Jeff McClendon

Agreed, that would currently mean buying a used one however. Nothing wrong with that but I would definitely include the AT Gold in #8. The AT Gold has been obsoleted for gold prospecting by many other gold prospecting specific VLF detectors and some general purpose detectors like the Equinox, Deus, and hopefully the N/M Legend. The AT Gold is still a very fine all purpose, all terrain detector for the right circumstances. I really regret selling mine to make room for the Ace APEX. Just my mostly very subjective opinions.

Like all single frequency detectors and some SMFs (including the Equinox using some of its selectable single frequencies which proves that Multi IQ is no joke) the low and mid conductive targets are up averaged quickly in high iron mineralization as per depth. The high conductive targets also inch up towards wrap around. On some saltwater beaches with high iron sand content, just about everything wraps around into the iron range when the targets are deeper. The same happens in high iron mineralized gold prospecting areas.

I have just the opposite experience. Most single frequency and SMF detector target IDs are useless for 3” or deeper non-ferrous targets where I detect. So are my favorite detectors which happen to be Tesoro’s…..Cibola, Vaquero and Silver Micro Max. I can literally turn up the discrimination to Max and still dig beautiful sounding 3” and deeper US nickels, pull tabs, can slaw, .22 and bigger lead bullets and other low to mid conductor targets that in normal soil would be completely discriminated out by the discrimination set on Max or even on Tab……… The Equinox and Vanquish simply do not behave that way where I detect. I can trust the 5 tones or 50 full tones to be very accurate on non-ferrous targets. Sure, due to the way Multi IQ works, there will be some iron that gives non-ferrous responses if the iron bias is set low on 0 or 1. However, on non-ferrous targets even deep ones, I go by the tones first and use the numbers as a backup. So no, I don’t chase numbers all day when I’m using the Equinox or Vanquish. Hopefully, the Legend and Deus 2 SMF system will work as well as Multi IQ.

Maybe for you ML has been proven wrong. Depending on where you live and the level of iron mineralization in your dirt, a good quality single frequency detector is still very useful especially one that has selectable frequencies. Interestingly, almost all of Nokta Makro’s current line of detectors before the SMF Legend have had frequencies above 10 kHz. Where I often detect, any detector whether single or selectable frequency operating below 10 to 12 kHz was already unusable (obsolete) for any type of detecting except for extremely shallow targets. Iron mineralization levels here cause all single frequency detectors, especially if operating below 10 kHz, to have loss of depth with very poor target ID accuracy. Even some simultaneous multi frequency detectors have failed to perform very well here. I still own a Deus 1 which I use solely for gold prospecting and very rarely for thick bed of nails relic hunting. The original Deus of course will be replaced by the soon to be released SMF Deus 2. I also recently sold my 12 kHz single frequency Nokta Makro Simplex in preparation for possibly owning the new SMF Nokta Makro Legend. The Equinox 600, 800 and the Vanquish series of Multi IQ detectors detect very well here and other than my two gold prospecting specific detectors (Deus 1 and Garrett Gold Master 24K), Multi IQ has obsoleted and easily outperformed all of my previous single frequency and SMF detectors which I no longer own=Minelab X-Terra 50, 70, 705, GoFind 60, CTX 3030, Fisher F75, F44, F19, Teknetics T2, Patriot, Eurotek Pro, Garrett AT Gold, AT Max, ACE Apex, Whites MXT, MX5, MX7, M6, DFX, V3i, Quest Q40, Tesoro Lobo Super Traq, Vaquero, Cibola, Cutlass Micro Max, Mojave, Nokta Makro Racer 2, Kruzer, Multi Kruzer, Simplex. Hopefully, the new Legend will also make it unnecessary to own a single frequency multi purpose detector. So for me anyway, the opposite of your statement “ML has been proven wrong” has instead been proven true.

In 50 tones you can’t quiet them down since there are only two tone regions=ferrous/ nonferrous so you would quiet down the entire nonferrous tone region as a result. It is easier to quiet those numbers down in 5 tones since the 4 tone breaks are movable in 5 tones. Another way to deal with 39 and 40 would be to reject them entirely with the accept/reject button. You could always double check with the horseshoe button engaged

Hi Dave, in 50 tones, you can lower the volume level of the iron range tones to a background low volume level so they are not so overwhelming. Higher recovery speeds will result in shorter length tone responses and slightly less depth in “normal” dirt. In high iron mineralization slightly higher recovery speed may be necessary to “see” into the ground better Rusted/ bent square nails, especially deeper ones can have nonferrous responses throughout the target ID range. Really high tones and 38,39,40 numbers are almost always deep iron responses

Perfect balance.......definitely not. I can accept the balance of the Deus 1 with a 9" round or 9.5 x 5" elliptical coil. I can swing that setup all day. Change to the 11" or 13X11" coil........been there and not doing that again. Very bad nose heavy feeling and wrist/forearm strain. Which manufacturer makes the lightest coil in the 9 to 11" size is fairly worthless information. How they feel on the detector is what matters. Sure, the Nox is no better. I can swing the 11" Minelab coil with its slight nose heaviness and with Steve G's carbon fiber shaft for 4 to 6 hours, no problem. Using the Coiltek elliptical or the Minelab 6" coil, the Nox is fairly effortless to swing, much like the Deus 1. That doesn't mean either is perfectly balanced. Similar to Steve H., I am very interested in the SMF XP Deus 2, especially if it can handle bad iron mineralization with reliable target IDs on deeper targets.

When I am detector gold prospecting and sometimes at fresh and saltwater beaches, I use a plastic scoop or my bare hand to pass dirt/sand and target over the coil when I have isolated the target. If I’m wearing a watch it will easily create a response from the detector like the high gain Equinox or a pulse induction detector. My watch is stuffed in a pocket or my backpack and my phone is turned off in my backpack or pocket. So, having a clock is great. So is the time used since I hunt daily during most of the year. I like what I have seen so far. I owned a Simplex twice just to get used to it in case Nokta Makro was able to produce an SMF. I am not a skeptic, but I have not been impressed with the previous Nokta Makro detectors I have used in moderate to high iron mineralization. Just like every other SMF and single frequency detector, they overloaded easily on hot ground and got very little depth with inconsistent target IDs. If N/M have been able to solve this single frequency and SMF weakness they will get my business. So far in my time detecting, only a PI, and the Multi IQ SMF tech in the Equinox and the Vanquish have been able to ignore enough moderate to high iron mineralization to detect deep targets and in the case of the Equinox and Vanquish, to detect them with fairly accurate target IDs where I often detect.

I registered also but never got an email either. No big deal. The detector looks good but no mention of SMF in its gold prospecting mode or much of anything about its gold prospecting capabilities..............which is again proof that we gold prospectors are kind of like an afterthought. This link works. Just fast forward to the presentation in English.

I have used the Equinox with its onboard speaker, wired headphones plugged directly into the control pod, wired headphones plugged into the WM08, with the ML80 stock APTX low latency Bluetooth headphones, aftermarket APTX LL headphones and earbuds and with Bluetooth headphones that are not low latency. I have not heard or experienced a latency difference between the onboard speaker, ML80s wired up and plugged into the control pod and the ML80s wired up and plugged into the WM08 module. I do get occasional audio dropouts using the WM08 when connection is momentarily lost. I can experience (hearing it, not sure) the lag using the ML 80s and other aftermarket BT APTX LL headphones wirelessly paired when I use the onboard pin point function. A fairly shallow coin sized target will sound and appear using the pinpoint “speedometer” screen to be directly under the coil nut but when I check with a handheld pinpointer before recovery, the actual target is an inch or so away from the spot indicated by the Equinox onboard pinpoint function. I have recovered thousands of targets every year and have repeatedly experienced this using Bluetooth APTX LL devices. Using non APTX LL headphones, I have experienced even more of a discrepancy in the pinpointed targets actual location along with hearing some intermittent audio distortion/static especially on larger aluminum targets. For normal coin and jewelry hunting I just use BT APTX Low Latency gear. When I am after deep coins, deep relics and very small gold nuggets I use the WM08 module.

Hopefully some of your critique was colored by translation issues….. I have always thought that the Deus 1 was overpriced by about $300 US. XP (much like Minelab in their gold prospecting detectors) charges a big premium for their software development and implementation. I agree with you that it is very good that Minelab and Garrett have given people with less money the opportunity to have entry level priced detectors with simultaneous multi frequency technology and Minelab still offers the Equinox 600 with plenty of features that make it a great detector at a great price. XP gave us the ORX but after using it for awhile, its very feature limited coin modes were just too much of a hurdle for me to deal with. There are five areas from my experience that XP needed to really improve on the original Deus. Waterproof, better audio choices besides multi toned hybrid VCO, an updated remote control with larger display characters and much easier button operation, better salt beach and added saltwater operation and most of all much more accurate target ID on medium to deep targets especially in more mineralized ground/beaches. The first three appear to have been addressed well, the last two will depend on the quality of the simultaneous multi frequency technology they have developed for Deus ll. If all 5 of the weaknesses I mentioned are successfully addressed, XP has the right to charge $1200 to $1500 US for Deus ll. I am certain that many current Deus l owners and plenty of others in North America will buy one in that price range especially if there are Deus ll Lite options.

If you have the N/M audio adapter, you can plug in any wired headphones including the ML-80s with a double ended male 1/8” cable. I have no clue why Cipher mentioned the ML-80s…….maybe he likes them. I don’t.

ML-80 Equinox headphones

Only Nokta Makro wireless headphones will pair with the proprietary wireless transmitter in the Simplex.

I don't remember being bitten by any bug but I do really enjoy using the Equinox. Season 9, Episode 2.....Gary Drayton uses the Equinox 800 with the 15X12" coil on camera. Personally, the CTX 3030 is the CTX 3030 and the Equinox is the Equinox. Two very different SMF detectors with very different SMF technology and different strengths and weaknesses. For me anyway, the CTX 3030 did poorly in the high iron mineralization I often hunt in. The Equinox excels in it even on high conductive coins and jewelry in the 8" to 12" depth range which means if I set it up optimally, it will high tone scream on those targets with mostly correct numbers, even on USA clad and silver dimes. So, like the CTX 3030, the Equinox does just fine on small, deep, high conductor targets. It can handle man-made iron trashed sites and man-made aluminum trashed sites very well too. As alluded to already, it is a very capable gold prospecting detector. In my opinion it is much better than "competent" since it has the ability to hit very tiny gold, navigate well in mining camp iron trash and most of all, it can do what other "specialty" single frequency gold prospecting detectors can't do as well, which is easily handle naturally occurring high iron mineralization and hot rocks that usually are a factor at most gold prospecting areas and often give single frequency VLF gold prospecting detectors fits.

Basstrackerman and I actually own or have owned both the Equinox and Deus. I am a huge fan of the Equinox. Unlike basstrackerman I am not a huge fan of the Deus because for me, in my soil conditions and my preferred targets, the Deus is a two trick pony: gold prospecting and hunting shallower relics in thick iron trash, both of which it does extremely well. Still, its ergonomics, build quality, warranty and track record for problem free longevity are simply unmatched. The Equinox, in spite of its well documented flaws, can do it all easily in my area and the Deus as far as detecting, struggles most of the time. That is a valid reason for me to stick with the Equinox. However, checking on, charging and maintaining the internal batteries in the Deus is a simple, easy process (other than the stupid butterfly clip). It really is fool proof....check the levels for each component and charge them all at the same time if needed. Those of you who are just speculating are really making something out of nothing. There is no issue here. The battery being inside the LF and X35 coils or easily accessible/replaceable in the shaft for the HF coil, is not a good reason to stick with the Equinox. Come up with something valid.

So, I answered this question earlier. Even experienced detector users sometimes swing their detector coil without it being parallel to the target and ground even when swinging slowly. Swinging very fast would make this more likely unless one was paying very close attention. I also mentioned the recommendation by the manufacturer to swing slowly. This next bit is from the manufacturer's ad for the MD3030's features: Features: 1. Easy Operation: direct notifying and displaying detected objects through audio and LCD screen; just use button to operate and adjust; arm support providing safe and comfortable use; 2. Versatile Operation: Three Tones Discrimination for different types of metal; Notch Mode for ignore junk metals; Target Identify can classify the types of detected objects (gold, silver etc.) on LCD screen; 3. High Accuracy: Super Slow Sweep Identification with a very slow sweep of the search coil to discriminate different types of metal; Clearly you are understandably curious about perceived anomalies with your detector. That's good. Unfortunately, there is just so much that a new detector user and a very inexpensive detector with fairly old and slower processing technology can do. Swinging the detector you own really fast with your newbie swing technique is not going get very good results.

You definitely should try the original Deus at least once. Its tones sound like the chickens are farting while you are murdering them. Seriously, a person on a tight budget could definitely cover 95% of coin, jewelry and relic targets by owning a Simplex and a Vanquish 440 or 540. Their strengths and weaknesses compliment each other very well.

Welcome to the forum!!!!! The detector you have appears to have most of what you need to get started. It is an amazing mix of Garrett and Fisher components. It should give you an inexpensive way to learn about metal detecting. One of its highlighted features on the King Detector website is its target ID accuracy coupled with a very slow swing rate. Since it appears to have a concentric coil it actually might have fairly good accuracy if you use Steve's earlier suggestion to do a controlled 3 second swing that takes about 2 to 3 seconds to pass the coil over the target with a full right to left swing and a full left to right swing. Full means the entire coil is passed over the target in both directions so if your coil is say 20 cm then you want your swing to be roughly 40 cm in each direction so that the coil has a chance to "see" the target with a fresh start on each swing. Your swing needs to be as level and parallel to the ground and target as possible. If your swing is more like a pendulum and the coil dips at the target and rises on the ends of the swing a lot, the target IDs and tones may change.

I can't understand it either. When I take my Equinox for a hunt I check the battery level on the screen which tells me battery information for the control pod. I charge it if needed along with my wireless headphones and my backup WM08 whether they need charging or not since I don't really know for sure. Wireless headphone charging requires 1 cable and 1 USB port. The WM08 requires 1 magnetic connection cable and 1 USB port. The control pod requires 1 magnetic connection cable and 1 USB port. So, three different cables and three USB ports and I need to clean off the magnets since there is often iron sand/magnetite stuck on mine. Also I need 2 different USB to magnetic connection cables to charge both the control pod and the WM08 at the same time. I don't know how Deus ll will be setup for charging. I do know that Deus l actually shows me the charge level of not only the control pod/remote but also the WS4/WS5 audio module and the coils right on the display screens of the remote and the WS4/WS5. So, there is no guessing or reason to not know the charge level of all three. Also, the Deus 1 charging cable is a 3 in 1 cable which needs just 1 USB port and has all three necessary mini USB/butterfly clips at the other end. The weak point in this charging system is definitely the butterfly clip for charging the coil. They break easily. The Deus l coil to butterfly clip sucks. That alone is one reason to stay with the Equinox. For me, knowing when to charge the Deus components is easier and actually more fool proof than the Equinox. My WM08 charging/charge light has never worked so I really don't know if/when it is fully charged. However, the Deus I and no doubt the Deus ll tell you all you want to know about remote control pod, audio module and coil charge levels right on the screen. So, not remembering, forgetting or not knowing is not an excuse with the Deus. It tells you all you need to know and the 3 in 1 charging cable is another "reminder". The Equinox does not do that and it requires 1, 2 or 3 USB ports depending on which components are being used. Charging issues between the Equinox and Deus l/ll are about a tie in my opinion.

Personally, I still can't afford X Coils no matter how good they may be. So I guess I will just have to be stuck with Nugget Finder coils. JP's photo of the Nugget Finder Evo 14X9" made me feel good however, since it is definitely my favorite all purpose coil for the GPX 5000. And yes Rob Allison sells and uses Nugget Finder and Coiltek coils for the GPX 5000 and GPZ.

Simon said it well. If you don't have digging restrictions and you don't care what you are digging, as in if it beeps and gives the wrong numerical target ID or no numerical target ID, who cares. Marrying the right frequency for your desired targets along with high enough gain to punch deep, you don't need simultaneous multi frequency. Selectable single frequency in mild ground will do just fine and will go just as deep or deeper than SMFs, even the Equinox, CTX 3030 and Etrac using similar sized and type coils. I don't have time to dig and find out afterwards what the target is or the freedom to dig lots of big holes with a shovel at most of the places I coin and jewelry hunt. So, I have to spend the big bucks on SMF detectors since I have digging restrictions and most of all, I like to basically know what i'm about to recover or what I'm about to leave in the ground.

Buying a new or used ATX is not too difficult since there are always some on Ebay USA. Finding a used GPX 4500 is a much rarer occurrence. Finding a new GPX 4500.....they were discontinued here in the USA in 2020. Finding a good deal on a used GPX 5000 is very easy to do and new ones are still available here too.

I am speculating here but Simon, I think what you wrote here is correct. I just wish they had modified their manual and specs, sent out warnings to owners about water ingress and coil ears and just owned it. I would feel much better about them as a company personally. Being critical is necessary sometimes. So is praising Minelab for producing such an otherwise outstanding detector. Seriously, the Equinox revived and completely rejuvenated my detecting hobby since it could do things in the places that I hunt in that no other detector has ever been able to do. I was hunting yesterday with members of our local club at a wild hunt modern aluminum trashed park site. The Deus l, Orx, AT Pro and Apex guys were openly complaining about all of the aluminum trash and how hard it was to decide to dig or not since their numerical target IDs were either skewed north of silver or all over the place due to iron mineralization. I had zero problems deciding what I was going to dig………… A buddy and I with our Equinoxes walked away with almost $20 in US clad, a few wheat pennies and not too much trash for a 3 hour impromptu hunt and my dog had a nice walk. Some of those clad finds were easy, recent surface drops in a sea of aluminum. Most of it was 4 to 6” deep, which is easy for the Equinox.

Or, you can take your new/used still under warranty or not waterproof to 10 feet Equinox on vacation or for an important hunt involving water, especially far from home with the expectation that Minelab guaranteed it to be waterproof to 10 feet (didn’t mention pressure proof, ie. cracked arm cuffs and coil ears). Your Minelab waterproofing fails, your trip, hunt or other specific long distance purpose is also a failure and Minelab won’t reimburse you for that. Basically SOL. This luckily has not happened to me but I stopped pushing the limits on my Equinox long ago as far as water is concerned. No heavy surf, fast moving water, shallow diving or submersion past 3 feet for my Noxes.