Tinfoilhat
Forum Supporter
Good morning everyone!
To date, I haven't posted much about the XP Deus. Frankly, I only have about 30 hours on it so far. I'm still testing, learning, and bonding.
That said, I do want to contribute when I think I identify a potential success or failure with the machine. I have been wearing out TNSharpshooter, jwp1964, and Gonebeeping with questions. All 3 of these gentlemen can detect circles around me and have only been too happy to share everything they know, as well as everything they don't! I feel like I need to help contribute to pay these guys back (and a number of others) for taking the time to go in to detail with the XP Deus.
For some reason unknown to me, there is little if any information regard the secret XY Visualisation Screen. (I spelled visualization exactly like it appears in the software. Grab a z every once in a while, you crazy people across the pond!
) In spite of it being thoroughly addressed in Andy's book, it's rarely if ever mentioned on the net or by other Deus users.
What exactly is the XY Visualisation Screen? It is a hidden screen in the XP Deus software. Folklore says that it was originally a test screen for beta testers. While it is an 'unofficial screen', the fine folks at Deus elected to leave it in the software as they received many positive comments about it. If you are interested in a more thorough explanation, buy Andy's book. He has a great explanation of it.
The XY Screen can be accessed by pressing SELECT. Once you've done that, press and hold the + button and the PINPOINT button at the same time. You will then see the ADVANCED option pop up in the scroll window. Select ADVANCED, then select the XY screen and TA DA !
A note. You can bounce in out of this screen while powered up. Once you turn off the detector, the ADVANCED selection disappears and you must reactivate it.
I got interested in the XY screen as I thought it might be a potential visual indicator of what is in the ground. As a newby to the Deus, I do not fully understand and accurately interpret the Audio language of the machine. And in spite of hearing differences in the tonal quality of targets, I have dug a buttload of nails, bottle caps, and tabs. Far more trash than with the ATPro.
This morning I decided to spend 2 hours testing to see if the XY screen could help me eliminate some of the trash I was digging. Anything to help would be a blessing!
DISCLAIMER - This report is likely highly skewed. My success with it is far more positive than it should be for a number of reasons. First, I tested this in clean, unsearched ground. My apartment complex was built in 1973. And it is grossly apparent that no one has EVER detected here. Further, trash ie can slaw, bottle caps, iron, etc are limited here. It is the exact opposite of working an old farm. Finally, most targets are shallow. Depth rarely if ever exceeds 5 inches and most targets are found just below the surface to 3 inches. All of the above leads to a horribly favored and somewhat rare type of detecting area. With that out of the way, let me show you what I witnessed.
My testing method was pretty simple. I pulled up the XY screen and left it up. I was running TNSharpshooter's early Fast Deus program. 2.5 Discrim, Reactivity 2, Silencer -1, Full Tones. And I ran it at 11.6K as I didn't want to chase earring backs all morning.
I ignored the screen and detected. When I identified a repeatable signal, I would compare what I heard to the VDI number, in conjunction with the target's signature on XY screen. I would then guess trash or treasure, and dig to see if all the clues jived with the target.
Very, very quickly, I noted that I was on to something. I called so many targets accurately, that I stopped digging anything I was sure was trash, and only dug sure or iffy targets.
So lets take a look at some screen captures. They are not high quality but clear enough for examples. Between my screen cover, and swinging the detector while taking a pick, I wont be winning any photography awards.
OK, first target.
Anything to the upper right of the veritical line is a good target. The lower left quadrant is a mirror negative image. Basicially, think of the right upper quadrant as the right side of the horseshoe, and the upper left quadrant as the left side of the horseshow.
Now, the longer the signal line, the shallower the target. And finally, the closer the signal line is to the horizontal line, the higher the conductivity of the target.
As you can see, I got a 94 on the VDI. In ID Nomalized, that's dime land. The signal was smooth in the phones. There was no chop, no grunt, and no stutter. The signal was consistent regardless of the angle of swing. According to the XY screen, this is either a shallow target 2-4 inches, or a bigger target deeper.
Now look carefully at the lines. Note that they appear to be scribbly. There is no uniform pattern. That is an indication that while the target is conductive, something is amiss and it may not be a coin. In addition, again note that we have a VDI of 94. Yet the axis of the line is between one and 2 oclock. A 94 signal should be much closer to the horizontal line. I called this as trash. And it was. I square watchback looking thing.
Second Target
OK, this was again a smooth repeatable signal from all angles. It was consistent. It sounded like aluminum to my ears. 84 VDI which can be a penny. Looking at the XY screen, there is a much smaller length of signal, indicating a deeper target.
Now look at the signal signature. It is a hot mess. Looks like a dog jumped on an etch o sketch. I call this trash. And it smells an awful lot like a pull tab. And it WAS !
Next target.
The audio signal was idiot proof. Definitely a coin. Id bet 100.00 on it. Shallow target. 90-91 VDI is the high range of a penny in ID Normalized. I have also had a few clad dimes show up here. Now look carefully at the signal signature. Its beautiful. Multiple straight lines with little deviation.
Yes, it was a dime !
Next signal
Great signal. Smooth. Consistent in tone. Based on audio, I would have swore it was a nickel. VDI is a 61 which is nickel territory. In spite of the signal signature looking horrible, I went against the XY screen and guessed Nickel. And I was WRONG ! Evil pull tab !
Next
Soo, after I got my butt handed to me on the last guess, this signal popped up and freaked me out. Audio was smooth sexy nickel mid-tone in one direction. At 180 degrees, iron grunt but still super smooth. It was repeatable and consistent. VDI shows 5. Target signature looks like a coin but ferrous. If it wasn't for the 5 VDI, I would have sworn it was a coin. But ive never dug a shallow coin that sounded like this and registered a 5.
Dual target! Nickel and a Nail ! I cannot tell you what the orientation was between the nail and the nickel, but they were within 2 inches of one another.
I don't know what this means. I'll gather additional data on a nail infested location, IF I can locate some good targets.
Next target.
Again. Smooth coin tone. Consistent. Sounded like a dime. VDI in dime range at 93. Signal signature was a little sloppy but still nice straight lines. It was in fact a dime.
As you can see, there are clearly some patterns here to help ID dig vs no dig. I got good enough calling them that I just started cherry picking good coin audio signals with signal signature confirmation. I was quite giddy about it !
Sooo, if this is so stinking good, why isn't Deus shouting about it from the tallest buildings? Well, because just like everything else in detecting, its nowhere near perfect.
Weaknesses
For starters, A washer still sounds like a sexy coin. VDI confirms a coin. And the signal signature looks exactly like a coin. Also, I got duped by smooth edge screw cap the same way. I just knew that I had a quarter !
While the XY screen paints beautiful pictures for shallow targets, it is still subject to the VDI number not reading. Further, the line signature signal of any deep target is so short that it looks like a dot. Its just too small to even attempt to read.
With that, here are some summary pics of how things went........
Wrong call made by me
Iffy targets that I just could not call
Called trash versus treasure correctly
As you can see, I was able to greatly reduce my accidental trash digs and dig a far larger percentage of good targets.
SUMMARY
To be crystal clear, again this is horridly jaded. I was in an undetected, target rich, low trash environment. And I further skewed the outcome by digging sure, shallow targets and blowing off anything that I wasn't willing to bet the farm on. I am all but certain that this has some huge weaknesses and is in no way full proof. That said, it is POTENTIALLY another tool in the tool box to use to cherry pick, or maybe to push you one way or the other to dig/no dig.
I welcome everyone's input. Please test this and tell me if it helped or was absolutely useless to you.
To date, I haven't posted much about the XP Deus. Frankly, I only have about 30 hours on it so far. I'm still testing, learning, and bonding.
That said, I do want to contribute when I think I identify a potential success or failure with the machine. I have been wearing out TNSharpshooter, jwp1964, and Gonebeeping with questions. All 3 of these gentlemen can detect circles around me and have only been too happy to share everything they know, as well as everything they don't! I feel like I need to help contribute to pay these guys back (and a number of others) for taking the time to go in to detail with the XP Deus.
For some reason unknown to me, there is little if any information regard the secret XY Visualisation Screen. (I spelled visualization exactly like it appears in the software. Grab a z every once in a while, you crazy people across the pond!
) In spite of it being thoroughly addressed in Andy's book, it's rarely if ever mentioned on the net or by other Deus users. What exactly is the XY Visualisation Screen? It is a hidden screen in the XP Deus software. Folklore says that it was originally a test screen for beta testers. While it is an 'unofficial screen', the fine folks at Deus elected to leave it in the software as they received many positive comments about it. If you are interested in a more thorough explanation, buy Andy's book. He has a great explanation of it.
The XY Screen can be accessed by pressing SELECT. Once you've done that, press and hold the + button and the PINPOINT button at the same time. You will then see the ADVANCED option pop up in the scroll window. Select ADVANCED, then select the XY screen and TA DA !
A note. You can bounce in out of this screen while powered up. Once you turn off the detector, the ADVANCED selection disappears and you must reactivate it.
I got interested in the XY screen as I thought it might be a potential visual indicator of what is in the ground. As a newby to the Deus, I do not fully understand and accurately interpret the Audio language of the machine. And in spite of hearing differences in the tonal quality of targets, I have dug a buttload of nails, bottle caps, and tabs. Far more trash than with the ATPro.
This morning I decided to spend 2 hours testing to see if the XY screen could help me eliminate some of the trash I was digging. Anything to help would be a blessing!
DISCLAIMER - This report is likely highly skewed. My success with it is far more positive than it should be for a number of reasons. First, I tested this in clean, unsearched ground. My apartment complex was built in 1973. And it is grossly apparent that no one has EVER detected here. Further, trash ie can slaw, bottle caps, iron, etc are limited here. It is the exact opposite of working an old farm. Finally, most targets are shallow. Depth rarely if ever exceeds 5 inches and most targets are found just below the surface to 3 inches. All of the above leads to a horribly favored and somewhat rare type of detecting area. With that out of the way, let me show you what I witnessed.
My testing method was pretty simple. I pulled up the XY screen and left it up. I was running TNSharpshooter's early Fast Deus program. 2.5 Discrim, Reactivity 2, Silencer -1, Full Tones. And I ran it at 11.6K as I didn't want to chase earring backs all morning.
I ignored the screen and detected. When I identified a repeatable signal, I would compare what I heard to the VDI number, in conjunction with the target's signature on XY screen. I would then guess trash or treasure, and dig to see if all the clues jived with the target.
Very, very quickly, I noted that I was on to something. I called so many targets accurately, that I stopped digging anything I was sure was trash, and only dug sure or iffy targets.
So lets take a look at some screen captures. They are not high quality but clear enough for examples. Between my screen cover, and swinging the detector while taking a pick, I wont be winning any photography awards.
OK, first target.
Anything to the upper right of the veritical line is a good target. The lower left quadrant is a mirror negative image. Basicially, think of the right upper quadrant as the right side of the horseshoe, and the upper left quadrant as the left side of the horseshow.
Now, the longer the signal line, the shallower the target. And finally, the closer the signal line is to the horizontal line, the higher the conductivity of the target.
As you can see, I got a 94 on the VDI. In ID Nomalized, that's dime land. The signal was smooth in the phones. There was no chop, no grunt, and no stutter. The signal was consistent regardless of the angle of swing. According to the XY screen, this is either a shallow target 2-4 inches, or a bigger target deeper.
Now look carefully at the lines. Note that they appear to be scribbly. There is no uniform pattern. That is an indication that while the target is conductive, something is amiss and it may not be a coin. In addition, again note that we have a VDI of 94. Yet the axis of the line is between one and 2 oclock. A 94 signal should be much closer to the horizontal line. I called this as trash. And it was. I square watchback looking thing.
Second Target
OK, this was again a smooth repeatable signal from all angles. It was consistent. It sounded like aluminum to my ears. 84 VDI which can be a penny. Looking at the XY screen, there is a much smaller length of signal, indicating a deeper target.
Now look at the signal signature. It is a hot mess. Looks like a dog jumped on an etch o sketch. I call this trash. And it smells an awful lot like a pull tab. And it WAS !
Next target.
The audio signal was idiot proof. Definitely a coin. Id bet 100.00 on it. Shallow target. 90-91 VDI is the high range of a penny in ID Normalized. I have also had a few clad dimes show up here. Now look carefully at the signal signature. Its beautiful. Multiple straight lines with little deviation.
Yes, it was a dime !
Next signal
Great signal. Smooth. Consistent in tone. Based on audio, I would have swore it was a nickel. VDI is a 61 which is nickel territory. In spite of the signal signature looking horrible, I went against the XY screen and guessed Nickel. And I was WRONG ! Evil pull tab !
Next
Soo, after I got my butt handed to me on the last guess, this signal popped up and freaked me out. Audio was smooth sexy nickel mid-tone in one direction. At 180 degrees, iron grunt but still super smooth. It was repeatable and consistent. VDI shows 5. Target signature looks like a coin but ferrous. If it wasn't for the 5 VDI, I would have sworn it was a coin. But ive never dug a shallow coin that sounded like this and registered a 5.
Dual target! Nickel and a Nail ! I cannot tell you what the orientation was between the nail and the nickel, but they were within 2 inches of one another.
I don't know what this means. I'll gather additional data on a nail infested location, IF I can locate some good targets.
Next target.
Again. Smooth coin tone. Consistent. Sounded like a dime. VDI in dime range at 93. Signal signature was a little sloppy but still nice straight lines. It was in fact a dime.
As you can see, there are clearly some patterns here to help ID dig vs no dig. I got good enough calling them that I just started cherry picking good coin audio signals with signal signature confirmation. I was quite giddy about it !
Sooo, if this is so stinking good, why isn't Deus shouting about it from the tallest buildings? Well, because just like everything else in detecting, its nowhere near perfect.
Weaknesses
For starters, A washer still sounds like a sexy coin. VDI confirms a coin. And the signal signature looks exactly like a coin. Also, I got duped by smooth edge screw cap the same way. I just knew that I had a quarter !
While the XY screen paints beautiful pictures for shallow targets, it is still subject to the VDI number not reading. Further, the line signature signal of any deep target is so short that it looks like a dot. Its just too small to even attempt to read.
With that, here are some summary pics of how things went........
Wrong call made by me
Iffy targets that I just could not call
Called trash versus treasure correctly
As you can see, I was able to greatly reduce my accidental trash digs and dig a far larger percentage of good targets.
SUMMARY
To be crystal clear, again this is horridly jaded. I was in an undetected, target rich, low trash environment. And I further skewed the outcome by digging sure, shallow targets and blowing off anything that I wasn't willing to bet the farm on. I am all but certain that this has some huge weaknesses and is in no way full proof. That said, it is POTENTIALLY another tool in the tool box to use to cherry pick, or maybe to push you one way or the other to dig/no dig.
I welcome everyone's input. Please test this and tell me if it helped or was absolutely useless to you.
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