saanich2018
Sr. Member
- Apr 25, 2018
- 283
- 533
- Detector(s) used
- Equinox 800
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
(See Post below: "Problem with Equinox 800 - High Speed Chatter")
I went back to the beach in late September and my Nox 800 did the same fast chatter it had started doing in August. Therefore, I sent my pod head and coil to Minelab for repairs. I also sent several videos I had taken while on the beach of the chattering.
After checking the unit, Minelab said water had leaked into the pod head and had caused the electronics to corrode and it was shorting out after the head after it got warm. This explained why it worked fine for a while and then would suddenly start shorting out and chattering.
They said the battery connection and the headphone jack were both leaking. The interesting fact is that I know the pod head had only been submerged in water one time, by accident, when I tripped and fell in the ocean about two years ago. The head was only under the water for about five seconds. However, Minelab said that humidity could also have contributed the problem. Plus, I basically only use my 800 on the beach.
From my discussion with Minelab, it seems on the earlier models, there was a screw in the battery connection which sometimes caused the connection to crack and leak. The same thing for the head phone jack. Apparently, Minelab has now fixed these issues. Therefore, you may want to closely examine your 800 pod head and check for leakage.
Since my head was over a year out of warranty, I had to buy a new pod head control unit. The new head comes with a three year warranty.
I want to add that everyone I spoke with at Minelab was very nice and helpful (John, Mike and Ian). Plus, they did not charge me for diagnostics to find the problem, and they also tested my coil on another unit to verify it was working correctly.
At least I now know the problem was not me and I have now basically have a new Nox 800. I am off to the beach next week, so I will report back how it worked.
I went back to the beach in late September and my Nox 800 did the same fast chatter it had started doing in August. Therefore, I sent my pod head and coil to Minelab for repairs. I also sent several videos I had taken while on the beach of the chattering.
After checking the unit, Minelab said water had leaked into the pod head and had caused the electronics to corrode and it was shorting out after the head after it got warm. This explained why it worked fine for a while and then would suddenly start shorting out and chattering.
They said the battery connection and the headphone jack were both leaking. The interesting fact is that I know the pod head had only been submerged in water one time, by accident, when I tripped and fell in the ocean about two years ago. The head was only under the water for about five seconds. However, Minelab said that humidity could also have contributed the problem. Plus, I basically only use my 800 on the beach.
From my discussion with Minelab, it seems on the earlier models, there was a screw in the battery connection which sometimes caused the connection to crack and leak. The same thing for the head phone jack. Apparently, Minelab has now fixed these issues. Therefore, you may want to closely examine your 800 pod head and check for leakage.
Since my head was over a year out of warranty, I had to buy a new pod head control unit. The new head comes with a three year warranty.
I want to add that everyone I spoke with at Minelab was very nice and helpful (John, Mike and Ian). Plus, they did not charge me for diagnostics to find the problem, and they also tested my coil on another unit to verify it was working correctly.
At least I now know the problem was not me and I have now basically have a new Nox 800. I am off to the beach next week, so I will report back how it worked.
