Equinox 800 Volume Drop Issues Anyone?

[Erik in NJ]

My Equinox 800 is just over 30 days old, I should have returned it when I noticed this a couple weeks ago, but when pinpointing (w/o headphones) I often notice that the volume during pinpoint (which is usually quite loud) drops by about 80%. I don't think this is normal. Being the machine is so new I would have expected the dealer--a sponsor here--to replace he machine, but he won't...not too happy about that (!!)) and Minelab wants me to send it back (they recommended a factory reset which I doubt will do anything), but then I'll be out of a machine for a few weeks.

I used to experience volume drops that were sustained on my old Explorer SE Pro (not just pinpoint, but all modes) then it would come back.

Anyone else experiencing the intermittent volume drop in pinpoint mode on the 800 when using the speaker?

 

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[Bayoutalker]

Have you done a factory reset? You can do that yourself. Here it is from the manual.

 

[smokeythecat]

I would try the factory reset and if it does not work, the only option is to send it back for repair or replacement. I have not heard of this issue before.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks, that's what ML recommended too. I'll give it a shot, but not hopeful that it'll fix it.

 

[smokeythecat]

Let us know.

 

[vferrari]

The wonky pinpoint volume issue has been around since day one. It is a quirk and the best thing to do is click out and click back into pinpoint to get it to respond properly. Make sure you click pinpoint "on" with the coil slightly "off center" from where you THINK the target is so that it can "acquire " the strongest signal when you swing back towards the target. Be careful to not let pinpoint lock onto an adjacent target, though. I basically pinpoint by wiggling the target off the toe or heel edge of the coil and reserve use of pinpoint mode solely for tracing target footprint to differentiate between a coin and a coke can, for instance, which can give a similar high target tone due the minimal target tone modulation provided by Equinox. HTH.

 

[digger27]

Happens to me here and there and started on day one.
As vferrari says a well known problem, a glitch that won't get fixed if you send it in.
I am surprised that ML suggested you should do that as they surely know about it and also that they can't fix it.
It was discussed a lot on the forums when they first released the Nox, now only new owners like you bring it up because you don't know about it.
All other owners now just deal with it, ignore it, mostly.
It will do it with headphones or without.

It doesn't happen all the time, as a matter of fact mine did it a lot more when it was new and not so much anymore...just once in awhile, nowadays.
The latest 4kHz update might have helped in that but don't quote me, I really have no idea if it did or not.

More mildly annoying than anything, when it happens I just start over, pinpoint again and the volume comes back so I learned to live with it.

 

[cudamark]

Yup, common glitch that they haven't been able to(or maybe not even tried to) correct yet. Mine did it since day one 2 1/2 years ago. Like V said, just press the pin point off, and then back on again. Voila! it now works like it should. Since you just got a new one with the same gremlin, sending it in isn't likely to cure it, even if they give you another new one. Oh, and I've done all the software upgrades which didn't seem to effect this issue at all.

 

[Donut]

They all do that.
Thats because you turned the pinpointing on directly over the target and it is trying to null out the target.
Either move off the target and have it hit on something else then move back to the target. Or turn off pinpointing and turn it on and go back over the target.
Doug

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi, no I never turn on pinpoint directly over the target. I have been using Minelab detectors since the Explorer XS and know how to pinpoint properly. This is a distinctive audio drop that is intermittent. It is possible that when the audio drop like that, pinpoint is locking onto the target differently. Sometimes it locks very narrowly and gives a very tight pinpoint and other times you just have to listen for the strongest audio as the footprint is much wider--not sure how to get the former response more often. I've found that turning on pinpoint off the target by a few inches tends to give the tighter pinpoint response.

Thanks to vferrari, digger27, and cudamark for your posts and verifying that this is known issue with the Equinox. Yes I'm also surprised that tech support at ML wasn't aware of it when I called.

They all do that.
Thats because you turned the pinpointing on directly over the target and it is trying to null out the target.
Either move off the target and have it hit on something else then move back to the target. Or turn off pinpointing and turn it on and go back over the target.
Doug

 

[Donut]

It happens to me all the time and am so use to it being low volume. I move off and swing by my shovel then back and it’s normal sound again.
Doug

 

[marjam]

I just got a 600, completed the 3.0 update, and it still does it. I thought something was wrong with it the first time it did it, but then I read about the problem here. I just go off the target while pinpointing when it does it, and when I go back over the target, the volume is back to normal. I know when I owned a dfx, it had a a feature called ratchet pinpointing, which would continuously drill down to the most accurate area it thought the target would be. At first I thought it might be a feature of the detector to have something like this, but from everyone's feedback, its a glitch. it isn't a deal breaker to owning one, the method above or clicking off pinpoint makes it go away.

 

[cudamark]

On an Equinox, auto ground balancing over a target will not make it null out. I don't know how this myth got started. Must be from using some other machine that did that.

 

[vferrari]

On an Equinox, auto ground balancing over a target will not make it null out. I don't know how this myth got started. Must be from using some other machine that did that.

Mark - I've refuted this myth before but it seems to fall on deaf ears by those who repeatedly dredge it up. I know it does happen on some detectors,, but GB on Equinox simply eliminates ground noise. It doesn't null out non-ferrous targets. See this thread if you really want your head to explode on this subject...http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/equinox/642361-ground-balance-0-a.html#post6607039

 

[Iron Buzz]

On an Equinox, auto ground balancing over a target will not make it null out. I don't know how this myth got started. Must be from using some other machine that did that.

I suspect this goes back to some early versions of auto groundbalance on other detectors and people are just bringing their past bad experiences into the future and assuming that nothing has been fixed.

 

[relicmeister]

I tend to avoid pinpoint mode except in rare instances. I only like the button hold or especially the trigger pinpoint of FT machines. Press on press off pinpoint is inefficient. I haven’t noticed the volume drop maybe cause I havnt used pinpoint enough

 

[cudamark]

Mark - I've refuted this myth before but it seems to fall on deaf ears by those who repeatedly dredge it up. I know it does happen on some detectors,, but GB on Equinox simply eliminates ground noise. It doesn't null out non-ferrous targets. See this thread if you really want your head to explode on this subject...http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/equinox/642361-ground-balance-0-a.html#post6607039

No thanks, my head has enough problems without adding possible explosions to the mix!