Skate

9" coil

I found that if I got a tone in amongst others I could slowly begin to rotate around it and there was a sweet spot where all that came through the headphones was the desired tone. I dug several coins that had foil/aluminum and iron(rusty nail) in the hole. You just have to be patient and investigate the target just a little longer rather than dismiss it as junk and move on. In 4 tones the mid tone on a nickel is about the sweetest sound I've ever heard out of a detector, my ears just seem to attach to it like your kids voice does when they are in a crowd. It was uncanny. I say it's idiot proof because to me it's everything I could want in a detector. I like my Nox but this is better but how much better is up to me which is why I like it so much. It has no limits for what and how I detect except for holding my beer.

I finally got the chance to hit an old permission and get my D2 in the dirt for the first time after only hunting the wet sand. For reference it's a "company park" for a farm labor rancho about 2 acres in size. I've hunted here for years with an MXT, ATpro, D1, V3, and Nox 800. I wasn't expecting much but that wasn't the point, I wanted to get 2-3 hours on grass and learn a new mode. I chose Park, switched to 4 tones instead of 3, lowered my reactivity to 1.5 (from 2.5) did a frequency scan and ground balanced and off I went. It took all of about 3 minutes for my ears to adjust and I started digging nearly everything that was solid, sweet sounding and repeatable. The D2 is like a hot knife through butter. It was so easy to isolate targets and zero in on them even though there were other targets all over. This place has seen a ton of beer related parties over the past 60 years so there is a ton of beaver tails, pop tops and can slaw in the ground amongst the coins and you could still separate easily. I can't get over how solid the TID is at depth. I got a deeper (fainter) signal that was a solid 90. By the time I finally got the penny out of the hole the depth was an inch beyond my MI6 resting in the hole. The other thing is the tonal nuance. I get it now. You can hear the target and tell if you want to dig it or not. An example is the nickel. I dug my first one today that rang up as a 62. The tone was just so sweet sounding. It never deviated from 62. I then hit a 62 that moved to a 63 and back to a 62. Dug it and it was a pop top. Hit a 61 that bumped to a 62 and back and it was a 1927 buffalo nickel. I hunt for nickels because I hunt for gold and I dig all nickel signals. I ended up digging 8 more nickels today and all were 62. Every 62 was a nickel. Every time I got a 62-63 I dug those too just to see. Every 62-63 was a crap aluminum pop top. I'm convinced that if you take the time to learn each program that is specific to what you do hunt and want to hunt you will clean up. I only used Park today because I want to know it thoroughly before I move to Deep HC. The 27 Buff shows me that a site is never hunted out and you just need to slow down and take your time. The D2 is not a complex detector to use. Your job is take the time to understand what each option is and what it does and if you get lost just turn it off, take a deep breath and turn it back on. The other thing I would caution folks against is testing it against your other detectors or spending hours in your test garden. Get out there and dig every signal for a couple of hours and see what everything is in it's natural state, make mental notes (or keep a little notebook in your pocket and record the finds) and enjoy detecting. Stop worrying about whether or not its better than the other detector you had and get out there. You don't go around comparing your wife to your old girlfriends so it should be the same with your new detector. Read the forums to learn something and remember if you don't dig it you won't find it. Stop looking for perfection and EMI problems. I found no gold today but that only means I have a better chance of finding it tomorrow. The D2 puts a smile on my face. I hope you have as much fun using yours as I am mine.

I’m going to set this up tomorrow when I hit the beach. Great idea Dan.

Good to know. Imagine how good it's going to be when I was able to get the ID and Tone in the weakest of programs. That's why i said it's idiot proof. I did revert back to Beach P as it just seems to gel with me.

I got out again yesterday to the beach. I have yet to hunt in the dirt but I'm not complaining as I regularly hunt the beach now about 80% of the time. The main thing I noticed again was target and tone ID is spot on. I once again dug every target regardless of tone or ID just to verify what it was seeing in the sand. I started with the Dive program because I think I read somewhere it was deeper. I could be wrong but it didn't matter as the good targets were few and far in between. I kept the settings pretty much stock but lowered the reactivity to 1.0, upped sensitivity to 97. Here's where the D2 is awesome (so far). Every target was what the D2 said it was going to be before I dug. On my Nox I would always dig every iron grunt in the wet sand because many of the tones cleared up and ID'd themselves after a scoop or two of sand was removed. On the D2 if it warbled an iron tone it was iron, EVERY SINGLE TIME. Every penny tone and ID came back as a penny. I hit a nickel fairly deep and it was LOUD and crisp in terms of tone and the ID never moved off of 62. The tone and ID capabilities of the machine are uncanny when compared to any other detector I have used. The key for me is when I can get the 13" coil because I think it will beat everything else currently available at the beach. I think the D2 will be the better option for folks looking for an upgrade in performance in their current detector. If you are someone who really enjoys detecting the D2 is will fill your quiver. I liked my D1 but it sucked at the beach so I got an Equinox but the D2 is a better detector for me given what I want to do going forward. I will hopefully hit the dirt soon. HH Skate

It's my understanding that windows is the only platform offered and as an exclusive Mac user we have to get creative to get the update. I'm assuming there must have been an extra cost to writing the software outside of the Windows platform or maybe Apple IOS is not what it is here in France.

This may have been covered before but does anyone have any insight on what other coil options are planned for the D2? I'd like more coverage for the beach but would rather have something larger than the 11 to go with my 9". I'm finally retiring in June so I need to start saving now for upcoming expenses. Thanks! Skate

That's a nice ring. I too hope they are real. Diamonds are a husbands best friend

very satisfied. I'm not into detector wars and harbor no ill feelings to those who would. I think detecting is fun. I look forward to every swing and every hole I get to dig.

I got my 9" XP II yesterday and after charging it up I started to play with it. After about 5 minutes I could see where this thing was going. It's incredibly easy to use and set up for whatever task in terms of detecting I could ask of it. Here's what helped me and got me ready to use it: 1. Gary- Seriously about the best detector teacher on the Interwebs. I could listen to him teach about shoe tying and come away satisfied. If I die before him I'm going to ask my wife to contact him to do my eulogy. Pay him whatever he wants as no one tells a better story. 2. Calabash- his videos are short and to the point. Who cares if he says how great the XP is? If you get all riled up over metal detector videos you ought to consider other hobbies. I learned a great deal about getting started by watching. I'd love to hunt with him someday because it would be FUN! 3. Mental Metal Guy- Another great use of youtube. You'll want to skip the first 1-2 minutes of the videos because it's basically dramatic music and a Fort Bedford ad but the rest of the videos are great. He will teach you all the basics in a different way than CB but between the two you will know how to operate the D2. I think he called me a clown in a forum post awhile back but I don't hold grudges so if he could help me find a gold ring I'll be a clown all day. 4. Griffinds guy- more good how-to stuff on the D2. I'm a school teacher and the kid at the end (I'm assuming his son) is a bit like the smart a$$ know it all who always tells the teacher they are wrong but the info is top notch and will help you if you'll listen. 5. Chase- Read what he says. If he says something he is likely right. I flew clear across the country 5 years ago and did an XP bootcamp with he and Andy in Gettysburg. He was right then about detecting and he is right now. Don't question him just listen. I hit the beach this morning for my first time out. Started in Beach. I did a frequency scan. Hit the wet sand and it was chatty. I remembered something about what Chase said about Beach P (remember, do what Chase says) and I switched to Beach P. OMG, it became so quiet and I began to hunt. The tone was in pitch and while it was different than my 800 I just decided to go with it. It was fine. After about 4-5 targets you could easily tell what something was. Iron sounds crappy, you can easily tell. I dug everything and Modelo is now #1 in terms of what drunk people drink at the beach in 2022. The bottom line was this D2 is a breeze to swing and if you'll take the time to learn it BEFORE you get into the field or beach you will have zero problems. If you make a mistake TURN IT OFF and then turn it back on. I dug a silver medallion that was at least 16 inches deep in the wet sand. Could my Nox 800 have found it? Who cares? Performance wise this thing is sweet. Again I dug everything this morning, and after an hour I could tell what everything was going to be based on the tone and the ID. Every signal that said "I'M IRON" was iron. Every bottle cap was a bottle cap and every penny was a penny. The hardest thing for me today was putting the RC on the stem and yes I had removed the cover(like I said, Idiot proof) but I finally got it on. I'm going to figure out a way to tether it on to the shaft because I had to traverse about 20 feet of boulders to get to me spot and all I could think about was what if I slipped and knocked it off into the abyss. I solved the problem by taking it off and putting it into my pocket. Now there are some folks who will complain that for $1600 XP should have included a cup holder, a place to rest your cigarette and beer but if you paid $1600 you likely missed out a better deal elsewhere but in the end it's only money and XP has produced a winner. For a person with a junk elbow it's the bomb. I'll admit I'm going to become a fanboy and buy the 280 backpack because I'm tired of getting yelled at that my detectors take up too much space in the car. I hung my 800 up on the wall and I don't plan on using it for the forseeable future as I want to put the hours on the D2. I'm going to hit a park tomorrow so I'll do some dirt fishing with it and see how it goes but I suspect that it will kick some serious booty. Hope this eases some minds about what detector to save up for if you're on the fence. Skate

That's awesome. How confident are you becoming on the D2?

I've used the MI-6 since I bought my original Deus back in 2013 (has it been that long?) and it has worked flawlessly except when paired with my Deus 1. One charge gets 90+ hours of run time, and it has been virtually indestructible. I've owned and used the garrett's, the F-Pulse and the minelab pro-find. I have the MI-4 as a backup now as well. My hope is that the Deus 2 will work with the MI-6 this time. If not it's not the end of the world because I love the XP pinpointers and wouldn't use another. I'd get two because two is one and one is none or so my grandpa used to say.

Thank you for doing this. Mine is still in France on a table I think but this helps immensely.

I'm looking forward to the ergonomics the most when on the beach. 20 Years of detecting, physical training and teaching people how to hit a golf ball have practically destroyed my elbows. Currently I'm only able to stay out 1 1/2-2 hours dragging a scoop and swinging the detector so hopefully I can double that here soon. The other thing is I love new tech and the experience of mastering another machine. We have one of the best niche hobbies in that we can use the crap out of a detector and then resell it in a couple of years for a decent amount and get something new. I was at the beach this morning in Ventura at 7am and it was already 83 degrees. I feel for all the folks still dealing with ice and snow. I'm blessed to be able to water hunt year round.

Thank you GB!

I have a buddy that purchased an AT Pro 5 years ago and he used it about 20 hours total and it's been in his closet for the rest of the time. He asked me if I could help establish a value on it so he could sell it so I figured I'd ask the Garrett Forum folks for advice. Stock Coil, headphones etc. Thanks for all thoughts and opinions. Skate

To you or from you?

Regardless of machine most people walk over gold and don't dig the iffy targets on the beach based solely on VDI's. In the wet sand at depth every ring I've recovered usually grunted as iron on my Nox until a scoop or two of sand was removed and a clearer picture/tone/VDI developed. If you want the gold you need to be prepared to dig it all and ID the find yourself. My beaches are mostly always sanded in somewhat so the chance of making a wet sand find with a clear tone and ID on the first pass is as a rare as getting a Deus II in the first shipment. A repeatable iron tone is a digger.

Very sorry for your loss but this is a great place with really great people so I hope you stick around and continue to share your detecting triumphs. God bless you

Was your estimate of the second batch in April from XP?

Same here. I'm hoping some folks ahead of me on the list have decided to opt out of the initial go around but that Calabash guy keeps putting out great content. It may be months if he doesn't stop before I get mine.

Thanks Steve. You're the kind of site owner that causes people to stick around.

I had an MDT. I could not get used to the machine for anything. I never meshed with it and after 30 hours of use I sold it. I'm not an engineer minded type which is what I felt a person needed to be to use the MDT. I'm hopeful the D2 is more turn on and go like the Nox is. If I overthink it I ruin it and that's what the MDT did to me.

Welcome Gary! You are a credit to the industry. XP is lucky to have you as a spokesperson. While I wait for mine to arrive sometime this spring I can prepare by keeping track of your videos.