Here is a non-official testers impression of the Equinox.

I came across this on a group that I'm a member of, I thought I would share it. " The Zone with the Minelab Equinox.

I was Lucky enough to be at another great Dig a few weeks back at a Dig in Scotland with some great people and an old mate in Neil Jones Slow and Low.

I was using my Trusty Fisher F75 Ltd and i had seen Neil in the morning and met up with him again in the afternoon where he walked round with me for around two hours, all be it he was in excruciating pain with his bad back and every other painful ailment a man or woman could every get.I know the feeling.

I had seen the detector first at a dig last weekend and Derek McLennan let me feel the weight and balance of the Equinox and it was incredibly light.

I propped up my F75 on my spade and left it in the middle of the field and off Neil and i went.He gave me the whole Equinox outfit.

The wireless head phones were in Bluetooth mode and fitted snuggly around my head and ears and easily covered my ears up just enough to keep them warm from our Scottish weather and were not like the old Koss Cans that kept falling off my head and many others who had them with their other Minelabs over the years.
The sound /Tones were very Crisp with no audable lag what soever and that was without the Ws10 wireless unit and on just Bluetooth.I was able to pick out tiny faint two way signals with out any problem.

Now In to the Zone. What is the Zone you may ask.

Well about 5 years ago whilst detecting with Neil Jones at Salisbury on a great Roman site on part of a 14 day marathon detecting fortnight and when using my Minelab Etrac and Neil also with his ETrac, i was getting very frustrated at the rate Neil was pulling out Roman Minums and Grots from what was probably the worst arid and mineralized conditions possible known to man in the uk.

There was evidently an urgent need to completely slow down the rate of swing and Zone in on these very faint signals and Neil had shown me what i was missing, but the point i am making is that this Term Zoning in is just another level of Concentration and focus and takes us all a little while to get in to in the course of the days detecting,some folks call it getting your head down, but Neil had emphasized how important it is to do this on some difficult detecting sites and to winkle out those finds in very difficult dry conditions.

Back to the Equinox.
I walked round in a small area all kitted up with the Equinox using Multi Freqency IQ. It was just like the old days and those Typical Minlelab tones i loved in the Explorer,Etrac and Ctx 3030.I started picking up targets almost immediately and dug some tiny bits and bobs that could easily have been a cut quarter or cut half.

The tones were very crisp two way and easily to hear and like Neil i dont use the Equinox pin pointer at all and managed to get the finds in quick time using My Garrett Carrot once out of the hole.I was about 20 minutes in to the session then Neil had noticed i was moving relatively quickly across this Area but unknown to me i was missing tiny finds.

Neil Stopped me and we went back and i slowed the search right down.Neil increased the volume on the headphones and in 25 tones i started picking up Tiny signals but not that hard to hear.They were clear and two way.You just need to slow the coil swing down and listen and you are in to the ZONE.Remember this is in Multi Freqency IQ.

I am not saying that no one else gets in to this so called Zone of where the next level of focus and concentration is required and am sure many of us do and when you see detectorists at digs flying across the fields at digs in case they miss anything, its no wander i like to hang back and see what they have all missed.

Neil and i stayed in this small area for about and hour, infact we could not get out of it because of the increase in targets it was incredible and i started laughing at Neil and looked at him and could not believe that i had passed over these other tiny targets on the first 20 minutes.

Depth is not so important to me these Days and Neil said as much and with our aching bones and ailments its nice just to get finds at the average 6 to 8 inches and yes mayby a bit more on a good day.The Equinox Depth was astounding.I was genuinely Gob smacked and i Know Derek Mclennan said as much about this too but i was astounded by its depth no question.

Seperation. Reactivity.
The Equinox is Super fast.I wont say its faster or slower than others to avoid another recover speed discussion but it is excellent and very impressive indeed in fact lightening fast.

The Weight of the Equinox is very light and on par with The Xp Deus No problem their but what i really liked was the Control box position which is angled better than the Deus control Box at least for me so was very pleased with this and its fixed so no chance of loosing it.The user inter phase or platform is a singe.

The Whole unit is well made and sturdy and breezes through stubble no problem.

Conclusion.
Very Light weight
Very Sturdy and well made.Pushes through stubble easily
Very fast Recovery Reactivity
Amazing depth.Just my opinion
Great Tones and if you have used Minelabs its a natural cross over to the Equinox.
The Headphones are miles better than the old Koss and very light.
For the Money.
You get so Much for your money with the Equinox.
5 single frequencies up to 40 Kz with the 800.
Multi IQ Technology.
Bluetooth and wireless capability.
Waterproof too to 3mtres.
And all for relatively little money.

This is not an official Minelab Review and are just my own personal opinions based on a two hour session with the Equinox prototype 800 it is totally non bias
Id like to thank Neil Jones for giving me his prototype detector and his time for a few hours and we also had a good laugh and chat about old times.
Thanks
Keith Whiggy"

OK , I give up, what the heck does this mean? "The user inter phase or platform is a singe".

The user interface or platform is a cinch... ?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2017 09:22PM by steveg.

shoveler Wrote:
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> OK , I give up, what the heck does this mean?
> "The user inter phase or platform is a si
> nge".


The equinoxes easy to use:-)

I'm sure Minelab will be thrilled to hear that Mr. Jones is letting friends use and write about his prototype test unit.

My YouTube - [www.youtube.com]
Website - [www.thehuntergt.com]

Wonder if it will have the Minelab wiggle trick to coax a faint signal like their Sov?

ps thanks for the report.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2017 12:38AM by guvmore.

The bits of feedback are helping form a picture.

Thanks.


Rich -

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Just one more good target before I go.

Does that mean it has the high "fluty" tone my ET makes? The tones are part of why I keep swinging that boat anchor.

Read between the lines....Optimum Sweep Speed. All detectors have it. If you figure out what it is, and get comfortable with it, you can "Zone" with the best of them. He clearly hadn't learned to "Zone" with his F75 LTD, although I imagine that, just like with the Equinox, with a tutor, he probably could.

HH
Mike



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2017 03:55PM by Mike Hillis.

Thanks Dan, great post, I enjoyed that, not long now and the reports will come thick and fast,

well done mate.

Nice write up - it looks like its going to a fantastic addition to any detectorists arsenal -

[www.earthscan.co.nz]

Zone? does that refer to the Minelab coil wiggle hardly new ?but not sure what zone is?

Zone to me has always meant - the mindset when you focus intensely on how you are swinging the coil, what speed you are swinging it at. Complete concentration and positive attitude. You are one with the machine LOL. Seriously, when you are in the zone it seems you find more. I get that way beach hunting on a good day.

coinnut Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Zone to me has always meant - the mindset when you
> focus intensely on how you are swinging the coil,
> what speed you are swinging it at. Complete concen
> tration and positive attitude. You are one with th
> e machine LOL. Seriously, when you are in the zone
> it seems you find more. I get that way beach hunti
> ng on a good day.


Makes sense, thanks.