It seems to me ... Equinox ...

[Willee - Texas]

The only real advantage of the Equinox detectors that I see would be to salt water beach hunters, or gold prospectors.
The cost is about as low as you can get for a new waterproof water detector but I see no real advantage for the average coin hunter.
I doubt the equinox can match the performance or depth of the Sovereign GT detector in the average park or school ground.
So what is the big demand all about ... its a Chinese made piece of electronics that will soon be duplicated by other Chinese manufactures.
Makro has already brought their knock off with the Multi-Kruzer ... anyone think it is a good as the CTX 3030 or even the Excalibur II?

Just my opinion ... and I would be very much like to hear the opinions of others about this.

 

[vlad]

not China.

 

[Elton]

not China.

and the Kruzer is different.....

 

[D&P-OR]

CTX or Etrac it ain't!!! That never was Minelabs intention in the first place (compete with top dog FBS).

 

[REVIER]

Read this...
Google...

Minelab E-trac, CTX 3030, Excalibur Versus Equinox
By Steve Herschbach

...because links to other sites are not allowed here.
This is the most logical and simplest description of Minelab's intentions that I have read so far.


According to Steve Herschbach the hype has overcome the facts.
This model was not designed to compete with or match the performance of the Sovereign, the E Trac, the 3030 or any other Minelab models, it was designed to compete with other brands at their price points and also take up the slack in the few areas their higher end models are a bit lacking and still be somewhat affordable to the masses.


You know that experiment where you whisper something to a person in a long line and they whisper it to the next one and so on and by the end of the line the last person repeats something totally different because it changes slightly as each person repeats what they think they heard?
Forums are like that too, one person hears or assumes something then as it is passed on the subject gets embellished or changes as it goes.
The Minelab statement that this one will obsolete all other detectors was marketing, yes it seems to be very capable of doing very well in many sites and conditions but the hype seems to have gone beyond what Minelab intended to include not just that the Equinox will obsolete other brand detectors but also models that they make, also.
Nobody at Minelab ever mentioned this stuff about beating out their own top line models but many others have.

Take everything you hear with a grain of salt in this hobby and in life.

 

[john4840]

The only real advantage of the Equinox detectors that I see would be to salt water beach hunters, or gold prospectors.
The cost is about as low as you can get for a new waterproof water detector but I see no real advantage for the average coin hunter.
I doubt the equinox can match the performance or depth of the Sovereign GT detector in the average park or school ground.
So what is the big demand all about ... its a Chinese made piece of electronics that will soon be duplicated by other Chinese manufactures.
Makro has already brought their knock off with the Multi-Kruzer ... anyone think it is a good as the CTX 3030 or even the Excalibur II?

Just my opinion ... and I would be very much like to hear the opinions of others about this.

It definitely better then a Sovereign. I have been running Sovereign XS for over 22 years and the Equinox have pulled coins in middle of iron, iron nails and other non iron junk items at 10 inches so far in acidic mineralize ground. I have yet to do that with my Sovereign. I have found clad quarters with XS at 12 inches in clean ground. My guess would be the Equinox will have no problem with that either. Forget FBS machines they love finding iron and iron nails. That is why I sold my Explorer SE Pro and my Quattro. At this one place I hunt, an old fairground ballpark, one part is so loaded with iron I could not find one coin there. I used White's, Garrett's, and Minelab's Sovereign, X-terra 70, Explorer SE Pro and Quattro. Until I used my Equinox in that section and started to find all the goodies nobody else could find. Me personally I hope nobody buys a Equinox locally where I live, I want to keep finding the goodies no one else could find. I like having no competition.

 

[glabelle49]

I think you've missed the greatest feature of the Equinox (applies to the new Nokta and Deus as well).

Speed of recovery. It is because of this that it can sound off on a coin near a nail - the older detectors cannot respond fast enough and blur these together so that you miss the coin.

George

 

[john4840]

I think you've missed the greatest feature of the Equinox (applies to the new Nokta and Deus as well).

Speed of recovery. It is because of this that it can sound off on a coin near a nail - the older detectors cannot respond fast enough and blur these together so that you miss the coin.

George

You are absolutely correct and do it at depth. That is why the Equinox is a great detector. Never used a Nokta or Deus so I really don't know about those machines, but from calabash diggers videos it seems the Equinox got the edge.

 

[marcomo]

Me personally I hope nobody buys a Equinox locally where I live, I want to keep finding the goodies no one else could find. I like having no competition.

A whole lot of people on this forum, I'm sure some are from your area. You're not helping your cause.

 

[john4840]

Me personally I hope nobody buys a Equinox locally where I live, I want to keep finding the goodies no one else could find. I like having no competition.

A whole lot of people on this forum, I'm sure some are from your area. You're not helping your cause.

You are right about that LOL . I can't help but tell the truth.

 

[#1Leatherneck]

One glaring fact: Many are comparing the Equinox 800 to other detectors! None have the technology the Equinox 800 does, and the ability to scan simultaneously freq./kHz with the 40 kHz that compliments finding gold? ? ? And, at approximately half the price of the others? ? ?

With the computer age technology is great! What is on the horizon for the detector by the end of the year? ? ?

Several other manufacturers will undoubtedly have a competitor comparably priced by the end of the year, . . . or, else. . . . lol

Technology has moved so fast, in my opinion Equinox 800 has set the stage for a ceiling price of approximately that of the unit being approximately $900.00! Time will tell! ! !

How much more for a detector would anyone be willing to pay that does not have the technology that the Equinox has? ? ?

 

[DaveNV]

You seem to be basing your opinion on the writings of others. Do you own the Equinox and have you used it for any length of time? If you haven't used one, then I guess I'm missing the point of your post. If you love the CTX, Etrac or Deus, by all mean, keep on trucking with them. I find the NOX to be a superior machine, price, technology and design-wise. It has found targets I missed with other machines and the weight and overall design allow me to detect longer. To each his own.

 

[sprchng]

The only real advantage of the Equinox detectors that I see would be to salt water beach hunters, or gold prospectors.
The cost is about as low as you can get for a new waterproof water detector but I see no real advantage for the average coin hunter.
I doubt the equinox can match the performance or depth of the Sovereign GT detector in the average park or school ground.
So what is the big demand all about ... its a Chinese made piece of electronics that will soon be duplicated by other Chinese manufactures.
Makro has already brought their knock off with the Multi-Kruzer ... anyone think it is a good as the CTX 3030 or even the Excalibur II?

Just my opinion ... and I would be very much like to hear the opinions of others about this.

It is lightweight and waterproof and no other Minelab can make that dual claim and for the price a decent value.
I'm not impressed with the quality of the materials or the antiquated design but the technology is a step forward. A CTX or Etrac it is not , like Del said , and in essence it seems to be a solid , fast performer with average discrimination ability which is disappointing if wanting to know what is there before you dig is where your interests are. Minelab has left plenty of room for improvement in the future which I'm sure was their intention in the first place and probably already have another upgraded model on the design board .