The Minelab Equinox metal detector has been on the market for several years and it is one of the best metal detectors ever invented. More detectorists today own the Equinox 600 and/or 800 than any other metal detector on the planet. Why? Because it works and it works really well. The Equinox is so versatile that you can literally use it in any condition (rain, snow, sleet, hot temperatures etc.). Plus, its 100% waterproof which means you can even take it underwater.
This article today will focus on setting up a relic program for the Equinox that has been tested by me and as well as many others. We all agree that if you are hunting old sites, open fields, iron infested sites, and trashy sites, this program may be something to consider. If you are hunting open fields that doesn’t have a lot of iron this program may still be of use. In fact, I’ve used it in relatively clean open fields and have seen great success with it.
Where Did This Program Come From?
I have to give credit where credit is due. A subscriber to my YouTube (you should be a subscriber too) sent me a letter in the mail (not email). His name is Jay Strongbow. Because I hardly ever get any mail sent to my P.O. box, I rarely check it. He sent the letter in Feb but I never checked my mailbox until until JUNE! The letter was sitting there for over 3 months. I did reach out to him to apologize and we have exchanged several emails about this program. To be clear, this is 100% Jay’s program and he gave me permission to share it with you because my channel and this website are designed to help folks like you out there who enjoy the metal detecting hobby as much as we do. Please enjoy it.
Watch The Video and Follow Along.
I’ve already made a how-to video on setting up this program if you don’t want to watch the video just keep reading. The setup instructions are below. But I recommend watching the video then follow along with the instructions below.
Good Things to Know About This Program.
Here are a couple of tips before we get into the setup
- This program only works for the Equinox 800 (sorry 600 owners).
- Use Field 2 for house sites, cellar holes, heavy iron, and/or heavy trash sites
- Use Field 1 for open clean fields or sites that are not trashy or have a lot of iron in the ground.
- Always use Reactivity of 5 for the trashy sites.
- DO NOT use FE or F2 leave them both at 0.
- Hunt with this program in All Metal Mode (full horse shoe)
Setting Up The Program.
For trashy sites that include a lot of iron in the ground you will need to use Field 2. Here are the settings you will need to adjust in this order.
- This is a 5 tone program. Make sure you have 5 tones selected before you do anything else.
- Ground Balance = 0
- Volume Adjust = 22
Advanced Volume Adjust Control Settings (hold down your gear/settings button to go into the advanced volume control and adjust the 5 sectors to the following
- Sector1 = 4
- Sector 2 = 20
- Sector 3 = 23
- Sector 4 = 25
- Sector 5 = 25
Here is what your advanced Volume Adjust screen should look like.
- Exit out out of the advanced volume control and move over to Threshold. Adjust this setting to whatever you prefer.
Threshold Level = Whatever you decide. It has no impact on the machine and how it operates.
Move over to Target Tone. You should already have 5 tones selected so just hold down the gear button to enter the advanced menu and adjust the 5 sectors to the following:
- Sector 1 = 1
- Sector 2 = 14
- Sector 3 = 18
- Sector 4 = 22
- Sector 5 = 25
This sets the volume of each of the tone breaks. Here is what your screen should look like.
Tone Breaks are next. Since you have already set your target tones to 5 this also sets your number of tone breaks. To adjust them you will need to move over to Accept Reject and hold down the gear button. Please note: You will only be able to change the 1st 4 tone breaks. The 5th tone break can not be changed.
- Tone Break 1 = 1
- Tone Break 2 = 10
- Tone Break 3 = 18
- Tone Break 4 = 25 (in the image below it looks greyed out but it isn’t)
- Tone Break 5 (you can’t adjust)
This sets the range of target IDs that will sound off for each Tone Break. Here is what your screen should look like.
Next, move over to Recovery Speed. Recovery Speed should be set at 5. Also, double check your FE and F2 settings to make sure FE = 0 as well as F2 = 0. If they then the setup is complete and the only thing left to do is do a Noise Cancel.
Why Not Use FE or F2?
This program is setup to use your iron volume as discrimination. This is why you have to run the program in All Metal Mode (complete horseshoe pattern). This technique will take some practice but once you figure it out I think you will prefer this technique. In addition, the less filters we use on the Equinox the better. Keep in mind, the more filters you put on any machine there is something you are giving up. It could depth, separation, etc. We try to use as little filters as possible to obtain the most depth and to avoid masking targets.
Happy Hunting!
This program is designed to let you hear the iron to determine a did or no dig scenario. It will take some time to let your brain adjust to the new information that your ears are letting in. But once you get some time on the program, I think you will be amazed at the coins and relics that are laying amongst all the trash and iron that most folks will never hear. Good luck and enjoy! If you see Jay on the channel give him a big thanks as well.