Equinox newbie Tip and you don't have to buy my book :)

[eman1000]

First a confession the Nox is my first DD coil. So for many this may be common knowledge but I must have overlooked this in the manual..?
I am used to using either the tear-drop (F22) or mostly concentric on the Tesoro/Bounty Hunter.

After missing multiple targets using the pinpoint feature in iron by several inches I was banging my head against the wall. I couldn't tell if I had multiple targets, a really deep target, hot rock..

Then I got home a started testing several coins on the floor and a light bulb went off and I felt so dumb!

There is a small arrow at the top of the coil. Even with sensitivity at 15 the detector can hit a dime at 6-8" in good soil right at this arrow. If you put the Nox in pinpoint mode and set it directly on the ground it will scream and show full bars.

Most of the time I was digging directly at the center of the shaft because is what I was used to with the Tesoro but this arrow is the sweet spot. In fact I can't tell any audible difference between a coin at center versus the arrow at the front of the coil in pinpoint mode when you are directly over the top of the coin (hopefully that makes sense)

So my suggestion is when you hit a target back off and creep towards it again when you get a the same VDI or audio response the tip of the coil (arrow) is your sweet spot.

I'm sure most everyone already knows this or figured it out quicker than I did but Wow I don't think I've ever been more frustrated with a detector than I was Saturday.

I kept thinking man I could have dug ten targets in the time it is taking me to find one with this POS...ugh turns out it was my fault. Now I need to get out there and dig all the stuff I left behind.

 

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[DeepseekerADS]

The wiggle back method was widely discussed with the CTX, and I found it always held true. Thus the EQ series continues this method of pin pointing.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Great post Eman!

 

[dirtlooter]

The great thing was you managed to figure it out. changing to a different type of machine can be challenging for a lot of us, especially when we are used to how another worked. Good luck with the machine

 

[smokeythecat]

Good thing you didn't panic and wrap it around a telephone pole!

 

[scotty544]

Helpful advice, thanks.

 

[Jacza]

picture

When using a DD coil think of this picture:

Double-D Search Coils

 

[etex]

Too bad you didn't get so frustrated you put it up for sale at half price

 

[eman1000]

Here is a image showing what I am talking about. See I'm used to targets being in location #2 (with a concentric coil 95% of the time)

I believe if you back off the target and wiggle forward as deepseeker said the targets are in location #1

Of course this would probably work in reverse as well and the target could be at the back of the coil.

Pinpoint audio and ID could sound the same with the target in anyone of these 3 locations or in any location of the front view of the picture Jacza posted for that matter.

So you have to find the method that works best for you but normal method of beep turn 90 degrees and beep again and dig wasn't good enough. The wiggle back/forward method seems like the way to go.

 

[Normsel]

When I use the wiggle method 99% of the time I look for the target at the front of the coil. If I used pinpoint more often than not the target is within 2" of the dead center of the coil. I have enough hours on mine that I know what to expect when I pinpoint. In trashy parks it is easy to dig trash if you haven't pinpointed properly.

One more thing the edge of the coil is very hot so you can get a really strong signal from the edge of the coil but then sweep until you know the target is close to center

 

[flgliderpilot]

It's easy to see why a DD coil can be much better than a circular coil at depth, but you need to use an X pattern to center your targets even in pinpoint mode.

 

[digger460]

On page 36 of the manual it say's "When all of the segments on the Discimination Scale are on, the target will be below the center of the coil. I have been using the center of the coil, and it's usually dead on. On the other hand, when I used my ATP, I alway's pinpointed with the front of the coil, so I tried that on the EQ, and it worked just as well. What ever works for you I guess.

I do like using the pinpoint for depth, because the depth scale is useless.

 

[HighVDI]

I hardly ever use pinpoint and I + the target usually to find it dead center under the coil.

 

[Echoplex]

All great suggestions and it is interesting to see the different techniques and tips. I have been using the PP function more and more and notice that once those segments are full, the target is dead center. I don't swipe side to side to PP, though. I use a sort of spiral pattern that tightens until I get full segments. My plugs are pretty tight with this method.

 

[Jacza]

I think the concentric coil has some advantages, when a coin lies on edge or diagonal, because the DD coil can only receive signals that are reflected straight upwards whereas the concentric outer coil receives from all directions, what the small inner coil has send to the object.

 

[dirtlooter]

seems like they taught us in school that for every gain there is a loss and visa versa. The object to me is to find what you can work with best or at least understand the best. Most people that don't know otherwise are happy with how and what they are doing if they are pretty consistent with it. Having said that, I do like the DD.

 

[andygold]

I'm finding that when pinpointing, the target is dead center of the coil, not at the arrow.

 

[Owassokie]

I think the biggest thing I've gained from this thread is there's basically no reason on the double coil to move it forward/backward. Only left/right. I do remember on my Ace 250 it was very easy to identify targets moving front/back, left/right. With the Nox, I take the time to find it left/right and then move to 90 degrees and finish the "+" by going left to right again. When doing this, the target will be in the center of the plus sign you just made (some people call it center of the X). It doesn't matter if you're using the arrow or the center of the coils. It takes a bit more time but works perfect.

 

[Jason in Enid]

As long as the target isnt a surface find, the center of the coil is still the sweet spot. If the target is shallow enough that the pinpoint is still kind of large, watch the screen. As you get closer and closer to being centered, the markers move up the sides of the graph. When you get directly over it, the markers will be as high as possible, if not all the way filled. As the while, there may be very little change in the audio, although most often there audio corresponds to the rise in the graph markers.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I think the biggest thing I've gained from this thread is there's basically no reason on the double coil to move it forward/backward. Only left/right. I do remember on my Ace 250 it was very easy to identify targets moving front/back, left/right. With the Nox, I take the time to find it left/right and then move to 90 degrees and finish the "+" by going left to right again. When doing this, the target will be in the center of the plus sign you just made (some people call it center of the X). It doesn't matter if you're using the arrow or the center of the coils. It takes a bit more time but works perfect.

Forward/back works too but, you just have to watch a little closer to find the sweet spot. If you have nearby targets, sometimes turning 90 degrees can also help eliminate the pinpoint contamination.