Field Test Of Steveg's Cf Deus 2 Shaft, Headphones And Finds

[F350Platinum]

Busy day today, started out at 23 degrees, it was 36 by the time I got out there. Today I was testing SteveG's Carbon Fiber Deus 2 shaft.

Sure looks nice. 👍 The 13" is the heaviest Deus 2 coil to date, and is what I intend to use on it. It's great for both beach and field, I've used the coil extensively now (almost 20 hours) and it even holds its own in corn stalks. Mounted on the shaft it feels tough, solid as a rock and light.

The D2 with the 13" weighs 2.7 pounds, compared to my Equinox with 10x5 and Steve's excellent shaft for that it's .2 pounds lighter! (2.9 for Equinox) The only modification I made was to use a 1/4" neoprene pad in the cuff instead of the 1/8" pad supplied. Just for fun I also weighed the WS6 Master rig with the 9", it came in at 911g - exactly 2 pounds. 😀

The one thing I noticed right away is that the cuff legs and longer arm shaft don't catch or snag on anything, the XP shaft did frequently. 🫤 I set the shaft length so that the coil "floats", I can do that with the XP shaft but it's shorter, and it's always snagging on my shirt or gear.

If you want to get the coil straight, simply set the detector on the floor, the coil has "legs". Loosen the camlock and adjust it so that the coil "legs" and the cuff legs are flat. That's it. Get your length, lock the camlock and go.

I spent 6 hours in the field today and didn't experience any more arm fatigue than usual. I like the feel of the carbon fiber, and it cleans up much easier than the rubber coated XP shaft.

I was also using my new Wire Free headphones, it was cold and I was going to be closer to the highway, so I decided to use over ear phones.

They have a recess for the WSA II puck. They're not the greatest audio in the world, I had to tweak the equalizer a bit, but they're fine for me. I could hear everything. They only cost about $120 so you get what you pay for. I'd have bought the WSA II XL headphones but they don't have a removable audio module. This is better for me.

Didn't find much today but I tested a lot of settings in different places. One thing I found is just how much depth you lose when using higher reactivity. I went over a spot where I searched with the 13" with reactivity 0, didn't get anything and it was suggested that I had reactivity too low. Went back there with reactivity at 2 and still got nothing, what I immediately noticed was that I also heard less targets, and what it did get wasn't as deep. I have audio response at 3, combined with R=0 you'll hear more, the separation is pretty much as good, and you don't have to swing much slower, just inspect what you hear that sounds good. Try it sometime. 😎

Case in point was this copper ring I dug later at 8", it was a loud 92 with R=0, and a faint 86 with R=2:

I'm sticking with lower reactivity, out of the ground it was still a 92. 😁

Here's the haul, pretty scant but satisfying:

Got the most boring two piece button I've ever found, no discernible backmarks and no front decoration, just a pit:

A musket ball, a mangled thimble, some sort of finial or very weird bullet, the ring, a wheel for something that I first thought was a button but the "axle" goes through it.

Got a gold plated cufflink:

Looks like it had something attached.

Last find was a Tombac, seriously deep and a wavering 47. And that's why the trash was horrible.

Lots of aluminum going over 85 today. 😡 The small pieces get dug because Tombac buttons. 😀 Very little falsing iron!

[MFF18B]

Just got my D2 shaft from Steve today, very well made.  Supposed to get about 24 inches of snow so Im probably not going to get a chance to try it for a while unfortunately. 

[F350Platinum]

1 minute ago, MFF18B said:

Just got my D2 shaft from Steve today, very well made.  Supposed to get about 24 inches of snow so Im probably not going to get a chance to try it for a while unfortunately. 

Sorry about that. 😵 Here in my part of VA the ground almost never freezes, and if it does it changes in short order. I'll be out all winter depending on how cold it is. With light wind and sunny I can take it down to 36f without heated gloves and socks. I've got Reynaud's Syndrome in my hands and feet so I need to be careful.

It's almost a work of art, isn't it? 👍

[MFF18B]

It really is, he did an outstanding job with it.  The upper shaft is about 2 inches longer and the lower shaft is about 4 inches longer which is perfect because the original XP shaft was too short for me, plus the adjustable length arm cuff.  He really did knock it out of the park with this one.  

[steveg]

F350 -- so glad to hear that you are pleased!

Thanks for the kind words, and thank you also, MFF18B!

Very much appreciated!

Steve

[F350Platinum]

1 minute ago, steveg said:

F350 -- so glad to hear that you are pleased!

Thanks for the kind words, and thank you also, MFF18B!

Very much appreciated!

Steve

Pleased is an understatement. 😀

Hey I threw the heaviest coil on it. 🤔 It's rock solid. I stay out of the water this time of year, I'm looking forward to a beach review. So cool that it doesn't snag on anything, and stands up well when laid on the ground. I don't use a cuff strap. It's nice to have it hold the coil out further and still be in balance, I was tired of detecting my boots 🤣

Ya done good Steve. Really good. I'd have written more but ColonelDan did a great job. 👍 Remote lock is outstanding. I like how you kept the tube diameters thin, they should work well in water.

[Brad Plohman]

Nice review F350, that shaft looks real good in the pictures!

I'm running down to the border tomorrow am to pick up my 'SGD2' shaft as well as a Steve G custom sand scoop handle for my 720i. Very excited!

 

[F350Platinum]

7 hours ago, Brad Plohman said:

Nice review F350, that shaft looks real good in the pictures!

I'm running down to the border tomorrow am to pick up my 'SGD2' shaft as well as a Steve G custom sand scoop handle for my 720i. Very excited!

 

That is exciting, Brad. 👍 You're going to love it. Knew Steve would knock it out of the park, shame he had to hustle to get the initial run out. Just like the camo shaft I got for the Equinox, pure perfection.

I've been considering a sand scoop shaft for my CooB Shark V10, but I can't seem to break the PVC rig I built. 😀 It's gotta be that bamboo core. Might someday get a titanium model and do it then. That would be light! 👍

[CPT_GhostLight]

Very nice results with the 13" coil and Steve's Shaft. Congrats on the relics and old ring! Well done again!

[F350Platinum]

1 hour ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

Very nice results with the 13" coil and Steve's Shaft. Congrats on the relics and old ring! Well done again!

Thanks Cap'n. 🙂

I'm not gonna say I dislike the XP shaft, but I thought it would be better to get a much tougher one for the 13".

After this nasty storm and one seriously cold day passes I'm going to get a shot at my fields in front of my house again. Probably won't be posting any major finds, but I can't wait to see what the Deus can do out there. It's been almost 2 years since I went over them with my Equinox. They planted a different cultivar of beans this year, the stalks aren't as thick.