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Obviously all our Equinox concerns will be answered soon, but after watching most of the posted Equinox videos online several times... I noticed when near one another all those Equinoxes seem noisy? I guess that's to be expected. Yet I think I also noticed many were set to max sensitivity? Obviously testing a new detector one wants to see max capability, but wonder where sensitivity will have to be set in actual field conditions for stability, such as in saltwater and how lowering sensitivity effects performance? From experience the Excalibur typically runs best at mid sensitivity, perhaps slightly more when in the sea, while still performing great on most jewelry. I hope that will be the case with the Equinox?

Hi and my first current post here. Guess my detecting passions lean towards gold nugget hunting, but mostly Caribbean shallow water treasure hunting. For years I have travelled with a group in search of such Caribbean Adventure, sharing comradery and expenses. I and others in our group have pretty much tried every water detector available, including customized land machines in waterproof boxes/bags, in search of the best Caribbean gold jewelry finder. There have been some Winners and mostly Losers for our style of hunting. On a 1 to 2 week treasure hunting vacation one needs an efficient detector that finds the most gold in the least time. I'll come right out and say the Top Dog for us has been the Minelab Excalibur- Period! The Excalibur consistently finds the most gold for us in the least time and so much so, all in our group use them. (our trips could almost be ML infomercials with a pile of Excaliburs in the back of our rental van!) I call the Excalibur a Caribbean Gold Magnet! (as many others already know). The Excalibur has a good balance for shallow water vacation travel. By that I mean, good in salt, loves gold, takes the abuse, long battery life and packable... The CTX 3030 has done well, but needs to be handled more gently, the battery does not last as long- with potential leak problems and is not easy to securely pack. The Garrett Infinium was the only PI that could give the Excal a run for the money and clearly outperform it in black sand. But listening to Infinium Hi-Lo and Lo-Hi tones some 8 hours a day becomes buggy! The ATX was interesting, but a heavy beast to pack. For quite some time I have suggested to ML that they come out with a new, smaller and lighter Excalibur... because the technology to do so is here! (I've been told an Excalibur can be stuffed into just headphones today!) A waterproof simplified BBS machine for beach/shallow water. Easy to pack so I can travel with 2 (one as back-up) and hot on gold jewelry. It does not even need an all metal mode, nor discrimination. With an Excalibur none in our group use discrimination- we hunt by ear/tone and rarely do we use pin-point. What I dreamed of was a lightweight Excalibur package and it looks like I will finally have to settle for something potentially even better- the Equinox! I want the new Equinox to work as I imagine so bad I can taste it! The ultimate Caribbean shallow water travel machine! Will it be? I sure hope so because just 1 or 2 gold/platinum finds will pay for this detector easy! I've decided to go out and join on the Equinox limb with others by ordering an 800. All it needs to do is find gold jewelry in the sea similar to an Excalibur. But can it? I suspect yes, because of what one can read between the lines. Like... Steve sold all his other similar machines! What doesn't that say about Equinox capability? Plus it would be very surprising ML would build a new technology multi-frequency waterproof detector, that didn't work well in saltwater? Then ML writes in plain English, talking about their Multi-IQ Technology "This enables maximum target sensitivity across all target types and sizes, while minimizing ground noise (especially in saltwater)". No, ML did not say their Equinox is a Killer saltwater machine here, but it sure is implied! I sure hope the Equinox release is soon, as I would love to take an Equinox on my next scheduled Caribbean trip this mid January! So Santa do you hear me now?

I was cruising through the Minelab website looking for any new bits on the Equinox and came across this marketing video that compares the detectors in the "Treasure Detector" range. I think it's interesting, though not surprising, that the marketing hype is toned-down when the Equinox is compared to the rest of the Minelab range.

Dime sized coin, about 11" , Quarter/ Half sized coin about 16". I'm guessing, lower mineralized dirt?

Thanks Steve! Just wondering how that would work for a carry on on an airplane, I don't trust check in with anything electronic plus from what I've read, lithium battery items aren't allowed in check in so want to make sure it's travel worthy. I figured there would be headphones as well since bluetooth isn't an option for submersion. Thanks!

Trying to get caught up with the new Equinox as I've been away for a while. My CTX allows me to ignore these pesky little annoying objects. I can do this either through sound, target trace or simply notching them out. I can do this confidently knowing that I am not missing coins or solid gold objects. I rarely dig bottle caps (non aluminum) with my CTX even when hunting with a wide open screen. Target trace, tone and ID help me identify them. So.... how easy is it going to be with the Equinox? I won't use my Deus in a park because bottle caps read in the coin range. The parks where I live are littered with millions of corona bottle caps. strick

Having sold my beloved Excalibur (I don't know what I was thinking) I was in the market for a new water machine. Then the Equinox was slated to be released. I previously owned the CTX 3030 but sold it for various reasons. I was concerned about leaking water in the battery compartment basically. So I'm excited to get this new detector and put it in the water immediately. I will let all know how it performs or really how I perform with it. Good luck to all!

On the subject of depth... How accurate is the Equinox depth meter on dime size objects? The depth meter is very accurate on both the CTX and E-Trac and I take advantage of it. This is a risky tactic but I do have a few parks that have what I call the old coin layer. In these parks I use depth as indicator to dig or not dig. In one particular park I have never found an old coin less then roughly 6" I use common sense while doing this and will retrieve all quarter signals (aka silver ring) and also dig the shallow targets around tree roots and hard packed areas with slower sink rate. I'm after old coins and don't like wasting my time retrieving clad pennies and dimes. It takes too much swing time away that can be used for getting over an old coin. Some will say I need to clear out the clad to hear what's below but I have found this to be so extremely rare that I have concluded the math tells me it's not worth it. Bryan

One of the many things I really appreciate about the CTX is the ability hit coins on edge at depth. I'm wondering if you've had the chance to witness how the 800 does in this department? I've gone back to spots that have been hunted very heavily and done quite well hitting silver dimes on edge in the 6-7" range. Do you think the multi-frequency abilities of the 800 have an advantage over other machines you've used in this situation? Thanks for any input you can offer! Btw...great forum with a ton of quality information and participation.

Went to and Outing in Morristown AZ, there was a Minelab rep there and she did a demo on the Equinox....Let me say, I had made up my mine that I did not need one....change of plans. I saw it detect a wheatie placed on the door hinge of a Jeep , I saw it detect coins under a big iron bolt . I can not remember all the Great things that this machine did , but I just know I WANT ONE.....Guess it was cool due to the fact that there are only 13 working prototypes out right now and Debbie for Minelab Demoed this one for us at the outing, She also addressed the Gold Monster too.

Today I went and pre-ordered the Equinox 800 and with my veterans discount it was just to good to pass up. The sales rep could not or would not give up any info on its arrival, but I feel it's gonna be worth the wait, I just hope I'm not waiting for months. Even though there was small amounts of information concerning the Equinox' full potential disseminated to the public, it was enough to convience me to step up and pre-order the 800. So now starts the waiting game and the butterflies hoping I made the right choice, but from what i've been reading and the information shared by steve and others, I feel I've made the right choice. "D"

Here it is we talking Detectors and my wife is asking me what I want for Christmas. I told her already I want that small coil for the Equinox. She’s wanting to know when where and how much it is. I dislike saying I don’t know but right now that’s all I can do. Minelab if you read this please post the price of both coils. That way I can get her to send Rob’s Detector Saled a check. I still may have to wait on the Equinox 800 Pinpointer 35 and the coil but I can live with that. You know over the years I’ve put out enough money on Minelab Detectors I could have had more than one 7000. Oh well it has been fun and it’s not over yet. Chuck

In Lost Treasure mag. of January 2018 is a big double page ad on Minelabs Equinox. It says nothing about a coming out date. It just states that One Equinox All Terrain and at the bottom of the page and it says Obsoletes All Single-Frequency VLF Detectors. It shows a small picture of the Equinox and with a big coil over the hunting modes that the Equinox has to offer. What I'm wondering now being it don't show a date is Minelab saying no Equinox until next year ( 2018 ). I can't believe this could be true but it looks that way. If I ever wanted to be wrong this is it. Chuck

Anyone else buying the 600? I am for sure! I have owed a handful of detectors that run between these frequencies and they have been truly amazing. I think the 600 specifications will be adequate for all my fields here in the UK, what about you?

Steve, I thought you'd be THE guy for Minelab to engage in the US for some feedback on the Prospecting / Gold Mode. Does your Demo Unit have the prospecting mode? Have you had opportunity to spend time in the gold fields with the equinox and begin to get a feel for it's nose for gold? I would assume the 6" coil would be an important part of nugget hunting with the Equinox. Do you have one? Obviously, the equinox is not in the class of a GPZ 7000. Assuming you've been working the Equinox in the gold fields, does it approach the abilities of a dedicated VLF gold detector? I've been looking forward to adding the equinox to my little band of detectors since it was first announced. It checked all of the boxes to fill my all weather detector gap. The prospecting mode is a bonus for me and something I've wanted to try for a long time. (Rye patch is a straight shot West your direction on I-80) So I'm crossing my fingers that the Equinox can do some moonlighting out there. Rich (Utah)

Steve if you have the ear of Minelab, would you please try and get it into their heads that if they want to compete with XP in Europe, they will have to come out with a coil suitable for hunting in stubble fields. The 11" is to big and 6" is to small, what is needed is a 8"-9" round. I am looking forward to the 800 but all ready I am thinking I cant get rid of the Deus for this fact and if I cant get rid of the Deus, I just cant justify buying an Equinox. I would still own my CTX if there was a proper selection of coils.

Hi, how do you think it will preform when working in highly mineralized ground? The Gold fields here in FNQ (Australia ) sorts out most coin and relic detectors , mostly for the worst. They just can't handle it good enough. What I want to do is to be able to detect in high trashy areas on the gold fields ( old camps and townships ) that are littered with all sorts of junk. A lot of these detectors, although advertised to be able to work well in these conditions , in reality are pretty much a waste of time and money. I use a GPX500 and a SDC 2300 ,perfect for noisy ground so all I need to have an all-round arsenal is hopefully the Equinox. Regards Malco.

Anybody know when we can expect to see them in US stores.I heard from a mate in Aussie that they are gonna be released early December(now mi mate drinks a lot of beer so im not taking his word on it) in time to fill your stocking.

The EQUINOX Series features Minelab’s STATE-OF-THE ART Multi-IQ simultaneous multi-frequency technology and combines fast recovery speed with low-latency wireless audio in a lightweight waterproof platform.

In my opinion the new Minelab Equinox is going to be one of the most popular metal detectors ever made. There is overwhelming interest in the detector that is likely to be continuous and ongoing for quite some time. It threatens to overwhelm the main Minelab forum and so I have created a new sub-forum especially for those interested in the Equinox. It will be a place where future owners can hang out and swap information and stories without turning others off with all the gaga enthusiasm. I admit to being one of those enthusiastic people myself so this is quite self serving! I am in fact in danger of being an outright fanboy, and so have called the new forum the Minelab Equinox Fan Club. If you are interested check it out. If not now you can avoid all the hype!

In my opinion the new Minelab Equinox is going to be one of the most popular metal detectors ever made. There is overwhelming interest in the detector that is likely to be continuous and ongoing for quite some time. It threatens to overwhelm the main Minelab forum and so I have created a new sub-forum especially for those interested in the Equinox. It will be a place where future owners can hang out and swap information and stories without turning others off with all the gaga enthusiasm. I admit to being one of those enthusiastic people myself so this is quite self serving! I am in fact in danger of being an outright fanboy, and so have called the new forum the Minelab Equinox Fan Club. If you are interested check it out. If not now you can avoid all the hype!

I need a DD214 detector! I know it's filed somewhere, but since moving I can't find it. Glad I have a bit of time yet! I have a question regarding coil options for the E800. Is it reasonable to believe that 'tuned' coils for a single freq might be issued by ML or 3rd party? More specifically, a 40KHz coil for gold. Or is the IQ tech better for small gold than single freq detecting?

The information here is derived from commentary by Minelab representatives in this video... plus from these prior threads.... http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/4303-minelab-equinox-multi-iq-and-search-modes/ and http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/4488-minelab-equinox-multi-iq-technology-part-2/ For starters it is stated both the Equinox 600 and Equinox 800 feature Park, Field, and Beach hunt modes, that correspond to the three icons shown on the Equinox 800 screen above. Each mode has two saved settings options “1” and “2”. The Equinox 800 offers a fourth mode, the Gold mode, that the Equinox 600 lacks. It is stated that 20 kHz and 40 kHz are not available as single operating frequencies in Equinox 600. The Multi-IQ frequency range (5, 10, 15, 20, and 40 kHz) applies to both Equinox model multifrequency modes. "20 kHz and 40 kHz are not available as single operating frequencies in EQUINOX 600. The Multi-IQ frequency range shown applies to both EQUINOX 600 and 800." It can therefore be surmised that the Gold mode on the Equinox 800 exists as a way to offer both 20 kHz and 40 kHz single frequency modes that are lacking on the Equinox 600. Further “Both models also have simultaneous multi-frequency options that cover a much broader range of targets than any one single frequency can – and they’re different across the Detecting Modes!“ So we have four different modes each one specifically tuned for each of the four scenarios - hunting in a Park full of modern trash, hunting in a Field with all manner of non-ferrous coins and relics plus lots of ferrous trash, hunting at the Beach which may entail saltwater and mineralized soils, and hunting for Gold which can mean tiny gold in highly mineralized ground. If Minelab does this trick right the Equinox will be more than just a general purpose detector that can be tuned for most any detecting. Instead, each of the four modes may be, through changes of the actual base programming, more like owning four different detectors in one housing. And not only can you switch on the fly between the four modes, but each mode has two saved setting options. Now we are talking four different detectors, each set up with two different sets of tuning options. Certainly Minelab is not the first to offer different operating modes and saved options. As soon as you start looking at only detectors that are waterproof however, this sort of thing is few and far between indeed. This is just another way in which the Minelab Equinox is setting the stage for being one of if not the most versatile detectors ever made.

Brandon Neice - “It's almost like the Deus and CTX got together and made a baby”!