Chase Goldman

1. In metal detecting, there are no absolutes because there are so many variables to account for and that are not under your control. So take all advice with a grain of salt, including what is to follow. 2. Location, Location, Location. A good site, research, detective work, understanding how people lose things, and experience trump good equipment. If the targets are not there, no machine can help you. 3. Depth is not everything. 4. Getting a detector that has the ability to impart target information via nuanced audio is more advantageous than super precise target ID numbers. Learning the audio language of your detector can often tell you a lot more than a memorizing target ID numbers. 5. Coil control and coverage help give you control over the audio and ensure you get your coil over the maximum number of targets. Overlap your swing and move forward slowly to minimize missed coverage. Often coil coverage is more important than depth, so elliptical coils than can provide that coverage without the added weight of a circular coil of the same diameter as the length of a coil can be advantageous. 6. No site is ever really played out. Targets are masked by junk. No one truly gets their coil over every square inch of ground, and natural and man-made forces such as frost heave, rain drops, plant growth, plowing, and erosion all keep targets constantly moving in the ground. 7. Increasing sensitivity above default settings often just results in more noise, not more depth. 8. If you have the luxury of taking your time with a site, then do so. Visit it repeatedly. Use different detectors, different settings, different coils, and different walking patterns and you be rewarded. Also, see 5 and 6. 9. Use your head when surveying a site. Look for the iron nails you would normally throw in the scrap heap, because they are telltale signs of human presence. Look for high point where people would choose to dwell. Look for water sources. Research the geology of the site if looking for natural precious metals. Look for places where people would choose to rest or gather. On the beach focus on entry points, the standard towel line, refreshment stands, life guard stands, umbrella and chair concessions, cuts that show erosion to old sand and hard pan, know the tides, and check the weather. 10. Learn your detector inside and out. Start with some standard settings. Generally, stick with the defaults until you understand what the settings do and then incrementally adjust to experiment with them. Avoid switching detectors, settings, and modes often unless you know them well otherwise you reset your learning curve. 11. Take nothing for granted (see1) and remember that the best discriminator is your eyes, so when it doubt, dig it out. 12. Try to leave any site the way you found it, if possible. Replace your plugs and pack out both the recovered trash and keepers. 13. Take time to stop and enjoy the scenery and solitude. I detect mainly to get away from the stress of daily life, so the last thing I want to do is make detecting a source of stress by pushing myself or turning the outing into a contest with my hunting buddies, unless that is what we collectively want to do that day, for fun. 14. Be safe. Avoid detecting alone in remote places unless someone knows where you are and when you plan to be back. Carry plenty of water and other necessities for outdoor adventuring. Know your limits. Don't trespass, seek permission. Don't poach someone else's permission. Know the detecting laws wherever you hunt. 15. Join or support a local detecting club. You can learn from the members, meet some great people, and get connections to some great sites. Contribute your knowledge or participate in online forums, like this awesome site. 16.. Most important: Do have fun.

You are not not imagining things. Rubber tire mulch in playgrounds is a thing and is controversial from a health perspective. That being said, the steel wire belt material is supposed to be removed from the rubber used for playground mulch, but the process appears to be only 99.9% effective at removing the metal. This means that in tire rubber mulch playgrounds you may encounter some random bits of wire. Here is an article on the topic: https://www.playgroundprofessionals.com/surfaces/rubber/rubber-tire-mulch-hazard-or-harmless203

Lol, Chuck, you wear me out. Yes your self contradictions tend to cause the threads to run in circles. Enjoy blocking out your numbers. Cheers and out. .

Get the Whites. The fewer Equinox users I run into out there the better, at least that is what my Equinox 800 tells me in my wireless headphones.

The button doesn't "say" reject on the label but that is what it is called and does. I don't know about you getting old, Chuck, but perhaps you didn't own it long enough to learn it? Regarding full circle, dunno what you mean by that because like I said earlier, notch is not a feature I use much so can take it or leave it, single number or bundled it makes no diff to me one way or the other. Discrimination, on the other hand, well...starting that discussion up again I guess would mean we are going around in circles....and you are frankly wearing me out discussing basic metal detector features, so I must be the one getting old.

Not a Whites detector, but you can do that exact thing with the Equinox.

Like how Nokta provides wireless module compatibility across its entire detector line unlike at least one of its prominent competitors.

Not trying to convince you to change your ways, as I said repeatedly, just trying to explain the differences between notch and discrimination because you seemed to be confusing two different features as far as your recently acquired Orx is concerned. Andy Sabisch and I often find this a difficult concept to get across to users when we co-instruct his Deus bootcamp sessions, so your dismissive reaction to what I am saying is not surprising. Enjoy the Orx in any event, as it is probably is neither here nor there as far as how you use your detector. HH.

Hi Chuck! First of all, let's get our definitions straight - the proper term is "notch filter". Here is the definition: A Notch Filter is also known as a Band Stop filter or Band Reject Filter. These filters reject/attenuate signals in a specific frequency band called the stop band frequency range and pass the signals above and below this band. ... Stop Band Frequency: Any signal in this frequency range ... The "frequency range" in the case of metal detecting can be translated to mean "target ID range". The key here is the statement "pass [or conversely block] the signals above and below this band" There is no mention of "notch filter" or "notch" in the ORX manual, only Discrimination. XP differentiates between Notch and Discrimination on the ORX's cousin, the Deus as follows using a quote from Andy Sabisch's XP Handbook: "The easiest way to describe the NOTCH function is an adjustable "window" which can selectively BLOCK THE AUDIO from specific targets. Unlike the DISCRIMINATION function which always starts rejecting targets at [0] and continues doing so up through the point selected by the user, the single NOTCH function allows the starting point to be defined by the user....The advantage of using the NOTCH function over the DISCRIMINATION function is that detection depth will not be impacted when NOTCH is applied." Unfortunately, ORX has no NOTCH, bundled or otherwise, just Discrimination. That was all I was trying to say, so it was immaterial to the discussion at the root of the title of your thread since ORX has no notch. This doesn't apply to other detectors such as your Sport and other detectors such as the Equinox in which Notch and Discrimination can be often (but not always) be used interchangeably. Whether or not you like to "notch" single digits, yeah that is a personal preference, but notching and discrimination at least as they relate to XP Deus and ORX are two different animals and are not different path choices. Just saying.

That isn't notching, that is increasing discrimination and if you do that much past the iron range (15 or so) you are going to affect overall recovery depth for ALL targets. The ORX is missing the adjustable notch feature of the Deus. You can set up to 3 separate notch segments or individual notch points. On Deus they are tone ID audible filters so if you choose to use them they have no effect on depth like the Deus/Orx discrimination filter. As far as notch bundle segments vs. individual points, the answer for me is "it depends". I rarely notch in the first place, I don't ponder it much. So thinking about it, if you have a machine that can notch out both individual ID's AND larger bundle segnents then you have max flexibility/adjustability, so that is good thing. However, I would tend to notch a bundled segment more likely than individual ID's for the reasons phrunt mentioned above and the simple fact that the junk targets you would likely want to notch usually have variable IDs like pull tabs or the high ID iron wraparound region. Bottom line, I wouldn't say "bundled notch not a good thing" as in you thread title, as there are many situations were it serves its purpose just fine. I would simply say that if you have limited notch adjustability, it is not "ideal" or "optimal", but I certainly would not put a high value on that feature. So implementation of adjustable or bundled notch is really not a key make or break factor if I am pondering a detector purchase. JMO

You really don't want to be running the nox below 10. I would run it in the low teens if you are looking for a lost surface target or are "sifting" through thick iron for shallow non-ferrous keepers. The sensitivity setting is likely non-linear, so usable depth would likely drop off precipitously beliw 10 or so. In dry sand. I have seen a 3 to 6" depth loss just going from 20 to 15. So if you want to try that approach (most detectorists are't that patient), I would start at 10, minimum.

You are killing it. Congrats!

These detectors are so different that it is hard to compare them without additional info. How deep in the water do you want to detect (diving or just hunting off the shore break)? [Winner: Excal for deeper submergence] What targets are you after (coins or jewlry)? [Small gold edge goes to Equinox] Do you hunt by tones or visual ID or both? [Excal is tones only] Do you need/want high recovery speed? [Winner: Equinox] Do you like to have the ability to swap coils? [Winner: Equinox/Excal coils are hard wired to the detector] The Excal tends to need a number of user mods/customizations (straight shaft, pinpoint button mod, knob guard, chest mount) to suit most detectorists which necessitates additional cost on an already high cost detector. On the other hand, the Equinox is readybto go out of the box save for the purchase of a set of waterproof phones. I would probably opt for a water and sand friendly third party carbon fiber shaft too for the Nox. The Excal being a tone machine only with quirky controls tends to have a higher learning curve. The Excal can be submerged deeper than the Equinox and is arguably built to be more suited to the repeated abuse that salt water use heaps on detectors. I don't dive but do like to get my detector in salt water and like a more versatile detector that is suited to a variety of detecting situations, so when Equinox came along, I sold my Excal which basically could only be used at the beach. If you are not an avid salt water detectorist and not a diver, I would prob invest in an Equinox 600 since it is a more economical until you are assured salt water hunting is your passion. It will get the job done if you are only working in 3 meters of water or less and can be used for general land detecting. HTH

Yep, I know what you are saying.

That is also a good question. That is why I really recommend that ML put a statement out explaining what is going on so that people can be aware and informed of any vulnerabilities.

My experience is that knock sensitivity occurs if the manual or auto GB reading is high. I first noticed then when I started using the Equinox in highly mineralized ground that forced the GB number high (you can't necessarily make a direct correlation to the GB number and the level of mineralization, but in this case, I knew that the ground was mineralized). Anyway, I noticed coil bump sensitivity whenever I hit a corn stalk. In fact, I could just shake the coil in the air and get noise due to the coil vibration. I thought I had a coil problem, but when I switched to a mode that had GB at the 0 default setting the bump sensitivity went away. I lowered the GB setting manually on the mode I was using (I believe it was Field 2) and the bump sensitivity went away. I subsequently noticed that the "2" modes (Park 2/Field 2) and Gold mode were most sensitive to this phenomenon, which makes sense because these are the "hottest" (most powerful) modes, also. So, similar to what phrunt was driving at, see if lowering the GB setting makes a difference. Unfortunately, if you need to keep GB set where it is for optimal GB you may be stuck, but perhaps you can try running at default GB (in Multi IQ) of 0 or at least a manually set lower GB setting and see what happens because the Equinox in Multi IQ is pretty good at compensating for a less than ideal ground balance. HTH

That was definitely pre-gold '49er gold rush and that was also back when aluminum was more valuable than gold because an economical recovery process had not yet been invented (imagining going back in time with the DeLorean with a barrel full of pull tabs and beer cans). Commercial gold production pretty much ceased in Virginia in 1948

I like detective stories and detective work is a big part of serious detecting. Whether it is in researching prospective sites or finding out about what you just pulled out of the ground. Let us know how it turns out. And maybe you want to post it in some of the general finds forums so you can get input from non-Equinox users too.

Welcome aboard History Surfer. Check out the Equinox forum and you will find a few Cali natives over there. I grew up in San Diego but live in Virginia now. Enjoy that detector, it is a great one.

This has been picked up in the news lately by several outlets. Great story. Silver is great and all but I am more interested in the fact that the one of the detectorist is rocking the Equinox mounted on an "S" shaft and it looks pretty cool. So, just thought I would start up the ol' S-Shaft/Straight Shaft debate again. Apparently, the only conclusion you can come to is that the S shaft is better for finding silver hordes. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7413021/Seven-detectorists-stumbled-5m-ancient-coins-Somerset-field-JILL-FOSTER-joins-them.html

These guys suck on firmware updates, I'm still waiting for an update to my "high tech bionic computer main chip." All I got was a bunch of rodent food for the bionic hamster in the box.

Thanks, I will do that. I have pulled some maps that show the belt and other mines and deposits and looked into the history. Thanks for the club info, much appreciated.

First of all, it is great to start out by the book as a general guide, but if you are able to do some situational experimentation at the site, like you did, that is the way to go because every situation and site is unique and the modes often don't behave as you would expect them to at every site due to numerous site condition and target type variables. Often times, folks feel that they are pressed for time (or actually do only have a short window of opportunity at a site) or are excited and just want to get out there and dig that they don't take the time to do a little on site tuning of their detectors. I am guilty of that, often. You don't always have the luxury of being able to do that, but if you can, you should. So it's great that you took the time to do that. I am not too surprised that Park 1 hit hardest on that test lead. The larger caliber and symmetric shape of the round ball make it look more like a high conductor than a mid conductor to the machine. That is backed up by the TID you were getting. Though lead is a mid conductor, that is not the only property that determines phase shift. Target mass also comes into play. Being so dense, lead tends to look to a detector like a mid conductor if the targets are small and irregular (camp lead) and a higher conductor if the targets are large and symmetrical. This really becomes obvious when you are using a GPX for relic hunting. The small irregular pieces of camp lead and really deformed fired minie balls give off high tones (low conductor) and low tones (high conductor) when you swing across a fully formed, dropped minie ball or round ball. Just wanted to clarify something - based on what you wrote, "Park 1 is supposed to hit better on high conductors and the field modes, low." Just to be clear, the "1" modes (Field 1 and Park 1) are tuned to hit harder on high conductors due to their frequency profile while the "2" modes (Park 2 and Field 2) will hit harder on smaller, mid-conductive targets but because of their higher frequency profile, will get less overall depth than the "1" modes...in general (key point). Beach modes and gold modes are different animals, as you know. Therefore, I would expect that the "2" modes (i.e., Park 2 and Field 2) might hit harder on that brass (especially the small brass like the p caps and small buttons), but Park 1 at the optimal recovery speed and without IB is probably the best all around mode and probably the deepest overall mode (other than perhaps 5 khz single frequency) and that is proven out by the variety of your recoveries. I am surprised that Field 1 did not perform similar to Park 1 in your apples to apples field testing as it has it has a lower frequency profile favorable to high conductors similar to Park 1, like I said. The beach modes are a different animal altogether, but it is good you tested them out anyway as anything goes and they have shown some promise in unusual land hunting situations. Gold Mode could also be interesting, but you would have to have your eyes glued on the meter and I wouldn't advise it in an area littered with a lot of mid-conductive, non-ferrous junk. Since you are having such great success at that site, I hesitate to give you any advice whatsoever (If it ain't broke...), other than take advantage of the fact that the Equinox basically gives you multiple detectors in one package so if your finds start to tail off, then hit that site with a different mode and perhaps even with some single frequencies. Enjoy it until it plays out, which hopefully will take a long time. Good luck and happy hunting.

It's a cottage industry to be sure. Garrett and Minelab have their industrial/military business to bolster them and the military applications seem to drive the technological innovations at ML. Third world gold prospecting seems to be the next driver followed by hobby detecting a distant 3rd or 4th depending on how you look at it. Those solely relying on hobbiests for their business model are stressed and perhaps doing a death spiral or are innovating and grabbing the attention of the casual hobbiest with great performance at economical pricing (i.e., value based Simplex) or innovative, unique design concepts (XP Deus/ORX)

On the Nox they probably didn't consider it at all because they're ML, but if they did it might have been rejected because it just presents another water intrusion vulnerability. I think putting a 1/4" jack (or both) on the WM08 module would have been a good idea.