Steve Herschbach

I hated Windows 8 and stayed with Win7 but my experiences with Win10 have been nothing but positive. It made my old HP All-In-One run like a new computer. Thankfully even though over 5 years old I have not had the problem Peteren unfortunately experienced.

XChange2 runs just fine on Win10.

Very interesting. The DEUS I figured. CTX I might have guessed. But the AT Pro surprised me a bit. It is very popular here with coin and relic hunters, no doubt about that. I just did not realize it was so popular elsewhere. Bang for the buck the AT really is an excellent all around performer and being weatherproof it is sort of a "CTX Lite".

Not only is the DEUS superb at pulling non-ferrous out of ferrous but it is light and let's face it, cool in a high tech way. The CTX does ferrous well but does it slowly. And very often it does come down to covering ground quickly and efficiently, whereas the CTX rewards slow and methodical.

I will fess up to something. My CTX is for sale figuring it has been over three years since release and sooner or later we are going to see a CTX 4040 or whatever. NO, I have no inside knowledge of this!! But I certainly have plenty of other machines to occupy my time while waiting. What the CTX needs more than anything is a processor upgrade to improve things on the speed side, and a long overdue upgrade in the screen quality. I used to count weight as a needed improvement but frankly after swinging the GPZ all summer the CTX feels featherweight.

I am posting this using Windows 10 and Edge. I have been using Windows 10 and Chrome for some time now with zero issues, so it is not Windows 10. Edge is working  but I am having strange issues typing this. The cursor wants to disappear. It seems more a problem in "quick reply" than if I use the full editor under "more reply options".

Bottom line Edge is new and people have been dumping it in droves. I would recommend just about any alternative for now. Back to Chrome for me!

This is very unscientific but since I have the ear of our friends over the pond, I have a question. Just in terms of general observation at rally's and hunts involving knowledgeable users, what detectors are finding the most favor these days?

Well that is great if true. Again, I have noted a very close similarity to what prospectors look for in a detector compared to what UK hunters are looking for. Which is the ability to pull non-ferrous targets out of ground with difficult mineralization profiles and very often, large amounts of ferrous trash. There also is the shared emphasis on the ability to recover very small low conductive target responses. Because of this I have scoured reviews of European machines and have found Gary's site and field tests to be a literal gold mine of information. Check out his website at http://www.garysdetecting.co.uk and in particular the reviews section at http://www.garysdetecting.co.uk/fieldtests.htm



When I had the opportunity to visit the U.K. myself my decision to bring the F75 as my main unit was largely influenced by Gary's reviews at that time of both the T2 and F75. I also had the CTX 3030 and MXT along but they saw minimal use. Metal Detecting Ancient Coins at Colchester, UK - 10/1/2010

XP UK, welcome to the forum. I think you will find a very good group of calm and knowledgeable detectorists here. There is interest in the DEUS as a prospecting device, but it could use improvement. Hopefully some good feedback from members of this forum can help make those improvements happen. I would refer you in particular to this thread by forum member goldbrick at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/104-xp-deus-in-the-goldfields/

One or two but rarely the third option. I have no set methods per se, it changes with the location, machine, and my mood plus as I learn new things. I used to use headphones without fail but these days are trending more without than with.

No settings are magic least of all mine! I rarely post specific settings for that reason and my original post is sprinkled with caveats just in case. Settings are site specific, not universal, otherwise we could just get rid of all those silly adjustments.

I could make the case for quiet as being best. But you never know until you try.

We have automatic ground tracking. Wouldn't it be great if at least on an experimental basis we had a totally automatic mode, that ran through all the settings and monitored ground feedback, to arrive at some sort of decent suggested optimum settings combination?

Thanks for the post klunker.

The big deep finds have been getting posted with the Zed on various forums actually. It is just that in any case they will be rare finds, not common. How many big, deep finds are being made with ANY detector these days? Unfortunately they only get fewer with each one found. The sad reality and not a good one is that the detectable gold is depleting faster than any improvements in technology can fix.

But there is one left out there for each of us!

Beardog, I get what you are saying, and I totally agree that you can enjoy yourself every bit as much and do quite well detecting with any decent prospecting detector. I seriously could do just fine personally with a base unit $499 Gold Bug. I never want this forum to become elitist or brand centric or model centric. Everyone gets their due and everyone using any machine and getting good results is very welcome here.

The fact is new machines get the most attention. Just the way it is. So please everyone realize that anyone posting about their machines on this forum is just doing it to share their fun and excitement. And hopefully educate people in the process. At least I hope that is what it is all about as that is always my intent.

I appreciate the incredibly great bunch of forum members here. You all are literally a part of my day each and every day and help keep me gainfully occupied while not detecting. Thanks!!

Nobody is saying XP DEUS V4 will "beat" the GMT at nugget detecting or I at least am not trying to convince anyone of anything. As far as outright nugget detecting performance on small gold I doubt you have much to worry about. But until the update comes out it is just idle speculation, is it not? However the DEUS is a versatile machine and may appeal to people who want it for more than nugget hunting capabilities. For nugget detecting my current interest would be in comparing how it works at 10 kHz and then 40 kHz as I have yet to use a really effective dual frequency mode, and that we can agree the GMT does lack.

I am for want of a better word a "detector nerd". Using new machines and keeping up with the technology is what I do. I have been very honest about my feelings as regards the DEUS, and not particularly liking some things, like the rechargeable coils. I did not care for the WS4 headphones. For nugget detecting I thought it was merely adequate. Yet I also acknowledged it has world class performance for its intended task, which is pulling non-ferrous from ferrous. I do think things in my opinion might change with V4, and by true happenstance a deal came my way from a dealer friend at a killer price. So I picked it up as I can move it along later at little loss if I am wrong.

I hated the F75 first time I used it. It was an EMI prone chatterbox. But I gave it another go, and now it is one of my favorite detectors. Machines change and my opinions sometimes change also.

How and why I review metal detectors - http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/325-how-and-why-i-review-metal-detectors-full-disclosure/

Perfect example of how they do not need to change or repeal laws they do not like anymore. Just issue a "moratorium". That word used to mean "temporary".

Well, good on them! I wonder who else is still in the endless process? Sooner or later they will all be done, if they are not already.

Alaska is new country, with older mines just over 100 years old, most much less. The majority of workings are bulldozer, dragline, or bucket line dredge tailings. Buttons are a rare find actually though I got a few now and then, but usually WW2 and newer vintage. Bullets and shell casings are by far the most common non-ferrous finds, mostly from the miners living off wild game.

1800's era coins in Alaska are very, very rare. That one with the hole is the only one ever for me in Alaska. Usually I would aspire to 1930s or 1940s as the "old coins". I only ever found a few coins in Alaska 1920s or older.

Jason, I get that maybe they would send you a replacement detector, but I am sure we all agree that if sending someone a replacement detector that testing it to make sure the replacement works properly makes all kinds of sense? We all get a bad whatever now and then and most of us understand that, but when they replace it with another bad unit good will disappears fast.

You know all this far better than I - just saying.

Hot off the electronic press...

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I do agree Jason that catching problems before they leave the factory has got to be cheaper than fixing after the fact. I am not talking stuff that fails later, but out of box failures like this.

Were you dealing with Nokta directly Jason or Kellyco?

Yeah hard to say. My initial thought was the handle but maybe the plug on the control box is not hooked up properly? I just looked at mine and there are 10 pin outs so I don't have any idea what to put a multimeter on to compare settings. If anyone has any bright ideas do let me know as I do have a functional FORS Gold+ in hand.

So nothing if pinpoint button pressed or ground balance button pressed? It must be getting power obviously or it would not light up and so works at least that much. Hopefully Nokta has encountered it before and so have an idea what's up. Be interesting to see how it gets handled - please do let us know.

Does the detector function well otherwise? Numbers displaying on side display?

Interesting......but come on, we already been waiting forever

I was surprised to see no mention made of the Goldfield program. 

Indeed, especially since this new coil seems to be very much aimed in that direction. Well, for whatever it is worth I pledge to give the new system a real good workout and to send the very best feedback I can their way towards maybe making improvements in the Version 4 Goldfield program after release. There is probably stuff we do not know about it yet. But if we all do that and are saying similar things than maybe V4.2 will really be the cat's meow.

Detectors are cheap. What are the hundreds or thousands of hours worth? My time is far more valuable than any detector, and since my coil is only going over most ground exactly once, it better be the coil and machine that gives me the very best shot at seeing what is in the ground. Inches are miles in this game. I can't afford to use anything less than a GPZ for what I am doing. That's how I feel about it anyway. Everyone makes their own calls for their own reasons; mine are no better than anyone else's.

And cost of a detector is not what you pay for it, but the difference between what you pay for it and sell it for later. At least that is how I and the IRS figure it.

Cost effectiveness is measured in a year or two, not a day. But like Rick said "Don't judge the cost of these 4 detectors, nor the size of the nuggets found during this hunt...just all the fun we had!"

People spend a ton more money than this on big boy toys. I sold boats for $200,000 that cost $500 to fill up at the dock. All to go catch fish that could be bought far cheaper at Costco - but would not be near as fun!

Since stuff can be shipped worldwide quickly - anyone dealing with Nokta/Makro has seen that magic at work - Minelab would be far better off on the GPZ 7000 instead of replacing units to just ship DHL at their cost to the best possible service location. Maybe it is just a special service for GPZ owners only, but I have to say that if you are going to charge a super premium price for a detector than it darn well better come with super premium service. Anything less is a fail.

If the sub-contractor can't return calls then at a minimum units should go to Chicago.

Well, a product article in UK Searcher magazine confirms everything. Version 4 of the DEUS software has new features including:

New reactivity settings

New menu tools

New functions for beach searching on wet and dry sand

The possibility of a dedicated smartphone app

The upgrade does not sound like it will do as much for existing users as some had hoped, but many were hoping I think for more than the hardware can deliver. Tops on many peoples wish list was the ability to use multiple frequencies at once, giving them an alternative to the much heavier Minelab models. It does not look like that wish is going to happen in 2016 at least. However, maybe this post will convince some people this new upgrade has been worth the wait.

Instead of giving existing owners a lot that improves their existing hardware, what Version 4 mainly does is enable the use of new hardware accessories. There is the new "Twin Box" accessory intended for searching for large objects at depth. This is no doubt aimed at cache and horde hunters. More interesting to most of us is the new 4.7" x 9.5" coil option, with its own separate range of operating frequencies. For those not familiar with the DEUS, it normally offers owners the option of running at one of four frequencies; 4, 8, 12, and 18 kHz. The new elliptical coil can also be run at one of four frequencies, but with a much greater spread in the frequency range. The options will be 10, 20, 30, and 40 kHz.

For me personally this new coil option changes the picture considerably as regards the DEUS. I found it to be an adequate machine from a prospecting perspective, but there was nothing compelling about it for that particular purpose. Put another way, if a person was looking at buying a detector strictly for prospecting, I think other detectors serve just as well or better for far less money. In its area of prime expertise, which is pulling non-ferrous targets out of dense ferrous trash, the DEUS also had one critical flaw. Coil for coil noting can beat it, but it has lacked a small coil option. This allows a few other detectors to "cheat" by leveraging small coil options to beat the DEUS at its own game. The Nokta FORS units and the Makro Racer in particular exploited this lack of small coil option by doing things with the small 4.7" x 5" coil that a DEUS just can't do with a 9" round coil. When it comes to pulling items out of dense trash doing everything you can to eliminate multiple targets being under the coil simultaneously is the single most important factor determining success.

Granted that a 4.7" x 9.5" coil still does not go toe to toe with a 4.7" x 5" coil for sheer target isolation capability but it is a huge step in the right direction. A 9" round coil covers 64 square inches. The 4.7" x 5" coil covers 18 square inches - you can see by that why a small coil has a huge edge in dense trash. The 4.7" x 9.5' coil covers 35 square inches, narrowing the gap considerably, while not sacrificing per sweep ground coverage. An excellent compromise, and reason why the 5" x 10" coil form factor is so popular.

When working dense trash with an elliptical coil it is very important to work from multiple directions to try and avoid target overlaps. Three targets in a row, each 2.5" apart, will all be under the coil at once swept one way, but with an elliptical DD coil will likely sound off as separate targets if swept 90 degrees out on the next go.

Keep in mind also that coil area determines the volume of ground the coil "sees" and in highly mineralized ground small coils can do a lot to help eliminate issues that may arise. The circuit has to do two things. First, it has to be able to discern a very small target relative to the amount of ground it is seeing, and too much ground signal masks the much smaller target signal. Second, when employing discrimination the ground acts as a huge ferrous type target, and the ground ferrous signal can completely overwhelm small non-ferrous signals. The detector may see the target and report it, but mis-identify it as ferrous. This is extremely common in nugget hunting scenarios but also affects coin hunters to various degrees depending on ground conditions. Bottom line is small coils often handle bad ground better, and have more accurate discrimination capabilities.

The new coil at 10 kHz will still be very good with coin size targets, but the higher frequencies offer obvious improvements on very small targets. Right now on some forums I see many people commenting they do not think the new coil offers anything of value to coin hunters, and in my opinion they are flat out wrong. The narrow profile will see immediate advantages in dense trash and go a long way to negating the edge other machines enjoy by employing small coils. The high frequency options will be welcome in Europe in particular where many coins in the old days were not only very thin, but halved and quartered to make change. U.S. coin hunters suffer from provincial thinking and rarely seem to realize these detectors are made first and foremost for the European market.

Finally, for me personally the high frequency options have the potential to make the DEUS more than just adequate as a prospecting detector. It may put it in the top ranks for VLF capability, but that remains to be seen. However, I am hopeful, and I have a new DEUS arriving today so I can get back up to speed with it before the new updates arrive.

The bad news? Version 4 software and the new hardware is being quoted for release in "first half" 2016. That gives them wiggle room all the way up to June, and even then a delay could happen. Maybe a little excitement is in order but not too much, because it could be some time before we get a chance to put the new updates to use in the field.

I have added a dedicated XP DEUS V4 page to my website that I will update as details become available http://www.detectorprospector.com/gold-prospecting-equipment/xp-deus-version-4-metal-detector.htm

Hey spencer, hope you are doing well. You get down this way in the spring when it warms up a bit, do let me know. I am officially a warm weather weenie now so no detecting when temps are below the 50 degree mark. I have a million other projects that wait just for cold weather.

I absolutely love northern Nevada for detecting. There is more gold to be had in California but I just love the wide open spaces. I prefer sagebrush to cactus for sure. Reminds me very much of Australia with smaller bushes and gray ground instead of red.