Jeff McClendon

Hi,

thanks for trying to clarify the ground balance procedure when using the Goldfield program. 

I don't have an X35 coil yet and am still running version 4 software with my HF coil. Version 5.2 may use a different ground balance type than what I have. I based my statement on one of XPs videos with Gary B. about the Goldfield program on the Deus using the HF coils.

Jeff

I would go with anything that makes me think it will be truly MODERN.

Just don't  do what XP did and call it God (Deus) or ORX (makes me think of the Orcs in Lord of the Rings)!

Jeff (means touched and freed by God = Geoffrey!  hasn't worked for me.....)

Geez, now I'm gettin' shot at!!!!!

Jeff

Hi,

wow my face is really sore from getting slapped!!!!!!!

I didn't realize we had left the topic. So, just to make sure.....

I'm thinking $750 for the ORX with wireless headphones is a fair price. It is still a whole lot of detector for those of us that are really familiar with XPs. $600 for the wired headphone version sounds about right.

That removable back headphone module acts like another wireless receiver for the wired headphones of your choice. The multiple frequencies are really nice too when compared to other detectors with similar frequencies. The true, threshold based all metal is also a real plus with both the Deus and the ORX. The Mi6 handheld pinpointer interface is pretty neat too......

Chuck, I can't find a designated depth meter either.  None of my Minelab PIs and the Whites TDIs have had a depth meter and neither does the Gold Monster 1000 so that must not be a big deal for most prospectors. For coin and jewelry I would feel a lot less comfortable without one in public parks. You can use pinpoint mode on the ORX to get a pretty good idea of depth (the pinpoint square fills in more and more the shallower the target) along with the audio response. The Deus has a very rudimentary depth meter on the Horseshoe ferrous/non-ferrous graph.

Jeff

Hi parkgt,

The XP Deus that I own, has a notch type ground balance system in Goldfield which I don't particularly care for. It is conceivable (though not likely) that it could automatically notch out gold targets if the surrounding ground/hot rocks had a similar conductive ID. I might consider looking closely at the ORX if it ground balances differently. 

The European sites that I visit are generally positive in their opinions of the ORX. They like the simplicity of the programming and setup, the inclusion of the remote control box in the package, and don't seem to mind the absence of the hockey puck controller at all. They like the coil selections and the headphone volume adjust feature. They are a bit skeptical about the changes to the shaft system, especially its even lighter weight and more plastic build quality.

If I did not already own a Deus and I was looking specifically for an extremely lightweight, ergonomically comfortable, wireless, rechargeable detector with gold prospecting/true all metal mode capabilities, and many other great features that could be practically waterproofed with the addition of an inexpensive accessory kit, I would definitely look at the ORX full package. I think it gives someone desiring those characteristics a very viable alternative to the similarly priced Deus Lite setup. I like the less cluttered control box screen and the bigger ID numbers.  It is also almost half the price of the full Deus setup.

For those that don't fit the average male, age 16 to 65, fairly fit demographic, I have not used a detector with all the features of the Deus/ORX that can match them for build quality and comfort. As far as I know, nothing comes close. Otherwise, as has been said, there are many other alternatives if one wants a great gold prospecting detector and does not have physical limitations for swinging a 3+ to 6+ pound detector for long lengths of time.  

As Steve has said, I have yet to see much about the ORX (or the Deus for that matter), purely as a prospecting detector (I don't read french well) and I haven't had a chance to field test my Deus with the HF and X35 coils. That will happen soon I hope.

Jeff

Hi Steve,

you asked about differences in the gold modes on the Orx and Deus.

I was wondering if the ground balance procedure for the Orx in its two gold modes is the same as the procedure for the Deus in Gold Field?

I am still not comfortable with the peculiar ground balancing of the Deus in Gold Field. I guess I need to keep practicing.

Jeff

Hi Bryan,

I don't usually jump into threads that tend to heap any kind of praise on me. So this was a first. I'm just not that kind of guy. I would give most of the credit for any of my finds to the Equinox 600 that I got in May 2018. It and my 800 are truly amazing. 

I really appreciate your comments. We all really do have such different detecting environments, time constraints and physical constraints, which demand different styles of detecting and goals.

I only wish I could find some nice pre-clad coins besides pre-1982 Memorials which are very plentiful where I hunt. The ground in the many parks I hunt in is so mineralized and saturated with a two to three inch layer of continuously falling trash that just detecting good clad targets is a real challenge. I found  5 wheats 3 rosies and one silver quarter in the past year. That's it. Even when I join large club group hunts for wild targets we rarely find silver coins besides the occasional Mercury dime or War nickel. The abundance of clad, jewelry and plenty of trash make any really deep targets hard to hear due to masking. Plus, we have to coin pop with screwdrivers and probes. No shovels allowed! I guess some folks got a little rambunctious down in Colorado Springs south of me, in 2017 and the city council banned metal detecting on all city land. Craig's List has had a steady stream of detectors for sale since then from there.

I actually found more gold jewelry by weight than gold from prospecting last year. I think my total was just over 9 grams in small nuggets and flakes. The biggest nugget was .79 grams and I found it crevicing. My largest nuggets detecting were all at or less than .25 grams!  

Jeff

Hi Alluminati,

your results and mine are pretty close. A 10" prospecting pan full of tabs and 26 grams of yellow and white gold along with a nice ruby and emerald. All found with an Equinox 600 with me working 50 to 60 hours per week until this past September when I finally retired from teaching school.  

Dirt fishing and prospecting are so much more fun!!!!!

thanks for starting this thread.

Jeff

There is a "winterizing your Equinox" topic on here somewhere. I think you are about right though with the 2 to 3 month time frame.

Jeff

Hi

Until your ground thaws out this spring, you could try something like this. You could use any container that hold about 2 gallons like those 2.5 gallon plastic buckets that are half the size of the 5 gallon buckets or cut a 5 gallon bucket in half roughly, or any shaped container of that size with 6" to 12" depth, some clean dirt or sand with any metallic targets removed (Gold 1 or 2 on the 800 and a good handheld pinpointer or strong magnet can remove those pieces, if you use a 2.5 or 5 gallon bucket take off the handle!), a piece of PVC pipe that will fit standing up in the middle of your container so it is flush with the top level of the dirt or sand and some rounded styrofoam that can fit inside the PVC. You can cut small recesses in the styrofoam at 1 inch increments that are large enough to hold coins, bottle caps, pull tabs or rings........ I use 2" diameter for testing small lead and gold prospecting targets,  but you could use a different size. Some people put a slightly larger PVC pipe in as a sleeve and then use a slightly smaller PVC pipe with the styrofoam inside so you don't dislodge your pipe every time you remove the styrofoam. You just want a container about the size (or bigger) than the diameter of your coil.

This is a little better than inside air testing since the coil will be moving, you can take it outside and there is some form of ground mineralization. There isn't any target halo to speak of but it is about the same as a new test bed in mild soil until you can get your outdoor test bed established and your targets have a chance to chemically react with the surrounding soil.

When you are able to establish your outdoor test bed try to find an area in you yard with the least EMI. I stupidly put my first test bed too close to an overhead electric line and to my neighbors Ham radio antenna!    Jeff

thanks Steve, I have the same problem,

I keep looking at my F19 and wondering if I will ever use it again..........and then I think (of course) if I sell it I could buy a new detector!!!! Oh man!

Hi Steve and Dubious,

This testing was not intended to be in anyway a comparison of one detector against another. It was done to help me become more fluent with the Deus. Also, I live in a fairly urban area where just carrying one expensive detector makes me nervous with all of the people who could use some pawn shop money in close proximity.

I have noticed the upscaling being more pronounced on most targets in the HF coil's higher frequenies, too Steve. That is fine with me since I will get used to it.

My whole point for this testing was to get some experience with the Deus and to get it dialed in for general metal detecting in my super bad soil conditions in the foothills of Eastern Colorado and to be ready to use the Deus as a second high frequency VLF prospecting detector. I have youngsters and smaller grownups than me that like to detect with me. Also, after 7 or 8 hours of prospecting, an excellent, extremely lightweight, clean-up detector for small gold seems like a good idea when my arms are about to fall off. 

Seriously, I was just trying to get the Deus dialed in. I used the Equinox 600 as a baseline. I know that is setting the bar pretty high. I believed that if I could get the Deus to hit most of the very small surface to 4" targets effectively (especially if they were small aluminum) that I was on the right track. My first time out was just a bit of a shock and really, I knew next to nothing about the detector. So when I detected over 70 targets and the Deus only detected 23 of them I knew that there was a big problem and it was probably me! Instead of freaking out I asked for help from the best source I know, this forum.

So, today there was only a 2 target difference instead of 47. Now I think I'm close to setting up the Deus effectively for my area, thanks to all of your help.

Jeff

I got a chance to do more testing with the XP Deus using the 9"HF coil  and the Equinox 600 with the 11" coil in Field 1 today. I was deliberately going for targets at 4" or less due to frozen ground. I detected a different 1/4th of the same soccer field as last time.

I was running the same program on the 600 and the GM Power program on the Deus but with these changes: 28 kHz, reactivity at 2.5, silencer at -1, and the second notch from 75 to 99. The XP Deus only missed two 4" deep or less targets that the Equinox 600 was able to detect. Both were really small can slaw in the 1/2" size range that were basically on edge. That is a huge improvement!

 In other testing that I have done it is pretty apparent that the Hot and Deep programs will do better for targets at depths of over 4" here where I live. There is no point trying to detect anything that deep for the next couple of months with any detector since the top 1" is pretty frozen and the permafrost layer starts at about 4 " deep. 

thanks,

Jeff

One of my detector friends has a Golden Sabre II and a Golden microMax. When he brings either of those to a club hunt with a bigfoot coil he seriously kicks all of us AT Pro, Deus and Equinox users butts and he is closing in on 80 years old!

The Deus ground mineral bar (that's the little one running up the right side edge of the horseshoe graph right?) stays around 1/3 to 1/2 full during normal sweeps. On my Fisher F19 I get four to five bars ( I think six is the max) Fe3O4. Besides the notches I set I was running stock preset GM Power. You put your finger on it I believe. I should have been running the HF coil in the 28kHz range, not to compete against the Equinox 600 but to maximize the coil's inherent characteristics. I don't even know where the silencer settings are yet but I will get to them soon, now. I did air tests on the targets I wanted notched out and set the notches up accordingly. I will readjust the notches for 28kHz. I still have 3/4 of the field to detect so I will try your settings and program suggestions.

I was starting to think I didn't really need my Equinox 600 since I have the 800 too and the Deus. This made me seriously reconsider that thought!

Jeff

I have had my XP Deus for almost 2 weeks so assume I know next to nothing in 10 hours of detecting. I have had my Equinox 600 long enough to have hundreds of hours so I know a little. Today I thought I would set up both detectors with small gold jewelry programs. I wasn't expecting anything special. It was 28 F here and I did not want to dig any targets deeper than 4 inches and I went to a public park soccer field that I have never detected before.

The Deus was set up like this: software V4.1, 9" HF coil, slightly altered by notching GM Power program saved in slot 12, frequency 14,414, disc at 6.1, sensitivity 80, iron vol. 3, reactivity 2, audio response 4, 3 tones, volume 7 on WS5 headphones, GB 87. I had two notches set up. The first was from the 0 to 35. The second was from 62 to 99. So most of the small gold range, small aluminum, beaver tails and nickels were detectable.

The Equinox 600 was set up like this: firmware updated, 11" coil, Field 1, multi frequency, disc at 0, sensitivity 13, iron bias 0, recovery speed 3, 5 tones, volume 20 on Avantree low latency bluetooth headphones, threshold 9, GB 3, I also had two notches set. The first was from -9 to 0. The second was from 14 to 40. So most of the small gold range, small aluminum, beaver tails and nickels were detectable.

I detected roughly 1/4 of the soccer field in 1 hour with the Deus and had a really nice, quiet walk. I found two 4" nickels, plenty of small aluminum, and a young person's good quality stainless steel and tungsten ring. Dug 23 targets none over 4" deep. I did not skip any detected targets meaning those that had at least one audible beep. The Deus was a pleasure to use. I was careful to not walk too fast, kept my swings low and smooth, and overlapped swings at a medium speed roughly one complete left and back to the right swing in around 2 seconds

I detected the exact same area with the Equinox 600. Immediately I began to detect numerous targets. I counted 47 in all at the end of the hunt. It was getting really cold so I dug 15 of the 47. Most were small aluminum can slaw in the less than 1/2" size at 1" to 3" depth. I Also recovered 4 complete beaver tail pull tabs at  3" to 4". I also recovered 1/3 of a crushed aluminum soda can at 2" depth. I used the same swing speed and walking speed as best I could.

This really surprised me to say the least. I need someone who owns both of these detectors to help me understand why these similar settings (or maybe I am a complete idiot!) resulted in one detector completely missing over 40 targets (I heard absolutely nothing). Obviously I am an XP Deus newbie so this topic is about my ignorance more than anything else I'm sure. I am not trying to engage in an XP Deus vs Equinox 600 discussion. I just need some settings advice. The only person I know with both of these detectors where I live, recently had a heart attack (he's okay) and I don't want to bother him with this. 

Thanks in advance for anyone that responds to this topic.

Jeff

Hi Daniel,

thank you so much for making this quick informative video. It reinforces my decision to part with my TDI SL and pick up a used GPX 4800. There was nothing wrong with the tone options on the TDI. They just didn't give me as much information as I had hoped after using a GP 3000 for several years. My GPX 4800 tells me so much more through its audio.  I am amazed at how much tonal improvement was made by going digital with the GPX series.   

I posted earlier about using the wrong batteries in my Tek-Point. 

After using the correct batteries on several hunts I realized that there really was a problem and it wasn't the batteries. I had to retune my Tek-Point repeatedly or just remove the battery cap and do a hard reset so many times that I just quit using it. I sent it to FTP after receiving a return authorization. I had to pay for the postage to get the pinpointer to FTP. No big deal. Two weeks later I received my pinpointer back with a new printed circuit board, a new holster, and a new serial number which I promptly registered. They also cleaned it up really well on the outside. It looked almost brand new. It works great now with no retuning needed so far after several hunts. It seems to function just like I originally expected from this great company. Thank FTP.

Jeff

Hi Michael,

thanks for the reply including the settings for your F44 vs the Equinox 600. 

Comparing any two VLF detectors no matter what they cost or how they have been hyped with one in all metal and one in a discrimination mode is like racing a V8 engine car against a non-turbo 4 banger on a one mile straight away. The winner is predictable.

As most people here have said your testing would be more valid if it had been done with an Equinox 800 in all metal or if all your testing with your Fisher detectors had been done in a discrimination mode against the Equinox 600.

I actually agree with you about the lack of an all metal mode on the Equinox 600. For the price one pays for it I would happily have given up one of the Field or Beach modes for an all metal mode. But that is how Minelab has usually done things when it comes to their VLF detector families like the X-Terra series and the Go Finds too. They always leave off features in their less priced models which makes me think there really might be an Equinox 1000 someday.

Jeff

I couldn't agree more, also. I was extremely disappointed with my MX7. I'm really glad I didn't go for the Sport. I had it for about 3 months and sold it at a  big loss. It did have so much potential, but it ended up being outdated technology in disguise instead of updated technology in an attractive package. Someone brought up the GPX 5000. Is it my imagination or do the GPX 4500, 4800 and 5000 feel lighter than the GP and SDs I used to swing. I'm not talking about the newer battery design. It just seems like the big blue box is a lot lighter. Or maybe all the workouts I do are helping my stamina.........

Jeff

I'm with you Chuck, come on USA manufacturers........ I would love to see a new Whites model with:  Treasure Pro/MX Sport display, Detech quality coils, wireless, water resistant, rechargeable built in batteries, lighter weight (like the Treasure Pro) and a higher transmit frequency (not 8 kHz PLEASE!!!!!). So, if you put the MXT Pro in that configuration for the mid level and a V3i in a similar configuration for the folks that want to have it all, I would be so happy................. 

Hi,

I tried your scenario outdoors with a nickel, copper penny and a nail with a Nox 600 11" coil in Park 2, no iron discrimination, sensitivity at 15 (too much EMI for any higher) otherwise preset settings, 5 tones. I did not try Park 1 for the same reasons mentioned by Chase Goldman previously. I tried every arrangement I could think of including putting the nail on the penny. This configuration:  nail - copper penny - nickel  1/4" apart or less from each other was the only one where I could not hear the copper penny. In 5 tones, the nickel seemed to dominate the conversation but I could still hear the nail and the penny at any distance greater than 1/4".   Again, I could not try it with the F44 since I don't have one and you didn't let us know how to set it up for the test.

If you keep your Equinox 600, I think you will find that Park 1 is great for coin shooting in moderately trashy areas for surface to about 4" depth  coin sized targets in most soil situations. It is a basic program only and is helpful to get anyone started with the 600 or 800.  I still use it a lot to clean out the easy coin and trash targets in areas that I want to investigate more later and at greater depth with Park 2.

Hi,

thank you for including your settings for the F70 vs the Nox 600 in your gold test. As has been said by me and others your test was probably not a fair comparison since you have repeatedly said that the 600 does not have an all metal mode. 

I'm the guy that mentioned the F19. I didn't refer to it because I misread your previous posts. I mentioned it because I don't own an F70/75 and the F19's all metal mode and transmit frequency are very similar to the all metal mode on the F70/F75s and I expect it to out perform the Nox 600 on just about any gold targets in all metal mode and it does. It does not out perform my Nox 800 however as it shouldn't due to the characteristics of the 800.

You mentioned two tests with the F44 vs the Nox 600 near the beginning of your last post. You gave good details about the nature of the coin/nail test and the settings for the Nox 600 but you did not reveal what the F44 was set on for these tests. There is another post on this forum which concerns the 600 and 800 falsing in the zinc penny range 17-22,  when detecting nails which can mask a penny or anything in that conductive range. It could be addressed in the next software update.  I know you were using a copper penny but its target ID is pretty close to that falsing area. I can assure you that some people on this forum would like to try this test for themselves since it is really cold and frozen where a lot of us live and we need something to do with our metal detectors besides hack at ice. I can only test the 600 since I chose not to buy an F44 after trying one for awhile, for various reasons which are mentioned in another post about the Fisher 2018 product lineup. 

The structural negatives that you mentioned about the Nox 600 (they are the same on the 800) have been talked about here too. We are definitely fans but those flaws are obvious. Both of mine have shaft wobble issues. I have heard that a refit will be coming soon to all customers that have this problem. I complained about the arm cuff a little until it got cold here. Now it makes a lot more sense. I can wear as many layers as I want and my arm will still fit in the arm cuff!!! I am a big fan of the rechargeable batteries and I make sure I have a portable quick charger nearby on long hunts.

I am at a bit of a loss as to why you bought an Equinox 600 in the first place.  I bought my 600 (knowing that it did not have an all metal mode) because obtaining an 800 was next to impossible at the time. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the Equinox line before the 800s became available to us regular folks. Being a part-time gold prospector and a big fan of the X-Terra 705's all metal/prospecting  mode (not a big fan of the rest of the detector!)  I was eager to have something similar with a lot more transmit power which the 800 definitely has. Maybe you will get a chance to try one someday. 

Jeff

Hi Michael,

No problem with creating an interesting topic for all of us. Most of us here are well acquainted with the F70/F75/F19/Gold Bug Pros and like them very much, so you are not in a hostile environment. Once again, if you could give more information about the settings for the F70 it would be easier for those of us interested to get a good idea of how the different detectors are being compared. My F19 would blow my ears off on a 2 gram nugget if it is not too porous, buried at around 6" in medium soil in roughly full gain All Metal mode. In disc it would probably make a few good squeaks. My 600 would definitely hit that in multi or 15khz in undiscriminated Park 2 at full gain. My 800 would scream at me in either Gold Mode with the 6" coil on that target.

Jeff

Hi Michael welcome to the forum!

I too would like to know exactly how you were doing your testing. Were you testing your Fishers in All Metal against the 600 in Park 2 with no iron discrimination?  That is probably not a fair test since as you said the 600 does not have a true unfiltered all metal mode. I routinely test my F19 in disc mode against my 600 in either Park 1 or Park 2 multi frequency, with iron discrimination at +2 on the 600 in my established test bed both using stock 11"DDs. Both detectors will hit the deepest targets but the difference is the F19 does not give anything close to an accurate target ID or a solid two-way beep on full sweeps. The 600 will give a solid two-way beep signal AND an accurate target ID. I usually do the test with the F19 at 90% sensitivity and the 600 at a 50% due to EMI issues. If I put the F19 in All Metal I will easily obtain good two-way beeps on sweeps but again the target ID is all over the place. I think the F70 and F44 would probably have similar results at least in my 4 bar 85 GB dirt . Maybe we could start a Metal Detector Comparison topic in the appropriate forum.