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Cautiously Considering A Nox

Rob183

Active member
Looking to purchase a Equinox in the very near future (moving to Florida this weekend) but concerned about the stories of flooded machines and broken coils. I'm wondering if I should take the plunge or look at something else. The beach will be 5 minutes away so that will be where it'll be used the most.

Thanks
Rob
 
Rob, it’s a good detector for land and beach and nowadays it has additional size coils you can purchase.
Yes, I had a coil break and shafts had the wobble so I replaced both. Coil was under warranty. They also sent me another lower shaft but that didn’t last and I bought after market to fix It. Also I dropped the machine and cracked the arm rest but they replaced it.
So the build isn’t great. It goes deep, no problems with Nox or other minelabs in that department. Technology under the hood is what made me and many others jump. Nowadays they increased the price but I haven’t heard from any new users if the build is better or the same.
So you want folk who just recently purchase one to ch8me in., mine is over warranty by four months.
Many folks I know are using Deus and love it, some also like Nokta, those are built well. Nokta is suppose to have a multi frequency unit come out soon but might be behind due to chip shortages or adjustments in their programming, not certain.
The beach in Florida? Will you go into the water? Many folks use minelab Excalibur 2.
Tony
 
Rob, it’s a good detector for land and beach and nowadays it has additional size coils you can purchase.
Yes, I had a coil break and shafts had the wobble so I replaced both. Coil was under warranty. They also sent me another lower shaft but that didn’t last and I bought after market to fix It. Also I dropped the machine and cracked the arm rest but they replaced it.
So the build isn’t great. It goes deep, no problems with Nox or other minelabs in that department. Technology under the hood is what made me and many others jump. Nowadays they increased the price but I haven’t heard from any new users if the build is better or the same.
So you want folk who just recently purchase one to ch8me in., mine is over warranty by four months.
Many folks I know are using Deus and love it, some also like Nokta, those are built well. Nokta is suppose to have a multi frequency unit come out soon but might be behind due to chip shortages or adjustments in their programming, not certain.
The beach in Florida? Will you go into the water? Many folks use minelab Excalibur 2.
Tony
Moving to Dunedin next to Clearwater, hoping to get in the water with it.
 
Looking to purchase a Equinox in the very near future (moving to Florida this weekend) but concerned about the stories of flooded machines and broken coils. I'm wondering if I should take the plunge or look at something else. The beach will be 5 minutes away so that will be where it'll be used the most.

Thanks
Rob
I think the technology is the best on the market as of today.
But the build quality is the worst I've ever heard of in a machine of its price range, now selling for a thousand dollars.
That's why I own 2 800s. You have to have 2 unless you have another machine that you are happy to use as a backup.
I have a feeling that in a couple of years there are going to be a lot of equinox owners left holding the bag.
Most water hunters have had several machines replaced.
Nokta makro is supposed to be coming out with their new machine soon.
Also you will probably start to see a lot of 800s up for sale as a lot of warranties are up or will be soon.
As soon as I get the new nokta makro simultaneous multi frequency machine I plan to sell my equinox that goes out of Warranty in November.
I'm sure there are some that haven't had one problem at all but most that do a lot of beach, field and woods hunting have had trouble.
But getting an Equinox and having trouble is better than having no detector at all.
I wish I was going to live 5 minutes from the beach in Florida, Lucky you.
 
I hunted behind an excal in fresh water and smoked him, he could hear the targets after I dug them LOL. Knock on wood I haven't had any issues with coils or water, might tomorrow but I'm not worried. I bought one of the first out so warranty is long gone. I have replaced the shaft with one of Steve's and love the way it collapses for stowing! The Equinox is a light build for weight and economics, the performance is under the hood. JMO
HH Jeff
 
Def. get a new one with a warranty. I have had 4 warranty replacements for coils and armrests (2 each) Great machine and really works well in high iron or salt water areas. According to the Minelab rep I talked to at their repair facility, most leakages are due to over tightening the control box to the rod, causing a crack in the housing. He said this is especially true when folks attach it to a aftermarket carbon fiber pole and crank it down. Seems like good advice to be easy with the tightening
 
I think the technology is the best on the market as of today.
But the build quality is the worst I've ever heard of in a machine of its price range, now selling for a thousand dollars.
That's why I own 2 800s. You have to have 2 unless you have another machine that you are happy to use as a backup.
I have a feeling that in a couple of years there are going to be a lot of equinox owners left holding the bag.
Most water hunters have had several machines replaced.
Nokta makro is supposed to be coming out with their new machine soon.
Also you will probably start to see a lot of 800s up for sale as a lot of warranties are up or will be soon.
As soon as I get the new nokta makro simultaneous multi frequency machine I plan to sell my equinox that goes out of Warranty in November.
I'm sure there are some that haven't had one problem at all but most that do a lot of beach, field and woods hunting have had trouble.
But getting an Equinox and having trouble is better than having no detector at all.
I wish I was going to live 5 minutes from the beach in Florida, Lucky you.
My feelings are the same. I own two as well. It’s a outstanding machine on the beach for sure! It’s a winner on finding gold, especially small gold!……Knock on wood but, so far I’ve had no issues with my Nox’s.
 
Looking to purchase a Equinox in the very near future (moving to Florida this weekend) but concerned about the stories of flooded machines and broken coils. I'm wondering if I should take the plunge or look at something else. The beach will be 5 minutes away so that will be where it'll be used the most.

Thanks
Rob
This is my opinion! If you plan on doing more water hunting, I would get the Excalibur. If you are primarily going to hit the wet or dry sand, get the Nox or Vanquish…….That will save you the worries. That’s how I do it!
 
Def. get a new one with a warranty. I have had 4 warranty replacements for coils and armrests (2 each) Great machine and really works well in high iron or salt water areas. According to the Minelab rep I talked to at their repair facility, most leakages are due to over tightening the control box to the rod, causing a crack in the housing. He said this is especially true when folks attach it to a aftermarket carbon fiber pole and crank it down. Seems like good advice to be easy with the tightening

NOT to hijack this thread, so please forgive me, Rob183, but -- there is something I feel compelled to address here.

silvercoinboy, I am really disappointed that a Minelab rep actually said this to you, as it is entirely not factual. Period. If this is actually what was said by this rep, then I can only chalk that up to being simply an attempt to deflect responsibility off of Minelab (for whatever manufacturing issues are causing these failures), and to instead blame the USER (and, indirectly, aftermarket shaft producers such as myself) for what is very clearly a MINELAB problem. Very disingenuous, and very, very disappointing, if this is what has been said. I'll explain exactly why I know this is false information, in detail, below.

Awhile back, one of our members here (I will let him chime in and identify himself, if he chooses to) spoke with one of Minelab's technicians at their (Minelab's) repair center, about the leakage issues, and why they are occurring with the Equinox. The three main reasons for the leakages/failures, as relayed by the repair tech, are as follows -- 1). issues with the O-rings on the lid/door to the battery compartment; 2). issues with the screw that secures the battery compartment door (specifically, cracking of the lid/door itself near the screw's location), and 3). issues with the one-way valve/bladder farther up inside the handle, beyond the battery door.

Note that there was NO MENTION of the screws that clamp the handle onto the shaft being a cause of waterproofing failures, AND FOR GOOD REASON. The REASON that these four screws ARE NOT RELEVANT to the watertightness of the Equinox, is because the first "watertight seal" on the Equinox resides MUCH FARTHER UP INSIDE THE HANDLE. It is NOT where the shaft and handle meet (note the lack of rubber gaskets/O-rings where the two sections of the handle assembly join together), NOR is it where those threaded brass inserts reside, inside the handle (the ones that the handle attachment screws screw into, to hold the handle on the shaft). Instead, the first watertight seal on an Equinox is much farther up inside the handle, inside the battery compartment, where the O-rings on the battery compartment door are located. If you loosen the screw on your battery compartment door, and then open the door, you will see O-rings on the inner flange of the door, that provide that first "seal."

Once it becomes apparent that this is the first place where any seals or O-rings or gaskets exist (again, you can check it out for yourself), it immediately becomes obvious that any issues with the handle-attachment screws, the threaded brass inserts, or the plastic surrounding those inserts, is entirely IRRELEVANT to the watertightness of the Equinox! With the sealing of the unit occurring farther up inside the handle, well beyond the handle attachment screws, attachment of the handle to the shaft therefore has no bearing whatsoever on the watertightness (or lack thereof) of the unit.

Finally, I will note here that the one "grain of truth" in all of this, is that you obviously don't want to over-tighten those screws. NOT because of any risk for water intrusion, but instead, if you crank down on those screws with excessive force, there is some risk that the brass inserts could break/pull free from the plastic they are embedded in. The result, then, would be that you would not be able to tighten that screw. And at that point, a repair -- to re-secure the insert to the surrounding plastic so that you could again screw into it -- would be tricky. For this reason, I would not recommend using any tool other than an Allen/hex key to tighten those screws. Doing so, with that type of tool, should cause you no issues, as you should not be able to generate sufficient torque to pull/break those inserts free. Still, it's not a bad idea to think "good and snug, but not over-tight" when attaching the handle to the shaft and tightening up those screws (or, for that matter, ANY time you are screwing screws into threaded inserts that are embedded in plastic, or wood, or any other similarly soft material). BUT -- taking care not to over-torque those screws is something to consider NO MATTER what type of shaft you are using, and, again -- it has NOTHING to do with any Equinox water-intrusion failures!

Steve
 
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Looking to purchase a Equinox in the very near future (moving to Florida this weekend) but concerned about the stories of flooded machines and broken coils. I'm wondering if I should take the plunge or look at something else. The beach will be 5 minutes away so that will be where it'll be used the most.

Thanks
Rob
F75 Special edition is one to consider. I almost pulled the trigger on getting the F75 for the second time but Kellyco sold me on the Nox. I like the Nox but it has its flaws. If I could go back in time I would have the F75
 
i use both an equinox 800 and an anfibio, id wait until nokta comes out with the new smf machine, however im happy with both my units. have not had any trouble yet
 
NOT to hijack this thread, so please forgive me, Rob183, but -- there is something I feel compelled to address here.

silvercoinboy, I am really disappointed that a Minelab rep actually said this to you, as it is entirely not factual. Period. If this is actually what was said by this rep, then I can only chalk that up to being simply an attempt to deflect responsibility off of Minelab (for whatever manufacturing issues are causing these failures), and to instead blame the USER (and, indirectly, aftermarket shaft producers such as myself) for what is very clearly a MINELAB problem. Very disingenuous, and very, very disappointing, if this is what has been said. I'll explain exactly why I know this is false information, in detail, below.

Awhile back, one of our members here (I will let him chime in and identify himself, if he chooses to) spoke with one of Minelab's technicians at their (Minelab's) repair center, about the leakage issues, and why they are occurring with the Equinox. The three main reasons for the leakages/failures, as relayed by the repair tech, are as follows -- 1). issues with the O-rings on the lid/door to the battery compartment; 2). issues with the screw that secures the battery compartment door (specifically, cracking of the lid/door itself near the screw's location), and 3). issues with the one-way valve/bladder farther up inside the handle, beyond the battery door.

Note that there was NO MENTION of the screws that clamp the handle onto the shaft being a cause of waterproofing failures, AND FOR GOOD REASON. The REASON that these four screws ARE NOT RELEVANT to the watertightness of the Equinox, is because the first "watertight seal" on the Equinox resides MUCH FARTHER UP INSIDE THE HANDLE. It is NOT where the shaft and handle meet (note the lack of rubber gaskets/O-rings where the two sections of the handle assembly join together), NOR is it where those threaded brass inserts reside, inside the handle (the ones that the handle attachment screws screw into, to hold the handle on the shaft). Instead, the first watertight seal on an Equinox is much farther up inside the handle, inside the battery compartment, where the O-rings on the battery compartment door are located. If you loosen the screw on your battery compartment door, and then open the door, you will see O-rings on the inner flange of the door, that provide that first "seal."

Once it becomes apparent that this is the first place where any seals or O-rings or gaskets exist (again, you can check it out for yourself), it immediately becomes obvious that any issues with the handle-attachment screws, the threaded brass inserts, or the plastic surrounding those inserts, is entirely IRRELEVANT to the watertightness of the Equinox! With the sealing of the unit occurring farther up inside the handle, well beyond the handle attachment screws, attachment of the handle to the shaft therefore has no bearing whatsoever on the watertightness (or lack thereof) of the unit.

Finally, I will note here that the one "grain of truth" in all of this, is that you obviously don't want to over-tighten those screws. NOT because of any risk for water intrusion, but instead, if you crank down on those screws with excessive force, there is some risk that the brass inserts could break/pull free from the plastic they are embedded in. The result, then, would be that you would not be able to tighten that screw. And at that point, a repair -- to re-secure the insert to the surrounding plastic so that you could again screw into it -- would be tricky. For this reason, I would not recommend using any tool other than an Allen/hex key to tighten those screws. Doing so, with that type of tool, should cause you no issues, as you should not be able to generate sufficient torque to pull/break those inserts free. Still, it's not a bad idea to think "good and snug, but not over-tight" when attaching the handle to the shaft and tightening up those screws (or, for that matter, ANY time you are screwing screws into threaded inserts that are embedded in plastic, or wood, or any other similarly soft material). BUT -- taking care not to over-torque those screws is something to consider NO MATTER what type of shaft you are using, and, again -- it has NOTHING to do with any Equinox water-intrusion failures!

Steve
Steve that is absolutely correct in my ownership of a nox since they were released I had the brass inserts crack the housing and I did not over tighten them and as anyone would know if they replaced their shaft they would see there is no sealing o ring where the handle attaches to the shaft…Mines control has been replaced twice it just died once and the screws cracked the housing…
Mark
 
Thanks Mark! As you noted, disassembly of the handle assembly from the shaft, will quickly verify everything I said, above. The waterproofing begins well up inside the handle, up at the battery door, NOT in the hollow, lower portion of the handle assembly.

Steve
 
Ronstar's F75 keeps up with any minelab on dry land.

I dislike the Nox, but having hand/finger issues from some MMA mishaps, I have been swinging it the last few weeks because it is lighter than my other ML's. It does find silver, but I constantly wonder what I'm missing and when it's going to shatter from cheap, almost Chinese-like manufacture.

In my soil, the Nox gets less than 90% silver coins of what my FBS machines register, and 50% more trash. That's carrying both out in the field at the same time.

For the beach, sure. No brainer.
 
jkline,

Are you saying that you feel your Equinox is missing 10% of the silver coins that your FBS machines would see, or that it is missing 90%? I THINK you are saying you feel FBS would "see" 10% more of the silver coins than the Equinox does, but just wanted to clarify.

One thing I will say, is I think it would be normal to dig more trash with a machine you've only been using for a few weeks, versus FBS machines that I'll guess you had been using a LONG time...

After several years of experience on both platforms, I don't think I dig more junk with my Equinox, than I did with my Explorers, or my CTX, and I think I find just as much (if not a bit more) silver with the Equinox -- partly because it is just a tad deeper for me, and partly because I find a few embedded in trash that I think I may have missed with FBS. I do feel that FBS gives you a bit better of an idea, overall, as to what you may be digging before you dig it -- in other words, it offers you more "clues" when you are interrogating a particular target. But, that's not to say that there aren't some reasonably reliable "clues" in the Equinox audio and VDI, also...it's just a bit less "accurate" for me.

Anyway, YMMV...

Steve
 
Thx Steve,

For more than 200 hours I have carried both machines, using them as close to the same time as able. I'm a scientist, so I take that approach to things. In my soil, my CTX/Etrac hits coins the Nox won't register. On one hunt, the ATPro beat it-- my son's.
I have taken the Nox over places I hunted out with FBS-- and found no silver with the Nox. Vice Versa, I have found some silver the Nox has missed.

So what I'm saying is, in my conditions, the Nox is about 90% as effective as FBS. I've been using now what I call the "Hoover" method: I hit a spot 3x: first the ctx, then my etrac with a 15" coil, then the Nox. The Nox has yet to find silver those have missed. Anyway, don't misunderstand-- aside from crappy build quality, it is a fine machine.

But to confound all variables-- a spot where both Ronstar and I have gridded to death-- the Nox nailed a '40 Washington. A perfect 4" textbook silver quarter signal. Somehow in our gridding from all points of the compass, we missed that 1" of real estate. Anyway, I can't get rid of the machine yet-- the Mrs is learning to detect, and it really is a great machine for a female. No way she could swing a ctx for even a half hour.
 
I'll admit to digging more trash, mainly bottle caps, with my Nox 600 then I did with my F 75 and A T Pro, but in defense somewhat of the Nox, I hunted for over 15 years with a F 75 and 10 or so with a A T Pro as my 2nd unit. Never the less, one of my CTX user buddies far and away recovers more bottle caps then I do with the Nox. And just yesterday, I recovered a one way signal that was a 1923 Merc. completely on edge at about 6" that my buddy walked right over. How do we know he missed it? I was swinging across his path left from a heavy morning doo and the one way hit was good enough on the Nox to investigate further.

I'll state it again, though, there still is no perfect detector coming off a assembly line. HH jim tn
 
jkline -- OK, got it. That makes sense, that you feel that the Equinox gets you about 90% of what you would dig, if using the CTX.

Interesting, your results. It may be a "dirt" thing, where your soil is more suited to FBS. In my dirt, the results are a bit different, but that shouldn't be surprising. I have compared both units side-by-side as well -- both test garden, and "in the field" on targets found by one, and then tested with the other. Sounds like we evaluate things in a similar way. I don't see the same performance loss as you do; rather, I'd say the machines are very comparable, both have strengths and weaknesses.

In any case, I agree with you about the build quality; I think Minelab was trying stuff as much performance as they could into the machine, while keeping the price as low as possible -- and as such, some corners were cut with respect to build quality. It's definitely not built like a CTX...

Thanks!

Steve
 
It is possible that the difference in performance was the result of iron bias-- my setting was at 4 and just left it there. Since then I've dropped it to zero, and need to start the experiment all over gain.

Possibly that is why I feel I have to swing so much slower with the Nox, and have to evaluate every little high tone squeek, that I don't have to do with FBS.

I'll say it again-- the F75 is a helluva machine. If you don't beach hunt, give that baby serious consideration. Ronstar must have paid for his machine 3x over by now.
 
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