mn90403

GB, I know what you mean. There are so many combinations and an Iron Bias here a Sensitivity setting there and a tweak of the Recovery Speed can make a difference. Is the difference greater in my mind (confidence) or could I be missing some targets if I had different settings? Some of the testers like Gordon and Derek 'published' complete settings and Chase put them on this thread: I'm like you and find knowing someone's settings is very helpful. When you have a detector like this with different modes it is not like you can take any other mode and make it act/sound like another with all the same settings. (You can't turn Gold 1 into Field 1 with just some settings changes.) As you say the first choice is Mode and all the settings that come with it. So far it seems to be a consensus that getting a feel for a setting will lead you to settings that will work for your search area. I know what is meant by this but it can just be more simple to use someone's setup if you can get the numbers. Mitchel

I cured (got a temporary fix) my PGD last night! Really nice video. I don't have any silver yet. Mitchel

Here is tonight's hunt. I go out to my beach and I head in the opposite direction of last night. The tide is a little lower when I get there and I start searching there. Straight off I'm getting bottle caps. They had all kinds of different numbers. They would jump the 13, 10, negs ... I stopped digging bottle caps years ago with the CTX. It was at a location at the top of my screen (I don't care about numbers on the CTX because I look at the screen) so I don't dig. Similar thing with bobby pins. I stopped digging those when I stopped using my 5000 on the beach! So, rant over ... I said I'm not going to hunt in a patch of caps, time to get to my other beach about 2 miles away. I turned off the all metal, went to 8 on recovery and 6 on bias and started 'Fast and Furious!' Not quite so furious but quick and I didn't find anything walking the wave/tide line for a long time then I got a solid 17. It was locked. No penny warble, scratch or jump. I put my scoop in and I felt something so I was careful and pulled out the copper bracelet from about 6 inches in the wet sand. Ok, solid signals can be had on this beach. All the while I'm walking I'm thinking about a couple of years ago when targets were dense. How much fun would it have been with the Nox then? Well, that is not now so onward to my beach. When I got there it was dark but I have my light. It didn't look like it had been hit today but there weren't many waves either. I walked all the way to the end of where I was going to go with a nickel or penny here and there and I said it was time to get back the 2.5 miles. Meanwhile I've gone to 6 on Recovery and put Bias at 2 and turned OFF all metal. About 200 yards after I turned in an area where I've found several rings I got another 13. Ok, I'll dig this because of where it is and that is the 2.7g/14k ring! Those might be 3 little diamonds but I haven't tested them. There is a bit of solder repair for resizing so I don't know other than that why the number is so high. That was a one off so back to my car following the now higher tide line. Ok, I'll dig that beeping target and it's a cheap ring! A two ring night isn't bad. Fast and Furious works on a mostly targetless beach to cover more ground. I consider this like patch hunting for nuggets in the desert. Some of the targets in the picture were down to 10 inches again. I can't think of more. All for now. Mitchel

Just a bit more from the beach last night! There is a 'story' behind every piece but I tell just one. The gold looking band signaled as gold at 4-5. I thought it was nice and I dug the hole and then nothing. I looked for a couple of minutes in the dig outs and the hole ... nothing. Then with my light I spotted it. I grabbed it but didn't test it again. I don't know why it went invisible. It is not magnetic. It is a hollow. Maybe I broke it with the scoop. It is not heavy so ... who knows? Mitchel

The last place I looked for gold I found many missed shots that were 8's and smaller but no missed nuggets. I wanted one of those little things to be a nugget. Those targets are hard to pinpoint and get in the scoop and sometimes they roll out or get blown out by the wind and you have to hunt them again. Mitchel

The screw on the handle makes for lots of options with or without the original stand on. Personally I would like some way to have a 'hinge' and be able to pull the long 'leg' out and prop it up so I don't have to bend over. I use a long handle heavy scoop on the beach. Adding a little weight to the Nox so it is easier to get at would be ok with me. Mitchel

Chase, Thank you very much. I like that you have a list of 'published programs' and I have seen Gordon's but don't know apart from the Searcher Magazine if they can be published here without his permission. (I would think it would be ok but I don't know the gentleman.) I'm wondering if Steve has such a list of 'named' programs we can share. He likes to listen for his targets in the 'noise' so to say but these programs you are compiling make certain objects stand out by design. Mitchel

That is the best use I have ever heard for that show! Nice finds. Mitchel

My 3030 is heavy compared to the 800 and I use a hip stick. It remains attached while digging. I have a one handed/leg, long handle digging scoop now but if it is deep I have to walk it back and lay the 800 down. This limits where I use the detector. I could put the detector on a leash like a surfboard but I don't go that deep. Mitchel

Bump Sensitivity If I didn't get a bump at times then I know something is WRONG. Learn your bumps, learn your detector. This isn't a hammer, a pick or a digging tool! Mitchel

Today I spent some time on the beach in a little bit of rain with the 800. It was a pretty good day because there were 3 Osprey troop planes overhead and a couple of helicopters carrying the President. Meanwhile on the beach there was next to nothing again with about 4 miles walked and only one little patch. This patch was both at the beginning and the end of my hunting of about 3 hours. I tried hard but the waves today were only about 1 ft and that was after a storm. There weren't many surfers out but that is not what this post is about. I found a few pennies and tried for better targets before returning and gridding the area. I gridded by overlapping my swings to locate all possible targets and then I heard the pennies which were only 3-4 inches. I had it on all metal and just kept digging and listening on Beach 1 standard but maybe 22 sensitivity. Then I heard an iffy target. I'm still learning so I dug. I dug some more and then down at least 12 inches was the earring. It was quite rusty but there is non-iron also. At the bottom of the hole it was wet. There was a layer there deposited from another time of bigger waves. This sand layer had built up over it. Time to grid more. I extended the 'patch' but overlapped my walking and went back over a hole I had dug a penny and it still had a target. Down I went again to that same layer, 12-14 inches deep. Out pops the other little earring. A bit of copper on the end with the wire. This is seeing real deep with a bit of a slower swing and knowledge that there is a layer. Those were the interesting finds. The other stuff is there too. Mitchel

You might want to see if your Bluetooth setting on your phone see the Equinox. I don't take my phone with me so I don't know. I have hit a couple of beaches that will not noise cancel out. I have gone to manual and autoed it numerous times and as I get closer to the road with power lines and underground 'stuff' I just can't get closer. I think there are pumps and other stuff involved also. Mitchel

I have sealed coil covers on with silicon like you use for window caulking. It remains removable if you make an effort to get it off. One way to seal is just around the edges with a little bead and then use your finger with or without a glove to make sure you get it into the cracks. The Equinox cover has a lot of edges so it would be time consuming. I will probably seal my Equinox with the silicon but I will put it completely over the surface of the cover and then fit the coil into it and then wipe away the excess. I took the covers off my CTX coils and think they will last because I don't ground them or bump them often. In the case of the Equinox coil I feel like I want to protect it a little bit more from the surface elements and I will be using it in the desert also. Mitchel

Great finds there! Right place at the right time. Does the finder of the first coin in a stash get credit for all the others also? Mitchel

Steve, Strick doesn't hunt much down here. He is closer to you than he is to us! I'm glad he isn't taking our goodies. Mitchel

Mine are fine but I could make one suggestion. When you 'disconnect' from the charging to the detector don't pull it loose by the cord. Use your fingers and lift it away from the magnetic fastener. Pulling on the wire leads (pun intended) to problems. Mitchel

Walt, Nice to see you here! I commented on your video. Have you been flogging Gold Basin with the Nox? We'll be out there before the end of the month. Mitchel

58

Chase, Excellent job of reporting what you have found. It is a surprising machine. Your study while waiting was rewarded. Many of us have found gold and good items the first few hunts after we got it. Let me just say stay close to the factory settings on most things. It is easy to want to experiment and what I have found so far is that it is cause for a bigger adjustment than needed. This reminds me of the early days of the 7000. It took a while for everyone to share their exact settings but it sure helped. This isn't a set it and forget it machine but maybe a set it and change the tones sort of machine. Mitchel

Here is a link to the digital edition: https://www.mymagazinesub.co.uk/searcher/back-issues/details/searcher-mar-2018/ Thanks for telling us it was in this issue. Mitchel

Gordon Heritage came out with an artictle in The Searcher Magazine where he gives specifics on settings for the Equinox 800 on making it sound more like the 3030. He tells the specific settings he changes from factory default. You will gain confidence by just reading the article. I paid $2.99 to read the digital edition of the April issue. There is much, much more in the magazine. Here is the link to read the 3 pages of the article and get your March issue: https://www.mymagazinesub.co.uk/searcher/back-issues/details/searcher-mar-2018/ Mitchel

A little awkward? I put a bungy on it and it keeps wanting to turn and I don't use it ... I like what you did Walker. I don't need mine to be waterproof. Mitchel

Lunk is for LUNKERS! WTG ... can we get another lesson? Mitchel, Lu, Curtis

Many people think that gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in January of 1848 but it was actually discovered on March 9, 1842 in Southern California. That is the official 'story' here: http://www.hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-latest-news/in-history-placerita-canyon-celebrates-176th-anniversary-of-the-oak-of-the-golden-dream-224619 Mitchel

Well done. I concur on the small targets. Mitchel