Some Qs on the Deus, trying to decide on this or the E-trac

[DaveC19]

I was wondering some things about the Deus.

Is this any good for coin hunting such as silver or gold coins? Jewelery? I heard this machine tends to like nickel more than silver, well I like Silver better than nickel I am hunting in regular black dirt type soil not really mineralized from what I know (Illinois) am told the e-trac is good or better for deep silver but not sure how much better. I guess because the e-trac does simultaneous frequencies but the Deus cant? Or is it something else?

I am told that you lose VDI on deeper targets with the Deus, is that a big issue? I don't like bottlecaps that much.

I am also told the Deus machine is not as "stable". I am new so I am not sure what that means. What issues does the Deus have with stability and what does that mean?

Which coil is better the bigger or smaller one? I guess bigger for depth and coverage?

I am also told you need to be directly over target and the unit is no good at targets on the edges of the coil, is that is big problem?

The coil battery seems like a DUMB design. Sending in to replace a battery seems a bit silly (not to mention a hassle and expensive). *ALL* Li-Ion batteries eventually die and stop taking a charge so that is case of if, not when. I don't like this at all, Almost a deal-breaker.

I do like the compact size and weight of the Deus. Some of the other detectors look too big and bulky, almost silly. Some look like you are swinging a panzershreck (and weigh about as much).

In the end though it comes down to how good it is at finding treasure instead of trash and not miss stuff. Is the Deus and E-trac pretty comparable or is there a big reason to get one or the other? I imagine asking in a Deus section will get some bias, but since you guys use and know this unit you can alert me to its flaws and quirks better than a Minelab only user.

Thanks.

 

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[Kilohertz]

This is a common dilemma for people. I'm unbiased because I have neither yet hehe. I also was very indecisive about etrac v dues. I finally decided on the dues and it will arrive this Saturday. The reason I went with dues is because it's more versatile. 4 freq... It can be adjusted to perform well at any site and firmware can be upgraded. GL, there's enough info on this topic on previous posts.

 

[masterjedi]

This is a common dilemma for people. I'm unbiased because I have neither yet hehe. I also was very indecisive about etrac v dues. I finally decided on the dues and it will arrive this Saturday. The reason I went with dues is because it's more versatile. 4 freq... It can be adjusted to perform well at any site and firmware can be upgraded. GL, there's enough info on this topic on previous posts.

The eTrac has 28 frequencies all running at the same time. The Deus is a great machine but only runs 1 at a time...

 

[Welgund]

I own the Deus and am very familiar with it. It all depends on where your going to hunt. If your a park hunter or old house for silver the etrac is probably the way to go. I hunt old homesteads that are littered with iron, tin pieces, and big iron. The Deus excels in this type of environment. It is also very good on silver at lower frequencies. I chose the deus cause I like long hunts and am usually out for 6 to seven hours. Swinging the etrac that long would be very painful.lol

 

[HuntinDog]

Dave,
First off let me tell you I have NO experience with an Etrac.
I too was looking at the Etrac when I purchased my Deus.
I had the Whites and Garretts machines at the time and had been hearing good things about the Etrac.
In my search I started hearing more and more about the Deus and liked what I was hearing.
I've found silver, gold, nickel and a bunch of Zink with the Deus since my purchase. No complaints.
I still hunt the parks and older homes and with proper adjustment the Deus picks the goodies out where others don't.
With any machine you are going to have to deal with trash. learning what the Deus is tell you is the key.
The Deus is a very good tone machine and starts to lose VDI on the deep targets. (8-10'+), but when it hits a good target at depth you know.
As to the Batteries I posted this in another thread...

"Yes the batteries are built in and yes they can fail and some do, but...
The batteries in the headset and controller can be replaced by the user, but it is best to send the coil in.
The coil battery is molded in and waterproof and to insure it stays that way send it in to XpAmerica costs about fifty bucks.
I've had my Deus since 2011 and haven't had any problems with the batteries and there are others that have had them from 2009 without problems.
How many sets of batteries would I have purchased for my Whites or Garrett in that amount of time?? (about $10 per 8 batteries)
The savings on batteries alone just about paid for my Deus. lol
I would not let the batteries be a concern with the Deus and if purchased new the Deus has a 5 year warrantee.
What other detector company gives FIVE years!
The Deus is a darn good machine and right up there with the best of them...
Don't buy a Deus and I'll follow behind you and pick what you missed.... "

Xp is coming out with a smaller coil that will run in multiple frequencies.
This should help on the beaches.

The compact size and weight (or lack of) is a big plus...
I can hunt for hours with no ill effects to my shoulder, arm or wrist.
I can break it down and pack it in my suitcase and take it with me anywhere.
I've even taken it out to your country (IL) and it ran perfectly. I found about 100 coins in the short time I had to hunt.

I guess any down side of the Deus is the learning curve.
Some it clicks with in no time and some (like me) it takes awhile.
Read the posts, watch the Videos (Gary has 10 ) and get Andy's book (Sabisch Books - XP ).

In the end all metal detectors have their draw backs and their strengths.
No machine will do it all.
The choice is yours.
Good luck

 

[masterjedi]

I own the Deus and am very familiar with it. It all depends on where your going to hunt. If your a park hunter or old house for silver the etrac is probably the way to go. I hunt old homesteads that are littered with iron, tin pieces, and big iron. The Deus excels in this type of environment. It is also very good on silver at lower frequencies. I chose the deus cause I like long hunts and am usually out for 6 to seven hours. Swinging the etrac that long would be very painful.lol

Your right and wrong IMO ... for super trashy sites the eTrac struggles... I use my F75SE... then clean up with my eTrac... I can swing my eTrac forever and never have any pain...you need the right gear to do it though

 

[metaljunkie]

My first season with the deus, has found me 61 silver coins. Along with a few gold and silver rings and old coppers. All these coins were dug, at previously hunted parks. There was usually the twonif us. Him etrac and me at pro. We thought these places were mostly dead. But 61 silvers speaks volume. Better still, most of these coins were the oldest dug, from each of the different rehunted parks.

For me, having the ability to swith frequencies is one of its best qualities. It's amazing what a frequency change can tell you in information on a target. I have dug some rusty old militia buttons, that sounded like a rusty bottle cap, but doing a frequency change contridicted the first sound and made me dig. Amazing machine...

I think the real difference is the speed of the processing. Also being able to change it to your liking and conditions. This is one thing I realy found different on the etrac when I tried it. I really had to slow down my swing. Personally though, I found even with a slow swing i was feeling the machine was still trying to slightly catch up. Oher than full tones, I am not sure of it's settings. I did find a few old pennies though, but missed that feel of precision.

I think the deus's main weakness would be emi vs the etrac. At depth I belive the multiple frequencies could have an advantage in these conditions. Not that the deus is bad with emi, but I have found certain frequencies can be useless in certain hot emi conditions. One park i hunt has a police staion and hospital surrounding it. Lots of emi around. This place forces you to run 17hrz. This is one place the etrac usually out hunts me. As I realy have hard time finding the deeper good targets.

But yes I am extremely pleased with the deus. It's versitility is fantastic....

 

[gwdigger]

I had the ctx 3030 & Deus at the same time. CTX is supposedly almost the same as the etrac. The only thing I liked better about the ctx than the Deus? - it was waterproof. The Deus worked better for me in trashy, iron infested areas. No competition really. Ultimately I sold the CTX because for me it was prohibitively HEAVY & there was no depth advantage whatsoever in spite of all the freq. I'm from eastern Maryland. I'm not knocking the CTX, it was an incredible machine just not for me. I got 11 Spanish cut silvers & cobs with my Deus this past season not to mention a handful of modern silvers. So it can find the silvers no prob.

 

[DaveC19]

In the end I ended up with the Deus. I ordered it from Bart here as the price was really good, almost half of that 2K price point. I don't have it yet so I will see how it goes. While after reading info here I came to the conclusion that overall the e-trac was a bit better machine than the Deus, I had other considerations that nudged it the XP way. For me in Illinois I will probably be hunting allot of farm fields and sites that are traditionally riddled with iron junk. The Deus seems to do well with that. Also due to the compact collapsible nature I can just fold the thing up and stash it in a bag, backpack, or even leave it in a small car trunk compartment. If I happen to come across a site to hunt it will be at the ready. It is also discrete, there is not much bulk to it so it won't attract much attention. It is light, I am not a big muscle-y dude so I can swing the Deus longer and faster (due to good response time) without getting as fatigued and therefore cover more ground in the same amount of time. I figure if I can hunt longer and faster, and be more inclined to do so it will make up for it not being quite as good as some others. I also liked the modular approach and the ability to upgrade firmwares if there are any improvements. I will see how it goes, I can always sell it later and get an e-trac if I find I hate the Deus, I am not married to it. From what others have said though it seems there almost is a reason to have both, but I am not there yet. After I find that coin hoard then I may add an e-trac or CTX to the mix.


Now when I get it I need to suss it all out. What setting is good for what etc. I also need to know good places to hunt. I see many talk about "parks". Is that like in big cities? Do they let people dig holes all over? The only coppers I want to see are ones I dig up, not the ones in the blue uniforms

@ gwdigger where did you find those Spanish coins? Probably no chance of finding those where I am.


Look out pull-tabs, here I come!

 

[DaveC19]

Dave,
I've even taken it out to your country (IL) and it ran perfectly. I found about 100 coins in the short time I had to hunt.

The choice is yours.
Good luck

Hi,

Where did you find those coins? I am just curious what the best places to hunt are.

 

[gene the machine]

Get Andy's book on the Deus too...

 

[HuntinDog]

Dave,
Congrats on your new purchase..
I was south of you in the Pontiac area.
I hunted Parks and old homes.
I only had about three hours hunting time in, including time used to get permissions.
They were some fun hunts.
I'm going to be out your way later this month down in the Bloomington area and hope to get in a few hunts out there.
When I started out with my Deus I started in the playgrounds (TotLots) to get an idea for how the Deus worked and what the targets sounded like.
Started in Basic1 it's quiet and lets you hear the good targets. Once I felt comfortable I moved on to other programs and adjusting them.
A lot like the Deus fast program, but to each their own.
Deus fast is just that, but it will let in a lot more and is more noisy.
Just because the Deus maybe faster doesn't mean swing faster.
A nice even swing gives the Deus time to process in between that trash.
Watch Gary's videos he explains the adjustments very well.
Get and read Andy's book. It will explain a lot on how to set it up and a lot of good programs in there to try.
Learn how to dig those holes so you don't leave a trace.
Pickup the trash. I have a saying.. If I dig it I pick it up.
A lot goes into a trash can, but it makes those that see you feel better about what you are doing.
I know it sound silly, but you have to walk before you can run.
Take your time, read, watch, ask questions and practice, practice, practice and it will click.
Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes.

 

[gwdigger]

I hunt along Chesapeake Bay, Delmarva Peninsula. The opposite side of Chesapeake as the legendary Bill D. from Va. Same types of finds but his area is obviously far more saturated with 17th century sites and about 30-40 years earlier.

 

[corpsman]

I chose the deus also. I've had it for over 3 months now, and I love it! I love being able to choose from several different frequencies, and it works great in the trashy sites downtown. I hunt for civil war relics, and the only thing I haven't been able to "real world" test so far, is how deep it will go on bullets and buttons. I have found both since I've had my deus, but none have been what I would call really deep. I wish I knew of a place with some bullets that were 10, 12, 14 inches deep so I could test out the depth in real life. I've got a test bed, but they just aren't the same. congratulations, though. I'm sure you will like the machine. just try not to over think it. also, give the full tones option a shot. I love it.