Frustration is setting in

[Anonymous]

<img src="/metal/html/cry.gif" border=0 width=40 height=15 alt=":cry"> I must be doing something wrong.
I ended the season last year in December with my last time out finding 2 gold rings,so I figured I had the MXT down pretty good.
Going out in the last few times has been down right frustrating. Most all my finds are either atop the ground or 1-2 inches deep. I use presets in cj mode most all the time and usually get a 4-6 inch coin or two almost every time out. But not anymore.
I got older sites in mind but I am hesitant to try them out with the little depth I seem to be getting. Ground here is high 70's and I dont do well when I crank up the gain. I only have the stock coil
and the way it is going now I dont think I want to invest any more cash for a dd coil
Have any of you out there experienced this? AM I in a slump? Is the MXT broken? Am I doing something wrong? Did I forget how to use this thing?
I truly enjoy this hobby but it is starting to drive me nuts!!!!
ANy suggestions will be appreciated.
hh
<img src="/metal/html/cry.gif" border=0 width=40 height=15 alt=":cry">

 

[Anonymous]

Slapshot,
Your in a slump man. Ever thought there just aren't any deep targets where your looking ? I have sit a pile of old sites dreaming of old coins and maybe even a gold coin, only to come out with my pouch full of rusted crap and worthless junk. Dern piece of crap detector would not find any thing good. Well just maybe I did not get the coil over anything good. The stock coil is a great coil for the mxt. It may not be as smooth as some of the other coils in higher minerals but it will still find stuff. Talking about gain, I very seldom go over 9 1/2 - 10. The plus numbers on the gain control are like an added bonus but not completely necessary to get good depth with the mxt. I read in a post on this forum a while back run the mxt on 10 with a slightly audible threshold to get great results. Well I never liked that buzzing in my ears but gave it a try at Atlantic City New jersey. I used the 14 inch excelerator coil. All I will say is alot of these seasoned metal heads know thier stuff. In sand I got several quarters at 18-19 inches deep, I know it sounds like a pile of bull but had an older guy standing there with a DFX and stock coil and he got nothing, I dug and dug and finally pulled the quarter out and he got real interested in that big coil, He said he had never dug anything that deep since he had been detecting. Just be patient, your probally a little out of tune, using the stock coil I had great results with these settings <IMG SRC="/metal/html/csflag.gif" BORDER=0 width=22 height=15 ALT="::"> Coin mode, Gain 9, Disc on 2, trigger in the center, threshold turned down just enuff to silence it. 6-8 inch coins were easy. Well good luck and hang in there.
Ray

 

[Anonymous]

I went to a house yesterday that was built before
the Civil War and spent 2 hours, one 1934 wheat.
The MXT will find it if it's there. I run my
sensitivity wide open but again the soil here
is 59-60 and fairly consistent. It happens to
us all, keep swinging. I've gone relic hunting
many days and came home with very little, persistance
is the name of the game. Best to you, Richardntn

 

[Anonymous]

Ever try Relic position with trigger in middle and disc at 1 to almost 3 for iron disc and gain fairly high ? ( I am usually in the pluses with soil in low to mid 80s and threshold barely audible.
I also like zero disc, trigger forward in relic and listen for hi/low sounds- but it's not as obvious.
I think relic has superior sensitivity--most signals are stronger if you switch from CJ to relic.
HH- gary

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you need to spend some time building your test garden.
That'll be a sure cure for determining wether your machine has changed during storage.... <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">
Run it through it's paces over known depth coins and you'll feel a lot better about how your machine is working. It's worth the work just for the confidence boost it provides.
Then when you don't find anything below 1-2 inches, you'll know you're scanning deeper but nothing is there. Changing sites will normally change the 'average' depth of finds. Sites with all finds shallow probably have a deep fill that was brought in within the last 1-5 years.
Good luck, the MXT is a great machine for it's price and will find stuff deeper than I want to dig most of the time.

 

[Anonymous]

location location and location.
MXT is very capable. Most of the current models are.
I presume you are capable as well, so it is back to the three things mentioned above.
I am ALWAYS frustrated, but try to ignore it.
hang in there, now that you are frustrated, you are 'there' NOW it cant get any worse, only better.
Tony

 

[Anonymous]

Slapshot,
Ground in high 70's warrants the 10"DD coil. You can crank the gain to compensate for any depth lost so it equals out to the same depth as the stock coil.
Older sites in mind? Then the DD will probably help you sort through the trash that is probably there.
Shoot Jim McCulloch an email for a price.
HH,
Johnny B

 

[Anonymous]

Slapshot,
I can sympathize--I'm just coming out of a 3 month or so slump where I was finding nothing much but a modest amount of clad and a bunch of trash. I'm starting to find more stuff now--just nailed a gold ring and a rosie on one brief outing this week. Part of what is making the difference is my beginning to experiment with the outer boundaries of the MXT. By this I mean that I'm not so much looking for the obvious targets now, but am very mindful of trying to hear the weak signals that are easy to block out, due to the MXT's rather noisy character. I've also learned lately that VDI's can be very misleading, especially in highly mineralized soils like both of us have. And the deeper the target, the less accurate the VDI. Combine depth and mineralization, and VDI can be difficult to rely upon. Try to pick out the more quiet, repeatable tones, even if the VDI doesn't suggest to dig. I dug the rosie and a wheatie the other day that had VDIs suggesting a much less worthwhile target. Another suggestion--turn on the MXT in the lock position, which will lock the ground balance in at 83. It takes a little getting used to, but in high minerals and lots of trash, it opens up some new targets that you might have been missing with the automatic ground balance on. It also gives you a more accurate depth reading, since the machine isn't constantly recalibrating from surrounding trash or repeated swings over the target.
Just a few more things to try. Good luck and I'm sure your fortunes will change soon.
HH,
Dan

 

[Anonymous]

I've had my MXT less than 2 months and really like it. It is very sensitive. I haven't tried it in the Relic much. My questions are - when hunting in a very trashy area, what would be my best settings. Coin/Jewelry or Relic? Where should the Trigger be - centered? How about Threshold - some or none? How about Trac Toggle - Ground or Lock? Gain setting - at the triangle? Just asking. I searched a burn/trash pile and finally found a 14K large man's wedding band. What a find for me - and the owner. Two Happy Guys!!! I'm learning - with experience - and you guys provide me with lots and lots of info. Thanks!!!