Minelab Equinox 700
Minelab Equinox 700 Target ID Chart: Numbers for Coins, Gold and Iron
Quick answer
The Equinox 700 shares the Multi-IQ platform and target ID behaviour of the 900, so iron reads below zero, a US nickel 12 to 13, zinc cents 20 to 24, silver dimes 25 to 29 and quarters 28 to 33. Soil, depth and mode shift all of them.
The Minelab Equinox 700 and the Minelab Equinox 900 are the same platform. Minelab publishes the same Multi-IQ technology, the same fully waterproof 2.8 lb carbon fibre body and the same accurate target ID architecture for both, with the 700 carrying four single frequencies against six and three detect modes against four. For target ID purposes that means the charts transfer: a coin that reads 30 on a 900 will read very close to 30 on a 700.
What follows is the band table for the 700, the differences worth knowing between the two machines, and the reason none of it replaces burying known targets in your own ground. The master target ID chart gives the cross-machine background, and the 900 chart is worth reading beside this one if you are deciding between the two machines.
Top pick
Minelab Equinox 700
Same Multi-IQ platform and ID behaviour as the 900 for a few hundred dollars less, which is the entire argument for it.
Price was accurate when this page was compiled and changes often.
What does each target read on the Equinox 700?
With the stock Minelab EQX 11 Coil (11 inch) coil, in Park 1 or Field 1, on a target lying flat at normal hunting depth.
On the Equinox 700, a nickel reads about 12 to 13, a zinc cent 20 to 24, a copper cent or silver dime 24 to 29 and a silver quarter 30 to 33, with iron below zero.
| Target | Typical Equinox 700 ID | Also lands here | Dig it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron nail and ferrous trash | Below 0 | Nothing worth having | No, but listen to it |
| Rusted bottle cap | Erratic, negative to mid 20s | Mimics coins on one sweep | Only if it repeats from four directions |
| Thin foil | 2 to 8 | Small gold, chain links | If you want small gold |
| Small gold jewellery | 2 to 12 | Foil | If you want gold, yes |
| Lead weight | 8 to 20 | Tabs, gold rings | Yes on relic ground |
| Beaver-tail pull tab | 9 to 16 | Nickels, small rings | Unavoidable if you hunt gold |
| US nickel | 12 to 13 | Beaver-tail tabs | Yes |
| Square pull tab | 17 to 20 | Zinc cents, rings | Unavoidable if you hunt gold |
| Gold ring, mid to large | 12 to 25 | Tabs, screw caps | Yes |
| Zinc US cent | 20 to 24 | Square tabs | Yes on old ground |
| Copper US cent | 24 to 28 | Silver dimes | Yes |
| Silver dime | 25 to 29 | Copper cents | Always |
| Clad quarter | 28 to 31 | Silver quarters | Yes |
| Silver quarter | 30 to 33 | Clad quarters | Always |
| Silver half dollar | 32 to 36 | Large flat aluminium | Always |
Bands reported by owners across the Equinox platform, not measurements. Soil chemistry, moisture, depth, orientation, corrosion, coil and firmware all shift them. Your own buried targets are the only authority for your ground.
How does the 700 differ from the 900 on target ID?
Less than the price gap suggests, and the differences are about modes and frequencies rather than about the numbers themselves.
The 900 adds two single frequencies, a Gold mode and the 6 inch coil in the box, while both machines share the same weight, waterproofing, shaft and Multi-IQ platform.
| Specification | {{p:equinox-700|Equinox 700}} | {{p:equinox-900|Equinox 900}} |
|---|---|---|
| Single frequencies | Four | Six |
| Multi-IQ | Yes, five frequencies at once | Yes, five frequencies at once |
| Detect modes | Three: Park, Field, Beach | Four: Park, Field, Beach, Gold |
| Coils in the box | EQX 11 | EQX 11 and EQX 06 |
| Target ID resolution | Same platform behaviour | 119 high-resolution target IDs |
| Weight | 2.8 lb (1.2 kg) | 2.8 lb (1.2 kg) |
| Collapsed length | 24 in | 24 in |
| Waterproof | 16 ft (5 m) | 16 ft (5 m) |
| Headphones included | Low latency wireless | Low latency wireless |
| Catalog price | $749.00 | $999.00 |
Taken from the Minelab listings and manual for both machines. Where Minelab describes a feature identically for both, it is reproduced identically here.
Do the numbers change between Park, Field and Beach?
Slightly, and enough to matter if you chase two-point differences. Each mode weights the frequency response differently, so the same coin can read a point or two apart in Park 1 and Field 2, and Beach modes behave differently again because they are compensating for conductive salt. On the Minelab Equinox 700 there are three modes with two profiles each, which is six sets of behaviour rather than the eight on the 900.
The practical advice is to pick the mode that belongs on the site, learn its numbers, and stop switching. Someone who knows exactly what Park 1 says about a nickel will out-find someone who changes modes every twenty minutes and never builds a reference. The settings by site type page covers which mode belongs where.
How do you get numbers you can trust in your own ground?
The same discipline that works on every machine. Bury a nail, a cap, a foil scrap, a beaver-tail tab, a square tab, a nickel, a zinc cent, a copper cent and a quarter, at two inches and again at six, in ground you own or have written permission to dig. Leave them through a few rains. Then sweep each one in the modes you actually hunt in, with the coil you actually use, and write down what the screen says.
That sheet is the only target ID chart that describes your soil. Repeat it after a firmware update, because processing changes move IDs, and repeat it in a dry season. A pinpointer such as Minelab PRO-FIND 40 makes recovery quick enough that you will actually finish the exercise. The depth chart suggests sensible burial depths.
Sources
- Minelab Equinox 700 and 900 instruction manual
- Minelab Equinox 700 published product specifications
- Minelab Equinox 900 published product specifications
Frequently asked questions
Does the Equinox 700 use the same target ID scale as the 900?
Both run the Multi-IQ platform with the same ID architecture, so published charts transfer between them and most targets land within a point or two. Minelab quotes 119 high-resolution target IDs for the current Equinox pair. If you are moving between the two machines, re-walk your test garden anyway rather than assuming the numbers carried across exactly.
What does a nickel read on the Equinox 700?
Commonly 12 to 13 for a shallow flat coin, which is one of the tightest and most reliable slots on the scale. That is also where beaver-tail pull tabs live, which is the single most useful thing to know about the middle of the range. Deeper nickels drift a point or two low and become less stable, as every target on every machine does.
Is the Equinox 700 enough machine, or should I buy the 900?
If you hunt parks, fields and beaches, the 700 gives you the same platform, body, waterproofing and weight for less money. The 900 adds two single frequencies, a Gold mode and the 6 inch coil in the box. If you never hunt goldfields and you would buy a small coil anyway, the gap narrows to a coil purchase and two frequencies.
Why does my Equinox 700 give different numbers to a friend machine?
Ground, mode, coil and firmware, roughly in that order. Two identical machines on different soil will disagree, and the same machine in Park 1 and Field 2 will disagree with itself. Corrosion on the target matters too, since a corroded coin is not electrically the same object it was when it was dropped. Calibrate to your own ground rather than to each other.
Should I notch out iron on the Equinox 700?
Better to turn iron volume down than to reject it. Iron tells you whether a good signal is masked, and rusted bottle caps give themselves away through an inconsistent response that you cannot hear if the machine is silent. Reserve hard rejection for sites dominated by one specific piece of modern trash, and even then check what you are losing first.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published specifications, manuals and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Target ID numbers, depth figures and settings vary with soil chemistry, moisture, target size, depth, orientation and firmware version, so treat every figure here as a starting point and verify it against your own machine's manual and your own ground. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.