I bought my wife the X-Terra 50 and she loves that thing. It's the only machine she has said to the effect of "you're not selling this one, I like it" and she is really skootin' with it as far as picking up when to check the GB and adjusting and such. From what she has let me play with the X-50, I like it too, but I sort of felt that the disc segments were too lumped together for my liking. Other than that, the feel and fun factor of the machine seemed to make me confident it was the machine I needed to get for her and for myself as a backup.
The problem is...the backup has became a machine I like using better than my primary. I have a Whites DFX. I am in no way knocking the DFX and I feel it is a really great machine. If I were strictly a coin and jewelry person, I reckon it would be a very hard machine to contend with. The problem is that I relic hunt more than I coin/jewelry hunt. BUT...even though I can ask questions and get answers on the forum. And even though I have seen the DVD, have the Diggin Deeper book and the Gold book. I am just not confident I am running the machine to its full potential OR that the machine is really geared towards what I am using it for. I'm trying to use it as a primary relic machine and secondary coin/jewelry machine. I really don't like worrying if I have the right sweep speed setting or the right amount of ground filters for this type of soil or if I'd be better running this speed of auto trac. I don't really use the notch disc on the DFX...instead I run it like a normal knob discrimination machine; I set it to accept -60 on up to every positive number and dig everything that gives a signal. If I am coin hunting I do the same thing except there I will use the Tone ID to determine whether I dig.
Now here is the big 'un. Like I said...my confidence is there for the machine for coin hunting but not for relics or even deeper coins. Our ground here is not that bad per say but it just changes quite a bit. I can pick up a machine like the X-Terra 50 and just GB it and keep on top of it and not worry about making any other adjustments other than the sensitivity and find goodies. In my test garden and in real world situations where I've tested the two, I've yet to find a target with the DFX that the X-50 wouldn't also detect. And in a few instances the X-50 would give a digger tone whereas the DFX would read the target as iron and then jump up to some abnormal + signal. THAT is what worries me about the DFX in relic hunting. Maybe I'm just not setting it up right but I'm having a little difficulty coming to grasp the concept of programming a computer to an exact science in order to get the most out of the machine. When I can take something like the X-50 and turn it on, GB and have no trouble hitting the targets.
So all that to get to this. I'm considering a few things and I'd like your feedback.
1.) Keeping the DFX for coins/jewelry and getting a non metered machine as a primary relic machine. More specifically I am considering a used Shadow X5 or Tesoro Vaquero. Both of those machines REALLY do well in the soil here and I'd be confident if I left anything behind with either one that it would be because I didn't get my coil over top of it. But all that to say that I'd hate to have $1,000 worth of machine and accessory coils sitting there as an occasional used machine when I want to go try and find a ring and some clad coins.
2.) Selling the DFX for an X-70. I don't care if it gets the same depth as the X-50 or if it might go a tad deeper...the X-50 does pretty good in the soil here with the standard coil and Mike let me borrow the 18khz coil when we hunted this past weekend and it does pretty good with it also. The one thing I do like about the X-70 though is the 28 segments. That is benefical to me. Another plus, auto tracking is alright if the machine can keep up with changing soil but I like having the ability do do manual or auto. To me there would be two selling points for the X-70 over the X-50 for me. I already named one...the expanded disc segments. The other is the 3khz coil. The standard 7khz coil has not failed to run stable and deep in any soil we've found thus far but that 3khz coil sounds nice too for a little edge in bad dirt. And here's the kicker. I've always wanted to go prospecting and that's sorta another reason I got the DFX too...prospecting mode with the optional DD coils. The X-70 opens that door as well. Then there are the other things that keep me looking at the X-70 over the DFX. That being...weight, number of batteries, and battery life. We have used that X-Terra 50 quite a while and are still on the same set of batteries with a full battery scale.
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So that is where you guys come in. What would you all do in this situation? Let me reinterate that I really like the DFX for coin/jewelry hunting. BUT only for shallower items that do give a reliable ID. I have a considerable amount of $ invested in this DFX. The unit itself ain't cheap and then add I got the 6x10 and 4x6 DD coils with extra rod. Then the two books too. The thing is though that most of my hunting is for relics and I could pick up an almost new Vaquero for around $350 and get the relics and have a really good coin/jewelry machine for when I needed it. OR I could just get the X-70 and I'm pretty sure if it can do like the X-50 that it will handle the dirt here and be good at coin/jewelry hunting and good for most relic hunting sites I hunt. And if it doesn't seem to be cuttin' the mustard for relics I could get one of the other machines as well. That's where the delimma comes to play. I'm pretty sure if it's like the X-50 that it will do good for me. But I've not really hunkered down and set in for an all day hunt for relics with the X-50 either. If I do sell the DFX and stuff I think I could get enough back out of it that I would handle the X-70 cost and MAYBE even enough to pay for a used Vaquero at the same time. So whatcha guys think?
The problem is...the backup has became a machine I like using better than my primary. I have a Whites DFX. I am in no way knocking the DFX and I feel it is a really great machine. If I were strictly a coin and jewelry person, I reckon it would be a very hard machine to contend with. The problem is that I relic hunt more than I coin/jewelry hunt. BUT...even though I can ask questions and get answers on the forum. And even though I have seen the DVD, have the Diggin Deeper book and the Gold book. I am just not confident I am running the machine to its full potential OR that the machine is really geared towards what I am using it for. I'm trying to use it as a primary relic machine and secondary coin/jewelry machine. I really don't like worrying if I have the right sweep speed setting or the right amount of ground filters for this type of soil or if I'd be better running this speed of auto trac. I don't really use the notch disc on the DFX...instead I run it like a normal knob discrimination machine; I set it to accept -60 on up to every positive number and dig everything that gives a signal. If I am coin hunting I do the same thing except there I will use the Tone ID to determine whether I dig.
Now here is the big 'un. Like I said...my confidence is there for the machine for coin hunting but not for relics or even deeper coins. Our ground here is not that bad per say but it just changes quite a bit. I can pick up a machine like the X-Terra 50 and just GB it and keep on top of it and not worry about making any other adjustments other than the sensitivity and find goodies. In my test garden and in real world situations where I've tested the two, I've yet to find a target with the DFX that the X-50 wouldn't also detect. And in a few instances the X-50 would give a digger tone whereas the DFX would read the target as iron and then jump up to some abnormal + signal. THAT is what worries me about the DFX in relic hunting. Maybe I'm just not setting it up right but I'm having a little difficulty coming to grasp the concept of programming a computer to an exact science in order to get the most out of the machine. When I can take something like the X-50 and turn it on, GB and have no trouble hitting the targets.
So all that to get to this. I'm considering a few things and I'd like your feedback.
1.) Keeping the DFX for coins/jewelry and getting a non metered machine as a primary relic machine. More specifically I am considering a used Shadow X5 or Tesoro Vaquero. Both of those machines REALLY do well in the soil here and I'd be confident if I left anything behind with either one that it would be because I didn't get my coil over top of it. But all that to say that I'd hate to have $1,000 worth of machine and accessory coils sitting there as an occasional used machine when I want to go try and find a ring and some clad coins.
2.) Selling the DFX for an X-70. I don't care if it gets the same depth as the X-50 or if it might go a tad deeper...the X-50 does pretty good in the soil here with the standard coil and Mike let me borrow the 18khz coil when we hunted this past weekend and it does pretty good with it also. The one thing I do like about the X-70 though is the 28 segments. That is benefical to me. Another plus, auto tracking is alright if the machine can keep up with changing soil but I like having the ability do do manual or auto. To me there would be two selling points for the X-70 over the X-50 for me. I already named one...the expanded disc segments. The other is the 3khz coil. The standard 7khz coil has not failed to run stable and deep in any soil we've found thus far but that 3khz coil sounds nice too for a little edge in bad dirt. And here's the kicker. I've always wanted to go prospecting and that's sorta another reason I got the DFX too...prospecting mode with the optional DD coils. The X-70 opens that door as well. Then there are the other things that keep me looking at the X-70 over the DFX. That being...weight, number of batteries, and battery life. We have used that X-Terra 50 quite a while and are still on the same set of batteries with a full battery scale.
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So that is where you guys come in. What would you all do in this situation? Let me reinterate that I really like the DFX for coin/jewelry hunting. BUT only for shallower items that do give a reliable ID. I have a considerable amount of $ invested in this DFX. The unit itself ain't cheap and then add I got the 6x10 and 4x6 DD coils with extra rod. Then the two books too. The thing is though that most of my hunting is for relics and I could pick up an almost new Vaquero for around $350 and get the relics and have a really good coin/jewelry machine for when I needed it. OR I could just get the X-70 and I'm pretty sure if it can do like the X-50 that it will handle the dirt here and be good at coin/jewelry hunting and good for most relic hunting sites I hunt. And if it doesn't seem to be cuttin' the mustard for relics I could get one of the other machines as well. That's where the delimma comes to play. I'm pretty sure if it's like the X-50 that it will do good for me. But I've not really hunkered down and set in for an all day hunt for relics with the X-50 either. If I do sell the DFX and stuff I think I could get enough back out of it that I would handle the X-70 cost and MAYBE even enough to pay for a used Vaquero at the same time. So whatcha guys think?
