Equinox Battery Pic

[IQ-2018]

Mine is on the way so I can look then but it sure looks replaceable by the user but that will void warranty so until then we have to use the cheap Chinese battery's minelab use, what I wanted to know is there a small circuit board on the battery? guess there would be I am sure where the 3 leads connect anyway does the warranty cover 3 years on the battery?

just wondering as my CTX minmax's only lasted 12 months and the warranty was 12 months so

thanks for the help and posts on here should prove to be a different detector where it fits in to my line up will be in the testing and that's all the fun right

Personally I'm not a fan of the equinox, but I am still keeping a open mind incase they change it or something new comes out that makes it better. It just isn't exciting to me. Mostly cause minelab makes a VLF machine then calls it something fancy even though its just a VLF machine. Heres my advice fancy words don't change that its still same old tech we have had for years.

Honestly, for me the machine is probably decent, but I have other machines that do better, if I'm on land I'm going to use my v3i if I'm on a beach I'm going to use my Excal which hands down is superior to the equinox on beaches but hey as I said everyone is entitled to using what they want, I'm just voicing my opinion.

there are something's I don't like before I even get it , number one the headphone socket and might require some thought to get the best out of it strength wise and audio wise and the cheap battery, other than that it seems pretty good ascetically, but haven't held mine yet.. so will reserve more thoughts till then.

the thing that got me in is light weight and salt functionality if it can do well in heavy iron in the dirt then that's a big plus for me anyway I am getting sick of heavy metal detectors after using light weight machines its hard to go swing the top end heavy machines people know what they are I don't have to name them and I own them but quite happy to show them the door if this thing can get 85% + performance of the heavy ones.

all this is subjective as mine is not in hand so how it works for me remains to be seen so its a hail Mary of sorts to liberate me from the big bangers fingers crossed hey

I mean if that means guys start selling off CTX's cheap then its a win win for me lol

Time will tell

 

[Doctorcoinz]

Most consumer electronic items can actually be repaired, most but not all. The main problem when things go wrong is finding some one who is fully capable of fixing it.
In the UK there seems like there is a big skill shortage in people capable of fixing a lot of modern gear. Most university students flip burgers!

 

[jas415]

Everything can be 'fixed', the warranty is the issue. The key to the battery replacment is a persons willingness to do the repair and not jack it up! A tiny gasket/O-ring slightly warped or out of place and the electronics are probably toast. But, hopefully that will be a dealer fix for maybe $40-50, while maintaining any remaining warranty..

Zincpenny, how about getting your hands on one and test it in the water then give us some side by side or practical comparisons. I think the Excal is possibly the best water machine built, BUT it does not have a reputation for hitting the small gold chains. None do for that matter, that I know of. If you do a test and it does hit the small stuff, and I believe it will have to be buried shallow (all the tests show it will hit small but shallow), and also hits bigger stuff deep, then for the money, the Equinox is the single absolute best 'All Around' detector money can buy! I know it does well on land, and I know it is price compatible with all other 'good' and 'great' land machines, but the real determininhg factor will be the saltwater use! If it does what is says it will do, with users confiming it, then it will be the best all around detector anyone can buy, at a great price! Yes, in a specific niche it can be beat (some are deeper, some are better in iron soil, some are better in 500' deep water,etc..), but it is designed and built to be an 'all around' detector for the consumer and I think it fills that 'niche' pretty well.

I know of NO OTHER machine that can make the all same claims, none! But, we all know 'It aint BS if you can back it up'!

 

[doc holiday232]

The key word above is"CLAIMS"-----not PROOFS.

 

[TomNH]

Most consumer electronic items can actually be repaired, most but not all. The main problem when things go wrong is finding some one who is fully capable of fixing it.
In the UK there seems like there is a big skill shortage in people capable of fixing a lot of modern gear. Most university students flip burgers!

The last training I had was abt 20 yrs ago. It was for Zenith & in the old days several sessions were run with 50-75 people. This one had abt
25. I was 45yrs old & the youngest one there ! You just cant make a real living at it anymore. You can fix a TV but they are board level.
About 2/3 of the time you get lucky BUT if you need a board they only make so many & they go fast. Sometimes the sets are still being sold
and the parts are DISCO. BTW I represented 3 different shops so they could keep there warranty status.
Appliances the same. You get a rotted out spider & bearing on a front loader. To fix it right you need to by a sub assy with tubs etc.
Add the labor to that & you got $300-$500 repair on a 4 yr old $600 washer.
Last thing is quality. A good TV ( RCA & Zenith ) made in the 70's can last almost forever with minor repairs. Same with appliances. I just retired
my almost 40 yr old Maytag washer, still working. Only reason I did was I wanted to get a Speed Queen before they did a re design. We got
20-30 yrs to go & that would be pushing it with the Maytag........ BTW its NOT energy star so in 30 yrs a great grand child will probably
be using it.

enuf fer now
HH Tom
LFOD !

 

[Champ Ferguson]

Thanks for posting, Dan.
HaHaHa- another troll drama shot down.

 

[Zinc Penny]

Not that the equinox is a bad machine, just not good and not really anything special. A lot of poor design decisions really. If it becomes better over time then maybe ill give it a shot, especially if I'm borrowing the machine I test cause I would not buy one.

 

[sgoss66]

Just curious, Zinc Penny, how you can critique a machine, and especially compare its performance to other machines, without having had one in your hand? Your statements read as though you are someone who has tested/used the Equinox, and are reporting your results to us (which of course would be fine, if that were so). But, after saying it's "not a good machine, nothing special, many poor design decisions, the V3i is better on land, the Excal is hands-down superior on the beach," which sound like statements based on experience with the unit, you then say "if they improve it over time, then maybe I'll try one" -- confirming that you have never even swung one...



Steve

 

[Ytcoinshooter]

Thank you. Great information. A single 5000 mHa battery....hmmm. Well ML knows how much juice is needed and these things do have a voltage regulator. I wonder how long before a third party like RnB will be offering something - but will ML void the warranty for a non oem battery?!? Oh, just swap the oem back in if needed.

 

[Zinc Penny]

Just curious, Zinc Penny, how you can critique a machine, and especially compare its performance to other machines, without having had one in your hand? Your statements read as though you are someone who has tested/used the Equinox, and are reporting your results to us (which of course would be fine, if that were so). But, after saying it's "not a good machine, nothing special, many poor design decisions, the V3i is better on land, the Excal is hands-down superior on the beach," which sound like statements based on experience with the unit, you then say "if they improve it over time, then maybe I'll try one" -- confirming that you have never even swung one...



Steve

I'm a person who has swung one but does not own one, and also is my opinion based on what ive read, analyzed and learned online and in text about the machine. I think if they took it back to the drawing board and made a few updates physically to the design then redid the software it might be something worth using, But as of now its like a half baked idea that they pushed out more for the money than having a good product.

I enjoyed using a Minelab Safari when I had one, I like the excal, which I own 2 of. And I also own a v3i, and have owned aside from the ctx just about every detector that i could get my hands on in the last 8 years.

 

[sgoss66]

Fair enough -- at least you HAVE swung one. I assumed you hadn't, since you said you don't "have" one. If you indeed did some comparisons with it and your Excal and V3i, and then concluded "the Equinox is not as good," then at least you are doing a hands-on, direct comparison.

Thanks!

Steve

 

[Zinc Penny]

Fair enough -- at least you HAVE swung one. I assumed you hadn't, since you said you don't "have" one. If you indeed did some comparisons with it and your Excal and V3i, and then concluded "the Equinox is not as good," then at least you are doing a hands-on, direct comparison.

Thanks!

Steve

My biggest gripe is probably the tones, they are not really that good. If I could I would have changed several things. I would like to think I know enough to design a detector, just not make one.

 

[Nuke em]

I tried to take miine out earlier yesterday but it wouldn't move after the screws were off . How does it come out ? What do you use ?

 

[WaterWalker]

I have not taken mine apart, but by the picture you can see two O-Rings that keep the battery dry and will make it very hard to "pull" out.
Why are you trying to get the battery out? They have a circuit board on the pack and are propitiatory battery. If you want one plan on buying 1,000 of them right now.
Maybe in the future someone will offer them or an improved version for sale. I will not hole my breath.
If you have a problem with the battery, I would contact Minelab to get it resolved.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I have not taken mine apart, but by the picture you can see two O-Rings that keep the battery dry and will make it very hard to "pull" out.
Why are you trying to get the battery out? They have a circuit board on the pack and are propitiatory battery. If you want one plan on buying 1,000 of them right now.
Maybe in the future someone will offer them or an improved version for sale. I will not hole my breath.
If you have a problem with the battery, I would contact Minelab to get it resolved.

Minelab had stated already that these batteries will be available for sale and are a user replaceable item.

 

[Willee - Texas]

Mine is on the way so I can look then but it sure looks replaceable by the user but that will void warranty so until then we have to use the cheap Chinese battery's minelab use, what I wanted to know is there a small circuit board on the battery? guess there would be I am sure where the 3 leads connect anyway does the warranty cover 3 years on the battery?

just wondering as my CTX minmax's only lasted 12 months and the warranty was 12 months so

thanks for the help and posts on here should prove to be a different detector where it fits in to my line up will be in the testing and that's all the fun right

Personally I'm not a fan of the equinox, but I am still keeping a open mind incase they change it or something new comes out that makes it better. It just isn't exciting to me. Mostly cause minelab makes a VLF machine then calls it something fancy even though its just a VLF machine. Heres my advice fancy words don't change that its still same old tech we have had for years.

Honestly, for me the machine is probably decent, but I have other machines that do better, if I'm on land I'm going to use my v3i if I'm on a beach I'm going to use my Excal which hands down is superior to the equinox on beaches but hey as I said everyone is entitled to using what they want, I'm just voicing my opinion.

VLF = Very Low Frequency.

 

[Nuke em]

Its just how do you get it out. Its stiff as hell. Just looking to get a backup.

 

[Ytcoinshooter]

Mine is on the way so I can look then but it sure looks replaceable by the user but that will void warranty so until then we have to use the cheap Chinese battery's minelab use, what I wanted to know is there a small circuit board on the battery? guess there would be I am sure where the 3 leads connect anyway does the warranty cover 3 years on the battery?

just wondering as my CTX minmax's only lasted 12 months and the warranty was 12 months so

thanks for the help and posts on here should prove to be a different detector where it fits in to my line up will be in the testing and that's all the fun right

Personally I'm not a fan of the equinox, but I am still keeping a open mind incase they change it or something new comes out that makes it better. It just isn't exciting to me. Mostly cause minelab makes a VLF machine then calls it something fancy even though its just a VLF machine. Heres my advice fancy words don't change that its still same old tech we have had for years.

Honestly, for me the machine is probably decent, but I have other machines that do better, if I'm on land I'm going to use my v3i if I'm on a beach I'm going to use my Excal which hands down is superior to the equinox on beaches but hey as I said everyone is entitled to using what they want, I'm just voicing my opinion.

Wow, I think Zinc needs to spend more time swinging the Equinox. The Excalibur has a slow recovery and is not as versitile, I'm keeping my modded Excalibur for many reasons but it's not as sensitive (small, fine gold) or as deep as the Equinox in the salty beach / water environment from my expireinces. The V3i is an excellent detector for those who take the time (much time) to learn it for their environment. The V excels in target resolution, depth reading and fine tuning. I love mine but it hasn't even been used yet this year. Smart money, my smart money anyways says if you add the Equinox as your third detector to the Excalibur & V you are set. It can backup either detector or take the lead, especially in the beach and water hunting trips. I was never a fan of the Explorer / Etrac platforms for many reasons, especially the ergonomics, the tones and a few other things. The CTX was intriguing when it was released around 2012 but there were some early reports of issues and the price tag (to me) said let's wait and see how it shakes out. I hope you give the EQX an honest shot knowing it's not a magic wand and does have some shortcomings. Target resolution is lacking, not so accurate depth indicator and no overload signal.
My 2¢ worth.

 

[Mark kus]

Wow, a Chinese made battery and not a very big or high quality one. I mean as long as it works for people its not a problem but I am expecting quite a lot will fail because it is Chinese made.

They have to cut costs somewhere.

 

[treasure_hunter]

I own multiple Minelab detectors including Sovereign GT, Excals (4), a CTX 3030 and Xterra 705 and now the Equinox 800. I am not seeing it as a "half baked idea" at all. The Equinox will detect a 4 grain nugget, gold chains and gold rings, it is light weight, runs smooth and it is deep. It was not designed to compete with the excal, but on wet sand and shallow water it can indeed compete with the excal unless your running the excal in reverse discrimination which I do.