Chase Goldman

Funny, but if that is where you had it, that should have been good unless it was opposite the detector control head.

No problem if the module is close to the headphones, big problem with the module close to a cell phone. Are you getting drop outs or no signal at all? The module seems to be easily blocked by your body. Unlike the wireless headphones where the receiver/transmitter is on your head, the WM08 module basically needs to be on the same side of your body as where you are swinging the control head, i.e., clean line of sight. If it is blocked by your body or if there is a cell phone near the module, it tends to break up the signal. It's ok for it to sit in a breast or hip pocket as long as it is on the same side as where you are swinging the detector. HTH.

This behavior (large coil likes recovery 4) seems to be a fairly common observation. I have heard others say the same thing. This may be partially driven because you can go deeper with this coil than stock, so lowering recovery naturally tends to clean up those deeper targets. But that is not really the case on the shallower iffy signal targets, so I can only guess is that they are otherwise more challenging due to their orientation or other factors. It could also simply be that 4/5 recovery just happens to be optimal for this coil vs. stock and the 6" but I don't have solid technical theory on why that is the case.

You mean in addition to the already released ORX?

Also, when you practice in your test garden, focus on the different types of audio coming through the headphones and correlate that to the numbers. The number is just a number but the audio can give you much more information about the nature of the target. Start with 5 tones and test out 50 tones. Also use the all metal horseshoe pushbutton to remove discrimination and listen to the iron tones. Finally, learn how the pinpointer sounds for different target sizes, shapes, and depths. You will find in time, the pinpointer does more than pinpoint targets, it helps you discern the nature of your target. For example a quarter and a crushed aluminum beer can can give you the same target ID number, even a similar tone quality, but the pinpointer will clearly tell you that what you have underneath your coil is too big to be a coin. Gold mode has different audio audio as well. It is similar to but still different than the pinpointer in audio type.

Yep, marketing detecting tech in general is a ridiculous laugh fest of hyperbole but comes with the territory. Everyone who has something to sell, "sells" it. Minelab by no means has a monopoly on ridiculous tag lines. Could easily say the same of Garrett, XP, Whites, First Texas, Nokta/Makro, and by extension Apple, Samsung, Google, Amazon, Sony, Panasonic, Canon, and my local used car dealership. But I never buy detectors (or tech in general) based on marketing claims but on specs and the real life experiences of those I trust. I should hope most others do the same. ?

Once you got the basics down, I posted this in other forums but geared to those with a new Christmas present who are new to detecting and/or the Equinox... For those who just got a new Equinox but who have less detecting experience (Equinox is their first or second machine), I recommend a few things to help you climb the Equinox learning curve faster:Test it out on test targets in a test garden or at a productive site like a park, athletic field, or on a dry sand part of the beach to get used to its language. It can be different than what you are used to, but the way to learn it best is to just get out there and dig targets.While you are learning the machine, avoid the temptation to adjust any of the user settings or to switch modes. Stick with a single mode, preferably Park 1 (works well even on the dry sand of a salt beach), at the default settings and get really comfortable with the machine. Since each of the modes behave somewhat like a different detector, you want to avoid the situation where you are climbing multiple learning curves at once.Even though each of the modes are "optimized" for certain types of targets and detecting situations/site conditions (see the manual), any of the Park/Field modes used at their default settings will work for 90% of targets and 90% of conditions and there is plenty of target overlap between modes (i.e., you can find silver coins in a relic mode such as field 2 and relics in a coin mode such as Park 1), so pick a mode and stick with it while getting comfortable with the Equinox. Quick Mode Summary (remember, these are the optimizations, all the modes will detect most non-ferrous target types, just that some will be more sensitive and you may get slightly more depth or the optimal targets will "pop" more in certain modes):Park 1 - high conductive and large deep targets like silver and copper coins, coin spills, and coin caches. (Low frequency weighted). Minimal falsing due to high iron bias setting and disc at 1. 5 tonesPark 2 - mid-conductive coins and small, typically gold, jewelry items (higher frequency weighted). 50 tones. No iron bias. Disc at 0.Field 1 - Similar to Park 1, designed for plucking non-ferrous out of plowed fields, but weighted towards high conductive targets (most coins) therefore just a 2 tone mode. No Iron Bias. Disc at 2.Field 2 - Similar to Park 2 - but optimized for relics and small mid-conductive targets such as brass, lead, tin, nickel, pewter, gold, and, unfortunately, aluminum (nature's little practical joke on detectorists). Disc at 2.Beach 1/2 - Optimized for high conductors but will find gold jewelry on wet sand (Beach 1) and surf (Beach 2). Disc at 0. Medium iron bias.Gold 1/2 - VCO audio mode ideal for nugget shooting or mid conductive relics, will display a target ID but no audio ID just tone intensity and pitch raises with larger and/or shallower targets.The default settings are fine for 95% of normal detecting situations. The only adjustments you need make are to noise cancel the machine, run a ground balance (even then you can get away with the default ground balance setting for most situations), and then adjust sensitivity only as high as necessary to keep the machine running stable. Anywhere from 18 to 22 on sensitivity will give you plenty of depth. There are situations, especially in mild ground or where there is low EMI where you can run up to the max sensitivity, if desired. But avoid overdriving sensitivity just for the sake of trying to max it out, you will likely just introduce noise and instability and end up doing worse than if you just left it alone or reduced it a bit. Sometimes, even when the machine appears stable (i.e., no chatter with the coil in the air) at high sensitivities, there may be other subtle clues you have sensitivity too high such as excessive iron falsing or unstable target IDs, so be aware of these "tells" if you are running at high sensitivity. Site conditions other than EMI levels such as ferrous and trash density also play into the sensitivity level setting decision. In some cases, establishing target separation is more important than depth (discussed more in the recovery speed section below), so establishing your best recovery speed setting in balance with the right sensitivity setting will optimize the situation at hand.When you get comfortable enough to adjust other user settings such as discrimination, tone breaks, recovery speed, and iron bias. Go easy on the adjustments so you don't turn the machine into something you can no longer recognize. Performance settings such as recovery speed and iron bias only typically need need to be adjusted one or two clicks from the default at most. Higher recovery speed settings improve separation in high trash but set too high and you will affect depth. Trying to lower recovery too low to max out on depth (similar to overly increasing sensitivity) you will start to introduce ground noise, especially if you don't adjust your swing rate consistent with your recovery speed setting. Iron bias helps (a little) with iron falsing but it can also tend to mask keeper targets hiding amongst the iron (which counters the primary advantage of Equinox, its fast recovery speed enabling separation between trash and treasure). I just leave Iron Bias at 0 most of the time.Use Beach mode only on salt sand beaches (wet sand and surf). Any of the modes will run stable on dry salt sand beaches and in freshwater conditions. The beach modes can be slightly less sensitive in normal terrestrial hunting because they are optimized for salt ground conditions and will also throttle back transmit power when high mineralization conditions are sensed, so don't use the Beach modes other than at wet salt sand conditions.Avoid the prospecting/gold modes at first, until you have a level of comfort with the machine, because it does not have tone ID and uses VCO pitch audio, which is a whole different ball game and has a learning curve of its own. All modes and settings have their advantages and tradeoffs (downsides). Learning how to master the Equinox by balancing those tradeoffs and understanding what the tonal nuances are keys to success. To get there, you need to put in the swing hours and dig a lot of trash targets and you will gradually kill it out there. There are no shortcuts, so avoid deviating from the plan out of frustration. Be patient, learn and you will do well.Finally, there are no absolutes, so don't be afraid to experiment a little but also, if something is working for you, stick with it.

Um, no. You and about a thousand other snow bird detectorists. Lol. Happy hunting, sounds like fun. Hoping the storm we have now cuts up the Eastern shore a little. Always looking for the next Sandy.

I am from No VA so PM me if you want to get together and learn the 800. I have a bit of experience on the machine. Here's some starter tips I previously posted you can read while we're waiting for the snow to melt:

While it's true that some of the Multi IQ dependent processing that differentiates Park 1 from Field 2 and other features such as iron bias disappears when you go to single frequency, from what I have seen, what is left over is a helluva capable single frequency machine that rivals anything high end (single) out there, including MXT, F75, and even Deus. Can't speak for machines I haven't owned such as the Nokta/Makros.

You must have a different Deus software version because there is nothing in the V 5.2 Deus manual that says Gold Field uses a solely notch-based ground system or at least nothing different than what is used on the other non-gold field modes other than you can ground grab using the pinpoint button. You can use the ground notch feature but you can also set ground notch to be off completely as well, just like the other modes. But see also below. ORX uses only the ground grab method like Gold Field uses on the Deus. However, on the Deus I have now confirmed that Tracking and Ground Notch will work while in Gold Field mode which is contrary to what I thought and posted a few posts back in this post. Just wanted to set the record straight as I had promised to do. Still some lingering questions about tracking and gold field, but it appears they do work together. Jeff let me know if I got this wrong (re: notch-based ground system on gold field), but that is my take from reading both the users manual and Andy's book. Thanks.

Steve. Note that I am almost certain that this is actually no different than Deus. Tracking and Ground notch do not appear to be engaged when using the equivalent Gold Field program on the Deus from what I can tell. Gold Field uses a unique (to Gold Field) ground grab method using the pinpoint button. According to the manual, you must periodically redo the ground grab if you encounter instability (implying tracking does not come into play). I too thought tracking and ground notch worked in gold field mode because you can actually access the settings while in gold field, but from what I can tell based on the manual, they don't do anything (similar to iron volume not actually doing anything in full tones even though you can change the setting). I still have to verify this with XP or Andy Sabisch but that was something I just recently realized as I was comparing Deus and ORX specs while digging deep into the Deus user manual. If true, then it seems that ORX almost exactly duplicates the Deus Gold Field functionality but adds a stripped down/basic version of the "tone ID" Deus modes for traditional target detecting. Now why they didn't implement Deus-like tracking in the ORX coin/relic modes is indeed a mystery, although for those not familiar with Deus, I suppose it results in a simpler interface as the ground balance ground grab method is the same between the modes. Your observations that no one is talking about Equinox from a prospecting perspective astounds me. And I am as mystified as you are regarding XP's strategy on ORX. I will post back if I am wrong about tracking GB in Gold Field on Deus. Well it turns out I am wrong on this, after consulting the first edition of the Deus Handbook (the Deus User's manual is ambiguous on this). Tracking and Ground Notch DO work while in gold field mode as long as mineralization based variations in ground phase are not "too severe". I have not confirmed that anything has changed since they added the ground sensitivity adjustment starting with Version 4.2 of the Deus software, but there you have it. Setting the record straight.

Thanks, Steve. I mispoke and should have clarified that what I meant by separation is swing separation or more correctly swing "clearance" (i.e., the ability to swing the coil side to side in tight spots). In that respect, the Deus elliptical coil actually has slightly more swing clearance with the 5" width coil than the Equinox 6" diameter round coil. Agree, a shorter coil would allow for more crevice clearance. Obviously, separation is fixed on a DD by the receive/transmit coil overlap width at the center of the coil. ORX may be geared toward the prospector, but ORX or not, XP has always promoted the HF coils as primarily prospecting coils (as you know, ORX uses the same Gold Field program as Deus, so there is nothing obviously superior about the ORX vs. Deus as far as prospecting is concerned). If that is the case I wonder why XP has not pursued a coil form factor smaller than 9.5x5" for prospecting? It has been almost 2 years since the original release of the HF coils. I wonder if they are out of touch with what the prospector's need or want or whether prospecting is actually driving a significant percentage of Deus/ORX/Depar sales considering the limited coil offerings. Welcome your thoughts on this.

I would go with sdbirder's firmware because it just works.

I would have liked the VCO pitch audio as an option for the modes other than gold mode with iron volume for discriminated targets underneath (this is how Deus works and it is an effective way to unmask non ferrous in the presence of ferrous) as a well as "normal" tone ID as an option for gold mode.

Yeah, I agree with you that wired is an easier, less costly approach as a starting point, but if you've already got the bugs worked out with wireless approach, why bother. Those wireless chips are inexpensive. Complete do it yourself configurable Raspberry PI microprocessor units with built in WIFI and Bluetooth modules go for about $35 US. The more I think about his the more I think, why bother with the ORX at all XP. Just lower the price on the Deus and be done with it (provide the less capable ORX wireless headphones with Deus if you want a tangible reason to lower the Deus price further). Note that at present the ORX wireless headphones do not work with the Deus controller and the Deus wireless headphones will not work with the ORX controller. SMH.

I think they should have just offered it for less money period. Using a wired coil means that they would have had to move the "brains" to the control unit (it presently exists in the coil), would have made the existing Deus coils incompatible, and they would have had to have sunk Research and Development dollars into the new coil designs and control packages which would have driven up hardware and software costs in the end. I think the wireless coil paradigm of Deus is an important selling point, keeps weight down, and allows re-use of Deus coils which might make ORX an attractive less expensive alternative backup unit to their Deus units. But again, they missed the mark on their MAP. They were facing a dilemma similar to ML. How do you introduce a new, affordable mid-range detector to challenge the market place without obsoleting your current "high end" detector line. I think ML figured out a way to thread that needle with Equinox and a little marketing (along the lines of touting how Multi IQ is a game changer yet FBS still brings something to the table that Multi IQ does not, um OK). XP took a different tack. They made a less capable detector (solely via software limitations) with the same basic hardware s Deus (save for a lighter stem and rod and less capable wireless headphones) but could not bring themselves to lower the price enough to be competitive for fear of having to also lower the Deus cash cow price. Lets face it. With the hardware being basically the same, limiting the software you provide on the unit should not inherently limit the per unit cost (i.e., unit cost to manufacture is not driven by the software on the unit and basically minimal R&D was invested). That is also why I really scratch my head on the price delta between 600 and 800. That price delta is not driven by the lesser software driven capability of the 600. It is driven simply by the 800 wireless hardware (BT headphones and WM wireless receive module) the 600 package lacks. The detector hardware package is basically exactly the same for both 600 and 800 save for the LCD screen pattern and the extra "user profile" button. However, I wouldn't mind getting an ORX at the right price point as a cheaper backup to the Deus, but it is also missing just a couple "essential" features IMO. Namely, pitch audio and audio response adjustments that enable adjustment on the modulation of the tone ID audio with depth (otherwise, you have a target size/depth modulation problem similar to what Equinox has now).

I agree that the ORX misses the mark. It is not priced sufficiently competitively to really even compete with the Deus lite package and used Deus full packages can be found online for about the same price as a new ORX with performance that totally eclipses and exceeds anything ORX can offer. However, I wanted to comment on the coil comments above. The XP HF 9.5" x 5"elliptical really holds its own and typically exceeds the performance of the 6" Equinox coil in restricted swing situations and mineralized ground when hunting relics. I know because I have tested them head to under the same brutal iron and mineralized soil conditions. I call the XP HF elliptical the "laser pointer" because the combination of 28 khz operation and lightning fast Deus/ORX recovery really make the coil a killer in trash pits, around logs, and in hot soil. The Equinox 6" coil has no real advantage over the 9.5" HF elliptical and honestly I wish ML would have come out with an elliptical similar in dimension to the XP offering that would provide the restricted swing advantage and separation ability of the narrow elliptical shape with the ground coverage afforded by the 9.5" long dimension. A missed opportunity by ML in my opinion. BTW, to answer your question, the gold modes on ORX are identical to the Gold Field mode (VCO pitch audio, iron rejection (not disc) all metal mode) on the XP Deus. In my opinion, XP could really move some product by simply offering the ORX package with a buyers choice of any two DEUS coils. That would be killer and I think XP would make some serious coin on volume sales. As it is now, ORX is stuck in some twilight zone world where you can still get Deus cheaper (lite package) with more capability or even a used full up Deus package or new Equinox 800 (also with more capability) for the same price. Really a swing and miss by XP, unfortunately.

Your opening statement really surprised me and drew my interest. What made you conclude it had such world class discrimination? I don't recall that ever being a hyped selling point. I never considered buying the Equinox for its discrimination. I bought it because I knew it would run stable at the beach; have fast, adjustable recovery for separation in trashy conditions; had stable target ID at depth; could be used wet or dry; and was versatile enough to run at the beach grabbing jewelry, in highly mineralized farm fields snagging relics, and in gold fields snagging nuggets and everywhere in between. I have owned (and still own) other detectors with better discrimination schemes. In fact, I generally prefer and have most success with Equinox running no discrimination whatsoever. But as as I re-read through your post, I see you were running no disc also. So that makes me think you were really talking target ID vice disc or some other performance aspect of the detector. Also, if I do have a performance knock against Equinox, it is that lack of target modulation with depth or size that you have observed. Forces me to use pinpoint too often just to get a read on target size or depth. BTW way to adapt to the language of that big coil. I too have found it surprising that it has such a strong affinity for the tiniest of targets. Congrats on the finds.

Most of us moved on from flogging that ridiculous marketing catch line about a year ago. Thanks for the nostalgia. If you have a real question, we're all ears.

I'd rather go crazy than miss targets which makes me crazy. No iron bias for me.

You can always easily dial it back to the original firmware if you don't like the results, so not too much downside to trying it out for yourself (other than the potential missed finds, I suppose). For that, I applaud ML's update implementation. Even my state of the art phone doesn't allow me to do that.

I avoid beach 2 out of the water (unless I am going perpendicular to the tide line) because it will automatically dial back transmit power if it encounters mineralization above a certain level. Otherwise, it is a very stable mode if not too deep. Since basically all the other modes are in play on the dry sand and are deeper, I usually just go with Beach 1 or one of the Park modes depending on what I am targeting (coins > Park1. Jewelry > Park 2 or Gold).

There are slight variations but not enough to worry about. Basically the VDI's are normalized across the board regardless of frequency or multifrequency in each mode. There is no frequency reference (like the Deus at 18 khz) that the VDI's are normalized to.

Stay away. Way overpriced for what you get especially when you can get a used Deus for the same price.