mn90403

Exactly what you were looking for Skull. You know many places for gold to fetch higher prices than melt! Have you ever been out on the beaches where someone wants to see what you found and then they swear it is theirs? It is just an awful trait of human nature in some people to claim a find. Sometimes if there has been someone ask politely I will show them and others I'll show them when I find if they are near.

There is one thing I forgot to comment on which is a 'disappointment' to some I'm sure. I still had 'trouble' with the pinpointing which I don't normally use. I switched to it to test its characteristics and I found it 'cutting out' on a couple of targets and not very useful on others. My swing technique and digging targets up near the top edge of the coil are often the best ways to dig targets. While I was detecting I thought that Minelab is pinpointing challenged in the Equinox and the Pinpointers. They need to have a dedicated 'Engineer of Pinpointing' to address their problems in that regard. I do waste a fair amount of time zeroing in on targets.

I had very similar reactions to my update experience. There is something better about the sounds and target experience.

Yesterday I set up my 800 with a downloaded program from my Windows 10 computer. It installed easily and last night I went to the beach for my first hunt. When I turned it on as usual it connected in exactly the same way. I didn't have to have it 'find' my headphones. Once connected in the dry sand on the way to the wet sand I noticed a difference in quality of sound. I didn't quite expect it. I had expected no difference. After detecting a bit and listening to a few good and bad targets I sensed that targets sounded better. I was still in an area due to the lack of waves that had few targets but they sounded good and the threshold was smooth. I was still in 23, on the sensitivity in Beach 1 manual gb which is my go to settings 90%+ of the time. This difference wasn't really described in the update thread. ColonelDan mentioned it in his thread. The enhanced target sound reminded me of a switch I had made recently in dry sand to Park 1. I felt that Park 1 targets sounded better than Beach 1 with less scratchiness on the corroded pennies and some other targets. I was so pleased with the sound I extended my hunt in search of one of my patch beaches which would be a mile away. After the long walk and few targets along the way I was rewarded with a bit of a sloped beach that had coin targets mostly. Nothing was really deep but the layer was mostly 8-9 inches. That is where I found most of the quarters close to the water. I would like to have stayed out another couple of hours in that section but I had to go. On the way back I tried to pick out a line that was more productive than the line I walked coming in. I imagined a chain I had found one time that was 'floating' in the little waves. It was gold but it still didn't bury in the sand. I walked a line thinking of that when I got a hit and it was the chain and medallion. That was my last beach target of the night. When I left I decided to try the 4 kHz addition on the way back across the dry sand. It was more quiet than the 5 as advertised in the update. I found the little 'ring' in the sand with it which impressed me. I'm certain if there were better targets where I was hunting I would have found them. I like the update.

I followed the link at the beginning of this thread. I downloaded the program to my hard drive. I opened the program from the hard drive and hooked up the 'on' detector when it said connect. It updated and said finished. When I went to use my detector at the beach all of my 'settings' had not been changed. I didn't need to reset. It was more simple than I just described.

I just returned from 3 hours of beach hunting. I use mostly Beach 1 at 23. To me it sounds better. I'll make a separate thread. I'm not going back to any previous versions!

Minelab must be confident the update does what it says. I would think that many people in their company have received and installed the update before they release it to the public. We know it adds the 4 khz for example. What we don't know and maybe they don't know either are some of the additional effects.

Ok, it is updated. Very simple after you download the program. It finds the detector as soon as you plug it in.

Thank you for the report. It seems to be a quite noticeable difference in performance with this update. Isn't that the way an update should be? If you can't notice an improvement or make the users notice an improvement then why provide it? Thank you for your time and effort to explain it to us (me). I'll install mine this morning and hit my beaches later. Mitchel

Seven hours ago I finished reading this entire thread (until then) for the first time. I then put up this post. I didn't read what Minelab has said about their own update. That is on me. I was 'influenced' in my wording of my post by several who said that this was not really an 'Equinox' update. The update was really for another unnamed machine coming out in the future. There was talk about why this was the update chosen to add 4 when there were so many other things that could have been done. It's all there to read. I didn't say I wasn't going to put on the update. I will. I'm glad Minelab is keeping the platform current. It is a free upgrade and that has always been good from Minelab. Next update I'll just install it and not read any reviews about it or expect user input first. I remember several user comments when the update with the new bias came out that were helpful but not so far on this one. (Maybe I'm just digging a deeper hole here and there isn't a real target but I want to make sure.) After I put it on I'll give my opinion of it as I use it in a different thread. Mitchel

I have put on the other updates within 2 days of seeing them. I'll be putting this one on too but I have to crank up another computer besides this Chromebook to do it. I was HOPING someone that is using the new update now would tell me it is GREAT or not. I haven't gotten any takers.

I just want some updates from users. If they tell me they notice a difference I'll put it on now. If not I'll put it on later. I haven't used single frequency no matter what the version of the software. I don't really expect to use the 4 unless someone tells me more things about it. I'm a multi guy when I get the chance to get out.

Ok, who has any use experience with the update? Other than adding a frequency I don't need I don't expect there to be a 'big' difference in performance at the user level but I hope someone proves me wrong. I had one of the original 800s and the off/on switch broke. The new one they sent as a replacement had the latest software with the F2 on it when I got it. I don't use either F ... haha

Oh, I didn't mean I need directions. You already told all of us the name ... Marathon Lake. It will be easy to find now!

So, I'm just curious where Marathon Lake is ... now I don't need to go there! haha

I get one for the Los Angeles County beaches and one for the City of Santa Monica beaches. Thanks for the info.

Well done. It is a good time for the lake. The beach energy is non-existent again. I need to go to one or two of those yet this summer with my son. Do any of the lakes have senior discounts? haha Mitchel

Flak, We need to ask him what he uses for a pick? (Both hands are full!) 🙃

This nugget has caused problems in the area. Locals have been threatened to stay away while gangs search for more. GANGS are sifting through streams on private property in a bid to unearth gold after a nugget worth £80,000 was found. The crooks have sneaked onto the land and “destroying riverbanks” following the discovery of the 121g (4oz) lump. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/5853247/scots-gangs-panning-gold-kill-threats/

Those are two good ideas. I have always had a problem digging at parks because it hurts my wrists. Both of these seem to take that into account. A turned handle vs a soft grip. I have that 31C that I got with a used detector I bought.

Dolan Dave said in Rob's thread that the nugget had been auctioned off. I wonder if the stolen nuggets didn't include this one. This looks like a professional auction photo so that might not have been in the case.

Earlier this week I had my car 'pilfered' of some loose items in it. It was probably done sometime early Sunday morning. Nothing was broken on the car but who knows how they got in without setting off the alarm or perhaps it was just left open in the carport on an alley that gets a lot of scavengers walking through. It has happened before. The police have been notified. There was some change and sunglasses, reading glasses taken along with some keys (which have no value to them) which included a disc lock on a garage door I rent. I'll have to cut or grind it off somehow. The door is aluminum and I can't cut the attachment off. I guess I will follow this advice: https://www.selfstoragetalk.com/forum/general-self-storage-forums/general-storage-chat/10594-cutting-disc-locks So much for the first 'view' of things and then I was going detecting and noticed that my Lesche 'knife' the 2"x7" kind was missing from the back with a few tools. Also my beach jacket ... so now I have an opportunity to buy replacements. I'll use some of my beach coins to buy the stuff. Is that still the best tool for a park? I like the root sawing edge but the hole digging part with just the hands is a pain. I still have a larger version but that would be too big for a nice park. The 'pilfering' could have been worse. It could have been major. They didn't have a way to walk down the alley with a couple of metal detectors and I had taken my cell phone and wallet inside but I sometimes forget it when I get back late at night. We all need to think about replacements for things 'forgotten' so please learn from my recent experience. Mitchel

Skull said just about all of it. Keep your powder dry and your nuggets near.

I was 'struggling' with the smoothness on my last hunt as well. It was not really possible to make it completely smooth with audio smoothing off and hy/normal. I stuck with it off although I did 'test' the audio. My threshold was up at about 25 and it was really difficult to hear the one little nugget I did find.

HELENA — The Prospector Shop in Helena is asking for the community to help to find some stolen gold nuggets. https://www.ktvh.com/news/helena-prospectors-shop-asking-for-help-finding-5-figures-worth-of-gold-nuggets