STRUCK OUT.... and had fun trying out the Xterra-50

[dahut]

Headed out today to reconnoiter some places that appear on old topo maps. As it happens, I got some wires crossed and the exact locations eluded me and Hal, my hunting partner. We got a lot of exercise hiking around the woods and logged-off tracts of land, but found no sign of the long gone structures we sought.

I remain undaunted, though. I will give another look at the maps, in an attempt to get the scaling right. Besides, we found easy access to huge areas of land - you gotta keep looking when you have clear access. Certainly in all that acreage, we can find an old house site or two. The search continues.

As a fallback we ended up at an old ballfield that has been in use since the 1940's. The area, hunted to death, hasn't produced anything good in a long while, but something can always be found. It also gave me a chance to check out a Minelab Xterra-50, which Hal got in a trade.

I had never seen one before and have had my misgivings about spending hobby money to the profit of foreign companies. But, I had heard a lot of ballyhoo about the Minelab product and was intrigued to try it.
With no instructional DVD to watch, no manual at hand and not even any pre-sets to go by, it was "Turn it on and see what happens."
Clutch time, as we used to say.

What I discovered was interesting, to say the least.

Some pros of the XTerra-50 are:

1. Light
Im talking near uMax light here. This is all day hunting light.

2. Well balanced
Along with being light it balances well in the hand, and is an easy swinger.

3. Multiple modes.
Minelab calls them discrimination "Patterns"... whatever. Pattern 1 is the equivalent of a Beach mode, Pattern 2 the same as a Coins mode. Why couldn't they have just called them "modes?"

4. Sharp response on coins, accurate TID
When there was a good signal beneath the coil, the X-50 said so with both audio and TID that was normally unwavering.

5. Multiple Tone ID
I love tone ID. Every detector made should have it in some form. Minelab has a good arrangement for the tones and I especially like the iron tone; it's sort of a low "honk." Good choice, M-lab.

6. Decent separation in trash.
I tried this thing in and around a lot of trash. It was pretty good at picking up the good signals. You just had to give it a few passes to narrow down and work them out between the various target items.

7. Quick response
Often, digital signal processing detectors have an annoying lag in signal responses. Well, the Xterra had it, but once you got the timing right it faded into a non issue. It made up for this tiny delay by being good in the trash and separating targets well.

8. Cool audio jack cover
There is a little hatch cover over the 1/4" audio jack. Neat idea, which others should adopt.

9. Switching coils changes frequency
I guess that's a plus.. I don't really know as I didn't have a chance to try it.

Some cons of the Xterra are:

1. No all metal mode
Oh, it has an "All metal" mode, but it is really a zero discrimination mode. What I was hoping for was a threshold based, non-motion, all metal mode. Sorry folks - not there. Oh, by the way, there is no threshold, either. That's something else every detector should have.

2. Unmodulated audio
The X-50 beeped the same whether the target was 6" deep or on the surface - the audio amplitude stayed the same regardless. The only time it changed was when the target was at the extreme edege of detection; then it went scratchy and vague.

3. Weird VDI scaling.
Okay Minelab, what's up with this? Did you have to abandon the normal 0-99 VDI scale, just to seem different or "innovative?"
What they did was cut it in half, basically. Quarters came in at 42, versus their normal 84-85. Copper cents hit at 36 and my trusty wedding band at 18, instead of it's normal 33-35.
I hadda relearn the whole scale with this detector, on the fly - without knowing it was coming. Not cool. Certainly not "innovative" in my book.

4. Weak audio
Along with the unmodulted audio, the output was just flat weak. I use Garretts, Fishers, Whites and Tesoro's on a regular basis and they all have audio that would be called strong... and which I can adjust to suit me. This X-50 required my switching to my back up phones, a set of in-ear digital headphones. Even with the audio maxed out, this didn't make it appreciably louder, just crisper. It reminded me of the weak audio on the HH Wader. Hey Minelab, how about an amplifier on that circuit?

5. Depth was adequate but hardly superior
Everyone wants deep seeking detectors, right? Well, look elsewhere. I was getting cents at 5-6," but beyond that - no dice. Heck My little 1236-X2 does better than that. Even with the SENS at near max (18 out of 20), I just didn't feel that the X-50 was heads above in this department.

6. The depth indication was so-so.
Actually, I should say it was another "innovative" feature that just didn't work out well. Minelab uses a sort of ring and arrow arrangement to indicate depth that was more odd than functional. I ended up just raising the coil to get an idea of depth and quit farting around with the indicated depth reading altogether.

7. Switching coils changes frequency
I guess that's a plus.. I don't really know as I didn't have a chance to try it.
At $150 a pop for one of the coils, I wonder if I would ever find out.
Shouldn't a mid level detector work as is, without having to reconfigure major components to access another mode of operation?

All in all, I liked the X-50 in a cool, weird sort of way. It reminds me of the beatnik hippie chicks I knew back in the day. They were attractive, sure enough, but it was hard to get into the same groove as them. You wanted to get to know them, but just couldn't connect.
Minelab touts it as inuitive to use - I beg to differ.

I did like it better than the Ace 250 for a newbie, though. Much smoother than the little $200 Yeller Feller. However, at nearly three times the price, I would leave the X Terra-50 buying decision to the interested newbie.

I'm certain that, with enough time, I could get used to it's idiosyncrasies and begin to explore it's strengths. Im certain it has untapped strengths - it feels like it does. Unfortunately, I am also left feeling there is more hype here than substance.

Here's what was found in a brief time at the ballfield:

 

[Steve(MS)]

David, I don't know if your friend has a small coil for his detector, if so you should give it a try in iron trashy areas. That is after you learn it better. Now I haven't used the 50 but my 70 has modulated audio and the audio is plenty loud enough for me. The 70 has a prospecting mode that has excellent depth, sort of an all-metal mode with a limited disc feature.
I would find that depth disappointing too but I dug a penny 8" deep last weekend with the 70, maybe his 50 isn't operating correctly?
Foreign companies? Don't buy Ford, Chrysler or from Walmart, there is no way of telling where the parts come from, engineering and such. Yes, I agree it is a good idea to buy US when possible but many of us buy the product we feel comes closest to what we want.
I do buy US when possible, whenever I fill my vehicle up with gas, , just joking.
Anyway, I am not posting here to correct your opinion, just hope you will give it more time before you come to any set conclusions.
I have used the Advantage, X-terra 70 and have been using the Explorer XS for years now and in my opinion they make excellent products, and there are others that swear by the Sovereign.
Of course it is better to compare meter/tone detectors to each other rather than comparing one to a single tone non-metered detector, in other words, apples to apples.
Finally all metal detectors have their strengths and their quirks, we decide whether they are acceptable to us.
Regards.

 

[dahut]

The 70 has a prospecting mode that has excellent depth, sort of an all-metal mode with a limited disc feature.
I would find that depth disappointing too but I dug a penny 8" deep last weekend with the 70, maybe his 50 isn't operating correctly?
Sounds interesting. I don't know if it was running right, in that I had no instructions. I simply followed the normal procedures you'd use with any detector. I myself argue that it was not "intuitive," at least on some counts, so I could have had something set-up wrong.

Foreign companies? Don't buy Ford, Chrysler or from Walmart, there is no way of telling where the parts come from, engineering and such. Yes, I agree it is a good idea to buy US when possible but many of us buy the product we feel comes closest to what we want.
Indeed we do - sadly, with little other concern than that.

My case stems from who gains the profit in a transaction, not in mutual trade. When we happily, even willingly, give our money overseas to the detriment of an American companies' profit, simply to fulfill a hobby "want," then I take umbrage. In my eyes, that approaches treason.

We, as a nation, have become minimalists and seem to feel we are no better than anyone else. Where once we believed we should be number one, now we cling to the notion that we are just one of the herd.

I am mostly alone in these sentiments, I realize. Also a sad situation.

Anyway, I am not posting here to correct your opinion, just hope you will give it more time before you come to any set conclusions.
I'd like to. However, if I know my pal, the unit will be gone by next week.

I have used the Advantage, X-terra 70 and have been using the Explorer XS for years now and in my opinion they make excellent product...
I agree. It was seemingly well thought out and well engineered. I cannot quibble the quality. Seems a tad spendy, however, for what you get.

It is better to compare meter/tone detectors to each other rather than comparing one to a single tone non-metered detector, in other words, apples to apples.
Naturally, some comparison is inevitable, as I use both metered and non-metered units on a regular basis. I hope I was able to remain at least somewhat neutral, and just tell what my impressions were.

Finally all metal detectors have their strengths and their quirks, we decide whether they are acceptable to us.
"Whatever torques your nuts," as I like to say.

 

[ngrelic]

I've been using the x50 for about 3 months now. All I can say is that I am digging more relics and even deeper relics than I have in years. I used a 1266x for about 8 years and could never get the depth that everyone raved about. I had to turn the sensitivity down so low to stop most of the chatter that I know I was losing a lot of depth. If I turned the sens up the noise was so bad that I beleive it was "masking" deeper signals. The x50 is very stable and yes it is plenty loud for me. The ground balance is very, very good in the moderate to high mineralization we have in this area. I use a 10.5'' DD 7.5kHr coil and as I said the depth is very impressive. My friend uses a DFX and we have compared signals on deep targets. My x50 will keep up with no problem. He keeps saying "that's a strong machine, I think it's deeper than mine", I doubt that myself. I've used Fisher, Whites, Garrett, Nautilaus, and now Minelab over the past 30 years of relic hunting and I can honestly say that the x50 is out performing many of them......Just MHO.

P.S. The patterns can be set by the user to accept/reject any variaty of targets, they are not pre-set "modes".

 

[christopher-ohio]

Gosh, for a worked out ballfield, it seems you found quite a few coins with it I have had both, the 50 and 70...they both have their strengths. For me, the 50 "locks" on targets much better compared to the 70 with less bouncing. I have found the audio on mine to be modulated depending on the depth but I agree the audio is much weaker than the Fisher CZ-70 Pro for comparison. It doesn't false on the iron like a CZ and has better separation and see-through iron ability. I have found many a good coin and relic in heavy iron with it after a CZ with the stock 9 inch coil...but it really comes down the individual and what their likes and needs are...HH

 

[dahut]

I found out this morning that we never ground balanced the -50. I assumed Hal had already and didint really want to mess with the controls. So it's possible, even likely, that it could have been off balance.

We will have to give it another shot and see if that doesn't make a difference.
I still can't change the weak, unmodulated audio, weird VDI numbering, or lack of a non-motion mode. If the Xterra were mine, I would get a smaller coil for it, so whether that makes much difference would be seen.

It should be noted too that I was using a Fisher 1236-X2 that day, as we had originally started out to hunt for old house sites in the bush. I didnt attempt to make a side by side comparison of the two, as they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. That would have been apples to oranges, and I didn''t want to go there. What you got was my out of the box impressions, which are just that... first glance thoughts.

The cents you see in the pic, Chris, were in one small area, a spill of some kind I reckon. They hit at either 33 or 36 depending on whether they were Zincolns or Coppers. The ID was spot on, as I said in the pro's and there was good separation.severalof them were gith next to each other and the X-50 separated them out well.

Even so, I've been using detectors for almost twenty years. I find the X-Terra 50 an odd detector of sorts. It seems to work okay, as I said, in that weird, hippie-chick kinda way. Remember, I dont dislike it - no one should take these comments as a personal affront. It is what it is, you might say.
I'll need to see some more performance to determine if it's worth the almost $600 asking price.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

the 10.5" 7.5KHz DD coil gets some good depth, a must have for relic hunting if you want some depth. HH and good luck, Mike

 

[jackintexas]

AS the saying goes- An experienced user will find more with a cheap detector than a novice with an expensive detector. The same may be said for one who just started using a particular detector and one who is experienced with that detector....Jack

 

[dahut]

Youre right, Jack. With luck, I'll get to use it some more - with a little knowledge.

But I still can't understand the need to change the VDI numbering the way they. Nor can I see myself buying one new.
Nonetheless, I hope I get to know it a little better.

 

[ngrelic]

My "hippie-chick" found a 1917 Mercury dime this afternoon, I think I'll keep it around for a while. LOL

 

[BarnacleBill]

There was no VDI to change from, it was a whole new platform not based on any previous products. An example in the Fisher Line would be the ID Excel or Edge which had an VDI scale of -36 to +36. The current Tesoro Cortes & DeLeon read 0 to 95. So there is no "industry standard" VDI scale nor any TID tone frequencies etc etc. If you haven't had the breadth of experience to try those other models I can see where you may have become accustomed to a particular scale. Heck, I had an original Tesoro Cortes that had a scale of 0 to 1, let me repeat, that's not a misprint, Zero to One. When the battery check got below 0.6 it was time for new batteries.

BarnacleBill

 

[Steve(MS)]

What I generally do if the detector doesn't have labeled icons is first find out where Quarters, dimes, zincs and nickels hit (air test), you can learn the in-betweens later.
David, maybe you are just missing the labeled icons?
Haha, you know those icon labels are very optimistic, wonder why the market dept never wants to label them like the following for conductive ranges: nail, foil, beavertail, small, medium and large pulltab,
alum scewcap, small can slaw, large can slaw and sardine can(for the large silver mark)?

 

[dahut]

...and it's a good one. Maybe there should be an industry standard.

It does little to advance the state of the art when everyone does the same thing, in a different way. Look at all the 'unique' model cars on the road, all doing the same thing. Few of them are leaps ahead of the others, even after decades of development.

From what I could tell, there isn't anything revolutionary being done here, either. What IS being done is done well, mind you. It's obvious that M-lab has the current state of micro-digital electronics pretty well in hand.
And there is the coil-swap configuration business, but even that isn't way, way out there. Seems a good way to upsell the consumer, though...
Remember, I am impressed with the X-50, in my own way. Go back and read my list of "pro's."
Everything does seem to work as it was intended, in a lightweight potent package. That is hard to beat.

But I fear that loading up on proprietary gadgetry because either you can, or you want to appear different seems, well, like hype.
Except to the marketing department, of course. They like to call it "innovative."

To be fair, all the makers are pretty good at doing this. I have similar sentiments about one or two of the other guys innovations, too.

But it's all good. If they didn't do it, then they wouldn't sell units. I haven't tried each detector ever made... heck, I'm good, but even I couldnt afford to do that.
So I have only about 20 or so detector models worth of experience to go by. After all this time, I can only call 'em like I see's 'em.

---

My "hippie-chick" found a 1917 Mercury dime this afternoon, I think I'll keep it around for a while. LOL
Cool! Way to go "hippie-chick!" Proves my point - the Minelab works.
Was it the detector, do you think, or where you took it that made that recovery notable? I found one not long ago, too - - right in the middle of some of the nastiest iron clutter trash you could want. The recovery was partly the result of being in the right place, but much more so being there with the right detector. Several units I can name, in that location, would not have done so well. The detector of choice that day wasn't a Minelab, for the record.

Steve also hits on a good point - I went into this blind. I had never seen one of these X-50's except in advertisements, which are mostly useless sales pitches.
I did no testing, I followed nothing but the prompts - or lack thereof - that the detector came came with. I didn't know squat about what was going to happen, or how the instrument would respond. But, that seems to me a great test of an intruments innate usability, that is...

Can you pick it up, push an obvious button or two and go to it? In this case, I'd have to say only sorta kinda, maybe.

The way it looks, you need to be smarter than the X-50 to get the most from it. So far it's X-50, 1... David, 0.

We'll see if we can at least tie that score, next time.

Thanks for everyone's comments. I sincerely appreciate your involvement.

 

[ngrelic]

The 1917 Merc was found on my way out of the woods from one of my "hunted out" civil war sites. I also found a spencer carbine bullet at 8+ inches with a nail in same hole. The dime was only about 5 inches deep and gave a very strong signal that locked on 36. Keep using the x50 dahut, I think you'll like it.