Advice Equinox 800 or another Detector

[mibpf]

Kinda of a lame post but, I just sold my AT Pro and was about to purchase the Nox 800 until I started seeing videos and reports that the Nox 800 does not detect silver coins on their side and might give strange signals of gold rings on their side.

I currently own a whites surf master with no descrimination and dig 1000 nails and thought the NOX might become my new land and beach/water machine.i currently have two kids in college and another one that will be attending in college in 3 years so I need to make a wise purchase that will last at least 7 years.

I mostly hunt the beach and chest deep water but enjoy hunting for old coins at old school yards. Should I pass on the NOX 800 and search for another detector? The Excal has always been on my list until I saw the NOX and I am looking for a good land machine as well. Should I just bight the bullet and buy the CTX and use it for land.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Buy the Equinox 800 with confidence!

 

[sonofadigger]

I'll give you my opinion on the equinox...mind you I've had a safari...etrac...and ctx.....it's ok it's kinda chattery it's bounces on the vdi it's been alright in the water it's kinda meh. That's my opinion but don't let me sway you

 

[vferrari]

Here are some test results by someone who is new and open minded about the Equinox (spolier - he was actually impressed by the Equinox edge on target performance). Point is, the Equinox is not a one trick pony and the various search profiles give the Equinox performance akin to multiple detectors in one machine due to multiple multi frequency implementations vs. even the more sophisticated mukti frequency Minelab detectors like the CTX:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/e...in-jewelry-targets-sampled-1700-s-1900-s.html

 

[smokeythecat]

It is a good machine. Please read the threads about problems people have had. Seven years? I think for land I would go for the XP Deus. For water, the Equinox, but you already have some good water machines there. I would go try one out before I bought it. I do that with all new purchases I'm considering. A lot of it comes down to individual taste.

 

[nagant]

i had my 800 out on a fresh water beach today, first time i had it out of my yard. After about 15 minutes it felt like an old friend. 3 bucks in change seven nickles and 2 junk ear rings. Quiet, thought it turned off a few times, just no targets.

 

[Possum]

 

[vferrari]

It is a good machine. Please read the threads about problems people have had. Seven years? I think for land I would go for the XP Deus. For water, the Equinox, but you already have some good water machines there. I would go try one out before I bought it. I do that with all new purchases I'm considering. A lot of it comes down to individual taste.

It is a solid performing machine and there are thousands out there so time will tell as problems get reported. The most glaring issue is ML has obviously not done their due diligence on the shaft lock design or manufacturing. Many report insufficient shaft lock performance and shaft wobble. ML is readily replacing hardware for those who complain, but I don't think they have a handle on it. I have an 800 and a 600. One has the problem, the other doesn't. I prefer an alternate shaft design offered by Anderson regardless of the EQX shaft wobble (in other words I would be getting the Anderson shaft even without the presence of the EQX shaft wobble) and frankly you can address the issue with a bit of tape (but why should you have to on a brand new machine). Despite that, the detector performance is top notch IMO and the shaft issue is not worth bypassing the detector because I am not sure there are many other detectors that can do what the EQX does at its price point. No excuses for ML, they need to figure out the shaft issue, but it is not keeping me from detecting. Other reported instances of leaking control modules appear to be a small number compared to the people who are having no issues in the water and ML is also replacing those under warranty with 10 days or less turnaround time.

Performance wise - it has found me gold on the beach and deep coins in wet and dry sand and runs quiet in wet sand and surf. Relic hunting performance is on par with the Deus and I have snagged a number of bucket listers this year in just a few months of use like the breast plate in my avatar and some seated silvers. I would give a slight edge to the Deus in super thick iron due to coil size, but my newly acquired 6-inch coil may change that equation. Park hunting is fine and also may be improved by the small coil. This is primarily an audio machine. If you can learn the 50-tone audio and what it is telling you about the target combined with target ID stability then you can greatly increase your treasure to trash ratio. This is something that improves with swing hours on the machine. HTH.

 

[Hawks88]

I agree with V. They way this machine performs out weighs the small wobble problem. I don’t have the wobble. For the price and performance it’s a no brainer.

 

[sheep.dog]

I bought the Nox 800 and liked the way it functioned a lot. I hated how it swung. That straight shaft with the control unit sticking up like a joy stick bothered the heck out of my wrist and made it difficult for me to keep the coil parallel with the ground - and I don't have any pre-exisiting wrist issues. Some folks love em, I wanted to but couldn't. Sold the Nox and bought a Deus.

 

[toasted]

Its a slightly heavier but waterproof XP Deus that,unlike the Deus, works well in the water. It may be ever so slightly behind the Deus in the field but its water performance makes up for this. Its a true all purpose detector though I have not used it in the ocean only my brackish river but all reports from the ocean beach seem positive. The shaft wobbles on mine I guess but its not really a problem if you ask me. I use field 2 and have no problem with on edge coins/rings in my tests.

CTX 30/30 at $2000 or Equinox 600 at $650 are your best options for all purpose detectors or try your luck with a single frequency VLF at the beach

 

[mindcrime1988]

Kinda of a lame post but, I just sold my AT Pro and was about to purchase the Nox 800 until I started seeing videos and reports that the Nox 800 does not detect silver coins on their side and might give strange signals of gold rings on their side.

Just curious as to why you sold your AT Pro?

 

[smokeythecat]

Sheep.dog, I had the same problem but in the shoulder. I even thought of getting a Tesoro "S" Shaft to put on it and I know it fits, but reluctantly sold it. However since then, I have firmly decided to stay out of the water.

When XP Deus comes out with their next FULL programming update 5.1 or 6.0, it will most likely address the salt water issue and make all multi frequency machines obsolete.

Then somebody else will come up with something else, and on and on and on it goes. Get what you like the best. My buddy seriously whoops the competition with his AT Pro, and my lowly Tesoro Cibola, a beep and go nailed my George Washington button.

It's all about the permissions. I would seriously test any machine you are considering purchasing. Metal detectors are like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, too hot too cold too who knows what.

And if you get the Equinox just buy a roll of duct tape for the gobble wobble. No down time that way.

 

[CharlesUpstateNY]

(spolier - he was actually impressed by the Equinox edge on target performance)

Impressed by the Equinox on coins on edge, more like STUNNED. It smacks them HARD! If someone is saying the Equinox can't detect a coin on edge that's complete rubbish. I was sampling some trash targets before I took the EQ800 out this morning, still had a Mercury dime taped to my paint stir stick and started waving it across the coil on edge again, because I can't hardly believe it. Yeah the EQ was still smacking it. So fine I gave it the coin on edge torture test, I waved it on edge from 90 degrees to the coil center line, coil center pointing North/South and the coin pointing East/West on edge and dang it still detected it. Not nearly as well and the TID dropped but a signal. Actually that's probably something I need to test further, coins on edge while circling the coin from different angles.

As for rings on edge yes they are acting pretty weird, more testing is needed. What was weird is, the smaller womans 14k band which is kind of slender its not a wide band, the EQ like it better on edge than the large 14k man's gold band that's way chunkier. Worse the two really wide silver rings I tested on edge, one is about 3/8 wide and the other is about 1/2 inch wide, on edge if you are looking down on them. I expected the EQ to hit them hard with all that silver surface area but it seemed to like them the least of all 4 rings. But I only tested 4 rings don't bank on these initial tests just yet and I tested in Park 2, I have yet to test in Beach mode.

 

[CharlesUpstateNY]

It is a good machine. Please read the threads about problems people have had. Seven years? I think for land I would go for the XP Deus. For water, the Equinox, but you already have some good water machines there. I would go try one out before I bought it. I do that with all new purchases I'm considering. A lot of it comes down to individual taste.

I'll be putting my Deus up for sale, just saying.

 

[CharlesUpstateNY]

Its a slightly heavier but waterproof XP Deus that,unlike the Deus, works well in the water. It may be ever so slightly behind the Deus in the field but its water performance makes up for this. Its a true all purpose detector though I have not used it in the ocean only my brackish river but all reports from the ocean beach seem positive. The shaft wobbles on mine I guess but its not really a problem if you ask me. I use field 2 and have no problem with on edge coins/rings in my tests.

CTX 30/30 at $2000 or Equinox 600 at $650 are your best options for all purpose detectors or try your luck with a single frequency VLF at the beach

The Deus HF will hit small gold the EQ can't hit in Beach 1, and small gold both can hit the Deus is deeper vs Beach 1. But then I don't believe you can use a Deus HF coil on a saltwater beach. I have not yet tested the EQ's gold mode though vs Deus HF.

 

[Truth]

I had the ATP, Max and F75 and now the 800. All I’m saying is I’ve never found as many old silver coins in my 5 years of detecting, Some say location, location, location and that’s 100% correct. I did find them at the oldest permission I’ve ever detected with the 800. However, I met the guy who had permission from the prior owner and was the only guy that ever detected this property before the new owners, who I got my permission from. He detected it for 15yrs with an Etrac and said it’s the only land he ever detected (avid water hunter) and never needed nor wanted to hunt anywhere else because this piece of paradise was all his (until now ). He showed me coins, War of 1812 buttons things I’ve only seen on the internet and dreamed of finding. Said he’s pulled over 50 seated dimes alone over the years among other bigger coins and admitted he’s really hammered the place. So on our first hunt together he said, “The only thing I haven’t found were the half dimes and half reals and I know they HAVE to be out here somewhere”. In the 8 times I’ve detected the property I’ve found a half real and 2 half dimes one of which I found today. If it’s luck or the machine I’ll just call the Equinox 800 my official luckiest machine and I love it.

P.S. His Equinox came in the other day [emoji4]

 

[flgliderpilot]

I also sold my AT Pro for an Equinox. Some say the Equinox is chatty, but it's not even close to the chatter of an AT Pro.

The Equinox is loaded with features making the AT Pro look like something out of the 80s.

In the wet sand and in the water the Equinox just destroys the AT Pro. In the dry sand it feels a lot like an AT Pro, just different VDI numbers.

I hadn't felt confident enough in the EQ800 in the water... so I switched back and forth between the Equinox and my CZ-21 on a bunch of hunts on the same beaches. In the end, I always came home with more finds and less junk using the equinox, so it's now my long sword.

CZ is only for diving and backup at this point.

I'm not sure what the complaint is about the straight shaft.. the only issue I found was that the arm cuff was too wide and that was a 30 second fix with a heat gun.

My only other minor complaint is the rubber grip.. it gives me a blister on the edge of my palm. I may wrap it with something.

 

[Ed Osmar]

I have the 800 and have found a ladies gold engagement ring with it but If I am hunting in deep water above my chest to my chin I use the Exact ll. I have found more rings with the Excal ll but that is because I have more hours in the water with it. I like the 800 on the beach and in shallow water. P.S. I just got a waterproof wired headset and will try deeper but as of now I know and trust the Exacl in deep water.

 

[metalhealth]

It is a solid performing machine and there are thousands out there so time will tell as problems get reported. The most glaring issue is ML has obviously not done their due diligence on the shaft lock design or manufacturing. Many report insufficient shaft lock performance and shaft wobble. ML is readily replacing hardware for those who complain, but I don't think they have a handle on it. I have an 800 and a 600. One has the problem, the other doesn't. I prefer an alternate shaft design offered by Anderson regardless of the EQX shaft wobble (in other words I would be getting the Anderson shaft even without the presence of the EQX shaft wobble) and frankly you can address the issue with a bit of tape (but why should you have to on a brand new machine). Despite that, the detector performance is top notch IMO and the shaft issue is not worth bypassing the detector because I am not sure there are many other detectors that can do what the EQX does at its price point. No excuses for ML, they need to figure out the shaft issue, but it is not keeping me from detecting. Other reported instances of leaking control modules appear to be a small number compared to the people who are having no issues in the water and ML is also replacing those under warranty with 10 days or less turnaround time.

Performance wise - it has found me gold on the beach and deep coins in wet and dry sand and runs quiet in wet sand and surf. Relic hunting performance is on par with the Deus and I have snagged a number of bucket listers this year in just a few months of use like the breast plate in my avatar and some seated silvers. I would give a slight edge to the Deus in super thick iron due to coil size, but my newly acquired 6-inch coil may change that equation. Park hunting is fine and also may be improved by the small coil. This is primarily an audio machine. If you can learn the 50-tone audio and what it is telling you about the target combined with target ID stability then you can greatly increase your treasure to trash ratio. This is something that improves with swing hours on the machine. HTH.

Everything I read tells me I don’t need an 800 unless I hunt for gold nuggets. Would you agree with this since you have experience with both?