So I just got my MXT and I'm really excited. Today I went to an old park, and immediately found a really nice wheatie. Right after, I got a signal for a quarter that was about 10 inches down. Excited with the possibilities, I dug a plug only to find a tin scrap 10 inches down and about 2 inches in front of the plug. I started looking for this trend, and more times that I can count, I would get a good signal, only to scan a little bit more and find a junk signal was giving me false hope. Is this common?
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
MXT frustration
- Thread starter Anordstr
- Start date
dirtdigginlady
New member
you will be able to tell if it is junk vs a coin etc. I can lots of times tell the size, shape etc and will know its not a silver coin. However, most of the time I dig it because you never know what it might be even if you know its not a single coin. Hey it could be a popcan or it could be a purse full of coins 
You'll soon learn your machine and more of what it's telling you.
You'll soon learn your machine and more of what it's telling you.
i have dug an awful lot of trash with the mxt,i guess that is why you find more goodies. i have yet to find anything with it that is worth mentioning, i seem to have better luck with the idx pro and as far as coin id. the idx is never wrong unles it is a pulltab or a ring.in the nickle range, quite frankly i am still waiting to be impressed with the mxt
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
Very common, it takes many, many hours to get used to the sounds and visual indications any detector makes. With time you will clearly be able to tell the difference between most junk and a good target. Practice, practice, practice is the key, and paying attention to the differences between trash and a good target.
One of the best things I can think of for you to do is make yourself a test garden. Bury some coins at different depths. Also, bury some trash items .
Run your coil over everything and try to learn what the sounds are telling you. After some practice, you'll improve you're ability to tell the difference between the good and bad.
Another thing is just diggin on your regular hunts. Find a repeatable target, listen closely to the sound in discriminate and pinpoint mode, see what the visual id is showing.... then dig. No better practice then that
A couple key differences between coins and junk giving a coin reading are the loudness and size. Trust me,the mxt is more than capable of giving you good information of what's under the coil... you'll just have to learn by doing
Run your coil over everything and try to learn what the sounds are telling you. After some practice, you'll improve you're ability to tell the difference between the good and bad.
Another thing is just diggin on your regular hunts. Find a repeatable target, listen closely to the sound in discriminate and pinpoint mode, see what the visual id is showing.... then dig. No better practice then that
A couple key differences between coins and junk giving a coin reading are the loudness and size. Trust me,the mxt is more than capable of giving you good information of what's under the coil... you'll just have to learn by doing
WOW. The MXT takes some time to get use to, not much. In time you will hear the faint repeatable signals. These usually are older coins. When first using the MXT I think we rely too much on the VDI for the numbers and the coin icon. I switched to the Relic mode after a year of getting MXT when it first came out. I found it best to listen carefully to the shape and the strength of the sound from the target. You are not looking so much at the display, but now listening for three different tones, I read the frustration of digging several pull tabs . I can honestly tell you, one day in a ball field I dug over twenty pull tabs. I heard the same pulltab sound and display. I dug the target, althogh I thought it was a waste of time. It was a mens size 13 14k ring with onyx and small diamonds. I have always dug these signals after that. A good target often sounds good from several swing directions. Do not give up on this machine, and try to operate it in relic mode. Read post from the past and use the search feature on this forum.
I have been hunting with an xlt for the last year and a half and just got an mxt.There is a learning curve but keep practicing.Use the toggle switch on stuff your not sure of.When you find a good target it will hit hard. I've buried coins and some three ringers in the yard to get used to the tones and I am really starting to like it alot.I think it separates trash from good targets better than my xlt. Good luck
mgtmadness
Member
MXT is a 2 filter, how many is the XLT? 2,3,4?
Try not to get frustrated with it. I think many people go through that at first.
When I used the MXT I started to dig all signals that have repeatable sounds. Even the foil VDI's. !!
Indeed, you will dig more trash but your good finds will go up! The 6x10 coil is great on the MXT.
Enjoy your machine!
When I used the MXT I started to dig all signals that have repeatable sounds. Even the foil VDI's. !!
Indeed, you will dig more trash but your good finds will go up! The 6x10 coil is great on the MXT.
Enjoy your machine!
I would turn that frustration into a learning experience. One of the tips always mentioned when learning a new detector is ---dig everything for the first 50 hours or so-- . Use the computer we carry between our ears to analyze all of our targets and once it gets enough data, it will start alerting you to differences between trash and treasure.
For example, I've dug many a flattened pop can that showed up as quarters, and like you, dug half way to China to retrieve them. Now, when I get that quarter signal, I mentally go through a quick checklist. Is the signal the right width as I scan over it, is the audio the right volume for the depth it indicates, does the signal get weaker if I lift my coil up a few inches and rescan, etc, etc. All based on 100's of previous quarter digs. Do I still dig deep pop cans? You betcha. Just less of them now ( more based on how much trash I'm willing to dig for that elusive gold which hides behind all VDI's, or whether I'm looking for relics).
One thing to keep in mind is, even with all of the technology used in our metal detectors, it is only telling you what it sees. All it is doing is sending an electromagnetic signal into the ground and because of so many factors (such as size, composition, depth, shape, angles, halos, etc) the induced return signal of some trash happens to be the same as good targets we are looking for.
Until that day when we get machines that can read the date of a coin while in the ground, we are stuck with the computer between our ears to make that final "dig or not dig" decision and only experience can make that easier.
Most importantly, just have fun while out there.
For example, I've dug many a flattened pop can that showed up as quarters, and like you, dug half way to China to retrieve them. Now, when I get that quarter signal, I mentally go through a quick checklist. Is the signal the right width as I scan over it, is the audio the right volume for the depth it indicates, does the signal get weaker if I lift my coil up a few inches and rescan, etc, etc. All based on 100's of previous quarter digs. Do I still dig deep pop cans? You betcha. Just less of them now ( more based on how much trash I'm willing to dig for that elusive gold which hides behind all VDI's, or whether I'm looking for relics).
One thing to keep in mind is, even with all of the technology used in our metal detectors, it is only telling you what it sees. All it is doing is sending an electromagnetic signal into the ground and because of so many factors (such as size, composition, depth, shape, angles, halos, etc) the induced return signal of some trash happens to be the same as good targets we are looking for.
Until that day when we get machines that can read the date of a coin while in the ground, we are stuck with the computer between our ears to make that final "dig or not dig" decision and only experience can make that easier.
Most importantly, just have fun while out there.
I've only been using the MXT for little over a month but believe me when I say that the more you use it, the more you will understand it. I wouldn't recommend the stock coil for trashy parks unless your in an open area. Don't get me wrong, its a good coil in certain situations. In trashy areas the 5.3 and 4x6 are excellent choices. The 6x10dd (a favorite among many users) can separate quite well and get a fairly good depth. it's widely considered a universal coil.
Hey everybody, thank you so much for your input! Since I posted this I've had probably around 5 more hours out there, and just in that time have gotten to know it a lot better.
Xentryx, I have the DD coil, and let me tell you, it won my heart. I plugged it in, and the first thing i dug was a 1954 dime! But here's the kicker. It was less than an inch away from a piece of trash that my stock coil would have missed, in return making me miss the roosie.
Thanks again guys!
Xentryx, I have the DD coil, and let me tell you, it won my heart. I plugged it in, and the first thing i dug was a 1954 dime! But here's the kicker. It was less than an inch away from a piece of trash that my stock coil would have missed, in return making me miss the roosie.
Thanks again guys!
I have the same problem with parks and sports fields. USUALLY if it's deep and feels big it's
junk. I've gotten a feel for the parks and sports fields that I go to and that's been a truism for me so I don't waste my time digging
those deeper targets. Now if I'm out around old houses and farm fields, that's a totally different matter. True, I might have
missed a good target by not digging the deeper targets in the parks but not likely.
Katz
junk. I've gotten a feel for the parks and sports fields that I go to and that's been a truism for me so I don't waste my time digging
those deeper targets. Now if I'm out around old houses and farm fields, that's a totally different matter. True, I might have
missed a good target by not digging the deeper targets in the parks but not likely.
Katz
1230@$TREE
New member
I can't ad much to what the other guys told you, but will say I wish White would give out the book the Mxt edge, with every mxt detector, and if I had it to do
over again I would have made a test garden like so many people talk about in this forum. I too get pull tabs, and beer cans, as I detect a lot of trashy area
along with good finds, but I really like the mxt, I like the ground balance It makes it nice.
over again I would have made a test garden like so many people talk about in this forum. I too get pull tabs, and beer cans, as I detect a lot of trashy area
along with good finds, but I really like the mxt, I like the ground balance It makes it nice.
BarberBill
New member
Unfortunately, even when using an ID machine digging it all and putting up with the trash will ultimately give you the most good finds. I tested several small gold coins and they consistently Id'd in the foil/tab range and a larger one (1886 10$ gold piece) consistently came in as a zinc penny on two different detectors. To date, I've dug 3 small gold rings that all came in as zinc pennies. Curiously, I've never seen an Id machine identify a coin as trash, at least at depths where the machine could be considered reliably accurate.
BB
BB
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
Small gold rings should have come in as foil Bill. VDI's in the 50's-60's would be VERY large gold rings and small to medium silver rings.
Bill, I was thinking along the same lines as Larry. I don't know what else you ended up finding when you dug up the gold rings giving a zinc penny signal but my guess is nearby trash VDI"s were "combining" with the ring signal and skewing the signal VDI # up. In any case, your point is clearly made. Thanks for the info. I can never hear that gold and goodies hide all over the scale too many times. Nothing is as satisfying as persevering at the end of a long day and having a "hunch dig " trash signal turn out to be a great score.
HH
Scott
HH
Scott
I found all these in our local park which like any local park is littered with trash it takes practice to eek out little treasures mixed with the rubbish but that's half the fun.The small gold ear rings had a VDI of 4 but a solid signal.Sometimes it just feels right then dig!!!! Stick with it and one day it all comes together