tnsharpshooter
Bronze Member
- #1
Thread Owner
Alright folks.
I started detecting in Dec 2010 and my first detector was the White's V3i.
A challenging detector for any person new to detecting to learn how to use.
This thread though geared to the XP Deus detector.
This thread was constructed when latest version software was indeed version 4.0. This info presented here, most is applicable to the now latest durrent version 4.1.
At the end of this info stream posted by me is a link to another thread on this forum again constructed my me that talks about a new feature version 4.1 offers called ground sensitivty setting.
Obviously for folks who have some detecting experience may find some of this info less helpful, even boring.
But I do think these same folks new to Deus may find some of the info useful.
So where to start?
Don't expect to learn Deus in a day, week, or month even with heavy use. But every outing a user will build on their foundation of skill while using.
I encourage all Deus owners to read their manuals. Pay particular attention to proper way for hooking charging clip up to your coil.
And I do realize some of the mumbo jumbo mentioned in the manual likely sounds like a foreign language to some.
But you need to still read so you can relate easier to what I am posting.
I will be explaining some at least of this "mumbo jumbo"
This post here will not be done in one day, will take a few days at least for me to put together here.
So let's begin.
Sweeping
Deus is what I call a very good ground reactive detector.
Meaning swing speed for depth is very forgiving unlike some models.
You will see sweep technique shown in manual and even talked about on forums.
Bottom line you need to get your coil over anything you want to find.
It is not imperiative to have a long sweep side to side for target location.
But you the user need to be paying attention to just how much of the ground you sweep over while coil is properly positioned "level" as you move around. A user can be what I call a sweeper, or a creeper using Deus coil while searching. Both methods will work depending on detecting site. Beginners should go slower rather than faster when detecting. Remember obstacles too can slow your sweeping and coil advancement. In cleaner sites good rule of thumb - a 1001 and 1002 count for a complete swing right or left and vice versa. For area with more trash, iron or nails a slower sweep may be necessary, even creeping the coil while hunting.
Detector rod length.
No hard and fast rules here.
Bottom line adjust for your comfort. If you don't you'll tire faster. Users should also consider lengthening or shortening rod length on the fly as the ground one is detecting on can be below one's feet or above. Coil height above ground is very important. Coil needs to be close as possible without scrubbing or digging into the ground. It is not unusual if a user does hit the ground with coil or a protruding obstacle above ground for detector to give false audio (blips, noise).
Ground mineralization
This is important to know, and the Deus gives a user a meter to check called mineralization strength meter.
Basically all one has to do is bob their coil over clean ground (no metal) around 4-5 times and watch the meter.
Anything say 3 dots displayed or less, detector performance for depth capability not affected.
Four to 6 dots, some depth capability is being compromised.
More than 7 up to full scale shown, even more depth is compromised.
Detection in general.
Question, does the Deus alert on all targets as long as they are under the coil when swept?
Short answer not likely. Why?
The Deus coil as far as alerting on targets will depend on many things besides the target just being under the coil (inside the coil's perimeter).
Things like ground minerlization, target size, target shape, target orientation, and yes even if any other nonferrous or ferrous targets that may exist in vicinity. I should also mention detector settings too can influence. And I will talk about this later when talking about some of the actual settings.
So as you can see, actual coil progression when detecting can be very important for locating targets. This progression, even a lot of intermediate experienced Deus users haven't fully grasped yet.
Ferrous means things like iron and nails, anything really a magnet will stick to. Nonferrous means things like gold, silver, copper, pewter, things a magnet won't stick to.
So the Deus is engineered to give users the capability to find the nonferrous items, things we cherish more than say a nail.
Discrimination.
A persons doesn't need to know how the inner workings of Deus work here or even be s rocket scientist to be able to use the Deus and be successful.
Basically the Deus uses a range of disc where a user can set to reject ferrous and yes even nonferrous.
Usually nonferrous on Deus' meter reads above 20 all the way up to the 90s region depending on the target's conductivy. With exceptions I will discuss.
Iron will usually read 00-07.
Most of the factory programs on Deus have disc settings to discrimimate out/knock out iron and nails.
Deus meter readings as far as target identification.
This is the area using Deus that is the most difficult for folks to understand, even some prior experienced detectorists.
If a user will grasp this IMO you are well on your way to being successful with Deus.
Deus owners need to do a remedial excercise here by setting their detector up inside or out side their home (preferably outside). You need to select the basic program and have your remote removed from rod so you can see the remote's meter reading. This sweeping targets in the air is called air testing. The data obtained by doing this can be be beneficial but also due to how Deus works can be misleading.
So as you sweep say a nickel or a copper or zinc penny note meter reading with the program you have chosen. Sweep the coins at various distances from coil.
Question, will a deus user see these same exact meter readings if they sweep a buried undisturbed exact same coin as noted above while detecting in the wild? Short answer here yes and no depending. And this is exactly the confusing part. On shallower coins a user may indeed see the exact same or very near meter reading. But on deeper coins likely not.
This depth attained for a coin say to make the Deus start giving inaccurate meter readings is how much?? It depends on some things, like freq used, other detector settings, ground mineralization.
So if a person depends on Deus meter all the time, they will be fooled.
But knowing this tomfoolery Deus does to users, as long as we know we can be aware and yes, even take advantage of it. Remember Deus is giving tone, so it is telling us something is buried. Just what exactly we don't really know. Now some examples here, not exact but to show how the Deus can behave as far as giving correct ID on say a coin.
Where I live I usually see about 5-6 dots in mineralization strength meter. A dime buried I can usually expect with ideal settings to get accurate ID to about the 7.5" depth with 9" low frequency coil. This ID accuracy at depth can be driven by coil sized used too.
If we go out west where the minerlization index reads significantly higher we may only get good ID of buried dime at say 3" deep.
If we go to the Midwest where soil minerlization levels are even milder than my area, we may see good ID at even deeper than 8" deep.
With Deus use and monitoring minerals levels users will start to see a trend with their units for ID accuracy at depth.
Deus users avoid this thinking here. What if my ground is twice as minerlized (or gives twice the number of dots in mineralization strength meter) as say another person's area, does this mean they can detect twice as deep? No
Back to Deus ID when a deeper target nonferrous like a coin is swept in the wild. Gold nugget detectors, this info will apply to you too.
The Deus engineering is set so when the detector fails to garner enough info for target ID, it will many times continue to provide tone on a nonferrous object and report ID intentionally in error. User likely to see higher meter readings displayed in the 90s region for ID or no ID at all. Usually a target providing such erroneous yet a worthy target will sound lower audio wise not blaring like a shallower target.
For instance even using Deus with optimum settings dialed in for a site, very possible for a deeper nickel, or a deeper dime or even a deeper pull tab to give similar/same tone and meter readings. Most old sites with no dirt being moved around, fortunately we usually would 't expect to find a pull tab down real deep, but shallower. So be mindful of this when hunting sites with dirt moved around with equipment. Now I used a pull tab in talking above, this would extend to any nonferrous deeper detected junk target, and could even be a gold coin or ring.
Does size of target affect how Deus ID targets? It can. The size and conductivity of target depending on Deus settings can affect.
A few examples to show.
A small piece of aluminum only 4" deep may not ID accurately. And instead behave more like what I mentioned above as far as deeper coins do. So a user could indeed see this small piece of foil or aluminum read in the 90s region or give no ID at all.
A lead buckshot at 4" deep may sound off tonally and yet give a much higher meter reading (90s region or no ID).
Now, you'll notice I have said Deus will give erroneous ID (non airtest I.D) on deeper objects. And will report in the 90s region usually or give no I.D at all. Is this the true in all cases? Unfortunately not. Deus as far as ID can get caught in what I call no man's land for ID. An example. Using 12khz with unnormalized ID selected will read 56. So usually the nickel at shallow depths user will see 56 in the meter, and deeper will see 90s region reading, but it is possible to see some thing between the ideal reading of 56 and this 90s region meter reading. It does happen occassionally.
Use of the XY screen
How reliable is it? Depends on detecting scenario. Beginner detectorist and first time Deus users will likely depend on more but will wean themselves from more and more as their experience levels build. Bottom line it is NOT a conclusive means to determine if a target is worthy of digging or not, rather just a guide. Solo sitting targets XY screen more reliable. Can help you with bottlecaps recognition too.
Test garden or burying targets to test using Deus.
Is this a good idea? You bet!!! And if a Deus owner will bury various targets at various depths, you will be able to relate first hand to a lot of what I have said so far. Seeing is believing. Airtest your buried targets too. A disclaimer here. Doing freshly buried tests using Deus, IMO if using Low Frequency Deus coils -doing is good, I caution folks using HF coils, I feel a user testing using these likely will not gather what I call as good of life like performance as seen in the wild.
Ground Balance
How important is it?
Depends on your ground minerals and detector settings as far as how depth of detection is affected.
Deus offers multiple ways to ground balance.
All methods will work, a user hunting inert super low mineralization ground may have trouble achieving a pumping ground balance though.
Notice default level is 90 ground phase.
Deus gives 2 readings as far as ground phase. The detector felt ground phase and what a person has manually dialed in or the what detector has dialed in automatically if you did a pumping, or tracking ground balance.
Is one method better than the other? In some cases.
Would depend on how quick your ground changes as the coil is moved over or how much trash, junk, iron and nails are in the area you are detecting.
Open field hunting where ground is cleaner tracking ground balance will work just fine.
No matter which method you use, one thing to keep in mind. This is monitoring occassionally how the top number and bottom number coincide. Small deviations here not too concerning but mediocre and large differences here could cause you to miss a target.
Users of Deus should not depend on ground phase readings to judge soil mineralizations levels, instead use you minerlization strength meter and do what I suggested ealier above. Also of special note here, don't depend on mineralization strength meter for judging mineral levels while coil is being swept- Bob coil over clean ground!!
So what are some things a person may notice as far as their detector associated with ground balance setting?
Improper ground balance can cause detector to get noisy.
Improper ground balance can cause Deus to start making nails or iron sound like good targets.
Particular attention needs to be paid when using tracking ground balance. Deus version 4, the tracking ground balance seems was improved but still using tracking GB in areas with loads of junk, trash, iron and nails can be problematic. User will at times catch Deus tracking down below actual ground phase, and if you are not careful you may think you are digging a good target only to find a ferrous target like a nail. A lot of high tones or noise likely will be heard. Also when digging targets using tracking GB, you lay your detector down, it may take a while for it to track back to the ground.
Beach mode uses a different scale with default level 30.
Folks can sweep in their yards and watch how the tracking works, also do a pumping ground balance too.
What about manual GB.
It does have a purpose for advanced use of Deus, and I will discuss later. But in case any Deus Lite users are reading here. Since they don't have a remote hence no pumping GB or tracking GB option, how do they do a proper GB?? Btw even Deus users with remotes may find this helpful, you never know you may have a problem with remote, so if this happens you do have a work around using headphone module only.
Proper ground balance of Deus is when the Deus coil as it approaches ground when lowering to give slight feedback, NOT dead quiet. (Not raising coil) This can be proved although not by a Deus lite user, by doing a pumping ground balance using remote. Then listening with 0 disc as coil is lowered to ground slowly. Then go to manual GB on remote dial GB up or down far away from actual GB phase achieved using pumping GB earlier and start listening as you manually adjust GB with remote.
Some gee whiz info here, and by me stating this I encourage folks to use a good GB when detecting with Deus.
The higher frequency you utilize using any of the low frequency coils with Deus, the more forgiving the ground balance. The lower the frequency used the more critical--- all pertains to depth of detection. And overall the use of low frequency coils are more forgiving GB wise vs both of the HF coils available for Deus.
Depth of targets
Deus doesn't have a traditional depth meter instead uses a horseshoe icon and there is data supplied on XY screen as well.
I like the horseshoe meter, but it will take a Deus user some experience to get accustomed to what it is telling you. Some things to note. Deus horse shoe meter is split into a right and left side. When discrimination is utilized one side will show a target as ferrous and one side will show nonferrous. Users should test over a coin (nonferous) and a small nail. Is this horseshoe data shown foolproof for exposing nonferrous targets, even coins? No User can and will see the horseshoe switching sites left to right and vice versa when sweeping suspect spot. What does this switching of sides mean? No clear answer, could be a ferrous and nonferrous in close proximity, or could be iron falsing causing. Deus tone and Deus behavior tonally are the primary keys in making dig decisions.
The actual depth indication is indicated by how much horse shoe shading is shown or how less depending on how you look at it. More shading indictates shallower target, less is deeper. Remember this meter is geared for coin sized objects, not whole cans, even US silver dollars or silver dollar sized targets. This shading will depend on depth, but detector settings can affect.
A few examples.
A whole aluminum can buried at 10" deep, will likely show more shading in horseshoe vs a 8" deep quarter or even a dime.
A bit of can slaw real small at 4" deep will likely show less shading than a copper penny at 4" deep.
So the horseshoe shading can be fooled by size of target. Most times coinsized targets detected at or near detectable limits with Deus will show a sliver of horseshoe or possibly none at all.
I mentioned detector settings can affect as well, I will discuss this later while talking about other settings.
A good tip here. Most times on coin sized targets if a user sees half or more horseshoe shading, actual meter reading for target ID ( conductivity of target) more believable or realistic.
Recognition of larger usually junk targets.
This being able to do is not hard, will come with Deus experience. Bigger targets like cans, etc can usually be identified by a monster strong tone. Users can also lift their coils say 2-4" and check their targets. Now be careful here the mighty silver dollar may allude you. Big aluminum pieces, cans will ID on meter lots of times like higher conductive coins silver and copper. Use of pinpoint here can help too. I encourage users to experiment and practice over a few at least buried bigger items like cans. Any yes even the best experienced detectorists dig a deeper can every now and then. Better to be safe than sorry. Some thing I failed to mention. Using pinpoint, your Deus is not discriminating nonferrous vs ferrous, the pinpoint function sounds off on ALL metals period. Another thing I need to say here. Could a person be fooled using pinpoint? What am I referring to? Take a coin where the Deus sounds off on tonally, but before a user digs they use pinpoint and the pinpointing yields a larger than coin sized target. It can happen. The Deus in pinpoint may see the coin and yes maybe a bigger piece of ferrous and thus try and fool you.
Deus chatter and EMI
The Deus is by nature a detector that makes some noise practically all the time. And sometimes it is hard to discern this chatter (noise) from affects of emi, which is basically interference the Deus may pick up. This can come from things like radio towers, cell tower, ham radios, electric fences, invisible dog fences, etc.. I rate Deus above average for being able to be used and cope with environments typically called higher emi environments. The chatter the Deus makes a user will have to get accustom to as normal ops. One reminder here. DON'T think you can run Deus with lower sensitivity thus slightly erasing or lowering this chatter and expect to get solid performance depth wise. Learn to live with the chatter. Most instances of detecting using Deus depending on the site and emi, sensitivity settings of 86-95 will be used. A side note here. Both HF coils available for Deus, especially the elliptical HF coil seem to yield less chatter on average vs the use of the low frequency coils.
Deus tone behavior
The Deus has probably the most nuanced audio of any detector on the open market. What does this mean exactly? Well the Deus has the uncanny ability to tell a user usually about a targets metal quality, shape and its relative positon to ferrous materials. Use of the backphones provided with Deus, IMO a user will not be able to take full advantage of this nuance. A user can use back phones and make some finds though, I have. I don't like the Ws5 headphones either, and I don't want to turn this thread into promoting anything but there are better options available for folks. User will use the small module used with backphones to slide onto these better headphones.
I recommend Deus users to use the basic programs on Deus and try the following. Get yourself a small piece of foil, a coin (nonferrous), a coin sized piece of can slaw. Sweep these targets, even bury say a couple inches. Listen to the tone, it's signature not pitch. While sweeping walk all the way around these targets sweeping and listen. Notice how "round" sounding the coin is. Try a ring too. Even other nonferrous junk targets smaller at your disposal. Deus is a TONE detector, mastering the audio is necessary to become highly proficient using. The meter indications are just additional tools to use and they deserve less priority for dig/no dig decisions.
What will you hear tonally when sweeping different objects?
The best way I can answer this.
Deus will provide beepers, squeakers and leakers as far as (noise) made on various nonferrous targets.
Time for another exercise here. Users need to get an axe head or a horseshoe and sweep using basic program. Also sweep a gum wrapper and a nonferrous coin. How does the axe head or horseshoe sound? Notice how forced and honkish they both sound? Notice how much smoother the gum wrapper and coin are? Also watch the meter reading on the axe head or horseshoe. See anything strange, like a 90s reading the meter?
You should and you will see this when using Deus in the field. The tone how it sounds, how it enters and departs tonally on the edges are key. Smaller than horseshoe and axe head ferrous items can cause this too. Nails usually won't. A railroad spike might though.
So as far as sweeping the coil over a detectable range nonferrous object what will a user hear exactly? Remember my talking above about how Deus ID will be inaccurate depending?? Well, the tones you will hear are tied usually to this meter reading you have set in the detector (remember factory programs are preset). Now notice I used the word here usually. There are exceptions.
Some examples.
Let's assume you have Deus set to give high tone on a dime. Will a user when sweeping buried dimes in the wild, will they hear a high tone always? No
This could be attributed to a piece of ferrous masking the dime somewhat, a colocated lower conductive nonferrous junk target even a nickel.
Yet the Deus can in fact tell you the dime (or higher conductive coin) exist sometimes. You the user have to decide what to do.
Another example you have a nickel set to give a mid tone, some gold rings likely would too. So will all nickels give this mid tone when swept?
Yes and no, on shallower likely, and this is directly tied to what I said ealier in thread as far as Deus providing erroneous ID of targets at deeper depths. So the nickel in fact could yield a high tone if deep enough, and you the user have the 90s region set to give a higher tone.
Colocated coins of a higher conductivity level like copper pennies, dimes, quarters, etc, if these are comingled with a junk target that possesses a lower conductive value the actual tone Deus produces could be an average (with possible corresponding ID on meter) of these different objects. The size of the junk lower conductive target will be a major factor on how much of any the Deus Feels electronically. An average meter reading is possible too as long as the objects are not too deep.
Deus coil when it is swept, depending on what and the orientation of what is under the coil, Deus will feel conductivy level and report. So simply speaking here, colocated ferrous, nonferrous the Deus is looking at these and a tug o war is happening. Which one wins, is there a tie, or is the ferrous so dominant to the point Deus can only relay iron signal. Now Deus is ranked supreme for discerning this info tonally to user, remember TONALLY not by looking at the meter! A lot of other detectors cannot derive the existence of some nonferrous collated with ferrous depending on orientation and size of all metal objects present under the coil at any one time.
You may hear Deus referred to as a beep and dig detector.
So it it really?
Yes the detector can be used and the beeps can be dug, and with time a user will likely make some finds. But if you see anyone referring to Deus like this, be cautious with anything they really have to say about Deus.
Why?
Deus is far more than a beep and dig detector. Time for another excercise. Get a dime or penny or similar sized coin (nonferrous) and go to a clean piece of ground. Bury the dime at various depths and continue to bury and rebury until you can't get your Deus to signal tonally. When you determine the max detectable depth of coin, listen close to what you hear. You shouldn't be hearing a full tone like you heard when the coin was buried shallower I. .e. 4" deep. Yes on shallower and mid depth nonferrous object Deus is more beep and dig, but on deeper targets, no so. I should point out here, using Deus in polluted sites with appropriate settings users will likely find many nonferrous object that are not deemed beep and dig. These target though may not sound exactly like what you heard by doing the exercise above with burying your coin deeper an deeper while listening to Deus response at various depths. I will talk about these later.
I started detecting in Dec 2010 and my first detector was the White's V3i.
A challenging detector for any person new to detecting to learn how to use.
This thread though geared to the XP Deus detector.
This thread was constructed when latest version software was indeed version 4.0. This info presented here, most is applicable to the now latest durrent version 4.1.
At the end of this info stream posted by me is a link to another thread on this forum again constructed my me that talks about a new feature version 4.1 offers called ground sensitivty setting.
Obviously for folks who have some detecting experience may find some of this info less helpful, even boring.
But I do think these same folks new to Deus may find some of the info useful.
So where to start?
Don't expect to learn Deus in a day, week, or month even with heavy use. But every outing a user will build on their foundation of skill while using.
I encourage all Deus owners to read their manuals. Pay particular attention to proper way for hooking charging clip up to your coil.
And I do realize some of the mumbo jumbo mentioned in the manual likely sounds like a foreign language to some.
But you need to still read so you can relate easier to what I am posting.
I will be explaining some at least of this "mumbo jumbo"
This post here will not be done in one day, will take a few days at least for me to put together here.
So let's begin.
Sweeping
Deus is what I call a very good ground reactive detector.
Meaning swing speed for depth is very forgiving unlike some models.
You will see sweep technique shown in manual and even talked about on forums.
Bottom line you need to get your coil over anything you want to find.
It is not imperiative to have a long sweep side to side for target location.
But you the user need to be paying attention to just how much of the ground you sweep over while coil is properly positioned "level" as you move around. A user can be what I call a sweeper, or a creeper using Deus coil while searching. Both methods will work depending on detecting site. Beginners should go slower rather than faster when detecting. Remember obstacles too can slow your sweeping and coil advancement. In cleaner sites good rule of thumb - a 1001 and 1002 count for a complete swing right or left and vice versa. For area with more trash, iron or nails a slower sweep may be necessary, even creeping the coil while hunting.
Detector rod length.
No hard and fast rules here.
Bottom line adjust for your comfort. If you don't you'll tire faster. Users should also consider lengthening or shortening rod length on the fly as the ground one is detecting on can be below one's feet or above. Coil height above ground is very important. Coil needs to be close as possible without scrubbing or digging into the ground. It is not unusual if a user does hit the ground with coil or a protruding obstacle above ground for detector to give false audio (blips, noise).
Ground mineralization
This is important to know, and the Deus gives a user a meter to check called mineralization strength meter.
Basically all one has to do is bob their coil over clean ground (no metal) around 4-5 times and watch the meter.
Anything say 3 dots displayed or less, detector performance for depth capability not affected.
Four to 6 dots, some depth capability is being compromised.
More than 7 up to full scale shown, even more depth is compromised.
Detection in general.
Question, does the Deus alert on all targets as long as they are under the coil when swept?
Short answer not likely. Why?
The Deus coil as far as alerting on targets will depend on many things besides the target just being under the coil (inside the coil's perimeter).
Things like ground minerlization, target size, target shape, target orientation, and yes even if any other nonferrous or ferrous targets that may exist in vicinity. I should also mention detector settings too can influence. And I will talk about this later when talking about some of the actual settings.
So as you can see, actual coil progression when detecting can be very important for locating targets. This progression, even a lot of intermediate experienced Deus users haven't fully grasped yet.
Ferrous means things like iron and nails, anything really a magnet will stick to. Nonferrous means things like gold, silver, copper, pewter, things a magnet won't stick to.
So the Deus is engineered to give users the capability to find the nonferrous items, things we cherish more than say a nail.
Discrimination.
A persons doesn't need to know how the inner workings of Deus work here or even be s rocket scientist to be able to use the Deus and be successful.
Basically the Deus uses a range of disc where a user can set to reject ferrous and yes even nonferrous.
Usually nonferrous on Deus' meter reads above 20 all the way up to the 90s region depending on the target's conductivy. With exceptions I will discuss.
Iron will usually read 00-07.
Most of the factory programs on Deus have disc settings to discrimimate out/knock out iron and nails.
Deus meter readings as far as target identification.
This is the area using Deus that is the most difficult for folks to understand, even some prior experienced detectorists.
If a user will grasp this IMO you are well on your way to being successful with Deus.
Deus owners need to do a remedial excercise here by setting their detector up inside or out side their home (preferably outside). You need to select the basic program and have your remote removed from rod so you can see the remote's meter reading. This sweeping targets in the air is called air testing. The data obtained by doing this can be be beneficial but also due to how Deus works can be misleading.
So as you sweep say a nickel or a copper or zinc penny note meter reading with the program you have chosen. Sweep the coins at various distances from coil.
Question, will a deus user see these same exact meter readings if they sweep a buried undisturbed exact same coin as noted above while detecting in the wild? Short answer here yes and no depending. And this is exactly the confusing part. On shallower coins a user may indeed see the exact same or very near meter reading. But on deeper coins likely not.
This depth attained for a coin say to make the Deus start giving inaccurate meter readings is how much?? It depends on some things, like freq used, other detector settings, ground mineralization.
So if a person depends on Deus meter all the time, they will be fooled.
But knowing this tomfoolery Deus does to users, as long as we know we can be aware and yes, even take advantage of it. Remember Deus is giving tone, so it is telling us something is buried. Just what exactly we don't really know. Now some examples here, not exact but to show how the Deus can behave as far as giving correct ID on say a coin.
Where I live I usually see about 5-6 dots in mineralization strength meter. A dime buried I can usually expect with ideal settings to get accurate ID to about the 7.5" depth with 9" low frequency coil. This ID accuracy at depth can be driven by coil sized used too.
If we go out west where the minerlization index reads significantly higher we may only get good ID of buried dime at say 3" deep.
If we go to the Midwest where soil minerlization levels are even milder than my area, we may see good ID at even deeper than 8" deep.
With Deus use and monitoring minerals levels users will start to see a trend with their units for ID accuracy at depth.
Deus users avoid this thinking here. What if my ground is twice as minerlized (or gives twice the number of dots in mineralization strength meter) as say another person's area, does this mean they can detect twice as deep? No
Back to Deus ID when a deeper target nonferrous like a coin is swept in the wild. Gold nugget detectors, this info will apply to you too.
The Deus engineering is set so when the detector fails to garner enough info for target ID, it will many times continue to provide tone on a nonferrous object and report ID intentionally in error. User likely to see higher meter readings displayed in the 90s region for ID or no ID at all. Usually a target providing such erroneous yet a worthy target will sound lower audio wise not blaring like a shallower target.
For instance even using Deus with optimum settings dialed in for a site, very possible for a deeper nickel, or a deeper dime or even a deeper pull tab to give similar/same tone and meter readings. Most old sites with no dirt being moved around, fortunately we usually would 't expect to find a pull tab down real deep, but shallower. So be mindful of this when hunting sites with dirt moved around with equipment. Now I used a pull tab in talking above, this would extend to any nonferrous deeper detected junk target, and could even be a gold coin or ring.
Does size of target affect how Deus ID targets? It can. The size and conductivity of target depending on Deus settings can affect.
A few examples to show.
A small piece of aluminum only 4" deep may not ID accurately. And instead behave more like what I mentioned above as far as deeper coins do. So a user could indeed see this small piece of foil or aluminum read in the 90s region or give no ID at all.
A lead buckshot at 4" deep may sound off tonally and yet give a much higher meter reading (90s region or no ID).
Now, you'll notice I have said Deus will give erroneous ID (non airtest I.D) on deeper objects. And will report in the 90s region usually or give no I.D at all. Is this the true in all cases? Unfortunately not. Deus as far as ID can get caught in what I call no man's land for ID. An example. Using 12khz with unnormalized ID selected will read 56. So usually the nickel at shallow depths user will see 56 in the meter, and deeper will see 90s region reading, but it is possible to see some thing between the ideal reading of 56 and this 90s region meter reading. It does happen occassionally.
Use of the XY screen
How reliable is it? Depends on detecting scenario. Beginner detectorist and first time Deus users will likely depend on more but will wean themselves from more and more as their experience levels build. Bottom line it is NOT a conclusive means to determine if a target is worthy of digging or not, rather just a guide. Solo sitting targets XY screen more reliable. Can help you with bottlecaps recognition too.
Test garden or burying targets to test using Deus.
Is this a good idea? You bet!!! And if a Deus owner will bury various targets at various depths, you will be able to relate first hand to a lot of what I have said so far. Seeing is believing. Airtest your buried targets too. A disclaimer here. Doing freshly buried tests using Deus, IMO if using Low Frequency Deus coils -doing is good, I caution folks using HF coils, I feel a user testing using these likely will not gather what I call as good of life like performance as seen in the wild.
Ground Balance
How important is it?
Depends on your ground minerals and detector settings as far as how depth of detection is affected.
Deus offers multiple ways to ground balance.
All methods will work, a user hunting inert super low mineralization ground may have trouble achieving a pumping ground balance though.
Notice default level is 90 ground phase.
Deus gives 2 readings as far as ground phase. The detector felt ground phase and what a person has manually dialed in or the what detector has dialed in automatically if you did a pumping, or tracking ground balance.
Is one method better than the other? In some cases.
Would depend on how quick your ground changes as the coil is moved over or how much trash, junk, iron and nails are in the area you are detecting.
Open field hunting where ground is cleaner tracking ground balance will work just fine.
No matter which method you use, one thing to keep in mind. This is monitoring occassionally how the top number and bottom number coincide. Small deviations here not too concerning but mediocre and large differences here could cause you to miss a target.
Users of Deus should not depend on ground phase readings to judge soil mineralizations levels, instead use you minerlization strength meter and do what I suggested ealier above. Also of special note here, don't depend on mineralization strength meter for judging mineral levels while coil is being swept- Bob coil over clean ground!!
So what are some things a person may notice as far as their detector associated with ground balance setting?
Improper ground balance can cause detector to get noisy.
Improper ground balance can cause Deus to start making nails or iron sound like good targets.
Particular attention needs to be paid when using tracking ground balance. Deus version 4, the tracking ground balance seems was improved but still using tracking GB in areas with loads of junk, trash, iron and nails can be problematic. User will at times catch Deus tracking down below actual ground phase, and if you are not careful you may think you are digging a good target only to find a ferrous target like a nail. A lot of high tones or noise likely will be heard. Also when digging targets using tracking GB, you lay your detector down, it may take a while for it to track back to the ground.
Beach mode uses a different scale with default level 30.
Folks can sweep in their yards and watch how the tracking works, also do a pumping ground balance too.
What about manual GB.
It does have a purpose for advanced use of Deus, and I will discuss later. But in case any Deus Lite users are reading here. Since they don't have a remote hence no pumping GB or tracking GB option, how do they do a proper GB?? Btw even Deus users with remotes may find this helpful, you never know you may have a problem with remote, so if this happens you do have a work around using headphone module only.
Proper ground balance of Deus is when the Deus coil as it approaches ground when lowering to give slight feedback, NOT dead quiet. (Not raising coil) This can be proved although not by a Deus lite user, by doing a pumping ground balance using remote. Then listening with 0 disc as coil is lowered to ground slowly. Then go to manual GB on remote dial GB up or down far away from actual GB phase achieved using pumping GB earlier and start listening as you manually adjust GB with remote.
Some gee whiz info here, and by me stating this I encourage folks to use a good GB when detecting with Deus.
The higher frequency you utilize using any of the low frequency coils with Deus, the more forgiving the ground balance. The lower the frequency used the more critical--- all pertains to depth of detection. And overall the use of low frequency coils are more forgiving GB wise vs both of the HF coils available for Deus.
Depth of targets
Deus doesn't have a traditional depth meter instead uses a horseshoe icon and there is data supplied on XY screen as well.
I like the horseshoe meter, but it will take a Deus user some experience to get accustomed to what it is telling you. Some things to note. Deus horse shoe meter is split into a right and left side. When discrimination is utilized one side will show a target as ferrous and one side will show nonferrous. Users should test over a coin (nonferous) and a small nail. Is this horseshoe data shown foolproof for exposing nonferrous targets, even coins? No User can and will see the horseshoe switching sites left to right and vice versa when sweeping suspect spot. What does this switching of sides mean? No clear answer, could be a ferrous and nonferrous in close proximity, or could be iron falsing causing. Deus tone and Deus behavior tonally are the primary keys in making dig decisions.
The actual depth indication is indicated by how much horse shoe shading is shown or how less depending on how you look at it. More shading indictates shallower target, less is deeper. Remember this meter is geared for coin sized objects, not whole cans, even US silver dollars or silver dollar sized targets. This shading will depend on depth, but detector settings can affect.
A few examples.
A whole aluminum can buried at 10" deep, will likely show more shading in horseshoe vs a 8" deep quarter or even a dime.
A bit of can slaw real small at 4" deep will likely show less shading than a copper penny at 4" deep.
So the horseshoe shading can be fooled by size of target. Most times coinsized targets detected at or near detectable limits with Deus will show a sliver of horseshoe or possibly none at all.
I mentioned detector settings can affect as well, I will discuss this later while talking about other settings.
A good tip here. Most times on coin sized targets if a user sees half or more horseshoe shading, actual meter reading for target ID ( conductivity of target) more believable or realistic.
Recognition of larger usually junk targets.
This being able to do is not hard, will come with Deus experience. Bigger targets like cans, etc can usually be identified by a monster strong tone. Users can also lift their coils say 2-4" and check their targets. Now be careful here the mighty silver dollar may allude you. Big aluminum pieces, cans will ID on meter lots of times like higher conductive coins silver and copper. Use of pinpoint here can help too. I encourage users to experiment and practice over a few at least buried bigger items like cans. Any yes even the best experienced detectorists dig a deeper can every now and then. Better to be safe than sorry. Some thing I failed to mention. Using pinpoint, your Deus is not discriminating nonferrous vs ferrous, the pinpoint function sounds off on ALL metals period. Another thing I need to say here. Could a person be fooled using pinpoint? What am I referring to? Take a coin where the Deus sounds off on tonally, but before a user digs they use pinpoint and the pinpointing yields a larger than coin sized target. It can happen. The Deus in pinpoint may see the coin and yes maybe a bigger piece of ferrous and thus try and fool you.
Deus chatter and EMI
The Deus is by nature a detector that makes some noise practically all the time. And sometimes it is hard to discern this chatter (noise) from affects of emi, which is basically interference the Deus may pick up. This can come from things like radio towers, cell tower, ham radios, electric fences, invisible dog fences, etc.. I rate Deus above average for being able to be used and cope with environments typically called higher emi environments. The chatter the Deus makes a user will have to get accustom to as normal ops. One reminder here. DON'T think you can run Deus with lower sensitivity thus slightly erasing or lowering this chatter and expect to get solid performance depth wise. Learn to live with the chatter. Most instances of detecting using Deus depending on the site and emi, sensitivity settings of 86-95 will be used. A side note here. Both HF coils available for Deus, especially the elliptical HF coil seem to yield less chatter on average vs the use of the low frequency coils.
Deus tone behavior
The Deus has probably the most nuanced audio of any detector on the open market. What does this mean exactly? Well the Deus has the uncanny ability to tell a user usually about a targets metal quality, shape and its relative positon to ferrous materials. Use of the backphones provided with Deus, IMO a user will not be able to take full advantage of this nuance. A user can use back phones and make some finds though, I have. I don't like the Ws5 headphones either, and I don't want to turn this thread into promoting anything but there are better options available for folks. User will use the small module used with backphones to slide onto these better headphones.
I recommend Deus users to use the basic programs on Deus and try the following. Get yourself a small piece of foil, a coin (nonferrous), a coin sized piece of can slaw. Sweep these targets, even bury say a couple inches. Listen to the tone, it's signature not pitch. While sweeping walk all the way around these targets sweeping and listen. Notice how "round" sounding the coin is. Try a ring too. Even other nonferrous junk targets smaller at your disposal. Deus is a TONE detector, mastering the audio is necessary to become highly proficient using. The meter indications are just additional tools to use and they deserve less priority for dig/no dig decisions.
What will you hear tonally when sweeping different objects?
The best way I can answer this.
Deus will provide beepers, squeakers and leakers as far as (noise) made on various nonferrous targets.
Time for another exercise here. Users need to get an axe head or a horseshoe and sweep using basic program. Also sweep a gum wrapper and a nonferrous coin. How does the axe head or horseshoe sound? Notice how forced and honkish they both sound? Notice how much smoother the gum wrapper and coin are? Also watch the meter reading on the axe head or horseshoe. See anything strange, like a 90s reading the meter?
You should and you will see this when using Deus in the field. The tone how it sounds, how it enters and departs tonally on the edges are key. Smaller than horseshoe and axe head ferrous items can cause this too. Nails usually won't. A railroad spike might though.
So as far as sweeping the coil over a detectable range nonferrous object what will a user hear exactly? Remember my talking above about how Deus ID will be inaccurate depending?? Well, the tones you will hear are tied usually to this meter reading you have set in the detector (remember factory programs are preset). Now notice I used the word here usually. There are exceptions.
Some examples.
Let's assume you have Deus set to give high tone on a dime. Will a user when sweeping buried dimes in the wild, will they hear a high tone always? No
This could be attributed to a piece of ferrous masking the dime somewhat, a colocated lower conductive nonferrous junk target even a nickel.
Yet the Deus can in fact tell you the dime (or higher conductive coin) exist sometimes. You the user have to decide what to do.
Another example you have a nickel set to give a mid tone, some gold rings likely would too. So will all nickels give this mid tone when swept?
Yes and no, on shallower likely, and this is directly tied to what I said ealier in thread as far as Deus providing erroneous ID of targets at deeper depths. So the nickel in fact could yield a high tone if deep enough, and you the user have the 90s region set to give a higher tone.
Colocated coins of a higher conductivity level like copper pennies, dimes, quarters, etc, if these are comingled with a junk target that possesses a lower conductive value the actual tone Deus produces could be an average (with possible corresponding ID on meter) of these different objects. The size of the junk lower conductive target will be a major factor on how much of any the Deus Feels electronically. An average meter reading is possible too as long as the objects are not too deep.
Deus coil when it is swept, depending on what and the orientation of what is under the coil, Deus will feel conductivy level and report. So simply speaking here, colocated ferrous, nonferrous the Deus is looking at these and a tug o war is happening. Which one wins, is there a tie, or is the ferrous so dominant to the point Deus can only relay iron signal. Now Deus is ranked supreme for discerning this info tonally to user, remember TONALLY not by looking at the meter! A lot of other detectors cannot derive the existence of some nonferrous collated with ferrous depending on orientation and size of all metal objects present under the coil at any one time.
You may hear Deus referred to as a beep and dig detector.
So it it really?
Yes the detector can be used and the beeps can be dug, and with time a user will likely make some finds. But if you see anyone referring to Deus like this, be cautious with anything they really have to say about Deus.
Why?
Deus is far more than a beep and dig detector. Time for another excercise. Get a dime or penny or similar sized coin (nonferrous) and go to a clean piece of ground. Bury the dime at various depths and continue to bury and rebury until you can't get your Deus to signal tonally. When you determine the max detectable depth of coin, listen close to what you hear. You shouldn't be hearing a full tone like you heard when the coin was buried shallower I. .e. 4" deep. Yes on shallower and mid depth nonferrous object Deus is more beep and dig, but on deeper targets, no so. I should point out here, using Deus in polluted sites with appropriate settings users will likely find many nonferrous object that are not deemed beep and dig. These target though may not sound exactly like what you heard by doing the exercise above with burying your coin deeper an deeper while listening to Deus response at various depths. I will talk about these later.
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