Jeff McClendon

Serious Detecting sells the Gold Racer small round coil and lists it as 5" X 4.5". They also sell the Gold Finder 1000 small round coil and a separate coil cover for it that is listed as 5" X 4.5" The compatibility information on the coil cover's purchase page says it is compatible with the Gold Racer https://www.seriousdetecting.com/?s=gold+racer+coil+cover&post_type=product

The Equinox 600 vs Legend.........I too would choose the Legend at this point. The Legend is definitely a work in progress but the potential of this detector is only limited by how many more software updates Nokta Makro chooses to do either for fixing bugs or for improving performance. The Legend is packed with features that the 600 just doesn't have and never will. Legend vs the 800......for me it's almost a toss-up in just about everything but not in build quality and waterproofing which definitely leans towards the Legend. So far also, the Equinox 800 (and 600) have the upper hand in coil performance and stability. I don't like the inconsistency and target separation of the Legend 11" coil in some scenarios. It is really important to zero in on coin sized shallower targets to get the most accurate target ID. At least with my Legend 11' coil there are several places on the coil that seem to be almost "dead". The 11" Nox coil will give good Ids on the same target almost anywhere on the coil.

These weight comparison and chirping on nails posts are relative to say the least. My Deus 2's actual on the scales weight with 9" coil and no modifications is 35.6 ounces. Last time I checked weights and measures that weight is 2 pounds 3.6 ounces. My Equinox 800 with the 6" coil and Tele-Knox shaft (ditched the stock shaft after about a week) and grip tape and a Doc's armrest cover weighs 38.1 ounces or 2 lbs 6.1 ounces. My same Equinox 800 with the Coiltek 10 X 5" coil weighs 41 ounces or 2 lbs 11 ounces. I can swing any of these detectors all day. I can also swing the same Nox with the 11" coil all day and I am not young. Deus 2 will chirp on nails and iron in general. The Equinox will chirp on nails and iron in general. Settings help. The overall recovery speed and target separation of Deus 2 is better than the Equinox, no doubt. Sensitivity to really small targets of any conductivity is much better on the Equinox, no doubt. Do I hope there will be an updated Equinox like offering from Minelab....that doesn't leak and that has faster recovery speed without losing sensitivity and depth and has more user profiles....sure.

It’s a great, versatile coil. Very stable and quiet. I have not noticed any knock sensitivity so far (only had mine about 6 months due to supply) and balances the Equinox really well. At least here in the Denver area, I still get clean hits on down to 8” coin sized targets. The coin IDs are just a little lower (I think) on US coins and it hits really small gold very well. In 2D and 3D iron nails versus silver dime testing, it outperforms the stock Equinox coils mostly due to its shape and slightly thinner center area on the coil. It does not turn the Equinox into a Deus/Deus 2 but it does very well for being attached to a Minelab SMF. When I don’t need to go super deep, it is my favorite Equinox coil.

I was definitely 🛌 ng

So, is there also a conductivity meter at the top of the display kind of like a ferrous/non ferrous graph. I may be dreaming but seems like I saw an iron probability graph. Which would you trust more using a DD coil, that iron probability meter or the iron check feature using iron audio on say a shallow (less than 6" or so) big square nail or hunk of tin?

$7385 AUD is equivalent to $5109 or so USD. From what I am reading here the dealer/buyer is paying 10% GST on 5109 or $511 up front. So the buyer is actually paying $4598 USD or $599 more than a USA buyer. Am I missing something? I realize that the exchange rate fluctuates but that amount is pretty close. Turn that around......my GPX 6000 cost me (if I had bought new.....I didn't thank God) $5999 US or roughly $8,678 AUD. You guys can buy a new GPX 6000 for less than $8000 AUD, right? So If I bought new, including the 3% US import tax of $260 AUD, I would have paid roughly $419 AUD more for my GPX 6000 than you did...... Now, I certainly wish that the Australian Axiom price was based off a price closer to the US $3999 so you could pay a little less. Someone on both ends (besides the end user and the actual dealer) is taking a cut of $300 to $500 US on both detectors......

Thanks for letting us know Dave. Good luck.

I have no idea how the Axiom with DD coils can handle EMI. Maybe a tester will be able to do something like I am describing here. I was able to run my GPX 5000 inside my house using the stock 11" DD coil with the GPX 5000 on Cancel. I had to turn down the gain below factory default but it was doable for testing of coin/jewelry and relic tone identification. I was also able to run my GPX 6000 using the 14" DD coil in the same spot inside my house using Normal or Difficult especially in Salt. Sensitivity was okay up to Manual 4. Absolutely impossible to run any mono coil on the GPX 5000 inside my house. 11" mono and GPX 6000 inside my house.....OMG! The GPX 6000 14" DD coil worked great for me. I just needed a small DD coil and I am not going to wait for years to see if one ever happens.

That is one thing I will definitely miss about the GPX 6000. Easy to remove and replace the battery if necessary.

The manual also clearly says the internal Li Ion battery can be replaced at any Garrett Service Center. I assume there is a repair center in Australia...... If the internal battery is completely discharged or permanently done, the auxiliary external battery pack using fully charged or fresh batteries will last 6 to 8 hours.

Goldseeker5000, I'm not Steve but from looking at your list of detectors and how well you are doing with them......why do you need an Axiom? Unless you have ground or EMI that the 6000 can't handle or you personally can't or no longer want to physically handle the GPX 5000 (that is my main issue with it) the Axiom would seem to me to be a lateral move for you. Instead of bad mouthing and trashing Garrett, just stick with what you have. I have never owned an Infinium, Sea Hunter or ATX. I did use an ATX for a few hours.......and swore to not do that again. It detected just fine but it wore me out. I never had a problem with the Garrett AT series VLFs I owned and used. Excellent detectors. The recent Garrett Apex.........nothing but problems with the two I owned briefly. Others had very good experiences.

I can easily see why you thought your find might be petrified wood. I too seriously doubt it unless it is a petrified plank from Atlantean or Lemurian times....... Here is a photo from Wikipedia of Jaspilite, banded ironstone from northeastern Minnesota,

If you don’t have issues with EMI mitigation, need for a smaller DD coil in really bad mineralization and you don’t have any physical limitations to swing heavier detectors then I just don’t see any need for you to change anything unless you are simply unhappy with your detectors for some other reason. Right now, I just need to limit myself to one PI. It needs to be light, versatile, stable and have numerous coil options. That is why I have moved in a different direction from the GPX 5000 (way too heavy) and 6000 (not versatile or stable enough and it has insufficient DD coil options)

Gerry, I sent you an email. Thanks for the clarification. Steve, I like the same package as you but would add the 11" mono later. I already have 2 sets of MS3s so I don't need another one or a 13" DD.

Gerry, there is another package deal with the small DD and 13X11” Mono. It comes with MS2 wired headphones. Any word on the price for that package yet? Sent you an email to put me on the list for an Axiom. thanks Jeff

Personally, I would have been happy with the GPX 6000 if there was any hint that a smaller DD coil was in the works from Coiltek, Nugget Finder or Minelab. That is all it would need for me to do most of what I want from a PI. It is already a great nugget detector and making it more versatile for relic and beach hunting and stable in high EMI just requires a smaller DD coil. Doesn’t seem to be happening. So, I can get most of what the GPX 6000 can do along with a lot more versatility from the Axiom. I have several outstanding gold prospecting VLFs for cleaning up the really small bits. I usually have one with me no matter what just as a backup.

Looks like Garrett has produced an all around, versatile, lightweight, PI that even I may like for gold prospecting, relic hunting a saltwater beach detecting. Who was the guy, was it “Gold In The Blood” that was giving many of us a hard time for even suggesting that Garrett might be able to release a competitive PI alternative….. Thank you Steve H, Gerry and any other testers from around the world that helped to make this happen. Huge thanks to Garrett too. Anyone that wants to buy a really nice GPX 6000 from me at a great price, just PM me.

The fact that this little topic about a possible Garrett Pulse Induction detector has stretched to almost 12 pages may actually mean something other than some of us who are USA metal detector prospectors, saltwater beach and relic hunters have nothing better to do than to post something here in this topic. Yeah, it is hot here but that is not the real issue. Many GPX 6000 users have found it to be the real deal and a very good fit for them. Most of those people are prospectors. Those of us that also use PI detectors for relic hunting and saltwater beach detecting or who have experienced way too much EMI using the supplied 11" mono coil due to circumstances beyond our control in some prospecting locations are not totally happy with the GPX 6000. We are not whiners, complainers or too lazy to go detect. The GPX 6000 just isn't completely meeting our needs. Maybe this new Garrett detector will meet them a little better. Maybe it won't............

This is the kind of terrain I often need a PI for. 10,000+feet elevation, really hot ground and very few flat/open areas. The GPX 6000 11" mono is okay for some of it. The 14" DD isn't due to its size and weight, even though I need to use it since there are big power lines and military/civilian flight paths in the vicinity of both sites. The SDC 2300 was noisy and hard to handle at these places too. The GPX 5000 handled it the best but wore me out even with smaller mono and DD coils. Maybe the new smaller mono coils for the GPX 6000 will be much better for EMI and for hot rock handling....... Or, maybe this new Garrett detector will really be a PI that might work better in the Rockies.

jasong wrote.... " I'll give serious consideration to downgrading my 6000 to something that performs slightly worse mostly as long as it weighs the same and doesn't have EMI issues." jasong, I am with you. Unfortunately EMI in the areas I hunt with the GPX 6000 makes it a very unpleasant experience. Plus, having the only option for EMI mitigation being a 14" DD coil even after Coiltek and Nugget Finder got permission to make coils for the GPX 6000 just tells me even louder that Minelab is not listening or doesn't care......... Garrett already have the top performing VLF gold prospecting detector in the 24K and that is coming from someone that loves the Equinox 800 for gold prospecting. If they can produce a lightweight PI gold prospecting detector that approaches GPX 5000 sensitivity to smaller gold without all of the settings hassle and has viable DD coil options.........that would be a winner in my opinion.

I am still not liking those numbers. That is a big spread between multi 1 and multi 2. I am not seeing a big spread like that between those two multi settings but I am not where you are........ Still makes me wonder if there may be something detectable in the spot of ground your are using for ground balancing....

As long as it’s way more sensitive to smaller targets than the TDIs, much lighter than the ATX, less susceptible to EMI than the GPX 6000 and is relatively easy to setup and use……..I will be happy.

I have owned and ground balanced the Simplex, AT Gold, ATPro, Deus I, and Deus ll on my test garden. All of those detectors show ground balance numbers on high iron mineralization dirt in the upper 80s to low 90s. I have also ground balanced the Equinox and 1.08/1.09 Legend on this same test garden. The Equinox balances between -1 and +6. The Legend showing 6 bars of mineralization, ground balances between 3 and 8 on the same dirt. So, at least for me the Legend ground balance numbers on my test bed are very similar to the Equinox and are almost the opposite end of the spectrum from the Simplex and ATPro. I have not used tracking ground balance on the Legend on my test garden so can’t comment on that.

I used it today on an area that had been scraped off in order to put in a new park. I was getting a lot of ground feedback (nothing unusual about that being Colorado dirt) but since it was recently disturbed and really dry in some spots and damp in others, it was worse than usual. Tracking calmed Deus 2 Sensitive down well. I had to even put my Equinox 800 in tracking also for my son to quiet it down. We were mostly relic hunting so no danger of losing really small targets.