Chase Goldman

Jeff, Never had the older GPs or SDs, but my GPX 4800 is still pretty heavy, still bearable though. Bring my Equinox or Deus with me at hunts where I am using the GPX so I can give my shoulder a break after a few hours. I know I am losing depth when I do that, but it's better than the alternative of not being able to swing anything at all. Lol. Nevertheless, the 4800 is a pleasure to swing versus the tank-like ATX that I used to swing as my primary PI machine.

Couldn't agree more. Thought I was getting a waterproof MXT. Boy was I wrong on that. It had great potential, but failed on delivery. Still have the MXT.

Since the Equinox can be charged on the fly using a rechargeable cell phone charge bank that costs about the same as an 8 pack of Duracells and that you can actually now pick up at any 7-11 (if you did not have the foresight to store it in your gear bag in the first place, attach it under your arm rest with velcro or rubber bands if you have to to keep on detecting) the whole AA replaceable battery emergency power "advantage" really is old school or at least so 2017. Besides, I've never run the Equinox below 2 bars in ANY all day detecting session since I've owned it. Finally, what was the first thing that failed on my MX Sport after 2 years of very light usage? Ironically, The battery compartment plastic mounting posts for the screwed on end cap housing failed, rendering the detector neither waterproof nor functional (something that gets regularly stressed when you replace the batteries or remove them for off season detector storage). To their credit, Whites stood behind their detector warranty though it did cost a pretty penny to ship it back for repair, but the build quality/design obviously has some weak points. Whose to say at this point at what types of failures the Equinox will sustain 2 years on, but at least I know I won't be stressing the battery compartment by replacing non-rechargeable batteries on a regular basis. Just my take.

Sounds like you are focused on gold primarily so the 800 would have been a better choice. You seem to be doing a lot of your test with the 600 in single, why? Also, testing gold targets at 5khz does not make sense to me. I suspect the issue you were seeing with the penny separation test in Parkb1 are due to the lower default recovery speed and high default iron bias settings in Park 1. Park 1 defaults are not optimized for target separation. True all metal is bringing what additional to the table vs. the Equinox implemention? You still haven’t articulated that. Thanks for the additional info. It’s clear you could unlock more potential out if you Equinox if you took more time to understand Multi IQ, the user settings and the target type objectives of the various modes. Steve has provided a number of resources right here on site to help you do that. This is a good starting point. Most of the info applies to the 600 as well. Then this is a gold mine of info on Equinox HTH

Downloadable firmware updates and computer/phone programming (if necessary due to the complexity of user interface navigation and program settings - e.g., not necessary for Equinox, other detectors might benefit from this feature) Pitch audio is a great option that I find to be really useful for unmasking. Wish the Equinox had it in all modes. Also like having a concentric accessory coil option. A mineralization meter should be standard, too.

Maltfoto Welcome to the forum and grab some popcorn. The best metal detector for you is the one that you are most comfortable and familiar with. For context, it would be good to know what you found compelling about the Equinox in the first place that encouraged you to buy one, even though you appear to be happy and comfortable with your Fishers. In other words, what were you expecting to see it do versus what your Fishers could already do. Hope is wasn't the ridiculous ML hype machine, because if that is the standard you are holding it to, heaven help us all. LOL. Nevertheless, some good discussion points here. It is often hard to have a valid apples to apples comparison when you are really comparing apples and oranges and may not have sufficient familiarity with the new machine to do a valid apples-to-apples comparison. For example, you are forcing the 600 to go up against BOTH your F44 and F70. I love when people do that. As if you can run around with both of those machines in your hand at the same time. The very fact that you needed to do the comparison in such a manner should tell you something, especially since you found things the Equinox could do better than either of the two Fishers. The main advantage of the Equinox is not that it is king of any one type of detecting, but its versatility may enable you to just have to take one detector to a site vs. both the 44 and 70, for example. The other thing people like to do is hold the Equinox up against machines like the CTX and Deus that are two to three times the cost of Equinox. Funny thing is, it pretty much holds its own in those circumstances too. Is it the do everything, be everything machine? No way. As I said, its main advantage is versatility. Can there be improvements? Certainly (the shaft system wonky and better target modulation come to mind). And Minelab has responded with at least one firmware update. How about First Texas and Whites? I did not really enjoy sending my T2 and Whites MX Sport in for firmware updates to fix flaws with shipping at my expense and a detector out of my hands for upwards of two to three weeks. Fun... Note that I own a Fisher F75 and am still hanging on to it post Equinox though I haven't put many swing hours on it since forever. I love its ergonomics, which still haven't been exceeded by anything else on the street today that I have swung (still need to look at the newest Nokta and Makro offerings, though). But I primarily keep it around because I want to have a detector that can still accommodate concentric coils and I love the multitude of accessory coil varieties (including solid body ellipticals) it can accommodate. On the down side, it is only barely weather proof, falses badly at the beach unless I turn sensitivity way down. Does not really have true adjustable recovery speed settings or adjustable operating frequencies (stuck at 14 khz, yay!). The audio leaves A LOT to be desired. If you are used to the Fisher audio and have not previously experienced either the Deus, I can see how you are not appreciating all the target information contained in the Equinox 50 tone audio mode. Even the 5-tone mode customizations blow the Fisher out of the water. Which is not saying much because you can't take the Fisher into the water to begin with.... Agree, it doesn't have true metal. The key question is this: That is a problem because why, exactly? It would be great to hear why you think that is a drawback. Few Equinox owners here have been bemoaning the lack of "true all metal" since last Spring as you can tell from the time stamp of the thread. The 50 tone audio, mode switching, pinpoint, and other features help with target interrogation enough that using no disc is just fine. Maybe if you could shed some more light on your detecting experiences and preferred type of hunting, that would help for context. If you wanted gold sensitivity in single frequency, you should have gotten the 800 which includes the single frequencies of 20 and 40 khz which has a higher affinity for gold. Try an 800 at 20 khz vs. your 14 khz F70. I have an F75 and the 800 runs circles around it on gold targets in multi and single (at 20 and 40 khz) using Field 2, Park 2, and of course Gold. It gives the Deus HF variant run for its money too. Note that while the 600 does not have 20 and 40 khz single frequency modes, it does use 20 and 40 khz in Multi. Did you try your gold target test in Multi and in what modes vs. the F70? Would like to know the result. Yep that's true. Why is that a shocker? Plenty of situations where you want to zero in on a specific target type, say high conductiors at 5 khz or gold at 20 khz. Single frequency can be used to interrogate a target to determine whether it is or isn't mixed ferrous (e.g., bottlecap), though, again, the audio usually gives it away if you have trained your ear. Finally, single frequency can help you overcome extreme EMI situations that are wreaking havoc on multi modes. I use single rarely because you do lose many of the advantages that multi brings to the table, but when I do decide to pull that trick out of the bag, it works quite well and I am very glad I have the option to use it and have so many freqs to choose from. Options are great to have aren't they? Better yet, having enough experience to know when its appropriate to deploy them is also a great thing and lowers the shock factor so go out there and experiment with single some more, even though you are limited by the reduced feature set of the 600. Would be great if you could provide more details including settings for each machine to see if perhaps you were really dealing with a 600 setup issue. Again, I like that both Fishers had to take on the 600 to outperform it. Bravo. True statement. The Deus is lighter by another pound. I can swing either my Equinox or my Deus all day long and choose whichever is appropriate for the task at hand. As I said before, I love the ergonomics of the Fishers. Hard to beat. But remember, from a performance standpoint. To beat out the 600 in all scenarios you would also have to lug out that F70, too. So I guess that's a win for the 600. Probably would do even better in the surf with Beach 2, but not so sure you would want to chance it with the F44. Looking forward to further discussions and comparisons, report back with more info if you can. Regardless, the machines you have are decent. If they do what you need them to do, it is hard for someone to refute that and convince you that the 600 or even the 800 are better. You have swung the 600, if you are not impressed, then you have your answer. I don't think people like me pontificating on the virtues of the Equinox are going to change your perspective, but thanks for listening. Perhaps there are a few nuggets in what I had to say that may help you get a little bit more out of that 600. Cheers

The only proactive thing I have done to protect the anonymity of a site is to make sure I do not post any geotagged photos of my finds, especially if they are taken in situ, especially if it is a secondary permission that I have been invited to. Otherwise, I love talking about what I've found and sharing it with others. That's part of the fun.

Amergin - I have some comment/questions on what you are calling "2 directional falses" but it has nothing to do with pre or post update. Since post-upgrade experiences are all you want posted in this thread, then I will hold my tongue. Let me know, however, if you want to talk about your setup (5 tones - wouldn't necessarily be my choice if falsing was an issue), what you consider a false, what other information you take into account when you hit a questionable signal (e.g., tonal quality not just tone, TID stability, etc.), how you interrogate the target (AM, pinpointer, hit it with single frequency, hit it with a disparate mode, etc.). It is not JUST about high tones in two directions, that is really just scratching the surface and without the additional information I discussed above, not sure why ML would really bother with the report as is. Not encouraged by their recommendation to just have you do a factory reset. I would frankly be insulted if they told me to do that. Finally, it is great you are tallying up all the positive and negative experiences, but DO take time to listen to what other people here are saying to you regarding your setup and don't dismiss those that are having success just because that experience does not match yours or contradicts your premise that the upgrade has made things significantly worse with the small coil. Not saying there isn't an issue, post update. Let's be clear. I just have not had enough experience side-by-side to say one way or the other. I perceive there may be more "falsing" but I deal with it like any other falsing and make a dig decision accordingly at that moment in time.. What I do know is that is was not something that jumped out at me as a wow this is really something that has changed post update, until others mentioned it and I paid attention to it. I've probably said too much, but just thought I would put that out there. Cheers.

Good luck, Yellowstone. I hope you hit some yellow and some stones!

Dry sand, lowering recovery, I say go for it because there is minimal ground feedback to get in the way (which is the primary drawback to lowering recovery speed). I wouldn't try pushing it too much in the wet sand or surf because you will certainly start picking up ground noise in the wet salt environment. It is not a panacea. You will gain perhaps an inch or two perhaps, but frankly, all you are really doing is giving a borderline target a chance to register. Depth is really more significantly controlled by sensitivity and at the beach I have seen several inch difference between a 17 and a 22 setting in the dry sand, so go as high on sensitivity as the EMI environment will allow. But like NSC said, if the targets are there, then you may see an increase. EIther your are sanded in or you are not. If you are focusing on surface finds in the dry sand, I don't think increasing depth an inch is really going to up your finds, its not like relatively fresh drops (dry sand) are really hiding just out of reach at depth. It is in the wet sand and surf where the beach conditions dictate your find count and in the off-season what you are looking for is erosion uncovering those old drops that have sunk in with time. Probably preaching to the choir here when I look at your profile and detectors owned, but just thought I would mention it, nevertheless.

Lol. Actually, Matt, I find your take on me humorous if not ironic as you have seen fit in the past to readily ridicule others for simply posting you tube videos critical of the Equinox. I know you will find it hard to believe, Matt, but I’m actually brand and detector agnostic when it comes right down to it. I’m a fan of having a relatively small but diverse mix of brands and machines (Deus, Equinox, GPX (PI), F75, MXT) that each do certain things well that the others do not, so I can use the right tool for the job. And that’s about all I care about. I am probably getting close to cutting ties with my venerable Fisher F75 (still the best ergonomics of any detector I have used) and/or the Whites MXT (love those analog controls) and likely will if a concentric coil suddenly shows up for the Equinox, but nothing on the horizon, yet. Equinox happens to be perhaps the most versatile, but not necessarily the best for everything I like to do. Frankly, as far as my Equinox fanboy status is concerned, at the moment, I’m more partial to my Deus, especially with the new x35 coils, for relic hunting, specifically unmasking, in thick iron and mineralized soil. There, I said it, and glad to get that off my chest. Lol. But since this is the “Equinox Fan Club” that is a story for another forum. Regarding the 6” coil you are so gutted about. I pointed out in my post where the 6-inch coil excels (which happens to be a very specialized, narrow situational application) and where it frankly is not so great. Pretty objective post, I thought. Guess I was wrong. I read this thread in its entirety (as I am certain you have, too) and I see as much if not more praise (with some incredible finds shown to back it up) as I do criticism for the 6” coil. As far as the criticism is concerned, some of it seems legit but tied mostly to the update which can be overcome by rolling it back. I don’t know what all the other forums are saying, but nothing in this thread (or forum) would have dissuaded me from getting the 6” coil for my intended purpose, so I was having trouble reconciling why you were so down on it that you were going to pass. I simply was just not getting that out of what I had read nor my personal experience with the coil. That in a nutshell was simply the basis for my post. But you have decided to deflect to me and the perceived bias you think I have for ML, rather than articulate YOUR specific reasons that you have soured on the 6” coil. I am sure others could benefit from your reasoning beyond just reiterating that the inter-webs have deemed the 6” coil unworthy. I frankly don’t overly weigh what the forums or you tube say to make my final product decisions as I like to put the equipment to the test in the field and then make up my own mind. If it works out, great. If not, I try to cut my losses as much as possible, sell or return the merchandise, as appropriate, and move on from the duds. But if you never put your hands on the equipment, purely due to what you read or view on the internet, you may truly be missing out on some gem. It’s like passing on a target because your machine is telling you it might be junk. You can’t really be sure unless you dig it out of the ground. Totally your call, of course, but if you think I have some vested interest in you picking up a 6-inch coil, sorry to disappoint you. So, in conclusion, as far as my Equinox fanboy status, I believe you have me pegged all wrong. But if that’s how you feel about it, fine with me. There’s not a lot I can do about it except not lose any sleep or quit posting my opinions. Peace. HH

Kind of an over-reaction IMHO, but suit yourself. I understand how you wouldn't want to throw away money. But IMO, the coil works great for what it is designed to do, hit small areas where it is hard to swing the stock coil. It’s not an everyday coil or a big beach and field coil, for sure. Perhaps a tad falsy in bed o nails post update but not enough to make me regret the decision or even roll back the update (audio still provides the subtle ferrous cues). I have recovered some deep, high conductors in swing-restricted situations where I would have no hope swinging the stock coil. So for me, it is more of a special, situational coil. If that is not how you intended to use the coil, then you are probably not missing much by passing on it. FWIW.

Nice saves. The audio can definitely be a telltale to ferrous junk, even if it rings up high.

As an engineer, I love the science behind this theory, but since I have two Equinoxes, I have purposely kept one dialed back to the original firmware for comparison purposes and while I have not had a chance to do exhaustive, controlled A to B comparisons, I have observed the falsing (or should I say high tone ferrous affinity) associated with the small coil and even the stock coil to be relatively slightly more pronounced with the post upgrade machine vs. pre upgrade at the same site under the same environmental conditions. Again not scientific, I did not walk around my iron field site carrying two detectors at the same time, just observed switching off between the two over the course of back to back multi-day hunts at the same sites and my qualitative observations. The effect you describe, however, is real and affects ground noise feedback, ground phase variability, and the ground balance tracking algorithm, as well. The enhanced halo effect in moist ground can definitely result in more falsing overall, but there is something definitely different in the way Equinox responds in this regard post upgrade. Frankly, overall I have not seen anything that tangibly compels me to go solely with either the post or pre upgrade firmware versions. I like that the known User Profile reset bug has been addressed in the update and low profile, high mass, high conductive coin target ID (aka as the quarter on edge issue) response has been improved but perhaps with the subtle downside of falsing being introduced, but I don't think they "broke" anything. To me, the upgrade is kind of a move sideways from a performance standpoint rather than a full on improvement. Perhaps that is a function of the Equinox performance being pretty damn good and dialed-in out of the gate, so all ML can do with SW performance tweaks is nibble around the edges which just results tradeoffs while fixing fringe "issues" like this low probability on-edge coin thing and depth meter performance which is inherently unreliable outside of dime-sized targets, anyway. Regardless, looking forward to the next upgrade.

I use pinpoint, but it’s less about pinpointing and more to get a bead on the depth and profile/footprint of the target. I use the wiggle off method to actually PP the target (if the target ID confidence is high and I don’t feel I have to interrogate it using PP mode).

Randy, The reason why many relic hunters here in the US shy away from using any iron bias is that it has been shown to exacerbate iron masking of non-ferrous targets in thick iron situations. I think the downside is that you will then get a lot more falsing and just have to take your medicine then and dig all repeatable falses. Or you can take the iron bias route and take the chance of missing a masked target. In these tough bed-o-nails situation it's a pick your poison proposition. Amergin- So the message I have for amergin is, no one said treasure hunting is easy. The hobby is really all about managing tradeoffs whether it is machine performance quirks, soil conditions, or trash. Sounds like your best solution (aka tradeoff) is to just roll back the update when using the 6" if you found the perceived pre-update performance to be acceptable and hope 6" performance improves at the next update. HTH

I found single frequency at 20 khz eeked out additional depth or cleaned up iffy mid-conductive relic signals for me in gold mode at a highly mineralized, high iron site in Virginia. Otherwise, as others have mentioned it's a last ditch EMI mitigator at noisy sites or can sometimes help pick high conductive keepers through modern trash (use 5 khz) or as a ferrous falsing telltale on bottlecaps (10 khz). Note that if you go to single frequency while in ANY of the Park or Field modes you remove the Multi IQ frequency weighting and processing that gives each of those modes their unique target optimization "personality" with the only thing left that differentiates them being their tone/disc pattern and user parameter settings (e.g., recovery speed). Note that you also may lose some of the on-the-fly Multi IQ signal processing ground balance compensation that mitigates less than ideal ground balance settings (though ground balance setting mode works just as it does in Multi). Finally, iron bias is non-existent in single frequency mode.

He shouldn't get discouraged, he should get Equinox! ?

I tell them that I am not poor, but I am unstable, so please don't get me agitated by pestering me with unintelligent questions.

Agree, but Randy was talking about gold chains in the context of (UK) field detecting not salt water detecting so in that regard, my comment regarding use of 50 tones or gold mode was applicable to relic hunting using Field 2 in fields or woods. Obviously, these do not work well in wet salt sand conditions where I typically rely on the default Beach 1/2 mode settings, but that was not the point of the original post.

I work almost exclusively in 50 tones or Gold Mode so N/A for those of us who use those tone options. Good advice for 5-toners, though.

Another cold weather battery warning - if you are using your detector in cold weather, p. 65 warns that you should not charge the battery if the temperature is below 32F. This is because the chemical process that occurs when charging a Li Ion cell is altered if the temperature is too low resulting in conversion of Lithium to metallic form which will prematurely lower the capacity of your battery. It is ok to discharge the battery at less than 32F (in fact the manual lists the minimum operating temperature as 14F), just don't attempt to charge the battery on the fly (such as by using a strapped on power bank) when out in the cold.

I was blown away by the light weight of the big coil. Still running it through its paces performance wise, but like what I see so far.

Beside the incredible jewelry finds you post, your consistent recovery of older nickel, wheatie, and silver coins from your beaches impresses me most.

Single freq is pretty obvious from a quick glance at the display. Since I run Multi most of the time it always stands out if I am in single and I see the frequency displayed vs. the multifrequency "brackets" or whatever that symbol is. It pretty much alerts me to the fact that I am in single if I didn't otherwise know that I was because the display looks noticeably different than normal. Alarm not required imho. Just my two cents. I also agree with Steve on the swap of the user profile and frequency buttons. That would be ideal based on how frequently I use User Profile vs. frequency switch. If there was a alarm or alert provided, I wish it was like the beach mode high mineralization alert symbol but without any control function like in the beach mode which reduces transmit power. Just something to let you know that there is high mineralization (in the absence of a mineralization meter which would be ideal but a significant modification at this point) present regardless of mode. Since the warning symbol and algorithm already exist, it seems it would not be too difficult to implement without significant code changes. Again just my two cents.