Juggling Three Mds

[Captorofsin]

Hello everyone!! I am new to this forum. I have been doing soem serious research. I live in Fl. I will be searching mostly beach, homesites, and parks. Jewelry and coins. I really am NOT concerned with prospecting or relics.I have narrowed down to three detectors (see below). I am not wanting to pay $$$ for features I will not use. Is the multi IQ (minelab) really worth it/necessary for what I want, or would I be okay with a single frequency? TIA for any input

Fisher F75

Vanquish 540

equinox 600

[wltdwiz]

i have the vanquish 440 & i love it ?

i think you would too

[kac]

May want to check out the Ace Apex, Vanquish don't do so well on the beach as they have a fixed ground balance. Apex has a saltwater mode.

[Captorofsin]

What about the equinox 600 or Fisher f75?

[Erik Oostra]

1 hour ago, Captorofsin said:

What about the equinox 600

Go with the Equinox 600.. It leaves your other choices for dead.. Multi IQ is the bee's bollocks! Don't waste time or money on single frequency detectors.. If you aim to search beaches, home-sites and parks for jewellery and coins, then the Nox600 is the machine for you.. and it's got a great selection of coils! 

[mh9162013]

I am considering all of those machines and did extensive research on each. Right now, I'm using a Vanquish 540 because I basically got it for $170, so I couldn't ignore that machine for that price.

I like it, but not having the ability to ground balance or adjust recovery speeds is a bit of a limitation that I don't like. I also don't like how it's not waterproof. Therefore, I think the Equinox 600 is a better option for me. But, is it more than $450 better? For now, no, especially given how the 540 is an S-shaft design and uses AA batteries (both are important factors for me).

Ok, what about the F75/F75+/F75 Ltd? Well, I really want that machine too. It uses AA batteries, has an S-shaft design and is a fully loaded machine (can measure how hot the soil is, super fast recovery speed, back light, GB adjustments, etc.). Oh, and its ergonomics and coil selection are great!

Basically, from my research, the F75 is the perfect single frequency VLF machine except: it's not water proof. To me, that's a major limitation, as I want to be able to use my machine if it rains, at the beach w/o worry of dropping it in the water or getting hit with a wave and have the ability to wash it down if it gets really dirty. So if I were to get a single frequency VLF machine, I'd probably get the Garrett AT Max, but I digress...

Is Multi-IQ worth it? I think so, but mostly because it can handle more types of soils better, like salty beaches (where you said you presumably wanted to hunt). Having more consistent target IDs helps, too. 

From what I understand, the F75 can work on salt beaches, but only in the dry sand. If you want to get into the wet sand, you need the Equinox 600 or the Vanquish.

Here's what I would recommend: Get the Vanquish 440. It should do just fine at the beach and homesites and parks. If you like it and get enough experience to understand what more features can do for you (and if it's worth the extra money to have those features), then get the Equinox 600 or 800.

In my experience, the 540 is the perfect machine (for my needs) if it only had adjustable ground balance and was at least weatherproof. I'd also like adjustable and fast recovery speeds, but I understand that by asking for that, I'm almost asking for an Equinox 600... I love its ergonomics and batteries over the Equinox, but I'm starting to see its limitations in terms of recovery speed and ground balance handicaps.

 

[Valens Legacy]

Those are some good choices that you are looking at, I have the Nox 800 and love it.

Not only is it great for almost anything you can throw at it, but it is also waterproof and if your near water or it rains you are covered with it. I would never be near the water with some of those detectors because they are not waterproof.

Good luck with your decision on your new detector.

[palzynski]

Hi , 

I would add the Apex to your list and remove the F75 , then :

-  Vanquish ( release 2019 )

-  Equinox    ( release 2017 )

-  Apex        ( release 2020 )

Those 3 detectors have been designed recently, while the F75 is a little outdated now  ( release 2006 ).  The Apex is very polyvalent and performs very well either at the beach or even in high iron trash inland areas , and it is also easy to use . The Minelabs are a little deeper but a little unstable in the iron trash . Just my opinion ..  

HH

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard the forum !

My vote is the Nox 600  ,