Steve Herschbach

Best one knob detector ever made! I don't know that for a fact, but the Compadre certainly outlived all the rest of them, so it gets my vote. New Tesoro Compadre data page Tesoro Compadre metal detector Tesoro Compadre control panel

XP Deus Owner's Manual XP Orx Owner's Manual I have a soft spot for Equinox obviously but if XP really is trying to go after the gold market in the U.S. and Australia like they did with the XP manufactured Depar DPR 600 in Africa they have far more problems than the Equinox. When the DPR 600 project happened in 2016 the gold nugget market was a different thing, with the Fisher Gold Bug Pro being perhaps the most popular nugget detector in Africa, and at a far lower price than the XP Deus. The African gold market dwarfs the coin and relic market worldwide, it's that big, so everyone wants to get in on it. Keep in mind that the Gold Bug Pro not only costs less but is far easier to operate than the XP, requires no charging (Africa, remember) and hardly weighs anymore either. Since 2016 we have seen the introduction of several more gold nugget detectors, not least being the Minelab Gold Monster ($799 two coils), Makro Gold Kruzer ($749 two coils), and most recently the White's Goldmaster 24K ($699 two coils). Notice these machines have two coils for less cost than the Orx, and in the case of the Gold Kruzer you have all the coin and relic capability also, plus waterproof. Machines like these and more are the real competition for the XP Orx. And I have to tell you as a die hard nugget hunter the only real appealing feature for me with the Orx compared to the others is the way it folds down and stuffs in a rucksack. I can find gold as well with any of them, so it really comes down to the feature list. I suspect XP will find most coin and relic types still going XP Deus as I would myself if I was going the versatility route. And that the XP Orx is not going to have much impact on the U.S. and Australian gold nugget markets unless the price comes down a bit from what we are anticipating. The market has been flooded with new gold nugget prospecting models the last couple years, and it is hard for me to believe there are lots of prospectors out there who do not already have at least one if not several of these detectors. This thread sums up the competition and shows why the Orx may be a great machine, but has its work cut out for it versus the competition still, unless U.S. prices come in a little lower than anticipated.

This all made me want to get another 6" coil but with snow on the ground best if I just sit this one out. The ferrous thing is not so much on my radar, but testing between the two versions on the tiniest of gold nuggets has my interest. In theory the new version that tends to spark more on ferrous is where I would place my bet for which would do best on the tiniest gold. Usually suppressing ferrous is very dangerous for the tiny nugget hunter, which is why I prefer still to run with iron bias set at zero when nugget detecting. But really, the only way to do it right needs that second 6" coil, so I guess that's on my wish list now.

It all looks like gold to me. Actually, you can find natural gold nuggets that will break for various reasons. The more rock they have in them, the more likely a crack and a break may occur. Looks to me like you found a lower purity nugget with a weak spot/crack and it broke. You can never swear with photos but it has the "look" to my eye so I am calling all three pieces gold. Congratulations! It is hard to overestimate the value of field training when it comes to nugget hunting. It is a whole different gig than most types of detecting, the main thing being how tiny the targets AND the signals can be. Just whispers of whispers at times.

Well, you are asking for a typical TC, which I am assuming is Time Constant. Most people here will be thinking in terms of target id numbers. Remember these are natural objects. A nugget can be 90% gold, 60% gold, or 10% gold. That alone will send conductivity all over the place, with pure gold being the best signal. Adding silver to gold does not raise conductivity as people assume because alloys do not conduct electricity as well as pure metal. Silver is a far better conductor than gold if both metal are pure, but adding silver to gold reduces the conductivity and therefore the time constant and target numbers are reduced. The gold can be solid and round, or solid and flat as a pancake. The shape not only will change everything but also the orientation in the ground. The gold can be solid or it can be porous. Porous gold is usually invisible to PI detectors. It can porous due to air spaces or porous due to enclosed minerals. If the enclosed minerals (iron sulphides for instance) have electrical or magnetic properties that will change everything. Suffice it to say that gold is a mess when it comes to how it reacts with a detector. Most of us do not use test nugget based on mesh size but on weight. I usually use a 1 grain nugget (480 grains per Troy ounce) to test VLF detectors. A PI will not normally detect that, so I am normally going to use a quarter gram or half gram nugget to test a PI. There are 15.43 grains per gram. I just weighed a few 8 mesh nuggets, and they were from 1 grain to 4 grains in weight. That will definitely present a challenge to a PI, with some probably being detectable with a hot PI, and some not. Just depends on the above factors. Here are a series of test nuggets and target numbers for them I did. The gold is larger but shows how the numbers vary with size and purity. Size Equivalents Two scales that are used to classify particle sizes are the US Sieve Series and Tyler Equivalent, sometimes called Tyler Mesh Size or Tyler Standard Sieve Series. The most common mesh opening sizes for these scales are given in the table below and provide an indication of particle sizes. The mesh number system is a measure of how many openings there are per linear inch in a screen. Sizes vary by a factor of √2. This can easily be determined as screens are made from wires of standard diameters, however, opening sizes can vary slightly due to wear and distortion. US sieve sizes differ from Tyler Screen sizes in that they are arbitrary numbers. US Sieve Size Tyler Equivalent Opening mm in - 2½ Mesh 8.00 0.312 - 3 Mesh 6.73 0.265 No. 3½ 3½ Mesh 5.66 0.233 No. 4 4 Mesh 4.76 0.187 No. 5 5 Mesh 4.00 0.157 No. 6 6 Mesh 3.36 0.132 No. 7 7 Mesh 2.83 0.111 No. 8 8 Mesh 2.38 0.0937 No.10 9 Mesh 2.00 0.0787 No. 12 10 Mesh 1.68 0.0661 No. 14 12 Mesh 1.41 0.0555 No. 16 14 Mesh 1.19 0.0469 No. 18 16 Mesh 1.00 0.0394 No. 20 20 Mesh 0.841 0.0331 No. 25 24 Mesh 0.707 0.0278 No. 30 28 Mesh 0.595 0.0234 No. 35 32 Mesh 0.500 0.0197 No. 40 35 Mesh 0.420 0.0165 No. 45 42 Mesh 0.354 0.0139 No. 50 48 Mesh 0.297 0.0117 No. 60 60 Mesh 0.250 0.0098 No. 70 65 Mesh 0.210 0.0083 No. 80 80 Mesh 0.177 0.0070 No.100 100 Mesh 0.149 0.0059 No. 120 115 Mesh 0.125 0.0049 No. 140 150 Mesh 0.105 0.0041 No. 170 170 Mesh 0.088 0.0035 No. 200 200 Mesh 0.074 0.0029 No. 230 250 Mesh 0.063 0.0025 No. 270 270 Mesh 0.053 0.0021 No. 325 325 Mesh 0.044 0.0017 No. 400 400 Mesh 0.037 0.0015

Just so people know what we are talking about. The two box coil option for the XP Deus was first mentioned as part of the V4 firmware rollout. Just in case people think otherwise, a setup like this will not detect anything much smaller than a grapefruit. More on two box detectors here. "The Ultimate Search Coil XP has once again “raised the bar” in terms of expanding the capabilities of the DEUS with the introduction of Two-Box coil option. Providing exceptional coverage and extreme detection depth, it is the ideal accessory for detection of deep buried target such as hidden weapons. Because of greater coverage it also makes detection process quicker, allowing scanning of larger fields in less time." XP Deus "two box" deep seeking coil option

Great analysis Chase.... you did what I was planning to do but have not yet. To me it really just comes down to pricing. Right now I can't find any U.S. sites advertising pre-sale prices, so all we have to go by is from the Orx announcement: "Affordable price – Suggested maximum retail price: 699€ including taxes – 799€ including taxes with wireless headphone (WSA)." 699 Euro as of this minute is US$798 and 799 Euros is US$912 Now they do say "maximum retail price" so MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) may be lower. However, Detekniks is advertising presale pricing at $699.00 and $798.90 pounds sterling which equals about US$893.39 and US$1021.70 respectively. But I am still guessing US$799 and US$899 respectively for the two models (with or without wireless headphones) I was figuring on the XP Orx being an offshoot of the Depar DPR 600 which was retailing for US$680. It made sense for XP to release a more gold specific detector, simpler to operate for gold prospectors, and at a lower price to compete with all the $700 dedicated prospecting detectors out there, like the Makro Gold Kruzer for instance. Bottom line is you can get an XP Deus with controller, wired headphones, and X35 9" coil for $1230 and the XP Orx with controller, wired headphones, and 9" round HF coil for about US$799, a $400 savings. And the XP Deus with controller and wireless headphones for $1520 while the XP Orx with wireless headphones will be about US$899, a $600 savings. the wireless headphones on the Orx are not the exact same as the ones on the Deus but still, $600. Kind of a no-brainer if you are a gold prospector and don't care about the other capability. Here are the two closest XP Deus packages from XP website: 2 XP Deus Detector Comes with: FX-02 Wired Backphone Headphones LCD Remote Display 9” or 11" X35 Coil with Telescopic Pole 9" Option Part Number: DEUS22X35RCUS11" Option Part Number: DEUS28X35RCUSSee LCD Functions Where to BuyMSRP $1475.00 USD/CAD MAP Price: $1230.00 3 XP Deus Detector Comes with: WS4 Backphone Headphones LCD Remote Display 9” or 11" X35 Coil with Telescopic Pole 9" Option Part Number: DEUS22X35RCWS4US11" Option Part Number: DEUS28X35RCWS4US Where to BuyMSRP $1825.00 USD/CAD MAP Price: $1520.00 That makes a good case for the XP Orx being a less expensive option for gold prospectors. Like Chase I am more skeptical about how the true coin and relic people would think about it. Most people are not inclined towards "second best" and so I don't see this being a huge draw for those folks. Especially given the fact that you can go lower yet with the XP Deus starter package. Granted, it does not have the full controller, but XP has added so much capability now to the secondary headphone controllers that it is debatable if you need that full controller at all. The XP Deus Starter Package: 1 XP Deus Detector Comes with: FX-02 Wired Backphone Heaphones WS4 Display 9” or 11" X35 Coil with Telescopic Pole 9" Option Part Number: DEUS22X35WS4US11" Option Part Number: DEUS28X35WS4US See Starter Bundle Functions Where to BuyMSRP $1100.00 USD/CAD MAP Price: $799.00 XP Orx Product Information Page

Personally I think the testing methodology here is flawed. The only way to test is with two detectors, each set up with 6” coil. Use identical settings but two different firmware setups, and test in the field on objects found in the ground. Going to a park one day with one firmware version and the next day with another version proves very little. I would consider such testing to be a waste of my time personally. I either drag two or more machines around when testing or I don’t bother. Requiring a second machine may seem too much of a burden to ask of most people, but that’s the way I test for manufacturers for whatever it’s worth. If have to see it with my own eyes, two machines on the same “found target”, for it to be useful information. Same machine, two different targets on two different days? That’s just a contest of perceptions. My Testing Methodology

The Minimum Advertised price for the Fisher Gold Bug 2 has been US$764 for many years. I just noticed that at least a couple reputable websites are now advertising the Gold Bug 2 for $699. The Gold Bug 2 is getting a bit long in the tooth, having been in production since 1995, yet you can still argue that to this day no detector does a better job of getting the tiniest gold bits with its little 6" concentric coil. I am not sure if this is a temporary holiday price decrease, or just a response to all the new competition on the market. Still, I thought I would make a note of it for the Fisher Gold Bug 2 fans out there - you know who you are! Google search for "fisher gold bug 2" Fisher Gold Bug 2 metal detector

Daniel Teague Published on Dec 5, 2018 Some of you guys were curious as to the tone differences between a Minelab GPX and Whites TDI. This is the GPX 4800 and TDI Beachhunter and a little bit of why I like the GPX better when it comes to relic and beach hunting.

Doubtful since the first post in this thread has a link to the White's patent on this particular methodology. It is not impossible the new detector is doing something similar but getting around the patent somehow.... no idea about that.

Yeah maybe 5" fresh snow in Reno yesterday....

Hi amergin, I have not weighed in on the subject simply because I use my small coil in different scenarios and am too busy now (and with frozen ground) to try my own experiments. I would also need another 6" coil to do the testing properly. Needless to say a thankless task so I will say thanks for your efforts in trying to pin this down. I would advise you to not totally discount those who say they are not having the issue because the settings people are using and such do matter. If people are not having the issue that is also important information if there is some difference in the settings that account for it. But simply saying there is no problem is not helpful. Anyway I do know it can be incredibly frustrating just figuring out if a problem is real, let alone coming up with a fix for it. Good luck! ? It’s in the scoop... can you see it?

Well Michael, since you are a first time poster making a statement I will just say I disagree with your conclusions and leave it at that. No point in any discussion really since you are as comfortable in your certainty as I am in mine.

That can happen when you drop into the Chevy forum to let everyone know you prefer your Ford! This topic has been moved to appropriate forum. Welcome to the forums Maltfoto. No worries, I sure don't want you refraining, just that this forum is the better venue for "this versus that" type of discussions. Neutral ground, so to speak.