CPT_GhostLight

47 minutes ago, joseph bielawski said:

I own a 600. It came with standard wire headphones. I want to update to wireless. The standard headphones fall apart(cup where wire extrudes from plastic holder). In a strong onshore wind or sea conditions, it lets in a lot of background noise. Can you suggest what headphones(wireless) can I investigate? I hear there is more to this than I expected, as I read a few stories here. All those alpha/number settings don't help me as I am a NEWBIE to detecting. Yeah, I should have gotten the 800, but no one was around to answer questions. '

'Nuff of my railing/raiting.

 

ANY help as to what one to get(and why) will surly help. 

Hey Joseph, here's a great thread with just the info you need:

https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/11653-suggestions-for-aftermarket-wireless-aptx-headphones/?tab=comments#comment-114053

HTH

From a semi-noob perspective, I'll throw in my 2 cents. I've had an old cheap detector for years and from time to time, I'd take out to the mountains and swing it around mostly finding nails and a few old bits of iron until I took it on vacation to Florida last year and found my first old silver ring. I was hooked. I spent the better part of a year researching everything I could about metal detectors, brands, models, features, etc., comparing everything I could learn about them and decided I wanted a detector that would give me the best probability of finding good targets in any conditions and environments with a price I could manage. The field quickly narrowed for me to the Equinox Series detectors. I decided on the 800 because I wanted the gold prospecting capabilities and more advanced user editing features as I grew in experience.

I got the 800 for my birthday last April and haven't regretted my choice. It seemed a little daunting at first, but I was comforted by the fact, that I could just use the factory presets while going through the learning curve and was able to make good finds from the first time out with it. I still use many of the presets with success. The 800 has actually made me want to learn more about detectors and detecting, and with the almost unlimited information, tutorials, books, forums, and friendly users to help at every turn, I have rapidly grown as a detectorist and an Equinox user. I cannot recommend 800 highly enough. 

What about some stick-on foam rubber like this:

Garrett Arm Cuff Foam

or a thicker option:

Self-Stick Foam

or for a more posh option, maybe something like this:

Comfy Option

Nice! I was having upper arm pain and fatigue swinging the stock 11" coil and noticed no problems using the 6" coil. I eventually ordered one of SteveG's counterbalanced carbon fiber rods and I'm a believer now. I've tried with and without, and the counter balance did the trick for me. I don't even notice the little added weight, so I think any counterbalance with the 11" coil could help.

All cool suggestions, but man, I'm just happy to have such an awesome detector. If my wife hadn't surprised me with the Nox for my birthday, I'd still be swinging my beat-up old White's Prizm and hunting a lot less than I do now.

But while we're playing this game... how about + & - volume buttons on the face for quick volume control and +1 on the Forward and Reverse menu buttons too. 😉

22 hours ago, Mike Hillis said:

...

What I really like about a good electronic probe like the TRX and the Tek Point is how they increase the speed of recovery....instead of probing to pinpoint a target, I can use the electronic probe to pinpoint the target and then use the steel probe to discriminate it.    For example, say I using the F75 to hunt gold rings.   I get a nice nickel range target....I do a quick pinpoint with the F75, then put the electronic probe to use and it will tell me if the target is shallow enough to pop out with my screwdriver probe or if I'll need to plug it.   If the electronic probe will hit it, I can probe it.   And if I can  probe it then I can Id the target without having to dig it in many cases.  If the probe tells me it a tab or a foil drink lid or a big wad of foil I can I leave it in the ground for the beep dig hunter to recover while I move on to something more likely to be what I'm after.

HH

Mike

  

Thank you all for your responses and Mike, for the excellent info as well! I have been using a ProFind 35 to pinpoint the target and then probing to find the exact depth to pop. If the target is out of reach of the pinpointer, I just move on. I recently purchased a F-Pulse pinpointer in hopes that it can go a little deeper to allow a deeper pop. I haven't used the slit method yet to try to reach deeper targets, but the parks I currently practice in were created in the 70's so there's probably not much silver there. As soon as I get a little better at this, I'll try some older parks, but my last time out I only scratched one out of eleven coins so there is hope. 🙂

10 minutes ago, Joe D. said:

CPT,

   I just picked up one of these from HD the other day to make a new probe! I will just dull the points a little, than dip in Plast-Dip! It's stainless steel, so it won't rust my truck bed up! And i think I'm  going to put a piece of solid aluminum rod through the large handle hole, for some more leverage! My soil is very loose; don't know how good it would be in hard ground! Good Luck👍👍

Thanks Joe, I actually picked up a similar weeder this weekend and rounded the points off. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but I hadn't thought of your Plasti-Dip idea. I'll have to give that a go too to see if it holds up. Thanks for the tip!

5 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

It works really well even on 10"+ possible silver coin targets which I sometimes go after using the Equinox. I try to pinpoint the shallower targets for location and depth really well with my detector and my Teknetics Tek Point handheld pinpointer. If the target seems like it is a shallow coin sized object according to my detector, my Tek Point will hit it easily and give me a proximity type tone. I just try to dig around under the shallow target. If it is deeper and my Tek Point won't hit it I do the same but just dig a bit wider and I try not to dig directly on the target. I have scratched a few zinc and copper memorial pennies but I haven't scratched any nice jewelry yet, thankfully.

Thank you Jeff, this is the information I was looking for. I lowered the sensitivity on my Nox because I figured there was no way to go for anything deeper than 4 inches or so with my screwdriver. It's nice to know that deeper targets are still possible to recover using this method. From your previous finds posts, I knew you had it down to an art form. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

That looks more practical for my needs, Jeff, so I could probe & pop with one tool. It must take a light touch to keep from scratching a ring though. Maybe when I get more experienced I'll try something like that. 😉

Does anyone know what the pod goes for now?

As a relatively newcomer to the Probe & Pop world, I'm getting better at it but I still manage to scratch at least one coin every hunt using my basic brass probe. I recently found a different probe made by Fossicker that has replaceable hard plastic tips (it comes with 5 tips) and took it out for a try this week. It's a little thicker than my regular brass probe so it's a little harder to push into the ground now which is getting dryer and harder from the colder weather. The plastic tip hasn't scratched anything but it makes it harder to feel the metal click when I touch the target, so it's another learning curve I guess. I use my pinpointer to find the exact target location and the probe to find the depth to pop and was curious what kind of probe others are using.

Awesome find!

Is that from a mine or artillery?

On 7/6/2020 at 7:46 AM, Jeff McClendon said:

I use my screwdriver (old fashioned 8" round shaft even though it is a flat blade) to cut a 6" long 2" deep slit in the turf for deeper targets and then open it by prying apart the two sides. For shallower targets I cut a smaller slit and then just use my pinpointer to locate the target and pop it out with my screwdriver. I rarely use a probe unless I am on private property. 

I have just joined the Screwdriver & Probe Brigade myself recently and it's been an interesting and rewarding journey. I have very similar soil just down the road from you and run the stock Park 2 program. I haven't found any gold rings yet, but I never thought about hunting local parks until recently because of the restrictions and thought there's no way to find anything but modern clad and pull tabs. But I'm getting better at it and I'm hoping Lady Luck proves me wrong. 😉 

If you have access to a 3D printer, just print this:

Coil Ears Protector for Minelab Equinox 11" Coil

Change the print orientation to print on it's side for better strength, with supports, at 100% infill, and use a strong filament like Polycarbonate or a PC blend, PC-Max, or at least PETG. It fits the coil perfectly.

I haven't had a problem yet, but I also don't overtighten the bolt, because I like it loose enough to make slight adjustments on the fly with a light push on the ground to level the coil.

15 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

...

For more surgical removal, I will use pinpoint but then I am digging a slit or small turf flap for removal and am quickly shifting to handheld pinpoint.

...

I know this might be of topic, Chase, but I am very interested in the "surgical removal" you mentioned. Is there another topic that goes into more detail about how to do this. I'm in an area that requires digging no plugs in city parks so I would like to learn this skill.

I've had older aluminum foil in locals parks that comes in at a solid 1.

15 hours ago, MadEd said:

Hello

Is it possible to buy some stl files for the minelab 800

Here's a bunch of free STLs for the 600/800 and more:

Minelab STL Files

I noticed the new Q12s are now APTX-HD instead of APTX-LL. That may be why they don't pair with the Nox now.

I received my B80s and they wouldn't pair to my 800 so I did a Factory Reset (FP) and they paired right up. I'll take them for a test drive this week and see how they do.

6 hours ago, 67GTA said:

+1 on the Aukey B80's. I got lucky and caught the light gray on sell for $30 last month. I use them with the Equinox and Vanquish. Tend to get about 6-7 hours of straight use with the volume turned up all the way.

Thanks 67GTA, I was wondering about the runtime on those, the reviews were mixed about that. I just pulled the trigger on them. 😉

Thank you Chase! I do actually prefer the Bluetooth buds with the neck cord because I don't want to spend detecting time searching for one of the wireless buds that fell out. The Aukey's looks like the way to go.

It looks like most of the earbuds are going to APTX-HD codec now and while it is supposed to be compatible with APTX-LL  devices, Qualcomm doesn't guarantee it.

I also just found a 2018 thread where you were discussing this topic (sorry, I should dug deeper before posting) and the Equinox must be using the APTX-LL codec so that must be the best choice for phones and buds as well.

Thank you again!

I love my Minelab wireless headphones for land and beach use with my Nox, but on hot days, they add substantially to my sweat factor. I was wondering if low latency wireless earbuds might be a cooler solution. Has anyone used those and have any recommendations for good quality buds that would work with the Nox? Thanks in advance for any help.

So I received my new Equinox shaft from SteveG and here's my impressions.

First, I must say Steve went above and beyond when it came to nailing down what I needed for a shaft. I emailed him about my ideas for a travel shaft and he emailed me back right away, and while on his vacation! My wife would shoot me if I did that. We emailed and chatted on the phone several times until he had all the info he needed to make recommendations. I'm a relative Nox noob, but he took the time to answer all of my questions and even offered very helpful advice about my swing, coils, shaft length, and comfort level, as well as shaft recommendations. His customer service is second to none.

 I received my 3 piece travel shaft with counter balance and took it for spin for a few hours yesterday. This thing is gorgeous! I used the 11 coil with no counter balance and it was noticeably easier to swing, but after an hour or so I started to notice the usual fatigue in my arm. It was not as bad as I got with the original ML shaft, but still there. So I decided to put on the counter balance and, like magic, the 11" coil felt like the 6" coil. Even though I added about 12 ounces to the weight, it felt light as a feather. I went on detecting for another couple of hours with no fatigue at all.  It's some kind of sciencey voodoo I tell ya!

So long story short, the counter balance system works well and Steve's craftsmanship is top notch. And after trying a few different shafts, I've found my forever shaft. Thank you for everything Steve!

* UPDATE 10/2/2020 *

I detected with the counter balance system & the 11" coil for a continuous 5 hours yesterday with no breaks to give the rig a full test and I experienced absolutely no arm fatigue at all and no soreness the next morning, well except for my aging knees 😉 Rock solid shaft and perfect balance!

I'm basically a beginner compared to most of the folks here, but if my machine starts getting too noisy, I usually turn down the sensitivity a bit until it calms down. One time it went crazy and I just turned it off for a few seconds and turned it back on and it was all good.

Hope that helps.

You will love the 6" coil on there, nickeldNdimed, it makes the Nox feel much lighter and easy to swing. After I run with my 6" for a while, I'm really reluctant to go back to the 11" because of the difference in weight and balance.

I know we're getting off topic here, so back to Steve's Shafts, I'm currently talking to him about some ideas for a travel shaft. We'll continue that conversation when he gets back from vacation. 😉