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Long story short, the best metal detector for trashy areas is the XP Deus. But wait a second…
There’s a better option to hunt trashy spots with the detector you currently own.
You can simply install a small double D coil. This way you don’t have to spend a lot of money on a new metal detector.
The XP Deus is expensive like other popular models for this kind of places (CTX 3030, Fischer F70 and F75…)
All of these were recommended by many detectorists. However, the Deus appears to be crashing the competition.
Here’s an air test that shows the potential of the Deus in trashy areas. (a field test is required to confirm the results)
In the following paragraphs, I’ll give more details about the XP Deus . Then I’ll speak about the importance of trashy areas and some tips to huint them.
Table of Contents
XP Deus: Best detector for trashy places
The XP Deus has many features that allow it to stand from the crowd. It is a wireless metal detector.
The search coil, the remote control, and the headphones are using digital radio link. This is a good feature because there’ll no more snagging wire in the woods.
The stem is collapsible. The limited size means easier storage and transportation. Instead of using disposable batteries, each part of the detector is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery.
They should last for some time before their performance deteriorates just like the laptop and smartphone batteries.
You can replace the batteries in the remote and the headphones easily. But the coil’s battery needs to be replaced by an XP technician because it’s sealed to protect the coil from the water.
The other brands have a control box which has a big size and attached to the stem. The Deus has a smaller, detachable, and wireless control box (the remote control).
You can update the software of the Deus easily. You only need a PC and an internet connection.
The remote control has a 3.5 mm audio output jack that you can use if you don’t want the wireless Deus headphones.
The Deus vs trash
Unlike the entry-level metal detectors, the ground balance could be adjust to fit deferent types of soil (mineralized, beach…).
Don’t turn on the Deus when the coil is near a metal object or when it’s close to soil full of trash. You’ll get abnormal performance.
To fix the problem, just turn it off. Make sure it’s away from any metal junk and then turn on again.
You can reject ferrous junk by adjusting the discrimination level to 10. You can also reject other types of trash like pull-tabs. But this means rejecting other good metals having the same conductivity.
Use the notch too to eliminate unwanted targets. The difference between the two is: the discrimination eliminates targets having a conductivity below the selected value.
The notch rejects targets having a conductivity between two values. The width if each interval is, by default, 6 units.
The frequency is adjustable from 4 to 80 kHz. Each one of them is suitable for a different type of soil and targets.
You can also adjust the reactivity (aka recovery speed). It controls the speed in which the detector analyses the signal from a target.
It also controls its ability to distinguish between signals coming from targets that are very close to each other.
This helpful in trashy soil. You can adjust the reactivity as high as possible to distinguish the signal coming from a piece of junk from the signal coming from a good target.
The duration of the beep depends on the reactivity level. When it’s high, the beep will be short. So spend some time to learn the meaning of each audio response whenever you adjust the reactivity.
A higher reactivity level will allow you to work in trashy spots easier. However, you’ll lose some depth range.
You can swing the coil as close as possible to the ground (without touching it) to gain some depth. Make sure you don’t hit it with the rocks.
It’s already fitted with a cover to protect it from scratches and cracks. Even with that, treating your device carefully will extend its life (keep in mind it’s an expensive tool).
More features
All the detectors that I know until the time I writing this article are motions detectors. Which means you need to swing them to detect buried metals.
The Deus could be adjust to detect buried objects when the coil is motionless.
You can link the Deus or the headphones with the XP MI 6 Pinpointer. This will help you to locate the pinpointer if it is lost within a radius of 82 foot along with other options.
Deus have two headphones. They’re both wireless and have the same functions. The only difference is in the shape.
In addition to their main function, the headphones allow you to adjust the settings of the metal detector.
The XP Deus is an advanced tool with many options and parameters to adjust. Therefore, you have to spend some time to learn how it works before you go the field.
You can do some air test or you can plant some metal objects with different conductivity range.
Do the test outside the house and away from any interference source and mineralized ground.
What’s the point in metal detecting trashy places?
Trashy places can be a nightmare. So why don’t you just leave and hunt another place?
In some cases, this is true. A spot may be in a real mess and it’s better to leave it alone and find another place to hunt.
In the woods and in open fields, you won’t find a lot of trash because people don’t go there often. However, for the same reasons, you rarely find any coins (unless you hunt in a smart way).
The places where people sit, talk, eat and do other activities are the ones where you can find the goodies. But, they’ll be surrounded by a lot of trash (pull tabs, bottle caps…).
The detectorists who lack patience, experience and good equipment (and most of them are like that) leave places full of trash. So they’re not hunted to death which means lots of opportunities.
For all these reasons, Trashy areas are the places you shouldn’t avoid. It will be frustrating if most of your digs were nothing more than a piece of junk.
But you’ll definitely find the good stuff if you keep detecting. Just be patient, get the right tools and hunt in a smart way.
These are some examples of places you can hunt: parks (tables, benches, sandboxes…), picnic areas, barbecue pits, sidelines at ball and soccer fields (never the actual playing surface), unpaved parking lots, fishing spots, tot lot…
Unpaved parking lots are hard to dig. However, you could find many coins lost when people pull the car keys.
How to deal with such places?
You need a detector that unmasks and discriminates good targets from bad ones. Hearing continuous beeps all the time will make you crazy.
Use a sniper or a small DD coil instead of the stock search coil to get better results and avoid trash.
In rubbishy places, you’re going to dig many plugs and bend down a lot, wear knee pads for more comfort.
Swing the coil slowly to be able to focus with the audio signal coming from each little surface.
You can shovel way a dirt layer if it contains a lot of trash and you think the layer under it contains some good targets. This method needs some effort and you can’t do it everywhere like in parks.
Sometimes, you need to give up and go to another place. So don’t waste your time with worthless spots.
Many metal detectors will emit a certain tone for a particular range of conductivity. You have to listen well and to be familiar with each one of them to distinguish between junk and good targets.
Learn the meaning of the VDI or the target digital ID. It’s a number that shows you what to expect to find underground and it’s based on the metal conductivity.
It’ll help you decide whether to dig or not a target. However, it will be difficult to differentiate between pull-tabs and gold rings before digging the hole.
Dig only strong and consistent targets. The audio signal should stay the same regardless of the direction of the swing.
Swing the coil many times over the same spot. Shift the direction: swing the detector from left to right then back and forth.
Tell me in the comments which is your favorite detector when you want to hunt trashy parks.