Brought the MXT out today and very unstable .

[GroundScanner]

We'll took the Pro out today and would not ground balance. Maybe I am not balancing it right or something. I had it in C&J mode and threshold to a very slight tone. As soon as I start sweeping threshold jump up and down. As I was sweeping it kept coming up as 95 hot rocks. I must be ground balancing wrong . Any help GBing as to try and stable this machine. Also my Garrett Propointer and the MXT Pro does not get along. Is that typical. Thanks , GS

 

[OregonGregg]

Sounds like you might have left the Trac toggle in the lock position while trying to GB. Put the Disc knob at zero, Trac toggle in "ground " position sweep around for a clean spot and pump coil a few times and should quiet right down ( once ground balanced I like to "lock" it and use the ground grab button to update if needed) or if the Trac toggle is in the "lock" position then use the Ground grab button to GB.

I use the same PP and they are at about the same freq so you will get some cross talk. Is no big deal doesn't hurt anything. When i set my machine down to do some pinpointing I just swing the coil away from the hole first. If you get 2 or 3 feet distance between the coil and PP it mostly goes away.

 

[GroundScanner]

Thanks Greg . If it is in lock position , do I hold the ground grab button and pump coil up and down then let off of GG button to keep it updated ? GS

 

[OregonGregg]

yes you can do it that way. I use the M6 a lot and just got use doing it the ol' fashioned way to start I place the discrimination knob at zero, sense at around 6 and place the Trac toggle in the "ground" position find clean area and bob the coil a few times. Once ground balanced I put the toggle to lock ,put the disc setting where I want it and kick the sense up.

Do the same as above but in the lock position push GG button and hold till balanced. and just leave in lock and use GG button to update if needed. If machine starts to get a little noisy just quickly update the GB

Maybe Monte will see this and give us the detailed version

 

[Monte]

trust me, it is simple.:

We'll took the Pro out today and would not ground balance. Maybe I am not balancing it right or something.

That's often the case when learning so you're not alone. Believe me, I have helped people often.

I had it in C&J mode

You can use any of the search modes.

and threshold to a very slight tone.

Correct, you want to adjust for a slight audio hum.

As soon as I start sweeping threshold jump up and down.

As Oregon Gregg mentioned, it sounds like you have the toggle in the center 'Lock' position. If so, then at turn-on it starts out at a Ground Phase setting of '83' [size=small](which you can see by toggling to the Prospecting mode)[/size] and in most cases that is more positive than a lot of the ground mineral conditions folks search in. Doing that, you will hear the audio you reported ...

As I was sweeping it kept coming up as 95 hot rocks.

... and see Hot Rock and a 95 pop up on the display.

I must be ground balancing wrong . Any help GBing as to try and stable this machine.

There are two ways to adjust the Ground Balance of the MXT Pro/MXT All-Pro and they are as follows:

1.. Find a clean spot of ground that is metal-free. You can do that using the All metal or Pinpoint mode ... or ... you can select the Coin & Jewelry or Relic mode. If you select a motion Discriminate mode, you can reduce the Disc. level to the minimum '0' setting which is a Zero Disc. or All Metal Accept and check the area for any metal, ferrous or non-ferrous.

2.. Once you find a metal-free spot of ground you can make sure the Threshold audio is set for a proper slight audio hum, then set the Discrimination level where you would like it. As an example, I usually have it somewhere between the #2 and #3 position so I just barely reject iron nails.

3.. Now you can take the busier method or the simpler method to Ground Balance.:

Busier Method: Set the right-hand GB toggle selector to the rear Ground position. Hold the search coil about 6a' TO 8" above the metal-free spot of ground and briskly bob the search coil towards and away from the ground. Lower it to about ½" to 1" and raise it back to the 6" to 8" height ....briskly. This usually takes 2 to 6 quick bobs of the coil and it will stabilize and maintain a comfortable Threshold sound. You are GB'ed. Next, you make the decision, once GB'ed, to either leave the toggle in the rear GROUND position and that will let the MXT Pro Auto-Trac while you sweep, or you can decide to 'Lock' and hold the current Ground Balance setting. Personally, I toggle to 'Lock' about 90% of the time based upon the type of site conditions I am hunting.

Simpler Method: Leave the right-hand toggle in the center 'Lock' position. Hold the search coil about 6"-8" over the metal-free spot of ground and press-and-hold the Ground Grab touchpad. Briskly bob the search coil as above. Once the GB is achieved and the Threshold hum stays the same when lowering or raising the coil, release the Ground Grab touchpad. You are now Ground Balanced and 'Locked' at the GB setting.

Also my Garrett ProPointer and the MXT Pro does not get along. Is that typical.

I had that problem as well with the MXT's and several other detectors I had. I made sure to set the detector down with the search coil away from me. Then I made a better move and sold my ProPointer and replaced it with my Bullseye TRX. A better device and not the same interference issues.

Monte

 

[GroundScanner]

Thanks Gregg and Monte for the info. When I GB in lock and say 10 minutes later I want to GB again do I just push ground grab and release or do I have to hold to refresh. Thanks GS

 

[Monte]

Thanks Gregg and Monte for the info. When I GB in lock and say 10 minutes later I want to GB again do I just push ground grab and release or do I have to hold to refresh. Thanks GS

Let's say you have moved away from where you started and the ground looks 'different' or you find a clean area, raise the coil to 6" and us Pinpojn t and lower the coil and notice the GB is off a little. You can do two things.

If in a metal free area you can just sweep over the ground as is searching, or you can bob the coil a few times over the clean spot of ground, and the detector is reading the ground mineral at that spot. All you have to do is pause, press the Ground Grab touchpad and release it. That will then update your Ground Balance setting with the current ground mineral reading.

Or you can do what I usually do and that is press and hold the Ground Grab touchpad while I briskly bob the search coil over that metal-free ground, 2 to 6 quick bobs and I'm done, then release the Ground Grab touchpad.

Using the MXT Pro GB system is simple. Just use the Ground Grab touchpad at times you are updating the Ground Balance. There's no need to fuss with it beyond that when hunting in a 'Locked' GB operation.

Monte

 

[GroundScanner]

Thanks , GS

 

[cybermerlin]

Same issue in Northern VA today. Called the shop. They suggested retightening the coil. I switched to my backup and had no issues. Same problem here...95 hot rocks everywhere with my usual primary unit.

 

[PSS1963]

Thanks Gregg and Monte for the info. When I GB in lock and say 10 minutes later I want to GB again do I just push ground grab and release or do I have to hold to refresh. Thanks GS

Let's say you have moved away from where you started and the ground looks 'different' or you find a clean area, raise the coil to 6" and us Pinpojn t and lower the coil and notice the GB is off a little. You can do two things.

If in a metal free area you can just sweep over the ground as is searching, or you can bob the coil a few times over the clean spot of ground, and the detector is reading the ground mineral at that spot. All you have to do is pause, press the Ground Grab touchpad and release it. That will then update your Ground Balance setting with the current ground mineral reading.

Or you can do what I usually do and that is press and hold the Ground Grab touchpad while I briskly bob the search coil over that metal-free ground, 2 to 6 quick bobs and I'm done, then release the Ground Grab touchpad.

Using the MXT Pro GB system is simple. Just use the Ground Grab touchpad at times you are updating the Ground Balance. There's no need to fuss with it beyond that when hunting in a 'Locked' GB operation.

Monte

Keep in mind though - and Monte, please correct me if I 'm wrong on this - that tracking continues to update even if you are in "locked" GB mode. So if you press the "Ground Grab" button, whatever is in the tracking register at that instant gets loaded in as the GB setting to be used by the detector. If you have been hunting over "trashy" ground the machine will likely have figured these hits into the current GB setting and will therefore load a mistaken impression of the ground mineralization conditions corrupted by those hits on trash targets. Therefore if you want a valid update to your GB setting, only press "Ground Grab" when you have been hunting clean ground for a while or find some clean ground and do the pump thing.

-pete

 

[Monte]

are correct.

PeteKeep in mind though - and Monte, please correct me if I 'm wrong on this - that tracking continues to update even if you are in "locked" GB mode. So if you press the "Ground Grab" button, whatever is in the tracking register at that instant gets loaded in as the GB setting to be used by the detector. If you have been hunting over "trashy" ground the machine will likely have figured these hits into the current GB setting and will therefore load a mistaken impression of the ground mineralization conditions corrupted by those hits on trash targets. Therefore if you want a valid update to your GB setting, only press "Ground Grab" when you have been hunting clean ground for a while or find some clean ground and do the pump thing.

The M6 and MXT series are always reading the ground mineral content, and will update the detector's GB settings during the Auto-Trac operation [size=small](toggled to Ground or Salt)[/size]. Otherwise, the detector's circuitry will be analyzing the ground mineral status when in 'Lock,' but only update the GB to that tracked reading when you either toggle out-of Lock and then back into Lock, or if you simply pause and press-and-release the Ground Grab touchpad. That was in the statement I made.:

If in a metal free area you can just sweep over the ground as is searching, or you can bob the coil a few times over the clean spot of ground, and the detector is reading the ground mineral at that spot. All you have to do is pause, press the Ground Grab touchpad and release it. That will then update your Ground Balance setting with the current ground mineral reading.

Still, my personal preference, if I want to check and make sure I have a proper GB for the area I am hunting, is to pause, scan a patch of ground to ensure it is metal free [size=small](especially of any iron trash)[/size] then Press Ground Grab and briskly bob the search coil to make sure the detector is processing all the ground information for peak GB adjustment.

Monte

 

[GroundScanner]

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[david bull]

I'm having the same problem with my MXT All Pro in that it appears to pick up an extreme amount of emi.I can't move my coil far enough away from my Propointer to keep it from blasting my headphones and my TRX,although somewhat better,also transmits through my headphones.When sweeping,the noise is almost unbearable.The only mode that doesn't sound like constant chatter is the tone two relic,which smooths it right out..Reducing signal gain just lowers the volume of the chatter and discrimination doesn't seem to affect it(chatter)that much.This occurs with the d2 or 5.3 Eclipse.A fresh battery pack makes no difference.Tracking appears to be working as it should as I can sweep over an iron target and make the tone go silent and then sweep over clean ground and hear the detector balance.Is this just the nature of this detector?

 

[Hombre]

Do you toggle to 'lock' after you GB it?

 

[david bull]

I tried locked and track.I went back today and ran relic iron id.The detector was much more stable,so undoubtedly there was some emi in the immediate area.