Do you use a detector? Tell us about it!

I had a musketerr advantage for years and just bought a Equinox 800 but recently to a trip to Bendigo used a sdc2300 and absolutely loved it so started to save up for one

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Hi All. i recently bought a Nox 600 for a bit of easy beach detecting. i must say that after using the gpx5000 , this thing is very light in comparison. only had it a week or so and have found a few coins. pre decimal and decimal. the nox appears to be very good and quiet as on the wet salty sand as well as underwater.annaconda got them on sale for $799.00 CHEEP .!! if your looking for a coin and relic shooter , cant go wrong. anyway a few pics so far. cheers Colin.

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It’s weird how that '51 sixpence is split. Is that the one you were telling me about?

Thats the one eh! found both pieces 3 mtres apart. :stuck_out_tongue:

Might go well on the salt lakes in WA.??

I might be wrong but my understanding is that in beach1 and beach2 the Nox 600 in multi freq works the same as the Nox 800 in gold mode. you just can’t select 20 or 40khz as a single frequency. ant thoughts from other Nox users. ??

Same manual for both detectors.
“Beach 1 Multi-IQ processes a low frequency weighted multi-frequency signal, and uses special algorithms to maximise ground balancing for salt.”

“Gold 1 Multi-IQ processes a high frequency weighted multifrequency signal, while ground balancing for mineralised soil.”

Thats comparing Beach 1 and Gold 1. Beach 2 is for underwater and Gold 2 is for ‘difficult ground’.
I would say the ‘special algorithms’ for beach work pretty well.

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HI all just an update on the Nox 600 beach detecting. had it about 3 weeks now and finding it awsome for the beach ! just a noise cancel , beach1 mode and cranck the sensitivity right up to 25 no need to ground balance on the sand. detector and sand scoop , thats it. volume to suit. heaps of moderns and thats what i am after. so easy if you find the right beaches.

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Thats a good haul. At least if you find an old coin you won’t be able to spend it :grinning:

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Hi, I have a Bounty Hunter Tracker IV (not used anymore) and also an X-Terra 305 that I purchased when they were first released, I mostly use it for coin and relic hunting.
In the past, I also had a Minelab Sterling but unfortunately, I left the batteries in and killed it.
I am now looking at purchasing an Equinox 800 as the X-Terra does not like working on the wet sand.
I also thought I might have a go at a bit of gold detecting with the Nox 800 if I can find the time.
Cheers Wayne

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I have an Equinox 800 that is far and away the best VLF machine I’ve ever used in the 45yrs I’ve been detecting, it doesn’t go well in all metal, unlike my X-terra, it is sensitive to hot rocks and noisy. But in gold 1or 2 disc. factory setting, it notches out hot rocks and will still find sub 0.5 gram nuggets, although at that size they need to be shallow. It’s quiet, powerful and easy to use, and at the price compared to PI machines is a very capable gold finder for those on a budget. I’d highly recommend the Nox as a budget gold finder. A very capable all rounder.

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I probably should update my review of the equinox since I’ve learnt a bit more about it. With the 6" coil and the right discrimination settings it’s been doing well on tiny little reefy nuggets and specimens. It doesn’t like wet, mineralized ground, charcoal and some types of black slate, but in pipeclay and mild ground it picks up shallow bits that most PI detectors miss.

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Hey David, Yes I agree the Nox 800 is deadly on small gold. I’ve just got the 6" coil and doing air tests, it does as expected gives even more sensitivity to small gold as your photo shows. I prefer gold 1 factory as I stated previously as I find it masks hot rocks while still being able to pick up gold as small as 0.25 grams easily. I haven’t had a problem with mineralized ground in this setting but of course you do need to turn the sensitivity down to about 16-18. Also as previously stated it runs far to hot in all metal, but I do use it to check a target. The only down side so far is with the 11" coil I find the pinpointing to be a bit difficult but I do expect this to change with the 6" coil. While I’m happy with the factory settings, I’m interested in the settings you are using if you feel like sharing. And I agree in shallow ground the new generation of VLF’s like the Nox and also the GM 1000 will find smaller gold than much more expensive P.I. machines. Nice to know they still have a place, horses for courses. Thanks for your post.

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Have a Nox 800, have only used factory settings at this stage, and predominately used on the beach, but my mate Greg and i have had a few trips around the state to look and have some fun.

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Hey Batmaximus I use the factory settings as well, for gold nuggets but Gold Gems Treasure And Fish on YouTube does have me double guessing. If you’re interested check out our to’ing and fro’ing in the comments Finding Gold With The Equinox 800, he uses All Metal single 40kHz ?? I said my machine would chatter more than two gossips at a church picnic on those settings, he claims I’m losing too much depth and you need to listen to the chatter. I’m not sure ! Especially in junky mineralized ground. What do others think ?

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I usually start with gold2, hard to tell any difference between the sensitivity or depth between gold 1 and 2 but gold2 seems to be a bit quieter. Recovery speed 4 in mild ground and up to 6 in wet or mineralized ground. Auto ground balance is okay as long as you move really slow but manual is probably better if you’re working individual mullock heaps one at a time. FE 6, accept -3 to 40 reject -9 to -4 then start detecting and hit the tick/cross button whenever the common ground noise numbers for the area come up. In my area it’s usually 11 to 16 that i have to notch out. Once I’ve got rid them I can usually get away with sensitivity of 22 to 24 with the 6" coil, but a fair bit lower with the 11". I tried all metal 40kHz this morning but the noise drove me nuts and I didn’t come up with any non ferrous targets in a spot I’ve been over before in gold mode.

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Thanks for sharing your experience, I would agree with all of that, for wet or mineralized ground have you tried a faster recovery speed ? I haven’t tried my 6" coil in the field yet, interesting to note that you can turn up the sensitivity. I do think you gain some depth in all metal but I haven’t given it much of a go either, because as you say the noise is a bit distracting. From the bit of testing I’ve done multi seems better then 40kHz. This is also what the experts at Minelab advised me.

Hesitant to raise the recovery speed too much, as it seems to decrease depth, and with the 6" you’re pretty limited as it is. Definitely a pick scrape and detect coil,once you’ve found a likely spot.

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Good point with the 6" coil, but because it helps deal with mineralization I’ve seen it argued that it increases depth, not my theory, one put forward by Steve Herschbach on the detector prospector forum. I like to do rather than talk but he seems to be credible ? Probably a moot point David.

Hey Dave when searching in gold mode do you adjust the iron bias if it’s a relatively ‘clean’ area ?