steveg

GB -- my bad; I misunderstood/misread, in my haste. I thought that .01" was what was worn from each WASHER, but now I see your measurement was the decrease in total width. Makes sense now. Yes, .25mm out of tolerance is less significant, but possibly still enough, given the propensity for failure of the EQX ears... My bad on the minsunderstanding. Steve

GB_Amateur... Yep, from my perspective, I would suspect that washers worn down .01 inches (0.254mm) would be a stressor on the Equinox ears...that's over 1/2mm less "width" of your lower rod to fit between the coil ears. Given that we know the Equinox's ears are, shall we say, less than "stout," and prone to breakage, that would be enough of a difference (1/2mm too small on the lower rod's "width") to be at least suspect... The .890 to .899 inch measurement range you stated, with respect to your stock lower width, is exactly correct. 22.70mm is what the stock shaft usually measures for me, and that is what I aim for with my shafts as well, or perhaps a hair larger (22.70mm is .894" -- right in the middle of the range you stated). As you are noting, given the Equinox ears' propensity for breaking, a bit more attention is required as you note. When the washers wear down a bit (usually an issue for beach hunters), a washer swap is a good idea...OR...an alternative idea is the use of spacers "behind" the washers (as you noted). Along these lines, I now am selling 0.2mm thick "spacers" that are designed fit behind the washers (installed inside of the "washer cavity" in the lower rod head prior to washer installation), for just that reason. Using such a spacer behind your washer, to "replace" the lost washer thickness that can occur over time (by "pushing" the washer "out" a bit, thus recovering some of that lost width) can be helpful in this regard (that, or a washer replacement). SORRY to hear about your coil ear breakage. Frustrating... Steve spacer installed behind the washer...

Dan, IMO the EQX is not the best choice of machines, if you are trying to cherry-pick deep nickels. It LOCATES them just fine; quite deep, in fact. BUT -- way too many other targets ID extremely similar to a nickel on the EQX. Nickels are MUCH easier to cherry-pick at depth with FBS. On an Explorer, for instance, with stock Pro coil, I could cherry-pick deep nickels with a good bit of accuracy. CO number almost ALWAYS 06, but on a deep one, the FE number would creep up into the teens. I used to LOVE cherry-picking deep V nickels with the EQX at one particular old park I hunt; any soft 14-06 or 15-06 target was getting dug, and there was a pretty good chance it was a deep V. NOT so, on the EQX. WAY too much trash IDs the same as a deep nickel. That said, Dan, I would be willing to open a notch up to 11, and if it's deep, dig it. A shallow 11 is usually a beaver tail or .22 casing, but deeper/old nickels can throw off 11s along with the 12s and a few 13s at depth. The other reason to open up your notch to 11? One-dollar gold coins! 😉 Steve

I am having a hard time believing that Minelab's policy is that your unit would not be replaced, if you have another water intrusion failure. A warranty is a warranty, and if your replacement machine remains under the original unit's 3-year warranty, I cannot imagine a scenario where Minelab would refuse to replace it in the event of a shallow-water water intrusion failure. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I would be quite surprised... Steve

Jennifer, LOL! Glad you had a dog handy, to dig you out from the packing material, LOL! Meanwhile, I am so glad to hear that you are pleased! THANK YOU for the kind words! Happy to serve! Steve

Jen, Thank YOU, for your business, and your kind words! It has been my pleasure to work with you! I'll look forward to your thoughts, once you receive it! Thanks! Steve

Hi all! This post is to consolidate all of the prior posts I've made, regarding the different products offered through Steve's Detector Rods (www.stevesdetectorrods.com). At Steve's, we offer hand-built carbon-fiber rods and shafts, with an "old-fashioned" focus on both product quality/attention to detail, and top-notch customer service. We offer our rods and shafts for an ever-increasing number of detectors, in traditional black carbon-fiber -- and also (for some models) an array of different colored carbon-fiber tubes. Along with "standard" shaft configurations, we also offer the ability to custom-build -- a service that allows us to design and produce shafts in many different configuration and length options, to meet whatever specific/particular needs you may have. We also offer our unique, optional counterweighting system, that balances out nose-heavy machines such as the Minelab Equinox, making them more comfortable to swing. At this time, we routinely offer rods, and/or shafts, for the following machines (with shafts for some other machines also available as custom offerings, by request)... Minelab Equinox -- lower rods, two-piece complete shafts, and three-piece travel shafts, in various lengths and colors, with and without the optional counterweight system Minelab CTX 3030 -- lower rods, in various lengths and colors Minelab GPX 4500 -- lower rods, in black Minelab GPX 6000 -- lower rods, in black Minelab Excalibur -- complete, three-piece "Florida-style" shafts (control box and battery pod mounted on a short shaft section to the rear of the arm cuff) Minelab Sovereign -- complete, two- or three-piece shafts, for "hip-mount" configuration Garrett AT-series/Ace/Apex -- two-piece lower shafts (and soon, three-piece complete shafts), in various colors Tarsacci MDT8000 -- two-piece lower shafts, in various lengths We also offer premium-quality, heavy-duty sand scoop handles for several scoop brands (and can custom-build for other brands of scoops as well). At this time, we routinely offer scoop handles for the following scoops... T-Rex Stealth Xtreme CooB Finally, we offer an assortment of other items, including Jeff Herke arm cuffs, "Steve's Detector Rods" ball caps and t-shirts, and of course rod/shaft parts (including our heavy-duty cam locks, which can also be used to retrofit other detector models including the Fisher AQ Impulse). If you would like more information, pictures, specs, and pricing information, or have other questions, feel free to visit our website, our Facebook business page, or send an email to steve@stevesdetectorrods.com. We are always happy to serve! Thanks, Steve steve@stevesdetectorrods.com

Thanks for the kind words, Steve, and the heads-up on the need for GPX6000 lower rods... Much appreciated! Steve

Thanks, guys; I hadn't seen this post. I now offer two-piece lower shafts, for the Tarsacci...the middle shaft connects directly to your Tarsacci upper, while the middle and lower two sections are connected by one of my own cam locks -- the same ones I use on my other shafts, and very similar to the Tarsacci cam lock. Advantages of my shaft include both sections being smaller in diameter than the stock shaft (and thus less hydrodynamic drag in the water), and also that I can build the shaft to custom lengths -- including extra length, if necessary. I am also in the very early stages of being a Tarsacci dealer, and so if you are interested in buying an MDT-8000, and would like to work with me on the sale, please contact me... THANKS! Steve email: steve@stevesdetectorrods.com www.stevesdetectorrods.com

Good report, F350, and hey -- nice-looking shaft! 😄 Steve

F350 — Got it! Thanks for the info, that makes more sense now! I was certain that the camo tubes aren’t appreciably different in weight compared to the others. I couldn’t figure out why the weight would be “off.” Now, it makes sense; I can rest easier now, LOL! Thanks! No worries! Joe D. — LOL! 😂 OK, I will try! I am in PA, back where I grew up, visiting family. I am getting in just a bit of detecting while I am here, and will be playing a round of golf with my dad on Monday — so it’s all good! 🙂 Thanks! Steve

LOL -- thanks, rvpopeye! F350, it's interesting that you say there was "no weight savings." Something seems off... I did NOT weigh the camo carbon-fiber tubes prior to building your shaft; I just got the very first shipment in, and didn't weigh them before building your shaft -- and I'm on vacation now, so can't weigh them. BUT -- I find it really strange that you are saying there was no weight savings. My "non-camo" carbon-fiber shafts weigh around 30% less than the stock shaft, and I can't imagine that the camo ones should be appreciably different, weight-wise, as compared to the others. Are you sure you are weighing the machine with your new shaft installed "apples to apples" with what your machine was beforehand, with the stock shaft attached? I know you said you added one of those "bumpers" to the control box, and I know you are using a Detect-ED arm cuff, which is heavier than the stock cuff. Did you have these same items included on your unit when you weighed in, prior to my shaft arriving? Are there perhaps any other items you may have added to the unit, along with installing my shaft, that would have added to the weight, as compared to the "stock" shaft configuration? I can't recall exact numbers, but if I remember correctly, the stock Minelab shaft runs about 10 oz., give or take, and mine are about 7 oz., give or take. I can confirm when I get home, and will also confirm that the camo tubes are of similar weight to my other tubes. But you should have experienced some weight savings switching to my carbon fiber. Something seems a bit "amiss" here... Steve

F350 -- thank you! The pleasure has been mine! 🙂 Steve

F350 -- THANKS for the very kind words, and for the great picture. I think it looks great (but, I'm probably biased, LOL)! THANKS for your business, and for being "the first one!" Thank you! Steve

Chase, I'll look forward to your impressions once you have a bit more experience with it in the square nails. It's interesting that you are experimenting with higher iron bias; I may have to do a bit of testing with that as well, in my square-nail-infested PA church yard, that I expect to be hunting this week. For sure, though, I'm going to try single frequency, 20 kHz and maybe 40 kHz, to see if I can make those square nails sound more like nails, and less like deep silver. Steve