First Short Outing with New Equinox 800 - Questions???

[saanich2018]

This afternoon I took my new Equinox 800 out for the first time, for about thirty minutes (did not stay longer as it was cold and getting dark!). I went over to the playground of the local elementary school – actually, I went to this school.

First, I did the Factory Reset, since I have been playing with the different settings.
Second, I set it for Park 1 mode. I did the Noise Cancel. I did the automatic ground balance and then set it for automatic mode.

I did not mess with any of the other settings.

The unit takes some getting use to but I think worked well. I have started the payback fund with the $1.08, I found in thirty minutes, plus a metal washer, a Marvel Comic pin, and lots of gum/candy wrappers.

So, the questions I have are:
1) I will be going along and suddenly it will spike to 39. It did this randomly. When I stopped to check and see what set it off, there was nothing there, or I could not find anything? Why?

2) Why is it sometimes I would get a reading of numbers like -2, or – 7?

3) When you hit a target, where is it under the coil? I tried using the built-in pin pointer and it worked some, but most of the time the object was no where near the center of the coil. This is even after I passed the coil over the spot from many different directions. Is this just a skill to be learned? I had to use my hand held pin pointer.

4) After I hit a target and got a signal, the reading or number stays on the screen, even if I move away and try to pass over the object again. If I hit the button with the “check mark and the x” (Accept/Reject Button), it would clear the screen, but I would then have to wait about five seconds before the detector would start working again. Is this normal? Is this something to do with the recover speed? As I said, I did not bother the Recovery speed and it was set on the default setting.

Overall, I am happy.

Thanks for your help and comments

More questions will follow!

 

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[vferrari]

So, the questions I have are:
1) I will be going along and suddenly it will spike to 39. It did this randomly. When I stopped to check and see what set it off, there was nothing there, or I could not find anything? Why?

Probably EMI from a nearby cell phone or wifi or other source or it could be a large piece of underground iron like pipe which will tend to read high due to iron wraparound.

2) Why is it sometimes I would get a reading of numbers like -2, or – 7? Again, if you are not using iron discrimination in the -9 to 0 BIN, those are ferrous readings.

3) When you hit a target, where is it under the coil? I tried using the built-in pin pointer and it worked some, but most of the time the object was no where near the center of the coil. This is even after I passed the coil over the spot from many different directions. Is this just a skill to be learned? I had to use my hand held pin pointer.

The target should be under the coil bolt when properly pinpointed. The pinpointer on this detector ratchets down but is also subject to locking onto a nearby off center target. On a Double-D coil, the active part of the coil is where the transmit and receive coils overlap which is right down the center spine of the coil (imagine two "D's" back-to-back). When you are swinging over a target, the beep occurs when the center spine crosses over the target, but the target can be anywhere along that center spine and give a similar signal. That is why you need to either swing 90 degrees (X marks the spot) or "Wiggle Off" the target. Short quick wiggles of the center spine over the target as you move the coil forward or backward, the target signal will drop off at the edge of the coil (at the heel or toe, depending on whether you are wiggling off forward or backward). The target will be right at the toe or heel at the point the target signal disappears. I seldom use the built-in pinpointer to center the target and wiggle off instead. I use the built-in pinpointer merely to get a bead on the depth and or size of the target so I can tell a coke can from a quarter based on the pinpoint footprint and decide whether to dig.

4) After I hit a target and got a signal, the reading or number stays on the screen, even if I move away and try to pass over the object again. If I hit the button with the “check mark and the x” (Accept/Reject Button), it would clear the screen, but I would then have to wait about five seconds before the detector would start working again. Is this normal? Is this something to do with the recover speed? As I said, I did not bother the Recovery speed and it was set on the default setting.

First of all do not hit the accept/reject button unless you want to eliminate that group of target IDs from being detected. You are rejecting the TID and that gets memorized and you will no longer hear that TID unless you re-accept that TID. This is called notching and is not something you want to do routinely. Some people use this to reject pull tabs for instance. The problem is that TIDs are rarely constant under all situations and you may inadvertently notch out a keeper. The delay is the Equinox storing that new reject setting into memory. This has nothing to do with recovery speed. The number stays on the screen so you have a chance to see it. Most detectorists are listening and swinging and not staring at the screen. So when they get a hit, they glance down and if the number is gone then they may not be able to ID the target. Just because the number stays on the screen does not mean that the detector is not ready to pick up the next target (that IS determined by recovery speed). Don't try to clear the number of the screen, that is unnecessary.

HTH

 

[saanich2018]

Thank you very much for this information.

Now let me clarify the Questions:

#1 This is a large open filed. No power or telephone lines within at least 75 yards, in the closes direction.

No cell towers nearby. I did have my cell phone in my pocket.? I know there are no underground pipes under this area. It is field about 100 yards by about 75 yards. The weird 39 signal happened all over the field, not in one location. When I was a kid, I watched them clear the trees and woods off of thsi land to make the field for the school.

#2 I will have to double check, but I believe I had the iron discrimination turned off (that the bottom of the curved scale on the left side?)

#3 I understand. I think it just something I will have to learn.

#4 So when you hit a target, you do not have to do anything. You just keep searching?

Thank you.

 

[vferrari]

Now let me clarify the Questions:

#1 This is a large open filed. No power or telephone lines within at least 75 yards, in the closes direction.

No cell towers nearby. I did have my cell phone in my pocket.? I know there are no underground pipes under this area. It is field about 100 yards by about 75 yards. The weird 39 signal happened all over the field, not in one location. When I was a kid, I watched them clear the trees and woods off of thsi land to make the field for the school.

Like I said EMI if not repeatable and random. Line of site can be up to a mile away and cause a problem. Further if it is lightning.

#2 I will have to double check, but I believe I had the iron discrimination turned off (that the bottom of the curved scale on the left side?)

Yes, bottom left. If disc is turned off, if you pass over a ferrous target you will get a negative number and a very low pitched target tone (grunt).

#3 I understand. I think it just something I will have to learn.

#4 So when you hit a target, you do not have to do anything. You just keep searching?

I may not be understanding your question, when you hit a target you either pinpoint it using whatever method or built-in pinpointer and recover it or move on if you think it is a high probability of being junk. You don't need to hit any buttons on the control head other than the built-in pinpointer if you choose to use it. The detector should be ready to detect the next target even if the number stays on the screen for a short time after detection.

 

[saanich2018]

Great Thank you

Keep on learning.

 

[Whyme]

Watch YouTube videos on the Nox. Read the Nox manual again. Pinpointing is crucial!

One method:

A couple methods:

Hope this helps.

 

[cudamark]

#1. In my experience, if you get a sharp 39 in one direction, and a minus number in the other, it's rusty iron.
#3 Pin pointing is a skill where you just have to get some hours in. I find one helpful way to verify your pin point location is correct, is to swing the coil around in a circle outside of where you think the target is without hitting it. Keep reducing the size of your circle until you start to get the signal on all sides. They X it or do the Minelab wiggle. At a junky site, this method may not work all that well if there are multiple targets under your coil, but, at a less trashy area, it works pretty well. A small coil helps on pin pointing at a junky site.

 

[FloridaSon]

My Nox would spike, finally narrowed it down to bad coil management. Hit a shell or dig into the sand just a fraction and get a spike. Now I think about it, those would go no higher than about 18 so what do I know? Today dug a couple old square nails but used the threshold to listen for a break in the threshold tone. They did not register on the VDI. As I dug, signal became clearer. Still just iron but I like artifacts.

 

[saanich2018]

Okay, based on FloridaSon wrote, let me ask another question.
When you swing the detector, does it rub the ground? If not, how high above the ground do you usually swing it or how high should it be??

I assume this is a technique to be learned

 

[KevGA]

Hi sannich,

Yes, you'll get more comfortable over time. You don't want to actually have it touch the ground (this will cause false signals), but shoot for about an inch. As you swing, work at not swinging in an upward arc when you get to the end of your swing; straight and level for the whole arc:



Here's a link to the MineLab blog with some other tips:

https://www.minelab.com/go-minelabb...echniques-how-to-get-the-most-from-your-sites

Have fun, keep asking, and keep swinging!

 

[saanich2018]

Great. Thank you