XP ORX Prospecting VERY IMPRESSED

[jmaclen]

So, I am on my second XP ORX. I sold my first one with the 9X5 HF elliptical coil because I thought it was no better than the gold prospecting specialty detector that I already owned, I often prospect in very uneven, steep, rocky terrain and the ORX was constantly falling over and rolling down hillsides, hitting trees or boulders and I hated the audio.

I reconsidered my decision and purchased another ORX but with the 9" round HF coil. The rolling down hillsides is less of a problem due to the shape of the HF round coil. I actually sold my other specialty prospecting detector made by a different company instead. I am so glad I did.

I originally used a Deus in Goldfield for prospecting. I liked it BUT, Goldfield does not have Iron Tone/Iron Volume and it doesn't have an actual volume adjustment for its All Metal threshold tone. Raising sensitivity and/or adjusting the Audio Response does create something of a threshold tone volume control which will null on iron if I set the Iron Amplitude Rejection above zero, but it is very hard to hear the nulling at least for me and the threshold tone was so unsteady in high mineralization that it did not help on tiny target detection very much. IAR set above zero would somewhat break up audio responses of iron targets which was very helpful. I usually had to use the XY Graph screen so I could have more information about ferrous and non-ferrous target identification. That screen was usually pretty hard for me to see and it slowed me down.

The ORX on the other hand has four features that the Deus does not have in Goldfield which make prospecting (and relic hunting in my opinion) much less stressful and much more successful. It has Iron Tone/Iron Volume adjustments and Iron Amplitude Rejection which basically turns the ORX into a 2 Tone detector in Gold 1 and Gold 2 and creates a low iron grunt VCO tone for iron and medium/high VCO tone for non-ferrous. It also has a dedicated steady threshold tone that has volume adjustment.which will clearly waver over tiny or very deep targets. So, with these two improvements over the Deus alone, I can forget about the remote and just hunt very successfully by ear if I want to. But, the ORX also has a very big numerical target ID screen AND a big Iron Probability bar which is used in all four of its factory preset modes. Also, the ORX does a great job giving easy to identify audio variations to differentiate most hot rocks from good targets.

I got to take the ORX into the Colorado mountains this week above 9,000 feet in cold, snowy, steep hillside conditions to an area that I have hunted before with other detectors. Getting to backpack the ORX was awesome since my hands were free on the hike in to hold something other than a detector in case I slipped, tripped or just got clumsy and fell. It was so light that I didn't know it was in my pack. I was not exhausted when I got to the prospecting area and I didn't have to swing a 3+ lbs detector for 5 hours in rough uneven terrain either. Gold 1, sensitivity 90, frequency 54, threshold 7, reactivity 2, disc IAR 2, iron volume ON. I dug everything that was not screaming iron or frozen. 2.5 grain flat nugget/flake at 3". 1.5 gram specie at 6". It was the most fun and success I've ever had at this site AND I found some nice gold too........

thanks for reading

Jeff

 

[HuntinDog]

You guys are making it very tough for me not to purchase an ORX.

Great hunt and finds

 

[jmaclen]

If you are interested in prospecting and have version 4.1 or later software on you Deus and an HF or X35 coil you have most of it covered since XP added the 0 to 20 threshold settings to version 4.1 and later software.

If a person who wants to mostly prospect or relic hunt is interested in XP detectors, the ORX is definitely and option. With the new 5.21 software settings additions to the WS4 module, just a Deus Lite is an option too.

Jeff

 

[Gary-B]

I've found the ORX and Deus in the Gold mode also works well on the wet sand.
Remembering to use the beach ground balance setting.
Great review thanks for sharing.

 

[Monte]

I used to get out for gold nugget hunting from time-to-time in the l'80s and early '90s, but declining mobility and health issues have limited my ability to work into some worthwhile potential sites. Your posts here and elsewhere have encouraged me to spend some of this wintry down-time working with the Gold modes and my coils to be ready for spring and summer of next year. I'll try and get a 2 or 4 seat RUV to help get me back into some area near three gold mining era ghost towns I hunt just to try some modern-day nugget hunting.

I bought a brand new ORX w/5X9½ DD HF coil the first week of June and used it almost exclusively but traded it back to my dealer friend in mid-September when I was readjusting my Detectors Outfit. I missed it. He sold the coil and lower rod to another customer but still hadn't used my ORX but I really like the HF elliptical coil for the Relic Hunting sites I like to work. So, I ordered another brand new ORX w/5X9½ DD HF coil .... but had to listen to him talk about the X35 coil, plus I followed it on Gary B's Skill School videos.

So, I got my brand new ORX w/5X9½ HF coil, then bought my pampered original ORX back from Kickindirt, but with the 9" X35 DD coil. I've mainly been using the 9" X35 coil hitting urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting sites, and at this point, that ORX / 9" X35 combination is likely going to remain as part of my urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting Team and the ORX / 5X9½ HF combination will be in my Relic Hunting Team and also likely going to be the one first-grabbed for gold nugget hunting. At least from some bench testing I have done so far.

I wasn't and am not interested in the Deus. I prefer Simplicity with Functionality and Performance w/o a lot of excess adjustment features. The ORX is definitely that, and while it doesn't bump any of my other favorite models in my Regular-Use Detector Outfit for their strengths [size=small](the CoRe, Relic, Racer 2, Bandido II µMAX, Silver Sabre µMAX)[/size] the ORX with these two coil combinations definitely complement my Outfit and add their support with their strengths and performance afield.

I mainly Relic Hunt, still put in Coin & Jewelry Hunting during time when I can't make it to some remote sites, and now I'll prepare for a bit of nugget hunting in 2020.

Monte