Did I make a mistake?...

[nrobins3]

So I bought my first detector... After a few years of watching metal detecting videos, reading about finds from all over the place, and drooling over detectors I finally got one.. I finally finished my degree in May, got the shiny new job, and right when I got home from training I surprised myself with a new Equinox 800, a minelab pro-find 35, a Garrett edge digger, and about an $80 Lesche shovel.. Thing is, I just got the 800 in the mail the other day and when I turned it on I realized I had no idea what I was doing with the thing. I would like to have the thing tuned in so that I can poke around with it for relics on a family property that's a little over 100 years old where the ancestor that I am named after built little farm house.

Any tips on tuning this guy in for relics or should I send it back and get something more basic?

 

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[smokeythecat]

You should be fine with it. Read the manual. USE ONE OF THE PRESET PROGRAMS. This machine will work well out of the box, but just remember, the most successful folks with machines dig everything for the first few weeks at least, until you get comfortable with it. If you get into a place with tons of targets close by each other, get the 6" coil for it.

A lot will depend on your sites. Sometimes all you need is a $129 "pie pan on a stick" machine. Other times, our little computers on a stick work better.

If you intend to use it under water, best to dunk it in the tub to make sure she doesn't leak.

 

[Kray Gelder]

Amazing! It came with a booklet. Read it, learn it, do it. What is your shiny degree in? Social services? Yeah, maybe you should get rid of it. Get something with just an on/off switch.

 

[Kray Gelder]

Smokey, you are so much more kind and understanding with the Pilgrims.

 

[smokeythecat]

I found my best gold coin with a $329 turn on and go Tesoro Cibola. Stuff has to be there to begin with.

 

[nrobins3]

Oosh... Tou·ché, unhappy man... It's in accounting... And I was a paramedic for about 7 years in Atlanta while working my way through school. My sympathies for whatever you are compensating for on an Internet forum. I do not bite my thumb at thee for that reason..

 

[eman1000]

Nope, I think you did just fine. I would start with one of the field programs and just start digging anything that was a good tone and repeatable. I found 5 tones to be easier to understand starting out. I personally would start cherry picking the property and dig targets 12-14 is your nickel range and then anything above 19 is hopefully a copper coin or silver. HH

 

[smokeythecat]

Use either one of the park or field programs. Go sssllloooowwww and dig everything that reads "7" or higher. Generally speaking, the higher the number, the more conductive the target, and the better chance it is of something good. Gold hides. It can show up almost anywhere on the meter. I don't think the Equinox series has a huge tonal variation in the headphones, so you'll need the pinpointer to locate some stuff.

It's not really a difficult machine, unless you decide to tweak the settings the first month or so!

Let us know what you get.

 

[creskol]

The Nox is a very capable machine. Read the booklet and practice .. practice .. practice, and when you think you have it, practice some more. Also, there are some good YouTube Tutorials on the Nox that would be worthwhile watching.

Good luck and Welcome to the forum.

 

[smokeythecat]

And don't pay too much attention to videos! Just a little. There are a ton of variables in metal detecting, and the biggest variable is the person holding the machine. I was at a competition last year. Ready! Set! Go! When we got done I had a bunch of coins and won 2 nice prizes. One lady came up to me, she had been watching and said the other guys just ran around like crazy and got some targets BUT I hadn't moved more than 20' from the starting point and got a lot more than they did.

Go slow, dig it all and let God sort it out later!

 

[Megalodon]

You have a great detector and the advantage of starting out with it new right off the bat rather than learning one more of several machines. Keep it and master it, as smokey said and use those pre-sets. I think these computers on a stick might be here to stay...

I would buy one too - but the Luddite analog part of me still has two perfectly good detectors that pre-date cell phones..., and not one but 2 Cibolas, very attractive to us Luddites.

 

[A2coins]

Theres some good advice plus come ask any questions at any time. I promise this hobby is very addictive and you will love it.

 

[trdking]

And don't pay too much attention to videos! Just a little. There are a ton of variables in metal detecting, and the biggest variable is the person holding the machine. I was at a competition last year. Ready! Set! Go! When we got done I had a bunch of coins and won 2 nice prizes. One lady came up to me, she had been watching and said the other guys just ran around like crazy and got some targets BUT I hadn't moved more than 20' from the starting point and got a lot more than they did.

Go slow, dig it all and let God sort it out later!

You crack me up!

 

[Trezurehunter]

I like mine, and I agree with everyone else. Read the manual, dig everything to start with and use a preset program. The preset programs are so good right out of the box, that I haven't even bothered to change mine to custom settings, and I have found a lot of very nice relics, tokens, and coins over the last year that I've had it.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

You tube is full of videos on how to use.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

The Nox 800 can be extremely complicated and confusing for a novice.... but you purchased a great piece of gear.

Stick with Park1, crank the volume, don’t be tempted to use the horseshoe button, and lower sensitivity as low as 19. Idea here is to reduce the cacophony of bips and beeps for the first few months. Go super slow and tackle one small section of the property at a time. Look for the consistent tones that don’t bounce too much while swinging from multiple directions and avoid the tones that scream and still beep when lifting coil 10” from ground. You will learn that the best targets are typically the smallest yet consistent signals, you will only hear these if you go slow.

Patience, practice and persistence are required to get the most out of it. Post your finds!! Have fun.

 

[Digger RJ]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ur0FfDDKUo

Try this link. He shows You how to set up for general coin hunting

 

[smokeythecat]

BTW I crack me up too!

 

[dirtlooter]

As Smoke said, keep it simple at first and just enjoy it. I usually keep mine in Park 2 but that is me. You can adjust things later as you become comfortable with it. It is an awesome machine plus it is a Minelab at it's simplest. There is a Nox forum on the Minelab Detector site here on this site where you can ask any and all of your questions as well as read past posts on the Nox. Welcome and congrats on the new machine.

 

[TerryC]

As mentioned above, go view more videos, read the manual, and GET OUT THERE! You have all you need to find things like any of the treasure banners posted here.... except time on the ground. It'll come to you. ╦╦C