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This morning I was at Santa Monica beach with my Equinox 800 and the 15" coil. There were at least 8 hunters there at 6:00 AM, 5 - Deus II's and 3 - Equinox 800's. Targets were sparse but everyone came away with some clad and at least junk jewelry. On my way back to my car a buddy of mine who has switched to the Deus II from the Equinox 800 asked me what I was running at the beach. I told him Beach 1, 5 tones, sensitivity at 20. He told me that the best way to run an Equinox at the beach is in all metal single tone which he swears gets better depth, comparable to the Deus II. He said that he hunts by ID and ignores the tone so he doesn't need any multi-tones. I'm not a fan of all metal all the time but this guy is an experienced hunter who does very well. It's tempting to try his idea out but my experience over the years is that on really deep targets I may not get a target ID but I will get a sound. In his setup, without tone ID I would have no way of identifying the target if there is no ID on the screen. And to be totally honest, the 800 is a depth monster. I dug a nickel with a repeatable signal and TID of 13 in the wet sand at about 16". Any thoughts/opinions on this? Bill

As explained elsewhere my metal detecting is winding down from my glory days. I will never quit detecting, but it is a more casual close to home thing going forward. With that in mind I just don't need the dozen detectors I usually have had banging around the house for most of the last couple decades. I had already weeded things down pretty well but job one was to stop getting new detectors. The last new detector I added to my mix was the XP Deus 2 a couple years ago. After disposing of other models, like the Tarsacci for instance, I was left with the following: Minelab Equinox Garrett Axiom XP Deus 2 White's DFX For what I do I'm pretty satisfied with the Axiom as a general purpose PI so that's settled. The DFX sports a Bigfoot coil, and I own the machine as much to run the coil as the other way around, so it is not going anywhere. In fact it might become my most used VLF soon. So what to do with the Equinox 800 and Deus 2? The Manticore was really looking like a replacement for both. I can't really get enthused about the XP way of things. People rave about the light weight being a real factor for them, but I don't consider weight to be an issue for me with any detector weighing under three pounds. At the end of the day coils are a big deal for me, and I don't like proprietary limited coil options. Wireless coils leave me cold. People can argue with me all they want but they are wasting their time. I like wired coils, and I lean to detectors with third party coil options. So it is the coils that decided it for me. Minelab took too long with Manticore coils and now I just don't care any more. I'm also peeved XP has withheld the 5x10 coil from Deus 2 owners. My Equinox 800 I have a 6" round coil, the Coiltek 5x10, the stock 11" coil, and the Minelab 12x15 coil. XP has nothing similar to offer in way of coils. Nor does the Manticore. Plus I have custom rods for my Equinox perfect for both compact backpacking and for beach use. I even have an S rod that I have yet to use. The icing on the cake is a set of custom Tony Eisenhower underwater headphones I really like. Would I get rid of all that and keep the Deus 2? No. Would I trade all that for the Manticore as it exists right now? No. So I think I have after ages finally weeded it down to three detectors. The Deus 2 will find a new home. And I am left with... Garrett Axiom - my most used detector for gold prospecting and beach detecting Minelab Equinox 800 with full accessory set - do it all coin, relic, jewelry, gold nuggets, you name it White's DFX with Bigfoot - Park jewelry use almost exclusively Maybe, just maybe the Manticore will tempt me again in a year or so, once the software bugs and coil drought get straightened out. But after 50 years I feel like I have got off the new detector merry go round. There really is something to be said for using a machine you know inside and out, and fact is my Equinox talks to me. The Deus 2 still speaks French and frankly I just don't care to make the effort to learn French. Too old to learn new tricks? Maybe. The main thing for me is I won't waste any more time thinking about this machine or that machine and instead just focus purely on using what I have to best effect. Compared to what I started with 50 years ago I'm drenched in fabulous technology I once only dreamed of, so now matter how I look at it I'm thrilled with the detectors I have now. Minelab Equinox 800 with 6" coil and telescoping rod White's DFX with Bigfoot coil Garrett Axiom with 7x11 coil Equinox 800 with 12x15 coil and steveg counterweighted rod The perfect pair? Axiom 7x11 and Equinox telescoping 5x10

I attended our detecting club meeting on Friday night and this was my display. I found a lot of foreign coins this month, quite a few very worn wheats, a silver dime and silver quarter. You may have seen some of these items on another thread. It was a fun month but I didn't get out to the gold fields. Maybe this month I will.

I always thought that GB settings were independent of the Recovery Speed. Is that true for the MF detectors, like the Equinox: i.e. if the recovery speed is adjusted, does the GB stay the same, or also needs to be changed as a result, everything else being equal?

Steve Have you ever heard of this problem and tell me if you think you know what it is... I have a Equinox 600 and I got vdi issues where I will be swinging the Detector hit a signal and then not want to dig that and keep swinging and it will show another vdi and then freezes up while I'm still swinging and then -- will show and then after six seconds or so 00 and then go again and same thing and I have turned sensitivity to 20, recovery speed 3 iron bias 2 and ground balance on auto tracking.... I also will swing over a vdi and it will jump and lower and jump and lower. And on pinpointer mode it sometimes won't have audio but I back out and try again it does. This is for sure a bug. Right?

Jeff, given your very fine review of the Nox vs Legend for general detecting, I was wondering if you have any updated thoughts on Nox vs Legend specifically for gold prospecting? Equinox Gold Mode versus Legend Gold Mode - which do you prefer and why? Put another way, given that a Nox 800 costs 50% more than the Legend, is there any reason for a new buyer to consider the Nox over the Legend for gold nuggets? Thanks in advance for any answer.

I, like many others have a huge amount of appreciation and trust in the detecting abilities of the Equinox 600/800. My only issues with the original Noxes are its shaft system, well documented water ingress and its too compressed target ID range especially around target IDs 10 to 20. Other than that, the Equinox 600/800 really revived my VLF detecting life. I personally know other detectorists that have had the same experience. I will own at least one of those detectors for as long as they last. Nokta released the Legend back in early 2022. Lots of opinions have been expressed by people that either haven't used one or have used one very sparingly. There have been opinions about the roll-out, marketing hype, Nox cloning, the number of software upgrades (why wasn't it a finished product at release???) and the well known speaker and software update issues many people had including me. The fact is from my dig hole and my soil conditions: The Nokta Legend has at least equaled and in some aspects excelled beyond the Equinox 600/800 from my experience. That is saying a lot if you have reaped the benefits of all that the Equinox 600/800 have to offer. I am not going to talk about the Equinox 700/900 since I don't own one anymore and have moved on. As a USA coin hunter, I can't tell you how many US nickels I have recovered (stopped counting at 100 several months ago) and six gold rings that had the same target IDs as US nickels, from parks that I had pounded with the Equinox 600 and 800. The Noxes didn't miss those targets. They just reported them as having target IDs and sounding too much like a modern oval pull tab which I was tired of digging. With the Legend's expanded mid range target IDs, US nickels (and any gold rings with the same IDs) do not share target ID space with nearly as much regularly occurring aluminum trash. The Legend also does just fine on deep clad, deep silver coins and jewelry, iron trashed sites, and in the same hot ground that I often hunt on that the Nox 600/800 handle well. It has also done very well at the fresh and saltwater beaches where I have used it. If you are in the market for a waterproof SMF detector that detects at least as well with very similar audio characteristics and target ID stabilty as the Equinox 800 but doesn't leak and has a slightly more expanded target ID system in all the right places, has a good shaft system, good coil selection, good wireless capabilities that are compatible with the Equinox 800 Bluetooth gear, and also does just fine in the gold fields, from my experience after almost 1000 hours of use, the Legend is a viable and very inexpensive alternative for an out of warranty Equinox 800 that you don't want to completely wear out or dunk anymore. Just my experiences.

I've got both machines so going to post comparisons as I get to try them out. At this point I've only done air tests I wont do real testing until tomorrow but here are my initial thoughts... Build - Machines look exactly the same. Shaft is much better on the 700. Definitely much improved. It is a few ounces lighter but nothing I can notice when I hold each machine. Interface - Switching through menus feels nearly the same as well. I was able to easily navigate the menus as I was used to the 600. Cost - I actually paid more for my 600 when I bought it five years ago as no dealers were offering discounts when it first came out ($650 vs $620) Now the interesting part...power, depth, tones... I've only done air tests I will test at the beach tomorrow but there is a difference. I live at the beach so my soil is a sand/dirt mix. Very little EMI unless I am near a powerline or something. I did this test in my backyard where there are no lines or anything else in the ground. Closest house or anything is about 1/2 acre away. Settings for the air test - 20 Sensitivity, 0 Iron bias, 2 Recovery speed (this is 4 on the 800). These are the settings I hunt with. The only thing I ever change is my sensitivity which hovers from 19-23. Comparison: Nox 600 in 5 tones: Quarter: 10" 10k Ring: 12.5" Nox 700 in 5 tones and All tones: Quarter: 11.5" 10k Ring: 13" Nox 700 in dP tone: Quarter: 13" 10k Ring: 15" As you can see from my air test, there is definitely more power in the new gen equinox. In the same tone and settings its slightly deeper. Not sure that will translate to much in real world settings. In the dP tone, its significantly deeper and more sensitive. This is how I used to hunt with my Excal and CZ21. Its very exciting for the beach. I also did test a penny, wheat penny, silver ring, silver nickel, and nickel with similar results in the depth improvement. How will that translate in the ground? Well I haven't tested it yet but I assume its going to translate to significantly more depth when using the dP setting. I think if you are a hunter that prefers the 'beep' tones you aren't going to notice much of an upgrade. If you are like me and looking for depth and prefer the dP type tone, I think this machine might add 1+ inches and really help find whispers when finding deeper targets.

Friends..I discussed one topic and was advised by people here and professionals and experienced people. But I will still make a choice between these 2 detectors and I want your help. Which one should I buy, which one do you recommend and which one will be useful for me? I am going to search in the mountains by the rivers on the rocks by the river banks in the forests in the fields and so on. I want.to search for gold.more shares.I want to search for gold..but at the same time I want to search for coins,relics,jewellery and jewelry. Which detector do you guys recommend or which of these 2 detectors will be useful for me for all this? Thank you in advance.

I thought it's time we kicked off a poll to see how happy people are with their purchase if they've purchased one of the new models. The forum limits the number of questions you can ask so it's a pretty simple poll to get an idea of how many people bought one of these new models and how many are finding it as good or better than their old model. Feel free to comment below with other things you're found with the new models, hopefully Minelab reads it and takes not of anything people bring up of importance.

Here is my dynamic duo. If I had to own the least number of detectors possible myself, this is what I would settle on. I can basically do anything with these two detectors. Gold nuggets, coins, jewelry, relics, beach & snorkel work, you name it, this has it pretty well covered. You can argue some other detector might be better than one of these for this or that, and I'll not argue with anyone. But the Axiom plus my Micronox (trademark pending ) weigh in at a hair over 7 lbs total, and obviously take up next to no room in my rig. Various Micronox Options Here

As far as I know the first person to do a conversion of the Equinox to the Golden Mask telescoping rod was our very own Condor on this forum. Now, what I really want is this nifty adapter made for just this purpose. The Golden Mask upper rod is too large in diameter (must contain telescoping sections) and so an adapter is the best solution, but the one in the link does not appear to be easily available in the U.S. I am customer #1 for whoever out there makes this available for sale in the U.S. Being stuck with frozen ground I decided to get started with a modification of what Condor did. I cut two clamps in half. I also cut the mounting bolts in half (Condor used studs) and used the shortened versions to attach the clamp sections in place. I did not modify the unit in any way and it could be returned to original if I choose though I would need new bolts. Condor ground his Equinox down a bit for a better fit. Mine seems sturdy enough so I am leaving as is in hope that someday I will get the proper adapters to use. This machine is intended to stuff in a rucksack and for initial purposes I went as light and compact as possible using the 6" coil. Obviously the stock coil adds weight/bulk - see Condor's post. The photos say it best. New Minelab MicroNox at 2 lbs 8.6 ounces (2.5 lbs) that collapses to a cool 24" without disassembly. And extends farther than the coil cable will allow. Feels like a feather on my arm - I like it! The Equinox used here is older and will never be submerged and so it gets dedicated as a rucksack unit. Another Equinox will be rigged with the 15" coil on a balanced rod assembly. To do it right I should get one of Steve's new rods and I may yet in a few months. For now I think I will use an old Minelab GP fiberglass rod assembly I still have, one of Otto's old rods. And a third will stay with stock rod and coil for general use. Three Equinox may seem like going overboard but I hate reconfiguring detectors and for what I sold my GPX 7000 for I can get a few more and still have money left over!! Basically I am getting rid of everything else and rewarding myself with anything I want as regards Equinox. Golden Mask telescoping rod stripped of pistol grip handle Clamp sections bolted to handle using original screws cut to half length View showing how rough this all is and why you may not want to do it. Note bolt heads touching shaft on right - I may pad 24" collapsed, 2 lbs 8.6 ounces on postal scales And in the sun! Minelab MicroNox ready for use!

I want to search for gold in the mountains, in the rocks, in the rivers, in the forest, and on the ground. But I want to search for more share of gold. Which detector is better, which of these 2 detectors would you recommend? Or which detector would you recommend?

Hi guys me and my partner are complete novices to this great hobby and looking for some help we live in Cornwall UK and want to get some metal detectors so I have been looking at the equinox 600 for us as it seems a little less complicated than the 800. But am I going to lose out on much by not having to 20 and 40 that's on the 800 but they both use this in multi mode so is my thinking any good that the 600 will be a good platform to learn on. Also can someone explain what the difference is as the 600 says tone break pitch and volume are ferrous and on 800 says ferrous /non ferrous might be a silly question but as i have said complete newbies to the hobby.

This is a semi in the ground test on a 0.1 gram gold nugget for anyone that would like to use one of the "do it all" simultaneous multi frequency VLFs for gold prospecting. For the "fairness" police, please don't complain about coil sizes. The smallest coil available for Deus 2 is the 9" coil. So blame XP not me. XP include a simultaneous multi frequency "Gold Prospecting" mode on Deus 2. I would like to use it. This video shows why currently I will not use it. Video starts with checking the test area ground for targets, ground balancing, showing the target and how it is placed in the ground and then the test begins. Deus 2 uses customized FMF Goldfield and customized single frequency Mono program both with sensitivity on 95. I wanted to use the Hi Square audio, Pitch tones and the absolute zero discrimination for both programs along with a slight threshold. That is why I did not use stock default programs. All settings are as identical as I can make them except for the new Audio Filter feature which is on setting 1 for FMF Goldfield custom program 16 and it is on 0 for 40 kHz Mono custom program 15 which was an oversight failure on my part. I did retry it after making the video with FMF Goldfield custom program having Audio filter on 0. It made zero difference. Legend starts at 3:25 of the video. It uses its 6" coil with sensitivity on 23 in Gold Multi and Gold 40 kHz. Equinox 900 starts at 6:00 of the video. It uses its 6" coil with sensitivity on 23 in Gold 1 Multi and Gold 1 40 kHz. All settings are clearly shown in the video for each program being used on each detector. The ruler sticking up out of the ground behind the target is 5 cm high and the target itself is 2" deep or roughly another 5 cm deep. Legend and Equinox in the Gold Multi modes can hit this target 5 cm above the ground. They can hit it at 4 cm above the ground using single frequency 40 kHz. Deus 2 using its 40 kHz Mono program also hit this target at 4 cm above the ground. We could debate about whether Deus 2 in FMF Goldfield is actually hitting the target even with the coil bumping into the target holder. Deus 2's mineralization meter is between half and 3/4th full so moderate to high mineralization which all three detectors struggle with when ground balancing in selectable single frequency 40 kHz. This video is being sent to XP. I sent XP an email and they replied within 24 hours which I really appreciate. Thank You XP!!!!! This is the email exchange between me and XP: HI Jeff Thanks for this feedback. Yes you have right the 40khz of the DEUS II would perform very well if available also in the gold Field Program, as the mono frequencies from the DEUS II are more powerfull than DEUS 1. We will think to make this availabe in the next version. Regards XP TEAM Message : XP, thank you very much for the Deus ll software update version 1.0 and for making it Mac compatible. I am a gold prospector. I use VLF and Pulse Induction detectors. I use a VLF detector for detecting the smallest bits of gold in the 0.5 gram and much smaller size range. I have used Deus 1 and ORX for this. They work very well in their Gold modes. I would like to use Deus 2 for gold prospecting. However, even after updating to version 1.0, Deus 2 FMF Goldfield sensitivity to very small gold nuggets 0.5 gram and smaller down to 0.01 grams is extremely poor. Deus 2 Mono or Fast 40 outperform Deus 2 FMF Goldfield on these types of targets by up to 5cm. One of my test nuggets is 0.08 grams. It can only be detected using FMF Goldfield at 3cm. Fast 40 and Deus 2 Mono will easily detect this same small nugget at 8cm. Being able to use FMF technology in highly mineralized gold prospecting areas would be really beneficial. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, FMF Goldfield's insensitivity on small to very small bits of easily detectable gold using Deus 2 Mono is still very disappointing.

Some may find something useful in this video, what I got out of it is seeing just how badly VLF's work in those hot Aussie soils, as soon as he turned on all metal mode on the Nox it was going crazy so he had to keep disc on, when he ground balances it never does balance. Such a contrast to here in the gold areas where I don't even need to ground balance as I don't get any feedback from the soil in defaults. I can see why Aussies think VLF's are pretty pointless, they actually work pretty well in my ground though so I do quite like VLF's for gold prospecting in milder soils, in Australia especially where this guy is testing these detectors I wouldn't even bother using one at all.

Minelab, What the bleep did you do to my Equinox? This is going to be a rant. Hopefully I will be able to keep it clean and factual. Today, April 25, 2023 I completed the first 100 hours of moderate to high iron mineralization turf hunting for coins and jewelry with the Equinox 900. I also have 30 hours of gold prospecting and 10 hours of saltwater beach hunting so far with the Equinox 900. I thoroughly enjoyed gold prospecting with the Equinox 900 using the 6” and Coiltek 10X5” coils. It performed like I am used to with the Equinox 800 using its two Gold modes set for multi frequency operation. My saltwater beach hunts at Los Angeles and San Diego area beaches were inconclusive, mostly because of bad weather (very few people out) and sanded in conditions. So I am going to try to give a review of the Equinox 900 from my experiences with it on land for coin and jewelry detecting in moderate to high iron mineralization at local parks with varying degrees of steel alloy and aluminum trash where even modern coins can be down to 8” deep. I really like the upgraded shaft system, new hand grip angle design, new arm cuff, thicker 11” coil ears and hopefully the new waterproofed control housing of my Equinox 900. I also really like the vibrating hand grip feature along with its customization provided on the 900. Plus, I really like the seemingly improved iron handling and the definitely improved target separation and recovery speed. Depth seems to be a bit better. Sensitivity has been increased from 25 to 28. EMI mitigation is similar to the 800. The ML85 headphones are a slight improvement to me as far as being less muffled and bass heavy compared to the ML80s. They do not offer the best ambient noise prevention compared to some other manufacturer provided wireless headphones or the most balanced sound quality. They do pair easily. I do notice some wireless signal drop outs if I turn me head quickly, etc. The display, backlight (red) and user interface are mostly unchanged from the 800. I still wish the 900 had more than one User Profile. The onboard pinpoint function is much more stable than the wonky pinpoint activity built into the 600 and 800. It does have a form of real-time target ID also while in pinpoint mode. The addition of Depth Tones or ferrous/non-ferrous 2 tone VCO audio for the Park, Field and Beach modes seemed like a nice addition. I have no problem with the VCO ferrous tone. The VCO non-ferrous tone sounds really bad through my ML85s with lots of incongruous drop outs and strangled, inconsistent, ridiculously high tones. Alright, anybody that knows me personally or knows me from these forums knows how much I like to outright rabidly love the Equinox 800 even with its questionable waterproofing, stock shaft build quality, pinpoint function/non function and its compressed low to mid conductor target IDs. I hunt in many public areas that are drought prone so these municipalities only allow coin popping/screwdriver target recovery. Big fines and possible confiscation of equipment if a person is caught digging with a shovel of any kind in these public areas. Accurate target IDs are essential for me in these areas along with accurate tones and accurate tone quality. So, I spent another 3 hours of my life today, using the Equinox 900 at a very modern trashed park that I have repeatedly hunted over the last four years. I will give the Equinox 900 credit. I did find 11 clad dimes and 13 pre 1982 copper Memorial pennies which were in the 4” to 8” deep range. These could have easily been silver dimes and earlier pennies. I have pulled many silver Roosevelt dimes out of this park along with some Mercury dimes, wheat pennies and Indian head pennies. I also found 6 modern nickels that I had missed. I will chalk those finds up to the improved Equinox 900 target separation and recovery speed. Did I have a good time using the Equinox 900. Absolutely not. If I had been blindfolded and someone handed me a detector that I could only use 5 tone audio for target ID, I would have guessed the detector I was using was a Garrett Apex or the new X-Terra Pro in 5 kHz. Target audio was all over the place even on shallow targets. The actual numerical target IDs were too of course, even on shallow targets. I had my 900 setup for 5 tone operation with tone breaks set at -19 to 0 for iron, 1 to 23 for low conductor aluminum foil, small can slaw and small gold jewelry, a small US nickel bin from 24 to 27, all sorts of pull-tabs and aluminum trash and zinc pennies from 28 to 69, and the rest of the US high conductor coins and silver jewelry bin from 70 to 99. I also double checked many of the clad dimes and copper pennies before digging using the AT full tones audio setting. I was using Park 1 Multi, sensitivity 25 of 28, ground balance and EMI noise reduction performed, accepted -9 to +99 target IDs, 5 tones, threshold tone OFF, iron audio volume level set high enough to clearly hear it through headphones, recovery speed 5, iron bias 1 which was enough to make most steel crown bottle caps have some iron tone audio and tonal breakup. This is what I experienced…….. - 4”+ deep flat laying clad dimes and copper pennies were triple beeping during left/right DD coil passes as if they were on the surface. - Target IDs for those 24 high conductor coins were ranging from 68 to 98 during normal sweeps circling those coin targets whether they were 4” deep or 8” deep with very little possibility of telling the difference between a clad dime and copper Memorial penny. - Those target audio responses were crossing over a user set audio tone break. - The wide target ID range was not caused by co-located targets…..it happened on every one of the 11 clad dimes and 13 95% copper pennies. - Soil conditions were slightly moist but nothing unusual. - Surface to 4” deep US nickels had target IDs from 23 to 28 during sweeps around the targets so tone audio encompassed three user set tone bins. - Switching to full tones had zero effect on tone accuracy or target ID accuracy. - Similar audio and tone behavior happened on various types of pull-tabs, can slaw, aluminum bottle caps and of course steel alloy bottle caps. Basically, I could have had similar results using the Equinox 900 set on 10 kHz. Target ID and tone stability were non-existent compared to the Equinox 800 in Park 1 with similar settings. The kaleidoscope of sounds produced on beginner level basic targets in 5 tones or all tones was a joke. Single digit notching might as well have been 5 digit notching since basic targets had at least 5 or more different but repeatable target IDs instead of the 1 to 3 standard target IDs seen detecting the same targets using the Equinox 800. Sure, I wanted a slightly expanded target ID range update on the Equinox 600/800. Nokta got it just about right by adding an extra 10 target IDs between the ferrous/non ferrous tone break (ID +11) and the mid to high conductor tone break around +40 on the Legend. Minelab, why did you instead go from 50 total target IDs to 120? Whose bright idea was that? Who field tested these detectors for overall target ID accuracy and stability? This hunt today WAS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT or one off. It has been this way for me since hour number 1 of coin and jewelry detecting in my area. I still have an Equinox 800. I have used the new, improved coil ear 11" coil that came with my 900 on my 800 with no issues. Using the 10X5" Coiltek on my 900 does little to improve target ID accuracy and multi tone stability. There have been rumors and some indications that a software update may be in the works for the Manticore. For heaven sakes Minelab, offer one on the Equinox 700/900 too for target ID stability! I am not looking for answers or advice from anyone on this forum about what I wrote and experienced. If you want to agree or disagree with what I have experienced, that is totally fine. Just don't try to theorize, pontificate or otherwise tell me I don't know what I'm doing. Even though I only have 100+ hours on the Equinox 900, I know how to use this detector. Minelab, you are welcome to write a response explaining this detector behavior. thanks for reading if you made it this far. Sorry for the long post and the rant.

Had to pick my dog up from the vet at 4:00pm today, So I thought detecting was down the tubes. Thats when my wife called and said we had to pick up Bleu at 7:00. Poor pup, But that gave me about 45 minutes to hit a colonial house I detected a 1000 times. This place is the gift that keeps on giving. I decided to dig all strange tones and Id's. I'll make this as short as my hunt. First target was a flat button, Second was a shotshell base, Third was a 45 wheatie, fourth was a 22mag case, Fifth was a flashlight bulb and Last but not least was a fabulous sleeve button. This button is pretty rare and I doubt I will find another. It is a Tallio and dates back to around the 1770's. PS this was a 10 - 11 on the 800.

Got home from work today and had the urge to hit a park I've been hunting for four years. Only having an hour and a half to get it done I grabbed my 800 with my new Steve's 3 piece shaft and six inch coil and headed out. I parked the truck turned on the 800 and realized I needed to pair my headphones due to my factory reset. I got it done and walked across the driveway took one swing and got a really nice tone (32) ID. It sounded like a silver dollar but I get fooled sometimes. Shovel in and a little pinpointer action and a finger scrape and the goodness showed itself. It was a 1950 Franklin half dollar with a giant nail next to it. I figured it couldn't get any better so I continued to make my way around the big old cherry tree to see what else was there. A hand full of clad and my time closing in, I made it back within 15 feet of where I found the Franklin. I got another really great tone with the same 32 ID. I was wondering what the chances of finding two silver half's in the same day. Well I would say 100% when out came the second Franklin a 1962. It was an amazing feeling knowing I have not dug one of those let alone two in very very long time. Oddly I dig a lot of silver half's but rarely these. Today was apparently a day when the detecting gods pointed me in the right direction.

If you had to choose between these two units, the Deus II and Equinox 900, for coin/jewelry hunting in local parks with a medium mineralization, which would it be? I know there are various conditions to consider, but in general, I'm just talking about your typical U.S. park coin and jewelry hunting, while also looking for missed deep targets. Yes, there are several other units that could be considered, but only interested in opinions on these two. Thanks for your input...

Just a quick post about some weights for recently released detectors for those that want or need to pay attention to swing weight. I weighed all of these on the same scale. Your scale may give different results but the difference between different detectors should be close. All weights include coil covers. Deus 2 with 9" FMF coil, WS6 mounted on the shaft with the XP Neoprene shaft mount = 33.2 ounces Deus 2 with 9" FMF coil and full remote mounted on the shaft = 35 ounces Nox 900 with stock 6" coil and stock lower shaft = 37 ounces Nox 800 with stock 6" coil and Detector Innovations Tele-Knox shaft system 37.7 ounces Nox 900 with Coiltek 10X5" coil on the Detector Innovations 18mm Tele-Knox lower shaft which fits the Nox 900 shaft = 41.6 ounces Nox 900 with stock 11" coil and stock lower shaft = 44.1 ounces Legend with stock 6" coil = 45.5 ounces Legend with 10X5" LG24 coil is 46.1 ounces Nox 800 with stock 11" coil and Steve Goss one piece carbon fiber upper shaft (no counter weight) = 46.5 ounces Legend with stock 11" coil = 52.6 ounces

Well Minelab pulled one on me and probably the rest of the world yesterday and released 2 new detectors. With the Manticore starting to move and now we have an updated and more featured Equinox 900, I have questions. Which of the 2 will be best for Nugget Detecting = Prospecting? Many of us know the EQ-800 is by far the best VLF gold detector out there. So to get the few quirks taken care of and then add some features, you/I would think the new EQ-900 is the way to go, or is it? The Manticore claims to have 50% more power and better ID system as well. But only having 1 true Prospecting Mode, makes me wonder? Yes, only time will tell as we get them in the fields, but in reality I'm a little confused. Do we go with the proven or totally new? How about you?

Minelab Manticore vs Equinox 800 vs Equinox 900 for Gold Nugget Prospecting. I’ve been keeping my lips tight on this subject long enough. It’s to the point now I have to ask you the general public for input. After all, we have members on DP from other countries and maybe you can chime in as well? But for everyone reading, what do you think is the better detector for chasing Au nuggets and also do you feel is the best overall vale? Yes this is a 2 part question and it’s just your opinions so nobody is wrong. PROVEN - We all know (well at least my Field Staff Experts and I…as well as most of my customers who’s taken our Field Training at Rye Patch NV, the last 3 yrs) how well the Equinox 800 performs and the 10X of features why it’s a better performing VLF gold detector than the Monster and most other class detectors. Don’t get me wrong, the Monster is a great detector for many and those who like to hand a simple Turn on and Go detector to a friend or family who wants to give it a try on occasion. But there’s many shortcoming on the Monster I wish it had. Brain flash…Oh my…the next detector “The Monster 2000”. Heck maybe that’s why I’m feeling shorted with the Manticore? Again EQ-800 is proven and golden. Proven: Lets back up a few years just before Equinox being released to General Public. Jan. 2018 Dealers were invited to an Equinox Introduction. Minelab had a big meeting in AZ to educate dealers (at least the ones who took the time to show up), how the Equinox series (EQ-600/800) was going to be the flag ship sub $1000 detector. Minelab was on their A game and even brought the big guns from Australia in to share this exciting new technology. Thanks to all of Minelab who helped put that event together. I know most everyone I spoke with was extremely excited for the future. A few of folks were even lucky enough to stay an extra day and go out into the desert and feel, swing, test the NOX to see for ourselves, very impressed. My Staff was all over it and learned a lot. Afterwards the big brass from Minelab USA came to Boise and visited me just to make sure I was totally on board and ready to sell the $hit out of them, which I did. Sadly, we didn’t get such dog/pony show for the Manticore, well not us in the US anyway as of yet? Did any other countries get a red carpet treatment on it and how well it will do for Gold Prospecting? We still have time though, but you’d expect a detector that was shown way back in August of 2022 and now it’s March of 2023, well it’s never to late and I’ll give them a pass as they are releasing a detectors left and right, (EQ-700, EQ-900, Manticore, X-Terra Pro) so their time is limited. Here is why I am a little skeptical. Now folks, I’m no genius and no I’m no more special than anyone else, but I’ve reached out more than once to (I won’t say their names) and have yet to hear back. Realize, I’m just 1 guy and they probably get asked by many. Plus all those other new detectors coming out…back to me being a little skeptic. A simple quick view of the Manticore and what I see missing? EQ-800 and EQ-900 both have 2 Gold Prospecting Modes and the Manticore Only has 1. EQ800/900 both have option of the small 6” sniper coil. Heck the EQ-900 comes with 2 coils including the 6” sniper coil in the box for only $1100 in the US. Manticore does not even give us the option for that small coil. We get a bigger 8” coil option instead for some unknown price yet to be seen? Heck, anyone who knows anything about VLF class gold detectors realizes the importance of the smallest coil possible and there are 10+ proven gold detectors out there proving the small 5 and 6” coils are KILLER on small gold. But not even an option for the Manticore? When I view all the upgrades of the EQ-900 and see the additional $180 sniper 6” coil comes with it in the box, I see value. In fact since the EQ-900 has the same 2 Gold Modes as the EQ-800, I lean again to the “Proven” as well. Not so with the Manticore, or at least yet. Maybe I’m just very cautious of the last 6 months (half a year) of hearing all the great about the Manticore? Maybe in 6 months (or next year) all this will be proven? Or maybe the Manticore is mainly geared toward the masses? I did see and wondered???? The Manti is missing the 4 kHz Setting the EQ-800 and EQ-900 have. Not sure why it’s not on the Manticore? We know the masses are General Purpose Coin/Relic hunters and then Beach/Water swingers. Prospectors, we’re less than 10%, maybe even less than 5% of the general public who detects. Here’s a quick overview I observed without going into each individual feature. Yes all 3 units come with wireless headphones, cables, chargers and screen protectors. Equinox 800 is $900, comes with an 11” DD coil (price dropped a few months ago) and it’s a proven gold detector. After becoming the #1 seller for me and many others under $1000, many folks encounters a few flaws (arm cuffs, shaft wobble, ear cracks, leaks, wireless headphones). The good thing is Minelab provides a 3 year transferable warranty and they take care of their customers. I honestly feel if you take any product and it becomes so popular, most everyone’s uses it, then there will be more people complaining as well, it’s simple math. Minelab has done a pretty good job trying to keep most of us happy with our EQ-600/800s, including me. Equinox 900 is $1100, comes with an 11” DD coil and a 6” DD Sniper coil. Has the upgraded collapsible carbon fiber shaft (like the Manti), has a new improved arm cuff (so does the Manti), better quality Waterproofing to 16” (so does the Manti), better improved wireless headphones (so does the Manti), Vibrating Arm Grip (just like Manti), Night Hunting light (yes the Manti does), twice the Digital ID #’s (yes to the Manti), Iron Bias 0 to 9, like the Manti, Recovery Speed 1 to 8, just like Manti, more segments of DISC = 119, Manti only has 0 to 99. Lighter than the Manti…all this for $500 less. Manticore is $1600 and comes with a single 11” DD coil. Again, no option for the small 6” Sniper coil. One less Gold Mode than EQ-800/900? But we do get the colored LCD screen with 2D readout. Yes there are a couple other small things and one big thing, MORE POWER. Yes, I’m most certain the Manti will get a little extra depth vs the EQ-800/900 and for those who are Coin/Relic/Beach hunters, the Manticore just might be that perfect $1600 detector. For us Prospector Hunters, maybe we might look at the new improved Equinox-900 as our go to VLF class? I don’t know on the Manticore yet, but I do know how well the EQ-800 has done for my guys and many customers for the last 4 yrs. Again, I’m not saying the Manticore is no good, quite the opposite actually as I did find all the gold jewelry in Cancun with it on my vacation in Dec. (update to the bigger diamond ring, appraisal came back at $5400). I've also witnessed there is at least 1 inch more in depth for coin hunting with the Manticore. I seen this myself on a side by side comparison with a staff member who has the EQ-900 (which he loves). I just wonder if the Manticore is geared more towards the masses and us Prospectors need to stay Equinox for the near future? I’m all ears to hear anyone's thoughts and comments and especially from those who have used the Manticore for gold nugget hunting. Maybe us Prospectors should be sticking with the proven Equinox 800 or upgrading to the improved Equinox 900?

I hunted a park that I have hunted many times in the past for a couple of cold, windy hours today. I wanted to try out Depth Tones VCO on the Nox 900 in an area that I have gridded with the Equinox 800, Deus 1, Deus 2 and some other detectors. There is tons of ferrous and non-ferrous trash at every depth along with some older coins. Iron mineralization is 7 to 10 bars on Deus 2 at this park. I deliberately setup my Nox 900, 11" coil, with a Field 1 Multi, trashy park pattern that accepted -7 to 0 for some iron audio, 24 to 27 for US nickels, 55 to 62 for US Indian head, early wheat and zinc pennies, and 70 to 99 for anything else in the high conductor US coin range. The nickel target IDs worked out well for US nickels and also snared a few broken pull tabs and beaver tails with no ring pull attached. I did not hit any Indians or early wheats but I did get some deeper zinc pennies. The high conductor IDs accepted range did great with only two very rusty nails recovered that were standing almost straight up in their holes with the nail head facing up. They were 8" deep and were giving mid to high 90s target IDs along with constant iron grunts as I circled the targets. I was fairly certain they were nails before I dug them but digging them was the only way to know for sure. All of the coins in the photo were in the 6" to 8" range and were very close to iron or aluminum targets and had somewhat iffy target IDs but they were accurate enough to get my attention. I did some back and forth between Park 1 Multi, 5 tones, no notches, -7 to 99 accepted and Field 1 Multi DP tones as described above. The DP tones definitely gave stronger VCO audio responses on the deeper coins than the non VCO 5 tones. I could hear the responses using both types of audio but DP was more obvious. Personally, I have not gotten very used to the audio quality of DP tones through the ML 85s. It just sounds weird to me, but it works very well, seems to separate a bit better and is another tool in the tool box. Another 1919 mercury dime, along with some other silver era coins: 1951, 1959 and 1960 US pennies, 1960 US nickel, and some clad dimes and quarters from the 1970s and 1980s.

When Ground balancing the Equinox 600 should I place the detector in (All-Metal) mode to make sure for a clean/clear patch of ground, the instruction only says to place the detector in FP mode and then ground balance so if I ground balance and the detector has -9 to 2 canceled and I'm pumping my coil over trash will that affect the ground balance.