XT705 TID list for trash?

[mojotrout]

Howdy folks,

Im new to the Xterra game but should be starting my adventures with the 705 sometime next week. Lots of great info on this forum for these machines but I am having troubles finding a list that shows what TIDs common trash routinely comes in at. Has anyone complied such a list and willing to share?

I checked the FAQ section, Randy's blog/e-book, and a few pages of forum posts with no luck. I have a few coin/jewelry TID lists (thanks to those who have supplied those!), but no trash list yet.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! If no one responds, I know what my first Xterra 705 project will be!

 

[Old Longhair]

There is a little problem when it comes to compiling such a list. It is best explained by Randy in one of his blog articles.

http://www.minelab.com/usa/treasure-talk/notch-discrimination-on-the-x-terra-ever-wonder-what-you-re-missing-part-1
http://www.minelab.com/usa/treasure-talk/notch-discrimination-on-the-x-terra-ever-wonder-what-you-re-missing-part-2

 

[mojotrout]

Hi OLH, thanks for the reply. Ive read those articles, and although I see why it might be a problem to reject certain notch segments -- that those segments hold valuable items as well as trash -- I don't see why one wouldn't want to know, or couldn't find out through experimentation, what segments different tabs, foil, bottle caps, etc, routinely fall into. For instance, it says " if you notch +12, +14, +16, you might not find , x, y, and z goodies". So why would you notch those segments in the first place? I would think because certain trash items fall into them. Im looking for a reference list that tells what notches those undesirable items usually fall into.

I have read enough to know the best way to hunt with these machines -- given optimal soil conditions -- is either in AM or Disc with nothing notched, along with multi-tones. However, knowing where trash falls in the segments (and the tones they produce) is still useful info to me.

I have not received my detector yet so if this info is in the user's manual, I apologize for the premature question! just excited to start learning stuff!

 

[Old Longhair]

Soil conditions will also play a role in the TID, as well as which frequency you've chosen.

In a VERY general sense, here's a partial list of what you want to know. It's based on moderately mild soil and a 7.5kHz coil (MF).

Broken off pull tab beaver tails = 8-10. A little higher if they are folded.
All other pull tabs will be in the 16-28 range depending on which vintage/variation tab it is, and sometimes a little higher if the tab is folded into the ring center.
Aluminum screw caps = 24-32, and will vary greatly depending on target condition (bent, smashed, folded, etc...), orientation, and depth. Can also be a bit higher.
Small folded bits of canslaw = 6-18. Commonly in the 10-14 range, which sucks if you like digging nickels.
Foil is another real wildcard. The response from it will depend on mass, age, depth, physical size, and shape. Generally is will be a low #, but a wad that has been compacted to near solid by a car can read unusually high.
Rusty steel crown caps = negative numbers normally. However, due to the shape and size along with their very low response, they can bleed over into adjacent segment bins 48 & even 46. To understand how they can bleed over into the high end from the low end you need to read (or have read) Randy's theory of circular discrimination. It's not too bad with the MF coils, and virtually non-existent with 3kHz coils. It can be a big issue with HF coils, and you have to learn specific tone qualities to avoid if you don't want to clear the area of the pesky things.
New condition steel crown caps if smashed or otherwise lying flat can come screaming in at 46. If at or near the surface they will indicate being at max depth. Size and reflective finish are the culprits for this deception, but they are given away often by being too LOUD.

The thing is, that most junk targets sound like junk when you've had enough time on the machine. You'll learn to listen for coin "sized" sounds, as well as their difference in quality.
As with any detector there is only so much you can glean from reading. What I recommend is that since you've already looked at most of the available information, you now need to go to the field. Learn what the trash is and how it registers in your soil. After each of your first few outings you will have specific questions, and what you will find is that most of them have been addressed in Randy's book, which IS the Xterra users Bible.

 

[mojotrout]

Thanks Longhair, that is exactly what I was wanting, plus so much more! I'll chew on this onfo for a good while. but you're right -- Im going to have to do more than just reading and listening at this point.

I'll be lucky to get the machine by Friday.

It's gonna be a long week.

 

[Gerryk2]

I got my 705 in January and am still learning it. I have read the manual, e book and blogs just like you. I have also asked many questions. longhair has been a great help. A few things i have been told and learned is slow the swing down. Trashy or disappearing sounding targets have been because i swung to fast. I had the same type of signals at the end of my swing if i went to fast and quickly changed directions. Signals bouncing all over is usually junk. A non repeatable signal is normally junk. If you get a good signal change directions to move your detector in an x over the target. The signal should be real close and tid should be close. It may be slightly different because the way the target is laying in the ground. If you do get coins your will also be digging some junk.
See if you can find anyone around you who has the same machine. If not find someone near you to go out detecting with. Start researching places to hunt.

 

[Digger]

As Old Longhair eluded to, there are far too many good targets that share TID numbers with "not so good" targets, to make a definitive list based solely on the TID number. The best advice I could give you would be to do what most of us did when we first got our X-TERRAs........dig everything. It won't be long until your ears and eyes are "tuned in" on what is good and what is not. The combination of TID number and sound is your key to success. And by sound, I don't just mean the pitch of the audio response. Sound also includes chirps, grunts, clipped audio, harmonic or blended tones, broken tones, smooth tones, wide tones, narrow tones and consistent tones, to name a few. How each of us describe them is unique to how our ears perceive them. If I were to sum it up with one word, that word would be consistency. Listen for tones that repeat or are consistent. If a target provides a full bodied tone from every direction, check the TID, dig it up and see what it is. If a tone only comes from sweeping one direction, but does so again and again when you go back over it, check the TID, dig it up and see what it is. As I said, pretty soon, you're ears and eyes will become "tuned in" on what it is under the coil. Then, by remembering the TID and sounds, you will know which targets you want to dig, and which ones you want to leave behind. JMHO HH Randy

 

[mojotrout]

Digger, Gerry, thank you for the solid advice. I am not a very experienced MD'er yet, but I have several month's experience with a Tesoro so I have been training my brain to identify sublties in tone. I like that the X-Terra will have a more diverse and descriptive language than the single tone of my Tesoro.

I know Im going to have to dig a lot of signals to learn this machine, and I'll have fun doing it. Thank you guys for the info, I will certainly be bugging you more as I start using this awesome detector!

 

[BillF]

I went out yesterday to a place I have been hitting hard. There isn't much left. I am searching in AM and forcing myself to slow down to a 4-5 sec sweep.I am using the Digger coil. Had several signals that were only good from one direction. Sound was good, TID showed penny. Dug them up and they were indeed pennies at about 4". I don't know if they were partially masked or on edge, giving me the one direction signals.

 

[atomicscott]

Digger, Gerry, thank you for the solid advice. I am not a very experienced MD'er yet, but I have several month's experience with a Tesoro so I have been training my brain to identify sublties in tone. I like that the X-Terra will have a more diverse and descriptive language than the single tone of my Tesoro.

I know Im going to have to dig a lot of signals to learn this machine, and I'll have fun doing it. Thank you guys for the info, I will certainly be bugging you more as I start using this awesome detector!

Bill (if I can speak for you, Bill) and I both came from Tesoro's and we have both had good finds with the X-Terra in spots we had hunted hard with our beep & digs. You may dig alot of trash to start with, but soon you will be digging much less trash once you learn to discern it.

 

[Gerryk2]

Mojo, i have been getting some frst advice from longhair. Check longhairs posts and read through some of them.
Gerry

 

[mojotrout]

Mojo, i have been getting some frst advice from longhair. Check longhairs posts and read through some of them.
Gerry

funny, i just started doing just that this morning. There ae some smart fellas swinging these Xterras. Makes me think I made a good decision going with the 705.