Equinox question
I have used a LOT of metal detectors in my time. I love learning new metal detectors/technology. Although I have used an 800 in a park and was impressed I wasn't so impressed relic hunting in heavy iron and I'm wondering how you all set your equinox's up for relic hunting in heavy bits of iron like nails.
MY EXPERIENCE - Dennis set me up with the program he runs at sites like this. What I was running into is THIS - the equinox was constantly falsing on small bits of iron. A second swing would quickly determine it was iron so it's not like I was digging a bunch of iron but it was every swing I would have 1-2 false high tones which was really slowing me down.
Up until a few years ago this exactly why I was almost exclusively using Analog detectors at sites like this. A few years ago, as technology has advanced i've come across some newer detectors that rarely false on iron in heavy concentrations of it.
Anyone else with an 800 come across this and is there any way to cut down on all the iron falsing?
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The biggest problem is every detector today comes with a DD coil. The older machines with concentric coils didn't false as bad on iron halos. The EQX 6 inch coil is terrible about iron falsing when compared to the 11. I haven't seen a lot of difference in separation between the 6 and 11 inch coils which goes against everything I've ever known. It is almost like the EQX was tuned to the 11 inch and the 6 inch was an after thought and never optimized for it. It is a weird situation. I sold my 6 inch coil pretty quick. Hoping the new Coiltek 10x5 will be better. The EQX is an EXTREMELY sensitive machine, and the Multi-IQ tech seems to magnify the ground noise. Just had a discussion about this on another forum. I was struggling with the Multi-IQ tech. https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/15171-help-with-equinox-ground-noise/#comments To help combat the iron chirps, you have to crank up the iron bias to at least 6 or higher. In heavy colonial iron patches I use Park 1, horseshoe button engaged (all metal mode), multi, sensitivity 15-18, 50 tones, recovery speed 6-7, iron bias 4-6. You will still get the occasional iron chirp, but it usually isn't as bad. Running in a single frequency actually helps cut down on the falsing also unless you swing over big iron. Some people complain about ear fatigue running with the horseshoe button on, but you will actually get more clipped iron chirps trying to leave it off and running 5 tones. It has something to do with the way the audio tones are filtered. You can lower your iron volume in the advanced settings so it it just a whisper in the background and still not clip the audio tones. If the sensitivity is too high it will cause falsing. I always hate turning it down, but with iron patches you don't get a lot of depth anyway unless you dig it all up. 50 tones will also help with that "clipped" iron chirp because the machine isn't trying to force all of the range of tones into only 5 tone breaks. Iron bias was the biggest learning curve for me because I assumed it was another term for iron discrimination. It is not the same as discrimination on all the other machines we have ever used. The EQX doesn't have traditional iron discrimination. It only has the ability to either turn iron sounds on or off via the horseshoe button. The iron bias feature actually determines the likelihood of the detector to identify a target as iron if it presents both ferrous and non-ferrous signals such as falsing on an iron halo. The downside is high iron bias might give you an iron tone on a non-ferrous target if it is an "iffy signal" instead of just missing it altogether because it is discriminated out like the traditional iron discrim technology. You still might get a small one way chirp instead of no sound at all. The controls are easy to learn, but the EQX is a completely different technology than what we have been used to, and takes a little while to master because it isn't like the traditional VLF machines.
I appreciate it sir. I will re-read this a few times and try making some of these changes next time I'm out with Dennis.
I was running it wide open in field 1 program using the multi-freq. I enjoyed using it and can't wait to take some of what you said here and apply it next time
Yeah, sorry it's so long. Lots of info to convey. The EQX isn't a magic carpet, but it's also not just your traditional VLF with multiple frequencies. It is similar to the Deus as far as options, but it almost has a "3D" ability with iron. Good luck!
Pulled a merc 1937 and a token from that trashy and irony area yesterday where I pulled the 1898 barber. I was going super slow with the Nox settings were park 1 sensitivity 18 auto tracking ground balance on, recovery speed at 6, F5. I did get falsing. I still dig it cause you never know. I did get the Merc with iron near it but the Nox locked onto it when I zeroed in on it via 11 coil and swinging tight on it. I am going to take my six inch coil there and see what else I can pluck out, see if the six gives me a advantage over all the iron.
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The D buckle, mason jar lid, wheats, marble and medallion I got in another area close to that site.
Mike, have you ever used a Deus? The iron bias setting on the Nox is almost the same as the silencer setting on the Deus. That is the best way to describe it without writing another novel. LOL
LOL I like novels!! thats what a forum is for to share info unlike social media where it's mostly just thumbs up! I've used a Deus but I haven't been through the programs or setting it up just using someone else's with their settings. I have to say I wasn't real impressed with the Deus in heavy iron but I was fairly impressed with the ORX but it could have been just how it was set up.
I think too I might have been looking at it wrong. Maybe the quick high chirps is the nature of the beast when we are talking about the Equinox especially when I know it excels at finding masked targets. Hopefully I will get some more time on it eventually. NBD if not, I have plenty (to many) of metal detectors to play with.
Quote from KcZiLlEsT_ReLicS on March 10, 2021, 5:30 amPulled a merc 1937 and a token from that trashy and irony area yesterday where I pulled the 1898 barber. I was going super slow with the Nox settings were park 1 sensitivity 18 auto tracking ground balance on, recovery speed at 6, F5. I did get falsing. I still dig it cause you never know. I did get the Merc with iron near it but the Nox locked onto it when I zeroed in on it via 11 coil and swinging tight on it. I am going to take my six inch coil there and see what else I can pluck out, see if the six gives me a advantage over all the iron.
thats awesome! I mean there's no doubting the performance of the Equinox I guess I just expected a lot less chirping on iron but again, could have totally been the settings. I'm a big fan of Minelabs technology all the way back to the first explorers.
Okay so I took the six inch coil out as here was the results. Settings were the same as last post and hunting style swinging slow. I pulled a pocket watch and a 611 plate. The other stuff buckle and wheatgrass penny, marble came from another area. So I pulled the 611 plate where I’ve swing the 11coil before and didn’t hear it for some reason i could have missed it tho with the 11 coil but I know I swing lose to where I got it with the six. The six pegged the pocket watch as well the area I got that at I never searched with the 11 because of brush and stubble but it got it clearly. My over all opinion on this is that the six did get faulting as well but nearly not as much as the 11 and the lil targets when it found them pegged them nicely. I will continue to hunt this location with the six because I feel like it did give me an advantage against the iron and trash down side is that it will take me awhile to hunt it out slowly swinging BUT I’m not complaining I like the challenge of a difficult place to hunt. A guy I bumped into in the wild I took to this very spot to hunt with me, he’s has WAY more years metal detecting and was a recipient of 5 awards in his local metal detecting club, than my 1 year in this hobby, says “Man I don’t see how you hunt in this stuff” meaning ground conditions, trash and iron ( he also has a Nox800) I took that as a compliment from a vet like him. With that said Mike I agree Minelab could work on the iron chirps in these types of conditions as new tech continues to get better I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Minelab.
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