MXT @ the beach (salt water)

[crabby]

What's the skinny on the MXT at the ocean beach? Dry sand & wet sand? I have a Fisher CZ-20 that I'm thinking of selling but not until I know how the MXT performs at the beach.


Crabby

 

[Hillbilly Bob]

I used my MXT on the beaches in San Diego no complaints, I put it in the salt setting and it worked great in the wet and dry sand. It even worked well in the trac mode in the dry sand areas.[ ALL IN ALL THE MXT RULES ]

Also the DX-1 pinpointer worked great on the salty beaches!

 

[Sandpiper]

MXT and beach, SUPER. I use one with no problems, one way I run mine in the wet area is to ground balance then set the switch to lock position, this seems to work the best. Dry sand pretty much run in any position salt or ground, and track on. But I always like to lock mine once I'm balance. So why not just keep the 20 also? It's a good machine. I have both. The MXT will be more sensitive to smaller objects, and will be more nosier unlike the no thresh- hold of the 20. May be a little harder getting use to but a good all around machine. HH

 

[crabby]

selling it would go along way to paying off a couple of pesky medical bills.

Crabby Ron
Durham, NC

 

[Reggie]

Crabby, I have the CZ20 as well as the MXT , DFX and Garrett 2500. I took the MXT to Cancun and did well on the dry sand, but could never get more than a couple or 3 inches with it in wet sand. I don't know why. I used the salt setting, ground balanced and set gain at mid to highest levels. It just wouldn't get any depth in the wet sand or in the water. No is broken, and it works fine otherwise. The CZ20 is the best I know of in salt sand or water. I set mine on 3 and it picks up nickels and gold really well at that setting. Set it at 5 and it's a dime, quarter, silver coin magnet. It does have a tone if you set the machine in autotone. Ilike the CZ20 best for wet beach hunting; the MXT isn't as good in wet salt sand IMHO, though it works great in dry sand. I haven't tried the DFX or 2500 on the beaches yet. HH!!!!

 

[Hillbilly Bob]

Cancun beaches has that fine white powder sand when wet it compacts real dense that could be why you didn't get any depth. I've never detected there but I have visited the area and walking on the wet sand you don't even leave foot prints Now I have used my mxt on the course sand beaches in southern Ca. and it worked great in wet sand couldn't complain about the depth, found quarters and dimes at deeper then 3" but most coins are going to float on the sand your gold jewelry will sink deep. I would not rule out the MXT because of the results on one area, most USA. beaches are of the course sand type. Like the sand on play grounds. I hope we can get some MXT users that live on the coastal areas to post how they feel about the MXT on wet salty beaches!

 

[Rob (IL)]

I used mine on the beaches in Texas, mostly on the Mustang Island shoreline. As one would think I had no trouble on the dry sand. All modes and gain settings worked.

In the wet sand I was running in the relic mode and again gain was no problem. In the wet stuff and shallow water I used the salt position. I used a 6x10 DD coil. Of course it overload every time the coil got hit with a wave.

I've heard it does well in other low mineralized beach like Florida. I did fine but there are better detectors for the beach. Rob

 

[FatBoy]

XLT, MXT or MXT300? The standard coils are different on the MXT/MXT300. It will be my first metal detector and I will use at Connecticut and Florida Beaches and around parks ect. . The soil where I live in CT is at least somewhat sandy. I just bought my son a Prism (he is 10). I have ruled out the DFX for personal reasons....mostly IQ and lack of patience.LOL. I am soaking up as much info as I can and would appriciate any input and thankyou.

 

[Reggie]

The MXT is a fine detector, and is VERY easy to use. My vendor advised me NOT to get the DFX because of its complexity, but sold me the MXT instead. Both are fine machines, but if you like simplicity and virtually equal performance, you'll find lots of good stuff with the MXT. You won't be sorry you got it. I recommend that you consider getting the 5.3" coil along with the standard 9.5" coil. The bigger coil is the best if you only buy one.

 

[Rob (IL)]

The 300 coil is not the best coil to get with the MXT for new users. The 9.5 is big enough and too big in many park, and playground situations. If I was getting an MXT and was getting only one coil it would not be the 300. It is a good coil but not if you can only have one. Rob

 

[BarberBill]

I agree that the large coil on the 300 isn't the best for trashy parks and therefore beginners. BUT, if a person's budget allows the purchase of another coil at the time, get the 300 as the large coil is much more expensive by itself, later. Add a 6X10 or 5.3 and you'll have most situations covered. In my opinion, the 9.5 isn't needed if you have the 300 (12 inch) and the 6X10. The 4X6 is wonderful in really heavy trash, but loses depth and coverage. I have all 5 coils and use the 6X10 about 80% of the time as it is better in trash than the 9.5. I use the 9.5 the least and about even on the 5.3 and the 4X6 depending on conditions. In trashy parks etc. the two smaller coils really do the job of slipping thru the junk. My two cents.
HH
BB