Another one bites the dust....flooded EQX

Blak bart

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July 25 2019 was my first equinox purchase. Im now going on the third control pod. Ill send this one back again with my second flooded panel and await my third replacement. These units fail in the water after repeated use. This one failed in 4 feet of water....this replacement unit lasted about 6 or 8 water hunts. If you count my second backup nox ill be working on my 4th unit.
 

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Blak bart

Blak bart

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Not sure but I'm gonna have to find the date for the service center....im thinking 4-5 months ago. Maybe less...3-4 months is possible. Im searching for that info now.
 

hound

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Try putting some duck tape over the speaker holes to seal them up. The membrane for the speaker is the weak point for waterproofing.
 

Tommybuckets

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You had the control box that deep or the water was that deep? I'm about to send mine out as well. KIA drowning Labor Day. How long was the turn around? Its a shame I had high hopes for this unit but its falling short in the durability department.
 

Bayoutalker

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Not sure but I'm gonna have to find the date for the service center....im thinking 4-5 months ago. Maybe less...3-4 months is possible. Im searching for that info now.
I was just curious. It seems someone posted that they are now pressure testing units before they ship. Hopefully that's true and it will stop this issue.
 

smokeythecat

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Keep sending it back for them to fix. After the warranty expires if it breaks again, perhaps buy something else.
 

49er12

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Not trending well, the mighty equinox 800 drowning in the water, engineering what happened
 

vferrari

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This is not going to go well if ML doesn't have any answers once the original warranties start running out beginning in 2021.
 

smallfoot

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That doesn't speak well for the high end stuff...sorry for the problems everybody seems to have with this issue. I'm wondering why there hasn't been some kind of corrections made to actually fix the problem rather than just replacing the control boxes only to have the same problem occur over and over again.
 

ARC

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After sitting back and reading post after post not only here but worldwide.

I have to say simply... From the looks of it...

Minelab produced a real POS.
 

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Blak bart

Blak bart

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Well ive got 2 now...so im gonna keep sending it back and work that warranty as many times as they'll except it. I've been busy so I haven't had time to mess with sending it back. Ive got over the discouragement of it flooding and have come to the conclusion that its just a part of owning these machines. I look at these machines as a tool.....if i buy a bandsaw to complete a 10,000$ job....then its paid off and if it breaks on the first cut of the next job I'm not to mad.....give it away or throw it out its paid for itself 5 times over and it time to get a new one. I feel the same with the EQX. The machines get the goods.....both machines were paid off in finds very shortly, and in just 3 hunts this summer I had 6 gold rings and 3 silvers. At this point I'm good with them sending me replacements. I know exactly what these machines are......i have commented on multiple threads about this problem....its not even worth arguing with the fine people here at t-net over the ins and outs of this machines pros and cons.....i love the performance.....im not impressed with its durability. Just thought I'd let everyone know that I had another failure. As soon as I get the replacement back it will go right back in the ocean. To be clear the machine was resting on the bottom in 4 feet while I fan targets, well below its rated depth.
 

vferrari

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After sitting back and reading post after post not only here but worldwide.

I have to say simply... From the looks of it...

Minelab produced a real POS.

Most people who don't take it into the water to detect would disagree with that assessment, though I know you have been waiting nearly 3 years to be able to say that. ;) That's probably why ML is getting away with trying to sneak this under the radar for so long. It's just a plain fact that advertising waterproof sells, but only a small fraction of those who even consider that an important feature detect even in the rain much less take it for a dunk. And there are a lot of folks that post here that do take it in the water on a regular basis without issue (no way for us to tell whether the majority or minority of water hunters are having issues based solely on anecdotal evidence).

But the truth is, far too many repeat failures after pod replacement that likely point to a design issue and, at best, a quality control issue that has apparently not been addressed by ML. All waterproof wading detectors and many diving detectors eventually fail if repeatedly subjected to the abuse of the dynamic pressures of submerged water hunting and corrosive effects of salt water hunting. ML either needs to come clean that they have designed a detector that is metely weatherproof and can survive the occasional accidental dunking or fix the design and manufacturing flaw if that is even possible or extend the warranty indefinitely for water damage. A reckoning is approaching soon.
 

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smokeythecat

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V is right, but let's put the collar on the dog. The control head is cheaply made, and it shows. And they are not waterproof. I guess at this point if you want to get wet past your ankles get a truly waterproof machine.
 

ARC

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Most people who don't take it into the water to detect would disagree with that assessment, though I know you have been waiting nearly 3 years to be able to say that. ;) That's probably why ML is getting away with trying to sneak this under the radar for so long. It's just a plain fact that advertising waterproof sells, but only a small fraction of those who even consider that an important feature detect even in the rain much less take it for a dunk. And there are a lot of folks that post here that do take it in the water on a regular basis without issue (no way for us to tell whether the majority or minority of water hunters are having issues based solely on anecdotal evidence).

But the truth is, far too many repeat failures after pod replacement that likely point to a design issue and, at best, a quality control issue that has apparently not been addressed by ML. All waterproof wading detectors and many diving detectors eventually fail if repeatedly subjected to the abuse of the dynamic pressures of submerged water hunting and corrosive effects of salt water hunting. ML either needs to come clean that they have designed a detector that is metely weatherproof and can survive the occasional accidental dunking or fix the design and manufacturing flaw if that is even possible or extend the warranty indefinitely for water damage. A reckoning is approaching soon.

I have to disagree wit your disagreement :)

:P

Um... I have seen massive cases of failures due to obvious overall quality since its release... update problems... shaft wobble problems... falsing problems... on and on... I could type for 5 minutes about the things I have read.

Ya can dress up and slap on some lipstick on a pig and call it a girl all ya want... but it is what it is.

I would not buy an EQ if they were 100 bucks... just for the simple fact.. I don't want hassles and I don't see it doing anything my detectors won't...
With a MAYBE exception to small chains... screw tiny chains.. you can have em... and you can have the "downtime" with em. heh

When I purchase something... a tool of any kind... a T.V. set... A car... I want and need it work.... I could care less about being able to send it in or get it fixed.. to me this is a major "no go".

There are not enough hours in a day as it is...and I definitely do not have time or the will to ship NEW things back to only wonder after getting it back when the next time is gonna come.

Perhaps you are "ok" with a tool that was built half arsed.

Not me.
 

smallfoot

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That was well stated vferrari! I guess they are getting away with it ok. Maybe the point I was trying to make and did a poor job of it was are they just putting the same type control box on the ones they return? If they were upgraded boxes and they still fail, they missed the boat on the fix. I also get the point that bart made about considering they have paid for themselves already and are expendable. But, consider this, if it was a firearm that failed in a dangerous situation could you still consider it that way? I know plenty of people that consider the 800 to be one of the best. But in my mind, the best generally have to have no flaws and I consider that a major flaw. As you said, the reckoning is coming when all the warranties expire..
 

smokeythecat

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Minelab is so big, do you really think they'll care? Just remember the poor customer service folks on the other end of the phone line, well, don't take it out on them, its not their fault. And I would just conside the Equinox series a disposable machine, like an old Coca Cola can. I mean who is going to want to spend a few hundred dollars on a part that may break in a few months...
 

ARC

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IMO... anything that someone thinks is the best... better be the best.

Drive down the road and car craps out... Who cares if I have roadside assistance... I don't want to EVER use it.

HEH.

:)
 

ARC

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Oh btw... I want to address "warrantees"... in the old days when one put a "warrantee" on a product they made it was a statement to the quality... the longer the warrantee period the better the quality would be asserted to the market by the maker and the better quality would be assumed by the consumer... that it was made "better" etc.

A warranty was basically started as a "bragging right"... "our product is better than others because we will stand behind it for this long at least. Etc.

Warranties were never intended to actually be used... OTHERWISE they never would have stated it was warrantied, heh (simple logic here)

PS...

The word "warrantee" sucks to type.
 

whistler84

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I dont own one, but I would like to chime in, my first major purpose machine was the at pro. And even though THEY claimed waterproofness to 10 ft. That didn't stop me from my own precautionary actions. Just dabbing some dielectric grease in all of the mating surfaces can go along way. As for the speaker hole, I like to use the clear plastic surgical tape found in the first aid supplies. You can take a moisture absorbing pad found in a pack of jerky or other foods and place it over your speaker hole before taping. Ive done this with all of my machines since then. I cannot say that it has withheld or lowered any sound performance. I just take these steps for my own peace of mind. The 800 sounds like a great machine. But 1 doesn't have to venture very far in these threads to find out that their waterproof claim seems lacking and misleading to say the least.
 

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