First Observations: This Thing Is Idiot Proof

[Skate]

I got my 9" XP II yesterday and after charging it up I started to play with it. After about 5 minutes I could see where this thing was going. It's incredibly easy to use and set up for whatever task in terms of detecting I could ask of it. Here's what helped me and got me ready to use it:

1. Gary- Seriously about the best detector teacher on the Interwebs. I could listen to him teach about shoe tying and come away satisfied. If I die before him I'm going to ask my wife to contact him to do my eulogy. Pay him whatever he wants as no one tells a better story.

2. Calabash- his videos are short and to the point. Who cares if he says how great the XP is? If you get all riled up over metal detector videos you ought to consider other hobbies. I learned a great deal about getting started by watching. I'd love to hunt with him someday because it would be FUN!

3. Mental Metal Guy- Another great use of youtube. You'll want to skip the first 1-2 minutes of the videos because it's basically dramatic music and a Fort Bedford ad but the rest of the videos are great. He will teach you all the basics in a different way than CB but between the two you will know how to operate the D2. I think he called me a clown in a forum post awhile back but I don't hold grudges so if he could help me find a gold ring I'll be a clown all day. 

4. Griffinds guy- more good how-to stuff on the D2. I'm a school teacher and the kid at the end (I'm assuming his son) is a bit like the smart a$$ know it all who always tells the teacher they are wrong but the info is top notch and will help you if you'll listen.

5. Chase- Read what he says. If he says something he is likely right. I flew clear across the country 5 years ago and did an XP bootcamp with he and Andy in Gettysburg. He was right then about detecting and he is right now. Don't question him just listen. 

I hit the beach this morning for my first time out. Started in Beach. I did a frequency scan. Hit the wet sand and it was chatty. I remembered something about what Chase said about Beach P (remember, do what Chase says) and I switched to Beach P. OMG, it became so quiet and I began to hunt. The tone was in pitch and while it was different than my 800 I just decided to go with it. It was fine. After about 4-5 targets you could easily tell what something was. Iron sounds crappy, you can easily tell. I dug everything and Modelo is now #1 in terms of what drunk people drink at the beach in 2022. 

The bottom line was this D2 is a breeze to swing and if you'll take the time to learn it BEFORE you get into the field or beach you will have zero problems. If you make a mistake TURN IT OFF and then turn it back on. I dug a silver medallion that was at least 16 inches deep in the wet sand. Could my Nox 800 have found it? Who cares? 

Performance wise this thing is sweet. Again I dug everything this morning, and after an hour I could tell what everything was going to be based on the tone and the ID. Every signal that said "I'M IRON" was iron. Every bottle cap was a bottle cap and every penny was a penny. The hardest thing for me today was putting the RC on the stem and yes I had removed the cover(like I said, Idiot proof) but I finally got it on. I'm going to figure out a way to tether it on to the shaft because I had to traverse about 20 feet of boulders to get to me spot and all I could think about was what if I slipped and knocked it off into the abyss. I solved the problem by taking it off and putting it into my pocket.

Now there are some folks who will complain that for $1600 XP should have included a cup holder, a place to rest your cigarette and beer but if you paid $1600 you likely missed out a better deal elsewhere but in the end it's only money and XP has produced a winner. For a person with a junk elbow it's the bomb. I'll admit I'm going to become a fanboy and buy the 280 backpack because I'm tired of getting yelled at that my detectors take up too much space in the car. I hung my 800 up on the wall and I don't plan on using it for the forseeable future as I want to put the hours on the D2. I'm going to hit a park tomorrow so I'll do some dirt fishing with it and see how it goes but I suspect that it will kick some serious booty. 

Hope this eases some minds about what detector to save up for if you're on the fence. 

Skate

[shopkins1994]

Make sure you run reactivity at 0. It is both recovery and transmit power.

 

[relicmeister]

I take it you’re a satisfied camper?  I got that from your subtle descriptions, lol. 

[Chase Goldman]

4 hours ago, shopkins1994 said:

Make sure you run reactivity at 0. It is both recovery and transmit power.

 

Make sure you read the manual to clear up your misconception regarding reactivity and transmit power and why 0 reactivity is not an optimal setting for all situations.  I cut and pasted the relevant sections of the manual to help you better understand the concept of reactivity in the post below.

 

[Chase Goldman]

4 hours ago, Skate said:

If I die before him I'm going to ask my wife to contact him to do my eulogy. Pay him whatever he wants as no one tells a better story.

Love it!

[Skate]

1 hour ago, relicmeister said:

I take it you’re a satisfied camper?  I got that from your subtle descriptions, lol. 

very satisfied. I'm not into detector wars and harbor no ill feelings to those who would. I think detecting is fun. I look forward to every swing and every hole I get to dig. 

[NCtoad]

29 minutes ago, Skate said:

very satisfied. I'm not into detector wars and harbor no ill feelings to those who would. I think detecting is fun. I look forward to every swing and every hole I get to dig. 

I wish all metal detectorists held this point of view.  I commend you for that. Some are too opinionated and too quick to attack someone else’s opinion. I see it on the so called friendly forum a lot. Because of that I find myself reading and posting here more and more.  The drama over there is entertaining at first, but after awhile it gets to be too much.  Lol.  

[wltdwiz]

well said !

theres a tether  in the box ez to put on i used a wire tie on the shaft no more worrys

have fun with your new toy i am 😎

[mudwhale]

7 hours ago, Skate said:

I got my 9" XP II yesterday and after charging it up I started to play with it. After about 5 minutes I could see where this thing was going. It's incredibly easy to use and set up for whatever task in terms of detecting I could ask of it. Here's what helped me and got me ready to use it:

1. Gary- Seriously about the best detector teacher on the Interwebs. I could listen to him teach about shoe tying and come away satisfied. If I die before him I'm going to ask my wife to contact him to do my eulogy. Pay him whatever he wants as no one tells a better story.

2. Calabash- his videos are short and to the point. Who cares if he says how great the XP is? If you get all riled up over metal detector videos you ought to consider other hobbies. I learned a great deal about getting started by watching. I'd love to hunt with him someday because it would be FUN!

3. Mental Metal Guy- Another great use of youtube. You'll want to skip the first 1-2 minutes of the videos because it's basically dramatic music and a Fort Bedford ad but the rest of the videos are great. He will teach you all the basics in a different way than CB but between the two you will know how to operate the D2. I think he called me a clown in a forum post awhile back but I don't hold grudges so if he could help me find a gold ring I'll be a clown all day. 

4. Griffinds guy- more good how-to stuff on the D2. I'm a school teacher and the kid at the end (I'm assuming his son) is a bit like the smart a$$ know it all who always tells the teacher they are wrong but the info is top notch and will help you if you'll listen.

5. Chase- Read what he says. If he says something he is likely right. I flew clear across the country 5 years ago and did an XP bootcamp with he and Andy in Gettysburg. He was right then about detecting and he is right now. Don't question him just listen. 

I hit the beach this morning for my first time out. Started in Beach. I did a frequency scan. Hit the wet sand and it was chatty. I remembered something about what Chase said about Beach P (remember, do what Chase says) and I switched to Beach P. OMG, it became so quiet and I began to hunt. The tone was in pitch and while it was different than my 800 I just decided to go with it. It was fine. After about 4-5 targets you could easily tell what something was. Iron sounds crappy, you can easily tell. I dug everything and Modelo is now #1 in terms of what drunk people drink at the beach in 2022. 

The bottom line was this D2 is a breeze to swing and if you'll take the time to learn it BEFORE you get into the field or beach you will have zero problems. If you make a mistake TURN IT OFF and then turn it back on. I dug a silver medallion that was at least 16 inches deep in the wet sand. Could my Nox 800 have found it? Who cares? 

Performance wise this thing is sweet. Again I dug everything this morning, and after an hour I could tell what everything was going to be based on the tone and the ID. Every signal that said "I'M IRON" was iron. Every bottle cap was a bottle cap and every penny was a penny. The hardest thing for me today was putting the RC on the stem and yes I had removed the cover(like I said, Idiot proof) but I finally got it on. I'm going to figure out a way to tether it on to the shaft because I had to traverse about 20 feet of boulders to get to me spot and all I could think about was what if I slipped and knocked it off into the abyss. I solved the problem by taking it off and putting it into my pocket.

Now there are some folks who will complain that for $1600 XP should have included a cup holder, a place to rest your cigarette and beer but if you paid $1600 you likely missed out a better deal elsewhere but in the end it's only money and XP has produced a winner. For a person with a junk elbow it's the bomb. I'll admit I'm going to become a fanboy and buy the 280 backpack because I'm tired of getting yelled at that my detectors take up too much space in the car. I hung my 800 up on the wall and I don't plan on using it for the forseeable future as I want to put the hours on the D2. I'm going to hit a park tomorrow so I'll do some dirt fishing with it and see how it goes but I suspect that it will kick some serious booty. 

Hope this eases some minds about what detector to save up for if you're on the fence. 

Skate

NICE right up!!! 🙌👏👏👏🤙👌✌🖖👋😉

[Skate]

I got out again yesterday to the beach. I have yet to hunt in the dirt but I'm not complaining as I regularly hunt the beach now about 80% of the time. The main thing I noticed again was target and tone ID is spot on. I once again dug every target regardless of tone or ID just to verify what it was seeing in the sand. I started with the Dive program because I think I read somewhere it was deeper. I could be wrong but it didn't matter as the good targets were few and far in between. I kept the settings pretty much stock but lowered the reactivity to 1.0, upped sensitivity to 97. 

Here's where the D2 is awesome (so far). Every target was what the D2 said it was going to be before I dug. On my Nox I would always dig every iron grunt in the wet sand because many of the tones cleared up and ID'd themselves after a scoop or two of sand was removed. On the D2 if it warbled an iron tone it was iron, EVERY SINGLE TIME. Every penny tone and ID came back as a penny. I hit a nickel fairly deep and it was LOUD and crisp in terms of tone and the ID never moved off of 62. The tone and ID capabilities of the machine are uncanny when compared to any other detector I have used. 

The key for me is when I can get the 13" coil because I think it will beat everything else currently available at the beach. I think the D2 will be the better option for folks looking for an upgrade in performance in their current detector. If you are someone who really enjoys detecting the D2 is will fill your quiver. I liked my D1 but it sucked at the beach so I got an Equinox but the D2 is a better detector for me given what I want to do going forward. I will hopefully hit the dirt soon.

HH

Skate