dfmike
Well-known member
I was waiting for the Nokta simultaneous multi frequency to show up before winter sets in but since it seems to be a no-go, I decided to take a chance on the Equinox. A little background info: I have used many detectors through the years : Fisher F44, F5, F19, Teknetics 8000, G2+, Nokta Fors CoRe, Whites MX7 and Minelab X Terra 705. Of those, I still use the F19, Teknetics G2+ and Nokta. The other detectors in that list are long gone. The areas where I mainly detect are dense woods, schoolyards and parks with heavy trash of all kinds (ferrous and non ferrous debris). I occasionally do fresh water beach detection.
I installed a carbon shaft and the optional Minelab 6" DD coil on it and out I went. First impression is that the machine is very light with the carbon shaft and the little coil. It's possibly the lightest detector I have ever used. The weight is really well balanced overall but in all honesty, the build seems somewhat flimsy. I will have to treat it with delicacy I guess. I read Minelab's manual, set it to park one, 5 tones, recovery speed 3 and started detecting an area I had already pounded with my other detectors. The last time I was there, pickings started to be really slim (4 old pennies). It took awhile to get used to the new tones and different ID scheme but nevertheless, the initial results impressed me. In about 4 hours I uncovered 18 pennies ranging from 1932 to the 1960's. I hit two silver dimes from 1951 and 1953. The stainless ring was found on a beach I had gone to the day before just to get used to the tones, target ID and pin pointing.
Maybe it was just luck of the draw that I found so many good targets in a limited area I had pounded before. Time will tell. There are two things that set it apart from my other detectors in this area: Since old rusty bottle caps rule here, my other machines can have issues with their ID and tones making it rather difficult to differentiate them from silver or copper coins especially with a DD coil. With the Equinox there seems to be no confusion. Whether bottle caps are rusty or not, they ID lower than pennies and silver dimes which is a huge plus in an area such as this. That high tone on coins is a big help as well. It grabs ones attention quickly when most of what I hear is the tone where bottle caps fall (around 12-14). Long story short, first impression positive. I hope it will continue as I learn the machine and gain experience with it. I'm anxious to get back out there.
I installed a carbon shaft and the optional Minelab 6" DD coil on it and out I went. First impression is that the machine is very light with the carbon shaft and the little coil. It's possibly the lightest detector I have ever used. The weight is really well balanced overall but in all honesty, the build seems somewhat flimsy. I will have to treat it with delicacy I guess. I read Minelab's manual, set it to park one, 5 tones, recovery speed 3 and started detecting an area I had already pounded with my other detectors. The last time I was there, pickings started to be really slim (4 old pennies). It took awhile to get used to the new tones and different ID scheme but nevertheless, the initial results impressed me. In about 4 hours I uncovered 18 pennies ranging from 1932 to the 1960's. I hit two silver dimes from 1951 and 1953. The stainless ring was found on a beach I had gone to the day before just to get used to the tones, target ID and pin pointing.
Maybe it was just luck of the draw that I found so many good targets in a limited area I had pounded before. Time will tell. There are two things that set it apart from my other detectors in this area: Since old rusty bottle caps rule here, my other machines can have issues with their ID and tones making it rather difficult to differentiate them from silver or copper coins especially with a DD coil. With the Equinox there seems to be no confusion. Whether bottle caps are rusty or not, they ID lower than pennies and silver dimes which is a huge plus in an area such as this. That high tone on coins is a big help as well. It grabs ones attention quickly when most of what I hear is the tone where bottle caps fall (around 12-14). Long story short, first impression positive. I hope it will continue as I learn the machine and gain experience with it. I'm anxious to get back out there.