HardPack

Here’s a three month old video regarding a Legend software update for relic hunters. There might more information released in the next few days. Maybe

Here’ the leak, I meant link:

Does this explain the lowered Legend price tag.

Back to an abandoned country store site? Reminded me of a find in town some years ago. A couple of friends were remodeling a local drinking establishment. While repairing a sagging floor they discovered a large pile of coins under the bar in the crawl space. While drinking to the reopening the owner/bartender was observed tossing coins on the back liquor cabinet. All eyes followed the coins as they glided over the rear countertop towards a collision with the wall before dropping down through a newly widen crack between the back wall and floor boards. At that point we all downed several toasts in tribute to the bartender, his father and grandfather. Unfortunately, at the moment of discovery I was busy down the block converting another old adult entertainment establishment into modern office space. Delayed by just minutes, after rummaging through a hidden upstairs recess, I arrived too late to stake a valid share of the original Italian bar claim. Great finds, Keep digging!

That’s one way to eliminate the competition. Perhaps we should adjust our criticism “tone” setting. Naw!

I planted a few more rows of coins (1,5,10,25 cents) in the garden at 4, 6, 7, & 8 inches to check the effect of setting changes on the EQX 900 detection depth. For the base test dropped sensitivity to 16, Recovery to 1 and Iron Bias to 0. TID stabilized at the lower sensitivity settings 18 and below, I was able to tell a penny from a dime using SMF in Park 1/2 & Field 1/2. The 900 detected all the coins at 7 inches but at 8 inches (due to size?) the dime and penny signals were growing real faint. Set up the “user profile” to switch to Recovery 6 & Iron Bias 9 in Field 2, will use a Sensitivity no higher than 18. Test of the user profile in the garden was good to 7 inches at a ground balance of 40 (granitic clay). However, all the coin rows were outside the ring of buried iron. It appears to me that increases in the Recovery setting has more of an effect on detection depth than increases of the Iron Bias setting. Increases in Sensitivity settings from 20 to 28 caused a corresponding increase in the TID spread with the penny & dime TIDs blending. I saw similar test results in lower depth detection with increases with the XP Deus (9”x35) Reactivity, Silencer & IAR settings (#6 Deep & #10 Goldfield). Increases in the Deus Sensitivity & Audio Response settings increased depth detection or audio respectively without the wide TID spread. Big storm system blowing into the west coast, large waves impacting the coastline with some tidal flooding.

I am old enough to remember, not very effective against wooden box mines. Spent some time staring at the Whites in a magazine ad. Had to wait until retirement to find the time to detect. Semper Fi

I plan to take the Deus out to the site after the storms move out. I set up a "Deep Relic" IAR program with the X35 for a starter. I'll take a small rake along too.

I use the falsing signals also but unfortunately there is not a secondary iron check on the MInelab EQX 900, unlike the ML Manticore. With iron falsing there has to be some amount of masking of non ferrous targets. I am going to stay with the 11” Nox in Field 2 for now, it handles the EMI plus more target depth. However, both gold search modes hammered all the coin targets.

Iron sled runners?

I have buried multiple test targets from 6 to 8 inches. A coin on one side of the hole and a rusted square nail on the other (no overlap), all within a field of 8” deep rusted old iron (axe head, spike, horseshoe & flat plates with no rust halo effect). Tested each of the EQX 900 search modes in SMF, switching sensitivity up from 12, stepped recovery from 1 to 8 in each search mode (except beach), changed the iron bias from 0 to 9 in each recovery setting, used the same procedure with all three coils (11”, 6”, 10x5). The iron falsing drops off with the EQX 900 “iron bias” at the max settings but is not eliminated. With all coils Recovery 4, Iron Bias 1 at GB 40 seems to work best for depth and separation on test targets. With the 11” coil a clad quarter TID adjacent to a square nails is pulled down to 52. Outside the iron test area, except for nickels, the two smaller coils are unable to detect 6 inch deep coins in a granitic clay soil; none of the Nox coils have detected the 6” deep memorial penny. (side note: within the iron test area & out, the XP Deus with 9” X35 at 12kHz detected all ferrous & non-ferrous test targets at depth). Actual site condition (typical placer mining site) is a blanket of rusted tin and iron with the same iron falsing issues at a similar ground balance but slate soils. With the EQX 900 picking up site non-ferrous targets away from the rusted tin/iron, nothing yet within the iron. At this point with the EQX 900, if I have to starting layering down through the site iron trash I may be better off with a square nose shovel & screen. Perhaps it is time to try a different metal detector.

The XP Deus has the horseshoe, the Legend has ferrocheck and the EQX 900 has randomly spaced positive TIDs. Thanks for explaining the iron bias hi/lo settings. I have been using either 0 or 1 for the EQX 900 “iron bias” but the false positives continue to flood in with the 11”, 6” and 10x5 coils. Switching to All Metals only verifies the obvious ferrous target. Other than a shovel I have yet to find a method to identify a close adjacent non-ferrous target.

I have not been able to determine the usefulness of the EQX 900 iron bias setting. It appears to only suppress the overall target signal. In the attached video the Nokta Legend has an iron filter, bottle cap reject plus an iron stability setting. It appears the Legend “iron stability” setting isolates and actually addresses false positive signals. What do you think?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Deep half dime

The 9” x35 and 9” HF are both excellent coils…for the XP Deus 1 plus there is also the option of the excellent HF 9x5 coil. Unfortunately, at this time an option of a 9x5 is not available for the XP Deus II. That was a major consideration for some when it came to purchasing a SMF detector. XP is losing market shares to both the Nokta Legend with the LG24 9.5x6 and the ML EQX 800/900 with the Coiltek 10x5. How many customers are currently lined up to purchase the ML Manticore M8 8x5.5. I find it hard to believe XP won’t be releasing a Deus II 9x5 version soon.

The shape is easier the maneuver in tight areas such as in & around brush, cracks, etc. The XP Deus HF 9” frequency range from 15 to 55 kHz p; HF 9x5 15 to 80 kHz; higher frequency ranges: gold coin & nugget detecting.

iron concertion? bacteria?

Perhaps a fungus/mushroom, the red coloring from iron in the rock? There are red algae found in water.

Here’s a restored mid 1800’s percussion (cap & ball) .40 caliber long rifle “Homestead Long Rifle Frontier”.

Both. Do your research. A placer claim requires far less capital investment for the hobbyist. You can work it with a pan, sluice, high banker, suction dredge and multiple metal detectors. Your trip to the poor house will last far longer. I am currently reading a book regarding the history of the local quartz mines in the area. Many of these quartz mines originated as 1850’s placer claims adjacent to lode deposits. The reading is more of a chronology of mine owners, claim transfers, court proceedings, foreclosures and lien sales. The book documents multiple groups of mining partners that file a claim on a surface free gold quartz deposit, drive a shaft down 30 feet down into the high grade pocket, process the high grade ore by hand, mortgage the claim for capital, invest the borrowed capital in a stamp mill, clean out the high grade pocket, continue to mine a far lower grade of ore, borrow more capital to expand the efficiency of the stamp mill, the seasonal water source drys up, low grade stockpiles climb as high as the debts, the mine owners take to drinking, gambling and shooting at others, shortly after the hangings the mining claim finds itself in the hands of another group of new arrivals looking to put some gold in their pouches. The truth is a dentist mines more gold than most. Good Luck

Tree sap?

Perhaps there is Deus II sales volume break point before XP invests in new coils.

Totally agree. Without a 9x5 coil offering current XP Deus owners have a weakened incentive to move up to the Deus II. A lot of real competition out there, ignoring customer requests not very wise of XP.

“…therefore further discussion is pointless. ”I’d like to “moot” that point by saying XP has the sales numbers for the XP Deus HF 9x5 waterproof 13 to 81 kHz coil. That elliptical shape added versatility to the XP Deus “Goldfield” program for a number of owners who found themselves detecting in the brush.