palzynski

Yes I noticed that the Quest X5 11X6 (Blade) stock coil is extremely light ( 290g without coil cover ), this is actually a world record ... I understand now better the reason ... FloatResin 🙂. For example the Apex 11 X 6 Viper weights 400g , a Vanquish V10 10X8 360g , even the small Deus 11X5 HF elliptical ( 310g ) is heavier than the X5 Blade. btw I have done a Quest X5 full test a few months ago , I will post it on the forum as soon as I have a little time ...

From my standpoint I consider the Deus as an almost perfect detector for I am doing ( coin hunting in plowed fields/ often high iron trash / mild soil / European conditions ) and I am not the only one , at least over here ... I dont need advanced features as the targets I am looking for are mostly at the ground surface , I just need a very reactive and accurate on targets machine , with an excellent iron filtering , just like a Tesoro, and the Deus already does the job ...🙂 The only thing I dont like on the Deus is the charging system . Actually I am curious to see how/if XP can still improve the Deus performances for this kind of hunting with this new SMF machine ... Perhaps they simply will not .. It is an other story with beach hunting , the new XP SMF detector will open a new market share for them , adding the beach to the inland areas ...

Bienvenue Melano87... 🙂 Which area are you from in France ?

From my infos ( local French dealers ) , XP will release a new SMF VLF detector by the end of the year.

Hi , A friend of mine has found this US ( identification pendant? ) in a field where was a field hospital during the 1st WW Location : France / near Braine / approx 100km North East from Paris . Metal alumininum , size approx 40mm . The soldier name is : WILLIAM S S...... , from Massachussets , unfortunately the name is damaged and cannot be read. Found with a Vanquish 340 Any help/infos will be greatly appreciated .. Thanks Alain

Yes very good comparative review ... I agree the Apex is not the best for target depth and vdi stability , this even in mild ground. It also falses too much on the irons . Garrett has definitely to improve the Apex electronics ( or coil design? ) to solve these issues . On the other hand the Apex is a fast machine , and as you said it is very comfortable to sweep compared with the 2 others which is a very important feature for some people , at least for me 🙂...

I agree for the chinese and especially Quest. I have tested a Quest X5 a few months ago , an excellent machine , ideal for beginners , which is already a best seller over here because of its performances and very low price ( only 170euros ). Concerning FT , yes they have an excellent inland detector with the T2 ( 1st version released in 2008 ). FT should repackage it with smaller electronics , a lithium battery , an improved user interface , lighter shaft and coils and it would certainly be a success story ..

Very nice find , the Deus is a killer on small coins in the iron trash ... Not only for European coins as I can see ... 🙂 🙂 . Unless you found it with the Equinox , which is also very good on silvers ...

Detecting in clean soils and in iron/alu trashed soils are two very different things . - If you look for depth in clean soils then a low freq (5 to 12khz) machine like the Simplex or a multi freq machine ( ML Vanquish/Equinox etc ) is recommended, they can detect a big coin up to 12 inches in clean soil. - If you are in the trash , the separation/reactivity is more important than the depth. Then a higher freq , very reactive machine with an excellent iron filtering like the Deus/Orx , a Teknetics T2/G2 , an Apex or some Tesoros etc will do the best job . I agree I prefer the Deus vs the Orx because of the tones limited to 3 on the Orx. From my standpoint I use a Deus HF ( elliptical and round 9i ) and sometimes an Apex for the trashed sites and a Vanquish 540 V10 or V12 for searching medium/big coins at depth in cleaner soils. The right tool for the right job ...🙂 All this applies for European conditions , in the US of course it may be a little different because of the different targets/soils/trash... A picture of yesterdays outing with my Deus HF , this was in the iron trash ;

In Europe and especially in France we have iron trash almost everywhere because of 2000+ years of history. And the Deus / Orx are by far the most popular detectors over here , the same in England from what I have heard. But it takes time to learn machines like the Deus/Orx , you need several months to learn its audio , and it is a minimum... For info I have started the XPs with a Golmaxx in 2007 , then I have been using a Deus since 2013 , and I am still learning things with it 7 years after ...A total of 14 years experience with the XPs btw 🙂... Concerning the Orx settings , when I tested it 2 years ago I used the COIN FAST mode , changing the frequency depending from the iron trash density: - low/medium iron trash : 14khz - high iron trash : 29khz And I agree, the elliptical HF is an excellent coil , better than the 9 round in the irons , certainly the best one of the XP coil set in the iron trash.. The Simplex is a good detector with a good audio , but frankly when you have been using an ultra light machine like the Orx/Deus for years it is very difficult ,say impossible ( at least for me ) to come back to a machine which is almost twice heavier ( 750 vs 1400g ) .... And as Chase said , the Simplex is monofrequency limited to 12khz. It is ok for medium / big coins hunting , but too low for searching very small coins ( sometimes less than 1g ) that we have over here ... Hope that helps .. HH ..

Yes but the 11" is significantly heavier than the HF coils( 400 vs 320g ) . I would only use the 11 coil for big coins hunting in clean soils , using a low freq like 5khz. But for this kind of deep searching I prefer my Vanquish 540 with a V10 or a V12 coil.

For me they have not tested the Apex enough before releasing it to customers. I mean serious testing by experienced users . They probably wanted to release the Apex as soon as possible , I am not sure that it was a good idea ...

Today I had a discussion with a md dealer in France about the Apex. He told me that several customers had reliability issues with the 1st Apex batch .Good news now for him the situation has changed and he has no complaints any more with the units that he is currently selling ... 🙂 So it looks like Garrett has done some changes/improvements on the Apex during the last months. It would be interesting to know what they have exactly done ( coil , pc board or software changes ? ) . But from what I know no info is available from them . At Garretts they are very good for marketing/sales communication , a little less for after service issues comm. , at least for the Apex ... 😒

Settings for coins and jewelry in parks : - general hunting / moderate to medium iron trash areas : coin fast /14khz - high iron trash / small targets : coin fast /30khz Dont know about nugget hunting , unfortunately no nuggets over here in the north of France ..🙂 HH

I agree that Garrett has to improve the Apex , this even for mild soils where I detect : - suppress/filter the random false signals - improve target id stability on targets for both the audio and the VDIs From my standpoint I keep my Apex because it is a fast and light machine . I hope that Garrett will develop new software versions that will solve the issues At least if they read this forum they know what they have to do ....

Yes the Deus/Orx coil charging system is a little tricky . This is the only thing I dont like on my Deus ... 🙂

Today I was invited by a friend for an outing on a 1st WW hospital in a plowed field. After a few weeks testing the Apex , I decided to use my trusty XP Deus WS4 , this time with a brand new elliptical 9X5 HF coil instead of the 9 HF round coil that I have been using since several years now ... Normally this elliptical coil is more designed for searching very small targets in the high iron trash and !I was curious to see how it will work for mili hunting ... Long story short , I spent around 2 hours in the field and I found 8 1st WW buttons , German and French including a very nice French Marine button with an anchor. Very happy with these finds 🙂 😹, it is unusual to find so many buttons during an outing here ... The 9 elliptical HF coil is excellent , it has a very good ground coverage because of its length and it is very easy to pinpoint the targets because of its narrow size. May be it is not the most powerful for depth but this has no real importance in a plowed field where the targets are mostly near the surface. This little coil is really a beast for field hunting , for me it is even better than the round HF coil and I wonder why I have never tried it before ... As usual the Deus audio is perfect , the iron filtering is great and the signals on targets are excellent . Definitely the best machine I have ever used for plowed field hunting 👍 ... My settings were DEUS FAST nr 3 factory mode , 14khz , 5 tones A few 1st WW buttons ... : The trash : The Deus WS4 wireless headphones , the elliptical 9X5 HF and the round 9 HF :

Hi Slavomir, With so many detectors I wonder how you manage to choose the right one before going detecting 🙂🙂... Btw what is your opinion about the Deus + elliptical HF coil ? I have just received one a few days ago ...

There is some falsing with the Apex , in the medium tones , but less than with a Vanquish . If I had to grade the 3 machines that I currently own I would say : 1. Deus - almost silent 2. Apex - some falsing in the mediums 3. Vanquish - a lot of falsing in the high tones This for my European conditions with mild soil / high iron trash

I agree , a lot of iron falsing ( high pitch ) with the Vanquish in the high iron trash. Over here for my European conditions I finally prefer to recommend a Quest X5 or X10 for a total newbie, rather than a Vanquish . The Vanquish is a very good machine but its audio is a little tricky ... The Apex has a better iron filtering than a Vanquish in the irons . However the best ones for me are the XPs Deus/Orx , almost silent in nail beds ...

Hi , What about the tarsacci vs the deus in your field ? one better than the other ? thx for the infos ...

Yes I had this faulty cable issue , hopefully only once during 8 years using the Deus ... 🙂

Great idea , I dont like the XP charging clip design which is often a source of troubles ; they are fragile , sometimes they dont work.... This new one looks much simpler and better thx

A hammered penny , unless you have something different , is a small silver coin 1,3g 18mm. The max depth on such a coin is probably 4 or 5 inches for a VLF detector .No VLF detector will hit it at 9 inches anyway . My advice would be to focus first on sounds rather to the numbers/display. Then focus on the freq , for such a small coin 30khz should be better than 14 . The freqs are very important on a Deus , try changing the freqs you will see significant differences ... And try the Deus fast nr3 program

Ok lets say that the housing and the PCB do not move/flex good news. However it is not normal that the coil connector is so tight in the CB housing , I have never had such an issue before with a detector. I have a Vanquish and recently had a Quest X5 their coil connectors are very easy to plug/unplug . Garrett should take care about this kind of "details" , even if these connectors are probably not manufactured by Garrett themselves ... So to come back to the thread subject ; The things I dont like with the Apex 🥵 : - some false signals in the high iron trash - coil connector in the CB housing too tight - a random bug ? EMI ? for which I have sometimes to disconnect/reconnect this coil connector , hopefully it does not occur very often And for me the main Apex advantages vs the competition 🙂 : ++ it is light thx to its thin control box , especially with the ripper coil ( 1.1kg ) and this can even be reduced by replacing the rubber handle and the arm rest with lighter components. + it is very good in the iron trash , fast with short beeps on targets + it is easy to use/understand for both the audio and the user interface , it is a turn and go detector + the MS-3 wireless headphones are probably the best ones on the market