Is it time to sell the Safari and get an Equinox? From the preliminary reports and Youtube videos do you guys think the Equinox will be that much better aside from the wireless, backlight and recovery speed? Surely the FBS still trumps the Multi Spectrum because the ETRAC and CTX are king right? Or should I pack my Safari up and sell it?
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
Safari or Equinox?
- Thread starter cashmole
- Start date
I have own and used an Quattro and a Explorer SE Pro. I sold both because they could not handle iron as well as my Sovereign XS. Every place I hunt has loads of iron. When I heard about the Equinox and read about the new technology I decided that I was going to purchase it. I was able to find a Equinox 600 to purchase. After I received it, I took it to a place were I have not pulled a coin out of there for years. Long story short I pulled coins out of this area from 7 to 8 inches next to iron with the 11 inch coil that comes with the Equinox. I ran the detector in all metal mode so I could hear the iron grunt tones. Right now I am thinking that heavy trash and Iron sites are now my friends. If most of your areas were you hunt don't have huge concentrations of trash and iron you don't need a Equinox. Keep using your Safari it I great metal detector.
MetalMiner
Member
I plan to pick up a Equinox 800 for the waterproof feature as well as the quicker recovery time. Wont ever sell my Safari, its been too good to me.
john4840 said:
Wow..I was trying to convince myself that the Equinox won't be much better than the Safari. Yes I do hunt in trashy parks and iron littered old home sites so being able to pick stuff out of the iron will help tremendously. So your running a Nox 600 huh? Maybe that's just what I need to give me a boost. I might possibly wait for the 800. Thanks for that advice.
Are you the same Cachemole from Canada and doing the youtube videos? If you are... I watch your videos just as soon as you put them out. They are inspiring and fun. Keep em coming!!!
I just purchased the Equinox 600 and took it out yesterday on an 11 hour hunt and here is my experience with it.
First of all... don't get rid of your Safari. I think you know that this and the Etrac/Explorer, are probably the best machines out there.
Coming from the Safari and going into the Nox 600 will knock the socks off of you.
Me and my buddies hunt super trashy 100 yr old parks in Los Angeles and I got to tell you it is no picnic with the 600.
You will hear high signals coming at you like you are under machine gun fire. I was totally overwhelmed by them.
Unlike the Safari, your mid tones (nickels and pull tabs) with the Nox are coming in sounding just a tad bit lower than your clad pennies/dimes and silver. Confusing as all hell!!!
The only time your hear the "grunt" is when you are in "all metal" when you are over iron. Other than this, targets sound too much like high conduct targets.
The signals are too close in sound and you really have to slow way way down to make sure you are not missing the coins.
Due to the insane recovery speed of the Nox, signals come flying at you if in super trashy ground. You will be separating similar tones/signals in your brain all day long.
Because of this you HAVE TO RELY on the numbers on your board or you will lose good targets.
I actually lost a significant amount of ground coverage because I was too busy separating tones/signals in small areas. Very very unproductive for me.
My buddies are Etrac and Explorer users and I couldn't keep the pace with them because I was too busy separating tones/signals/targets. I couldn't get out of these pockets of high trash unless I was willing to forfeit potential silver or wheats, or simply to keep the pace with my buddies.
Now, had I owned the Nox 800, the outcome may have been different because it is written in the manual that you can change the tones and pitch of your signals/targets in the advanced settings which the 600 lacks.
All in all, I think that the 600 would be good in non-trashy or moderately trashy grounds where targets are not overwhelming. But in the super trash, put your seat belt on and hang on.
Now, the positive thing about yesterday is I dug my first indian head penny (1904), a 1935 mercury dime and 3 wheat pennies. But keep in mind this was all in an 11 hour hunt which is a long day.
Another positive thing I noticed is that the 600 gets to your high conduct target no matter how much iron is surrounding it. Throw it in "all metal" and if there is a coin mixed among the iron, you can still hear it very clearly.
I really missed my Safari yesterday but due to the weight of it, it is difficult swinging it now due to the tendonitis in my arm that it has created.
Get out with an Equinox 800 user if you can and watch them play with the settings to see if the tones can be separated similar to the Safari, Etrac or Explorer.
In the meantime, I will continue to work and experiment with the 600 because I don't like giving up so easily.
I just purchased the Equinox 600 and took it out yesterday on an 11 hour hunt and here is my experience with it.
First of all... don't get rid of your Safari. I think you know that this and the Etrac/Explorer, are probably the best machines out there.
Coming from the Safari and going into the Nox 600 will knock the socks off of you.
Me and my buddies hunt super trashy 100 yr old parks in Los Angeles and I got to tell you it is no picnic with the 600.
You will hear high signals coming at you like you are under machine gun fire. I was totally overwhelmed by them.
Unlike the Safari, your mid tones (nickels and pull tabs) with the Nox are coming in sounding just a tad bit lower than your clad pennies/dimes and silver. Confusing as all hell!!!
The only time your hear the "grunt" is when you are in "all metal" when you are over iron. Other than this, targets sound too much like high conduct targets.
The signals are too close in sound and you really have to slow way way down to make sure you are not missing the coins.
Due to the insane recovery speed of the Nox, signals come flying at you if in super trashy ground. You will be separating similar tones/signals in your brain all day long.
Because of this you HAVE TO RELY on the numbers on your board or you will lose good targets.
I actually lost a significant amount of ground coverage because I was too busy separating tones/signals in small areas. Very very unproductive for me.
My buddies are Etrac and Explorer users and I couldn't keep the pace with them because I was too busy separating tones/signals/targets. I couldn't get out of these pockets of high trash unless I was willing to forfeit potential silver or wheats, or simply to keep the pace with my buddies.
Now, had I owned the Nox 800, the outcome may have been different because it is written in the manual that you can change the tones and pitch of your signals/targets in the advanced settings which the 600 lacks.
All in all, I think that the 600 would be good in non-trashy or moderately trashy grounds where targets are not overwhelming. But in the super trash, put your seat belt on and hang on.
Now, the positive thing about yesterday is I dug my first indian head penny (1904), a 1935 mercury dime and 3 wheat pennies. But keep in mind this was all in an 11 hour hunt which is a long day.
Another positive thing I noticed is that the 600 gets to your high conduct target no matter how much iron is surrounding it. Throw it in "all metal" and if there is a coin mixed among the iron, you can still hear it very clearly.
I really missed my Safari yesterday but due to the weight of it, it is difficult swinging it now due to the tendonitis in my arm that it has created.
Get out with an Equinox 800 user if you can and watch them play with the settings to see if the tones can be separated similar to the Safari, Etrac or Explorer.
In the meantime, I will continue to work and experiment with the 600 because I don't like giving up so easily.
Yes its CacheMole from Youtube! Thanks for the compliment. And thanks for the detailed look into your experience with the Equinox 600 This really helps that you also run a Safari to give some more perspective on the Equinox 600. It sounds like a super fast machine from what you are saying and that should help sift through the trash and we have lots of it here in Toronto...lol.
I was hunting with a friend tonight that has had a lot of success with the AT Max and he isolated a silver dime. Before he dug it I went over it with my Safari. Both of us had a 13x12" coil on and I could barely hear the dime. Most of the time I could'nt even hear it! I forget how deep it was but it was around the length of the garret pinpointer. I changed my sensitivity from auto to 18 and it came in better but it shocked me that he could hear it clear as day on the Max. I did manage a silver quarter but it was only 6" and a quarter so that didn't impress me but the Max did. He still wants to get rid of the Max because it's too noisy but he's really killing it with that thing. He just struggled along with it and learned how to live with the noise and hear the silver through it.
So that brings me to the Nox 600. Sounds like a great machine but you say only the 800 has the ability to change the tone of targets? I think this is tone shift? That's a great feature and I think would allow someone to cherry pick for silver more efficiently. Thanks for bringing this feature to my attention. Maybe I'll wait for the 800.
Do you have a Youtube Channel Happa54?
I was hunting with a friend tonight that has had a lot of success with the AT Max and he isolated a silver dime. Before he dug it I went over it with my Safari. Both of us had a 13x12" coil on and I could barely hear the dime. Most of the time I could'nt even hear it! I forget how deep it was but it was around the length of the garret pinpointer. I changed my sensitivity from auto to 18 and it came in better but it shocked me that he could hear it clear as day on the Max. I did manage a silver quarter but it was only 6" and a quarter so that didn't impress me but the Max did. He still wants to get rid of the Max because it's too noisy but he's really killing it with that thing. He just struggled along with it and learned how to live with the noise and hear the silver through it.
So that brings me to the Nox 600. Sounds like a great machine but you say only the 800 has the ability to change the tone of targets? I think this is tone shift? That's a great feature and I think would allow someone to cherry pick for silver more efficiently. Thanks for bringing this feature to my attention. Maybe I'll wait for the 800.
Do you have a Youtube Channel Happa54?
cashmole said:
I like running my 600 in 5 tones. You also have the ability to run in 1, 2, or 50 tones. and also change the tone pitch. "EQUINOX 600 allows only the ferrous Tone Break position (t1) to be adjusted. EQUINOX 800 allows 4 Tone Break positions (t1, t2, t3, t4) to be adjusted." quoted from the manual. Also you might want to check out this from the Minelab website here https://www.minelab.com/anz/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/equinox-600-vs-equinox-800
cashmole said:
[size=medium][/size]
Yeah Cachemole... wait for the 800 if you can before you dump the Safari for the AT Max...IMO. I'm extremely partial to the Minelab FBS machines because I hunt side-by-side with em and I see the finds they produce. My hunting buddies are insane hot shots (probably the best there are) and they were both AT users at one time. They may not hit the deepest targets but it's the tones and those iffy signals that put them on their good finds. With my Safari I hear iffy scratchy signals at 7-8" too but these are the good stuff. It's all in the tones and these FBS machines don't lie much about what's under your coil (with the exception to rusty nails).
I have another buddy who went from AT Pro to AT Max and his silver count is a fraction of what I produce. Sure he gets deep, but for whatever reason, he's not on the silver the way we are. It could be he doesn't understand his machine's full potential. But again we are hunting extreme trashy parks where you hit a target every inch.
Somehow get a hold of a Nox 800 or hunt with someone who owns one and play with the tone settings. The tone settings may be the substantial difference between the 600 and 800. As you can see in Youtube and forum posts, Nox owners are boasting their results on these machines whether the 600 or 800. All I can say about my 600 is WOW!!! Super fast, crazy machine. But, the similarities in the tones are overwhelming in the utmost trashy situations.
I don't have a youtube channel but I hang out at the Friendly Metal Detecting Forum. My hunting buddy is Jamflicker who is quite popular there. The other hotshot, Dan, does not participate in the forums but his finds are mind blowing. Both Etrac and Explorer users.
This is just my take on this and others may say the same or different. The bottom line is I think you should check out the 800 before you move over to another make/model. The 800 could easily be compared to the AT Max in speed and depth, and maybe more. Look at how many AT owners are moving over to the 800.
My Safari will be with me for good. I cut my teeth in this hobby in 2017 with it and it has given me some AWESOME old silver & wheats, relics, tokens, old buttons, rings, etc.
I will add to this post again as I put in more time with the 600. Either I'm gonna keep it or move over to the 800... time will tell.
I love your latest videos with the bottle hunts... exciting stuff. Keep em coming !!!
I have a safari, actually two of them. My wife uses one, or did use one. I bought her the NOX 800. I have a CTX 3030 and 2 NOX 800. Plus 2 safari's. In my opinion, the safari is a good detector but once a person makes the transition to the NOX, you won't look back. As for the FBS detectors, the CTX is the one to have. The safari isn't in the same league as the CTX. If the price is out of reach, get the Etrac.
Don't let an emotional attachment to a detector hold you back. The safari is an adequate detector but the NOX will outperform it. Plus the NOX is waterproof, lighter, a lot faster and does a lot better in trashy areas. When I got my CTX, I went over some places I already hit with my safari. I was surprised on how much I found with the CTX that I didn't with the safari. The CTX unmask targets a lot better than the safari. The NOX will unmask targets better than the CTX in heavy trash sites.
The lack of adjustments and the slow speed is a problem with the safari. The slow recovery speed will cause you to miss targets. You won't notice it until you take a faster recovery detector back over the same ground. In clean ground, the safari does well. Once you start getting into moderate trash, you will start missing things unknowingly.
Before the safari was the Quattro. It wasn't long before people started complaining about it's slow speed. Then came the safari, a faster version of the Quattro. It was an improvement over the Quattro and did considerably better. But even though it was faster than the Quattro, it still is slow.
The ID on the safari is really slow, it takes some time for it to catch up to the target which can be misleading. You have to wait and let the ID reset to get an accurate number.
Do yourself a favor, get a NOX 800. Learn it in clean ground first. Learn to ID coins well. Then as you learn the tones and ID, you can progress to more trashy areas. Learn the settings and the adjustments to get the most out of the NOX. Once you do, you won't regret it and won't look back.
Don't let an emotional attachment to a detector hold you back. The safari is an adequate detector but the NOX will outperform it. Plus the NOX is waterproof, lighter, a lot faster and does a lot better in trashy areas. When I got my CTX, I went over some places I already hit with my safari. I was surprised on how much I found with the CTX that I didn't with the safari. The CTX unmask targets a lot better than the safari. The NOX will unmask targets better than the CTX in heavy trash sites.
The lack of adjustments and the slow speed is a problem with the safari. The slow recovery speed will cause you to miss targets. You won't notice it until you take a faster recovery detector back over the same ground. In clean ground, the safari does well. Once you start getting into moderate trash, you will start missing things unknowingly.
Before the safari was the Quattro. It wasn't long before people started complaining about it's slow speed. Then came the safari, a faster version of the Quattro. It was an improvement over the Quattro and did considerably better. But even though it was faster than the Quattro, it still is slow.
The ID on the safari is really slow, it takes some time for it to catch up to the target which can be misleading. You have to wait and let the ID reset to get an accurate number.
Do yourself a favor, get a NOX 800. Learn it in clean ground first. Learn to ID coins well. Then as you learn the tones and ID, you can progress to more trashy areas. Learn the settings and the adjustments to get the most out of the NOX. Once you do, you won't regret it and won't look back.