Steve Herschbach

It's a tiny little thing that weighs nothing Del. Like swinging a feather. Well, a little more than that but you get my drift.

Rather than compare a multi-purpose detector like the Deus to dedicated nugget machines, here are my "apple to apple" ratings of three similar detectors... XP Deus Base Unit (no controller) $799 plus $425 HF elliptical = $1224 Least expensive Deus with controller $1230 plus $425 = $1655 Two coils, run at any one of 4, 8, 12, 18, 14, 30, and 59 or 74 kHz Nokta Impact $849 One coil, run at any one of 5, 14, or 20 kHz White's V3i $1224 One coil, run at 2.5, 7.5, 22.5 kHz, either separately or all three at once (true multifrequency operation) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nugget Detecting XP Deus Nokta Impact White's V3i Detecting In Dense Iron XP Deus Nokta Impact White's V3i Coin Detecting In Groomed Parks White's V3i Nokta Impact or XP Deus Detecting On Saltwater Beach White's V3i Nokta Impact XP Deus Jewelry Detecting White's V3i Nokta Impact or XP Deus

It's definitely hair splitting type differences. Not anything I can quantify in chart form as my testing was neither that rigorous nor scientific. All we are talking is a few hours comparing gold nuggets and other targets in the field as I found them. I cannot claim to have mastered the Deus well enough to say I had it tuned to perfection and that my tests were not therefore unfair. All I try to do is decide what machines I would rather use. I was not looking to present proof to others about anything and would never have brought any of this up if not asked directly about it. Rest assured that if the Deus blew the other machines away for actual performance then all my other "issues" would not matter at all. That said, in my opinion the Deus HF coils are quite capable and any competent electronic prospector should be able to use them and find gold nuggets. I know I can at least - see first post in this thread. It holds its own with dedicated prospecting machines in its frequency class, and that is saying a lot. The hair splitting I will leave to others.

The Deus is very close to being that magic "do-it-all" machine, and definitely is for lots of people. In theory I like the idea of one machine that can do everything. However, in the end those types of machines tend to get complicated, and if anything this second visit with the Deus helped highlight again for me why having detectors that are focused on the specific task at hand has always worked better for me. The V3i and Deus suffer from a similar issue as regards my detecting style while nugget detecting. I have always preferred "workhorse" detectors. The idea of my Deus or V3i rolling around in the back of the truck with the shovels and picks just does not sit well with me. The Deus in particular seems dainty to me. Tiny buttons, tiny wires, tiny connections, delicate charging clips, etc. For a task like nugget detecting where I prefer an old beat up pickup truck it seems more like driving a nice French sports car. This is a purely subjective and straight up personal perspective sort of thing, but there it is. The reality is the deus is extremely popular with large numbers used around the world for many years and any real concerns about durability would have been uncovered by now. Then there are all the settings and options, most that have nothing to do with nugget detecting. The Deus was quite obviously designed without nugget detecting in mind. The Gold Field program itself was a late addition, and V4.0 seeks to address other areas in which the Deus has fallen short as a nugget detector. XP in my opinion has largely succeeded in their goal in this regard. I had this idea that basically I could have the Deus with two coils, 11" round and HF elliptical, and not only tackle most anything but possibly eliminate several other detectors. But in head to head tests on small gold in the field with ferrous trash and hot rocks, I found that if left to my own devices, that there are several nugget detectors I would rather grab than the Deus. Specifically, I thought I might keep the Deus and get rid of the Fisher Gold Bug 2, Makro Gold Racer, Minelab Gold Monster 1000, Nokta Impact, and Teknetics G2. Faced with actual reality however, if next summer I had all those machines in one pile, and the Deus as an option, I would be grabbing and using those other machines while the Deus would go idle. Now I am not trying to pick on the Deus, and frankly would just let it quietly go, but you asked. I like a detector that is more or less set up like the Makro Gold Racer. Three pounds or under, with lots of inexpensive plug in coil options. The detector itself can use rechargeable batteries but I am not fond of coils with batteries. Wireless headphones (with plug in headphone option) are good. I do like a large, readable screen and a built in external speaker with lots of volume. The Teknetics G2 is another machine that hits a sweet spot with me for getting the job done with a minimum of fuss. In fact, I can see myself eventually upgrading it with either a Fisher F19 or Teknetics G2+ as I would appreciate having more tone and volume control. Anyway, it is mostly a detecting style issue more than anything. What I really want I guess is a Deus stuffed in a Fisher F75 housing with wired coils. The Nokta Impact is actually pretty close and would be killer if it topped out at something higher than 20 kHz. I decided for what I am doing and how I do it the G2/GM1000/Gold Racer combo stays and the Deus goes away. The HF coils are in short supply right now so I figured it was a good time to sell it. My Deus 11"/WS5 combo will probably go up for sale also at the end of the month.

White's Electronics 2016 Summer Catalog View File White's Electronics 2016 Summer full color metal detector catalog. Submitter Steve Herschbach Submitted 08/19/2017 Category Catalogs & Brochures

Minelab 2013 Catalog View File Minelab 2013 consumer products color catalog. Submitter Steve Herschbach Submitted 08/19/2017 Category Catalogs & Brochures

Action Mining 2017 Catalog View File Action Mining 2017 full line color catalog. Leading supplier of gold assay and gold recovery devices. Submitter Steve Herschbach Submitted 08/19/2017 Category Catalogs & Brochures

Keene Engineering 2016 Catalog View File Keene Engineering full line color catalog, published 2016. Submitter Steve Herschbach Submitted 08/19/2017 Category Catalogs & Brochures

Keene Engineering 2008 Catalog View File Keene Engineering full line color catalog, published in 2008. Submitter Steve Herschbach Submitted 08/19/2017 Category Catalogs & Brochures

Keene Engineering 2010 Catalog View File Keene Engineering full line color catalog, published in 2010. Submitter Steve Herschbach Submitted 08/19/2017 Category Catalogs & Brochures

A California woman says she found a 1½ carat diamond while mining gold near the Sierra Nevada foothills town of Foresthill. “I was like ‘Oh, my god, I found a diamond,’ ” said Jillian Kelly. Kelly, 49, left her Silicon Valley career to take up mining 10 years ago and wrote ‘The Miracle Miner: My Life as a Female Gold Miner.” The uncut semi-clear pebble-sized stone is about width of a dainty pinky finger. The rest of the story with photos at The Sacramento Bee

Alaska lakes usually have thick, easily stirred sediment. Do everything possible to not disturb the bottom or you will be in zero visibility in short order. Good luck!

Check out this week's Treasure Talk as Nenad Lonic details everything you need to know about owning and operating the Minelab GPZ 7000 19 coil. He covers ergonomics, swing techniques, field settings and managing different soil types. http://www.minelab.com/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/in-the-field-with-the-gpz-19-coil

Sadly, Jim passed away in 2007 and his coils are now collector's items. http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/obituaries/james-karbowski/article_c8505ae6-50ec-5639-8a21-33a96b718ad4.html The BigFoot Thread

As far as I know the Proline hose has a reverse spiral helix from what is used on the Tigerflex hoses. My 6" Proline had twin 6.5HP pumps.

Been a long time since I have seen some Canyon Creek gold - thanks for posting! Canyon Creek, Alaska - the view from above. Click for larger version...

The "different tangent" has been split off into its own thread.

Hello Trev, Very kind of you - thank you! I appreciate the opportunity to visit with and learn from detectorists like yourself from all over the world so the feeling is mutual.

And he is selling this unsealed coil for only $1,150.00! http://www.ebay.com/itm/372046102322?ul_noapp=true