X-Terra reliability?

[Mick in Dubbo]

I'm interested to know how everybody is going with the serviceability of their X-Terra's. I bought mine when they first came out and seem to have constant problems with it. I have sent it back previously, when the pinpointing became chronically bad, as well as a couple of other less serious issues with it. Although Minelab had identified that there was some sort of loose connection to the speaker, and gave the board a bit of a clean down, it seemed to improve the problem I was having with the pinpoint, I still don't find it as reliable as it ought to be. There was no explanation about the fault, just that the detector was functioning "normally". It reached a point 7 months ago, where I finally turned around a bought my Ace, of which I have had a very reliable detector in all that time. However, I have started to pull my X-Terra 30 out of the cupboard again to use it, and still seem to be having problems with it. In todays hunt it started to false pretty badly and after a bit of a shake, it settled down again. A bit later in the hunt, I eye balled a 5 cent coin sitting on the ground that the detector didn't even make a peep at (sensitivity set at 7 and in mode 1). There was a small bit of iron about 4 inches away, so I put it down to iron masking and switched over to hunting in All metal mode. Ten minutes later, I spied another 5 cent coin again on the surface, and the detector didn't even look at it again!! This time there was no masking! After picking up the coil and waiving the coin over the coil, it read mostly as an 8, sometimes a 4, and sometimes a 12.
If I could identify what the problem was It would be going back again till the problems were resolved, But I don't know what is going on.
Is this detector just a complete lemon, or are these common problems?
Frankly, when this machine functions like it is supposed to, I love using it, but it is wearing pretty thin with this camper.
So my question is,do you find them reliable or unreliable?
Mick Evans.

 

[nugget71]

Trade it in for an XT-70!

 

[Digger]

If it were mine, I would get the dealer involved. Have him contact Minelab and see if they will replace it. There is no reason that you have had the problems you mentioned. Especially if you are able to duplicate the problem by simply shaking it. Don't wait until the warranty has expired. Get your dealer involved NOW and have him tell Minelab to either fix it right or replace it. JMHO HH Randy

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Thanks Digger. I' ll take your advice and go through the dealer. First though, I'll take it out for a few more hunts, to see if I can explain the problem. I'd feel like a complete idiot if I can't explain what is going on. I can not put my finger on what is going on. This is the first time though, that it has started to false like that. I did have some sand trapped in the coil cover before I started to hunt, but removed it and brushed away the sand. I have no idea if I can duplicate what happened. I'm starting to wonder though if it has anything to do with how every thing was soldered onto the mother board eta. I think that there may have been some soldering problems when they first came out, as there was a lot of people suffering from speakers not working at the time. The serial number on my unit is 00477. So it would have been amongst those batches. Half the problem is, that it seems to function normally for a while, it start to misbehave without warning. Usually when trying to pinpoint.
G'day Nugget71. I would like to upgrade when I can, but I wouldn't like to have these problems all over again. I actually love using this machine, It just that I'm getting quite peeved at it's lack of rely ability. Hopefully this is just an isolated bad detector and better days are ahead.
Cheers.
Mick Evans.

 

[Dick from IA]

Hey Mick: I agree with the others that it just doesn't sound right. I've been following your successes with the Ace 250, so I know you're no novice at this hobby. Probably some early manufacturing problems that have since been resolved. I hear ML is great to work with, too.

Good Luck!!

 

[Jackpine Savage]

HI Mick,

I agree with the others, get a hold of your dealer and make arrangements to have it sent in for repair or replacement.

I had speaker problems with the X-70 that were due to the connector coming lose and although I always use headphones it was very irksome. The X-terras are good machines and it really bothers me that ML did not correct the problem before production and allowed that cheap .02 cent faulty connector to be used in production. Someone at ML was not doing there job on that one and I'd bet it cost them more than what they saved in returns.

There, I got that off my chest!

Tom

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Thanks Dick. It sounds like it's not a common problem. It sure has had me scratching my head though and tested my patience a fair bit. It's good to know that it is only this particular detector that is a dud, as I really do like how it performs when it's not playing up.
Mick Evans.

 

[B.T]

Ill put my money on it being a coil problem.
Friend of mine was having probs with his 70, noisy, inconsistent readouts and when he changed coils it was great. Might not be your problem but I wouldnt be surprised if it was. His coil too had seen a bit of water and as it turned out the seal wasnt doing its job. It was replaced no probs.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

That's a good thought BT. I had a bit of a think about that one as the coil has had a bit of a swim on a beach hunt back at Christmas 2005, but When I sent it in to Minelab, it got a clean bill of health. I'm starting to think that it may be a dry solder problem, or it could be as simple as a bit of dirt in the wrong spot.
I almost forgot, that the pinpoint button often takes several hits before it responds, and as most of my problems seem to be pinpoint related, it could be the main part of the problem. The falsing and discrimination jumping around are new problems.
Thanks for posting. Bouncing my thoughts of your post has helped me to clarify more clearly, what is going on. I was having trouble putting my finger on the problem.
Cheers.
Mick Evans.