The Equinox.

Not sure that I understand that because the threshold level of the Safari is adjustable from silent to loud.

adrian ss wrote:Not sure that I understand that because the threshold level of the Safari is adjustable from silent to loud.

The threshold had to be heard for you to hear the deeper targets that are only heard in the threshold break, just the same as the gpx detectors.

Anyway, I'm sure the boys @ minelab have made the Equinox lighter and better than the safari.

Used Equinox on Ebay already?

All the videos on the Equinox 800 are very positive. In fact I have just
Purchased one and awaiting delivery. I hope to trial it in Warrick area on the new areas that
Have been released Graeme

Hi Stormy,
Hoping to hear good reviews on the nox at Warwick but fear the mineralisation will be too much for it. Even the PI's struggle out there at times.
Fingers crossed

G’Day all,

I have done very little detecting for over five years now due to health reasons, mine and hers. I have a GPX5000 but as I am unlikely to get into goldfields again I am thinking of swapping to a more relic type detector.

I have had a quick look at the Equinox 800. Did this replace the CTX3030?. Or is that still available as well.

I bought my 5000 from Reeds. They have an Equinox “kit” for about $1500 ...... is that about the price to expect?

If the chance to detect for gold comes along, about what depth could I expect from the Equinox?

I would be very grateful for any advice. Thank you


Waz

No replies? Looks like nobody is using the 800 Aye??

The 800 is an excellent metal detector for most types of metal detecting . It has a gold mode but will still be a bit noisy in the heavy iron mineralised gold fields compared to a gold dedicated PI.
The CTX 3030 is also an excellent machine but more of a coin, treasure and relic detector and will be a annoyingly noisy in the iron mineralised gold fields.
The 800 is lightweight and very easy to use . The CTX 3030 is heavier and requires more fiddling to use.

Just an opinion, not gospel.

Thank you for your trouble to reply. That confirms my thoughts. Will probably go ahead but if anyone has more to add, that would be helpful.

Waz

Waz, I think the Nox 800 is a good/great detector, If using it in the goldfields I would look at buying a 6" Coil or maybe the Coiltek 10x5 but have not heard any comments about this coil. I don't think the balance of the Nox is the greatest but you get use to it. I think they are available for around $1100.

Thanks for your opinion. That price from Reeds was including some goodies, mainly a pin pointer, but I can see it may still be a bit over the odds. I will check in town (Gympie)and see what they have. When I got my 5000 they were well over the odds but I am pretty sure they are different owners now. I would like to support the local bloke if he is within cooee of the big boys.

Waz

The CTX 3030 is without a doubt the more sophisticated metal detector when compared to the EQ 800.
The CTX is loaded with features that will test your patience at times.
The 800 is a breeze to operate with much less bells and whistles than the CTX.
Some people like lots of features.

This may be of some help to you:
https://nwdetectors.com/blogs/news/minelab-equinox-800-vs-ctx-3030

I would be wary of ML Pin pointers, Have owned 2, do some research B4 outlaying $.

Adrian..... thanks again. Although the CTX3030 is almost twice the price, it appears it is a far superior machine.

I was wondering if it is still available as Reeds don’t even give it a mention but now I find Miners Den have them.

I try to buy good quality if not the best quality, when I can and the price is after all only an ounce of gold !!

I am really appreciative of the advice so far. I like to have some idea before I walk into the shop.

I am going to town Tuesday so will try to talk to someone then.

Waz, the 3030 operators that I know are very serious coin hunters spending a lot of time on the hobby, beach/parks/reserves/shallows and underwater and really understand their detectors. Me I would only spend the effort in understanding a gold detector.

also came across this( may only refer to the 3228-0101): Minelab CTX 3030 Standard Pack Metal Detector with GPS Rechargeable 3228-0101 (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

waznme wrote:Adrian..... thanks again.    Although the CTX3030 is almost twice the price, it appears it is a far superior machine.

I was wondering if it is still available as Reeds don’t even give it a mention but now I find Miners Den have them.

I try to buy good quality if not the best quality, when I can and the price is after all only an ounce of gold !!  

I am really appreciative of the advice so far.   I like to have some idea before I walk into the shop.

I am going to town Tuesday so will try to talk to someone then.

Of the two detectors if you want to find gold then I feel that the 800 might be a better choice. For coins and relics and jewellery either detector is good with the 800 being lighter and easier to operate while still achieving excellent results from the beaches to the gold fields. It is a VLF machine and suffers the usual vlf problems in highly iron mineralised ground.
A PI like the SDC2300 is a good starting point for the Aussie gold fields and it works fine at the beaches but without discrimination; It will drive you nuts in trashy ground and in EMI areas.

Thanks for the late night post. If the CTX 3030 was still in production I would not hesitate but I have a feeling it is not.

If Google doesn’t know..., who would??? They are selling for around $2500 now...... were they worth more say a year or so back?. If so, that would point to a runout to me.

I may keep my GPX5000 and still get a relic detector, maybe even Garret or Whites . I thought this was going to be a simple project but it seems a bit more investigation is called for....... must have been easy a century ago when you just needed a pick and shovel and dish!!!

Re (If the CTX 3030 was still in production I would not hesitate but I have a feeling it is not.)

My comment on" No Longer in production " is that ML could be bringing out a new/lighter/more user friendly detector that will lower the resale of the 3030. Its still as Adrian says:

The CTX 3030 is without a doubt the more sophisticated metal detector when compared to the EQ 800

So its take a lot longer to learn how to use it to its best advantage, the reason I would not get one for my infrequent coin/relic trips. And as for reliability over the years since the 70's, my and SWMBO's 20+ ML detectors have only had 1 issue, the headphone plug on my WM12 Speaker on my Z would not work. So a 3030 could last you a lifetime.

I have a CTX 3030 and an Equinox 800, If I had to choose I'd pick the Nox any day of the week! The CTX is full of funky features, a few of them are nice to have like the pinpoint tracing and the wealth of target information it gives you but none are overly necessary. I find the Target ID's on the Nox to be better in my mild soils here, I also find the Nox to be deeper, noticeably deeper. For gold nuggets there is no question about it, the Nox is way better, far more sensitive to small gold, multi IQ on the Nox also handles bad soils better. I think the Nox will find gold rings easier too being more sensitive to gold.

Where the CTX shines is giving you heaps of target information so you can better decide if you want to dig targets. You can narrow down very close to where the target is, very accurate pinpointing. Great for a park where you can't dig a lot of holes. The Nox pinpointing isn't near as accurate unless using a smaller coil. The Nox is also much better in high trash areas as the CTX is a big old slow beast, very slow recovery speed where as the Nox is lightning fast.

The Coiltek 10x5" coil for the Nox is pretty good, the hot tip makes it easy to narrow down exactly where a small piece of gold is in your dig out pile, I find the ML 6" coil to be slightly more sensitive to small gold though, not a huge amount but it will find smaller gold. Those who have a GM 1000 and have used the 5" coil and the 10x5" coil for it will know the difference, I think the Nox 6" and Coiltek 10x5" difference is very similar.

Thanks again to all who got involved here. I am thinking I might keep my 5000 and get an Equinox800 for the relic stuff.

As I said previously, I am going to town tomorrow. Will see what's available and what price. So far Anaconda is about as good as I can find .....$1200......but if the local bloke is close I will get it there.


bcnu All........... Waz

Took the EQ 600 to the coast a couple of days ago and although it performed very well, it could not handle the emi at Batemans Bay Surf Beach and Caseys Beach. I had to set the Sensitivity well down to 11 in order to achieve quiet Running and the result was not a lot of detection depth in Beach Mode.
Both beaches were clean except for bits of foil and a few rusty bottle caps.
The weather was fantastic and the ocean was flat but after a couple of hours tecting I was bored beyond Thunder Dome and so we headed off to Mogo for a look around.
Beach detecting at the Bay is not what it used to be.

Well l took the plunge today ..... getting too old to hang about BCF did a price match eith Anaconda so got the Equinox 800 for $1198. I happened to run into a friend who is well into detecting and asked him. He already has one so I went ahead.

He has a Deus pinpointer. While I have great trust in his opinion, I just wondered if someone here has some information on these.???. Any takers???

G'day waznme

I can't help you with the Deus pin-pointer (for I've never used one) but can recommend the ever reliable Garret Pro A/T  (All Terrain, orange in colour) waterproof pin-pointer, of which I've used both for the detecting/pinpointing out the exact position of gold nuggets in dry mineralized soils, as well as for the detection/pinpointing the exact location of coins/relics on wet beach sands, of which it behaves extremely well.
Garret have now introduced their new version of similar in looks to the A/T, but with enhanced sensitivity on gold (over that of the original A/T Pro) called the Garret Pro pointer 11. This new introduction has been designed more for use on dry land for the detection/pinpointing of gold in mineralized soils, as well as for coin/relics discovered in parks, but not for use in salty saturated water beach conditions. Both pin-pointers work extremely well on pinpointing out the exact position of buried coins, (when coins fall within pin-pointer reach). It all depends on where, in what, or for what, you intend on prospecting/searching for.

Cheers Kon.

The only use of a pin pointer for me would be to not damage the target or to limit the dig in concrete type ground, not to find the target.

waznme wrote:Well l took the plunge today ..... getting too old to hang about   BCF did a price match eith Anaconda so got the Equinox 800 for $1198.     I happened to run into a friend who is well into detecting and asked him.   He already has one so I went ahead.

He has a Deus pinpointer.   While I have great trust in his opinion, I just wondered if someone here has some information on these.???.    Any takers???

The Deus pinpointer is dedicated to operate wirelessly with the XP Deus metal detector. Both are sophisticated detectors with more features than anybody other than bells and whistles fernatics would ever want.
No point getting this pinpointer unless you have the XP Deus metal detector

My mate tells me he finds the Deus much more useful than his Minelab35 He uses it on vibration only and that is what I will have to do, as I wear hearing aids and will have them paired to the Nox Bluetooth. Can’t have two things paired at once..... as far as I know. Bit to learn but I will persevere.

I just ordered one at $209. Same price as the Minelab35. I have great faith in my friends advice....... he has found a lot of gold and relics. I will try the Nox in the next couple of days and the pinpointer should arrive in a couple of days.

I was a little surprised at the lack of information on here about pinpointers so I will therefore make a point of reviewing this one when I have given it a bit of a workout. I hope I can learn enough to submit a useful opinion.

My apologies for not being a little more clearer on the use/purpose of a pin-pointer geof. A pin-pointers main purpose is to precisely pin-point out the exact position of where a conductive metallic target is located in or at. True, it is ones detector that first finds the target, with the pin-pointer helping further towards pinpointing out the targets precise location.

Cheers Kon.

Kon that is what I tried to express the only uses for me is to know its exact position to limit damage or to save the effort to remove it from very hard ground.

The XP-MI4 and MI6 are essentially the same pin pointer, the MI6 is a waste of money unless you have an XP Deus as the only difference is the pinpointer can connect with wireless to the detector, the MI4 is without the wireless support for people with other brands of detector.

The Garrett Pro Pointer AT is a great sensitive pinpointer, The MI4/6 are similar performance.  The Minelab Pro Find 35 is similar performance too only less stable.

I'd pick the Garrett AT as top as it just works with no fuss, followed closely by the XP MI4 with the Minelab coming in last due to its inherent stability and reliability issues.  Small gold sensitivity all three are quite close, very little in it.

Adrian, in high EMI areas switch the Equinox out of multi-IQ into a single frequency, better to pick an EMI free single frequency with a high gain than run in Multi-IQ with the sensitivity lowered so tame the EMI. 20kHZ is normally best in high EMI areas and is a great all round frequency.

I have the 600 and in Beach mode, Multi IQ is the only option.
However You are correct in saying that better EMI control can be had in the other modes when a single frequency is used.
I have used Park 1 & 2 over the dry sand at the beach with reasonable success at 20hz with the GB set at zero.

Yea, other modes work fine on the beach in most cases. I've found Park 1 to be fine for general beach detecting, beach mode usually only required in the water. One particular beach I detected was rotten for EMI, the solution was Park 1 20kHz and gain of 15 and it ran perfectly in wet and dry sand. I didn't go in the water, too cold That's the good thing about the Equinox though, so many settings you can generally find your way out of a problem with settings adjustments, being able to drop back to single frequencies is a big bonus.