Best suited for CW Relics?

[Confetrit]

I have been thinking for a while now the possibility of trying a Minelab for hunting CW relics. I had first thought on the Safari which has a regular relic mode. I know that the Safari is said to have a little slower recovery speed, is a little heavier, and not waterproof like the new Minelab Equinox. I hunt slow as a rule, and I am more of a land hunter as opposed to water hunting, although the ability to water hunt is there if you choose too. I understand that they both operate on the multi-frequency platform. I may be wrong in this, but is the Equinox more suited for coins and jewelry, or would both the Safari and the Equinox both be equal in comparison as relic hunters?

 

[Normx2]

One that you like, fully understand, and are happy with

 

[Ben Town]

Equinox 800 would be my pick between the two .
I have a CTX and love it but plan on some time out west and want to hunt for gold. As the CTX isn’t a prospecting Detector I’ plan on a 800 for that because it’s an all around detector for any thing you want to look for . It’s fast, works well in iron , light weight, proven performer and priced right for a second detector for me.
Good luck in your search
BT

 

[Mega]

The Safari has a much wider range of coil sizes,at the moment Minelab only offer 1 coil for the Nox,then of course i would assume they will unveil the 6'' and 17'' but they wont be cheap,but the after market coil range for the Safari is massive.If you dont need a waterproof machine as you have mentioned then you could pick up some very good deals i would have thought if you shop around.

 

[Nauti]

They would both be good on relics.As Mega said,the safari is the cheaper option as far as adaptability goes.I think your choice depends on how important you think the waterproof feature is on the nox as both will do the job you want them for.

 

[Confetrit]

Thanks for the replies. It helps to hear what others say and think that are familiar with different models. I appreciate your time and input regarding this.

 

[vlad]

A unit that ground balances the discriminate side is a must: it is cheaper building units today with chips than in analog days. There
is no reason mid priced and above should not have this feature.
Without this circuit you can lose serious inches in depth. Another thing to consider: preset units are set a certain degree positive- in
neutral ground it may cause threshold to increase as opposed to negative soil which causes a lessening or null (if you use a
silent search circuit does not mean the ground has no effect-its driving the unit further into the null even if its not heard.)

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Vlad, I always love your inputs.

The OP's question is a Chevy vs Ford question. How tolerant and patient does he care to be ? Because there's actually some CW hunters who, believe it or not, are using high powered pulse machines (like the Minelab nugget machines), that can get a bullet or button or coin to 1.5 ft. or more. And TRUST ME : You "won't miss a thing" when hunting with one of those, eh ? You can cut any type ground minerals, eh ? You'll go deeper than any wimpy discriminator, eh ?

But the devil is in the details: Those may be fine for certain sites. But heaven-help-the-person who goes to certain other sites, that might be riddles with nails, birdshot, etc.... Those machines will "ring the bells of notre dame" off every single pushpin and staple and paperclip. You would be wishing you had a machine that discriminates.

Some CW sites might be a function of iron-see through (various 2-filter machines that tend to see through/around iron better). Like @ firepits, or burned down buildings, etc... Where depth is not so-much the issue, as iron-see-through is.

In other CW sites (wide open fields that aren't too junky), perhaps raw depth is the objective. And another factor is: How well worked is the site ? If you're the first one to find a camp or site, perhaps just the standard coin machine (Explorer, CZ6, Sovereign, various whites or garretts, etc...) will be just fine. To quickly get the conductors out. Versus if you're Johnny-come-lately, you might need more whistles and bells to eek anything more out.

And to simply suggest a machine, is heavily dependent on the skill of the user. For example, I tend to kick the butt of many, even in hard-worked sites where raw depth is needed, with a simple Explorer II. But that's because I'm super in tune with it. Put in the hands of others, they may not find anything but shallow clad, as they don't understand the subtle tonal nuances.

So it's a Ford vs Chevy question.