longbow62
Forum Supporter
I have been a big Park2 proponent for quite awhile now. Mine stays in Park2 99% of the time. Two buddies swear by Field2. I would like to know what everybody is using and why Park2 might be better or worse than Field2.
Equinox Park2 or Field2
- Thread starter longbow62
- Start date
Great question!!!!
In most urban/suburban park situations I use Park 1 if I am mostly coin and silver hunting for coins in the surface to 8" level. If I want to go for deeper coins, coins at odd angles or on edge and have a better shot at gold jewelry especially small or micro gold jewelry I use Park 2. If I am in a iron trashy field or near old foundations with bed of nails and coal cinders I use Field 1 and if I want to go a bit deeper or hit smaller/deeper gold or iffy targets I use Field 2.
Since Minelab hasn't and probably won't ever tell us mortals what the exact frequency weighting is for each mode: are Park 1 and Field 1 the same weighting with just slightly different settings for disc, tone breaks, recovery speed, iron bias, and the same for Park2 vs. Field 2..... I just can't definitively answer your question. Are they the same on the transmit side and possibly different in how the received signals are processed? Who knows.
In my experience as a prospector I have used Park 2 and Field 2 for gold prospecting and they work great even on tiny 1 grain or smaller gold. Default Park 2 to me is slightly deeper than default Field 2. I have never done a side by side test with both of them being (externally anyway) setup exactly the same.
I know some very experienced relic hunters and gold prospectors who "believe" that Park 2 is the deepest mode apart from the Gold modes. But deeper on what kind of targets??????
Jeff
In most urban/suburban park situations I use Park 1 if I am mostly coin and silver hunting for coins in the surface to 8" level. If I want to go for deeper coins, coins at odd angles or on edge and have a better shot at gold jewelry especially small or micro gold jewelry I use Park 2. If I am in a iron trashy field or near old foundations with bed of nails and coal cinders I use Field 1 and if I want to go a bit deeper or hit smaller/deeper gold or iffy targets I use Field 2.
Since Minelab hasn't and probably won't ever tell us mortals what the exact frequency weighting is for each mode: are Park 1 and Field 1 the same weighting with just slightly different settings for disc, tone breaks, recovery speed, iron bias, and the same for Park2 vs. Field 2..... I just can't definitively answer your question. Are they the same on the transmit side and possibly different in how the received signals are processed? Who knows.
In my experience as a prospector I have used Park 2 and Field 2 for gold prospecting and they work great even on tiny 1 grain or smaller gold. Default Park 2 to me is slightly deeper than default Field 2. I have never done a side by side test with both of them being (externally anyway) setup exactly the same.
I know some very experienced relic hunters and gold prospectors who "believe" that Park 2 is the deepest mode apart from the Gold modes. But deeper on what kind of targets??????
Jeff
longbow62
Forum Supporter
I've had the 800 for a bit over a year and I am really beyond satisfied with how well I have done with it. I guess I should seriously start testing which program works best in what situation. I really don't know the ends and outs of the Nox. I am good with it in Park2 being able to know when and when not to dig. I can call targets really well, and coax out deep faint targets pretty well in Park2.
ToySoldier
Forum Supporter
If you're focused on relatively shallow targets in parks with lots of small bits of mid tone trash (instead of deeper rusty nails that you'd find on home sites), give Park 2 a try with 5 tones rather than 50. Excellent ability to separate and cut through the trash, but still with simplified 5 tones to stay focused on solid, coin sized signals.
ghound
Elite Member
Some smart folks have worked out the freqs, from memory field 1 is 7-18khz, field 2 is 18-39khz.
When I decided to lay out the bucks that top of the line detectors cost today I also decided to trust the manual that came with it. So far it's worked pretty well.
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
I started with P2 but now I use F2 more because it just seemed I was finding more and finding them deeper in F2...in my soil.
Then again I enjoy using Gold 2 in my mineralized, iron and trash infested dirt, also.
A much more enjoyable and familiar "all metal" way to hunt for me vs using disc and with the horseshoe on...even with the threshold tone turned up.
Then again I enjoy using Gold 2 in my mineralized, iron and trash infested dirt, also.
A much more enjoyable and familiar "all metal" way to hunt for me vs using disc and with the horseshoe on...even with the threshold tone turned up.
Some testing I did.
Suggest field 2 and park 2 both better in higher mineral soil.
Field 2 seems to be tad better than park 2.
Gold modes good too in higher mineral soil.
Suggest field 2 and park 2 both better in higher mineral soil.
Field 2 seems to be tad better than park 2.
Gold modes good too in higher mineral soil.
longbow62
Forum Supporter
Park2 and 5 tones is my go to mode. Trash wise it's pretty nasty a lot of the places I end up hunting. So much so even 5 tones can be overwhelming. I am very confident in my abilities with the Equinox, just looking for other opinions on programs.
TrenchKnife
Full Member
Default Park 2 with all metal on.
5 tone only drove me nuts with enough can slaw and rusted junk to fill a 50gal barrel. I've used beach2 at the beach and I found the gold modes (in air test) to be the most sensitive. I might use gold mode if ever I get to vegas, but the gold mode noise is extremely annoying.
5 tone only drove me nuts with enough can slaw and rusted junk to fill a 50gal barrel. I've used beach2 at the beach and I found the gold modes (in air test) to be the most sensitive. I might use gold mode if ever I get to vegas, but the gold mode noise is extremely annoying.
ToySoldier
Forum Supporter
I'm thinking about experimenting a bit more with the field modes. What's great about the Equinox (and several other machines) is that they're like several machines in one. On my permissions where I don't have to be in a hurry I like to flip around to different settings and go back over the same spots.
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
beephead
Elite Member
I've been wondering if Park 2 and Field 2 would be the same if both were set to have the same exact settings. The same goes for Park 1 and Field 1.
beephead
beephead
maxxkatt
Forum Supporter
I was kind of in the same boat with my 800. What I do know depends on the type of hunting I do and the specific site I am hunting. If relic hunting for cw bullets I take a 3 ringer with me and bury it about 9 - 10" deep at the actual hunting site. Factory reset, Ground balance, noise cancel and then just see which mode and settings gives me the best signal on the buried 3 ringer in the actual soil. adjust the sensitivity, recovery speed and iron balance for the same reason.
Then I recover my 3 ringer and start my hunt in that mode and those settings. I record them for that particular site so i can use them again when I return.
NCtoad
Forum Supporter
I've always wondered the same thing. I almost always use park 1 for coins, but sometimes mix it up with park 2. I'm going to have to try using the field modes.
ToySoldier
Forum Supporter
I've wondered the same thing. If Minelab won't answer the question, then I think you'd have to do some real world testing on many targets to know for sure whether the difference includes different frequencies, different frequency weightings, and/or other software differences that are not user adjustable. Air tests won't reveal different frequency weightings in relation to different ground mineralization levels. An 800 with the user profile save slot would make it easier to toggle back and forth while testing.
After work Friday I used Field 2 (close to default) with the 6 inch coil on a trashy 1900s backyard where a shed had been torn down and a garage built in the 1970s or so. Tons of rusty nails, bits of aluminum siding, as well as melted lead and charcoal/coke. (I think the property was used in the 1800s for recreation by the even older neighboring houses.) The really obvious signals are gone after a few previous hunts using mostly Park 2 and some Park 1, using the stock and 6 inch coils.
Field 2 (again, close to default settings) did emphasize some different signals, and helped de-emphasize the charcoal/coke (which I had become frustrated with digging). I dug a thin aluminum token, a small lapel pin, and a couple of dimes in just under an hour. I have to pay attention to other clues, or else I'll end up digging shallower microscopic bits of metal.
I know that it has good potential with the other features. I find myself sticking to field 2. I've done very well and feel comfortable using that program. I have tried several of the others but find myself always going back to field 2. I suppose I should experiment a little more. Who knows what I'm missing.
GroundSweeper
Forum Supporter
So true!
I have switched around some and prefer Park 1 in the dirt. It’s less noisy in my dirt and seems to find the goodies. It’s nice having options however. I sometimes hit places in park or field 2 after things dry up in park 1....
longbow62
Forum Supporter
I found a deep Merc using Park2 the other day hunting behind a buddy using Field2. He had spent a lot of time in the front area of this lot before I found it. He actually found a Merc that I had missed the week before. So we were kind of even Park2 vs. Field2. I actually found another Merc but it came from a spot on the lot he may not have hit for sure.
In hindsight I should have had him swing over the Merc I found from the spot he had been hunting before I dug it. It was a decent signal all the way around but it was faint and deep. Its very easy to miss those faint beeps depending on how many louder targets get beeped during the swing due to swing direction. Swinging from the direction he was hunting could have been more trashy than the direction I hit it from.
I need to setup Field2 exactly like I have Park2 and toggle between them when I think I have a potential silver target I guess.
In hindsight I should have had him swing over the Merc I found from the spot he had been hunting before I dug it. It was a decent signal all the way around but it was faint and deep. Its very easy to miss those faint beeps depending on how many louder targets get beeped during the swing due to swing direction. Swinging from the direction he was hunting could have been more trashy than the direction I hit it from.
I need to setup Field2 exactly like I have Park2 and toggle between them when I think I have a potential silver target I guess.
