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Walter S. Fowler

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  1. I haven't been looked at the forum for a while, as I was awaiting the return of my control pod and coil. But, finally did get both a new control pod and coil back from Minelab just recently with extreme apologies for the delay which they attributed to a parts delay due to Coil-19. I'm sure they did the best they could in terms of getting me a new pod and coil. The issue was also very confusing and took them a while to figure out. Actually, they never did totally figure it out and just decided to give me a new pod and coil. I tried both the automatic pump method and manual ground balance when it first started giving me problems with the same bad issues occurring , but not all the time which made it even more frustrating. I don't use tracking. Also, installed new 3.0 update successfully and at least in my ground test garden does seem to hit better on my deeper test coins. As mentioned by Steve, very grateful to get updates from Minelab. Happy to be back detecting again. Spent the last 6 weeks water/beach detecting at Lake Tahoe with my pulse detector.
  2. Just throwing this out in case anyone else has had this problem or for future reference.in case anyone has it in the future. I bought my Equinox 800 in April 2018 and it has been great with no problems until a month ago. I started getting problems ground balancing and getting very different ground balancing numbers even over the same ground. I tried factory reset but didn't help . Also, it didn't always have the problem. I called Minelab and they had me send control pod and 11" coil to their service center in PA. in early June as it was under warranty. (thankfully). After getting message they had it and processing might be delayed due to Colvid-19 issues I finally heard back from them July 7. They indicated "after much testing the unit has begun showing issues. However, the issue is very sporadic and does it when it decides too. The issue is a ground balance issue. When trying to ground balance the unit it will ground balance correctly. The unit will be wildly off in the 80's. Next it will ground bale to 0, all in the same location of a couple of feet. The difficulty of pin pointing it however is that it seems to do it even when replacing an item. Our test coil will experience the same issue on the customer's pod. The I tried the customer's coil on our control pod and will experience the issue again. I have done factory resets and reloaded the latest firmware to insure it was not just a software problem. Out of an abundance of caution, I strongly recommend the replacement of both the coil and the control pod. NOTE: There will be a delay on the control pod as there are parts difficulties due to Covid-19. Once art is received we will update the ticket and return the unit to the customer." This all was very weird. I recontacted Minelab about what the new timeframe might be for getting my detector back and why I just couldn't have them send me a brand new detector(minus wireless headphones] . No response back as yet.
  3. The TID's were in the same range as a copper penny around 23-27 , but some jumped all over the place. Yes, there was sign of a fire and also bits of pottery and glass and large pieces of iron of various shapes. Does seem strange that so many are not bent and perfectly shaped.. Might have been that a building burned down at this site.? I'm still trying to do research . The ground is very mineralized at this site also. I haven't found any coins there as yet, but still hopeful. I think the ones without heads were just broken for some reason.
  4. I went out yesterday with my Equinox 800 to a previously located site and found a few more square cut nails and a few other interesting items. Well, actually 84 more square cut nails. Using Field 1, changed to 5 tones, recovery speed 4, F2 at 2. Makes you wonder why/how that many square cut nails ended up in such a concentrated area. Quite a few of them were found just using my pinpointer. It's always fun getting out in the woods and doing some relic hunting instead of the usual coinshooting in local parks.
  5. I used the old software on my Equinox 800 this morning using my Normal Field 1, recovery speed lowered to 3, changed to 5 tones, and everything else factory. I found a nice sterling silver Saint Christopher pendant and 25 coins. However, after successfully installing the new software 2.0 I did some testing on targets in the front yard. I did see a marked difference in the response (sound) to a bottle cap after bumping up the new F2 iron bias to 7. My question is the setting on the old iron bias should be similar to the new F2 iron bias setting(say 1 on both or 7 on both) , or, does the two somehow work in different reams? Can the iron bias be 1 on the old iron bias and 7 on the new F2 to get the best results of a different sound response on bottle caps? Im still playing with it, but curious to know anyones take on the settings question. Of course, there wasn't much of a explanation from Minelab on their website on how the the new feature works or the settings, but I am grateful that they do come out with updates/ fixes. Thanks.
  6. Funny you should mention that. There was some evidence of a campfire or some other type of fire at the site including some pieces of melted glass. As always, thanks to everyone for the added information about square cut nails and comments. Good hunting!
  7. I've been metal detecting with my Minelab Equinox 800 all summer sine getting it in April 2018, but just finding the usual coins and nothing exciting to post. The last several days outside Reno I made it out to a new site and found a cache of 75 square(actually rectangle) cut nails and some other interesting items. One item appears to be the end of an old spoon. Using Field 1 pretty much factory settings, but when in town and hunting parks I lower recovery speed down to 3 and slow speed rate speed way down . ( I find gets better depth) . Also, switch target zones to 5 to get more different sounds on the various targets. For the first 1 and 1/2 years of using the Equinox I used Park 1 all the time, but after getting more experienced with it, help from this forum, and reading a couple of books on the NOX( Clive James Clynick and Andy Sabisch books) I feel comfortable enough using some other modes and changing the factory settings. After using a Whites XLT for 15 years it definitely was a learning curve with he NOX , but well worth the learning process. Now, up to 1061 coins and $71.16 for 2019 including the water/sand finds with another detector. (including 9 wheat cents). The forum does great job of speeding up the learning process. Great day in the field.
  8. Thanks Steve. Looking at the YouTube reviews of the Fisher F-Pulse pinpointer, but more importantly your original writeup of the F-Pulse was what influenced me to get it. What has been your most effective way to ground balance it, if necessary? Per the instruction manual there are several different ways to ground balance it. I tried both methods myself and they both seem to work. Thanks for doing such a great job on the forum.
  9. Got out today with the Equinox 800 for a short hunt. Not a lot of coins, but did find 1944s wheat penny and Malibu Castle & Showboat Fun Center token. I believe this amusement park was active in the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's in North Holleywood, Ca. and closed and then burned to the ground in 1998. Correct me if I'm wrong. The live round was a PMC .270 Win. I have no idea how it got to where it was. Used my regular Park 1, recovery speed down to 4, and sensitivity up to 23. Also, first time out with my Fisher F-Pulse pinpointer which replaces my Garrett (black) Propointer. The F-Pluse definitely goes about 1 1/2 inches deeper on most coins and has a lot more features than my older pinpointer. It is much more powerful and does require ground balancing to operate smoothly. Anyone have any experience longer term with the Fisher F-Pulse they would want to share? Thanks.
  10. Got out again today with my Equinox 800. Did not find a lot of coins, but did pull 1942s wheat penny and 14k gold ring. Stones in ring tested as diamonds at least according to my diamond tester. I used my usual Park 1, with recovery speed lowered to 4. Ring came in at solid 12 at about 5-6 inches. Excellent day.
  11. I was able to go out detecting with the Nox 800 for the first time this year several days ago. The weather has been bad in Northern Nevada this year and I had minor knee surgery in early March. I didn't find a lot of coins , but did manage to find an unreadable date wheat penny, a tiny gold ring, and beautiful 17" necklace(unfortunately not gold.). The gold ring measured in at .9 gram and was by far the smallest gold ring I have found in 16 years of detecting. The Nox sniffed it out at about 6 inches down with a solid "9" . The ring was so small it was even hard to locate with my pinpointer , but finally managed to capture it. I was using my standard Park 1, recovery speed 5, iron bias 1, and sensitivity 18-20 based on conditions.
  12. Messed up on my original post and forgot the wording. However, just got back from visiting family in Denver , CO. and found the coins and items in a local park. Found 1955d wheat penny, hose nozzle, and what appears to be address name plate before zip codes which I believe started in 1963, Don't know what it was on as was not found at the same address as shown on the item. Any ideas? Used my normal Park 1 mode with recovery at 5, iron bias at 1, and sensitivity depending on conditions.
  13. About a week ago I had another great hunt for older coins with my Equinox 800. I don't often go to areas with the chance of finding older coins so this was a real treat. Of course, finding older coins is very much a function of going to places where the older coins actually are there. Found 1941s, 1952d,1941s, 1910, and 1953 wheat pennies. The 1953 on the far left in the photo had been made into a button. Pretty neat. Also, found 1956d rosie, 1935 and 1924s Mercury dimes in nice condition. Also, found 2 ea Mexico 1946 10 Centavos and 1 ea Mexico 1945 10 Centavos. Hunted in my normal Park 1 with Recovery speed upped to 6, iron bias down to 1, and sensitivity 18-20 depending on conditions. Really getting to like the Equinox after a beginning with a strong learning curve after having used another detector (Whites XLT) for 14 years.
  14. I went back today and double checked the ID on the War nickel in my back yard soil in Reno, NV. It still came in at a solid 16. But, per previous posts including Steve the ID number on various targets can differ according to the ground conditions. Regardless,I dig everything to avoid missing any good targets and not have to deal with the same target in the next visit to that site. Now, a different subject. I didn't reply to your question sooner as yesterday I was up at Lake Tahoe detecting at a very heavily minialized black sand beach. I found a 14k gold ring and a sterling silver ring with my pulse induction detector. This beach is so bad in some areas that the pulse induction detector can find things, but I haven't been able to get the NOX 800 to locate things the pulse detector can. But, per previous posts including Steve even the NOX can't do all the things and everything that a group of highly specialized detector can do. I have tried the NOX at this beach and can find coins but not in the really bad areas or in the same amount as the pulse detector. However, still learning the NOX and hope to get it to work better in these very advise conditions. I've tried the various modes, decreased the sensivity , increased the recovery speed, etc. , but in the really bad areas has not helped much.
  15. Finally getting the learning curve moving forward with the Equinox 800 after getting it in late April and using a Whites XLT for 14 years. On 9th outing with the NOX yesterday found 1944s and 1940 wheat pennies, 1928d Buffalo nickel, and 35 per cent silver 1943s War nickel. Starting to find the coins with this awesome machine that I was really frustrated with in the beginning. Of course, every outing depending on where it is will not have older coins, but I can now use the NOX much better to its capabilities. I use the Park 1 only now with recovery speed upped to 6 and iron bias down to 1 and sensitivity from 16-20 based on conditions. The Buffalo hit pretty solid at 13 and the War nickel at 16 down about 5-6 inches. Thanks again to Steve and everyone else who gave me hope and suggestions on learning the NOX. I found the sterling silver earring on an earlier outing. Still learning with it and never finished learning, but makes it much more enjoyable when you start to find coins and the older, deeper targets. Also, thanks to all the veteran users who submit the ideas for better using the NOX.
  16. Thanks for the reminder. I did a noise cancel and ground balance when I switched modes, but again thanks . I worked with Field 1 in my backyard to simplify things as strongly mentioned in Chase's excellent post. It was wonderful to get that type of help/feedback from someone in such great detail. Now a days it's not too often that someone goes to that extent to help someone out. It is like having 5 detectors in one. As mentioned in another post, hopefully, there are still some coins to find out there in Reno parks. Probably going out Monday AM to give the 800 another try with a whole new plan of attack(keep it simple stupid approach). Then, probably going up to lake Tahoe on Wednesday, but don't want to use the Equinox 800 until I get more familiar with it ( heavy mineralized black sand beach) and will stick with my Garrett Infinium LS. Thanks again and love the site.
  17. Thanks for all the info. Being very frustrated on my first post I misspoke when I said I changed the recovery speed and iron bias. I just accepted what the mode was set up for , but I did start dialing down the sensitivity. I was guilty of mode hopping , also when I did noise cancel I had the coil on the ground, and went to a park that I had not been to since 2011(big mistake). On a better note I did dig dimes, nickels, and pennies so I became familiar with the varying signals and target Id's , dug some junk targets, dug some deep targets (that weren't sprinkler heads or pipes), got plenty of sun , and lots of good exercise.I'm very competitive with myself and set yearly goals for the coin totals I hope to find , so, it was very discouraging based on my past experience. Based on my test garden I already know this beast goes deeper so I'm going to adjust my goals to hope for more older coins. Do you suggest using the Auto Tracking after ground balancing? Thanks again for all the good info. and to everyone else who replied.
  18. Thanks. I had my phone on airplane mode for this hunt, but will leave it in the car next time.
  19. I had all the modes still on the factory pre-sets. I started with Park 1, then Park 2, then Field 1, and then Field 2. I didn't tweak any of the settings for these modes. I was getting very few good signals. Didn't get any quarters at all when I have averaged 20-30 coins at this park in a 2 hour period with my Whites XLT. Thanks for thew reply.
  20. Took my Equinox 800 out for first trip ever since I bought it and went to an older local park. Wish I could stay it was great, but had a very frustrating day and only found 10 coins for $.41 in 3 1/2 hours. I have used a Whites XLT for 14 years , so, I guess the learning curve will be greater than I thought with the Equinox even though I'm obviously not new to metal detecting. Even though I tried all the modes, thoroughly read the manual numerous times, did noise cancel in each mode, ground balance in each mode, used different recovery speeds, and iron bias I still had problems with bad signals, bad target Id, pin pointing, lots of noise./chatter. I tried turning down the sensitivity way down to 14-15 but didn't help much. After digging some deep holes I discovered this park did have a quite extensive old metal sprinkler system with pipes and heads about 9-12 inches deep that I would guess was maybe largely responsible for my difficulties. The depth system with the shovels is not all that accurate. Some of my targets on the surface were reading 6-8 inches deep. After reading all about the Equinox on various sites I know it is better than it was today. I realize if there's no coins at a location even the very very best detector isn't going to find anything. I did not experience any of these problems in my test garden in the back yard, so, Im assuming this park had some type of issues I couldn't overcome at least with my limited knowledge of the Equinox. This is not meant as a criticism of the Equinox . Just trying to do better next time. Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks.
  21. I had been working with Gerry's Metal Detectors in Boise, ID . . They were the first dealer I contacted when I knew I wanted an Equinox 800 , went on their waiting list, and even after going on about 12 other waiting lists at various dealers Gerry was the first one (and only one)to contact me back that they had one to buy. Great dealer, honored my veteran's discount( very much appreciated) , shipped promptly after I paid , and I received about a week later in mid April. I've been busy with home projects but playing/learning ii in back yard test garden. After having used a Whites XLT solely for 14 years just a bit of a learning curve, but hope to get out very soon. I've been trying out different programs and setting up a Profile program , so, first time in the field I'll be comfortable with it and how it's different from my Whites. Again, Gerry's Metal Detectors an outstanding Minelab dealer and very , very good guy to work with.
  22. I just joined the Forum and Fan Club today but have been metal detecting with a Whites XLT on land and Garrett Infinium LS for the past 14 years. Looking to upgrade to a Minelab Equinox 600/800 after having done the research , reviewed the manual, and watched the YOUTUBE posts. I do land detecting around Reno,NV and beaches at Lake Tahoe,so, have to deal with the mineralized ground. In my 14 years I have found 19,376 coins while also pulling 17,835 pieces of trash/garbage from the sand/water at Lake Tahoe. I would have to consider myself semi-hardcore when it comes to detecting. Looking to branch out to mining camp and gold nuggets shootings, thats why in part looking at the Minelab Equinox. ( can't afford the CTX 3030). My question. What's the best way to get a Minelab Equinox 800? Hard to find one currently in stock anywhere. Also, looking for a hunting buddy in the Reno,NV area . Thanks.
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