UPS delivered a Unicorn to my house today.

[DaviDs]

...Tourists not knowing any better even feed gators popcorn and bread. Well you go in a lake you turn into bread to a fed gator. No thanks!

^^^ THIS, in Florida!

 

[DaviDs]

I think it was designed to knock out the ATpro. Which it should easily do at the beach.

Totally agree, and YEP, it will knock the ATP's socks off!

...all these claims by ML about this new technology... ...but what I have seen doesn't make me want to put down my Excal...

I get it, the Excal works in salt, BUT the ear bleeding threshold noise, delicate and easy to break knobs, and tones that only let you generalize a target's ID are what's driving sales of machines like the CTX and Nox.

At least with a CTX most are easy to figure out except the caps with nickel alloy to prevent rust.

CTXs accuracy of target ID is simply impressive. While 10 competitors are working the wet sand with their Excals, the CTX gives you the ability to cherrypick with relative certainty. Ie, you are accurately covering more ground than the competition.

Of course all of that is based on settings and technique.

 

[DaviDs]

Of course all of that is based on settings and technique.

BTW, it's SNOW BIRD Season and this "guy" is EVERYWHERE! It doesn't matter if he has a CTX in one arm and an Excal in the other, you can follow him with a 30 year old radio shack detector and find 100x more than he will

 

[Cfmct]

I get it, the Excal works in salt, BUT the ear bleeding threshold noise, delicate and easy to break knobs, and tones that only let you generalize a target's ID are what's driving sales of machines like the CTX and Nox.

We are all different and I feel its not a good option for me hunting at the beach... I have no use for a any detector with an ID at my beaches... I need depth and hunt by tones... as I mentioned I wanted it mainly for the dirt...

I don't hunt beaches loaded with aluminum or Felix pennies.. I hunt old beaches.

 

[Crumble]

Main reason I bought one was the sensitivity to small gold. There are a lot of gold chains out there that none of us can hear.

Going out for my first hunt with it in a few minutes.

 

[Steve]

Main reason I bought one was the sensitivity to small gold. There are a lot of gold chains out there that none of us can hear.

Going out for my first hunt with it in a few minutes.

Good luck.

 

[DaviDs]

Good luck.

Show off! Lol lol lol lol. Gosh, look at all that buttery goodness. Dang!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[DaviDs]

Main reason I bought one was the sensitivity to small gold. There are a lot of gold chains out there that none of us can hear.

Going out for my first hunt with it in a few minutes.

GL!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Crumble]

Well, first hunt in the books. What to say about the Equinox...

First of all, the machine is very light, the target ID is spot on, and it is very sensitive. However, it being very sensitive brings some cons with it... it is a very chattery machine. Falses pretty much non stop (this particular beach has a lot of black sand) unless I drop the sensitivity way down. I kept sensitivity at 18 and lived with the falsing. You can tell a real target from the false targets if you have been metal detecting a while. Also, an interesting thing about the falsing... the false signals seem to be attenuated somehow, the false signals are very quiet, compared to real targets that blast out loud and clear.

Hunting in Gold mode 1 was a no-go, saw the whole ground as a target. I hunted in beach mode 1 (18 sens/1 recovery) most of the time.

Compared to the CTX... the CTX feels like a finely tuned Lamborghini, completely stable, deep, and accurate out of the box. the Equinox feels like a tuner car... can compete with and possibly even beat the CTX (on gold), but you will have to put in work keeping it ground balanced correctly (Auto tracking feels too slow), keeping sensitivity as high as you can stand (falsing), etc. it to keep it stable without sacrificing performance. CTX just does it all for you, and does it well.

Totals for the days hunt: 9 nickels, 7 zincolns, 5 dimes, 3 quarters, silver pendant, and an old brass compass. Too lazy to take a picture of the loot, will just have to take my word for it.

Going back out tomorrow to a beach with milder sand.

 

[CTCurt]

Well, first hunt in the books. What to say about the Equinox...

First of all, the machine is very light, the target ID is spot on, and it is very sensitive. However, it being very sensitive brings some cons with it... it is a very chattery machine. Falses pretty much non stop (this particular beach has a lot of black sand) unless I drop the sensitivity way down. I kept sensitivity at 18 and lived with the falsing. You can tell a real target from the false targets if you have been metal detecting a while. Also, an interesting thing about the falsing... the false signals seem to be attenuated somehow, the false signals are very quiet, compared to real targets that blast out loud and clear.

Hunting in Gold mode 1 was a no-go, saw the whole ground as a target. I hunted in beach mode 1 (18 sens/1 recovery) most of the time.

Compared to the CTX... the CTX feels like a finely tuned Lamborghini, completely stable, deep, and accurate out of the box. the Equinox feels like a tuner car... can compete with and possibly even beat the CTX (on gold), but you will have to put in work keeping it ground balanced correctly (Auto tracking feels too slow), keeping sensitivity as high as you can stand (falsing), etc. it to keep it stable without sacrificing performance. CTX just does it all for you, and does it well.

Totals for the days hunt: 9 nickels, 7 zincolns, 5 dimes, 3 quarters, silver pendant, and an old brass compass. Too lazy to take a picture of the loot, will just have to take my word for it.

Going back out tomorrow to a beach with milder sand.

Thanks for the report. Still on the fence about this. My Excal has amazed me many times. I guess I will need hard evidence. Will be watching.....

 

[Steve]

Well, first hunt in the books. What to say about the Equinox...

First of all, the machine is very light, the target ID is spot on, and it is very sensitive. However, it being very sensitive brings some cons with it... it is a very chattery machine. Falses pretty much non stop (this particular beach has a lot of black sand) unless I drop the sensitivity way down. I kept sensitivity at 18 and lived with the falsing. You can tell a real target from the false targets if you have been metal detecting a while. Also, an interesting thing about the falsing... the false signals seem to be attenuated somehow, the false signals are very quiet, compared to real targets that blast out loud and clear.

Hunting in Gold mode 1 was a no-go, saw the whole ground as a target. I hunted in beach mode 1 (18 sens/1 recovery) most of the time.

Compared to the CTX... the CTX feels like a finely tuned Lamborghini, completely stable, deep, and accurate out of the box. the Equinox feels like a tuner car... can compete with and possibly even beat the CTX (on gold), but you will have to put in work keeping it ground balanced correctly (Auto tracking feels too slow), keeping sensitivity as high as you can stand (falsing), etc. it to keep it stable without sacrificing performance. CTX just does it all for you, and does it well.

Totals for the days hunt: 9 nickels, 7 zincolns, 5 dimes, 3 quarters, silver pendant, and an old brass compass. Too lazy to take a picture of the loot, will just have to take my word for it.

Going back out tomorrow to a beach with milder sand.

Sounds like both the tdi and ctx run better on black sand.. But the Equinox can hit the chains. Looking forward to seeing you pull a few out. Thanks for this report

 

[Mud-puppy]

Main reason I bought one was the sensitivity to small gold. There are a lot of gold chains out there that none of us can hear.

Going out for my first hunt with it in a few minutes.

I bet you will find one on account of this rig and that you are thinking about them! ...You know they are out there and have seen a coil overhead a time or two...Good strategic purchase with this intent in mind,...Good Luck Crumble!

 

[Compass]

Well, first hunt in the books. What to say about the Equinox...

First of all, the machine is very light, the target ID is spot on, and it is very sensitive. However, it being very sensitive brings some cons with it... it is a very chattery machine. Falses pretty much non stop (this particular beach has a lot of black sand) unless I drop the sensitivity way down. I kept sensitivity at 18 and lived with the falsing. You can tell a real target from the false targets if you have been metal detecting a while. Also, an interesting thing about the falsing... the false signals seem to be attenuated somehow, the false signals are very quiet, compared to real targets that blast out loud and clear.

Hunting in Gold mode 1 was a no-go, saw the whole ground as a target. I hunted in beach mode 1 (18 sens/1 recovery) most of the time.

Compared to the CTX... the CTX feels like a finely tuned Lamborghini, completely stable, deep, and accurate out of the box. the Equinox feels like a tuner car... can compete with and possibly even beat the CTX (on gold), but you will have to put in work keeping it ground balanced correctly (Auto tracking feels too slow), keeping sensitivity as high as you can stand (falsing), etc. it to keep it stable without sacrificing performance. CTX just does it all for you, and does it well.

Totals for the days hunt: 9 nickels, 7 zincolns, 5 dimes, 3 quarters, silver pendant, and an old brass compass. Too lazy to take a picture of the loot, will just have to take my word for it.

Going back out tomorrow to a beach with milder sand.

This report is very helpful Crumble- thank you! The fact that you found more nickels than dimes and quarters put together may be significant. Nickels, like gold, are lower conductors and the Equinox seems to hit them well.

 

[DaviDs]

Well, first hunt in the books. What to say about the Equinox...

First of all, the machine is very light, the target ID is spot on, and it is very sensitive. However, it being very sensitive brings some cons with it... it is a very chattery machine. Falses pretty much non stop (this particular beach has a lot of black sand) unless I drop the sensitivity way down. I kept sensitivity at 18 and lived with the falsing. You can tell a real target from the false targets if you have been metal detecting a while. Also, an interesting thing about the falsing... the false signals seem to be attenuated somehow, the false signals are very quiet, compared to real targets that blast out loud and clear.

Hunting in Gold mode 1 was a no-go, saw the whole ground as a target. I hunted in beach mode 1 (18 sens/1 recovery) most of the time.

Compared to the CTX... the CTX feels like a finely tuned Lamborghini, completely stable, deep, and accurate out of the box. the Equinox feels like a tuner car... can compete with and possibly even beat the CTX (on gold), but you will have to put in work keeping it ground balanced correctly (Auto tracking feels too slow), keeping sensitivity as high as you can stand (falsing), etc. it to keep it stable without sacrificing performance. CTX just does it all for you, and does it well.

Totals for the days hunt: 9 nickels, 7 zincolns, 5 dimes, 3 quarters, silver pendant, and an old brass compass. Too lazy to take a picture of the loot, will just have to take my word for it.

Going back out tomorrow to a beach with milder sand.

Boooooo, Was that in the wet sand or submerged in water?

Hate to say it but, sounds like a single frequency machine.

 

[ScubaDetective]

Well, first hunt in the books. What to say about the Equinox...

First of all, the machine is very light, the target ID is spot on, and it is very sensitive. However, it being very sensitive brings some cons with it... it is a very chattery machine. Falses pretty much non stop (this particular beach has a lot of black sand) unless I drop the sensitivity way down. I kept sensitivity at 18 and lived with the falsing. You can tell a real target from the false targets if you have been metal detecting a while. Also, an interesting thing about the falsing... the false signals seem to be attenuated somehow, the false signals are very quiet, compared to real targets that blast out loud and clear.

Hunting in Gold mode 1 was a no-go, saw the whole ground as a target. I hunted in beach mode 1 (18 sens/1 recovery) most of the time.

Compared to the CTX... the CTX feels like a finely tuned Lamborghini, completely stable, deep, and accurate out of the box. the Equinox feels like a tuner car... can compete with and possibly even beat the CTX (on gold), but you will have to put in work keeping it ground balanced correctly (Auto tracking feels too slow), keeping sensitivity as high as you can stand (falsing), etc. it to keep it stable without sacrificing performance. CTX just does it all for you, and does it well.

Totals for the days hunt: 9 nickels, 7 zincolns, 5 dimes, 3 quarters, silver pendant, and an old brass compass. Too lazy to take a picture of the loot, will just have to take my word for it.

Going back out tomorrow to a beach with milder sand.

The CTX is Minelab's flagship machine. You don't think they would put out a new machine selling for less than half the cost and have it out perform the CTX do you?

They made a lighter machine that will hopefully find small gold in fresh water I think. Looks like they tried to put a dent into the AT-Pro sales.

I think we will find that Minelab will somehow soon make a very light machine that will out perform the CTX. How soon? All speculation but I think that is where they are headed. Of course I could be wrong.

 

[Slimpickuns]

Thanks for the report Crumble. I'm on the waiting list for an 800, I'll most likely use it for land and fresh water, The Sov GT has never failed me at the beach and runs pretty stable in the wet so I don't see myself replacing it with anything else anytime soon.

 

[Aquaman]

Curious...what's your opinion of this detectors max depth so far Crumble?

 

[itsaring!]

The CTX is Minelab's flagship machine. You don't think they would put out a new machine selling for less than half the cost and have it out perform the CTX do you?

They made a lighter machine that will hopefully find small gold in fresh water I think. Looks like they tried to put a dent into the AT-Pro sales.

I think we will find that Minelab will somehow soon make a very light machine that will out perform the CTX. How soon? All speculation but I think that is where they are headed. Of course I could be wrong.

No way ML is trying to outdo their CTX detector design. The gold nugget one that looks just like the CTX is over $7000. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Mi...122246&hash=item3624af521d:g:DFIAAOSwb3lZ93xV Be nuts to build an at pro killer that also was an expensive ML killer. Thing about ML is they don't have to outdo themselves just everybody else. ML is the king of the beach everywhere I know in some form or other. Just wish theyd remake the Excalibur blue 800/1000.

 

[FelixtheCat]

Just wish theyd remake the Excalibur blue 800/1000.

Larry, it's funny that you should say this. The buddy that refurbed my Blue 1000 believes its more sensitive than his newer Excal II which he's tested against mine side-by-side.

 

[lytle78]

And so we must ask. Since the underlying multifrequency technology is quite similar.....

Is the Equinox too good for it’s price - or is it crippled to protect the CTX?