c47gold

In reply to my own comment about if the Deus 2 is really a great all purpose detector, after watching some of the Calabash videos, I guess it has to be a strong yes. Very impressive videos.

I might have been a little unclear. I said "mostly" good for only 10 ft. because I was thinking of the the Deus 2 which as you said is a diving detector to 20 meters. But isn't it still not quite sure how all purpose the Deus 2 will prove to be?

Well, I made up my mind and ordered the Garrett Sea Hunter to replace my Excalibur. Just don't feel like waiting to see if the Legend holds up to it's sales pitch, and I figure my other detectors will be good for other activities on land. Could have gotten another Excalibur, but I couldn't resist the price at Optic Planet. $522 which includes a 10% discount. that's 1/3 of the price of a new Excalibur or Deus 2. I'll be happy in the surf with the Sea Hunter and I'll just watch the development of those all purpose multi-frequency machines. But as long as they are mostly advertised as only good for 10 ft. in the water, I believe Steve when he says they all will fail at some time or other. (Except maybe my Minelab SDC 2300 which is built like a tank, but it floats)

I'm still mulling over what replacement I want for my old Excalibur I and haven't made up my mind yet. I'm thinking maybe an Excalibur II, or one of these newer multi-frequency detectors, or a Garrett Sea hunter. One of my big concerns is to find a detector that can discriminate out iron. The Excalibur iron mask worked great and saved a lot of digging. So, are the new multi-frequency detectors as good at masking iron or at least IDing iron on the screen? For me, I like the idea of a lighter, all purpose detector if they really are good under water too, cause that's my main area these days. But on the con side, these 10 ft "waterproof" machines don't seem to be too trustworthy under water. Maybe the Legend can solve that problem, or the Deus 2, which I guess is expected to since it's being billed as a detector suitable for diving. I like the Garrett Sea Hunter for being reliably waterproof and it's great reputation on finding jewelry, (if you're willing to go all metal and dig everything, since I know most everyone says the discrimination modes are a waste of time). So I'm wondering maybe its possible to tune ones ear to iron targets just by audio sounds on the Sea Hunter. If not, then it's dig all the iron out of the ocean floor! I would love to hear what you think . . .

I mean upgrade the 800 to be able to dive deeper and be more waterproof

Yeah, I always used the original shaft on the Excalibur which worked fine for me in rough ocean waters. It's true that the Excalibur didn't pick up thin stuff very well but I found some nice gold rings! As I get older though, I like the idea of a lighter, all purpose detector, if it's good in the water. I'm guessing that Minelab will replace the 800 with a deeper diving machine and just charge a bunch more, so If the Legend proves to do all that the Equinox 800 can do and is more waterproof, that would be great for me.

Yikes!

I'm trying to zero in on the water leakage problem of the Equinox 800. I read that Steve said just about all the water detectors rated at 10 ft. are going to leak. Do you all think that is because people took it deeper and it couldn't hold up under the increased water pressure? Minelab does warns that it is safe to use only under 10 ft. If the 800 leak problems are mostly in deeper water, then that's fine with me, and I would get it, since I only go in lakes or the ocean no deeper than up to my chest. What do you guys think?

This might be a dumb question, but has anyone heard of a waterproof cover for the Equinox pod to keep water leaking in?

Has the Equinox 600 had the same leak problems as the 800?

Yes, It is an old Excalibur and I loved it's simplicity and durability. It could take a beating in the ocean and lakes, and once you know the tones of different targets, you don't need a screen ID to tell you what's down there. I have always hunted in the ocean up to my chest sometimes, and I would just get another Excalibur but swinging around 5+ lbs. has finally gotten tiresome. I would be getting the Equinox but now this leakage problem bothers me, and after looking at the Deus 2 videos and reviews, I'm starting to lean that way! Thanks for the input from all of you guys!

Steve. Has Minelab made, or going to make any changes on the Equinox to fix these leak problems other than replacing the machines under warranty or selling new control pods?

Too bad Minelab seem to have forgotten they were trying to market it to us treasure hunters!

Thanks for those comments Steve and phrunt. I went in the ocean today with the dsc2300 to test it out again. I think the problem is with the coil, which is solid and let's the water push up on it. My old Excalibur coil offers almost no resistance. The water just flows right through it. It (See photo). I'm leaning towards the equinox cause I really like the fact that it is so light and so versatile. Swinging heavy machines around for hours is no fun anymore at 75!

Hi Chase. Thanks for that ifo, I'll check out those two you mentioned.