Thinking about a 705...

[jbow]

I've been sitting on several detectors and trying to learn to like a couple without much luck. I'm really thinking about selling some machines and getting a 705 and most, if not all, the coils. My SE has been gathering dust, my T2 seems to have really gone up in value (I can always buy another one later), my V3 hurts my back (not the fault of the detector, I have a little curve in my spine and it somehow aggrivates it) and it is no better than an E-TRAC, my F75 LTD just doesn't do anything for me.

I really love my E-TRAC (it is the best), I always enjoy using the SovereignGT(especially on the beach), and there are places with a lot of iron where the Tejon seems to work better than anything else.

I've never really taken a serious look at the Exterra series but i'm thinking that a 705 might be the perfect compliment to the ET, GT, and Tejon. From my reading I am hoping that I can make the shaft short enough for me... even with the light weight of the T2 sometimes it makes my back cramp when I don't set it short enough.

The E-TRAC is the most comfortable detector I have because I can easily and often tweak the length... that really seems to help me to detect without pain.



...and aslong as I am asking questions... I am using a Dell Inspiron laptop, why does my cursor sometimes jump around? I'll be typing a sentence and all of a sudden the cursor will be half a paragraph up and typing in a different sentence. It is annoying and I don't know what is doing it, do you? Am I hitting something by accident? What is it...!!!??? $$^&^*&*

So... will I like the Exterra 705? Is it anything like an E-TRAC or is it anything like a Sovereign or is it something totally different? I know it isn't FBS or BBS but tonewise and just in general...

Thanks,

Julien

 

[Digger]

The X-Terra is a totally different detector than the FBS or BBS Minelabs. It is kind of like Minelab took the best features of their BBS, FBS and VLF detectors and rolled them into the X-Terra. Having used all their coin/jewelry detectors for a long time, I think of the X-Terra as an Advantage, with a meter, on steroids! It is deep, it is snesitive to small targets, it operates very stable in nearly any environment and has a variety of coils. Unlike the FBS or BBS detectors, the X-Terra has a very forgiving sweep speed. It doesn't offer simultaneous Conductive/Ferrous readings like the FBS. But does offer a single reading much like the BBS units. Just a different scale. It offers a full range of notch rejection discrimination segments, unlike the BBS units. Oh, and rest assured you can either cut down the length of the lower shaft, or order one of the shorter lower shafts, to accomodate your needs. Auto NC, auto GB, tracking, offset tracking, choice of 3 frequencies, Prospecting mode with iron mask.... the list goes on and on.

I guess if I were in your shoes, I'd sell that T2 and buy the 705. The T2 price is high right now due to the gold market and the slow production of actual gold machines. Fortunately, the guy who made that last hit was using a T2 instead of the X-Terra. Otherwise we'd be complaining why we couldn't buy any X-Terras. Anyway, sell the T2, buy the 705 and make the comparisons yourself, like I have. And keep the ones you like best, like I have. I've had just about all of them during the past 38 years. And the ones still hanging around my house are the X-Terras, an Advantage, an Etrac and my XLPro. JMHO HH Randy

 

[jbow]

Thanks enabler... er, I mean Randy

I think I will, and the SE and the 75 LTD. My T2 is a alittle hard to part with but with the price I think I can do it. It made two trips back to FT for tweaking and the 2nd time it came back it was absolutely rock soild. It is very stable and solid, much more so than the original F75 I had or the LTD I now have... still, if I can get something approaching 2k for it i'll be able to buy the 705 and all the coils... and I like Minelabs (excepting the SE)

Thanks for the nudge! It's just what I wanted.

Julien

 

[morelic55]

Like you the F-75 LTD did not excite me at all. I would sell it instead of the T-2, which I had better results with out of all of the FT lineup. I have had 3, yep 3 Xterra 70's and traded them for others including the F-75 LTD. Back in December, I came back to Minelab for the LAST TIME!!! I have a 705 now, which I think is a far more Superior detector than ANY OTHER that I have had. I made more finds with the X-Terras than all the others combined. So I would say, step away from the "Camo" detector, sell it and get a couple of extra coils to go along with the new 705...........

 

[Shenandoah Digger]

I like the T2 also but have made better finds with the Xterra 70. Ebay the T2 for a lot more than it's worth, but a 705, and then if you want a T2 later, you'll probably still have enough money left to get it. Or you could add an Omega for a couple hundred less, which to me is superior to the T2. And the 705 with the stock or elliptical coil weighs less than a walking stick.

 

[jbow]

Yep, I am not happy with it. There are parks where I cannot use it AT ALL and it just will never seem right IMO to have to turn any detectors sensitivity below 10 in order to use it, at least not when sens goes to 99. I DO like the ideal of being able to detect with the coil 6" off the ground.

An original F75 was my main detector for over a year and I made good finds with it all the time. During that time I tried to learn the SE. I detected almost every day unless it was freezing. I always started out with the SE and would use it for an hour or two, making no finds to speak of, and being totally frustrated by the "song of tones" it would give instead of a beep of whatever tone the target indicated. Then I would switch to the F75, go back over the same area and make some really good finds... so I am not bashing the F75, I think they are good but this LTD is either a little "off" or it is not for me.
I may have mentioned it but about a month before the ET came out I finally began to "get" the SE when I switched to an open screen, ferrous and multi tones. FWIW, the E-TRAC was like an old friend right out of the box. I immediately started to make good finds and was immediately comfortable with it. It is strange how some detectors are like that.

When I got my T2 I had primed myself to learn it, knowing that it was suppossed to "chatter". Everyone was posting about how noisy it was so I expected it and it was indeed VERY noisy. I worked with it for about three weeks and I made some good finds with it but finally I got to thinking that there must be something wrong with it. I called FT and the tech on the phone told me to wiggle the connector where the coil cable connects to the box. I wiggled it and it went NUTS. I had hunted for three weeks with the connection loose.... but you know, I think that helped me because it was so much quieter when I tightened it. Still, I had to send it back to FT twice because it wasn't right. After the second time I got it back it has been really good and I do hate to part with it. I also had to send my original F75 in to be fixed and I think if I were to keep the LTD i'd have to send it in too. I don't want to do that.


Thanks,

Julien

 

[jbow]

Why do you think that the Omega is surperior to the T2? I have not heard that? Have you used both of them enough to really compare? Also, what do you hunt, coins or relics or both and what is your soil like? Mine is moderate to high mineral, a good bit of iron ore and red clay. I mostly hunt relics but I also hunt coins whenever I have a chance.

Thanks,

Julien

 

[David]

Thanks Julien for the very good post, but I sorry cannot help you with your question. But if you are selling your T2, boy are they ever commanding a high second-hand used price! Look on ebay for T2's, a couple are about $2,000 to $2,400 'Buy It Now' price, and also 3 actual 'Bids' at around $1,300, now on Feb. 10th. A person can buy a 'brand new' T2 with one coil at about $999 and a T2 LTD(Limited Edition) Camo with 2 coils at about $1,199, the factory must sure be backordered on T2's. Kellyco says there is a huge demand for T2 Detectors. I heard the high price demand is because they are used Africa for finding gold. If you want to, you better sell your T2 now as that high used price will not last too long. The F75's are not getting as high of a price.

Also I see a 15x12" SEF Butterfly Coil is available for the Teknetics T2 at $189.95.

You will like the X-Terra 705(the Pro Package comes with a 5x10 HF DD) when you get it. Get these extra coils if you can(6 HF DD, 9 LF Concentric, and round 10.5 MF & HF DD's), an environmental cover, and I also recommend a 'carbon fibre' (non-metallic) upper straight shaft available from Anderson Detector Shafts, if you get on their website click on What's New. IMO(InMyOpinion).

What headphones are you using Julien? Do you use a sound Limiter?

 

[jbow]

What headphones are you using Julien? Do you use a sound Limiter?

I have a pair of SunRays Golds and a pair of Killer B Hornets, both have limiters and stereo/mono.

I'll look at the shafts, thanks!

I always have to have all the bells and whistles (extra coils etc) especially with the Exterra where the coils make so much of a difference.

Thanks for the input.

Julien

 

[Canewrap]

The other guys covered the bases on what you should do with your detectors, so I'll try and help with the laptop problem. I too, have had this problem with Dell Laptops. The easy solution is to take a 3X5" index card and cover the finger-driven mouse pad at the bottom (tape it to one side or the other). It's picking up your finger motions as they drift over that part of the keyboard. I'm certain there is a way to get into the settings and disable it, but this solution worked so well for me I never bothered and if you find yourself without your mouse, you won't have to try and remember how to re-enable it, just remove the card.

 

[jbow]

Thanks, I was wondering if it was the mouse pad.

J