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I was one of the first people to get an Equinox 800 when they came out earlier this year. It has been a lot of fun and I have found some of my best beach finds with it. (A gold chain and silver ring.) I've even found 2 little nuggets and an attractive specimen. Until today I put my 3030 in mothballs for the right time and I'm here to tell you that the 3030/17 is a great beach detector for my area of Southern California. It covers a large area and it goes deep. It goes deeper on average than the 800. I doubt that would be the case if the 800 gets a larger coil but for now my 3030/17 setup with a hipstick (weightless) can out hunt the 800. I did learn a few things about signal sounds from the 800 that helped me find a little chain today so the 3030 can hunt. We all know the 800 is a great all around detector and I think it is going to beat a 3030 in a park, field or trashy area where you need a faster detector to unmask a good target. It will be my backup to the 7000 for finding gold because it is light and fun. It is not going to out do the 7000. My wife can use the 800 on the beach any time she wants and I won't feel like I have to buy a 600 or an 800 if I go with her. So, I'm glad I didn't sell my 3030 and my 7000. Mitchel

I have noticed that most everyone desiring the Equinox must have one by now and even all the website chatter has died down since there is so much info available about the Equinox. I haven't even seen many repair issues recently and I know there will always be some but Minelab does such and awesome job in responding and repairing that no one can complain about the Minelab customer service. Once everyone that wanted the Equinox got one there is no more bashing of vendors and Minelab distribution. Of course now it's where are the coils. We are now into July and not a whisper of the release date and I suspect Minelab won't release them until they know they will have the 1st wave of those seeking the coils are satisfied. 1st of all I like the Equinox better than any detector I have owned and I have the confidence when I go out with my Equinox that I will not be taking back seat to any detector on the market. It's the most versatile detector I have ever used and the easiest to use and set up. I love the tone selection and the all metal button. I had to do it but this morning I was sitting in my truck at the beach and seen a guy detecting so I grabbed my Equinox and hit the beach. He had a Whites MXT and was hitting a penny here and there and I went to where I seen he had been and I walked his exact path and found $1.78 in clad behind him in 20 minutes. I used it in factory Beach 1 mode. He was amazed I found so much behind him but he was swinging his detector like a golf club so unless it was at the bottom of his swing he missed it. He was also about 1' above the ground all the time as well but I never mentioned his swing.

This is an update of another post I made but the issue is confusing people, partly because inaccurate information is being posted on another forum. I therefore wanted to hi-light the options again and keep it as simple as possible. The Equinox is fully waterproof or totally submersible out of the box. It can be used in pouring down rain or dropped in the water while wading without fear. It has a built in waterproof speaker and built in wireless. The 1/8” connection for wired headphones has a plug in place that keeps water and sand from getting into the opening, but the jack is sealed internally and no water can get into the pod from here. If the pod is submerged to a foot (for instance) you can no longer hear the external speaker and the wireless can’t transmit from underwater. So all we are talking about here is how to hear an Equinox when the pod is underwater. As long as the pod is at or above the surface the external speaker or wired/wireless headphones or WM08 may be used. It should be obvious that the optional waterproof headphones come with a 1/8” waterproof connection that mates to the waterproof connection on the detector pod. Now you can hear the detector while the pod is submerged. You can also stick your head underwater. Unlike some waterproof detectors you can adjust the volume of the headphones via the volume control on the detector. Some waterproof detectors have no volume control. The waterproof headphones are optional and so if you want to use the Equinox and stick your head underwater, yes, you need an accessory item - the headphones. Minelab Part No. 3011-0372 If you want to wade and stick the pod underwater but not stick your head underwater, you can get the optional Minelab 1/8” to 1/4” adapter cable. This cable has the same 1/8” waterproof fitting on one end as the waterproof headphones and a standard dry land type 1/4” female jack on the other end. Attach the waterproof end the the detector. Keep the 1/4” end out of the water and dry. Like run it up your arm and attach to your shoulder. Now plug any 1/4” style metal detector headphones in and detect with the pod underwater. That is it - all the options you have for sticking the pod underwater and hearing the detector. The WM 08 wireless module that comes with the Equinox 800 has the same special 1/8” female waterproof socket as the detector itself. That means the waterproof headphones and adapter cable above can plug directly into the WM 08. The WM 08 is not waterproof and should not be submerged. The wireless headphones that come with the Equinox 800 are rechargeable. If they go dead while in the field, they come with a cable that has a standard male 1/8” stereo plug on each end. One end plugs into the headphone, the other end plugs into the Equinox directly or the WM08. The connections and headphones are not waterproof. The Equinox 600 comes with a simple set of wired headphones. The 1/8” connector on it is not waterproof nor are the headphones themselves.

I haven't been out much in the last 2 months due to getting the house ready to sell for a big move to Texas. So, the last couple of days I've had a few hours to finally get out and hit a couple of places that had played out for the most part with the CTX. I went to the local zoo hoping to score at least a wheat or a Rosie, well, it turned out better than I expected. I sure love the fact I can move right along with Nox rather than crawling with the CTX and cover some serious real estate. Using my trusty 2-tone cherry picking mode I popped out 2 rosies, a merc and a wheaty. Having big fun lately ?

A friend sent me this image he made showing the Equinox coils to scale. Good job Rick!

Hey Everyone; I would like to get your feedback on how I use my settings on my 600. I was never into digging mid conductors with the exception to nickels. I have been killing it on the niks and I’m hoping to pick up some more buffs & V’s this year. And if silver gets in the way, then I’ll take them too. Here is a pic of my settings in Field 2, 50 tones, 0 thresh, 0 iron bias, multi, sens 20, recovery 3. I have basically disc’d out all mid-conductors except 12, 13, 14 for the niks and open on zincs to silver or small/large clad. Before I dig, I put it in AM to check for stability on the VDI from when I first picked up the signal. The reason I open up the iron is because I read somewhere that the less filtering of targets, the less depth is affected. This could be a theory that holds no validity but it’s a strategy that I use now at my old polluted L.A. parks. I don’t mind at all listening to the iron because I can easily tell what it is against my nickel signals. Then of course, the high conductors have a sound of its own and there’s no mistaking those. Some of you have racked up a significant amount of hours on your Nox’s in various modes and I would like to hear the positives or negatives on these settings that I really like. Is there any validity to the theory of disc’ing this way? Am I giving up something or gaining? Your feedback is appreciated.

Hi, I thought the standard shaft would suit me OK until I started water hunting. There is nothing to choose from here in Australia that does not cost over $200 delivered I decided to give making one a try 1metre x 22mm OD / 20mm ID Carbon Fiber shaft $42.00 aud , 1x Pluggers Equinox shaft lower lock about $30.00 delivered , 1x 19mm poly pipe end plug $1.00 Drilled some 6mmm & 9mm holes I cut 120mm off the carbon fiber shaft and made a lead filled counterweight attachment for later on when the big coil coil comes out . I will not do Andersons or Plugger out of business but it will do me and will keep the standard 3 piece for travelling

I took Dean's advice about using higher recovery speeds in trashy area to separate signals betters. Two wheaties I found yesterday were in the same very trashy areas I had detected previously with a sweep speed of 1. I believe the higher sweep speed on the 600 of 2-3 did help unmask them. If you go from Park settings to Field settings you will notice the difference as well in how the signals stand out more in trashy areas. There seems to be sort of a lag time/longer signal in Park 1 than in Field 2. I have also been checking signals found with a sweep speed of 1 with different recovery speeds to see if depth is affected and haven't seen a major difference. I have been keeping the sweep speed settings low because I watched an air test video on Youtube showing a major difference in depth during air testing. I am not convinced that lowering recovery speed gives one more depth but I did notice more falsing on cut nails and bigger iron when I raised the sweep speed. Has anyone else noticed it and has anyone seen a difference in depth at higher recovery speeds on actual targets in the ground?

If stuff is only worth what it sells for, bad news for Minelab. My new in sealed plastic bag WM08 with the charger cable, $259 from Minelab, just sold after a 10 day auction on eBay for $87 I am not terribly surprised because like most people I am just fine with aptX Bluetooth on my Equinox. However, I am keeping one WM08 around for use with my earbuds.

When I first read that the 800 had adjustable tone breaks, adjustable tone pitch and an extremely fast recovery speed, I knew at that moment I wanted one. The waterproofing and lightweight are just the icing on the cake. I had tried the Makro Impact and Racer looking for a fast and adjustable machine for my cherry picking hunts, but, I just never gelled with either one. From my very first hunt with the Nox,I felt that my expectations had been satisfied with a very affordable and feature packed detector. Today was the perfect example of why I bought the Nox, short cherry picking hunting. I was running Park 1... 2 tones...default GB...recovery speed 6....iron bias 0....tone break at 22...full volume...no discrimination and sensitivity at 22 I hit a very small park that was built in the late 50's I've taken a couple of dozen wheats out with the Etrac and CTX, but, no silver. That came to an end today while hunting with the Equinox . First good hit was a 57 wheat, I checked the spot after I replaced the plug and got a nice high tone with a solid 31-32 VDI, I already knew what was there Prettiest sight I've seen in quite some time, some shiny!! Within 30 minutes I hit the rosie followed by a couple more wheats, an oriental coin and the junk ring. I did not dig one zincoln today I think I may have dug 4-5 pieces of junk, but, I spent most of my time digging nothing but coins. If this had been an older park, I would have had a different approach obviously.

Took a chance and bought these waterproof Equinox headphones off EEEE Bay for a fast approaching Caribbean shallow water hunt. They're from Hungary! I even wondered if I would get them in time as the estimated shipping delivery date was more than 2 weeks! All the ML retailers I contacted keep telling me 4 weeks for ML waterproof phones and it seems it was 4 weeks 4 weeks ago. I'm also told the GG phones will be out soon too. But I needed wp phones for my trip now and to my surprise they were delivered in 2 days! Amazing and I will test them later. At least I can now take an Equinox on my trip!

You can find it in the August issue of Lost Treasure on page 56. I have yet to read it but I’ve found in the past that anything that Andy writes about is well worth the reading. Chuck

picked 3 targets in my heavily trashy yard, took a half hour to find 3 clean enough! Nickle was 7 or 8 inches but a small nail was 2 inches over it! pretty happy as i pounded this yard for 18 yrs and also another guy hit it a few times. 3 holes & 3 coins, 55 nickle, 46 penny about 8'' and a 1990 clad quarter just under the sod. All were surrounded signals, sounds like a casino back there!

Has anyone used this method of avoiding iron? Any success? "If you get a signal and you are not sure if it is iron or not, drop the frequency to 10kHz and swing over the target again, if the TDI numbers jump about, then it is probably iron, if it stays locked on the same number as in Multi, then it is worth a dig." (reported by Bargeman in an overseas forum)

No it is not a monster, but the young lady was quite happy to get it back. I always enjoy hugs and good Karma too. She is all smiles as I hand over her lost 14K yellow gold with diamond engagement ring. Equinox 600 did its job. Have you ever found a ring and returned it? Lets hear your story and see some photos if you have them.

If you're thinking of getting a set of BLUETOOTH Headphones, make SURE they are "AtpX LOW LATENCY" .... I spoke to a rep. From MINELAB about this and said that I had a problem with the cost of the ones offered by MINELAB ( $139.99 plus shipping ), the rep suggested I look on AMAZON.COM or EBAY.COM as there is several different headphones available and one is the same manufacturer as the one that have the MINELAB LOGO for about $55 or so.......only without the logo.....guess what I ordered from EBAY?????

https://imgur.com/gallery/plMLq So I’m frustrated. Im using the Minelab Equinox 800, had it for 3 weeks. Pulled a silver Rosie this morning in a 4 hour hunt. My issue is when I find a target. I have a “clue” based on shovel symbols in depth, but trying to pin point, wiggle back method I’m always off. Sometimes by 4-6 inches laterally. So I sweep, locate, pin point and dig plug... not in center, and most of the time way off.. inches off. This is happens multiple times each hunt. This is time consuming and I can’t find a remedy. I’ve used 12 different machines in 1.5 years, and never had this problem. Anyone have target locator I’d or pin pointing issues?

Hi , does anyone know what the difference is between Park 1 and Park 2 modes ? I need a mode that i can use on dry beaches away from the salt wet. But i have to put it into frequency 10 khts to match the Terra . Its mainly for looking for coinage in shingle and sand beaches . I need depth and sensitivity . Thanks

On Youtube i saw from another forum link that a bloke has found another way to check for bad targets on his 600 . I assume its the same for the 800 . The Minelab Equinox 'Hack' - Target ID Trick. Starts at 1.49 minutes

I posted this question on another forum too trying to get some clarity.. It seems to me after reading the manual a few times that Park 1 and Field 1 might have the same Multi-Frequency Weighting.. Same with Park 2 and Field 2.. Are the only differences between say Park 1 and Field 1 the stock discrimination pattern, tones, Recovery Speed and Iron Bias settings? If this is the case, I can use Field 1 to basically make another custom Park 1.. This would be good to know.. Bryan

I’ve dived with the equinox to 3m for a total of probably 5 hours and had it underwater for probably 25 and so far so good. I’ve noticed at 3m that the screen starts to compress so the clear casing contacts the lcd screen inside, ascending immediately undoes this so it’s not a real problem but how deep have you taken it or how deep do you think it’s really good to? look forward to hearing anyone’s opinions ?

Someone has X-rayed a equinox coil. Pretty good sized circuit board inside! https://md-hunter.com/minelab-equinox-coil-x-ray-is-it-really-the-half-of-machine/

So after reading tons of material on the Equinox 800 and debating the purchase in my head for awhile, i finally decided to pull the trigger. So it will be my third detector the other two being a gpx4800 and a GM1000. I primarily prospect and i feel that the Nox will do two things better prospecting wise compared to the other two detectors, the first thing is hunt trashy tailing piles that have potentially large nuggets, the second is river hunting where i know a gold bearing vein crosses the river that has produced multi ounce nuggets from the old mines adjacent to the river. Ive also been scared to use the gpx for creek hunting much in areas with more overburden, id hate to drop it in the water, so im hoping the Nox can punch through deeper overburden and find gold with its larger coil in the creek. I also have enjoyed beach hunting and coin shooting in the past with my pap, and it will be nice to have a detector that does those things well. Im sure my girl friend also wouldnt mind more trips to the beach vs trips to the middle of the tick and chigger infested woods lol. I will post some of my finds once i get it and get out there with it.

I was at the beach in dry sand next to an embankment that came down from the highway, running Beach 1 with the gain cranked. It was unlike any hit I had gotten after about 200 hours with the Equinox 800. All the numbers were pretty good but very confused and the varying signals had different strengths. It was an area about a foot and a half across. Each time I rescanned the hole there were more hits. Now, none of these coins are valuable beyond their face value, but look how many there were by the time I finished going over the little area. I had never had anything like that happen - 28 coins in the same hole. fwiw...

Am I doing something wrong? I cant get the volume control + or -- buttons to work on the ML80 phones. The volume works fine on the detector.