Gold Monster 1000 Or Equinox 800?

[ks1652]

On 1/12/2022 at 4:47 PM, phrunt said:

The GM has auto ground balance where it tracks the ground but its quite slow to adjust, you can speed it up by pumping the coil although with the slow balance it can take 10 pumps, I believe they've sped this up a little on new purchases.  You can lose tiny gold by the auto-tracking tracking it out so its best to not focus on the target too long with swings and swing on surrounding ground too.  There is no way to fix the ground balance point with a manual ground balance, you're stuck on auto. 

It also has the option of auto sensitivity which I found a bit conservative and found using manual sensitivity beneficial.  It's not difficult to establish the optimal sensitivity setting. 

The Nox has auto ground tracking also, along with manual ground balance where you can lock it to a point, I prefer this and this method was adopted by the Garrett 24k which I think is a superior variant of a Gold Monster due to no bump sensitivity with the coils, more settings to enhance performance and superior ground balance with auto and manual. It also has concentric coil support and soon aftermarket coil options from Nel. 

Both the GM and to a lesser extent the Nox have bump sensitive coils, the 24k does not. If you scrub the ground and bump your coil around on rocks it can get annoying. 

I don't often have severe ground in my area but one particular creek causes terrible falsing on my GM, my Nox doesn't like it either yet I recently took my newly acquired Garrett 24k there and it worked beautifully, I was so surprised I took video of it working which I'll upload for the Garrett section of the forum when I return home. 

The Nox doesn't have auto sensitivity, I think that's no great loss. 

The GM only has volume, sensitivity and iron disc on or off.  You need to be extremely cautious using disc mode as it seems to halve depth and may disc out small gold, the Nox disc mode seems to lose no depth at all.  

You also can not trust the gold probability meter on the GM unless it slams hard left to iron, anything else can be gold, especially small gold. 

It's best to use it in all metal and dig virtually everything for best results. 

I've watched a few videos where the gold probability meter bounced back and forth and one that pegged it to the right and the posters found tin cans and other metal objects. I agree using all metal and digging each find will work best on my claim as there's very little trash on the claim. I might be headed towards buying both. I will check out the 24k first. Thank you for your knowledgeable advice I appreciate you!

 

 

[ks1652]

17 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Except by yours truly, who was finding nuggets with it in the U.S. before anyone else in the country so much as laid hands on one, and wrote articles trying to get the word out. I can’t help it if people don’t listen. 

Here are the first gold nuggets below ever found in the U.S. with Equinox in January 2018. 

Equinox 800, Gold Mode, MF, relatively mild ground and so I was pushing sensitivity levels high, 22 - 25. Three nuggets, two only 0.6 grain each (480 grains per ounce) and one 9.8 grains (0.6 gram). The 0.6 grain nuggets are one smaller, fatter one plus one thin flake. The kicker? I found these with the 11” DD coil!! The Equinox did not even start shipping until February of that year, and I had yet to lay hands on the 6” coil.

So yeah, I knew this dog could hunt on my first nugget outing with it. I also knew it was different, and prospectors don’t like different, so I expected an uphill battle. The lack of  6” coil caused me to soft pedal my report at the time, but I ramped it up after running the 6” coil finally. All while screaming bloody murder for the 6x10 that would end up taking 3 years more appear, and still was not the Monster coil clone I craved.

The thing is, nugget detecting was last on the priority list in Equinox design. Imagine a multi-iq detector designed with only nugget prospecting in mind, with coils made just for that task. That will be a detector worth having, and will probably put the last of the single frequency designs in their graves.

Just so people know, the article I wrote for Minelab was updated with new experiences on my part, and better advice, in the version posted on this website.

Well I'm listening! The depth consideration is big. Granted my GB2 can handle Rye Patch that's not the only place I hunt. And the other areas have more to hunt for than the area my claim is in. Thanks to responses like yours and the other great knowledgeable detectorists on this site I'm sure the Equinox will be next on my agenda and the Monster should follow. I really appreciate your experience and comments. This site is incredible and everyone posting here knows their stuff.... Alaska's loss is Nevada's gain...thank you Steve!

[Gerry in Idaho]

20 hours ago, BigelowHawkins said:

Hi Gerry do you have any links or simple advice for tuning the Nox for gold, been trying to grasp this detector for nuggetshooting but having troubles, thanks for any advice ?

I wish it was that simple but in reality it's not.  Here is why I say so.

When I chase big gold with the NOX, I set it up differently and I actually use a larger coil and swing/cover ground at a different pace.  When chasing pickers, I use a smaller coil and fine tune the detector.

Are you chasing bigger gold or tiny nuggets?  If tiny ones, you should be doing a Manual Ground Balance and then locking the tracking (turning it off).  Also run IRON Horseshoe OPEN.

In reality a 3 day camping trip with like minded people and some detector experts will provide you more knowledge than you can learn on your own in a much faster time.  No use wasting any more gas and vehicle wear and tear.  Check out my website Calendar of Events for the 2022 Training Classes.  If you are in AZ or Southern CA and want a 1 day 1 on 1, we can provide that for you as well.  Yes it's a full day deal.

www.gerrysdetectors.com

Gerry in Idaho

[BigelowHawkins]

21 minutes ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

I wish it was that simple but in reality it's not.  Here is why I say so.

When I chase big gold with the NOX, I set it up differently and I actually use a larger coil and swing/cover ground at a different pace.  When chasing pickers, I use a smaller coil and fine tune the detector.

Are you chasing bigger gold or tiny nuggets?  If tiny ones, you should be doing a Manual Ground Balance and then locking the tracking (turning it off).  Also run IRON Horseshoe OPEN.

In reality a 3 day camping trip with like minded people and some detector experts will provide you more knowledge than you can learn on your own in a much faster time.  No use wasting any more gas and vehicle wear and tear.  Check out my website Calendar of Events for the 2022 Training Classes.  If you are in AZ or Southern CA and want a 1 day 1 on 1, we can provide that for you as well.  Yes it's a full day deal.

www.gerrysdetectors.com

Gerry in Idaho

Thanks, yeah mostly small ones, use my XP deus mostly for it but hoping to figure it out and use the nox more for prospecting. I trade off when i get overwhelmed lol

[phrunt]

I completely agree with Gerry, spending time with someone well versed on finding nuggets with a detector is invaluable, you can read as much as you want and try learn as much as you want watching Youtube videos and the like but nothing, I repeat nothing beats real world experience out there with someone who knows what they're doing to guide you.   I would pay for one of Gerry's classes in a heartbeat.

[Gerry in Idaho]

19 hours ago, BigelowHawkins said:

Thanks, yeah mostly small ones, use my XP deus mostly for it but hoping to figure it out and use the nox more for prospecting. I trade off when i get overwhelmed lol

If you are finding gold with the Deus, then you are going to be able to do it with the NOX as well.  Just remember that if you are finding tiny lead dove/quail shot, then you are doing it right.

 

[BigelowHawkins]

On 1/18/2022 at 10:04 PM, phrunt said:

I completely agree with Gerry, spending time with someone well versed on finding nuggets with a detector is invaluable, you can read as much as you want and try learn as much as you want watching Youtube videos and the like but nothing, I repeat nothing beats real world experience out there with someone who knows what they're doing to guide you.   I would pay for one of Gerry's classes in a heartbeat.

I have gold prospected for years i know the general method just cant grasp what im listening for with the nox, seems erratic. i just read Steves tips on the nox going to see if any of that info helps the hot rocks seem to be the biggest culprit, i will figure it out just thought i would pick some brains and see if anything could  benefit me as i learn the Nox better. Thanks all for the input and advice.