if ya can't beat'em, join'em!

[dixiedigger57]

Hello everyone! Not new to Finds or metal detecting, an old Tesoro user, but new to the MXT. I have a Compass xp350, and Tesoros Eldorado original, Amigo II, and Silver Sabre Plus. I decided i needed an ID machine and a generous forum member set me up with the Series 3 Tracker, and a 950 and 6x10 DD Eclipse. WOW! As you can see I only had one unit with pinpoint. All mine are beep and dig-solid and proven, but time to step up to a more modern machine. I have been watching the videos and reading the manual- and going to order the Edge book. I have a friend with a DFX who will also help. He got me my first pin pointer Whites Bulls eye- which was another treat to me. My other detector friends are real old school but starting to need the whistles and bells with age! LOL!

I made my first test run in Buddy with DFX's yard and was surprised how easy it is to work. Much simpler than the DFX. Two tones is enough for a tone deaf person and the readout is big enough for my far sighted self to see without my reading glasses. It is comfortable to swing and light feeling which surprised me.

I read all the instructions but then have concentrated on coin/jewelery mode and relic mode since i live Middle Georgia USA. its 3+ hrs to the beach and many parts are banned being a state park designation, and the gold is in the mountains. We have small Civil War area and trashy trashy parks. So by not bothering with those settings its easier to learn the ones i will get to use regular.

I will have questions but will try to research before i post.

anyone in Middle Georgia--Macon Warner Robins let me know!


I look forward to posting finds and chatting with you good people. This ole dog is willing to learn some new tricks! HH Carey dixiedigger57@hotmail.com

 

[Hunt4Fun]

Welcome to the MXT community. The MXT has a bit different language than most other detectors. Once you learn that language, it WILL produce for you. "The MXT Edge" is full of great information and will make more and more sense as you gain experience with the MXT.

Your DFX friend will most likely tell you nickels have a VDI readout of 19. However, most nickels give a VDI reading of 18 on every MXT I have used. In fact, I have never seen a 19 on an MXT.

Good luck
Bob

 

[dixiedigger57]

thanks Bob! i will check that. work tearing me up at office and home, and bad weather coming tomm evening, but lunch break will find me in the park, weather permitting, --

i need to add Downeaster- a net and phone buddy from Maine has been after me to get one, his favorite with Mr Bills Mods on his. that would be awesome in the future, when i learn the machine. i have been advised by some to get the 5.3 coil for all my trash. the 6x10 seems to seperate things fine. i do like all the choices for accessories --its mindblowing! i am used to Tesoro with the Tesoro shake to pin point on my units- very little motion, and the Compass xp350 is no motion pinpoint. i had to detune to narrow targets- but this MXT is almost too easy. i am impressed.

i look forward to this adventure Carey

 

[Aarong81]

i have been advised by some to get the 5.3 coil for all my trash. the 6x10 seems to seperate things fine.

The 5.3 and 6x10 will probably perform nearly the same and the biggest advantage of going to the 5.3, as apposed to say the 950, is separation. Both(5.3 & 6x10) are great for trashy areas and your 6x10 should have an advantage over the 5.3 when separating targets. Unless you really like adding coils to your arsenal and money isn't an issue, You might want to reconsider the extra purchase. I'm sure there is another coil option that would better fill a void in your current coil coverage. I see you already have the 950 and 6x10, I can recommend the D2 as it has greatly improved my rate of 'good' finds especially in trash. Again, you already have a good coil for trashy areas. Perhaps you want to go a bit bigger? Some are having a lot of success with the SEF coils but I have not tried one myself.

Don't get in too big of a hurry to change coils, though. If you are still learning the machine it will change up the characteristics when you swap coils. And when using your 6x10, some targets may not respond well, IF AT ALL, while facing one direction but then they might respond better, EVEN GREAT, when you turn 45 degrees and face to the side. This is because the signal is elongated and at times will be directly over iron, trash, nails, ect at the same time as it is over that silver dime or otherwise good target. So make sure you cover areas in 2 directions for good coverage. Even then, when you swap coils you can go over those areas and find stuff that you missed. There is more in the ground than we convince ourselves when we go over it once or twice and get little to no response from the detector. This is the area where the D2 has changed everything for me because I can go back over everything I had detected previously and still find great stuff.

Here is my RESUME if you will......Some of my MXT Pro Finds

 

[Nancy-IL]

Welcome to the world of the MXT! I've had mine since they came out and I wouldn't part with it for any other machine. It's a keeper for sure and can't wait to hear about your finds. HH, Nancy

 

[Topo]

the MXT is a great machine dixiedigger57, I use it along with two Tesoros. Will I sell the Tesoros? no. Will I sell the MXT? no. I found strength and weaknesses on all of them

good luck with your new machine!


ps. The "MXT Edge" book is a great read, a must have

 

[dixiedigger57]

thanks folks! the coil issue will be studied. Now i have a Compass which is its own culture and community. The nail board test for a Compass shows how a target can mask--- Aaron- and its a good good good teaching aid. i am a firm believer of hitting an area back and forth, all around and different settings and machines. On their forum i have been doing what i call "Layering" a park area full of deep big iron, slag filled dirt from a 1800's factory, and aluminum cans and tabs galore. i have been doing low sens low disc and visa versa, and then powering up in incremants. same little turf. i am cleaning out the trash piece by piece. my guru and crew really cleaned out the silver 20-30 yrs ago with top end machines, and he has the coins to prove it. this was before i got into this hobby. so i am doing like the archeo guys do with an "Electronic" trowel- detecting layer by layer and plan on going to the limit of my machine. the target area chosen is about half a ballfield and the park is old and much bigger, been redone some, some replanting going on now, beside a college, plagued by some thugs who trash it, and.. actually the spot where i was introduced to the hobby.Near the tennis courts- a friend handed me a Radio Shack Micronta $19.95 lunchbox and said just turn it on like this, wave it like this, and if it beeps you found something. he was gearing up a top of the line Whites modded, the old whip the coil units- this was in the 90's, and i walked three steps--3-- and got a beep. he said see- ya found something. i scratched the 14kt wedding band out. he liked to have fainted. and i was hooked. it was due to unforeseen circumstances years later before i got a workable machine- 2000-- and have been doing it since.

AND WITH THIS LAYER TECHNIQUE I HAVE PULLED TWO TOKENS AND A 1795 CHINESE CASH TOKEN FROM THIS SAME PARK. I hope the MXT will help me get thru this garbage a little easier. The Compass xp350 cruises thru the iron silently with ease. But i see the MXT can also do this or show me the iron and help locate where original structures etc were. both important in my searches. AND ALL HINTS AND ADVICE GOES IN MY NOTEBOOK FOR REFERENCE! hh CAREY

 

[downeaster]

Hey Carey, welcome to this forum. I'm glad that all the talking we did about the MXT got your attention. You know how much I like mine, had it for years, and it will take a really exceptional detector to replace it. There are a lot of knowledgable people on this forum who will be more than happy to help you. BTW, it was the IDX Pro I had that had Mr. Bills mods, not my MXT. Just hang in there, learn what the detector is telling you and show us some of those great Civil War relics you find !!!!

 

[Mercdimer]

Hi Carey, looks like you came to the right forum! I purchased a Tracker E Series a few years ago, and have been watching all the tips and tricks for that machine. I'm an old dog myself (Just turned 60). I have both the stock coil and the 5.3 Eclipse that I use most of the time. The 5.3 is a great all-around coil in my area without sacrificing depth. I've had the best luck using the MXT in relic mode rather than coins/jewelry. Still learning how to properly ground-balance this detector, lots of good tips on this forum regarding that subject! Also, if you have a lot of time on your hands, try that machine in the "all metal" mode if your hunting grounds are not too trashy, I've found lots of keepers this way. HH'n from New Hampshire. Richard

 

[RedRockNv]

The MXT has a very fast excellent ground tracking system as I understand. For average hunting unless you are worried about losing a keeper in the first couple swings of the day the machine ground balances itself in about 6 heart beats. That would be 3 two seconds sweeps. When you hit a really clean patch of ground you could then lock the ground balance. Now if you are nugget hunting and fighting for that last 1/8" of depth no amount of time is to much to make sure your ground balance is spot on. Just my opinion.

PS. At parks which I hunt more for exercise and fresh air I at times forget to GB so that may just be my rational for lazy behavior. I am just looking for surface to 3 or 4 inches so anything will do. I am not going to carry a shovel in a public park anyway. Now if I am out in the country or desert and I have to dig to China so be it.

 

[Mercdimer]

Thanks RedRock for the tips. What I don't understand is how to ground balance the MXT when I first turn it on,,,the manual says to lift it twice a few inches off the ground, but most folks say that lifting the coil waist-high is better? I haven't tried that method yet since I've had the machine, there's still snow/frozen ground in my location, can't wait for my first 2013 hunt.

 

[Aarong81]

Lifting the coil waist high is referring to a procedure to 'test' your ground balancing afterwards.
Assuming your using the MXT and not the pro, this method works for both models.....

FIRST, make sure you have the coil over a clean spot, no metal targets in the ground, and remember this very exact spot for further testing later. You can easily check for a clean spot by holding the trigger in and moving the coil around until it is silent.

Now to ground balance, If you have the TRAC switch set to GROUND or SALT(if you are on the beach), pump the coil a few times. At this point you are done ground balancing but I suggest moving the TRAC switch to LOCK once you have it set.

When you are done, (only to test your ground balance setting) find that clean spot again and while the coil is against the ground hold the trigger in and raise the coil into the air about waist high. If it is balanced correctly it should not change louder or quieter when raised in the air. This only tells you if its too hot or cold, I can't tell which it is. To check even further(the opposite hot/cold check), begin testing with the coil at waist high and THEN hold the trigger. Now lower the coil to the same clean spot on the ground and the tone should not change if it is set correctly. I usually skip testing and update the GB setting every 10 minutes or so.

 

[RedRockNv]

This is for Mercdimer. I hope it helps. The machine will balance itself after you turn it on just follow the manual or start swinging.

I could be totally wrong on my accessment of groung tracking so correct me if I am. The MXT has a fast ground tracking system built in. This happens in seconds. This ground tracking automatically ground balances the machine to what it sees in the ground this can include trash. So if you just start hunting without finding a clean patch of ground to ground balance over your initial ground balance will be slightly off due to the effects of trash in the ground on ground tracking. Once you hit a clean patch of ground you can lock in tracking and it will be optimal to that patch of ground from then on (but that patch of ground only and any like it.) Unless you are in extremely trashy ground the machine should balance itself to the average of the ground it sees. I have seen parks that have a literal carpet of trash in the sod level no amount of ground balanceing will over come it only the smallest of coils and working around what is there.

In a perfect world you would find a clean patch of ground when first setting up. Ground balance the machine. As long as moving the coil away from and toward the ground results in none to only minor threshold changes your machine is balanced. Sweeping the coil back and forth over clean ground will have the same effect thanks to ground tracking. Checking the ground tracking is accomplished by suddenly picking the coil up from the ground and back down if there is more than minor changes in threshold then there is a balance problem.

The only time ground balance is super critical (just my opinion) is when nuggets shooting. You want all the depth you can get with the VLF machine. To accomplish this the machine needs to be perfectly balanced over all patches of ground you may encounter on a hunt this is impossible with tracking locked in the bad ground nuggets hide in. If you are bopping around checking here and there I would think it better to let the machine track the ground for you. If you are looking for changes in iron content that could lead to where nuggets may be hiding such as a stream bed then you probably want to lock tracking and listen to changes in the iron content of the ground.

Long story short the machine is designed to take a lot of the work out of balancing for you. A manually balanced machine is only perfectly balanced over the patch it was balanced over hence the need for frequent GB checks. The MXT tracks the ground and maintains it's own balance. You can balance over one patch of ground and lock it. Then it is like any manually balanced machine. Ground tracking is only a tool learn when it is in your favor and when it works against you.

I sincerely hope I am not to far off and that this helps.

 

[Aarong81]

Checking the ground tracking is accomplished by suddenly picking the coil up from the ground and back down if there is more than minor changes in threshold then there is a balance problem.

I have heard several weird variations to the ground balance check but never this one. A lot of people even tell how to SET to GB with a step that includes holding the coil at waist high.
Here is someone elses description on checking your ground balance setting after you have it set, first post.....
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?25,1078091,1078091#msg-1078091

 

[dixiedigger57]

Aaaron and redrock thats my old Eldorado Gb system, pick'em up and put'em down. all manual adjustments. thats why, being somewhat impaired hearing a certain range, i am liking this MXT so far. nothing but clad and junk so far in my learning process, but the Gb auto thing is to my liking. I am not a professional hunter due to having to work and many responsiblities, and later in life- 43 in the year 2000, to really get into the hobby. a 40 yr hunter like my Guru- Gb manually makes a difference on him, and he can HEAR all tones. i struggle. so this machine is fitting the bill. i have great success with turn on and go machines like my trusty Silver Sabre Plus. with the MXT-two tones is enough now, and eventually i will go up the ladder to multitone machines IF the tones are distinct enough to matter. AS FAR AS THE THRESHOLD HUM YOU HEAR- I MAY NOT. and a spot without trash where i live,forget it, the nastiest state in the union-Georgia! yeh i said it, lived here all my life and traveled to both coasts- its shameful! a clean spot requires a pinpoint all metal search to balance. i forgot to balance the MXT the other day and still found 3 bucks. wow. i am so used to a turn and go, rarely use the Eldorado anymore except occassional woods relic hunt- far and few in between, but have replaced that with a Compass xp350 for that.

i am seeing for myself this machine is so well designed it is forgiving!

 

[RedRockNv]

dixiedigger57 that was the point I was making about the MXT as long as you are in "ground" the machine will ground balance itself in seconds. Maybe not perfectly but good enough to start hunting right off. It is a true lazy mans machine (an apt description of yours truely.) More than once it has been mentioned that the manual isn't clear as to the procedure to ground balance and many procedures have been mentioned in many posts. So it is obvious there is confusion. For me a good steady threshold humm is more important to worry about for the average hunter with the machine in ground it (the machine) will take care of itself. Getting the threshold relatively steady and listening to what it is telling you is more important. So for the average hunter set the balance to ground worry more about the gain to steady the threshold ( bearing in mind the MXT is chatty) and hunt.
This advise is what I gleaned from Steve Herschbach in a story about a hunter he knows from Gains Creek in Alaska. I think the principle applies across the board to any mode. The hunter Steve mentions would hunt ground that had already been hunted he would set his MXT for a steady threshold in the prospecting mode and listen to the whispers from deep targets. He pulled out more gold using this method than most with vastly more expensive machines.
As I understand the MXT the power to the trasmit coil is fixed and the gain amplifies what you are listening from the recieve coil. I am sure it is much more complicated since higher gain makes it chattier not just louder. Not being an electrical engineer this is ground I am kind of clueless about.

 

[dixiedigger57]

i did make two small finds today- a costume piece -necklace piece off little girls necklace- the fake silver- and a napkin ring that has the gold and silver wash stuff. the little girl bangle was a dime hit and the napkin ring a solid +83. thought it was a giant hoop earring, wife says napkin ring for formal table. no markings. the point is i had a slight hum to gb. the young guy i was with could turn it lower and hear it. i cant. but it worked anyhow. a few clad and home to do chores and repairs. this is MY machine i do believe. really starting to understand and like it.