Deus out for a maiden trial run :

Hey guys, I'm gonna geek out on this debriefing report

A couple of friends were down in my area of CA @ early November to do some beach hunting. At the conclusion of their stay, one was kind enough to loan me his Deus for a few weeks. Which I will ship back to him when done.

Over the years I've heard how this is supposed to be the "cat's meow" in nail/iron-riddled sites. But never had my hands on one personally. I've always just reached for my Tesoro Bandito in such situations. Which, as you know, is wimpy on depth, has no TID, etc.

Then a fellow I know gave me an hour's tutorial over the phone from Virginia a few days ago. Walked me through all the settings, pros/cons, etc....

Last night I was able to take it on a maiden test voyage to a certain adobe site. An "adobe site" in CA, is our version of what the east coast guys would probably call a "cellar hole" site. This site was the adobe home of a Mexican land grant recipient. Granted in the early 1830s. Although the dude might already have homesteaded the place earlier. This is just his formal grant date. And since this was on the road between 2 mission era towns, it was a stopping spot in those days. Ie.: hospitality to travelers, did trading, etc....

Today is nothing but a faint rectangle outline of adobe melt in a hilly cow pasture area. After the gold rush and statehood, this was one of a myriad of the 800-ish land grants in CA, that just got taken over by the incoming settlers. Either via bought out, or legal maneuvers , etc.... And apparently by the 1860s, was abandoned. The *newest* coin we ever found there, was an 1860s IH.

When we first researched it in about 1995, it was SO thick with targets, that we literally went into park mindset. Eg.: going high disc, avoiding iron-ridden patches, and not bothering to dig anything that didn't ring the bells of Notre Dame. Just so many targets to choose from. I filled a box with 10 or 20 lbs with green copper, endless cool doohickeys (mankiller balls, gun parts, endless henry shells, lantern parts, buttons, etc....). All told we've pulled about 20 to 25 period coins from here. Many reales, many early seateds, etc.... And perhaps 15 phoenix buttons.

By the early 2000s, all the "easy gimmees" were picked off. Leaving only the thicker iron zones to get more stuff. Because go figure, when we started in 1995-ish, it was machines like XLT, 6000 Di pro, Whites Eagle, and Fisher CZ6. None of which are known for ability in heavy iron.

Then eventually using creative arsenals to see through the iron, we got to where even the iron zone was getting stingy.

So today, the site is nothing more than a test zone. For testing machines for their iron-see-through ability. Such that .... even if you only got some more camp lead or copper snippets you KNOW that your machine or method you're testing is competitive. Ie.: a sport-unto-itself JUST to eek some more conductors from there (even if they're not turning out to be coins ).

Thus this was the perfect test site for the Deus . Started with the "basic" (#1) pre-set program, and modified from there. Assume the basic pre-sets, unless listed here :

1) Disc : negative 1
2) Full tones
3) sens : 90
4) Frequency : 17.6
5) Iron volume : 1
6) Reactivity : 4
7) Target volume 5
8) Audio overload : 0
9) GB (ground balance): 85
10) contrast : 10

The results were astounding : 16 conductive targets. See the pix. And as you can see, several of them *could* have been coins. I especially like the lock-dust cover. That was deep !

Of course , since I'm just learning, I got fooled by cast-iron. There is a different sound, but nagging doubts sent me to dig a few "just to be sure". More than I would have been fooled by the explorer, yet more conductive targets that the Explorer would have found last night. And the ratio actually wasn't that punishing. Like if I got 16 conductors, I don't think I got more than 5 or 6 iron . And for several of those conductors, there was utterly no doubt. So theoretically I could have been more picky, and dug zero iron. But it's a trade off , since some targets could be fighting masking.


Hope y'all enjoyed the report. Looks like I'll be looking to buy one of these, as soon as this loaner period is over









Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2020 11:32PM by Tom_in_CA.

Yep, Deus will sniff things out. Seen it first hand. And it’s easy on your arm. Those ghost towns, no telling what you might find. And one can cover ground pretty darn fast. A lot faster than your explorer.

You’ll improve your skill with Deus with more time on unit. I guarantee it.

Here’s a good guide to go by to see how your skill is increasing using Deus.
Watch ID of targets.
If you are digging ID range say 5 and 6. These generally are not as crippled from ferrous.
Then you will see some targets reading 3 and 4.
Again these are crippled a little more.

Then you will eventually start digging targets reading 00-02.
When you are digging these and are successful with nonferrous find, you are getting close to or at being top notch at understanding what Deus audio is telling you.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2020 12:21AM by tnsharpshooter.

tnsharpshooter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> .... crippled from ferrous.
> ....


TN-sharpshooter, I always enjoy your inputs here.

I don't understand what you mean by "crippled from ferrous" . If you would be so gracious , can you PM me, to maybe hopefully set up a phone call appointment time, to walk me through any additional tips you can lend ? Because I know that written text is sometimes hard to convey things that are so sound-related. Thanx !

Tom (Ca),
We’ll talk soon.
I’ll set something up soon.

What I mean by ID numbers presented vs how crippled a target is by ferrous....
Deus can report nonferous targets via audio in the ferrous ID range. This assumes ferrous range is 0- approx 6.6 on the ID scale.
Deus is a very genius setup in this regard.
So basically as a nonferrous is being mask somewhat the nonferrous target’s ID will be pulled down more negative (lower than say an actual solo air test of nonferrous item.

The audio is where the action is with Deus.
I dug a half dime in ferrous polluted using elliptical Hf coil that read 01 on ID meter. And this area had been pounded by Deus and LF coils.

So HF coils are better than LF coils in iron. They unmask/separate better than older LF coils. They run quieter too. But make no mistake LF coil on Deus still performs spectacular compared to many other VLF detectors. Equinox can Best a Deus and LF coil on some masked targets though. I witnessed this multiple times in direct head to head. Where EQX located and Deus and LF coil failed to detect.

Reactivity level 4 is too high for most hunting applications. Reactivity 2.5 and 3 will suffice many times.

Full tones will NOT alert a Deus user to some nonferrous targets (masked) whereas Deus with some disc like 6.0 using multi tones or pitch will infact alert on.
Many times a target that is mixed conductivity like say a nonferous connected to a ferrous item, here’s full tones has higher probability to fail to alert user of nonferrous item presence.

Use of LF coil there was a change in GB menu (ground sensitivity) that indeed helped LF coil performance. This change was done via update couple years ago,
I posted here in great detail doing head to heads using the new setting vs the older default setting (older update provided).
The default setting using latest versions using LF coils is good setup.

I encourage you and anyone else desiring more info to do look on this forum where I have talked about Deus ops.
Cal cobra will gets his eyes opened if you expose him to Deus.
Ghost town weapon for sure.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2020 01:55AM by tnsharpshooter.

Congratulations Tom,

Deus is probably the best detector for iron ridden sites, even better when using a HF coil.

If you're serious with getting a Deus, get the 9" HF coil and bump up freq higher than 17.6 based from your settings when defecting in areas laced with iron. You won't need any other deus coils, we hunt the same type of sites same soil conditions and based from my experiences the 9" HF coil is all we need.

It's a remarkable unmasker, especially on thin worn reales or half dimes when using the 9" HF coil. But you need to operate higher freq than 17.6, this gives it that added edge with thin worn out silver.

I'm still laid up from surgery, but early next year we can meet somewhere and hit a couple of old sites with our deus.

Deus and the MDT 8000 are my two main non-Pi relic detectors, that's all I use now. Forget the Equinox for relic hunting, sits in the corner collecting dust.

Congrats Tom!
Paul

Apolonio (CA) Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> , get the 9" HF coil

Paul, good to hear from you bro ! Hoping for a good recovery from surgery.

Question: How do I know whether or not my coil is "HF" ? This one is 9", and simply has "HP" in red letters, and "detector" in tiny print under that. The coil is black. So what type coil is that ?

Tom - That is the older LF or original Deus coil. The Newer LF coils are marked X35 in both 9" and 11" (also larger). The HF coils come in two sizes, 9" round White coil and a 5x9" White elliptical. I use both of the HF coils, and the black LF coils, but for ghost town, iron infested sites and all around hunting, my favorite is the 9" round HF White coil. In my testing it separated as well as the Elliptical but is deeper.

Hello Tom,

Tom Slick is correct, the newer HF coils are solid white, both elliptical and standard 9" coils. Like Tom Slick, I have both HF coils and prefer the round HF 9" coil over the elliptical. The HF 9" coil is deeper, yet from my experiences just as good unmasker in thick iron as the elliptical.

TNSS (David), if you do get the chance to speak with him on the phone he's very knowledgeable with the deus. Very informative individual, he knows the deus.

Well, I'll recovery soon and meet with you up there in your area early next year.

Until then, save me a few scraps of mission era finds to dig ;-)


Paul

Tom Slick Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tom - That is the older LF or original Deus coil.
> The Newer LF coils are marked X35 in both 9" and 1
> 1" (also larger). The HF coils come in two sizes,
> 9" round White coil and a 5x9" White elliptical. I
> use both of the HF coils, and the black LF coils,
> but for ghost town, iron infested sites and all ar
> ound hunting, my favorite is the 9" round HF White
> coil. In my testing it separated as well as the El
> liptical but is deeper.


Thanx Tom Slick. I'm learning !

I’ll give some info here on Deus.
Tom and some others may find useful.
And if Tom reads this before we talk it might spark some additional questions from him.

Deus can be made to run (hunting in site with substantial iron) to give more audio tones when one is using full tones. Running disc at 0 and below will make Deus very busy in the audio dept to the user.
So question can Deus be setup to run quieter and little be sacrificed in detected finds? Yes.
Deus using full tones can be run with disc set to levels 2-3.5 and still be a grand unmasker/separator yet the user won’t hear lot of smaller ferrous reporting in the headphones. This definitely lessens the amount of concentration needed while one swings the coil. Keep in mind bigger iron can still come over the top of the 2-3.5 disc setting, yet the audio on this iron will sound not so sweet.

Ground balance.
Deus when doing pumping GB will set the detector up ground reading plus 1. This will suffice most times. Beginners with Deus should stay away from trying to run the detector with GB offset negative as this will definitely make Deus more noisy as coil is swept. Some additional depth capability though is possible running GB lower than actual ground reading.

Silencer setting.
Anyone wanting to be all they can be with Deus should try and learn Deus leaving silencer set to -1 always. It should be pointed it silencer setting can be driven by what actual recovery speed is selected. And if a user is not careful the silencer may set itself higher than -1, and in doing so a user may indeed miss actual finds in the field. I wish this would have been corrected with update. One has to go to expert tab and verify silencer setting.

Headphones
One needs to use headphones of some sort to be all they can be with Deus.
The ws5 headphones available imo don’t do Deus audio justice. Meaning the higher pitch tones one needs to hear in iron rich sites not high or distinguishable enough. The grey ghost I I had were sorry too in this department. Others here in this forum may give some other suggestions.

Deus audio
Deus can decipher better quality metals to the user via audio sound. Meaning say a coin will give more pure sounding audio and read Xxx, whereas a junk metal target reading the same reading xxx will indeed many times sound less pure than the former here.

Reactivity setting.
This is the recovery speed.
Imo there is some tradeoff involved when using different recovery speed settings.
Recovery speed 5 best I can tell has no use really - I haven’t found one!
Now is it possible to hear every target for example using recovery speed 2 when one actually uses recovery speed 3? Perhaps. Remember though user already knows where suspect target is. Faster recovery speeds yield shorter duration tone. But one does swing their coil. In tight detecting scenarios speed 2 (based on swing speed of target) may be a tad too slow. Speed 2.5 or 3 may allow faster sweep to give hint of target. Speed 4 may give hint of target yet tone duration may be so succinct one may not catch. Higher mineralized ground good rule of thumb, DON’t use speed 1. Speed 2 questionable, speeds 2.5 or 3 usually better choices.
Depth potential increases with slower recovery speeds, this in medium to milder ground. Remember in higher mineralized ground depth will be more limited so speeds 2.5-4 better choices generally.

ID of targets.
Reactivity setting (recovery speed) selected can drive how good orbad Deus IDs targets. Deus may give no ID at all. The nice thing (barring site where dirt has been added or moved around) modern trash is generally shallower so Deus can ID. One can suspect when no ID is presented either a deeper target or a real small shallow target. Pinpoint use may expose real small target.

Freq to use.
Using LF coil in and around lots of iron hunting using highest freq 18 kHz. Try not to use freqs offset.

Tx power.
This is defaulted usually to 2.
Level 2 is where to run Deus. Hf coils are fixed here. No adjustment possible.

Different programs can use different filtering. This is not reported in Deus manuals I don’t think. But users have determined through use there are differences.

All metal modes using Deus are tricky and imo not very user friendly. I have used and I don’t like. Hard to keep Deus tuned. I recommend to most folks to steer away from.

Sensitivity.
User should generally run between 86-94. Depending on conditions. The larger coils used with Deus it may be harder to run higher sensitivity settings, quite a difference emi wise between the 9” coils and the 11” coils.

Coils to use.
There are different coils. LF coils are deemed obsolete yet they are still good performers.
If one is just going to use Deus say for relics. I recommend 9” Hf coil. Good all arounder.
Will the use of elliptical Hf coil find some things the 9” round Hf won’t find? Yes. It is my opinion though for what the coil cost and the depth it sacrifices one is better off with 9” Hf coil.
What about x35 coils?
If one is going to hunt both coins and relics they are a better choice. X35 Coil a better modern trash coil vs Hf coils.
Reports are x35 coils not as quiet running generally as Hf coils. I ran x35coil for short period (loaner) and that was my experience as well.
No matter which coil you run with Deus seems all coils pass with flying colors what I call bump tests on weeds and stubble when compared to many other detector and coil setups. Real hard bumps will still give audio feedback though.
So can an 11” Deus coil see things a 9” coil might struggle with ? And not be depth related. Yes! Again though the 9” coil is better all arounder odds wise.
11” coils generally about 1” deep.
Ergonomics of Deus unit using 9” coil loads better vs 11” coil and the bigger coil that is a Available.

So, in a nutshell.
Deus is good detector in and around iron.
A user may think some of the targets located (the way they sound) could easily be located with many other detectors. This logic though is flawed!! And if one does head to head using other models they will see quickly just how good Deus is at pulling stuff from iron laced sites.

It is my opinion.
An older iron laced site that has seen neither Minelab Equinox action or Deus action, if one takes a Deus in there get ready. You are fixing to do some digging !! Looks like Tom already has.

Pinpointer use imo mandatory when using Deus. Many times peices of ferrous will be exhumed before you reach your prize. Therefore it pays to build and have confidence with your deus. Once you get good with you’ll start placing odds in your mind as you dig. And these odds will constantly be adjusted as your skill increases. One can use Deus and dig more iron. One can be rewarded too. If one is digging nails with approx 90 degrees or more angle of bends, this indicates Deus user is on RIGHT TRACK, not wrong track.



Edited 10 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2020 08:09PM by tnsharpshooter.

tnsharpshooter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...
> And if Tom reads this before we talk it might spar
> k some additional questions from him.
>
>

TN-sharpshooter, lots to digest here. Looking forward to talking to you later today. But off the top of my head, I notice that your 2nd paragraph is prefaced on an assumption that a person doesn't want to hear all the (small) iron. Yes, I realize that to some people, that can be distracting and annoying, to hear a machine-gun rat-tat-tat of nails all over. And be forced to listen for the occasional upwards conductor tones trying to bleed through. But this is going to take some ironing out. Because for me, having come up through the ranks of the Whites Eagle, I really enjoyed the cross-over mode. Where you're hearing the iron and conductors all at once. And likewise with the Explorer II, I have no problem with ferrous and the "screen wide open" (although, admittedly, the iron tones on that are wimpy and flat).

To me it's helpful to know exactly the amount of iron I'm swinging through, so that I can have a sense of the human sphere of influence (as evidenced by the iron spread).

But we'll discuss this, and the other factors, more when we speak later.

thanx !

LF Deus coil users.
Some nonferrous targets will indeed give higher pitched signal with some positive disc used when using full tones. Listening to the same target undisturbed running 0 disc or lower might just be missed even by a trained Deus user’s ear. Even Mr Southern has stated this with his experiences. As strange as this may sound. Question. Can a Deus user hear all ferrous running disc level at 0 ? Nope.
Remember Deus disc range extended with update back when. All the way down to -6.4 I believe.

Horseshoe ops.
Can it be trusted 100% of the time?
Nope.
Be wary if it switches sides (right to left and Vice versa) as one sweeps a target if audio sounds decent.

XY screen
Can it be trusted 100% of the time? Nope
Actually I have used this feature very little. Most Inused this with was using gold field program.
Better to use audio only (how it behaves) when using Deus.
How repeatable is what you hear is the key.
Even if the signal is borderline iron sounding.
Iron will generally give not so same sounding asthe coil is carefully (controlled ) swept.

Deeper stuff will generally give 97 and higher ids or no ID at all.

Once a Deus user learns iron wrap, they are off the races!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2020 08:05PM by tnsharpshooter.

A larger coil has greater angular wrap-around. . . . . . for greater/better ID. A larger coil also presents stronger signal-strength.

NEVER trust VDI ID whilst in carpets of nails. Remember..... there are mostly nails ....,,,,,,.......and hopefully.... a non-ferrous target 'in-the-mix' with the iron. , . , . , . , . , . underneath the coil .....at any given split-second. ID will NOT be correct.
It is ALL in the audio!

We exclusively detect by audio!

You guys know the little cub shovel I use. If I am in carpets of nails....... I carry a N42 strength Rare Earth magnet ....that I just simply stick to the upper shank/shaft of the shovel. It will NEVER 'fall off'. The size of the magnet is 1.5" x 1.5" x 0.5".
If I am not relic hunting in carpets of nails...... I change that magnet out for a 1.0" x 0.5" x 0.25" N42 Rare Earth magnet. I ALWAYS have a magnet with me.
((( It is inevitable to excavate nail(s) out of any hole ......whilst on any type of hunt. , . , . , and a magnet can be a real time-saver....... in concert with a F-Pulse pinpointer. )))

Hey Forum-gang , Here's a "shout-out" to David (TN-sharpshooter) : A great asset to the md'ing community ! He just spent ~1.5 hr. on the phone with me just now. Walking me through scores of pro's and con's, live sample-swings as we went through options, comparisons, etc... All the equipment evolution info. of the Deus incarnations. Advice on putting together my own setup, when this loaner is up, etc....

I didn't think the operation could get better than the field test I put it through the other night. But it seems he's given me some tips that not only avail the same nail-see-through-results, but do it in a way that's less noisy and more intuitive with audio. Still exploring the pro's and con's with the tips he's walked me through.

Great guy ! Thanx for your time Dave !! If you're ever in CA, the beer is on me

Tom_in_CA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey Forum-gang , Here's a "shout-out" to David (TN
> -sharpshooter) : A great asset to the md'ing comm
> unity ! He just spent ~1.5 hr. on the phone with
> me just now. Walking me through scores of pro's a
> nd con's, live sample-swings as we went through op
> tions, comparisons, etc... All the equipment evol
> ution info. of the Deus incarnations. Advice on p
> utting together my own setup, when this loaner is
> up, etc....
>
> I didn't think the operation could get better than
> the field test I put it through the other night.
> But it seems he's given me some tips that not only
> avail the same nail-see-through-results, but do it
> in a way that's less noisy and more intuitive with
> audio. Still exploring the pro's and con's with t
> he tips he's walked me through.
>
> Great guy ! Thanx for your time Dave !! If you'r
> e ever in CA, the beer is on me


You and ole Cal will have a blast on your next outing. And I’ll bet he will want to do a few signal comparisons with you.
Glad I could help.

Per your request. A video showing how to update Deus components.
There are other videos a available for viewing.
This gent in this video actually works for or with Xp.
[m.youtube.com]

Cheers



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2020 03:11AM by tnsharpshooter.

tnsharpshooter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> TIPS and Settings


TNSS -

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts / TIPS on the Deus, I like looking over how others use the Deus. Gives me new ideas and Confirms some I already have.


Rich-

------------------------------------------------------------------

Just one more good target before I go.

tnsharpshooter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...
>
> Per your request. A video showing how to update D
> eus components.
> There are other videos a available for viewing.
> This gent in this video actually works for or with
> Xp.
> [m.youtube.com]
>

TN-sharpshooter , again, above and beyond the call of duty. I know we md'rs LOVE to "shop-talk". It doesn't take arm-twisting to get us out md'ing, and ramble on about md'ing with our buddies, does it ? But you have gone out of your way, above & beyond, to dispense all your studies and knowledge . I believe I can speak on behalf of a bunch of us : Thank you !!



>
> TNSS -
>
> Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts /
> TIPS on the Deus, I like looking over how others
> use the Deus. Gives me new ideas and Confirms some
> I already have.

^^ Ditto ^^



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2020 04:26PM by Tom_in_CA.

Hey Tom in Ca man hope you up for a great ride with the deus. Long long time deus fan/user from Nv. Never get bored of tinkering with the deus. Hit me up when your ready to buy for a smoking deal

Kickindirt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hit me
> up when your ready to buy for a smoking deal


PM sent .

Video has some tips for Deus beginners.
[m.youtube.com]

tnsharpshooter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Video has some tips for Deus beginners.
> [m.youtube.com]


Good video. Thanx !