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Make a coffin shaped box the size you need for your gear. I would bet you could even leave it exposed and unlocked in your truck bed and nobody would touch it.

This applies to CTX swingers as well. 😂 .

I thought it was a bit strange that they (the same dealer) changed from being willing to ship internationally to now only within NZ, especially if the detectors are just sitting on the shelf there. That is probably why they haven’t sold yet. I also wondered if the GST is applicable to sales/shipments outside of NZ and how customs would work, particularly if not shipped via air.

I remember you posting this a short while ago. I went to the site and got most the way through checkout just to see if it was, in fact, available to purchase and ship. I didn’t purchase, just wanted to check it out. If I remember, the US dollar price was about 1900 and they would ship worldwide. Today, after reading this post, I went back to the site and added one to my cart. Went most the way through checkout and apparently they are only offering local pickup or shipping only within NZ.

I would sure like to find a new D2 at 1300. Guess I haven’t found the right dealer yet.

I agree, I have learned to not get crazy with cranking up sens, slow down, and check the target from multiple angles. I agree with it all. In regards to sens, I think a lot of people coming from other detectors to the EQX don’t realize just how sensitive this machine is. I know I didn’t, and it was one of the features of the EQX that really impressed me. Thanks for the post, and I appreciate your books as well.

I agree, Thule is a tough place. We always used to joke that if a guy screwed up, he would find himself handing out basketballs at the “base gym” at Thule. 😆

I’ve spent quite a bit of time up there when we were staging out of Fairbanks and I was commanding the RC135S Cobra Ball. It’s a pretty rough place up there this time of year, be careful and get back to the FL beaches when you can. I’m in CO in the snow and think (daydream) every day about a beach, the sun, my detector, a sand scoop, and nothing but time.🏖️

Thanks for the comparison video abenson. I’m not an avid gold prospector like many of you here, but it is good to know that my Nox 800’s will be effective when I can eventually branch out a bit and do some gold specific hunting. It seems from other videos that the Deus II does well on the beach, surf, and diving. Other videos show that the EQX is great on silver and gold. As you stated, each detector has pros and cons, and that is the reason many of us own several detectors. I still love my old Etrac on deep silver and my Nox 800’s as all around versatile machines. I use my gear pretty heavily, but I don’t abuse it so I haven’t had any issues with the Etrac or Nox (yet). I will most likely pick up a Deus II after the dust settles a bit and they are more readily available here in the states, primarily to use on the beach when I visit. I also suspect that we will start seeing quite a few Deus II’s on the used market as people receive them and either get frustrated with the learning curve (especially for non-Deus users) or because it doesn’t deliver what they expected. There are many newcomers to the hobby that don’t fully understand (yet) that detecting takes work- learning the machine modes, learning vdi’s and sounds of specific targets in different soils and situations, etc. Before anybody flames me, I’m in no way shape or form saying the Deus II is overhyped, just saying that everybody is different and what may seem the “silver bullet” machine for some might seem average to others. I will try any brand or model machine to find the good stuff. Again, thanks for the unbiased reviews of three great machines and your acknowledgement that no one machine is perfect- each can serve a unique purpose and performance in different situations.

Sorry for your loss. I lost my wife as well, unexpectedly in August 2018 at 43 after 23 years of marriage. She was very supportive of everything I did as well (including MD’ing). Many of us have had the blessing of a good spouse. Hang in there.

I think this is a blessing in disguise. You can use this event to build her up as a “natural”. Now you can use this as an “excuse” to sell her on your spending more time out MD’ing to refine your “subpar” skills in attempt to become as good as her at finding the goods. I recommend you run with it. 😉

I see I’m not the only one in here with a warped sense of humor. Glad I’m not alone. 😆

When I was flying AC130 gunships at Hurlburt Field just East of Pensacola Florida, our approach to land concluded with a turn to short final that took us out over the Gulf of Mexico. As we approached the coastline and beach just before touch down, we would see all the beach goers. And at about 15 feet away from them, at the edge of the sandbar (most likely catching the crabs falling off the bar) were always groups of sharks. If only the beach goers could’ve seen what we did from the air…

A voice that tells us exactly what is under the coil before we dig “gold class ring”, or “walking liberty silver” would be an awesome upgrade and would surely give ML a leg up over XP and the D2. 😂 In all seriousness, as others have indicated, better waterproofing and stronger coil ears. Further, I like to pack my Nox’s in a pack to get where I’m going, so: 1. A foldable control box or the ability to remove it (control box) and carry it elsewhere like the Deus would be a solid improvement. 2. A carbon fiber rod/shaft system as stock. I know the aftermarket CF shaft builders would disagree with this idea. 3. For those who have multiple coils and don’t have each mounted on their dedicated lower rods, a quick disconnect type of system to make coil swaps a bit easier could be a nice feature. 4. A foldable type arm cuff. I carry 2 or 3 detectors in the same kit and have found that the width and rigidity of a stationary arm cuff sure takes up a lot of width in my bag and makes getting everything crammed in the bag a bit difficult. 5. A more modular system vs the current fastener system that allows the control box, arm cuff, and coil to be easily removed (quick disconnect, etc.), and easily and quickly reattached without having to deal with multi-piece fasteners. IMO, these are all just “nice to have” features and not necessities. I believe that ML is always centered on top notch performance, and I think we can bet that the next ML machine will take aim at outperforming the D2. Therefore, aside from performance/software and waterproofing upgrades, I think they would be smart to concentrate on ergonomics and portability on the next machine.

My house was built in 1994 on land that has no history of others living here in the past. So my finds in my yard have all been modern from previous owners of my home. It sure must be cool to live on a historical piece of property and be able to pull old coins and relics out of your own yards. I’ve been looking for an older property at an affordable price around here, but the term affordable isn’t applicable to anything in my area. 😑

I have over 3000 hours on her, including 1800 combat hours. Sure miss the action. The hog is a great platform as well, and I worked with them often in a Iraq and Afghanistan, but when the guys on the ground want CAS that can stick around for hours slinging lead and “making it personal” for the bad guys, the gunship is who they call. Thanks for posting the pic. I lived in Navarre while I was flying at Hurlburt, I really miss detecting the beaches. Had several real nice finds on Destin beach and Panama City beach right after the crowds would leave after spring break. You are lucky to be around the beaches, especially the Treasure Coast.

I agree 100% on the quality of Pro Golds. I also had to use the same method you speak of- get the ears inside of the cuff with no pressure on the ears, and centered. It can be a bit more challenging in extreme cold or hot weather- cold weather tends to stiffen up the cuff, hot weather brings sweat. I went through all the other headphones, including some that were more expensive than Pro Golds, but nothing compared to the sound quality. Whether a person plugs them in to the box, or through the WM08, you can’t go wrong with PG phones.

Very nice! It looks like you sure have some awesome beaches to hunt. And they look empty of people, which is an added bonus (at least to me). Thanks for posting the video and pics. The only areas I would use larger coils here in Colorado is out east in the state where the terrain is basically prairie/plains. Most of what is around here is highly mineralized soil, cities/towns (decent amount of trashy areas), and mountain rivers, towns, etc. (which are great to look for gold like you do there in NZ, also old silver in the mining towns). So, a 9” or 11” coil would be sufficient for 90% of the areas here, but a 6” (or equivalent) is also a necessity for to other 10% (trash/iron separation). I have all three coils for my Nox 800, but rarely use the 15”. But she’s ready for action if I ever find a promising old abandoned ghost/mining town.⛏️

This mirrors my thoughts exactly in re to coils needing to be different enough from each other to warrant owning both. Although I’m in for the 9” coil on the D2, it just seems to me like both coils are too similar outside of the minor size differences. Is the 9” really that much more nimble in tight spots than the 11”? Maybe, but on par with the difference between the Nox 6” vs the 11” or 15” (for sure, when I swing that bear there is no doubt it is on the end of the shaft😅). Further, is the 9” really that much more efficient in separating through the trash than the 11”? Is the difference similar to, or better than the Nox 6” vs 11” in separating? I will find out if I ever get my D2 in my hands. 😐 Odds are, I will use the 9” D2 until used 11” coils hit the forums and I’ll add on. Surely XP engineers knew what they were doing by implementing 2 coils on the D2 that seem so close in size and overall capabilities? For the sake of coil sales and differentiating all the coils in a product line, one would think XP would follow suit with the other brands and make coils that are noticeably (and technically) unique from the others in the line. If history is an indicator, XP will surely add to their coil line after a while, but why not do like ML did with the Nox and offer 2-3 unique coils with the launch of the new machine? Just seems like better business to me- sell as much as you can while people are excited and spending (strike while the iron is hot). But if XP has no real plans to expand the coil line for the D2, they will surely lose out on the aftermarket companies filling the gap. Just thinking out loud here, please (anybody) educate me if I’m missing something here.

Thanks for the welcome CPT, it definitely is God’s country here. I look forward to meeting my fellow Colorado MD’ers soon.

Thank you. I miss it all daily, nothing out here on the “outside” comes close to matching the tempo, adrenaline rush, and camaraderie I experienced in spec ops. Nam was a rough deal, and I’m glad we don’t have to fight like they did anymore (better tactics, equipment, tech, and stand-off capabilities now). We measured our success by how many of our guys on the ground we could save and how many enemy we could take. The “saves” were great, but our brothers we lost because I couldn’t get to them in time haunt me to this day. Thanks again for the acknowledgment.

I went ahead and switched my order from the 11" to the 9". I think, overall, the deciding factor is the weight. I'm pretty banged up from 5 years deployed, and 20 plus years of mil service, so I think every bit of weight I can shave of, no matter how minimal, will help me swing longer before my injuries end my day. However, I'm still highly interested in what the performance differences are between the two coils, and will pick up the 11" as well after I become comfortable with the D2 and 9" coil. When we get our machines, please come back to this thread with your experiences, especially if you have both coils and are able to do a comparison. I know many other threads will be started as well, but I think it would be good if we can close this thread out with real world comparisons and results. Thanks

This makes sense. I probably should have asked for experience from D1 users, seems like that would be the closest comparison to guess on the D2. Thanks for chiming in with your D1 experience. I'm also in CO, but have primarily detected Midwest (Nebraska and Iowa) soils until now, so I'm looking forward to the challenge.

This is exactly what I'm thinking. The main issue I have is that most other detectors have a considerable difference between coil sizes (Nox 6" vs 11" for example). The D2 only has a 2 inch overall difference between the 2 coils offered- is there really that much of a weight difference or ability to seperate/work tight spots with that small of a size difference? It just seems to me that if a guy/gal had to choose between the two, everything equal (and even near equal on the size- 2 inch difference) that a person would choose the coil that has a bit of an advantage on ground coverage. So, to those who have tested both coils, are they really drastically different? I have an 11" on order, but can change if I'm convinced that the 9" is the best way to go. Thanks everybody for chiming in, this is what makes this forum great.

Good point, I was just referring to the event where somebody knows they will be buying both coils for their different abilities. The 11" for general detecting and the 9" for better separation in high trash or iron areas. That's kind of what I'm trying to figure out- is there a significant enough difference between a 9" and 11" XP coil to warrant planning to purchase both (depth, seperation abilities, VID abilities, etc.)? I could see a considerable difference between a 6" coil and an 11" coil as with the Nox, but how much of a difference between 9" and 11" coil with similar tech? I'm probably splitting hairs here, but I really am curious.