Gary985112

43 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

That's the beauty of the Equinox, and what it's revered for 👍. I love mine. I've found both the earring and the tiny clasp 3 feet apart! 😀They get flung off towels.

From all I've read here another thing that will give you fits (if you find it not being detected) is an open gold hoop earring.

The heavy hitters can explain it much better than me, but it has something to do with the shapes.

I found that ring my first beach hunt, and a 10k ring on a hill behind my house, that was in my first year. Nether was marked so somebody took me under their wing and showed me how to test gold with an acid kit. Forgot about those... 🤔 This past year I've found 4 hallmarked gold rings! But I only go to the beach a few times a year.

"Persistence pays off" is another tenet of metal detecting. 🤣

Sorry to always jump in man, I'm testing my knowledge of the subject, and looks like I'm doing ok by the likes. 😎 Others will be along soon. 🙂

That's awesome! 🙂 No feel free to chime in anytime ha. I love talking about metal detecting and I still have a lot to learn. I've found 3 hallmarked rings and I just all the time wonder if I am missing something. I want to make sure I am set up to find just about anything metal out there lol. 

Just now, F350Platinum said:

 

2 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

You might have to wait on this one for the folks who most deeply understand why this happens, but yeah, it happened. They will probably step in now. 🙂

It's probably a discrimination thing on the D2, can't remember what I did to make it stand out. Might have removed discrimination completely. I always run my Equinox with the horseshoe button pushed to "on" so I hear everything. I've set up programs in the D2 to give tones for "all metal" as well. Some like that, some don't.

These rings aren't that big a deal as rings go, most others will be higher. Search for articles here that list VDI or TID numbers, that will help you a bit.

Sure thing, no problem at all 🙂 I was just wondering. I run horseshoe on always. Does that "remove" discrimination technically? I am wondering if it would pick up the gold chain with horseshoe. Yea definitely it seems complex. So weird, my 800 will pick up the SMALLEST targets I am noticing. I have heard similar things about missing gold chains and I was always wondering why since it seems to happen a lot. 

4 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

Yes. It didn't have a Hallmark or "k" number, had to test it to prove it. I've since collected all 3, Rose gold and silver too. Dug it up near the exit.

Odds are you'll find a few of these, lucky that the others ID a bit higher. 😀

One of my experienced detecting buddies always says, "if you're not digging foil, you're not finding gold".

One day we were hunting VA Beach, and his Equinox 800 didn't find the 14k gold chain at all, but he saw it. My D2 was blind to it too, so I tweaked it later to ensure that wouldn't happen again. 🤔

Welcome to detecting! 🤷‍♂️ 😀

Haha thanks for the advice 🙂 I'm still digging a lot of foil just because its so easy to move the sand around and getting a feel for it. 

Wait, it didn't pick up the chain at all? Even going over it? Was iron bias the reason? Or was there another reason as to why the 800 didnt pick it up?

7 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

The short answer is, unfortunately, yes.

Got a 10k gold wave ring on a beach in Savannah that was a 1. Since then I've dug a lot of round bottle seals...

😵 Sorry to break the news.

Very awesome picture though! Wow that is crazy to have that ring up as a 1, I guess because of the weight being light and gold being not very conductive?

5 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

The short answer is, unfortunately, yes.

Got a 10k gold wave ring on a beach in Savannah that was a 1. Since then I've dug a lot of round bottle seals...

😵 Sorry to break the news.

Haha dang, that is certainly crazy. Everything that I get to ring up as a 1 or 2 on the beach is crumbled up aluminum foil (like the kind in candy wrappers or mints)

Is anything worthwhile ever going to ring up as a 1 or 2? Like, could you find a gold ring at 1 on the VDI on the equinox 800? I was just wondering if these ultra low conductivity numbers will be trash or have a chance at being gold or something of value? It's right next to the trash range so just checking to see what everyone things. 

I do beach detecting if this matters 🙂

Hi everyone,

I just had a question as it seems like the goal is to detect deeper targets, so it would seem that you would want to achieve as much depth as possible. 

When I lower my recovery speed from 6 to 5, I should be getting a little bit deeper measurably, Is that correct?

WWould increasing sensitivity get me more depth as well? I was just wondering their comparison between lowering recovery speed and depth, versus what role does sensitivity actually play?

Does sensitivity just help amplify targets and not really get you any deeper?

TThanks so much. 

Hi Everyone,

What is the best advice/tips that you can give to a beach detectorist to find jewelry or other valuable targets? Just curious because I know that years of experience beats all in most cases.

Have a great day!

41 minutes ago, midalake said:

No. It means you located the center of the target and keep sweeping over the target as your body rotates around the target 360 degrees. 

Ok and when you said "a break down in the signal", 

- Something ferrous will have a "break down" which means the signal will like, sound differently or sound like iron?

- But a non-ferrous target will sound completely the same as you circle it from all angles?

Is that right? Or can you elaborate on what a break down is of signal?

Thanks for your time, sorry to bother you, I just want to learn everything that I can.

8 hours ago, midalake said:

It is hard to see your swing rate from here?  But if you do go slower the machine has a better chance of deciphering the target. 

Example :  in my normal beach conditions I have a target about every 3-4 complete swings. So, I swing pretty fast. Fast enough to where I have to come back and investigate every hit I get. You will get the cadence down better as you go. Almost always, ferrous targets will sound better at a given position. That is how some of us decide if the target is ferrous or non-ferrous. A non-ferrous will not have a break down in signal on a 360 look. 

Thanks for the info. So the 360 look, this terminology is a bit new to me. So when you investigate a target, sometimes its better to move your coil in a circular motion instead of side to side? Can you explain?

1 hour ago, Jeff McClendon said:

Ground Grab on the Equinox is the same as auto ground balancing since you go into the ground balance setting and gently raise and lower the coil while pressing the Accept/Reject button and the Equinox will automatically choose a ground balance value.

Manual ground balancing is also possible on the Equinox. Sometimes I will go into the ground balance setting after doing a ground grab and press the plus or minus buttons to manually change the value.  

You always have a choice of putting it in tracking if you want. Just press the Accept/Reject button while in the ground balance setting and look for the sine wave symbol...top right.

 

Keep asking your excellent questions and you will learn the Equinox. Most of us had the same questions 4 years ago.

Also check out the Minelab Equinox Essential Information topic at the top of this Equinox area. Lots of fantastic DIY information in there. 

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation and kind words 🙂 I am feeling a lot better. Such a great community here and I feel very welcome in the forums. 

Thanks again for your time, I am obsessed with learning more and more about this, I feel like I can't stop reading. I detect during the day on my off days and then read every night about detecting. It's a very fun hobby.

1 minute ago, midalake said:

Sensitivity rules on the Equinox. Anything I can do to keep my Sensitivity at 20 or above is important. I would not run IB or Recovery above 6 though no matter what. 

Ok thanks for the tip :)I am very new to the terminology, what is "IB"?

14 hours ago, midalake said:

 

I will admit it has been a long time since I have done ground grab and hunted. Not sure if I will get out tomorrow [flat on my back sick] but next day out will do so. Won't take long for me to tell. 

Does ground grab mean "auto ground balancing"? like does that mean to hold the accept/reject button and move your coil? After doing this, do you still need to put it in tracking ground balance mode too on top of that?

18 hours ago, midalake said:

It is for me. I run 6. 

Same here, 4 gets super chatty underwater. Very odd. Maybe I could lower sensitivity next time at 4 and give it a shot. 

5 hours ago, midalake said:

If you are hunting with the Horseshoe mode off, it is entirely possible to get iron wrap-around targets that want to register but they are mostly blocked. Kind of like something trying to break the squelch on a receiver. 

I suggest on hunting with the Horseshoe ON to hear everything! 

Thanks that makes sense. Do you know what causes the wraparound stuff? I've noticed that if I scan a ferrous target, It will sometimes ding higher in the range unless I go very very slowly over the target. Is it because there's some conductive content in there? Or is it just kind of like you said a glitch to where it just happens to break squelch before it realizes that it's ferrous?

4 hours ago, Northeast said:

Hi Gary.

Sometimes it can even be basic stuff.

Are your connections all nice and tight?

Is the coil lead well secured on the shaft?  I’m thinking if the lead is moving at the end of each swing and causing the coil to ‘see’ the lead.

Is your swing speed really fast and it is jerky motion at the change of direction that is causing the falsing?

Does it happen at sensitivity of 15?

Does it happen in a single frequency or only in multi?

Does it happen in any of the other modes away from the beach?  

Have you got someone else’s coil you could test your machine on. Maybe a dodgy coil?

Sometimes it is just a process of elimination.  And if you get too far lost in setting changes there is always a Factory Reset to bring it back to square one.

Best of luck finding a solution 👍

Thanks for all of the questions I will definitely look into those while troubleshooting. I have noticed that when I do jerk the detector one way or or another. Like say I will flick my wrist from side to side that the machine will sound off. Why does it do this? Does this mean that something is wrong?

My connections are all nice and tight. I will play with the wire.

I do notice as well it sounds off when I move the coil a bit quicker underwater, maybe this is causing more resistance on the coil which is making it sound off? I'm just wondering why the coil sounds off when there is flicking or when there's a slightly quick motion. Maybe this is all normal and my machine is not defective?

2 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

I think Chase answered this pretty succinctly in the other (similar) post you made regarding this. Asking more than once just gets you conflicting answers, one post gets discussion 👍

I'm not a huge beach hunter, but I've done a beach or two. 😏 It took me a year or more to find my first hallmarked gold ring(s), BTW. Since then I've found more. Fields and beach.

Lower your expectations before lowering sensitivity! 

If you're not noise cancelling, and then ground balancing the detector first, anything is possible. I remember 2 and a half years ago I asked similar questions when I was first using my 600, I was new to it like you.

You'll find that a properly balanced detector will allow an incremental sensitivity increase, I've gone as high as 23 on some beaches. Depends on how good you are at it too - find a spot with no signals and hold that button and pump that coil until it stabilizes.

As Chase told you, moving water and black sand will cause some blips and chatter, it's telling you sensitivity is too high. 

I go by rule of thumb: beach 1 for dry sand, 2 for wet and water. Sometimes I use Park 1 way up in the dry.

You can pretty much use beach 2 everywhere though.

Good luck!

Thanks so much, I appreciate it 🙂 I think that is my issue. I have just been clicking ground balance tracking. My sensitivity was 20. But I think I will auto ground balance first, then do tracking and see if that helps 🙂 I also hear that raising recovery speed in the water helps? Is this true? Like i notice at 4 its a bit chatty in the water, but recovery 6 is less chatty? is this a thing?

Is it possible for detector to make a noise but not show screen info? Like if I am hovering over a target and it barely picks it up, is it possible to hear the noise but get no screen info (VDI number) for it? Like if its maybe a little too deep underground?

With Equinox 800

6 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

First of all, what you are experiencing is common in salt surf because of the constantly varying salinity due to the surf.  You selected the appropriate mode, Beach 2.  

After making sure you have done a noise cancel, then you should do is an auto (pumping)  GB to establish the starting GB point and then put the detector into GB tracking mode (single press of the +/- button while in the GB settings menu, you should see a sine wave symbol in the upper display). Tracking will help keep GB near the appropriate salt balance point based on salinity variation.  

If you are still experiencing excessive noise, then yes, you should incrementally lower sensitivity.  

Note that you likely won’t get the machine to remain totally quiet under these dynamic conditions and any movement of the coil from being parallel with the bottom during your swing will also generate ground noise, and there may also be noise associated with mechanical agitation of the coil in the surf.  

Regarding your wireless phones, there should be no cutouts as long as the detector control panel remains above the surface of the water.  However, since the stock wireless headphones are not waterproof, the salt spray (over time) and an accidental dunking can ruin them, so I highly suggest using either weatherproof wireless BT phones (Quest makes these) or wired phones with the appropriate protected Nox headphone connector plug.  HTH  GL

Thanks very much for the detailed response 🙂 I appreciate the help. I have 2 questions if you dont mind. 

- To clarify, do I do the auto ground balance while coil is underwater for underwater detecting? Then set it to tracking ground balance underwater as well?

- Also, When I lower sensitivity, how much depth do I actually lose? Like is going from 20 to 18 sensitivity going to make me miss a target? Is it like an inch difference or is it a huge difference?

Hi everyone,

I've been doing beach detecting and I'm new to it. This applies to both on dry sand and completely underwater detecting. More so with underwater I guess. 

With the 800 In beach two mode, just default out of the box equipment, My detector will sometimes make noise at the end of my swing when I start swinging the other way. It will also make noise when I tilt my wrist from left to right. 

The screen will also show numbers (falsing?) Sometimes faint noise sounds like a chirp really faint, sometimes it makes a noise at the beginning of each swing or changing directions. 

Is the detector broken or just sensitive? New to this. Is sensitivity too high underwater? 20.

Equinox 800 default setup out of the box, beach 2 settings, 20 sensitivity, auto ground settings.

So, I'm waist deep in water, and when I swing the equinox underwater from left to right, sometimes it will make a ding noise, of a faint ding. Sometimes also when I tilt the equinox from side to side in my hand, it will ding like it hits a target. 

I am using the out of the box (not waterproof) bluetooth headset, but its not wet. And screen isn't underwater.

It sounds very chatty but it also sounds like bluetooth headset is cutting in and out, while its being chatty. Is my sensitivity too high? What could be causing this? I was seeing if my machine was broken but others say it is working as intended and I just need a wired in headset. 

I get faint chirp sounds like I found a target, but I get all types of falsing when just swinging the machine underwater. Faint noises, sound cutting out momentarily, it just doesn't seem right.

Brand new machine 2 weeks old, and I'm new at detecting 🙂 thanks for your help. 

Hi Everyone,

New to detecting 🙂 hope you are all doing well. What's the best/most lucrative way to sell jewelry?

- Gold rings

- Diamond rings

- Silver?

Do you sell to a jeweler or privately? Just curious. Thanks for the tips and good luck out there.

2 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

Something to be said for CooB scoops too but they're also from Ukraine. They have a wide selection of them, and they sell on Amazon. I'd like to get their Titanium scoop someday, right now I have the Shark V10 since it's the largest. 2mm stainless steel, I've had mine 2 years now and no rust or deformation but I don't hunt the beach as much as others. When I get home I rinse it with water and spray some WD-40 on it, and wipe it down. I do this with all my shovels!

I made my own handle for mine out of PVC and a bamboo insert. However, SteveG makes great carbon fiber handles for them. If I ever break the one I made 🙄 I'll get one.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=CooB&crid=V63FKI5DWNO 

Here's the titanium scoop:

https://www.amazon.com/CooB-Exclusive-Titanium-Detector-Detecting/dp/B09LR69CMQ

Steve's Detector Rods:

http://www.stevesdetectorrods.com

Mine is almost 6' long. It's nice for deeper water as it helps you keep your balance when not scooping, or in moving water.

Regardless of what configuration and type you buy, get a Raptor handle for it and mount it as shown angled down, it points toward the digging side of the scoop which is not only useful for leverage but also tells you which direction the scoop is in deep water, or even shallow when you stir up the bottom.

https://www.amazon.com/Raptor-Pull-Handle-Sand-Scoops/dp/B01MT248MD

A fairly accurate method for scooping in water is to pinpoint the target, hold the detector on the bottom and find the edge of the coil with the scoop point. Lift the detector and press the scoop down at a fairly extreme angle. Gets the target much faster. 

That's awesome thanks so much for all of the information as I am very new to detecting. I really appreciate the help and I'll be looking into all of this. 

For metal detecting on the beach, what is a very good beach scoop with a long handle that will not rust and is very high quality? It doesn't have to be extremely high quality I just don't want it to rust or break for a very long time. I bought one for $130 and the metal handle folded and the hardware was eaten up by rust, so I'm just trying to do some research before ordering one this time. Thanks in advance for your help! 🙂

For metal detecting on the beach, what is a very good beach scoop with a long handle that will not rust and is very high quality? It doesn't have to be extremely high quality I just don't want it to rust or break for a very long time. I bought one for $130 and the metal handle folded and the hardware was eaten up by rust, so I'm just trying to do some research before ordering one this time. Thanks in advance for your help! :)