nickeldNdimed

Probably needless to say folks are brand loyal. And the made in America factor for those who held out or are ready for something new and didn’t pull the trigger on an Equinox or Vanquish. They will say “take my money Garrett” regardless of the reviews. Something about their down to earth marketing that makes one want to root for them.... I’m all for supporting a domestic brand if it is a compelling product and good value, even at a slight premium. I was rooting for Fisher/Garrett/Whites to come out with something more compelling. Simplex wasn’t compelling to me. Vanquish would have

I’ve thought about it, not tried it. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to improve my ergonomics and digging efficiency and on my third finds bag now. I’m left handed and should be able to switch this latest bag to my other side. I may try it but feel the swing might be a little sloppy like when I get tired with my left arm. Just did not expect with this detector. My F22 seemed fine, my Seahunter not so much... I’m trying a different configuration on it next time I get to use it at beach which is not often. I’ll finally get a chance to use my 6” this weekend. If that feels a lot be

Man, that would have to be last resort. I’ve seen them. I don’t even like using the cuff strap and on wireless headphones! I like to set it down when digging and not be tethered. I guess I could unbuckle it every time. Also not sure it is the weight on my shoulder but the repeated short movements and load when reversing the direction of coil. The pain or this really more in my arm than in my shoulder or joint. Sometimes elbow.

Is there a counterbalance available for the stock shaft? I know that does not sell more pretty carbon shafts but my shoulder struggles with the coil movement I feel. I’ve shortened my shaft a few notches and I think it has helped a little but can’t help to wonder about a counterbalance effect.

No, perfect. This is the kind of input I was looking for. I got mine around the same time you did and played around with simpler detectors before. Although I’ve finally feel I’ve made some cool finds and understand the basic functions, I’m also looking to increase my confidence and fill in some gaps. Thank you.

Thanks for the references. I’ve bought the red and blue books for reference and to learn about the coins and have looked up a few. I don’t get too hung up on the values as I’m not likely to find anything that will significantly change my lifestyle. Although I think of all my dirty wheaties as scratch off lottery tickets and once I have a handful I will clean off the date area hoping to find that rare 1943 copper... But yeah, they are dug coins and sometimes coming out of gravely areas. It is a little disappointing to damage them. I have a plastic trowel I bought for some backpacking trips

Exactly. I tried the stock settings and dug more iron and junk. Read some sections in manual again and realized why. Changed some settings and sort of “fixed” my issue. Now I want to work my way back, maybe... Hoping for a little more context out of the books. But not just some settings from a guy in UK using beach on land if I don’t understand why! I find it part of the fun with this detector. Some days, I just wish I had the F22 out and some limited choices. I may pick up the Andy book and the Beginner to Advanced books to start and go from there but welcome any other insight on the books.

Yes, thank you. Good feedback on Andy’s book. I’ve been using my 600 this year and have found silver coins, 1800s coins, and a couple of nicer rings (pic of some of my coin finds so far). Just getting to start playing with the various settings and trying to truly understand how changing each may help me find the hidden stuff or what I have missed. Also picked up a sweet deal on a used 6” coil I’ve yet to try so hoping it expands a bit on practical use of various coils and how one may want to set the settings. The manual helps but it is also kind of vague in practical application.

Curious about thoughts on the Andy book and the Clive books(3) on the Equinox. Are any of them preferred over the others or more useful? Does one writer communicate or convey the information better than the other? I’m personally looking for something to expand on the manual and add some field context to the settings/modes and maybe a bit of less basic detecting technique or skills and tips. I have a 600 so also hoping the book is not too biased to the 800. The Minelab Equinox 600 800 Metal Detector Hand book The Minelab Equinox: “From Beginner to Advanced” Skill Buil

Yes, I am familiar with the chart and the manual. I guess I should clarify, I’ve only been comparing the Park and Field modes per my original question and those are all recovery speed 3 by default. In regards to iron bias, I should clarify that I have both FE and FE2 set at 2 at the moment and have only detected with the FE setting and have not tried FE2. What you suggest is exactly what I am trying to do and what led to the question. First I started with the presets, park 1, then Park 2, then Field 1 and only changed all to 5 tones. I mostly noticed I was not finding much more in pr

Wow, lots of replies for me to catch up on. So I only have the 600 so have ignored reading about the gold modes but I understood/interpreted the same by the description provided of each mode in the manual. The “1” modes and “2” modes in park and field having the same weighting with different settings while the beach modes were uniquely different. I’ll have to read through the comments with more time and watch the videos but it seems like others have observed differences with some A-B-A tests. I guess I will also have try myself. Again, my thought was that, if it was known,

Does it do this even if you set the iron bias the same?

Darn. I enjoyed reading the comparisons. Especially from guys with fancier detectors that also enjoyed trying out or taking along something simpler sometimes. I have an Equinox 600 and I like it and starting to play with the settings. But sometimes I just miss taking out the F22 for a simple park hunt. I have an Ace 300 and F22 and when I run across a good used deal on a Vanquish 340/440 and maybe a Simplex I would love to compare all of them. I would have preferred the Vanquish to have copied the packaging of the F22/44 over the Ace line. I would not have bought the Equinox...

I enjoyed reading the topics under this forum as I have a couple entry level units un addition to my Equinox. But I have not been on this site for a couple of months and can’t seem to find it. It seemed pretty active.

Yeah, I would not be upset. I would be happier to know and understand what I cant change. My reasoning and thinking was to set one “low” for the 11” coil and one “low” for the 6” with some slight differences for bias and recovery. Then same with the “high” weighted.