A Hungry Equinox 800

[jctorok]

Hey all,
Received my Equinox 800 a week or so ago. First hunt was to a local park I knew there were clad coins that seem to get replenished all the time. Found a few dollars worth getting used to the machine and playing with the settings (a long way to go in that area).

Second hunt. Took it to an area that was hit hard with my explorer and CTX. An area where I previously found silver, deep wheaties and a few rings. Now time to see what I missed.

Park 1. Ranged the sensitivity up as high as 23 and down as low as 18. Some parts of the area have higher iron oxide in it. Dropped ranged the iron bias a bit (Park 1 is set at 6). Dropped it as low as 2. Did not mess with the other settings in an effort to learn the machine.

So after an hour and half found one new quarter, one nickel and one wheat penny about 7 inches deep so I took the Equinox to What-a-Burger. It felt a lot better after that.....well I felt a lot better anyway.

Here are my thoughts for other CTX and Explorer users that are giving the 800 a run:

Miss the hum on the threshold. I know I can turn it on for the 800. Will likely do that next hunt.

With my explorer and CTX I always looked at the screen as much as the numbers. Although the numbers are nice to see, the CTX is truly a visual and audio hunter where as the 800 is primarily audio.

The depth meter is like the one on my Explorer, but I sure miss the depth read out on the CTX. I punched a number of deep plugs with the 800 only to find the coin a couple of inches down.

Unit was a little chatty initially. Turned off the blue-tooth on my Iphone and the chatty went away.

Noticed as I lowered the Iron Bias the tones changed. The signals seemed to get longer and sounded more like those on the CTX.

Found lots more pull tabs then I normally dig. The one nickel hit solid at 13 and did not bounce around. All the pull tabs seemed to bounce 12-13, 13-14, 16-17, 17-18 etc. the tails off the older pull tabs all came in around 9-10 (course I dug them all hoping to find the glint of a gold ring).

Anyway, not ready to get rid of the beast (CTX) yet. I think there may be a time and place for both machines. Time will tell.

Learning a lot from everyone's posts. Thanks to all.
Good luck hunting.

 

[Grumpyolddiver]

n/t

 

[sgoss66]

Good report.

One thing...you said you turned iron bias down, and it "lengthened the tones." That should not be the case. Turning down recovery speed will do that, but iron bias shouldn't (in my experience). Since recovery speed and iron bias are both accessed by the same menu button (to change the button from controlling iron bias adjustment to controlling recovery speed adjustment you have to hold the button down a few seconds and watch for the presence of, or absence of, the "line" underneath the "icon"), you might be sure you weren't accidentally adjusting the recovery speed, instead of the iron bias...

Anyway, sounds like you are catching on real well so far. I agree with you -- it's likely not going to replace the CTX for me, but is a great "complementary" machine that certainly will see its share of use.

Steve

 

[jctorok]

Steve
That is a possiblity. I will check it again on the next outing.

Again, thanks.

Jerry

 

[sgoss66]

Looking at your signature in your first post, I see a CTX, an SE Pro, and an Equinox. These are my three favorite machines...I ran an SE Pro for 7 years, before getting a CTX (and now adding an Equinox). Outstanding machines! Even moreso, you run the same coils on the SE Pro, and the CTX, as I do! Seems as though we have something in common!

Steve

 

[dewcon4414]

You have to take a look at those screens occasionally. Ive already noticed things that i do without realizing it..... so ive taken to looking closer to the screen a few times a hunt. IE..... i get there sometimes before the sun comes up and us the back light... not like the CTX you have to turn it off or it stays on and burns batteries. Wireless....... if you arent using it .... turn it off. Im not sure it doesnt cause a bit of the chatter. Also...... GB If that wavy line stays on you are in TRACKING..... that ones an easy thing to do. If you dont hold it to AUTO GB..... you end up in tracking. Ive got a few days as well on those machines Steve.

 

[jctorok]

Guys,

I turned it back on to see what I may or may not have done. I think I had it in tracking because that is where was when I turned it on.

Oh the joys of learning a new machine. Well unlike years ago learning the explorer, which I initially thought I bought junk and was ready to wrap it around a tree. Then one day woke up and decided to keep it at one setting and work it for a while, then make one change at a time and really see what it does. Of course all the new utube videos people do could take the place of some of the learning depending what they post and if they allow us to hear the signals. Almost like the old explorer training program.

Steve: Likely have the same setups as they are the best of the best during their time. But one thing I am certain of, even though I need to learn the 800, it is not a CTX. I think on my last trip with only finding a couple of coins which were likely missed due to sweep, the machine is good, but not necessarily a replacement for the CTX. I am in my late 50s and in pretty good shape so can still swing the beast (CTX) for a full day without it killing me. On the other hand, relatively speaking, the 800 is extremely light compared to the CTX and the Explorer.

Believe it or not, after I hit a productive area with the CTX I have gone back and checked it again (when I can) with the Explorer and the ultimate coil. I think it is as deep as the CTX with the 17. I was hoping that the new technology in the Equinox would allow me to replace the Explorer. Also, since it is so light and can be broken down fairly short I hope to take it with me from time to time when traveling for business. Of course that will be a different post.

Thanks again to all. To all who read this, any post you make has some level of learning. I appreciate all.
Best of luck to all us new Equinox owners.