Minelab Equiniox–Simplified
…a few points that I found to be central to skill building with the Minelab Equinox.
1/ Stay away from 50 tones to begin with—especially with Sens over “20”–too many sounds. Later on, 50 Tones can help you to learn how to listen for consistent sounds but to begin with this is easiest in 2 Tones. With either of the multi tone modes high Sens can be frustrating Listen for complete sounds which stay in on the cross sweep. Even those sounds which start or finish abruptly should be suspect.
2/ Try some practice in Gold 2. Turn the volume down, and reject up to “5” to make the audio more orderly. Use this mode to learn to listen for extension in the tones and to practice examining responses with the cross -sweep. Work at mixing up these coil passes to determine the consistency of responses. Making changes to the Sensitivity, Iron Bias and Recovery Speed will alter how those signals with extension stand out.
More generally look for settings which balance the machine’s power in relation to the ground’s signal—that is—target sounds which are solid but not clipped or broken. An unbalanced signal (Sens too high) will also bring up a lot of partial sound that may sound good initially and need to be chased down with the coil. This is more noticeable up over (Sens) “20”. “18” is a good beginner setting that makes it easier and less frustrating to sort out the Equinox’s sounds and recognize quality signals.
3/ When you are first starting with this machine keep the wand short and do narrow, smooth coil passes. Watch the ground to see where each sound you hear is coming from and how your coil movements are affecting the tone and meter. When you are reaching way out, and not in touch with what the machine is telling you it becomes harder and more frustrating to learn. Begin with these simple coil-to-eye-to-ear-type skills–they will form the basis of later learning. With these, the accuracy will come over time.
For more information on improving your accuracy with the Minelab Equinox check out my book: “The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced.”
Ordering and Reviews: https://clivesgoldpage.com/