The best machine made is...

[Truth]

There is basically no learning curve on the Deus. I didn't bother trying to tweak it. I run Deus Fast, so the signal will speed down to the coil and back, giving a lightning recovery time. I used the HF elliptical coil, and factory presets, Dig anything over a "45" on the meter. Don't skip cannon balls however. I mainly dig fields and woods looking for relics. Beach is also easy, You can use beach mode or Deus fast.

I’m get one next year no matter what. I have put a lot of hours on the 800 so I’m satisfied wear in at, so that being said everyone should have 2 detectors anyway right? Lol

 

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[smokeythecat]

Tom_In_Ca, like I said, it's probably the machine you own now. That's the best one. Two things are of utmost importance while digging. After the two obvious considerations, go slow and don't run through the field and just dig it!, the two most important tips are 1) make sure the machine is on, but seriously 1) there have to be targets there to begin with and 2) miss it by an inch, miss it by a mile.

I hear a lot of talk about mastering machines. In all truth, right Truth?, I'm not sure I have ever mastered any machine. I don't have that brain math thing to tweak a machine, so do not rely on the machine to tell me if it is a good target or not most of the time. If it's non ferrous, I dig it and on old sites I dig a lot of iron deliberately. Now at the beach I can tell the pull tabs and bottle caps from other stuff, but most of my beaches are not aluminum and bottle cap heavy.

 

[fyrffytr1]

I have always used White's detectors until I had an accident and could no longer swing my DFX for any length of time. I bit the bullet and ordered an XP Deus and haven't used the DFX since. I mostly use the pitch program and another Deus user sent me a modified pitch program to install so I use it 99% of the time. On a few occasions I have used the deep program when I am in a trash free area.
I ordered the Deus with the 9" coil (this was before the HF coils came out) but it arrived with the 11" one. I called the shipper and he said that mine was the second one shipped with the wrong coil. He offered to send me a 9" and I could return the 11 or I could keep the 11 and he would sell me the 9 at cost which was less than half the retail. So I have both coils and am looking at one of the HF coils. I would also like to have the pinpointer if anyone needs to know what to get me for Christmas!

 

[smokeythecat]

Truth1253, I also still have two detectors. The backup is a Tesoro Cibola, that's the beast that whooped a Civil War camp good and found the 1774 Gold Guinea on the beach. It's surprisingly good in salt water.

Fyrfytter1, I'll have to try another program soon. Those colonial house sites are full of iron, so maybe not this weekend.

 

[GB1]

I’m get one next year no matter what. I have put a lot of hours on the 800 so I’m satisfied wear in at, so that being said everyone should have 2 detectors anyway right? Lol

i have three you got to have a back up for the back up

 

[Iffy Signals]

I have both the Nox 800 and XP. Great combo right there. If you want to see any comparisons let me know and ill put it up on my ch. both are awesome machine but i really do have a blast swinging the Deus.

 

[smokeythecat]

Since so many new banners

#21 At Pro

#22 Fisher F75

#23 White's MXT that was the double eagle, not sure which machine got it

#24 AT Pro

#25 AT Pro

#26 Whites MXT

#27 XP Deus

Enjoy diggings this weekend. Getting cold soon. My lawn is only frozen down 1 inch.

 

[smokeythecat]

#26 was the Dragoon button with the White's MXT
#27 was the dime spill with the XP Deus
#28 Equinox 800
#29 XP Deus (gold coin)
#30 Minelab GPZ (gold nugget)

 

[HighVDI]

Harbor freight 9 function.

 

[Lunchboxx]

My vote would be for the one I own, are there better probably, but the one I have is the best! Minelab Excalibur 2

Probably the one you already own. Just for sheer curiosity I looked at the banners as of today, and went to see what machines found them. Here they are in order, from left to right and if the owner listed more than 1 machine in their profile, I listed all the machines.

#1 XP Deus, Garrett AT and Makro Racer

#2 XP Deus and XP Goldmaxx

#3 XP Deus

#4 XP Deus

#5 XP Deus

#6 XP Deus, Minelab CTX 3030, White's TDI

#7 Garrett Euroace, Teknetics 8000 and XP Deus

#8 Bottles don't read on detectors! I love bottles!

#9 Neither do shark's teeth I also love sharks' teeth, and have found a few.

#10 Fisher

#11 XP Deus

#12 Teknetics Eurotek Pro, Bounty Hunter, Tesoro Compadre

#13 Garrett AT Pro

#14 Minelab Equinox 800

Just for fun..

 

[smokeythecat]

I have a friend that has the Excal II and absolutely loves it.

 

[smokeythecat]

#31 Not sure, too many machines listed, rattlesnake button

#32 Equinox 800 or Makro Racer (mold)

#33 AT Pro Confederate buckle

#34 Xterra 705 Gold coin

#35 XP Deus and a big shovel

That's it for now. Quick, somebody go dig something magnificent!'


Again, this just reflects what machines found the banners. Nothing more.

 

[Peyton Manning]

My fav is the 57 vette

Best probably a ferrari

 

[smokeythecat]

Those Ferrari's don't really go very deep and they stink in iron.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

cat-smokey, interesting thread. But there's other factors to take into account : The fact that XP Deus shows up a lot on the list, could simply be that a lot of hard-core relic guys have those, for awesome east coast site hunting. Thus, go figure, if you swing it enough over prime ground, and dig enough beeps, they'll of course eventually have chart-topper show & tells. But I'll bet that if you flooded those same fields with Ace 250's, a lot of those same targets would probably have been found. Because it might just be a function of "location location location".

When I attended the GNRS, I noticed very few Whites, Fishers, or Garrets. There was predominantly Minelabs (of various shades/stripes) and the XP Deus. And when/if you DID bump into someone swinging an MXT or Ace or whatever, they tended to be more in the beginner caliber. Most of the hardcore guys you'd talk to (who had scores of LCs and CW finds in their home collections) tended to be swinging the Minelabs and Deus.

Thus it could just be a question of demographics. If someone is more advanced/experienced, and if that caliber hunter tends to use only 1 of 4 or 5 different types of machines, then go figure: They'll show up on the banner list a lot. So it could just be a reflection of A) the user, and B) the sites. And not the machine itself so much.

 

[eman1000]

#1 Washing (It's my personal favorite machine - Cost about the same as the Deus and my wife & kids know how to operate it!)

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Then there are people that keep the banner finds to themselves.
You never know what they are swinging. I have found numerous...what I’d consider “banner worthy” finds. They were found with 3 different brands/detectors, only one on the list so far. I expect there are far more “Banner Finds”’that never get shared than what you end up seeing.

It is interesting. Smokey, thanks for taking the time to put that list together.

 

[smokeythecat]

Plus lots of folks who detect don't have any idea this website exists. So...it's just a list, not an indictment, or promotion for any machine. Just a list for comparison purposes. I just bought a less expensive machine in order to go to one specific site that needs that specific configuration to go after deep minie balls. There is no one size fits all machine. Just a list.

 

[Opie]

Smokey, nice thread, just to add some general information, I like how you added every machine. This also brings to mind a needed profile up date as to what machines I continue to use as apposed to what I have used.
Fun Thread!
Stay Gold!
Opie

 

[smokeythecat]

I need to add my new Tesoro to the list. But it's not here yet. Maybe tomorrow. Sucker goes very deep and almost as light weight as a Deus.