Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Charging Contacts On Equinox 600. |
The Minelab Equinox detectors are popular. In my opinion, they are good metal detector for the price. They do some things well. They are probably not the absolute deepest seeking detectors in all situations, but I've found them useful for general purpose beach detecting.
There is only one thing I really don't like about the Equinox 600. I've had trouble with the recharging contacts getting dirty or corroded. /The illustration above show where the charging cable plugs into the Equinox. The small metal contacts are exposed to dirt and water while the metal detector is being used. It exposed to dirt and salt water, which can splash on the contacts, even if the box isn't actually submerged.
You should always clean any metal parts after exposure to salt water, but these charging contacts, in my opinion, are unnecessarily and should not be exposed like this. The charger quit working once, but was fixed by cleaning the contacts, both those on the box and those on the charging cable.
The pins and contacts are small and not very easy to clean. I now use the electrical contact cleaner shown below.
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| Electrical Contact Cleaner. |
I've heard that white vinegar can be used to clean the contacts too, but I use the product made for the purpose.
While I do clean the contacts, I also started covering the contacts on the Equinox before using the detector on the beach. You know what they say about an ounce of protection. I'm testing a patch of duct tape. Maybe I'll try something else after seeing how this works.
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| Duct Tape Covering Equinox Recharging Contacts. |
I might design a more durable and tight fix. I personally think the Equinox connectors should not be this vulnerable. Of all the metal detectors I've had over the years, I've never had such troublesome electrical contacts.
The Fisher Aquanaut 1280 was very reliable. It was designed to be submerged. I used a 1280t a lot in the past and it was well designed and very reliable. There were no troublesome metal parts that required a lot of care or cleaning. One time I neglected to secure the battery compartment well, and the battery compartment got flooded, but the battery compartment was walled off from the electronics, so the electronics were not damaged. It was well designed. I don't like to have to baby my tools.
One more thing on a related topic.
There is a battery that you can add to your Equinox that will power your Equinox beyond the time powered by the internal battery. It is shown below.
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| Add-On Battery For Equinox. |
You charge the PWR-NOX the same way you charge the Equinox internal battery. Then it clips on to the metal detector rod very nicely, and connects to the Equinox by the same cord you use to recharge the Equinox. It all fits very nicely.
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| Source: MagicSeaWeed.com. |
Looks like we might get another nice increase in surf around Thursday. Hope it works out well.
Good hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net