Life expectancy of an X-Terra 505 and 705?

[Inokuma]

How long would you say that they last before falling apart or becoming unusable? Is it something that only lasts 5 years, or do you think it could last 30 years if taken care of properly?

 

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[Sandman]

Now how the heck can anyone answer this.....You leave it in a car trunk on a hot day or hit a pot hole and bounce the thing it could fail just like any detector.

 

[Inokuma]

Now how the heck can anyone answer this.....You leave it in a car trunk on a hot day or hit a pot hole and bounce the thing it could fail just like any detector.

That's the thing, I don't know about other detectors. I think I'll go with Tesoro then since it has a lifetime warranty. It'd really suck to spend 700 on a detector only for it to break down after the warranty is up.

Also, I was more concerned about material breaking down. Like how rubber things easily fall apart or tear up after a few years.

 

[halfstep]

With detector technology getting more advanced every year, I would want to upgrade every 5-10 years if not sooner. Most detectors are built pretty good these days and will give you long dependable service. I would be more concerned on how productive it is during it's life expectancy opposed to how long it's life expectancy is. The real value is your time. How much is your time worth? I want a detector that allows me to get the most out of the time I put in.

 

[Terry Soloman]

How long would you say that they last before falling apart or becoming unusable? Is it something that only lasts 5 years, or do you think it could last 30 years if taken care of properly?

Magic 8-Ball says 8-12 years.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

With any type of proper care at least 10 years. I have several machines pushing 10. All work great!

 

[jangles]

That's the thing, I don't know about other detectors. I think I'll go with Tesoro then since it has a lifetime warranty. It'd really suck to spend 700 on a detector only for it to break down after the warranty is up.

Also, I was more concerned about material breaking down. Like how rubber things easily fall apart or tear up after a few years.

Don't forget the tesoro uses a 9V battery for what 10-15 hours, have you priced those suckers lately?

 

[Wyomingmedic]

I would treat modern detectors just the same as any modern electronics.

Most everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is reflow soldered, surface mount, solid state electronics. This stuff is quite tough. Tough enough that all modern military and "mission critical" grade equipment is made with the same technology.

Now, that said, there are differences. Tolerances of components, quality of components, etc. For example, when resistors are rated, they are marked with a final color coding band indicating how tight of tolerance the resistor exhibits. Obviously, the tighter the tolerance, the more expensive.

There are also environmental factors to keep in mind. Heat is by far and away the absolute killer of electronics. As was mentioned, leaving a device in a hot car can be very damaging to the components. Particularly the display. Heat causes expansion, cooling causes contraction. This rule is exhibited (if even on a microscopic level) in electronics components. With repeated heating and cooling cycles, you can significantly shorted the life of a device.

The other factor is just plain luck. You absolutely never know when a device may fail. Despite a service life rating, it is still completely up in the air. There is also a little trickery in the rating systems. For example, a company may manufacture bearings for large air moving fans. They may rate the bearings at 10K hours under full load. You would think this means they ran a series of bearings for 10K hours without failure. Well, some companies may run 1000 sets of bearings for 10 hours. Or 100 sets of bearings for 100 hours. While this may not make sense, it is a common technique in cheaper product design.

With my new detector, if I take care of it and avoid physical trauma (dropping or beating it up), keep it dry and keep the temperature kinda stable by storing it inside the house, I would expect that detector to work for 20 years. The performance may degrade ever so slightly, but nothing noticeable.

WM

 

[ZR2guy]

It is easy for Tesoro to offer a lifetime warranty since their machines are without alot of bells and whistles and use potentiometer type controls. Nothing wrong with that mind you, just not as expensive to replace parts if they are sent back in for repair. I like the idea of a lifetime warranty too, but warranties don't make the machine. I bought an X-terra based on the ability to hunt in three different frequencies. Change the coil, change the frequency, hunt everything. Good luck with whatever you decide on.

 

[liftloop]

I was on the white's site
they took there gmt to Antarctica 60 below zero
there a quarter inch of frost on it
and the thing ran like a cheetah after an impala
l.c.d screen worked like a camp

 

[cdsieg]

I was on the white's site
they took there gmt to Antarctica 60 below zero
there a quarter inch of frost on it
and the thing ran like a cheetah after an impala
l.c.d screen worked like a camp

I love your signature, "I hate to discriminate but some times you have too!"

 

[envguy]

I would like to hope my 705 would run as long as the fisher 1266-x I bought back in 1986 or so. The 1266 is still going strong and the only thing I ever had to fix on it was the switch which changes between the discrimination modes on the bottom of the unit. Which I was able to swap out with no problem. Take care of your equipment and it will last.

 

[Cal G.]

Only detector that I a have that is very old is a Tesoro Cutlass that I bought in 1988. My wife and grandson use it sometimes. It still works like the day I bought it.

 

[dirtscratcher]

I have a 13 year old explorer xs that still works awsome. I'll upgrade when or if it breaks or another machine outperforms it. I'll buy on performance not warranty.

 

[Qlander]

Can't comment on component/build quality of the 505 or 705, purchased an X-Terra 70 back in 06 and it hasn't fallen apart or given me any problems to date.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

They are electronic instruments, not eggs. Take care if them and they will outlive you. There are plenty of people collecting old detectors out there. The only ones I would worry much about are the ones old enough to use vacuum tubes.