Steve Herschbach

You found it. Be sure and see this thread on stereo headphones and compatibility issues with the adapter cable. Another thread on cable compatibility issues

From our friends at MD Hunter Blog...

Thanks Keith, it may turn out to be but is still a work in progress. It's not like it has not been done before but I think it has promise. I am doing this in large part because in the past this website was more prospecting focused. The slow pace of the industry made it pretty easy for me to just review every new nugget detector that came along personally. Now that the website is expanded into all phases of metal detecting there is no way I can review them all, and frankly I am not inclined to doing many more reviews in the future anyway, being content now with what I have. This will hopefully keep the review bandwagon going by opening it for all to contribute reviews in a more organized fashion than is possible of the forums. I have Tesoro done and Fisher, Garrett, Minelab, and White's mostly done. I made a few changes to the menu structure that put the new database front and center and my older reviews more in the background. Eventually I will have it all crosslinked anyway

I get it Jeff and I just wanted to offer reassurance the Deus can do the job. Upscaling is fine if you dig all non-ferrous and when it comes to extracting non-ferrous from ferrous the Deus is second to none. It gets annoying in parks chasing silver coins though so it just depends on the situation. I really like the Deus in many ways and get tempted to get another, in large part due to the ease with which it can be collapsed and stuffed in a rucksack. But I have to just keep telling myself no whenever this "have to get a new detector" urge strikes anymore.

Nice to see somebody out dredging - thanks for posting!

I have run the Deus and Equinox head to head as Dubious describes and there is very little an Equinox will see that a Deus will not. The main difference for me was the Equinox has more accurate target id. For instance, the Deus is far more prone to upscaling aluminum in bad ground and calling an aluminum beavertail a silver dime. But it would still detect the target. Upscaling aluminum was a bad problem for me with all my single frequency units in my ground that Equinox all but eliminated.

It's a little ahead of the game since the late November availability of the Orx has not come to pass, and the clock is now running on December. Still, I added the XP Orx to the new Metal Detector Database and have added this manual link at that location. Here is a closeup of the controller.... XP ORX controller

Coming along nicely and one to watch, so I have added the Rutus Alter 71 to the Metal Detector Database. Rutus Alter 71 metal detector

The Rutus Alter 71 was introduced in 2017 and is still in production. The Alter 71 is a VLF metal detector aimed primarily at coin, jewelry, relic detecting plus gold prospecting. The Nokta/Makro Impact is a "selectable frequency" detector that lets you select one frequency to use from several options. The Alter 71 frequency adjustable between 4.4kHz and 18.4kHz in steps of 0.2kHz. There does not appear to be a Rutus distributor in the U.S. at this time (Dec 2018) but enough of these detectors are finding their way to the U.S. to be listed here. The price as listed in U.S. dollars is approximate depending on exchange rates. A metal detector with the capabilities demanded by advanced users, but provided with preloaded settings which make it ideal for beginners also. The Alter 71 detector can not only be used as a static detector for very deep low frequency work, but just as effectively as a rapid, dynamic detector for locating small non-ferrous objects using high frequencies. The flexibility of the detector is enhanced further by the option of dual mode, using the benefits of motion and non-motion mode simultaneously. Source: Rutus website Rutus Alter 71 metal detector Rutus Alter 71 control panel Frequency adjustable between 4.4kHz and 18.4kHz in steps of 0.2kHz 7 factory programs Hot rock adjustment Reaction speed (ground filters) - 8 levels Short signal masking - 7 levels Threshold level Threshold tone Threshold sensitivity (All metal channel) Audio gain 6 factory preset sound profiles + 3 user programmable sound profiles ID type Display information hold time Discrimination (0-120) Sensitivity (0-90) Notch (120 notches) Speaker volume Built-in wireless audio transmitter Backlight Weight with batteries (6 AA cells) - 1630 g Official Rutus Alter 71 Product Page Rutus Alter 71 Owner's Manual Version 1.1 Rutus Alter 71 Forum Thread Video Introducing Version 2.0 Firmware

Hi Morgan, You have a PI and a good mid-frequency model so a good unit over 30 kHz would round out your detector collection. My personal favorites at the moment are the Gold Bug 2, Minelab Gold Monster, Nokta/Makro Gold Kruzer, and White’s Goldmaster 24K. They will all do the job just in slightly different ways. The GB2 with 6” coil has always been a safe choice. Fisher Gold Bug 2 71 kHz Minelab Gold Monster 1000 45 kHz Nokta/Makro Gold Kruzer 61 kHz White's Goldmaster 24K 48 kHz High Frequency Detector Roundup

Good times for sure Tim! You never know what the future brings but our paths may very well cross again.

I will be sitting this one out but will follow with great interest. Thanks David.

Twenty years will do that to a guy!

I was just updating links and realized I have been posting adventures to Steve’s Mining Journal for over twenty years now. The Journal started when the internet was new, and information about metal detecting and prospecting for gold was new and rare. Metal detecting was still an obscure activity and gold prospecting even more so. I started posting the stories on my old company website as a way to show people this stuff really works and to help promote the business. It was one of my better decisions, as documenting these adventures has turned out to be far more important to me than anyone else. Memories fade with age, and I can’t do this stuff forever, so it is great now to have all these adventures to look back on. Anyway, many people never leave the forums and explore the rest of this website, so I thought I would post this to celebrate the unofficial 20th anniversary of Steve’s Journal for those who have never wandered across it.

“Technology: Mixed Domain (Patent Pending)” User Manual MDT 8000 page 23 Technical Specifications Technology : Mixed Domain (Patent Pending) Operating Frequency : 6.4kHz/9kHz/12kHz/18kHz Ground Balance : Manual / Fast Auto Tracking : Yes Black Sand Mode : Yes Salt Mode : Yes Salinity Balance : Manual Salinity Level : 0 to 50 Target Identification : Ferrous -30 to 0 / Non-ferrous 1 to 30 Sensitivity : 1 to 9 Threshold Level : -9 to 0 Target Volume : 1 to 15 Target Tones : 4 Tone Break : Ferrous and Non-ferrous with adjustable notch filter Audio Modes : All Metal / Discrimination / Mix Audio Output : Speaker / Headphones Display : 128X64 Graphic LCD LCD Backlight : Yes Battery : 26650 Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery (3.7V @ 5000mAh) Battery Life : Up to 18h@6.4kHz/24h@9kHz/30h@12kHz/36h@18kHz Operating Temperature :-10C to +50C (+14F to +122F) Search Coil : Tarsacci MDT 11X9 DD Shaft : Telescopic 3K carbon fiber with molded 3K carbon fiber “S” rod and armrest Length : 965 cm to 1346 cm (38” to 53”) Weight : 1280g (2.82lb) including the battery Waterproof : IP68 (Up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes in still water). Headphones (Included) : Wired 3.5mm non-waterproof Tarsacci reserves the right to change the design, equipment, and technical features at any time