900 Update

[markinswpa]

Just read in the Manticore section that a possible second update may be coming. Meanwhile those of us with 900s are wondering if there will ever be an update . Back before the first Manticore update someone had posted from the e-mail response they got from Minelab about an update for the 900 and their reply was it would be released when ready. Implying that there was an update coming. Well since the first Manticore update which came with mixed results, it seemed to work well for some and then not so much for others in different parts of the country. So I have to think Minelab may be reworking the updates. SO MINELAB  if You're READING, along with addressing the seriously way too jumpy numbers, better target Id's and other issues could you please include in the update, 1 the long noise cancel feature that the Manticore uses. 2 a mineralization meter and 3 please, please, PLEASE a third party headphone option. Thanks in advance. One other issue with the 900 that seems to be constant for me is deeper targets. After 60 + hunts with the 900 I have yet to hit deep coin sized targets, deeper than 4 inches. I thought it might be the ground I hunt but just recently I took the Xterra Pro to one of the same fields I hunt and it started hitting 7 & 8 inch pulltabs right away. As A matter of fact too many if you ask me. In the past I've hunted the same areas with the 800 and had no problems hittting coins at 8+ inches. Has anyone else encountered depth issues with the 900 ? Also a note of interest, in my area, I would say 90 % of the  time the 800, 900 and Xterra Pro severely up average the Id numbers. Particularly pennies whether they are Ihps, wheats or memorials doesn't matter. And with the 900 and Xterra, they seem to lowball  the numbers for dimes. Minelab help us out, we're waiting.

[Sinclair]

On 10/3/2023 at 4:20 PM, markinswpa said:

1 the long noise cancel feature that the Manticore uses.

Maybe possible, but I don't think this will happen. Some features need to be different to justify the difference in price.

On 10/3/2023 at 4:20 PM, markinswpa said:

2 a mineralization meter

This will probably not happen, simply because the display isn't designed to. You can't add items to the LCD screen. On the Manticore this would be no problem.

On 10/3/2023 at 4:20 PM, markinswpa said:

3 please, please, PLEASE a third party headphone option.

Well, that's finally the reason I've bought a Deus.. one of the quirkiest machines I've ever seen - far from perfect - BUT: I can use my beloved headphones 😅

[Steve Herschbach]

Been several forum members less than impressed with the 900. As far as headphones just get the adapter for plug in phones and use plug in phones, or a wireless transmitter. Or wait for the new WM09 although it will probably be pricy knowing Minelab.

 

[cudamark]

Interesting, I must have got a good one, as I love the 900. It's everything I hoped the 800 would be. In some ground, it's deeper than I can dig without a pick. 

[Jeff McClendon]

I can only speak for myself. I liked the 900 for saltwater beach hunting, for gold prospecting and for any kind of detecting where digging basically every signal was OK.

For any kind of coin, jewelry or relic hunting where digging every signal was absolutely not OK or literally impossible and where precision of target IDs, audio responses using multi tones and estimated target depth were the most important features needed, the two Nox 900s that I owned and used for 4 months and over 100 hours of use, were a messy nightmare.

If Minelab does an Equinox 700/900 update, I hope they will address some of the instability issues I experienced both for target IDs and audio anomalies.

I am not seeing any of these issues with the Manticore that I have been using for the last week.

[Lynk]

I agree. I used the 900 on a trip this past summer, but the instability of both target IDs and tone caused me to revert to the 800 I had also brought along.  An update is sorely needed.

[hangtownrods]

just my two cents 900 can be frustrating i can finde a penny at 9 in but a us quarter at just 2in please fix this thx.

[HardPack]

19 hours ago, hangtownrods said:

penny at 9 in but a us quarter at just 2in

If the US quarter is clad the copper penny may have a higher conductivity that hits deeper than the surface area of the clad quarter. I haven’t experienced this issue with either of the EQX 900 stock coils. 8 inches is close to the detection limit here, your ground may have difference mineralization. If the quarter is silver then there’s a problem. 

[hangtownrods]

8 hours ago, HardPack said:

If the US quarter is clad the copper penny may have a higher conductivity that hits deeper than the surface area of the clad quarter. I haven’t experienced this issue with either of the EQX 900 stock coils. 8 inches is close to the detection limit here, your ground may have difference mineralization. If the quarter is silver then there’s a problem. 

yes the ground has a lot to do with it i live in nor cal gold country by the river. the 900 is useless ids jump all over my friend with the 800 does not have this trouble at all. side by side he out finds more all day long. pennies jump all over but i can see them. i just get aggravated with it . if i could afford a different machine right now i would .thx for your ear

[HardPack]

4 hours ago, hangtownrods said:

900 is useless ids jump all over

I had EMI issues with the Coiltek 10x5, could be the coil is not specifically calibered to the EQX 900. Both the stock EQX coils were stable on the same site. Now I actually prefer the 11 inch coil and multi tones. I focus more on the tones than TID with multiple passes. I agree the detector is jumping and not a real confidence builder. Iron trash can affect (reduces or pulls down) target TID & tones. In Multi frequency detection depth can be reduced with small iron trash buried across the site. And perhaps the same for high soil mineralization. Have you used any of the single frequencies such as 10 or 15 kHz? Keep in mind the 800 and 900 are different designs. Sooner or later Minelab is going to have to address this jumpy TID issue with a software update. Hang in there.