Single Frequency and the Equinox - Pros and Cons

[vferrari]

I used to think that ML added single frequency as an afterthought or as a means to make newer multifrequency users more comfortable with the machine. It is obviously, though, just another tool in the swiss army knife that is Equinox (maybe I should say Austrailian Army knife, lol) as you can see from recent testing and experiences posted by users using the 6" coil.

SIngle frequency comes with both upsides and downsides so I thought I would list some of these below for consideration when deciding to use single frequency. This is not meant to encourage or dissuade use of single frequency, just putting some facts and considerations on the table so folks can be more aware of some less than obvious issues and advantages.

First - Single Frequency Detecting Basics

Lower frequencies (e.g., 5 khz) tend to peneterate deeper into the ground, their longer wavelength makes them more suited to detecting larger targets, and they are more sensitive to higher conductive targets like silver. Similarly, higher frequencies (e.g., 40 khz) penetrate less deep into the ground and therefore have a limited maximum depth capability than lower frequencies independent of target characterisitics. Higher frequencies have smaller wavelengths and can resolve smaller targets like jewelry pieces better and are more sensitive to lower conductivity targets like aluminum, nickel, lead, and, of course, gold. These effects are all relative and do not mean that high frequencies cannot detect large targets and that low frequencies cannot detect gold.

Second - Modes That Allow Single Frequency

Park 1/2, Field 1/2 - allow use of all single frequencies that your machine is capable of generating. For 600 users this means 5, 10, and 15 khz. For 800 users, this means 5, 10, 15, 20, and 40 khz. Just a reminder that according to ML, both the 600 and 800 utilize elements of all 5 of these base frequencies when operating in Multi IQ.

Beach 1/2 - Only allow multifrequency operation (Multi IQ only) using their respective custom Multi iQ profiles.

Gold 1/2 (800 only) - allow use of only 20 and 40 khz in single frequency mode.

Third - Advantages of Single Frequency

Besides the detecting basics I mentioned above, namely that 5 khz is best for deep silver and 40 khz is probably best for small gold. It follows that these single frequencies UNDER SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES may outperform the corresponding Multi IQ profile for those targets. In other words, you may find deep silver better at 5 khz than using Park 1 or Beach 1 which are supposedly the deepest "silver" modes. Similarly, you may find 40 khz outperforms Gold Mode Multi IQ on small gold. I think that has been identified by folks testing the new 6" coil in single frequency. (Thanks to the extensive testing by Calabash Digger, TNsharpsooter, laidback4sure, pulltabfelix, CharlesUpstateNY, and others)

Another advantage of single frequency is that it may enable you to operate the Equinox in high EMI situations that noise cancel does not mitigate when in Multi IQ. In general, higher single frequencies are less susceptible to EMI.

Finally, the single frequency "trick" can help ferret out junk ferrous targets because target ID does not behave in a conventional manner when you change frequency on a ferrous target that is falsing. In general, on a given non-ferrous target, target ID increased with frequency. Falsing ferrous tends to give the opposite reaction to frequency change or gives an unstable TID when changing frequency.

Fourth - Single Frequency Disadvantages with Equinox

Put simply, you lose many of the Multi IQ advantages - namely - good performance in highly mineralized or salt ground conditions because multifrequency enables superior ground balancing and forgiving performance in a less than ideal ground balance situation. Multi IQ is also not just multifrequency but also gives each mode its unique performance personality because of the Multi IQ signal processing algorithms that are used to give stable/accurate target ID and tone. Some of this is lost when you go to single frequency. In fact, I suspect that Park 1/2 and Field 1/2 all behave identically (if you also changed all the user settings such as recovery speed, tone numbers and pitch, and discrimination patterns to be equal) . Finally, Iron Bias is not available as a user setting when in single frequency mode because it needs Multi IQ processing to work.

Hope this helps give you a useful rundown of the plusses and minuses to using single frequency on the Equinox.

Looking forward to additional discussion and thoughts regarding using single frequency on the Equinox.

HH

vf

 

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[tnsharpshooter]

Based on my testing and soil, for single freq ops to have advantage, and I am talking 5 khz on higher conductive object, there must be something affecting actual detecting scenario (nonferrous, not ferrous).

I have checked a load of nonferrous (suspect targets in the wild), at no time was use of single freq 15, 20or 40khz, did theynever trump signal gotten using multimfreq.
To be fair here the detect modes insused in my comparing were field 2 and park 2.

Also, special note here. Using stock coil on Equinox 800 in the wild using multi freq.
The signals achieved on what turned out to be actual nonferrous, where the use of single freq ops of 20khz and 40 khz would provide NO signal whatsoever when swept, these particualr targets were a 100 percent fail to detect using cute little french thing wearing LF coils (9” and 11”). These targets were well within reach depth wise of either of the two coils too upon recovery.

When hunting a site I recommend user to use muti freq first, then use 5 khz say later on in modern trash sites lokking for higher conductive objects.

Another good use of 5khz would be if seeking say a silver ring recently lost.
There is also some 3d advantage using 5 khz too when higher conductove is beneath of higher conductive. Still has its limts though.

Cheers

 

[b3y0nd3r]

FANTASTIC AND INSPIRING ARTICLE!!! Great work! Only one thing I would point out is the lower frequencies are "dumping grounds" for EMI. So city hunting can be tough.

 

[b3y0nd3r]

Based on my testing and soil, for single freq ops to have advantage, and I am talking 5 khz on higher conductive object, there must be something affecting actual detecting scenario (nonferrous, not ferrous).

I have checked a load of nonferrous (suspect targets in the wild), at no time was use of single freq 15, 20or 40khz, did theynever trump signal gotten using multimfreq.
To be fair here the detect modes insused in my comparing were field 2 and park 2.

Also, special note here. Using stock coil on Equinox 800 in the wild using multi freq.
The signals achieved on what turned out to be actual nonferrous, where the use of single freq ops of 20khz and 40 khz would provide NO signal whatsoever when swept, these particualr targets were a 100 percent fail to detect using cute little french thing wearing LF coils (9” and 11”). These targets were well within reach depth wise of either of the two coils too upon recovery.

When hunting a site I recommend user to use muti freq first, then use 5 khz say later on in modern trash sites lokking for higher conductive objects.

Another good use of 5khz would be if seeking say a silver ring recently lost.
There is also some 3d advantage using 5 khz too when higher conductove is beneath of higher conductive. Still has its limts though.

Cheers

Warning do not make this political. <-----This is a joke!

 

[vferrari]

FANTASTIC AND INSPIRING ARTICLE!!! Great work! Only one thing I would point out is the lower frequencies are "dumping grounds" for EMI. So city hunting can be tough.

Agree - I briefly mentioned that higher frequencies are less susceptible to EMI but it was buried in the "Advantages" discussion.

Warning do not make this political. <-----This is a joke!

Darn, I was going to talk about the advantages of detecting single frequency while wearing a tinfoil hat. Lol.

Seriously though, TNSS is right about hitting your site with Multi IQ first, perhaps grid or criss-cross with different modes, and hit specific "hot spots" with that 6 inch coil in multi or single to unmask the silver.

 

[flgliderpilot]

Interesting topic, I was just wondering this myself. I've done a bit of hunting in single freq 15kz on the beach, dry sand ... I found it very chatty, reminded me of my AT Pro.

Will have to try other frequencies to see how they compare.

 

[digger460]

Nice write up VF! I'll have to try 5kz on a site that I have used only Multi. See if I can scratch out some deeper silver. Thanks!

 

[tnsharpshooter]

Nice write up VF! I'll have to try 5kz on a site that I have used only Multi. See if I can scratch out some deeper silver. Thanks!

You might not find deeper, rather shallow.

 

[flgliderpilot]

I played with 5khz in my test bed and was less than impressed. The target ID's were all over the place.

 

[vferrari]

I played with 5khz in my test bed and was less than impressed. The target ID's were all over the place.

Yep, covered that issue in part 4 of my discussion regarding the disadvantages since TID stability is one of the things that Multi IQ processing brings to the table. So raw detection at depth may improve for high conductive targets but you are pushing the detector beyond its limits to provide a stable ID without the benefit of Multi IQ.

What Tnsharpshooter was finding, however, with 5 kHz was NOT that he was hitting deep high conductors better than Multi IQ, but that he was hitting shallow high conductors better that were hiding amongst non-ferrous junk like pull tabs. It seems the Multi IQ "2" modes were religiously hitting on the aluminum junk targets giving solid 13 or 14 TIDs but the shallow high conductors were masked by the non-ferrous junk. Switching to 5 kHz allowed the shallow, masked high conductors to pop out of the junk and sound off and register a high conductor TID. Not sure how Park 1 or Field 1 might do under thise conditions because they were not tested. Similarly, laidback4sure's high conductive razor blade find at 5 kHz revealed itself after Park 2 failed to reveal it in his yard.

There are just so many unpredictable tradeoffs and competing effects when going to single frequency with thick ferrous and/or non-ferrous trash and varying soil conditions, that outside of controlled test environments, it is often a toss up as to whether it is worth the trip. As always YMMV.

 

[dirtlooter]

so many variables and no cut and dry solution to any of them. But the 5 kHz trick could really have it's place like you say. I am not as apt to spend as much time as some of you do trying to milk out the very best performance, I just have too many struggles with my brain for this. But, several of you eat this kind of stuff up and guys like me can still benefit from it. My days of doing exactly these things are pretty much over with, too much deep thought for my brain to wrap itself around but I manage to grasp a little bit here and there. I do want to say thanks for your efforts and time put in plus revealing the results to the rest of us. Yes, some of us are lazy but some of us are challenged. Kudos to each of you.

 

[vferrari]

Boiling it down:

Multi IQ should be your go to using whatever search profile suits your site conditions and targets of interest.

Park 1 - Silver/Clad, parks, athletic fields, yards
Park 2 - Jewelry/Relics - parks/fields
Field 1 - High Conductive relics in fields/woods beep - dig 2-tone
Field 2 - Relics in plowed fields, woods, meadows


If in thick iron - lower iron bias, preferably to 0, to unmask non-ferrous.

If in thick non-ferrous trash (can slaw, pull tabs) hit with Multi IQ and then try 5 kHz to unmask high conductors amongst the non-ferrous trash.

 

[tnsharpshooter]

Something else here to think about too.
I don’t know this for sure, but if folks read my EMI testing thread.
If I was a betting money, using multi freq, allows Equinox to better operate at higher performance on average vs single frequency.
What I am saying is, even if there is a conflict frequency wise with one of the freqs employed while Multi frequency is used, the other non confilcted or less conflicted freqs still perform. Hence Nox performance overall not degraded as much as say a single freqs ops detector.

Cheers.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Thank you for sharing!

 

[smokeythecat]

Just ask Vferrari what I break down to using when the going gets tough....