX exactly like the Minelab wireless even to the point of using the same tones as the Minelab. Low latency capability is certainly there. I ran them in my test garden using good targets surrounded by iron and they performed extremely well. Nice and clear crisp sound with sufficient volume. Haven’t yet had to use the volume control. Haven’t been able to test battery life yet so that’s TBD. So far, I’m favorably impressed. I’ll take them to the beach on Monday and report back. Additional points: ~ These headphones are easily adjusted for proper fit and the top head piece is extremely well padded and comfortable. ~ They are water/rain resistant. Not designed for diving...and resistance to water damage is all I really wanted. No blue tooth wireless headphones can be used when submerged...at least none that I know of. Fast forward to their first beach run. We finally have a set of Aptx low latency water resistant headphones made specifically for the Equinox! These headphones again linked right up with no issue. They were indeed low latency and I was able to pin point with ease. The sound was clear and crisp as I stated above and their over the ear design served to block out much of the ambient beach noise. They proved very comfortable after 3+ hours of detecting and simply worked flawlessly. I love being “untethered” and confident that when one of our Florida showers come up, I won’t have to worry about these getting wet. Again, they are water resistant not water proof. They are advertised as having a 24 hour battery life so I’ll not be able to comment on that since my hunts are never that long! One thing I took note of was, as is true with most or all wireless set ups, every now and then I would hear just a hint of static interference but it was barely noticeable and very rare. I attributed this to EMI since we were very close to Patrick Air Force Base and its Officer’s Club Beach. I’ve experienced such EMI there before. Bottom Line: I like these headphones very much and you can find them at the link shown below. https://www.questmetaldetectors.com/product-page/aptx-low-latency-bluetooth-wireless-headphones-for-minelab-equinox I now have what I believe is the best set up for my style of beach hunting. The Equinox, Steve’s rod and Quest wireless Hps. Soldier on...

A few final thoughts that I’d like to share with the forum. As 21st century technology continues its forward march, it’s more than apparent to me that carbon fiber is THE ONLY way to go for the ultimate in weight to strength ratio. I have tested dozens of set ups and have found no better solution to our shaft challenge than carbon fiber. Having said that, it just isn’t the material alone that makes it the shaft of choice for me. More importantly, is the design and workmanship that transforms it from raw CF into a superior shaft. I know if I were to try and fabricate one of these, you could give me the best carbon fiber on the market and I would screw it up six ways from Sunday! The craftsman and his design make all the difference. This where Steve’s attention to detail, exacting standards and obvious precision excel. There are other excellent CF shafts out there of similar design no doubt but in my opinion Steve’s are top of the heap for all the reasons I detailed in my review. Another factor in Steve’s favor that I like; he’s one of us...an avid detectorist who treats everyone the way he would want to be treated. Finally, keep in mind that his rods are not your run of the mill mass produced shafts. They’re all custom products. Again, I have no personal or financial interest in Steve’s Detector Rods. This is simply me sharing my opinion of something and someone that I found favorably impressive. Just the view from my foxhole...soldier on my friends.

I recently installed one of Steve’s Detector Rods on my Equinox and wanted to share a few observations. When I’m particularly impressed with a product, I like to let the maker and others know my thoughts...good or bad. The first impression out of the box was very positive. The build quality of this two piece system, both material and workmanship, is absolutely excellent. The cuttings are smooth and the fittings precise. You can immediately tell Steve uses only the best materials in the overall construction. Being a scientist, his penchant for precision is obvious in everything he does. Another very important fact about Steve—he’s a one-man-shop small businessman and an avid detectorist who knows what we need from personal detecting experience. Now for a few specifics. The locking mechanism is extremely sturdy and I really appreciate his use of an adjustment knob instead of having to hunt down or carry a screw driver in order to adjust the locking tab tension. I quickly noticed another user friendly design feature on Steve’s part. He uses easily found round washers on the lower rod where it connects to the coil ears! I don’t know about you, but I was amazed at how expensive those tear drop washers are when or if they ever need replaced. Thank you Steve! Another unique offering of Steve’s rods is the available counterbalance weight. As many have commented on these forums, the Equinox is inherently nose heavy...particularly with the 15 inch coil. Although his shafts are extremely light in their own right, a mere 7.86 ounces of combined weight of the two shafts, the counterbalance weight makes a huge difference in the perceived weight. When you first look at this counterbalance weight you may think that it only serves to add more total weight to the Equinox...and you’re right. However, when I installed that weight on the back end of the shaft, the balance was markedly improved...balance being a key factor of perceived weight. The designed fulcrum effect makes the detector simply feel lighter and makes it much easier to manipulate. I’m sure I could swing this Equinox for hours, even without the use of a harness, and my arm would be just fine. The stability of this set up is incomparable...and I’ve used many shafts on many detectors over many decades of metal detecting. One design aspect that may go unnoticed is that Steve’s lower shaft is 1.75” longer than the factory shaft—and he can make them longer upon request. This simple idea allows more of the lower rod to remain in the upper shaft giving it added stability even at extended lengths—not one wit of wobble with this one! An aspect I also appreciate is the elimination of the restrictive spring button adjustment system. The button only allows you to adjust the shaft to a factory predetermined series of lengths. Steve’s approach allows you to adjust the shaft to any length with which you feel comfortable. This guy has really thought the design through and focused his efforts on all those “little things” that make a big difference. Steve offers his shafts in an array of colors. Black, Red, Blue, Green and Silver. He can also provide custom work on his shafts if that’s what you need! Who else offers that? I’m obviously impressed with this young man and his workmanship and I like to let folks know when I find an outstanding product from an outstanding producer. One last but very important comment. I have no personal or financial interest in Steve’s Detector Rods. I never met the young man and since he lives in Norman OK, probably never will since OK is a mite far from my Florida beaches! Specifications: Upper Shaft Length: 34 7/8 in. Upper Shaft Weight: 4.81 oz. (136 g) Lower Rod Length: 26 in. (custom lengths available upon request) Lower Rod Weight: 3.06 oz. (87g) Material: Carbon-fiber (3K, twill pattern, glossy finish) Cam Lock material: Injection-molded Plastic (nylon) Threaded End Cap material: Delrin Threaded Butt-End Insert material: Delrin

? That guy on the left will be me in a few years....not!

Great thread Steve....thank you

Chase, Got it. Thanks for the clarification. ? Soldier on ......

I’ve been hunting in water and sand with drain holes in my coil cover for many years and have never experienced performance degradation in the least but as I always say, that’s just the view from my foxhole.

Congratulations! A perfect illustration as to why I never notch out anything and hunt in all metal on our Florida beaches. ?