I don't use an Equinox 800, but I wonder if switching to a concentric coil would solve the bottle cap problem?
Good thought. Anyone tried this?
I am not sure if I answer your question but gold is difficult to just to come by anywhere. Gold comes in different karats, sizes, and shapes therefore the VDI's (you dig everything at the beach to get gold) is anywhere from 01-23 on the NOX. The CTX gold can be first digit (09-15) and (second digit) from 01-30. If the gold is deep it can even be outside this range on both machines until you remove from sand. In the salt water the CTX my have just a little edge.
Both machines will find gold if it there. Not many machines will perform this well that has a screen. An Excal is the best in the water. It is deeper than both but it is all tone.
The is only one machine that may have an edge on gold is the Tarsacci MDT 8000. It is deeper than the CTX and NOX, has a VDI for ferrous and nonferrous but is limited on setting discrimination and it takes some getting use to and understanding how to configure it.
By the way, IN MY SOIL AND MY TRASHY PARKS, the Nox easily beats the CTX in finding silver if you set it up properly.
I don't mind a learning curve and will look into the Tarsacci. I have had great luck with the nox on land in trashy areas as well.
To be blunt, it seems you have an unreasonable ask / expectation.
Gold sounds and has an ID range that includes foil and many other junk items that are plentiful at the ocean. If there was a machine that could ID gold with upmost accuracy, we would all have it. My time with the NOX is not there yet, however on the few caps i found, i called them out right away, I could hear the Fe in them. We will see if my opinion on caps changes as time goes, as i had the expectation that the NOX was a fantastic cap finder (not in a good way).
If you want less junk, get in the water. Doesn't get rid of all the junk, but there is less of it.
You have a great machine in the CTX, i have always been jealous of the information that machine provides the user. If you NEED to add to your collection you can get an excal or a CZ-21 but you wont be happy if your desire is to have a certain beep on gold and only gold.
Sorry to be Mr negative.
The CTX does provide great information and that is why I love it. Too bad it's heavily biased toward metals that are lower conductivity. If I could have the CTX but change the bias for frequency I would be happy. I know all about digging trash and gold but that is not the problem. The problem is digging ferrous targets and I think with more use you will be complaining as well. Especially when you get 12"-15" #4 targets and dig some rusty junk with no FE number or signal difference to tell you that isn't rusty iron.
Although I am no expert on machines, I do consider myself and experienced beach hunter. I have come to think the Nox a very capable water machine but I still prefer the Excal in PP mode in open water. Less chatter and better focus on targets. I don't need a screen. Oftentimes I don't even bother switching to "discriminate" because there are so many hunters in Miami Beach and such few targets that its pretty clean and I need the break from swinging. Also I don't mind the extra bottle caps. I only dug 2 bobby pins in a 4.5 hour hunt yesterday. I much prefer the Nox in wet sand and maybe I'm wrong, but I do think its deeper than the Excal there. It is definitely lighter to swing. I will be one of those hunters taking a long hard look at spending some money when Fisher comes out with their PI. I loved using my Sand Shark which I no longer have in Miami Beach for its simplicity. As a water hunter to me its about getting to the targets and retrieving them as quickly as possible. I have seen way to many pirates out there fiddling with buttons and reading screens deciding whether to dig or not. I'd rather just dig and quickly move on.
I understand what you're saying about digging quickly. For me I want to eliminate as many trash targets so I am digging less targets AND digging targets quickly. CTX, Erac, AT Pro all can easily distinguish a non ferrous from ferrous target so EQ not being able to do that is unacceptable.
The CTX doesn’t suck on gold. I think you do need to go into detail on that...Thin chains perhaps but not on their clasps or pendants. On bigger gold you can recognize the gold’s pretty obvious sound. Maybe you should try better headphones or a new coil. I for one can’t say the EQ is good on gold based on my use of it - I think there just wasn’t any the 8 months or so I hunted with it. But others around here surely found good stuff with theirs. I always wonder if I got a bad one.
The EQ800 was frustrating to me as it has the potential to be so much better given what the CTX has shown us. Great for quarters though! :-)
I continue to be content with the CTX while anxious to see how the new detector models will perform.
The EQ is biased toward lower conductivity targets like gold so it will get much better depth. If people find gold rings it is because the CTX is more efficient, not better on gold. I went water hunting in a small swimming hole with my CTX and then went back over it the same day with my AT Pro. Found 2 gold toe rings that the CTX had missed. CTX is terrible at targets that do not form a full circle if you have a toe ring try one.
If you want to find gold on the beach you're just going to have to come to the realization that you're going to have to dig every signal, including zincs... also, beach hunting for gold isn't so much the machine your using, it's knowing when to go, what areas to hit, how currents affect certain areas, etc.. personally I've used both an excal and equinox and I'd recommend the equinox hands down.
In the past 3 months I've found over 6 ounces of gold...
I understand that I'll have to dig every signal that fall within the gold range but I don't want to be digging rusty ferrous targets. I know gold can fall in the zinc range but it's unlikely unless it's HUGE. I set mine up to dig crusty zincs only and go from there. 6oz is a lot what part of the country are you located?
WHO cares if you waste a little time scooping bottle tops? Sorry I do not. A machine that does all your work is still going to miss gold. Sinkers are non ferrous. So are aluminum tabs. You also have brass in that picture.
NOTHING will discriminate out everything but gold. Nothing
I don't expect to not dig trash in the lower signals. But I don't expect a modern minelab machine to hit hard on rusty bottle caps either. Am I really the only one that sees this as a problem? If more people complained maybe we can push for another firmware update.
I find the CTX VID worthwhile and the EQ800’s useless. You can’t mask anything out with the EQ but can with the CTX. A PI will get you more depth but you will dig way more junk. So the easiest to use for me is the CTX for now (with a harness though). The AQ does sound like what you/we want but you have to wait. The gold that matters will hit on all the discussed detectors so use the one you like most. Test your detector on gold targets and if you don’t find any on your site just believe it’s not there and enjoy the day. Where do you hunt most - in the water or out? I’m more out and thus my CTX has not gotten soaked yet. SoCal beaches I hunt don’t favor in water hunting except for extreme low tides.
Still trying to determine what is more productive as far as in or out of the water. Maybe that will be another thread. Actually I think I'll title it In or Out of the water - Where do you find more gold? =)
This advice only applies to IN THE WATER, salt water in my case
Excal II will fit your bill but you have to put the time in for your ears to distinguish targets, no screen.
I ran my excal for years and got better and better with it, at first it was frustrating and I thought pulltabs sounded like coins and vice versa. I dug TONS of pulltabs but rarely a nasty bottlecap with my excal. With the excal i ran on zero disc, but that still means you will not hit ferrous targets unless you are in pinpoint/all metal. I never raised my disc higher than the minimum. Your ears will be the disc... You WILL find tiny pieces of aluminum with the excal and it will sound good, no way around that...
After years and hundreds of hours I came to recognize the different tones. Low low can be stainless steel, the tab from inside a can(beaver tail), can slaw, foil or gold. The two that sound amazing are beaver tails, can slaw and gold, VERY distinctive. I can tell you by sound a stainless ring or some other nice sounding low tone.
I too currently run an equinox 800 and have the same feelings as you, bottlecaps sound awesome and DO NOT always drop to negative numbers when you swing over them. Gold can be ALL OVER THE PLACE as far as the readings you can get from 2 way up to the 30's. I was out in the water with my equinox this very morning, look at the numbers and you have no idea what you are digging and the sounds are not much help either even though I have taken the time to set up different sound bins and tones and volumes per slot. Bottom line with the equinox is fine, it will get you in the salt water with a fairly stable machine BUT you get what you pay for...
I will be selling my equinox as soon as I get some more money together to go back to an excal, there just is not comparison in my opinion.
Please note I was very careful to say "I was able to do this" and not everyone will be able to do this right out of the box. These things take time to learn...
If you can try to go to a dealer or find someone who has an excal and go armed with different things to wave under the coil and try to distinguish between the tones. If you can then maybe it is the machine for you!
Sounds like good advice. I am the type that likes a LOT if info in my tones. The less digital and more analog I can have the better. That's why I like the etrac so much is because the tone is really great. CTX is OK but not as good. Equinox is sort of like CTX without the ability to see an FE number. I'm considering an excal but also looking into more info on the new Fisher coming out.
^^ this ^^
Cut-a-plug : Why do you think the CTX is not good on gold ? The Minelab machines like CTX, Excal, Exp II, etc... will find gold rings with ease.
Or did you mean micro-jewelry ? (eg.: tinsel thin chains, earring studs, etc...) ? If so, then as you surmised: There will be a price-to-pay for getting dainty stuff like that. You can get a pulse machine that will find that stuff with ease. But then, as you surmise: You'll have no ability to pass iron.
Or you can get the 800, and have a degree of ability to pass iron. But ... sure... it's not perfect either.
I don't see why your CTX , since you got so good with it, isn't a viable option for continuing ? It gets all standard size rings with ease. And .... frankly ... I don't see the allure of micro-jewelry (but that's just me).
Not that interested in the tiny jewelry but depth as well. The CTX is biased toward higher conductivity targets like silver which is why it kills on silver. It will hit gold targets but if you do real depth comparisons between the eq800 and the CTX the eq will win by a long shot. Not just by an inch I think it will go inches deeper on most gold rings.
I’m doing freshwater with an Atpro but the posters above are right, you have to dig the trash to get the treasure. I found this gold ring which is small but still gold last Saturday. It barely chirped but I was able to get it to chirp 3-4 times. I figured it was a small piece of foil. Glad I dug it. Also check out the Videos of the equinox 800 on gold chains. It’s on YouTube. That will be the next machine I get.
You would have missed two of those targets if you were using a CTX because the loops don't complete. I would use an AT Pro over a CTX in water any day.
Im not experienced enough to give advice on this subject....... since you seem to be looking for a machine that finds gold easily.
If you cant make the CTX and Nox find gold ..... you are pretty limited at that point for salt water. Ive not had a beach machine yet that hasnt paid for its self several times over. The salt water is a real equalizer for all these machines..... they just loose depth and sensitivity. The Nox..... has the advantage out of the water for gold plain and simple.
It is not about making the Nox find gold, it's about making the Nox find gold efficiently. I can make an ace 250 find gold. Digging bottle caps reduces eq800 efficiency by at least 30% or more which is completely unacceptable.
Actually The KOB has been wrestling with this post for a few hours now. Here's the summation: You basically say that you are a silver slaying assassin with the CTX on land. But it sucks on gold. And now you want to try the beach. The KOB feels the CTX is a very capable machine. But like the first cell phones , a brick.
If you can't find much gold on land with all the experience you have , something is seriously wrong. The beach is a different animal. Hopefully you are some what physically fit. Though you see many videos and posts of spectacular gold finds , it's not all its cracked up to be. The beaches aren't littered with the stuff ! The KOB recently did a 6 hr hunt over 3 beaches. Total take : 17 cents. Yeah... that's right. One of the worst outings ever. It was then backed up by a 3 gold ring day. Not bad.
So maybe you need to stay on land , since you are one of the best , and stick with your machines until you start finding mega-gold. Then come on down to the beach. Until then , leave it to the big boys. You don't want to be disappointed ! GL & HH...
I don't find gold on land because I don't dig gold signals on land. Too hot for all of that nonsense. The EQ is much better for gold than the CTX imo but I'm dissatisfied that it doesn't have the ability to discriminate bottle caps. Not aluminum bottle caps, ferrous ones. If you hadn't dug that 17 cents maybe you would have dug a few more targets and hit gold at the first beach =)
The problem is you've been focusing on one of the easiest targets to detect... Silver...and now you want to find one of the hardest targets to detect...Gold... I have both the CTX and the Nox and I can assure you that they are both great machines for gold...My best advice if you want to find more gold is to dig my friend...and when you are tired of digging and want to quit...dig some more. Good luck and HH
strick
I know I know I will have to dig more trash to find gold and I except that. But... ferrous bottle caps are not in the gold range or silver range. The CTX, Etrac, and AT Pro understand that so why can't the EQ?
