RayfromAK

I purchased a Minelab wired headphones for my Equinox, and these work fine.  I thought that the headphone receptacle where the jack plugs into was loose, but that was not the case.  I figured that one has to push the jack into the receptacle quite firmly until it sort of snaps in place, at which point the jack is held securely without any play.

 I will also be looking for a set of good quality wired earphones for using during some of the hot summer days.  I can still use the Bluetooth headphones now and then, but these will become a backup set.

On 3/24/2019 at 1:41 AM, Chase Goldman said:

 

I completely understand minimizing unnecessary, avoidable health risks, but if you are reacting to the latest media sensationalized news regarding airpods and other wireless headphones, take a look at this article for a less sensationalized perspective:

https://www.health.com/condition/cancer/bluetooth-wireless-headphones-cancer

Bottom line, there is just a lot of controversy, but not a lot of facts or concrete results from research and the total EMI field from RF radiation of all types basically overwhelms the energy a pair of bluetooth headset can pump into your brain, even from close range.  Furthermore, the health industry is itself conflicted.  Bluetooth or similar wireless technology hearing aids often widely prescribed and used, for example.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with a better safe than sorry approach, though it might be less convenient. 

First of all, the 800 included ML BT phones DO come with a hard wired connection and cable in the headphone case.  Have you tried that with your Equinox?  

Second, if you are concerned about having the BT transmitter/receiver next to your head, try using the WM08 wireless receiver.  Your ipod earbuds should be able to plug right and remain stable since you are not putting any strain on the connection unlike with the control head, and you can still remain untethered to your detector and you can place the receiver in a place not near your head.

If you are looking for wired earbud alternatives for warmer weather conditions, you might want to consider getting a modified pair of wired buds that also include the proper Equinox compatible screwed-in connector.  Here is an example off ebay. That way you eliminate the having to use the ML adapter cable which also only has a 1/4" jack which is great for enabling typical detecting type wired headphones to be used with your Equinox, but I do not know of many earbuds that have the 1/4" plug, necessitating another adapter be placed between your earbuds and the ML adapter.  The other advantage of the earbud with dedicated compatible plug connector is that they are waterproof which means you can use them in foul weather or even water hunting if desired.  My personal preference is to buy a set of over the ear waterproof phones, many of which are designed to give good sound even when not water hunting (dedicated water hunting submersible waterproof phones often have to compromise audio quality by using technology such as piezoelectric speakers to enable them to be audible submerged).

HTH

Thank you, Mr. Goldman for your suggestions.  I can give then a try and see how they work.

During my years in the military working with aircraft (long ago), we took the warnings about RF and other types of radiation very seriously.  I know that we are surrounded by all kinds of RF signals, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. I am just trying to keep the transmitters and receivers a small distance from my brain.  

Thanks again.

8 hours ago, Noah (FL) said:

Not to be negative but in all honesty, the coil and metal detector itself generates a far more substantial electromagnetic  field than the Bluetooth transmission.   If you are seriously concerned about electromagnetic fields affecting your health I would recommend a different hobby.  

I appreciate what you are saying, and completely understand.  But what I am trying to avoid is having the Bluetooth radio frequency concentrated right on my head. 

5 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The main question I have is... does it work with the provided Minelab headphones? If so the plug works as designed. It is pretty tight on the tolerances and some aftermarket plugs can’t seem to get seated quite right. They can’t push down far enough to seat properly, like a hair too much plastic. I have to push the Minelabs in quite firmly to get them to seat.

I actually never use the Minelab wired phones. Why would you not go wireless? The only time I plug phones in is if the head is submerged, in which case I use the Minelab waterproof adapter cable and Sun Ray Pro Gold CTX version headphones.

Like Trailryder42 mentions above shaving a hair amount of plastic off where it envelopes the metal may make all the difference.

I don't have the Minelab wired headphones,  just the wireless one.  The wireless headphones work quite well, but I don't want to have a wireless receiver so close to my head for extended periods of time.  What I would like to do is to wear wired headphones similar to the iPhone's, or at least one that has very small ear pads that do not get my ears sweaty during the summer.

The Equinox headphone receptacle should be a lot tighter around the headphone jack.  Because of its location underneath of the control box, the cable wiggles the jack around when one swings the coil.  What I am planning to do is to buy the headphone waterproof adapter sold a Kellyco and Amazon, because the rubberized plug at the jack's end of this adapter can hold the jack securely in place.  This should solve the problem I am having.

Cable:

https://www.amazon.com/Minelab-Detector-Headphone-Adaptor-Equinox/dp/B07NJ9NRWG?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-osx-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07NJ9NRWG

4 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

The Equinox has only been out for a little over a year.  This forum was started a few months before the first production release of the Equinox so most of this information is current or applies to the Equinox universally..  ML uses a certain plug wiring scheme to enable the speaker to be cut out.  If you use a third party set of wired headphones they need to be wired up as shown here to ensure the speaker properly cuts out.  Since the headphone jack on the Equinox is recessed to enable the proprietary water tight plug to screw into the jack cavity, it is best to try to use wired phones that utilize the Equinox screw in type connector to ensure a secure fit.

There are a number of relevant headphone threads that are linked in this convenient compilation thread put together by Steve Herschbach, the site's founder.

 

HTH

Yes, I read a post about this subject sometime before I started this thread. But the problem with my Equinox is that the headphone receptacle is too loose around the headphone's jack. In other words, if I plug-in the jack into the receptacle, the jack wiggles around. But if I hold it in place with my finger, then it works fine.  However, I haven't had the time to figure the mono versus stereo, at least until I can get a tight connection.  I emailed this thread to Minelab today, and see what they have to say about it. The iPhone's headphone's jack is a little different than the other headphones I have, so I may not be able to use it, anyway.  Later on I will either buy the proper jack as recommended by Minelab, but I still have to see what the problem is with the receptacle since the weight of the headphone's cord loosens that jack from the receptacle, and all I hear is a scratching sound, or just the sound switching back and forth from the headphones and the Equinox speaker.

I bought an EQ 800 last year, and used it perhaps 4 times within two weeks before I put it away for winter.  I used the Minelab Bluetooth headphones, which I liked very much because they are comfortable and light.  With all of the recent medical warnings about earbuds and wireless headphones, I have decided to use wired headphones-including the ones I use with my iPhone-a try.   However, it seems that the headphone socket of my almost new Equinox 800 does not hold the headphone plug tight enough, so the headphone sound breaks and turns "scratchy."   When this happens the sound is switched back and forth from the headphones to the detector's speaker, but if I hold the headphone's plug tightly against the socket, then everything is fine.  When left alone the plug wiggles in the socket.  I tried 4 different headphones I have around my home, and none made a difference.

I will check with Minelab USA about this, but wanted to ask of you if this is a common problem with the EQ 600 and 800.

Cabela's and Sportsman Warehouse, offer military discounts.  I bought mine at the local Sportsman Warehouse in Fairbanks, and received a military discount once I showed my retired veteran military ID.  Tried to order it online from Cabela's, but they could not ship it to Alaska because of the battery inside, and the only Cabela's store in Alaska is in Anchorage, too far from me to pick it up.

Amazon would have shipped it to my house, but I saved a few dollars by buying locally.

3 hours ago, schoolofhardNox said:

 

Yep, I think it's either Rhodium or Platinum like the article you linked to stated. Thanks for posting it. I heard of Rhodium plating before,  but I never knew of platinum being used.

Yes, the so called "white gold" finish tend to add value to the ring.

The silver color on that ring may be because it's what some call "white gold."  This type of gold loses its silvery color with time, so one can take it to a jeweler (better explained toward the end of this article):

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-white-gold-chemical-composition-608015

1 hour ago, Mark Gillespie said:

Well I can say for sure the wireless headphones that come with the 800 model are the best I've found so far.  I've been experimenting with different wireless brands of headphones and I've yet to find a single pair that comes close to the performance and minimal lag time compared to the stock phones.  Amazing machine.

Congrats Minelab.

 

Agree with you.  I find them to be comfortable and lightweight, plus not bulky at all.

That said, one thing that I would like for Minelab to do is to redesign all their charging cables to that they are longer, and also more flexible (similar in flexibility of the Apple brand cables). The Minelab ones are too stiff, specially if used in cool temperatures.

On 11/1/2018 at 12:43 AM, BeachHunter said:

Yep. Staying alert while metal detecting in the woods, park, field or beach is a safety requirement. The two legged kind is my biggest concern as well.

 

Alaska is not very populated. In fact when placer mining and such I rarely see anybody other than the friends I am mining with. The same if I were detecting for nuggets.  Then if detecting at the local places around Fairbanks, people just don't mess around with anybody since open or concealed carry is legal and lots of people are armed. People up here tend to leave others alone, unless one hangs around bad places at night. Even the drunks roaming around downtown Fairbanks don't give you a hard time.

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

“In the 2000s, there have been 46 total fatal bear attack incidents, resulting in 48 total deaths, in North America, so far. Of these incidents, 27 occurred in the United States, and 19 occurred in Canada” Source

Aprroximately 1500 to 2000 bears a year are killed by hunters in Alaska. The most dangerous animal in the woods walks on two legs.

Oh well, I should have left that one be. This really has nothing to do with metal detecting in general and the Equinox in particular. Sharks, bears and other things that could eat you understandably tend to freak people out. I worry a lot more about running into bad people than bad bears personally, but that’s just me.

I understand your points, and don't have anything against.  Two persons were killed in Alaska this year, and two in 2017. But I have no idea about the rest of the US, since that database I was referring to pertained to Alaska only. Of the bears you have mentioned, a small portion are killed by Alaska hunters, and the majority by non-Alaskan hunters. However, according the F&G, the brown and grizzly bears population alone is around 36,000.  Black bears are supposed to be around 100,000.  Also, while some hunters get mauled or even killed every now and then, most of the dead aren't hunters, but people in the outdoors hiking, camping, mining, and so on.

When gold detecting, specially if wearing headphones, bears and other wildlife is something to be cautious about when in remote areas in the outdoors.

In reality, about one person per year (average) is killed by bears in Alaska. That has been the case for the past 100 years or more.  Back in 2010 or so there was a database about the number of humans killed by bears in Alaska that spanned about 100 years, but the database is not longer posted on the Internet. The person who created it was Tom Smith, who back then worked in Alaska. Some years we have two killed by bears, and I believe that was the case last year.

Also, at least one person has been killed by wolves. This attack happened in a rural village where she was a teacher.

Quote

 

Real is the Spanish name for one coin. More than one real is a plural, in which case they are "Reales."  But it's not a big deal, so any way you want to say it's fine ?

11 hours ago, Fell Wanderer said:

Hi, If you wait till low tide then start detecting, the tide will start to turn after about 20 mins, giving you less time detecting at low water. Best to follow the tide down an hour or so before its lowest point, this way you cover more area

Wow. What a good response!. There is not an ocean nearby, so I didn't think about it until you pointed that out. It makes a lot of sense and should be the best idea for ocean beach detecting, because the tide goes out and comes back soon after.

Thank you, Jackpine for the link, and Chase Goldman for the instructions on how to set the Equinox.  And yes about a fresh water beach I am trying this detector before winter arrives, which by the way should be here any moment.  It has been around 35 degrees today, and the temperature maybe will reach 40 degrees next week-during the day. It drops around 30 degrees at night.

I have been using Park 1, and today I decided to increase the threshold volume to 1 just to see how it sounded, but brought it back to default shortly after because it was a little too high on the headphone. The Minelab headphone that came with the detector works quite well for me since I have become accustomed to using headphones when detecting.  What I specially like about the headphone is that I don't have to be tied-up to the detector via a cord, and this makes it quite easy when digging and the detector is a few feet away from me on the ground.

I have been laser-printing all the instructions on how to set-up the Equinox, and then putting it in a binder along the Equinox 600/800 manual that I have also printed. 

I have been watching some of the Equinox detecting videos at "youtube," but the only ones I have found useful are the ones showing detecting Roman coins in the UK, plus another where the person in the video wrote how to set-up the detector (step by step) for coin detecting in the specific fields he detects at. All the videos for ocean-beech detecting aren't of use to me ?

Thanks again.

I am new to metal detecting with the Equinox 800 after using a Sovereign XS, and long ago a Teknetics detector.  The later I used by Northern NY and Vermont with excellent results.  The Battle of Champlain took place in these areas, so I gathered several Old Army buttons, musket ball, and so on.  Along these relics, with the help of the Teknetics, I also found some very old coins, and newer Canadian and US silver coins, some gold and silver rings, etc.

As mentioned above, I have been using a Sovereign XS in the interior of Alaska where I live, but since there aren’t too many old coins and relics to be easily found I seldom use it these days. One would have to do a lot of research and travel far to find old sites, and there aren’t any beaches nearby where I lot of people spend time at.  However, there are some places where one can do some gold nugget detecting, and for this activity I have traveled quite a few miles to the remote mining claims some of my friends had in the past, and found a couple of small nuggets years ago using a Minelab XT18000.  But let me tell you that looking for gold is not as easy as shown on “youtube,” so the XT has been in the closet for a while now.

Anyway, the reason for buying the Equinox 800 is so that I don’t have to carry two detectors, one for coin and relic hunting, and the other for gold detecting.  I just received the Equinox this week, and took it out for a spin to a lake beach not too far from my home.  I have found plenty of clad coins and some jewelry with the Sovereign at this lake, some very deep by the water’s edge.  So far I think that I like the different sounds the Equinox makes, probably because I enjoyed the numerous sounds the Teknetics made, specially on silver and other coins.  I decided not to mess around too much with the detecting modes and setting and to stick to the factory defaults for the time being, until I understand what the different sounds mean.

The Equinox is easy to pinpoint targets with without having to use the pinpoint button-at least for me-because I am already familiar with the pinpointing of targets using the center of the coil. I found just a couple of clad quarters and dimes, plus a few pennies.  Some of these coins were very deep, an indication that they have been missed by other detectorists, and well as by myself using the Sovereign.  And yes, I dug a few pull-tabs, but I believe that I noticed a slight difference in tone between coins and pull-tabs, something that I will have to explore further next summer.  What I would like to try next year (winter is just about to arrive to the interior of Alaska), other than the beach modes, are the field 1 and 2 modes, and also gold detecting at one of my friend’s claims.  For the time being I will be paying attention to what all of you have to say about coin and treasure hunting with the Equinox.