Equinox - "the Parking Lot" - Questions That Cannot Be Answered Just Yet

[Chase Goldman]

There are some questions, primarily related to instruction manual information or how unfamiliar features such as iron bias work, that I and others have asked in other threads that have gone unanswered or where the answer has been that we’ll find out when more people have Equinox in their hands, hence the Parking Lot to go back and refer to them in one spot.  I can see that if they actually can be answered before the majority have their Equinoxes in the coming months it can become unwieldy.  You’re  the boss, so that’s  why I asked what you wanted to do in the first post. Now I have my answer and will abandon the thread.  Bad idea. Thanks and sorry I wasted forum bandwidth.  Good intentions, bad execution.  Search function can be used for those older unanswered question threads that have fallen off the front page.  Movin’ on...

[Steve Herschbach]

The questions I am not attempting to answer anymore are “why” questions. The one at the start of this thread is a good example, as well as the one you keep alluding to in the past Chase that seems to be an impetus for this thread.

"Why are the default iron bias settings different on the 600 ("2") and 800 ("6" which corresponds to "3" not "2" on the 600) (see p. 52 of the manual)?"

Because that’s the way it is. Somebody at HQ decided it should be that way. Just like everything else on the 600 versus the 800. I am just one tiny bit of the puzzle and nobody explains to me “why”. See the quote below. I could speculate, but I really have no time for that and it still would not answer the question anyway. There are many things I have no answers for, and most of those things are “why” questions as in “why did they do it that way”.

 

The Bluetooth / WM 08 question was previously answered here.

 

Please slow down and take time to digest all the information out there already. After machines get out and after a little more time passes than questions that still are not answered can be taken care of.

 

A quote from a favorite engineer of mine:

 

“Dave Johnson
Chief Designer: Bounty Hunter, Teknetics, and Fisher brand metal detectors. Located in El Paso, Texas.

Because of my job situation, I read forums a lot but rarely post. In my situation, there are three kinds of inquiries which I generally won't respond to.

1. Questions relating to products we may have under development. (That information is on a we-need-you-to-know basis only.) 

2. "Why" questions. Why did you do this, why don't you do that, etc. (Why we do things is nobody else's business.)

3. Questions relating to what happens "behind the scenes" in metal detector software. (That usually involves trade secrets.)

In general, I am not interested in arguments of the "this brand is better than that brand" sort.  

In general, I am not in a position to help someone with their special metal detector project. 

In general, I am willing to discuss issues which I have raised in a forum post, including mention of specific makes and models if that's relevant to the issue of the post.  

--Dave Johnson”

 

 

[Chase Goldman]

The purpose of the Iron Bias question was just something I put out there as a placeholder for users to ponder and test from a performance standpoint once they got their detectors (e.g., how much of a performance difference is there between 2 and 3 on the 600  vs. the corresponding settings of 4 and 6 on the 800) as ML saw fit to provide different defaults for the same search modes on different models, I was not expecting an answer right away, or possibly ever, hence, parking lot.  Wasn’t so much a “why did they do that” question as a “what is the real difference” question.  It might be a tiny piece of the puzzle to help inform future Equinox buyers as to whether the the 600 or 800 is more suited to them.  Tried to keep it succinct so misunderstood as a literal “why did they do that” vs. a “let’s explore the differences when we get our machines.”  

Believe me, I would slow way down and probably be able to self answer a lot of questions with a machine in front of me, and putting it through it’s paces.  So what are you going to do in the mean time?  Ask a lot of questions, of course.  And they are not intended to all be directed solely at or be answered solely by you,  Steve because I know you have your hands full.  Lol.  Many are intended as setup questions as we transition to the new users out there.

But, yeah, this questioning approach is apparently not particulary productive or helpful, I got it.  Good feedback. Like I said, movin on from this thread, just trying to learn, and perhaps takin’ a back seat until I can be a useful contributor with an Equinox in hand.  At least that’s my hope anyways. 

[flakmagnet]

I would just say Chase, don't lose your enthusiasm, it is contagious and welcome. That, along with your obvious level of expertise, is what makes this website as good as it is.

[mn90403]

Steve reminds me of a friend who always told me this story.  I think he got it from someone else but he insisted it happened in one of his classes at SDSU.

Dick told me he showed up for a final exam like all the others in the class of about 200 or so.  I don't even remember the name of the course (science or social science) and the professor revealed the final exam question.  This class was given sometime in the early 70s.  Written on the board in front of all the class was the one word question:

Why?

The professor left the room.  The exam time was 2 hours.

All the students were left to consider an answer.  Should they tell 'why' they had taken the class?  Perhaps tell what they learned from the professor?  They were given no clues but had to write an essay.  Should they reference the study materials or special projects they did through the quarter?  Why, why?

Well, many students stayed for the entire 2 hours writing their papers.  Some did not.  When the grading was done and posted for the exam there was only one A+ score.  All other scores were lower by some fraction.

What was the answer that gained the top score?

Because.

Mitchel

[Chase Goldman]

That answer would make for a great detector manual...it certainly would be easy to reference and search and would never have to be revised or updated.  Brilliant.

[Johnnysalami1957]

28 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

That answer would make for a great detector manual...it certainly would be easy to reference and search and would never have to be revised or updated.  Brilliant.

There is only one correct answer to all questions. "I don't know".

[Chase Goldman]

That's the answer to the quick start guide entitled "Because Why?"

[steveg]

Chase --

I get you.  I have asked the word "why" so many times in my life, when learning new things, that I think I've driven both my parents, all my teachers, college professors, co-workers, and an untold number of folks on forums to near insanity with all of my questions.  It's what "thinkers" do -- we think...and ask questions!  :)

It's all good!  
Steve