schoolofhardNox

Bought the Equinox and a used GPX 5000. Extremely happy with the purchases. No warranty claims yet (but could have over the broken rest on the Equinox, but decided to buy an after market one.) I would still buy the same 2 machines. Don't use any of my other detectors. I don't have a single best because I use these two as a one, two punch. They compliment each other extremely well. I guess I could say for gold and parks, it would be the Equinox, for deep beach and relic hunting it's the GPX hands down.

I came here because I was sick of the drama on other forums. I also hated the "experts" there, that had to convince you they were always right. In reality, this site is my last hope of online group discussion. If it ever goes bad, I will not be on any other metal detecting sites. Life is only fun when it's fun. When it becomes a chore, I move on. Thanks Steve for not letting it degrade like others have.

Everything you are finding is exactly what I have found at my favorite picnic site. I really think you are close to areas that have more finds. In my site, I knew I was at the better part of the area when I started to find Barber coin spills. One of the best areas was between two big hills, kind of a wide gully of sorts. Keep an eye out for areas like that. I hope to see more from that place. Good luck there.

I will probably never own a GPZ, but do own the GPX. My perspective on this, however unimportant, is that Minelab ignoring its customers only deepens the riff. I can not believe they can not make a coil work within 6-8 months. I think it's all management that is the issue. It's rarely the engineering side. Whatever the reason, they do not technically owe anyone an answer. However, we do not owe them our loyalty either. Loyalty is earned by trust. Right now I wish that the next generation of PI detectors would be released by Minelab and Fisher. Then I could choose who I trust more to get my money.

Your are in an area that was lightly used for picnicking. If you continue inward more, you may stumble onto the main area that everyone used. Look for semi private areas that have nice raised pieces of land. Expect seated to pop up. Also dig targets that are semi good. There are hat pins that have some steel attached that may ring up funny, along with other mixed metal items. I've found some bottles too in areas like that on the down slopes.

I agree. I hunt the Connecticut and Rhode Island beaches when I can. I live in western MA so it's a bit of a trip for me. Always 4 or 5 people on the beach. When it's sanded in you have to get creative or you will go home empty. That's where technology rules. If it wasn't for my GPX for the deep stuff, I would be looking for small gold with the Equinox on the sanded in beaches. One of these days I'm going to try them NH beaches just to see if I can pull anything out. The guys and girls up there are good at what they do.

Never heard of that shield. Is it expensive? I may give one a try if I can get my hands on one. Where did you buy it from? Even if it knocks down the EMI a little bit, some of my locations are right next to a train. I can use every bit of help I can get ?

Me too! Or at least waterproof my GPX ?

Jason, Your scenario is probably the toughest scenario for any PI. If you have the small Minelab coil (5x10?) DD or any DD small coil, use that. I would also start with a very low gain of 5 to narrow the signal a bit. Very slow, short sweeps. I would start with an iron disc of 5 to be safe. If you are looking for coins and not nuggets, then 8 or 9. But be careful, non ferrous targets close to the surface will mimic an iron blanking (kind of). I think low gain and very slow coil control will be your best bet. Let us know how it goes.

Very True. The one difference is that Minelab and Fisher are established companies that, love them or hate them, we all get a feel for how they are. Someone new breaking into a tight market does not have that advantage. I bought a machine that was hyped up and I found it to be a purchase I will never forget. I will never spend that kind of money on the new guy in town. No customer service to speak of and contacting the owner only got me lip service. In reality we can not test drive these machine like you could a car, so laying down cash is a harder thing to do. If any new product comes to market, you can expect a bunch of negative comments first off. If it ends up being as good or better than the YouTube videos show......then the crickets come out from the negative people. If it was marginal at performance, then I tend to never buy from that new company again.

Same here in New England. I dig more than most hunters here, but I learn a lot from it too.

Did you get a chance to try it in the other modes

I hope that it works out that way in my style of hunting. If it performs that way on a beach, I will buy one. My fear is that EMI will kill most of those advantages.

Yes. Most of the points we have found were made from brass trade kettles, most likely Dutch.