Mountain Mike

Good News!

My buddy called Kellyco today to ask about his EQ order today. They said they are still in the dark and haven't heard anything from ML. I'm hopeful it will be soon though. 

4 hours ago, tsunamiscott said:

 

Like the coil prices.... right?

I saw the coil prices listed on a dealer website that I knew was reputable and have actually bought from before. I simply passed that information on to the group. There is no way I or anyone else could have known that they weren't correct. I'm sorry if you took my post any other way than genuinely trying to share some information that I felt was helpful.

Well I just called Kellyco to check on my order. I was curious how many they were allotted.  Customer service told me that there is now an unexpected delay. Instead of receiving some this week they are now just hoping to hear something this week. He has no idea why they are being delayed but if he had to read between the lines he would guess a last minute bug was found. PURELY HIS GUESS.. Hopefully its something small. They just found this out and are trying to decide if, how and what to tell their customers. They don't seem to know much at present. Just passing it along

Steve made a comment that I have been wondering about for a while. The EQ is so good that it actually surprised Minelab. I have been wondering about this. Obviously Minelab has realized that they could have easily priced this detector at $1500 and still would be sold out with preorders. People say "Obviously Minelab wouldn't put out a $900 detector that would obsolete their high end treasure machines". I am wondering if they have but only by accident. By all accounts this detector is really good and probably shouldn't be $900. Or is it just  that technology gets cheaper every year (cell phones, tvs, computers, etc) and Minelab is just getting ahead of the competition. Maybe Minelab has an idea of what other manufacturers are working on and the new trend will be excellent treasure machines under $1000. At this point I think there is a possibility they accidently made it to good and I'm gonna get one while I can. I do worry that they are going to overprice the extra coils now that they realize the EQ has become a monster. We will all know soon enough.

Maybe make some simple videos for the forum if you didn't want to do a full blown youtube. That way you can control the comments, usage, etc. Wouldn't have to be as finely edited either.  OR you can get a couple gopros, drone, jeep, editing software, travel extensively,  and a couple recurring characters and call yourself DR PROSPECTOR 24k

I do like videos that show how different modes or settings help a difficult target come in better.

My advice to guys and gals like us to get other hobbies that pay for themselves. I have used welding, woodturning, and  chainsaw slabbing to pay for detectors. I paid for the EQ with money made from ginseng. Don't get me wrong my wife still wants to comment but theres not much she can say when I hand her a stack of $. She almost passed out when I handed her $2800 and told her I ordered a new fishing kayak. Too funny.  

I am also very interested in finding good stuff in heavy iron. I would love see a video or report on the subject. just throwing down a handful of nails and putting a dime somewhere in there would tell a lot.

One of the early rumors on the EQ claimed a tester put a dime on a jeep door hinge and it was detected. Cant wait to try that one. Got the jeep and dime just need the EQ.

I would be interested in the combination of settings that would mimic the sounds of the etrac or ctx. After years of learning the etrac and ctx language I think it would speed up my learning if I could make the EQ similar. Multi conduct tones.

6 hours ago, Alexander Piskunov said:

Steve,  What do you think? Is there any chance that the developers will fix the identification of beer bottle caps (audible voice, for example, or more accurate, VDI, with the help of some algorithm ) in the beach (in new firmware version of the Equinox)?

PS: I saw a dual-frequency detector (prototype) in which it is implemented. I can copy here the link to the video (if it is not prohibited by the rules of the forum and if asked to do so)

Alexander

You seem to be very concerned with bottle caps. I don't know about the equinox. But I know for a fact that the CTX and Etrac ID bottle caps very well. It is VERY rare to dig a bottle cap with either of those. Either of those might suit your needs. 

I picked the park mode. I think a lot of it is based on where they live. If you live in the gold fields you look for gold. Live at the beach, then obviously beach detecting is your thing. I live in the mountains of North Carolina. So I detect old cabin sites in heavy iron looking for coins. Occasionally I stop by the parks and schools but this is what is available. Obviously I wouldn't own a gold detector here.

BUT the EQ is several machines in one. I plan on making some detecting trips to gold country. I go to the beach a couple times a year but my etrac isn't waterproof. NOW I will be able to water detect. Also finding a meteorite is now on my bucket list. Its like getting several new detectors all in one. Detectors that I could never justify buying individually.

I think a great poll would be "what kind of detecting will the EQ open up to you that you are excited to try"?

Thanks Steve.

I know I'm new here but definitely appreciate your help. I have never envied your position though. You have been the only one to step forward and try to share some info. Its tough to go out on a limb when everyone on the internet has a saw. it takes guts to put yourself front and center. I think you did a great job walking that fine line.

The last thing Minelab put in print said "Customers who have pre-ordered detectors should thus expect to start receiving them from late January." They never changed or updated that statement so I expect someone will get one tomorrow.  

I personally found the post VERY encouraging. 

At the 8:38 mark he writes "noise cancel in water". Do other people put their coil in the water when they noise cancel? 

Based on the beach report it looks like you could get 3 Noxs in there.

Its times like these when surround yourself with positive people on a positive forum. 

Hey Steve a while back you had mentioned that you were putting together a list of target ID numbers. I think you were missing a particular gold coin. You also mentioned that you did not want to put this info out there until the software was finalized which makes sense. Now that the software has been finalized for a bit and the detector should be in customers hands very soon are you allowed to share that info at this time? Seems like harmless info at this point.

So what did they say? Great, bad, average. Any issues with it? 

I went back and read part 3 again to make sure I fully understand how all the modes are setup. The only thing I seem to be missing is what is the difference between gold mode 1 and 2 ? 

Keep in mind most of those posts are using numbers pulled out of thin air. I am in retail and have had products shipped from many countries. Sometimes slow boat and sometimes air freight. I never thought air freight prices were horrible but it depends on the product. Weight, size, and value. Large companies get much better deals on shipping. Based on the nonsense numbers people are throwing around nothing would ever ship by air. I know its shocking but sometimes people on the internet don't know what they are talking about. LOL. 

Feb 7

steveg

That's a good point steve. I was not trying to Imply that one could go to a public location and snipe jewelry. I was gearing the post towards new detectorists. There seems to be a lot of folks with no or little detecting experience in line for this detector. I am just trying to help them understand why somebody like me with an etrac would want an Equinox or why one would want one more than another. I was just saying that the equinox will hit some targets that the FBS cant see. You cant dig it if you don't know its there. That is good info for new people to know that sniping jewelry is impossible.  If you want to find jewelry you just have to make up your mind to dig all non ferrous signals and realize its gonna be a long day with a pouch full of garbage and hope you get lucky. 

I saw where someone mentioned that minelab says FBS is more sensitive to silver coins than Multi IQ. For anyone with that concern I would ask would you rather find silver or gold? Its not that the EQ is not as sensitive as a FBS machine. Its that it is more sensitive to different targets. I have a gold tennis bracelet with diamonds that I can rub on the bottom of a CTX or etrac coil and they don't make a sound. They don't see it because its a really low conductor without anything round. FBS likes round objects. The only gold  that FBS detects well are rings and coins (round). Based on the gold nuggets I have seen the Equinox find I believe it will open up the possibility of finding other jewelry to me. It should hit the earrings, chains, and pendants that I have missed over the years. I love finding coins and deep silver with my Etrac but they are rarely valuable. I think the Equinox will give me an advantage finding more valuable targets. I can live with live with that even if I miss the occasional deep silver.

After seeing the small gold found with the 11" coil, I really want to see what the 6" can do. I wonder if it will hit tiny targets. Could be good or bad depending on the site.