Newbie 600 owner :)

[Iron Patch]

I haven't used it yet, and just getting myself familiar with the settings.... without having received an instruction manual (used) but not a big deal. My first question is a pretty easy one... the Park 1/2 & Field 1/2 programs are nothing more than just presets and I either don't have to worry about them and just set the detector... or use one and just tweak it how I want it? It's just something set up to make it easier for new users, correct? I guess a 2nd question is.... I think I seen an open program you could keep your settings..... but the detector still does keep the settings you have loaded even when you turn it off? ...meaning the open program you could have one in addition to your basic settings? A good idea considering the how adjustable this detector is, especially the recovery.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[GameOfTones]

There is not a printed manual. It is online for free download.
Download it. It is a must read for the 600, or 800.

 

[vferrari]

Equinox Newbie Advice: Here is some advice on modes, how to start out detecting with the Equinox, some quirks. It is based on the Equinox 800 but just ignore the stuff that does not apply, like Gold Mode. You also cannot set custom tone breaks with the 600 other than the Ferrous/Non-Ferrous break and discrimination.

Also for the 600 the recovery speed settings go from 1 through 3 (vs. 1 through 8 on the 800) and Iron Bias goes from 0 through 4 (vs. 0 through 9 on the 800)

Recovery Speed of 1 on the 600 = 2 on the 800, 2 on the 600 = 4 on the 800, and 3 on the 600 = 6 on the 800

Iron Bias of 0 on the 600 = 0 on the 800, 1 on the 600 = 2 on the 800, 2 on the 600 = 4 on the 800, and 3 on the 600 = 6 on the 800

Modes Rundown:

If you make any changes to the modes settings, they stick. You can individually reset the modes or reset the entire detector to get back to factory defaults. Check the manual

Each mode is set up with a frequency spectrum (MultiIQ) that favors certain types of conductors and has software algorithms and user settings that enhance the resulting signal you hear assuming certain environmental conditions. The MultiIQ frequency spectrum is comprised of a combination of all 5 frequencies but the processing for each mode "favors" or weighted towards either the high or low frequency signals, even though it "listens" to all the frequencies. It works out like so (forget about what minlab called the modes because I think that just confuses things).

Park 1 is weighted towards the lower frequencies in the spectrum and therefore favors high conductors like pure copper, silver, and clad coins which tend to be detected better/deeper at low frequencies like 5 and 10 khz. Regardless, all five frequencies are still used so you are also still going to hit on mid conductors like nickels, brass, aluminum and even gold. This is probably the best "all around" mode to use and to learn the machine with. Probably best for coin shooting in parks and athletic fields.

Park 2 is weighted towards the higher frequencies and will hit harder on the mid-conductors (nickels, gold) and small targets (earrings, pendants) than Park 1 but will still hit on the high conductors too, perhaps not to the same depth as Park 1, though. Good mode if you want to zero in on jewelry, especially gold jewelry. But will hit small silver and copper jewelry and also coins as well. Some like to use this mode for relic hunting, too.

Field 1 is similar to Park 1 in that it is biased towards high conductors, but is a two tone mode. Have not used this mode at all.

Field 2 is similar to Park 2 in that it is biased towards mid-conductors. It has slight differences in ferrous/non-ferrous tone break and recovery speed vs. Park 2. This mode is my favorite relic hunting mode and the mode I have found the most old silver with (because that silver was in the same fields as the relics I was hunting).

Beach 1 is biased to high conductors and is for dry and wet sand salt beaches. Great mode for beach hunting. Don't be fooled by the fact that it biased to high conductors, it will find gold, too.

Beach 2 is able to deal with the ground phase effects of changing salinity better than Beach 1 and is suited for salt surf and underwater detecting. Same targets as Beach 1 but under water.

[Gold mode is 800 ONLY]

The Gold modes are very different than the other modes in that they use VCO audio which varies pitch and volume based on proximity to the target (similar to pinpoint mode). Gold 1 is suited to milder ground and Gold 2 is suited to more mineralized ground. The both are optimized for gold so, again, even though they are multi-frequency, they favor the high frequencies (mid-conductors).


Each of the modes are very different in how they sound and behave. Therefore, I would stick with a single mode (Park 1 if land hunting or Beach 1 if beach hunting) to learn the machine before mode hopping. Because the machine uses multifrequencies, it is unlikely that you will actually be missing out much despite the fact that the mode may "favor" certain types of conductors. It still sees practically everything.

Don't mess with the single frequencies. They are purely there for backup purposes or to help with interrogating certain targets. I have never used the single frequencies. Examples, sometimes strong EMI situations will interfere with the MultIQ so you may find that going to a specific single frequency knocks down the EMI. In that case you can still detect, but you are limited by the single frequency you have chosen and some MultiIQ features will not be available like Iron Bias which can help reducing falsing by small iron (bent nails, round iron). Therefore, I would never use single frequency extensively unless I was forced into that situation since you lose the true benefit of the Equinox, Multi IQ and what that brings to the table. Some folks also use the single frequencies to to interrogate targets. By seeing how the VDI changes when you switch from MultiIQ to single frequency, you can ferret out junk targets like bottlecaps. I don't bother with this cumbersome method, but use the ALL METAL pushbutton instead to see if I can hear an iron grunt along with the bottlecap high tone, that is a giveaway that it is not a coin, as coin audio is pure.

Here's how to get started hunting:

Turn On, will come up in Park 1 Detect Mode, select Settings Mode, Noise Cancel for EMI (coil in the air), Ground Balance, Do not change ANY of the other default settings. Go back to Detect mode and swing away. In this mode you have a five tone machine (the 5 tone segments are marked around the outer dial of the display with the first segment -9 to 0 being ferrous and that is discriminated out by default), TID 13 +/- are nickels but pull tabs and gold jewelry are in this range too. TID Mid to High 20's and Low 30's are high conductors (copper, silver coins and jewelry). Play with the pinpointer function with a test target until you get used to it. And if you want to hear everything in the ground just hit the Horseshoe All Metal Button (very convenient instant suppression of all disc and notch filters). Park 1 is geared towards high conductive coins but you will find the whole gamut of targets including mid-conductors like nickels, aluminum trash, and gold jewelry so it is a great general purpose and learn the machine mode. Avoid the temptation to switch modes just yet until you get used to the interface and the way the machine sounds and how it displays targets. Every mode changes up the frequency spectrum a little so you can optimize different types of targets and site conditions (e.g., Park 2 is geared more towards smaller, mid-conductive targets like jewelry but will still hit on high conductive coins, Field 1 is a two-tone high conductive beep dig mode, Field 2 is also geared towards mid-conductive targets but more "relic" focused. Beach 1 is designed for dry and wet salt sand (not freshwater beaches) while Beach 2 is designed for surf and deeper salt water hunting (up to 3 meters).

Each mode is like a different detector (including the need to sepearately noise cancel and ground balance each mode) so to avoid constantly resetting your learning curve, stick with Park 1 for now to learn the machine.

Getting Rid of EMI:

First, make sure your cell phone is in a pocket away from the control pod or in airplane mode. Do a noise cancel. Do a ground balance, if necessary (more about GB below). If you still hear chattering lower sensitivity as necessary (more about sensitivity below). Remember that each mode is like a different detector because each mode's multi IQ profile is unique to that mode. So if you use more than one mode at a site, you need to individually noise cancel and ground balance, as necessary each mode upon initial use.

Ground Balancing Tips:

First, Multi IQ multifrequency technology helps to enhance ground balancing because it allows multiple ground phase readings to be taken at different frequencies which creates a ground phase profile that the machine can use to: 1) get an accurate ground phase reading for the purpose of setting the ground balance number, especially in highly mineralized soil and in high salinity soil and 2) allows the machine to be very forgiving of a less than optimal ground phase reading which enables it to work well when just using the default ground phase setting under mild soil conditions - this is what Treasure Hunter was referring to when he mentioned "auto ground ground balance". It is not really "auto ground balancing" in the sense that ML uses the term below, but it is Multi IQ automatically compensating for less than ideal ground balance settings if you use the default GB setting out of the box or a less than ideal manual/auto derived GB setting.

For this reason, ML does not consider that setting GB is needed in every case. ML recommends doing a ground balance only if you are getting a lot of ground feedback noise. The only way to hear the ground feedback is to remove all discrimination by hitting the Horseshoe (All Metal) button and listening and watching for erratic negative TID numbers (boundcing TIDs between -7 and -9) while swinging the coil. In that case you SHOULD do a ground balance. You have three choices:

Manual GB: Put the detector in GB mode and pump the coil and use the +/- keys to adjust the GB until the audio nulls, high and low tones prompt you as to whether you should be increasing or decreasing the GB number using the + or - key as appropriate.

Auto GB: Put the detector in GB mode and hold down the the accept/reject pushbutton while pumping the coil and the GB number will automatically adjust until it becomes stable and you can stop.

Tracking GB: Put the detector in GB mode and single press the accept/reject pushbutton and the tracking GB icon (looks like a decaying sine wave - refer to p. 40 in the manual) will turn on. This is best used for situations where you have moderate to heavy mineralization or rapidly chaning salinity conditions (heavy surf) for the Tracking algorithm to grab onto (it is looking for significant changes in mineralization or salinity that will affect ground phase). I would not use this for white sand beaches devoid of mineralization because the tracking algorithm will hunt and likely no be accurate. Under those conditions you can usually just get away with the default GB setting or do an Auto GB and forget about it.

One other thing to note. Each mode should be treated like a separate detector, which means that you should noise cancel and GB each mode separately when you use them at a site. You don't need to noise cancel every time you switch modes or GB every time you switch modes if the site conditions are stable, just make sure you do it the first time you use the mode during a detecting session.

Sensitivity Setting Tips:

This machine runs best with sensitivity only as high as you need it (you want to maximize signal to noise ratio) to keep it stable, the default of 20 is just fine for most situations, and cranking it up much higher than 23 does not buy you much on depth and can really up the gain on noise. If you can actually run it up to 25 and not amplify ground noise or EMI (have been able to do this only at the beach under certain circumstances), then then go for it. But I really would not get overly obsessed about significant depth loss running it even below the default down to about 15 or 17, if necessary, to mitigate EMI AFTER you have noise cancelled. ML designed the default to be the sweet spot for the detector. The key is getting the machine to run quiet and maximize the ratio of the signal to the noise. I have not experienced the depth loss described above. Not sure you can squeeze that much additional depth above 20, especially if you factor in the fact that you are also raising the noise floor by amplifying both the signal and the noise. ML did a pretty good job with the defaults being optimal settings for 90% of circumstances. That being said, I would not go and unnecessarily lower sensitivity further than necessary to run stable, but sometimes lowering it is the right answer to gain stability and lower interference or to pick relatively shallow keepers out from amongst thick, shallow iron that would otherwise tend to overwhelm the machine (this is called "sifting") and you should not hesitate to do that if necessary. In Beach 1 I was finding nickels down to about 12 to 15 inches in wet sand with sensitivity at between 18 and 20. Sometimes less is more with this machine.

Other Tips (some info redundant with above):

First - get your hands on a copy of the digital manual and familiarize yourself with it. It is long but chock full of great information. It is thorough and provides sound general detecting advice, regardless of whether you are using an Equinox. However, if you do nothing else, at least familiarize yourself with the mode descriptions and what they are optimized for.

Second - The 800's 8 modes (yes, eight different modes, not 4) are essentially like having 8 detectors built into one machine (6 for the 600). The thing that is different about Equinox is that the "local" parameters for those modes have to be set separately for each mode just as Steve pointed out. The only "Global" settings are Sensitivity, Volume, and Backlight. Threshold is Global for Park, Field, and Beach modes and Gold Mode has its own Threshold settings. Each mode uses a different frequency spectrum (combination of the fundamental frequencies) and different target signal processing. It is the combination of frequency spectrum and signal processing that defines the Multi IQ secret sauce for each mode. That is why you can have two modes set up exactly the same in terms of tones, recovery speed, iron bias, etc., yet each of those modes will behave differently with specific targets. Also, Multi IQ does not just affect target recognition but is fundamental to how how the machine ground balances and also means that each mode will be more or less susceptible to different types of EMI so you must noise cancel (with coil off the ground like an antenna) and, if necessary, Ground Balance for each mode. Now once you have noise cancelled and ground balanced for a given mode at a site, you do not generally have to go through that again every time you switch modes. Let your ear be your guide, if you are hearing interference, then by all means attempt a noise cancel again. If that does not fully take care of the problem then you can lower sensitivity. The machine is plenty sensitive, so don't be shy about lowering sensitivity to get rid of chatter. The machine, due to Multi IQ, is very forgiving for a less than perfect ground balance. It doesn't hurt to do an Auto GB just to be sure, but the way you know if you need to do it is if you are getting a lot of ground chatter that sounds like iron feedback (grunts and -8/-7 bouncing VDI's) when you press the All Metal button. This machine is all about getting the noise out. Running it quiet and maximizing Signal-to-Noise ratio, not just driving the signal high (e.g., maxing out on gain).

Third - Quick Mode Summary - In general, the "1" modes for Park and Field are weighted to the lower frequencies of the spectrum and are, therefore, more sensitive to high conductors like pure copper and silver and to larger sized targets overall. The "2" modes for Park and Field are weighted to higher frequencies of the spectrum and are, therefore, more sensitive to mid-conductors like aluminum, zinc, gold, brass, small lead, and smaller-sized targets (the higher frequencies can better resolve the smaller targets) like jewelry, buttons, and pieces of metal like earring backs and percussion caps as well as annoying targets like small pieces of foil or wire. The Beach modes are designed to be able to balance salty, wet ground and are also more sensitive to high conductors. Beach 1 - dry/wet sand and Beach 2 - wet sand/surf. Beach modes probably use the lowest frequency weightings and hat sounds like a great silver sniffer but Beach mode also dials back transmit power if it senses high mineralization (such as black sand) so is not something you want to routinely use off the beach (Beach mode also cannot be run single frequency). Finally, the Gold Modes are very different than any of the other modes because it uses VCO audio which varies in pitch and intensity based on proximity to the target, they also use the highest frequency weightings of any mode and are primarily for prospecting small natural gold. Gold 1 for "mild" soil conditions and Gold 2 for high mineralized soil (which is typically where natural gold resides). Gold mode may also be useful for relic hunting in high mineralized conditions because many relics are also mid-conductors (brass, small lead). As is true for most detecting "rules", there are no "rules". Nothing says you can't use Park mode on the beach, for instance and in some cases, that might be a good move. Park 2 as well if you want to up the gain on gold jewelry in dry sand for instance. Also, do not be afraid to stick with one mode for most of your detecting needs (e.g., Park 1). Since all the modes use Multi-IQ you should not necessarily be completely shut out from detecting just about any type of metallic target regardless of the frequency weighting.

In any event, keep these things in mind overall as you learn the machine - 1) Get it running as quiet as possible - Noise Cancel, Lower Sensitivity, and GB if necessary (need to do this the first time you use a mode at a site). Recovery speed also has an effect on ground noise depending on your swing rate, so be conscious of that and don't just lower recovery speed to gain raw depth because you may end up just increasing the noise floor similar to unnecessarily increasing sensitivity much above the default of 20. Also - make sure your cell phone is in airplane mode or at least not in a pocket that is close to the control head of the detector. 2) Until you get really comfortable with the machine, stick with one or at most two "Go To" modes so you can get used to the tones and behavior of the machine. Remember that each mode is like a different detector and who needs to be learning more than one detector at a time - avoid the temptation to "Mode Hop". 3) Avoid radical changes to your "Go To" mode's local settings. Get comfortable with the defaults then adjust the defaults a couple clicks to get the desired effect. 4) Have fun and go snag some keepers!

Get Out There and Start Swinging!

HTH HH

 

[smokeythecat]

For the first few weeks, use out of the box settings, otherwise you might tweak it to the point you eliminate good targets.

 

[tennessee digger]

Vferrari....Your post is GREAT. Lots of good info, I appreciate your taking the time to give such detailed information.

 

[Coil-2-Soil]

Vferrari....Your post is GREAT. Lots of good info, I appreciate your taking the time to give such detailed information.

I agree also.I just got my 800 on Tuesday and got some good info out of Vferrari’s post. Thanks

 

[toasted]

Field 2, sensitivity 22, volume 22, iron volume 15, ground balance if you want, everything else stock. You will not dig coke/hot rocks but will still bang on low conducters. Better than Deus LF coil on hot rocks and other low conducters. Deus audio gives a little more information and Equinox more chatty in the iron but it will find stuff the deus missed

 

[Iron Patch]

Equinox Newbie Advice: Here is some advice on modes, how to start out detecting with the Equinox, some quirks. It is based on the Equinox 800 but just ignore the stuff that does not apply, like Gold Mode. You also cannot set custom tone breaks with the 600 other than the Ferrous/Non-Ferrous break and discrimination.

Also for the 600 the recovery speed settings go from 1 through 3 (vs. 1 through 8 on the 800) and Iron Bias goes from 0 through 4 (vs. 0 through 9 on the 800)

Recovery Speed of 1 on the 600 = 2 on the 800, 2 on the 600 = 4 on the 800, and 3 on the 600 = 6 on the 800

Iron Bias of 0 on the 600 = 0 on the 800, 1 on the 600 = 2 on the 800, 2 on the 600 = 4 on the 800, and 3 on the 600 = 6 on the 800

Modes Rundown:

If you make any changes to the modes settings, they stick. You can individually reset the modes or reset the entire detector to get back to factory defaults. Check the manual

Each mode is set up with a frequency spectrum (MultiIQ) that favors certain types of conductors and has software algorithms and user settings that enhance the resulting signal you hear assuming certain environmental conditions. The MultiIQ frequency spectrum is comprised of a combination of all 5 frequencies but the processing for each mode "favors" or weighted towards either the high or low frequency signals, even though it "listens" to all the frequencies. It works out like so (forget about what minlab called the modes because I think that just confuses things).

Park 1 is weighted towards the lower frequencies in the spectrum and therefore favors high conductors like pure copper, silver, and clad coins which tend to be detected better/deeper at low frequencies like 5 and 10 khz. Regardless, all five frequencies are still used so you are also still going to hit on mid conductors like nickels, brass, aluminum and even gold. This is probably the best "all around" mode to use and to learn the machine with. Probably best for coin shooting in parks and athletic fields.

Park 2 is weighted towards the higher frequencies and will hit harder on the mid-conductors (nickels, gold) and small targets (earrings, pendants) than Park 1 but will still hit on the high conductors too, perhaps not to the same depth as Park 1, though. Good mode if you want to zero in on jewelry, especially gold jewelry. But will hit small silver and copper jewelry and also coins as well. Some like to use this mode for relic hunting, too.

Field 1 is similar to Park 1 in that it is biased towards high conductors, but is a two tone mode. Have not used this mode at all.

Field 2 is similar to Park 2 in that it is biased towards mid-conductors. It has slight differences in ferrous/non-ferrous tone break and recovery speed vs. Park 2. This mode is my favorite relic hunting mode and the mode I have found the most old silver with (because that silver was in the same fields as the relics I was hunting).

Beach 1 is biased to high conductors and is for dry and wet sand salt beaches. Great mode for beach hunting. Don't be fooled by the fact that it biased to high conductors, it will find gold, too.

Beach 2 is able to deal with the ground phase effects of changing salinity better than Beach 1 and is suited for salt surf and underwater detecting. Same targets as Beach 1 but under water.

[Gold mode is 800 ONLY]

The Gold modes are very different than the other modes in that they use VCO audio which varies pitch and volume based on proximity to the target (similar to pinpoint mode). Gold 1 is suited to milder ground and Gold 2 is suited to more mineralized ground. The both are optimized for gold so, again, even though they are multi-frequency, they favor the high frequencies (mid-conductors).


Each of the modes are very different in how they sound and behave. Therefore, I would stick with a single mode (Park 1 if land hunting or Beach 1 if beach hunting) to learn the machine before mode hopping. Because the machine uses multifrequencies, it is unlikely that you will actually be missing out much despite the fact that the mode may "favor" certain types of conductors. It still sees practically everything.

Don't mess with the single frequencies. They are purely there for backup purposes or to help with interrogating certain targets. I have never used the single frequencies. Examples, sometimes strong EMI situations will interfere with the MultIQ so you may find that going to a specific single frequency knocks down the EMI. In that case you can still detect, but you are limited by the single frequency you have chosen and some MultiIQ features will not be available like Iron Bias which can help reducing falsing by small iron (bent nails, round iron). Therefore, I would never use single frequency extensively unless I was forced into that situation since you lose the true benefit of the Equinox, Multi IQ and what that brings to the table. Some folks also use the single frequencies to to interrogate targets. By seeing how the VDI changes when you switch from MultiIQ to single frequency, you can ferret out junk targets like bottlecaps. I don't bother with this cumbersome method, but use the ALL METAL pushbutton instead to see if I can hear an iron grunt along with the bottlecap high tone, that is a giveaway that it is not a coin, as coin audio is pure.

Here's how to get started hunting:

Turn On, will come up in Park 1 Detect Mode, select Settings Mode, Noise Cancel for EMI (coil in the air), Ground Balance, Do not change ANY of the other default settings. Go back to Detect mode and swing away. In this mode you have a five tone machine (the 5 tone segments are marked around the outer dial of the display with the first segment -9 to 0 being ferrous and that is discriminated out by default), TID 13 +/- are nickels but pull tabs and gold jewelry are in this range too. TID Mid to High 20's and Low 30's are high conductors (copper, silver coins and jewelry). Play with the pinpointer function with a test target until you get used to it. And if you want to hear everything in the ground just hit the Horseshoe All Metal Button (very convenient instant suppression of all disc and notch filters). Park 1 is geared towards high conductive coins but you will find the whole gamut of targets including mid-conductors like nickels, aluminum trash, and gold jewelry so it is a great general purpose and learn the machine mode. Avoid the temptation to switch modes just yet until you get used to the interface and the way the machine sounds and how it displays targets. Every mode changes up the frequency spectrum a little so you can optimize different types of targets and site conditions (e.g., Park 2 is geared more towards smaller, mid-conductive targets like jewelry but will still hit on high conductive coins, Field 1 is a two-tone high conductive beep dig mode, Field 2 is also geared towards mid-conductive targets but more "relic" focused. Beach 1 is designed for dry and wet salt sand (not freshwater beaches) while Beach 2 is designed for surf and deeper salt water hunting (up to 3 meters).

Each mode is like a different detector (including the need to sepearately noise cancel and ground balance each mode) so to avoid constantly resetting your learning curve, stick with Park 1 for now to learn the machine.

Getting Rid of EMI:

First, make sure your cell phone is in a pocket away from the control pod or in airplane mode. Do a noise cancel. Do a ground balance, if necessary (more about GB below). If you still hear chattering lower sensitivity as necessary (more about sensitivity below). Remember that each mode is like a different detector because each mode's multi IQ profile is unique to that mode. So if you use more than one mode at a site, you need to individually noise cancel and ground balance, as necessary each mode upon initial use.

Ground Balancing Tips:

First, Multi IQ multifrequency technology helps to enhance ground balancing because it allows multiple ground phase readings to be taken at different frequencies which creates a ground phase profile that the machine can use to: 1) get an accurate ground phase reading for the purpose of setting the ground balance number, especially in highly mineralized soil and in high salinity soil and 2) allows the machine to be very forgiving of a less than optimal ground phase reading which enables it to work well when just using the default ground phase setting under mild soil conditions - this is what Treasure Hunter was referring to when he mentioned "auto ground ground balance". It is not really "auto ground balancing" in the sense that ML uses the term below, but it is Multi IQ automatically compensating for less than ideal ground balance settings if you use the default GB setting out of the box or a less than ideal manual/auto derived GB setting.

For this reason, ML does not consider that setting GB is needed in every case. ML recommends doing a ground balance only if you are getting a lot of ground feedback noise. The only way to hear the ground feedback is to remove all discrimination by hitting the Horseshoe (All Metal) button and listening and watching for erratic negative TID numbers (boundcing TIDs between -7 and -9) while swinging the coil. In that case you SHOULD do a ground balance. You have three choices:

Manual GB: Put the detector in GB mode and pump the coil and use the +/- keys to adjust the GB until the audio nulls, high and low tones prompt you as to whether you should be increasing or decreasing the GB number using the + or - key as appropriate.

Auto GB: Put the detector in GB mode and hold down the the accept/reject pushbutton while pumping the coil and the GB number will automatically adjust until it becomes stable and you can stop.

Tracking GB: Put the detector in GB mode and single press the accept/reject pushbutton and the tracking GB icon (looks like a decaying sine wave - refer to p. 40 in the manual) will turn on. This is best used for situations where you have moderate to heavy mineralization or rapidly chaning salinity conditions (heavy surf) for the Tracking algorithm to grab onto (it is looking for significant changes in mineralization or salinity that will affect ground phase). I would not use this for white sand beaches devoid of mineralization because the tracking algorithm will hunt and likely no be accurate. Under those conditions you can usually just get away with the default GB setting or do an Auto GB and forget about it.

One other thing to note. Each mode should be treated like a separate detector, which means that you should noise cancel and GB each mode separately when you use them at a site. You don't need to noise cancel every time you switch modes or GB every time you switch modes if the site conditions are stable, just make sure you do it the first time you use the mode during a detecting session.

Sensitivity Setting Tips:

This machine runs best with sensitivity only as high as you need it (you want to maximize signal to noise ratio) to keep it stable, the default of 20 is just fine for most situations, and cranking it up much higher than 23 does not buy you much on depth and can really up the gain on noise. If you can actually run it up to 25 and not amplify ground noise or EMI (have been able to do this only at the beach under certain circumstances), then then go for it. But I really would not get overly obsessed about significant depth loss running it even below the default down to about 15 or 17, if necessary, to mitigate EMI AFTER you have noise cancelled. ML designed the default to be the sweet spot for the detector. The key is getting the machine to run quiet and maximize the ratio of the signal to the noise. I have not experienced the depth loss described above. Not sure you can squeeze that much additional depth above 20, especially if you factor in the fact that you are also raising the noise floor by amplifying both the signal and the noise. ML did a pretty good job with the defaults being optimal settings for 90% of circumstances. That being said, I would not go and unnecessarily lower sensitivity further than necessary to run stable, but sometimes lowering it is the right answer to gain stability and lower interference or to pick relatively shallow keepers out from amongst thick, shallow iron that would otherwise tend to overwhelm the machine (this is called "sifting") and you should not hesitate to do that if necessary. In Beach 1 I was finding nickels down to about 12 to 15 inches in wet sand with sensitivity at between 18 and 20. Sometimes less is more with this machine.

Other Tips (some info redundant with above):

First - get your hands on a copy of the digital manual and familiarize yourself with it. It is long but chock full of great information. It is thorough and provides sound general detecting advice, regardless of whether you are using an Equinox. However, if you do nothing else, at least familiarize yourself with the mode descriptions and what they are optimized for.

Second - The 800's 8 modes (yes, eight different modes, not 4) are essentially like having 8 detectors built into one machine (6 for the 600). The thing that is different about Equinox is that the "local" parameters for those modes have to be set separately for each mode just as Steve pointed out. The only "Global" settings are Sensitivity, Volume, and Backlight. Threshold is Global for Park, Field, and Beach modes and Gold Mode has its own Threshold settings. Each mode uses a different frequency spectrum (combination of the fundamental frequencies) and different target signal processing. It is the combination of frequency spectrum and signal processing that defines the Multi IQ secret sauce for each mode. That is why you can have two modes set up exactly the same in terms of tones, recovery speed, iron bias, etc., yet each of those modes will behave differently with specific targets. Also, Multi IQ does not just affect target recognition but is fundamental to how how the machine ground balances and also means that each mode will be more or less susceptible to different types of EMI so you must noise cancel (with coil off the ground like an antenna) and, if necessary, Ground Balance for each mode. Now once you have noise cancelled and ground balanced for a given mode at a site, you do not generally have to go through that again every time you switch modes. Let your ear be your guide, if you are hearing interference, then by all means attempt a noise cancel again. If that does not fully take care of the problem then you can lower sensitivity. The machine is plenty sensitive, so don't be shy about lowering sensitivity to get rid of chatter. The machine, due to Multi IQ, is very forgiving for a less than perfect ground balance. It doesn't hurt to do an Auto GB just to be sure, but the way you know if you need to do it is if you are getting a lot of ground chatter that sounds like iron feedback (grunts and -8/-7 bouncing VDI's) when you press the All Metal button. This machine is all about getting the noise out. Running it quiet and maximizing Signal-to-Noise ratio, not just driving the signal high (e.g., maxing out on gain).

Third - Quick Mode Summary - In general, the "1" modes for Park and Field are weighted to the lower frequencies of the spectrum and are, therefore, more sensitive to high conductors like pure copper and silver and to larger sized targets overall. The "2" modes for Park and Field are weighted to higher frequencies of the spectrum and are, therefore, more sensitive to mid-conductors like aluminum, zinc, gold, brass, small lead, and smaller-sized targets (the higher frequencies can better resolve the smaller targets) like jewelry, buttons, and pieces of metal like earring backs and percussion caps as well as annoying targets like small pieces of foil or wire. The Beach modes are designed to be able to balance salty, wet ground and are also more sensitive to high conductors. Beach 1 - dry/wet sand and Beach 2 - wet sand/surf. Beach modes probably use the lowest frequency weightings and hat sounds like a great silver sniffer but Beach mode also dials back transmit power if it senses high mineralization (such as black sand) so is not something you want to routinely use off the beach (Beach mode also cannot be run single frequency). Finally, the Gold Modes are very different than any of the other modes because it uses VCO audio which varies in pitch and intensity based on proximity to the target, they also use the highest frequency weightings of any mode and are primarily for prospecting small natural gold. Gold 1 for "mild" soil conditions and Gold 2 for high mineralized soil (which is typically where natural gold resides). Gold mode may also be useful for relic hunting in high mineralized conditions because many relics are also mid-conductors (brass, small lead). As is true for most detecting "rules", there are no "rules". Nothing says you can't use Park mode on the beach, for instance and in some cases, that might be a good move. Park 2 as well if you want to up the gain on gold jewelry in dry sand for instance. Also, do not be afraid to stick with one mode for most of your detecting needs (e.g., Park 1). Since all the modes use Multi-IQ you should not necessarily be completely shut out from detecting just about any type of metallic target regardless of the frequency weighting.

In any event, keep these things in mind overall as you learn the machine - 1) Get it running as quiet as possible - Noise Cancel, Lower Sensitivity, and GB if necessary (need to do this the first time you use a mode at a site). Recovery speed also has an effect on ground noise depending on your swing rate, so be conscious of that and don't just lower recovery speed to gain raw depth because you may end up just increasing the noise floor similar to unnecessarily increasing sensitivity much above the default of 20. Also - make sure your cell phone is in airplane mode or at least not in a pocket that is close to the control head of the detector. 2) Until you get really comfortable with the machine, stick with one or at most two "Go To" modes so you can get used to the tones and behavior of the machine. Remember that each mode is like a different detector and who needs to be learning more than one detector at a time - avoid the temptation to "Mode Hop". 3) Avoid radical changes to your "Go To" mode's local settings. Get comfortable with the defaults then adjust the defaults a couple clicks to get the desired effect. 4) Have fun and go snag some keepers!

Get Out There and Start Swinging!

HTH HH

Great post, and will be a good reference to come back to once I am able to swing this thing a little.

 

[Iron Patch]

Field 2, sensitivity 22, volume 22, iron volume 15, ground balance if you want, everything else stock. You will not dig coke/hot rocks but will still bang on low conducters. Better than Deus LF coil on hot rocks and other low conducters. Deus audio gives a little more information and Equinox more chatty in the iron but it will find stuff the deus missed

Yes, that's what I expected to do, tweak field 2 to my liking. I'd be very surprised if it can do better than the Deus in iron... but I guess I'll see at some point,

 

[Possum]

Outstanding post "VF", thanks for all the detailed information which has helped me in understanding my 800 a bit more, Once again thank you sir!!! "D"

 

[Cal_Cobra]

This is going to be interesting ...

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Yes, that's what I expected to do, tweak field 2 to my liking. I'd be very surprised if it can do better than the Deus in iron... but I guess I'll see at some point,

You may well be surprised, or not.... so far I've found it to be a great relic hunter BUT my toughest sites are unhuntable until fall/winter, I suspect it will make some special finds at these tried and true, but hard hit, tough, iron ladden, tin can infested, high minerlization, hard core alkali soil, challenging sites

 

[Rookster]

Good luck. Hope to see some nice pics.