Equinox Software Update 3.0...

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, Raphis said:

Here in CA, we’re blessed with many S mint coins...so I have found lots of S mint teens wheats....just last month, I found another 1909 S wheat.....I also have 5-6 vdb’s (also ‘08 S and ‘09 S Indian pennies),....

If I found any penny with an -S mintmark from 1908 thru 1914 it would make my detecting year.  I realize you Western USA guys have a lot more -S coins in your ground than we in the Eastern 2/3's of the country do.  I've learned that over the last 5 years salivating over the coin finds others have posted.  Even the -D's are probably biased out your way, at least from the early days of the Denver mint before they started cranking them out in masses like Philadelphia has been doing forever.

Yes, our East coast has older coins than you out West.  Here in the Midwest we got nothin' besides corn.  ?

 

[RobNC]

OK OK I'm going to update with this new version soon as I get time enough to fool with it.

I'm always willing to test things out. Unfortunately my free time is very limited and I'd rather be finding things than trying to figure out a new way of acting by my metal detector.

So far things seem positive, especially concerning the ID numbers, which is a welcome thing.

[okara gold]

Had the Nox 800 in the saltwater today for 4 1/2 hours and I didn't see any difference in using different sensitivity settings. Still the same as before but one good thing... it still finds gold. A 10K ring and gold plated chain along with some coins and the usual junk. Bob

 

[Raphis]

3 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Has anyone commented about cell phones and the need for the 4 kHz frequency?  Perhaps that is THE reason to get something other than 5 kHz?

There are numerous sources of EMI. My cellphone is attached around my waist while I detect, and I have not noticed any erratic issues with my machine, even though I have read that noise can be generated by cellphones in short bursts that can affect detectors....cell phone frequencies are in the Megahertz bandwidth, while detectors function in the kilohertz bandwidth...so I would think that cellphone communications wouldn’t greatly affect metal detectors to a degree that other sources of emi can.

Go and read the article below I found about EMI and metal detectors.

http://www.metaldetectingintheusa.com/files/explanation-of-emi.pdf

[Chase Goldman]

4 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Has anyone commented about cell phones and the need for the 4 kHz frequency?  Perhaps that is THE reason to get something other than 5 kHz?

 

56 minutes ago, Raphis said:

There are numerous sources of EMI. My cellphone is attached around my waist while I detect, and I have not noticed any erratic issues with my machine, even though I have read that noise can be generated by cellphones in short bursts that can affect detectors....cell phone frequencies are in the Megahertz bandwidth, while detectors function in the kilohertz bandwidth...so I would think that cellphone communications wouldn’t greatly affect metal detectors to a degree that other sources of emi can.

Go and read the article below I found about EMI and metal detectors.

http://www.metaldetectingintheusa.com/files/explanation-of-emi.pdf

Cell phones typically interfere with the control module electronics which is largely near field interference and independent of the operating frequency of the detector coil.  But the coil can act as a resonant receive antenna for longer field interference such as from power lines and depending on the operating frequency you use can be more or less pronounced, if present.   Having a frequency that is not a multiple of 5 khz like all the other SF's on Equinox, just gives an additional mitigation against interference from harmonic multiples of 50 and 60 hz power lines.

To answer Mitchel's question more directly, it is unlikely that ML selected 4 khz to reduce EMI from cell phones but not because of the difference in operating frequency, it is because of the difference in field strength and the part of the detector that phones interfere with (the control electronics and microprocessor, which ARE both operating in the MHz to GHz range of the phones).  4 khz just happens to be less likely to line up as a harmonic of 50 or 60 khz electrical systems vs. 5 khz and gives you a fighting chance of finding a quiet, "low" frequency channel for deep silver slaying.

Perhaps making Raphis love his new detecting friend, the Equinox, even more!

BTW - thanks for providing the link to the EMI article.  Good summary.

[Raphis]

2 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

4 khz just happens to be less likely to line up as a harmonic of 50 or 60 hz electrical systems vs. 5 khz and gives you a fighting chance of finding a quiet, "low" frequency channel for silver slaying.

BTW - thanks for providing the link to the EMI article.  Good summary.

Chase, isn’t 4 Khz a harmonic frequency of a 50 Hz powerline?  5 KHz doesn’t line up very well with 60 Hz power lines either..

Even if I’m operating my machine around 60 Hz electrical, 4 KHz is no more a harmonic frequency of 60 Hz than 5 KHz is...hmmm

Also, the noise channels increase/decrease operating frequency a little over 100 Hz with each setting...wouldn’t that ensure harmonic frequencies would be less problematic?

[Chase Goldman]

Actually, neither 4 khz nor 5 khz are true whole number harmonics of 60 hz (but they are true harmonics of 50 hz) so that was probably inaccurate on my part.  The point is something that interferes with 5 khz is also likely to interfere (but to a lesser extent) with 10 khz but is unlikely going to significantly interfere with 4 khz.  Similarly, something interfering with 4 khz is probably not going to interfere as much with 5 khz.  So it gives you that fighting chance to find a clean low operating frequency channel including whatever the noise cancel algorithm does for you.   The lower operating frequencies are closer to the 60hz (or 50 hz) power line frequency and since the harmonic amplitude drops off the further you are away from the base frequency, these lower operating frequencies are probably more susceptible to power line noise.  But as was written in the paper you linked to, there are a myriad of other sources of far field EMI that can affect the detectors, so the key is being able to "shift" from the interfered frequency (or its harmonics) and that is essentially what 4 khz now brings to the table for Equinox (and perhaps some additional secret sauce signal processing compared to the "fives" single frequency settings).

[midalake]

14 hours ago, Raphis said:

There are numerous sources of EMI. My cellphone is attached around my waist while I detect, and I have not noticed any erratic issues with my machine, even though I have read that noise can be generated by cellphones in short bursts that can affect detectors..

 Well a little incite on my EMI experience. I did not know what EMI was until I got an Equinox. 

I can not tell you how many cell phones I have heard while working the beach. I swear everyone has one. Sometimes I can hear the pulses 40-50 feet away. 

Tom has just spoke recently about "silent EMI" I do believe my location has this effect as well.  My machine seems to run great, however I can hear pulses on recovery of a target. [Esp in All Metal]  In this particular area of the beach  my recovery rate, target ID and and depth all seem be be affected. 
I will be very interested to get back to this beach with the new update!

Not sure keeping a cell phone on while you are hunting is a good idea. 

Dave

 

[Knomad]

I can tell you for certain that in prospecting modes 1 and 2 ( the most sensitive of all the modes) that you will get bursts of strong interference from cell phones, it seems to be picked up by the control box as much if not more than the coil, and if I forget to turn off my phone and it gets near the box it can be startling when listening to a faint threshold.

Note, even if you have notices etc turned off on your phone the phone still Checks Into the system now and then, and it's that transmitting burst of EMI that seems the worst.

I have yet to update to 3.0 but will, just for those rare times when Multi is too noisy, would be nice to be able to eliminate or switch what frequencies are used in Multi, I suspect it is often only one causing the noise and hate to lose the advantage of Multi just because of one frequency interfering.