C.Scope CS2MX

I remember, my friends, my first steps into the world of metal detecting. Gathering information about the hobby itself, absorbing technical information about each device and its functionalities, and last but not least, comparing the price range.

We've all been through this, and for the most part we started out on detectors in the lower end of the price range on the market. With more and more experience, the demands placed on the detector also rose, and the naturalas one progresses into other price and performance categories of detectors themselves.

In the end, we are not afraid to logically embark on larger investments, and in our hands slumbers a machine that we consider to be at the cutting edge of technology. A natural evolution for all of us detector prospectors. But there comes a time when your thoughts go back those few years, and you sentimentally recall your beginnings.

Even though you have a high-performance detector in your arsenal, with top-notch response and sensitivity, you get the urge to reach into that world where you don't have to tune ground balance, change response, tinker with settings and generally adapt the detector to different conditions. This led me to order the instrument through LP, from the manufacturer C.Scope, with whom I had a positive experience in the past, in just such a simple instrument as the CS3MXi.

My attention was drawn to the CS2MX.... Immediately after opening the box I felt "Déjà vu "
It looks like my older CS3MXi, and as soon as I started to unpack the detector, the familiar feeling was confirmed in my hands.

The design of the detector

As the detector presents itself, so it really appears. "Outdoor" special, a solid piece of honest durable plastic electronics, guide rods, cable to coil, drivers - this detector really must hold up a lot. C.Scope translates its experience into all its production, not to mention when it profiles within the industrial environment.

Electronics Box

The operator's workstation, i.e. the control board, is simple throughout. You will find practically three controls on it. The first is sensitivity, if you like, sensitivity graduated to 10. The second is discrimination, marked to the same value. The third is a motionless pinpoint, in the middle of the control board (you won't need it).

On the bottom right side is the cable to the electronics box, hardwired. The bottom left side is fitted with a headphone jack.

Very impressive is the bottom side of the box, which I've always liked. There are 4 screws that fix the battery compartment lid. After unscrewing all 4 screws and opening the lid, you can feel the overpowering seal. The detector has a really well-designed resistance to moisture getting into the battery compartment. Inside there is a battery case for 8 AA batteries. Simple, smart and practical.
The electronics box can be easily removed from the guide rod, and can be clipped to your waist using the belt clip. Here I welcome the tight connection of the cable to the unit, the connector is not stressed here.

Guide rod and coil

The guide rod is composed of 2 pieces and one twist lock, no big deal. The lock is solid, the plastic appears durable. In my CS3MXi days, which I walked really extensively, I never experienced it wearing out, the CS2MX will certainly be no exception to this. There is a conservative way to connect the probe to the end of the bar, as is common, via a plastic bolt and nut.
The probe used is concentric, 20cm diameter, fully waterproof. The characteristics of the probe, as such, are discussed below. But even now, at first glance, it is certain to be a separating scalpel.

The detector in operation, its characteristics and its response

After assembling and inserting alkaline 1.5V batteries, we switch on the detector. When turned up to the maximum sensitivity value of 10, it may show interference in places, especially in the immediate vicinity of a building or HV. A good sign, the detector is sensitive, it's not strangled electronics.
Pull back slightly, usually a setting of 9 - 10 is sufficient. The detector gives off a faint hint of a threshold, set up as a comfortable and sensitive search should look, a faint threshold tone in the background.

We are still in AM, or all metal mode, discrimination is off. We turn slightly the second potentiometer, i.e. discrimination. After the first click, the detector switches from AM to DISC mode, at approximately value 1.

That's the end of the job, the settings can be adjusted during the search. Now comes the ear....

response: The detector emits a modulated high-pitched tone to the target. The tone is crisp and pleasant, natural in pitch. This sharp response is one of the detector's most important assets. The readings over the target, highly conductive, are clear and precise.

Colored targets: Copper alloys in particular have a really clear , uninterrupted and direct response in the detection range. The readings tend to be upward and in the immediate vicinity of the target and directly above it you will have no doubt that it is a color, highly conductive.

As for silver, one thing would be good to mention here. There are small silver coins and fragments of them in our area. These are the targets where the power of CS2MX is most evident. These small fragments and small coins are not missed by the detector. According to my tests, the detector does not miss such a target even if this small coin, the size of the parvus of Sigismund of Luxembourg, is slightly angled. When you realise how big the parvus is and turn it at an angle, you don't understand the situation. This is due to several circumstances, but more on that below. Obviously, as the area of the object gets smaller, the detector's ability to accommodate such a target decreases, however, if you go looking for these small coins, you're mostly going for a loose field. Into the woods, where these targets are often very deep, you choose a set of depth coils and high-powered detectors. The CS2MX reports these targets as a function of conductivity, and therefore in the VCO response period. You therefore have information on whether the object is large, small and at what approximate depth it is. Excellent feature.

Small aluminum ubiquitous fragments and foils are the traditional coloration of our fields. They are remarkably similar in their conductivity to the response of silver targets. Here the well-known adage, already traditional among our community, applies - "he who does not also dig aluminum, does not also dig small silver".

Iron targets: It is necessary to mention the connection with the detector setting. In most cases we try to filter the iron. The response to iron objects varies with the degree of discrimination. The same general rule applies to the CS2MX. C.Scope does not have as sharp a discriminator as, for example, a 5 pin Tesora. This is primarily due to the focus of the detector - i.e., the specialty of searching for low-resistance targets.

Setting the discrimination to dizzying heights reduces the detector's range and ability to report a colored target of smaller size and conductivity. It is a shame to set the CS2MX discrimination to a higher level than level 2. Larger irons will show up, smaller ones will be filtered out, but the response to larger irons is so specific that after a few walks you simply can no longer recognize such a target under the coil.
The iron has a sharply truncated ramp at the beginning of object detection, the tone tears or crackles when scanning through the coil. The colored target has the same and unbroken character of sound in every direction.

I recommend gradually, over time gaining experience, to reduce the discrimination level, after a few hours I was already using discrimination value #1, i.e. after switching the discriminator from AM.

Separation characteristics of the detector: how to accommodate and compare the detector in the overall market situation?
The answer is clear, I would even consider putting a distinctive label on the detector at the factory: 'Separation Special ' The message of the detector

is quite clear. The detector is a surgical instrument in its design and overall concept. Consider the following facts - 12V power supply - 20cm separation probe - concentric coil design - high-pitched single tone - VCO response - more open discrimination.

The CS2MX is built specifically for the purpose of finding the smallest targets in the most difficult conditions, such as fields full of iron. Be it iron sites of 20th century agricultural areas, areas of modern times or, and in the best case, medieval plucks. This is where the separation potential of CS2MX is always excellent.

The separation testing took place in a field that was frozen to the bone, so the preparation of the test situation and the hole was more in the nature of mining than digging a hole. A corroded 6cm fragment of a knife was inserted into the prepared hole, approximately 10 cm deep, with 1 Krejcar FrantišKrejcar directly touching the iron knife, it was fixed so that it did not move after the backfilling).In short, a complicated separation test.

After smothering the dirt and filling the hole, CS2MX was switched on, sensitivity to maximum, faint audible threshold, position discrimination 1,5. Detector scanning over the target showed a clear 1 Krejcar signal from one side, a short signal from the other side, the knife side, the detector was struggling to discriminate with the iron. The test was repeated. 1 Krejcar, which was standing, reported a clear, unhesitating, kickable signal, and the iron side whistled. Change of position in cruising style. Clearly audible 1 Krejcar, when shifting the concentric center to the iron, 1 Krejcar is faintly heard in places, the rest of the detector sputters and interrupts - thus discriminating.

Here it clearly shows that CS2MX excels at separation. The combination of concentric probe and powerful power supply and more open discrimination is an excellent idea.

The detector has subsequently been used in practice at known sites with extreme iron abundance.
It is testing in practice, not just in prepared conditions, that is most telling.
C.Scope did not disappoint here again, as it excelled in this environment with finds of very small bronze fragments, leadbrooches, a fragment of silver phoenix and a number of known finds, namely 1 heller, 2 heller, 5/10 kreutzers and 1 kreutz.

The depth of detection, as already mentioned, depends on many factors. I can't help you, but CS2MX does not appear to be prone to higher mineralization and according to tests at various sites I have not observed an extreme reduction in range due to soil complexity.
Considering the size of the coil, the depth of detection is exceedingly surprising. This is especially noticeable on the smallest low water targets, which the detector can see at very, very solid depths thanks to the 17kHz and 12V power supply.

Summary

I normally apply the negation method to all detectors in testing. So I look primarily for faults, only then I focus on the positives of the device. Here I just walked with a smile through the snowless meadows and fields, and visited shallow forests. The detector aroused in me really joyful emotions, and I did not even remember one single thing that gnawed at me when I unpacked the detector, namely, the integrated probe in the control box.

I thought for a long time how to accommodate the device. It is an excellent detector that excels in separation and sensitivity to the smallest targets with unprecedented success in finding silver coins.
It can also be conceived as a general-purpose instrument for general searching, and without the expectation of specific targets.
However, its greatest asset is its focus. Both the beginner and the experienced searcher will find their own without any doubt. And that is the reason I bought the device, even though I regularly use the Minelab E-Trac.