TedinVT

20 hours ago, Tometusns said:

I hunt with guys that also use the Equinox all the time. All we do is noise cancel when we get close and that seems to work fine. We oft times hunt very close together checking each others signals and so on.  You might have to put the coil behind you or off to one side when checking signals but it's not anything to be to concerned about. Good luck and have fun hunting with your friend.

Same experience here.  I hunt with a friend who also has an 800 and we've had no problems at 6 feet or less and when double checking each others targets.  We do noise cancel.  I also hunt with my brother who has an ATPro and we don't have problems.  

Helped find a friend's 14K gold band today.  Solid 12 in Park 1.  My 14K white gold band rings up a solid 11 in Park 1.

Freak, I agree with you on your technique for schools, parks, etc.  I never use my Leshe shovel and only use the Lesch digging trowel.  I can usually narrow the target to a 3” to 4” diameter area by swinging at 90 degree angles and using the Nox pinpointer at 90 degree angles.  If there's any question about target location on deeper targets I shove the digging tool into the ground at an angle to make a cut  and then insert my Garrett carrot in the cut and “lever” it left and right to narrow in on the target.  I can usually dig a plug about the diameter of a baseball or big enough for my hand to extract the target.  I use a small towel for piling extracted dirt which makes refilling the hole a quick job.  The extraction site looks clean and untouched when I walk away.  This is SOP for most park hunters.

I avoid actively used sports fields, as can be determined by freshly limed field lines, and wait until that sports season has ended.  I usually speak with parks and recreation people to get their blessing for detecting and explain the extraction method and usually get the green light to detect.  I've never been harassed by anyone passing by, but if that happened I'd try to show them how I extract and clean up if they'll listen.  Avoiding detecting parks on weekends when there are a lot of people visiting should minimize harassment from passers by.  Schools are, obviously, best detected on weekends.

I live in a rural state.  Detecting in urban areas is probably more of a challenge.

Great report CD.  Much appreciated.

Tom's link:

https://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,166825,page=6

scan down the page to around Sept. 25 posting.

YouTube video showing F2 from Slow n Low:

I'm doubting F2 is going to do much of anything for iron that sounds off as iron in the first place (nails).  It appears the value of F2 is in helping to differentiate targets containing iron that sound like good targets (crown caps) from actual good targets.

Finally had a chance to try out the new firmware today in my yard where there is an abundance of old roofing nails.  Tried FE and F2 both set at 6 and AM and Park 1 in nails and found no difference between the two.  Tried raising F2 to 9 and still no difference.  Rain is supposed to start very soon so more testing at some cellar hole sites will have to wait until tomorrow.

15 minutes ago, Jackpine said:

Went to the summer camp and detected where an early building burned to the ground, a bed of nails and a layer of blackened earth.  After comparing the "old" iron bias setting of 0 against the new F2 mode set at 4 I can honestly say there is absolutely no difference in audio or TID intelligibility.  None Nada zip.  Same ole falsing and jumpy TID.

Can't yet say on iron rings or bottle caps but it appears the nail handling is not improved one iota.

Tom

Why the lower IB settings?  Did you try the default F2 setting of 6?  Were you in All Metal mode?  Why not compare FE 6 to F2 6 settings?

Some quick Iron Bias info from the updated manual to get started:

Only available in Multi, Iron Bias FE and Iron Bias F2 profiles are independent (ie. choose one or the other), Iron Bias F2 is best used in All Metal mode, default setting for F2 is 6 (for 800 / 2 for 600) in all detect modes.

Use a quick press of the Accept/Reject to toggle between either Iron Bias mode.

Updated EQX manual is out.  Download from Minelab site.  English version 4901-0249-5-EN:

FE / F2 settings on page 52.

27 minutes ago, phrunt said:

I've had a lot of trouble with this lately but after a fair bit of experimenting I've found it does this most if there is discriminated out iron under the coil when you press the pinpoint button.  If I am in all metal horse shoe mode and the ground is clear under the coil when I press the button it never seems to happen.  Try it out.

Great tip, Simon. Will give it a shot.  You'd think there would be a simple firmware fix for this though.

Hopefully, if this isn't a hoax, the update will also fix the flakey button pinpointing where the sound sometimes doesn't come on and requires turning pinpointing off then back on again before it works.  Yes, I do pinpoint with the coil method, but there are instances where the button pinpointer helps.

8 hours ago, Againstmywill said:

Did you have to send your machine in, or did they just ship new parts out after explaining the issue?

Just had to give Jamie the serial number of my Equinox and they sent the replacement shaft pieces.  They are very aware that the first machines had a shaft problem.  I have 2 friends who bought their Equinoxes at least 6 months after I bought mine and they do not have the wobbly shaft problem.

I think many of us who received the early release of the Nox have had this problem, which Minelab service acknowledges.  I had the best success in solving the wobbly shaft problem by using aluminum tape that has a sticky adhesive on one side.  The “softer” tape materials loosened up after a while and the wobble came back.  The aluminum tape is used for taping furnace ducts or for “temporary” body work on cars and trucks.  I eventually ended up contacting Minelab (Jamie) and the early edition shaft parts were promptly replaced and the replacement parts don't wobble after a year of use.  I bought a carbon fiber shaft for use in saltwater.  I can't say enough about how great Minelab service in backing their products' warranty.

Just had this problem.  Twice in a row.  Charging started out with usual slow blinking of LED then LED went out after about 1 hour.  Checked contacts, they were clean, cleaned them anyway with eraser, reconnected charger and it started charging again as usual.  About an hour later I walked by and saw LED blinking rapidly.  Then it started blinking rapidly, but erratically and eventually returned to normal blinking patter for a few minutes.  I tried 3 different iPad chargers, an iClever charging strip and both cables that came with the 800. This blinking sequence repeated for over 7 hours and never did indicate charge was complete.  I disconnected charger overnight.  Plugged it back in the next day and the LED finally lit solid green after an hour or two of crazy blinking.  I recorded a video of the blinking sequence for emailing to Customer Service.  I had used the detector for about 5 hours.

Next time it happened was after 3 hours of detecting a couple of days later.  Same LED blinking pattern repeating.  Tried same chargers and cables.  Finally reached full charge after 7 or 8 hours.

Called Jamie, got RMA right away, sent coil & pod to PA service center.  Emailed them the video.  Service center said battery checked good.  I figured it was a charging circuit problem because battery eventually fully charged both times.  New pod should arrive today.  Minelab service is the best.  John & Dan in PA are tops.

Great headphones, great sound.  Have had my Pelsos over a year now and no complaints.  Too bad they're out of stock at Kellyco where I purchased mine.

Just a thought on removing the coil cover and coating the bottom surface of the coil with epoxy...  I had removed the coil cover on my AT Pro for beach / water detecting.  I inadvertently hit a rock underwater with the side of my coil and chipped and cracked the plastic which led to a leak and a new coil.  Coating the bottom surface of the coil isn't enough depending on where and how you are detecting.

Like Dew said above, I'd sooner replace a coil cover than a costly coil.  I've detected fresh and saltwater beaches in FL and New England and never found it difficult to remove the coil cover after each outing while cleaning my Nox.  I also keep a spare coil cover just in case.

GL&HH

Geez, what a day!  Congrats and thanks for sharing, Steve.

LS Pelso WP phones

First of all, I've been using these phones on fresh and saltwater hunts and am very impressed with the sound.  I have not hunted with the phones submerged and would expect the sound to suffer a bit when submerged, but out of the water they are great.

Second, we are vacationing in FL on the Gulf and it's been very windy.  The drain hole on the non-corded side is susceptible to wind noise when that hole catches the wind.  Turning your head a bit helps with that issue as does a small piece of electrical tape which solves it.  The cable tie on the corded side mitigates the wind noise on that side to acceptable levels.

Third, I had applied a liberal coating of sunscreen  to my ears (not thinking about them being covered by the phones ? ).  Big (dumb) mistake.  The sunscreen reacts with the black paint that covers the inner plastic grill piece with the sound holes over the top of the speakers.  Not good.  The sunscreen softens the black paint making a gummy mess where ear contact is made.  A little baby powder firmed up the gumminess and seems to have dried it out.  Bottom line, don't put sunscreen on your ears when using the Pelsos.  The No Ad brand carried by big W label lists dozens of unpronounceable chemical ingredients that should have been a clue.

Great writeups Chase and Steve!  Nice details and nice job.

Congrats!  You really took a bite out of that park.  Bet you're chomping at the bit for another visit there.

Pretty cool!

Good point, Jeff.  Using a good quality charger capable of providing 2 amps minimum is a must.  

That said, it does sound like a case of infant mortality failure.  Call Minelab Customer service in Illinois and Jamie will take care of you quickly.

Following up on my post above, I bought the LS Pelso WP headphones.  I don't ever expect to dive and only wanted a good set of  WP headphones for fresh and saltwater wading where I may have to dip my head under water to scoop a find or possibly rainy day detecting.  The Pelsos have excellent sound, the cord length is good for me, they are comfortable to wear for long periods and the price is reasonable.

Depends.  Are you going to be using them under water at max depth or just want a pair for use while wading that can take a few waves?  Speaker types may not work well (sound) under water at max depth, but work great above water - better sound quality in my estimation than piezos.  Piezo types are probably better underwater.  Next step, decide on your use then read reviews - many on this forum.