Questions for Equinox users

Steve77

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I have hundreds of hours on my AT Pro and feel very capable with it. I am wondering if you can tell the difference between a clad dime and a copper penny with your equinox? With my ATP I can tell the difference almost every time. I don't cherry pick dimes, but it is nice to be able to learn a machine well enough to notice subtle differences. I know the Nox has capabilities that make it far more valuable in some aspects than an ATP, I just want to know what to expect before pulling the trigger. Does the swing speed affect the VDI much, can you slow down enough to get more accurate ID, or is it hit and miss at any speed?

Also curious about adjusting settings. I have never ran a Minelab, so I am curious if the adjustments are intuitive, and well laid out or if it takes a lot of knowledge to understand?

I have felt for a couple years that the depth on the ATP might be leaving some stuff behind. My plan for the last couple years has been to buy an SE Pro this season, but I am really leaning toward the Nox 600 now. I'll still keep one of my AT Pros with the 5x8 coil as a backup/loaner so I won't be losing the capabilities it has, just adding another set of tools. I definitely like the simplicity of the ATP, and I guess I'm a little curious how tough the transition will be, and if the Nox will be an improvement over the ATP without tweaking the programs? I want to start out with one or two of the stock programs until I have enough hours to know what the machine is telling me. Then maybe I'll have some confidence to start tinkering with settings? Or maybe I'm just overthinking everything.

I have read tons of threads and watched countless videos, but not many discuss transitioning to a minelab from an ATP or something similar.
 
I am using a Nox 600 at present. I also own and have used my AT Pro a lot before buying the Nox 600. On the Nox depending on the soil a penny can read as little as a 20 or as high as a 24, the copper penny will read higher than the zinc. On a clad dime I get a reading of at least 25-26 most of the time but I have dug a dime at a 24 on occasion. A lot has to do with the soil and the moisture in the soil. So, I guess there is no absolute number all the time between a penny and a dime. My best advice is do some testing in your own soil with a zinc penny, a copper penny , and a clad dime.
Bubbaron NOX 600, AT PRO, AT PRO CARROT PIN POINTER
 
I am finding that the AT pro was better at telling clad dimes and pennies apart , though at times both the pro and the nox get fooled. The nox can tell them apart much of the time but often I dig what should be a dime and it turns out to be a penny. Unaccountable variables make the difference. What pushes things in favor of the nox though is it locates more of both due to its depth and unmasking ability.
 
I have no trouble at all,,, zinc 20-22 sometimes 23, copper 23-24, clad dime 25 ish silver 26-28 but remember if there is a lower valued item under the coil you will get a down average of ID, but tone is usually good and signal strong.
 
Most pennies will hit 20/21 for zinc and 22/23 for copper. Sometimes they will hit 24. A dime will hit 24/25 consistently. For dimes I look for the 24/25 numbers. Pennies never hit the 25 or they don't for me.
 
Great questions, I was wondering about some of these things too.
I think the only way to go would be to borrow one for a few hours and swing it:yes:
 
You should follow through with your plan of the last couple years and get that Explorer...don't drink the Equinox koolaid:lol:

A couple advantages for the Nox are price and waterproof. One of my favorite places to hunt is in the water. And the price of a used SE Pro isn’t much different than a brand new Nox. If I found an amazing deal on an SE Pro, I might be swayed. But also, the SE Pro isn’t commonly found used.



I also bought my ATP when people were saying not to drink the ATP koolaid. It was my first mid price detector and it has served me well, I just want a chance to dig the deeper stuff with good unmasking technology. I don’t expect anything magical. I’m mostly a tone hunter. One thing about minelab that concerns me is the vast number of tones. The 3 tones of my ATP work well for my style. I usually coinshoot a site first and then go back and start digging everything above iron.

I wish someone close had either an SE or a Nox that I could try, but I live in the middle of nowhere and don’t travel much.
 
Hey I'm the king of cherry picking LOL. Having COPD if I bend over to recover a target it's got to be worth it. For that reason accurate target ID has become my number 1 important feature. Most good detectors can get the same depth with experience, but not all detectors share the same ability when it comes to accurate target ID.

I used the ATP for years and WAS my favorite choice until I got a Deus. Pretty close on ability but the Deus was simply a dream to swing. And for me and my COPD that was a game changer. Now I use the Equinox 800. Just about a light as the Deus and the performance of combing the E-Trac with the Deus. Target ID, in my opinion, is as good as it gets.

Yes, I can tell a zinc from a copper from a dime.
 
Hey I'm the king of cherry picking LOL. Having COPD if I bend over to recover a target it's got to be worth it. For that reason accurate target ID has become my number 1 important feature. Most good detectors can get the same depth with experience, but not all detectors share the same ability when it comes to accurate target ID.

I used the ATP for years and WAS my favorite choice until I got a Deus. Pretty close on ability but the Deus was simply a dream to swing. And for me and my COPD that was a game changer. Now I use the Equinox 800. Just about a light as the Deus and the performance of combing the E-Trac with the Deus. Target ID, in my opinion, is as good as it gets.

Yes, I can tell a zinc from a copper from a dime.

I am in a similar boat. I have painful joint problems from an Autoimmune disease as well as injuries and pain from years in the construction industry. Part of my issue is a limited budget. This will likely be my only detector purchase for a few years. I would love to try a Deus, a Racer and an Impact, along with a couple Minelabs but that isn’t in the budget for me. Not to mention, I’m not the kind of person to switch machines often. I want something that I can get to know and become proficient with. Upgrading every 3-5 years makes the most sense to me both from a financial and technological perspective. I think the multi frequency technology offers some improvement over my ATP. Also the processing speed of the Nox should be a serious step up from what I have now.
 
The Equinox is a good detector with jumpy ID numbers. The AT PRO has better ID numbers in my opinion ,so does the X-Terra 705,DFX or F75 LTD.
The best ID's on the Equinox are for nickles between 11--13.
 
Its not known for good i.d. About the worst i have used. But youll dig more gold since you cant cherry pick much. Even gold dental crowns:lol:
 
I have never used an AT Pro. I have a few hours on a eq600, and I don't believe that you can reliably discern the difference between a copper cent and a clad dime with the equinox.
You can tell a zinc cent from a clad dime with good probability and you can reliably tell the zinc and copper variation on a cent as well.
 
I have no trouble at all,,, zinc 20-22 sometimes 23, copper 23-24, clad dime 25 ish silver 26-28 but remember if there is a lower valued item under the coil you will get a down average of ID, but tone is usually good and signal strong.
This is my experience with the 800 as well. No problem cherry picking if I want to. Although many hunts I still dig them all just to make sure I'm not missing something. Wheat pennies do tend to hit 26 at times and can fool me into thinking it is silver.

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Go to YouTube,watch some videos on the equinox.Im not talking trash but it’s night and day between the at pro and equinox Visual ID..It’s the reason I sold the equinox and still have the at pro,,exactly what the op is asking..The answer is no,you cannot tell a penny from a dime..Does that make the nox a bad machine,absolutely not.But the ID is so lumped together and jumpy too that I would hafto see it to believe anyone could call a penny from a dime..Like I said,go to youtube,,look up equinox depth test and watch the ones that actually show the Id,,it’s just not there man.Keep your at pro and get a explorer se pro,,worlds ahead.
Or get a xterra 705,it has solid Id,and not much difference other than waterproof between it and the nox.,The xterra 705 is just a great Machine too.
Lol once again you are spewing nonsense about the Nox and misinforming members. You did not even own the nox long enough to learn how it ids targets. There are many users that can tell the difference including myself. There are also many videos demonstrating silver vs copper. The OP was asking actual owners of the nox with real world testing and experience with the machine. You do not own one so I am not sure why you chose to chime in anyway??

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Just as many here say the ID is jumpy and inconsistent on the equinox as say it's good.The ones who say the equinox has bad visual ID don't own it any longer from what I'm seeing.The ones that say it has good visual ID still own the equinox..no experts on this thread.. Original poster,I'd say you'll get a more honest opinion by flipping a coin..
 
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A lot has to do with the soil and the moisture in the soil. So, I guess there is no absolute number all the time between a penny and a dime. My best advice is do some testing in your own soil with a zinc penny, a copper penny , and a clad dime.

This is the correct answer. A penny in one spot may id different in another. Corrosion, soil, moisture, other metals around that penny, etc. can have major influences. None of these machines are perfect at ID but the ID does give you information upon which can help you make a decision. If you want to be sure - Dig. Otherwise there is a chance you are passing up good targets. Having said that, sometimes you do have to disc things out because an area is infested with say pennies but in that trash you could pass up good targets by not digging. Its all about balance - am I finding more good targets by passing up a few because I am passing on pennies? Maybe; maybe not. I am a beach hunter so I dig because it easy. I feel for you land hunters though...
 
I own both detectors and like em both. The At pro for me has very good id info, Mainly audio then vdi. With it I know a zinc from a copper penny and a dime most of the time.
My Equinox I run in 5 tones so its easier for me than 50 tones.
Idk about the Eq 600 but if you learn it I bet you will get deeper coins and more coins from unmasking than the Atpro.
I still am learning the Equinox but so far it was worth buying for me because I wanted a high end detector and I finally got one I like. I used to own a F70 which I didn't give much of a chance to learn, It was a good unmasker.
 
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