Minelab EQUINOX 900 Metal Detector with Two Coils, Military Discount

The Minelab EQUINOX 900 at our military discount is a waterproof Multi-IQ metal detector for coins, relics, beaches and gold prospecting, in the same Minelab box as our standard EQUINOX 900. It suits detectorists who want one detector they can adapt to very different ground, with four search modes including Gold, six single frequencies and the EQX 11 and EQX 06 coils.

Military Discount Eligibility

Active or Retired Military can receive a 15% discount on the purchase of a Minelab EQUINOX 900 Metal Detector. Please provide a copy of your Driver's License designating "Veteran" and/or certificate highlighting the branch of service including your name to support@seriousdetecting.com or text to (844) 771-0707.

We do not accept a DD-214 as proof, DO NOT submit a DD-214.

What is in the box with the Minelab EQUINOX 900

Minelab's standard contents for the EQUINOX 900

• Minelab EQUINOX 900 detector with three-piece carbon fiber shaft
• EQX 11 11 inch Double-D round Smart coil with skidplate
• EQX 06 6 inch Double-D round coil with skidplate
• ML 85 low-latency wireless headphones
• Screen protector
• USB charging cable with magnetic connector
• Getting Started Guide

About the Minelab EQUINOX 900

What we appreciate about the EQUINOX 900 is that you can use it in a lot of different situations without feeling you bought the wrong machine for a particular type of hunting. Someone might start out searching parks for coins, get interested in old farmsteads and relics, spend a few weekends on the beach and eventually try gold prospecting, and the EQUINOX 900 is designed to handle all of those. It makes the most sense for experienced coin hunters, relic hunters, beach detectorists and people who want to explore gold prospecting without buying a completely separate detector. What you are paying for over a less expensive Multi-IQ detector is more control, more specialized search modes and the ability to fine-tune the detector as your experience grows, not automatically more targets.

Multi-IQ processes multiple frequencies at the same time, which gives you a versatile starting point when you move between a farm field and a freshwater beach. Minelab recommends Multi-IQ in every mode, and it is the default in every profile. The EQUINOX 900 also lets you pick one of six single frequencies: 4, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 40 kHz. Park and Field offer all six, Beach runs Multi-IQ only, and Gold offers Multi-IQ, 20 and 40 kHz. A higher single frequency may be worth trying for very small, low-conductivity targets, but we would not tell anyone that 40 kHz automatically finds more gold or that 4 kHz automatically goes deeper.

Minelab EQUINOX 900 search modes and key settings

• Four modes, eight profiles: Park 1 (General and Coins) and Park 2 (Fine Jewelry), Field 1 (Coins and Artifacts) and Field 2 (Fine Coins and Artifacts), Beach 1 (Wet and Dry Sand) and Beach 2 (Underwater and Surf), Gold 1 (Normal Ground) and Gold 2 (Difficult Ground). Every profile can be changed and reset, the User Profile button saves a copy of your settings, and the All Metal shortcut switches off discrimination.
• Recovery speed (1 to 8): slower for clean ground with widely separated targets, faster around old buildings with nails scattered through the ground. Faster settings can weaken some deeper target responses, so find the balance for the site.
• Iron Bias (up to 9, Multi-IQ only): raising it may reduce misleading signals from rusty bottle caps, but an aggressive setting raises the risk of rejecting a coin lying next to a nail. Iron Bias lets you choose between compromises; it does not make the detector better.
• Ground balance: Auto, Manual and Tracking, range -9 to 99. Park, Field and Beach start in Manual and Gold starts in Tracking.
• Noise cancel and sensitivity (1 to 28): Auto Noise Cancel picks from 19 channels, and the EQUINOX 900 adds Manual noise cancel. More sensitivity is not always better: near power lines it makes random signals worse, so set it where the detector runs reasonably quietly.
• Target ID and audio: 119 Target IDs from -19 to 99, with each one accepted or rejected; a US quarter reads 89. Target Tones 1, 2, 5, All Tones and Depth, with adjustable tone pitch, volume and tone breaks. We would combine the number with the audio and with whether the signal repeats.

Beach, water and gold with the Minelab EQUINOX 900

Minelab rates the EQUINOX 900 IP68, submersible to 5 meters (16 feet). Beach 1 is a useful starting point for dry and wet sand, and Beach 2 is meant for wading, surf and a submerged coil; in Beach mode Minelab gives residual salt a Target ID of 0. The ML 85 wireless headphones are not waterproof, and wireless audio does not work underwater, so for underwater audio Minelab specifies its own waterproof headphones. Keep the dust cap on the headphone socket when you submerge without headphones, and do not take the detector underwater while it is charging, running from a power bank or fitted with an aftermarket shaft.

The dedicated Gold 1 and Gold 2 profiles are one of the biggest reasons we would recommend the EQUINOX 900 over the EQUINOX 700. They use Minelab's prospecting audio with a true threshold, and Minelab notes that hot rocks typically give negative Target IDs while small gold often reads 1 or 2. In iron-rich soil with hot rocks, learn how ground balance affects the detector before raising sensitivity. The EQUINOX 900 is not equivalent to Minelab's specialized GPX or GPZ detectors; see our gold detectors for dedicated nugget machines.

Where the Minelab EQUINOX 900 works well, and where it does not

Parks, fields, old homesites, freshwater and saltwater beaches and occasional prospecting are all within its range. For relic hunting around an abandoned farmhouse full of nails, adjustable recovery speed, Iron Bias and the 6 inch coil give you ways to work close to the iron, but we would not suggest that the EQUINOX 900 can see through iron: a good target can still be masked by nearby metal. On the beach, black sand, severe mineralization and interference still affect performance, so we would not promise it outperforms every other detector on every beach. For demanding nugget hunting, a dedicated gold detector is the better tool.

Minelab EQUINOX 900 battery, weight and build

The three-piece carbon fiber shaft collapses to 61 cm (24 inches) for travel, and the battery built into the handgrip gives approximately 12 hours of typical use, less with the backlight or flashlight on. Charging from flat takes about 5 to 6 hours with a USB charger of more than 2 A at 5 V, and Minelab recommends a full 6-hour charge before first use. You can detect while running from a power bank, but not underwater, and Minelab's manual says replacement batteries are supplied and fitted by a Minelab authorized service center.

One mistake to avoid with the Minelab EQUINOX 900

The EQUINOX 900 has enough adjustment that it is easy to spend more time in the menus than detecting. If you change recovery speed, Iron Bias, sensitivity and tones all at once over a questionable signal, you cannot tell which adjustment affected the response. Start with the right factory profile, learn how common targets sound, then experiment with one setting at a time.

Minelab EQUINOX 900, EQUINOX 700 or MANTICORE

The Minelab EQUINOX 700 shares Multi-IQ, the 5 meter waterproof rating and the ML 85 headphones, but the 900 adds the Gold modes, the 20 and 40 kHz single frequencies, recovery speed up to 8, Iron Bias up to 9, more audio control and the 6 inch coil. If you mainly search parks and beaches, the EQUINOX 700 may give you everything you need. The Minelab MANTICORE adds two-dimensional target identification for difficult, heavily hunted sites, but we would not suggest every MANTICORE owner will consistently find more than someone with an EQUINOX 900.

Minelab EQUINOX 900 specifications

Minelab covers the EQUINOX 900 control box and coil with a 3-year warranty in the USA.

The free Serious Detecting field kit that comes with new EQUINOX 900s is not included with military discount orders.

For our full EQUINOX 900 guide, settings advice and comparisons, see the Minelab EQUINOX 900 collection.