Lighthouse

Just now, flakmagnet said:

Lighthouse, I would only suggest you not be too worried about working hard.

I'm in shape, and I have never run from the work of a worthy task, as it's the heart of my life's success. However, the joy of work for me has ALWAYS been finding and sussing out a "better way", which is to say "working smart, not hard". When I find that way, I CANNOT WAIT to share it. I'm actually more excited to share those better ways, than my finds, yet I'm excited to share my finds as well. Thanks for your feedback, and my apologies for leaving the impression that I'm trying to avoid hard work.

2 hours ago, fredmason said:

... there are too many variables and square feets.

yaht... I'm starting to understand that. I guess I'll have to wait for the visual tech to improve before I get what I ultimately want, which is x-ray vision. ;)

1 hour ago, Skate said:

You're going to get fooled a lot but every dig is a lesson. 

Being a musician as well, I think my ear will eventually start to tune into to the tones that will best protect my knees and lower back. I know there is going to be a discrimination learning curve, but I have yet to master the learning curve of my insatiable curiosity. Though I'm looking for the "magic bullet" technique as it were, it looks like I'm probably going to just have to dig EVERYTHING starting out.

1 hour ago, strick said:

If you want to find gold rings your gonna want to dig those 9-12’s and much lower as most gold will fall in the foil range. Big gold can sound off in the zinc penny range. Gold is the hardest to find of all but on the beach at least the digging is much easier

GRRRRR... Yeah... that's what I suspected.

OK... So thank's all for your input. I guess I was looking for the ideal formula to nail gold and silver jewelry, avoiding as much physical pain, and expending the least amount of energy as possible. Which is why I'm choosing soft beach sand to start out in the first place. Not that I'm unhealthy or anything, just trying to work smart, not hard is all. It looks like I'm just gonna have to dig, and dig some more no matter what tones I'm hitting. It'll be a funny sight I'm sure, those first few times out. I'll be the guy on the beach surrounded by 75 holes in a 15' x 15' area, having nothing to show for it but a pile of heavily rusted Matchbox cars, broken sunglass hinges, and swimsuit eyelets.

5 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I wish metal detecting worked that way.

LOL! I was REALLY hoping it did, but have now received the official verification that it doesn't. LOL! I assumed it didn't, but again, there was a glimmer of hope it did. ;) 

7 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The reality is you are going to probably use some level of discrimination, and discrimination is more a judgement call sort of thing than a certainty.

Yeah right. OK. I am 46, so falling to my knees for every 9-12 hit is probably not going to happen... Buuuut, am I understanding correctly that in certain modes, a 9-12 maybe "deep gold" in certain settings on a beach for example? How deep will my 800 go on ANY setting btw?

12 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

But for saltwater beaches basically it boils down Beach 1 for anything not actually sopping wet, and Beach 2 for in the water. Freshwater beaches you can use any mode since freshwater is more or less invisible to the detector. So on freshwater beaches or bone dry portions of saltwater beaches you can experiment with the Park, Field, and Gold Modes if you wish. That could offer an edge on micro jewelry like single post ear rings or fine chains.

OK... Good stuff here. Thanks.

BTW, I haven't even opened the box yet. We just had a snow storm hit the midwest, so just a little bit longer. I have this feeling that I will get too anxious though, and end up digging with an ice pick. ;)

12 minutes ago, fredmason said:

LightHouse;

that depends on what the meaning of clean is...

My coil has went over the top of every square inch of that beach, and I've gleaned from it every possible piece of gold and silver there is to find, up to however many inches down my detector goes. Remember, I'm a 100% newbie. That said, I'm sorta understanding that for me to accomplish that task, I may have to go over it twice using 2 different setting... or maybe 3 times, I don't know. I guess that's maybe the discovery of information I'm trying to accomplish here, I just didn't know how to initiate the question being as inexperienced as I am.

Further thoughts?

Thanks Steve for your input.

So what I'm hearing you say is just trust the manual/intended functions of the machine. To further reiterate, in my scenario, you're saying #1: use beach mode, #2: ground noise cancel #3: then detect, understanding that gold and silver hits have a specific numerical value. Sound about right?

I posed the question as I did, maybe hoping to fish out a way outside of the manual and intended functionality of the settings, understanding that some of you pro's may be finding better success say on a beach for example, using a different mode and setting other than the "Beach" mode.

My hope is to eventually become proficient enough with my settings, where I can go to a beach once, and walk away feeling like I thoroughly cleaned it out the first time. It's my understanding that can be done if you hit on the best setting the first time, not necessarily using the factory suggested settings. Am I being unreasonable in the expectation to eventually achieve that goal? 

I'm looking for a "Quick Start" step-by-step from experienced professionals using the Equinox 800.

Imagine a fella standing alone on a sandy beach, on a Sunday morning. He is proficient with tools and electronics, but he has NEVER held a metal detector in his hands in his life. A person walks up and hands him a fully charged Equinox 800, a pointer, and all the appropriate digging tools and says, "Find all the GOLD and SILVER jewelry on this beach", then walks away. The fella turns on the unit, syncs his headphones, then begins the step-by-step process of tuning his machine to find all GOLD and SILVER on that beach, which are as follows...

So what are the advised settings and tuning process he should go through before he starts walking, swinging that machine, successfully on the hunt?

Also, I humbly request we save time by skipping all of the "It takes years..." speeches. I get it. Moreover, I respect and honor the time and experience you have, which is why I'm here asking the pro's. Just looking for a quick start, 3 - 5 step process and settings guide given the above parameters, to begin those years.  

Thank you in advance for taking your time to help.

~Lighthouse  

Cabela's just sent me a tracking # for UPS. I checked it online and it looks like its now in the UPS system. No other information at this point.

35 minutes ago, chicoquadcore said:

I ordered on the 20th around 9pm pst. I think we are going to be in the end of March group. 

that would be 11pm CST for me. A fella on one of my FB prospecting groups got an email last week saying it would ship within 1-2 days. Like me, he also ordered his around 2pm CST on the 20th. He just got his today from Cabela's. So we know there is a "trickle" of some sort. 

NO DRAMA PLEASE! I ordered my 800 from Cabela's on the 20th of Feb about 2pm. I live in the CST time zone. Anyone else get an email or ANYTHING yet? I'm worried because we have issues with people stealing packages. I just want to make sure I'm there when it's delivered. I'm part of a FB EQ800 page and a fella said he got an email last week saying it will ship in 1-2 days. His just arrived from Cabela's today. I have yet to receive ANY emails or tracking #'s yet. Could Ya'll in the same boat just keep us up to date as to the how's, when's, and where's of your orders?

AGAIN... Just looking for logistical information, and NOT YOUR OPINIONS about Cabela's or Minelab.

11 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

My Fisher F-Pulse Review

So, I've pretty much decided on the #Garrett #Carrot being my first purchase. BUT... I've also decided on FOR SURE getting a back up. I can clearly see that a pointer is an ABSOLUTE necessity if one has any serious intentions toward the metal detecting profession. That said, I can see clearly that if I'm going to get one, I'd better MAKE SURE I have a back up. As you probably know though, this back order drama with #Cabela's and the #Minelab #Equinox800 is delaying my whole process.

At a glance, the #Fisher #F-Pulse wins with me, simply due to it's bright color. As you also may know, I'm a total greenhorn, but a thoughtful consumer as well. The brightly colored body is a VERY important feature to me. I know me, and I know that at some point, I'm going to set this thing down and forget it. To be able to see it 50 yards away amongst a green or brown background is the ONLY FEATURE I can speak to per my life's experience at this point. ESPECIALLY when I'm putting $120+ into such a device.

With all of it's other features, per your review, the #F-Pulse is definitely winning the race as my "Back up". HOWEVER, as a true horn, I don't know my apples from my oranges yet. With all of the features that both the #GarrettCarrot and the #FisherF-Pulse have to offer, I will have NO IDEA how to compare until I simply get them in my hands, and start using them in conjunction with my #MinelabEquinox800. Who knows... Maybe this #Fisher will be my main carry, and the #Carrot will be the back up left in the car.

Actually, it feels a lot more like this:

For those that are interested in tracking various status combinations based on specific turns of events:

I ordered @ 2:30 PM, CST, on 2/20. As of today, my account still says "Shipped". I did receive the early morning "Status Change" email, which reads "Not Yet Shipped", and sounds like a simple courtesy follow up email, but I never got the afternoon, "Waht-Waa" email.

I'm still of the belief my Nox will be delivered next week, within the 4-7 day window. 

9 hours ago, Skate said:

6-8 months. I hunt a lot though but I’m not particularly hard on my equipment. My ground is not mineralized like others according to my detectors I use. Garrett’s are great but I’ve had better results with my MI6 and the 90 hours run time is key for me. No running into 7/11 to spend $5 on a 9v because I forgot to check on the battery. 

So how long have you had your MI-6?

Thank's everyone for your feedback. So... all roads at this point are "pointing" to the Garrett Pro-Pointer AT, but for a really weird reason; the fact that it's bright orange. At some point, I'm going to set this thing down and forget it, or its going to fall off my tool vest without me knowing it. The bright orange is just going to make all that much easier to recover. HOWEVER...    

11 hours ago, Skate said:

I've used the Garrett's before and each one (black/orange) began to false over time. 

... this does concern me. How did you own them before they started to fail?

I got the same email, but NO change to my account. Still says "SHIPPED" and still has the 4-7 days mention.

36 minutes ago, Thegoldenone said:

When I checked today they changed it to showing that tracking number

Did you pay for shipping?

So... the 800 will be my very first detector. Ultimately I want to be a nugget hunter, but I'm starting as a coin and relic hunter to get a feel for the job and it's routines. Those factors in mind, whats the best pointer that's gonna be with me through it all? 

When I spoke with the Cabela's Rep on the phone yesterday, she said that they have a system in place directly with Minelab, and they provide Cabela's with tracking #'s. We don't have the tracking #'s yet, because Minelab hasn't given them to Cabela's yet. 

Weird that he knows, and clearly identifies an "S" mint mark, understanding that means it's minted in San Francisco, but everything else about this strange golden colored token like thingy has him completely baffled. 

1 hour ago, Rich (Utah) said:

Looking in some unlikely spots turned up another IHC, this one a very clean 1908.  I turned it over hoping to discover an S on the back, but no luck this time.

That's a nice 08'. Strong and full LIBERTY, and I think I'm seeing at least 3 diamonds. Kinda tough to tell the back from this pic, but if the shield has strong lines, yer coin is probably a VF+ making it a $7 - $15 coin anyways.

3 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The assumption always is evil intent or maybe at best benign negligence but the real story is usually far more boring.

Sure, but if everyone realized that, then there would be nobody to account for the low murmur and ramblings throughout the crowd right before the pitchforks an torches came out.

4 hours ago, Thegoldenone said:

I think that's what we all have!

No backorder list this is exactly the same as Cabelas did last time when they ran out it was off the website and everybody that ordered started receiving them shortly after

In my experience, yer 100% on the money! So... The key to running a successful drop ship internet business is to first have relationships with manufactures that can provide precise inventory allocations in real time. Second is to have back end scripts written on your website that will provide some sort of identification of quantity, or at the very least an "In Stock" / "Out of Stock" the very second it is really "Out of Stock". The latter is more typical, because its in poor business taste to make available quantities known to the public.

All evidence shows that Cabela's has this relationship with Minelab, and such a website. Ergo, if they took your order, charged your card, and gave you an order #, you made it, and you WILL get it soon. The only people that may have some difficulty are those that were in the middle of ordering the exact moment stock ran out. Even in that case, they should have received some sort of, "Sorry this item is currently out of stock" once they hit the final "Complete Transaction" button.

On your verification email, there is a link where you can "Track Your Order". I tried it and it led me to a page where you enter your order number, name and zip code. It just led me back to my order history page.

I just hope this isn't some backorder ploy by Cabela's. I got in at 10 am yesterday morning.

Here is what my Cabela's account says (black outs by me):