Minelab Equinox tips and questions

[PeZ0]

Hi Ktmman,

Thank you.

Yes I reset often. But I think its more so the way my brains been trained from the machine and an overload of sound.

At first I swept both directions but dug most to learn what is what. Then thought the machine was too good/easy that I didnt need to sweep both directions to find the goods bcuz if it wasnt solid sound or tid then it would be junk.

When the curiosity to dig after recieving multiple TIDS on the same target produced by different sweep speeds and distances , is when I lost it I think. And knowing this to be true because the 300i has been with me and cleaned up at the same spots.

I first said to mate that it was soooooo easy to find good targets because the tone feedback gave you so much info. But now those bad multiple tones have rung in my ear for 2wks that Im digging them all out of curiosity while the 300i is flying past me collecting the $$$. Lol.

So I guess ill be trying to learn it from the start again to untrain my brain to how Ive gotten myself reacting to sounds 3wks on. Its all learning and this is what I have learnt

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

We all get caught up sometimes on those deep scratchy signals. Its the curiosity.
Sometimes you have to dig a lot of bad targets in order to learn what the machine is doing.

But, a deep target can do weird things, size, material, orientation, mineralisation, proximity of other metals etc., so in reality, unless you dig it, you will never know.

I was digging to China with the NOX the other day, I gave up because my hand digger just couldn't cut that depth. It was a solid repeatable signal, depth was maxed out, sometimes not registering depth. I couldn't get it within pin pointer range, but did get frustrated with the pin pointer leading me astray towards ferrous targets (nails and crap).
That is wasted time, but also shows the power of the NOX and how well it ignores a lot of junk. (Hurry up Minelabs Pro-Find 35)

I wasn't too bothered in the end, I told myself I wasn't digging anything maxed out on the depth scale, so back to the original plan I went. Telling myself to ignore iffy or deep targets, they can always come later.

Hope all goes well in your future hunts.

 

[PeZ0]

Yeah Ive given up on a few others too. You kind of feel like an idiot having dug a 2ft deep hole and walking away knowing its still down there hehe.

Do you ever wonder that the 11 coil is too big for the trash parks, and the sensitivity & power of it is also too much for the site your working? (Funny saying that when I guess you veterans want this).

(Maybe these posts Ive made would have been better suited in the main Equinox post of now 38 pages?).

Cheers guys.

 

[Heatho]

Once you did part a certain point you know it's going to be a junk target, when you find targets like that lift your coil up off the ground, if it's still the same signal a foot or more off the surface then it's going to be a large piece of trash. Wave the coil over an aluminium can and then a dollar coin, you'll see what I mean. :Y:

 

[Smoky bandit]

Try setting it to 5khz or 10 kHz in junky parks at first if your only after coins......Discriminate out all but coin ids until you feel confident....On THE beach if the tone has not changed and your already down a foot it's not a coin it will be a can... slab of iron ECT....Get used to the sound you pinpoint mode makes as well ....a coin or coin sized target tone will get shorter and sharper with repeated sweeps..something bigger won't.. Spend the time learning your machine... you will need at least 30 hrs on it before you have worked it out properly :Y: Good luck

 

[user 11578]

Great advice by the above posters, it just takes a little time to get used to but it will come to you the more you practice. I found the sizing of objects as mentioned by the guys above to be spot on, thats what I do to every target myself now and it gives a lot of information about whats under the coil.

One other tip I would give to you is turn the sensitivity down if your hunting decimals coins especially in parks. When I go out hunting coins (1 and 2 dollar coins) I turn my sensitivity down as low as 12-14-16 and I use Field-1 instead of Park-1 as the tone's (2 of them) seems sweeter to my hearing and no iron bias in Field-1...now that way I am not digging anywhere near as deep and I got a pretty fair idea what I am about to dig, as the TID is much more accurate at lower depth. :Y:

cheers

 

[Smoky bandit]

I have customized park 1 ....and beach 1 ...to suite personal prefrence..I've set it to certain tone and pitch for goldies only..... (you really know when its a possible goldie)....and higher tone and pitch for anything in Pre decimal range......Those factory settings are just a starting point so you can switch on and go..Once you feel you are getting the hang of it you can personalize and make it much better :Y:

 

[FNQ]

Wasn't going crazy this morning (go figure??) but still wouldn't react to coin air tests. Checked the connection and tried it down the park, no joy.

Spoke with Minelab and at their request have posted the unit back to them. They are refunding my postage and are sending me a different unit. No issues there! Seems I'm the very first punter to have a drama like this.

Minelab Bendigo confirmed the unit I sent back is not picking up targets, with a suspected faulty coil. The replacement should be on the way today, arriving here about the 15th. Talk about snail mail!

 

[PeZ0]

I did see the post talking about user profile setup with a single Hz range for checking targets. Yes its a good way for checking quickly and I found it works as intended.

But thanks for the replies and tips guys, I will certainly incorporate those techniques to help me decide when or if ill dig, but will give that field 1 mode you mentioned rockdev a whirl.

Like I said at start, I first thought the Equinox was magic. Almost everything I dug was a coin. But now feel its the opposite the longer Im using it if thats understandable, lol.

It was there, Ive just got to get back to how I recieved the tones for the first 2wks I switched it on

Cheers guys, Much appreciated :Y:

PeZ0

 

[groovydudes]

Actually, scratch that. I cancelled my NOX order from Anaconda because they said my order failed. When I rang them, they said they expected DOUBLE the amount of the purchase for "security" in my PayPal account!!!!!!!!

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

I spent 2 hours today re-visiting a small park with the kids, and NOX.

The first 30min I spent looking for a decent target. I got impatient so I dug one of the many targets I was getting in the 17-19 range. Now these targets are iffy because they never sound right. Yes they were crisp, and loud, but with a bit of interrogation I could clearly see they were junk. And sure enough, bottle cap.
I had previously found a couple of coins at this park, relatively deep, good signals, in the high 20's. This park has been hit in the past, so I consider myself lucky that I was able to get anything good in the first place.

After digging out the bottle cap, I spent the next 30min gridding, to make sure I had covered every inch.
Now that was done, I decided to go back for some iffy targets and even some low numbers, in case it was some small jewellery and just to dig something. I was not confident. I spent the last hour filling my finds pouch with tabs and bottle caps, a brass rivet, and some canslaw.

I was left impressed however. Nearly everything I dug I had an idea of what it was going to be. My daughter was saying "How do you know dad?". lol
"Oh because the signal is jumpy, strong, but different at different angles, so its just a bit of aluminium can I think"
"This is a pull tab, because its choppy but strong, and ID is right"
"This is different, something small" (Brass rivet)

NOX was talking and I was listening.

The methods I used to interrogated targets put question marks on them. And that was enough to rule them out as junk.
Especially at 1 foot depth. Anything deeper is a gamble, and not for a hand shovel, but rest assured that up to a 1 foot, if there is a coin there, you will know.

My advice is to trust your machine. Listen to it. Look at the screen to get an idea of depth, ID consistency, use all metal mode and the strength of pin pointing to give you a lot of information as to what the target could be.
Dig occasional targets you have ruled out just to keep your mind at ease and your game sharp.
Also, walking around with all metal on will allow you to get a mental picture of what is underneath you and around your target. Its amazing to hear how much stuff the machine is discriminating out all the time, all those nails and iron, and screws, even some aluminium foil. Swing speed should be according to your recovery rate.

It all comes down to what targets you are really after and listening out for them. And knowing when its time to move on.

Happy NOXing!! :Y:

 

[Smoky bandit]

I spent 2 hours today re-visiting a small park with the kids, and NOX.

The first 30min I spent looking for a decent target. I got impatient so I dug one of the many targets I was getting in the 17-19 range. Now these targets are iffy because they never sound right. Yes they were crisp, and loud, but with a bit of interrogation I could clearly see they were junk. And sure enough, bottle cap.
I had previously found a couple of coins at this park, relatively deep, good signals, in the high 20's. This park has been hit in the past, so I consider myself lucky that I was able to get anything good in the first place.

After digging out the bottle cap, I spent the next 30min gridding, to make sure I had covered every inch.
Now that was done, I decided to go back for some iffy targets and even some low numbers, in case it was some small jewellery and just to dig something. I was not confident. I spent the last hour filling my finds pouch with tabs and bottle caps, a brass rivet, and some canslaw.

I was left impressed however. Nearly everything I dug I had an idea of what it was going to be. My daughter was saying "How do you know dad?". lol
"Oh because the signal is jumpy, strong, but different at different angles, so its just a bit of aluminium can I think"
"This is a pull tab, because its choppy but strong, and ID is right"
"This is different, something small" (Brass rivet)

NOX was talking and I was listening.

The methods I used to interrogated targets put question marks on them. And that was enough to rule them out as junk.
Especially at 1 foot depth. Anything deeper is a gamble, and not for a hand shovel, but rest assured that up to a 1 foot, if there is a coin there, you will know.

My advice is to trust your machine. Listen to it. Look at the screen to get an idea of depth, ID consistency, use all metal mode and the strength of pin pointing to give you a lot of information as to what the target could be.
Dig occasional targets you have ruled out just to keep your mind at ease and your game sharp.
Also, walking around with all metal on will allow you to get a mental picture of what is underneath you and around your target. Its amazing to hear how much stuff the machine is discriminating out all the time, all those nails and iron, and screws, even some aluminium foil. Swing speed should be according to your recovery rate.

It all comes down to what targets you are really after and listening out for them. And knowing when its time to move on.

Happy NOXing!! :Y:

still waiting for the finds :Y:

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

In a couple of weeks of the occasional trip to the park, I have found gold, a couple pre-decimals and some loose change.
I am not complaining.

My main aim was to get to know my machine so if I do go hunting somewhere I maximise my time.

I haven't even taken it on the beach yet...lol

This is really just to kill my gold bug, when I get a spare 30 min or couple hours.

Its GOLD SEASON soon, and I can only swing one machine.

Who knows, the Equinox might get some action if I find a trashy area.

Great machine, it is exactly what I wanted in a second machine. :Y:

 

[PeZ0]

Going on from my post in the other topic I thought id continue here.

Yesturday I had a great day out with Johny Nox

My little flat spot (disappointment) in findings I knew was the users (Me) fault and not the machine.

I got too caught up in the bips & blips and maybe beginners luck at the start had me pulling coins out without too much pinpoint action. (Thats where Ive gone wrong).

Yesturday I stopped, asked mate what the f@!k am I doing wrong now. He said pin point it better.

Ohhhhhhh I feel like an idiot. Within a minute I was back onto a Goldie and thought to myself you lil bloody bewty Johnys Nox is back.

I followed the advise of the video tip on another forum where putting detector in AM mode over the target and pumping, along with pin pointing again. I have to say for any novice like myself THIS is the way to fast track your finds and eliminate digging as much trash.

I was only looking for Goldies, So I had everything but 19-23 discriminated, Sensitive anywhere from 10-14 in field mode 1. Nothing was more than 10cm deep.

So, It was a great day out , Johnys back

:Y:

PeZ0

 

[Sovereignone]

todays Equinox haul

 

[PhaseTech]

Did a bit of playing on a flaky 0.1g nugget on the Nox600. The best settings on it were Park 2, Multi and 2 tone. With sensitivity on 20 I could get it at about 3 inches. Flicked into 15 KHz and depth was about half.

 

[FNQ]

First haul after about 45 minutes at Yorkeys Knob Beach with a working Equinox. Really looking forward to learning more about using this machine and prospecting in general. Goes way deeper than the go-find and the pin point feature on it works really well. I'm impressed and feel like I've made a good buy. :Y:

 

[Smoky bandit]

You have made an awesome buy mate..Great machine :Y: If there's coins there it will find em :Y:

 

[Wally69]

Did a bit of playing on a flaky 0.1g nugget on the Nox600. The best settings on it were Park 2, Multi and 2 tone. With sensitivity on 20 I could get it at about 3 inches. Flicked into 15 KHz and depth was about half.

Impressive :Y:

 

[Smoky bandit]

Did a bit of playing on a flaky 0.1g nugget on the Nox600. The best settings on it were Park 2, Multi and 2 tone. With sensitivity on 20 I could get it at about 3 inches. Flicked into 15 KHz and depth was about half.

Impressive :Y:

That's awesome..Imagine what the 800 could do :Y: