New X-Terra's . . . . 305 / 505 / 705

[Andy Sabisch]

Just got back in from the Treasure Expo Show in Myrtle Beach this weekend and we had been given the green light to demonstrate the new X-Terra's a few days early since it did not make a lot of sense to demo the old ones and have the new ones come out the day after the show ended.

Ron Coen (from Accurate Metal Detectors) and me received the new detectors and had a chance to go over them before the show. On the outside, the changes are minimal . . . new decals . . . . some new buttons . . . . . new menu icons. The backlight on the 705 is a nice addition and one beach hunters will find quite useful (based on comments from beach hunters at the show, it seems to be a welcomed addition).

Performance in the test are as well as on the salt water beach looked strong . . . . . . the Auto Ground Balance seems to work better than on the 70. Did not get to try all the coils but the ones we did try worked just as one would expect them to . . . . .

I will have some additional photos & information once I get the truck unpacked and can field some questions if anyone has some to post.

The following chart was provided by Minelab that shows the differences / additions / changes between the older and newer X-Terra's for all three models. They gave the green light to share the information . . . . . .

X-Terra Comparision Chart by Minelab

Hope this answers a few questions for those looking for information

Andy Sabisch

 

[John(Tx)]

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[Keith Southern]

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[cymro]

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[Beale]

Thanks for the info. I am glad they made some changes. Not enough for me to justify buying another, but a nice amount, Beale.

 

[OzarkTom]

Hi Andy,

Did you try the 705 in the salt water this past weekend at the show? Did the unit ground balance over the salt water?

Tom

 

[Andy Sabisch]

Unfortunately with 100 people wanting to ask me questions and help set their detectors, I had a limited amount of time to do the type of testing I wanted to but the 705 did work better than the 70 did going into the wet sand region although as with most VLF units, it did chatter a good deal unless you raised the coil or lowered the sensitivity below "15" or so.

Unfortunately there were not a lot of targets based on the time of year so nothing of note was recovered from the wet sand with the 705 but raising the coil & dropping the sensitivity did make it usable in that area.

Let me know if you want more details or photos

Andy

 

[xwyokid]

I agree with Beale, not enough to make me want one. But, then again, maybe the new X-Terras are being more directed at non X-Terra owners.

 

[Digger]

not having been involved in the field tests, I can't say from first hand experience whether or not the new models will be an improvement over the previous models. But in reading over the documentation, there appear to be several changes that folks can benefit from. Especially in the 30/305 and the 50/505 model. For my style of hunting, the addition of multiple tones, manual GB and threshold on the 30/305 series is a big improvement. Adding multiple tones and threshold to the 50/505 are also features I like. I can't say I will benefit from the backlight feature on the 705. But the ability to offset my GB is something I may use. And, the improvement in the Pinpointing function will keep me from switching over to Prospecting mode to determine target size and location. In my opinion, ALL of the new models have something to offer folks new to the X-Terra lineup. And the 305 and 505 do offer functionality not found on the predecesors, that agrees with my hunting style. The 705? Not sure yet. But I've ordered mine and it should be here within the week. I'll be able to make that call, then. HH Randy

 

[Carolina Phil]

Every Minelab detector manufactured today has an adjustable ground balance. Theirs not many other detector manufacturers that do this, if any. One of the reasons why Minelab means

 

[Mike Hillis]

Not saying I don't like the upgrades, cause I do. But just seems rather fast.

While looking for the new manuals on the Minelab website I noticed the old Xterra models are no longer listed.

HH

Mike

 

[Digger]

Time sure has gone fast. But the first X-Terras came out in November of 2005. 3.5 years doesn't seem like a long time when you compare it to many of the other detector manufacturer's products. But when you take a look at Minelab's history, the Sovereign Elite evolved into the Sovereign GT after a couple years, the Explorer SE followed the Explorer II by just a few years, the Advantage followed the Musky XS by about 4 years, and the Quattro evolved into the Safari after about 3.5 years. So making improvements to the X-Terra lineup doesn't seem to be out of the norm, for Minelab. One thing that I think user's of the Elite, Explorer II, Advantage or the Quattro will agree on, is just because the model they use has been replaced, it doesn't make it outdated. Obsolete in manufacturing terms. But certainly not in performance. Aside from the increased functionality, I have to give kudos to Minelab for increasing the length of warranty and maintaining the current prices of the X-Terra. I can't think of any other manufacturer who has been able to do that. JMHO HH Randy

 

[Shenandoah Digger]

Looks like the new machines have some nice features. I don't know if performance will be enhanced a great deal, but the added features sure make the new Xterras stand above everything else in the price range. Of course, they already were.

 

[David]

Are there any ever any bugs to be worked out of the first run of new coin detectors when they first come out?

For the PI Minelab gold machines, the SD 2200's upgrades, ecpecially the GP Extreme's problems, GPX 4000's switch, and the GPX 4500 recall to about serial #1200, there were recall of factory faults and upgrades on the first run units that were ironed out later. But they are THE best gold detectors on the market bar none. I had the SD 2100 and SD 2200 and now I own a GP 3000 and DO love their units!

 

[Jackpine Savage]

that the software was somehow tweaked for better lock on on coin type targets. While true in use, I did not care for the fact that when using the multi tone modes irregularly shaped objects that display a distinct phase change as the coil is swept over them gave broken responses. Has this changed to any degree with the switch to universal icons?

I know I'm not saying this exactly right but I believe you know what I mean.

Thanks Tom

 

[7centsworth]

Why a 505 when bounty h has one with that model?

 

[BarnacleBill]

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