First impression Equinox 600

Sold my original model F75 to buy Equinox 600

First impression during 2 hour hunt. Default Park 1 setting.

IMO/memory F75 had better vid recognition

Depth indicator on Equinox is useless because most times (20 +/-) targets, it showed maximum depth when targets were only 2-5 inches.

Florida soil



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2018 11:17PM by newguy.

Dang, that don't sound good!

Quote
newguy
it showed maximum depth when targets were only 2-5 inches.

Not good. Were the targets that indicated max-depth, coins or coin size targets?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2018 08:45PM by Curious Mike.

You are not the first to say the depth meter is useless.

Yep, the depth reading on my 800 is more of a rough guideline. For instance it never reads less than 4” (two little symbols showing) even when it’s a coin right on the surface. I have already dug many 3-4” plugs only to find the coin in the first inch or even right on top. Just one of the idiosyncrasies of the Equinox I guess. Oh, and the depth meter doesn’t work at all in pinpoint mode, which is odd.

Interesting, about the depth meter.

I have not found this to be true, with mine. I actually would have said the opposite, had someone asked me -- mine has been relatively accurate. Shallow coin-sized items read shallow on the depth meter (1 or 2 bars), and if it's pegged at 4-5 bars, it's been at minimum a 6" deep target...

Steve



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2018 07:18AM by steveg.

I notice watching videos that a lot of people sweep the coil what looks like 2 to 3 inches above the ground.
I wonder if this contributes to the pegged meters.. I’m a coil scrubber and keep the coil on the ground
which seems to give me accurate depth readings with the CTX and E-Trac.
My Equinox depth meter seems to be ok with the little bit of testing I’ve done so far.
Won’t know for sure until I can get out into the wild.

Bryan

What depth meter? Almost as an after thought. The pinpoint function works for me.

steveg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Interesting, about the depth meter.
>
> I have not found this to be true, with mine. I ac
> tually would have said the opposite, had someone a
> sked me -- mine has been relatively accurate. Sha
> llow coin-sized items read shallow on the depth me
> ter (1 or 2 bars), and if it's pegged at 4-5 bars,
> it's been at minimum a 6" deep target...
>
> Steve

I wonder if this has to do partly with the algorithm and partly due to the soil? Hopefully Minelab can do something if a fix is available. Have to say, E-Trac was GREAT here and made for exciting deep coin hunting.

The pinpoint bars that close in from around the sides work great and are very useful. But the depth meter doesn't move at all in pinpoint mode, it just stays frozen on the last target detected in regular disc mode, as does the target ID which is also not functional in pinpoint mode.

Although I am not quite a coil scrubber, I do sweep through the grass probably an inch or less from the actual ground surface. Just wanted to clarify since I am definitely not getting any depth readings less than 4" (two triangle symbols) on shallow coins. Just tried it again in my backyard with a dime laying on the surface less than an inch from the coil. And just tried it on the bench with the dime placed directly against the coil. Stock Park 1 mode, 20 Sensitivity. It never reads less than 4"/two triangles, even with an air test, so it can't be related to mineralization.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2018 08:55PM by wayfarer.

(( Try a quarter or half-dollar ))

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> (( Try a quarter or half-dollar ))


Thanks Tom. Quarters read one triangle at 1" or less, half dollars seem to be right on. Nickels and pennies, as well as dimes, still only read no less than 4" even at less than 1" from the coil.

So it seems that the depth gauge is calibrated for silver half dollars. Hopefully that is a harbinger of things to come.

I just tested mine again out of curiosity and the depth meter seems to be working accurately using an Indian head cent.
This was an air test though.
Might be worth doing a factor re-set Wayfarer to see if it it gets better..
Bryan

Cabin Fever Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just tested mine again out of curiosity and the
> depth meter seems to be working accurately using a
> n Indian head cent.
> This was an air test though.
> Might be worth doing a factor re-set Wayfarer to s
> ee if it it gets better..
> Bryan


Bryan, thanks for the suggestion. It worked! My depth gauge is working fine now. Hmm, I wonder what it was that I adjusted that threw it off? The only adjustments I made to the stock Park 1 program was threshold volume (turned it up), target volume (turned that up too), switch from 5 tones to 50, and ground balance. I ground balanced the machine using AUTO numerous times over the last few days and left it in tracking. Hard to see how that would have affected the depth reading both in the field and in an air test, but who knows. It's all good now. Thanks!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2018 04:56PM by wayfarer.

I dont believe ive ever paid attention to a depth meter.....you can normally get a good tell of size and depth from sound.

dewcon4414 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I dont believe ive ever paid attention to a depth
> meter.....you can normally get a good tell of size
> and depth from sound.
That is exactly what I do too! I go by the audio volume if it's loud it's shallow or a big target if it's faint it's deep. Heck I don't even use the pinpoint button I use the front tip of my coil to pinpoint with.

Cabin Fever Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just tested mine again out of curiosity and the
> depth meter seems to be working accurately using a
> n Indian head cent.
> This was an air test though.
> Might be worth doing a factor re-set Wayfarer to s
> ee if it it gets better..
> Bryan


Went over my head - What is a factor re-set? Oh, a factory reset? But why would that do anything to the depth indicator? That would imply it changes.
Curious if they did set it to a half dollar / quarter as Tom alluded to?

Thx

Does the depth meter drift back into a state of inaccuracy as you modify the default settings?

The depth meter on the etrac & ctx worked flawlessly even on the real deep targets.

I've had a ton of detectors over the years and many were top notch units. Depth indicators were always crap shoots. I seldom pay any attention to them. I am more likely to lift and listen especially with my Excal.

Past(or)Tom
Using a Legend, a Deus 2, an Equinox 800, a Tarsacci MDT 8000, & a few others...
with my beloved, fading Corgi, Sadie

I've never paid attention to a depth indicator either, on any machine.

Thats were good Modulated audio comes in. You can tell Deeper softer hits. Can't really get a straight answer if it has it or not? And if adjustable like Volume Gain on Etrac?

Etrac depth meter is spot on.. one of the few. AT max was horrible at depth readings.

I’m hoping to get my hands on the nox this week.

Yes, E-Trac and CTX depth meters will spoil you if your an old coin hunter who spends most of their time in nice manicured parks.
If the Audio modulation is good on the Equinox, that should be sufficient.. I despise shallow clad as much as pull tabs..

Bryan

Harold,ILL. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thats were good Modulated audio comes in. You can
> tell Deeper softer hits. Can't really get a straig
> ht answer if it has it or not? And if adjustable l
> ike Volume Gain on Etrac?


Harold, this may not answer your question.
I can tell if a mid to higher conductor is deeper by the tone, and how sensitive the coil position has to be for best ID lock on. The mid and shallower stuff Equinox roars on at Sens 22 and higher.

Harold,ILL. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thats were good Modulated audio comes in. You can
> tell Deeper softer hits. Can't really get a straig
> ht answer if it has it or not? And if adjustable l
> ike Volume Gain on Etrac?


Harold --

As far as I know, modulation is not ADJUSTABLE on the 'Nox (like with a volume gain setting or whatever -- I know of no setting to adjust modulation on the 'Nox), but it is definitely modulated audio. Like tnss says, you can definitely tell a deep target from a shallow one. Both in regular "hunt" mode, AND in pinpoint mode.

As for the depth indicator, fascinating that a factory reset "fixed" the issue. Like I said, mine has been pretty doggone accurate, so I was confused why yours would be so far off, Wayfarer.

Just a total guess, but if you were in tracking ground balance (the way you said you had your machine set), and trying to do an air test, could that have been the issue? For that matter, could tracking ground balance foul up the depth meter, period, on a smaller coin -- air test, OR in-ground? It would be interesting to test -- set factory ground balance to zero, check air test depth on a dime per the depth meter. Then, check on a buried dime. THEN, ground balance, and switch to tracking. Then, try the tests again on the dime, and see what the depth meter says...

The more I think about it, it would seem that your depth meter inaccuracies very well may have something to do with the ground balance -- because as I think about it, I made similar adjustments to my "Park 1" mode as you did, EXCEPT that I have not used tracking ground balance. And mine has been fine. So it would seem the variable in the equation is "tracking." And then, when you did a factory reset, your machine would have defaulted to its fixed ground balance setting of "0" in Park 1 mode -- and you said the depth meter was accurate after the reset. Hmm...not definitive, without more testing, but there's smoke there...

Steve



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2018 09:28AM by steveg.