midalake

Ground Grab is manual ground balance. Once manual GB is done there should be no reason to re-ground balance unless your soil/sand changes. There are many who manual GB then switch Tracking GB on.

Sensitivity rules on the Equinox. Anything I can do to keep my Sensitivity at 20 or above is important. I would not run IB or Recovery above 6 though no matter what.

My second season on the Equinox I hunted in beach 2 horseshoe on, Recovery 6 IB 6. Every fringe target I had the entire season was compared to R-4 IB-4. Of the handful of targets, I changed my mind to dig NONE of them were of any worth. Your spot may differ.......

There are two different scenarios that I "lose" a target after detected. First: I just plain move the target. Sideway's, deeper...whatever The Second and more popular. Open the hole and it fills with water. For some reason Minelabs hate this. All is well until that hole fills with water. Whether you moved the target or not.

If you are hunting in the regular discrimination mode [Horseshoe button off] The answer is Yes. This is why I think lots of us went to Horseshoe mode on. The extra investigation time was slowing me down. In Horseshoe mode the iron bin and non-ferrous bin is separated better. I also highly dislike the pinpoint mode, so I do all my recoveries in Horsemode on. [another time saver]

It is hard to see your swing rate from here? But if you do go slower the machine has a better chance of deciphering the target. Example : in my normal beach conditions I have a target about every 3-4 complete swings. So, I swing pretty fast. Fast enough to where I have to come back and investigate every hit I get. You will get the cadence down better as you go. Almost always, ferrous targets will sound better at a given position. That is how some of us decide if the target is ferrous or non-ferrous. A non-ferrous will not have a break down in signal on a 360 look.

That is one thing I hate with the Equinox too. The D2 and Tarsacci do not do this. Really makes target recovery in the active wave wash a PIA. Def a Minelab thing.

I will admit it has been a long time since I have done ground grab and hunted. Not sure if I will get out tomorrow [flat on my back sick] but next day out will do so. Won't take long for me to tell.

If one is using tracking GB on low mineralized ground. How is it possible to make more noise? Is there some youtube vids that show this? I do not understand.

You have a purdy one!!!!😄

It is for me. I run 6.

If you are hunting with the Horseshoe mode off, it is entirely possible to get iron wrap-around targets that want to register but they are mostly blocked. Kind of like something trying to break the squelch on a receiver. I suggest on hunting with the Horseshoe ON to hear everything!

I don't know how anyone can hunt in Mother-in-law 50 tones mode.

I always use tracking GB. This from the manual> Contents Tracking Ground Balance When Tracking Ground Balance is active, the detector continuously adjusts the Ground Balance automatically during detecting. This ensures that Ground Balance is always set correctly. Tracking Ground Balance is the default and recommended method for Gold Mode. Tracking Ground Balance can also be useful when using Beach Mode 2 underwater at the beach (in salt water).

In STILL salt water you should have no extra noises when swinging the coil. It is normal for wave wash to give you noise. If the water is still, it is either EMI or Black Sand. First>Make sure you clean under your coil cover after every hunt. I do not hunt with a coil cover, EVER! To help mitigate salt and black sand keep your iron bias and recovery at 6 each. Black sand can be tough. I had a spot yesterday where I had to drop to 19 sensitivity. If you get a fringe signal you can always bump up the sensitivity a point or two just to look at that one target. You will get better as time goes by to know the difference between mineral/salt ticks and targets.

When we did testing between the D2 and Equinox it was right around 13-14 inches where the D2 maxed out [at my location] on a gold ring like that. There is a big difference in a TID locked target and "hearing" a target.

Do you think the D2 would of hit it?

Thanks for the update!!!! Want to see those California storm beach finds soon!

Have you found any "secret sauce" to tell if a target is ferrous or non-ferrous when the D-2 will not ID? At least in Beach Modes I have not found a good combination for 360 conformation.

Not bashing your post. It is pathetic that pre-orders through dealers have not been filled FIRST!

I will have a used one in the spring for MUCH less!

Ugh>>> 8 months late. I am in Meh mode.

Several RTG scoops fall into this price area. I have been using a couple for over 20 years. But there has been repairs and rehab done. Sold scoop. Will give you many years before needing some help.

There were what I call "rumors" or "feelings" about Tracking Ground Balance in the beginning. ALL FALSE with an Equinox 800. If anyone would know it>>would be me. In 4 years, I have investigated 1000's of targets that would not TID with the horseshoe mode on. The faintest of whispers when first found. NOT ONCE have I had to switch out of Tracking GB because of some issue where the target gets weaker or lost. There is not much more I can say......

Also adding how the coins were found before cleaning-up.