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ColonelDan

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Posts posted by ColonelDan

    An Update On Deus II Shipping From XP

    in XP Deus II Forum

    Posted

    On 1/14/2022 at 3:38 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

    Everyone is all about “more depth” and so big coils sell. I’m more about separation and smaller stuff, and in general with me it is “VLF for smaller coils, PI for larger coils.” But does sound like it will be harder to get the 9” than the 11” initially, whatever the reasons. Whatever, I’ve got plenty of detectors, won’t miss any detecting no matter what happens.

    And having made a career in sales, I’ll never be “that person” as a customer. No, the customer actually is not always right. It was so nice near the end of my career to get to be able to tell at least a few of them just that! :laugh:

    Re: depth.  Exactly….at least in my opinion.

    All the reports on detectors I ever published ignored raw depth since so many factors affect depth that are outside the detector’s influence.  I focused on sensitivity at depth instead and still prefer sensitivity and separation in my detectors. 

    • Like 2

    Beach Sand Scoop Advice

    in Metal Detecting For Jewelry

    Posted

    The old adage that, " You get what you pay for." holds true in spades where sand scoops are concerned..and it's the next most important piece of equipment besides your detector that you have on the beach. At least that's been my experience and all I hunt are beaches.

    The best out there that I know of:

    Sunspot (Stealth) https://j9h.6d6.myftpupload.com/

    Xtreme  https://xtremescoops.com/

    T-Rex https://thegolddigger.com/collections/detecting-adventures-sand-scoops
    (The T-Rex is carried by many dealers)

    Buy quality and you'll only buy it once.

    Just the view from my sandy foxhole

    • Like 5

    XP Deus II Update Version 0.6

    in XP Deus II Forum

    Posted

    8 hours ago, 67GTA said:

    I've successfully updated the Vanquish, Equinox and Simplex using Windows 10 installed in virtualbox using a Linux host. You have to add yourself to the vboxusers group and reboot to get full bidirectional USB support. What distro are you running?

    🤔  Thanks.  Sounds like a good solution but I think I've discovered an even easier approach....for me that is.  My hunting buddy has a PC with Windows 10.  I'll just make my way over to his house and update the Deus II from there when the time comes.  😁

    • Like 1

    Charging Question / Concern

    in XP Deus II Forum

    Posted

    99% of my hunting is on saltwater beaches and in the past, in the surf itself. Yes, saltwater is very corrosive to metal if left unattended.  I keep my connections clean by cleaning them after every hunt so I haven’t had charging problems.  
    I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the same will go for the Deus II connections but I’ll know more once I get my hands on one. 😉

    • Thanks 1

    Deus II Screen Protector?

    in XP Deus II Forum

    Posted

    On 12/29/2021 at 11:27 AM, basstrackerman said:

    i still have a bunch of the equinox screen covers  cut to fit and they work fine.  

    That's exactly what I was planning to use all along.  😉  Minelab provided numerous screen covers with the Equinox that should last a life time on the Deus.

    They measure 2.5" square after cutting off the black multi language strip.  As basstrackerman says, just cut it to fit the Deus II 2x1.5" screen.

    • Like 2

    2 Tones Vs 50 Tones On The Beach

    in Minelab Equinox Forum

    Posted

    10 hours ago, mcjtom said:

    Col Dan's 3 tone setup is similar to the fixed one on Vanquish 440.  There, the mid tone goes up to ID 17 with high tone starting at 18.  What is the logic behind choosing this particular breakpoint between mid and high tones?

    18/19 seems to be the most common break point between the mid tone and high tone targets that I tested.  Granted, I primarily focused on common targets I find on our beaches so my break point of 19 isn’t gospel for all situations nor all possible targets that may fall at that point on the ID spectrum.  
    Why Minelab chose 17 was most likely based on the particular target array they selected during testing. The difference between 17 - 18 is insignificant based on my beach experience.

    Just the scale from my foxhole….😉

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 1

    2 Tones Vs 50 Tones On The Beach

    in Minelab Equinox Forum

    Posted

    99% of my detecting is done on Florida's beaches and I've experimented with tone settings as has been discussed in this thread.  Ultimately, I settled on 3 tones and it's worked very well for me.

    ~ My attempt at using 50 tones proved impossible for me...information overload! I then tried 5 tones and although much more understandable than 50, I felt that 5 tones was really unnecessary and might even be overkill.  Why?

    ~ ALL targets fall within 3 categories/zones of conductivity of Low, Medium or High so it made more sense for me to focus on those 3 zones and then align the tones accordingly. The tones provided information on what zone I was dealing with while the VDI gave me some rough indication as to where that target fell within the range of that zone.

    ~ I also wanted a system that wasn't apt to cause me to ignore good targets because they were similar in make up to worthless targets. Example; gold and aluminum are both mid level conductors and generate similar VDI within that range, I therefore didn't want to exclude anything within the Mid or High level conductivity scale. Yes, I'll dig aluminum so as not to pass up potential gold and dig other high conductive targets so as not to pass up silver.

    ~ I tested quite a number common targets of varying size and metallurgical composition and came up with some common VDI ranges that I see on our beaches for each of the conductivity zones. I then modified the 5 tone option to 3 tones which suited me just fine for the beach hunting I do.

    My results:

    Low conductive targets ranged from -9 to 0 and I assigned it Tone level 1 (the old iron grunt)

    Medium targets ranged from 1 to 18 so I chose Tone 12...a nice mid level tone

    High conductors were 19+ so I gave them the highest Tone level of 25

    To reduce five tones to three simply involves assigning the same tone for three zones of the five possible zones:
    i.e.
    Zone 1 = Tone 1;
    Zone 2 = Tone 12;
    Zones 3, 4 and 5 = Tone 25

    ~ In my work with a local museum however, the 2 tone option could also be used. When digging museum quality artifacts, iron is a valued metal so I dig everything. I also dig it all when I detect along Florida's Treasure Coast as remnants of the ships fall within the iron or low conductive range and are often times found along our beaches.

    Just the view from my foxhole...your view may vary.

    • Like 4
    • Thanks 2

    Equinox Or Deus 2

    in Metal Detector Advice & Comparisons

    Posted

    3 hours ago, strick said:

    What coil you plan on getting for the Deus beach hunting? I've never thought of the Dues as a good beach hunting machine...still have my regular one and use it for one thing relic hunting...I know it is capable of doing other stuff but there are better units for the other stuff...kinda like picking up a golf club out of the bag for the specific job (I'm not a golfer) I used to have another deus with the 11 inch coil and I found it to be poorly balanced (nose heavy) and got rid of it... the new Deus 2  coming out has the same style but different brains...I guess one could sweep the beach with the perfectly balanced 9 inch coil all day but not much ground is covered....thinking out loud here 

    strick

    I’ve been using the stock 11” on my EQX and have seen no real need to change.  If I get a Deus 2, I’ll stay with the 11”.

    You’re right in that the original Deus was not a real salt water machine and that’s the main reason I sold it.  I have higher hopes for the Deus 2 

    • Like 1

    Equinox Or Deus 2

    in Metal Detector Advice & Comparisons

    Posted

    I've read several threads on the soon-to-be-fielded Deus 2 and how it will compare to the Equinox. There have been many good views on this topic so I thought I'd share mine. As you read this, keep in mind the views expressed here are worth just as much as you've paid for them. 😁

    1. Wireless vs Wired: I'm 99% a salt water beach hunter with my EQX 800 and the way I grid a beach, I often go from the damp sand to the wet sand and then into the surf (only about 1 foot deep due to concerns over water intrusion so I keep the control box dry). Given that, a Deus II for me would have to be constantly wired from coil to control box in order to work in the surf. For that reason, a totally wireless capability would not be that enticing since the wire from coil to box would be a permanent configuration.

    2. Waterproof: I owned a Deus and found it to be a solidly engineered machine so I'm not a skeptic where XP claims of being waterproof are concerned. Were I to make a wager, I'd bet on much better waterproof performance in the Deus II than was the original ML waterproof claim for the EQX. Being truly waterproof is important for me and not because I hunt deeper than 1 foot in salt water these days because I don't. Ours is an outdoor hobby so I think all detectors should be waterproof...at the very least, reliably weatherproof. How many times have you been caught in the rain or dropped your detector in a puddle of water? Even if you are a land hunter and never go near any water, replacing a damaged or inop machine due to moisture intrusion isn't a trivial thing.

    3. Build quality: The Deus I had was quality built, rugged and reliable. No coil ear issues, wobbly shafts or arm cuff breakage. In my view, it was a much more rugged detector than Minelab products in certain areas. XP doesn't seem to pinch pennies as did Minelab on simple things. Recall the original skimpy gaskets they put in the CTX 3030 that caused flooding of the battery box. The issue was solved when they came out with merely a little thicker gasket! Their use of cheap coil ears, arm cuffs and wobbly shafts on the EQX series is another example. For a few pennies more per unit, they would have saved untold thousands in warranty replacement costs in both the CTX and EQX series machines. Although they are among the very best where software technology is concerned, I never understood that "penny wise pound foolish" approach in their physical build design.

    4. Overall Performance: This is where the EQX was superior to my original Deus. The multi-frequency/multi IQ of the EQX vs the selectable single frequency of the Deus was an obvious choice in my salt water beach hunting environment. I eventually sold my Deus for that reason. Now, if XP has really overcome that limitation in the Deus II with their FMF feature, I'll be happily impressed.

    5. Final Thoughts: I'm with the others who will take a "wait and see" approach. But, given my past experience with XP engineering, I have no doubt the Deus II will be a very capable salt water beach detector. Will it generally outperform the Minelabs? TBD. Will it be found that XP pinched pennies on their build quality? I say no. It will be a well built unit. Will it be more comfortable to use than the Minelabs? Yes. Will it be more complex in its settings options than the Minelabs? Yes. Will it's overall performance justify the higher price tag compared to the current EQX? TBD but that will be determined solely by and in the eye of the beholder as the saying goes.

    Just a few thoughts from my foxhole...
     
    • Like 7
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    Reasons To Hold Onto Equinox 800 In Light Of Deus 2

    in Metal Detector Advice & Comparisons

    Posted

    Many solid thoughts in this post for sure.  A few of my own:

    1. Wireless vs Wired:  I'm 99% a salt water beach hunter with my EQX 800 and the way I grid a beach, I often go from the damp sand to the wet sand and then into the surf (only about 1 foot deep due to concerns over water intrusion so I keep the control box dry).  Given that, a Deus II for me would have to be constantly wired from coil to control box in order to work in the surf.  For that reason, a totally wireless capability would not be that enticing since the wire from coil to box would be a permanent configuration.

    2. Waterproof:  I owned a Deus  and found it to be a solidly engineered machine so I'm not a skeptic where XP claims of being waterproof are concerned.  Were I to make a wager, I'd bet on much better waterproof performance in the Deus II than was the original ML waterproof claim for the EQX.  Being truly waterproof is important for me and not because I hunt deeper than 1 foot in salt water these days because I don't.  Ours is an outdoor hobby so I think all detectors should be waterproof....at the least, very weatherproof.  How many times have you been caught in the rain or dropped your detector in a puddle of water?  Even if you are a land hunter and never go near any water, replacing a damaged or inop machine due to moisture intrusion isn't a trivial thing.

    3. Build quality:  The Deus I had was quality built, rugged and reliable.  No coil ear issues, wobbly shafts or arm cuff breakage.  In my view, it was a much more rugged detector than Minelab products in certain areas.  XP doesn't seem to pinch pennies as did Minelab on simple things.  Recall the original skimpy gaskets they put in the CTX 3030 that caused flooding of the battery box. The issue was solved when they came out with merely a little thicker gasket!  Their use of  cheap coil ears, arm cuffs  and wobbly shafts on the EQX series is another example.  For a few pennies more per unit, they would have saved untold thousands in warranty replacement costs in both the CTX and EQX series machines.  Although they are among the very best where software technology is concerned, I never understood that "penny wise pound foolish" approach in their physical build design.

    4. Overall Performance:   This is where the EQX was superior to my original Deus.  The multi-frequncey of the EQX vs the selectable single frequency of the Deus was an obvious choice in my salt water beach hunting environment.  I eventually sold my Deus for that reason.  Now, if XP has really overcome that limitation in the Deus II with their FMF feature, I'll be happily impressed.  

    I'm with all the others however who will take a "wait and see" approach.  But, given my past experience with XP engineering, I have no doubt the Deus II will be very salt water beach capable.  Will it generally out perform the Minelabs?  TBD.  Will it be found that XP pinched pennies on their build quality?  I say no. It will be a well built unit. Will it be more comfortable to use than the Minelabs?  Yes.  Will it be more complex in its settings options than the Minelabs?  Yes.  Will it's overall performance justify the higher price tag compared to the current EQX?  TBD but that will be determined solely by and in the eye of the beholder as the saying goes.

    Just a few thoughts from my foxhole... 

    • Like 12

    Coil Support Device

    in Minelab Equinox Forum

    Posted

    I've used several designs for the Equinox and still experienced broken coil ears.  However, I found a design I like much better and so far, it has worked fine.  It is thicker, stronger and has a side plate that relieves the pressure on the ears through lateral movement.  I also zip tie the coil stiffener to the coil so it is essentially a solid unit.  That way, even if the ears broke, I'd still be in business.

    The stiffeners are made by Jim Struglia.  His contact info:  jstrugli@yahoo.com

    These stiffeners are not for the Coiltek coils.

     

     

     

    Jim1.jpg

    Jim2.jpg

    Jim3.jpg

    • Like 1
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