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XP Deus Elliptical 9.5"x5" High Frequency Coil For Gold Prospecting


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xp-deus-v4-5x10-elliptical-hf-coil.jpg

click picture for closeup view

We have been told that the new XP Deus V4 elliptical high frequency coil is coming in May. The 9" round version is now in dealer hands and shipping to customers for US$425.00

I have been following early reports on the 9" round and it along with the new V4 update sounds like it really does have many improvements over the version 3.2 coils when it comes to gold prospecting. Specifically, more ability to extract small non-ferrous targets from bad ground. The Deus was not half bad as it was but this update may make it a real contender due to the much higher frequency options.

I am skipping the 9" round and waiting for the elliptical. Here are the specifics on it as gleaned from the V4 Update Summary All specifications are preliminary and subject to change!

The coil comes with the lower rod, and unlike the existing coils the battery is in the lower stem and connected to the coil via a cable (see illustration below). The exact dimensions of the coil are 24 cm x 13 cm or 9.45" x 5.12"

The coil operates at three primary frequencies, each adjustable via offsets (three up or down). The offsets are mostly intended for alleviating interference issues and the primaries should be used when possible for best performance. The ranges are as follows (primaries in bold):

13 kHz < 14 kHz > 15.7 kHz

26 kHz < 30 kHz > 31 kHz

68 kHz < 80 kHz > 81 kHz

For reference White's MXT @ 14 kHz, White's GMT @ 48 kHz, Makro Gold Racer @ 56 kHz, Fisher Gold Bug 2 @ 71 kHz

The operating frequency has a direct effect on the battery life. In general, the higher the frequency, the longer the operating time. At 14 kHz you can expect up to 20 hours, at 30 kHz up to 27 hours, and at 80 kHz up to 28 hours of operating time.

I have to say I am pretty excited to get my hands on this coil and see how it compares to other detectors in its class. I always wanted a detector that could flip from a solid mid-frequency to a solid higher frequency. What seems like ages ago I proposed a "Gold Bug 3" that could run at either 17.8 kHz like a Tesoro Lobo or 71 kHz like a Gold Bug 2 and that had both ground tracking and manual ground balance. This coil actually goes a bit better by flipping from the solid 14 kHz frequency of the MXT all the way up to 80 kHz, topping the Gold Bug 2. The 30 kHz selection is a rare frequency only ever seen in a few machines, like the Fisher Gold Strike. And yes, there will be both manual ground balance plus automatic ground tracking, improved ferrous discrimination, and full visual target id while in all metal mode.

The main thing I am seeing here however is the first detector that might truly eliminate my need until now to own both a mid frequency VLF for general purpose use plus a high frequency unit for the hots on tiny gold. Whether those two things can be truly and well integrated into one machine remains to be seen but I have to say I am hopeful.

For more details on the Deus V4 update see the XP DEUS V4 Users Manual

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My new 9" should arrive today.  Got it from my Dealer for $416.20 which included shipping.  Now looking forward to the new Pin Pointer which should be available soon.  

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Hey Steve,

I can't remember whether the new HF coils are Double D or Concentric.  Now might be a good time to refresh our knowledge base on the relative strengths and weaknesses of DD vs Concentric as they pertain to VLF detectors.  As I recall there has been some discussion of this topic scattered in various posts from the past.  Can you give us a quick refresher?

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3 hours ago, walkerrj said:

My new 9" should arrive today.  Got it from my Dealer for $416.20 which included shipping.  Now looking forward to the new Pin Pointer which should be available soon.  

I hope you will give us a report!

The reports I am reading on other forums is that the new coil and software does indeed ehhance the ability to pull smaller non-ferrous targets out of the ground. There appears to have been work done also on reducing the dreaded "ferrous wrap" that causes some ferrous targets to read as non-ferrous.

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Hi Steve, thanks for this. I couldn't quite tell from the illustration: is the cable connecting the battery to the coil routed through the lower stem and therefore internal, or is it exposed or wrapped around the stem? Thanks!

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The battery cable is routed up through the lower stem to a battery inserted at the top of the stem and so is internal to it. The rather complicated diagram above is attempting to show how to route the cable.

This is fine unless if, like me, a person was thinking of mounting the coil on different rod assembly. I was thinking of mounting this coil on the Golden Mask telescoping rod. That will be near impossible however unless the battery is located outside the rod assembly.

The good news there is I can see where larger external long life battery packs may become an option. A proper size battery under the elbow could provide the perfect counterweight to give the system the balance currently lacking. In general I favor perfect balance if it can be attained without adding too much weight versus a nose heavy detector.

Look at this video starting at the 1:20 mark...

 

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Program No 10 GOLD FIELD: Improved Audio Response and reactivity. Goldfield will give excellent results especially when combined with the new HF coils… Now difficult targets can easily be detected in mineralized ground. The Tone menu has been removed.

Program 10 GOLD FIELD uses a different detection method designed for searching highly mineralised ground which is often where gold nuggets are found. In these conditions, targets can be seen as ground mineralisation or ferrous objects, especially when they are deep. To go deeper in these difficult conditions, the "Gold Field" program uses a true All Metal mode that allows you to accept a zone of ground that is usually not available. Instead of rejecting all the ground values below a predefined value (as on conventional detectors), it rejects only the specific value of ground in which you are searching, which means you have to adjust precisely.

To facilitate the ground balance (essential in this program), pressing the "pinpoint button" will make an immediate acquisition of the ground value (Ground Grab) within one or 2 pumps of the coil to and from a height of about 6" over the ground. If a metal target is detected while you are pumping, the Deus will recognise this and display the message "GB FAIL" It will then retain the previous ground balance value. This problem is generally caused by iron being present. If this is the case then move to another location and restart the pumping In low or non-mineralised ground, there is no need to adjust the ground balance and you are advised to remain on the default 90 setting for greater stability.

xp-deus-goldfield-display-and-controls.jpg

The digital target display is active, this allows the operator to work in All Metal mode with a visual target id recognition (valid on shallow targets).

In this program certain settings are not active or are replaced by the another specific setting such as:

- The "pinpoint button" is instead a "ground grab" button.

- The IAR discrimination (Iron Amplitude Rejection): A range of discrimination that can be applied from 0 to 5. It applies only to targets that produce strong signals – typically shallow ferrous items. It will not reject deeper targets which may come across as ferrous when they are buried in mineralised ground to ensure good targets are not rejected by mistake.

• Lower discrimination range: For those who want more control over ferrous targets. Negative discrimination of 0 to -6.4 makes it possible to locate previously rejected ferrous items, the lower discrimination range can also enhance the signature from deep targets which may have in the past been ignored. These new options also offer a big advantage when searching for specific targets such as ceramics or even meteorites.

Lower values may also reveal non-ferrous targets that previously read as ferrous in difficult ground.

The -6.4 to 10 range relates to the rejection of ground minerals and iron. To achieve greater precision in this range there is a digit after the decimal point (from -6.4 to 9.9).

xp-deus-v4-expanded-ferrous-range.jpg

• Ground Effects: Improved Tracking

In addition to Ground Grab the DEUS also offer manual ground adjustment and automatic ground tracking.

Manual Mode: You can manually adjust the ground rejection levels from 60 to 95 (Beach Off mode) or from 0 to 30 (Beach On mode) Each ground rejection level from 60 to 95 receives additional units of fine adjustment to allow better ground tracking. By reducing G.B towards 87 you will begin detecting hot rocks, and knocks to the coil may result in false signals. Even lower, between 75/85, pottery and the ground itself will begin interfering with your device. If you are inexperienced in working with ground effects, we strongly suggest that you limit yourself to a Ground Balance level of 90, which is the default setting, and is the most stable reference level recommended for inland ground. Levels lower than 90 will result in increasing instability.

Note that Beach Mode sets the ground balance to operate in the salt range. This may be useful for prospectors in severe alkali/salt flat conditions. However, rejection of salt reading will also cause a loss of weak gold signals.

Tracking Mode: In this mode, the Deus repeatedly scans the ground and digitally filters the extracted signals to determine the mean value on a continual basis. This mode may be useful in soils with relatively uniform mineralisation, and where the mineralisation varies gradually from zone to zone, which is often the case in naturally mineralised ground. In this case, the Deus automatically readjusts the ground balance according to the most recent value measured.

However, in ground where mineralisation is a result of human presence (ancient settlements, for example) this mode may be unsuitable due to ever changing ground conditions. Indeed, within the same sweep of just one meter, a considerable variety of ground conditions may be encountered, ranging from one extreme to the other (values between 70 and 90): hot rocks, brick, slag, pottery interspersed with soil that is neutral or characterised by diverse mineralisation. This may be to such an extent that any mean value would be meaningless. You must then determine an acceptable level of rejection for the ground based on your own experience of the site, your detection methods and the interference that you are prepared to tolerate. Note that tracking is not available in Beach Mode.

Notch Ground: The Ground Notch complements the ground balance settings : it enables a "window" of ground value to be rejected rather than rejecting all the ground values below the setting. You can for example adjust the ground balance on the value of the prospected ground (eg: 78), then reject the false signals due to hot-rocks by adjusting the NOTCH GROUND between 83-90 only, thus you will not reject the ground value from 78 to 83.

To search for meteorites, the majority of which have values from 84 to 89, disable the NOTCH GROUND, so as to detect them 

• Reactivity 2.5, this new reactivity level is fast and deep, offering a good compromise especially when searching new terrain.

While not exactly the same Reactivity on the Deus is roughly analogous to the self adjusting threshold (SAT) function familiar to people who own VLF gold nugget detectors. Higher/faster settings help smooth ground variations and alleviate masking due to hot rocks or ferrous targets. Lower settings require slower coil movement but can penetrate deeper in less severe soil conditions.

In terms of pure performance, the greatest detection ranges are obtained with low reactivity levels. However, you will find more targets and will detect deeper on mineralised ground with medium or high reactivity levels. For optimum performance adjust your reactivity to suit your search conditions. Depending on the reactivity level, you will notice that the length of the audio signal varies when it passes over a target. The length of any false signals (the crackling of iron for example) will vary proportionately as well. You are therefore advised not to constantly change the reactivity level, as this may interfere with your ability to distinguish good and bad sounds.

xp-deus-v4-reactivity-chart.jpg

There are some new and improved settings that may be worth experimenting with as a prospector. The new "Hot" and "Deep" programs may be useful is very trashy locations, Hot around old camps and Deep for tailing piles. The improved non-motion all metal modes may be worth experimenting with, especially the Non-motion Audio Disc and Non-Motion All Metal modes..

• New program No 9 "HOT": "Pro setting" this is a find everything program, based on the Full Tone audio mode with a very low discrimination. Hot is a very interactive program offering excellent feedback and target information.

• New program No 6 "DEEP": "Pro setting" for locating deep targets, with moderate discrimination and specific signal processing.

• Improved Non motion / static mode: Non motion modes are now more advanced offering better overall performance, with an improved sensitivity to small targets.

The non - motion mode allows the user to operate the coil motionless above a target. It may be thought of as a "Zero Reactivity" mode.

MODE allows the user to choose between 4 modes:

1-Pinpoint: to locate metal targets
2-Non-motion Audio Disc: audio tone upwards for good targets and down for ferrous. Application: general use, mineralised ground
3-Non-motion All Metal: All Metal + will also detect anomalies in ground minerals plus some ceramics
4-Non-motion Disc: discrimination with single tone. Application: search inside walls

Non-motion Audio Disc and Non-motion All Metal both require fine ground balance adjustments in order to keep a stable operation.

1. Pump the coil, and enter the observed "ground value" with "-" and "+"

2. Position the coil barely off the ground (2 to 5 cm/ 1 to 2 inches). Set the Sensitivity to stabilize the detector during sweeping. Then adjust the Tune to obtain an audio threshold barely audible. Regularly, press to re-Tune the threshold (coil barely off the ground 2 to 5 cm/ 1 to 2 inches). How frequently you recalibrate will be linked to ground variations or temperature.

xp-deus-non-motion-audio-disc-mode.jpg

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