Here's the new Minelab Equinox

Commented before I seen the video I now see it is dunkable.
If it works in SALT I will be selling my CTX for sure.
It all comes down to what MULTI FREQ means on this one.


bigboar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What do you mean? Its waterproof to 3 meters



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2017 02:10PM by GreenMeanie.

ghound Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Agree there, if there light at the elbow there goi
> ng to be badly balanced with a big coil, i've been
> running the 13" on my Deus and it's awful.
>

gh...I use the big coil with my Deus too, but I have fashioned that coil on a rod with a small counter weight on the other end. The wireless functionality of the Deus allows for that which is a big plus. Weight distribution using this set up is great.

I tried using that coil on the standard set up and you are correct...it's brutal.

Multi frequency.......exactly how many is that? I've been waiting twenty years for this detector. Next year beach hunting will be a little different. Goodbye to the Sovereigns and Excalibur except for divers. Goodbye to almost all other detectors. I said it here many times......the first to come out with a multiple frequency underwater detector that is light in weight and affordable will make a killing. Garrett missed it with the AT Max. Nokta missed it with the Impact. Whites had the that MX5 or what ever it was disaster. And Fisher never entered the competition



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2017 02:24PM by goodmore.

I had hoped the Impact would have had the 40kHz freq. and been waterproof. The addition of the MF option is brilliant... This just killed the Impact, IMO (yes, I've had one and the CoRe and the Relic so I'm very familiar with Nok/Mak). Looks like all of the other manufacturers will be playing catch up. A nice benefit is that this sets the bar higher as an "industry standard" at a low price point. Hopefully, no more "tweaked" previous models (like the AT-Max) introduced as the latest, greatest thing. Minelab hit a home run with this one. Certainly left the American manufacturers sitting on their hands again. There are going to a lot of cheap used machines to be had very soon in the classified section.

Dean



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2017 02:32PM by bado1.

It most certainly "obsoletes" the 705! Changing coils w/each frequency, not convenient/very expensive!

The ability to utilize a variety of single frequencies, or simultanious frequencies is interesting and useful, but, the V3i didn't obsolete all single frequency machines with the same ability yrs ago.

The higher single frequencies 20, 40 KHz, MAY (?) give it serious nugget shooting ability (depending on ground balancing capabilities in difficult gold grounds) which the CTX lacks in FBS, which could (?) give it another dimension in detecting beyond the CTX.
It seems to have good possibilities for beach hunters.

Bottom line for me, It has some interesting features and possibilities. At this point, I'm not gonna get all giddy like a schoolgirl over it.
I'll wait for some serious real world testing, by independent/unbiased/knowledgable users, before I make any judgements. ??

My guess was better than your guess??? C'MON GUYS!

Looks like a great little all arounder. Fast separation, selectable freq including multi, waterproof, light, etc.

Not going to replace the ctx but it's far better than all the other mid priced all terrain units on the market from what I can see

A detector can have all the features in the world at any price, what matters is how they actually work out in the field. Will be looking forward to all you fine forum members that get one and give your thoughts.

I cannot wait to hear how this thing performs...in other words, what SkiWhiz said!

I saw some mention of "25 tones," and said the tones are similar to the X-Terra? What are the X-Terra tones like, as compared to Explorer/E-Trac tones? If I know the language of a FBS, would the switchover to an X-Terra-like tone system be somewhat simpler for me as a result, or is it a language unto its own?

If this unit can match the depth and ID with depth of my Explorer, AND allows target separation like a Deus or other similar machine, I may have to jump on this one.

One thing I am not seeing here is, where does that whole "discrimination by exploiting properties of the magnetic field" thing, from the patent that I have seen posted, fit into this machine? Or does it? I'm not seeing it mentioned...

Steve



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2017 04:19PM by steveg.

steveg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> One thing I am not seeing here is, where does that
> whole "discrimination by exploiting properties of
> the magnetic field" thing, from the patent that I
> have seen posted, fit into this machine? Or does
> it? I'm not seeing it mentioned...
>
> Steve

maybe they have more to announce?

For those of you who have the CTX, what does that detector have that the Equinox does not have?

Diggs4ever Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It does have a 25 sound block that sounds like the
> the minelabs we have come to love


This gives you audio like the Etrac/Explorers with that flutey silver high tone we've all come to love???

But does it have a backlight?

possum mo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For those of you who have the CTX, what does that
> detector have that the Equinox does not have?

I'm guessing that it doesn't have the depth of an Etrac or CTX, otherwise it would cannibalize the sales of those machines. I wasn't impressed with the depth of the Deus; so, a machine lacking depth could still be a Deus killer.

possum mo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For those of you who have the CTX, what does that
> detector have that the Equinox does not have?

Difficult to answer at this point!

The Equinox has the ability to run several single frequencies which the CTX does not, BUT......

Does the Equinox have the extreme adjustability/customization in audio and discrimination of the CTX? Does it have the direct coil communtication of the CTX (and DEUS)? Can it ID as well as, or produce such visual multi target imaging, Target Trace, as the CTX. GPS? Battery setup? Coils?.........

The fact is, at this point, we really don't know what it's capabilities are in relation to the CTX, or any other detector for that matter. All we have is a very early look. Time and realworld testing will tell.

Even if it is "just" an updated X-Terra, that is nothing to say "meh" to. They were and still are some fine units; the problem with them was that in order to reap the full benefit of them, you had to have a lot of your money tied up in coils for the frequencies that it could do. An X-Terra with the right coil for the soil conditions is as deep as anything out there on land. I've came to the conclusion that some of you could have a goose that lays golden eggs and would still find something to complain about with it.

I have the CTX and it is probably one of my favorite machines to date. I've certainly kept it longer than any machine I've had in a long time. It goes reasonably deep on dirt and deeper than I want to dig on salt water sand beaches. There's a lot of info on the target trace screen that is very valuable to me; no digging of crown bottle caps, etc if you know their signature on the target trace screen. I never paid any mind to the co/fe numbers, but some love that feature. I like the target trace screen the best. But with that said, there are some places that I feel the CTX just can't handle as good as a specialty single freq machine. Heavy iron sites being one of them. Sure, with the 6" coil you can get by, but you also leave a lot in the ground. In heavy red dirt mineral as a relic hunter, it is no good either. In those sites, I always reach for another machine. I will have the Equinox 800 for sure. The wireless stuff isn't of real interest to me personally but the other features have me foaming at the mouth. It will be interesting to see how they've coupled the freq adjustment thing. I've had the V3i, Deus, and Impact, all three have the freq adjustment ability and I always felt that there was always something lacking in those machines vs a dedicated single freq machine on the same frequency. And to me, it always seems like the machine has a preferred freq setting, even though it can do others. Example...on the V3i, I never saw a benefit to using the 3khz or 22khz...it seemed like that machine was best suited for the 7khz platform. The same with the Impact...I never liked the 5khz option on it, even though it is there. Those are things that we will all have to see and figure out as time goes on and people get them into the field. I'm pretty stoked about it myself, I wont lie. I seldom get excited about detectors but here I am.

Nice video here. Before the 7 minute mark you can hear the tones and it sound E-Trac/CTC like!
[www.youtube.com]
The guy does say "phenomenally deep" btw. :-) - Hope that is true, that is the deal breaker for me, I do want at least E-Trac depth.
Will miss the 2D screen (if not available on a potentially higher model?) but not a deal breaker.

Brandon Niece says the Equinox has relegated his CTX to his number 2 spot.

Cabin Fever Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Brandon Niece says the Equinox has relegated his C
> TX to his number 2 spot.


As he is part of the new machines promotional team he is hardly likely too say anything but that,its basically the same when any new machine is launched.

Junk and Disorderly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cabin Fever Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Brandon Niece says the Equinox has relegated his
> C
> > TX to his number 2 spot.
>
>
> As he is part of the new machines promotional team
> he is hardly likely too say anything but that,its
> basically the same when any new machine is launche
> d.

I'll take him at his word until proven otherwise...
I don't see why people don't believe this detector can't or won't be superior to the CTX..
Minelab could be working on an even better detector for its future Flagship.
The CTX, Etrac and X-Terra might just fade away..
This Equinox is a game changer for sure....
The competition looks suddenly out dated by a long shot in my opinion..
Bryan

detectingMO Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
steveg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> One thing I am not seeing here is, where does that
> whole "discrimination by exploiting properties of
> the magnetic field" thing, from the patent that I
> have seen posted, fit into this machine? Or does
> it? I'm not seeing it mentioned...
>
> Steve
>


> maybe they have more to announce?

-----------------------------------------------------


I'm gonna take a guess and say most likely = yes.

I don't see anywhere that says this unit is the new magnetic inductive platform in their pat. shown on MD'ers blog

also - it says "2018" for that tech. to be brought to the table?

Whoa here folks.
Why?
What is the smallest coil offered for this new detector??
Did I hear 6" ?

So can this detector hang with Impact and smallest coil
Or Deus?
Or even White's wearing 4x6" coil?
Or Racer series wearing OOR coil?
Nokta relic wearing smallest coil?
I am not going off the deep end just yet.

Des D Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "There are what look like 2 USB slots on the left
> hand side??"

Thanks, I haven't seen the second slot. I thought one is probably for charging and not necessarily for firmware updates. We will see...
I wonder if the machine can be charged and used simultaneously.

Junk and Disorderly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cabin Fever Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Brandon Niece says the Equinox has relegated his
> C
> > TX to his number 2 spot.
>
>
> As he is part of the new machines promotional team
> he is hardly likely too say anything but that,its
> basically the same when any new machine is launche
> d.

After watching the latest video on it, I don't think he is over hyping it. It is indeed super fast and was air testing better than my CTX can. Tones sound great too; very similar to my ear, to the CTX. It's not like it is something brand new to Brandon either that he is just now laying eyes on for the show; he has been testing it for several months. There's a lot of comparisons and testing you can do if you've had a machine that long; enough to draw a good conclusion with.

possum mo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For those of you who have the CTX, what does that
> detector have that the Equinox does not have?

CTX =
1: user defined tone breaks/BIN's almost unlimited
2: not limited to 3 or 4 UNadjustable (or very limited) "pre-set" modes (depending on which equinox model you buy)
3: complete user adjustability in every mode and/or all metal/open screen (less choosing reactivity speed)
4: Target Trace feature
5: has the double numbers (12/45 - 11/40 - etc) showing both FE and CO
6: can run in "combined audio" mode

and these are just off the top of my head as there's more (like GPS) etc.

Still in all though (and as I said earlier) the Equinox looks like a very capable machine for the price point/in what it does/has to offer and especially looks to be a great all arounder/all terrain type unit far better than what's currently on the market/has been and is just being released (in other words) I'd MUCH rather spend my $$ on a Equinox than an AT Max or similar - that's for sure!

I'll be getting one of the 800 models to test out/play with just to see what it's all about

Thanks EMF and MRH.

I just spoke with my normal Minelab dealer about the time frame on when to expect it for purchase. He said from what he was hearing, Feb 2018 but that could change. That's still a good ways off in the aspect of electronics. Seems like they would want to strike while the iron is hot coming off the heels of the announcement/release but I would rather them take their time and get any kinks worked out as opposed to rushing it. My guess is, that was probably their original plan but some last minute changes probably delayed them...since their prototypes at Detectival do not have the gold prospecting modes/frequencies on it, that would be my guess as to one of the things they decided to add on.

Hey Daniel..
If I heard Brandon correctly in his video, he said his Equinox back home HAD the Gold Prospect feature on it but
the one he had at the festival did not.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2017 07:03PM by Cabin Fever.

The one area CTX and E-Trac might still have an advantage is target ID at depth.
In my minerized ground there is no other detector I have ever used that can ID a coin at 8-10 inches with as much accuracy as the FBS detectors..
I'm not talking just getting a signal at those depths. I'm talking proper ID at these depths.
Can't wait to find out. I texted my dealer preordering my 800 at 3:40 this morning.
Ya, I'm excited for this one!
Bryan

Good to see they got away from that CTX shafts design. The sand tore them up. The CTX has features that may not be on this new detector. But they apply to dirt hunters. Target trace and a color screen. Maybe a few more. But for beach hunters this new detector looks perfect. I personally don't think depth will be an issue. The Safari is every bit as deep as the CTX. Minelab listened. We praise other companies like Nokta for doing it, we'll Minelab certainly listened to me and my fellow beach hunters. Waterproof....and multifrequency. It wasn't that much to ask for. But it took 20 years.

It may not compete in the dirt with the CTX..... but if its equal in the salt water its a win for us water guys. Being able to pick up some smaller gold in the dry sand.... and the ability tohunt wet and dry sant in one machine.....thats a huge plus. Cant see watering down a machine with every thing thats available .... now that makes no sense.hope its got some run time on those batteries.