Cgarr
Newbie
- Nov 5, 2017
- 2
- 6
- Detector(s) used
-
Garrett: AT Max, AT Gold, GTI 2500, GMH CXIII, Scorpion, Infinium LS, Freedom Ace CDC, Freedom 3 CDC
Minelab: Equinox 800
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
After trying several of the available equinox folding and/or collapsing shaft options out there I still wasn't satisfied with the reduction in size. I like to travel by motorcycle, and frequently take a detector along with me. From a weight and versatility standpoint the Equinox 800 is a spectacular machine for the task, but traveling with it wasn't always as easy I would like.
This whole project started with a 4 section collapsible carbon fiber tube shaft, a folding control housing mount, and an Anderson arm cuff all from ebay. The real trick was making a mold and casing a new coil mounting head that fit the inside diameter of the new carbon fiber lower tube. It took me two molds, and 4 attempts, but I was finally able to solve all the problems and get a good casting in a heavy duty polyurethane that is very nearly a perfect replica of the factory mounting head.
That done I was able to glue the new head into the shaft, drill the holes and fit the new folding handle, and then mount the arm cuff with the help of a quickie 3D printed spacer.
The result is an equinox 800 that with the 6" coil mounted can fold down to a package that is just 22" long and very compact. While it would be nice to lose another 3-4" in length to fit inside a day pack for hiking into remote sites, this is a great leap forward for me over the stock shaft and mounting handle. When extended the machine comes out to between 55" and 56" long.
The new setup is no better, and no worse than the stock shaft in terms of flex and rigidity, and the detector works just fine with the modifications. Thus far I have been very pleased with its compactness and portability.
This whole project started with a 4 section collapsible carbon fiber tube shaft, a folding control housing mount, and an Anderson arm cuff all from ebay. The real trick was making a mold and casing a new coil mounting head that fit the inside diameter of the new carbon fiber lower tube. It took me two molds, and 4 attempts, but I was finally able to solve all the problems and get a good casting in a heavy duty polyurethane that is very nearly a perfect replica of the factory mounting head.
That done I was able to glue the new head into the shaft, drill the holes and fit the new folding handle, and then mount the arm cuff with the help of a quickie 3D printed spacer.
The result is an equinox 800 that with the 6" coil mounted can fold down to a package that is just 22" long and very compact. While it would be nice to lose another 3-4" in length to fit inside a day pack for hiking into remote sites, this is a great leap forward for me over the stock shaft and mounting handle. When extended the machine comes out to between 55" and 56" long.
The new setup is no better, and no worse than the stock shaft in terms of flex and rigidity, and the detector works just fine with the modifications. Thus far I have been very pleased with its compactness and portability.
