new MXT user / beginner

[Johnwbriggs]

Hi,
I just got an MXT and I'm trying to learn how to use it. I did post on the find mall forum once before about being new to metal detecting and trying to learn pinpointing etc. with lower priced machines.
Well I was given an MXT, so now I have a good machine, but need to learn to use it. So far I have really just "played" with it. Throw a quarter in the grass and "find' it type stuff. For that I get the pinpointing and get the readings you would expect.
When I took it out in the bare ground around the house and started using it, especially in relic and prospect mode things got a lot harder.I tuned threshold to a faint hum and would hear a change, but no response on the screen or I'd get a hit but it would bounce all over the place. 10% iron - 70% iron, sometimes hot rock. Zinc penny to foil to quarter. Depth everywhere, but would sometimes settle at like three inches.
The ground mineralization is 63 to 70 and I was using a DD coil. The white colored one. 6x10?
I switched modes a lot trying to see what it would say in each mode and didn't dig anything because I was trying to learn the controls more than find stuff. Did I just get a bunch of trash targets and thats why it wasn't stable? everything was at pretty much preset levels except discrimination which I either didn't use or was at 1.
Thanks for any help/suggestions
John

 

[trump]

John the mxt is a good machine and I am just learning it myself. Keep posting on your progress,It's good to read new things that people learn.

 

[del]

I'm knew to the MXT as well, but from what I've learned you're on the right track. I'm strictly using gain at 2, dual control at 3, relic mode, trigger centered, threshold a little louder than most because I'm hard of hearing, and tracking on ground. I chose those settings based on threads on this forum and my user's guide. I figured these would be the best to get used to the machine with. As far as the jumping around of the VDI and depth, well I've found if I can't get a solid VDI or one that varies only slightly, then it's trash. And the depth is more of a guide than actual depth. Depth, signal strength, and VDI combine to give you a better guess at what target you have. Two cases I had: 1) VDI 76-78, soft signal, depth of 4 turned out to be a 1948 silver dime at 2 inches; 2) VDI solid 62, medium signal, depth of 6 turned out to be a 10 inch iron ring at over 12 inches. There's something about circular iron pieces, versus solid or straight pieces, that fools the unit into believing it is something else. I dug a large iron eyebolt at 4 inches, an iron pipe threaded fitting at 8 inches, and the 10 inch iron ring at 12+ inches and each time I thought I was on to something great. Yesterday, I hit a VDI of 92 and it said Big Target or something like that. It turned out to be a 1/4 inch rusty washer on the surface. del.

 

[nmac]

I am also new, as I found out you got to go through the manual a few times as I missed on a few tips and the video is also helpful.If around your house is like mine, your in for a good learning experience.It does sound like you're around a lot of trash.
If you have a lot of buried iron, after ground balancing on a clear spot turn the trac to lock, and if you don't want any iron keep the disc to at least 1.
You may want to use a smaller coil in a trashy area (such as my yard) for better separation. If it is acting very erratic try turning the gain down a little. and if your getting mixed readings on a spot, try to sweep 90 deg and see if there is any difference. Use the pinpointing to see how big the item is. Mine said that there was a dime at 0 inches but using the pinpoint found out that it was something very big deeper in the ground.
Like I said I'm also new and still learning, and don't forget each area is different, and look through the manual again, maybe you will find some info that you missed.
good luck.

 

[Rudy]

Get a hold of Reno Chris' MXT FAQs. It is one of the best documents for learning about the mxt.
You can download it from the Insurget Gopher Forum site at
http://www.ighunters.net/index.htm

Click on the Tutorials button and it'll take you to the FAQs.

 

[del]

Great link. Thanks. Never can read too much! del

 

[Johnwbriggs]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the info and help. I went out and bought 2+ Grams(?) of nuggets today (three small ones) to test with. I've really only got a couple hours in sofar, so a long way to go. I've read the manual a coule times, but I think I need to have the machine there and just go page by page. Instead of reading it and the trying to do somethig a couple hours later.
Anyway thanks for the replys, will keep ya posted.
John

 

[nmac]

sounds like your going for gold. You do have the right coil 10inch DD as I've heard. Sorry I didn't help much but I would have taken a hole page to explain. If you need any tips or have any more questions on the MXT go to jimmysierra.com and ask Jim. He will give you tips on the MXT that are not in the manual, and since he helped on the development of the MXT he does know it very well. He has helped me out alot.The MXT was tested hear in arizona and seems to work good here, Dont know what area your in, but the more you use it the more you will learn. Good luck.

 

[Hunt4Fun]

Take Rudy's advice. The MXT FAQs www.ighunters.net (All 27 items) are absolutely great. Print them out and read them along with the manual.


HH Bob

 

[Johnwbriggs]

Hi again.
I only got to use the MXT once this weekend for about an hour and a half. But I think I'm learning. Slooowly...
I buried 1,5,10,25 cent change, a 158 gr lead semi wad cutter bullet, a .22 rimefire bullet and a .357 mag case. All but the quarter and the .38 were 3-4" deep. those two were about 6".
In coin mode sometimes I would get a coin reading, but it was usually a choice between two or three with half or 1/4 bars.the bullets had a tone, but no target icon.
In relic mode I'd get buckle, or large target and a vdi. though this mode seemed to be the easiest to "find" the target with.
In prospect mode most of the time, just a tone or a tone and the vdi and %iron would jump around quit a bit.
I didn't clean the ground before I buried the stuff and it has lot of rocks/ high mineral content. I figured the stuff wasn't that deep. My ground must suck. I tried different gain levels from 6 to +3, and on the low end some stuff would barely tone with no other response. I think hyper sat is pushing it for my ground.
Does any of this sound right for crappy ground or should I be getting better responses from the machine?
Sorry for all the questions, but maybe I'm a slow learner. (Laugh).
I did read the web site people suggested and it helped.
John

 

[Rob (IL)]

I run in Relic mode with the trigger in the center position. I totally ignore the symbols. On the site that Rudy gave you there is a good beginning VDI chart. You will learn through experience which numbers are good and which to ignore. The ID will jump around and not lock on deeper targets. I love to see the target jumping in the 70's and when I check the depth I get a reading od 8" or 9". These were 4 silver coins this month. Rob

 

[Johnwbriggs]

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I did read the site and got a hard copy. I guess I didn't expect the machine to be so jumpy. I have come to the conclusion that I have really bad ground, not a good thing for a "jittery" beginner. (Laugh)
I found a better patch to put stuff in and I can "find" the targets better. It picks up a quarter at 6" or so but it's a weak tone responce. Maybe it's time to go to town in the parks where the ground is better and learn there.
I did do a bunch of bench testing today and things were a lot clearer.
Just have to keep working at it.
Thanks again
John

 

[MassSaltH2O]

Hi John: One approach would be to decide what you are looking for first. (Also, what you are not interested in finding).

Sounds like you are interested in finding clad coins, silver and gold coins, maybe some jewerly, who knows?

Jot down everything you want to look for. Some hunters search for civil war miniballs...It just depends on what you are interested in, and what you are not interested in.

The next logical step, I would think, would be to get a good sample of each thing you are looking for. Then, bury them at various depths in soil similar to the kind of soil you will be searching in. This is not a fail safe method, because you will have to disturb the soil to bury your coins, which is different than looking for a target in undisturbed soil. But it's a good start...

So instead of thinking, "I want to find all this stuff", think individually. For example, I want to find dimes...What kind of dimes? clad or silver? Both? Get a clad and a silver dime. bury them, and work with them. Concerned about trash elim? Bury some trash, too.

Then move on to your next desired target. Get a quarter or two, and work with them. (if you also want to find quarters). This way you will not only know the best settings for your detector, but also how these targets responds at various depths and angles.

I know this is not quite as much fun as just going out there and learning while you earn, but this will give you the best foundation.

Don't forget to try all the modes, too. Just because you are primarily looking for coins and jewelry does not mean that you should nessesarily hunt in that mode. For example, the relic mode has a nice two tone ferrous, non-ferrous ID system. Check out all these things.

Try not to depend on your visual display too much. (As far as I'm concerned, these digital readouts are just a gimmick anyway). Learn to use your ears for target ID. For deeper targets, totally ignore your digital display, and rely on tone only.

Those are the tips I can provide. Have fun, Kevin from Ipswich, Mass.

 

[coin2]

HI

Im new to my mxt to ,and you just have to fool around with it to learn things. but its good that we have forums like this,and people to help us out. After reading some of the post hear im going to buiry some things in the ground,like have should have when,i first got my mxt.

thanks every one