Independently researched Settings Guide
Minelab Equinox 900 Settings for beach
Equinox 900 divides beach work between Beach 1 for dry/wet sand and shallow water, and Beach 2 for surf, underwater and stronger conductive salt. Both should start in Multi-IQ.
Bottom line
Beach 1 for sand and shallows; Beach 2 for surf and submersion
Run Noise Cancel, select the matching profile, set sensitivity below salt chatter and keep recovery near the factory baseline until tested. Beach 2 uses lower transmit power and faster recovery to reject stronger salt, so it is not automatically the deeper choice.
Field setup
Starting points—not universal presets
| Situation | Mode / baseline | First adjustment | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry or wet sand | Beach 1 / Multi-IQ | Factory recovery first | Stable sensitivity |
| Shallow calm water | Beach 1 | Recheck ground/salt response | Switch if salt falsing persists |
| Surf or submerged salt | Beach 2 | Controlled coil height | Lower transmit power is intentional |
| Trash-heavy towel line | Beach 1 | Raise recovery after test | High speed can weaken deep targets |
Adjustment method
Test the setting instead of copying it
Select by salt load
Beach 1 on sand/shallows; Beach 2 in surf or underwater.
Use Multi-IQ
Beach salt processing depends on simultaneous multi-frequency.
Set stability
Noise Cancel and lower sensitivity until falsing stops.
Protect jewelry IDs
Avoid aggressive rejection of low conductors.
Decision analysis
What actually changes the result
Beach 2 is a stability profile. Minelab reduces transmit power and uses faster recovery to handle strong salt, so using it on every beach can sacrifice performance unnecessarily.
Single frequencies are not available in Beach mode. Multi-IQ identifies and manages the salt signal; do not try to import inland single-frequency recipes.
119 target IDs do not isolate gold. Fine jewelry overlaps foil and aluminum. Use audio repeatability, cross-sweeps and recovery context.
FAQ
Seven questions specific to this detector
Should Equinox 900 use Beach 1 or Beach 2 on wet sand?
Start Beach 1 on dry/wet sand; use Beach 2 when surf, submersion or strong salt remains unstable.
Why is Beach 2 sometimes less deep?
It uses lower transmit power and higher default recovery to manage the stronger salt signal.
Can I use 10 or 15 kHz in Beach mode?
No. Equinox Beach profiles operate with Multi-IQ salt processing.
What recovery speed should I start with?
Use the profile default first and change one step at a time only after a representative separation test.
Should I ground balance on the beach?
Follow the current manual and recheck after major sand, salinity or mineral changes rather than copying a number.
Can Equinox 900 be submerged?
Minelab rates it IP68 to 5 m; submerged use requires suitable waterproof headphones.
Should I reject low IDs to avoid foil?
Not when small gold jewelry matters, because the conductivity ranges overlap.
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Use stable, repeatable settings
Record the mode, coil, firmware and ground conditions that work at your own sites.