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XP DEUS For Gold Prospecting


Steve Herschbach

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I have a new XP DEUS detector on the way that should arrive next week. I have not been terribly attracted to the unit as initially it was not really a detector with a specific prospecting mode. That changed in version 3.0 since the DEUS can be updated via software downloads and a Gold Field program was added. They are now up to version 3.2 which is getting raves from users.

The main DEUS claim to fame is the ability to pull non-ferrous targets out of thick beds of nails. Like an old coin out of a burned down cabin site. Or ancient stuff out of European fields with a couple thousand years of ferrous trash in the soil. The machine was developed in France originally for the European market. But XP does appear to want it all and so have been aiming updates at what US users are looking for.

The unit is totally wireless with all components having built in rechargeable batteries. Most people seem to love this but as a prospector it is not turning me on. I wish everything I had would run off AA batteries, rechargeable or otherwise. The machine is ultra light at two pounds however which is indeed very attractive and it folds up nice and compact to boot.

The target id function is regarded as being lackluster at this time with many users saying the machine is in effect a very expensive "beep-dig" detector best suited for just digging all non-ferrous signals. You see what it is when you dig it up. That suits me just fine but Tesoro offers similar functionality for far less as beep-dig is their specialty. XP is getting the raves though for having what is currently regarded as the fastest processing ability currently available for working with multiple targets at once and discerning a single good one buried in a pile of bad. XP calls this reactivity which is another word for recovery time and it can be variably set anywhere from 1-5 on the detector, where 5 is so lightning fast the detector sounds like a machine gun running over targets. It is not all perfect as more reactivity/faster recovery time means less depth but it can do wonders where target masking is an issue for other detectors.

But back to prospecting. From the XP Metal Detectors website at http://www.xpmetaldetectorsamericas.com/xp-deus-gold-prospecting

"The GOLD FIELD program uses a different detection strategy designed to handle highly mineralized ground containing targets such as gold nuggets. In these ground conditions, small, low-conductive targets are often seen as ground noise or iron, especially when they are deeply buried. To go deeper in these difficult conditions, the GOLD FIELD program uses a true All Metal mode allowing you to accept a whole zone of ground that is usually rejected (Full Range). Rather than rejecting all the ground values below the setting (as on conventional detectors), this new program rejects only the current value of the ground which you have to adjust exactly.

To simplify this ground effect adjustment (which is essential in this program), the “pinpoint” touch pad allows you to quickly grab the ground value while pumping the coil to the ground. In this program a few settings are not active or are replaced by others unique to the GOLD FIELD program including:

The IAR discrimination (Iron Amplitude Rejection): Adjustable from 0 to 5, IAR is applied only to strong signals (shallow). This avoids the rejection of signals from good targets further away that may sound like ferrous when they are buried in mineralized ground (pg: 10).

Immediate sampling of the ground value (Grab) accomplished by simply pressing “Pinpoint” while pumping the coil to the ground. Pinpoint function is deactivated in this program (pg:18/19) Note: The target ID feature is retained when working in the All Metal mode to aid in target identification."

Long story short I am working on getting one of these sent my way so I can give it a spin and add to my online review listing of prospecting detectors. The problem with that list is I demand I actually use a machine to review it (crazy idea) and so that really is the basis of all this. I need another VLF detector like I need a hole in the head right now. Sooner or later Steve is having a sale!

Until it arrives, the best review I have seen yet is right here on this very forum by goldbrick at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/104-xp-deus-in-the-goldfields/ It gives me something to look at because for me the only reason to use a VLF detector while prospecting normally is to eliminate ferrous trash. If the DEUS can do this better than existing detecting like a Gold Bug Pro then great. If not, it is a lot of money if something less expensive can do as well or better. At $1899 or $1299 in minimum configuration this is not some $500-$700 VLF. I am not saying it is not a great detector for other uses but that is a lot for a prospecting VLF so it better be special. Kind of like the White's V3i. It has a prospecting mode, but you are paying lots of money for other features you may or may not need. If you need them, great. If not, dedicated units usually serve for less.

By the way, the company is XP Metal Detectors, the model is DEUS. Saying XP DEUS is like saying Garrett ATX. DEUS is pronounced day-us

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When I was visiting C and W up at Rye Patch we were playing around with the ctx3030 and various targets...

Chris placeed a bunch of nails on the ground and Mitchel put his big speci in the middle. The 3030 didnot pick the speci out of the junk at any reasonable swing speed...The XP DUES did...that was quite an eye opening event...the dues certainly had way faster recovery speed.

 

fred

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Hi Steve

Just a note about the Deus. On Tom Dankowskis forum, he speaks more about the GMP as opposed to the Deus but I think it would apply. He said it is micro jewelry capable, and within a hair of being as sensitive at 18khz as a Gold Bug 11. It will be interesting to hear your findings.

Great topic.

 

Tom

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The DEUS is definitely a great machine.  It will find gold.  Even on a 2 grain nugget I can air test it about 3.5" and about half that in the ground.  Not bad for a VLF.

VID is not good on the small stuff as mentioned before and it can be a bit chirpy.

The picture is a 16 grain nugget found with the 11" coil.  The 9" is much more sensitive and is my coil of choice.

This machine shines in the iron.  I call it my Clean Up machine for my relic sites.  I cherry pic with the CTX3030 as I like the tones and ID much better than the DEUS.  But when the targets slow with the 11' and 6" CTX then I hit it with the DEUS and the 9".  It will always find more targets in the iron.   At that point it is a beep and dig machine as I have found the ID to be iffy at best in the heavy iron (to be expected when a target is surrounded by 5-6 square nails)   I am usually running reactivity at 4 at this point with a disc in the 15-20 range.  Most of the ground I am hunting is in the 83-87 range so it is pretty hot.

But it is a great tool to have in the arsenal and you cant beat the ergonomics.  Light as a feather and compact as you can get.

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Since I am interested in nugget detecting my Deus is coming with the 9" coil but most coin hunters are leaning 11" these days. There is no coil smaller than 9". One downside to the Deus is the coil actually is the detector and so you buy a new detector every time you buy a coil. Making for very expensive coils. An XP coil costs as much as a Gold Bug! And I therefore doubt we will ever see third party coils.

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Some dude in made a 5.5 x 7" coil.  He has a You Tube Video:

 

 

He must be pretty good as it appears he has made a couple other coils for his DEUS.

 

Don't think he is making coils for sale though.

 

That is way over my head.  I can solder a headphone wire but that is about it!   :)

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I am wondering how he worked out the communication issues/protocols between the coil and control box? Oh well, not a techie myself, all I care about is available end products. As long as there is no proprietary stuff that XP would put a stop to then perhaps we will see aftermarket coils. But if it was all as easy as this guy made it look then $500 - $600 for a coil seems a bit much.

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