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Who among you has experienced a coil ear breakage? Among those who have experienced a coil ear breakage, how many use or have used the coil/machine under water? I ask because I’m wondering if the added pressure of resistance under the water is the primary cause of breakage (aside from obvious design flaw). I use mine under water occasionally but haven’t had a breakage yet, and trying to avoid one until I buy a coil ear stiffener. Being aware of this issue I try not to over tighten too.

Well, after over 3 yrs my 11" coil broke an ear. Here are pics of my attempt to make it stronger than new.? Put the fiber glass on with super glue then a layer of epoxy over that. I'm not sure it needed the epoxy but it smoothed it out. Little black paint coming.

First. The title of this topic has been changed to APEX vs Equinox. That was not my title and I don’t agree with it. I did not start this topic as one versus the other. These two detectors are not equal in technology or price. I just wanted to show what they can do on the same test. If you want to make it a versus comparison that is your choice. I performed these Monte's (outstanding member of this forum) nail board tests using the Garrett ACE APEX with the stock Viper coil and the Equinox 800 using its 6" coil so at least coil widths are similar. I do not have any other APEX coils to test presently. If the Mercury dime is heard during both left and right swings that equals 2 points. If it is only heard in one swing direction that equals 1 point. If it is not heard, that equals 0 points. A perfect score is 16 points. I did not make these videos in order to make one detector look bad and another look good, etc. I think they both performed at about their respective price points. By the way, my Deus in Pitch mode with the 9" HF coil consistently scores 15 on this test with a USA Indian Head penny, Mercury dime and Half dime. The APEX and Equinox scores in these videos are also consistent with my off camera testing on those coins. I made them to show first of all that relic hunting/coin shooting in iron trash should not be done in any of the APEX preset modes other than Zero. However, in my soil conditions, using Zero adds too much ground noise to the audio even with a good ground balance. I use a Custom mode very similar to Monte's suggestions with discrimination set from +20 to +99. This allows silver and copper coins to be detected audibly. At least with the circa late 1800s square nails I am using, the iron plus Mercury dime VDIs sometimes end up in the low to mid 30s. Garrett's preset Relic mode starts at +35 and Jewelry starts at +40. Using either mode may unintentionally silence non-ferrous targets in thick iron trash. Also, the Viper coil has to be exquisitely swung at just the right coil height during this video in order to get the best results. That coil height is different for each of the four swing directions. I struggled to get it right while holding my camera.........but the results are consistent with off camera testing for my/Monte's Custom mode and the default Jewelry mode. There is a bit of EMI and the APEX does have a bit of iron falsing on some of the nail heads. This APEX has the latest 1.28.1 software update installed. I also made them to dispel opinions or rumors that the Equinox 600 and 800 are not very good in iron trash. Personally, they do well for me........as well as a Deus, of course not. Better than any simultaneous multi frequency detector on the market today........if set up optimally, yes. I used Park 2 with a similar amount of the iron range accepted compared to the APEX Custom mode and Field 2 with the entire iron range rejected similar to the APEX Jewelry mode. The Equinox down averaged the Mercury dime also due to all of the iron targets. However, those VDIs stayed well within the mid conductor non-ferrous area. The Equinox also had some iron falsing on some of the nail heads. Thanks for watching. Turn up your volume. Sorry about my very poor video skills. Both videos are around 5 minutes each in length.. ACE APEX EQUINOX 800

I got out for a while last Thursday morning to the farmhouse. Dug this bracelet, it is iron and brass, maybe some gold plate. It has hand engraving on it, and "Japan" stamped into the back. I estimate it at around the 1970s. I've been a little concerned that using iron balance at F2=3 (max on the 600) might be a bit extreme, so I re-buried the bracelet at about 4" and tried every IB setting. Got some interesting results: Iron/brass/gold plated bracelet 4" deep with 90 degree swing to check FE=0 19/20 no iron tone Fe=1 19/20 short iron tone Fe=2 -1/-2 sometimes 18-20 mostly iron Fe=3 -3 to -5 solid iron tone F2=0. 19/20 no iron tone F2=1 19/20. No iron tone F2=2 19/20 no iron tone F2=3 19/20 iron tone Park 1 5 tones all metal sensitivity 23 Since this object is both iron and brass, I would expect the results I get at FE=1 and F2=3. I was a bit surprised by FE=2 and 3. If I don't use F2=3, I get a lot of this due to false tones: I dug all these at FE=2, after going over an area I feel I have pretty much wiped out. This is all I found there. Interested in input. ?

This morning I woke up to much less heat and humidity. So not having to much luck at a few sites I decided to have a little fun and decided to just dig The dreaded Zincoln's. I was inspired by a fellow forum member who absolutely LOVES the Zincolns, I won't mention his name (GB amateur) Like I said I won't mention his name (GB amateur). I know that all of you will say, that is not fun. I look at it this way, It will always be rewarding. It will always give you a signal and it will hone your pinpointing and digging skills. (also give you a bad back). So off I went to start the Zincoln project. After a 4 hour run I was rewarded with 53 zincolns, 2 dimes (had to dig for my sanity) and 1 Quarter (also for my mental health). Not sure if I dug any key dates or mints (mostly were corroded). I hope our fellow forum member, Who I still won't mention (GB amateur) will now have a renewed sense of how rewarding it is digging these once pristine and beloved coins, But sometime cleaning out a park of these magical coins makes you feel bad for fellow detectors, Who will never have the chance to find such a wonderful coin. So in parting, don't be greedy leave at least a few so others can bask and revel in one of the greatest coins ever made. HAPPY HUNTING MY FRIENDS!!!!!

I am needing an explanation why it is that my Nox doesn't hit on the target after I have popped the plug while all of my previous and less sophisticated detectors can and do without fault. Before asking the answer is yes. I have done all of the necessary start up procedures AND ran this through ALL levels of sensitivity and subsequent adjustments and parameters. I look forward to any viable answer that can be got or being directed to wherever this lies in a previous forum. Thx

I used my Equinox a lot in longer grass, and also in very rocky areas. The spoked design coils are never my preference but that's all the Equinox has. I couldn't believe it when the Coiltek 10x5" came out as an open design and I asked if they intended to make a solid coil cover for it, they told me no they don't. It would be very funny if Nugget Finder started making solid skid plates for the Coiltek Nox coils, In fact I hope they do. I noticed they have them for the Equinox 11" coil, so I just had to have one. I hope they continue this trend and make them for 6" coil too. Seems well built, fits well... is solid, what more could I ask for? Now I just hope they make more sizes for the other coils, especially the Coiltek 10x5" and ML 6".

You have basically four books on the Equinox metal detector to choose from. 1) The Minelab Equinox 600 800 Metal Detector Hand book by Andy Sabisch $23.95 - 176 pages 2) Minelab The Equinox Series from Beginner to Advanced by Clive Clynik $19.95 - 111 pages 3) The Minelab Equinox: “an Advanced Guide by Clive Clynik $22.95 - 101 pages 4) Skill Building with The Minelab Equinox by Clive Clynik $21.95 - 119 pages There may be more, but these are the ones I actually purchased. I have no relationship with either author other than some email questions. I also run two very technical book review web sites on college level books and above. Andy’s book is well edited, with slick photographs and a large easy to read format with some general information on the Equinox detector. However, in my opinion it is padded with photos and testimonials that really don’t add much to the Equinox knowledge. Clive’s books are more expensive if you buy all three of them. Smaller format and yes, there are some spelling mistakes Clive did not catch. But, for the amount of pure Equinox knowledge (especially for the 800), these books are packed from cover to cover with very useful Equinox information. I find myself highlighting quite a bit in each of Clive’s books. I have many years of metal detecting experience with various metal detectors under my belt. Nothing prepared me for the 800. My previous detector was the very good Garrett AT Pro. Prior to the Equinox, I feel the AT Pro was the best mid-range metal detector available. That all changed in the Spring of 2018 when detectorists started buying the 800. Most people at that time could not or refused to believe the 800 was as good as Minelab and a few others were saying. Big caveat here, this was not your father’s detector. It is a very powerful and complex mid-ranged metal detector. Until you tame it, you will be frustrated unless you learn to just use it as the Minelab engineers designed it and that is to use the standard modes until you have at least 50 hours on the 800 or 600. And that brings me to Clive’s three books. They will show you how to get the most out of your equinox. If you are content with hunting in the standard modes maybe buying just Clive’s first book. Bottom line, I kept all three of Clive’s books and sold Andy’s book. But the safe choice would be to purchase all four books.

I have been prospecting in an area with a lot of old gold mines in North Queensland using a Nox 800. Generally the area is benign, being on gold 1 and sensitivity of around 20.in an area of about 3x3 km. I was Detecting in one area when the nox went into high level chatter. One next to Creek and one in the creek. Both areas were about 4x4 m, once I moved the detector away from the area every thing became normal with chatter normal. I noticed some black sands in the area. Could a concentration of this be causing the chatter.

Just returned from Rye Patch where I attended training with Gerry to learn my EQ800 better. The timing was fortuitous because the new ML6000 was there to be picked up and used by another student. So whenever a potential target was found we all got to observe and watch all the detectors as well as our own to compare response before digging the target. It was REALLY instructive to see what an EQ800, SDC2300, GPZ7000 and the new GPX6000 would do in comparison to depth of target size and density of target etc.! What was NOT fortuitous were the extreme temps...oh well! Several conclusions: the EQ800 blew most of the other detectors away on very small gold..the GPZ and 6000 sometimes wouldn't even signal but the EQ would have a loud robust "zip zip"! That said, the 6000 and 7000 could pick up 10 inch deep targets of moderately small size that the EQ wouldn't "hear" until some inches were scraped off top of target. The 6000 in my opinion was better all around than the 7000 as well as WAAAAY lighter, better balanced, more ergonomic(folds up to a really small size). The 7000 probably is still "the king of depth" ..a former student stopped by to show his results with pics of large gold found OVER the length of a 3 foot pick handle ..really impressive! I as well as all but one person found multiple nuggets with the EQ800...the person skunked was NOT using an EQ! Sure is tempting to go for a 6000 but for now I'll continue to improve with the EQ.

have been prospecting in an area with a lot of old gold mines in North Queensland using a Nox 800. Generally the area is benign, being on gold 1 and sensitivity of around 20.in an area of about 3x3 km. I was Detecting in one area when the nox went into high level chatter. One next to Creek and one in the creek. Both areas were about 4x4 m, once I moved the detector away from the area every thing became normal with chatter normal. I noticed some black sands in this area. Could a concentration of this be causing the chatter.

My Equinox 800 no longer charges, the green light flicks on and off as if its doing its job but the battery is not holding a charge.. as soon as i turn it on i get the 'battery flat' sign.. I'm one of those pedantic bastards who always runs their battery flat and then fully recharges it, for fear that otherwise it'll create a 'memory' half full.. Is there anything I can do about this? or is my poor old Foxy Noxy a write off? Any advice will be much appreciated.. even slaughtering a black chicken at midnight during a full moon, if it works I'll be a very happy man!

Interesting test. Results were not what I would expect.

Can anyone weigh-in on the following? I am new to the Equinox 800 and am learning the machine. So far, finding silver and/or copper type coins does not appear to be a problem. Generally, I get a response that clearly tells me that it is a good coin target. However, on the newer Canadian coins that are made of steel, the detector simply does not find them well at all. We have set up rows of these newer Canadian coins on top of the soil and the detector hardly even "sees" them. Numbers are all over the place and basically meaningless. Even pinpointing is difficult. Clad US coins are easy to find because of the copper content. So i am hoping that folks with a better handle on this machine can pass on along a little wisdom on this topic. And maybe someone can even shed a little light on what the meaningfulness of the numbers are on the Equinox display. (So far, I rely almost exclusively on audio signal). Thanks all. PS - the sign-a-graph and vdi numbers on my Whites DFX actually meant something and were very helpful for targeting decisions.

Hey all. So I've had my 600 for a few days now and have gotten out 3 times. I've made some great finds so far in my yard which I previously hunted numerous times. I've noticed that this machine is very noisy and chatters a lot. The machines I've used before were a lot older Whites machines and were nowhere near this noisy. I noise cancelled my machine, have the tracking ground balance on and even turned the sensitivity down to about 15 and this thing is very chattery still. I was mainly searching in Park 1 mode but switched to some other modes to see if it was the same... and it was. When I get over a good target, I know it. It's just very noisy otherwise. Not sure if this is something I just need to get used to or if I'm just doing something wrong. Does anyone else have any input with how noisy their machine has been or what they have been seeing/hearing? Thanks guys!

Credit to Gigmaster for his latest video identifying a good bet for the source of the control pod leaks. Very interesting. While I'm at it, Gigmaster recently did a video on how he is repairing and reinforcing the Nox coil ears. I had both coil ears fail last year and had the coil replaced under warranty. Now that my warranty expired in Feb. I figured I'd give Gig's ABS plastic reinforcing mod a try. I used 1/8” ABS (I wouldn't recommend anything thicker) and Gorilla Weld 2 part epoxy like Gig used. It went very well and is rock solid.

Yesterday was HOT, But I decided to hit a shady spot that has produced some good stuff. I decided to bring the line trimmer and mow down an area around some tree's that I found a nice barber on. So after an hour of trimming I was happy I could detect under the 3 foot tall grass. My first good signal was a nickle (buffie) next was a wheatie, Not bad for my efforts. The spot is next to a willow tree by an old pond/swimming hole. After collecting a few more nickles and pennies (not looking closely to what I dug) I found what I think might be a carpenter's compass (Total Guess), It's made of copper and was around 10'' deep. Next was a thimble and a kerosene lamp burner. One more signal and out comes a lead button. Well I was hotter than hot and called it a day. When I got home to look at my rather mundane finds I realized I tripped up on Two liberty head nickles (1912 and 1895), a 1907 indian head penny, and two wheatie's 1920 and a no date. , And two no date buffies. This place has yielded stuff from colonial to the 19th century and I'm going to bring the trimmer back to clean up some more spots on the property, Not only for me but to pay back the owner for the permission. Anyone who can help with the ID on the my best guess carpenter compass I welcome the help.

Got in the water today for about 3 hours, did okay with a couple of James Avery medallion and a fancy silver ring. I was wading chest deep, so the Nox may have went down 4' max. Got home and unloaded everything and noticed my screen was foggy, upon closer inspection I could see water behind the screen. I bought this machine because my first 800's warranty expired, this one is a little over a year old. This makes #4 that I've had problems with, 1st was a power button problem, 2nd was a battery(charging issue), 3rd machine took on water and now another leaker. I'm headed for a vacation this coming week and will be staying on the water for a few days. I'm glad I bought a Simplex as a backup, looks like I'm gonna need it. I'll run it til it dies and then contact Minelab

I have been dying to find a trime for quite a while and seriously loosing sleep on thinking about it. So it's July 5th and after a ton of weekend rain I called my buddy to see if he wanted to take a go somewhere. He wanted to take me to an old colonial cellar hole site that he and another friend hunted a lot. I did not have high hopes of a great hunt but it was better than sitting at home. This place was crazy weird with random broken/disappearing signals, which I soon found out was caused by some very strange sandstone that my detector and pointer would pick up on. So after 3 hours of crap signals and misc. doo-dads, I decided to change locations. I walked down range about 150 meters and proceeded to hit some new ground. Low and behold it was quite chatter free and insect free. I was hunting near a small blown over tree and saw a dig hole,so I drifted about 5 feet away and got THE first solid tone of the day a unwavering 19 on the 800. Well jeez louis, I don't care what it is. Expecting a copper button or such, I proceeded with the dig. The plug was a 0 but the hole was coming up hot. I scraped away 4 inches of dirt and the hole went blank. The pointer nailed it and out popped a what I thought was an aluminium snap button. I snatched it up gave it a rub and Holy S**T I found a Trime!!!! I consider myself a pretty tough guy, But I have to admit I shed a little tear. This is a coin I have been chasing for a long time. Well my poor close up vision and my death grip on the coin clouded my brain. I called my buddy over to look at my trime and he proceeded to tell me I did NOT repeat NOT find a Trime but a 1857 seated 1/2 dime. Well being in love with the trimes I was highly disappointed. I Have this seated coin on my bucket list but a little lower on the scale. My buddy thought I was nuts, maybe I am? Another hour and a half yielded a 1864 and 1865 indian head and some other cool doo dads for me, And my buddy rolled out with a beautiful 1874 shield nickle and 2 1864 indian heads. Happy yes, But I can't get the trime thing out of my head.

Ive read hundreds of posts about ground balance but what I want to get clarification on from Steve or somebody is this. When you say you mostly manual ground balance do you mean you just start at zero setting and just raise the number up till its stable? Am I understanding that correctly? Also, Am I right in thinking zero is the best depth in general an the more you have to raise it the less depth you theoretically get?

I came across this bullet the other day, about 10'' down in an old farm pasture. I'm kinda sure this is not civil war but its not something I've ever seen. Here's the spec's (rough) It has 4 Lands and 4 grooves. It mic's at .457 + and - The length is around an 1 1/4'' Weight is 480.5 grains or 31.14 grams I thought it was a.50-70 round, but I think the bullet is to long for the case. Leaning on the side of muzzle loader. Any help would be great.

My machine's ears on my coil broke plus it had some fog in the control box even though it still worked fine.I got my machine on Aug 1 2018 so I needed to send it in fast since I thought I only had about a month to go on the warranty.I actually had until October .I brought it to the post office on Sat at 2:30 pm and it was at my door at about 9:00 am on Thursday.They gave me a new coil with a cover plus a new control pod with a new rod for it.My machine went only from N. Y. to Penn. but this is much faster then the time I thought I would get it back.Thank you Minelab for your great service.I had to use my Infinium in the water while my Nox was sitting on the sideline and despite not using it since July 2018 I got 4 gold on 1 day and 7 overall with this 2002 machine in 5 hunts. My Nox has 3 gold in 4 outings.

As many of you know, we have been having some good tide swings for the Summer Solstice full moon! Also called a "strawberry moon" here! I went out to one of the renurishment beaches to look for some good sand loss! This particular beach has a limestone shore that "they" feel the need to cover with unnatural "beach" sand, for the "skin roasting" tourist traffic! The ironic thing is, most tourists come to explore the craggy limestone beach!? Luckily for everybody, the sand mostly disappears fast on the lower beach! That, coupled with the extra low tides, makes for fun for most everyone! It's always a tough choice to pick one or two spots to hunt in such a limited timespan! I was hoping to get some old silver, or jewelry from this area with my limited time! But forgot my all important screwdriver, for prying out the older targets from the limestone cracks! I improvised with what I had, but it increased my recovery time, as i was having to pry most of my targets free with a piece of aluminum junk I found! I did not find any silver or jewelry this time, but I did find a nice bronze spike, stuck under a ledge, that had to be worked out of it's sand and shell wedged cubby hole! And some more modern coins that were practically grown into the cracks! Sorta reminds me of how some of you all recover nuggets in a river or stream area! Gotta have the right tools, or it's near impossible! Anyway, if fishing lead were gold nuggets, I'd be doing a seriously silly happy dance! But as is reality, I'll just add the 15-20 ounces to my lead bucket for other uses! Some had been lodged in the rocks a long time! My best find was that spike! As I've never found one in that area! Also a few small pieces of copper sheathing! So the source may someday give up something more precious!?? ***Note to self,? and others: Never use your scoop as a prying tool, or a hammer!? I broke the handle, although not fully; so I was very careful for the rest of the hunt! If I didn't already have a replacement at home, I would get one of Steve G's carbon fiber ones! Well; next one!!?

Greeting all, I have a Minelap Equinox-800 device with eror (Er 41). I changed the cable but still the same problem, I'm try to restarting but there is no responding. please can anyone help me with this problem because I live far from the company and can't send it to warranty.

Well I decided to hit a new spot this morning, a 1770's farm house and barn turned industrial building. This will soon be torn down for another housing development. My buddy was hunting a small maybe 50' x 40' back yard that has overgrown flower beds, while I was hunting the perimeter of the house with cut lawn. After two hours of only a clad dime and a quarter, I decided to see how he was making out. I asked what he got 2 early wheaties was his reply. while talking I swung the 800 on the edge of a flower bed not expecting to get a signal. But I did a jumpy 21 22 23, Jokingly I said how did you miss that. He responded I didn't get there yet. Thinking I was digging a wheat penny, I proceeded to pop the plug. I checked it with the coil, Not in the plug. But now I was getting a jumpy 29 30 31 32 in the hole. Thinking big silver or copper, After digging to around 10'' out pops a very thin copper which I thought was a KG. My buddy (which I hope he still is, seemed a little flustered) came over to look at it with younger eyes, And told me I just dug a 1788 Vermont copper. Well now I started to feel a little sick for swinging in his spot, It was not how I wanted to find a bucket list coin. I offered it to him but he said no, He was glad I found it. Still I didn't feel OK, but knowing we hunt together a lot and we trade good and bad days made me realize how much you would rather your friend find something than yourself. So now I have 3 of the 4 state coppers, all with the equinox after years of detecting with other machines. Luck maybe but I'm leaning towards how you trade info on your machine and technique's used with your detecting buddy.