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You might remember an old blog we wrote about beach metal detecting and what metal detector you would need. You have read that here. What Metal Detector do I need to go salt water beach hunting?

While still great info on that post there are two machines out now by Minelab that have changed dramatically how we look at beach detecting. Imagine a new metal detector that is wireless, multi frequency, light weight, waterproof to 10 feet under $900 and has a fast recovery..... Introducing the new Minelab Equinox 800 and 600 models.

The Equinox 600 has wired phones and lacks the gold nugget hunting mode of the 800 but it comes in at a great price of $649. Also the 600 range of settings does not allow the user to have the fine tooth adjustments range the 800 does but still a VERY VERY good choice for salt water beach hunting or old parks and yards. Not only is it a good beach machine but a KILLER silver coin machine.

The Minelab Equinox 800 metal detector is my weapon of choice! I LOVE the wireless headphones Minelab includes. Just turn on and go. If you have a old set of wired phones you love you can still use those to. Just use the supplied Minelab WM-08 wireless module that comes with the 800 standard. Plug right in and go!

The 800 is OUTSTANDING on the beach and old parks for deep silver coins. Great relic machine to as it hits those deep bullets and relics due to the 5 frequencies it run simultaneously just like the 600. Fast recovery speed in heavy iron to that can handle all the really tough spots.

As always if you have any questions or looking for other deals call or email us. We have a excellent bundle on both machines and are will to adjust it to get you what you need. We would be glad to work with you and get you set up correctly to find the next lost pirates chest full of gold coins on the beach or old farm field!

Bart at BigBoysHobbies.net

Are you looking to buy either the XP Deus or XP ORX metal detector but are confused with what features they lack? Here is a quick overview of what makes them different.

Firstly, the XP ORX is lighter. 40 grams less to be exact. The weight loss comes from the lighter shaft. It is injected molded now and all out of plastic. Probably not all that noticeable to swing but it may not end up as sturdy of a machine as the XP Deus.

Another big thing that the ORX lacks is all the frequencies in the new X35 coils for the XP Deus. The Deus can run 35 frequencies on the new X35 coils. The ORX can only handle 21. Xp can go as low as 3.7 Khz. ORX has a low of 13 Khz. Everyone knows he lower the frequency the more depth you can achieve. Will the ORX be as deep as the Deus?? Might need to do some DEUS vs ORX testing to find out!

The XP Deus also has 11 preset programs where the ORX only has 4+2. I mean who doesn't like preset programs to tweak when starting out?

The XP Deus has an advanced menu that allows unlimited tweaking to really bring out the best in the machine. This is a huge factor for guys that like to turn down the iron and really become "ONE" with their machine! Sadly the ORX does not have an advanced menu which means no serious tweaking for this hard hit sites to bring out the coins and hidden relics that were missed.

The headphones on the ORX can not control the machine like the XP wireless WS-4 phones and XP Wireless WS-5 phones can. No more leaving your XP Deus remote in the truck and doing your tweaking with the phones on the ORX. The Wireless phones on the ORX are just speakers only. No screen or buttons other than the on/off switch.

If you have any other questions or want a better deal than listed on the XP Deus or XP ORX than listed on our website feel free to call us at 405-206-9010 or email us at Bart@bigboyshobbies.net

Happy hunting, Bart

The first step in going metal detecting is finding a good metal detector dealer with a shop. Amazon and ebay are poor choices to buy a metal detector for many reasons. First off you get zero help with questions before or after the sale on what might be the best model to fit what you might want to do with it. Second if you might be wasting your money on a model that won't do what your looking to do. You might be able to get away with a cheaper one that will do more. Third and most important they are TONS of fake / copied metal detectors from china on ebay and amazon. We have customers all the time call with issues with their machine and then they find out they have been tricked into buying a cheaper china fake metal detector. Fourth you can often save some $ buying from a real metal detector dealer. Always call us and ask what our best deal is, you might save some $ or get some good freebies thrown in! ;)

After buying your first real metal detector from reputable metal detector dealer that can help you with all your questions getting setup and how to run your metal detector your ready to start the process of selecting good metal detecting sites.

A good place to start treasure hunting is a site or area that has been used by people for a long periods of time and may or may not be in use today. Other great areas where it can be a good place to start looking to find treasure are areas that have been recently used by lot so of people in recent times.

Good research pays off

Researching before going out metal detecting is a GREAT idea. It is always smart to look for information or sources that might give information on older possible metal detecting sites. Some of those ideas to check out can be old mining reports, old local town plans or documents, and of curse older people tat have lived in the area for a good bit. Older people often are a wealth of valuable information on older homes, play grounds, schools, swimming holes and possible hunting sites that used to be there before things been torn down or moved. Armed with great information and knowledge, these can be some of THE best places to go for metal detecting.

Farm Fields

Fields or open areas are great place as well. Especially to learn on as they are often cleaner sites. Old Farm fields can one of the most productive places to go for treasure hunting with a metal detector. Some the most valuable treasures and finds have been found in open areas. During crop rotation and turning of the ground, the deeper buried objects that were underneath are sometimes brought closer to the top layers of dirt and can be detected. The only drawback that may happen is damage of the potential treasure by the farm machinery.

Turned over fields make for easy digging since the soil is not compacted. be sure to ALWAYS get permission from the Often they will lead you to the best spots or give you additional areas to search! It is also a good idea to sign a written agreement with the farmer with set out plans on how all finds found will be kept.

Almost all fields or open areas have history of some sort. Many have been used for many activities over the past. These include funerals, parties, circuses , civil war camps, trading sites, and school grounds. It is recommended to research of the land first to identify its history. With older maps of the area. Look for common signs of trails such as wagon ruts, things grown in trees and old signs on fence posts.

Ghost towns

Deserted towns or ghost towns are often all over if a person looks a bit at older maps and books. Old mining, crossing towns or rail road towns can hold troves of potential treasure and coins. However, some might now be on private land or owned by the the state or town. With the required permission, ghost towns deserted towns can be amazing places to go for metal detecting. Often littered with iron in the ground so they can often be trashy. With the trading and selling of items that used to happen in them, it is possible to find old coins or just about anything really.

Churches and School yards

Churches and old school yards are perfect places where often some of the oldest coins can be easily discovered. It is widely known that churches and schools were often built first and are some of the oldest buildings in the towns, providence or community. Often constructed many years before the first homes or stores in the area. Every Sunday and Wednesdays , the church families would conjugate in those buildings carrying offering in the form of coins and valuables. Often The best place to look for old coins in churches or schools is arounds old trees or entrances of buildings. This is where people would rest under the shade to talk and have lunch or children would of course play. Not to mention coins, old relics can also be found around many of your churches. Over the past years, parks have been used for many purposes such as circuses, state fairs, concerts and parties. So of course look at the big trees in the area for hot spots!

The beach

The Beach is always everyone's favorite place to detect for good reason, GOLD!!! Most beaches are either private or public and permission can be easily obtained from owners or from local parks. Sometimes permits granted for metal detecting on the salt water beaches are for offshore only. Salt water beaches are AMAZING places to go metal detecting because of the great changes of gold rings and jewelry. Not to mention the very easy digging that can be done. There are numerous ways people can lose things in activities that happen just about every day.

People enjoying outdoor sports, jogging, or even lying around on their favorite beach towel are causes for some dropped rings, coins, or even chains. Water swelling your fingers and toes often cause missing items that people don't realize. If it is during the busy summer or the holidays season can often make be the best time to go detecting. An hour or 2 in front of sunset before the beach is occupied or immediately after the bigger crowds has left for the day is a great time. After a storm has taken place, there is a possibility that good coins and rings which had been buried deep underwater in the sand are now brought to the surface and shore or closer to the surface at least.

A good metal detector can find you lots of hidden treasure when used in the right places and in the right way. Make sure you call us to see if your machine will do what you want it to do or for info on buying the right machine for you. Be sure to ask for any deals we have!;)

Have any other questions about metal detectors or detecting??

As said many times above, the best locations to go for metal detecting are those older places that have been popular for many years or long long ago. Good research and not to mention luck will identify such metal detecting possibilities.

Be sure to call us with any questions at 405-206-9010 or email us at Bart@bigboyshobbies.net with any questions or for current deals in our Big Boys Hobbies metal detecting shop!

Happy Hunting, Bart

The XP ORX metal detector has a new function, it is called the hashtag button, you will see it is located in the top left of the panel, the # button is very important as it has a dual function.

Function 1
Program select mode – To access the programs press once to scroll through the 4 factory programs and 2 user saved programs.

Once your chosen program is displayed there is no need to make any further button presses, the ORX is ready to detect.

Function 2
Salt mode – To access the Salt mode press and hold the Hashtag button for 3 seconds and the word “Salt” will appear on the screen next to the right of the frequency read out.
To torn the salt mode OFF repeat the same procedure.

Salt mode changes some internal parameters and allow smoother detection on area’s such as black sand and some wet beaches, in some cases lowering the sensitivity will also help.

We are very excited for the new XP ORX to come out. Should be on our shelves soon. Be sure to watch our website and ORX Metal Detector page for more details!

Looking for a specific ID of an item not listed or disagree with one? Want to add one not listed? Please leave your comment below at the bottom of the page!

We get questions all the time for what If target ID #'s to look for on the Minelab Equinox Metal Detector. Below we have listed a few charts from very experienced guys and gals that will help you narrows it down until you can learn them in you head.

As always, the tone is you best indicator on whether the target is good to dig or not. Coins often give a good "round" signal tone. This is also true with rings and such. Not ALWAYS true on all rings but for the most part it can be said as true.

That sound is very hard to explain but after you hear it a few times you will recognize it. The Minelab Equinox not only has VERY accurate ID #'s do to the multi frequencies but great audio as well. Once you can learn what the Nox is telling you your success rate will HUGELY increase.

If you have any questions On the Minelab Equinox series metal detectors feel free to check out our great bundles on them here Minelab Equinox 800 and Minelab Equinox 600. We do not include cheap china junk generic bags and diggers. We include actual Minelab bags and Minelab pouches with Lesche diggers made here in the good old USA!

Be sure to take advantage of the 15% Military Discount on our Minelab machines as well. Call or email us with any questions or for latest unadvertised promotions we might be running in store. Bart@bigboyshobbies.net or 405-206-9010.

PROMOTION ENDS January 31st 2019!

2018 Holiday promotion is now up on the Big Boys Hobbies website! Get one of our awesome Minelab CTX 3030 bundles and receive a FREE 17" CTX 3030 coil worth $399.

While coils last of course. This 17" CTX coil is a awesome beach or open field coil for depth and coverage area!

PROMOTION ENDS January 31st 2019!

Holler with any questions!

XP is pleased to announce the XP ORX Gold Prospecting Metal Detector.

Get ready for some High-performance Gold prospecting and Coin hunting!

Watch for updates on the detector on our website link above! More info coming very soon!

Great story here form NBC Sports!

Curler John Landsteiner lost his U.S. Olympic ring on Huntington Beach in California. Doctor Rings & Things found it.

Landsteiner, part of the first U.S. Olympic champion curling team from February, dropped the ring about 10 to 20 feet into the Pacific Ocean on July 19, while he was in Southern California to attend the ESPY Awards, according to Reddit.

Landsteiner turned to Reddit and metal-detecting websites, posting the coordinates of where he lost it, hoping it washed ashore and that a sincere stranger could find it.

Enter Leon Jones, aka Doctor Rings & Things. Jones is a regular treasure hunter, posting his searches on YouTube. Jones found the ring this week and, through local TV station KTLA, video chatted with Landsteiner.

“It means a lot to me,” Landsteiner said, according to KTLA, adding that he will fly to California to take Jones out to dinner. “Tears were shed the night it disappeared.”

Rings are given to all U.S. Olympians, not just those who earn medals. Landsteiner’s last name was engraved on the ring, helping Jones identify its owner.

“I watch curling all the time,” Jones said.

When you go metal detecting what phone do you use? Apple iPhone or a Android such as  Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus? Are phones a help or hindrance while metal detecting??

Over the years, the XP DEUS has continued to evolve, especially with the FREE software updates allowing the user to benefit from our advancing technology without the need to buy a new machine.

XP have been regularly introducing new accessories, such as the MI-6 pin pointer which connects directly to the DEUS, let’s not forget the super light and incredibly stable new HF coils which have taken the Deus to a new level.

This month XP are pleased to announce the upcoming release of 3 new search coils for the DEUS accompanied by a new FREE version 5 update which will also be available soon.

The X35 search coils:
Designed around brand new electronic advances, these new high performance and versatile coils will allow you to choose from a wide range of frequencies ranging from 3.7kHz to 27.7kHz. In total there are 35 available frequencies, based around 5 main frequencies that are quickly accessible.

A new Boost mode is now an option on frequencies 3.7Khz to 4.4 kHz and can significantly increase detection depth on highly conductive targets, such as large masses and large Silver coins. For added performance on such targets we recommend the larger coils such as the 34/28 cm (13” x11”) or the 28cm (11”) round coil. These new coils will be available as options at the same prices as the previous coils from the end of July 2018, and they will be supplied as standard with the DEUS from September 2018.

X35 coil main characteristics: écran deus v5v4

Total of 35 frequencies – 5 main frequencies with 7 wide offsets 3.7 to 4.4kHz, 7.1 to 8.4kHz, 10.5 to 12.4kHz, 15.2 to 17.8kHz, 23.5 to 27.7kHz
Selectable frequency offset without loss of performance.
TX power adjustment is available on all frequencies and offsets
Special Low frequency TX Boost feature:
Normal or Boost option – The transmitted power has 2 selectable levels when using frequencies 3.7Khz to 4.4kHz.
The BOOST mode significantly increases the transmission power of the transmitting coil, allowing greater detection levels if the soil conditions allow.
TX boost is a special mode, the battery life of the coil may be reduced down to 6 hours.
The overall battery life of the x35 coil has improved on most frequencies by +10% to +40%
High frequencies 23- 27.7kHz – Excellent sensitivity to low conductive targets and small targets.
Better overall stability
The X35 coils are available in 22cm (9”), 28cm (11”) and 34 / 28cm (13” x11”) and will work with the DEUS in version 5.

The new update allows you to accept and use the X35 coils and all their features listed above without the need to buy a completely new detector! Also the version 5 update includes some new features to the WS4 and WS5 wireless headphones, now they have become even more versatile!

WS4 / WS5 new features:
Reactivity
TX Power
Automatic Ground Tracking
Frequency offset (35 frequencies with the new X35)
Iron volume
Audio Response