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Erik Oostra

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  1. Here's what the antenna assembly looks like underwater.. Tough and strong or flimsy and weak? You be the judge..
  2. This morning at Alma Bay.. I brought a camera along as the visibility was good, usually it's pretty murky because of the muddy mangroves along the coast.. I was on a ring recovery job when I noticed some fish watching me.. I didn't find the ring (it was lost last weekend) simply because I can't hear the Deus II, but I've ordered the bone-phones so I'm sure to find it next week.. I ended up having another looksee with the PulseDive but still no luck.. Anyway, these were the diving conditions today:
  3. They also work well in program 10 Diving.. I'm finding Beach Sensitive pretty unstable underwater, this program's use of higher frequencies becomes much more noticeable.. Beach is alright, but the Diving program with it's lower frequencies does help the detector run smoothly in seawater.. I tied finding a fairly chunky gold ring underwater with B.Caps on high, I couldn't find it again.. So I won't be using this function much as for me this is a 'once bitten, twice shy' scenario.. When I'm trying to recover rings for people I can't afford to miss them through gimmicky settings like these.. I can understand how B.Cap might be useful on a really rubbishy beach, but I'm always worried about missing the good stuff that's found within the same target range.. I'm sure that's the reason the Deus II is so expensive..
  4. Thanks for spreading the joy with old matey's target IDs for the Equinox.. They really show how much the target IDs on smaller, thinner gold rings can vary..
  5. I think Geof is spot on saying that beaches are the way to go for finding rings.. Thin gold rings read anywhere between those target IDs you mention, small silver rings scream even louder.. This also applies to Magnetic Island, I also find the good stuff after cyclones..
  6. I've never used GB underwater, the Deus's salt settings seem to do the job instead.. the salt settings are available in the diving and beach modes..
  7. This was also what I was looking for in the Deus II as a scuba detector, using a non-PI detector with accurate target IDs (and which was stable in seawater and waterproof).. So far I've found it a very handy tool for the job.. šŸ˜ Thanks again for your knowledge and advice, it's all taken onboard.. Your PMs have helped me understand the tones and sound settings of the Deus II much better than I could ever learn from the manual..
  8. Those who still fear the 'death that strikes from below with big sharp teeth' could always try the SharkStopper favoured by spear fishermen and abalone divers.. Although they don't tell you the exact frequencies/pulses their device uses, it is supposed to repel sharks.. However, comparing the scientific reports to that of SharkStopper they seem to be using similar frequencies, so does it repel or attract sharks? http://www.sharkstopper.com/howitworks.htm
  9. As I plod along the seafloor searching for lost stuff, weird thoughts occupy my brain.. Including: 'Do the electromagnetic frequencies pumped out by my scuba detector attract or repel sharks".. I've had a closer look at this and thankfully many different scientific reports conclude that large sharks are attracted to low-frequency pulsed sounds (20 to 60 cy/sec - no higher than 400 to 600 cy/sec), and to low-frequency continuous sounds no higher than 1.5 kHz.. Phew! That'll save scuba detectorists from worrying about what's gonna appear out off the gloom next.. šŸ˜¬
  10. A thick coil cable with a solid connection (like on the Equinox) is less likely to get tangled up in seaweed than a curly thin antenna wire.. and when you do get crap tangled around your coil it's easy to shake off with a cable, the Deus II antenna assembly rips off at the coil end.. and when something gets caught on top it rips off at the control box..
  11. I just nicked this from Steve on Chase's excellent thread.. I had to laugh.. Yes please!
  12. Thanks Jeff.. I thought the same about the vibrations of the bone phones, I hope it works the same way.. I did try the lower tones in two tones and various amplifications etc. on land, but to hear these lower tones underwater I'll need the latest wiz-bang headphones.. With the Deus II there's also no vibration through the shaft from the speaker in the lower tones, yet alone anything higher..
  13. As you've mentioned this would be a great update for the Deus II.. I like the large target ID on the CTX and the length of time the info stays on the screen, but it was off my bucket-list as I needed a detector for deeper water.. I really hope XP does keep us whiners in mind when they start to bring out updates for the Deus..
  14. Deus II hard at work this morning at the back of Alma Bay.. Edit: Truth be known I got lost underwater again.. I came up for a look to see where I was..
  15. I think (also from memory) that there's 24.. but most have disappeared into the sand.. I do find bits and pieces and also bits of cargo that they were carrying.. like those beams in the vid..
  16. Just got an internet connection again.. I'm on the other side of the Island at West Point where I can pick up mainland towers, so I'll be a quick as possible with a few answers.. Yeah, Phrunt i think XP are absolutely mad.. I'd happily ditch the fiddly, flimsy antenna assembly for a cable any day.. I think that the detector would run even better underwater.. still not too sure about wireless transmission in salt water but it does work so that could just be my fear of the unknown..
  17. Iā€™ve been testing the Deus II over the weekend as a scuba detector and ran it over the places where I usually use the PulseDive or Equinox.. My main concern is that I canā€™t hear it.. My hearing is simply too badā€¦ Iā€™m sure the speakers work underwater, I can hear it on the beach even without hearing aids.. Iā€™ve tried changing between PWM and Square, tried different tones and amplifications and cranked up the volume, but no biscuit.. I canā€™t hear it.. I could hear the Equinox faintly but I relied heavily on the slight vibrations from the speaker through the grip, especially on larger targets (I was hoping for the same with the Deus II).. At the moment with the Deus Iā€™m looking at the screen constantly, watching for it to flash up on its 'amazing' target ID screen.. Iā€™m not having a dig at the Deus here (that comes later), I know I need headphones.. So thatā€™s what Iā€™m saving up for next.. And if XP made a larger coil, Iā€™d happily give them even more of my hard-earned cash.. As a scuba detector the Deus II suits my purpose nicely.. Its already found a handful of coins and a silver earring that the PulseDive missed.. Itā€™s along the line where people swim.. This line varies according to the high tides, so the line is usually quite wide.. at my home bay itā€™s about 40 metres wide, more of a strip.. I go from one side of the bay to the other (takes about 20 minutes) then I turn around for another lap.. Most of the time the visibility is bad (canā€™t see the coil), so I use a compass to stay on a straight course.. Iā€™m weighted down far heavier than normal to keep me on the floor (at shallower depths the swell can throw you back and forward quite a bit), then I just slowly plod along the seafloor until I bump my head on the rocks on the other side.. For this sort of job the Deus II is so far so good.. Now, at the risk of sounding like some Nox Lover or deeply offending XP groupies let me reassure you I donā€™t care what brand the detector is as long as it does what I need it to do.. In my case, the Equinox has been that tool.. But as soon as I saw the Deus II was on the market in Australia, I bought one because I needed a detector for a job that the Equinox couldnā€™t handle (deeper waters).. Simple as that.. But before I even got my hands on it, people were already wanting to know my impressions.. Well, thatā€™s what youā€™re gonna get.. Like it or not.. Iā€™m also not going to tell you how great it is just because I forked out a lot of cash for it.. I really wish I could.. So hereā€™s my impression of the Deus II as a scuba detector.. No matter how hard I try to like the Deus II as a detector (not its performance underwater), all I can think to say is: itā€™s the opposite of rugged.. Having been diving with it for the last 3 days, it still feels flimsy and toyish.. To handle it reminds me of a GoFind.. Maybe Iā€™m not used to such dainty detectors.. To use it as a scuba detector, Iā€™ve got the shaft as short as possible and this is the only reason itā€™s got any real feel of strength about it when dragging it through water.. The clip where the antenna connects to the coil is also fiddly and flimsy.. Itā€™s held in place with a big O ring stretched around a coil spoke like an elastic band.. The whole assembly has so far stayed in place so no worries there yet, but the O ring wonā€™t stay there forever (itā€™s on the bottom of the coil and drags through the sand at every sweep).. Iā€™ll end up having to tape it, as Iā€™ve already had to do with the antenna cable down the bottom of the shaft to stop it catching between the coil and the shaft when you put it down.. The little velcro strips that come with it donā€™t do the job.. Same deal on top where the antenna attaches to the control box, flimsy and fiddly.. Twice I accidentally knocked the control box off its clip (and yes before anyone asks I did ā€˜clickā€™ it firmly into place).. On one dive it just dangled there by the antenna before I saw it.. Again, nothing sturdy or ever-lasting about any of it.. Donā€™t let its rugged good looks fool you.. I donā€™t want to have to treat the Deus with kit gloves in fear of things falling off or coming apart.. Call me weird or whatever, but Iā€™ll go tough over sleek any day.. Performance wise as a scuba detector, Iā€™m impressed.. Itā€™s stabler in salt water than the Equinox.. The salt sensitivity settings work really well and once you work out how to scroll through the different settings and adjustments, it does get easier to operate underwater.. Iā€™m still not in love with the display (IMHO itā€™s BS), but I am getting used to it.. It locks onto targets without too much jumping about between target numbers, in this sense the Deus II is far less erratic than the Equinox in saltwater.. I just wish I could hear it, Iā€™m sure it screams on good targets.. Its target stability in seawater and its ability to remove the ā€˜staticā€™ created by salt without affecting its sensitivity, has won me over.. Here it does really shine over the Equinox.. Plus, I trust it enough to stay waterproof in deeper waters.. Iā€™ve got a chance next week to jump on a boat for a dive where I can test it at depth.. But in the meantime, Iā€™m not worried about leaks and can concentrate on finding lost stuff.. This has become priority number one since I launched my ring recovery service.. Iā€™m getting calls from people whoā€™ve lost rings or jewellery on the island.. Iā€™ve had two successful recoveries so far but I keep finding the wrong rings.. Last week I found two wedding rings but neither was the one I was looking for.. I reckon Iā€™m in with a fighting chance of finding them with the Deus II.. The internet keeps going down on the island.. I haven't read any responses to this post yet but Iā€™ve got a connection for a few minutes so Iā€™ll send this now..
  18. Deus II - At my usual hunting ground at Alma Bay.. around 4 metres.. the detector was still waterproof after a 42 minute dive.. max. depth so far 5.3 metres..
  19. Deus II - Trying to find some deeper water at the end of Alma Bay.. Not one leak! At least it's one up on the Equinox at this stage..
  20. Deus II - First test dive on an old shipwreck at around 4 meters..
  21. I've just unboxed the Deus II WS6 MASTER.. It works.. It'll be a good back-up when the control box fails.. šŸ˜¬
  22. I did try with some small gold rings and small silver coins.. I had the 15'' Coiltek with me to test how much deeper it could punch.. it took the lead by a lot.. šŸ˜
  23. I checked all the target ID numbers of all the coins on this list, they're spot on in General Mode but in program 11 Beach they can vary slightly (especially a three-pence which rings in at 90) but never enough so you can't tell what it is.. The old silvers ring up loud and sharp in their ranges..
  24. The Deus II arrived this morning so Iā€™ll give you a run down of the first testing day.. To be honest my first impression when I took the Deus II out of the box wasnā€™t good.. It looks like a kidā€™s toy.. Iā€™m glad XP didnā€™t paint them red or yellow, Iā€™d send it straight back.. Once I got over the shock of how light and toyish it feels I realised what a heavy beast the Equinox is, especially with a 13x15ā€™ā€™ or 15ā€™ā€™ coil.. The pistol grip is a winner, plus the Deus II is nicely balanced but that canā€™t be too hard if thereā€™s hardly any weight to balance.. One initial thing thatā€™s got me a bit spooked is the stand-by light on the coil.. It was already flashing when I opened the box and hasnā€™t turned off yet! Is this normal? Iā€™d have thought it would turn off after a certain time to save the battery.. If this is not normal, how can I turn the bloody thing off? It keeps on blinking once every 4 seconds even when the control box (or Remote Control in XP speak) is turned off.. Iā€™ve not tried smashing it against the wall yet, but Iā€™m getting close.. Anyway, I worked out how to run it on program 11 Beach and headed down to (you guessed it) the beach.. I was keen to see how it compared to the Equinox so I whacked on an 11ā€ coil for the occasion.. Whilst on the job, the first thing that struck me about the Deus II was that the display on the Remote Control is bullshit.. Far too much information for the beach (or anywhere else).. The target ID only flashes up when the detector has spotted something (it doesn't stay on the target display), the rest of the time it shows you a whole load of stuff which is not important.. I know itā€™s a different story for prospecting but do you really need to know that the coil is still attached? I do like the ferrous/non-ferrous indicators on the sides of the display, they seem to be pretty accurate.. I tend to listen to what the detector is telling me before checking the screen to confirm what Iā€™m hearing.. With the Equinox the target ID is there for the world to see but with the Deus II the small numbers get lost amongst all the bullshit.. Even then, as soon as youā€™re not over the target anymore it jumps straight back to telling you what program youā€™re in (which you already know because youā€™ve just set it).. Iā€™m also not too sure about the little white numbers on a black background, if XP had filled the whole screen with them it wouldā€™ve worked better.. Iā€™m sure itā€™s a matter of getting used to it and blah, blah, blah but this stuff leaves a bad taste in my mouth.. I realise itā€™s only cosmetic and what really matters is under the hood, but Iā€™d have thought this was pretty basic stuff to get right.. Anyway, back to the beach.. I did the usual scenario of burying different things (coins, gold rings and other small jewellery) at different depths in dry and wet sand.. My first impression is that the Deus II is NOT better than the Equinox on the beach.. itā€™s not worse but it certainly isnā€™t any better.. I could find every target no matter how small or deep with both the Equinox and the Deus II.. This was both a relief and disappointment.. Relief that my Foxy Noxy hadnā€™t been knocked off its perch and disappointment that the huge amount of cash I paid for the Deus II didnā€™t buy me a whole lot of difference.. I knew this would be likely (and in my defence I did buy it as a scuba detector) but I did live in hope.. I know itā€™s early days yet.. Iā€™m still running the Deus with the speakers on the Remote Control and havenā€™t tried the headphones yet (theyā€™re still in the box).. Also Iā€™m not used to the tones and am still mucking around trying to get them right.. Are the tone settings universal like the Equinox or do you have to set them each time you turn it on? Iā€™m trying to get out of the 3 tone setting the Deus uses in program 11 to get it to 5 tones.. Does it remember your settings? Iā€™m still figuring stuff out by pushing buttons, guess Iā€™ll have to read the manual.. But even if I get this all sorted, I donā€™t think that on my beaches the Deus II will outshine the Equinox.. Underwater is a different story.. Iā€™ll be taking it for a dive tomorrow (I was going to take it today but old matey took so long to fill my tank, only just got it back).. So Iā€™ll keep you posted on how my new Nox-Lite performs in the drink..
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