Charging the Nox

tinsmith · May 23, 2020

Nox 600 arrived last night UPS at 7:00 pm after sitting all day jumping up with every vehicle noise outside.
First thing I realized after opening the box is I need to be sure I have the right stuff to charge the Nox tonight. When I ordered it I figured I've got a couple usb adapters for our phones so I won't need one?? We don't have iphones, just cheapos and cheapo usb adapters. I now read you better have a good usb adapter to charge a Nox. O boy, my new 600 got put back in the box not on charge. The adapters I have are 0.15 amps.
So do I need to go poking through the possible deadly big local stores to buy a better usb adapter? I could call and bug Bart my dealer but that would take a few days to get here. Thought I'd get a quick answer here. Anyone else have this issue? Or, is this just me being too careful?

Dan B. · May 23, 2020

Here is what I have been using since I purchased my Nox 600 a year and half ago. I hope this is helpful.

Dan B. · May 23, 2020

Here is a screenshot from page eight of the manual referring to charging the machine.

AL_steve · May 23, 2020

I believe you were looking at the input spec on your usb adapter. I've never seen one below .5 amp (500mA) on the output side which is what you have to be concerned about. Even if it were a low output adapter, it will still work fine but require more time on charge.

AL_steve · May 23, 2020

This is the adapter I have used for the last 6 months. Hope this helps.

tinsmith · May 23, 2020

AL_steve said:
View attachment 465896
This is the adapter I have used for the last 6 months. Hope this helps.

Thanks a bunch! You're all very helpful. It calms my OCD some.

tinsmith · May 23, 2020

Dan B. said:
Here is a screenshot from page eight of the manual referring to charging the machine.

Thanks.

tinsmith · May 23, 2020

Dan B. said:
Here is what I have been using since I purchased my Nox 600 a year and half ago. I hope this is helpful.

Thank you!

ToySoldier · May 23, 2020

What's up with these adapters rated at 1A that can't actually keep a sustained charge at 1A without overheating or tripping it's own protection circuit?

The problem seems more to do with a few specific 1 amp adapters than the Equinox's ability to charge at between .5 and 2 amps. It shouldn't make any difference other than slower charging at lower amps.

Anyway, look around for a .5A adapter or a 2A adapter. .5 amps will take significantly longer to reach a full charge from a low battery.

Minelab says laptop/pc USB charging is OK, albeit slower because it'll be closer to .5A. As such, I can't see any issue with using USB ports on other devices if you're in a pinch, such as the USB port on a TV or video game system. As far as ability to provide a charge, they're no different from what is in a laptop or PC. You'll want to make sure the PC/laptop/TV or whatever still provides power to the USB port even if it is in standby, or stop the device from going into standby. I know my laptop cuts power to the USB ports when it goes into standby, but my PC doesn't.

tinsmith · May 23, 2020

Here is the usb adapter I have.

tinsmith · May 23, 2020

Came in the box.

Here's where I found a warning about usb chargers. Came in the box.

ToySoldier · May 23, 2020

tinsmith said:
Here is the usb adapter I have.

1000mA is 1 amp. Strictly following Minelab's warning, you shouldn't use that adapter.

Apparently, the concern is that some 1 amp chargers weren't intended to continuously provide their full 1 amp for the approximately 8 hours the Equinox needs to charge from 0% to 100% at 1 amp. If it has a thermal protection circuit the adapter will just shut off. If it doesn't, it'll overheat or worse.

Until you get a .5 or 2 amp adapter, you'd be better charging off a USB port on a computer/laptop or even a device like a TV. They can provide their rated amps for as long as the Nox needs to charge.

L0S3R · May 23, 2020

Just get an iPhone or Samsung (brand) charger and don’t work about it

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mh9162013 · May 23, 2020

tinsmith said:
Here is the usb adapter I have.

That should work, in theory. But as ToySoldier mentioned, there could be other factors that prevent it from working, or at least working to its 5 watt (5v at 1 amp) potential.

tinsmith · May 23, 2020

Yep, thank you all a bunch. I'm not going to use this adapter I have.
I'm following Minelabs insruction. Will be taking a ride to the stores. We have an office supply store 1.5 miles away. They should have apple or samsung there. If it's open?
Thanks again HH , stay safe.

mh9162013 · May 23, 2020

tinsmith said:
Yep, thank you all a bunch. I'm not going to use this adapter I have.
I'm following Minelabs insruction. Will be taking a ride to the stores. We have an office supply store 1.5 miles away. They should have apple or samsung there. If it's open?
Thanks again HH , stay safe.

Don't overthink it. If something is sold by a major company for consumer use, there's almost no chance it will damage your Equinox. It may not charge it...or be able to charge it within a reasonable amount of time. But it shouldn't cause damage to your metal detector.

Chargers only send what's asked. If a battery needs more current than what a charger can provide, the charge breaks or its fail-safe goes active. If a battery needs less than what a charger can provide, the charger will only give the battery what it can use.

Note: The above assumes we're dealing with consumer-ready batteries and devices and not some customized/self-made charger, battery or electronic gadget.

ToySoldier · May 23, 2020

tinsmith said:
Yep, thank you all a bunch. I'm not going to use this adapter I have.
I'm following Minelabs insruction. Will be taking a ride to the stores. We have an office supply store 1.5 miles away. They should have apple or samsung there. If it's open?
Thanks again HH , stay safe.

Doesn't have to be Apple or Samsung. Just stay away from the 99 cent bargain bin and make sure it's at least 2 amps (10 watts). Belkin and Anker are good brands, too.

tinsmith · May 23, 2020

Bought a 2.4a (12watt) at Staples. Brand is "SCOSCHE". Cost $24.00. Has the (ETL) and C E and other symbols. For 24 bucks it better work.

AirmetTango · May 23, 2020

Looks like I’m a little late to the party since you’ve already bought a charger. But for the benefit of others who might have the same question, here’s what I’ve been using for the last year and half that I’ve owned my EQ800.

For charging at home, I hook the provided Minelab charging cable to a Legrand combination standard/USB-A wall outlet courtesy of Lowe’s:

When away from home but charging indoors, I use an old Anker brand wall USB charger that I had laying around the house (I don’t think they make this particular variety anymore, but anything from Anker is quality stuff):

My car is old, so I don’t have built in USB ports. I have a cigarette lighter style power inverter with USB-A ports and a standard outlet that lives in the car for device charging:

For charging in the field if necessary, I have a Anker PowerCore brick available. Its specs are a bit worn off in the pic, but the brick stores 26800 mAh, which was enough to charge an iPad and my cell phone multiple times. I’ve only used it a couple times to give the Equinox a partial charge, so I don’t know for sure how many times it could charge the detector, but the partial charges didn’t put much of a dent in the brick’s charge:

longbow62 · May 23, 2020

I have the Anker Power Core ll 10000 mAh that a charge my Nox 800 with. I have not hooked my Nox to the wall since I got the power bank. When the bank gets low I just charge the bank. I keep it attached under the arm cuff in a small enclosure with the charging cable attached to my 800. I still plug the headphones into the wall after every use.

Charging the Nox

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