I think i am having detector regret

[burried gold]

I was dead set on getting an MXT PRO but I found a killer deal on a local MXT E-series with 4x6 + extra lower rod 950 coil pinpointer and headphones and the unit was never used seriously not a scratch. took it out for a few minutes in the back yard and was real impressed with the good performance. Just one problem No tones. I did not think it would be a big deal but I am used to my DFX and I think I will be watching the screen too much. anyone else out there made a similar transition from tones to no tones? I will be doing some prospecting with it so I know it will get good use but park hunting may be difficult. someone please tell me I will get over not having tones!!!! or maybe I will just be to busy digging to even care. let me know what you think

 

[Nancy-IL]

Don't worry about it. I had an old machine with tones and I don't miss it one bit. You'll get use to the "no tone" effect and be digging till your little heart's content. HH, Nancy

 

[Southwind]

It sure makes you appreciate having tones doesn't it.

I was a simple beep-n-dig for some 25 years. Even with my detectors that had the ability for tone ID I didn't use it. What converted me was a Minelab Explorer SE Pro. I didn't really care for much else over my DFX but those tones were amazing. A whole other set of target information I had never used was now available. I sold the SE but turned on tones on my DFX. Needless to say the tones on the DFX aren't quite the same as the Minelabs, but they still did the job. Now I can't see hunting without them.

 

[burried gold]

Don't get me wrong this thing air tests as good as my DFX and I have not messed with the iron grunt or relic 2 tone mode yet. those may be ok and more to my taste. I guess the reason I was looking for an MXT was to try and increase my gold finds in the general park and school hunting I do as well as to take prospecting. It might force me to pay a little more attention to all signals and dig a little more. I guess I could have done that with the DFX also but I tend to get into the habbit of looking and waiting for the high tones to dig the silver. another question I have is about the hight trash areas with the MXT with all the pull tabs and can slaw and only one tone to work with maybe two what do you do? I have the 4x6 shooter that I will more than likely use it. do you just watch the screen for the 18-24 targets (talking rings only here) or do you suggest just digging all of the targets I get from the foil to coin range. I am not opposed to doing this as I have done it several times to learn new machines. and on certain days when I am feeling lucky (and energetic). and like I said my main focus will be on gold rings and jewelry. I also read in the popular FAQ about the MXT that the target ID at or more than 5" is jumpy and semi unpredictable almost like a trash taget. I know there are ways to identify beyond the ID like pinpointing etc... but I have not dug many rings with other machines to know if they even hold steady either. even with coins on the DFX at depth of 5-7 inches they will jump around a bit but will stay locked in within a reasonable amount say 4-5 on the vdi. are rings the same with the mxt

 

[JohninNC]

You do get some small gold rings in the 18-24 range but thats only the small ones. I hunt in C & J mode and I found a medium size (8 grams) gold ring at 40 and a large size (16 grams) gold ring at 65 last week. You really need to dig everything from 18 up. A small platinum ring gives me a 6 VDI. I think I'll have to let them go. HH
John

 

[ExpIInut]

Hi - I'm in the UK but and I appreciate that whilst searching parks etc a lot of trash has to be eliminated but try this - relic mode which has a far better signal tone than C&J - set your discrim to zero with the trigger in the forward position - that's low grunts for iron, high tones for anything good - then do yourself a BIG favour and put a black bag over the screen and ignore it - for the next 100 signals dig only the high tones regardless of how iffy they sound - so long as there's a high tone present - this is the only way you'll ever have any faith in the capabilities of this machine - yes you'll dig ring pulls etc but just try it - I used multi tone minelabs since the late 90's but in the 1st 2 weeks of owning the MXT found my 1st gold rings - it is an excellent machine - just my half a dollars worth - Gaz.

 

[burried gold]

OK that sounds good enough. I always knew the mxt was a good machine. I have seen alot of guys that use the mxt that I know can buy and use any machine they want and i always wondered why? Why are they using that machine that is not 1000's of dollars with no tones and very limited discimination. but I was convinced they knew something I did not. Even my first Garrett machine had notch. and to tell you the truth the knobs kind of scared me a little. it makes me think back to using my dads Garrett ADS.

 

[Southwind]

Wow that sounds completely crazy. At least 90% of the gold I recover come in with a VDI between +2 and +11, and they sure aren't only small pieces. In fact in a tab rich location I'll ignore +22 up when looking for gold. All these pieces, with the exception of one, pictured came in with a VDI of +1 to +18. This was last years gold all from tot lots and school playgrounds.

 

[burried gold]

wow, I know what my goal is for this year now!!!! Was all of that found with the mxt? that is one serious pile of bling. Not hard to pay for a new machine that way. I can already see my closet filling up now. a PI unit and a water machine. will +1 to +18 range come in as hight tone in the prospect trigger forward position that EXPIInut was talking about? or will it grunt thinking iron. and at what VDI does the MXT start thinking it's iron.

 

[jimmy]

Hi, as far as vdi+numbers go I found a large class ring at Emerald Isle NC last yr and it weighed 6dwt vdi was +18, so I just dig all + numbers

 

[Southwind]

Was all of that found with the mxt? that is one serious pile of bling. Not hard to pay for a new machine that way. I can already see my closet filling up now. a PI unit and a water machine. will +1 to +18 range come in as hight tone in the prospect trigger forward position that EXPIInut was talking about? or will it grunt thinking iron. and at what VDI does the MXT start thinking it's iron

No it was found with various detector, but most were White's that have pretty close to the same VDI. Actually I sold what is in the first 2 pictures and paid for both a Minelab E-Trac and a White's V3i that is used for testing over the summer. With tone ID on +1 to +4 are a lower tone, no grunt, and the +5 to +18 have a mid-tone. I have my discrimination set to accept down to -20 but I have yet to EVER find a piece of gold that had a VDI below 0. Below 0 is where you get the iron grunt. I've also found a fair number of chains and NONE have ever given a VDI below 0.

 

[EasySwing]

Gentlemen,

This is an excellent series of posts! I agree with Southwind.. you must dig all good targets. The proof of his comment is in the gold he has recovered.
I have begun to dig the (+4 foil or ring ) for example and have increased my finds considerably. Gold comes in at all ranges from 0 to 70. Too bad for us, but if you dig the signals as stated, the more digging the more chances. Going by the book so to speak will get you limited results, the range is too broad. I personally use the c/j mode exclusively and have had great success. If I was relic hunting then I would use the relic mode. In any case, I initially listen more to the sound of the hit than the display to make a determination. Buy the MXT use it and then pay it off with the loot found. Justify to the wife your purchase of another MXT the pro model later or perhaps a newer model may come out. You can't go wrong with that purchase if the price is right, JMHO EZ

 

[JohninNC]

This is a very interesting thread. I am certainly going to try some of these suggestions. Thanks for the input.
John

 

[Old Katz]

This is an excellent opportunity for you to expand yourself
.Don't let yourself be a slave to your conditioning; learn a new set of patterns. Soon you'll
get used to the MXT.
katz