MXT Pro (or non pro) owners suggested dial-ins

[jmb2email]

OK, I am very new to TN but am really pumped about all the info out here. I have some questions for MXT pro owners that will help my reduce my newbie mistakes or ignorance on using this beautiful MD. I have been primarly using this device to go back over kiddy parks that I used my kids bounty hunters on, and have gone from finding a some pennies and a couple quarters to finding some nickels and some dimes, a ton of pennies and several quarters. I have found several junk trinkets as well, and probably my two biggest finds are a set of what appears to be sterling silver rings and what appears to be a very old dresser drawer handle at the base of a very large rock protrusion. My questions/requests are... can you guys that are experts at either detecting with whites, and predominantly the mxt and mxt pro series give me insight on how to dial in my detector? I have about 30-35 hours use on my mxt pro and am learning every day, but want to reduce that learn time with veteran experience inf.

I live in Middle TN, south of Nashville, so there are some battlefields and "camp sites" around me that I might be able to hunt... but will also be hunting modern kiddy parks for coins, and trying to find old closed down areas or old homes for coins/'stuff'.

1) When you start out, what steps do you take to "set" your device to the ground area you will be hunting in?

2) When you relic hunt, what do you set your dials to? I have noticed areas pop quite often as "hot rock" in middle TN that i wouldnt think would pop. what do you set your threshhold to?

C) The mxt pro shipped with the large 12 inch coil, and i can't get within 2-3 feet of playground equipment without the thing going nuts. I would think that is areas where coins/jewelry would most likely drop.... how can i resolve that? Do I HAVE to get a smaller or different coil for modern kiddy parks?

IV) I will be hitting a Florida beach in about a month and want to have the correct dial-ins and process, AND/OR have the correct coil. I am currently trying to make my own scoop to elliminate costs out of pocket, so if i can use my default coil and be somewhat successful give me your thoughts/advice.

Please keep in mind I'd like to keep costs down if possible... If i can do a lot with just the default coil i welcome advice.

Appreciate ANY info and insight. GL friends and be blessed!
JMB

 

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[Sandman]

Your best bet would be a sniper coil for those kiddy lots so you can get closer to metal structures and it helps a lot in trashy areas too. Settings for relics should be ZERO iron so you can find those iron items. It will respond to hot rocks, and that can't be helped unless you use a Minelab which won't see hot rocks. You need to manual ground balance and check it once in a while to make sure you are still OK. The MXT pro or normal is fine at saltwater beaches in the dry sand only. It will go unstable in the wet and you might be able to hunt there with reduced sens and loss of depth. At the beach you should never disc out pull tabs as this is where 90% of the gold rings will be. The white gold can be in the foil range.

 

[jmb2email]

Your best bet would be a sniper coil for those kiddy lots so you can get closer to metal structures and it helps a lot in trashy areas too. Settings for relics should be ZERO iron so you can find those iron items. It will respond to hot rocks, and that can't be helped unless you use a Minelab which won't see hot rocks. You need to manual ground balance and check it once in a while to make sure you are still OK. The MXT pro or normal is fine at saltwater beaches in the dry sand only. It will go unstable in the wet and you might be able to hunt there with reduced sens and loss of depth. At the beach you should never disc out pull tabs as this is where 90% of the gold rings will be. The white gold can be in the foil range.

Wow, I've been skipping 9 out of 10 pull tabs at the kiddy lots... Assuming now I may be skipping a possible ring or jewelry. In the past month I have probably skipped 300+ pull tab readings... which most likely were all pull tabs BUT, you never know.

Awesome advice! Thanks Sandman.
JMB

 

[ArizFlash]

Best bet would be to not use the 12" coil. It is too big for trashy sites and has poor separation of targets. Some folks use then on the beach but the wet salt sand and black sand where I go overwhelm the 12" concentric. Get a 10" D2 coil or the 6"X10" DD for general use. Whites also makes an 8"X14" Eclipse DD. If you hunt parks and tot lots a a 5.3" Eclipse coil is a good choice. It is a concentric design and provides better iron discrimination and decent separation in medium mineralized ground. The 4"X6" Eclipse Shooter DD coil provides okay depth, and separation.

The DD type coils take a little while to get used to for pinpointing. I pinpoint from the toe (front) of the coil rather than the center. DD coils read bottle caps as coins most of the time but usually you can use the toe or heel of the coil and get an iron reading at the edge of the sound. The DD coils handle mineralized ground better, have better coverage and target separation.

The lead designer of the MXT, Dave Johnson stated (on TreasureNet) the MXT was designed around the 6"X10" DD coil and all the other coils are accessories. Through my own use I agree with him. My best finds and most productive hunting has been with the 6" X 10" Besides the 12" stock concentric I have a Eclipse 6" X10" DD, 6"X8" SEF DD and a 5" Excelerator DD. The SEF and Excelerator are sold by Kellyco. In trashy parks or areas with lots of iron I use the 6" X 8" SEF and really like it. In more open areas I use the 6"X10". I will use the 5" Excelerator for nugget hunting this summer.

The MXT Pro is a great detector but it needs to go on a diet and loose some weight. I use both the MXT and the F75SE and can swing the F75SE for a lot longer without my arm and shoulder hurting. For my style of detecting both are about equal in use with the F75SE going a little bit deeper with it 11" DD coil when there isn't an EMI issue.

 

[jmb2email]

This is why i joined TN... Great info ArizFlash. I think you pushed me over the edge of decision to go ahead and buy a 5.3" for kid lots. I am now also in a debate about getting the 10" D2 so I can use it for a few days on the beach while on vacation.... REALLY appreciate the input!
JMB

 

[ArizFlash]

This is why i joined TN... Great info ArizFlash. I think you pushed me over the edge of decision to go ahead and buy a 5.3" for kid lots. I am now also in a debate about getting the 10" D2 so I can use it for a few days on the beach while on vacation.... REALLY appreciate the input!
JMB

The MXT is very sensitive around metal even with the smaller coil. You can turn the gain down to around 4 or 5 and get good depth while getting closer to the metal piping. When you get another coil get another lower rod as well. It makes it a lot faster and easier to change coils.

 

[PetersburgPeter]

I use the MXT with the 10" DD and have found my machine 'on steroids'. Killer depth. Good seperation. Start with a good GB, alt-relic mode. Noticed the less i disc, the more depth. Good to hear ALL the sounds when u start off. Dig it all. Try crankn the gain to +2 if possible. Also check out Whites Forum. Lots of help out there! HH.

 

[jmb2email]

Start with a good GB, alt-relic mode. Noticed the less i disc, the more depth. Good to hear ALL the sounds when u start off. Dig it all. Try crankn the gain to +2 if possible.

What do you mean by "GB"? I usually keep the disc at about 20% turned on.

 

[PetersburgPeter]

Ground balance.. You will hear people say the machine tracks so fast you dont need it. I started disc at about the preset at first, then started to disc nothing. You will find some goodies that way..along with some trash.. but its worth it. You will also notice more 'scratches' or ' whispers'.

 

[jmb2email]

So I am heading over to a local whites distributer today to see if i can pick up the 10" DD or 10x6 eclipse DD, and the 4x6 or 5.3 coils. One thing I'm still a bit confused on is what coil to use for beach hunting. Sandman suggested the mxt will not work well at all in wet sand, but Im curious if it's just the coil or if it is the computer/system driving the detector that just won't work in wet sand?
JMB

 

[PetersburgPeter]

The 950 coil would be your best bet for the beach. You will get mixed answers. I myself have not tried the D2 yet on the sand.

 

[Cal G.]

IMO, the 12 inch coil is to big for most general purpose detecting. I use the 5.3 eclipse (6 1/2 inch) for playgrounds(gain 9-10) and around equipment with the (M6) gain at 5. I use the 6x10 for open areas and run it wide open (10+) as possible. My M6 (MXT jr.) doesn't have the ajustable threshold, but is set at the factory to be very slightly negative to give it a silent search.Because of this I run it pretty hot sometimes. For 99% of my hunting the the smaller than stock coils are what I use because of trash or iron littered sites. Good hunting!

 

[jmb2email]

IMO, the 12 inch coil is to big for most general purpose detecting. I use the 5.3 eclipse (6 1/2 inch) for playgrounds(gain 9-10) and around equipment with the (M6) gain at 5. I use the 6x10 for open areas and run it wide open (10+) as possible. My M6 (MXT jr.) doesn't have the ajustable threshold, but is set at the factory to be very slightly negative to give it a silent search.Because of this I run it pretty hot sometimes. For 99% of my hunting the the smaller than stock coils are what I use because of trash or iron littered sites. Good hunting!

Thanks for the info. Just found a local whites reseller that has a DD 1400 coil too. In reading the description it sounds like that might do well in high mineralized areas too. I'm still digging up research... not much time this week for MDing and it's due to rain the next 3 days too. Keep the good info coming, sounds like i'm definitely going to be able to reduce the threshold and increase my depth with the better coils at the very least, on top of getting coils made for the 2-3 environments i'll be working.

The one time I did get out this week i found my first pocket spill at a park at the base of a large rock (7 pennies), a 1987 quarter that looked like it was buried for the last quarter century, and was amazed at a copper/penny reading when i dug up what appears to be an antique dresser drawer handle (there used to be an old farm/estate that owned part of the land i was searching... maybe this is from that time period). What I also learned is that I should go back and dig more of the "pull tab" readings I was getting. I may also try to dig a place that caused the mxt pro to go haywire, readings from pull tab to penny to $1...

JMB

 

[jmb2email]

OH, the local whites dealer turned me on to the MXT™ Max 15" Search Coil (15 kHz), and suggested I get that instead of the 10" since it is the same price and supposedly even better (and newer). Anyone out there used this one? Looks new, and noticed KellyCo doesn't list it on their site.

JMB

 

[fella]

OH, the local whites dealer turned me on to the MXT™ Max 15" Search Coil (15 kHz), and suggested I get that instead of the 10" since it is the same price and supposedly even better (and newer). Anyone out there used this one? Looks new, and noticed KellyCo doesn't list it on their site.

JMB

Hope you're built like Popeye! The MXT/P is 4lbs. Add the Max 15 @ 2.2lbs and that is HEAVY!

 

[treasurehound]

Welcome to Tennessee. I live in East Tennessee and mainly hunt civil war relics with my MXT PRO and TDI. My coil of choice is the 10x12 SEF coil. I have used all of the other coils but the SEF seems to be the deepest. Great separation for its size. You can hunt very trashy areas and still hear those good targets. I hunted a park last year and my buddy was using an MXT PRO as well but he had the 6x10 coil. We were hunting next to a shelter that was loaded with pull tabs, nails, bottle caps and other trash. He finally gave up and sat on the table and watched me continue to hunt. I was hunting slow and was digging wheat pennies and a 1926 token. He now has the SEF coil. I also have gone back to some of my heavily hunted sites and found more deep coins that I missed before. Now here are my settings for relic hunting in Relic Mode. I set my gain as high as I can stand it. Usually around +2. Discrimination at 0 (you want to hear every target). Threshold a slight hum. On your display set it to Iron ID. These are the setting that I use to hunt the DIV hunts in Virginia in the highly minerized soil of Culpeper, VA. The most important tip is to swing slow. The MXT will find the deep target but you have to swing slow to hear them. Many people swing too fast and miss the deep signals. Good luck. You have a great machine.

 

[jmb2email]

Thanks treasurehound. I am at a serious conundrum! I ordered a 5.3 tonight and was unable to order the DD 10" due to back order. I had asked for the new 15" DD Max, since I'm not quite Popeye (fella) but I have had zero issue with using the mxt pro with the 12 inch for 4+ hours w/o issue so far. My arms dont get tired from swinging, yet. I'm a pretty big dude and am willing to get whatever increases my fun while MDing.... but i'm not finding the 15" from KellyCo which is where i've bought all my other gear due to reduced prices, great service, and coupons they issue every order. I bought from them a few times and had a faulty item and they simply shipped me a new one with ZERO questions.

Another local dealer is has the DD 1400 which I am finding is almost 10 years old, so I think I'll hold off on that one for now and see what the newer coils have to offer.

Long story short I think I've read enough about the 4x6 and 5.3, and the 10/15" DD coils. I think I will enjoy the 5.3 coil for parks etc. and hopefully get either the 10" DD or 15" before i go to the FL beach in 3 weeks. I am currently working on making my own homemade scoop so if I don't get the 10 or 15 I'll just "suffer" through using my 12" just like you guys have and learn some lessons I guess...

This is a great group and lots of great input. Hope folks continue to respond with ideas etc. so we can all learn.

JMB

 

[jmb2email]

The 950 coil would be your best bet for the beach. You will get mixed answers. I myself have not tried the D2 yet on the sand.

Whites site doesn't show this coil for the MXT Pro. Shows only these: Fits XLT, 6000XL, QXT, IDX, ID, CL III, 5900

JMB

 

[jmb2email]

Just found on whites forum a few users that are having really good luck with the DD 10" on beach sand in addition to "normal" use. Guess that solidifies my focus, since I will use it 2 days a year for beach and 363 days of the year will be on my Tennessee soil.

Sounds like the 950 is best if I were planning a lot of beach hunting.

JMB

 

[PetersburgPeter]

Whites site doesn't show this coil for the MXT Pro. Shows only these: Fits XLT, 6000XL, QXT, IDX, ID, CL III, 5900

JMB

To my understanding, the DFX coils are all interchangeable with MXT Pro and MXT. Pretty much the same machine other than ground grab and backlit screen. (MXT/Pro). Also known as the 9.5" concentric coil. I use the 10" DD almost all the time now. I got a few minies at about 14 inches.