schoolofhardNox

That would have been a heart stopper if it was not plated. Nice design too. I went out today again to a different beach. This beach is loaded with small rocks that read a solid 1. I dug those all day long because of that earring  but no gold for me today.

Even though I live in a colonial area, I still love finding Barbers and Indians. They are such beautiful designs. Looks like some nice hunting you had there.

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 12:45 AM, Ridge Runner said:

Both the MX Sport and the Equinox 800 are waterproof and that’s about where the two are alike ends.

 Now if we want to put the detectors that have the option to run in different frequencies then how would you place them in price? I speaking about the ones that have other frequencies but still run only one at a time .

 Now remember the Equinox is at the top with a price of 899.00 and a true multi frequency.

  Would you want to slip it in between the Sport and the Equinox in price? Maybe we could lower the price of the Sport and place the ones we’ve been talking about in it’s spot..

 Just thinking out loud but everyone has their own opinion.

 Chuck 

 

Given the choice I would still pick the Equinox. If I was new to the hobby and did not pick Garrett, then I would probably pick White's,  but only if the price was lower. I'm not sure that machine can compete between the Equinox and the Deus and still sell enough of them to remain profitable. But an odd thought just came to me...We all think that this is Minelab's top of the line unit. What if.... it is their entry level machine and they are holding back with releasing their mid and high end units in the $1500 - $3000 range respectively?? What would that do to the MX Sport and AT Pro units sales? I still think the MX Sport has potential, but with a price closer to the Equinox 600.

58 minutes ago, Dubious said:

With the Goldmaster 24k, I believe the box under the arm cuff just houses the AA batteries.  That's a reasonable way to do it, IMHO, for a machine that is not waterproof.  The alternative would be to have the S-shaft hollow and thick enough at that point to incorporate a battery holder inside, with separate legs underneath for stability (like the Minelab Etrac and others). For a much more unsightly hanging box, look at the Minelab GPX 5000.  It seems to sell all right in spite of it ?

Yep, the GPX looks like a small tank, but that box actually sits better on the ground than the Equinox. It's footprint is measured in feet . With all the different machines out there, you would think that someone would make a better detector stand that you could just clip on. 

Unbelievable how far modern circuitry has gone. Some small little flat packs, IC's and some nice palladium capacitors, etc. Doesn't look like much. It's hard to believe that all that performance and flexibility comes from those electronics. Amazing

2 hours ago, Lanny said:

So, when I practice playing with the buttons and settings on my detectors, I just disconnect the coils, then there's nothing to overload. Moreover, for the detectors with a higher learning curve (lots of sub-menus, etc.), this is an excellent way to scroll through functions and learn the ropes (the settings, etc. with no access to any coil functions or metal detecting capability of course).

All the best,

Lanny

On some of the old detectors I thought you could cause damage if the unit was turned on without a coil connected. Maybe just an urban legend???

4 hours ago, dsrtdwg1 said:

Today I tried something different, trying to cherry pick only deep high tones. Had the 6 inch coil on my 800, very trashy small 100+ year old park.

Set  it on Park 1, noise cancel, manual GB, 5 tones with the first 3 segments set to 0 volume 1 tone the last 2 were both set to max volume and tone,

set the recovery speed at 5 and 0 iron bias. My question to those that  know is, am I losing depth with this kind of setting? It seemed to work well, I have been 

trying to figure out  how to park hunt deep silver,.All the pieces in the image were only giving tone, no numbers and were all carrot deep. Suggestions?

Apparently your settings are working well and I would use them for a while. If you are done with an area (I would grid the most productive area), then you can redo it while changing settings and see if anything else comes up. Otherwise the other way to do it is, when you get what you think is a very deep iffy target, don't dig it. That is the ideal time to, one by one adjust settings to see if you can clear up the target or not.

In a hammered park I think those finds were amazing. That coil just paid for itself. I have got to get me a small and large coil soon.

5 hours ago, Ridge Runner said:

When you think you know everything you find out you really don’t know anything.

 Some great finds you got there .

 Chuck 

Ain't That the truth. It's a never ending process. But that is half the fun of it isn't it?

4 hours ago, Alluminati said:

The Equinox really likes that style of earring for some reason. Nice.

Hollow, incomplete circle gold or silver. It hits it pretty well. Just think every beach or park has those targets, as well as gold chains still hidden there from 100+ years of losing those items. That is what keeps me going back to the areas I hunt.

3 hours ago, Buzzard said:

From digging All...I got a nice collection of foil , pull tabs , and bottle caps , plus other goodies...

Unfortunately that is the drawback of it, especially if you are hunting parks. But eventually you can clear the more modern trash out of an area and concentrate on the deeper targets.

Actually, it has been every detector that has this curse attached to it. I'm talking about situations like I had on this week's beach hunt. As I sit there religiously digging every single #1 target ID number, that after digging about 40 of them, I decide to not dig one. I dismiss it! I'm not bending down to dig another piece of minute tin foil. But being me, I decide to just kick the sand with my foot as a gesture to kind of try and not be lazy. I kick the sand and I see what turns out to be a beautiful 18 K earring starring up at me, appearing to say.....You don't want ME? . Now the curse.... I will probably dig every piece of foil on the beach for the next three years before the paranoia goes away.  Another lesson learned for me, that I really need to dig that number, no matter how much foil or how many of those little black rocks that read a solid 1, are on the beach. Just dig it!!!! This hunt was all GPX (except for the gold), because the beach still has not received a good storm to clear away some sand. In a peeing contest between the Equinox and the GPX, the winner is easily the GPX. 14" coins do not read well on the Equinox at my type of beaches. I was lucky enough to hit a layer that was pre memorials and that is why I had so many wheat pennies. I wish I had my camera at the beach because the oddest find I had, was the remains of the bottom of a Pringle's (fake chips) can. Some of the plastic coated cardboard cylinder remained with the lower half of the container. It was down a good 15" and my shovel finally pulled it up. What I was not prepared for was the broken chips to spill out and still look fresh as the day it was bought. I know Pringles are not real chips, but I did not expect this!! I used to love those things. That explains what happened to me

IF it does cause damage I will be the first to know.  I ran my GPX very close to a major train line in my area. Trains energize the tracks a while before and after they use them. You only get small intervals of nice quiet time between them. So I found a setting (207) that chatters so quickly that I can actually hear some targets above the chatter. That is the only way I can use it at this site. If that doesn't ruin my GPX (or my ears) nothing will. The results of yesterday's 8 hour hunt were 8 silvers and one gold earring and a lot of clad and wheat cents. I probably still have EMI radiating from my body

For me, the only issue I have is charging another thing when I get home. I'm lazy what can I say  My way of thinking is that a wireless coil does not entice me to buying a particular machine, but if it comes with one, I am fine with that and will enjoy it. Kind of like buying a car... Don't need really need AC or power windows or nice chrome rims, BUT I will gladly accept them if they are there  The patent comment may be correct or not. If there is a patent, and if another company wanted to, they would invest in finding a way around it. What I feel it comes down to is that it is way cheaper to make the simple coils we are used to.  Profit margins must be very high considering what is in the standard coil we have been buying all these years.  I do agree that I have not heard of many issues with Deus and unreliability. Honestly if I were to not have a Minelab, Deus would be my next pick, because they do invest in modernizing their machines and updates (including wireless coil technology). It's just a matter of taste and is not right or wrong.

Most of the best detectorists I know do not post on forums. Their reasoning was not so much that someone would follow them, but that even telling them what type of hunting you are doing invites 100's of on-line lurkers to try what you are doing. Here on the east coast, beaches and colonial cellar hole hunting has been over run with people that would never hunt there, especially in the winter. Now I see detectorists out on a beach in 30 degree Fahrenheit weather. I can see their point - keep quiet if you want to enjoy finding quantity and quality targets. One husband and wife team I met with a friend in the woods, has over 60 GW (George Washington inaugural buttons)  He even scoffs at Spanish silver or King George coppers. I will gladly take them if offered lol.

I'm still kind of in disbelief that this is their current lineup's answer to Minelab, Deus, etc...  Wasn't it Fisher that was going to have a breakthrough detector coming soon? Or was it someone else? I think the list prices are making me shake my head too. Not sure what their strategy is. Maybe they know what their market can return for them. Time will tell I guess.

I am always on a hunt for a new and better machine. After seeing that lineup, I can cross Fisher off of the list. I agree with LowTide on having a more easily understandable line up. If I didn't know better, I would think this product line was right from the 1990's. I'm not up on Fisher detectors, (I always felt they could not handle EMI at all), but for those of you who do follow Fisher, a question for you: Is there anything there that is new? Seems like they are pushing the  same stuff, just slightly redesigned.  I was hoping for a pulse discrimination in that line up, that gets unreal depth and no interference ……….

4 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I wonder what the true failure rates were on the CTX? There would be manufacturer defect stuff like a bad o-ring. And there would also be operator error stuff. I am sure most CTX units that got used in the water never never leaked but beyond that it is hard to get a handle on. There are lots of examples on the forums that leaks do happen, no question about that. I am sorry yours was one of them.

Thanks Steve. Once the blade loses it's (Nickel?) plating and exposes the copper, it was game over. After I cleaned all that gunk off of the blade, it started to crumble and then broke off while getting ready for another hunt. I remember the forums light up about it, and a fair number of people had that issue. It's a wonderful. powerful beach machine, especially with the 17" coil and using long tones. I would still be using it if it were not for that. I have not tried it since it was completely repaired (looks pretty new) and will be selling it soon. I kind of miss the sound of it.

2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

You mean one of these metal blades has corroded completely off?

Battery seat Minelab CTX 3030 and GPZ 7000

Presumably somebody way better than I could solder a new metal blade in place but beyond my skill.

From http://parts.minelab.com/category-s/118.htm

Bulkhead, Assy Control Box CTX 3030 with Flex Cct Part# 0705-0062

Yep, The blade wasted away. It's leaked 3 times and I finally replaced the gaskets with more durable ones that I saw on You Tube. A guy that was diving pretty deep with his machine, gave a parts list of his upgrades. It worked, so I decided my original battery was getting old so I bought a new one not realizing it was a redesign to help with the original gasket issue. it leaked while I was digging where the waves break on the shore. Here's some pic of it. The sand on the gasket is from when I was at home in my basement. I have always removed and cleaned gasket before every hunt.

Look at that thing  It's like a dream and not real. I don't know what I would do if I found that coin.  He will be smiling everyday for the next year (and also digging #14 signals forever!) Great find.

21 hours ago, Geotech said:

I also don't pay any attention to social media, but you & I are in the minority. That's where the younguns hang out.

I stopped posting on most Facebook forums and don't do Twitter or other social media sites. But from a business stand point, social media is part of how the world works these days. It is here to stay (unfortunately) and any manufacturer that ignores it is only hurting themselves in the long run. I think it is a bad move for White's.

38 minutes ago, cjc said:

My old model CTX leaked in salt and the plate that goes into the cell (housing side) has been eaten off. Anyone have this problem and find a way to restore ;contact?   I'm looking at a bit of copper wire in the slot to contact where the plate sat...brutal makes me sick how bad this gasket seating is on this model.  Ive tried everything to keep it dry. 

cjc

I just had my CTX repaired for that reason. I believe it was repaired at a dealer in PA (USA). Mine ate the terminals and my brand new battery connections. I found that the battery is shaped a bit funny (Has a ridge on it) and if you do not make sure visually that it is seated properly, it can hang up a bit and not be seated correctly. Feels like it's on good, by visually you can see that it wasn't tight against the machine. It was easier to have it repaired. I'm not sure if there is a good fix for it. Mine happened when I bought a new battery (new style?). I had put on better "O" rings and it worked well, until I bought that new battery. Leaked first time out. I hope someone has a fix for you to try, but I would consider getting a quote to just repair it.

I'm a no vote too.  There are more important areas of improvement that I would be interested in, like real EMI reduction.  If you could shield most of the machine's electronics and maybe the top of the coil (somehow) to greatly reduce susceptibility  to EMI, I would definitely pay more for that.  All I can picture with a wireless coil is getting to my digging site and turning on the machine only to see the coil go silent due to a dead battery. I'm getting more impatient in my older years

Wonder why? Kind of unusual to do that without some kind of major disagreement between the two.

I've thought about what's happening in the metal detecting market often lately. In my thoughts, the Equinox was a hard blow to the other manufacturers, but not the first shot at them. Minelab started this process long before the Equinox was unveiled. For me it started with the Explorer II (which I did not like) so I traded it back for a DFX, as I was a White's guy since 1972. But their long over due release of the V3i made me try Minelab again with the E Trac… followed by the CTX, GPX and now the Equinox. While Minelab was gearing up and innovating, other brands were still selling repackaged old technology. They were unable or unwilling to change. Fast forward  to now and they find themselves extremely far behind in technology. They may never recover. I fault them for that.  I too will never look at any single frequency machine again unless it ID's GOLD (100% of the time) That I would buy  Seriously, the bottom market can not support all the other manufacturers. So they must compete with the Equinox or come out with some new, unbelievable technology. The question in my mind is not whether they will survive, but rather do they deserve to survive?

10 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Beside the incredible jewelry finds you post, your consistent recovery of older nickel, wheatie, and silver coins from your beaches impresses me most.

Thanks. Here on the New England beaches we are lucky that a number of them were formed in the early 1900's. Detecting technology, along with stronger storm surges, have now enabled deeper coins to be within reach of our machines. Now it's up to the operator to tease them out. Technology definitely helps

11 hours ago, flakmagnet said:

I do think from reading your posts Mr. Nox, that they show the operator is a large part of any successes that arise. Nice shooting.

Thank You. I try to get the most from my detecting these days. I love this hobby!!!  You never know how long life will allow you to detect. Besides, it releases the little kid in me