2 years with MXT time for a Minelab?

[steve herschbach]

Hi Greg,

You know, I started detecting in the days of BFO and TR detectors. There was no such thing as discrimination, except that gained by learning fine variations of the audio. But basically, you just dug it all. Been there, done that.

Nothing wrong with digging it all if you choose. Most really deep items read iron, and so no discrimination at all should be used. Junk also masks good targets. So just dig absolutely everything until nothing in the ground gives a signal.

If that happens, get a deeper seeking machine. Never use discrimination, as it costs you depth. My advice would be to use a Minelab GP 3500 and a 14" round mono coil. It will easily pull up coins and other items from depths that less powerful machines like the DFX and Explorer are leaving behind.

I've actually done this and you would be amazed what $1000 detectors are leaving behind once you put a $4000 detector on the job. Everyone argues about which VLF unit gets better depth when none can come close to getting the depth of a high powered pulse induction unit. Areas hunted out with VLF detectors light up with multiple targets per sweep when you put a GP over the ground.

Everyone leaves targets behind. Everyone.

Steve Herschbach

 

[Dave Z]

More time you spen with the tone id the better you'll get.I like my tone set at 232.Dimes will give a more solid high pitch then penny's will and will read 1 # higher.I can hunt a park and school and just dig dimes and quarters if i feel like it.Went to an old church lot a few years ago with one of my friends.He had a Soveriegn.It was loaded with coins and we were racing.After wasting about ten minutes digging penny's I started skipping over them.Was hilarious at the end of the day when we dumped our loot out.I had all quarters,nickels and dimes,with only a few penny's.Came to about $12.00.He had some quarters and dimes,but mostly penny's.Had about $3.00.He asked me why I had so much more than him.Told him I was leaving the penny's for him.Look on his face was priceless.Dave

 

[Dave Z]

The MXT has great depth,i tried one.But I tried one in a park.Without a tone ID and being in a very trashy park,I just couldn't use it.When you get 5-10 targets per swing and don't have a tone id.You have to isolate each of those targets and look at the meter to see what it is.It's just too much work for coin hunting on trashy sites.

 

[Dave Z]

If i'm at an old site and there's old coins there,i'll dig everything.If i'm at a park,i'll skip the shallow 55(screwcaps) and 28-30(pull tabs).If its over 5-6" i'll make a seperate call on it.If i'm at a beach and it's loaded with those foil tops off of water bottles,think they come in at 5 or 15,i'll skip them and dig everything else.Sometimes i'll go to a school and dig only dimes,quarters,nickels and silver.I'm sure Steve has a certain techinique for hunting gol;d nuggets.I don't think anyone should hunt every site the same way.Dave

 

[LuckLarry]

Man I love this forum!
Are there really 4000.00 dollar detectors out there?
Oh please don't tell me that! I am one of those guys that love technology and likes to try everything. And quite often do. My wife is looking over my shoulder right now, saying

"OH NO YOU DON'T". "LARRY, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT"

So I'm covering my ears now! Don't make me hear it! LA, LA, LA, LA....
....to late....where can I see one of these things? What can it do for $4000.00? I am sure I have got to start reading up on this.

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Larry,

I liked your post about some of the bias you see on the forums against people that are deemed stupid for using discrimination. I've noticed the same thing myself.

I posted the "dig it all" post just to point out that nearly everyone patting themselves on the back for using little or no discrimination is in no way getting it all.

Even basic iron discrimination leaves lots of good targets behind. Take any detector, and bury a target deep enough, at the very edge of detection depth, and it will stop registering as a non-ferrous item. So anyone employing even the lowest levels of iron discrimination is leaving targets behind for others to dig. And most of us have heard of target masking.

And as I further pointed out, very few people are using machines like a GP 3500, and so are getting only the shallow stuff anyway. The GP 3500 is a high-powered unit normally only used by serious prospectors due to its cost, but I have employed it to find coins at depths beyond what VLF units can attain. But it is basically a "dig-it-all" unit and anybody who thinks digging it all is the way to go will get a quick lesson in how much junk is in the ground with a GP. Digging it all is nice in theory but impractical in most situations.

Still, If you are interested see my post on the Yank-Aussie Forum at http://www.findmall.com/read.php?27,225009

I think people mean well when pointing out that using discrimination can cause a person to miss good targets. But the truth is few people dig it all, and are applying some kind of discrimination, whether directly by tuning out certain items, or by listening for differences in the sounds and discriminating with their ear. So the "holier than thou" attitude gets annoying as it is all a matter of degrees, except in the case of the few true "dig-it-all" types out there.

Even then digging it all can mean 30 pieces of junk and three good targets in an hour while I get 18 good items and 15 pieces of junk in the same hour in the same area. Since when is digging it all some kind of wonder method for great results? Time does matter, and judicious discrimination makes a huge difference in results, almost always to the positive.

In the end I personally feel detecting should be judged not by how much you are finding, but by how much you are enjoying yourself. If a person is detecting to supplement their income I suppose that is a different story, but I know of few people doing that. Most of us are doing this simply because we enjoy it, and so use as much or as little discrimination as it takes for you to enjoy yourself.

Steve Herschbach

 

[DPW]

You hit the nail on the head Steve. For me metal detecting is what I enjoy to do when I'm NOT working. If metal detecting ever starts to resemble work I'll give it up. In my opinion if someone's losing sleep worrying about leaving some good targets behind they need to see a shrink. I don't dig every single target I come accross. But I am never in a hurry to cover lots of ground. I take my time and when an "iffy" target sounds interesting I'll dig.
I've been doing this for a little over twenty years and I STILL dig 99% of the penny signals I come accross. Lincoln AND zincoln.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Hi Steve,

I read your post about using the GP on that fresh water beach a while back. I think it was on the AK forum before it was published?

Anyway, you never mentioned what depths the coins were coming from with the GP. The only reason I ask is that Fisher makes a relic machine with very good depth and deep ferrous non-ferrous ID (if used properly) that for me anyway caused me to not keep the Goldquest SS very long.

Tom

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Tom,

I can consistently hit wheatbacks at over a foot with the GP and get strong signals. I have not done enough work with the unit yet to be able to talk intelligently about what the max depth on coins might be. Besides, you start quoting specific depths and people always

This beach is perhaps the most detected real estate in Alaska. We have not got lots to choose from, and so everyone detects this place. Lots of very experienced people with countless makes and models have been over this place. There are very few targets at all with a VLF machine as the detectable VLF depths have been sucked dry and so all you get are items lost recently. The last guy I know who was able to pull up some deeper targets was a buddy of mine who specializes with the Explorer and 15" WOT coil. But he even ran out of targets.

With the GP the targets are so thick it is ridiculous. Multiple hits per swing. I've got lots of detecting to do in the future at the "worked out" beach.

As far as the Fisher goes I'm a big fan of people using whatever works and whatever they like. Some of my favorite detectors have been made by Fisher. I like posting and writing and yakking about detectors but I'm sure not trying to convince anyone of anything. I'm just passing on things I've tried in case others are interested. I cannot go detecting right now (snowing hard right this minute!) so hanging out on the Internet is the only way I can get my "detecting fix".

Happy Hunting!!!

Steve Herschbach

 

[Andrew in SE KS]

It's been awhile since I've been on the board, but it sure seems Monte has changed his tune on the MXT. I've repeatedly gone up against experienced Minelab users and never felt I was outperformed by the Minelab. The MXT has found over 35 seated coins for me over the years. I would like to however do a side by side some day.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Leaves little doubt that Minelab makes some good machines. Everything is a compromise tho and I HAVE to trade off a little depth for some ferrous ID. I refuse to run the disc low enough to accept those darn bobby pins when wading or beach hunting, but that still leaves a lot of iron.

HH Tom

 

[Rick(ND)]

I was using the 6X10 DD coil on the MXT while my Buddy was using the stock coil on the Explorer. He got 2 signals I couldn't get, one a IH at around 11 inches and the other a Wheaties at 9 inches. I got a signal he couldn't get, or one he wouldn't dig, but the MXT showed 12 inches and sounded and looked good. It was a old brass key around 10-11 inches down.
The MXT is a great detector no doubt about it and so much fun to use compared to the Minelabs, but honestly the Explorer and the Sovereign will go deeper and ID better, but not a lot better, just a little bit better and why I have the MXT, the Sovereign GT and the Explorer XS II.

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Tom,

Funny thing is this portion of the thread was me trying to defend my use of lots of discrimination! I ended with a couple of examples of how those who think they get it all just by using a little less discrimination still are not getting it all. The GP example really impressed me with how much remains out of reach of most detectors.

Obviously using a $4000 metal detector is not something many people will do just because of the cost, and there is such a thing as too much power when combined with minimal discrimination. There are few urban locations where it would be appropriate to use a GP 3500.

I really am only concerned about sheer depth when I am nugget detecting. When the nuggets are measured in ounces it really does matter. But for coin detecting I'd rather use a small coil and look for shallow targets in the trash. Seems like there are still quite a few old coins just a few inches deep left to be found.

Steve Herschbach

 

[DPW]

White's suggested retail for an MXT is $800.00. Minelabs retail price for an Explorer II is $1,400.00. Maybe that's not a lot in some peoples world but to me that is a BIG difference.

 

[Pap]

What was the difference with the coils being the same size? Or didn't you get the opportunity to try that?

 

[LuckLarry]

I love these kinds of threads, hearing from all angles. I think it benefits us all. Great going guy's.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Like I say the Explorer had the stock 10 inch coil while my MXT had the 6X10 DD coil.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

call for different strategies.

Relic hunting calls for digging it all, even some iron targets. Shell fragments and old gun parts are highly sought items so a detector that can be operated at low disc that hits certain size iron is desireable if there is a clue in the audio as to what that iron "may" be. Some machines have this ability.

Coin shooting in modern parks is miles apart from other forms of detecting and there are lots of good machines available to suit that need.

I fall into what I call the "rural hunter" category. I live in a low population area with only small towns and no large or older parks. Where do I hunt? one room school sites, old religous camps, fairgrounds, old homesites that are now farm fields ect. Do all the research you want but its hard to find a site that has not been hammered for 30 years and you get the ides of how hard it is to find older coins. There are some left but multiple silver days are rare indeed. Finding a homesite that no one else has hunted is my best bet for finding old coins. I get probably 6-7 IH's for every silver coin and quite a few V-nickels left by those that used some disc in the past so that is a target worth going for too.

Sometimes I wonder if its worth it due to the diminishing returns.

Thats why I do a lot of water hunting in the summer. The lakes around here are popular destinations for boaters and swimmers so good targets get replenished! AHH! now I'm in a jewelry mode, similar to relic hunting with some differences. Depth and sensitivity to small low conductors with some iron disc. Few machines meet that need for "me". My choice is that Fisher relic machine I mentioned before. Some may think that digging it all is easy but I'm here to tell you it is not. Detectors with above average depth and sensitivity to small low conductors are rare and finding one that is highly adjustable for varying conditions is rarer still and a priority. Few have that just right combination.

Steve, I have enjoyed you past posts regarding the MXT at Ganes and you offered some great tips on how to set it up for pulling nuggets out of iron. THAT I can relate too!!

HH Tom

 

[TonyTX(MXT)]

I may be wrong but I don't think the DD's go as deep as the concentrics do. That has been my experience anyway. HH

 

[Jim McCulloch]

Having used both the 950 concentric and the 10x6 DD coils on my MXT, I find that in MOST areas where the soil is not too mineralized the 950 will get about 10 to 20% MORE depth then the DD. In those areas where the soil is highly mineralized, which would necessitate the use of lower gain settings with the 950, I find that the 10x6 DD, which can, under those circumstances, use higher gain, that the depth of the 10x6 duplicates that of the 950. (Whew, that was a long-winded sentence!) Frankly, folks, no matter which two models of detectors you are comparing, for a truly fair comparison ALL the parameters must be equal: same soil, same size and type of coil, same optimal tuning, same discrimination setting, etc. Like Rick, I use the 10x6 DD on my MXT most of the time, but then again I have highly mineralized soil, so get the same depth with the DD as I would with the 950, and gain the other DD advantages, too. Hope this helps; HH jim