How Hard Is The Deus II To Learn If You've Never Used An XP Detector?

[CPT_GhostLight]

With all the advanced settings possibilities, the D2 looks pretty daunting for someone who is not familiar with the XP platform. Without getting into other metal detector comparisons, how easy is this detector to get out and use with no experience on a Deus? I know it has a lot of customization possibilties and some settings need to be altered to enhance performance in different soils and scenarios. So what kind of learning curve is someone new to XP looking at?

[abenson]

I think that depends on the person. I got my first XP Deus in 2016 and it wasn't that much of a learning curve at all for me. The stock programs are good on both the Deus 1 and 2, a person can get away with using them without making many changes at all in most locations. If you read the manual and use the program that it recommends for the site you are using it on you should have no problem finding stuff. I have a friend that has owned a Deus longer than I have and he has never changed anything on the stock programs. Just ground balances and hunts. I'd say the biggest learning curve will be understanding the audio nuances of the Deus machines. But that comes with time.

[NCtoad]

I’m new to xp also, but if you practice navigating the menu on the remote for 15 minutes or so it’s not that bad at all.  In fact, you can’t mess any settings up since it reverts to default settings when it’s turned off and back on again.  
 

Now if you’re talking about learning the tonal nuances and such, I think it’ll take me awhile to become as proficient with the deus as I am with my equinox.  It just takes practice.  And since it’s fun to practice it’s not that big of deal to me.  

[palzynski]

I suggest to only use the P1 GENERAL factory mode during several weeks to get used to the detector. Then start to change a few GENERAL settings like the number of tones ( from 3 to 5 ) , then change the audio from PWM to SQUARE. It will take some time to get used to either the PWM or SQUARE audio. Choose the one that you are more confident with . After a few months try other modes like SENSITIVE , SENSITIVE FT or FAST which are more efficient in the iron trash than GENERAL .

Yes it helps to know the Deus1 because the Deus2  PWM audio is similar to the Deus1 audio.  On the other hand the SQUARE audio is a new audio then even an experienced Deus1 user will have to learn it ... Hopefully the XPs  audios are easy to understand and to use , this is one of the reasons why they are so popular ... 

 

[mudwhale]

I found the Deus I to have a VERY compressed VDI. Very confusing in iron infested colonial sites here in CT. My Deus II is now my GoTo. The D2 has a very broad and familiar VDI and this helps IDing targets. It also helps with the very Nuanced audio that the Deus II produces. This shortens the Deus learning curve to about a half hour for me!!! I have now after 3 weeks mastered the tweaking I will need to do for colonial sites. Once you know how the settings affect the machine in any program you will master it in short time.

[GB_Amateur]

5 hours ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

...How easy is this detector to get out and use with no experience on a Deus?

That's a great question.  How did I determine that?  Because it's something I've been wondering myself (and goes for the N/M Legend as well). 

In the time between the announcement of the Equinox (approximately Sept. 2017) and its release (approximately February 2018, or 5 months later) and even after the release there was a lot of discussion here on its performance and attributes.  Much of that discussion evolved around earlier Minelab detectors (particularly the FBS detectors).  Not being familiar with those I was in a kind of fog.

I've only seen a few Deus 1 detectors and none "up close and personal".   In fact it and its sisters ORX and Deus 2 are still the most perplexing detectors for me, which originates in its intelligence-in-the-coil feature and the properties associated with that.  (And if you Deus experts don't understand, just consider the Deus Lite and show me any detector in existence outside of XP that works like it.)

I was out today with my ML Equinox 800, right at 4 years and > 1000 hours of experience.  I tried Recovery Speed of 3 for the first time ever (in Park 1) and it was definitely different than anything experienced previously.  I'm still learning to listen to the sound nuances (and I thank my Tesoro Vaquero for helping me with that).

Bottom line is, how long will it take me to get up-to-speed with either the Deus 2 or the Legend for it to pay off (in terms of finds) compared to the Equinox?

[Ogliuga]

Have been using D1 since 8 years now and with D2 principal options are familiar. But in my opinion it’s a very different machine starting from the fact that it’s much more stable than D1...no chattering and much more depth for example. Leaving out the fact that there is no escape if it starts to rain. And VDI is much more reliable even in depth and on mineralized soils as well..

[CPT_GhostLight]

20 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

That's a great question.  How did I determine that?  Because it's something I've been wondering myself (and goes for the N/M Legend as well). 

In the time between the announcement of the Equinox (approximately Sept. 2017) and its release (approximately February 2018, or 5 months later) and even after the release there was a lot of discussion here on its performance and attributes.  Much of that discussion evolved around earlier Minelab detectors (particularly the FBS detectors).  Not being familiar with those I was in a kind of fog.

I've only seen a few Deus 1 detectors and none "up close and personal".   In fact it and its sisters ORX and Deus 2 are still the most perplexing detectors for me, which originates in its intelligence-in-the-coil feature and the properties associated with that.  (And if you Deus experts don't understand, just consider the Deus Lite and show me any detector in existence outside of XP that works like it.)

I was out today with my ML Equinox 800, right at 4 years and > 1000 hours of experience.  I tried Recovery Speed of 3 for the first time ever (in Park 1) and it was definitely different than anything experienced previously.  I'm still learning to listen to the sound nuances (and I thank my Tesoro Vaquero for helping me with that).

Bottom line is, how long will it take me to get up-to-speed with either the Deus 2 or the Legend for it to pay off (in terms of finds) compared to the Equinox?

That was the intent of my question. I'd say it's taken me probably 2 years to get completely comfortable with the Equinox. Of course you never stop learning, and I got into that detector after not having detected since I was a kid (I'm retired now, sort of). At first glance, the D2 looks like an even steeper learning curve for someone like me who has never used an XP and have no ideas what many of the settings even mean. The Deus 2 is literally like learning a new language for me and I can only assume it would take at least a few years to get comfortable with it too. Although many have said the stock programs are useable to get going so that's encouraging, and I really don't mind learning a new language, I just hope I can pick it up a little more quickly. 😉

[Skull diver]

On 3/2/2022 at 7:14 PM, CPT_GhostLight said:

With all the advanced settings possibilities, the D2 looks pretty daunting for someone who is not familiar with the XP platform. Without getting into other metal detector comparisons, how easy is this detector to get out and use with no experience on a Deus? I know it has a lot of customization possibilties and some settings need to be altered to enhance performance in different soils and scenarios. So what kind of learning curve is someone new to XP looking at?

I own mine since tuesday afternoon and today I already created some programs to try in the next week.

Sometimes I forget the right button for the operation I need but nothing impossible to solve.

By the way I tested one some time ago and managed in 4 hours to understand its power and fall...in the trap of 11" available only 🤣

[shopkins1994]

On 3/2/2022 at 1:14 PM, CPT_GhostLight said:

With all the advanced settings possibilities, the D2 looks pretty daunting for someone who is not familiar with the XP platform. Without getting into other metal detector comparisons, how easy is this detector to get out and use with no experience on a Deus? I know it has a lot of customization possibilties and some settings need to be altered to enhance performance in different soils and scenarios. So what kind of learning curve is someone new to XP looking at?

It’s not very hard. It’s point-and-shoot like the equinox 800. However, unlike the equinox, you can configure it to get the items left behind by everyone else. That’s what you need to learn to do with it. -sam