Looking to purchase my first MD

Equinox 600. The equinox series is awesome.

It's good for salt, and waterproof. Good luck and Happy hunting!

Josh

Aside from the machines you've mentioned you might want to take a look at the following (all within your stated price range):

Nokta Makro Multi Kruzer - waterproof, selectable frequency machine (one frequency transmitted at a time). Probably not ideal if you're going to do a lot of wet salt, or salt water hunting, but it will get the job done and it is great for the other types of hunting you mention.

Nokta Makro Anfibio (multi) - same thing as the Kruzer, but more options (hunting modes). Straight shaft - built like a tank.

Nokta/Makro claims they'll come out with a multi-frequency machine sometime in 2021 (no official release date). That machine is supposed to be in a Simplex style housing - waterproof, etc.. No price mentioned, but Nokta/Makro has stated their intention to compete with the Equinox 800. My guess (based on statements made by Nokta/Makro) is that their new machine will be priced above the Nox 600 and below the Nox 800.

XP ORX - not waterproof (you can buy a kit to hunt water). Selectable frequency machine (frequencies depend on the coil used). Lightest machine on the market. Very fast. It's a dumbed-down Deus with all/most of the performance. Not the ideal machine for salt water hunting, but it excels for the other types of hunting you mention and it can hunt wet salt sand (don't get the remote wet). XP coils are expensive, but it takes 30 seconds (or less) to change them out (once paired with the remote and the headphones).

You likely know the Apex is not waterproof (it can be used in rain, but don't dunk the box). The Apex does very well in wet salt sand. It also does well for the other types of hunting you mentioned.

Good luck with whichever machine you choose.

That’s really cool! You should probably get the Equinox 600, like Metal detecto said. I actually have never used it before, but it looks amazing! Watch some videos on it.

Tahtsadatsago said:

Aside from the machines you've mentioned you might want to take a look at the following (all within your stated price range):

Nokta Makro Multi Kruzer - waterproof, selectable frequency machine (one frequency transmitted at a time). Probably not ideal if you're going to do a lot of wet salt, or salt water hunting, but it will get the job done and it is great for the other types of hunting you mention.

Nokta Makro Anfibio (multi) - same thing as the Kruzer, but more options (hunting modes). Straight shaft - built like a tank.

Nokta/Makro claims they'll come out with a multi-frequency machine sometime in 2021 (no official release date). That machine is supposed to be in a Simplex style housing - waterproof, etc.. No price mentioned, but Nokta/Makro has stated their intention to compete with the Equinox 800. My guess (based on statements made by Nokta/Makro) is that their new machine will be priced above the Nox 600 and below the Nox 800.

XP ORX - not waterproof (you can buy a kit to hunt water). Selectable frequency machine (frequencies depend on the coil used). Lightest machine on the market. Very fast. It's a dumbed-down Deus with all/most of the performance. Not the ideal machine for salt water hunting, but it excels for the other types of hunting you mention and it can hunt wet salt sand (don't get the remote wet). XP coils are expensive, but it takes 30 seconds (or less) to change them out (once paired with the remote and the headphones).

You likely know the Apex is not waterproof (it can be used in rain, but don't dunk the box). The Apex does very well in wet salt sand. It also does well for the other types of hunting you mentioned.

Good luck with whichever machine you choose.

Click to expand...

Very nicely said! There are a lot of other detectors in the 1000$ range, but I think you got them all! The only thing to add, a Tesoro sand shark, or maybe tiger shark might be considered too.

Thanks for all the advice fellas, greatly appreciated!

It seems like the Equinox 600 is the machine to go for, only bad thing I heard about it (for my situation, being in Canada) is that its not the greatest when it comes to detecting Canadian coins.

However, the Nokta Simplex also seems to pack a good punch considering its price point so I am debating whether I should just get started with the Simplex to get familiar with detecting and then later upgrade to the 600 or maybe even the 800. hmmm decisions....decisions

I've had the Simplex+ for a few months. At first i didn't like it. Noisy and the tones were irritating. I've since learned to drop the sensitivity a couple of bars, problem solved. I also replaced the lower shaft with the carbon fiber shaft ($25) for better stiffness and bought the smaller SP24 coil.

Now i love it. Found my first silver quarter a couple weeks ago and my first silver ring a couple of days ago. It is solidly built and very easy to collapse.

The wireless headphones are lightweight but i confess to not being a fan of the Simplex+ Pulsedive pinpointer. Because it is designed to be paired with a small coil it is bigger and heavier than most other pointers.

I also have a Vanquish 540 but found that as a beginner it is best to stick with one machine and learn it well. Going back and forth just seems to confuse the learning curve.

Also, i believe the Minelab Equinox uses pushbuttons and locking collars to collapse it. I have that system on a BH Discovery and find it to be slow and a tad clumsy. The Simplex+ and the Minelab Vanquish use a simple locking tab, much quicker and easier.

west_coast_mark said:

Thanks for all the advice fellas, greatly appreciated!

It seems like the Equinox 600 is the machine to go for, only bad thing I heard about it (for my situation, being in Canada) is that its not the greatest when it comes to detecting Canadian coins.

However, the Nokta Simplex also seems to pack a good punch considering its price point so I am debating whether I should just get started with the Simplex to get familiar with detecting and then later upgrade to the 600 or maybe even the 800. hmmm decisions....decisions

Click to expand...

That is also a reasonable choice . But learning the simplex then onto the equinox would be a bit hard because of the difference in VDI. The equinox is -9 to 40, simplex is 1 - 99.

Don't overthink it, whatever you choose will be just fine. .

Josh

west_coast_mark said:

Thanks for all the advice fellas, greatly appreciated!

It seems like the Equinox 600 is the machine to go for, only bad thing I heard about it (for my situation, being in Canada) is that its not the greatest when it comes to detecting Canadian coins.

However, the Nokta Simplex also seems to pack a good punch considering its price point so I am debating whether I should just get started with the Simplex to get familiar with detecting and then later upgrade to the 600 or maybe even the 800. hmmm decisions....decisions

Click to expand...

I've never even seen an Equinox in person, but I'm very surprised that it has trouble with Canadian coins. I've often read how great the Nox was/is on lower conductive targets so I would assume the Nox would do well on steel coins.

The Simplex is a very capable machine. A friend of mine has one and I have been very impressed with his machine. If I didn't own an Anfibio and a Kruzer I would definitely buy a Simplex.

No matter which machine you end up choosing, be prepared to find it frustrating for a bit. Learning what the machine is telling you takes time, and you'll almost certainly dig a lot of trash. In time you'll learn the tones, and finding good targets will get much easier. You'll still dig trash, but your good target to bad target ratio will improve quite a bit.

Equinox for sure.

Tahtsadatsago said: I've never even seen an Equinox in person, but I'm very surprised that it has trouble with Canadian coins. I've often read how great the Nox was/is on lower conductive targets so I would assume the Nox would do well on steel coins.


The Equinox doesn't have any trouble with modern Canadian coins if you set it up for the steel cored modern Canadian coins. If you just use Minelab's default discrimination settings the 1 cent and 5 cent coins are fine. But the iron tone part of the steel cored 10 cent, 25 cent, 1 dollar and 2 dollar coins won't be heard. By accepting down to about -6 of the -9 to +40 target ID range they can be heard easily. They sound very jumpy and not pleasant but that is not the Equinoxes fault. It is just telling you everything it can about the target including steel and zinc mixed together.....

The Simplex also gives a fairly honest, broken up mixed response to the steel cored modern Canadian coins and has no problem with the 1 cent and 5 cent coins just like the Equinox.

There is a great deal from some of the sponsors on this forum for both the Equinox 600 which includes free Bluetooth headphones, and the Simplex which includes a free 9.5" X 5" coil if you buy the Simplex with wireless headphones bundled.

I have used the Equinox 600 and Simplex for saltwater beach hunting. The Simplex is definitely more noisy and a bit harder to tame especially if the beach has some black iron sand. Going in the saltwater might require lowering the sensitivity some more. The Simplex vibration feature on submerged targets is totally awesome and it is great for those with a hearing impairment too in or out of the water. The Equinox can handle most mild to moderately mineralized iron sand saltwater beaches very well even at higher sensitivity. I usually hunt in Beach 1 and only use Beach 2 when Beach 1 becomes unstable.

Beaches with really dark sand from iron and volcanic rocks...........even the Equinox will struggle. The Simplex, Multi Kruzer and Anfibio will not do well at all on those more mineralized beaches. The Equinox Multi IQ simultaneous multi frequency operation is definitely a beach advantage over the current Nokta Makro models. Personally however, the build quality and waterproofing of the Nokta Makro models is superior to the Equinox. That being said, I have submerged both brands and have thousands of detecting hours on them too with no problems so far.

John Madill said:

I've had the Simplex+ for a few months. At first i didn't like it. Noisy and the tones were irritating. I've since learned to drop the sensitivity a couple of bars, problem solved. I also replaced the lower shaft with the carbon fiber shaft ($25) for better stiffness and bought the smaller SP24 coil.

Now i love it. Found my first silver quarter a couple weeks ago and my first silver ring a couple of days ago. It is solidly built and very easy to collapse.

The wireless headphones are lightweight but i confess to not being a fan of the Simplex+ Pulsedive pinpointer. Because it is designed to be paired with a small coil it is bigger and heavier than most other pointers.

I also have a Vanquish 540 but found that as a beginner it is best to stick with one machine and learn it well. Going back and forth just seems to confuse the learning curve.

Also, i believe the Minelab Equinox uses pushbuttons and locking collars to collapse it. I have that system on a BH Discovery and find it to be slow and a tad clumsy. The Simplex+ and the Minelab Vanquish use a simple locking tab, much quicker and easier.

Click to expand...

I have owned two Simplex models. The earlier one I purchased had version 2.68 software and the floppy piece of licorice lower shaft. Version 2.68 was very chatty in all of the search modes. I liked it but was just trying it out and resold it. I recently bought the latest version with the slightly upgraded lower shaft and version 2.78 software along with the awesome 9.5" X 5" free coil. I like the improved lower shaft. I do not like version 2.78 software. It is ridiculously chatty. I backed up one version to 2.77 and now I have a detector that is stable, deeper and quiet when I want it to be. I think all the search modes in 2.78 are somehow tied into the much expanded threshold function of the All Metal mode......... I don't know what Nokta Makro was thinking when the came out with version 2.78's "improvement" over 2.76 and 2.77.

IMHO...you can't go wrong with a Minelab (FBS) machine. Their engineers seem to be a "step ahead" of their competitors. Good luck, HH and stay well.

west_coast_mark said:

Hello all,

As the title says, I am looking to purchase my very first MD, i have 0 experience with MD but it's something I thought about getting into since I was a kid.

I was initially going to purchase the Garrett ACE 300 as my research has led me to believe it is a good starter and seems to be simple to use.

However, upon further research and pondering I figured I should get something a little better since I will want to upgrade sooner or later so perhaps I should just get a decent machine from the get-go.

My budget is between $500-$1000. From my research these are the machines that I have narrowed down to : Garrett AT Pro, Ace Apex, Equinox 600, Nokta Simplex+ but I am open to any other suggestions.

I am from Alberta, Canada but travel often to Vancouver Island on the pacific so I would like a machine that can handle salt beaches/wet sand as well.

I am looking for the best all-around detector in that price range, I would like to hunt for coins, jewellery, relics etc.

I was dead set on getting the AT pro until I learned its not the best for salt water.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!!

Click to expand...

For the price in CA $$ I would go with the Mine-lab Vanquish 440 or 540. $371ca (440) and $491ca (540). I am in NS and got the 440 to use at our beaches not far from Oak Island. Looking for the Top Pocket finds.

Thanks again for your help fellas, I went to a local store (in Calgary, AB) that sells detectors, set on buying the NOX 600 but after talking to the guy there he convinced me to just buy the 800. He said they sell more NOX 800 detectors than all the rest combined.

I've been dying to take it out to a park or somewhere but its been raining like crazy for the past couple days here so I haven't taken it out yet but I can't wait for my first find, even if it's just a pop can

Good for you, happy hunting!

west_coast_mark said:

Thanks again for your help fellas, I went to a local store (in Calgary, AB) that sells detectors, set on buying the NOX 600 but after talking to the guy there he convinced me to just buy the 800. He said they sell more NOX 800 detectors than all the rest combined.

I've been dying to take it out to a park or somewhere but its been raining like crazy for the past couple days here so I haven't taken it out yet but I can't wait for my first find, even if it's just a pop can

Click to expand...

Congratz! Have fun!

west_coast_mark said:

Thanks again for your help fellas, I went to a local store (in Calgary, AB) that sells detectors, set on buying the NOX 600 but after talking to the guy there he convinced me to just buy the 800. He said they sell more NOX 800 detectors than all the rest combined.

I've been dying to take it out to a park or somewhere but its been raining like crazy for the past couple days here so I haven't taken it out yet but I can't wait for my first find, even if it's just a pop can

Click to expand...

Good Luck with your new MD. I bought my first in February...a Vanquish 540 pro pack and jumped to a EQ800 and like all the additional bells and whistles like being able to change frequencies and recovery speed. Sometimes if you know you are going to enjoy the hobby or sport it may be better to buy great once than buy twice.