Mtwolf2270

Daniel I couldn't agree more I am in East Tennessee and same thing vlfs and even fbs machines struggle past 6 inches. With the nox I can punch down with accurate id to 10 inches that's a true pinpointer deep target. The 6 inch coil can hit 6 to 8 inches with soild id as well. So for me if I gain any depth with large coil in my soil it's a bounce I suspect I will, which may bring things just out of reach within reach. Plus just covering a large field abit more effectively is a welcome addition.

In my experience with the machine in multi here in moderately mineralized ground of east Tennessee as well as in super hot spots in Culpeper, va. That while sure it will work and find targets even not ground balanced what you will find by utlizing the auto ground balance and auto tracking enabled is that you can keep the machine insanely stable even at a higher sensitivity if you choose. However, this is a super hot machine even at stock sensitivity. By optimizing your ground balance not only will the machine be more stable but it will also have more accurate id and depth gauge will be much more accurate. You also eliminate most of the flase targets or can here deeper peeps in heavy iron. I also have found that reducing the sound of the iron to a background level and increasing the non ferrous tons running in all metal you can really cherry pick, even in hot soil with heavy iron trash. So, even though the manual may imply you don't have to ground balance which is true you will get a better overall experience if you do especially if your ground is hot. I truly feel that is site specific and you should treat the gb as you do the mode select the best settings for the location.

Great grouping of relic hunters thoughts and experiences. I have been working in field 1 and 2 in heavy iron in hot soil. I found the tommy gun to be effective in my conditions but your point is spot on as too the rationale. In fact in default field 2 I basically moved to 5 tones adjusted my pitch etc to make iron just a backround sound. I find keeping am on with iron quiter it allows me to know when you move away from from iron patches this really helps iding the homesites in big fields. I have also found iron bias to not cause masking the way we think of it . What I mean is the ctx ignored iron so well with the slow recovery speed did mask targets. The equinox is so fast especially at 7 that with iron bias at 2 or 3 you don't see masking. What you gain is that deep iron junk sounds great with 0 bias in field 2 but with a jumpy id or mostly 1 way hit. Bump up the iron bias that goes from iffy /maybe to not worth digging. Now the is the key if you drop your recovery and raise iron bias too high I believe the more typical masking will occur I think it's more from the slow speed. It's early and we are all still learning and certainly things will evolve as we go. I will be running the nox and further expermienting in Culpeper, VA over the next few weeks of course my gpx will get alot of time but will certainly work the nox in some of toughest soil I have hunted.

It was created by Derek in the UK it's settings for iron infested sites. Equinox Programs - Derek.pdf

It was designed by Derek from the UK he was a tester as well. Equinox Programs - Derek.pdf

Running it out of the box was my goal as so many claim you could with little adjustments and "need to ground balance" . I was sharing my observations on how that does make a difference. I think alot of the people beating up the depth meter and bouncy numbers may find ground balance will fix that.

Cal_Cobra I have used field 2 only 2 things I did was when need need added iron bias started at 2 and went 2 5 tones in heavy iron I love that tommy gun program but you could certainly tweak feild 2 depending on site. That's what's so great about the nox you can do so much.

My hunting buddy Steve and I got out today and hit a new field just mordern trash and then ended up back at the site we first took the equinox's to it's an early 1800s homesite. .A few additional observations as we continue to try adjustments and and settings. We have moderate to semi-severe mineralized soil. We also often hunt old homesites on farms with heavy iron contamination and I must say the nox continues to impress it's flexibility is what sets it apart and of course multi IQ. What I mean is you can adjust this machine to really fit both you and the site. As a relic hunters being able to peak past that iron and not only lock on a traget but to lock in an id in hot soil is really impressive. The first new observation is that I truly believe this machine is designed to run fast recovery and it's real magic is that recovery speed. I think if we try to revert back to the old ways it goes against the nature of the nox. I say this becaus this machine is so powerful it's plenty deep at a 7 recovery speed in our soil I have hit flat buttons now on 4 different occasions that were over 8 to 10 inches and they were banging signals. Not big buttons small cuff size buttons. Small fired 22 bullets at 8" are loud repeatable tones. In my soil that is a huge improvement over any other machine. So, I just don't see a need to slow it down alot but that's the beauty you can if you choose but I wouldn't unless it's a clean site. I truly believe more targets are masked then super deep. Out of the box this machine is already excellent and the sensitivity at 20 to 22 is truly plenty. We have been testing as it came first. Now what we did different today Steve was having some extra chatter so he ground balanced and it of course helped. I know alot of people have been and some say there's no need but here is what I observed in ground balancing instead of just a cancel the vdi numbers improved and so did the depth meter it's still not exact but much closer. The next thing I have come to realize is we think of any iron setting as masking and we think 0 all metal is always the way to go. With many machines that's true with the nox it's different. I use the horse shoe all metal to hear the environment this helps me make adjustments on the fly and adding a little iron bias will truly knock down the trash iron sounding good. So, don't be afarid if your digging iron bits to add iron bias of 2 and move up to 3 or 4 if need be. You won't miss good targets or enough depth to worry about. Depending on the site if your digging nothing but trash iron because it sounds good your still not finding the good targets and if you you slow the machine down in hopes of depth your losing the separation and targets get masked. The nox excels in trashy, iron and difficult soil. In carpet iron the tommy gun program from Derek in the UK one of the tester who helped develop this awesome machine hats off to all the testers and minelab you really got it right. While I only pulled 2 relics and a wheat things continue to click with the nox. We have pounded this site now for 30 hours with the nox and I feel we have not left much behind you never get it all but I know it is slim pickings left. Happy hunting!

Excellent report Daniel this is where I had hoped to here the nox would perform better then older vlfs. Do u run any iron bias at all? What tones and mode were u using ?

Congrats chase and well some excellent write up. Looking forward to your relic report as that's my main focus love the equinox so far in my home soil.

Excellent report and I also believe it is not a fluke multi IQ is truly something new

Depth is such a relative term I don't like the discussion how deep is x detector vs y detector? Well that depends what tragets you hunt , what site conditions trashy, irony and soil conditions mineralized non mineralized. So, if you swing say an FBS like the ctx or a slower vlf in heavy iron or dense trash or heavy mineralized ground you have now in effect lost depth as the slow recovery speed combined with how well a machine like a ctx ignores iron it will actually "mask" or miss targets all together even shallow ones. Now this is where the equinox shines in my experience so far. That faster recovery speed and (it's fast) combined with it's separation ability plus the multi iq even at high recovery speeds provides greater "depth" then say the ctx in that environment simply because the equinox sees the target at 4" that was masked or just missed by other slower recovery speed of other smower machines or if you drop the recovery speed back on the equinox to far it loses it's performance in that situation. So, again it depends what you mean by depth. People get so caught up and worried about depth. Far more targets are hidden or masked then at great depths in many locations. So, the question suched be what do I need depth wise at this site? or this soil? For this location. Because it's not always the same. What is the site ? If, it's iron carpet I need recovery speed far more then raw "depth" If, it's widely spaced targets in mild soil with low trash in plowed farm fields then I may need to squeeze out a little more depth. That's the beauty of this machine you can do both. So, I ask what really do you mean by depth?

Yes what you said I think I confused myself typing lol thank you for the clarification.

I had it happen to mine so I turned machine back on entered user profile made sure it was what I set up then exited the user profile and went to another mode in this case field 2 and back to field 1 and it was factory again. I guess if it still not just do a mode reset for the affected mode only.

Not seen any more play in my 800 then any other machine even the 3030 has some wiggle.