Chase Goldman

Good video. Hammered coins are mid-conductors as shown on Tones' display was hitting solid 12 - 13. Ken is using a less than optimal Deus coil for mid-conductors. He was right, in order to have chance against Brandon and his Equinox, Ken should have been using the Equinox or a Deus HF coil which would have hammered that hammered at 28 khz or higher. Just noticed that Brandon was using Field 1 (I think) vice Field 2 (the latter of which would have been my choice for hammered coins) so at least he was giving Ken "a chance" lol. I will have to check the other version of the video to see why Brandon chose to set it up that way...

Same here. The weren't on Amazon yet.

Thanks. I have pair on order from overseas too.

What are you using?

I'm having trouble following the logic, earlier you said it was aesthetics (looks, subjective feelings) not ergonomics now you are saying just the opposite, it's now a "law of physics". Since I don't really have a dog in the hunt as I could go either way, I am going to bow out of this whole shaft thing because it is getting exhausting running around in circles. Thanks.

Steve - treating each of the modes as a separate entity or "detector within a detector" seems to be one of the biggest conceptual hurdles for the new users based on interactions with my detecting buddies and what I have seen on the forums. I think this is because most detectors treat GB, noise reduction, and even discrimination as "global" settings. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that even on ML FBS Detectors and the V3i, I doubt the mode differences on those multifreqency machines affect the underlying multi-frequency spectra and signal processing as much as what occurs with the Equinox and Multi IQ. On the Equinox, Multi IQ gives each mode it's own detector personality even with nearly identical "local" settings. It is a pretty significant depature from the "norm" in several respects.

Yeah, but you said earlier that ML make a huge step backwards from X-terra, which is your opinion, but it is probably only shared by ~50% of folks who own an Equinox because users are split on the issue. My point is that no company would make a decision based on the above poll, even if it was 10,000 people because there is not enough differentiation between the two choices. You are going to disappoint a huge swath of people regardless of which way you go, so just because they went with a straight shaft doesn't necessarily mean they "don't read all posts". If it was 10,000 respondents and 90 to 10% split, ML might possibly sit up an take notice. Lol. I do agree, however, that it only makes sense to keep shaft and stem designs interchangeable amongst product lines, if possible. I have also said it previously, ML could show some marketing innovation by offering Equinox in either shaft design because the control pod design facilitates easy production with either configuration with minimal investment in their production facilities from what I can tell.

The number of people who replied to the survey is less than half of Kellyco's Nox 800 waiting list. LOL. This straight vs. s-shaft thing is just personal preference. Both sides will argue that one to death and a large contingent of folks will consider ML made a colossal blunder regardless of which shaft ML went with. I think its funny that Plugger and Anderson have made a living out of putting straight shafts on S-shaft detectors (Excal and Deus to name but a few) and are now also making a living putting straight shafts on straight shaft detectors (the Equinox). Neither configuration is the "perfect" solution AFAIC as I use both configurations without complaint.

I checked with Keith at Ft. Bedford and he is not aware of any "official" compatible lower rods available for purchase, so we are likely on our own when the new coils come out. I am going to check the Excal compatibility and also look at the Plugger and Anderson offerings to see if any compatible lower rods can be obtained from them.

Hoffman Mint (HM) arcade gaming token from the 70's and 80's.

What is better about it ergonomically? You appeared to take weight and possibly balance off the table. What's left? Thanks.

Judy - cool. Keep us posted. Who would have thought a US CW artifact factoid would lead to a find ID in Australia.

That is what I have done too (have the accessory coils mounted to lower shafts for all my detectors). I understand, I was just saying that I would be leery about trying less than perfect fit rod with the Equinox assembly due to the fit up issues being reported with the cam locks. I mean folks are resorting to sticking felt pads in the assemblies to make them work and that just seems like not a good long-term solution, so in the absence of rods, I would just change out the coils themselves. There may be other better fits than the X-terra's. I know First Texas lower rods work on my GPX, for example. I will look into this further with my dealer who also happens to be affiliated with one of the ML repair centers and report back.

Are you trying to avoid the time it takes having to repeatedly remount coils on the same rod while saving some $ using what you have on hand? I have seen the Equinox get assembled in less than 2 minutes from scratch, including attachment of the coil, so not having a standby lower rod already fitted with a coil seems like a minor inconvenience/time sink vs. trying to hack something on a detector rod and stem system that has seen some weakness in the cam lock design. That being said, frequent removal and reinstallation of coils on rods can introduce some stresses on the coil ears. I think compatible lower rods can be obtained at a reasonable cost, hopefully.

I do own an MX Sport, and even with the weight distribution balance, prefer the Equinox if it only comes down to ergonomics (obviously there are other advantages). I don't even mind the handle and I have, ahem, small hands. I have the build for it I guess, I am as wide as I am short. Swung it for basically 6 hours straight yesterday and still felt I could swing it for a couple more hours if I had to. I own a Deus as most of you know, and I never find myself pining for the lightweight Deus during a marathon Equinox session. I just don't think about it that way. No detector is going to be the ergonomic nirvana for all detectorists because of different preferences and needs. We are all built differently. The Deus user interface could be improved and while I think the Equinox is better in some respects, I have a few suggestions as well. Overall, from my experience, the best designed detector from an ergonomics standpoint (that also has performance chops) is the First Texas F75 and T2 family of detectors. IMO Bottom Line: Equinox doesn't seem to be any better or worse, ergonomically, then any of the recent crop of detectors to come out in the last few years and if I were forced to lean one way or the other, I think it is better than most, waterproof or not..

Thanks, everyone. Sharing the adventure is half the fun and what I am really blessed with is some great detecting friends who let me tag along to their permissions. Even public tot lot detecting is verboten in my community, with posted signage my tax dollars paid for. I am actually paying my local government to not allow me to detect. Lol. But enough with "Don't Tread on Me" themed rants. What I really wanted to say is that I forgot to provide some target ID info. These were the first CW military buttons I snagged with the Equinox. Minie Balls ring up around 17 give or take and the buttons ring up around 15 give or take. HTH

Judy - not sure what that heart actually is, but it resembles a plate that US CW Cavalry soldiers used on the martingale horse tack. Doubt any made it Down Under, though. Lol. Congrats on the anniversay.

Cool tip, Steve, thanks!

Killing it 'Hardnox. Keep the streak going! I have a silver coin streak going at one site and even though I have no right to be, will be sad when it ends. Not putting the pressure on, helps. When you force it, tend to spend too much time chasing really iffy signals. Lol.

It's cool because it's so specific to an individual. Hope you can date it and nail down the event.

Great hunt, that ring has a cool design. Sure doesn't look like the garage band lost any of that stuff, lol.

I am loving my Equinox 800 relic machine (soon to be my Equinox beach machine and my Equinox water machine and also my Equinox park and gold machine). Hit the PA site I lovingly refer to as the relic hunter's amusement park which has been the site at which I have obtained several firsts and bucket listers including my first CW plate of any kind which I posted a few weeks ago. I have hunted it the last few times with the Equinox and it sets up well for that machine. For relic hunting, I generally favor Field 2 at the default settings. I have been experimenting also with Park 2. While the default settings for both are similar, there is definitely a difference in the underlying Multi IQ secret sauce based on the way the targets sound and also the way they hit the targets. I found Park 2 to hit a little bit harder on higher conductors, but this could just be my imagination. In this field, I like the Field 2 disc breakpoint at 2 because hot "rocks" in this field (from steam tractor coke tailings) come in at 1 consistently, and the Field 2 breakpoint is 2 vice 9 for Park 2. This is somewhat of a moot point because I generally run All Metal, but occasionally cut in disc when my brain needs a break and just listen for high tones. But the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned as to which of those modes I prefer most for relic hunting. I set up the machine to have the "main" program be Park 2, but with some Iron Bias cut in (3). I have Field 2 loaded up in the User Profile slot without modification from the defaults. In this manner I have a setup where I can quickly interrogate a target with or without iron bias with just a press of the User Profile button. Works great. I also cut in GB tracking for both modes in this hunt. The field has mild mineralizaation and Ground Phase variations typically seen in a plowed field with different crops and it worked well. Well, Equinox delivered once again. Scored a beautiful 1858 Seated Dime (she turns 160 this year, no wonder she is sitting down) and my first Rifleman's Eagle Button ("Eagle R"). Rounded out the hunt with a minie ball, a Williams Type III "cleaner" minie ball (my first Type III), and another Eagle button. Not shown are a 1936 Wheatie and various tiny non-ferrous odds and ends including lead, brass, and copper fragments. Pulled some large ferrous objects too as I had the time to chase some iffy signals and did so. Large, flat iron rings high and forces me to investigate, but in all metal, you can hear the iron grunt too and know you are likely digging some iron and not a masked keeper. But if you have the time...dig 'em because you never know... The site really helps, I have had success here with the Deus as well, but no doubt the Equinox can, will, and has delivered the goods and I gain more confidence with it in every successive outing. HH

A pinpointing exercise I learned involved taping coins to irregularly sized flat pieces of cardboard. Flip the cardboard onto the ground (coin side down) then attempt to PP the coins. You can even go so far as poking holes through the cardboard with a pen or golf tee at the point where you think the coin might be to see how close you are. Great way to practice and compare different pinpointing techniques without the underlying bias that results from seeing the object you are pinpointing while you are pinpointing it. Not sure, but I think the coils on the Go Find series detectors are square coaxial, which is inherently easier to pinpoint with than a DD coil since the target pinpoints in the center of the coil vs. along the vertical center spine of a DD coil which represents the active region of the DD coil. Can't explain the degradation in your pinpointing techniques but suggest the above exercise to get your PP mojo back.

Walter - tracking seems to work well when there is enough mineralization present in the soil for the tracking algorithm to latch onto (even though you cannot determine the level of ground mineralization just by noting a ground phase reading, changes in mineralization will change ground phase and thats what makes the tracking algorithm work). As long as your ground is not super hot causing wild swings in ground phase, I don't think tracking is needed. Problem with the Equinox, even though it can apparently sense ground mineralization, it does not have a mineralization meter or bargraph to tell you how mineralized the ground is. Periodic auto balancing ground phase by pumping is typically all that is needed for most situations since the Equinox is very forgiving to a less than optimal ground balance.

Congrats on the silver and the other keepers. Some cool odds and ends. Way to do the research to make it pay off.