Minelab should buy an oscilloscope. They obviously don't know what they are talking about...
They don't hang around detector prospector enough as well me thinks.
My guess is that Minelab has an oscilloscope. Minelab also has a marketing team that writes copy in a manner that could be taken to mean something that isn't actually said, or true.
There are multiple threads (on the subject of how many frequencies is the Equinox running at the same time) on Detector Prospector. Since I'm not sure it's permissible to link to a few of those threads, I'll just suggest a couple of thread titles so you can search them and read them for yourself.
"Minelab Multi-frequency"
"Is The Day Of A Single Frequency Detector Past ?"
There are several other threads, but those two should get you started.
A few tidbits:
All are quotes from within those two threads. I'll attribute the quotes to the author.
"So you saw only two frequencies for each mode? What method did you use for coupling the signal? Did you take any screen shots?" - author Dubious
The reply to that question:
"Yes. I used a magnetic field probe I designed & built. There are at least 2 threads on Geotech discussing all this, including scope pics." - author Geotech
"Geotech" is Carl Moreland. He is a senior engineer at First Texas, and previous to that he was Senior engineer at Whites. He has filed, and received, several patents with regards to metal detectors. He is indeed a genuine expert in the field, and very well acquainted with the process of how SMF works. He also owns Geotech Forums - where you can read more about his testing and see photographs of the proof (Equinox transmits/receives two frequencies at a time. If you choose to read the suggested threads, you'll also find Carl's comments where he goes into technical detail about how SMF (including the Equinox) works. (You have to register to read the threads on Geotech forum)
And yes, I am absolutely positive that Carl Moreland knows more about the Equinox than the person who reportedly replied to the email.
There's Minelab's own thoughts (from engineers, not the person answering emails). First, the prelude to Minelab's own statement:
"There is no reason to compare items at close frequencies. Comparing 10 khz and 12 khz is a waste of time and processing power. What you want to do is compare the targets
and ground at a few widely differing frequencies. That way you see what happens that is different at say 4 khz and 32 kHz. That difference or lack of difference gives you extra data to work with. And as Minelab points out in the
article about Multi-IQ the more interesting question is
how few frequencies are needed to get useful information. And that seems to boil down to two or three." - snippet of comments written by Steve Herschbach
In another thread Steve Herschbach said the following:
"If you read what Minelab puts out very carefully they state always that modes are choosing and processing frequencies from the ones available, but how many are used at any one time in any one mode is never explicitly stated. It is all carefully worded to let you all make assumptions and fill gaps with what you think is going on, but if you read it carefully it is not always saying what you think it is saying." - Steve Herschbach
Now for Minelab's own statement (cited by Steve Herschbach - who happens to be an avid user of Minelab's machines).
"
“How many simultaneous frequencies?” you may ask, wondering if this is a critical parameter. Minelab has been carrying out detailed investigations into this in recent years. Just as you can color in a map with many colors, the minimum number to differentiate between adjacent countries is only 4 – a tough problem for mathematicians to prove, over many years. Similar to the map problem, it’s perhaps not the maximum number of frequencies needed to achieve an optimum result, but the minimum number that is more interesting. When it comes to frequencies in a detector, to cover all target types, how the frequencies are combined AND processed is now more important, with the latest detectors, than how many frequencies, for achieving even better results." - Minelab engineers
There is no shame in the Equinox transmitting/receiving two frequencies at a time. The "magic" behind the Equinox is found in how those two (weighted) frequencies are combined and processed. That is what makes the Equinox so capable; as the Minelab engineers noted.
I still don't understand why some Equinox users find it upsetting to learn that the Equinox transmits/receives two frequencies at a time. Perhaps you'd be willing to explain that?
LOL
