TO DEUS OR NOT TO DEUS

[tallyther]

OK! Many of you have had your DEUS for a while and have developed an opinion on the machine positively or negatively or just can't really tell whether its better or worse other than the fact its light in weight. So I have two question of every one who will join in the fray. 1. Is your DEUS a better machine than others you have owned? 2. Why do you think its better?

Here's the ground rules for responses! Don't waste time on weight because that's a given and that alone is not enough to spend the kind of money they sell for. Besides I know guys who would carry a hundred pound detector if they really thought it would be more productive. So justify spending what you spent on the DEUS compared to the cost of other machines you've bought.

Why am I asking these questions? I'm cheap and skeptical on spending that kind of money on any detector without being assured there is a significant difference in what it will produce in the way of finds over other detectors. Make you discussion as simple or as technical as you want. I've built detectors from scratch and repaired many things in 8 different brands. So the bottom line is "I think I would like one but I'm just not sold on it yet."

Just so you know some of the things that bother me, they are as follows:

1. I hate rechargeable batteries because of their life span, inability to handle cold, and especially tying all the electronics to it in a single package such that you can't do minor fixes. But I'm willing to accept shorter use periods if I can justify the number of finds will go up. Probably the most interesting and positive thing I like about it is the ability to change the effective sweep speed myself just by program instead of having to have it done by the factory. If you are not taking advantage of that benefit you are not using it to optimum.

2. Why should I pay for a package that replicates the same functions in the headphones that are in the coil and controller box? That makes it cost double what it could cost in spite of the electronics theory. By the way I built a totally wireless metal detector in 1980 that only weighed 2.5 pounds so the concept is not really new and it was lighter than most on the market back then. I like the DEUS' potential abilities and options so I don't need to be sold on any of that. I want people to do their best to sell me on the fact they have found more because its a DEUS and not because the're hunting better sites of finally are using better techniques.

I REALLY appreciate your time and effort if you respond. I'm retired and pinching my pennies. I've already found artifacts and gold in Europe and South America as well as in the states and have used the majority of detectors made by brand (not individual models) since 1968 when I built my first BFO from a heath kit. I've modified detectors even for deaf people to use and believe it or not a tactile sensor is quicker and easier to detect over sound. So in advance, thanks for any response!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[can]

Dang, you been a member since 2008 and this is your post? I think you have way more preconceived notions for anyone to try to change your mind about the deus. So I wont try too.

 

[Welgund]

1, Deus batteries are really good and last a long time, hence 5 year warrenty.

2. Headphones can not replicate everything the control box can do, do more research.

3. Deus is the best detector in heavy iron for unmasking coil size for for coil size. The ability to tailor it to the site your work trumps just about every other vlf detector outside the iron. It is the true all around detector. In the end the decision is yours to make.

 

[scotty544]

I like it. .....

 

[basque-man]

Love it!!!! My son is 16 and he is already passing me up with his.........

 

[Tedyoh]

Don't buy it, especailly if you're around OH / PA - I don't want anymore out there.

Go buy a Minelab, please.

 

[Jeff H]

I love mine. But since I am not on the XP payroll, I recommend you don't buy one because of what you perceive as negatives in reason #2. I can see that gnawing away at you when you have a slow day detecting. Perhaps you should build another detector.

 

[Introfiant]

Rechargeable batteries are not as good. you are correct. and as far as depth and finds, the atpro would work just as well. if saving pennys is the way to go then get something else. Or do like you did and rebuild one? They're not all that they're cracked up to be. An ATPro is a good machine and if you put a new coil on there you have even more advantage. Deus is over priced and doesn't offer anything more than an ace 250. You shouldn't get one. Definitely not

 

[CZconnoisseur]

Here's a reason:

You can wirelessly sync a set of Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids to the Deus control box. The hearing aids are adjusted for your hearing loss by the specialist/audiologist, and the audio quality from the Deus isn't compromised or lagged in any way. There is a relay you must use (that communicates with the wireless hearing aids) to talk to the control box. This would effectively eliminate the need for WS4 or WS5 phones on those really hot days, and depending on your hearing level; you can choose an occluded fit (full earmold in the ear) or open fit depending on the environment or weather.

While you can also do this with other wireless metal detectors, I know for a fact that there is no lag or signal degradation from the Deus control box to the hearing aids. Full Tones is especially useful with this setup

 

[Deft Tones]

I'll bite.

I have a V3i, At Pro, and the Deus, and I've aquired them in that order too. I've over 2500 hours on the V3i, roughly 200 hours on the ATP, and now fast approaching 200 hours on the Deus since January 2016.

I prefer hunting jewellry and coins on land - come rain, or shine, or sand , or snow. The V3i (10" D2, 15"x12" sef, 8"x 6" sef, 5.3 Eclipse, 4" x 6" shooter) and ATP (stock coil) cover all my bases, so why the Deus?

To be honest with myself, I got the XP so I could see if the V3i can be set up to play like the Deus in iron/trash, and because I kept reading how great this machine is in those environments. I didn't like the brains in the coil. I didn't like three seperate devices to charge. I didn't like that she was not American. Still, I wanted an affair with an exotic foreigner. Just to try and see what I could be missing, you know?

There is one particular spot I hunt loaded with iron mixed with trash, and ground ranging in extremes of mineralization/contamination. EMI problems are severe at times, and depending on your proximity to the two sources, can be impossible to eliminate. This spot has also seen multiple fires and floods, along with remodels and demolitions - it's has the worst of all hunting conditions in one location. This is where I choose to cut my teeth on the V3i. It is also the first place I take every new machine to run the gauntlet.

One section in particular, a parking lot that was torn out, it has it all. I've ran every coil on the V3i over that area and pulled everything but the iron. (I did pull some iron from the deep I suppose) One rainy day the ATPro also ran the parking lot only to pull one V nickel, the only non ferrous signal in that lot, and I'm still wondering how it was missed by the V3i.

Enter the Deus. After air tests to establish tones, same lot. 1 buffalo, 1 indian off that lot. Both mixed with iron. Damn! So far so good. Seems to be working as intended.

Fast forward 150+ hours under the backphones to last week. I'm feeling fairly confident interpreting the language of the Deus, so I reurned to a park I love hunting for jewellry. This park is large. I have not swept all of it. It is target rich and always being replenished. I decide to walk a straight line to the opposite side, then adjust 6 feet to the side and come back. Two hours is all the time I had. Walking away from the starting point I'm digging any non-ferrous signal above iron. 20 minutes and a fist full each of clad and trash, I change tactics. I decide since it's lightweight and supposedly not swing speed sensitive, I'm swinging like a maniac... going to really chew up the ground and only dig tones that drop off sharp when wiggling off. If it gives anything more than a slight squeak while coming off target - move on!

Chewing through real estate, swinging 5'-6' arcs each second, stopping for any decent blip, lifting coil, wiggling off, speed walking off, looking like an idiot for sure...but an idiot who proceeded to recover more clad, then a 18.6 gram 14k mens gold chain bracelet, a 24.4 gram .925 sliver chain, a one dollar coin, and a clad half dollar closing out the hunt. Most clad found at surface to 2". Chains found at 3" and 5". Not deep by any means, but my pace was rediculous. The V3i just cannot operate well this way.

After swinging with the Deus a few months I'm formulating opinions. Like, the V3i has been very good to me and I love her, but she's a fat pig that could lose some weight. The AT is good for a fling when it's wet, but I can't be bothered when it's not. She's not as balanced as the V, but it's not so bad I'd let her go. I share her with anyone who comes wth me on a hunt. She gets passed around between strangers. She has a place in the pecking order. The Deus is simply hard to not like. I tried. Even if I dig more trash with the Deus over the V3i (it's beginning to narrow though), I keep getting back into bed with the French gal.
She just might become my main squeeze after all.

The XP Deus is certainly an excellent machine all the way around. Could it be improved? Sure. I'd like a Deus/V3i hybrid. Lightweight, wireless, 3 frequency, Deus full tones with stereo mixed mode to start with.

I could go on, but who cares about my opinion on my big second post.

Good luck. Good hunting!

 

[Kodiak43351]

Don't buy it, especailly if you're around OH / PA - I don't want anymore out there.

Go buy a Minelab, please.

I'm from NW Ohio and was hoping nobody else had one close. Can you please sell yours and get something else. Lol the deus is so versatile with all the options it can be set up for so many types of detecting. It has found stuff that my other detectors did not plain and simple. It is pricey but in my opinion it's worth it since you have multiple detectors in one. Good luck

 

[tallyther]

Dang, you been a member since 2008 and this is your post? I think you have way more preconceived notions for anyone to try to change your mind about the deus. So I wont try too.

You would be wrong on preconceived notions. Pre-conceived notions by definition are feelings and not facts. Tell me where I have erred on anything I've stated and I'll reconsider. Otherwise, neither of us are benefiting.

FYI - I believe in gathering info. I've built and modified detectors, sold 8 different brands as a dealer, was a Tesoro Distributor and for years kept data on which detectors broke down the most of the brands I sold and why they failed. I didn't rely on the hype that often is put out by manufacturers. Over the years I've dealt directly with company presidents such as Jack Gifford, Charles Garrett (he even quotes my wife in one of his books), Kenneth White Sr. and some of their design staff. So I'm not particularly ignorant on the pros and cons of different detectors or the philosophy of some of the manufacturers that controls the quality of their products and lines. Because I try to look at things without bias and only deal in facts, and I don't know you, whether you are pro or con for the DEUS so I don't jump to conclusions. Its true I have been a member since 2008 but only frequent this site. DEUS by comparison is relatively new to the American market and appears to be impressive albeit expensive. But the old saying you get what you pay for isn't always true. So I made an inquiry to this forum to gather more input. Jumping to conclusions based on one post only creates biases. Being retired since 2009 but still having 3 part time jobs can limit pleasure time.

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

This is a great thread, keep the input going guys!

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[tallyther]

Dang, you been a member since 2008 and this is your post? I think you have way more preconceived notions for anyone to try to change your mind about the deus. So I wont try too.

You would be wrong on preconceived notions. Pre-conceived notions by definition are feelings and not facts. Tell me where I have erred on anything I've stated and I'll reconsider. Otherwise, neither of us are benefiting.

FYI - I believe in gathering info. I've built and modified detectors, sold 8 different brands as a dealer, was a Tesoro Distributor and for years kept data on which detectors broke down the most of the brands I sold and why they failed. I didn't rely on the hype that often is put out by manufacturers. Over the years I've dealt directly with company presidents such as Jack Gifford, Charles Garrett (he even quotes my wife in one of his books), Kenneth White Sr. and some of their design staff. So I'm not particularly ignorant on the pros and cons of different detectors or the philosophy of some of the manufacturers that controls the quality of their products and lines. Because I try to look at things without bias and only deal in facts, and I don't know you, whether you are pro or con for the DEUS so I don't jump to conclusions. Its true I have been a member since 2008 but only frequent this site. DEUS by comparison is relatively new to the American market and appears to be impressive albeit expensive. But the old saying you get what you pay for isn't always true. So I made an inquiry to this forum to gather more input. Jumping to conclusions based on one post only creates biases.

Being retired since 2009 but still having 3 part time jobs can limit pleasure time. Do to lack of use (experience) with this Forum I haven't yet determined how to respond to individual posts yet. But I have really appreciated everyone who has taken the time to respond. My limiting or refining what I wanted to hear about was an intended to eliminate as much variability as possible in interpretation. I've observed since the 70's that many detectorists will buy one brand or model after another seeking to find more goodies without every realizing the main problem is their lack of understanding of any machines limitations and how they work. Hence they charge out with great expectations and often believe the next machine is better because of what they are finding in supposed hunted out areas. If half the people really understood that the average coil detection field width is only a few inches wide at 10" depth and hunted that way their really would be hunted out areas. If you get my point to detect thoroughly at a 10" depth you must overlap a 10" coil 5 times. One of my buddies who posts under the name "wormkiller" is one of the few people I know who will actually spend all day in a 40' x 40' area overlapping his coil if he thinks things are there. So when people go back to a site repeatedly that doesn't mean they really covered the area. In fact less than 20% of the area was most likely covered on one trip and it takes years to cover 60% of it. That's assuming you used no discrimination and weren't overlooking items 6" down that were masked or because your swing speed isn't properly synchronized with your particular machines sampling rate. I've only seen about half dozen people in my life who have really tested their machines for this all important control element and adjusted their hunting style to accommodate it. The bottom line is this. There is very little difference in any machine's detection ability when all manufacturers built in factors are equal. Its the add-ons that make up for or make it worse for many inappropriate or improper detectorists hunting styles. Ad educated detectorist will match up his/her coil to the hunting environment and object to be detected, then swing according to the detectors sampling rate while overlapping the previous coil's path according to the maximum depth desired. In addition, assuming all this has been done correctly, the detectorist must at a minimum replicate the prior process by walking 90 degrees to the original path. But in fact it would be best to do so at 60 degree angles. The change in direction is necessary to address orientation of the magnetic field of the objects in the ground. The fact that all this is seldom done is why people can stumble over new find in supposedly hunted out fields that they have previously hunted with or without a new detector. Metal detectors have changed but the physics has been the same since the beginning of time.

I tend to move faster than most people and I'm never going to go as slow as what is really the most effective speed of many detectors. That means moving forward or swinging the coil. As early as the 70's White's detectors were finding most of the deeper items but it was often said you had to swing them like golf clubs. As they produced more and more machines they altered the elctronics sweep speed because most of the people couldn't do it in comfort. Detector manufacturers have had very little they could do to attract people from one brand to another and when they caused a shift it was more hype than fact or they were appealing to user comfort which allowed people to hunt better and therefore find more targets.

In Electronics, the Minelab with varied sampling rates and multiple frequencies in one detector set a new standard and did well as a result of it. But even Charles Garrett tried to explain in his old books the pros and cons of everything Minelab introduced years later. They were both great machines but each's limitations were ruled by manufacturer philosophy and not physics.

The DEUS in my mind is taking the best of the Minelab and believe it or not Jack Gifford's (Tesoro) many patents also used by Technetics and so on to give true user adjustability. Prior detectors had one fixed feature and limited adjustability. This is not the same thing as how many programs you can set up. No prior detector approached frequency application individually as DEUS has done. IMHO the 16 frequency sampling and superimposition of certain Minelabs is superior to that of DEUS if you are looking for anything anywhere. But its a squeaking pain to interpret and especially for someone who has a hearing loss and it unnecessarily weighs a ton. In contrast, DEUS has introduced a more user friendly frequency selection that can be geared for specific types of hunting and married it with variable sweep speed possibilities. This means relatively less signal averaging that benefits in hunting in a trashy or iron environment, especially if the right coil is selected. I'm one of these individuals that realizes the most technically capable machines is not always the best in practice. Sometimes all that electronics can get in the way. Also why pay for something you are really not going to use or get a benefit from? Like I said, I like the DEUS concept as a designer but am looking for proof its better in the field. Many things look good on paper but don't always pan out in practice. When you look at the practice you have to distinguish proper use from luck to be sure its really better. This can best be determined only after many hours of use by many people and their input and not based upon what is the latest fad is.

Thanks again everyone for the great input .... most specifically Deftones and the post on syncing hearing aids which I unfortunately must wear by CZ Connoisseur.

 

[can]

Man I still cant believe that you have been a member since 2008 and this is your first post. With the wealth of info you have in your brain someone ought to give you a good swift kick in the keester for not sharing your info before now

 

[HuntinDog]

Tallyther,
You sound like you have been around the block when it comes to metal detectors.
I haven't owned a bunch of different detectors like so many others have.
I kind of get one and stick with it until it is well mastered.

Now as to your concerns with battery life, I have to say I've just about paid for my DEUS in battery savings alone.
Putting in 8 AA batteries (even at big box prices) every other week can run up quite a bill.
I've had my DEUS for about 4 years and bought it used. Never had any problems with the battery life.
I Hunt 6 to 8 hours a day and charge at night.

The wireless headphones are great once you have setup your personal programs you can leave the controller in the car
and all you have to deal with is your coil, shaft and headphones... and no wires.
They are lite, cool and the sound is very good.
There are a few functions that can't be done with the earphones only so you still need the controller.
Now if you want to link to Bluetooth hearing aids than I see no need for the headphones.

The reactivity speed of the DEUS is remarkable.
I can run it over a length of 1/2" chain as fast as a golf swing and hear every link without it nulling.
If you hunt as you said overlapping swings and taking you time it will find those targets that were nulled out by a slower machine.
But don't get me wrong everyone misses targets....

I'm very happy with my DEUS and my other detectors are collecting dust....

 

[tallyther]

Thanks Can but its really not my first post. But I have been here so seldom that my posts were dropped. I'm sure the reason is its just not practical to store everyone's posts that aren't logging in regularly. I've actually had to reset my name and password 3 different times and they have always been the same. But in regards to input on detecting I've normally only posted without regards to brand identification because I believe all are really pretty good to accomplish the philosophy adopted by the manufacturer. Its up to the buyer to determine that. There are sports cars, off road vehicles and simple passenger sedans. All accomplish the same basic purpose but have different venues. Its the same with detector design. The same similarity runs in creating models within a brand whether its cars or detectors. Because there are differences in how people view things and associate I have actually posted this same question on more than one site. I don't buy anything out of impulse and may take 6 months studying an issue with the amount of time spent related to importance.

I truly believe no one can know how to get the most out of any detector they own without using it under many varied conditions and if your only a weekend detector warrior having used it two years. Guys who are really diehard users can do it in half that time but only if they use it as the manufacturer states. So you have to ask a lot of questions in multiple areas to gain enough data. So few people today don't realize what Faraday shielding is and how in more manufacturers are dropping it to create more sensitivity but affecting other areas of detection and increasing instability. Both philosophies work but one may be far more serviceable for a particular style of hunting such as coins versus artifact hunting. In recent years Technetics has done the best job of describing what factors are built into their machines but most people don't read manuals to understand and gain the benefit of that information.

I remember when Technetics was considered a kids toy but they are at or near the top today. Some of the best simple publications on how machines work have been put out by Charles Garrett first and then Jack Gifford later. Not much has been produced since. But their articles if studied could literally double or triple the number of finds of the average detectorist if they took them to heart. Obviously I'm excluding one most important point in this last statement and I'm going to include it here because some people will think its bull. Those are the people who think you can find something where it isn't. So the first and most important point is the detector is ONLY a tool and you have to look where something has exists (lost, misplaced, or normally exists). RESEARCH is still the king of finding anything.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND and go save some RELICS!

 

[CoilToTheSoil]

I'll bite.

I have a V3i, At Pro, and the Deus, and I've aquired them in that order too. I've over 2500 hours on the V3i, roughly 200 hours on the ATP, and now fast approaching 200 hours on the Deus since January 2016.

I prefer hunting jewellry and coins on land - come rain, or shine, or sand , or snow. The V3i (10" D2, 15"x12" sef, 8"x 6" sef, 5.3 Eclipse, 4" x 6" shooter) and ATP (stock coil) cover all my bases, so why the Deus?

To be honest with myself, I got the XP so I could see if the V3i can be set up to play like the Deus in iron/trash, and because I kept reading how great this machine is in those environments. I didn't like the brains in the coil. I didn't like three seperate devices to charge. I didn't like that she was not American. Still, I wanted an affair with an exotic foreigner. Just to try and see what I could be missing, you know?

There is one particular spot I hunt loaded with iron mixed with trash, and ground ranging in extremes of mineralization/contamination. EMI problems are severe at times, and depending on your proximity to the two sources, can be impossible to eliminate. This spot has also seen multiple fires and floods, along with remodels and demolitions - it's has the worst of all hunting conditions in one location. This is where I choose to cut my teeth on the V3i. It is also the first place I take every new machine to run the gauntlet.

One section in particular, a parking lot that was torn out, it has it all. I've ran every coil on the V3i over that area and pulled everything but the iron. (I did pull some iron from the deep I suppose) One rainy day the ATPro also ran the parking lot only to pull one V nickel, the only non ferrous signal in that lot, and I'm still wondering how it was missed by the V3i.

Enter the Deus. After air tests to establish tones, same lot. 1 buffalo, 1 indian off that lot. Both mixed with iron. Damn! So far so good. Seems to be working as intended.

Fast forward 150+ hours under the backphones to last week. I'm feeling fairly confident interpreting the language of the Deus, so I reurned to a park I love hunting for jewellry. This park is large. I have not swept all of it. It is target rich and always being replenished. I decide to walk a straight line to the opposite side, then adjust 6 feet to the side and come back. Two hours is all the time I had. Walking away from the starting point I'm digging any non-ferrous signal above iron. 20 minutes and a fist full each of clad and trash, I change tactics. I decide since it's lightweight and supposedly not swing speed sensitive, I'm swinging like a maniac... going to really chew up the ground and only dig tones that drop off sharp when wiggling off. If it gives anything more than a slight squeak while coming off target - move on!

Chewing through real estate, swinging 5'-6' arcs each second, stopping for any decent blip, lifting coil, wiggling off, speed walking off, looking like an idiot for sure...but an idiot who proceeded to recover more clad, then a 18.6 gram 14k mens gold chain bracelet, a 24.4 gram .925 sliver chain, a one dollar coin, and a clad half dollar closing out the hunt. Most clad found at surface to 2". Chains found at 3" and 5". Not deep by any means, but my pace was rediculous. The V3i just cannot operate well this way.

After swinging with the Deus a few months I'm formulating opinions. Like, the V3i has been very good to me and I love her, but she's a fat pig that could lose some weight. The AT is good for a fling when it's wet, but I can't be bothered when it's not. She's not as balanced as the V, but it's not so bad I'd let her go. I share her with anyone who comes wth me on a hunt. She gets passed around between strangers. She has a place in the pecking order. The Deus is simply hard to not like. I tried. Even if I dig more trash with the Deus over the V3i (it's beginning to narrow though), I keep getting back into bed with the French gal.
She just might become my main squeeze after all.

The XP Deus is certainly an excellent machine all the way around. Could it be improved? Sure. I'd like a Deus/V3i hybrid. Lightweight, wireless, 3 frequency, Deus full tones with stereo mixed mode to start with.

I could go on, but who cares about my opinion on my big second post.

Good luck. Good hunting!

Excellent post buddy! I completely agree!

 

[CoilToTheSoil]

I can tell you a few facts from my experience.

1. It is the best detector I have ever owned as far as its versatility. I have owned many entry level units and a tek 6k gamma, atp, and borrowed or hunted with many others that have had other machines which I have tried out.

2. This machine was able to go back to every iron infested site I've ever hunted and pull more relics and coins than the easy pickins with other detectors which had swung over the exact same spots.

3. The battery life is excellent. I can charge all three bits and hunt an hour a day and longer on weekends and still only need to charge it every other week or so. The charger has 3 connectors for the single charger so it's not as if you only have 1 charger and need to rotate bits. Charge time is quick and the life is excellent.

4. Did I mention the versatility? I can hunt an open field next to an old homestead for deep sparse relics then in a second tune the machine to be right along side the iron infested foundation pulling out brass copper and silver. This is the only detector I've used that can actually and effectively hunt dirt and debris piles particularly those from bulldozed homes, and still pull out brass copper and silver amongst the blankets of iron and crud.

5. I have my atp as a river wader even though I have the wp kit from deus. This is the only place I feel the deus needs a complimentary detector. I have an aversion to putting a 1300 dollar piece of equipment in a plastic bag and dunking it into the water where it shouldn't be going.

6. The tones on the machine are superb. The come-off tones are fantastic indicators as to the target as previously mentioned.

 

[vferrari]

I think Deft Tones and Coil to the Soil pretty much nailed it but wanted to add my $0.02.

I have a number of detectors that are set up for specific types of specialized hunting, a multi-frequency unit for the wet beach (Excal II), an ATX Pro PI for highly mineralized soil and depth when relic hunting, and a few coinshooter favs in the F75 and Tek units which can be shared with friends, family and newbies. I have an AT Pro for foul weather but going to try out the Whites MX Sport as a potential replacement, provided it is better balanced and has at least as good as performance as the AT Pro. But the Deus can do all these things successfully, if not better than the specialized machines under some conditions. Besides the light weight allowing it to be able to be swung ALL DAY, the compactness make it great for travel, especially when forced to travel light and it makes a great LOW PROFILE machine that can keep you from drawing undo attention to yourself when in the field. The other thing I like about it is its versatility, it can be configured in various different ways to suit the conditions of the day - go without the control box so you can safely stow it wherever - check. Use wired headphones if desired - check. Use the wireless backphone mini-controller on your wrist or on the stem - check, use the water resistant backphones in foul weather - check, protect the main controller in a 3rd party waterproof hardcase - check. Have two coils and stems and one control box and one set of wireless headphones, BOOM, you have two detectors that can be used independently. Finally, the ability to change between four base frequencies at the touch of a button (not just shift frequencies) is invaluable when trying to discern the nature of a target. Yeah, its not a multifrequency machine like a Whites V3i or the Minelab CTX 3030, but it does get the job done. HTH and HH.