Is the Equinox the best?

Woodbutcher and Mud-puppy both mentioned something that is really important at least to me. That is the "fun" factor.

I didn't get to detect near as much as I wanted to before I retired. Now, aside from the non-essential travel ban in my area, I can detect anytime I want and in a wide variety of environments.

When I want to just go have some fun detecting I do NOT pick the Equinox. The Equinox challenges me big time to be a better detector user every time I pick it up even though I have over 2000 hours using it. Don't get me wrong, I really like to use the Equinox, but it is more like work than play and I expect some productive results from me and the Equinox when I use it.

When I don't care what I find and just want to go have some no pressure fun, I pick a different detector.

Jeff

This is why I love to change it up with my XP Deus. Which is my preferred detector anywhere and everywhere.
 
Woodbutcher and Mud-puppy both mentioned something that is really important at least to me. That is the "fun" factor.

I didn't get to detect near as much as I wanted to before I retired. Now, aside from the non-essential travel ban in my area, I can detect anytime I want and in a wide variety of environments.

When I want to just go have some fun detecting I do NOT pick the Equinox. The Equinox challenges me big time to be a better detector user every time I pick it up even though I have over 2000 hours using it. Don't get me wrong, I really like to use the Equinox, but it is more like work than play and I expect some productive results from me and the Equinox when I use it.

When I don't care what I find and just want to go have some no pressure fun, I pick a different detector.

Jeff

Can you elaborate? How is using the Equinox pressure inducing?

I'm genuinely curious.
 
Do you want to explain 2D and 3D in English? Not something like 3 x Y +Z = MPX

Ok 2d is where all targets are flat on the ground or close to flat or in the same plane. 3D is where you might have a barber dime at 7 inches and an old nail say like 2 inches up and 1.5 inches to the side of the dime. Then maybe a pull tab at 3 inches deep and off to the side of the nail and dime. This scenario is more likely what you might find at an empty lot where an old house was torn down.
 
Can you elaborate? How is using the Equinox pressure inducing?

I'm genuinely curious.

I use the Equinox 800 for gold prospecting and for serious detector outings where I either have spent plenty of time, money and/or effort just getting there and I really want to test my developing skills. These places are usually at high altitude or at hard to get to desert SW locations. Even when I'm using the 600 for daily coin and jewelry hunts, I try to push myself and the detector to really do the best I can. So, I consider the Equinox to be a serious detector and I get pretty serious when I use it!!!

When I just want to have some fun, I put my Deus Lite WS4 headphones on and hunt by tones only. Its like hunting with a multi tone Tesoro. Or I grab the Vanquish for something different. Those two detectors are so lightweight and easy to swing. If I find something good that is just fine with me. Me, my dog and my detector are just going for a walk basically.

Jeff
 
I use the Equinox 800 for gold prospecting and for serious detector outings where I either have spent plenty of time, money and/or effort just getting there and I really want to test my developing skills. These places are usually at high altitude or at hard to get to desert SW locations. Even when I'm using the 600 for daily coin and jewelry hunts, I try to push myself and the detector to really do the best I can. So, I consider the Equinox to be a serious detector and I get pretty serious when I use it!!!

When I just want to have some fun, I put my Deus Lite WS4 headphones on and hunt by tones only. Its like hunting with a multi tone Tesoro. Or I grab the Vanquish for something different. Those two detectors are so lightweight and easy to swing. If I find something good that is just fine with me. Me, my dog and my detector are just going for a walk basically.

Jeff

So the pressure is self-induced, as opposed to the machine have a certain set of characteristics?
 
Ok 2d is where all targets are flat on the ground or close to flat or in the same plane. 3D is where you might have a barber dime at 7 inches and an old nail say like 2 inches up and 1.5 inches to the side of the dime. Then maybe a pull tab at 3 inches deep and off to the side of the nail and dime. This scenario is more likely what you might find at an empty lot where an old house was torn down.

I have done test like that with the Equinox and other detectors. Of all the detectors I have done that test, the Equinox did NOT impress me.

One time I dug a hole 8" deep in a field put a nickel in the bottom, then scanned over it, the Equinox had no idea it was there. It would hit the nickel on the ground but not down in the hole,there was no adjustment that I was able to make that made it hit the nickel.

So I see it has a weakness of hunting around iron, that is something most people don't want too admit.
 
I have done test like that with the Equinox and other detectors. Of all the detectors I have done that test, the Equinox did NOT impress me.

One time I dug a hole 8" deep in a field put a nickel in the bottom, then scanned over it, the Equinox had no idea it was there. It would hit the nickel on the ground but not down in the hole,there was no adjustment that I was able to make that made it hit the nickel.

So I see it has a weakness of hunting around iron, that is something most people don't want too admit.

You may need to get your nox checked over, I've no problem hitting a dime size coin beside or under a nail, it does decent on Monty's nailboard test also with the 11" coil, and better than most on 3d tests.
I've no complaints on depth, especially on old mineralized pastures where it see's through the minerals better than any detector I've used to date.
I'm mostly interested in the 3d tests as it's more important to my type of detecting where the targets is below iron.
I have a simple wooden test rig for it, you'd be surprised how poor some machines are at it.
 

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I have done test like that with the Equinox and other detectors. Of all the detectors I have done that test, the Equinox did NOT impress me.

One time I dug a hole 8" deep in a field put a nickel in the bottom, then scanned over it, the Equinox had no idea it was there. It would hit the nickel on the ground but not down in the hole,there was no adjustment that I was able to make that made it hit the nickel.

So I see it has a weakness of hunting around iron, that is something most people don't want too admit.

something doesn't sound right. I have a test garden with silver dimes and nails In the same hole and my nox hits them just fine with higher recovery speeds and lower iron bias as they get closer together. Heck I even found 2 silver quarters with a huge nail stuck right to em at my silver site. many times I have found silver and iron or indians and iron in the same hole no problems. I have also dug shield nicks and v nicks at easily 8+ inches. really confused on how your having so much trouble?:?:
 
One time I dug a hole 8" deep in a field put a nickel in the bottom, then scanned over it, the Equinox had no idea it was there. It would hit the nickel on the ground but not down in the hole,there was no adjustment that I was able to make that made it hit the nickel.

So I see it has a weakness of hunting around iron, that is something most people don't want too admit.

Out of curiosity i just tried a Nickle at 9" (in 7+bar soil on the Deus)
I was using my settings from my last hunt, there not overly deep settings.
Field 1, sens 22, recovery 6.
I was hitting the Nickle fine, ID was rubbish as you'd expect in the Nox with a freshly dug hole, but on my permissions I'd be digging that signal 100% every time.

https://youtu.be/IYG62YNBOtU
 
In my opinion graybeard, something is definitely not right here. I have exactly the opposite experience where I hunt. The Equinox and its baby brother/sister the Vanquish are the ONLY detectors I have tried (and I have tried way too many!) that can hit and correctly identify a nickel at 8" or more in the dirt I often hunt in. Some great detectors that I really like will hit an 8" nickel and some won't even register a response due to the high mineralization. None of them can correctly identify it except for the Nox and Vanquish.........

Like most of the other people that have responded, both my Nox 600 and Nox 800 do very well in all iron testing. They are not better than the Deus or the ORX but they are a close second or third.

hope you get it figured out,

Jeff
 
So the pressure is self-induced, as opposed to the machine have a certain set of characteristics?

I am not one of those people that uses the Equinox for an hour or two on the weekend and never really has any intention of learning the detector. I hunt everyday when the weather permits it and when my area isn't under shelter in place like it is right now. So, I put in up to 20 hours a week or more, most weeks and I am looking for gold jewelry especially. I take it seriously and the Equinox does really well with a few tweaks. Depending on your previous experience metal detecting, the Equinox is not hard to learn. It may take some time, patience and a little out of the box thinking however, since some of its features do not work or behave like other VLF detectors. I guess that is why there have been several books written about it and the XP Deus too.

Are you thinking about getting one?

Jeff
 
I am not one of those people that uses the Equinox for an hour or two on the weekend and never really has any intention of learning the detector. I hunt everyday when the weather permits it and when my area isn't under shelter in place like it is right now. So, I put in up to 20 hours a week or more, most weeks and I am looking for gold jewelry especially. I take it seriously and the Equinox does really well with a few tweaks. Depending on your previous experience metal detecting, the Equinox is not hard to learn. It may take some time, patience and a little out of the box thinking however, since some of its features do not work or behave like other VLF detectors. I guess that is why there have been several books written about it and the XP Deus too.

Are you thinking about getting one?

Jeff

Yes and no.

I had the Equinox 600 for a short period of time, but had to sell it due to financial considerations. While I had it, the only noticeable advantage it had over my Fisher F2 was recovery speed.

Of course, I only used it for a few hours and mostly in just one mode (Park 1, I think?).

But I will eventually move on from my Fisher F2, to get rid of 9v batteries if nothing else. Right now, if I had the money, I'd get one of the following:
- Garrett AT Max
- Garrett AT Pro
- Fisher F75+/Ltd
- Tesoro Vaquero
- Tesoro Outlaw
- Tesoro Compadre
- Tesoro DeLeon
- Minelab 800
- Minelab Vanquish (not sure which one)

With respect to the Tesoro machines that use 9V batteries, I'd use them with a 3x AAA to 9V modification (which I currently use in my pinpointers).
 
I have done test like that with the Equinox and other detectors. Of all the detectors I have done that test, the Equinox did NOT impress me.

One time I dug a hole 8" deep in a field put a nickel in the bottom, then scanned over it, the Equinox had no idea it was there. It would hit the nickel on the ground but not down in the hole,there was no adjustment that I was able to make that made it hit the nickel.

So I see it has a weakness of hunting around iron, that is something most people don't want too admit.

A nickel 8 inches with nothing around gives no information how it does in iron.
 
something doesn't sound right. I have a test garden with silver dimes and nails In the same hole and my nox hits them just fine with higher recovery speeds and lower iron bias as they get closer together. Heck I even found 2 silver quarters with a huge nail stuck right to em at my silver site. many times I have found silver and iron or indians and iron in the same hole no problems. I have also dug shield nicks and v nicks at easily 8+ inches. really confused on how your having so much trouble?:?:

If what he says is true i think his machine is not working properly or he is not able to use the machine correctly, setting may be messed up.
 
I have done test like that with the Equinox and other detectors. Of all the detectors I have done that test, the Equinox did NOT impress me.

One time I dug a hole 8" deep in a field put a nickel in the bottom, then scanned over it, the Equinox had no idea it was there. It would hit the nickel on the ground but not down in the hole,there was no adjustment that I was able to make that made it hit the nickel.

So I see it has a weakness of hunting around iron, that is something most people don't want too admit.

Watch the NOX's sister machine (Cheaper TOO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2tRExojXbQ&feature=youtu.be
 
What I said about the nickel at 8" is it did not hit on it because iron or something else must of been in the ground along the side of the hole.

I have dug nickels 8" or deeper with the Equinox 800. I dug over 250 nickels at one park. I haven't dug much silver with it tho.
 
I have done test like that with the Equinox and other detectors. Of all the detectors I have done that test, the Equinox did NOT impress me.

One time I dug a hole 8" deep in a field put a nickel in the bottom, then scanned over it, the Equinox had no idea it was there. It would hit the nickel on the ground but not down in the hole,there was no adjustment that I was able to make that made it hit the nickel.

So I see it has a weakness of hunting around iron, that is something most people don't want too admit.
Very common to have that happen, with many or most makes and models. Naturally it can be a different result based upon the detector used, the mode used, the search coils used (size and type) and we can't forget the Ground Balance that was used.

I recall being asked to stop by a place in California back in '88 and assist a fellow with that problem. I worked for a detector company and was on the road and this fellow's father was a very avid detector dealer. He had built a brand new home, but the yard wasn't planted yet because he wanted to level out an area in the dirt and lay out a test bed before planting grass seed.

He used a silver Dime and did the very same thing you described: Dug a hole, measured the distance to the ground surface. Positioned the silver Dime in the hold laying flat-to-the-coil, then checked out his detector on the silver Dime. No response. When I got to his house that evening he showed me what he was having trouble with and the two White's models he was using that "didn't work."

It took me maybe thirty minutes of that visit to:

•..1.. Get a signal on the coin with his detector.
•..2.. Get a signal on the coin with my personal detector.
•..3.. Get a signal without a coin present as I educated him on Ground Balance.

I accomplished 1 by simply filling the hole with the dirt he had removed to bury the coin at about 5" to 6" and compressed the dirt to be consistent with the surrounding ground matrix.

I then did step 2 to show him it was findable by his brand as well as my different brand detector.

Then, to demonstrate what occurred when he had told me about how he checked a dug hole prior to 'planting' a coin and there were already targets in the dirt, I used my detector and swept over than open, hole without a coin in position. All I had to do for 3 to occur was misadjust my detector's Ground Balance so that it was too negative. Then it falsed as I swept over the hole, or 'void', just as it did when I lifted the search coil away from the ground.

He learned a bit about Ground Balance, and a little about how ground disruption can cause a detector to NOT appear to work properly.

This same thing can result, at times, when someone cuts a plug, removes the dirt, and fails to get a good response, or as good a response as originally, when the object is still in or near the bottom of the hole.

Monte
 
I did more testing with the Equinox 800. I placed a clad dime with a nail beside it then scanned over it, very few times did it detect it and that was crossing strait over it. Detecting at any angle over it the detector showed nothing was there. I then put the nail on it the detector couldn't hit it at any angle and that was with the 11" and 6" coils.

I have other detectors that hit the dime with the nail beside or on the dime. So what gives with what is supposed to be the best detector out there the Equinox?

I had to lay pavers on a strip of dirt between my fence and driveway in the back of the house and got the nox out to check the dirt before I laid down the brick. Found some copper and zinc pennies I think four of them. I was surprised as I did not expect to find anything but nails and junk. But one hole was noteworthy as I had a hard time with my black garret pinpointer goin off everywhere with all the nails in the hole.

pennyandnails - Copy2.jpg

I'm thinking wow thats pretty good but maybe it's not special at all? The nox told me there was a crusty zinc there and it sure was. Plus a bunch of nails.
Just sayin. I have not done the dime and nail test.
 
I had to lay pavers on a strip of dirt between my fence and driveway in the back of the house and got the nox out to check the dirt before I laid down the brick. Found some copper and zinc pennies I think four of them. I was surprised as I did not expect to find anything but nails and junk. But one hole was noteworthy as I had a hard time with my black garret pinpointer goin off everywhere with all the nails in the hole.

View attachment 461989

I'm thinking wow thats pretty good but maybe it's not special at all? The nox told me there was a crusty zinc there and it sure was. Plus a bunch of nails.
Just sayin. I have not done the dime and nail test.

Most of us are having the same results, i personally think his machine is either broke or not being used correctly. Just my opinion based on mine and friends of mine and people like your posts who have experienced first hand what a beast a good working NOX in experienced hands can do.
 
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