Headed out today with the new-to-me 1236-X2 to reconnoiter some places that appear on old topo maps. As it happens, I got some wires crossed and the exact locations eluded me and Hal, my hunting partner. We got a lot of exercise hiking around the woods and logged-off tracts of land, but found no sign of the long gone structures we sought.
I remain undaunted, though. I will give another look at the maps, in an attempt to get the scaling right. Besides, we found easy access to huge areas of land - you gotta keep looking when you have clear access. Certainly in all that acreage, we can find an old house site or two. The search continues.
As a fallback we ended up at an old ballfield that has been in use since the 1940's. The area, hunted to death, hasn't produced anything good in a long while, but something can always be found. It also gave me a chance to check out a Minelab Xterra-50, which Hal got in a trade and had brought along.
I had never seen one before and have had my misgivings about spending hobby money to the profit of foreign companies. But, I had heard a lot of ballyhoo about the Minelab product and was intrigued to try it.
So Hal took the 1236-X2 and tottered off, leaving me with the Minelab for awhile. With no instructional DVD to watch, no manual at hand and not even any pre-sets to go by, it was "Turn it on and see what happens."
Clutch time, as we used to say.
What I discovered was interesting, to say the least.
Some pros of the XTerra-50 are:
1. Light
Im talking near uMax light here. This is all day hunting light.
2. Well balanced
Along with being light it balances well in the hand, and is an easy swinger.
3. Multiple modes.
Minelab calls them discrimination "Patterns"... whatever. Pattern 1 is the equivalent of a Beach mode, Pattern 2 the same as a Coins mode. Why couldn't they have just called them "modes?"
4. Sharp response on coins, accurate TID
When there was a good signal beneath the coil, the X-50 said so with both audio and TID that was normally unwavering.
5. Multiple Tone ID
I love tone ID. Every detector made should have it in some form. Minelab has a good arrangement for the tones and I especially like the iron tone; it's sort of a low "honk." Good choice, M-lab.
6. Decent separation in trash.
I tried this thing in and around a lot of trash. It was pretty good at picking up the good signals. You just had to give it a few passes to narrow down and work them out between the various target items.
7. Quick response
Often, digital signal processing detectors have an annoying lag in signal responses. Well, the Xterra had it, but once you got the timing right it faded into a non issue. It made up for this tiny delay by being good in the trash and separating targets well.
8. Cool audio jack cover
There is a little hatch cover over the 1/4" audio jack. Neat idea, which others should adopt.
9. Switching coils changes frequency
I guess that's a plus.. I don't really know as I didn't have a chance to try it.
Some cons of the Xterra are:
1. No all metal mode
Oh, it has an "All metal" mode, but it is really a zero discrimination mode. What I was hoping for was a threshold based, non-motion, all metal mode. Sorry folks - not there. Oh, by the way, there is no threshold, either. That's something else every detector should have.
2. Unmodulated audio
The X-50 beeped the same whether the target was 6" deep or on the surface - the audio amplitude stayed the same regardless. The only time it changed was when the target was at the extreme edege of detection; then it went scratchy and vague.
3. Weird VDI scaling.
Okay Minelab, what's up with this? Did you have to abandon the normal 0-99 VDI scale, just to seem different or "innovative?"
What they did was cut it in half, basically. Quarters came in at 42, versus their normal 84-85. Copper cents hit at 36 and my trusty wedding band at 18, instead of it's normal 33-35.
I hadda relearn the whole scale with this detector, on the fly - without knowing it was coming. Not cool. Certainly not "innovative" in my book.
4. Weak audio
Along with the unmodulted audio, the output was just flat weak. I use Garretts, Fishers, Whites and Tesoro's on a regular basis and they all have audio that would be called strong... and which I can adjust to suit me. This X-50 required my switching to my back up phones, a set of in-ear digital headphones. Even with the audio maxed out, this didn't make it appreciably louder, just crisper. It reminded me of the weak audio on the HH Wader. Hey Minelab, how about an amplifier on that circuit?
5. Depth was adequate but hardly superior
Everyone wants deep seeking detectors, right? Well, look elsewhere. I was getting cents at 5-6," but beyond that - no dice. Heck, my little 1236-X2 does at least that good. Even with the SENS near max (18 out of 20), I just didn't feel that the X-50 was heads above in this department.
6. The depth indication was so-so.
Actually, I should say it was another "innovative" feature that just didn't work out well. Minelab uses a sort of ring and arrow arrangement to indicate depth that was more odd than functional. I ended up just raising the coil to get an idea of depth and quit farting around with the indicated depth reading altogether.
7. Switching coils changes frequency
I guess that's a plus.. I don't really know as I didn't have a chance to try it.
At $150 a pop for one of the coils, I wonder if I would ever find out.
Shouldn't a mid level detector work as is, without having to reconfigure major components to access another mode of operation?
All in all, I liked the X-50 in a cool, weird sort of way. It reminds me of the beatnik hippie chicks I knew back in the day. They were attractive, sure enough, but it was hard to get into the same groove as them. You wanted to get to know them, but just couldn't connect.
Minelab touts it as inuitive to use - I beg to differ.
I did like it better than the Ace 250 for a newbie, though. Much smoother than the little $200 Yeller Feller. However, at nearly three times the price, I would leave the X Terra-50 buying decision to the interested newbie.
I'm certain that, with enough time, I could get used to it's idiosyncrasies and begin to explore it's strengths. Im certain it has untapped strengths - it feels like it does. Unfortunately, I am also left feeling there is more hype here than substance.
Here's what was found in a brief time at the ballfield:
I remain undaunted, though. I will give another look at the maps, in an attempt to get the scaling right. Besides, we found easy access to huge areas of land - you gotta keep looking when you have clear access. Certainly in all that acreage, we can find an old house site or two. The search continues.
As a fallback we ended up at an old ballfield that has been in use since the 1940's. The area, hunted to death, hasn't produced anything good in a long while, but something can always be found. It also gave me a chance to check out a Minelab Xterra-50, which Hal got in a trade and had brought along.
I had never seen one before and have had my misgivings about spending hobby money to the profit of foreign companies. But, I had heard a lot of ballyhoo about the Minelab product and was intrigued to try it.
So Hal took the 1236-X2 and tottered off, leaving me with the Minelab for awhile. With no instructional DVD to watch, no manual at hand and not even any pre-sets to go by, it was "Turn it on and see what happens."
Clutch time, as we used to say.
What I discovered was interesting, to say the least.
Some pros of the XTerra-50 are:
1. Light
Im talking near uMax light here. This is all day hunting light.
2. Well balanced
Along with being light it balances well in the hand, and is an easy swinger.
3. Multiple modes.
Minelab calls them discrimination "Patterns"... whatever. Pattern 1 is the equivalent of a Beach mode, Pattern 2 the same as a Coins mode. Why couldn't they have just called them "modes?"
4. Sharp response on coins, accurate TID
When there was a good signal beneath the coil, the X-50 said so with both audio and TID that was normally unwavering.
5. Multiple Tone ID
I love tone ID. Every detector made should have it in some form. Minelab has a good arrangement for the tones and I especially like the iron tone; it's sort of a low "honk." Good choice, M-lab.
6. Decent separation in trash.
I tried this thing in and around a lot of trash. It was pretty good at picking up the good signals. You just had to give it a few passes to narrow down and work them out between the various target items.
7. Quick response
Often, digital signal processing detectors have an annoying lag in signal responses. Well, the Xterra had it, but once you got the timing right it faded into a non issue. It made up for this tiny delay by being good in the trash and separating targets well.
8. Cool audio jack cover
There is a little hatch cover over the 1/4" audio jack. Neat idea, which others should adopt.
9. Switching coils changes frequency
I guess that's a plus.. I don't really know as I didn't have a chance to try it.
Some cons of the Xterra are:
1. No all metal mode
Oh, it has an "All metal" mode, but it is really a zero discrimination mode. What I was hoping for was a threshold based, non-motion, all metal mode. Sorry folks - not there. Oh, by the way, there is no threshold, either. That's something else every detector should have.
2. Unmodulated audio
The X-50 beeped the same whether the target was 6" deep or on the surface - the audio amplitude stayed the same regardless. The only time it changed was when the target was at the extreme edege of detection; then it went scratchy and vague.
3. Weird VDI scaling.
Okay Minelab, what's up with this? Did you have to abandon the normal 0-99 VDI scale, just to seem different or "innovative?"
What they did was cut it in half, basically. Quarters came in at 42, versus their normal 84-85. Copper cents hit at 36 and my trusty wedding band at 18, instead of it's normal 33-35.
I hadda relearn the whole scale with this detector, on the fly - without knowing it was coming. Not cool. Certainly not "innovative" in my book.
4. Weak audio
Along with the unmodulted audio, the output was just flat weak. I use Garretts, Fishers, Whites and Tesoro's on a regular basis and they all have audio that would be called strong... and which I can adjust to suit me. This X-50 required my switching to my back up phones, a set of in-ear digital headphones. Even with the audio maxed out, this didn't make it appreciably louder, just crisper. It reminded me of the weak audio on the HH Wader. Hey Minelab, how about an amplifier on that circuit?
5. Depth was adequate but hardly superior
Everyone wants deep seeking detectors, right? Well, look elsewhere. I was getting cents at 5-6," but beyond that - no dice. Heck, my little 1236-X2 does at least that good. Even with the SENS near max (18 out of 20), I just didn't feel that the X-50 was heads above in this department.
6. The depth indication was so-so.
Actually, I should say it was another "innovative" feature that just didn't work out well. Minelab uses a sort of ring and arrow arrangement to indicate depth that was more odd than functional. I ended up just raising the coil to get an idea of depth and quit farting around with the indicated depth reading altogether.
7. Switching coils changes frequency
I guess that's a plus.. I don't really know as I didn't have a chance to try it.
At $150 a pop for one of the coils, I wonder if I would ever find out.
Shouldn't a mid level detector work as is, without having to reconfigure major components to access another mode of operation?
All in all, I liked the X-50 in a cool, weird sort of way. It reminds me of the beatnik hippie chicks I knew back in the day. They were attractive, sure enough, but it was hard to get into the same groove as them. You wanted to get to know them, but just couldn't connect.
Minelab touts it as inuitive to use - I beg to differ.
I did like it better than the Ace 250 for a newbie, though. Much smoother than the little $200 Yeller Feller. However, at nearly three times the price, I would leave the X Terra-50 buying decision to the interested newbie.
I'm certain that, with enough time, I could get used to it's idiosyncrasies and begin to explore it's strengths. Im certain it has untapped strengths - it feels like it does. Unfortunately, I am also left feeling there is more hype here than substance.
Here's what was found in a brief time at the ballfield:
I have had both, the 50 and 70...they both have their strengths. For me, the 50 "locks" on targets much better compared to the 70 with less bouncing. I have found the audio on mine to be modulated depending on the depth but I agree the audio is much weaker than the Fisher CZ-70 Pro for comparison. It doesn't false on the iron like a CZ and has better separation and see-through iron ability. I have found many a good coin and relic in heavy iron with it after a CZ...but it really comes down the individual and what their likes and needs are...HH