Help with settings for a Rookie.

[zman1403]

Hello all,
I am brand new to Metal Detecting. I purchased an XTerra 305 and a Garrett Pro Pointer yesterday. Can anyone help me with basic settings to get me started. I have watched videos and read up on the 305 but I figured this would be the best place to get some ideas from people with hands on experience.

Thanks in advance.

 

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[Pennypacker]

Hey there.

Turn on the machine and press the "AM" button to switch into all-metal mode.

Then use the menu button to select and adjust the following,
-Set the tones to "99", (it is the little music note)
-Set the volume to a comfortable level. (speaker icon)

Press the bottom button to leave the menu.

Now find a spot on the ground that doesn't have any targets, then hit the ground balance button on the lower right.
Raise and lower the coil towards the ground, you will hear a tone, either high or low, use the + or - buttons to try and make the tone go away. There is usually a sweet spot between the high and low tones where the machine will be almost silent when pumping the coil up and down.
You are now ground balanced.

Now go back into the menu and turn the sensitivity up a bit, but not quite full. Over time you will get to know what you can get away with, if it is too high, you will get a lot of extra noises and have a harder time picking out objects close to one another.

Your machine will remember these settings, so when you get to a new site all you really have to do is turn it on and check the ground balance, maybe adjust the sensitivity. (And hit the "AM" button to hunt in all metal mode, as it defaults to a DISC mode when turned off.)

Now start swinging.
Iron targets will give a low tone and have a negative ID number (-6, -9 etc). Aluminum, nickle and gold etc will be in the lower positive numbers. (3-15ish) Numbers approaching 30 and higher will be copper, then silver up to 48.

Large, deep iron objects may flicker between -9 and 48.

Coins generally give a good repeatable tone in both directions (Unless there is a lot of trash over top or nearby)

The ID is just a guideline, the actually number will depend on the condition of the coin. Real copper pennies ring up anywhere between 27 to 45 on my machine, depending on how much green corrosion is on them. We also have steel and zinc pennies that will give the odd good chirp if the plating is in good condition, but usually ring up as steel once the hole is dug.
Same for silver, the higher numbers tell you it's a high conducting metal, like copper or silver.

I pretty much dig anything that is non-ferrous. The little sterling silver horse I found the other day had numbers bouncing around, because of the legs etc.

That being said, sometimes you hear a high conductor chirp amongst some iron sounds that is hard to repeat, dig a plug and check it out because it may be iron trying to mask a good target.

Go to a place like a school yard as you will be able to dig loads of targets to familiarize yourself with it. It's a pretty easy machine to use.

As you know there are also discrimination settings, but myself and a lot of others dig in all metal mode and do the discrimination with our ears and eyes.

If you want gold, dig those low positive tones. It's hard to pick out pulltabs around here, as there are so many different types that sound different, but if you do have one particular target that keeps coming up, you may chose to use the Accept/Reject button to notch it out.

I am not sure if the 305 has a frequency adjustment in the menu, but basically if you are getting interference from somewhere, you can shift the frequency a bit to quiet it down, other wise you don't need to adjust it.

That should get you going, let us know how you made out with it.

 

[zman1403]

Thanks Pennypacker.

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

Hey there.

Turn on the machine and press the "AM" button to switch into all-metal mode.

Then use the menu button to select and adjust the following,
-Set the tones to "99", (it is the little music note)
-Set the volume to a comfortable level. (speaker icon)

Press the bottom button to leave the menu.

Now find a spot on the ground that doesn't have any targets, then hit the ground balance button on the lower right.
Raise and lower the coil towards the ground, you will hear a tone, either high or low, use the + or - buttons to try and make the tone go away. There is usually a sweet spot between the high and low tones where the machine will be almost silent when pumping the coil up and down.
You are now ground balanced.

Now go back into the menu and turn the sensitivity up a bit, but not quite full. Over time you will get to know what you can get away with, if it is too high, you will get a lot of extra noises and have a harder time picking out objects close to one another.

Your machine will remember these settings, so when you get to a new site all you really have to do is turn it on and check the ground balance, maybe adjust the sensitivity. (And hit the "AM" button to hunt in all metal mode, as it defaults to a DISC mode when turned off.)

Now start swinging.
Iron targets will give a low tone and have a negative ID number (-6, -9 etc). Aluminum, nickle and gold etc will be in the lower positive numbers. (3-15ish) Numbers approaching 30 and higher will be copper, then silver up to 48.

Large, deep iron objects may flicker between -9 and 48.

Coins generally give a good repeatable tone in both directions (Unless there is a lot of trash over top or nearby)

The ID is just a guideline, the actually number will depend on the condition of the coin. Real copper pennies ring up anywhere between 27 to 45 on my machine, depending on how much green corrosion is on them. We also have steel and zinc pennies that will give the odd good chirp if the plating is in good condition, but usually ring up as steel once the hole is dug.
Same for silver, the higher numbers tell you it's a high conducting metal, like copper or silver.

I pretty much dig anything that is non-ferrous. The little sterling silver horse I found the other day had numbers bouncing around, because of the legs etc.

That being said, sometimes you hear a high conductor chirp amongst some iron sounds that is hard to repeat, dig a plug and check it out because it may be iron trying to mask a good target.

Go to a place like a school yard as you will be able to dig loads of targets to familiarize yourself with it. It's a pretty easy machine to use.

As you know there are also discrimination settings, but myself and a lot of others dig in all metal mode and do the discrimination with our ears and eyes.

If you want gold, dig those low positive tones. It's hard to pick out pulltabs around here, as there are so many different types that sound different, but if you do have one particular target that keeps coming up, you may chose to use the Accept/Reject button to notch it out.

I am not sure if the 305 has a frequency adjustment in the menu, but basically if you are getting interference from somewhere, you can shift the frequency a bit to quiet it down, other wise you don't need to adjust it.

That should get you going, let us know how you made out with it.

Great advice here! Best teacher is experience and digging up all repeatable targets.

Feel free to call us anytime for help!