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Hunting in 4 kHz?? Advantages?

Stiffwrists

Elite Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2017
Messages
3,693
Location
Utah
I finally figured out the new Equinox update. I've always used Multi in all my hunts. Seems like that Multi is the reason the Equinox is so good. Would hunting a known area of deep silver coins be more readily detected in 4 kHz exclusively? Deeper? Would that frequency make an audible sound on remaining coins that Multi may have missed? Or does hunting in just one frequency limit the abilities of the machine?

Thanks for not laughing at my ignorance. Haha.

Just wondering what this new 4 kHz setting is adding for me, if anything. It sounds like the 4 kHz frequency is not being included in the Multi setting. Is that correct?
 
...Just wondering what this new 4 kHz setting is adding for me, if anything. It sounds like the 4 kHz frequency is not being included in the Multi setting. Is that correct?

Multi-freq operation is definitely the Equinox’s strong suit, in my opinion, and like you, it’s my go-to mode for hunting whenever possible. The exceptions are if I’m on a site where EMI creates too much interference, I’ll switch to an unaffected single freq. Or when I really do want to squeeze some extra depth out of a previously hunted site, 5 kHz gets dialed in (now maybe 4 kHz :D).

I don’t really expect 4kHz to add anything Earth-shattering for us - it’s surely too close to 5 kHz to make any real noticeable depth difference between the two. But I like the idea of having an extra option - if 5kHz is zapped by EMI, maybe 4kHz will be spared, and I can select that to hunt.

And no, my understanding is that 4kHz is a single freq option only, and in no way is it currently incorporated into Multi. Neither is 5kHz, or any of the other selectable single frequencies for that matter, except in Gold mode! It’s a common misconception that the Equinox uses all 5 single frequencies simultaneously in Multi.

It has been determined through oscilloscope analysis that the Equinox transmits two primary frequencies in each Multi mode. Carl Moreland, who was a senior engineer at Whites and First Texas has broken the results down like this:

Park & Field modes: 7.8kHz + 39kHz
Beach modes: 7.8kHz + 18.2kHz
Gold modes: 40kHz + 5kHz

It can be tough finding good links that show this information concisely. A lot of the stuff gets pretty technical and is for folks with larger hat sizes than me, but this is the best I could track down so far:

Geotech Forum: Minelab Equinox 800 Frequency (requires creating a free user account if you don’t already have one)

Detectorprospector.com forum: Multi IQ Spectrum Test

Detectorprospector.com forum: Minelab Multi-frequency

Regardless of the transmitted frequencies, the real secret sauce is how the received signals are processed and weighted.
 
I have been testing it all day.
In multi a Weak signal no TID, switched to 4khz an a loud solid tone and TID.
I run in multi and Switch to 4 khz when needed.
I also noticed my pinpointing was better.
But that may be me.
4 khz is not in multi. It is a stand alone.
Doug
 
There is a video in another thread that shows TID better in 4kHz than multi on the same test garden target. Sorry I don't have the link handy.
 
Your correct, though while field and park run between these freqs, there weighted differently between modes, from memory there F1 7.5/18khz and F2 18/39khz or thereabouts.


Multi-freq operation is definitely the Equinox’s strong suit, in my opinion, and like you, it’s my go-to mode for hunting whenever possible. The exceptions are if I’m on a site where EMI creates too much interference, I’ll switch to an unaffected single freq. Or when I really do want to squeeze some extra depth out of a previously hunted site, 5 kHz gets dialed in (now maybe 4 kHz :D).

I don’t really expect 4kHz to add anything Earth-shattering for us - it’s surely too close to 5 kHz to make any real noticeable depth difference between the two. But I like the idea of having an extra option - if 5kHz is zapped by EMI, maybe 4kHz will be spared, and I can select that to hunt.

And no, my understanding is that 4kHz is a single freq option only, and in no way is it currently incorporated into Multi. Neither is 5kHz, or any of the other selectable single frequencies for that matter, except in Gold mode! It’s a common misconception that the Equinox uses all 5 single frequencies simultaneously in Multi.

It has been determined through oscilloscope analysis that the Equinox transmits two primary frequencies in each Multi mode. Carl Moreland, who was a senior engineer at Whites and First Texas has broken the results down like this:

Park & Field modes: 7.8kHz + 39kHz
Beach modes: 7.8kHz + 18.2kHz
Gold modes: 40kHz + 5kHz

It can be tough finding good links that show this information concisely. A lot of the stuff gets pretty technical and is for folks with larger hat sizes than me, but this is the best I could track down so far:

Geotech Forum: Minelab Equinox 800 Frequency (requires creating a free user account if you don’t already have one)

Detectorprospector.com forum: Multi IQ Spectrum Test

Detectorprospector.com forum: Minelab Multi-frequency

Regardless of the transmitted frequencies, the real secret sauce is how the received signals are processed and weighted.
 
I've just done a bit of air testing and in my home office with many computers and wireless routers 4 kHz is fairly quiet and not impacted much by all the EMI. I also found in air testing that 4 kHz seems to gain a bit of depth on a silver dime. Where multi drops out at about 6 inches in 4 kHz the VDI goes up from the 27-28 reading to a very solid 32-34 until dropping out at 8+ inches.

This is just air testing but I found it interesting and am curious if this carries over to targets in the ground. Very strange the way Minelab said 4 kHz was for large deep targets in Asia. I still don't have a clue what that means.
 
Stiffwrists, after some deliberation:?::?: I upgraded my back up 800 with the six in coil. Preliminary air tests in 4k in field 2 were pretty impressive. A Merc dime came at close to 10in. with great tone and a solid 26. When I switched to 5k and multi to repeat that result I had to drop down to around six inches. So I headed out back where a couple of years ago I buried, and Ike dollar, a Kennedy half, a GW and a dime all flat at ten inches. Our soil is pretty tuff here and after the markers washed away I had trouble locating the coins with any of my detectors and various settings. At times I could get an iffy signal saying something was there but that was it. In Field 2 4k all metal sensitvity 22 with the six inch coil it nailed all of the coins with good tone and, numbers a little jumpy but definitely a dig me signal. Next day I headed to a trashy park. Same settings, lowered sens. down to 20 I had to ground balance, otherwise it was falseing everywhere. Everything from beavertails to rusty bolts and everything in between was hightoning and giving high in the 30s numbers. After around 60 or 70 junk digs and with the heat I was getting pretty frustrated and switched to multi for the last hour which I only found one crusty zincoln. So for me, I need to figure where and when to use 4k but it seems to be an upgrade that deserves further investigation. Good luck, Mark
 
Luckily it’s just one button away.
I have been detecting in multi and when I get a good signal and no TID I just hit the button and it goes directly to 4 khz. 4 bumps again and back in multi.
Doug
 
My guess and it's just a guess right now is 4kHz would be best for hunting deep silver in places that are not very target rich to begin with. This is based on markinswpa's post.

I have a park where all the silver is very deep, but there is some iron along with it. I consider it cleaned out. Multi in Park2 let me sniff out 10 more silver dimes without digging much iron. I'm not sure if 4khz will work in that type setting without getting fooled a lot by deep old iron nails. The only time I feel comfortable digging big deep plugs in this park is during the winter and early spring when the grass is dormant and the ground is very soft. Something to try I guess, but I never had much luck using Park1 there. It seemed like while in Multi I got fooled by iron way more often using Park1 than I did in Park2. I never found a deep silver using Park1!
 
Luckily it’s just one button away.

I have been detecting in multi and when I get a good signal and no TID I just hit the button and it goes directly to 4 khz. 4 bumps again and back in multi.

Doug
You can set the user profile to 4k and normal mode to multi or visa versa then just one button (user button) to switch back and forth from multi to 4khz.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
You can set the user profile to 4k and normal mode to multi or visa versa then just one button (user button) to switch back and forth from multi to 4khz.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Good info here. I was going to point this out too. I love using the one touch user profile just for this reason.
 
opposite

Luckily it’s just one button away.
I have been detecting in multi and when I get a good signal and no TID I just hit the button and it goes directly to 4 khz. 4 bumps again and back in multi.
Doug

Doug, I was doing the opposite. Hunting in 4k in hopes of hitting a deep or iffy signals that multi wasn't picking up. This was the case in my test garden. With 10 inch coins 4k was giving good tones and pretty good numbers where as in multi it was jumpy #s and scratchy tone at best. Good luck, Mark
 
Finally 4kz gives the Nox some depth. It's not for trashy sights though. Too many targets in the 30 range. FTR, Beach2 is deeper than either F2 or P2 when dirt digging. If you think you have maxed out the depth of the 800 (using multifrequency) in F2 then you've missed some targets. B2 is just better and deeper in dirt as well as the beach.
 
Beach 2 in dirt

I'd like to hear more about this - I've experimented some since reading your post, but haven't noticed a depth increase. You are suggesting that we can find deeper targets using Beach 2 in dirt, as opposed to any of the other settings? This sounds very interesting! Hope you can elaborate.
 
I'd like to hear more about this - I've experimented some since reading your post, but haven't noticed a depth increase. You are suggesting that we can find deeper targets using Beach 2 in dirt, as opposed to any of the other settings? This sounds very interesting! Hope you can elaborate.

My buddy and I decided to to go through the settings. We beach hunt a lot as well as dirt digging. So I followed him one Saturday morning. He would get what he considered a deeper signal in B2. I was in F2, IB2, RS4. He had the same IB and RS as I did. I wasn't even getting a signal when he was. This was the second time we have tested the hunting modes side by side. First time I did P1 and P2. B2 detects things F2 doesn't. He plucked a silver that F2 couldn't see. Our next side by side will be B1 vs F2.

The new 4khz frequency is definitely the deepest mode. However if there is a lot of trash, a lot of it will sound good. So be prepared if you're in a trashy area.
 
I tried the new update yesterday in a "hunted out" sled hill.

In 4kHz, the TID numbers were definitely different, and frustrating. Bottle caps coming up as quarters and half dollars, pull tabs as dimes, etc.

I didn't do a ground balance (I was in tracking mode though) so I need to give it another shot
 
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