New Member with some questions....

[Kiros32]

Upon the suggestion of Jeffro, I moved this topic to this section. Thanks

Hello all, my name is Jared and I now live in Arlington, VA. I started me hobby in the eastern panhandle of WV, prime CW territory. I have a White's MXT with the standard coil. I don't get out as much as I would like to since I moved to Arlington. I live in an apartment complex which is in a very rural community. I have switched my techniques to Coin and Jewelry, however, I am still learning. I have a couple of questions:

1. I hunted in a park yesterday, machine on Coin/Jewelry mode, hoping to find coins. I got a lot of coin readings and discovered that it was all trash, pull tabs, bottle caps, etc. Is there a way to better distinguish with the MXT, or do I just dig everything?

2. I still hunt in WV as well, but as you all know, CW relics are much deeper than coins and such. Which coil do you recommend I use for relic hunting? Will the one I have now suffice?

Any help would be appreciated as I am very excited about improving my skills as a treasure hunter. My degree in an Anthropology, with an emphasis in Archaeology, so you can all tell that I am very passionate about this hobby and hope one day to make it my profession.

Regards,

Jared

 

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[The Beep Goes On]

Hi Jared - I found that the most effective method of getting to know your detector, and digging less trash, is to save your trash and test your detector with the trash and any desirable targets you have, like coins, jewelry, etc. Go out in the yard, or bench test it in the house (turn the TV off to minimize interference), and see how the detector responds to each target. After a while you'll become familiar with the patterns and will be more proficient. Although it's always hard to be absolutely certain, you can get to the point where you can narrow down the possibilities, which makes it easier to decide whether to dig or not. You will always dig trash, it's just a part of the deal, but you can minimize the amount with practice.

HH!
TBGO

 

[Sandman]

Welcome to the hobby and forum. The best way to learn the detector is to test it as posted previously. Find a clean place of ground and lay some trash targets you've dug up and lay some coins down too. Don't forget to lay a pull tab and a gold wedding band down separately about a foot from each other. Check each target in the coin/jewerly mode and see what numbers you get. Notice if you turn up discrimination to high, you'll get no sound on the pull tab nor gold ring. You will soon get the hang of it. We all have to dig some trash.

Your standard coil is fine for most hunting. In really trashy areas, a smaller coil works easier between the junk. Keep your coil even with the ground about 2 inches off and don't swing real fast. Over lap about half and you'll soon do very well. Good luck.

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Hi, kiros32, welcome to t'net.

 

[northeast hunter]

I would have to go with the two guy's up top practice.I own an XLT.I am going on my 5th year with it and i still dig everything.My ears have become very find tuned i swear i can tell if a coin is on its side.I could dig every other beep but i hate to leave somethong in the ground.If i hit a local park then i dig the solid targets only because time is not on my side.
BTW Welcome to the madness

H$H

 

[slow sweeper]

I also have an MXT. The MXT has a very good target ID. If the park is trashy a smaller coil will help in ID. Also, in prospect mode if the ground phase reading is in the upper 70's or above a DD coil will help.
First make sure you ground balance over clean ground. You also need to pinpoint a target immediately then swing the coil directly over head of the target. The target needs to be centered under the coil to give you the most accurate ID info. This is where a small coil helps to separate targets to get the best TID. If you have more than one target under the coil the detector has trouble making a positive ID.
Pay attention to the audio. That's the best discriminator. A good, solid, repeatable signal is what you're looking for. A chattered or broken response means trash. Ignore the icons that tell you if it's a penny or a dime or a pulltab etc. Pay attention to the VDI numbers and the probability bars.
And remember that the MXT does not average it's info from a number of sweeps of the coil then give you an average guess of what the target may be. Every sweep gives you new info. That's why the MXT does not "lock on" as well as some detectors. But some detectors cram up to six or seven of the MXT's distinct VDI numbers into one range of VDI. This makes them "appear" to be better at locking on target. But in reality they are just locking on an average of numbers.
If you get a good audio response but the VDI numbers are jumping around quite a bit it's most likely trash. If the VDI numbers are consistant within four or five numbers and you have a full probability bar you better dig.
And remember the deeper the target the less accurate the VDI. Dig any iffy deep targets. Say 6" and below depending on soil conditions.
In the beginning it's best to dig most signals just to learn what the detector is telling you. I've had my MXT for about ten months and I'm still learning it's language.
You chose a really good detector. But you're going to have to put the time in to learn it. Have fun and happy hunting.
Here's a good site for MXT owners. http://www.findmall.com/list.php?25