Wait for Equinox 800 or pick up a used XP Deus?

[Yentlequible]

Hello everyone,

I'm jumping head first into this hobby, and I'd prefer to start out with something decent right out of the gate. I'd originally considered the AT Max, but I think the two in my title would be much better options to last for a long time.

Back to my question, Equinox 800 is out of stock everywhere I can see besides some expensive ones on ebay, while my local classifieds have an XP Deus that is currently marked at $900 and is supposedly only a few months old. Would getting the Deus used be a better option, or is there a risk of a damaged detector that I should avoid?

Thanks in advance!

 

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[G.A.P.metal]

Welcome to Tnet !
If you live where it`s warm a long time i`d wait ...but if your season is short or live up north ...time is a wasting !
Helps if we know where you live.
Gary

 

[digger460]

800 if you can wait.

 

[Yentlequible]

Welcome to Tnet !
If you live where it`s warn a long time i`d wait ...but if your season is short or live up north ...time is a wasting !
Helps if we know where you live.
Gary

I live in Northern Utah, and it's been getting very warm very fast here. Nearly the entire year would be possible for detecting, minus a few winter months.

 

[G.A.P.metal]

well i`d have a hard time waiting...hard to tell how long of a wait...hard decision...the Deus is a good machine !

 

[Yentlequible]

Agreed! I'd love one as fast as possible. If only I knew what the wait on the Equinox was...

My only other concern is what type of Deus that one for sale is. From what I can see, they come in multiple packages? All I can see on the one available is that is does have the bigger display on it, but I don't know anything about the coil size or accessories.

 

[eman1000]

Northern Utah, If your not looking for Gold nuggets then just get the 600 its exactly what your looking for. I'd personally pass on the Deus the 600 can run head to head against it and when minelab releases the 6" coil I'm betting it will surpass the deus in Iron as well.

The 600 is readily available. Best of Luck

 

[WIDirtFishing]

I was in a similar dilemma. I was going to buy a decent used Deus locally for about $850, and then just sell it on fleabay when my 800 arrived. I then did a lot of reading, comparison, and emailed Minelab a few times and decided on getting the 600. I'm in MN so I really don't need gold mode, The advanced settings offered by the 800 I personally won't use, and I have my own waterproof earbuds (because I hate the big over the ear headphones) & I picked up a APTX LL bluetooth receiver (a poor mans wm08) for $30 online.
And Multi-Iq is the same on both machines and that's what I really wanted, so I just went with the 600. Saved some money and bought a new pinpointer too haha.
The added features and accessories when you look at the face value are "worth it" to upgrade to the 800, just not for me.

 

[Yentlequible]

Thanks for the responses!

I would enjoy looking for gold here and there, but that definitely wouldn't be my main use for it. I'm sure I'd mainly be sticking around parks and around old settlements wherever I could find them. I do know of some old abandoned mining towns, however, so a gold feature could come in handy.

I asked the seller on the Deus, and he just barely sold it. Kind of a bummer, but I guess that narrows down my decision a little more. I'll definitely be looking at the 600 more now.

 

[eman1000]

Thanks for the responses!

I would enjoy looking for gold here and there, but that definitely wouldn't be my main use for it. I'm sure I'd mainly be sticking around parks and around old settlements wherever I could find them. I do know of some old abandoned mining towns, however, so a gold feature could come in handy.

I asked the seller on the Deus, and he just barely sold it. Kind of a bummer, but I guess that narrows down my decision a little more. I'll definitely be looking at the 600 more now.

Just to be clear the 600 will find Gold for sure. Gold coins, jewelry, even nuggets it just does not have a dedicated prospecting mode. For Park hunting and settlements (looking for coins) the 600 in my opinion is the way to go. You do miss the blue tooth headphones and the custom user mode feature as well, but I ordered a 600 from Bart @ bigboyhobbies and had it in about 1 week so how soon do you want to hunt?

 

[Yentlequible]

Just to be clear the 600 will find Gold for sure. Gold coins, jewelry, even nuggets it just does not have a dedicated prospecting mode. For Park hunting and settlements (looking for coins) the 600 in my opinion is the way to go. You do miss the blue tooth headphones and the custom user mode feature as well, but I ordered a 600 from Bart @ bigboyhobbies and had it in about 1 week so how soon do you want to hunt?

I'm ready to hunt as soon as possible. I nearly bought the AT Max last week until I did more research. Bigboyshobbies is showing the 600 on backorder right now, unfortunately, as is Amazon... Must be a popular time to be purchasing.

 

[G.A.P.metal]

Minelab factory is having a hard time keeping up with the demand of the new Equinox Models .

 

[WIDirtFishing]

I'm ready to hunt as soon as possible. I nearly bought the AT Max last week until I did more research. Bigboyshobbies is showing the 600 on backorder right now, unfortunately, as is Amazon... Must be a popular time to be purchasing.

If you call around and send some emails you can find a 600. That’s what i did with Keith from Fort Bedford Metal Detectors. Great guy! I see why Terry brags about him all the time.

 

[smokeythecat]

Wig you do salt water beaches get the 800. If not get the deus.

 

[Yentlequible]

If you call around and send some emails you can find a 600. That’s what i did with Keith from Fort Bedford Metal Detectors. Great guy! I see why Terry brags about him all the time.

Awesome, I'll start asking around for sure. Maybe I'll see if I have any local shops around here first.

Wig you do salt water beaches get the 800. If not get the deus.

I probably won't be doing salt water unless I feel like driving to the coast. I do live near Salt Lake City, but I doubt there's much around this gross lake. I wouldn't mind having the option anyway, since you never know when you'll need it.

 

[doggoneitdignit]

Wait to buy an 800 for now you many want to consider pick up a secong machine, cheap over $200 Tesoro Compadre, used Silver, Mojave, or Cibola, maybe a Teknetics Liberator or even BH LRP. These are very good machines to consider.

 

[Yentlequible]

Wait to buy an 800 for now you many want to consider pick up a secong machine, cheap over $200 Tesoro Compadre, used Silver, Mojave, or Cibola, maybe a Teknetics Liberator or even BH LRP. These are very good machines to consider.

Good to know. Yeah, I decided that I'll probably wait for the 800 instead of getting the 600, at the very least. The gold mode alone would be worth it for me, as I'll be out in the desert a lot searching for the abandoned mining shafts and towns.

I'll search up those machines too, thanks. I have a friend who's letting me borrow her Garrett Ace 400 too, so it'll be fun to try a few out.

 

[doggoneitdignit]

Good to know. Yeah, I decided that I'll probably wait for the 800 instead of getting the 600, at the very least. The gold mode alone would be worth it for me, as I'll be out in the desert a lot searching for the abandoned mining shafts and towns.

I'll search up those machines too, thanks. I have a friend who's letting me borrow her Garrett Ace 400 too, so it'll be fun to try a few out.

Let me know what you think of her Ace 400 as well, was going to indicate one Garrett above earlier. Forgot to mention that they are very good units too and from what I hear you could get lucky could pick up a used AT PRO and definately in comparison to the AT PRO the 400 is no slouch.

 

[Yentlequible]

Let me know what you think of her Ace 400 as well, was going to indicate one Garrett above earlier. Forgot to mention that they are very good units too and from what I hear you could get lucky could pick up a used AT PRO and definately in comparison to the AT PRO the 400 is no slouch.

So I've only used it once so far, but I got a couple hours of messing around with it. Being completely new to detectors, it was a bit of a learning experience, but not hard to figure out. I used it in a friend's backyard and was getting lots of signals from past year's projects. It seemed pretty reliable, and we dug every spot we found. Without a pin pointer though, we wasted a lot of time sifting through dirt only to find little pieces of scrap metal. Right before we quit, we did find a cool little trinket that I still don't have an ID for. Something old and solid brass or copper. Similar to a button or little weight. So I'd say it was a successful first hunt. My pinpointer arrived today, so the next time I'm out should be much better.

Overall, it seems like a solid detector. I only messed with the preset modes, but I got mostly similar results across them all. It has a depth guage that didn't seem too accurate, but I'll be able to test that better with this pin pointer. But at the very least, the detector seemed pretty accurate to a certain depth. There was nearly always a little scrap of something wherever it went off. It'll keep me satisfied until I get the model I want.

 

[doggoneitdignit]

Thanks for sharing your hunt with the Ace 400. It is always good to remember to keep it in Jewerly mode most of the time from what I have been doing and what others have mentioned so you won't miss on any good targets, or even all metal. It is great to hear that you can borrow someones detector to try it out before you buy as there are alot to choose from especially while thinking what you want as a cheaper go to machine...while your waiting for the NOX 800 to arrive if that will be your prize machine which sounds like a good choice.

HH.