Wireless Or Not Wireless, That Is The Question

[Chase Goldman]

4 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

But if you think the case for wireless is airtight and everyone should just accept it is so - well, no.

Well if I thought the case for wireless was airtight then I wouldn't own any wired detectors and we know that isn't true so maybe we don't want to be throwing the term ludicrous around and putting words in my mouth.  I am not here saying Minelab is jacked up for going wireless.  So why the burr in your saddle on this one?  Live and let live and I'm just expressing my opinion because Simon asked the question.

[Guest]

49 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

When it comes to design decisions wrt wireless coils you literally hit a fork in the road, either you are all in on wireless or not. 

Well then, this is an explanation that even makes sense to me. So many things I never even considered. I still want wires, but at least I understand why I will not be getting them.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I find arguments suggesting that XP can't and won't make a wired version of the Deus if people want one to be ludicrous. Just keep mouths shut, do not ask, don't suggest? Is that how we get desired things, just be silent?

Really well said. You and Chase really make both sides of the thing understandable, thanks so much for this to both of you.

As an aside, the Simplex offers both on the same machine for $250. I know there is a heck of a difference between a Simplex and a D2, but just saying.

[Steve Herschbach]

29 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

Well if I thought the case for wireless was airtight then I wouldn't own any wired detectors and we know that isn't true so maybe we don't want to be throwing the term ludicrous around and putting words in my mouth.  I am not here saying Minelab is jacked up for going wireless.  So why the burr in your saddle on this one?  Live and let live and I'm just expressing my opinion because Simon asked the question.

You make the case people should just accept it or take a hike. Seems pretty forceful, so I take the other side as forcefully. No more burr than you have, and just expressing my opinions also. 

[Redneck]

 Thats It, Im callin Judge Judy !  She'll get this settled in no time!!😆

[Chase Goldman]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

You make the case people should just accept it or take a hike. Seems pretty forceful, so I take the other side as forcefully. No more burr than you have, and just expressing my opinions also. 

No it's not the Cult of Wireless. Some of my best friends are wired. It's whether wireless and wired coils can co-exist without a net decrement to the wireless platform benefits.

The question should definitely be asked. It's not like we don't constantly feed back to XP that we need a small elliptical coil, and if wireless is preventing that from happening, well that's not a good thing.  

I'm just saying is it's a little more complicated than just adding connectors to existing D2 hardware.  Though it's unlikely to be considered, based on XP's track record and the investment required, people should lobby XP for an exclusive wired-coil D3 variant because the technical  compromises required to accommodate wireless and wired coils (connectors on the remote and WS6) with the existing D2 peripheral hardware would likely detract from some of the D2's best attributes, primarily weight and modularity. 

For example, I see that to make this workable without compromising the existing design, a minimum of two different remote variants would have to be provided to accommodate the real-estate for a wired coil cable connector and associated larger battery in the remote for power to the dumb coil to avoid increasing the wireless variant form factor and weight.

Interesting thought question:  It's been over 12 years since Deus 1, why has no one else even come close to equaling the Deus weight class AND performance in a wired design?  Is that attributable to the wireless platform? 🤔 

Anyway, it's not up to me or you to accept this.  It's up to XP.  As long as the positive attributes of the existing D2 wireless platform are not compromised and that continued innovation of that platform is not stunted by intoducing wired coil variants, I'm all in.  Especially if it results in more accessory coil varieties.  It would be great if Gary Black weighed in with his perspective.

I think we should all take a hike, quite frankly...to our nearest favorite, unfrozen detecting spot.

 

 

[Jeff McClendon]

I have owned the ORX, Deus 1 and now Deus 2.

Personally, I didn't buy them because they were specifically wireless. Sure, the lower weight that some on here keep reminding everyone about is certainly a good thing the older I get, but I bought these detectors for their iron handling, speed, selectable frequencies and customization features. Now that Deus 2 is both selectable and SMF, I couldn't be happier.

If Deus 2 weighed 3 lbs instead of just under 2 lbs, I would have still bought it.

Charging three different components that don't have the same amount of battery life is a pain in the ass. So is remembering to bring the antenna and attaching it securely when I happen to want to get wet.

Otherwise, Deus 2 is a fabulous improvement over previous Deus and ORX models even though it still sucks for gold prospecting.......

[Chase Goldman]

31 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

Charging three different components that don't have the same amount of battery life is a pain in the ass.

4 if you have the XP pinpointer, and 5 if you have a second coil and the provided charger cables only have 3 heads!

We're creeping there across the board with wireless audio, though.

On my GPX I have to charge the GPX battery, the Z-Lynk wireless transmitter I plug into the GPX and the Z-Lynk MS3 headphones.  Thank God the wireless Carrot takes a 9 volt.   If you have a built-in transmitter, like on the Nox, then two dissimilar devices that have to be charged if you are using the wireless headset.

Back in the day, the Deus three-headed charge monster was daunting and somewhat unique.  Yes, a pain in the ass.

Today, with wireless audio and utilizing diffrent detectors with rechargeable cells charging multiple devices before a detecting outing is now just a fact of life for me.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

With wireless audio and utilizing diffrent detectors with rechargeable cells charging multiple devices before a detecting outing is now just a fact of life for me.

Do you have a checklist for this or just remember it? If you carry more detectors with you it seems like it could get complex in a hurry. I carry spare batteries and coil bolts etc in my 5 gal bucket tool box along with tools, but that is about all I can manage without writing it down.

[Steve Herschbach]

It's all just blah blah blah. In my perfect world I want a waterproof Ace Apex that performs like a Deus 2. Somehow the weight would not kill me, and I'd much prefer forty inexpensive coils in all sizes to choose from than whatever XP chooses to allow us to have. But again, that's just me and my preferences. As it is somebody will make one if XP does not. It's only a matter of time as that is the nature of tech - always more for less eventually.

The Apex has lackluster performance, but is very close to my ideal form factor for a metal detector. And if 2.5 lbs with wired coils is too much for you, maybe time for some strength training.