GB_Amateur

Definitely the case where I hunt, too. The Minelab Equinox is pretty good with nearby iron, but that's probably the final frontier for IB/VLF -- unmasking from metallic trash and especially iron with its combination of magnetic and conductive properties. From what I've read the XP Deus and (sister) ORX may be even better unmaskers than the Eqx. Good question, and until I found this 1864 two cent piece it wasn't really on my radar. Fortunate for me that it was high enough TID that I was going to dig it anyway. Reminds me that I found a 1867 Shield nickel 3 years ago with the Fisher F75, but that one made sense because it was near the site of a (now razed) 19th Century farmhouse. Further, it's the same composition and TID as modern nickels, so no special treatment needed. Glad to be reminded by my find and your question that I need to open up my TID space. Like I said once again, "what was *that* doing here?", but it was. Nickel 3 cent pieces, silver 5 cent pieces, even gold coins have TID's in what I naively like to think of as the trash zones. Time for a TID reset! Thanks for the reminder.

Done. Minelab Equinox TID was mostly 23 with occasional 22 in an air test. I also have a USA 2 Cent Piece (1865, I think -- pretty worn) that didn't come out of the ground. It was consistent 23. Eqx coin hunters know that this is the sweetspot for aluminum screw caps. Obviously if you're in an area that can have both you want to be extra cautious if you are trying to avoid digging the annoying screwcaps. I've long wondered why some 95% copper USA coins hit at such different target ID's. This really drives home the point. More recent 95% copper pennies (most copper Memorials and the later Wheaties) typically hit somewhere in 25-26. Early Wheaties (maybe not all of them), Indian Heads, and now I've found the 2 Cent piece are lower. The big irony is that the 2 Cent piece is larger (23 mm diameter, 6.22 g weight) than the modern 95% copper small cent (19 mm diameter, 3.11 g weight). I don't have a half cent piece, but a 1851 Large Cent (not taken from the ground) air test TID's at 35 with some 34 thrown in. Those are pure copper and much larger (28-29 mm diameter and 10.89 g) so that makes sense to me. My best hypothesis points at the remaining 5% of the composition. For most of the 95% copper coinage lifetime the mint has said "5% tin and zinc" without being more specific as to how much of each. I conclude that the intentional vaguery means that part of the composition isn't consistent. Starting in 1962 (I recall for memory, so may be off a bit) and through the first part of 1982 before the zinc pennies took over, the composition was stated to be (all) 5% zinc, so no more tin. Those hit 25-26. So it's the tin that drags down the TID's? And the more tin, the lower it goes?

Now you need to add the Target ID's to your display. And when you're done with that, include all the separate piece (broken off beavertails, ringtabs, bent ringtabs, bent squaretabs, cut in half squaretabs,...) TID's. 😁 Top row, second from right, what does that say? Is it 'Ball'? Also, the 2nd from rightmost column, very bottom -- that looks like the 1962-1965 type shown in your history slide. Those are rare in my area. A lot of us (older detectorists) remember the pre-mid-60's plain steel lids that had to be opened with a 'churchkey'. I have a churchkey collection but not from detecting. I do think I've found one while detecting, but they were coated steel so didn't hold up too well in the ground. I can imagine some veteran detectorists being able to assemble a collection of those which they've recovered from the ground.

I've taken license with a bit of cut and paste, but I see these two sentences as belonging together. We will effectively be getting a comparison -- 45 years of detecting experience with dozens of detectors and soon a report on this new one. Given the trusted source of the upcoming information, I personally prefer this over any kind of one-on-one or one-on-multiple comparison video. Over the last couple of years I've been watching all this develop from the cheap seats. I'm not a water hunter so that's the best place for me and I'm going to continue to stay parked there. For the most part I've kept silent for just that reason -- this water version isn't for me. But besides finding the ongoing saga interesting, I've also been frustrated. Unlike many, my frustration is the (IMO) unfair attacks on First Texas. It seems they've been accused of everything short of seeding the Corona virus. I don't envy Rick. From my viewpoint he is a volunteer doing his best to help this process along from drawing board to finished product. Now he's in the crosshairs because there likely will be those who miss out on this limited offer and Rick is making the decisions on who gets one and who doesn't. I also suspect there will be hard feelings from a few dealers. And I see some of the complaining (so far aimed at First Texas, not Rick) has already begun. But this isn't Rick's first lap of the track and I'm sure if he hasn't already been the target of undeserved accusations he's fully aware of what is around the turn. Ok, enough of my yapping. If you see the hot dog and beer vendors please send them my way. In the meantime I anxiously await the next pitch. "Play ball!"

You and me both! OK, just ordered a couple (right angled, metal housing). We'll see if my soldering skills can still pass muster.

Welcome, Kevin! Sounds like you have the tools and the motivation. Continue working on honing your skills with experience. Yes, one of the key objectives of this site is sharing knowledge. Glad you are joining us and will be chipping in.

Rereading the original post, although Canoe did acknowledge early responses, as always if one person has a question or doesn't understand something there are likely many others out there in the same boat. I think most everything I'm about to write has been covered, but possibly piecemeal and also written by e(Q)xperts who have their own understanding/lingo after what are now years of use, discussion, etc. So here is a delineation of the audio options of the Minelab Equinox: 1) built in speaker, 2) 3.5 mm socket on back of control unit where wired headphone (or transmitter such as Garrett Z-Lynk unit) can be plugged in, 3a) Bluetooth wireless transmitter built in which will communicate with Bluetooth receiver (headphones, earbuds, speaker), 3b) Low Latency (LL) Bluetooth capability, an extension of 3a but with higher performance due to shorter delay between detector's internal signal and sound coming out of the receiver's speakers, 4) Minelab proprietary very low latency (even faster than 3b) transmitted signal which is picked up by the Minelab WM08 receiver and is subsequently attached to (wired) sound generators (headphones, earbuds, speaker). That's a lot of choices! If someone can't find one of these s/he's happy with then maybe metal detecting just isn't for him/her. Each of these has its advantages and disadvantages, some of which are detailed in reponses in this thread and elsewhere on the forum. In particular, Canoe wanted to be able to use a headset with minimal wires/cables and 3a and 3b best satisfy that.

Easy for you to say, a guy that spent years working with electronic components. 😁 Gee, it doesn't take much equipment to do this.... OK, I just happen to have all of the above (exact same solder station, interestingly) except the heat sink clip, but lots of things will work for that. My question/concern (I think I asked it in another thread recently but don't remember getting an answer) has to do with the cable shielding. In the video the instructor seems to downplay the cable shielding, saying to cut it off. Then when attaching the new plug he just solders the cable's internal ground wire (presumably green) to the outer lug of the connector. Shouldn't the cable shielding also be attached there? Or is it just not that important? Having worked with electronics that is way more sensitive to background noise (EMI), I learned the hard way how important the cable shielding is. But maybe metal detectors just aren't as picky -- kiloHertz transmission instead of MegaHertz or GigaHertz. I do prefer the right angle plugs although my earbuds have the straight plug and I've gotten by with that. The one in the picture looks quite long but I'm thinking there are likely tens or hundreds of different brands, etc. available at electronics supply outlets. Thanks for the excellent video link. I'm sure many DIYers are a lot more sloppy/cavalier than this guy, but (except for the shielding attachment) this is the way I was taught/learned. Good refersher course for me.

I honestly don't remember, and I've since caniballized them so can't try them out anymore. I didn't have the ML Equinox at the time. I just remember other headphones I had at the time sounded better.

Good for you. That's the kind of actions that will make us welcome and at least partly offset the idiots who don't fill their holes. Unfortunately, just like detecting, it's the small minority who abuse the parks by leaving trash and (worse) breaking glass bottles for people to step on, but the results of their irresponsibility affects so many. Yep, where people dropped coins they also dropped trash. But as you've discovered, if it were easy there wouldn't have been that beauty waiting over a century for you to find it. I like your attitude. You're a positive addition to detectorprospector.com.

Do the transmitter/receiver aftermarket units such as the Garrett Z-link help alleviate this issue, or is there RF interference (EMI) introduced in the process that can't be overcome? I realize that a $3000+ detector ought to provide better solutions.

Steve has pointed out that the new battery should be well-received. But if you already own an SDC (I don't), how do you get it swapped out? Send it to service center? Pay for the parts and labor? I guess we'll find out when they're ready to say more.

Welcome, Boris! Tell us more. What kind of detecting are you interested in? What detector did you get? We won't bite and when we bark it's usually at the detector companies not telling us what we want to know. 😁

Welcome aboard the forum, havingstl, and as a member of GPAA I welcome you to that, to! You got a great deal on the TDI. I've been to Arizona multiple times (but my trips were too short), and I've used the TDI there as well. The pandemic has hurt in so many ways but in the meantime make use of the GPAA Mining Guide (hardcopy and online updates). Kevin Hoaglund spends quite a bit of time at the Arizona claims and I think that may be part of why there are so many. You may gain from checking out Bill Southern's forum. He lives near Wickenburg, I think. Lots of good info here, so get started (don't forget to check out the many things Steve has written and referenced).

I'm figuring they'll be the only ones excited with that "new enhanced version" but maybe I'm missing something. Have they ever even acknoledged the Coiltek coil?

I've never tried Black Widows but when I bought my Fisher F75 the online seller threw in a brand new set of Jolly Rogers (and several other bonus items as a matter of fact) for free. I was so unimpressed that I used them for spare parts. But, always worth mentioning, headphone performance is a personal preference so likely some out there love the Jolly Rogers.

You and I are on the same page again, Jeff. I just this morning climbed back on my soapbox indirectly praising the WM08 (except for complaining about its lack of 1/4" socket). A lot of people like the ML80 headphones that come with the Equinox 800 so obviously they perform. But for me they don't (nor do any other of the five sets of over-ear headphones I own) come close for my hearing to the Sunray Pro Golds. Further, the Pro Golds block out the ambient noise better than any of the others -- again not close. Two of my parks and one of my schools are right next to busy streets/highways. The difference in eliminating that distracting and performance depleting noise is huge. Throw in (as you mention) the very low latency of the WM08 module and I would really feel like I gave up something significant if I didn't have it. For my other detectors I have the Garrett Z-Link transmitter-receiver pair which is also good. (I previously had a similar device pair from Deteknix but they crapped out after not all that long in service.) I would never discourage anyone who likes the ML80 headphones from using them. However, the WM08 offers something the ML80's don't, and for those of us who prefer those 'somethings' it's a worthwhile option.

Ugh. And grass still grows in it, at least well enough for a football field, which often is pretty demanding application? Nice find otherwise. Is it possible they brought the coins in with the sand when they backfilled the football field? More likely they were just dropped there since, though, unless the backfill occurred after ~1970.

And JW doesn't, either? I don't know if the White's TDI coils work on the QED, but they (or someone) did make the 4" x 6" for it. I have that and the Sadie but I'm a bit far for you to run by and pick them up.... Good thread and thanks for your testing and videos.

Your first ever silver coin is a Seated half dollar?? You are so hooked now! Well done and nice writeup. Makes me wonder what others were thinking. At 4 inches deep this had to just scream. Did no one bother to hunt there, or were they 'convinced' it was a large chunk of metal dropped by the power pole techs? Your lesson is their loss, obviously. I've always thought that fairgrounds (with carnival areas) have to be one of the best places to find coins -- people with coins just burning holes in their pockets. Most around here are off-limits except during events. I've never asked for permission but you've got me thinking.... The most difficult coins to recover without scratching are those in hardpack, especially when in gravel or stone such as parking lots. I've been pretty lucky but unfortunately late in a hunt when I'm tired I get sloppy. Thanks for the reminder. (I can't even see the damage in your photos so apparently not too bad of a scratch.)

When the next update is released, will you still have the option of choosing with/without detune? At every fork in the road do they continue to allow multiple legacy choices? Yeh, hopefully there won't be any more updates.... There's that annoying h-word again.

I'm on the same page as you, Nuke-em, as far as being picky about the quality of the headphone sound. I don't care for the stock wireless headphones that come with the Equinox 800 and haven't used them since maybe the first week. I'm with Steve regarding the Sunray Pro Golds. (I bought mine well before the Eqx was released and don't have the special ML version, but they still work, with possible quirkiness -- see below.) Have you tried them? Make sure to get the two switches in the right place (four combinations you have to step through, although one switch doesn't seem to matter but the other matters a lot). My complaint (and this is aimed at the detector manufacturers although the headphone makers can help) is having to use an 3.5 mm male to 1/4 inch female adapter. The first one I bought (admittedly inexpensive) made a flaky contact. The second one (~$6 on Amazon) worked great for a year and a half but has since gone bad. I just tried to buy the exact replacement from Amazon but the manufacturer has changed the design and now it is unreliable without adding some 1/4 inch nylon washers as shims -- those slide on the 1/4" male plug of the headphones. I know many have had issue with ML's wiring quirk when using aftermarket adapters and headphones, so this might be part of my issue. The ML WM08 receiver is great AFAIC but couldn't they have included a 1/4" female socket, particularly for what they charge if you don't get this device as part of the Eqx 800 package? I've already bought (used) a backup of the WM08 just in case my original goes bad. I like using it that much and can't imagine being without one. I was considering buying the Gray Ghost Gold Series headphones which actually have the 3.5 mm plug (only 'tradtional' high end aftermarket headphones for metal detecting I know of that do this) but now you've got me concerned. I don't want to spend $125 only to discover they don't sound good.... Why does this have to be so difficult?

This TID'ed in the lower half of the 20's on the Equinox. (I'll do an air test later, but at this time it was good enough to dig so I didn't bother determining its TID centroid -- just pinpointed and dug.) I have seen a couple large pulltabs up there (like the kind that come on auto fluid cans), but the typical trash item 22-23 is the aluminum screw cap. Sometimes I skip 19-20 (zinc penny zone) but when I'm somewhere that I suspect Indian Head pennies may have been dropped I don't do that. My high tone region (out of 5) starts at 20 just to make sure I don't miss IHP's. I've already found three of those in this park. They usually TID a bit higher than Zincolns, and are typically deeper, but 'usually' and 'typically' don't mean always, as I've found out more times than I can remember.

Out again today in my current favorite (century old) park. Three Jefferson nickels in the first hour -- very first find was a consistent 12 (no 13) TID on the Minelab Equinox -- something I've been skipping over given the thousands of pulltabs in this park. I figured it was going to be a nickel kind of day but with 30 minutes left of the 3 hour hunt I had only added a couple corroded Zincolns. Then in a picnic area I got a nice shallow 13 TID, which could still be a pulltab but it was my 4th nickel. Shortly after I was about 1 foot from a utility pole and got a low-mid 20's signal which sounded very good in one direction but flutey at 90 degree angle of attack. I was also hearing some iron grunt, but when I shortened the swing amplitude over the target down to just a couple inches there was no iron sound. Strength indicator (what is popularly called "depth indicator") showed 4 bars = moderate. So far, so good, but as most of you know when near a utility pole, lots of decent sounding targets can show up -- copper and aluminum wire, copper lugs, steel bolts. And in a picnic area (which I was), the dreaded aluminum screw cap, especially when flattened, can sound good with TID low-mid 20's. It was even possible I was hearing an Indian Head penny or early Wheat penny. Digging down in the 4-5 inch range I popped out a disc which looked about the size of a nickel, but it was green (copper signature) and the TID was too high for a nickel. My next thought was 'token' but it was smaller than the tokens I'd been finding in this park, although could still be a different variety. A spray of water showed part of a shield. Hmmm. Shield nickel (no), 2 Cent Piece (unlikely) so I'm still thinking it's a token. But using a magnifier I clearly saw '1864'! What is a 150+ year old coin which hardly circulated even 125 years ago due to its unpopularity doing in this 100 year old park? Just in the last 9 months I can find three posts of USA 2 Cent Piece finds: post 1, post 2, post 3. Those are in better shape than mine, but it's the first ever 2 Cent Piece I've found so I'm going to count it. Mine is also an 1864, which I guess isn't too surprising given that 44% of all 2 Cent pieces ever minted in the USA had the 1864 date. (Throw in the next year, 1865, and almost 3/4 are accounted for.) Nice article in Wikipedia points out that they were first minted late in the Civil War in an attempt to alleviate the shortage of coins (caused by hording) but after the war ended and coins were in sufficient supply their popularity dropped considerably. 1873 was the last year of mintage and those 1100 were proofs for collectors. In 1872 only 65,000 were minted for circulation. Many (but unknown number) were returned to the mint and melted. We've discussed the small motto vs. large motto version of the 1864. Currently mine is so badly encrusted that it's difficult to tell. I can only see the 'W' in 'WE' and the 'R' in 'TRUST'. I'll get a friend with high quality camera to take better photos and maybe we can figure this out. (I'm still on hold cleaning with more than soft brush in water and olive oil until I can do more research on cleaning coins without damaging.) Odds are certainly in favor of it being the more common large motto, but I can still hold out hope, can't I? (fingers crossed)

Interesting. Has it ever made any difference?