ColonelDan

Steve’s on target.  We get more than our fair share of “depositors” but we also have more hunters than the average beach.  Places like Daytona and Cocoa beaches get hit hard.

Good luck

I like the design and the process by which  ML developed and engineered that design.  They incorporated real detectorists in the field like Steve and Brandon for example throughout the process.   The Army adopted that same approach when developing the M1 Abrams tank... which became and remains the best tank in the world.

Secondly,  I want a lighter more “packable” and more portable detector without sacrificing performance.  Knowing what I know of the EQX,  I see it fitting the bill for me.  

Finally,  I just like Minelabs.  They have proven themselves with me so I’ll stick with products developed by engineers that have fielded excellent detectors in the past.

just the view from my foxhole...

I've always maintained that metal detectors should be waterproof.  Why? As Dan says above, our machines get dirty and its always nice to be able to spray them off without worry.  Secondly, since our hobby is an outdoor sport, rain is always a potential threat to the internal electronics.  So even if you don't physically hunt  in the water,  getting caught in a sudden Florida afternoon rain is a problem.  It sure would be nice to remove that concern regardless of where you hunt.

My first Minelab was the Safari.  A nice machine but not waterproof.  So even when I searched ONLY the dry and wet sand and had a plastic bag covering the control box, I was always paranoid about salt spray, dropping it or some rouge wave taking me out of the game.  When I got the Excal and CTX (with the new gasket), my worries were gone and I enjoyed the hunt that much more....and...I could hose them off or take them into the shower for clean up without concern as Dan B says.

Just the view from my foxhole... 

95% of my personal hunting is on the east coast Florida beaches.  The other 5% is done in support of a local museum focused on the Seminole Indian wars.  The CTX 3030 is my "go to" machine in both cases with my Excalibur II and XP Deus getting very limited use.  With the fielding of the Equinox, it may become my "go to" multi freq travel machine depending on how it performs and meets my particular needs....that is still TBD.

I agree with Steve.  

I’ve done a lot of east coast Florida beach testing for Kellyco on quite a few detectors and single frequency machines are really hampered/limited in salt water and on wet salt sand compared to multi freq and PI detectors. 

Granted, you can quiet some of them down to a degree but you must adjust the ground balance and sensitivity to such a point that you lose significant depth performance.

Without question, the best choice for salty environments are the multi freq and PI machines.

Just the view from my salty foxhole...

On 12/21/2017 at 11:25 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

• It’s waterproof
• It can run in multifrequency mode
• It can run in any one of several single frequencies
• It weighs under three pounds
• It employs wireless headphones
• It costs less than US$1000
• It goes beep, finds stuff

Steve lists all my reasons except one...I want a more packable travel machine that works on the beach.  If the Equinox works on my Florida beaches as I expect it will, I'm in.

In as much as 99% of my detecting is on our Florida beaches,  Minelab gets my nod...both Excal and CTX.  Multi frequency machines is the only way to go for me.  As for PI machines, yes they're great on saltwater beaches also but given that I'm about to celebrate my 70th birthday,  I don't relish digging 20 inches down for a bobby pin...especially in the hot Florida summer sun.

I've tried many different machines including my XP Deus (which design comes very close to state of the art in my view) but I always find my way back to the Minelabs...and I'm eagerly awaiting the fielding of the Equinox as a light weight travel machine and back up to my CTX.  If it does well on the beach, I'm in.

Just the view from my foxhole..

As a side note Steve, I'm new to your website and really enjoying these forums you've put together.  Outstanding job soldier!!

On 12/11/2017 at 10:52 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

How high is high? I opined on that back in September...

http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/4208-minelab-equinox-unveiled/?page=9&tab=comments#comment-45568

I will be frank. This is all going to be hair splitting stuff in saltwater due to the limitations imposed by a saltwater environment. Sand composition and even salinity are at minimum two factors that vary in all locations. Anybody desiring crystal clear answers will have to wait until Equinox is in the hands of at least dozens of well known third party water hunters at various locations around the country if not the world. That is where the final sorting and final consensus answers will develop. You have to remember that from Minelab's perspective, it does not matter in the end if some people decide they still prefer the Excalibur, others the CTX, and many the Equinox. They are highly focused on competing with the competition, not themselves.

I have had Equinox on both highly mineralized salt water beaches and freshwater beaches. I have been pleased and impressed with what I saw. But I was not dragging a CTX and Excalibur around with me and trying to decide which was better. People still argue about which is better in the surf, an Excalibur or a CTX, and they have had years to sort it out. There is no way that discussion will be resolved at this point as regards Equinox, especially since the firmware has still not reached a final resting place.

The Equinox for me personally is a detector that exists as a totality of its features and performance. It comes closer to superb across the board performance under a wider range of situations than any VLF detector I have ever used. But that does not mean it is absolutely perfect at everything. When this all shakes out there will be areas of unquestioned superiority and areas of "only" top notch performance. And then no doubt some areas that are just "good enough". Where those areas lie will vary by location and individual. I am one of those people that thrive on nuance and so I avoid the easy stock answers because I think that they are misleading and precisely the hype that people say they hate - and yet crave. A lot of that comes from me being realistic and knowing that I don't have all the answers and can't possibly address how Equinox will perform everywhere under all conditions. I don't think anyone can if they are being honest.

At the end of the day being an early adopter involves a certain amount of risk, and no amount of testing by handfuls of people can eliminate that. If you look at all that Equinox offers as a whole and still have doubts - just wait it out. Your current detectors will continue to work and life will go on. And when enough people around the world weigh in you will be on firmer ground. If however you want ironclad assurances of exact performance differences it is unfortunately not something I can in good faith give you without at least another year of use myself in more varied locations and circumstances. The basic reason is I have never had and do not have a final, completed machine to even report on. Nobody does.

Excellent Steve...just excellent.