Equinox 800 — silver hammered coins depth test

Mike created a video and chart to prepare for his trip to England. He wanted to test his machine on silver hammered coins and just how deep he could detect them.

Here is the chart Mike created:

Minelab equinox 800 depth test on hammered silver coins tested in southern red clay

Here’s the video Mike created:

BONE 28, 2021 – Day 5

All things must come to an end and today was the last day of BONE 28 natural hunts. Steve from Long Island was kind enough to give Tim and I a ride this morning because our rental car wouldn’t start last night and we had to get it towed. When we got to the fields for sign-in, we met up with Jim. He was very lucky and yesterday, on day 4, found an awesome militia button!

Jim B’s Awesome Militia Button

There were two large fields available to hunt today on day 5. The first area was a grassy knoll whereas the 2nd was an alfalfa field that had huge clumps of of grass that made it very difficult to detect.

Alfalfa Field – BONE 28 Natural Hunt Saturday April 24, 2021.

I started on the grassy knoll, where I found a round ball and a prize token. The prize was a Minelab backpack! I didn’t stay on the grass that long though and ventured off to the alfalfa field. Around half past noon, I found my first good target. It had a 26 target ID on my Equinox 800 showing at a depth of max bars. Tim scanned it with his GTI 2500 but didn’t pick up the signal. I started digging a big hole and scanned again. The ID went up to 30! The sweet sound and high number had us thinking silver and we were right! It is marked sterling with a hallmark of IHD or IMD and appears to be a suspender adjustment loop.

It was a great feeling to find silver and about 5 feet away I was surprised to have another nice little tone. This one was reading as an 11 on the Nox; It was a nice little button that still had the shank fully attached.

Mike’s Equinox 800 finds – BONE 28 Day 5 – April 24, 2021.

I detected until 5pm today with only a short break for lunch but I didn’t dig up anything else worth mentioning. I met a guy named Dean out in the field and he had a spectacular day! He was showing me about 5 or 6 buttons he had dug and not one but two draped large cents – plus a barber dime. The BONE 28 event was a success if you ask me and I had a blast! There are talks of a fall 2021 BONE mini 2 day hunt and I’m seriously contemplating heading back to attend.

One of Dean’s draped bust large cents

BONE 28, 2021 -Days 3 & 4

Wow, BONE is such a cool event. Tim and I haven’t been unearthing excellent targets but we have been meeting great people who have been. Jim from TX was one of the those folks; on Day 3 he dug up a Vermont Copper!

Jim’s Vermont Copper

Tim hasn’t been too lucky at this event. On day 3 Tim’s best find was 1834’s – 1913 Mallory Wheeler padlock. He also found a cool set of old pliers. I was able to dig up an old flat button.

Mallory Wheeler Padlock found by Tim using a Garrett GTI 2500
BONE 28, Day 3 – Mike’s finds using an Equinox 800 include a buckle and flat button

Since the fields weren’t being too fruitful we decided to leave an hour early and go door knocking across the Connecticut river in Vermont. At our first stop we gained permission from a very nice lady at an old house but the owner’s weren’t sure how old exactly. She thought it was 100 years old, though it looked older. About 5 minutes after we started hunting, I was startled by a super nice gentlemen that had rolled up in his motorized wheelchair. He followed me around the huge property vicariously metal detecting through me as we both discovered each target. Tim found quite a bit of clad. I didn’t find any coins but did get a cool bell.

Old bell about 4″ tall found door knocking in Vermont

Since the finds weren’t all that great after about an hour we decided to try our luck at one more spot. While the next location was the site of an old wealthy estate, it had been picked over numerous times before us and we didn’t get any thing great from this stop. That didn’t stop us from having a blast though – I’d love to go back to Vermont to give it another go sometime.

On Day 4 of BONE 28 there were several fields available to hunt. Tim and I began the day at a field off Wentworth Rd. My best finds here were a Tombac button and two pocket knives. After an hour or two at this first field, Tim and I went to another field also off Wentworth Rd, where I found yet another flat button and a newer pocket knife. This flat button, however, had some of the gold gilt still on the back side.

Pocket Knife, pocket knife blade and Tombac Button – BONE 28, Day 4
BONE 28, 2021 – Day 4 Mike’s flat gold gilded flat button

We then ate lunch and tried another new corn field that was available to us. It didn’t seem all that great so we decided to again go door knocking, but this time in NH. We gained permission at an 1840’s mansion but it must have been hunted out because we struck out here. Either way, it was a great 4th day and we can’t wait for day 5!

BONE 28 – day 2

Great 2nd day attending bone 28 in Keene NH! It rained almost all day, but that didn’t stop us from hitting the fields all day.

Not a lot of good finds from Mike and I, but others found some great finds.

Mike’s button found with a Equinox 800
Tim’s finds for day 2 using a Garrett GTI 2500

BONE 28 – 2021, Day 1

For the last 28 years, George Streeter has been sponsoring a metal detecting hunt called BONE, Best of New England or Best of North Eastern. He has a small metal detecting and gold prospecting store near Keene New Hampshire. This year, BONE 28, has a total of 5 natural hunts and one seeded hunt.

Tim and I signed up for the event around October 2020 and we were super excited to get here and start digging. The first location is a farm of roughly 183 acres. Today the weather was nice starting off at 36F but quickly warming into the low 60’s. We rendezvoused at the location about 7:30am for a 8 O’clock start. Unfortunately, we weren’t released for hunting until closer to 9am after a 8:30am raffle.

The farm crop is corn and the field we were in had old stalks which made swinging a pain. The signals were far and few between. After about a 30 or 40 mintues, I think i dug my first target -just trash though. Some where about 1 – 1.5 hours into the hunt I got a 17 tone on my MineLab Equinox 800. OH- coin size, but no, not a coin. It was a nice flat button with a design in the center.

Within another 30 minutes I again was digging up another 17 tone, and it too was a flat button. Shortly after or before I also dug up an old thimble and a neat relic.

We detected until 5pm but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any other nice finds. Tim had a lousy day all together and ended up not making the board today. We did ask around, and there were reports of some old coins, some large cents including a pretty early one circa 1808 -1811. We were close to a detectorist Brian who found a really nice button, possibly a revolutionary war button. I wish I had taken a picture, it was really nice. I had a blast and can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

How to repair a Garrett GTI 2500 battery holder

Anyone who reads our blog knows I love my Garret GTI 2500 metal detector! It’s super sensitive and it finds the gold! However, if there is anything that could be improved, it would be the battery holder. About two seasons ago I took my GTI 2500 to Daytona beach, when I got back I noticed I was having more trouble with my battery pack. Sometimes the detector wouldn’t turn on and I’d have to take the batteries out and put them back in and repeat until the detector was working again. I decided to investigate the issue. The first step was to open up the battery holder, remove it from the detector and flip it over on your work bench. The battery holder is held together by 5 phillips head #2 screws.

Garrett GTI 2500 metal detector battery holder — remove 5 screws to open up battery pack

When I opened up the battery holder it became immediately apparent why I was having so much trouble…two of the four battery terminals were severely corroded!

The Garrett GTI 2500 battery holder has four battery contacts that are soldered into the plug that goes between the battery back and the detector.

Garret GTI 2500 battery holder with severely corroded battery contacts (probably oxidation from trip to salt water beach)

After researching, I found the following battery contacts available from Newark.com:

KEYSTONE  209  Battery Contact, AA, A, Snap Contact, Steel, Nickel Plated

I also ordered some new AA battery holders from Newark. Total cost was $18 dollars with shipping and taxes.

QTY-2 — KEYSTONE  209  Battery Contact, AA, A, Snap Contact, Steel, Nickel Plated

QTY-2 — PRO POWER  28-12570  Battery Holder, Snap Fit, AA X 4

To finish the repair I cut off the corroded contacts using a pair of wire cutters. Since the wiring fits snugly in the battery holder, I added a small piece of copper wiring to extend the wiring I cut. I then soldered in the KEYSTONE 209 battery contact and used heat shrink tubing where necessary to complete the repair.

Pay attention to the orientation of the battery contact. I actually soldered in one of them backwards and had to remove it and turn it around and solder it in again (the contact only snaps in with a certain orientation)
Completed repair of GTI 2500 battery holder — I only replaced the outer two battery contacts (the other two didn’t seem corroded bad enough to warrant replacement)

I hope you enjoyed with tutorial. As I said, I love my Garrett GTI 2500, but the battery holder is the metal detector’s weak point. Fortunately, if you’re handy with electronics and soldering, it’s a pretty easy fix. If not, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Garrett directly. They have a world class support team and could either repair your existing battery holder or sell you a complete new one. I can’t wait to see what hybrid metal detector’s they come up with the purchase of White’s electronics. What a great combination, Garrett quality and Whites innovation!

Minelab Equinox 800 — 15″ coil depth

Mike and I tested his new Minelab Equinox 800 EQX 15″ Double-D smart coil in our very mineralized Georgia soil (deep south). In addition to the heavy mineralization, the soil was also damp from a substantial rain that occurred in the early morning hours. The following videos outlines our results:

Here are the tabulated results:

Minelab Equinonx 800 — EQX 15″ Double-D smart coil depth results in heavy mineralization