ColonelDan

I have to agree with NCToad. Since I bought my first detector in 1970, I can honestly say that I have never run across such a target….or a roll of any type of coin. I’m sure there is a physical reason for the results as shown in the video but as we all know, detecting is a game of odds and in my mind, the odds of having to detect a roll of quarters are very very small so I’m not concerned about any detector’s inability to efficiently “see” it. I’m not trying to be a wise guy by saying this, just evaluating the seriousness of this demonstrated shortcoming. As I always say however, that’s just the view from my foxhole. 😉

Don’t be intimidated by the menu. Play with it and you’ll find that you’re learning your way around the options pretty quickly. Read the manual and familiarize yourself with what those options do. The more you do that, the quicker you’ll feel comfortable with it.

I have and extensively used both the TRX and ProFind 35. When I ordered the Deus 2, I also got the MI-6. Why? The link to my headphones. I can hear the signal much better/clearer while detecting on the beach around all that ambient noise from both the waves and the depositors.😉

I’m currently in the Arctic Circle and won’t be home until 18 Feb. 😏 Fortunately, I had mine shipped, along with my hunting buddy’s, to his house so I’ll pick it up from him when I get home. The flattening of the learning curve will then begin! 👍

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.

Wow! 🤩 Great job Joe....

For my money....Deus II without hesitation.

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

I NEVER notch out anything. I let the tones and VDI tell me what can be ignored. You'll quickly find out that the minute you notch out those pesky targets, you'll walk by gold that falls into the same range as aluminum. Just fact....

Good move Steve....thank you.👌

🤔 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. 😁

I'm hoping they soon offer updates based on n Apple Mac IOS platform. I grew weary of Windows long ago so I currently run Linux OS and have a Mac laptop.

Well, they're either going into my hobby room or study as artifacts or if I do sell them it will be at fire sale prices. I'm at critical mass on metal detecting equipment! 🤣 As I said, I'll still have my two EQX 800s that I use regularly. Even if I'm on a LONG wait list I'll never lack for something to hunt with! 😉

On display in my study perhaps... as a museum artifact? 😃

I plan to keep my two EQX 800s but.....what do I do with my highly modified Excalibur II and my CTX 3030 with 4 coils and all those accessories??

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. 😉

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.

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….😉

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.

I’m putting my money on Calabash regarding a beach test.

This is what I got for a translation of this: 我经常去沼泽地！那里面有很多宝贝！建议您用800的15寸盘！非常好用！. I often go to the swamp! There are many treasures in there! It is recommended that you use 800 15-inch discs! very useful

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

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...

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...