XP Deus Deep settings
There are 2 question commonly asked by Deus owners:
What is the deepest program for the Deus?
How do I go deeper with the Deus?
I have based this article around these 2 questions they sound similar but are very different!
Part 1 What is the deepest program for the Deus?
Based on my experiences there is no single program to go deeper for everyone, there are too many factors to take into consideration.
A deep program may work on one persons land but may be very unstable on another’s. Some deep internet programs simply have higher sensitivity levels and the audio response turned up, this will not make the machine deeper, it will only boost the audio level on smaller targets and higher sensitivity levels can make an erratic operation.
Deep targets will sound small, so a smooth running machine is essential or you may miss a deep target thinking it is a false signal.
XP have designed 10 factory pre-set programs to give good performance and suit most world wide search scenarios…rest assured they are working on new adaptions all the time, your factory settings may very well require tweaking to enhance the performance on your site, or to make your detecting experience better suited for you.
Soil conditions and desired targets change all over the world, if you want a true deep program it must be designed for your site and most importantly your abilities.
Very soon in this article you will hear me mention the terms Auto Mode and Manual Mode, bear with me all will be explained.
Hunting for deep targets with the XP Deus
Set up for your site
Before you decide to go out and hunt for deeper targets perhaps it may be wise to ask yourself “what are my desired targets”, deep singular coins or deep hoards, as the machine may need to be set up in different ways.
As a rule of thumb site conditions dictate depth, mineralisation, heavy stones, iron contamination and regularly turned soil just to mention a few, can all greatly reduce a machines performance. Be aware that the target signal can change from good to bad in a matter of centimetres.
Suspicious signals are very often the result of ground consumption, as the target gets deeper, the ground saturation gets stronger and stronger until finally the target gives no response. Area’s with high mineralization will consume the target much quicker.
No matter what machine you are using, searching difficult soils very rarely yield deep targets – That’s my excuse anyway.
Quiet sites
Some sites may simply have no deep targets present…you cant find what’s not there!…however if I were to be searching for a buried hoard I think my best chances of success would be to start searching on a quiet site rather than a busy one.
Back in the day people would bury treasures somewhere quiet, not in the middle of a settlement, unless under the floor of a building I guess.
Deep Hoards
Some overseas detectorists only look for hoards and large treasures in remote area’s, they are not interested in small targets and do not care if the target is ferrous or non ferrous. They very often choose XP Deus settings that complement the larger coil. Popular settings are based around the All Metal or in case of mineralised conditions the Goldfield program, using the lower operating Frequency 4 kHz a slow Reactivity 1, Silencer at -1, and an accurate ground balance by using tracking or pumping.
Detecting in manual mode will always give a further advantage.
Small deep targets
Naturally small targets will never be found at great depths but they can be found at impressive depths using a higher frequency and manual mode.
This Gold coin was found by investigating a signal that I would normally ignore.
Part 2 How do I go deeper with the Deus?
Let’s assume you have the best settings for your site and you are confident the machine is working to the best of your ability.
Note the key word here “Your ability”
So how are you going to play it ?, like you normally do or are you going to try something different, remember you are specifically looking for deep targets, so what needs to be changed ?
I truly believe switching from Auto to Manual Mode will give you the desired results, many detectorists out there are using manual mode with great success, have you ever wondered why some people in your club or group are constantly getting good results….Because they are in manual mode.
What is Auto and Manual Mode and how do I find it in the Deus menu?
It’s not in the menu, it’s in your head and your attention to signal detail….9 times out of 10 when I run a Deus 1 to 1 session the clients are in Auto mode, they don’t realise it because that’s all they know.
By the end of the session they are all in Manual Mode this is because they have been shown and understand the grey area’s of the Deus audio signature, and have a vastly improved search sweep. Everyone has the ability it’s simply learning the Deus language and exercising a little patience while searching.
Not all detectors talk the same language, I truly believe the Deus is in a class of it’s own. I think it is so sensitive to small changes in soil and target composition, it reflects in the audio sound. This is not a bad thing, but to get the best out of your machine it requires a little understanding.
Let’s take a modern digital camera, most have 2 modes Auto and Manual, personally I can not take a good picture unless it’s in Auto, there’s no shame in that, its how I get the best results. However I know if I took time to learn the camera and then used the manual mode my pictures would be far superior.
The difference between Auto and Manual mode is your state of mind, the question is how far are you prepared to go? The more you put into the Deus the more you will get out of it.
In the field
Lets assume you are new to the Deus or just prefer an easy day, the factory pre-set Basic 1 offers a good choice, feedback is limited but it’s a great beep-dig program and fun to use. Because it utilises a higher discrimination with no iron tone the user is only drawn toward digging good sounding targets.
The Deus Grey area
The Deus has what I call a grey area, this the point where the target is neither good nor bad and more often than not this gives the deep target signature, Some describe it as a junk signal, I like to describe it as an audio question mark, all fields are full of audio question marks !
It is probably not a good idea trying to investigate loud suspicious signals, they will most probably be iron, providing you have the Audio Response set correctly the smaller deeper targets will be very obvious by the softer sound, 3 or 4 are popular settings.
Good signals are good, Iron signals are bad, anyone can deal with those, but it takes extra patience and skill to deal with the suspicious signals. And this is where learning your machine is vital!
Using a more dynamic program, such as Program 3 (Deus Fast) and changing to Full Tone with 0 discrimination, can increase the feedback from the machine and those grey question mark area’s will be far more noticeable.
For those who prefer a single tone, Deus Fast and simply switching to Pitch mode does a pretty good job.
Manual Mode is a real confidence method and you will need patience, OK you will get caught out on a few pieces of deep iron, but I guarantee once mastered you will find good targets at impressive depths.
Article first published in the Searcher magazine
Understanding deep targets video
XP Deus understanding deep targets | VIDEO
This video shows how easily the ground can contaminate a good target.
As the target becomes saturated by the ground, the iron tone creeps in.
This is why using the Audio response is so important, if you can hear a target is deep, you can then better evaluate whether to dig or not to dig.
The XP Deus is a very sensitive and deep metal detector in the right hands, be brave and investigate suspicious signals if they are quiet.
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