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

It came falling out of the Heaven whole and yet we don’t have a date when we see it again. We were shown how great it was with all the show and tell Minelab had to offer. Myself and others didn’t like the stand but that should be a small fix. I guess I’m like a dog in just throw me a bone but in this just a date Minelab. Chuck

New video from Minelab. Nothing new here really, just slicker production values. Brandon Neice - “It’s almost like the Deus and CTX got together and made a baby”! Published on Nov 5, 2017 - Last September, we announced our new EQUINOX Series detectors at the Minelab sponsored Detectival Rally UK 2017. Watch the video and enjoy the major event highlights including the EQUINOX announcement!

Just a thought while minelab is still working on software adding a follow the black sand feature like the whites GMT. I have used my GMT with that feature a lot to locate area's to dry wash. One area was a area that was a using a knudsen bowl for clean up for a large placer operation. I didn't know exactly where the machine location was but i know there would be a concentration of black sand where the machine was working. I pumped the coil up and down watching the numbers 30's,40's then 60+ Bingo. Knowing if you feed to fast or too much water your going to loose gold, I dry washed the the high number area and found good amount of gold for the dirt I ran. The numbers work a lot better for prospecting than a bar graph. If minelab is reading this that would be another selling point and useful tool.

Minelab Electronics From http://www.minelab.com/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/equinox-technologies-part-2. This is the second installment in a blog series introducing and explaining the technologies inside our new EQUINOX detectors… (Read Part 1 here.) What actually is Multi-IQ technology? What does the name stand for? What frequencies does it use? Is “Multi” the same or different for the various Detecting Modes? Is Multi-IQ the same or different for EQUINOX 600 and EQUINOX 800? Why use a single frequency? How does EQUINOX perform in certain environments? How does EQUINOX perform compared to other Minelab detectors? How does EQUINOX perform against other brand detectors? These are some of the myriad of questions we have seen since we published our EQUINOX Product Notice in mid-September. Some of the answers will have to wait until Minelab publishes reports from our field testers and/or you get your own hands on a detector to try yourself. In the meantime, let’s look further into the aspects of Multi-IQ technology. Multi-IQ is derived from: Simultaneous Multi-Frequency In-phase and Quadrature Synchronous Demodulation. So, full marks to “Pimento” on the Thomas Dankowski Metal Detecting Forum for this great deduction: “I think the IQ part of Multi-IQ is not suggesting how Intelligent it is, but is alluding to the mathematical I and Q, representing the two quadrature (90 degrees apart) components of the signal, (which are then demodulated, a key part of most metal detector workings)” But, that doesn’t mean EQUINOX is not an intelligent detector as well! We can go to a statement from Dr Philip Wahrlich, our principal technology physicist, about a key difference of Multi-IQ compared to the demodulation taking place in conventional single frequency VLF detectors: “Within the Multi-IQ engine, the receiver is both phase-locked and amplitude-normalised to the transmitted magnetic field – rather than the electrical voltage driving the transmitted field. This field can be altered by the mineralisation in the soil (in both phase and amplitude), so if the receiver was only phased-locked to the driving voltage, this would result in inaccurate target IDs and a higher audible noise level. Locking the receiver to the actual transmitted field, across all frequencies simultaneously (by measuring the current through the coil) solves these issues, creating a very sensitive AND stable detector” Precisely measuring these extremely small current variations is quite remarkable if you consider the levels involved. It’s actually parts per billion, or nanoamp signals, we are talking about here! With Multi-IQ, we can derive much greater target ID accuracy and increased detecting performance, especially in ‘difficult’ ground. In ‘mild’ ground, single frequency may perform adequately, BUT depth and stable ID’s will be limited by ground noise; whereas the Multi-IQ simultaneous multi-frequency will achieve maximum depth with a very stable target signal. In ‘strong’ ground, single frequency will not be able to effectively separate the target signal, giving decreased results; whereas Multi-IQ will still detect at depth, losing a minimal amount of target accuracy. This is how we would generally represent the multi-frequency advantage, based on our engineering test data. Let’s hear more from Philip Wahrlich about the technical details: “For each frequency the detector transmits and receives there are two signals which can be extracted which we refer to as I and Q. The Q signal is most sensitive to targets, while the I signal is most sensitive to iron content. Traditional single-frequency metal detectors use the Q signal to detect targets, and then use the ratio of the I and Q signals to assess the characteristics of the target and assign a target ID. The problem with this approach is that the I signal is sensitive to the iron content of the soil. The target ID is always perturbed by the response from the soil, and as the signal from the target gets weaker, this perturbation becomes substantial. With some simplification here for brevity, if a detector transmits and receives on more than one frequency, it can ignore the soil sensitive I signals, and instead look at the multiple Q signals it receives in order to determine a target ID. That way, even for weak targets or highly mineralised soils, the target ID is far less perturbed by the response from the soil. This leads to very precise target IDs, both in mineralised soils and for targets at depth.” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. “How many simultaneous frequencies?” you may ask, wondering if this is a critical parameter. Minelab has been carrying out detailed investigations into this in recent years. Just as you can colour in a map with many colours, the minimum number to differentiate between adjacent countries is only 4 – a tough problem for mathematicians to prove, over many years. Similar to the map problem, it’s perhaps not the maximum number of frequencies needed to achieve an optimum result, but the minimum number that is more interesting. When it comes to frequencies in a detector, to cover all target types, how the frequencies are combined AND processed is now more important, with the latest detectors, than how many frequencies, for achieving even better results. Efficient new technology = lower power = lighter weight = higher performance. * 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. This diagram is representative only. Actual sensitivity levels will depend upon target types and sizes, ground conditions and detector settings. The above diagram is intended to be a simplified representation of how different frequencies of operation are better suited to different target types; i.e. low frequencies (e.g. 5kHz) are more responsive to high conductors (e.g. large silver targets) and high frequencies (e.g. 40kHz) are more responsive to low conductors (e.g. small gold nuggets). The EQUINOX 600 offers a choice of 3 single frequencies and the EQUINOX 800 offers the choice of 5 single frequencies. 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! We’ll consider this further in Part 3…

Here is a Minelab Treasure Talk on the Equinox Multi-IQ Technology.. http://www.minelab.com/anz/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/equinox-technologies-part-1 EQUINOX Technologies (Part 1) October 19, 2017 03:23pm Minelab Electronics This is the first instalment in a blog series introducing and explaining the technologies inside our new EQUINOX detectors… Background When Minelab started developing our EQUINOX detector, we looked very closely at all of the current market offerings (including our own) to reassess what detectorists were really after in a new coin & treasure detector. A clear short list of desirable features quickly emerged – and no real surprises here – waterproof, lightweight, low-cost, wireless audio, and of course, improved performance from new technology. This came from not only our own observations, but also customers, field testers, dealers and the metal detecting forums that many detectorists contribute to. While we could have taken the approach of putting the X-TERRA (VFLEX technology) in a waterproof housing and adding a selectable frequency range, this would have been following the path of many of our competitors in just rehashing an older single frequency technology that had already reached its performance limits. Another option would have been to create a lower cost waterproof FBS detector, but that also had its challenges with FBS being ‘power hungry’, needing heavier batteries, heavier coils, etc., and relatively high cost compared to the more recent advances that our R&D team have been making with the latest electronics hardware and signal processing techniques. When Minelab develop a new detecting technology we aim to create a paradigm shift from existing products and provide a clear performance advantage for our customers. Our Technology History The multi-frequency broad band spectrum (BBS) technology that first appeared in Sovereign detectors in the early 1990’s provided an advantage over single frequency coin & treasure detectors. This evolved into FBS with Explorer, all the way through to the current CTX 3030 (FBS 2). The multi-period sensing (MPS) PI technology that first appeared in the SD 2000 detector in the mid 1990’s gave a significant advantage over single frequency gold detectors. This key technology exists in the current GPX Series detectors today. Zero Voltage Transmission (ZVT) is our latest gold detection technology implemented in the GPZ 7000 and is a recent example of Minelab’s continued innovation beyond ‘tried and true’ technologies to achieve improved performance. Further to our own consumer products, our R&D team also has significant experience working with the US and Australian military on multi-frequency technologies for metal detection. Introducing Multi-IQ Multi-IQ is Minelab’s next major innovation and can be considered as combining the performance advantages of both FBS and VFLEX in a new fusion of technologies. It isn’t just a rework of single frequency VLF, nor is it merely another name for an iteration of BBS/FBS. By developing a new technology, as well as a new detector ‘from scratch’, we will be providing both multi-frequency and selectable single frequencies in a lightweight platform, at a low cost, with a significantly faster recovery speed that is comparable to or better than competing products. We have come out with a very bold statement that has captured a lot of market attention: “EQUINOX obsoletes all single frequency VLF detectors” Multi-IQ achieves a high level of target ID accuracy at depth much better than any single frequency detector can achieve, including switchable single frequency detectors that claim to be multi-frequency. When Minelab use the term “multi-frequency” we mean “simultaneous” – i.e. more than one frequency is transmitted, received AND processed concurrently. This enables maximum target sensitivity across all target types and sizes, while minimising ground noise (especially in saltwater). There are presently only a handful of detectors from Minelab and other manufacturers that can be classed as true multi-frequency, all of which have their own advantages and disadvantages. How does Multi-IQ compare to BBS/FBS? Multi-IQ uses a different group of fundamental frequencies than BBS/FBS to generate a wide-band multi-frequency transmission signal that is more sensitive to high frequency targets and slightly less sensitive to low frequency targets. Multi-IQ uses the latest high-speed processors and advanced digital filtering techniques for a much faster recovery speed than BBS/FBS technologies. Multi-IQ copes with saltwater and beach conditions almost as well as BBS/FBS, however BBS/FBS still have an advantage for finding high conductive silver coins in all conditions. There’s much more information to share with you about Multi-IQ, as we put the finishing touches to EQUINOX and carry out final field testing around the world. Stay tuned for Part 2… * 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. This diagram is representative only. Actual sensitivity levels will depend upon target types and sizes, ground conditions and detector settings.

http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/4419-minelab-equinox-multi-iq-technology-part-1/ Very interesting, IMO. Steve

The Minelab Equinox comes standard with a 11" round DD coil, which is similar to but different than previous Minelab coils. We can assume they only work on the Equinox series. A 6" round and 12" x 15" coil have also been announced as in the works so there will be at least three coils available when the Equinox launches, although availability is always an open question. Hopefully Minelab will not impede and in fact I hope they will help third party companies make more coils for the Equinox. Coil availability is a big deal with any new detector, and Minelab is doing well by having three coils ready on release. I have no doubt however everyone will already be looking at the three options and wishing for more. High on my list is a 6" x 10" elliptical for gold prospecting. With all the frequency options available on this detector, it makes me wonder about the possibility of specialty coils wound to perform specifically at certain frequencies. In other words, a 6" x 10" coil optimized to run specifically at 40 khz I would assume would have a small edge over a 6" x 10" coil that has to run well in all the frequency options. High frequencies normally require thinner wire and fewer windings and so can make for lighter coils. Long story short hopefully we see third party coils in short order. The more the merrier and it will only help Equinox sales. Here is the Equinox coil next to a CTX 3030 coil....

A couple tidbits from the long thread at http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,131291,page=11 From Minelab ad copy posted on thread... “What are the advantages of Multi-IQ? Due to the way Multi-IQ synchronizes signals across multi-frequencies, according to ground conditions, there are three main advantages. A. Increased target id accuracy. B. Reduced noise levels for all ground types C. Faster recovery speed. The Multi-IQ signal is also individually matched to the four EQUINOX Detecting Modes (Park, Field, Beach, & Gold) giving optimum performance across all target types in specific ground locations. How is Multi-IQ different from BBS/FBS? Multi-IQ uses a different group of fundamental frequencies than BBS or FBS to generate a wide-band multi-frequency transmission signal that is more sensitive to high-frequency targets and slightly less sensitive to low-frequency targets. Multi-IQ uses the latest high-speed processor(s) and advanced digital filtering techniques for a much faster recovery speed than BBS or FBS technologies. Multi-IQ copes with saltwater and beach conditions almost as well as BBS/BFS, however BBS/FBS still have an advantage for finding high-conductive silver coins in all conditions.” And comment later on by Brandon Neice (Dr. Tones): ”The Equinox uses different sets of multiple frequencies in each mode. The "parks" mode is on the lower end of the spectrum and is intended for deeper coin hunting like we would have in the US parks, sports fields etc. The "Fields" mode uses frequencies that are more geared towards the UK/European hunting style in that it's more sensitive to smaller bits i.e. cut hammered, 1/4 staters etc. Beach mode will only operate in Multi frequency and is tailored to suit highly mineralized ground conditions. Prospecting opperates on 20 or 40 kHz and is designed to hit small gold at a reasonable depth in highly mineralized ground. Keep in mind, these modes are still being tweaked and there might be some minor modifications made to improve performance. I think what a lot of people aren't focusing on, is that Multi-IQ is handles mineralized ground better than FBS/BBS. This is why I believe my Equinox is achieving better depth in my hunting areas than my CTX. We all tend to get very hung up on lower frequencies being deeper but that's only half of the equation. How the frequencies are delivered/received plays an equally important roll to how they react with targets in the ground. For example, a 5kHz frequency delivered in Multi-IQ might penetrate mineralized ground better than a 3kHz frequency in FBS. Just like an atom bomb detonated in air would be more catastrophic than the same bomb detonated on the ground. Delivery is key. The Nox is just a whole new category and I know we want to do what's natural and compare it to what we know, but the fact is, we can't... because it's just different. DISCLAIMER- I'm not an engineer and these examples are how I've interpreted my experience. Again... To reiterate, I'm not sure why I'm getting the current results that I am. This is my speculation and as I have stated, I'm a fireman, not an engineer and in time, Minelab will release details on the functionality of Multi-IQ. Until then, it's anyone's guess (including my own).”

From http://www.minelab.com/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/detectival-rally-2017 Detectival Rally 2017 September 28, 2017 11:05am Brandon Neice All across the UK and Europe metal detectorists gather for rallies. Permission to detect hundreds (sometimes thousands) of acres of historic land is obtained by the event coordinators and groves of eager treasure hunters gather for a chance to make the find of a lifetime. England’s very own “Detectival” is among the largest detecting rallies in the world. This year Detectival was held in the quaint country setting of Oxfordshire between the medieval market towns of Burford and Charlbury. Seemingly overnight the countryside morphed into a buzzing (and beeping) tent city of more than 1500 attendees accompanied by every vendor under the sun. Knowing that Detectival would be the year’s biggest metal detecting event, Minelab took full advantage of the stage and literally dropped the world’s newest, lightest, fastest, waterproof, wireless multi-frequency metal detector onto the world... “Behold… The EQUINOX!!!” The parachute wasn’t the only thing that hit the ground that day. When Minelab announced the price of the new EQUINOX series, there were more than a few jaws that hit the floor too! Is it too good to be true? How could Minelab possibly put all of those features into something that light? Furthermore, how could they get away with an expected retail price point of USD 899 for the flagship EQUINOX 800? Minelab has been saying they are going to “obsolete” all other single frequency VLF detectors, but if the EQUINOX actually does what it claims, it really WILL! Even though, as I write this, the EQUINOX is still in the final stages of refining and tweaking, the performance is astonishing. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that a multi-frequency detector could be so fast without losing depth and stability? The hunting conditions were tough. The finds seemed to be very random until a small Roman villa site was discovered that afternoon. A feeding frenzy of detectorists converged on the site and a few hours later, close to 100 Roman coins had been unearthed. The finds slowed to a crawl and when the crowd finally cleared, I saw an opportunity to put this new detector to the test in “hunted out ground”. To this day I know there’s more in there, but with my time at Detectival coming to an end, I knew I’d have to make do with a few short hours of hunting. Luckily for me, that’s all I needed. The EQUINOX continues to impress with each refinement and I’m truly excited to see what the future holds with this amazing machine. Check out the video of my Detectival experience uploaded on Sep 26, 2017. I went out detecting with a prototype of Minelab's new EQUINOX and found a nice Roman coin at an impressive depth. "It's important to note that this machine is still being tested and refinements are still being made. This video should not be used to accurately gauge what the final product will perform like".

I just won a Nokta impact and don't know if I should sell it and buy the minelab equinox or not. Any suggestions? Which detector do you think performs better?

Well, you can't have one yet, but here are the highest resolution, largest pictures I could find. Click or double-click for larger versions.

Here is another video. Some of the same stuff you might have seen already but some different footage in there too.. Shortly after the 4 minute mark if you listen close you will hear a guy ask how it does for prospecting. Paraphrasing here, but the rep said its better then the 705 but probably not as good as the Monster. I think that is a much more complicated question to answer but interesting anyway... Another thing I couldn't quite make out but I think the rep said there was NO Multi Freq in Prospect mode. (Don't quote me on that one) I did hear in another video that each mode has a specially tuned Multi Frequency.... There is a good closeup of the new pinpointer at the end too.. I wish they would have fired it up so you could hear it but they didn't.. here it is:.

I for one don't like to be tease by any detector company. If I got something to sale it's now not next week or next year. In my opinion you Minelab if you got a new product don't come out and tell us how great it is but nothing to sale. Why can't you wait until all the testing has been done and you got more than the one in your hand ? Just look at how many would have been sold if you had any at this outing to sale. The only thing you can tell us you don't know when we can have one. Minelab the thing is you're not the only detector company that's done this. Minelab I think you always made a great product. Over time I've had five different nugget detectors made by Minelab and three coin detectors I know for sure. Now here you got me waiting like I did on the Gold Monster 1000. I'd put my money down long before it came out but I was will to wait. Here I am again like a dog wagging his tail wanting you to throw me a bone but in this case it's a hot new coin detector that someday may come out. I've got to admit by what you have to say about this new detector it's going to be the cats meow. I see it got a gold mode for nugget hunting and if it's hot as they say the Gold Monster 1000 just maybe I can't need both. For what it's worth if I didn't like your product I wouldn't say a thing. Chuck Anders

Here it is, J.

Ok, we do live in an age of technological miracles. I am often posting to you guys from the field between detecting sessions. Forums, YouTube, Social Media, etc. have transformed the way we learn and share information. Live streaming is the other big new thing, giving everyone the ability to be a live newscaster. From the Minelab Facebook page: FACEBOOK LIVE EVENT! "It came out of the sky!" - Get ready for Minelab's product announcement at Detectival on September 16th! The live stream will be broadcasted from Detectival UK Rally 2017. The video will then become available on the Minelab Facebook page. Are you excited? Time zones: London, UK: 8:45 AM, Saturday, September 16 Sydney, Australia: 5:45 PM, Saturday, September 16 California, USA (PST): 12:45 AM Saturday, September 16 New York, USA (EST): 3:45 AM Saturday, September 16 South Africa Standard Time: 9:45 AM, Saturday, September 16 Dubai, UAE: 11:45 AM Saturday, September 16 Istanbul, Turkey: 10:45 AM Saturday, September 16 Please note, we may experience some potential streaming difficulties due to our location. Regardless, all stream footage will be uploaded to Minelab Facebook page when possible!

To be announced mid-September..... Link deleted since Findmall Forum update broke all old links http://md-hunter.com/minelab-announces-sensation-new-2017/ http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,129405,129412 http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,130332 http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,130667 http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,130692 From https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/news?article=315332 "We are very excited to announce that our newest metal detector will be unveiled at Detectival UK Rally on Sep 16th, 2017. Detectival will be held from the 15th to the 17th of September on 1,000 acres of undetected land close to the medieval market towns of Burford and Charlbury, approximately two hours outside of London. This event, proudly sponsored by Minelab, will also be a great opportunity to learn more about our new technology, meet with Minelab staff for product demonstations and participate in token hunts with other metal detecting enthusiasts from across the globe! Best of all, all proceeds from the event raffle will be given to two charities: Asthma UK and the Lullaby Trust."

OK, just a hot AU rumour, don`t get too excited, the Equinox??? is apparently in Monster format.............more to follow. Edit 10/1/2017 - Not a rumor anymore - Read all about the new Minelab Equinox here!