MXT PRO:Depth, durability and temperature

[Zadok2]

1. How durable is the MXT PRO? 2. Can it operate from 25 degrees F to 105 degrees F? 3.In hot ground with the gain reduced, what kind of depth do you get with the 6x10 DD coil, the SEF 6x8DD and other coils? 4. How low must you set the gain on the MXT PRO in hot ground with various coils?

While the MXT PRO may not match the Minelab Safari in hot ground, it finds half grain nuggets with the 6x10 DD coil. This would cover twice the ground of the 5" DD coil used on the new Goldbug Pro. The Safari stock coil won't find below 15 grains.
Some of the negative comparisons in hot ground with the MXT and other detectors may have been made with the stock concentric coil on the MXT and not with a DD coil!
We know the Minelab Safari is durable. The fisher goldbugpro looks like an Omega, which is not supposed to do so well in extreme heat. Can we deduce the goldbugpro will have the same problem as the Omega? Is the MXT PRO durable and does it handle extreme heat and cold?

In hot ground with reduced gain I'd expect the MXT PRO to find small shallow gold and specimens. Would it get sufficient depth under these conditions to find deeper targets as well, up to 8" deep? Or do I need a second pulse induction detector in hot ground, like the White's TDI? (It finds #8 birdshot with the stock coil.)

 

[GpSnoopy]

Not sure if this will help answer the question about heat, but here is a segment from the MXT "Engineer's Report"

During the fall of 1999, we decided to tackle the problem of desert heat head-on. A lot of gold prospecting is done in desert heat in full sun. I set up a crude but effective, thermal engineering laboratory, measuring the temperatures reached inside housings of various configurations and colors in full sun. Then began the task of finding an LCD, which would handle the heat. Because the LCD display is an important feature of the MXT, we revisited the whole issue of display. The manufacturers of LCD display had expanded their product offerings. We found a larger one, and changed the mechanical design of the MXT to accommodate it. A FSTN 0160 F was selected, (There are more to chose from nowadays, so we used a bigger one than the GMT in the MXT.)

 

[Zadok2]

Thanks. Good to know the LCD on the MXT will handle the desert heat! Andy Sabisch reviewed the MXT for lost treasure magazine, but only the coin and jewelry and relic modes. He tried it in hot coal cinders. Don't know how this compares to iron and magnetite in mineralized prospecting ground!?? By switching to lock, Sabisch was able to stabilize the threshhold. He found the 5x10 DD coil was better for trash and hot ground. He didn't try the salt mode or hypersat in the prospecting mode.
Chris Gholson on the AZO website reviewed the MXT for prospecting. He set the gain to full gain +1 in both prospecting and relic modes, while hunting gold in average mineralized ground. He also used the lock setting. He was testing the round 10" DD coil. Since he was in a high trash area, he found gold only in the relic mode, with DISC=3 and gain at full gain +1. He was able to distinguish iron and hot rocks and felt the MXT did well with EMI. In extreme ground, with gain equal to or less than 7, he recommends trying hypersat. While PI's go twice as deep he felt the MXT was better for trash.
There was a report by Willy of a one-third grain nugget in hot 84-86 ground, with hypersat and full gain, with a 6x10 DD coil!
I wonder if the new goldbugpro will compare to this with an 11" DD coil? And whether it will handle the desert heat as well? A review should be pending in lost treasure magazine. The goldbug should cost a bit less than the MXT and MXT-PRO.