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Quantum XT Info?
- Thread starter Mike T
- Start date
bigtim1973
Well-known member
Same coils as XLT, 6000 xl pro, and classic ID style detectors.
Critterhunter
New member
Here's a little primer I wrote for this machine and now keep on file to shoot to anybody with questions on it. This should get you up to speed quicker. Should cover all your basis from setup to some other tips...
The 9.5" stock coil will max out in my soil at about 7.5" on a silver dime. Only other coil I've try with it is a small trash coil. It's a very fast machine so even with the 9.5" coil I plucked a lot of silver out of trash without having to slow down my sweep speed. I tried the only larger coil for it (besides the I think 14" Whites coil, which people say doesn't have very good sensitivity to coin sized targets to show any gains in depth over the stock coil) which was a 12" concentric coil. Bought two new ones and both would get unstable after about 10 minutes of use. I think they would warm up in the sun and go bonkers on me because the coil windings weren't encased on epoxy to keep the weight down. Shame, because I plucked a few mercs right off the bat about an inch or so deeper than I ever did with the stock coil.
Over the years I owned the QII, QXT, and QXT Pro. Whites said there was no difference between the QXT and Pro version, but I found I could ride sensitivity 2 clicks higher than the usual 16 and could now ride at 18 so it was a tad hotter at depth than the regular QXT. Way I understand it Whites will update a QII to QXT software, which is worth it for the assignable tone alerts and such. Some of the earlier QXTs had an early version of software that had issues with ground balancing in some soils. I sent one of those to Whites and they updated it to the newer version. I think the way to tell, besides the version # on the screen, is if the coin zone says "1c to $1" then it's the old version, where as if it says "COINS" it's the newer version.
I might be wrong but I think if you send a QXT in now for service or at least a software update they'll give you QXT Pro stickers for it? If that's the case then the only way to tell if you got an original Pro is if it's letting you run at 18 in sensitivity without getting unstable instead of the usually 16 (for me anyway in my soil).
Only complaint I had with the QXT was no numerical target ID to split hairs on say nickles or rings versus tabs. Didn't mind that all coins above copper penny read "COIN" because I feel a bigger net catches more fish, as I've dug many silvers on machines that told me they were clads or pennies. The QXT will ID zincs separate, and you can tell copper pennies, dimes, quarters, and silver by both how the ID acts and the sweetness of the tone. From memory a zinc will read in the zinc zone. A copper penny like a wheat will bounce back and fourth between zinc and COIN. A clad dime will bounce a little less between them and stay more in the COIN zone. Clad quarters stay "COIN", and silver dimes and quarters will have a slightly sweeter/higher pitch to them then clads.
Best way to set it up for most depth. Load the COIN program to set SAT speed and such right. Edit to accept ALL zones, including the iron and ground zones (because an initial hit on a super deep coin might read as either of them until you fast short sweep right over it to pull the best ID/tone out of it). Now set low tones for everything you want to ignore and high for the ones you want, like zinc and COIN and maybe nickle zone. Set sensitivity as high as it will remain stable (usually 16 or 1
. Turn OFF noise reducation as that gives it a tad more depth and still the machine is smooth for me. Set pin point sensitivity at 16. Turn VCO on for easier pinpointing. Turn OFF ground tracking because that can track out deep coins. Set it manually in a CLEAN spot. Pump the coil up and down until you notice no change in threshold or maybe only a slight increase as the coil approaches the ground (this sets it slightly hot for slightly more depth). Don't be fooled if the threshold evens out as you approach or leave the ground because the self adjusting threshold is doing that and doesn't mean it's set right. You need to notice it AS you approach and leave the ground (both ways).
To check for a clean spot pull the trigger to take it out of ground balancing at power and and let go of the trigger. Now sweep around for a clean spot. NOTE: If you have any of the zones like iron or such discriminated out how do you know the spot is clean? When balancing don't touch the ground. Only bring it down to normal height you hunt at, which should be just kissing the grass. If you balance with the coil touching the ground and that's not the height you hunt at you've set it for a different ground load then you are hunting at. Slowly raise and lower the coil from hunting height to about a foot or so off the ground. Don't rush this. Get it right. If in doubt re-balance, and it's always a good idea to re-balance every 20 or 30 minutes just to make sure the ground hasn't changed as you hunt.
Also, because it's not overly loaded with heavy software it's a very fast machine in both ID and tone, so no need to slow down much in heavy trash to insure separation is good. Plus with the assignable high/low tones just listen for the highs you want in heavy trash and then investigate. That is one of the machines unique of that machine even to this day (being able to assign tones to various conductivity zones).
For it's day being a computerized detector with a computer screen/ID, I bet it was the fastest on the market, and as fast as pretty much anything in this day and age of modern machines that I've played with IMO. With the smallest trash coil you can get you can really sniff out coins in iron or other trash with the best of modern fast machines (meaning not have to slow down your sweep like you have to with slower machines to insure you don't miss coins between trash).
I think they made a little like 4" trash coil or something around that size that is much smaller than the 5.3" Bullseye or whatever. I owned that coil but if memory serves in reality it's like 6.5" if not more in size, so while it was small I was wishing it was smaller. I'd dig for the smaller harder to find coil if you want a trash coil for it, but the 9.5" does pretty well in trash. In addition to say a 12x10 DD SEF coil to push depths deeper/increase left/right separation, it'd be nice if they made a tiny little DD trash coil for better separation too. If they updated the software to show a numerical target conductivity ID # to split hairs on trash while say gold ring or nickel hunting, and gave me a 12" DD coil of some type to push the depths and left/right separation, I'd give the QXT a perfect 10 in a machine. As it is right now I'd give it a 7 or maybe an 8 on a scale of one to 10. One of these days I'll throw another back into my lineup. Being able to sweep fast makes it a great scouting machine for hunting through the woods, and it's also a fast clad hunter, and as said it'll do some magic with the assignable high tones and fast speed without having to slow down when working heavy trash/iron too.
PS-A few more points...Almost forgot one of the biggest perks to it. The flowing sizing display is a wonder. You should get about two bars for proper sweep speed on a coin/ring sized targets. That helps to eliminate a lot of bigger junk, and I could sweep at a target from different angles and get an idea of what it's shape was.
The audio is very good. Very telling on bottle caps and other junk. Just wish it had more tone alerts and more ID resolution. I could live without more tone alerts since I can assign highs to what I want to watch for, but the VDI resolution would have been fantastic to have in a numerical # display. I bet they could easily update the software to do that and wish they would.
When you happen upon a deep target that gives a low tone, don't just assume it's junk. You need to do fast short constant sweeps over it to pull the best ID and tone out of it. Often a deep coin will appear as junk until you do this and then get a high tone and right ID. This isn't unique to the QXT. My current machine requires that for fringe depth coins to see if they area. Brings out a tad more depth of the machine.
Pinpointing is fantastic...Pull the trigger AWAY from the target and then get over it for the loudest hit. Then quickly release and re-pull the trigger. The audio probably goes dead. Now dab the coil at the ground in small movements to find the loudest hit again. To get an even tighter pinpoint release the trigger on that spot and pull it in again. Now dab the coil against the ground and when you hear it again you can pretty much stick a screwdriver in the ground and be dead hitting on it. Great for fast shallow clad hunting to pop them out fast and rack the numbers up quickly. Also great for ring hunting in nice sports fields where they might frown on you using a digger, but a screwdriver won't bring the heat down on you. I want another one in my line up just for those reasons listed above, not to mention as a fast woods scouter or as a machine to use in heavy iron or trash on days I'm not in the mood to slow down my swing speed with other machines to make sure recovery speed isn't an issue.
The Quantum II is a great machine. The Quantum XT or QXT Pro are still my favorite Whites so far, with the 6000 Pro XL a close second. Had the 6000 Pro XL had tone alerts (I know you can mod them for that) it would have been very close between them as my favorite, but I'd still give the edge to the QXT for my tastes because of the assignable tones to any zone and also the faster target ID when working heavy trash versus the analog needle on my 6000 Pro Xls. The ability to tell silver from clad with the Pro XL's more sharp needle resolution was great, but as said I've dug a good many silvers over the year that machines have told me where clads or pennies due to depth, being worn, minerals, masking, orientation in the ground, and so on, so it's very risky IMO to rely on coin resolution of what the meter is telling you when old coin hunting. For cherry picking a nice yard, sure, then you want that, but you can often tell the coins on the QXT with a bit of practice by how the ID reacts and also by how sweet the tone is.
Hope this helps. Great machine. Deepest in my soil of the Whites I've owned. The low frequency helps it to penetrate ground better for me in my areas. I would have kept one in my line up if there were some larger DD coils to push the depths further, such as the wonderful SEF 12x10. I think that coil on a low frequency Whites could do some damage in my soil.
Again, any other questions just ask or shoot me a PM.
The 9.5" stock coil will max out in my soil at about 7.5" on a silver dime. Only other coil I've try with it is a small trash coil. It's a very fast machine so even with the 9.5" coil I plucked a lot of silver out of trash without having to slow down my sweep speed. I tried the only larger coil for it (besides the I think 14" Whites coil, which people say doesn't have very good sensitivity to coin sized targets to show any gains in depth over the stock coil) which was a 12" concentric coil. Bought two new ones and both would get unstable after about 10 minutes of use. I think they would warm up in the sun and go bonkers on me because the coil windings weren't encased on epoxy to keep the weight down. Shame, because I plucked a few mercs right off the bat about an inch or so deeper than I ever did with the stock coil.
Over the years I owned the QII, QXT, and QXT Pro. Whites said there was no difference between the QXT and Pro version, but I found I could ride sensitivity 2 clicks higher than the usual 16 and could now ride at 18 so it was a tad hotter at depth than the regular QXT. Way I understand it Whites will update a QII to QXT software, which is worth it for the assignable tone alerts and such. Some of the earlier QXTs had an early version of software that had issues with ground balancing in some soils. I sent one of those to Whites and they updated it to the newer version. I think the way to tell, besides the version # on the screen, is if the coin zone says "1c to $1" then it's the old version, where as if it says "COINS" it's the newer version.
I might be wrong but I think if you send a QXT in now for service or at least a software update they'll give you QXT Pro stickers for it? If that's the case then the only way to tell if you got an original Pro is if it's letting you run at 18 in sensitivity without getting unstable instead of the usually 16 (for me anyway in my soil).
Only complaint I had with the QXT was no numerical target ID to split hairs on say nickles or rings versus tabs. Didn't mind that all coins above copper penny read "COIN" because I feel a bigger net catches more fish, as I've dug many silvers on machines that told me they were clads or pennies. The QXT will ID zincs separate, and you can tell copper pennies, dimes, quarters, and silver by both how the ID acts and the sweetness of the tone. From memory a zinc will read in the zinc zone. A copper penny like a wheat will bounce back and fourth between zinc and COIN. A clad dime will bounce a little less between them and stay more in the COIN zone. Clad quarters stay "COIN", and silver dimes and quarters will have a slightly sweeter/higher pitch to them then clads.
Best way to set it up for most depth. Load the COIN program to set SAT speed and such right. Edit to accept ALL zones, including the iron and ground zones (because an initial hit on a super deep coin might read as either of them until you fast short sweep right over it to pull the best ID/tone out of it). Now set low tones for everything you want to ignore and high for the ones you want, like zinc and COIN and maybe nickle zone. Set sensitivity as high as it will remain stable (usually 16 or 1
. Turn OFF noise reducation as that gives it a tad more depth and still the machine is smooth for me. Set pin point sensitivity at 16. Turn VCO on for easier pinpointing. Turn OFF ground tracking because that can track out deep coins. Set it manually in a CLEAN spot. Pump the coil up and down until you notice no change in threshold or maybe only a slight increase as the coil approaches the ground (this sets it slightly hot for slightly more depth). Don't be fooled if the threshold evens out as you approach or leave the ground because the self adjusting threshold is doing that and doesn't mean it's set right. You need to notice it AS you approach and leave the ground (both ways).To check for a clean spot pull the trigger to take it out of ground balancing at power and and let go of the trigger. Now sweep around for a clean spot. NOTE: If you have any of the zones like iron or such discriminated out how do you know the spot is clean? When balancing don't touch the ground. Only bring it down to normal height you hunt at, which should be just kissing the grass. If you balance with the coil touching the ground and that's not the height you hunt at you've set it for a different ground load then you are hunting at. Slowly raise and lower the coil from hunting height to about a foot or so off the ground. Don't rush this. Get it right. If in doubt re-balance, and it's always a good idea to re-balance every 20 or 30 minutes just to make sure the ground hasn't changed as you hunt.
Also, because it's not overly loaded with heavy software it's a very fast machine in both ID and tone, so no need to slow down much in heavy trash to insure separation is good. Plus with the assignable high/low tones just listen for the highs you want in heavy trash and then investigate. That is one of the machines unique of that machine even to this day (being able to assign tones to various conductivity zones).
For it's day being a computerized detector with a computer screen/ID, I bet it was the fastest on the market, and as fast as pretty much anything in this day and age of modern machines that I've played with IMO. With the smallest trash coil you can get you can really sniff out coins in iron or other trash with the best of modern fast machines (meaning not have to slow down your sweep like you have to with slower machines to insure you don't miss coins between trash).
I think they made a little like 4" trash coil or something around that size that is much smaller than the 5.3" Bullseye or whatever. I owned that coil but if memory serves in reality it's like 6.5" if not more in size, so while it was small I was wishing it was smaller. I'd dig for the smaller harder to find coil if you want a trash coil for it, but the 9.5" does pretty well in trash. In addition to say a 12x10 DD SEF coil to push depths deeper/increase left/right separation, it'd be nice if they made a tiny little DD trash coil for better separation too. If they updated the software to show a numerical target conductivity ID # to split hairs on trash while say gold ring or nickel hunting, and gave me a 12" DD coil of some type to push the depths and left/right separation, I'd give the QXT a perfect 10 in a machine. As it is right now I'd give it a 7 or maybe an 8 on a scale of one to 10. One of these days I'll throw another back into my lineup. Being able to sweep fast makes it a great scouting machine for hunting through the woods, and it's also a fast clad hunter, and as said it'll do some magic with the assignable high tones and fast speed without having to slow down when working heavy trash/iron too.
PS-A few more points...Almost forgot one of the biggest perks to it. The flowing sizing display is a wonder. You should get about two bars for proper sweep speed on a coin/ring sized targets. That helps to eliminate a lot of bigger junk, and I could sweep at a target from different angles and get an idea of what it's shape was.
The audio is very good. Very telling on bottle caps and other junk. Just wish it had more tone alerts and more ID resolution. I could live without more tone alerts since I can assign highs to what I want to watch for, but the VDI resolution would have been fantastic to have in a numerical # display. I bet they could easily update the software to do that and wish they would.
When you happen upon a deep target that gives a low tone, don't just assume it's junk. You need to do fast short constant sweeps over it to pull the best ID and tone out of it. Often a deep coin will appear as junk until you do this and then get a high tone and right ID. This isn't unique to the QXT. My current machine requires that for fringe depth coins to see if they area. Brings out a tad more depth of the machine.
Pinpointing is fantastic...Pull the trigger AWAY from the target and then get over it for the loudest hit. Then quickly release and re-pull the trigger. The audio probably goes dead. Now dab the coil at the ground in small movements to find the loudest hit again. To get an even tighter pinpoint release the trigger on that spot and pull it in again. Now dab the coil against the ground and when you hear it again you can pretty much stick a screwdriver in the ground and be dead hitting on it. Great for fast shallow clad hunting to pop them out fast and rack the numbers up quickly. Also great for ring hunting in nice sports fields where they might frown on you using a digger, but a screwdriver won't bring the heat down on you. I want another one in my line up just for those reasons listed above, not to mention as a fast woods scouter or as a machine to use in heavy iron or trash on days I'm not in the mood to slow down my swing speed with other machines to make sure recovery speed isn't an issue.
The Quantum II is a great machine. The Quantum XT or QXT Pro are still my favorite Whites so far, with the 6000 Pro XL a close second. Had the 6000 Pro XL had tone alerts (I know you can mod them for that) it would have been very close between them as my favorite, but I'd still give the edge to the QXT for my tastes because of the assignable tones to any zone and also the faster target ID when working heavy trash versus the analog needle on my 6000 Pro Xls. The ability to tell silver from clad with the Pro XL's more sharp needle resolution was great, but as said I've dug a good many silvers over the year that machines have told me where clads or pennies due to depth, being worn, minerals, masking, orientation in the ground, and so on, so it's very risky IMO to rely on coin resolution of what the meter is telling you when old coin hunting. For cherry picking a nice yard, sure, then you want that, but you can often tell the coins on the QXT with a bit of practice by how the ID reacts and also by how sweet the tone is.
Hope this helps. Great machine. Deepest in my soil of the Whites I've owned. The low frequency helps it to penetrate ground better for me in my areas. I would have kept one in my line up if there were some larger DD coils to push the depths further, such as the wonderful SEF 12x10. I think that coil on a low frequency Whites could do some damage in my soil.
Again, any other questions just ask or shoot me a PM.
Critterhunter
New member
Sorry, ran out of time to replace the tips sheet above with the newest version and probably the last, since not much more to say on it other than this...
Here's a little primer I wrote for this machine and now keep on file to shoot to anybody with questions on it. This should get you up to speed quicker. Should cover all your basis from setup to some other tips...
[size=large]
On depth and coils...The 9.5" stock coil will max out in my soil at about 7.5" on a silver dime. Only other coil I've tried with it is a small trash coil. It's a very fast machine so even with the 9.5" coil I plucked a lot of silver out of trash without having to slow down my sweep speed.
I tried the only larger coil for it I could find at the time (besides the I think 14" Whites coil, which people say doesn't have very good sensitivity to coin sized targets to show any gains in depth over the stock coil) which was a 12" concentric coil. Bought two new ones and both would get unstable after about 10 minutes of use. I think they would warm up in the sun and go bonkers on me because the coil windings weren't encased on epoxy to keep the weight down. Shame, because I plucked a few mercs right off the bat about an inch or so deeper than I ever did with the stock coil. Far as I know there are no current other coil options bigger than the stock 9.5" coil to push depths deeper, or at least last time I looked, and as said the old 14" Whites is not said to have good sensitivity on coin/rings to show increases in depth over the stock 9.5" coil from what I always heard.
What models are there and what version of software do I have? Over the years I owned the QII, QXT (Quantum XT), and QXT Pro. Whites said there was no difference between the QXT and Pro version, but I found I could ride sensitivity 2 clicks higher than the usual 16 and could now ride at 18 so it was a tad hotter at depth than the regular QXT. I suspect the electronics were the same as Whites said, but newer versions of components that perhaps advanced in lessor noise generation or staying within more strict specifications to produce a slightly more stable machine allowing higher sensitivity settings.
Way I understand it Whites will update a QII to QXT software, which is worth it for the assignable tone alerts and such. Other than the 8" coil that comes with the QII and the software there is no difference between it and a QXT. Some of the earlier QXTs had an early version of software that had issues with ground balancing in some soils. I sent one of those to Whites and they updated it to the newer version. I think the way to tell, besides the version # on the screen, is if the coin zone says "1c to $1" then it's the old version, where as if it says "COINS" it's the newer version. You might want to also call Whites and see if there have been any future updates to the software compared to what version # you see at power up on your screen. As I remember updating the software was very reasonably priced when I did it.
I might be wrong but I think if you send a QXT in now for service or at least a software update they'll give you QXT Pro stickers for it? If that's the case then the only way to tell if you got an original QXT or one converted to a Pro is if it's letting you run at 18 in sensitivity without getting unstable instead of the usually 16 (for me anyway in my soil). In reality I didn't see much depth difference between the two that I could notice, but I suspect a true QXT Pro is slightly hotter at depth just due to that maybe, but not sure if it was. It could just be that the Pro had the sensitivity software adjustment slightly changed in the numbering scale to show 18 when it's really set at 16 on a QXT's software maybe?
What didn't I like about the QXT, and how to tell coins apart? Only complaint I had with the QXT was no numerical target ID to split hairs on say nickles or rings versus tabs. Didn't mind that all coins above copper penny read "COIN" because I feel a bigger net catches more fish, as I've dug many silvers on machines that told me they were clads or pennies. The QXT will ID zincs separate, and you can tell copper pennies, dimes, quarters, and silver by both how the ID acts and the sweetness of the tone. From memory a zinc will read in the zinc zone. A copper penny like a wheat will bounce back and fourth between zinc and COIN. A clad dime will bounce a little less between them and stay more in the COIN zone. Clad quarters stay "COIN", and silver dimes and quarters will have a slightly sweeter/higher pitch to them then clads and of course stay in the COIN zone.
Best way to set it up for most depth and such... Load the COIN program to set SAT speed and such right. Now you need to do the following things: Edit to accept ALL zones, including the iron and ground zones (because an initial hit on a super deep coin might read as either of them until you fast short sweep right over it to pull the best ID/tone out of it). Now set low tones for everything you want to ignore and high for the ones you want, like zinc and COIN and maybe nickle zone. Set sensitivity as high as it will remain stable (usually 16 or 1. Turn OFF noise reduction as that gives it a tad more depth and still the machine is smooth for me. Set pin point sensitivity at 16. Turn VCO on for easier pinpointing. Turn OFF ground tracking because that can track out deep coins.
Mixed mode? I never saw that all metal was deeper than discriminate, and since I prefer to hunt with all zones accepted in discriminate, no sense in using all metal or mixed mode. However, you might try using mixed mode for a "third" tone. Any zone you don't accept in discriminate and don't want to assign a low tone to, if you edit it out you'll now hear the all metal response for it. I didn't see much point to that myself, but it might prove useful in the right situation to some people, or at least as a way to give yourself a third tone in some respects.
How to set ground balance manually in a CLEAN spot... Pump the coil up and down until you notice no change in threshold or maybe only a slight increase as the coil approaches the ground (this sets it slightly hot for slightly more depth). Don't be fooled if the threshold evens out as you approach or leave the ground because the self adjusting threshold is doing that and doesn't mean it's set right. You need to notice it AS you approach and leave the ground (both ways).
To check for a clean spot pull the trigger to take it out of ground balancing at power and and let go of the trigger. Now sweep around for a clean spot. NOTE: If you have any of the zones like iron or such discriminated out how do you know the spot is clean? When balancing don't touch the ground. Only bring it down to normal height you hunt at, which should be just kissing the grass. If you balance with the coil touching the ground and that's not the height you hunt at you've set it for a different ground load then you are hunting at. Slowly raise and lower the coil from hunting height to about a foot or so off the ground. Don't rush this. Get it right. If in doubt re-balance, and it's always a good idea to re-balance every 20 or 30 minutes just to make sure the ground hasn't changed as you hunt.
How fast is this machine and how good is it in trash? Because it's not overly loaded with heavy software it's a very fast machine in both ID and tone, so no need to slow down much in heavy trash to insure separation is good. Plus with the assignable high/low tones just listen for the highs you want in heavy trash and then investigate. That is one of the things unique about this machine even to this day (being able to assign tones to various conductivity zones).
For it's day being a computerized detector with a computer screen/ID, I bet it was the fastest on the market for a computerized/computer screen model maybe, and as fast as pretty much anything in this day and age of modern machines that I've played with IMO. It's not overburdened with software to the point that it's lagging it down. I always felt it had the perfect blend of just enough computer controls to set it up for optimum performance, without going overboard if your one who doesn't like to get tweak happy and always worry about if you'd set a machine up best for a site. With the smallest trash coil you can get you can really sniff out coins in iron or other trash with the best of modern fast machines (meaning not have to slow down your sweep like you have to with slower machines to insure you don't miss coins between trash), but even the 9.5" coil will wreck you coins out of trash without having to slow down too much to find them.
Other coil talk about it...I think they made a little like 4" trash coil or something around that size that is much smaller than the 5.3" Bullseye or whatever. I owned that coil but if memory serves in reality it's like 6.5" if not more in size, so while it was small I was wishing it was smaller. I'd dig for the smaller harder to find coil if you want a trash coil for it, but the 9.5" does pretty well in trash.
What kind of coils would I like to see for it and what I'd like to see feature wise with the software tweaked...In addition to say a 12x10 DD SEF coil to push depths deeper/increase left/right separation, it'd be nice if they made a tiny little DD trash coil for better separation too. If they updated the software to show a numerical target conductivity ID # to split hairs on trash while say gold ring or nickel hunting, and gave me a 12" DD coil of some type to push the depths and left/right separation, I'd give the QXT a perfect 10 in a machine. As it is right now I'd give it a 7 or maybe an 8 on a scale of one to 10. One of these days I'll throw another back into my lineup. Being able to sweep fast makes it a great scouting machine for hunting through the woods, and it's also a fast clad hunter, and as said it'll do some magic with the assignable high tones and fast speed without having to slow down when working heavy trash/iron too. It's a fairly light machine so it's a fast hunter for sure, and has a very forgiving sweep speed from slow to fast.
The flowing sizing display is a wonder and one of it's strongest features... And no special coils required to use it. All Whites coils meant for the low frequency machines (XLT, 6000, etc) will work on the QXT. The sizing bars also are not the same as the shaping bars found on the XLT. You should get about two bars for proper sweep speed on a coin/ring sized targets. That helps to eliminate a lot of bigger junk, and I could sweep at a target from different angles and get an idea of what it's shape was.
The audio is very good... Very telling on bottle caps and other junk. Just wish it had more tone alerts and more ID resolution. I could live without more tone alerts since I can assign highs to what I want to watch for, but the VDI resolution would have been fantastic to have in a numerical # display. I bet they could easily update the software to do that and wish they would. I don't care about telling coins other than zincs apart, but for avoiding say tabs while digging nickels and hoping for gold rings I would like a numerical target ID # to split hairs on stuff better.
How to find the deep coins and pull the best ID out of them... When you happen upon a deep target that gives a low tone, don't just assume it's junk. You need to do very short and very fast constant sweeps over it to pull the best ID and tone out of it. Often a deep coin will appear as junk until you do this and then get a high tone and right ID. This isn't unique to the QXT. My current machine requires that for fringe depth coins to see if they area. Brings out a tad more depth of the machine.
Pinpointing is fantastic, and how to make it better...Pull the trigger AWAY from the target and then get over it for the loudest hit. Then quickly release and re-pull the trigger. The audio probably goes dead. Now dab the coil at the ground in small movements to find the loudest hit again. To get an even tighter pinpoint release the trigger on that spot and pull it in again. Now dab the coil against the ground and when you hear it again you can pretty much stick a screwdriver in the ground and be dead hitting on it. Great for fast shallow clad hunting to pop them out fast and rack the numbers up quickly. Also great for ring hunting in nice sports fields where they might frown on you using a digger, but a screwdriver won't bring the heat down on you. I want another one in my line up just for those reasons listed above, not to mention as a fast woods scouter or as a machine to use in heavy iron or trash on days I'm not in the mood to slow down my swing speed with other machines to make sure recovery speed isn't an issue.
The Quantum II is a great machine... The Quantum XT or QXT Pro are still my favorite Whites so far, with the 6000 Pro XL a close second. Had the 6000 Pro XL had tone alerts (I know you can mod them for that) it would have been very close between them as my favorite, but I'd still give the edge to the QXT for my tastes because of the assignable tones to any zone and also the faster target ID when working heavy trash versus the analog needle on my 6000 Pro Xls. The ability to tell silver from clad with the Pro XL's more sharp needle resolution was great, but as said I've dug a good many silvers over the year that machines have told me where clads or pennies due to depth, being worn, minerals, masking, orientation in the ground, and so on, so it's very risky IMO to rely on coin resolution of what the meter is telling you when old coin hunting. For cherry picking a nice yard, sure, then you want that, but you can often tell the coins on the QXT with a bit of practice by how the ID reacts and also by how sweet the tone is.
Hope this helps... Great machine. Deepest in my soil of the Whites I've owned. The low frequency helps it to penetrate ground better for me in my areas. I would have kept one in my line up if there were some larger DD coils to push the depths further, such as the wonderful SEF 12x10. I think that coil on a low frequency Whites could do some damage in my soil.
Again, any other questions just ask or shoot me a PM.
Here's a little primer I wrote for this machine and now keep on file to shoot to anybody with questions on it. This should get you up to speed quicker. Should cover all your basis from setup to some other tips...
[size=large]
Quantum Series Detectors Set Up & Use Tips, August 2012 (V2) Update
[/size]On depth and coils...The 9.5" stock coil will max out in my soil at about 7.5" on a silver dime. Only other coil I've tried with it is a small trash coil. It's a very fast machine so even with the 9.5" coil I plucked a lot of silver out of trash without having to slow down my sweep speed.
I tried the only larger coil for it I could find at the time (besides the I think 14" Whites coil, which people say doesn't have very good sensitivity to coin sized targets to show any gains in depth over the stock coil) which was a 12" concentric coil. Bought two new ones and both would get unstable after about 10 minutes of use. I think they would warm up in the sun and go bonkers on me because the coil windings weren't encased on epoxy to keep the weight down. Shame, because I plucked a few mercs right off the bat about an inch or so deeper than I ever did with the stock coil. Far as I know there are no current other coil options bigger than the stock 9.5" coil to push depths deeper, or at least last time I looked, and as said the old 14" Whites is not said to have good sensitivity on coin/rings to show increases in depth over the stock 9.5" coil from what I always heard.
What models are there and what version of software do I have? Over the years I owned the QII, QXT (Quantum XT), and QXT Pro. Whites said there was no difference between the QXT and Pro version, but I found I could ride sensitivity 2 clicks higher than the usual 16 and could now ride at 18 so it was a tad hotter at depth than the regular QXT. I suspect the electronics were the same as Whites said, but newer versions of components that perhaps advanced in lessor noise generation or staying within more strict specifications to produce a slightly more stable machine allowing higher sensitivity settings.
Way I understand it Whites will update a QII to QXT software, which is worth it for the assignable tone alerts and such. Other than the 8" coil that comes with the QII and the software there is no difference between it and a QXT. Some of the earlier QXTs had an early version of software that had issues with ground balancing in some soils. I sent one of those to Whites and they updated it to the newer version. I think the way to tell, besides the version # on the screen, is if the coin zone says "1c to $1" then it's the old version, where as if it says "COINS" it's the newer version. You might want to also call Whites and see if there have been any future updates to the software compared to what version # you see at power up on your screen. As I remember updating the software was very reasonably priced when I did it.
I might be wrong but I think if you send a QXT in now for service or at least a software update they'll give you QXT Pro stickers for it? If that's the case then the only way to tell if you got an original QXT or one converted to a Pro is if it's letting you run at 18 in sensitivity without getting unstable instead of the usually 16 (for me anyway in my soil). In reality I didn't see much depth difference between the two that I could notice, but I suspect a true QXT Pro is slightly hotter at depth just due to that maybe, but not sure if it was. It could just be that the Pro had the sensitivity software adjustment slightly changed in the numbering scale to show 18 when it's really set at 16 on a QXT's software maybe?
What didn't I like about the QXT, and how to tell coins apart? Only complaint I had with the QXT was no numerical target ID to split hairs on say nickles or rings versus tabs. Didn't mind that all coins above copper penny read "COIN" because I feel a bigger net catches more fish, as I've dug many silvers on machines that told me they were clads or pennies. The QXT will ID zincs separate, and you can tell copper pennies, dimes, quarters, and silver by both how the ID acts and the sweetness of the tone. From memory a zinc will read in the zinc zone. A copper penny like a wheat will bounce back and fourth between zinc and COIN. A clad dime will bounce a little less between them and stay more in the COIN zone. Clad quarters stay "COIN", and silver dimes and quarters will have a slightly sweeter/higher pitch to them then clads and of course stay in the COIN zone.
Best way to set it up for most depth and such... Load the COIN program to set SAT speed and such right. Now you need to do the following things: Edit to accept ALL zones, including the iron and ground zones (because an initial hit on a super deep coin might read as either of them until you fast short sweep right over it to pull the best ID/tone out of it). Now set low tones for everything you want to ignore and high for the ones you want, like zinc and COIN and maybe nickle zone. Set sensitivity as high as it will remain stable (usually 16 or 1
. Turn OFF noise reduction as that gives it a tad more depth and still the machine is smooth for me. Set pin point sensitivity at 16. Turn VCO on for easier pinpointing. Turn OFF ground tracking because that can track out deep coins.Mixed mode? I never saw that all metal was deeper than discriminate, and since I prefer to hunt with all zones accepted in discriminate, no sense in using all metal or mixed mode. However, you might try using mixed mode for a "third" tone. Any zone you don't accept in discriminate and don't want to assign a low tone to, if you edit it out you'll now hear the all metal response for it. I didn't see much point to that myself, but it might prove useful in the right situation to some people, or at least as a way to give yourself a third tone in some respects.
How to set ground balance manually in a CLEAN spot... Pump the coil up and down until you notice no change in threshold or maybe only a slight increase as the coil approaches the ground (this sets it slightly hot for slightly more depth). Don't be fooled if the threshold evens out as you approach or leave the ground because the self adjusting threshold is doing that and doesn't mean it's set right. You need to notice it AS you approach and leave the ground (both ways).
To check for a clean spot pull the trigger to take it out of ground balancing at power and and let go of the trigger. Now sweep around for a clean spot. NOTE: If you have any of the zones like iron or such discriminated out how do you know the spot is clean? When balancing don't touch the ground. Only bring it down to normal height you hunt at, which should be just kissing the grass. If you balance with the coil touching the ground and that's not the height you hunt at you've set it for a different ground load then you are hunting at. Slowly raise and lower the coil from hunting height to about a foot or so off the ground. Don't rush this. Get it right. If in doubt re-balance, and it's always a good idea to re-balance every 20 or 30 minutes just to make sure the ground hasn't changed as you hunt.
How fast is this machine and how good is it in trash? Because it's not overly loaded with heavy software it's a very fast machine in both ID and tone, so no need to slow down much in heavy trash to insure separation is good. Plus with the assignable high/low tones just listen for the highs you want in heavy trash and then investigate. That is one of the things unique about this machine even to this day (being able to assign tones to various conductivity zones).
For it's day being a computerized detector with a computer screen/ID, I bet it was the fastest on the market for a computerized/computer screen model maybe, and as fast as pretty much anything in this day and age of modern machines that I've played with IMO. It's not overburdened with software to the point that it's lagging it down. I always felt it had the perfect blend of just enough computer controls to set it up for optimum performance, without going overboard if your one who doesn't like to get tweak happy and always worry about if you'd set a machine up best for a site. With the smallest trash coil you can get you can really sniff out coins in iron or other trash with the best of modern fast machines (meaning not have to slow down your sweep like you have to with slower machines to insure you don't miss coins between trash), but even the 9.5" coil will wreck you coins out of trash without having to slow down too much to find them.
Other coil talk about it...I think they made a little like 4" trash coil or something around that size that is much smaller than the 5.3" Bullseye or whatever. I owned that coil but if memory serves in reality it's like 6.5" if not more in size, so while it was small I was wishing it was smaller. I'd dig for the smaller harder to find coil if you want a trash coil for it, but the 9.5" does pretty well in trash.
What kind of coils would I like to see for it and what I'd like to see feature wise with the software tweaked...In addition to say a 12x10 DD SEF coil to push depths deeper/increase left/right separation, it'd be nice if they made a tiny little DD trash coil for better separation too. If they updated the software to show a numerical target conductivity ID # to split hairs on trash while say gold ring or nickel hunting, and gave me a 12" DD coil of some type to push the depths and left/right separation, I'd give the QXT a perfect 10 in a machine. As it is right now I'd give it a 7 or maybe an 8 on a scale of one to 10. One of these days I'll throw another back into my lineup. Being able to sweep fast makes it a great scouting machine for hunting through the woods, and it's also a fast clad hunter, and as said it'll do some magic with the assignable high tones and fast speed without having to slow down when working heavy trash/iron too. It's a fairly light machine so it's a fast hunter for sure, and has a very forgiving sweep speed from slow to fast.
The flowing sizing display is a wonder and one of it's strongest features... And no special coils required to use it. All Whites coils meant for the low frequency machines (XLT, 6000, etc) will work on the QXT. The sizing bars also are not the same as the shaping bars found on the XLT. You should get about two bars for proper sweep speed on a coin/ring sized targets. That helps to eliminate a lot of bigger junk, and I could sweep at a target from different angles and get an idea of what it's shape was.
The audio is very good... Very telling on bottle caps and other junk. Just wish it had more tone alerts and more ID resolution. I could live without more tone alerts since I can assign highs to what I want to watch for, but the VDI resolution would have been fantastic to have in a numerical # display. I bet they could easily update the software to do that and wish they would. I don't care about telling coins other than zincs apart, but for avoiding say tabs while digging nickels and hoping for gold rings I would like a numerical target ID # to split hairs on stuff better.
How to find the deep coins and pull the best ID out of them... When you happen upon a deep target that gives a low tone, don't just assume it's junk. You need to do very short and very fast constant sweeps over it to pull the best ID and tone out of it. Often a deep coin will appear as junk until you do this and then get a high tone and right ID. This isn't unique to the QXT. My current machine requires that for fringe depth coins to see if they area. Brings out a tad more depth of the machine.
Pinpointing is fantastic, and how to make it better...Pull the trigger AWAY from the target and then get over it for the loudest hit. Then quickly release and re-pull the trigger. The audio probably goes dead. Now dab the coil at the ground in small movements to find the loudest hit again. To get an even tighter pinpoint release the trigger on that spot and pull it in again. Now dab the coil against the ground and when you hear it again you can pretty much stick a screwdriver in the ground and be dead hitting on it. Great for fast shallow clad hunting to pop them out fast and rack the numbers up quickly. Also great for ring hunting in nice sports fields where they might frown on you using a digger, but a screwdriver won't bring the heat down on you. I want another one in my line up just for those reasons listed above, not to mention as a fast woods scouter or as a machine to use in heavy iron or trash on days I'm not in the mood to slow down my swing speed with other machines to make sure recovery speed isn't an issue.
The Quantum II is a great machine... The Quantum XT or QXT Pro are still my favorite Whites so far, with the 6000 Pro XL a close second. Had the 6000 Pro XL had tone alerts (I know you can mod them for that) it would have been very close between them as my favorite, but I'd still give the edge to the QXT for my tastes because of the assignable tones to any zone and also the faster target ID when working heavy trash versus the analog needle on my 6000 Pro Xls. The ability to tell silver from clad with the Pro XL's more sharp needle resolution was great, but as said I've dug a good many silvers over the year that machines have told me where clads or pennies due to depth, being worn, minerals, masking, orientation in the ground, and so on, so it's very risky IMO to rely on coin resolution of what the meter is telling you when old coin hunting. For cherry picking a nice yard, sure, then you want that, but you can often tell the coins on the QXT with a bit of practice by how the ID reacts and also by how sweet the tone is.
Hope this helps... Great machine. Deepest in my soil of the Whites I've owned. The low frequency helps it to penetrate ground better for me in my areas. I would have kept one in my line up if there were some larger DD coils to push the depths further, such as the wonderful SEF 12x10. I think that coil on a low frequency Whites could do some damage in my soil.
Again, any other questions just ask or shoot me a PM.
Critterhunter
New member
n/t
This is priceless excellent information. You saved me alot of trial and error, being a beep and dig guy its going to be an uphill battle learning to use a digital meter but your advice will help me get the most out of hunting.
Just got a Blue Max 800 coil, I'm used to the 8" coil so this will help. Thanks again, Mike
Just got a Blue Max 800 coil, I'm used to the 8" coil so this will help. Thanks again, Mike
Critterhunter
New member
You're more than welcome. They are my favorite Whites even to this day. The low frequency seems to penetrate my soil better in a single frequency machine. I made a ton of good finds with those Quantums. I think one of the reasons, besides them being lightning fast in response in both audio and ID so you don't have to slow down to insure you don't miss goodies between targets (and also thanks to the great assignable high tones for any zone), is the fact that I really do believe a wider net catches more fish when it comes to old coins. If people rely on an ID to split hairs on coins I can promise them they are missing a lot of old coins or silvers that a machine might say are pennies or some other form of clad. Too many variables can make one read like another as the conductive resolution on all coins from copper penny on up are very slight at best, so not only can high coin resolution make an ID a bit jumpy causing you to suspect and pass it as trash, but it can also talk you out of digging a good old coin that might ID as a clad of some type for some odd reason or another. Only coins I really care about IDing are zincs when I'm in the mood to avoid those, and the Quantums will do that nicely.
I've been thinking, the way the QXT breaks it into 8 zones is very similar to the CZ3D with its meter and 7 target zones. Even the way the CZ has its coins grouped and other similarities. I bet they're depth capabilities are similar, both are essentually concentric coil detectors. But mostly its the meter thats similar it gives roughly the same information as the QXT.
Its funny, people complain that the QXT doesn't give them a numerical ID but I've never heard anyone complain about the CZ's for its 7 zone meter.
Its funny, people complain that the QXT doesn't give them a numerical ID but I've never heard anyone complain about the CZ's for its 7 zone meter.
bigtim1973
Well-known member
Mike T said:
But some of those fisher users would not dare to compare a whites machine to one of those precious fisher models. It is kind of like taboo to them for some reason. Especially on the depth part too. Heck I have had fishers also and really like them too and they are deep too but they like deep iron also and I do not like that part about them. I was very surprised Whites dicontinued the QXT models and continued with the classic ID with even less information on the screen and one single tone. Tim
Critterhunter
New member
I hunted for years with the QXT comparing undug targets in the field to a friend's CZ6a, so I know the ins and outs of both a good bit. (crickets chirping...) That's all I'll say on the subject. But your right, some machines have as low of resolution as the QXT yet it seemed to be the primary complaint from people about it while you almost never heard that of other machines.
In many ways large zones keep you from falling into bad habits. I can honestly say I seemed to dig more non-coin keepers with that QXT than I did with any other machine I owned over the years. Besides, it's audio is very discriptive for a digital machine, so you can often tell a lot more about what a target might be or it's traits than a VDI can ever tell you in certain ways. And the flowing sizing display also gives you a 2nd visual indicator not found on other machines, even ones with higher resolution.
Really if you pay attention to how a target bounces between zones you can narrow down it's probability by that alone. Very possible with various coins from copper penny on up, and also possibly with say tabs versus nickels or foil to some extent.
Here's a quick tip: Tested a lot of gold rings on it and they often would bounce evenly between the foil and the nickel range if memory serves. More of them did that than anything, which jives with the fact that almost fully half of over 100 random gold rings we scanned in on my current machine read in the foil zone, and that those in the nickel and tab zone combined don't even equal it according to at least our numbers, but this is on a much higher resolution VDI where these distinctions can be made. The nickel zone on the QXT is wider, so it's taking in more of the foil zone below it and the tab zone above it, which would make sense with most of the rings I scanned with it bouncing between foil and nickel back and fourth as you sweep. The audio is key though. Round, smooth, soft, "quality", warm for 99% of rings. Not sick, harsh, bangy, tinny, hollow, warbly, etc.
Oh, almost forgot...Speaking of gold rings and audio...With the "5.3 inch" (not it's actual size, it's bigger) bullseye coil you can hear the double chirp from the two holes in a square tab so long as it's laying flat and not too deep. It's a very distinct harsh audio and a double "bam bam" type of hit that you can hear with a bit of practice. Thus far I've not seen a small coil on another machine sound off to both indentations in a square tab like that. If you try it, don't mob the tab with the coil air testing. Back it off a bit. When hunting in the field you can lift the coil if the target is right near the surface and the double hit will come out of it.
And while I'm thinking about it, check the Main forum (or maybe it was this one) about a year or so ago. A guy was tearing up the gold with his Quantum at a soccer field if memory serves. Really had the "WOW" factor going. It's hard searching for threads on the Quantums because if people shortened the name to QXT I don't think the search engine will accept 3 digit words for a search unless others are combined with it? Maybe try "QXT, gold" and that might work, otherwise if you just put in QXT you'll get a return of no hits because I *think* it doesn't allow 3 letter only words with no others in the search window. Try to be creative, like "QXT, silver", "QXT, XT", "Quantum", "QXT Pro", etc. That should turn up some threads. Search in this forum and the Main forum for stuff like that.
In many ways large zones keep you from falling into bad habits. I can honestly say I seemed to dig more non-coin keepers with that QXT than I did with any other machine I owned over the years. Besides, it's audio is very discriptive for a digital machine, so you can often tell a lot more about what a target might be or it's traits than a VDI can ever tell you in certain ways. And the flowing sizing display also gives you a 2nd visual indicator not found on other machines, even ones with higher resolution.
Really if you pay attention to how a target bounces between zones you can narrow down it's probability by that alone. Very possible with various coins from copper penny on up, and also possibly with say tabs versus nickels or foil to some extent.
Here's a quick tip: Tested a lot of gold rings on it and they often would bounce evenly between the foil and the nickel range if memory serves. More of them did that than anything, which jives with the fact that almost fully half of over 100 random gold rings we scanned in on my current machine read in the foil zone, and that those in the nickel and tab zone combined don't even equal it according to at least our numbers, but this is on a much higher resolution VDI where these distinctions can be made. The nickel zone on the QXT is wider, so it's taking in more of the foil zone below it and the tab zone above it, which would make sense with most of the rings I scanned with it bouncing between foil and nickel back and fourth as you sweep. The audio is key though. Round, smooth, soft, "quality", warm for 99% of rings. Not sick, harsh, bangy, tinny, hollow, warbly, etc.
Oh, almost forgot...Speaking of gold rings and audio...With the "5.3 inch" (not it's actual size, it's bigger) bullseye coil you can hear the double chirp from the two holes in a square tab so long as it's laying flat and not too deep. It's a very distinct harsh audio and a double "bam bam" type of hit that you can hear with a bit of practice. Thus far I've not seen a small coil on another machine sound off to both indentations in a square tab like that. If you try it, don't mob the tab with the coil air testing. Back it off a bit. When hunting in the field you can lift the coil if the target is right near the surface and the double hit will come out of it.
And while I'm thinking about it, check the Main forum (or maybe it was this one) about a year or so ago. A guy was tearing up the gold with his Quantum at a soccer field if memory serves. Really had the "WOW" factor going. It's hard searching for threads on the Quantums because if people shortened the name to QXT I don't think the search engine will accept 3 digit words for a search unless others are combined with it? Maybe try "QXT, gold" and that might work, otherwise if you just put in QXT you'll get a return of no hits because I *think* it doesn't allow 3 letter only words with no others in the search window. Try to be creative, like "QXT, silver", "QXT, XT", "Quantum", "QXT Pro", etc. That should turn up some threads. Search in this forum and the Main forum for stuff like that.
Critter, I have so much information on the QXT from you that I printed it out and now use it as a sourcebook. I found your tips for the QXT on JB's site and printed it out too. So now I feel pretty confidant I'll do well with my Quantum, these are priceless tips. I found I was going back to your posts over and over so I figured it was easier to print it out.
For a start I'm digging all targets and watching the meter and listening for nuances in tones and learning its voice. I think the QXT has the most distinct sounds of any detector I've used.
Your a great teacher, thanks again, Mike
For a start I'm digging all targets and watching the meter and listening for nuances in tones and learning its voice. I think the QXT has the most distinct sounds of any detector I've used.
Your a great teacher, thanks again, Mike
Critterhunter
New member
Thanks. Whites is still my first love, and you know how no matter who you move onto later in life, you never seem to love another woman in quite the same way. I just wish they'd bring out a new low frequency machine again for various reasons I won't go into. A low freq unit combined with some 12" or so DD coils and I'll be the first one in line for one.
ramairnut
Member
Wow ,just saw this after I posted earlier about a QXT that I am looking to pick up tomorrow
. Thank you for all the valuable info. I have always wanted a White's product. Where can I download a copy of the manual? I tried the White's site but keep getting an error: "page not found".
. Thank you for all the valuable info. I have always wanted a White's product. Where can I download a copy of the manual? I tried the White's site but keep getting an error: "page not found".
bigtim1973
Well-known member
ramairnut said:Wow ,just saw this after I posted earlier about a QXT that I am looking to pick up tomorrow
Just PM'ed you the link I used. Hope it works for you, Tim
Critterhunter
New member
Hey Mike, makes me feel good somebody finds my tips worthy enough to print out for future reference. Thanks. Worth the effort then. It reminded me of a story about the QXT I just have to share. I was hunting in the woods and came out onto a street and was walking up it back to my truck. A guy was digging out a waterline in his front yard (not metal detecting). Anyway, he saw me and we started talking. Turns out he also detects, and then he brings out his QXT to show me! Wow, not a very popular machine with many sold, so what's the odds of that? Either way, then he shows me a printed out tips article for the QXT and says this guy really helped him learn how to set up and use this machine well. I smiled and said, you're talking to that guy right now. He couldn't believe it, and I couldn't believe the odds of the whole thing myself. Just made me feel good that somebody I met randomly didn't even know who I was, and yet he wanted to show me the old tips article I wrote years ago on that machine. That right there made my day.