GETTING A NEW DETECTOR

[Hot Peppers]

Howdy ' I've been using my Xterra 70 a lot - a whole lot - a very great lot - a huge amount - and am getting rather tired of all the false signals from bumping into a a little, and I mean little weed. I'm also tired of it going into chirping mode and have to ground the coil and wait a minute or two for it to settle down and if I get near a power line, well, forget it. Don't get me wrong I've found a ton of good stuff with it, but I think it's time to move on to something newer and more up to-date and that doesn't irritate me near to death.

What is your favorite detector and why should I be interested in buying one ( preferably used as I'm retired and on a fixed income in this recession)? Any help you provide well be appreciated. But, please, if you are a dealer don't give me the standard commercial. I'm more interested in what the average person is using and why he/she thinks its worth the money.

By the way - tell me how much I should expect to spend.

Thanks in advance for your help

Hot Peppers

 

[Nauti]

Hi Hot Peppers,that is probably the most difficult queston in metal detecting.......what to get for the best.Here are the detectors i have owned
1.c-scope 1mx
2.c-scope 3mx
3.minelab quattro
4.Nautilus dmc2b
5.red heat lightning
6.tesoro cibola
7.minelab sovereign
8.xp goldmax power
9.xp adx250
10.whites matrix m6.
Looking back on all these different machines i can honestly say i have had a lot of finds with all of them.The ones i have stuck with however are the Nautilus and the Sovereign.The Nautilus i used to consider my all time favourite machine but now having used the sovereign for a while i am beginning to enjoy this machine more.For me it does everything i want
1. it copes well with all soil conditions
2.it's deeper than most
3.it can be used on the beach on the wet sand better than most
4.There is a good selection of coils
5.it's one of the best all rounders ever made.
The points i have just made are my personel views and why the detector is good for me.There will be many more views promoting the virtues of all different makes of detector on this post from people who genuinely get excellent results from their chosen detector.What suits one person may not suit another.The thing to remember is this,if you buy a higher end detector from any manufacturer these days it is going to produce results.....they are all good in their own way.It all boils down to personal choice at the end of the day.Good luck.

 

[Dan-Pa.]

You have a bad coil as this model was known for bad coils..In other words its not working as it should...and do you really need a new unit or a new coil..Perhaps you have a club member, dealer etc. that would let you try a different coil before you make a decision..As far as units lots of good units out there in various price ranges and might talk to a reputable dealer or do some research....Just a matter or fact some of us like blue chevies and some of us like red fords and both will go 50 MPH
so actually hard for someone to pick out a unit for you...Speaking from experience as I have tried a bunch and all found treasure and had their plus and minus features..

 

[pescadore]

I agree that it sounds like a coil problem. Try a different coil and see if that doesn't solve the problem. I have never owned an Xterra but here great things about them and I have owned several Explorers with no problems. As far as personal preference goes, it greatly depends on what kind of detecting you want to do. I use a Troy Shadow X-3. I personally like a real light detector that is pretty much a turn and go because I don't like to have to mess with setting the detector up and fooling with ground balance and such. I know that I probably give up a little performance with a fixed ground balance machine but mine works good in the soil around here where I hunt. I am primarily a coin-shooter and I like to go to an occasional home site to look for old coins. I hunt a lot of trashy parks and playgrounds so I like the fast recovery speed of my detector and the Zinc and Nickel switch. If I am hunting a wood chip playground, swimming area, or area where I am more likely to find gold, I pretty much go with a low discrimination setting and dig everything anyway. If you ask different opinions of detectors on this forum you are going to get a lot of different answers so here is mine. Find one you are comfortable with, learn everything there is to learn about it, use it often to gain experience, and just have fun. In the end, most decent quality detectors will find treasure and the person holding them is the biggest variable. I have had several different detectors and have pretty much settled in except that later in the summer I am going to buy another Minelab Excaliber 800 and do some water detecting. I did not have time to use the last one I had but now I have a better job and off every weekend. Good luck with your decision and HH.
Stephen

 

[Carolina Phil]

I have an X-Terra 70 and it is my favorite detector. Your X-Terra is either not operating properly or not set up as it should be. Some have suggested it could be a bad coil (or coil connector) and I agree, but it sounds more like your sensitivity setting is too high. I usually operate My 70 at a sensitivity setting of 25. Also, make sure the coil wire is not moving around just above the coil, the machine can detect it if it does.

 

[Old Katz]

Never had an Extera. There are lots of good detectors out there if your in the market.
Decideing is always the hard part. I started with an IDX Pro. Went with the Garrett 250 which is a decent
machine and then picked up an MXT for $300. Wish I could tell yoou which one to get but
there are just to many good machines oput there, and of course everyone will tell you theres is the best.
I'd look through the forums here and put out the same question; that might make your decision a bit eaiser.
Katz