Sold my soul to the Devil...

[I-Rutus]

The other day out with Bob79, I discovered the Nox's Achilles heel. while Bob was digging nice small buckles on the soft, dry, fluffy, ground, I was digging nothing! The ground really was soft and fluffy, no stones, no clay, full of air, you never really needed a spade, you could dig a deep hole with your hands. And no matter what I tried with the non, I could not get a signal worth digging.

So this very week, yesterday in fact, after many hours of watching youtube, I bit the bullet, and sold my soul to the devil, and ordered an XP ORX with 9" HF coil. I could not ignore the fact that Bob was hitting good targets with his Deus, while I was hitting nothing with my trusty Nox. But fear not dear reader, I have not got rid of my Nox, and I have no intention of doing that anytime soon, but the ORX is here, and will be used on those occasions when the soil demands a different approach.
Having said that, as the ORX is new and I have to learn its foibles, I will be using it on my next two digs, just to see how it performs.
Oh dear, what have I done.

[Oxgirl]

You’ve found out that every machine has its strengths and weaknesses

I don’t think anything can beat a Deus for finding small silver. Some will disagree with that but it is my opinion.

Saying that don’t think anything can beat a Nox for other things - the memorable occasion when you had a good signal that neither Bob or I could hear with our Deus I’ve not forgotten. You dug the target and found a lovely roman brooch. If I cared about Roman finds I would get a Nox for that experience alone.

I hope you enjoy the ORX. You’ll find it a steep learning curve I believe though. The sounds are very different

[Easylife]

Oh dear Indeed maybe Kev? It's hard to argue with the facts when comparing both detectors over the same targets, but not quite sure that is what you actually did? But when I did that on pasture I quickly said goodbye to my Deus as it was simply blind to what the Nox was clearly seeing at greater depth even. But to be fair I didn't compare the two on fluffy ground as in your vague experiment, so can't comment on that one. Still I find it quite hard to believe that Intelligent Simultaneous Multi Frequency would be inferior to using just a single frequency in pretty much any situation? I only wish that I was there to compare Bob's targets for my own interest, maybe next time?
The ORX is maybe the lightest weight detector but the Nox is quite a performance beast and I know what works best for me! A good move to keep the Nox I think!

[HolzHammer]

You’ve found out that every machine has its strengths and weaknesses

I don’t think anything can beat a Deus for finding small silver. Some will disagree with that but it is my opinion.

Saying that don’t think anything can beat a Nox for other things - the memorable occasion when you had a good signal that neither Bob or I could hear with our Deus I’ve not forgotten. You dug the target and found a lovely roman brooch. If I cared about Roman finds I would get a Nox for that experience alone.

I hope you enjoy the ORX. You’ll find it a steep learning curve I believe though. The sounds are very different

The Deus is a more refined machine ( for more refined detectorists.....!)
(......stir it up........!)

[Blackadder43]

My Etrac didnt like airy, fluffy ground, nor did a safari that a friend used.
No idea of the science behind it but looking at it logically it must be the voids and air pockets that does something to the machine signal sending and recieving
Did you try the Nox on a single frequency? would be interesting to see if that made any difference

But, all that doesnt matter as you have a new toy to play with!!
Hope you have some fun with it and make some good finds with it too fella

[Pete E]

Did you try the Nox on a single frequency? would be interesting to see if that made any difference

I watched a video on YouTube by Graeme from Unearthed, and he seems to be a proponent of using single frequency on the Nox...I not really tried this approach, but it's something I wish to explore in the future....

[Bors]

The Orx to my knowledge is primarily a Gold hunting Detector, and as already mentioned there's going to be a fair O`l amount of swings & roundabout going on with certain detectors.
If you feel you`ve covered all the bases , that`s a good mental attitude to go out detecting with if you take both detectors along. It certainly can`t do any harm. A costly indulgence, but never the less a cautious approach.

[I-Rutus]

Did you try the Nox on a single frequency? would be interesting to see if that made any difference

My etrac never liked fluffy ground either, I am sure it is the air pockets, the firmer the ground the better with the Nox.
I did try both Gold modes, and they managed more depth, but hit anything metal, I am sure there is a way but I have not found it yet.

[I-Rutus]

The Orx to my knowledge is primarily a Gold hunting Detector, and as already mentioned there's going to be a fair O`l amount of swings & roundabout going on with certain detectors.
If you feel you`ve covered all the bases , that`s a good mental attitude to go out detecting with if you take both detectors along. It certainly can`t do any harm. A costly indulgence, but never the less a cautious approach.

The problem really is that this type of ground is rare around here, very occasionally you end up on a really soft fluffy field, with no advance knowledge.
I have seen the Nox used in this environment by a French detectorist in the gold mode to good effect, finding a few roman fibula. But the ground on that day wasn't as deep or fluffy as the field we were on.
I also have my Rutus to try on this type of soil using a concentric coil, but I can't ignore what I saw with Bob's finds using his Deus, and it is always nice to have another approach.

On another theme regarding the XP machines, they should be commended for their YouTube series of instructional video's run by Gary Blackwell, well presented, well, thought out, and a big help in making my decision.

[Pete E]

On another theme regarding the XP machines, they should be commended for their YouTube series of instructional video's run by Gary Blackwell, well presented, well, thought out, and a big help in making my decision.

I am not an XP user, but when I was looking to move on from my Racer 2, I watched a few of those videos, and they really are excellent. Other manufactures would do well to pay heed to those as I think they are certainly influencial in swaying potential buyers....

[Emily]

Kevin, I have the ORX too but also have the headphones to make it a Deus Lite. Maybe you, me, Cath and Bob can go out and learn the machines?? Us with our ORX’s them with the DEUS’s. It is a steep learning curve, and man, I’m still learning.

[Oxgirl]

Kevin, I have the ORX too but also have the headphones to make it a Deus Lite. Maybe you, me, Cath and Bob can go out and learn the machines?? Us with our ORX’s them with the DEUS’s. It is a steep learning curve, and man, I’m still learning.

Happy to One of the benefits of the XP range is two (or more) headphones can pair with one coil so you can listen to the same coil and get the person learning to stop and go back over a find and understand what the sounds are telling you. I’ve completely ditched the control box with my Deus now and just rely on the sounds - I wasn’t looking at it anymore. But it takes a while to get the audio (as it does with all machines) but when you do it makes perfect sense

[I-Rutus]

I said I had sold my soul to the devil!
I never said I had become French!

I am a Nox user first and foremost

[Easylife]

It takes a while to get the audio (as it does with all machines) but when you do it makes perfect sense

If you ever watched Sooty & Sweep you'll already be familiar with the audio!

[Pete E]

If you ever watched Sooty & Sweep you'll already be familiar with the audio!