Joined the NOX crowd. Not hugely impressed, but did get my first silver dollar with it...

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

Hello all,

I ordered and received an Equinox 800 and a six inch coil a couple of weeks ago. I've had it out a half dozen times since; mainly at sites I had pounded over the years with my XS with a variety of coils, and to a lesser extent my CTX3030. One of these sites had so many coins it wasn't worth standing up after digging; the next coin would almost invariably be less than a step forward. Those days are long gone, but I'm still convinced there are many coins hiding out in the iron. I was hoping the NOX would bring these sites alive again, but so far that is not the case. I'm too new to the detector to say this definitively, but unless I have some settings that need tweaking it doesn't seem to be a significant improvement.

I did find a merc and a couple of wheats, but for the most part signals were very few and far between. I also found a few steel crown caps, which never happens with the XS, and on a couple of occasions dug every nail under the coil when it gave decent reading and discovered it was iron falsing. I also dug a half dozen clad quarters that I missed before, they ID'ed on Nox at 18 to 20, suspect a nail must have been bringing the numbers down.

Yesterday I hit a former home of a friend that was due to be torn down. I was going to grab my XS but decided on the NOX instead; I thought it would be useful to try it at a site I hadn't pounded previously. The first signal I get ID'ed at 35. I dug up a clad quarter, but also saw a big chunk of soil that had the impression of a larger coin. Next I probed again and saw a big reeded edge in the dirt. Out came a very worn 1922 silver dollar, my first in many years of metal detecting.

[attachment 365980 2019_04_06f.jpg]

I also found a 1963-D quarter in the same hole. Not only was this my first silver dollar, but is also the first time I've found clad and silver coins in the same hole. I managed a half dozen wheats at this site, they all rang up clearly and with the expected ID.

So.... I have read some posts where people said they were finding coins at sites they had previously hit hard. Not my experience thus far. Any suggestions as to settings? I think I was using what Mkus recently posted.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Mark kus]

Nice finds my finds have been pretty good in the silver department with my Nox especially with lots of iron
past two months I've found probably over 30 silvers in parks that in past decades gave up a lot of silver but hunting with no discrimination and a lower recovery speed has me finding barbers mercs silver rosies and 3 SLQ's..
The nox has become my main detector I use to hunt with a Etrac sold that and bought the 800 lighter faster and all waterproof..
I still go over spots with my Deus to which is no slouch also..
HH
Mark

 

[IDXMonster]

Same results here also Chris...places I’ve hunted ALREADY(local spots that have given up silver but have since become dead....and I’ve hunted ALOT) just haven’t become “alive” again. If I took the machine to a place that’s “fresh” and found something, it wouldn’t prove anything,or confirm that the EQ indeed CAN go to a place that’s been “FBS-ed” and make things happen. At least not for ME. 27 hours in....

Auto NC(machine set)
Manual GB(machine set)
Volume 10 TID=18 and below,25 TID=19 and above
Threshold just hummin’
5 tone(only using 2 tones though,break at 18....)
Recovery 4(any slower the signal becomes “slurred”)
IB=0
Stock coil

Targets to 6-7” are pretty obvious in a lot of my dirt. Highest TID I’ve seen at any depth that’s been a coin is 30 with a clad quarter. I would’ve not dug these as when hunting old coins the shallower stuff all gets skipped. The thing does find some coins,just not “all that silver” I missed with FBS/2. Just my 2c,would LOVE to know what I’m doing wrong....

 

[Trashfinder]

Here is how i am doing it. Find a clean spot under coil and GB, then make sure you have auto on. You should see a icon on the upper right a squiggly line. I am running 5 tone, with special bins so that nickels and 19 and above are high tones that blast. 19 because some of my indians are hitting 19. Iron bias 0. Recovery 5. You have to hunt slow and listen for high tone. Then warble coil in the sweet spot watching ID and listening. Then use the horseshoe to see if you can hear both iron and sweet tones. Move in a circle and if it disappears quickly and only tones in a small angle of degree then it is probably a bent nail. If you can continue to circle the spot and get the sweet tone and most likely a bouncing ID then it is likely you have a target. You do not have to have this in a complete circle but needs to be as much as 35 degrees or more. Also i want to point out that the tone while hunting will not be a solid ( no doubt about it) tone. I was hunting with a guy and he wanted to only dig those and if that is what you are doing , you are missing stuff. I am using park 1 and sometimes switching to park 2 to check targets but hunting in primarily park 1. It takes some practice but when i finally caught on, it was liking riding a bike , and it will stick with you. You will dig some trash this is not foolproof , but my trash percentage is about 20 trash and 80 good targets now. I also the gain at 24 as most of what i am finding is what was left behind by other detectorists and deep. It usually takes 2 full sampson shovels to get to targets. My silver finds the ID can bounce as low as 17 to 30 big range but tone is always good, so put more on the tone and not ID's. Main thing is slow and tones will not be like a 5 inch silver dime where it just bangs out and you have no doubt you need to dig, cannot emphasize this enough.

 

[IDXMonster]

Thanks Trashfinder! How do you get your Sens so high with it going berserk? I can normally get to 18-20,after that it’s all chatter all the time. Will try some of your methods..

 

[Trashfinder]

It is a little sparky for sure. But run it as high as you can because what i am finding is deep , that other machines missed. Some targets i am getting are just masked at 4 to 6 inches , but the really good stuff has been deep.

 

[jmaclen]

Awesome questions from everyone and amazing posts Trashfinder. Thank you. About the sparky chatter, a lot of it is Fe3O4 ground noise and EMI where I live if I run above 20. Instead of running in auto tracking GB I auto ground balance and noise cancel often whenever it gets too noisy.

Jeff

 

[BigTony]

IDXmonster, hang in thier buddy, they appear when you least expect it.
Recently had a nice three quarter coin spill with one wheat cent. From 8 to 10 inches deep.
The Id bounce and high tone was a definite dig me now. This spot had been hit by many folks and different machines over several years.
No brag please, I just stayed positive and enjoyed the hobby looking for a gold ring in a sports field but glad a dig that one.
Tony NJ

 

[IDXMonster]

Thanks guys,I’ll keep blastin’ to see if anything pops up! I definitely want to give it as good a “go” as I can. I’ve seen other people give up on machines that have been good to ME and it’s like OHHH NOOOO.......but we will see what my places want to reveal. Will report later!

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Congrats on a very nice peace dollar... I’m very new to the equinox too and have pretty much the same experience.. I hunt a farm field that I’ve pounded with my sovereign gt and a few other units many many times and was hoping the equinox would sniff out a good amount of keepers from this heavily iron infested homestead... I’m not knocking the machine by any means and I realize my experience with this machine is in its infancy,but it has found a 3 pennies and flat buttons but I’m digging lots of iffy signals and too much chunky iron which isn’t totally a bad thing as some of the is very old horseshoes,pindles and whatnot... my machine suffers from TMI...too much information lol.. I struggle to get the optimum settings at this site as there is SO MUCH chatter causing material in the soil that any coil is gonna have probably multiple other influences in the same section being sampled.. I’ve had a little better results freshwater micro jewelry hunting which also is a tough spot due lots of bobby-pins and hot rocks... all in due time I suppose...

 

[sube]

Thanks Trashfinder! How do you get your Sens so high with it going berserk? I can normally get to 18-20,after that it’s all chatter all the time. Will try some of your methods..

IDX try this use your wm8 and headphones your going to need the adapter from a quarter inch to 1/8 inch anyhow I had the same experience you had I changed out the Blue tooth for the Wm8 and things really cleared up wifi is faster and runs on a different freq I guess that made the difference then again Blue tooth works good at most of my locations give it a shot . sube

 

[sube]

Forgot to mention just bypass the Bluetooth and wi-fi and connect phones directly to the detector no interference from Bluetooth or wi-fi . sube

 

[IDXMonster]

Sube...been using the external speaker cuz I’m filming too. Hoping to catch something useful...just nothing useful to find. I’ll keep at it,I can hear the signals fine. These sites have been hunted for literally 50-100 hours EACH at LEAST...by ME. That’s not to mention all the other hunters over the years. I’m filming because if this machine so much as catches a WHEAT penny,it will be MONUMENTAL. You are always welcome to come give them a shot! I just don’t want to have you down to find nothing,because that sucks....

 

[sgoss66]

Just a comment, FWIW. I think that in my opinion, learning a particular machine's "tells," in terms of how it behaves with falsing iron, and how it behaves with a non-ferrous keeper EMBEDDED within that falsing iron, is one of the harder nuances to learn, with any detector, and it takes ALOT of dedication to listening, digging, and learning, to begin to really understand the tonal nuances that a given machine presents un such a difficult environment.

I personally do not believe I have the ability to pick up a new machine, and begin "unmasking in iron" with it. It takes me many, many hours of listening, digging, learning, and then repeating that process hundreds of times, before I begin to feel really confident with a unit, in just general, average-difficulty sites, without excessive amounts of trash and such. ONLY THEN, AFTER I acquire that level of proficiency, can I even BEGIN what is, for me, an even LONGER journey, trying to learn the subtleties of how a machine behaves in a ferrous environment, trying to "unmask" the non-ferrous targets hidden in the iron. That's like a "second order" level of learning, that takes a lot more time and experience on a unit, AFTER I have become proficient with it in a less challenging environment. I may be a slow learner, perhaps, but otherwise, I think personally that it might be expecting too much, to expect a new-to-you machine work well for you in the iron, ESPECIALLY if you were extremely proficient with your prior machine -- and hammered a site multiple times with that machine.

I think you almost have to take a machine that you believe IS capable, and then simply CHOOSE to believe in it, because it takes THAT mindset, in my opinion, to slog through the tough, and often slow-to-be-rewarding process of learning to hunt a machine in iron. Otherwise, without that belief/confidence, I think it's too easy to "give up," and go back to what is more familiar, and thus never have given a machine a fair shake...

Just my two cents! YMMV...

Steve

 

[dewcon4414]

You kind of have to make a decision on WHAT you want to hunt sometimes. If its coins set it for coins. Dont listen to iron..... turn it way down to 2. You dont need that threshold......turn it off and reduce what you are hearing. Everyone says im coins hunting....... but MOST arent...... they are looking for anything non-ferr it appears....... so are you coin hunting or not? Use 25 tones....... its what most are used to and it gives a better tell. Iron .... in say two tones will still bounce and you hear falsing..... keep the tones where they belong. Run AM along with that 50 tones, reduced iron volume, and no threshold. I found setting those 5 tones .... you think adjusting them to say a high tone in the gold range will get you more gold...... but what really happens iron sounds off still ...... but in HIGH tone.

 

[IDXMonster]

Just a comment, FWIW. I think that in my opinion, learning a particular machine's "tells," in terms of how it behaves with falsing iron, and how it behaves with a non-ferrous keeper EMBEDDED within that falsing iron, is one of the harder nuances to learn, with any detector, and it takes ALOT of dedication to listening, digging, and learning, to begin to really understand the tonal nuances that a given machine presents un such a difficult environment.

I personally do not believe I have the ability to pick up a new machine, and begin "unmasking in iron" with it. It takes me many, many hours of listening, digging, learning, and then repeating that process hundreds of times, before I begin to feel really confident with a unit, in just general, average-difficulty sites, without excessive amounts of trash and such. ONLY THEN, AFTER I acquire that level of proficiency, can I even BEGIN what is, for me, an even LONGER journey, trying to learn the subtleties of how a machine behaves in a ferrous environment, trying to "unmask" the non-ferrous targets hidden in the iron. That's like a "second order" level of learning, that takes a lot more time and experience on a unit, AFTER I have become proficient with it in a less challenging environment. I may be a slow learner, perhaps, but otherwise, I think personally that it might be expecting too much, to expect a new-to-you machine work well for you in the iron, ESPECIALLY if you were extremely proficient with your prior machine -- and hammered a site multiple times with that machine.

I think you almost have to take a machine that you believe IS capable, and then simply CHOOSE to believe in it, because it takes THAT mindset, in my opinion, to slog through the tough, and often slow-to-be-rewarding process of learning to hunt a machine in iron. Otherwise, without that belief/confidence, I think it's too easy to "give up," and go back to what is more familiar, and thus never have given a machine a fair shake...

Just my two cents! YMMV...

Steve

Every word of that is as true as it gets Steve,that post is the reality of the situation. When the conditions are already less than favorable(sometimes by ALOT),nobody can expect just to waltz into a place and start cleaning up again. Every machine has its own personality,it’s our job to get to know it. After all of the posts I’ve seen about someone going into their “pounded parks” and “hunted out sites” and immediately and seemingly magically finding coins again,I have to ask the question that you alluded to...how many people actually knew their previous machine to achieve that “second order”?
In the end it doesn’t matter much,what works for one may or may not work for another. If we’re lucky enough to find one we like and it works for us,then we are lucky indeed.
Great post,SO true!

 

[coin-star]

I have Nox600 and I find that with Iron Bias at 0 it tends to false on iron targets when off axis from them. I am learning that in heavy iron, running with "Horseshoe" on is the best way to tackle the issue and/or run something like Park1 which already has an Iron Bias of 1. Pinpointing the spot I *think* is the target often leads to nothing and just beside it will be a much stronger "-1 or -2" signal. That is when I know it is falsing.

I am also finding that with Iron Bias at 0, I can really turn the sensitivity down in modes like Park 2 and Field 2 when needed. I often run at sensitivity of 16 with the 11" coil and still am getting enough depth that I don't feel like I am missing things. With the 6" coil I can run very low, like 9 sensitivity if needed. This is in an attempt to cut out the deeper iron (and possibly coins. . . I understand) but hopefully find things less deep that are masked.

To me there is also a big difference between the behavior of the detector in Park 1 and Park 2. Park 1 is "sparky" because there is more processing and "clipping" happening, while I feel like park 2 gives me everything including the tendency to false on iron.

I really think the 6" coil changes the game when it comes to separation. I can often pick out individual coins in a coin spill and often can pick up a penny and pull tab right next to each other.

Keep with it and I think you'll like it more and more.

-CS

 

[UtahRich]

Chris,

Read Trashfinders reply again. It is spot on. My settings are eerily similar for the same reasons. That said, I believe you do need to commit yourself to learning a detector, like steveg mentions, if you REALLY want to get good with it. None of this bouncing around from detector to detector stuff.

Just the world according to me. And it seems a few others as well. Good luck.

Rich (Utah)

Here is how i am doing it. Find a clean spot under coil and GB, then make sure you have auto on. You should see a icon on the upper right a squiggly line. I am running 5 tone, with special bins so that nickels and 19 and above are high tones that blast. 19 because some of my indians are hitting 19. Iron bias 0. Recovery 5. You have to hunt slow and listen for high tone. Then warble coil in the sweet spot watching ID and listening. Then use the horseshoe to see if you can hear both iron and sweet tones. Move in a circle and if it disappears quickly and only tones in a small angle of degree then it is probably a bent nail. If you can continue to circle the spot and get the sweet tone and most likely a bouncing ID then it is likely you have a target. You do not have to have this in a complete circle but needs to be as much as 35 degrees or more. Also i want to point out that the tone while hunting will not be a solid ( no doubt about it) tone. I was hunting with a guy and he wanted to only dig those and if that is what you are doing , you are missing stuff. I am using park 1 and sometimes switching to park 2 to check targets but hunting in primarily park 1. It takes some practice but when i finally caught on, it was liking riding a bike , and it will stick with you. You will dig some trash this is not foolproof , but my trash percentage is about 20 trash and 80 good targets now. I also the gain at 24 as most of what i am finding is what was left behind by other detectorists and deep. It usually takes 2 full sampson shovels to get to targets. My silver finds the ID can bounce as low as 17 to 30 big range but tone is always good, so put more on the tone and not ID's. Main thing is slow and tones will not be like a 5 inch silver dime where it just bangs out and you have no doubt you need to dig, cannot emphasize this enough.