900 Park 2 is really deep, but useless for me

[jayhop]

I hope Minelab does something about this but I doubt they will. It was the same way on the 800 and they never did anything about it.
What am I talking about? The IDs on deeper targets in Park 2.
Example: The 900 in Park I, will detect the 15 inch three ringer in my test garden. But just barely. But it will give a digable VDI. Occasionally an accurate VDI.
In Park 2, the 900 gives a very good audio report several inches above the ground on the 15 inch three ringer.
But the VDI is useless. Park 2 gives a VDI of 1to 2 on this target.
I get pretty much the same results on my 11 inch dime. It gives a VDI in the single digits in Park 2. While Park 1 will sing a song on the dime and will give a somewhat accurate VDI. Up averages a little.

Some will disagree with me I'm sure. They will say they use P 2 or Field 2 and it does fine for them. Maybe so, but what I have posted is a fact. In my ground anyway.

This is the reason I left the 900 home today and took the Deus II hunting for three ringers. The 900 will detect targets deeper than the Deus II but with a nondigable VDI , for me anyway.
Minelab, please do something about this.

 

[Ted S]

I find that interesting Jay. Do you think it is a programming glitch from Minelab? I haven't had my new 900 out yet so I am of no help.

 

[lse450cc]

Yes, the 800 and 600 does that ,I always use park one for good VDI . and I have seen exactly what you’re talking about. Do you have a stock 6 inch coil ,That came with your 800. and will it work on your 900 have you tried it? I know the 900 come with the 6 inch but I don’t think
they’re compatible like they said. my 6 inch coil off of my 800 will not work, 900.

 

[jayhop]

I find that interesting Jay. Do you think it is a programming glitch from Minelab? I haven't had my new 900 out yet so I am of no help.

I don't know what you would call it. And they may not be able to do anything about it.
But I do know I have been told in the past that the problem didn't exist. That was using the 800.
It's the same with the 900.
Park I, gives a much more realistic VDI on deep targets than Park 2.
But Park 2 gives a strong audio on targets that Park 1 won't hardly report on. But the VDI that Park 2 gives on those targets beyond the reach Park 1 is in the single digits. .
This may not matter to most people for general hunting.
But when you're hunting a site that has been gone over since detectors were available to the public it may make a difference. Most of the shallow targets are gone. There are several situations where depth makes a big difference. And yes, there are sites where depth means nothing.

 

[jayhop]

Yes, the 800 and 600 does that ,I always use park one for good VDI . and I have seen exactly what you’re talking about. Do you have a stock 6 inch coil ,That came with your 800. and will it work on your 900 have you tried it? I know the 900 come with the 6 inch but I don’t think
they’re compatible like they said. my 6 inch coil off of my 800 will not work, 900.

I sold the 6 inch coil that I bought for the 800 within a week of receiving it a few years ago. I didn't see any advantage, or very little advantage in separation test. But a very noticeable loss of depth.
Thank you for confirming what I said about Park 2. I think one reason Minelab doesn't do anything about the Park 2 program is because so many people say it doesn't exist.
I agree with you about the 6 inch coil that came with the 900, it may be the same coil but I'm seeing totally different results in depth test and separation test. It's much better than the 6 inch coil I tried on the 800.
Plus my 10x5 coil works on the 900, but not really. I have to turn the sensitivity way down for it to run stable.

 

[jim tn]

I think one reason Minelab doesn't do anything about the Park 2 program is because so many people say it doesn't exist.

I think one of the biggest problems with Minelab right now is none of their bean counters and design team actually hunt. HH jim tn

 

[fwcrawford]

This is interesting to hear about park 1 verses park 2 performance.
I have always used park 1 with good results… never a saw a need to change.
From what I have read here, it seems the 6” coil for the 600/800 is not compatible with the 700/ 900?
I wonder if the stock coils from the 600/800 are also not compatible.
That could be a concern to those thinking of getting the 700/900 assuming that the coils are compatible.

 

[jayhop]

This is interesting to hear about park 1 verses park 2 performance.
I have always used park 1 with good results… never a saw a need to change.
From what I have read here, it seems the 6” coil for the 600/800 is not compatible with the 700/ 900?
I wonder if the stock coils from the 600/800 are also not compatible.
That could be a concern to those thinking of getting the 700/900 assuming that the coils are compatible.

I have always used Park 1 and really like it. But Park 2 is deeper in my opinion, by a good bit.
I don't know about the old 6 inch working on the 900, but I feel confident it will. All I'm saying is that I'm getting much better performance with the 6 inch coil that came with the 900 on the 900, than I did the old 6 inch coil on the 800.
But the 900 doesn't seem to like the coiltek 5x10. It's a little chatty.

 

[sgoss66]

I think one of the biggest problems with Minelab right now is none of their bean counters and design team actually hunt. HH jim tn

Some of the "design team" does, actually...

Steve

 

[jim tn]

Some of the "design team" does, actually...

Well,...well, thats' good to hear! Thanks! HH jim tn

 

[Mark kus]

I hope Minelab does something about this but I doubt they will. It was the same way on the 800 and they never did anything about it.
What am I talking about? The IDs on deeper targets in Park 2.
Example: The 900 in Park I, will detect the 15 inch three ringer in my test garden. But just barely. But it will give a digable VDI. Occasionally an accurate VDI.
In Park 2, the 900 gives a very good audio report several inches above the ground on the 15 inch three ringer.
But the VDI is useless. Park 2 gives a VDI of 1to 2 on this target.
I get pretty much the same results on my 11 inch dime. It gives a VDI in the single digits in Park 2. While Park 1 will sing a song on the dime and will give a somewhat accurate VDI. Up averages a little.

Some will disagree with me I'm sure. They will say they use P 2 or Field 2 and it does fine for them. Maybe so, but what I have posted is a fact. In my ground anyway.

This is the reason I left the 900 home today and took the Deus II hunting for three ringers. The 900 will detect targets deeper than the Deus II but with a nondigable VDI , for me anyway.
Minelab, please do something about this.

I've noticed that the D2 will give a nice high tone on a bullet and a silver dime where my 900 will give a mid to low on the bullet and a high tone on the dime.
which I do not like on the D2 at least I have a good idea what I'm digging a guy on youtube also made a video on this.
Mark

 

[GaryB]

According to Minelab's website the EQX06 six inch double D Smartcoil is compatible with all Equinox detectors. The 6" coil that comes with the 900 is the same 6" coil that comes with the 800 package. It's the only 6" coil that they sell for the Equinox series. If you have one that doesn't work on your 900 it's a bad coil.

 

[Tony-Ok]

Most detectors give an accurate VDI number down to about 8” inches. Beyond that Actual IDs tend to drop off ….. just my opinion even when using my D2. I have never seen a video of how accurate the VDIs are ? Usually just an audio sound is produced. Maybe someone could do an accuracy test . ??? Calabash, might be able to do that . He has an established test garden. Accuracy = depth + good audio.

 

[jayhop]

Most detectors give an accurate VDI number down to about 8” inches. Beyond that Actual IDs tend to drop off ….. just my opinion even when using my D2. I have never seen a video of how accurate the VDIs are ? Usually just an audio sound is produced. Maybe someone could do an accuracy test . ??? Calabash, might be able to do that . He has an established test garden. Accuracy = depth + good audio.

I agree about accuracy dropping off at depth. But in my soil Park 1 gives a more accurate VDI than Park 2 at those deeper depths.
The audio that is produced depends on how your tone Bins are setup.
So if you set your first tone bin upto around 9 on the 800 or around 19 on the 900 to eliminate digging foil and such, deeper targets will report a good tone and VDIs when using Park 1. But if you do the same in Park 2, the tones won't be good because the VDI is brought down into the single digits. Park 1 up averages the VDI, Park 2 brings it way down.
I have asked Calabash about looking into this recently but haven't seen him do anything on it yet. I'm sure he gets bombarded with requests.
This is why test gardens are so important. Without a test garden with targets at known depths I would have never known this.
So when hunting a site where depth is important, I use the Deus II in Deep HC program. It's slightly deeper than the 900 in Park 1 on some targets. Park 2 is way deeper than the Deus II as far as detection, but with a very unrealistic VDI.
Again, for those that disagree. This is on deeper targets, 10 to 15 inches in my test garden. Which is realistic, it's targets in the ground. Plus when comparing detectors or programs a test garden clearly shows which gives you an advantage.

 

[ron948]

I just bought a 900 about a month ago. The 6in coil didnt work at all. Sent it back and still waiting on a replacement. I took the 6in coil i got for the 600 and it worked flawless on the 900.

 

[Gray Ghost 2023]

I don't know what you would call it. And they may not be able to do anything about it.
But I do know I have been told in the past that the problem didn't exist. That was using the 800.
It's the same with the 900.
Park I, gives a much more realistic VDI on deep targets than Park 2.
But Park 2 gives a strong audio on targets that Park 1 won't hardly report on. But the VDI that Park 2 gives on those targets beyond the reach Park 1 is in the single digits. .
This may not matter to most people for general hunting.
But when you're hunting a site that has been gone over since detectors were available to the public it may make a difference. Most of the shallow targets are gone. There are several situations where depth makes a big difference. And yes, there are sites where depth means nothing.

At this point you might want to detect in Park 2. Once you get a credible audio, switch to Park 1 to verify. As a relic hunter, I think you'd dig less trash, although I dig anything I suspect is a relic. When in doubt, dig! A hassle but worth the effort. HH