A couple of questions.

USMC Reaper

Hero Member
May 23, 2015
671
982
Abbeville, S.C.
Detector(s) used
MineLab CTX 3030, Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hello my Friends,

I hunt in North Georgia, red clay and mineralized soil, mostly yards with the usual junk buried in them. I’m about to head out on a hunt and I want to run some settings by you and get your opinions,please.

Ground Balance: Auto?
Iron Bias: 2?
Recovery Speed: 6?

Any other suggestions?

Semper Fi,
Ed
 

vferrari

Silver Member
Jul 19, 2015
4,910
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XP Deus with HF/x35 Coils and Mi6 Pinpointer/ML Equinox 600/800/ML Tarsacci MDT 8000 GPX 4800/Garrett ATX/Fisher F75 DST/Tek G2+/Delta/Whites MXT/Nokta Simplex/Garrett Carrot
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Let’s start with what mode are you planning to run, then the settings can be discussed in the right context because each mode uses a different frequency profile and signal processing optimized to a specific range of target IDs and target sizes (e.g., Park 1 for high conductors and deep, larger targets, Park 2 for jewelry, smaller targets, and other mid-conductors like brass and nickels), so each mode has a unique set of settings. Think of each mode as being its own self contained detector.
 

Last edited:
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USMC Reaper

USMC Reaper

Hero Member
May 23, 2015
671
982
Abbeville, S.C.
Detector(s) used
MineLab CTX 3030, Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Let’s start with what mode are you planning to run, then the settings can be discussed in the right context because each mode uses a different frequency profile and signal processing optimized to a specific range of target IDs and target sizes (e.g., Park 1 for high conductors and deep, larger targets, Park 2 for jewelry, smaller targets, and other mid-conductors like brass and nickels), so each mode has a unique set of settings. Think of each mode as being its own self contained detector.

Thank you for your reply. I’ve been hunting in Park 1. When I ground balance it settles out anywhere between 41 and 50.
 

vferrari

Silver Member
Jul 19, 2015
4,910
8,377
Near Ground Zero for Insanity
Detector(s) used
XP Deus with HF/x35 Coils and Mi6 Pinpointer/ML Equinox 600/800/ML Tarsacci MDT 8000 GPX 4800/Garrett ATX/Fisher F75 DST/Tek G2+/Delta/Whites MXT/Nokta Simplex/Garrett Carrot
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Park 1 makes sense for what you are doing (primarily coin shooting in old house yards). Continue to use Auto GB to set your initial GB and only go to Tracking GB if you find you are having to rebalance often (as indicated by excessive ground noise in all metal - constant unstable -9 to -7 TIDs).

I do like lowering IB to 2 from the default of 6. I personally do not think IB does anything really useful so I usually go with IB = 0 to ensure it doesn't cause target masking with nearby iron, but if the iron target density is relatively thin, then I wouldn't worry about it.

Regarding recovery speed at 6 is ok if you have a lot of non-ferrous trash for separation, but you can perhaps eek out more depth at 5. I would not go below 4 because then you will start increasing ground noise.

The key to Equinox is maximizing the signal and minimizing the noise, that means:

1. Noise Cancel

2. Get a sat auto or manual ground balance. Go to tracking only if necessary because of variable ground balance readings at the site.

3. Run sensitivity between 20 and 23 unless you can get away with a higher setting without causing chatter because of low EMI. Reduce sensitivity below 20 if necessary to reduce chatter (after noise cancel and ground balance). If you find you have to lower sensitivity below 15, consider switching to another mode such as Park 2 (noise cancel/ground balance) and see if you can keep sensitivity above 15.

4. If you can't run in Multi with sensitivity above 15, attempt to go single frequency to get chatter down (typically the higher frequencies work better).

5. Do not run with Recovery Speed too low (below 4 to push depth) because you will introduce ground noise especially in all metal unless there is absolutely no mineralization (such as pure white beach sand).

Good luck!
 

OP
OP
USMC Reaper

USMC Reaper

Hero Member
May 23, 2015
671
982
Abbeville, S.C.
Detector(s) used
MineLab CTX 3030, Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Park 1 makes sense for what you are doing (primarily coin shooting in old house yards). Continue to use Auto GB to set your initial GB and only go to Tracking GB if you find you are having to rebalance often (as indicated by excessive ground noise in all metal - constant unstable -9 to -7 TIDs).

I do like lowering IB to 2 from the default of 6. I personally do not think IB does anything really useful so I usually go with IB = 0 to ensure it doesn't cause target masking with nearby iron, but if the iron target density is relatively thin, then I wouldn't worry about it.

Regarding recovery speed at 6 is ok if you have a lot of non-ferrous trash for separation, but you can perhaps eek out more depth at 5. I would not go below 4 because then you will start increasing ground noise.

The key to Equinox is maximizing the signal and minimizing the noise, that means:

1. Noise Cancel

2. Get a sat auto or manual ground balance. Go to tracking only if necessary because of variable ground balance readings at the site.

3. Run sensitivity between 20 and 23 unless you can get away with a higher setting without causing chatter because of low EMI. Reduce sensitivity below 20 if necessary to reduce chatter (after noise cancel and ground balance). If you find you have to lower sensitivity below 15, consider switching to another mode such as Park 2 (noise cancel/ground balance) and see if you can keep sensitivity above 15.

4. If you can't run in Multi with sensitivity above 15, attempt to go single frequency to get chatter down (typically the higher frequencies work better).

5. Do not run with Recovery Speed too low (below 4 to push depth) because you will introduce ground noise especially in all metal unless there is absolutely no mineralization (such as pure white beach sand).

Good luck!


Thank You, Sir. I will put your knowledge to use on my next hunt.
 

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