Chase Goldman

I know, but it's a business. That's why I encourage folks to shop around in these cases and find the arrangement they are most comfortable with (prepaid or not). Dealers have to protect themselves (I know, a whole other thread). It comes down to trust and there are certainly plenty of impatient and unethical buyers around that force dealers to do what they do. You may not realize or remember this because you were fortunate enough to be a product tester for the Impact, but the Impact roll out was basically exactly the same as this just a lot fewer were folks were complaining because there were fewer folks who preordered. But those folks were just as vociferous (I was one of them and DID cancel my prepaid preorder - vowed never to do that again (I haven't) and ended up not getting the Impact). I frankly couldn't care less for the whining some folks are doing about this detector roll out. There are far more serious hardships in life, and that was what I was trying to poke fun at. Not talking about all of us that are just making snide comments and voicing minor frustration about being in the same boat. But those who are generally getting upset and disturbed about this really need to re-think their life priorities, seriously. I have NO serious issues with how Minelab or the dealers are handling this rollout compared to the several I have experienced in the last few years. (Well except for the whole Equinox accessories thing - lol).

Take a breath and then please carefully read my post again. I didn't say YOU were upset, I said I thought you believed OTHERS were really upset, which was the point of your original post, right? There is A LOT of sarcasm being thrown around here, most of the people here are joking. Yours and Nox's first post seemed really serious. Just trying to inject some humor in all the perceived and real tension. In other words, I am finding humor in the fact that you and 'Nox are very concerned that people are getting upset with Minelab for having to wait for their Equinox detectors. To me the notion is kind of absurd, especially if you think about it from a selfish, individualist, metal detectorist point of view. As a detectorist that wants the goodies, why encourage people to get the most game changing VLF detector introduced in the last five years unless you are a dealer. (Of course we really want others to succeed in our hobby, but I am being tongue in cheek again, because deep down most of us have that selfish thought, but don't like to admit it to ourselves). Now that you made me explain it, its not funny anymore. Emoticons and text speak like "lol", are mean we're not serious. Asking everyone to lighten up and relax about this whole Equinox wait thing. I apologize that the subtleties of sarcasm get lost on forum posts without visual, body language cues. Hence these dumb smiley faces, lol's, and /s's.

I am starting to get worried that you and 'NOXaholic' actually think people are really that upset with Minelab. If so, I wholeheartedly refer those folks my second to last "remedy" bullet, (i.e., move on). Personally, the fewer Equinox owners out there I have to contend with the better. I know Gerry and the rest of the dealers do not agree with this sentiment, but then again, I am just a selfish, grumpy dotard. LOL. (In all honesty, I do not believe the Dealers nor Minelab have a thing to worry about, Cha Ching!)

The MultiIQ information posted by Steve above is direct and the latest information from the Minelab (US) site - suggest you click on the link in his post which is a compendium of the various Minelab (US) blog posts that attempt to explain MultiIQ. There are links also to the blog posts on the Minelab site as well as the quick start guide which has also been recently updated . The information you received in red allegedly from Minelab US was provided by a source who is not well informed because it contains both incorrect and outdated inforation. First of all, MultiIQ utilizes all 5 base frequencies (5,10, 15, 20, 40 khz) in both the 600 and 800 (as stated in Steve's post which is info direct from Minelab). Also, Minelab just recently updated both Gold Modes to use Multifrequency - MultiIQ as their default modes. As far as MultiIQ is concerned, how the five (5, 10, 15, 20, and 40 khz) base frequencies are manipulated in terms of intensity/amplitude and time duration (time slices) is determined by which search mode you are in. Of those modes, Park 1/2, Field 1/2, and Beach 1/2 appear to be the same between the two detectors. As FlyFish was saying when you run those 5 frequencies simultaneously at varying amplitudes and time durations, you generate a number of harmonics due to the inter-frequency interferences that occur and the MultiIQ secret sauce involves how that complex stew of harmonics and base frequencies is analyzed for target generated field distortions for Target ID. The 600 has limitations in that there is no Gold mode, the number of individual frequency modes 3Fx3 for the 600 is 3 (5, 10, 15 khz) [15/5 = 3, hence 3FX3] vs. 5FX8 for the 800 is 5 (5, 10, 15, 20, 40 khz) [40/5 = 8, hence 5FX8], the number and range of adjustable recovery speed settings is narrower/fewer (3 vs. 8 steps), the number and range of iron bias settings is narrower/fewer (purpose not yet fully explained by Minelab, but 3 vs. 9 steps), and you cannot adjust the threshold tone, non-ferrous tone breaks, non-ferrous tone pitch, non-ferrous tone volume on the 600 like you can on the 800. The 600 also lacks manual noise reduction mode (only auto) and the 600 is lacking the instant personal profile save button on the faceplate which saves the current machine settings for instant recall. HTH

I do not blame Jake one bit! Fortunately, unlike me, I know all will be well with Jake if you offer him a snacky.

You sure do like your ellipses Anyway, I agree a few more coil choices (including a elliptical) would have been nice. I really do like what Nokta does with their coil choices. Similar to First Texas, they include packages with more than one coil in the box...nice. Hopefully, there will eventually be a number of suitable 3rd party offerings from the usual suspects.

The MX sport is "Not Worthy" lol.

Do you suffer from any of the following symptoms: Depression Anxiety Lack of Self Esteem Paranoia Bloating and Gas Nausea Chills Night Terrors A Broken Heart Short Temper and Lashing Out even to friends and loved ones Constantly Checking your Gmail account for new "Your Item Has Shipped" notifications Then you might be suffering from "Equinox Deprivation Disorder" or EDD for short. This illness has only one cure, time. If you are having trouble coping with the uncertainty of this cure there is help. While the following are not "cures" they may help lesson some of the symptoms: Watch the news. Happenings around the world may help you put your illness into the proper perspective Smash your smart phone and computer so you will not be tempted to check "status" information so often Get some sunshine. Grab your least capable metal detector and use only that for an entire day of metal detecting, extra points if you only use the speaker instead of headphones Have a beer for breakfast Try the Tide Pod challenge Adopt a puppy with a bladder infection Get a second flu shot Find out your childrens' real names if you have them Go to the Nokta forum and convince yourself you really wanted the Kruzer after all Free yourself and get off your multiple pre-order lists for the Equinox and embrace the fact that you now have a life And, yes, by all means "Don't Give Up" from your horrendous plight Personally, I recommend the second to last bullet so that I can move up on my various preorder lists. This message has been brought to you as a public service by the AT Max Fanboi Association and EDD defamation league Stay tuned for our follow up public service message for those suffering from LAAPID - Lack of Accessory Availability and Price Information Disorder. Carry on....

Steve always has the better production values with the Minelab images at the ready. Meanwhile, I'm typing responses on a manual typewriter the size of a phone keyboard, running the image off a mimeograph machine and snail mailing it to a friend who can fax that to someone who has a handheld scanner and can upload it to the site via their Windows for Workgroups 3.11 Pentium Desktop with a 14K modem.

Steve - did you get your AA power bank gizmo and have a chance to test it yet?

I guess software since all 5 frequencies are transmitted when operating in Mult IQ, that must mean the 600 is capable of transmitting and receiving signals from the two upper frequencies but is just interlocked via the user interface and software from using 20 and 40 kHz in single frequency mode which is the Minelab marketing jargon you were referring to.

Awesome if for nothing else showing us what it takes to assemble a broken down detector.

Let me know how you like them. Even if you muddy them up, they tend to shed the dirt and last awhile. Sometimes they get a little sweaty when it is hot out but they do breath a little.

I am pretty sure Minelab will have their accessories out b4 Gray Ghost, and to be frank, the Gray Ghost waterproof accessories are typically just as expensive as the OEM equivalents. Don't get me wrong, I have and enjoy my Gray Ghost headphones, just saying that the wait will be longer, most likely and their will be no price advantage. Regarding the Equinox roll out - welcome to detector roll outs. Max was no better, Impact no better, even the Deus HF coil and pinpointer release was about as much fun as this. Frankly, they have not missed a date yet. Never committed to a time frame until December and last I checked we are still in January, so they still have about 4 days to meet their "shipping" promise which only meant it would be on its way to the dealers by then. The accessory thing is annoying, though. Does this make me less anxious to get my hands on one? No. But certainly not overly disappointed overall with how Minelab is doing this.

Dew - I hear ya. When I say it was a ML business decision, I say so through gritted teeth. No technical reason that I can see, unless the CTX waterproof jack was going to make the control box difficult to qualify as watertight, to not allow compatibility with the CTX audio accessories (coils, now that's a different animal). And even though we are all probably going to wait until the water warms up, it would be nice to be able to have the accessories available from the get go. My main point was that you really only have two choices, make the old CTX audio accessories compatible or have the Equinox audio accessories available from the get-go. Waterproof adapters just require too many compromises vs. integral watertight plugs and are subject to premature failure or high cost.

Looking for additional information on this series, can Dilek or some of the knowledgeable testers give us a rundown of the following: The more subtle differences between the Impact and the Multi Kruzer beside the stem design, user interface, waterproof enclosure, and the operating frequency differences. What are the various detect modes for the Multi Kruzer and Gold Kruzer and how do they differ. Especially Interested in Why maximum recovery speed is tied to 3 tone operation Whether there is a 99 tone mode like the Impact? Definitions on some of the Nokta unique settings and features: EUD, iSat How variable depth Target ID works. Thanks!

Great idea, I have a pair of water resistant detecting headphones so that would work. Hoping there is not too much lag with my BT Sports buds which are water resistant, but they are not low latency so I am not banking on it. The WM08 solution allows me to stay untethered, so great. Nice to have several options which seems to be a prime consideration by Minelab.

Like I said above, I believe you could easily hear it if your head was also submerged.

Thanks so much Steve. Fortunately, I doubt I will be going into deep water for at least several weeks after the 800 shows up (no polar bear genes). Plenty of dry land or at most ankle deep water detecting can be had in the mean time. Regardless, an announcement on accessory availability would be quite welcome. I take it the wireless Apt X phones that come with the 800 are at least weather resistant (i.e., they would be no worse for the wear after a minor rain shower) or will I have to panic if I see rain clouds coming even though I am swinging a waterproof detector

Neither Steve nor Minelab have listed any explicit differences between Gold 1 and 2 defaults, so it is very possible in that case there is no diiference whatsover. The default settings could be the same but you are free to save two different custom gold mode profiles, one in each slot. Then again there could be slight differences in the Multi IQ secret sauce between Gold 1 and 2, but I am sticking with the no difference theory.

You could easily hear it IF your head was under the water, but if the speaker is in the water and your head in the air, most if not all the sound waves bounce off the air-water interface and reflect back in the water, so you won't hear much if anything. Certainly not enough to facilitate detecting. If it vibrated on the other hand...like the new Nokta waterproof detectors.

Reliable waterproof adapters vs. connectors that are integral to the headphone cords are typically expensive to make, so Minelab is probably looking at an expensive accessory item without a large customer base and that would detract from Equinox headphone sales which is probably an even lower priority than the actual waterproof Equinox headphones themselves. Heck, who knows when Minelab is going to get the announced non-watertight 1/8" to 1/4" pigtail adapter out, much less a custom watertight connector that will only work with a unique pair of watertight phones. I'm ok with Minelab waiting to get these out by the time the water warms up up this way, but I know you Florida folks want to get in the water now. Lol. Guess you will have to just keep your heads dry for now. We all know what a poor business decision it would have been to make the CTX audio accessories compatible with the Equinox... Also, I would think Minelab would have the resources to be able to focus on getting these accessories out in parallel rather than in serial, one-by-one, so I really can't imagine that the 6" accessory coul is actually holding up release of watertight headphones, but you never know.

Actually it's $749. And the single freq Kruzer is $649 same as the Eq 600.

I wasn’t asking how to do it but how to use it (besides for user instruction). Or more to the point, “Why?” The Equinox already has this capability built in (you can pair 4 WM08 modules to it simultaneously). I see a joke in the making, “How many detectorists do you need to operate an Equinox - 4. One to...”

True, and that makes especially good sense if, as Steve points out, you are still rocking backup detectors that use AA's or have legacy AA's on hand. The AA power bank is excellent backup power insurance. However, I essentially left the AA cell detecting ecosystem a few years back, and as I stated earlier, these inexpensive 10000 mah (equivalent or greater capacity to four AA cells) cell phone power banks are everywhere and cost about the same as four high quality AA cells from the convenience store. So the solution to forgetting to charge your Equinox AND backup power bank and not remaining invested in AAs is to have a second charged power bank sitting around. They hold their charge pretty well and you don't have to drive around finding that convenience store. The good news is that there appears to be an unlimited number of backup power solutions for Equinox. If the AA power bank is a success at adequately powering/charging the Equinox, then that bodes well for just about any 10000+ mah power bank using AA or Li Ion power source. To Dewcon - the Equinox charge cable has a USB connector (USB is nominally 5 VDC), the question is what is the minimum current the power source has to provide. Steve’s AA power bank experiment should shed some light on that question.