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Equinox 900 vs Legend

I was on a list for the Manticore but I opted for the 900 in stock all over strange as they were announced after the Manticore which IMHO may not be worth the extra $550.00
but that's me so I will have it in a few days I use my detectors all year here in Ct so I put some serious time on my detectors I'll have an extra $500.00 in my pocket to boot! and won't be waiting for jan feb who knows when for the Manticore.
Mark
 
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I own ML machines and have enjoyed using them over the years…For the most part they have always been one step ahead of the competition…In the last few years, this has not been the case…Im not going to bash ML or talk about the short comings of the early model Equinox….I will also not bash the short comings of the Legend, however I do own one….What I will say is that the Legend and the Nox 900 really seem to be the same feature wise except for one HUGE difference in my book…The vdi scale is what I’m talking about !!…The Nox 900 has by far the better vdi scale…No more ganging up target ID’s in a close range…Hearing and seeing the difference's in target ID’sis paramount…..There is a problem though….With everything else being pretty much equal, is this extended vdi scale worth twice the price of the Legend ?….That’s up to the individual…I LOVE the extended scale, but I’m not doubling down to get it…Sorry ML !!
I got my shipping notification yesterday for my Nox 900. With the military discount I only paid $934 shipped, for the 900 package. I pre ordered the Legend, when it first came out. I only paid $300 more, for the nox 900. But not everyone can get the military discount, & I wouldn't have paid $1,100 for the 900. Nokta is about to o release the new update for the Legend, & the last v1.09 update,.put the Legends performance capabilities on par with the Nox 800. From what I've been told anyway, I broke my back late last year, & I couldn't do anything, physical this year. So I never had the chance to try out my Legend. My back is still tore up, but I'm going to force myself, to get out there & tare sh*t up this spring lol. God has blessed me, with the financial ability, to purchase these new detectors, & I'm vary excited, to try out, these awesome new machines. It will be really fun to run these detectors side by side, this spring and summer, & compare their capabilities. Even though I paid 50% more, for the Nox 900 over the Legend, I'm rooting for the underdog. Go Nokta!!
 
I got my shipping notification yesterday for my Nox 900. With the military discount I only paid $934 shipped, for the 900 package. I pre ordered the Legend, when it first came out. I only paid $300 more, for the nox 900. But not everyone can get the military discount, & I wouldn't have paid $1,100 for the 900. Nokta is about to o release the new update for the Legend, & the last v1.09 update,.put the Legends performance capabilities on par with the Nox 800. From what I've been told anyway, I broke my back late last year, & I couldn't do anything, physical this year. So I never had the chance to try out my Legend. My back is still tore up, but I'm going to force myself, to get out there & tare sh*t up this spring lol. God has blessed me, with the financial ability, to purchase these new detectors, & I'm vary excited, to try out, these awesome new machines. It will be really fun to run these detectors side by side, this spring and summer, & compare their capabilities. Even though I paid 50% more, for the Nox 900 over the Legend, I'm rooting for the underdog. Go Nokta!!
I got the 900 over a week ago and 3 hunts 6 silvers love it,and Rich at backwoods gave me a discount free ship no tax can’t beat that and I’m not military thanks for Your service .
MRk
 
Yes, he did say this, but I don't think this tells the whole story -- which he explains later on. I'll try to explain what I'm saying, below.

BUT -- before I post this, I want to make it clear that I am NOT making any definitive statement as to what the machine will or will not do, in terms of depth. I have never even touched one so how could I? I have no way of knowing. BUT, with that said, there are a few things that I think must be understood, and after explaining what I mean, I'll speculated just a bit...

First of all, NASA-Tom lives in Florida. In most places he hunts, AND FOR SURE the location that he tests his machines (his test garden), his "dirt" is almost entirely composed of non-mineralized sand. In other words, it is as close to an "air test" as you can get, essentially, for an in-the-ground target. And here is why that's important to keep in mind...he says 14" is his max depth for a dime, on his Equinox. Meanwhile, neither I, nor anyone else that I hunt with, in almost four years of swinging our Equinoxes, have ever dug a single dime with the Equinox deeper than 9". Never. Not once. Further, I have two 10" deep dimes buried in my test garden -- one silver, one clad. I can not get even a peep on either one of them, with my Equinox.

SO -- why is that? Why can NASA-Tom achieve 14.0" on a dime, with his Equinox, when I can achieve 9" max? TWO REASONS (which we all know) -- the amount of mineralization in my dirt, and EMI.

SO, to continue, NASA-Tom says, again, that he can hit that 14.0" dime in his test garden with his EQX, but -- he can achieve this only about 10% of the time. So, WHY ONLY 10% of the time? Because of EMI. There are times EMI renders his 14" dime undetectable. Obviously, the mineralization of the soil in his test garden isn't changing, but his EMI does, and so does ours -- from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, and site to site.

SO -- why is all of this important to the point I eventually intend to make? I think it is important to understand that in terms of "raw depth," the VLF-IB platform -- which of course all of our current detectors utilize with the exception of PI machines -- is pretty much "maxed out," in terms of depth capability. There is just not all that much more that can be squeezed out of this particular technology -- and this is a fact that is largely agreed upon by all of the physicists and engineers who build detectors, that I have ever heard talk about the subject. After all, a Fisher F75 -- which is what, 15-year old technology -- can ALSO hit NASA-Tom's 14" test-garden dime (if I am not mistaken). We have been "near" the maximum, in terms of the "raw depth" capability of the VLF-IB platform, for roughly 2 decades.

BUT -- and here's the important part -- there ARE still gains to be made, in terms of REAL-WORLD depth capability. Again, though NOT much gain is left to achieve in terms of "raw, maximum depth," or "air-test depth," so to speak, the gains to potentially be made are in terms of HOW CLOSE a machine can come to achieving that "maximum depth," or "air test depth" for coins IN THE GROUND. Specifically, these "real-world," or "in the dirt" gains can potentially be achieved by...

1. Improving a machine's "bad dirt handling," so as to allow MORE of us, in DIFFERENT areas, who experience different, more mineralized types of dirt (unlike NASA-Tom's "pure" sand) to get closer to reaching that 14" raw depth maximum on a dime.

2. Improving a machine's "EMI handling," so as to allow MORE of us, who deal with various forms of EMI, to get closer to reaching that 14" raw depth maximum on a dime.

3. Improving on a machine's "ID algorithms" (which is related to #1, above) so as to allow MORE of us to get an ACCURATE ID on the deepest targets, INSTEAD of IDing those fringe-depth targets as "iron," so that we might actually be more apt to dig a target that is closer to that 14" maximum.

SO -- in his "perfect" dirt, NASA-Tom has indeed stated that his ability to detect and accurately ID a dime at 14.0" with his Equinox (which he can achieve about 10% of the time), has improved to 14.2" with his Manticore (which he can achieve about 70% of the time), BUT -- and this is what my long-winded post has been leading up to, in terms of my "point" -- I think it is important to say that THE 0.2" INCREASE IN "RAW" DEPTH THAT THE MANTICORE ACHIEVES, DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE REST OF US WILL ONLY SEE 0.2" DEPTH GAIN ON REAL-WORLD TARGETS.

Why do I say this? I say this BECAUSE, if we assume that the Manticore handles bad dirt better, handles EMI better, and is able to ID targets more accurately, then...that means that ANY OF US, whose dirt type and EMI issues PREVENT us from EVER digging a 14" dime, or even a 10" or 12" dime, may now be able to "come closer" to that 14" raw depth maximum. In my specific case, which -- again -- is a "max depth" of 9" on a dime, I personally may very well, with a Manticore, now be able to detect a dime to 9 1/2", or possibly 10", or maybe even a bit more. In other words, the objective of the Manticore's technology is to try to MITIGATE those reasons why most of us are unable to even come close to a VLF-IB machine's "raw maximum depth."

So, is the Manticore able to mitigate the factors (bad dirt, and EMI) that PREVENT us from detecting a coin anywhere NEAR the maximum capability of the unit? I have no idea, personally, but according to NASA-Tom, the answer is YES. Given that he does not achieve that 14.2" maximum depth in any of the "inland" sites he hunts, he has noted that he IS experiencing much more significant depth gains. In fact, a couple of posts AFTER he noted the 0.2" increase in ABSOLUTE max depth, he also noted that DUE TO BETTER EMI MITIGATION that is built into the Manticore, he is averaging TWO INCHES more depth, with his Manticore, at "inland" sites (i.e. when he is "coin and relic hunting," not "beach jewelry hunting"). TWO INCHES? That is awfully impressive...

Now, will the REST of us gain 2" depth? I have no idea, but I suspect not, as most of us deal with far more highly mineralized soil than he does. BUT -- I DO feel pretty confident that we will achieve quite a bit more than 0.2" depth increase, if switching to the Manticore...

Just my two cents..

Steve
AVery nice post. I like my eqx 800 seems like a fine machine I bought it for the beach hunting I do twice a year . For inland I prefer my gold bug much more responsive. I have found 75 percent more with the bug . Not a deep machine but good to 7 inches in my soil. I am only after civil war relics and cutting thru the matte of small roots is tough. Once thru you have a gray clay layer that I have not found much below.. I found the eqx gold mode does better than .park 1 or the other modes don't seem to help much. Could be the audio that i like , Just my experience . Keep digging and enjoy a wonderful hobby. I can't did to deep hard on the body.
 
I got the 900 over a week ago and 3 hunts 6 silvers love it,and Rich at backwoods gave me a discount free ship no tax can’t beat that and I’m not military thanks for Your service .
MRk
We don't get discounts here in the UK. Price fixing is the norm. I might get a free carry bag at best and pay full price.
 
I do respect “iffy” but would like to see proof of 1-2” depth increase…I’m more concerned with unmasking and separation abilities…depth is great, but you have to get through the layers of junk before you can even think about depth unless you’re at the beach …
I just sold both of my 800s. I did test them against the 900 and the 900 did report better on some of my deeper targets in the garden. I did one separation test with 3 square nails and different coins all in the same configuration. Nails at 9, 12 and 3 o'clock pointing at the coin in the center. With the settings the same on both machines the 900 gave a digable tone and ID when the 800 didn't make a peep. Horseshoe off. It even beat the Deus II because the Deus II doesn't give an accurate ID in this test. 07, 08.
It's only one test but it was enough for me. I really like the 900 except for the shaft not HAVING ANY ALIGNMENT MARKINGS. Really minelab, you should have done a little better with the shaft. Even the Simplex shaft is better IMO with the markings and the shaft not being able to twist. They cheaped out IMO.
And if you really want depth, go to Park 2. The ID suc##$ on deeper targets but it will give a very digable tone on my 15 inch three ringer a couple of inches off the ground.
Of course I have good soil, eastern nc.
 
I just sold both of my 800s. I did test them against the 900 and the 900 did report better on some of my deeper targets in the garden. I did one separation test with 3 square nails and different coins all in the same configuration. Nails at 9, 12 and 3 o'clock pointing at the coin in the center. With the settings the same on both machines the 900 gave a digable tone and ID when the 800 didn't make a peep. Horseshoe off. It even beat the Deus II because the Deus II doesn't give an accurate ID in this test. 07, 08.
It's only one test but it was enough for me. I really like the 900 except for the shaft not HAVING ANY ALIGNMENT MARKINGS. Really minelab, you should have done a little better with the shaft. Even the Simplex shaft is better IMO with the markings and the shaft not being able to twist. They cheaped out IMO.
And if you really want depth, go to Park 2. The ID suc##$ on deeper targets but it will give a very digable tone on my 15 inch three ringer a couple of inches off the ground.
Of course I have good soil, eastern nc.
What tone did the Deus give please?
 
What tone did the Deus give please?
The Deus II will give a nonferrous tone in the separation test I talked about if, you have the discrimination set to 6.8.
That's why I say that the 900 did better in the test, it gave a sweeter nonferrous tone and a more realistic ID. The ID was lowered than normal on the coins but much better than the 07 or 08 on the Deus II. I've heard that Deus is working on an update to solve the 07 through 09 ID on coins in nails.
The big problem with these VDIs on coins in nails is that many square nails also give an ID of 07 through 09. And if you discriminate up to 10 you wouldn't hear the coins at all.
For now the 900 is winning in this situation in my opinion. And the 6 inch coil does very well. The Horseshoe needs to be off to get a positive ID. With it on the IDs will be negative.
Very important point about separation test: a full sweep of the coil is very important. The sweep of the coil needs to extend past the coin and nails on each side. The wiggle shouldn't be done until a nonferrous tone is heard. Keep it real.
 
I just sold both of my 800s. I did test them against the 900 and the 900 did report better on some of my deeper targets in the garden. I did one separation test with 3 square nails and different coins all in the same configuration. Nails at 9, 12 and 3 o'clock pointing at the coin in the center. With the settings the same on both machines the 900 gave a digable tone and ID when the 800 didn't make a peep. Horseshoe off. It even beat the Deus II because the Deus II doesn't give an accurate ID in this test. 07, 08.
It's only one test but it was enough for me. I really like the 900 except for the shaft not HAVING ANY ALIGNMENT MARKINGS. Really minelab, you should have done a little better with the shaft. Even the Simplex shaft is better IMO with the markings and the shaft not being able to twist. They cheaped out IMO.
And if you really want depth, go to Park 2. The ID suc##$ on deeper targets but it will give a very digable tone on my 15 inch three ringer a couple of inches off the ground.
Of course I have good soil, eastern nc.
The easiest thing to do is loosen up both cams set detector a a flat hat surface with coil flat then tighten cams it will line up perfectly..
And as for the Deus I don’t like their setup they seem to have discrimination to high in the standard settings for my liking I always lower it as I hunt no discrimination with my 900 .
Mark
 
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