Equinox update

Thanks for the welcome

I agree on some of your parts but disagree on others.
I have a ctx and a nox 800 and full latest Deus Hf coil and x35

did same test on all three and deus and ctx both work both ways
nox didnt
i have been metal detecting for near on 16 yrs and 3 of my other friends one of which has detected over 30 years regularly sold his nox he said he didnt trust it .

My point here wasn't to say the nox is rubbish it was to suggest maybe a software problem maybe the case ( re the problem we had with nox not picking up silver on side issue for EG ) didnt happen until loads complained.
Also i know that hopefully not many coins will be under or next to a nail lets say in the direction but on 3 of the tests we did air and in soil the nox didnt pick it up at all and that would make most of us keep walk ie lost target that was my point.

BTW t your first Vid re nox working with nail has an error? it wont play??

I know that 4 other people have sold there nox ( experienced MD )

Any way minelab are looking into it but i dont hold my breath
Thats why im sticking with my Deus

Could you post a pic of what test you are referring to please.
 
Hi UKMetal,
try raising the recovery speed to 7 or 8 on your Nox 800, otherwise just use stock factory presets for Park 1, Park 2, Field 1 or Field 2 (I didn't test the other modes) and swing SLOOOOOW. It should successfully hit a coin in Monte's Nail Board test with the coin in the position 2 direction 4 using a coin in the 19 to 21 VDI range. It may hit other coins with other VDIs, I just haven't tested it. It definitely won't sound the same as going across the nail. Direction 4 "down the barrel" gave me good target ID numbers and clipped but correct tones with the 6" coil and the 11" coil. Just completed the test. My XP Orx 9" X35 and Deus Lite 9" LF 18 kHz in Coin Fast had similar results.

thanks for bringing this up.
Jeff
 
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Thanks for the welcome

I agree on some of your parts but disagree on others.
I have a ctx and a nox 800 and full latest Deus Hf coil and x35

did same test on all three and deus and ctx both work both ways
nox didnt
i have been metal detecting for near on 16 yrs and 3 of my other friends one of which has detected over 30 years regularly sold his nox he said he didnt trust it .

My point here wasn't to say the nox is rubbish it was to suggest maybe a software problem maybe the case ( re the problem we had with nox not picking up silver on side issue for EG ) didnt happen until loads complained.
Also i know that hopefully not many coins will be under or next to a nail lets say in the direction but on 3 of the tests we did air and in soil the nox didnt pick it up at all and that would make most of us keep walk ie lost target that was my point.

BTW t your first Vid re nox working with nail has an error? it wont play??

I know that 4 other people have sold there nox ( experienced MD )

Any way minelab are looking into it but i dont hold my breath
Thats why im sticking with my Deus

I see.
My point is some detectors are designed to hit those signals and others aren't...and you are seeing exactly that because you have a few that do.
I am just not sure an update or program change would fix this, it might be inherent in the overall design of this particular detector and unfixable with any update.
Wish it could work that way.

Also different combinations might help, different modes, adjusting iron bias to different levels l, mounting a sniper coil might all help to hit most targets down the Pipe instead of missing them completely.
I am a tweaker, big time, I love experimenting and messing withe different coils and settings so if there is a way to fix this with luck I can hit on it one day.
There might not be anything I can do to affect this but I don't mind trying.

You guys, on the other hand are all business and you own other capable tools that perform up to expectations so, logically, I can see how you have an issue with this masking problem and lack confidence in the Nox.

I also own a few totally different detectors and I tried to design my arsenal to cover and excel at most sites and most situations.
What one won't do another might fill the gap.
 
UKMETAL said:
There needs to be an update asap i have found a big problem unless its my coil /software issue. Im in contact with minelab via email and telephone. Ireland office keep passing the issue on to Australia with no reply at all for last 7 emails calls and over 6 months now.
7 months w/o a good reply says something to me about Customer Service. It just doesn't say anything favorable.

I live here in the USA and I have owned and used about a dozen Minelab detectors going back to the BBS Sovereigns, 4+ FBS Explorer II's and an SE Pro, and X-Terra 30, 50, 70 and worked with a 705. No, not a NOX, but I have a few friends who have, or have-had, both the 600 and 800 versions, and I have done quite a few comparisons with them, side-by-side, on an assortment of located targets as well as some of my 'test samples' to see what they can, and can't, do.

By the way, at a Minelab Dealer Seminar in early 2012 we were told that Minelab was changing all of the detector production to Malaysia, and since that time I have heard about more quality control issues as well as complaints regarding Customer Service.


UKMETAL said:
The nox will NOT pick up good coin under iron nail ( one way only ) but will if turned 90 degrees.. In real time in field we dont do that unless we get a slight reason to investigate more like slight tone and iron together.
DIGGER27 said:
Sorry man, no.
You are talking about detecting a target in a position we call "Down the Pipe", and there are very few detectors out there that can do this well so there is nothing wrong with your Nox.

Don't believe me, look on YouTube for Monte nail board test...there are a lot there with all kinds of detectors and coils testing out exactly this problem.
Position #2, Direction #4.

You will notice some can get at least a decent signal but very few, most just can't pick up the coin nearly as well, if at all, as if you turned 90 degrees and hit the coin and nail the short way instead of the long way...exactly as you described.
I agree with Digger27,with regard to trying to 'fix' something that really isn't broken. personally, I am not a big fan of models that are promoted as being 'updateable' because they ought to be well designed in the first place to accomplish a set of desired tasks. If a detector can not perform a specific function or two when tested, then it apparently wasn't something a design engineered figured needed to be done, or it just couldn't be done easily without some trade-off with other performance behavior thy wanted to accomplish ... at least with the circuitry design they were working with.

There is no such thing as a 'perfect' detector. There are some very good detectors out there, and some of them can handle certain tasks better than others, but they will all have some trade-offs or weaknesses.

In my personal Outfit of Regular-Use Detectors I have 3 models & coils 'assigned' to my serious Relic Hunting Team:

• Nokta FORS CoRe w/'OOR' DD (4.7X5.2)
• FORS Relic w/5" DD
• Tesoro Bandido II microMAX w/6" Concentric


In my Urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting Team I have these 3 models and coils at-the-ready:

• Teknetics T2+ w/10" elliptical DD
• Makro Racer 2 w/7" Concentric
• Tesoro Silver Sabre microMAX w/6" Concentric


Also available in my 'Specialty-Use Team' I have the following detector & coil outfits and can pick from if I want to tote extras:

• White's IDX Pro (modified) w/6½" Concentric
• White's XLT w/6½" Concentric
• Fisher F-44 w/7" Concentric

Note that some of the models in one 'Group' can also serve me well in another Group, yet some of them fall short on performance in another 'Group.' Some have settings or features that others lack. And in almost every case, these devices fit my desire to keep things 'Simple' yet 'Functional' and still provide 'Performance' w/o a lot of adjustment tweaking and tinkering.

My Nail Board Performance Test came about from a ghost town site encounter the end of May in 1994. It was a US Indian Head Cent laying on top of the ground where the old school used to stand, and it was surrounded by four different size and shape Iron Nails. I checked that with the unit I was evaluating. Demonstrated it to three fellows with the other brand detectors using a large-size standard coil, and had a friend demonstrate how her low-cost, silent-search, turn-on-and-go model could perform. I then used my notebook paper and pressed the objects on it to get their exact position, then picked them up and made a duplicated layout test board.

For over 25 years now I have relied on the NBPT to start an initial evaluation performance test on any make or model detector and coil I get in my hands. I make a complete sweep across the entire board of nails with a 1¢ coin in the center or #1 position. A slow and methodical sweep because I'm engaging a tough iron nail challenge. The initial approach is a full-length search sweep and not a little "Minelab wiggle."

Sweeping from the left and the right, following the 4 marked routes, there are 8 hits possible. I consider 6-out-of-8 as barely passing the test, and I won't use anything that can't give me 7-out-of-8 or 8-out-of-8 for dedicated Relic Hunting in a heavily iron littered site. I have some Coin Hunting models that handle it, but most of my casual urban Coin Hunting detectors usually don't confront that type of challenge. I just like to know what they can do.

Diggger27 referred you to the #2 coin position which is close but just to the side of an iron nail about half-way down its length. That's another challenging test that most detector/coil combinations do not handle very well. I have one other in my set of Test Samples I use that is even more challenging.

I have a brass button-front I found in a ghost town. It is just about the thickness of a US 1¢ coin at the rounded edges, but it is very thin because it is missing the back-piece and loop attachment. It is almost exactly the same diameter of a US 1¢ coin. I also have a 3½" long Iron Nail. It is not a thicker or larger size button front or larger than a US 1¢ coin, as that would make it easier to be detected. It is simply a tougher test for comparison.

I can lay the Button Front (no back piece or attachment loop) on the ground. Then place the 3½"-4" Iron Nail on top of the button front and exactly under the center length of the Nail.

I then sweep across this set-up crosswise and then lengthwise, making a complete coil pass from off to the side across to the other side. Two passes from two directions for a possible of 4 hits. Most detectors I have tested or watched as others tested their detectors and coils and settings, set up the way they would normally search a site, will only produce 2-out-of-4 hits.

Some makes and models will get 2 hits sweeping lengthwise only, while a couple of models will give 2 hits when sweeping crosswise only. And I ask for this sample to be tested using three Discriminate settings:

• With the Discrimination just barely low enough to give an audio response on the Iron Nail.
• Increased Discrimination to the point that the Iron Nail is just barely rejected.
• Then increase the Discrimination to the Ferrous / Non-Ferrous break-point.

So far, using just normal adjustment for day-to-day hunting, and checking out all three of the above Discrimination settings, there are only TWO detector models I have witnessed so far that can sweep the Nail & Button Front both lengthwise and crosswise and produce 4-out-of-4 hits. Those are the Nokta FORS CoRe and Nokta FORS Relic.

No detector I currently own, nor have owned in the past three years, to include an XP ORX and many others, and no one using a Deus, Equinox or other major brand has accomplished 4-out-of-4 when we've done these side-by-side comparisons. The only exception was when an EQ-800 w/6" DD coil and an ORX w/5X9½ DD were tinkered with a bunch and used a single frequency of about 45 kHz to 71 kHz with other adjustments just to pass this one test. Not a practical thing to do for general searches.


UKMETAL said:
I think its a software or coil signal issue tbh and im guessing minelab dont want to admit this what being there Nox sales.. even tho they will be concentrating in the Garret/Vanquish release :laughing:
I don't believe it is a software issue nor a coil signal issue.

On the other-hand, if we buy into a manufacturer's marketing, we should ALL dump our current detectors from what they claim about the Vanquish. Here's a cut-and-paste:

MINELAB said:
with my Bold and Underline emphasis.
"No matter what you seek, VANQUISH has you covered. Simply select one of the four Find Modes — Coin, Relic, Jewellery, or All Metal — then start swinging. Each mode is pre-programmed and optimised to give you the best performance, anytime and anywhere: park, field or beach. You can even save your favourite settings to a custom Find Mode.

VANQUISH welcomes tough terrain. It dominates at the beach in wet sand and salt water, outperforming other detectors that can’t compete. 25 discrimination segments deliver ultimate control over what metals you want to accept or reject.
"

Monte
 
I have an AT Pro and Equinox 800. Recently I have started switching back to the AT Pro more. The Equinox is definitely deeper and better in saltwater but is trashy areas it isn’t good. If you can’t dig everything it’s better to have a machine with better target identification like an AT Pro. I have not had any problem with mine yet but getting a little worried after hearing all the problems others are having.
 
I hear and respect everyone's views on here and all the different machines old and new that each prefer and work.

My main point here was for a mid range costing not that old detector should cover the basics ie iron on top or near coin etc in most cases does not register AT ALL if unfortunately that is how it is laying under ground and not very deep ( so im not talk deep targets nor saying i dont understand ANY tones im say there is NO tones what so ever on all and every setting possible. that in real time make me and anyone else walk straight over a find which is what we are looking for.

I have done air, ground ( hole dug and even now side hole in undisturbed ground at few inches to see) and same results. Im now in talks with the tech depo at minelab as a few videos showing them have been sent lets wait and see.


We all know if iron/mix signal is there we 90 degree turn and check more obviously if just grunt / dull tone ie just iron no one digs that ever why would we.

It just seems to me in the uk especially where alot of our land is low minerlized but high in iron nails etc has a slight glitch for me anyway and 4 others in local area have found out

results nox didn't find coin one way only
deus found coin both ways in fact any way i swung over targets
even my very old X terra 30 found coin both ways
 
Originally Posted by Monte
I can lay the Button Front (no back piece or attachment loop) on the ground. Then place the 3½"-4" Iron Nail on top of the button front and exactly under the center length of the Nail.

I then sweep across this set-up crosswise and then lengthwise, making a complete coil pass from off to the side across to the other side. Two passes from two directions for a possible of 4 hits. Most detectors I have tested or watched as others tested their detectors and coils and settings, set up the way they would normally search a site, will only produce 2-out-of-4 hits.

Some makes and models will get 2 hits sweeping lengthwise only, while a couple of models will give 2 hits when sweeping crosswise only. And I ask for this sample to be tested using three Discriminate settings:

I agree but your talking about getting 2 out of 4 hits im talking im getting 1 out of 4 hits and only if i have reason to turn 90 degrees what in real terms we are truly looking for at the start or searching is at least 1 out of 2 hits for us to further investigate right?? and im getting 0 out of 2 hits with iron nail ontop or touching side of a common vicky penny and if you not getting any reason then we carry on walking over item
 
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......We all know if iron/mix signal is there we 90 degree turn and check more obviously if just grunt / dull tone ie just iron no one digs that ever why would we......

If you're using a DD coil and not digging high tones that disappear when you turn 90 degrees, then you're missing coins and not getting the full use of the DD coil's ability to detect/separate targets at depth all along the thin blade-like search field. I've dug many coins that way, including silver. That's a known behavior...feature...of DD coils well before the NOX. The 90 degree test isn't a hard and fast rule, and it makes more sense for concentric coils.

Circling the target might tell you something else that could stop you from digging, such as the location of the high tone shifting before it disappears, but if it's a crisp, repeatable high tone from one angle of approach that disappears at 90 degrees, then that's not enough to stop me from digging.
 
Maybe they will get it fixed.
Units might look like this when updated.
And push accept/reject key and transition back to original iron bias.
This update will make EQX more user friendly for beginner detectorist. I.E. bottlecaps and yes some iron. Can help seasoned detectorist as well. Site dependent.
In a nutshell, Minelab has been listening to their customers. Hence improved upon EQX with update.

I may do some videos. To show some of what update can do. I need to load official update off of Minelab’s site though.
 

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Correct.
Update utility working good now.

Updated my unit with the public version.

Here’s new addition- F2 iron bias feature in pic.
 

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Folks who plan or who do indeed purchase EQXinox 600/800 units, I have looked at current user’s manauls on Minelab’s site. Currently what this new update offers is not mentioned in current user’s manual.
 
Once you enter the iron bias portion of menu. Hit accept/ reject key on detector. This will take you to F2 iron bias feature. And while in F2 iron bias you can alter value of F2 feature.
Folks will have to experiment to see what levels of F2 iron bias they wish to operate their detectors. Using F2 iron bias feature with some of the levels offered it will make bottlecaps go bye bye audio wise. Some depth of rejection can be adjusted depending on what level of F2 one uses.
Some iron, medium and large can be rejected or it’s audio more corrupted exposing it to the user.
F2 works in both non allmetal (AM) and all metal (AM) . However better overall performances may be witnessed using AM.

Can one experience loss of detected nonferrous targets using the F2 feature ? Yes
There is a tradeoff. However in the long run depending on the site one is detecting this tradeoff may indeed aid the detectorist.

Btw an equivalent setting of F feature vs F2 feature are not equivalent behaving/performing while out in the field.
 
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Done and completed the update interesting how they jumped from 1.75 to 2.1.12 mean there was one major update and a few small updates too.

It kind of works a tiny bit better in my situation but still no good with coin and large nail next to i think time to stick with my trusted Deus.
 
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