XP Deus or E-trac

[OutdoorAdv]

Don't want to hijack the thread, but need to ask OutdoorAdv whether the T2 or the Deus does better in highly mineralized soil. I am starting to really hum with the Deus but I have an F75 as my backup buta also recently acquired a T2SE with the 15" DD coil. I use an ATX PI machine if I need max depth in highly mineralized soil, but I am starting to learn the ways of the Jedi with the Deus and am getting good results. Just wondering if my backup should be the T2 vice the F75.

Oh, and to keep this post semi-legit to the OP, I definitely recommend the etrac even though I have never owned one

So, my soil around here isn't very highly mineralized. At my typical site, my Deus Ground Balance number is around 81 and my T2SE Ground Balance number is around 54. The FE bar on my T2 hardly registers and the mineralization bar on the Deus has never had anything on it. ha So I cant really speak to using either in mineralized soil. Since Teknetics and Fisher are both First Texas companies, I understand that the T2SE and F75LTD have extremely similar circuits in them. The F75 has more features such as different modes and a backlight, but otherwise they are nearly the same. Honestly, if I had both a F75 and a T2, I would probably use the F75 as my backup... for no reason other than it has a few more features that would be nice. I have the T2 stock coil, plus 5" puck coil and the 15" coil. I like the puck in trash pits. I put the 15" on for 10 minutes one hunt and it was a beast so I took it back off. ha I have a friend with a F75 who has had great results with the 15" coil though. I didn't really give that coil a fair chance.

Even though my Deus produced great stuff right out of the gates, there was still a few hunts, when I first had the Deus, that I know I would have been more productive on with my T2. However, now with 7 months of Deus use under my belt, that thing is lethal. I really understand it now and it never ceases to amaze me when it locks onto a whisper target in an area I thought I had sterilized in the past.

To the OP,
Something I should have included in my initial post, and its no secret, but the Deus is bad with target IDs. Probably read that in a lot of places and its true. It's a great tone machine, so if you use Full Tone audio then its good. Since I hunt old house sites I do the "if it beeps I dig" and sometimes even if "it doesn't beep I still dig"... so I dig it all. Therefore the IDs being inaccurate don't bother me one bit.

The Deus is also very easy to make water proof... the WS4 headphone puck is already water resistant and I have a waterproof case for the remote... here is it here after a day in the pouring rain http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/deus/494211-waterproof-case-deus-controller.html#post4893167 You can get a coil antenna if you want to fully submerge it to 15m or whatever... you can make the antenna or buy a kit from XP that turns it totally waterproof.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

How to Research for Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting From Lead Generation to Vetting - Grab it through Amazon!

[JerseyDigger19]

Tough question. I swing the E-trac myself but would still say the Deus. My friend and I hunt mostly in parks, and while the Deus isn't even really designed for coinshooting (it's best at relic hunting in heavy iron), he regularly schools me. That machine goes DEEP - 2 or 3 inches below where I can get with my E-trac. We're both fairly skilled detectorists and I've gotten 84 silvers already this year (without ANY permissions) and the E-trac does an amazing job of pulling silver out of the ground and differentiating it from clad and wheats. However, while the E-trac is easier to learn, you can trounce it with a well programmed Deus. 3 of my Minelab swinging friends (who use both Etrac and CTX) have recently bought the Deus, and if I had to go back, I might get one too!

 

[Calabash Digger]

Thanks for your honest information. I made some videos of the deus in thick iron and trash they are in the deus forum also made one of it coin shooting,Im trying to get my youtube channel going so thanks for looking.

 

[can]

Tough question. I swing the E-trac myself but would still say the Deus. My friend and I hunt mostly in parks, and while the Deus isn't even really designed for coinshooting (it's best at relic hunting in heavy iron), he regularly schools me. That machine goes DEEP - 2 or 3 inches below where I can get with my E-trac. We're both fairly skilled detectorists and I've gotten 84 silvers already this year (without ANY permissions) and the E-trac does an amazing job of pulling silver out of the ground and differentiating it from clad and wheats. However, while the E-trac is easier to learn, you can trounce it with a well programmed Deus. 3 of my Minelab swinging friends (who use both Etrac and CTX) have recently bought the Deus, and if I had to go back, I might get one too!

I know why your friends went with the deus. Just got back from my first trip with the ctx. Dang that thing is heavy. I could barely get my french fries to my mouth after a 4 hour beach hunt. I had rubber arm.

 

[jadocs]

To the OP,
Something I should have included in my initial post, and its no secret, but the Deus is bad with target IDs. Probably read that in a lot of places and its true. It's a great tone machine, so if you use Full Tone audio then its good.

If you're talking about the lack of VDI on deep targets. I read it is by design. Andy's book says that VDI's at depth on any detector are not reliable and the user should rely on the tone in those instances.

 

[Calabash Digger]

vdi numbers are relied on way to much put a coin in the middle of 3 nails and then tell me about vid numbers. The minelabs wouldnt even be able to see the coin in the iron at that point. That information came from a friend who is a minelab user and he tested the etrac with nails. would some etrac users get some iron nails and coins and do a test and video it so we can see the vdi numbers and if the etac can even see the coin? Please let us know would love to see how the etrac ids with iron in the mix.

 

[Calabash Digger]

heres a video of the etrac in iron also has the mackro in it. You guys who use the etrac is this true?

 

[RobRieman]

heres a video of the etrac in iron also has the mackro in it. You guys who use the etrac is this true?

I don't know about heavy iron in that video since he had it all disced out and you can't hear it. I would have run wide open screen in TTF for that test. The Etrac will null on iron though and mask a good target if you don't know how to use it. If the iron is sitting right it will mask it completely but that's the nature of the beast with any machine.

 

[Calabash Digger]

Thats true with them all if the iron is just wright it will not hit it.. my thing is test dont really give the real world hunting experience. The real question is if swinging at a normal swing speed in iron is would we here it . thanks for the post.

 

[Rawhide]

Don't want to hijack the thread, but need to ask OutdoorAdv whether the T2 or the Deus does better in highly mineralized soil. I am starting to really hum with the Deus but I have an F75 as my backup buta also recently acquired a T2SE with the 15" DD coil. I use an ATX PI machine if I need max depth in highly mineralized soil, but I am starting to learn the ways of the Jedi with the Deus and am getting good results. Just wondering if my backup should be the T2 vice the F75.

Oh, and to keep this post semi-legit to the OP, I definitely recommend the etrac even though I have never owned one

I run a Fisher F75 and a AT Pro. I hunt with a guy who has a T2 and a Etrac. Unless weight is a issue, get the Etrac, it will find the old deep silver. Read up on 2 screen and open and closed screen hunts. All you need to know about it. Dont know about beach or relic hunts, but would say there is a lot of machines out there that may fit the bill. I only mention what I use to let you know I hunt deep and coins too. Good luck man.

 

[JerseyDigger19]

I've pulled a number of silver coins covered or mixed in by iron with the E-trac. They typically go two ways: either way too high ferrous and the conductive is right (20-45, 22-44 etc.) or with the ferrous too high and the conductive too low (17-39). A 1944 silver quarter that was under a nail was the 17-39. Of course, the first type of target (22-44, 24-45 to 25-47 range) is almost always an iron bolt, and the second is usually an older wheat, indian, brass relic, or rusty nail. You can put the odds a bit in your favor by opening it up (no discrimination) and retrying it, if you get ferrous in the 30's then it's almost always just iron, but if the ferrous goes between 1 and the high teens and low 20's there's a much better chance you've got a coin mixed in there.

 

[Calabash Digger]

nothing like knowing your machine and sounds like you do!