Can anyone help me understand the famous "Iron Mask" (XT505 vsXT705)

[mountainplayer]

Can anyone help me understand the famous "Iron Mask" (XT505 vsXT705)

Hi All,

Been planning to buy an XT70 for a while. I like the idea of being able to change freq by changing coils and have a single machine that I can use for coinshooting and nugget hunting. Plus, every old site that I have found in my area are associated with old timber cutting or milling operations and are saturated with iron (big and small). I've heard a lot about Minelab's uncanny ability to separate silver/copper coins from areas littered with iron.

When I first started my research, the XT50 did not have the high freq coil option (nugget hunting), so even though it was quite a bit cheaper I wouldn't even consider it.

So now the second generation (XT505 and XT705) have come out, and choice of avaialable coils is identical. The big difference that I can see are the XT705 has the Iron Mask feature, while the 505 does not. The 705 has auto ground track/balance and the 505 does not. And the 705 has a wider range for manual ground balance.

I currently hunt with a machine that has a fixed GB, so the expanded GB range of the 705 versus the 505 doesn't mean much to me, because I don't understand it. I also do not understand how the Iron Mask works. Seems like plain old discrimination to me.

Can anyone help me with a few questions?

1.What is this iron mask feature, and how would it help to locate silver/copper coins in iron trash?
2.I hunt some pretty mineralized ground, and my fixed GB machine has a hard time finding a test coin (memorial cent) at 2". Is there a practical advantage to a wider GB adjustment range possible with the 705 versus the 505?
3.Would lack of an auto ground tracking/balance be a deal breaker for any of you?

Thanks in advance for the help. The 705 is a bit out of my reach right now, but the 505 would be a pretty comfortable purchase. I'd hate to buy the 505 and not be able to see for myself how Minelabs seem to see through ferrous trash and help pick out the sweet sounding high conductors.

MP

 

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[relic lover]

Re: Can anyone help me understand the famous "Iron Mask" (XT505 vsXT705)

Wow I came to this section to start a post exactly like this about the reality of the rumored iron masking! I use the ace 250 as well and I want to hear about this feature of minelab as I am very intrested. Also if they cancel out iron in search mode what about pinpointing mode? So ML users what are the facts

 

[MajorBeep]

Re: Can anyone help me understand the famous "Iron Mask" (XT505 vsXT705)

In the X-Terra series Iron Mask(IM) is only available on the X70 & new X705 as it is only selectable in the Prospecting mode which those two models have.

It is a form of discrimination, that is it provides an expanded iron discrimination range. The purpose is to be able to discriminate out small pieces of iron yet be able to distinguish a small nugget or fly specks of gold. For a person accustomed to a coin detector, imagine if you could take a magnifying glass to the iron portion of your iron discrimination knob/adjustment.

It is adjustable over a range of zero to 20 with the default being 5. Per se the numbers have no defined meaning as in an ID. It is an adjust as you go setting that needs to be mated to local conditions. When locating a target that is in the rejected range, it will blank the audio since there is no ID in Prospecting mode.

Prospecting mode is not for the faint of heart and could be thought of as akin to using a PI detector. Using it in a trashy park with aluminum scattered about, even tiny specks the size of a match head, would be quite the chore.

 

[mountainplayer]

Re: Can anyone help me understand the famous "Iron Mask" (XT505 vsXT705)

Thanks for the comments MajorBeep. If I understand what you are saying, the iron mask is simply discrimination with finer adjustment.

If this is the case, if a silver coin was next to a piece of iron, and I adjusted the iron mask to ignore the iron, it may also ignore the coin. Just like any other detector.

I wonder what the minelab users mean when they describe the uncanny ability to separate out a sweet high tone from among the iron trash. Is target separation the secret behind it rather than a special discrimination capability?

MP

 

[MajorBeep]

Re: Can anyone help me understand the famous "Iron Mask" (XT505 vsXT705)

Thanks for the comments MajorBeep. If I understand what you are saying, the iron mask is simply discrimination with finer adjustment.

It is finer, but only within the restricted range of small iron. There is no way to disc out anything above foil in Iron Mask.

If this is the case, if a silver coin was next to a piece of iron, and I adjusted the iron mask to ignore the iron, it may also ignore the coin. Just like any other detector.

There are so many variables in that question that a simple black & white answer is not possible.

I wonder what the minelab users mean when they describe the uncanny ability to separate out a sweet high tone from among the iron trash. Is target separation the secret behind it rather than a special discrimination capability?

I believe that statement is mostly from Explorer users and it's tonal response. The X=terras however do have a distinctive smooth fourth tone in the silver range.

MP

 

[makton]

Re: Can anyone help me understand the famous "Iron Mask" (XT505 vsXT705)

Mountainplayer,
I don't know much about the iron mask in prospecting and have only hunted twice with my X70 but I was able to pull a Mercury dime this last weekend at some old foundations in the woods. I had a sweet, repeatable dime signal that PP at 4". Dug the plug
and was really disappointed when a bent nail was sitting on top in the hole. Picked the nail up and re-checked the hole and the signal screamed dime again. Another inch or so deeper and right underneath where the nail was sat a 42 Merc. I was very impressed.

MAKTON