Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
Which one ?????
- Thread starter CHRIS OC
- Start date
OregonGregg
Well-known member
I would go with the MXT Pro or M6 and as Hombre said put on the Eclipse 5.3 coil (6 1/2" coil) The mx5 is also a good machine but you can't lock the GB on it.
My vote would also go for the MXT and the 5.3 coil,a great combination especially when the chance of iron is around,also the MXT is a very adaptable machine for general all round detecting not just cellar holes.
I love the 5.3 coil although i would not use it as a every day coil but its the best one for your style of hunting though.
I love the 5.3 coil although i would not use it as a every day coil but its the best one for your style of hunting though.
OregonGregg
Well-known member
MX5 is a great machine, but in heavily iron infested sites, like ghost towns etc, the auto trac can get out of sorts due to trying to constantly update the GB while in heavy iron. They put a GB lock on the Coinmaster GT, M6 and the MXT's. Still can't figure out why they skipped that important feature on the MX5. It was the reason I got rid of mine. I hunt old iron infested places 95% of the time.
Well Gregg,,, I hunt some nasty iron riddled sites myself, so, exactly what "out of sorts" are you talking about, tell me so I will know if mine is doing it.
Just curious as to what the MX5 was doing that you thought it was behaving out of balanced, I've never experienced it myself.
Just curious as to what the MX5 was doing that you thought it was behaving out of balanced, I've never experienced it myself.
OregonGregg
Well-known member
in heavy iron infested sites the auto trac can actually track to the iron resulting in a improper ground balance that would be proper for the area, I hunt heavy iron infested sites and prefer to lock the GB. The MX5 will do the job 95% of the time with no problems. Also I liked having a variable disc over notch so that was also some of the reason I let my MX5 go. But to each their own. I just prefer the M6 and MXT's with their variable disc and ability to lock the GB.
I'm serious Gregg, what exactly was the MX5 doing that made you think it tracked into iron,
... was it false signals, lost threshold, that squeezed out little signal that tries to squeak in, The tones were off? What?
I'm being nice here and I'm trying to comprehend what was happening in the iron with your MX5. Did Monte have to show you an example of what the off tracking sounded like,......inquiring minds want to know...LOL
... was it false signals, lost threshold, that squeezed out little signal that tries to squeak in, The tones were off? What?
I'm being nice here and I'm trying to comprehend what was happening in the iron with your MX5. Did Monte have to show you an example of what the off tracking sounded like,......inquiring minds want to know...LOL
OregonGregg
Well-known member
My MX5 would become unstable in those heavy iron infested sites, but we are talking very heavy iron infested sites. Machine was still usable just a bit more noisy and chattier. No big deal, I could deal with it till I hit cleaner ground and it would balance out. But it was a factor of reasons that I chose to get rid of mine. Sorry to have ruffled your feathers and sorry i don't like the MX5 as much as you do.
as I said earlier , I like the variable disc over notch, I have a RNB rechargeable battery that I can use with my M6, MXT Pro and my Classic models, can't use it with the MX5.
I didn't like the manufacturing shortcut that Whites took by not placing the headphone jack in the back of the battery box where it should be, instead putting it out the back right side of the TID display. Being right handed and holding the machine in my right hand, the headphone cord had to loop back over the machine which was kinda annoying.
I am glad you like the MX5 and it works great for you.............thats all that counts. I use what I feel works best for me. But in all fairness even my M6 or MXT Pro will also become a bit unstable for a different reason, its not iron that is throwing them off, it is because I do have the GB locked and if ground conditions rapidly change, as they can sometimes , then my machine(s) can't update to changing ground conditions. Its easy to tell when, and I just quickly re-ground balance.
And no Monte didn't hold my hand and show me, he did however tell me that there isn't a perfect detector made yet.
as I said earlier , I like the variable disc over notch, I have a RNB rechargeable battery that I can use with my M6, MXT Pro and my Classic models, can't use it with the MX5.
I didn't like the manufacturing shortcut that Whites took by not placing the headphone jack in the back of the battery box where it should be, instead putting it out the back right side of the TID display. Being right handed and holding the machine in my right hand, the headphone cord had to loop back over the machine which was kinda annoying.
I am glad you like the MX5 and it works great for you.............thats all that counts. I use what I feel works best for me. But in all fairness even my M6 or MXT Pro will also become a bit unstable for a different reason, its not iron that is throwing them off, it is because I do have the GB locked and if ground conditions rapidly change, as they can sometimes , then my machine(s) can't update to changing ground conditions. Its easy to tell when, and I just quickly re-ground balance.
And no Monte didn't hold my hand and show me, he did however tell me that there isn't a perfect detector made yet.
Thanks Gregg for the lively discussion and for your time,
I'm sorry I high jacked the original post and to the original poster...I apologize. There's not much going on with this forum since the Nokta/Macro metal detectors have hit the forums. I will just go on with my "not perfect" MX5 and continue to find stuff.
I'm sorry I high jacked the original post and to the original poster...I apologize. There's not much going on with this forum since the Nokta/Macro metal detectors have hit the forums. I will just go on with my "not perfect" MX5 and continue to find stuff.
OregonGregg
Well-known member
Ya lively discussions are fun. Hombre you should come out west and do the Nevada ghostown hunts May 16-19th . We will be staying in Wendover,Nv. Heck if we can't find treasure in the ghost towns, there is lots of tressure to be found in the casinos lol ( or lost 
OregonGregg
Well-known member
Ha ha Well according to Monte there isn't a perfect detector. So I am in the same boat as you Hombre, I'll just have to do the best I can with my imperfect detectors.
To Chris OC:
My all-time favorite search coil for this model [size=small](or the same size for the MX5, M6, Classic ID and IDX Pro, 6000 Pro XL/XL Pro)[/size] is the 6½" diameter Concentric coil, That would be the 5.3 Eclipse for the MXT Pro's, M6 or MX5, or the Blue Max 600, 5.3 Black Max or 5,3 BullsEye for the other models I mentioned that work at 6.59 kHz.
To Hombre: As I have mentioned on many occasions, I DO like White's MX5, just not as much as the MXT Pro. Generally, as in most-of-the-time, I didn't have any major issues with the MX5 for the bulk of my "typical coin hunting" in 'average' urban environments. I could also use the Teknetics Omega for urban Coin Hunting and, between then two of them, I actually preferred the Omega more 'in town.' due to audio Tone choices, but I liked the smaller round Concentric coil on the MX5 to the slightly under 5" diameter DD for the Omega.
In more challenging ground environments, I liked the Omega a little better because it had a fast automated GB that was then set or fixed where I wanted it, AND I had the manual GB over-ride to tweak it, either way. Having a 'Lock Trac' option or a manual GB option gave me an advantage over the MX5.
Consider these statements:
From a V3i Manual:
Inhibit - ON (“X” in box) When on, delays the point automatic tracking begins to
adjust to the ground. Helps in iron infested ground. Use off in widely variable ground
with little or no iron to allow immediate tracking.... The MX5 doesn't offer a Trac Inhibit Off function;
Offset - Manually moves ground balance point from perfect balance. Positive offset
often used in highly mineralized ground to enhance low conductive and small (gold,
silver, coins) targets in radically changing noisy ground.... The MX5 doesn't provide this option. What I use now gives me the ability to manually GB with a slightly positive offset, if I desire.
Locktrac - Locks ground setting. Turns off all tracking. Turn ON and use manual
method above. Best used for repeatable responses on very deep targets, and rejection
of difficult minerals.... Nope, not on the MX5, and I hunt sites with a very high Ground Phase and usually 5-of-8 to 7-of-8 Fe3O4 [size=small](Magnetic Mineral Indication display)[/size] segments filled in, plus some sites that produce deeper coins and keepers plus some ferrous junk.
Inhibit – When ON ground mineral tracking is restricted during target signals that have a high
probability of being a ground mineral or hot rock. Doing so prevents errors in ground tracking caused by ground
anomalies in search area. When off (empty square) ground tracking occurs regardless. ON is suggested for most
types of searching. OFF is suggested for Prospecting.... No 'Inhibit' with the MX5 to select On or Off, and that means without it I could have/and have had troubles due to tracking errors in many of my bad-ground search areas.
MX5 Manual
It is possible to largely null out the ground signal and leave
only target signals. This is done with a combination of special
tuning in the receiver plus filters. The tuning portion is what we
call ground balance. Some detectors have a fixed (preset)
ground balance which is optimal for one type of mineralization;
in other types of ground it may not be optimal and will result in
loss of depth. The MX5 has a variable ground balance with the
ability to automatically track changes in soil mineralization.
This system (called AutoTrac®) keeps the MX5 tuned for optimal
performance in most ground conditions and results in better
detection depth.
Most ferrous mineralization produces a response with a
VDI of -93 (for pure ferrite) up to perhaps -88 or so. This is at
the extreme end of the ferrous (iron) region. Most small iron
targets (nails and so forth) reside in the middle of the ferrous
region. To prevent tracking to iron targets the AutoTrac® system
has an upper limit on the track range of -88 (VDI). Sometimes
we draw the VDI scale as a semicircle, with ferrous (-95 to 0)
on the left and non-ferrous (0 to +95) on the right; we can use
this to show the normal range of ground tracking:
Because the track range now includes the entire ferrous
region, it is possible for iron targets to cause tracking errors.
Therefore, if a target gives an initial response and then quickly
fades away on subsequent short sweeps, it is likely an iron target.
Using Pinpoint mode will lock tracking and allow you to
zero in on the target. You may first need to move off the target
and bob the coil a couple of times to re-establish a correct
ground balance point, then switch to Pinpoint mode.... And most places I hunt have bad ground and an over-abundance of iron/ferrous targets, and it is possible, for tracking errors, and it does happen.
XLT Manual:
AUTO-TRAC™ is recommended for typical search conditions.
If, however, a great deal of decomposed
man-made iron is encountered, AUTO TRAC™
OFF, is advised.... But the MX5 doesn't allow the operator to turn Auto-Trac™ 'Off' when I hunt especially iron trashy ghost towns, homesteads, and other locations with frequent ferrous trash.
So, while I like the MX5 and it does work okay for most typical Coin Hunting sites in town,. I had to make a choice as I sold off a lot of excess detectors I have to trim my detector arsenal down, and I kept the models that performed the best for me on the Nail Board Performance Test, dense iron plagued sites, urban coin hunting locations, rural relic hunting sites, beach h8nting my local freshwater sandy site, and being able to handle all the more challenging ground I encountered.
It almost matched my MXT Pro's performance, but the MXT Pro had a definite edge, to include the ability to 'Lock' the GB setting. It also didn't match the performance I get with my Nokta FORS CoRe or Makro Racer, or even the Bandido II µMAX in dense iron challenged sites. Thus, I made the decision I felt I needed to with my MX5. Very good detector, not a bad one, but I also considered the poor location of the headphone jack and lack of Lock Trac ability and sold it off.
To Oregon Gregg: Yes, we ALL get to use the detectors we prefer and just need to appreciate they are not 'perfect' in overall performance and looks, they just happen to be what we like and perform to our satisfaction.
To Anyone interested in a get-away and a chance find some old stuff and meet others: We are having a "Welcome to Hunt" metal detecting outing on May 16th & 17th, plus as many days after as you would care to hang around. Meet others from new-comers, to beginners, experienced, and maybe even a 'pro' or two. Our 'base camp' will be Wendover, Nevada. Some, like me, will stay at Motel 6, some at another motel, some at a casino resort, and others might use an RV park.
We'll discuss the different sites, figure out how many are there to participate and make destination plans the evening of the 15th, then head out for a full-day of enjoyment on Saturday the 16th. Just show up and figure out how you want to stay there, enjoy what the different casinos offer, and shop for some food and beverages to be ready for a few days of old site hunting. At least four old town sites are on the agenda, and if we can, we'll add more places. They date back to an activity period beginning 1868 and 1869 for the two oldest town site.
So of you're bored, want a new and different place to hunt, would like an opportunity to fine older coins such as half-dimes, 3¢ and 2¢ pieces, Seated Liberty and Barber silv3eer coins, Indian Head or Flying Eagle cents, old 'Good For' Trade Tokens, and best of all to learn more about your detectors and to meet other folks who enjoy this great outdoor sport .... here's an opportunity. If interested, just e-mail me at: monte@ahrps.org and I'll put you on the e-mail list of info I am sending out.
Monte
My all-time favorite White's model for best versatility would be the MXT Pro/MXT All-Pro [size=small](same detector, just one with an 'All' sticker by the Pro and one without)[/size].CHRIS OC said:
My all-time favorite search coil for this model [size=small](or the same size for the MX5, M6, Classic ID and IDX Pro, 6000 Pro XL/XL Pro)[/size] is the 6½" diameter Concentric coil, That would be the 5.3 Eclipse for the MXT Pro's, M6 or MX5, or the Blue Max 600, 5.3 Black Max or 5,3 BullsEye for the other models I mentioned that work at 6.59 kHz.
To Hombre: As I have mentioned on many occasions, I DO like White's MX5, just not as much as the MXT Pro. Generally, as in most-of-the-time, I didn't have any major issues with the MX5 for the bulk of my "typical coin hunting" in 'average' urban environments. I could also use the Teknetics Omega for urban Coin Hunting and, between then two of them, I actually preferred the Omega more 'in town.' due to audio Tone choices, but I liked the smaller round Concentric coil on the MX5 to the slightly under 5" diameter DD for the Omega.
In more challenging ground environments, I liked the Omega a little better because it had a fast automated GB that was then set or fixed where I wanted it, AND I had the manual GB over-ride to tweak it, either way. Having a 'Lock Trac' option or a manual GB option gave me an advantage over the MX5.
Consider these statements:
From a V3i Manual:
Inhibit - ON (“X” in box) When on, delays the point automatic tracking begins to
adjust to the ground. Helps in iron infested ground. Use off in widely variable ground
with little or no iron to allow immediate tracking.... The MX5 doesn't offer a Trac Inhibit Off function;
Offset - Manually moves ground balance point from perfect balance. Positive offset
often used in highly mineralized ground to enhance low conductive and small (gold,
silver, coins) targets in radically changing noisy ground.... The MX5 doesn't provide this option. What I use now gives me the ability to manually GB with a slightly positive offset, if I desire.
Locktrac - Locks ground setting. Turns off all tracking. Turn ON and use manual
method above. Best used for repeatable responses on very deep targets, and rejection
of difficult minerals.... Nope, not on the MX5, and I hunt sites with a very high Ground Phase and usually 5-of-8 to 7-of-8 Fe3O4 [size=small](Magnetic Mineral Indication display)[/size] segments filled in, plus some sites that produce deeper coins and keepers plus some ferrous junk.
Inhibit – When ON ground mineral tracking is restricted during target signals that have a high
probability of being a ground mineral or hot rock. Doing so prevents errors in ground tracking caused by ground
anomalies in search area. When off (empty square) ground tracking occurs regardless. ON is suggested for most
types of searching. OFF is suggested for Prospecting.... No 'Inhibit' with the MX5 to select On or Off, and that means without it I could have/and have had troubles due to tracking errors in many of my bad-ground search areas.
MX5 Manual
It is possible to largely null out the ground signal and leave
only target signals. This is done with a combination of special
tuning in the receiver plus filters. The tuning portion is what we
call ground balance. Some detectors have a fixed (preset)
ground balance which is optimal for one type of mineralization;
in other types of ground it may not be optimal and will result in
loss of depth. The MX5 has a variable ground balance with the
ability to automatically track changes in soil mineralization.
This system (called AutoTrac®) keeps the MX5 tuned for optimal
performance in most ground conditions and results in better
detection depth.
Most ferrous mineralization produces a response with a
VDI of -93 (for pure ferrite) up to perhaps -88 or so. This is at
the extreme end of the ferrous (iron) region. Most small iron
targets (nails and so forth) reside in the middle of the ferrous
region. To prevent tracking to iron targets the AutoTrac® system
has an upper limit on the track range of -88 (VDI). Sometimes
we draw the VDI scale as a semicircle, with ferrous (-95 to 0)
on the left and non-ferrous (0 to +95) on the right; we can use
this to show the normal range of ground tracking:
Because the track range now includes the entire ferrous
region, it is possible for iron targets to cause tracking errors.
Therefore, if a target gives an initial response and then quickly
fades away on subsequent short sweeps, it is likely an iron target.
Using Pinpoint mode will lock tracking and allow you to
zero in on the target. You may first need to move off the target
and bob the coil a couple of times to re-establish a correct
ground balance point, then switch to Pinpoint mode.... And most places I hunt have bad ground and an over-abundance of iron/ferrous targets, and it is possible, for tracking errors, and it does happen.
XLT Manual:
AUTO-TRAC™ is recommended for typical search conditions.
If, however, a great deal of decomposed
man-made iron is encountered, AUTO TRAC™
OFF, is advised.... But the MX5 doesn't allow the operator to turn Auto-Trac™ 'Off' when I hunt especially iron trashy ghost towns, homesteads, and other locations with frequent ferrous trash.
So, while I like the MX5 and it does work okay for most typical Coin Hunting sites in town,. I had to make a choice as I sold off a lot of excess detectors I have to trim my detector arsenal down, and I kept the models that performed the best for me on the Nail Board Performance Test, dense iron plagued sites, urban coin hunting locations, rural relic hunting sites, beach h8nting my local freshwater sandy site, and being able to handle all the more challenging ground I encountered.
It almost matched my MXT Pro's performance, but the MXT Pro had a definite edge, to include the ability to 'Lock' the GB setting. It also didn't match the performance I get with my Nokta FORS CoRe or Makro Racer, or even the Bandido II µMAX in dense iron challenged sites. Thus, I made the decision I felt I needed to with my MX5. Very good detector, not a bad one, but I also considered the poor location of the headphone jack and lack of Lock Trac ability and sold it off.
To Oregon Gregg: Yes, we ALL get to use the detectors we prefer and just need to appreciate they are not 'perfect' in overall performance and looks, they just happen to be what we like and perform to our satisfaction.
To Anyone interested in a get-away and a chance find some old stuff and meet others: We are having a "Welcome to Hunt" metal detecting outing on May 16th & 17th, plus as many days after as you would care to hang around. Meet others from new-comers, to beginners, experienced, and maybe even a 'pro' or two. Our 'base camp' will be Wendover, Nevada. Some, like me, will stay at Motel 6, some at another motel, some at a casino resort, and others might use an RV park.
We'll discuss the different sites, figure out how many are there to participate and make destination plans the evening of the 15th, then head out for a full-day of enjoyment on Saturday the 16th. Just show up and figure out how you want to stay there, enjoy what the different casinos offer, and shop for some food and beverages to be ready for a few days of old site hunting. At least four old town sites are on the agenda, and if we can, we'll add more places. They date back to an activity period beginning 1868 and 1869 for the two oldest town site.
So of you're bored, want a new and different place to hunt, would like an opportunity to fine older coins such as half-dimes, 3¢ and 2¢ pieces, Seated Liberty and Barber silv3eer coins, Indian Head or Flying Eagle cents, old 'Good For' Trade Tokens, and best of all to learn more about your detectors and to meet other folks who enjoy this great outdoor sport .... here's an opportunity. If interested, just e-mail me at: monte@ahrps.org and I'll put you on the e-mail list of info I am sending out.
Monte
Way to go Monte
You just blew the MX5 out of the back seat, maybe in your soil, it leaves a lot to be desired. My soil is not as mineralized as your soil, so it works for me, short &.......... sweet.........the soil that is beneath my feet. I guess I'm fortunate to live in this area of Ks.
You just blew the MX5 out of the back seat, maybe in your soil, it leaves a lot to be desired. My soil is not as mineralized as your soil, so it works for me, short &.......... sweet.........the soil that is beneath my feet. I guess I'm fortunate to live in this area of Ks.