I need to know about your experiences with the X-Terra 70, good and bad.

[Silver Fox]

I'm going through minute-by-minute changes. I keep vacillating between the Fisher F5, which has not been reviewed publicly yet, and the Minelab X-Terra 70. For my needs, the F5 could be more than sufficient. But I need to know more about it.

On the other hand, after seeing a 28-minute presentation of the 70 on YouTube, I'm sort of leaning towards it even with its slightly difficult learning curve. However, the 70's display does not have coin icons as do most every other detector. While one never really knows what's going to come out of the ground, coin icons have been mostly accurate and it's all of the other stuff that falls in between the icons.

On the video a big point was made when the tester said: "Build up a reference." He meant that you'd have to remember the number of the item just found in case that number came up again it would probably be a similar item. But let's be realistic. You can remember the number for the most popular coins we find such as cents, dimes, quarters, halves and that rare dollar. But even here there are variations so you'd have to have one hell of a memory to guess what the next double-digit will produce. I think that the 70 should really be called a "surprise me" machine!

So, this is addressed to you experienced 70 users:
1) Have you built up a reference?
2) How do you get along without coin icons?
3) How long did it take you to make the jump between wishing that the 70 had coin icons to I don't need coin icons?
4) Would you go back to coin icons if you had the opportunity?
5) Have you used the 99 tones? Are you using them regularly, as opposed to sticking with just 2, 3, 4, or 5 tones, or there is something about 99 tones that you can't deal with?
6) Would you rather have, say, 50 tones or what number would you be happier with?
7) What about the 70 don't you like? (for example: that stupid side headphone jack, or the flimsy battery connections.)
8) Does the 70 differintiate bet. cent & dime?
9) Bet. clad & silver dime? Ditto clad & silver quarter, clad and silver half?

I will appreciate your answers, positive and negative. Seriously.

Silver Fox

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Old California]

Hi Silver fox,

The F-5 isn't a proven detector since it's now in the beginning stages of getting into users hands, I feel it will be a good detector but since I've had the X-70 before the X-70 may be the better detector for your detecting needs.

I wouldn't worry so much on the coin icons for target ID, Numbers is all you need and once you get them memorized you'll never think twice about not having the coin icons...I would never want to use coin icons for target ID, Numbers is all you need just takes a different mindset to see the advantage of using them.

As far as tone, With the X-70 I use two tones. Because I'm more of a relic hunter two tones is best (low for iron) and (high for non-ferrous) but this can change when I go after gold jewelry but for the most part prefer two-tone.

Plus, The X-70 has a wonderful threshold feature just like the Explorer. And uses a wide range of coils preferably the 18.75kHz large 5X9" elliptical DD coil is best for most detecting needs. I think it's 18.75 kHz and please someone correct me if I'm wrong for it's been a while since I've owned the X-70.

I have to hit the sack Silver in a few minutes and will include more info tomorrow or later in the week with my experience using the X-70, I will share with you it is a wonderful detector and will most likely be better than the F-5.

God Bless,
Paul

 

[Silver Fox]

Hi Silver fox,

The F-5 isn't a proven detector since it's now in the beginning stages of getting into users hands, I feel it will be a good detector but since I've had the X-70 before the X-70 may be the better detector for your detecting needs.

I wouldn't worry so much on the coin icons for target ID, Numbers is all you need and once you get them memorized you'll never think twice about not having the coin icons...I would never want to use coin icons for target ID, Numbers is all you need just takes a different mindset to see the advantage of using them.

As far as tone, With the X-70 I use two tones. Because I'm more of a relic hunter two tones is best (low for iron) and (high for non-ferrous) but this can change when I go after gold jewelry but for the most part prefer two-tone.

Plus, The X-70 has a wonderful threshold feature just like the Explorer. And uses a wide range of coils preferably the 18.75kHz large 5X9" elliptical DD coil is best for most detecting needs. I think it's 18.75 kHz and please someone correct me if I'm wrong for it's been a while since I've owned the X-70.

I have to hit the sack Silver in a few minutes and will include more info tomorrow or later in the week with my experience using the X-70, I will share with you it is a wonderful detector and will most likely be better than the F-5.

God Bless,
Paul

Hi Paul: Thanks for replying in the positive, I appreciate it. Yours might be the only reply I'll get but I'm happy to tell you that just a few minutes ago I finalized a deal for a 70. I look forward to your other comments and hope to learn from them.

Edward

 

[Beachnick]

Greetings,Silver Fox.I have been md'ing for many years now and love the hobby,I am retired now and hunt at least 4 times a week,I hunt in parks,beaches and schoolsand I love the Xterra-70.I have a whites 5ID.and a minelab Sovergin I find I mostly use the Xterra,it gives you so much information and if you can adapt to it it is pretty amazing and the learning curve comes really easy.I use the 4 tones and when you couple it wiht the VID numbers it is very accurate.The depth is also very good,I've hunted areas that I thought was hunted out but found plenty of coins and stuff after using the X-terra.I love it and it is always standing by,hope this helps....Beachnick

 

[Silver Fox]

Greetings,Silver Fox.I have been md'ing for many years now and love the hobby,I am retired now and hunt at least 4 times a week,I hunt in parks,beaches and schoolsand I love the Xterra-70.I have a whites 5ID.and a minelab Sovergin I find I mostly use the Xterra,it gives you so much information and if you can adapt to it it is pretty amazing and the learning curve comes really easy.I use the 4 tones and when you couple it wiht the VID numbers it is very accurate.The depth is also very good,I've hunted areas that I thought was hunted out but found plenty of coins and stuff after using the X-terra.I love it and it is always standing by,hope this helps....Beachnick

Good to hear from you, Beachnick. I don't hunt as much as I used to and I don't have the zeal that I used to. Now, I can take it or leave it 'cause my only choices are some New York City parks where detecting would be done only for the exercise, very few worthwhile goodies to bring home. Because of a personal situation I had to pass on the 70 at a very attractive price. Now I am told that the FISHER F5 may not appear any time soon so, yes, I'm still interested in a 70 but it'll have to be at a ridiculously-low price as it may not be worth it for me to spend the extra dough to then have the detector in storage most of the time since I'm no longer going out there in the heat of summer. It will have to wait until fall, some early winter, storage again until spring and early summer. Thanks for telling me about your satisfaction, it will help me to continue considering the 70. I like that it has a beach setting which I'll use a few times during the year.

Silver Fox

 

[BIG61AL]

I have a xterra 70 and I know it's a good machine but it just makes too much chatter..Just give me a good tone when I get a good signal, I don't need to hear a chirp for every bit of candy wrappers that appear to be everywhere.....I don't use it at all any more....I plan to use it on the beach on the edge of the surf and if it does not work out for me its going on eBay

 

[Silver Fox]

I have a xterra 70 and I know it's a good machine but it just makes too much chatter..Just give me a good tone when I get a good signal, I don't need to hear a chirp for every bit of candy wrappers that appear to be everywhere.....I don't use it at all any more....I plan to use it on the beach on the edge of the surf and if it does not work out for me its going on eBay

Thanks for your views, I appreciate them. I was "brought up" on a featureless detector, graduated to a great detector and now the good ol' days of turn-on and go are gone with too-many-featured detectors. There is no doubt about the superiority of the 70 but I gotta have coin icons since that is mostly what we are going to find in America and it's nice not to have to guess what the numbers mean.

I still consider the 70 as a future possibility but I may wind up with a FISHER F5, after I read reviews.

 

[Beachnick]

Hey Silver Fox,I have the X-Terra 70,I have a lot of time on this unite and I just absolutely love it...it gives you so much operational data that once you learn the "sights"and "sounds"of the X-terra you will be hooked...Minelab has always made a great product and this one is no exception,if you get one you won't be sorry.By the way I have been Meteorite hunting with it and the double"D"coil and it really dose the job...I am going to Georiga to hunt some nugetts soon and I'll let you know how it performs....great hunting guy's....Beach Nick

 

[Silver Fox]

Hey Silver Fox,I have the X-Terra 70,I have a lot of time on this unite and I just absolutely love it...it gives you so much operational data that once you learn the "sights"and "sounds"of the X-terra you will be hooked...Minelab has always made a great product and this one is no exception,if you get one you won't be sorry.By the way I have been Meteorite hunting with it and the double"D"coil and it really dose the job...I am going to Georiga to hunt some nugetts soon and I'll let you know how it performs....great hunting guy's....Beach Nick

Beach Nick: It's enthusiastic comments such as yours that keep me on the fence as far as committing myself to buying one. But I have to wait until the FISHER F5 makes its appearance and gets reviewed that I'll make a decision. The 70 is definitely in the running and I'm wondering where I would be with one if I hadn't canceled my purchasing one a couple of months ago. We'll see.

BTW, it'd be nice to see photos of some of your meteorites, raw and sliced; something I always wanted to do. Also, nuggets if any. You might enjoy reading this article about prospecting in Virginia: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/travel/escapes/20gold.html?scp=1&sq=prospecting&st=nyt

Thanks.

Silver Fox

 

[X-Terra70_TreasureHunter]

Hi Silver Fox if you will bookmark this reference link you will have access
to a lot of the info. on the X-Terra70 which is towards the bottom of the
page on the link plus ton's of other research info.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,153889.msg1110228.html#msg1110228

 

[BillyC]

Hey Silver Fox. I run an X-Terra 70 and have ude it since 08/07. It is a great unit to use. Super easy to learn with enough room left over to grow with. With the different modes, coils, and options it is a keeper for sure. I like to run mine with 3 tones and in the coin/jewelery pattern. I tried AM and just did not like it. It is nice and light, and easy to swing. My next buy will be either the 6" DD coil or the 10" DD. I have heard some very good things outta both.

Good luck with your choice. If you decide on the F5 I hope it turns out to be a good unit. The 70 sure has done me good.

 

[Silver Fox]

Thanks, Terra70_TreashureHunter and BillyC, I appreciate your comments and sources. I've been waiting with my fingers crossed for the Fisher F5 and I'm going to have to uncross my fingers to let some blood run through them! I have no idea and I don't think Fisher Labs does either as to when the F5 will see dealers' shelves. There's no word from them. Maybe by the time it does come out there will be an X-Terra 90!

 

[thompy]

maybe you should check out the f-70, seen them going used at afair price, the t-2 uses icons and #, mabey the f-70 does as well, and they are a different kind of animal. i to am intrested in the f-5, just got the f-4 to go along with the t-2, the f-4 is a big step over the 3300 but the depth isnt really there, have to play with it more, dont get the 199 or rap around like the 3300 but dont like the PP, its a lot more consistant and faster than the 3300

 

[Silver Fox]

maybe you should check out the f-70, seen them going used at afair price, the t-2 uses icons and #, mabey the f-70 does as well, and they are a different kind of animal. i to am intrested in the f-5, just got the f-4 to go along with the t-2, the f-4 is a big step over the 3300 but the depth isnt really there, have to play with it more, dont get the 199 or rap around like the 3300 but dont like the PP, its a lot more consistant and faster than the 3300

It's always something, isn't it? Since January, when I sort-of returned to the hobby although not really, I've been going through all kinds of changes because I'm not as enthusiastic as I used to be. Back then I had Central Park to get lost in at 843 acres and I always returned with old/silver coins. CP was always off limits to metal detecting but in all of the years I detected in it I was warned only a couple of times by the Rangers. Now, I don't want to take a chance at what Ricardo went through in Staten Island, a $250 fine. The rest of the NYC parks don't have the amount of old/silver coins that CP still does. So if I went detecting it would not be for keepers, it would be more for exercise which, bringing me to the point, I wouldn't need a sophisticaed, expensive detector such as the X-Terra 70 or even the Fisher F5. I'm just living a fantasy that if I'm going to do any detecting I might as well have an up-to-date detector.

But I even vacillated between the 70, F5, and my old Teknetics Mark I Ltd. A couple of times I got close to buying the Ltd again. So I'm really in a flux at the moment where my present BH LAND STAR is more detector than I need! And I may not really get another detector for the little detecting that I do. In reality, I'm still retired from detecting even though I've gone out a couple of times and was fortunate to find that 8 ounce gold Jesus pendant. I just cannot get excited about finding clad coins. In the past it was different as I would come home with a lot of clad coins that quickly accumulated to hundreds of dollars, plus the silver coins and jewelry. But times have changed and I'm still stuck in the past. The worst part being that Central Park is only a half-block from my apartment building. And every time I walk in it all I see are the hidden coins that I can never find again.

So I'm keeping the detector to once in a while going to Riverside Park or Morningside Park and doing some exercise plus the once in a while visit to the beach to more ogle than find. That's my life.

Silver Fox

 

[thompy]

i dont look for clad either, spend alot of time in the woods, most of the stuff is inthe 1860-90 time frame, gold minning camps and sites dealing with iron ore minning, charcoal kilns, pig iron furnaces and home steads of the time, spend some time looking for copper culture artifacts, havent found any coins at these sites yet

 

[bootybay]

Silver, ok dont laugh at me, I had the xt70, I was impatient, yet at the same time, I was learning it...again, my brain was telling me, its summer time, beach time...You won't learn it fast nuff... so like a village idiot, I traded it.. then I regretted doing it...My common sense tells me, go with ML, be patient, the learning curve is NOT difficult, so I went back to the xt70 and made sure I got the correct coil for the beaches and of course the stock coil..which by the way is due for delivery to me tomorrow, I know I wont regret it... For my age, health reasons, its lightweight, its deeper than any whites I have ever had.. so I hate to say it..but, I am liking the ML's more then the whites... No pun intended to all you whites users, I just wanna find things deeper then 6 inches...so again,I am thankful for the deal I got and a chance to master the xt70. I know that I dont know a whole heck of alot on all the metal detectors..but I am seriously throwing my entire self into mastering this detector..

Hope my lil 2 cents helps ya...

I love the noise cancel... the ground balance all easy as pie too.

 

[Silver Fox]

Thanks again to all for your swell replies, POVs, opinions, hints, etc. I appreciate it all.

Silver Fox