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Looking for a review on the xterra 50
- Thread starter darnsober
- Start date
petebarrell
New member
Hi DJ
Have used the x-terra 50 for about six weeks. have the standerd coil and the i8 khz, got to admit although the 18 khz coil is sensivtive to small targets the standerd coil in my opinion will cover all the needs, using this coil i have had large none ferrous targets up to fifteen inches and it will detect coins with no problem at nine inches plus. it is an easy machine to set up but find you have to ground balance about every half hour.
Being a middle of the road price wise detector i think its excellent value for its money.
finding it light and easy to use it is now my first choice when i go detecting.
Hope ths helps
Pete
Have used the x-terra 50 for about six weeks. have the standerd coil and the i8 khz, got to admit although the 18 khz coil is sensivtive to small targets the standerd coil in my opinion will cover all the needs, using this coil i have had large none ferrous targets up to fifteen inches and it will detect coins with no problem at nine inches plus. it is an easy machine to set up but find you have to ground balance about every half hour.
Being a middle of the road price wise detector i think its excellent value for its money.
finding it light and easy to use it is now my first choice when i go detecting.
Hope ths helps
Pete
BJ in Okla.
Active member
DJ, I had a ID Excel, for some reason, Fisher will not make a smaller coil for the Excel,Coinstrike, or Edge.<BR> I like the X-Terra 50 & 30 better. <BR> Minelab is working on a smaller coil and should be out in the Spring. HH..BJ
steve herschbach
New member
Hi,
Well, I have used both the M6 and X-Terra 50, but I really have not compared them on sheer performance, as I have not had the chance to run both together. I'm still froze out here in Alaska, and until I can use both machines together and compare actual "found in ground" targets I don't want to make any direct depth comments.
Truthfully I think they will both do fine, and see it really as more of a huge difference in style. The M6 I think is best used as a 7 tone "listen to it all" machine and so will find favor with those that hunt by ear. The X-Terra has notch discrimination and so offers something to those who want to focus on certain target ranges.
I think there is a place for both techniques. What I like about the X-Terra is I can run all segments open and hunt by tones if I wish. But I am into jewelry hunting and so there are times I will knock out zinc penny on up and just go for low range hits. Maybe even just foil range targets. It is impossible to do this with the M6. The disc knob works from the bottom up and so you cannot disc out high end items. No problem if you do not mind hearing the higher tones and ignoring them but there are times when I prefer my machine to just beep on my desired targets, even if that means giving up some depth and target separation.
On the other hand the M6 has the hands down best coil selection of the three units mentioned. That can be a real plus for some hunting situations. I do have full confidence Minelab will forge ahead and produce a wide range of coils for the X-Terra, however. I'm afraid I do not have that kind of faith in Fisher any more, and their inability to support their machines with any serious range of coil sizes is making me shy away from them lately.
Basically when it comes down to M6 versus X-Terra I think you should strongly consider exactly what you want the machine to do for you and compare the feature sets as the machines are both very good but very different in design. I very much think people will tend to prefer one over the other for reasons of personal preference more than any huge difference in actual depth.
Steve Herschbach
Steve's Mining Journal
Well, I have used both the M6 and X-Terra 50, but I really have not compared them on sheer performance, as I have not had the chance to run both together. I'm still froze out here in Alaska, and until I can use both machines together and compare actual "found in ground" targets I don't want to make any direct depth comments.
Truthfully I think they will both do fine, and see it really as more of a huge difference in style. The M6 I think is best used as a 7 tone "listen to it all" machine and so will find favor with those that hunt by ear. The X-Terra has notch discrimination and so offers something to those who want to focus on certain target ranges.
I think there is a place for both techniques. What I like about the X-Terra is I can run all segments open and hunt by tones if I wish. But I am into jewelry hunting and so there are times I will knock out zinc penny on up and just go for low range hits. Maybe even just foil range targets. It is impossible to do this with the M6. The disc knob works from the bottom up and so you cannot disc out high end items. No problem if you do not mind hearing the higher tones and ignoring them but there are times when I prefer my machine to just beep on my desired targets, even if that means giving up some depth and target separation.
On the other hand the M6 has the hands down best coil selection of the three units mentioned. That can be a real plus for some hunting situations. I do have full confidence Minelab will forge ahead and produce a wide range of coils for the X-Terra, however. I'm afraid I do not have that kind of faith in Fisher any more, and their inability to support their machines with any serious range of coil sizes is making me shy away from them lately.
Basically when it comes down to M6 versus X-Terra I think you should strongly consider exactly what you want the machine to do for you and compare the feature sets as the machines are both very good but very different in design. I very much think people will tend to prefer one over the other for reasons of personal preference more than any huge difference in actual depth.
Steve Herschbach
Steve's Mining Journal
BJ in Okla.
Active member
I also have a CZ 3d, but I use it with the 5" when I use it.<BR> I am weighting on the smaller X-Terra coil. <BR> I don't know what is up with Fisher, you would think that they would take care of people that buy their units. So many of the places that I hunt, I need a smaller coil. I will say that the 9" X-Terra coil has done well in some of my trashy areas. HH..BJ
steve herschbach
New member
Hi BJ,
I have the CZ-70 Pro and 5" and am not going to consider switching to any of the new Fisher units unless they make a 5" coil for them. Like you I am anxiously awaiting the small coil for the X-Terra. I hope we see one by summer.
Steve Herschbach
Steve's Mining Journal
I have the CZ-70 Pro and 5" and am not going to consider switching to any of the new Fisher units unless they make a 5" coil for them. Like you I am anxiously awaiting the small coil for the X-Terra. I hope we see one by summer.
Steve Herschbach
Steve's Mining Journal
I've owned all three of the models you mentioned. Similarly, I have also had the new ID Edge and the X-Terra 30. You can find plenty of posts on here about my impressions (and finds) of the X-Terra series. As well, you can find a post on another forum of my impressions of the ID Exel and the ID Edge. Ironically, I sold the Fisher Exel and Edge for the two reasons you mentioned. Lack of depth and small (difficult to see when hunting) icons on the LCD. Those icons along the right hand side are virtually impossible to see unless you pull the display up in front of you. Depth is better on the Edge than the Exel, but still way short of the X-Terras. I also didn't like the fact that the user cannot make adjustments to the preset modes or modify the notching patterns.
I sent my first M6 back to the distributor as it would not allow me to run the sensitivity up past 60%. Naturally, that that had an adverse effect on depth. I just got in the replacement last week, and am hoping that it will show more stability. So far, I will say that it does not chatter as much as the first one. But I find that when I hunt in the multi-tone mode, I can't touch the coil on the ground or it sounds off. Changing coils does not help. The 7 tones might be a good idea for some. But as a coin hunter, it really don't make sense to include all copper, silver and clad coins into the same high tone. The X-Terra offers different tones for dimes and quarters, for example. I like the aspect that there are many coils currently available for the M6, and is one of the main reasons I wanted to try one out. Hopefully, Minelab will introduce a smaller coil for the X-Terra this spring.
Based on the style of hunting I do (old coins at old sites) I would give the "depth of detection" award to the X-Terra, hands down. For VDI, the M6 and X-Terras have a large "easy to read" LCD. The M6 may give more information, but when all the coins are grouped into one tone, I feel it needs to. I like notch discrimination of the X-Terra for many of the sites I hunt, as it allows me to select groups of targets that I may want to accept or reject. The variable discrimination setting of the M6 allows you to set a level which rejects everything below it and accept everything above it. I like that on my analog XLPro as I can learn a lot about a target by watching the subtle movement of the needle. But, I don't like it as well on the digital meters as it is hard to track all those numbers flying by.
So, if I were to rank the Exel series, X-Terra series and Matrix M6 based on depth of detection, sensitivity and visual display, it would go like this:
1. X-Terra 50
2. X-Terra 30
3. Matrix M6
4. ID Edge
5. ID Exel
Just my opinion, so don't jump on me if you disagree. The guy asked for information from someone that has used them all. And I obliged! HH Randy
I sent my first M6 back to the distributor as it would not allow me to run the sensitivity up past 60%. Naturally, that that had an adverse effect on depth. I just got in the replacement last week, and am hoping that it will show more stability. So far, I will say that it does not chatter as much as the first one. But I find that when I hunt in the multi-tone mode, I can't touch the coil on the ground or it sounds off. Changing coils does not help. The 7 tones might be a good idea for some. But as a coin hunter, it really don't make sense to include all copper, silver and clad coins into the same high tone. The X-Terra offers different tones for dimes and quarters, for example. I like the aspect that there are many coils currently available for the M6, and is one of the main reasons I wanted to try one out. Hopefully, Minelab will introduce a smaller coil for the X-Terra this spring.
Based on the style of hunting I do (old coins at old sites) I would give the "depth of detection" award to the X-Terra, hands down. For VDI, the M6 and X-Terras have a large "easy to read" LCD. The M6 may give more information, but when all the coins are grouped into one tone, I feel it needs to. I like notch discrimination of the X-Terra for many of the sites I hunt, as it allows me to select groups of targets that I may want to accept or reject. The variable discrimination setting of the M6 allows you to set a level which rejects everything below it and accept everything above it. I like that on my analog XLPro as I can learn a lot about a target by watching the subtle movement of the needle. But, I don't like it as well on the digital meters as it is hard to track all those numbers flying by.
So, if I were to rank the Exel series, X-Terra series and Matrix M6 based on depth of detection, sensitivity and visual display, it would go like this:
1. X-Terra 50
2. X-Terra 30
3. Matrix M6
4. ID Edge
5. ID Exel
Just my opinion, so don't jump on me if you disagree. The guy asked for information from someone that has used them all. And I obliged! HH Randy
Digger thank you very much for your post it was the most informative of any responses ive had. Ive post a post on all 3 detectors on the finds forum wanting info on each detector from users. Then on 6 other post i asked this question
If you were me and looking for a detector that had better depth than your 505 and had narrowed your choices down to these three machines The M6 Xterra 50 and the Fisher Id excel based on the following information which detector would you buy. Then i wrote if you were going to use one of these machines for coinhunting and hunting mostly older site and wanted depth and vdi of the information below on these three detectors which would you buy
M6 info http://www.whiteselectronics.com/matrixm6w.php
xterra 50 info http://206.188.2.79/products/detectors/x-terra50.htm
and the fisher id excel http://www.detectordepot.com/fisher_id_excel.htm
most of them said ive never used any of those before well no shoot i asked if you were me and was buying one which would you buy. Please dont say that Tell me which detector out of the three you would buy based on the above info.
Thanks again for you review. The reason i didnt post the message like this is because i thought i would get bias answers
If you were me and looking for a detector that had better depth than your 505 and had narrowed your choices down to these three machines The M6 Xterra 50 and the Fisher Id excel based on the following information which detector would you buy. Then i wrote if you were going to use one of these machines for coinhunting and hunting mostly older site and wanted depth and vdi of the information below on these three detectors which would you buy
M6 info http://www.whiteselectronics.com/matrixm6w.php
xterra 50 info http://206.188.2.79/products/detectors/x-terra50.htm
and the fisher id excel http://www.detectordepot.com/fisher_id_excel.htm
most of them said ive never used any of those before well no shoot i asked if you were me and was buying one which would you buy. Please dont say that Tell me which detector out of the three you would buy based on the above info.
Thanks again for you review. The reason i didnt post the message like this is because i thought i would get bias answers
I used the X-Terra for about 2 hours when Mike brought it up for me to play with. I bought the Whites M6 and have had it about two months. Just traded it off for an X-Terra 50 today.
The M6 is a great mid range detector for coins and jewelry hunting. I believe with the accessory coils it will do just fine for hunting parks and school yards. Some even dare take it to the relic woods and fields. We tried it for that and believe me...it's suited more for the parks and school yards where things aren't that deep. In better dirt it might go deep but its Auto Trac feature was too slow to keep up with the ground here. I would check it by pulling the trigger to pinpoint mode and it would be negative til I pumped the coil a few times for it to catch up. Wouldn't be a problem if you didn't have to do it every few feet to keep it from being erratic.
But from what little I used the X-Terra 50, I can tell you from using both that in my opinion, the X-Terra is the better machine for the application I was looking for, for my wife and for myself as a run and gun machine. It's fast and accurate on ID and gets down there. Great machine for coins/jewelry and equally good for relics.
The M6 is a great mid range detector for coins and jewelry hunting. I believe with the accessory coils it will do just fine for hunting parks and school yards. Some even dare take it to the relic woods and fields. We tried it for that and believe me...it's suited more for the parks and school yards where things aren't that deep. In better dirt it might go deep but its Auto Trac feature was too slow to keep up with the ground here. I would check it by pulling the trigger to pinpoint mode and it would be negative til I pumped the coil a few times for it to catch up. Wouldn't be a problem if you didn't have to do it every few feet to keep it from being erratic.
But from what little I used the X-Terra 50, I can tell you from using both that in my opinion, the X-Terra is the better machine for the application I was looking for, for my wife and for myself as a run and gun machine. It's fast and accurate on ID and gets down there. Great machine for coins/jewelry and equally good for relics.
steve herschbach
New member
Hi,
I suspect that when asking the question on an X-Terra forum you will get answers favoring the X-Terra. Ask the same question on the Fisher forum, you think people might just favor the Excel?
You might as well wander over to the Ford forum and ask people if you should buy a Chevy or a Ford!
Steve Herschbach
I suspect that when asking the question on an X-Terra forum you will get answers favoring the X-Terra. Ask the same question on the Fisher forum, you think people might just favor the Excel?
You might as well wander over to the Ford forum and ask people if you should buy a Chevy or a Ford!
Steve Herschbach
It is a great detector, but like any of them you have to spend the time to understand them to do great with it. I find the X-Terra has the power and the ability to keep up with some detector costing twice as much and much easier to learn. I know if this will be your first detector you wont have to upgrade in a month time to one better.
Rick
Rick