The Truth About XP Deus, page 10

10. Increase in XP Deus User-Error Likelihood

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Another bad aftermath of the XP Deus feature creep has been a higher probability for user-error to occur during the Deus fine-tuning and usage. As the Deus firmware versions have increased in complexity, the chances for human error have also gone up, and the consequences of error have become more significant than those related to the early versions 2.0-3.2.

Because the V2.0-V3.2 had less features, and they were not expanded yet, and the Ground function was not highly sensitive, the Deus would forgive the user for minor mistakes in ground balancing and/or implementing slightly wrong settings of other features. With the V4.0-V5.X, the Deus have been unforgivable to the less knowledgeable users, especially those operating the legacy LF coils who foremost do not or can not adjust the Ground Balance correctly.

To get the best out of the Deus performance, the user must fine-tune the Deus to the current detecting conditions, e.g. ground mineralization, junk content and targets sought (all details will be given in one of my upcoming articles). The first thing the user must do is to determine an optimal G.B. setting. This is where many user-errors can be made due to involvement of not just one but a few features!

In addition to determining an optimal GB value, the user really has to pay attention to the Ground Mineralization Index (GMI) - an upper number displayed to the right of a large VDI number on a screen, during the hunt. And if the number changes significantly, the user must make timely adjustments accordingly, otherwise, say 'Goodbye' to many valuable targets. (please be aware that, in versions V4.1-V5.X, the GMI value is not shown if the Ground Sensitivity level is set below 6)

Some Deus "experts", affiliates of XP, advise to the users to set the Manual GB value at 90 and happily detect without worries. Really?! Yeah, right... This would be a good recipe for turning the Deus into an average VLF metal detector, and swinging a $20 broom at challenging hunt sites would bring the same results.

One must set the Ground Balance right! To learn how to do it, please read my article - XP Deus Manual Ground Balancing

The GB must be perfect to gain the maximum detection-depth range for targets in focus, and retain efficient Target Recognition! There are a few effective methods for determining the correct GB value, but they are out of scope of this article and will be described in one of my upcoming articles.

With the V4.0 utilizing the unstable Ground function, and with the versions 4.1-5.2 utilizing the adjustable Ground Sensitivity feature, getting a more less optimal, stable performance of the Deus may be a troublesome task for many legacy-LF-coil users, especially those not creating proper combinations of settings at hunt sites with varying sporadic mineralization. As more features have come into play, the user-error potential has also increased, with mistakes becoming harder to spot and identify. Among all modern detectors, the Deus has the highest user-error probability.

A few 'Expert' features of the Deus, such as those responsible for detection depth, target recognition and target separation, are so dependent on one another that if a setting of one feature is slightly off, it may minimize the expected effects of other features in a group. And the more features get affected, the more time it will take the user to pinpoint the initial error.

When I began detecting with the Deus V2.0 in 2012, it positively surprised me with its flexibility and adjustability - I could tailor it to all hunt sites I visited. But the Deus V2.0 was already considered the most complex machine on the market even back then. Lucky me, I had been prepared as I had had a 7-year experience with a sophisticated White's Spectrum XLT and a 12-year experience in total with Minelab Explorers and E-Trac. So I had enough practical knowledge of the advanced detectors' key features to figure out the Deus V2.0-V3.2.

While field-testing the V4.0 (and V4.1 later on) with a 9-inch LF coil, I could not make the Deus perform on par with the Deus V3.2. I realized that it was not just for the V4.0 not functioning well with the LF coil, but also for the extreme settings-adjustability of the V4.0, which caused me to make some not-so-wise choices with settings. Even my substantial practical knowledge and experience did not prevent me from making some user-errors.

The higher the settings-adjustability, the higher the likelihood of user error. This is why often experienced detectorists with the less-advanced machines find more desirable targets than the users of the most advanced detectors. While the latter rely on the cutting-edge features and modes, the experienced detectorists use search techniques and methods which they have mastered to perfection.

I can imagine how hard it is for an average detectorist without minimum knowledge of electromagnetism and the metal detector's functions to figure out the overcomplicated XP Deus platform and adapt to its maximized adjustability. Nothing would be wrong with the Deus' extreme settings-adjustability if XP would have issued an adequate, inclusive and explanatory instruction manual for the XP Deus users.

If such a manual could explain every feature and effects of its settings in details, the users would not have trouble creating the optimum combinations of program settings for their local detecting conditions. (My old Guide to features, functions and modes of the XP Deus V2.0-V3.2 is available HERE; however, my new, revised and updated Guide is currently under construction and will be posted upon its completion.)

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