Still trying

[JC99328]

to decide if I like this machine! Yesterday evening I went to an old home site. I was given permission by a farmer who said it was his families original home. The only thing still at the site is a barn and tons of junk. Since it was his families and he wanted to see what I'd find, I dug most signals except extreme, loud, big iron signals (I could usually bump the iron with the shovel). The only thing I found that wasn't steel/iron was a spoon.

I got a lot of signals that indicated NOT iron. I switched to prospecting on these and still got good target indication on a most of them. Usually nails, staples or wire. Actually all were that. When I found the spoon, it was mostly an accident as it was under a large iron chunk, a stove leg.

Suggestions?? I varied setting from normal gain to low gain and usually near zero discrim. I did vary settings later in the evening bumping up discrim but didn't notice much change. With near max discrim I was still finding nails, very small ones too.

 

[RedRockNv]

What coil were you using? A small sized coil to pick around the iron sounds called for. A really good magnet to get small iron off the surface and out of holes would be called for also. I would probably have used my 8 x 6 SEF coil. Coil size would probably be more important than most other factors. Maybe find a clean patch and lock tracking. It would have been fun to be out there seeing what different hunting styles would have been effective in what sounds like trying conditions.

 

[JC99328]

What coil were you using? A small sized coil to pick around the iron sounds called for. A really good magnet to get small iron off the surface and out of holes would be called for also. I would probably have used my 8 x 6 SEF coil. Coil size would probably be more important than most other factors. Maybe find a clean patch and lock tracking. It would have been fun to be out there seeing what different hunting styles would have been effective in what sounds like trying conditions.

Conditions aren't good!! It is covered with high grass (about 2' long stems) which is laid flat and matted. Some finer grass standing yet along with some large thistles. The mat was varied but most of the time it is about 3-4" thick.

I have a 5.3 coil but did not have it with me. It's about a 1/2 mile walk from where I was parked. I could have easily driven right to it, but, I didn't ask the farmer if I could drive across his field. It is harvested and driving wouldn't bother anything. Never thought about a magnet but will take one next time.

I will post some photos of last nights stuff and the area. I left the camera in the truck and it will be here at my shop tomorrow.

 

[RedRockNv]

Wow. Sounds like a bit of a nightmare. Lots of iron would probably have to be removed to find the goodies. I am sure there has to be something there. What part of the country? I am in Calif just south of Sacramento.

 

[JC99328]

In SE, WA

This is what it looks like:

What I found on the first try:

 

[plidn1]

You need to find a spot more conducive to learning the machine.

I would mount that 5.3 and leave it on until you know what your doing.
Find a park, school yard or a kids play ground and learn the detector.

Leave it in C&J mode and run it at preset for settings and keep it simple.
Once you learn what the detector is telling you, then you can play with other modes and settings.

The MXT is 3 detectors in one. You have to learn one before you can go to the next.
If you continue the way you are going, you will become discouraged fast and give up on the "HOBBY".

Find places where lots of people gather for recreation. Old farms seldom produce much of value for the advanced detectorist's let alone one learning.

Get yourself a small back pack to carry a few of the tools you may need , like extra coils, camera, etc. when away from the truck.

 

[JC99328]

The type of places you mention just about don't exist where I live or the few, are off limits. I did work an old kids fishing pond as my first stop. Where I live is otherwise know as the boonies!! Yes it is a hard place to learn a machine but I have time and this spot has opened up 3-4 more to hunt. Some have the same conditions but a couple have better conditions and all will be better next spring. ALL are iron rich environments!! But...... someplace in there is an acorn and you'll heard the shout when I find it.

Tonight I'm going back to the same place but I talked to the farmer today and can drive over his field. I'll have the truck and all my junk in one place.

As a side note, the farmer was happy to get some of the stuff I dug. In the center of the photo is a very old car Lic plate, probably 20's-30's. The mule shoe, old square nails, spoon are all part of his family history. I hope to find more tonight.

 

[JC99328]

Went back last night and ran the 5.3 coil. Pulled a bunch of iron from the same area. Mostly horse harness stuff and horse drawn farm equipment parts. I had it all laid out on my tail gate when the farmer and his wife drove up to see what was going on. I handed him the "good stuff" for his relic collection. And after he drove off, realised that I never photo'd it. Oh well....

One thing I really wished I'd photo'd was an odd horse shoe. Very narrow, probably 4-5" and very long, probly 7-8" with slender pointed ends.. mule??

I also did find a copper ferrule, probably off of a fishing pole??

A photo of the area

 

[Monte]

looking at your photos, I will make these personal comments and suggestions about the MXT Pro.:

• I feel the MXT Pro is the best, most versatile, and easy-to-use multi-purpose detector in White's current product line.

• White's 5.3 Eclipse, a 6½" diameter Concentric wound search coil, has been, and continues to be, the best general-use search coil for that model in most sites, especially those that are brushy, have building rubble, or are otherwise littered with a lot of junk, especially iron trash.

• Each MXT Pro user needs to decide which search mode and settings works best for them in your described types of sites, so here is how I preferred to run it:
Gain: Preset marker to +3
Threshold: Set for a slight audio hum.
Mode Switch: Relic
Tone Option: Iron ID
GB Option: 'Locked' GB and perform an automated GB with Ground Grab to begin the search.

As such, that means the variable Discriminate control is bypassed/non-functional and you will get a Low-Tone audio on most smaller-size ferrous junk, and a High-Tone audio from non-ferrous targets as well as those iron objects that are, by size or physical design, more conductive than just they ferrous make-up.

Search coil sweeps should be slow and methodical to make sure they overlap for ample site coverage. Then, as skills are mastered, you can ignore recovering any larger-size, probable iron junk targets and concentrate on the smaller-size, more desired targets that are at the site. Ignore most of the visual information, other than noting when a target locks-on solid and reports a target as iron, only.

Still trying to decide if I like this machine! Yesterday evening I went to an old home site. I was given permission by a farmer who said it was his families original home. The only thing still at the site is a barn and tons of junk. Since it was his families and he wanted to see what I'd find, I dug most signals except extreme, loud, big iron signals (I could usually bump the iron with the shovel). The only thing I found that wasn't steel/iron was a spoon.

From the photos you posted, I see a lot of "big iron" I wouldn't have recovered.

I got a lot of signals that indicated NOT iron. I switched to prospecting on these and still got good target indication on a most of them. Usually nails, staples or wire. Actually all were that. When I found the spoon, it was mostly an accident as it was under a large iron chunk, a stove leg.

I wouldn't waste time by switching to the Prospecting All Metal mode to double-check a target.

Suggestions?? I varied setting from normal gain to low gain and usually near zero discrim. I did vary settings later in the evening bumping up discrim but didn't notice much change. With near max discrim I was still finding nails, very small ones too.

You shouldn't have been finding "nails, very small ones too" at a high Discriminate level setting, unless you were in a search mode that allowed all targets to respond. Shoot me an e-mail and let me know where in SE WA you are. I am in Arlington, OR, just across the big river, and perhaps we could get together and I would be glad to share some hands-on help.

Monte

 

[JC99328]

Monte,
Thanks for the reply and suggestions. I'm 30 miles E of Walla 2 and I would welcome some help!!

Actually I wouldn't be digging some of this stuff except that I'm doing it for the farmer who owns it. It was his families original homestead and he's interested in some of the historical stuff on the site. I might get back out there tonight for a couple hours and move to a new part I haven't been on yet. My biggest fight is the heavy weeds and ground cover. I'm usually 3-5" above dirt level and sometimes I can get below 2" where heavy weeds have died and left near open ground. It makes deep targets very hard to find. Most that I have dug were 2-6" unless they were bigger iron.

I will go on high discrim and about 3 gain with the 5.3 coil. I've been running on the coin mode. I will also try the relic as suggested.

Jim

 

[pescadore]

I definitely would not judge whether to keep the machine or not on finds from the location you are hunting. Iron laden farmland is a tough place to learn a new machine. The MXT is a great detector and I hope you get a chance to take it to a better location before you give up on it.

 

[JC99328]

I definitely would not judge whether to keep the machine or not on finds from the location you are hunting. Iron laden farmland is a tough place to learn a new machine. The MXT is a great detector and I hope you get a chance to take it to a better location before you give up on it.

I took it to another old farm site, but with a dry flat dirt search area. Still almost all iron in the ground but I did find a ??? (lid of some kind) made of pewter or lead last time I was there and was hoping to find the rest of ??? so I'd know what it was. No luck in that regard. I am getting much more used to the machines readings. I did know when I was on cast iron vs steel so I'm getting better with it!! Also better with the bouncy signals. I did a lot of digging since it was soft farm ground just to verify the readings and remove some trash from the farmers field. All the buildings on this site burned in a field fire long ago. I'm still hoping to find more stuff and will go back.

I will say that this machine is the easiest and best at pinpointing a target. I have very little trouble finding what I've located.

 

[JoeL0]

Farm sites a littered with iron. I hunt a 1700 s farm and pass by quite a bit of iron. Although also find some nice buttons, musket balls, I still ring up allot of iron. You will learn what's what in time. Again, maybe a farm field, like mentioned above, is not the best place to learn, although you sure do learn the iron works.

 

[JC99328]

Saying the farm sites are littered with iron is an understatement!! Unfortunately, that's about all I have to hunt. I can hunt some mountain camp grounds but they're littered with pull tabs and melted cans!

I'm learning this machine the hard way. I'm doing a lot of digging that I should pass on, but it helps me learn. I did the same with the last machine.

I found out that there's a map showing all the old one room school houses in the county! I have a Garmin program that shows property lines and owners names. Find the school site, check with the owner and maybe something new. This is a poor farm area so probably not much in the way of coins to be found.