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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

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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

Richard, I think I know what you are talking about. I have been a beach SE Pro and CTX user for the last 4 years. When I hear a US Quarter it bangs on my headphones. The Equinox does not bang but it is loud enough. It takes a bit of getting used to. My audio uncomfortability was so great I had to go back out with targets and retrain my ears a bit before I hit the beach again. I posted about that yesterday in Feel The Power Of Your 800. I came to grips with the realization that this is not a CTX or SE Pro. Maybe you have to know this is not a 705 (I've never used one). Take the 800 out with some targets and have some fun. Start with everything turned up (or down) and then play with the Recovery Speed and the Iron Bias. I think you will find a Sweet Spot that will maximize the 800. I did. I also had to do the tone selection but also control the volume of the machine and that on the headset. I dumbed it down for now but will smarten it up later. When the numbers come in for the first few walkabouts just dig em. There are some amazements in store and then you will know what kind of instrument is in your hands and how to play it the best for you. Mitchel

As I was swinging tonight on the beach I remembered the experiments I had done in the afternoon. I had adjusted Iron Bias for the first time and played with Recovery Speed. I had run through many of the modes and sounds but didn't get out of Multi. This got me ready for the beach. When I got there the tide was coming in but on the way out I had found a 'ring' in the dry sand. It is the electrical fitting ring, not the kind you wear. I got down to the wet sand in the dark and finally had some interesting targets. They were 'easy' to hear compared to my previous uses and a couple of quarters to get started. Then the thought occurred to me that the 800 is like an instrument and I was 'playing the ground' with it. I could make the ground sound like I wanted it to so that is what I did. I experimented and I won't go into all the details but I thought about the base instrument, let's say a piano. I know what a piano sounds like. I also know what some of the sounds an electronic keyboard makes which enhances the keyboard strokes. What is the basic sound of the 800? I went to Beach 2 because I'm not going in the water diving anytime soon and I went to Recovery Speed and put it on 1. I put Iron Bias on 0. Tones are on 5. Now I have done Noise Cancel and Ground Balance. Sensitivity is set about 22. What does the 800 sound like? A cello or bass. I can hear everything because I have a little threshold. I feel like I'm moving a bow over the strings because the ground is moaning. The targets are coming thru in their normal fashion it is just that everything is 'long' and maybe this is was a smooth CTX sounds like because it uses slow recovery. It is nice to know so now I go to Recovery Speed 2. It is a big difference. All this time I'm thinking about the power of the 800 to see into the ground and salt water. All of the adjustments are filters on what we hear. I was pleased to hear it as smooth and I had it on all metal so I could hear the bobby pins. These settings helped me find the Canadian Dollar because it is magnetic and the magnet. There were a couple of jewelry pieces so I was pleased with that also. I'm not going to keep these setting everywhere because there are places where a fast recovery is needed but not on my beach tonight. I felt like it could see deeper but I didn't dig anything over 10 inches. Try the power of turning off most of the presets. As Kevin Hoagland once told me about my 5000 ... take that manual (as he was throwing it across the room) and shove it. Get a threshold and listen to the ground. He was right. I took the power and listened to the ground. Amazing. Mitchel

Well done Flak. What Fred said. You can also spray it with one of those rubber sprays (tape it first like before you paint) with the cover on and it completely dry. I do that to my PI coil covers when they get thin. I just got back from the beach and will post up a bit later after a picture. Mitchel

I had a boxy 94 Trooper bought in 98 that I never put into 4WD until 2010. I used it like a cargo van for years. Then I started detecting so I already had 4WD. I loved that because I could sleep in it and I had it when I found my big nugget. It will always be in those pictures. It died and parts are too expensive now. I've been places with a 2WD 2003 Escalade and had adventures it was never built for but that is what I had. My present 4WD is a 2002 4Runner. This model was the last of the narrow 4Runners before they started getting so big. I consider it to be a highway quad with the Cooper tires I put on it. Lots of parts for them around but hard to find a good one with low mileage. Mine is a bit rough. An alternative with some luxury is an Infiniti QX4. Many of them are street only around here so they may have a straight frame. Mitchel

Steve, It sounds like I have a better chance of seeing you in Reno before you make it down here. I'll up my Equinox on the beach appraisal with the larger coil. I'm just wondering if I'll be able to swing it without an assist. I had been using the CTX without an assist and then I got the 17". After about a week I had tennis elbow and could never swing that on its own again. That is still my preferred beach setup over the Equinox. I haven't used it since I got the Nox. With a bit better beach conditions then I could see the true Nox performance. Mitchel

Skate, If Steve came now he would be disappointed. I'm disappointed with our beaches. Mitchel

Skate, Good to see you get to the beach. Your experiences on the beach are similar to mine. We should get together some time and see what we can learn from each other. This afternoon I went out also. I thought the storm would produce larger waves but alas it did not. Our beaches are not holding very many coins right now for lack of energy to move them. I hunted for patches and it was not to be. I have the volume up on the bluetooths and I think the pennies are louder than the quarters. Mitchel

Fred, Curtis can be like a noisy patch of hotrocks sometimes and at other times he is a low mineralized sweet patch of ground! Thanks for asking. Mitchel

Steve, Has OnX kept you on public lands for the most part? I've got a good GPS on my phone and it will let me download offline maps so even if I don't have cell service I can see where I am on roads and terrain. If I have done my research before I go then I can go on to My Land Matters and put in points that are pretty accurate. Another program I have has historical mine data that comes in easily on the phone so I can convert it to Google Maps and points if I want to. Land Matters research includes a link to the county recorders office. An individual claim can be looked up and the bounds of the claim have to be recorded by law. This part I haven't done yet. I've asked Clay if there are plans to make MLM phone friendly and he said a while back no. Maybe that will change one day also. Mitchel

Lunk's name can go in the met bul books again for the meteorite. Nice chunky gold too. Mitchel

Well done! I agree on keeping the tones to 5 or lower. Today I decided to use 1 tone and 2 tones on the beach. Mitchel

Randy, I looked to find anything from Gordon available now but could not. Maybe one of these days but I did find a partial solution to my problem. I said that I like the way the Equinox sounds in Gold Mode. That as it turns out is a single tone response. Why not try it on Beach Mode? I did and I'll say that dumbing down the sound makes it easier for me to recognize a target. Once heard then I can look at the numbers. Today I found two rings. The gold looking ring is not. It is mostly copper and when I was digging it I thought it was going to be another penny. As you can see it is not. The second ring sounded like a ring (low positives) but turned out to be stainless steel and a bit odd at that. Still learning. Mitchel