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Minelab E-trac, CTX 3030, Excalibur Versus Equinox


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Steve, you are right about people using FBS finding the Equinox harder . I am one. 

The Equinox reminds me of the 705 more than anything else but i wish it had the 99 tones of the Terra . I dont know yet what are the best settings to use on the beach and with so few beach tests done during the testing faze before release it makes it harder for us to figure the right settings out. I am not so certain that the Equinox will match the ET or other FBS on the beaches but they will make a welcome addition to them in terms of lightweight / waterproof and recovery speed and price . 

So far i have had £45 and 2 Silvers with my Nox on the beach so it will find the goodies even if i struggle to figure the depth and audio issues i have with it . 

I just wish my beaches were more favourable but they are mostly built up . Hopefully that will change .

As for the Equinox i would have liked to see a 1/4 inch socket , better tones like the Explorer / ET .

I have seen many video's and heard of many saying its a deep machine , i am still looking for those settings .

Next time i am out i will use a single frequency and see what happens . Or at least on the dry . Will revert to multi frequency on the wet if done.

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What a great article- thank you! A lot of this confirms what I was already starting to suspect about the pros and cons of the different Minelabs (I have an Excal). It also makes me feel even better about my Equinox 800 purchase (arrives Tuesday). I too am more interested in the low conductors and also see the Equinox as complimenting my other detectors depending on the the conditions and locations.

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Being better suited to Gold or smaller Gold and low conductors wouldn't that mean less depth ?

We see lots of air tests on Youtube but they are all a waste of time .

Though on many of my beaches good air tests would be a good thing . Like the Terra .

I am getting very tempted to buy a new 705 then i can take the Nox and Terra out with me using my Anderson stem . If i dont have enough battery power with the Nox then the 705 will . 

The 12 hour charge is a bit of a handicap for me being that i go on all nighters at times in the Summer 

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9 hours ago, Nuke em said:

The Equinox reminds me of the 705 more than anything else but i wish it had the 99 tones of the Terra .

The X-Terra 705 only has 28 target “bins” and despite the name 99 tone mode only generates 28 tones. The Equinox with 50 bins has nearly twice the target id resolution both visually and in 50 tone mode. The closest analog in another Minelab is CTX 50 tone conductive mode. Despite the difference in on-screen target resolution it is debatable that after Minelab “normalized” most target responses to the ferrous 12 line that there really is much difference from a practical perspective between target id resolution on the CTX and Equinox. I still give the nod visually to CTX but somebody hunting with both machines in 50 tone mode is going to get a similar experience.

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9 minutes ago, Nuke em said:

Being better suited to Gold or smaller Gold and low conductors wouldn't that mean less depth ?

Less depth on what, where, when? In mineralized ground on silver? No. On silver in moderate to low ground? Yes.

I honestly feel like I have to say the same thing I just said over and over.

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10 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Less sloth on what, where, when? In mineralized ground on silver? No.

I will answer the 705 bit in your other post first . On the Terra the Pound coin read 32 and was a good clear tone which i never doubted other than bottle tops . On the Nox it is between 20 and 23 and that is on the border where we can change tones so it is a bit uncertain if only going by sound . 

The Terra just sounds better , maybe its the settings ? 

As for the 12 line on the ET / CTX . It all depends on depth and settings whether a target will register on the 12 line . A new Pound coin is around 12  x  39 and a old one is normally 12  x  38 but they can be anywhere between 7 ferrous and 37 and 39 conduct . Most other coins are usually steady 

A 20p is  12 x 21 , an old 10p is  12 x 16 , a 50p is almost always  12 x 18 and a 5p is 12 x 10 and £2 coin is 12 x 40 . Copper coins vary a bit but usually around 12 x 43-46 . 

The Terra was always very accurate , not seen that with the Nox yet but have begun to sus the £1 coin and 20p.

No idea on mineralised ground as my beaches other than Iron are pretty neutral unless down to black sand and thats rare.

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2 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Well I really do hope you get it all sorted out. In the end we all have to decide for ourselves what works best for us or not. I still have several detectors so it is not like Equinox has replaced all mine yet either.

I hope so too . I need lightweight machines . I doubt i will sell my ET or Explorer 11 till a new top end machine comes out . I think i will buy another Terra for the Summer , its still my most successful machine to date . 14 Gold , many Silvers and near £10000 in coinage from 2011 . The only thing that worries me is the cashless society which is killing new losses and the Terra's lack of salt settings .

I have 2 months to decide before the finds rate start getting better .

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The X-Terra 705 will never leave the fold here.  For one it is deep in my ground with the proper coil and I have soo many coils for it including a fresh water setup using a coil tek cable extension.

Oh yeah and concentric coils! Did ya hear that Minelab?

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  • The title was changed to Minelab E-Trac, CTX 3030, Excalibur Versus Equinox

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