Chase Goldman

First off. Welcome to the Forum, Andrew! You came to the perfect place to ask your question. Funny you say it is not cheap yet you mention Deus in the next breath which costs a cool $600 US more than the Equinox 800. Not cheap, yes (what metal detector worth its salt is) but it is a tremendous bang for your buck with Mult IQ. What is the advantage of that? Well different types of targets respond better (i.e., are easier to detect) at different frequencies. Silver and big targets tend to respond better at the lower frequencies. Gold and tiny objects tend to respond better at the higher frequencies. That is why the Multi- Kruzer and Deus have different frequencies you can select one at a time (hence the Multi in Multi Kruzer and the "us" in Deus, ok JK about that last one ). So you can focus on one type of target (e.g., silver coins) in one detecting session, then another type in a separate detecting session (e.g., gold jewelry) by individually selecting a different frequency. Now imagine being able to operate the Multi-Kruzer at all its available frequencies at once and then add two more frequencies, that is what the Equinox 600 can do. It enables you to focus on silver, gold, big, small and everything in between all at once. Marry the Multi Kruzer with the Gold Kruzer and you have the Equinox 800 and you can add gold nuggets to your detecting fun. Beside light weight and wireless technology, the Deus is known for its speed, i.e., ability to discern two targets lying next to each other (e.g., a nail and coin). Slower detectors might only "see" the much easier to detect but junk nail. Well in practice, both Equinox models have proven themselves to be about as fast as Deus with wireless audio and only weighing about a pound more than Deus. As a Deus user for several years without encountering a detector as fast during that time, the Equinox performance astounded me. So now if you can imagine the Equinox as taking the best of the Deus, Multi Kruzer and Gold Kruzer you can start to understand the power of the Equinox 800. Still think it's not cheap? Well they aren't cheap, but either the 600 or 800 are tremendous values. Read this comparison between the two to see which is right for you. Be warned, though. Thousands of experienced and inexperienced detectorists have already figured out the value of Equinox, so you will really have to shop around to find someone who has one in stock. Pic of my first keeper beach find below (third target ever detected on the beach) with the Equinox 800. Yeah, that's gold. Good luck in your metal detector quest whatever you decide. HTH.

I'm having PGD, lol.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking when you broke the circuit (if you did break it), invisible, or there was enough conductivity when it was in wet sand already broken. Good story.

Nice finds, esp the gold, but please do not serve food to the college students on that tray, unless it's Bluto Blutarski.

I'm not digging a number pure iron signals at the beach so I am not taking my own advice...lol. But I am digging probable trash, including aluminum cans.

Finally got pics of my finds. And that penny with the wire turned out to be a 1927 Wheatie, so that was cool.

Great report and great finds. You said you were digging AM mostly. Did you get the telltale iron tone along with the mid tone when digging those crown caps? Also, practically anything above 2 without any telltale iron tone is very likely non-ferrous, I've found. I have gotten high VDI wraparound on occasion but it is always accompanied by a an iron tone in AM. You may also be knocking down the nonferrous tone component of the iron because of the high default iron bias setting of 6 for the EQX 800 in Park 1.

Definitely the situation here. Sanded in and deserted. Wouldn't be out except to be able to learn the new machine. Hoping for a deep cut erosion on the eastern shore beaches from one of these Nor'easter storms but hasn't happened yet. Hope the beach conditions luck changes soon for both of us. (Again, just because it bears repeating )

Definitely the situation here. Wouldn't be out except to be able to learn the new machine. Hoping for a deep cut erosion on the eastern shore beaches from one of Nor'easter storms but hasn't happened yet. Hope the beach conditions luck changes soon for both of us.

My only advice is to keep grinding away with the Equinox to really put it through its paces (until you are convinced you can't learn anything further about its capabilities) and...stay away from you tube. Lol. Regardless of which machine gets the nod tomorrow, happy hunting, sir.

Nuke - I know you are about ready to Nuke the Equinox, lol, it has been a struggle for you so far. What is the deepest recovery you have managed in wet sand, mode setup, and target metal type (i.e., give me a mid conductor and a high conductor example) so I can compare notes with you? Also, if your sand is black then Equinox dials back transmit power automatically (in Beach mode only) which can affect raw depth but helps with detectability under those conditions (improved SN ratio). I have been hitting both high and mid conductors at 1+ foot in wet sand (haven't ventured into the water other than coil dips) and the signal is typically an unmistakable dig me using stock Beach 1 mode, Auto Noise Cancel, no GB, and no changes to any of the other defaults.

Didn't know you could take a TDI into the surf, lol, so that is not happening. I still think Equinox is plenty deep at least as far as a VLF is concerned and it is nice not to have to dig it all regardless of depth like you generally have to do with a PI. So I think it is a pretty good, if not ideal, balance between depth, weight, and ability to discriminate targets as far as wet beach hunting is concerned. So, Blasphemy, indeed!

The only reason I was interested in Equinox, originally, was to get a light weight, wet and dry sand machine (Deus is great in the dry sand and usable but too sparky in the wet sand).. Then I started to realize the possibilities for relic hunting once I started seeing all the unexpected success we were having with the Deus HF coils. Knowing that Equinox was going to be as sensitive to mid-conductors as the HF coils (except for the very high end frequency capability) and potentially as fast as the Deus, I started to say hmm. Also, since Steve and other prospectors were showing how well it did on nuggets which primarily naturally found at hot soil sites in multiple modes, not just Gold mode, I started realizing the possibilities in hot central Virginia dirt (it's hot because a gold/pyrite belt runs right through the area). Started having visions of buttons dancing in my head...lol. Seems to be pretty much playing out as I expected, so far, and perhaps we are in for a few new pleasant surprises as we all learn this thing together.

I had to look it up...it had been a week since I fiddled with it. LOL.

Just hit settings until you get to the target tone icon (the speaker icon with the musical notes coming out of the end) and hit minus until it displays 5 (instruction manual p. 46)

I've also seen multiple ferrous and nonferrous targets in the hole causing upaveraging of the nonferrous. Had a deep corroded penny in a hole partially masked by a steel wire chirping at the high 20's. Thought I might have had a masked dime. What matters though is Equinox gave me a definite dig signal on a partially masked high conductor, so I'll take it.

Sorry I missed this as I too was on the way to the beach. I guess I am in the minority of liking beach 1. It is doing what I need it to do at my little beach park including hitting deep at the wet sand tide line and hitting small mid conductors (mostly aluminum but did manage some small gold too) in the sand.

Thanks. Yeah. Iron bias is definitely going to have to be trial and error. i get what you are saying regarding the low numbers not creating masking. Mitchel, Thanks. I should add you to the Kudo's list (and will) in my post as I have gotten some pointers from you too. I lifted the link for Derek's programs from a separate post by by MtWolf2270 who posted it after myself and another forum member asked about the tommy gun program. Like I said, it is not so much the programs as the written rationale for the settings that I consider to be most useful.

What the heck does that mean??? Well, what I mean by that is even though you may be finding mundane targets like nickels and the tiniest of aluminum pieces or even a deep penny. Be aware of what these recoveries are telling you. Once again I hit the deserted, pounded, hunted out, beach park. Not much in the way of replenishment with 40F temps, snow flurries and sleet, and 15 knot winds again. I wanted to give the area where I found my gold Jesus a thorough search just to make sure I did not miss any other pieces of the pendant, necklace, or whatever it was attached to. No luck on that, but I did learn or confirm a lot about the Equinox as the day went on. I then hit the shoreline/tide line again but the tide was coming in and high so the wet sand margin was small and high on the beach. Nevertheless I did find two, deep slimy nickels. This is telling me that I will eventually hit deep gold in the wet sand as the EQX is hitting the deep nickel mid conductors HARD with a clearly dig me signal. If I keep hitting that area, there will be deep gold jewelry that has not yet been recovered, I am sure of it, and the EQX will let me know the second I pass my coil over it. It also tells me that I basically have a new beach to hit since I can now hit the tide line at low tide with confidence that I will be able to pull some deep keeper targets. I kept finding the tiniest pieces of lead, aluminum, and steel. The would just bang out of the headphones. Small gold cannot be far behind. Keep swinging. Finally, I hit a strong ferrous tone with just a hint of a high tone. But the high tone was not ferrous wraparound (too low on the VDI and not quite in sync with the ferrous tone). I decided to dig it. I pulled out a steel wire about 4 inches long...and a penny from a bout 10" down. Yeah it was just a penny, but the EQX said dig me even with the super strong ferrous grunt. In other words, it was not a bottlecap or other junk target with a ferrous and non-ferrous signal component. I know that one of these days the EQX will be fast enough to unmask a military button or a silver for me in the thick iron. Pay attention to what your mundane targets are telling you about your detector's capabilities. That is why you should be digging just about every repeatable target indication you come across during the first several hours that you are learning the machine. HTH.

Btw, regarding Deus, I always hated the Reactivity/Silencer tie and typically adjust them independently with silencer typically off or at 0 setting. Similarly, with the Equinox the recovery speed and iron bias settings should be set independently with the only correlation for me being in thick iron conditions. Under those conditions, I set recovery high for separation and iron bias low so as to not miss a masked non-ferrous target.

Thanks to Mtwolf2270 for the link and experienced Equinox tester Derek for putting together the programs in the associated PDF that relic hunters and others might find useful. For me I am finding more value from Derek's descriptive amplifying rationale for the settings rather than the settings/programs themselves because the programs appear optimized for UK field hunting. Understanding the settings rationale, however, allows you to tailor program settings to your needs. Equinox Programs - Derek

You can change the frequency on the F Puulse to minimize or eliminate interference in a particular Equinox search mode, but then if you change Equinox modes might have to readjust the F pulse.

Lol. We must've both posted the tommy gun question at the same time. Anyway, great pdf. Thanks again for the link.

Many thanks. Didn't know where to look to find it.

For mineralized soil relic hunting with Equinox I am hearing a few common themes emerging (my thoughts in parenthesis): Most seem to be building around Park 2 (I will also experiment with Field 2 and Gold 2. Sticking with the "2's" because they favor mid conductors or strike a balance between mid and high conductor detectability or favor hot soil conditions (Gold 2).) Field 1 seems to be popular in the UK. At least perform an Auto or Manual GB (am wondering myself about the effectiveness of tracking). GB will help with performance since mineralized ground will likely have a ground phase reading other than the default and the mineralization allows the GB algorithm something to grab onto give you a good GB setting. Don't overdo sensitivity. If you can run stable at 22 that's fine. No need to push it much higher than the default 20 setting. Hunt with recovery speed 6 to 8 (high end of 800 settings). Lower settings in mineralized soil increase ground noise, affecting signal-to-noise ratio and detracting from the ability to detect deeper targets countering the flawed claim that "slower is deeper". Minimize iron bias if you want to maximize ability to unmask non ferrous amongst thick ferrous junk. Drawback is propensity for non ferrous signal component falsing from the iron. These can be checked with the AM button. Upping iron bias to 3 or 4 (800 settings) in sparse iron situaions is ok as you run a much lower risk of encountering a masked target. This is definitely a YMMV area and experimentation is encouraged for your particular site conditions. Search in AM or without discrimination (AM gives you one touch access to turn disc off/on, so more convenient IMO to hunt with a iron disc'd out and punch AM button when necessary). Listen for both ferrous and non-ferrous hits and try to center the coil on target to determine ferrous-nonferrous symmetry (donut) for dig decision or dig it all if you are so inclined. Non-symmetric behavior and inability to find a non-ferrous tone and ID sweet spot are good indicators of trash or nails. But remember when relic hunting there are several desirable, relatively big non-ferrous artifacts worth recovering including sword blades, knives, bayonets, spurs, horse tack, cooking implements and ordnance. EQX should hit fairly deep even in mineralized soil and can give you some key additional info if you carefully interrogate the target. Tones: I have seen anything from 2 to 50 tones recommended and numerous tone break recommendations so post your custom tone setups and why. I am sure I missed a lot, especially custom tone setups which are more personal preference based versus performance based, so please add your tips, wisdom, and experiences to the thread. Thanks Shout out to Steve H, Daniel TN, Skate, Mtwolf2270, SteveG, Cal Cobra, Mitchel (mn90403) and all others I failed to mention (my apologies) blazing the Equinox relic trail.