Chase Goldman

It has a depth meter?

Cool. Keep us apprised.

Agree. That is what making me scratch my head about the wireless accessory costs which seem out of whack with respect to the advertised cost of the "more traditional" detector accessories (e.g, the wired, waterproof headphones and the small coil). Need to also remember that the accessory costs should not be taken as gospel until dealers are actually selling stock at those prices.

The waterproof phones are $149 https://www.bigboyshobbies.net/minelab-waterproof-headphones-with-equinox-connector

Lol. If you buy the WM08 and BT headphones as "Accessories" for your E600 that will only cost you $400 additional vs. the $250 additional the E800 costs vs. the E600 if MAP holds. Hello, third party BT APTX LL options. That is a real head scratcher and could result in some backlash by 600 users. I could see perhaps a $50 premium, perhaps. But $150??? The WM08 receive only module that is only compatible with Equinox is only $10 less than the $269 ML Pro-Sonic wireless receiver and transmitter system that is compatible with practically any detector. While the WP wired headphones and 6" coil prices are nearly within reason, I think our fears of potential ML steep pricing on accessories have been realized at least as far as the wireless accessories are concerned. Wonder if this is a calculated marketing move to steer subsequent "casual detectorist" sales towards the 800. Cynical thought, I know, but really, 600 buyers, ouch!

Clive Good explanation of iron bias but I wish you spent a little more text addressing the potential tradeoff of utilizing iron bias as the quoted phrase below is rather vague. Specifically, empirical testing by Equinox users here, has shown that even low levels of iron bias tends to preclude unmasking of desirable non-ferrous targets hiding amongst thick iron. So there is not just a depth impact to using iron bias as implied in your write-up, there is a target separation impact as well. Your statement above does not contradict these test results but it also doesn't provide a clear caution to the reader of specific situations where applying iron bias might not be optimal. The "no free lunch" axiom I apply to any sophisticated filter features MD manufacturers incorporate into their detectors like the "Silencer" filter setting on the Deus almost always applies. After all, ML apparently shied away from iron bias default settings other than zero for most modes. Now that I am getting used to the Equinox target audio clues, I now like to run it at or near the default for a given mode, and that means I am mostly running it at 0 even under circumstances where the iron is spread out. Appreciate your feedback as you are obviously very knowledgeable on the topic based on the book excerpts you have graciously provided for our perusal. Thanks.

So that backs up the price mentioned in this thread. Plus the ML Equinox accessories page is up, so good sign we're close to seeing some accessories ship.

I don't think Steve said he doesn't have the gold program, since he does have the 800. What he said is that the hot non-gold modes can hit small gold pretty well because they are high frequency weighted using Multi IQ. Heck, even the lower Frequency weighted modes, especially beach mode, have proven their ability to hit small gold as well. Gold Mode, however. Is optimized for prospecting.

I really mostly work in all metal and let my head do the discriminating which means nearly a hundred hours of "training" on a new machine before I am dialed in. I don't set up special tone or VDI notches/breakpoints when beach or when relic hunting. I might try using tone and notch tricks to cherry pick at a park, contest hunt, have special noise situations (e.g., an electric dog fence) or when I have very limited time at a site, but those are fringe situations for me. 50 tones and wide open for me. I only vary the mode depending on the majority conductivity of the targets I am after. High frequency bias (i.e., the Park/Field"2" modes or Gold Mode) for mid-conductive or small targets like gold/brass/small lead and lower frequency bias "1" modes (i.e., Park/Field 1 and Beach modes) when going primarily for high conductive targets like pure copper, silver, or big metal targets and of course for beach hunting in general.

F75 is also the best balanced detector I have ever used. But EQX is not a disasterpiece for me as far as ergo goes with the cuff pad and strap, I'm personally fine with it and I use a Deus and GPX so its somewhere between those. HH

The wobble you describe sounds like the defect that is being addressed under warranty by ML. I have no such issues so you may be a candidate for the repair/replacement. Steve discusses it here.

Thanks for mentioning the bubble issue, hadn’t heard of that one and will look out for it (are you located in a high altitude area?) Care to elaborate on the above statement, though? Is it performance issues or the ergonomics preferences you mentioned (the alternative shaft preferences seem to be addressed by any number of third party shaft offerings already out there). Not familiar with the latest in non-obsolete arm cuff technology though, what is the best design out there right now, in your opinion? I added a pad called “The Cuffer” to mine. Thanks.

No judgements here. Lol Regarding aluminum and other junk, start listening closely to the audio so you become less dependent on the VDIs since reliance on the similar VDIs alone can easily fool you. There are subtle differences in tonality between coins, jewelry, and junk that can clue you in. Coins and other targets made of heavier metals (gold, silver, copper) and that have symmetry (e.g., are round) give off a purer, more solid sounding tone whereas junk targets made of aluminum and/or irregular in shape sound more hollow, broken, or “flutey” tones (when VDI is bouncing a lot...another junk clue) even though they may be of similar pitch. It is subtle and by no means fool proof, and takes significant swing time and digging of trash in the mean time before committing it to your brain muscle memory. But when it finally clicks in to your brain it can be helpful if you want to “play the odds”, especially if you have to use a jackhammer or blowtorch to get to your targets, lol.

Yep. That's been reported and I experienced it too. The pinpointing feature needs some tweaking. I suspect if ML addresses anything in a firmware update, that feature will be on the list.

All my altruistic statements aside, glad you got to keep the 1864 fatty, though. Up until last week, that was my oldest recovered coin and found it at a CW encampment site so it had a little extra backstory mystique.

Rudimentary only in the sense that any single frequency machine is rudimentary compared to Multi IQ. You still have disc, GB, tone options, multiple selectable single frequencies, and variable recovery speed. I would likely still preferentially take the Equinox out of the car vs. almost any other single frequency machine even if I could only operate it in single freq mode. That being said, single frequency implementation in Equinox does feel like it was done because it could be done not because ML wanted to do it. It does serve some niche purposes such as last ditch interference mitigation and IMO a cumbersome method to ID non-ferrous and mixed ferrous/non-ferrous junk targets. But all in all it smacks of ML offering comfort food enticement to those traditionalists not comfortable with Multi Frequency technology but who are attracted to the Equinox price point. Whatever ML's motivation for implementing single frequency in Equinox, I am glad they did do it and am fine with the implementation compromises they had to make. In fact, I wish they would have let us live on the edge (lol) and allowed single frequency in Beach mode.

Great pulls and an awesome single hut. Way to not forget the owners who are making it possible for you to have the opportunity. I always try to make sure I retùrn the favor in some fashion for those who are gracious enough to give me hunt permissions. When you do that you are also helping promote the hobby and indirectly helping your fellow detectorists too.

I apparently need a smart coil too because I lack reading comprehension skills. Doh! $279 for the 15" IS a good bet.

Yeah, it looks chewed. Could be anything - human, animal, machine (farm machinery), or knife (bored soldier). Regarding the modes - the "hot" modes (i.e., Park 2/Field 2/Gold Modes) are biased towards higher frequencies which means they hit harder on lower/mid-conductors (gold, brass, aluminum, small lead) and/or small targets. The "1" modes and Beach are generally biased towards lower frequencies which means favoring higher conductors (copper, silver) and larger, deeper targets as the lower frequencies penetrate further into the earth. Note, however, in metal detecting there are few absolutes, only shades of gray and especially with Multi IQ all targets are in play.

Bingo!

Sweet buttons and lead. I am still looking for my first period two-piece military button with the Equinox. It will come eventually. What is the story with that mottled minie ball? Can't argue with success but you might also want to give the "2" modes a shot (Park 2/Field 2) as they are biased towards mid-conductors and might hit harder on the buttons. Who knows. I am the guy with no buttons telling you what to do, so don't listen to me. But I did snag some non-button brass with Equinox. Lol.

Listen to the audio - aluminum pull tabs and screw tops sound a lot more hollow to me than coins. It is something that just clicked for me this weekend when I was dealing with a lot of melted aluminum slag and aluminum trash. Yes the VDI's are similar but there I am looking for VDI stability more so than the actual number and listening to the audio, does it sound pure and sweet or hollow and/or scratchy? It takes some number of swing hours for this to click in.

Keep thinking pull tab when you dig, that way you are more likely to be pleasantly surprised. Lol. Nice save.

Start paying attention to the audio as you dig and wean yourself off of the vdi's as your primary dig indicator. The audio is what really tells the tale as to whether you should dig. But for now, dig everything and start taking note of how it sounds, not just in tone pitch but in how sweet sounding and pure the tone is. HH.