Just got an Equinox 800. Any advice?

[BenVa68]

My wife took me out shopping yesterday and bought me an Equinox 800. Unfortunately its raining today but ill get to try it tomorrow. Ive registered it and download the manual. Lots to learn. Ive been using a T2 plus and i mostly relic hunt in wooded areas. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. I figured id start out in the factory presets. Maybe park 2.

 

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[Wild Colonial Boy]

on Rainy days I would browse through the equinox pages here, it is a wealth of information

 

[Oddjob]

Congrats on having a really cool wife.

My advice, do something really nice for her and enjoy your machine.

 

[smokeythecat]

Do the obvious. Read the manual. For the first week or two of use, use factory settings. My best finds have been with factory settings. Now saying that, what did I miss? I'll never know. However, I am quite pleased with what I did find.

I have heard more than one person comment they went to what others had recommended to tweak their machines, and did not do well. And dig everything until you can start to pick up on the nuances of the machine.

 

[vferrari]

New Detector Starting Out Advice (for newbies reading this who decided to get into metal detecting by buying a brand new Equinox, not for the OP who I assume experienced based on his TNET postsings):

1. Read the Manual and scan the forums for advice. Look for basic videos that show how to set up your specific detector.

2. Play with the detector in the back yard.

3. Read the Manual AGAIN. Read more forum posts, look at more videos SPECIFIC to how the detector works. Be skeptical of what people are saying or videotaping about their finds.

4. Play with it in the front yard.

5. Scan the Manual one more time and look for any books related to your detector.

6. Go on a simple milk run hunt such as a dry sand beach (not wet, salt sand or surf, just yet), city park or tot lot. Pick a site with minimal trash (if possible), minimal iron, and minimal soil mineralization.

7. Scan the Manual again for stuff you learned or indications you are not sure of and if you can't find it there look for answers at the other sources stated above.

8. Get hours on the machine and then challenge it with more difficult situations as you become more familiar with the controls and how the machine responds both audibly and with visual indications.

9. Do more research. Do more digs.

10. Have fun, find stuff.

Equinox Specific Tips:

Treat each search profile mode (e.g., Park 1, Park 2, Field 1, Field 2, Beach 1... etc.) like it is a separate detector. By that I mean other than sensitivity, single frequency selection, threshold, and master volume, all the user settings (noise cancel, ground balance, tone settings, recovery speed, and iron bias) are all specific to each search profile mode. These are called "local" settings. This means if you switch search profile modes you have to noise cancel and ground balance that mode specifically. You only typically need to do that once for each mode you use at the site you are at, but it is something to note. If you start out using Park 1 for example and Noise Cancel and Ground Balance it, then you will also need to do the same if you decide to switch to Park 2 at the same site.

Keep it simple as you use the machine. Use Park 1 which is a great all around mode and keep it at the defaults (which are set up well) until you get used to the machine. Understand how the user settings affect the machine before you adjust them. Again, the defaults are pretty good, so only small incremental tweaks should usually be necessary. If you get completely lost or think you have completely hosed the settings, consult the manual on how to do a master factory reset or an individual mode reset to get back to square one.

Initial Quick setup:

Choose your search mode.

Run an EMI Noise Cancel - the first item in the settings menu. Press the accept/reject button (check/x button) to initiate the process.

Ground Balance as necessary. You can probably get away with the default GB in mild soil, but doing an "auto" ground balance takes about 5 seconds. While in GB, just press the accept/reject button and pump the coil until the noise goes away and the GB number is stable. Note that if you GB different search modes you will come up with different numbers on the same patch of ground. This is expected.

Go back into search mode and start swinging.

When you get a hit. Note the tone and TID and depth (the depth meter is wonky so I don't rely on it at all). You can make your dig decision solely on that info or you can interrogate the target further by using pinpoint mode to zero in on the target and also get a better idea of depth and size of the target. You can also one touch the horseshoe button to see if you can hear a ferrous tone to indicate if you are getting possible ferrous falsing.

At this point I would dig all targets suspected trash or otherwise to get positive feedback on what the machine is saying for all targets, then you can get a little more selective as you get used to the Equinox.


A word on the update: The firmware update is not something you need to run out an do with the Equinox. I think it is a mixed bag. I think you can do OK with either the old firmware or the new firmware at this point because there are no FATAL flaws with the original firmware, so don't sweat "upgrading" at this point. Learn the machine first before you consider upgrading.

Post back early and often if you have questions.

HTH.

 

[BenVa68]

New Detector Starting Out Advice (for newbies reading this who decided to get into metal detecting by buying a brand new Equinox, not for the OP who I assume experienced based on his TNET postsings):

1. Read the Manual and scan the forums for advice. Look for basic videos that show how to set up your specific detector.

2. Play with the detector in the back yard.

3. Read the Manual AGAIN. Read more forum posts, look at more videos SPECIFIC to how the detector works. Be skeptical of what people are saying or videotaping about their finds.

4. Play with it in the front yard.

5. Scan the Manual one more time and look for any books related to your detector.

6. Go on a simple milk run hunt such as a dry sand beach (not wet, salt sand or surf, just yet), city park or tot lot. Pick a site with minimal trash (if possible), minimal iron, and minimal soil mineralization.

7. Scan the Manual again for stuff you learned or indications you are not sure of and if you can't find it there look for answers at the other sources stated above.

8. Get hours on the machine and then challenge it with more difficult situations as you become more familiar with the controls and how the machine responds both audibly and with visual indications.

9. Do more research. Do more digs.

10. Have fun, find stuff.

Equinox Specific Tips:

Treat each search profile mode (e.g., Park 1, Park 2, Field 1, Field 2, Beach 1... etc.) like it is a separate detector. By that I mean other than sensitivity, single frequency selection, threshold, and master volume, all the user settings (noise cancel, ground balance, tone settings, recovery speed, and iron bias) are all specific to each search profile mode. These are called "local" settings. This means if you switch search profile modes you have to noise cancel and ground balance that mode specifically. You only typically need to do that once for each mode you use at the site you are at, but it is something to note. If you start out using Park 1 for example and Noise Cancel and Ground Balance it, then you will also need to do the same if you decide to switch to Park 2 at the same site.

Keep it simple as you use the machine. Use Park 1 which is a great all around mode and keep it at the defaults (which are set up well) until you get used to the machine. Understand how the user settings affect the machine before you adjust them. Again, the defaults are pretty good, so only small incremental tweaks should usually be necessary. If you get completely lost or think you have completely hosed the settings, consult the manual on how to do a master factory reset or an individual mode reset to get back to square one.

Initial Quick setup:

Choose your search mode.

Run an EMI Noise Cancel - the first item in the settings menu. Press the accept/reject button (check/x button) to initiate the process.

Ground Balance as necessary. You can probably get away with the default GB in mild soil, but doing an "auto" ground balance takes about 5 seconds. While in GB, just press the accept/reject button and pump the coil until the noise goes away and the GB number is stable. Note that if you GB different search modes you will come up with different numbers on the same patch of ground. This is expected.

Go back into search mode and start swinging.

When you get a hit. Note the tone and TID and depth (the depth meter is wonky so I don't rely on it at all). You can make your dig decision solely on that info or you can interrogate the target further by using pinpoint mode to zero in on the target and also get a better idea of depth and size of the target. You can also one touch the horseshoe button to see if you can hear a ferrous tone to indicate if you are getting possible ferrous falsing.

At this point I would dig all targets suspected trash or otherwise to get positive feedback on what the machine is saying for all targets, then you can get a little more selective as you get used to the Equinox.


A word on the update: The firmware update is not something you need to run out an do with the Equinox. I think it is a mixed bag. I think you can do OK with either the old firmware or the new firmware at this point because there are no FATAL flaws with the original firmware, so don't sweat "upgrading" at this point. Learn the machine first before you consider upgrading.

Post back early and often if you have questions.

HTH.

Thanks for all the info. I took it out for a trial run today and i am simply amazed! So much faster recovery speed than my T2. I went to a permission that ive hunted probably 50 times and thought it was hunted out. I didnt really expect to find much considering it was my first time using this machine. I tried Park 1 & 2 and Field 1 & 2. Field 2 and Park 2 seemed to work best at this location. I found 2 Silver Rosies,1865 IHP, several wheat pennies, a "queen" figurine which i believe is silver, a 2 ring gardner bullet, an old dog tag, a key and lots of modern coins. All of which had been missed previously by myself and several other people who have hunted there numerous times. I can tell right away this machine loves coins!

 

[vferrari]

Thanks for all the info. I took it out for a trial run today and i am simply amazed! So much faster recovery speed than my T2. I went to a permission that ive hunted probably 50 times and thought it was hunted out. I didnt really expect to find much considering it was my first time using this machine. I tried Park 1 & 2 and Field 1 & 2. Field 2 and Park 2 seemed to work best at this location. I found 2 Silver Rosies,1865 IHP, several wheat pennies, a "queen" figurine which i believe is silver, a 2 ring gardner bullet, an old dog tag, a key and lots of modern coins. All of which had been missed previously by myself and several other people who have hunted there numerous times. I can tell right away this machine loves coins!

Sounds like a great week, much less a great day. Normally, I would advise those new to the Equinox to refrain from mode hopping, but if you are an experienced detectorist who really understands the settings, then have at it.

The modes are as much about the desired targets as they are about the detecting environment.

Quickie mode summary:

Park 1 - Primarily a stable coin shooters' mode for parks as it is weighted to the lower frequencies in the MultiIQ spectrum. 5 tones and designed to target primarily high conductive targets. The high iron bias setting might help against falsing but beware of its tendency to also preclude unmasking non-ferrous that may be beneath or near a ferrous target. Relatively lower recovery speed at 5 maximizes depth without introducing too much ground noise.

Park 2 - Weighted toward the higher frequencies in the MultiIQ spectrum which makes it more suited to small, mid-conductive targets like gold jewelry and nickels. Again designed more fore these types of targets than for relic hunting, but many relic hunters swear by this mode. 50 tones. Fairly Quick Recovery speed at 6. No Iron bias.

Field 1 - A simple two tone mode (ferrous//non-ferrous) that is weighted to the lower frequencies. Ferrous tone break is high at 2 vice 0. Suited to looking for deep non-ferrous, especially high conductors, in the field with a quick recovery speed at 6. Also no iron bias.

Field 2 - Preferred relic mode for most. Higher frequency MultiIQ weighted. Ideal for small, mid-conductive relics like buttons, minie balls, and even gold. 50 tones and VERY high recovery speed at 7. Also no iron bias.

All of the above modes can be run in single frequency (5, 10 , 15, 20 (800 only) or 40 khz (800 only)). If you run in single frequency, then the Multi IQ "personality" that defines each of the Park/Field modes effectively goes away and the only thing that differentiates the modes then in the differences in the user parameter settings (e.g., tones, breakpoints, discrimination settings, and recovery speed). Note that Iron Bias does not exist in single frequency mode, regardless of where you have it set before you went into single frequency because iron bias relies on Multi IQ signal processing to work.

Beach 1 - Designed primarily for damp to wet salt sand (note most of the other modes can run stable in dry white wand even at a salt beach). Hits deep on high and mid conductors. Can find small gold jewelry at depth.

Beach 2 - Designed primarily for surf and shallow salt water hunting (Equinox can be submerged up to 3 meters). Note that to enable stability, Beach 2 will throttle back transmit power if it senses a high level of black sand or mineralization in the mud.

Note that you cannot run single frequency in either beach mode.


800 Only:

Gold 1/2 - basically the same mode but with two different recovery speeds. What sets Gold mode apart form the other modes besides the Multi IQ signal processing that is high frequency weighted is the audio and threshold. Unlike the other modes, Gold mode uses a true threshold which can be used to ferret out weak signals and it uses Voltage Controlled Osciallator emulating pitch audio versus tone ID when a signal is detected. This means that you have to get the target ID off the screen to ID the target as the audio will only alert you to signal strength and relative size of the target with pitch increasing in volume and duration based on the proximity and mass of the target to the coil.

Like I said previously, the default user settings for each of the modes is pretty well thought out by ML and should require minimal adjustment or tweaking. If you find yourself making relatively significant changes to Equinox settings you need to consider that he key to Equinox is maximizing signal to noise ratio, not just the signal. You need to realize how making a change to settings that affect signal may affect noise. So if you make significant changes to recovery speed in an attempt to maximize depth, you may need to reconsider the impact to swing speed and also may significantly increase ground feedback noise which is counterproductive. Increasing sensitivity too much can result in overloading the coil with shallow junk targets or increase EMI pickup.

HTH

 

[BenVa68]

Sounds like a great week, much less a great day. Normally, I would advise those new to the Equinox to refrain from mode hopping, but if you are an experienced detectorist who really understands the settings, then have at it.

The modes are as much about the desired targets as they are about the detecting environment.

Quickie mode summary:

Park 1 - Primarily a stable coin shooters' mode for parks as it is weighted to the lower frequencies in the MultiIQ spectrum. 5 tones and designed to target primarily high conductive targets. The high iron bias setting might help against falsing but beware of its tendency to also preclude unmasking non-ferrous that may be beneath or near a ferrous target. Relatively lower recovery speed at 5 maximizes depth without introducing too much ground noise.

Park 2 - Weighted toward the higher frequencies in the MultiIQ spectrum which makes it more suited to small, mid-conductive targets like gold jewelry and nickels. Again designed more fore these types of targets than for relic hunting, but many relic hunters swear by this mode. 50 tones. Fairly Quick Recovery speed at 6. No Iron bias.

Field 1 - A simple two tone mode (ferrous//non-ferrous) that is weighted to the lower frequencies. Ferrous tone break is high at 2 vice 0. Suited to looking for deep non-ferrous, especially high conductors, in the field with a quick recovery speed at 6. Also no iron bias.

Field 2 - Preferred relic mode for most. Higher frequency MultiIQ weighted. Ideal for small, mid-conductive relics like buttons, minie balls, and even gold. 50 tones and VERY high recovery speed at 7. Also no iron bias.

All of the above modes can be run in single frequency (5, 10 , 15, 20 (800 only) or 40 khz (800 only)). If you run in single frequency, then the Multi IQ "personality" that defines each of the Park/Field modes effectively goes away and the only thing that differentiates the modes then in the differences in the user parameter settings (e.g., tones, breakpoints, discrimination settings, and recovery speed). Note that Iron Bias does not exist in single frequency mode, regardless of where you have it set before you went into single frequency because iron bias relies on Multi IQ signal processing to work.

Beach 1 - Designed primarily for damp to wet salt sand (note most of the other modes can run stable in dry white wand even at a salt beach). Hits deep on high and mid conductors. Can find small gold jewelry at depth.

Beach 2 - Designed primarily for surf and shallow salt water hunting (Equinox can be submerged up to 3 meters). Note that to enable stability, Beach 2 will throttle back transmit power if it senses a high level of black sand or mineralization in the mud.

Note that you cannot run single frequency in either beach mode.


800 Only:

Gold 1/2 - basically the same mode but with two different recovery speeds. What sets Gold mode apart form the other modes besides the Multi IQ signal processing that is high frequency weighted is the audio and threshold. Unlike the other modes, Gold mode uses a true threshold which can be used to ferret out weak signals and it uses Voltage Controlled Osciallator emulating pitch audio versus tone ID when a signal is detected. This means that you have to get the target ID off the screen to ID the target as the audio will only alert you to signal strength and relative size of the target with pitch increasing in volume and duration based on the proximity and mass of the target to the coil.

Like I said previously, the default user settings for each of the modes is pretty well thought out by ML and should require minimal adjustment or tweaking. If you find yourself making relatively significant changes to Equinox settings you need to consider that he key to Equinox is maximizing signal to noise ratio, not just the signal. You need to realize how making a change to settings that affect signal may affect noise. So if you make significant changes to recovery speed in an attempt to maximize depth, you may need to reconsider the impact to swing speed and also may significantly increase ground feedback noise which is counterproductive. Increasing sensitivity too much can result in overloading the coil with shallow junk targets or increase EMI pickup.

HTH

Thanks. Very helpful!

 

[Horst]

Hi vferrari,

I find your post very interesting. I am on the lookout for another detector to go along with my SDC2300. The SDC is a fantastic machine but for hunting coins and relics and sub grain gold I don't find it ideal. Recently I took it to Canada and had so much trouble with hot rocks that I just had to give up. I took some of the rocks back home to Germany and a supermagnet would stick to them. Anyhow I think a detector with a precise target ID and different tone settings could help me to overcome the problem. I will be going back to that river as we have family closeby but I do want to be prepared. There is small gold (I found tiny flakes with a gold pan)maybe there are some rare nuggets too and I heard of silver coins which have been found. Before I got the SDC2300 I purchased a Whites GMT. My first trip took me to north California and the GMT had no chance....the ground was way too hot. That's the reason I got me the SDC. Do you think the Nox800 will do the trick? In Italy I will be hunting for 1-3 grain flakes in the water. So I would like to have a machine I can drown when I fall into the river.
Many thanks in advance
Horst

 

[vferrari]

Hi vferrari,

I find your post very interesting. I am on the lookout for another detector to go along with my SDC2300. The SDC is a fantastic machine but for hunting coins and relics and sub grain gold I don't find it ideal. Recently I took it to Canada and had so much trouble with hot rocks that I just had to give up. I took some of the rocks back home to Germany and a supermagnet would stick to them. Anyhow I think a detector with a precise target ID and different tone settings could help me to overcome the problem. I will be going back to that river as we have family closeby but I do want to be prepared. There is small gold (I found tiny flakes with a gold pan)maybe there are some rare nuggets too and I heard of silver coins which have been found. Before I got the SDC2300 I purchased a Whites GMT. My first trip took me to north California and the GMT had no chance....the ground was way too hot. That's the reason I got me the SDC. Do you think the Nox800 will do the trick? In Italy I will be hunting for 1-3 grain flakes in the water. So I would like to have a machine I can drown when I fall into the river.
Many thanks in advance
Horst

First of all, regarding the SDC if it is not good for hunting coins, relics, or sub grain gold, what IS it good for exactly? Lol, JK. Don't have the SDC but I do have a GPX. Not sure the Equinox can out perform the SDC on tiny gold, but Equinox will hold it's own on small gold. Equinox will most definitely out perform the SDC on coin and relic hunting.

Not a prospector, so I can't speak from my first hand experience with the Equinox as far as gold nugget hunting. But based on specs alone, it checks the gold box, the waterproof box, and the ability to detect in mineralization box. Note, however, that Gold mode uses VCO pitch like audio and threshold and does not have tone ID like the other modes. It is designed to pick up faint targets audibly, perhaps give you a visual target ID to make your dig decision. Park 2 and Field 2 are optimized for mid-conductive targets like gold and have tone ID that you can customize, but may struggle a little in highly mineralized conditions whereas Gold Mode is designed to handle mineralized ground where natural gide is typically found. Regarding visual target ID on Equinox, it is pretty stable in all modes fairly deep on non-ferrous targets, however, the range is only 0 to 50. So you have a stable ID, but different types of targets can overlap each other especially in the low teens and single digits where gold targets show up. Sub grain gold will typically show up in the low single digits. Ferrous is displayed as negative single digit numbers. Even in gold mode or the mid conductor optimized modes (Field 2 and Park 2) you will hit on high conductive, silver targets too, but perhaps not as deep as in Park 1.

Again, a very versatile detector for a wide variety of situations.

HTH

 

[Horst]

Many thanks for all the valuable input. As soon my budget allows I will get me a Nox 800 and play with it in the area where I live. There are many places with lots of history closeby and Romans were in the area around Cologne, Germany as well. As we don't have any gold closeby I will start hunting other stuff in the time between my prospecting trips. Reading what you posted it convinces me much that the Nox 800 will be the right tool. Reading the instruction manual it sounds a little bit complicated but I guess that's normal when you pick up something new. Same with any computer program etc. I think I will start in Park 1 or Field 1 depending on where I go and write down what I found, the target ID and depth. Then checking the same area with Park 2 or Field 2 to get a feeling for the differences. Is this a good plan or how did you start with the Nox 800?