New to XLT

[mgtmadness]

I was given a new Condition XLT E- Series and would like some tips,tricks, and opinions on how to use this detector. I did have a DFX and did try this XLT for about :45 minutes the other day and it seems to respond alot slower than my DFX and it did not seem to hit as hard on coins as my DFX or as clear. Good target were kinda on the verg,(by sound) of sounding like it was just on edge of being disc. out. Any good tips would help, Thank you.

 

[MarkCZ]

I was given a new Condition XLT E- Series and would like some tips,tricks, and opinions on how to use this detector. I did have a DFX and did try this XLT for about :45 minutes the other day and it seems to respond alot slower than my DFX and it did not seem to hit as hard on coins as my DFX or as clear. Good target were kinda on the verg,(by sound) of sounding like it was just on edge of being disc. out. Any good tips would help, Thank you.

The XLT is showing signs of being a great detector for me during my winter testing.
Its seems to like a pretty brisk sweep speed!
Changing some of the basic settings can help it to sound more likable to the user,
single Tone or Tone ID,
Tone frequency,
ect..
The factory preset programs are pretty good for stable learning, but after getting use to the sounds and how the detector is responding folks are pretty quick to up these two other settings (a little at a time)
Basic adjustments = A.C. sensitivity and
Pro Options = Preamp Gain
These two can help the XLT in the depth department, but if you set them to high you can start to get false signals.

On my other detectors I like Tone ID on, but with the XLT it makes a lot a very strange noises, so I set that option to off for now.
I also found that in my test garden the XLT hits nickles harder (a little better) using the factories pre-programed coin&jewelry program rather than the Coin program only.

In the pro options the setting "Modulation" is a curve ball for me, I thought "OFF" was what I wanted for deep to sound deep and shallow to sound shallow, but forum member "Monte" has been working with me on this and from information from him I now have it set to "ON"

Back to your basic question of it not hitting as hard as you thought it should,
try upping the "A.C. Sensitivity and the "Preamp Gain" a few numbers.

And just to note! forum member "Monte" is one of a couple of the XLT guru's here.

You are a lucky person for sure, I've had a couple of detector giving to me and I've heard of others getting detectors giving to them, but I don't think I've ever heard of somebody being handed a working NICE condition XLT, very cool!

Mark

 

[Monte]

muster all the patience you can, read and re-read the Owner's Manual, then prepare to take notes as you do some simple "air testing" to get to know it a little, and especially when you take it out detecting.

When you do go hunting with the XLT, jot down in your notes the following:

* Factory Program you are using

* Search coil you are using

* Any changes you made to the program

* The type of site you are hunting

* Then, describe the particular issues you seem to have when you either make a post or e-mail someone with a question. The question needs to be as specific as possible to get the most helpful answers.

[/b]I was given a new Condition XLT E- Series ...[/b]

Congrats on getting one of the best detectors, in my opinion, that White's (or anyone else) has ever made.

[/b]... and would like some tips, tricks, and opinions on how to use this detector.[/b]

'Tips' are plenty, but there really aren't many 'tricks' to using the XLT, just learn its basic design and performance, then use some 'tips' to help improve how the XLT behaves for you in different hunting applications. So, with 'tricks' out of the way, and before I share a few 'tips' with you, let's get to personal 'opinions' about the XLT and how to get the most out of it.

My opinions are based on using metal detection equipment since I built my first in March of '65, and things got better once I started using a new factory-produced White's GhostTowner BFO in the late summer of '68. As I start my 48th year of detecting this month I have used most of the more popular makes and models that have come along, and a whole bunch that folks, today, have probably never heard of. I have been a detector dealer for several manufacturers during this time, and was employed by one detector maker as their Marketing Rep./Dealer Coordinator twenty-some years ago.

From the start with factory made detectors, I have almost always had at least one White's in my personal detector arsenal, and much of the time all the models I owned and used where a White's. I acquired my 1st XLT when they were released in early '94, and sadly (for me) I have sold or traded them along the way to tinker with a contender, only to search for another good XLT. Last year I acquired my last, and final, XLT #22. I say 'final' because they are no longer made and I am no longer going to be so foolhardy and part with an XLT. (Okay, the ONLY exception would be to nab a cream-puff XL Pro, but that's another story.)

My opinions about the XLT have been formed from owning so many of them, from working with little custom program changes with them, from using them a lot in a wide-range of applications, and from remembering the one thing I have stated to people for decades in my seminars (since 1981) or in meetings or times like this, and that is this:

"There is no such thing as a 'perfect' all purpose metal detector."

There are some detectors that fall short on performance in many ways, but some which do a darn good job when used for a lot of detecting needs, but there isn't a 'perfect', do-all detector. So, with that, my 'opinion' is that the XLT can be versatile, is a great unit to use for hunting open areas, like sports fields and parks, private yards and plowed fields. It is my opinion that the XLT provides a FEW simple function adjustments that can be used to help a savvy detectorist work it with ease and find stuff when needed, however .... I also am of the opinion that it has too many adjustment functions for many/most hobbyists and detectorists alike. The problem, then, is that I have seen way too many failures to enjoy success due to poor performance that is often not the fault of the detector, but of the operator who over-tinkered with the adjustments and screwed things up.

Hint: Learn the Factory RELIC Program, using it exclusively for a while.

Hint: Practice turning On or Off only ONE (1) adjustment feature at a time when hunting so that you can be attentive to learning what it can do for you, as well as what it doesn't do.

Hint: Do not get carried away with a wide-range of other people's programs until YOU know what the different features they adjust are supposed to do. Once you know the XLT it will be somewhat apparent that some custom programs might be liked by them, but sure don't do a lot to help most of us.

Hint: Keep the stock 950 coil handy, perhaps on a spare lower rod, for the times you go hunt a big, open beach area, or maybe some big open grassy types of sites. Otherwise, use a smaller-than-stock search coil on the XLT. I enjoy the 6