at pro vs x-terra 70. which to buy for coins.

[fireguy]

Without getting into a minelab vs At pro following debate.

I am looking at getting a used at pro or a used x-terra 70. I mainly hunt old homes and I only take a week trip to the beach once a year so that doesn't matter much. I understand the at pro is waterproof but that's not really playing into my decision as I'm not going to be putting that to use. I am looking at getting am etrac at some point in the later future but for now I think I am going to go this route because my wife would kill be to spend more than that right now.

I like hunting for old coins. And my property Is an old farm house build around 1875-1900 and has a ton of aluminum scraps throughout the yard.

 

[pescadore]

I have used both and I believe the X-terra 705 is a great detector. It does not have a huge learning curve, it's lightweight, and pretty deep. I never had the opportunity to use it on the beach but I am sure it would do fine on dry sand. Single frequency machines do not do well in wet sand. If you want to go with a dual frequency machine for the beach then I would recommend the Whites DFX. You can pick them up used for around $400. Its a good coin machine, jewelry machine, and since its dual frequency it will work on the beach. Just my 2 zincolns.

 

[fireguy]

I was looking at a used 70 but I I've heard there isn't much difference between the 70 and 705 except ground tracking. Thanks for the input.

 

[Sandman]

I would get a Tesoro Vaquero instead of the ATP. Read this book from Amazon and it will explain why the Vaquero is better. Or you might find a used CZ-3d.

 

[DiggerinVA]

I have no experience with the xterra....but i will tell you that i really beleive either will suit you if given a chance to learn them. Now, i love my ATP and beleive 100% that you cant buy a better machine for the price. I have no complaints and have ALOT of hours on mine. I have owned a bunch of machines and many costing alot more and the ATP is still here and will never leave. The CZ3d mentioned above is a deep machine but LOVES rusty iron and will drive you crazy at the homesite that you speak of. The Vaquero has good reviews and the book Sandman speaks of is very good. It has no screen and no tones so you will have to dig everything or set disc at a certain level and miss everything below that....not for me but still a respectable machine. Let no one tell you the ATpro is a toy or isnt deep enough....i have hunted right beside Etracs with the same or better results. Alot of it is learning your machine! Good luck!

 

[Welgund]

I own the xp deus, at pro and the vaquero. I use the deus and vaquero on a daily basis. At pro co.es out on rainy days and water hunting. Don't be fooled by the vaquero having no tid. When you set the disc on the mark before the 5c mark and dig everything this machine has a way of finding the good stuff. IF I were going to do it again I would get the vaquero first then the at pro with the finds from the vaquero.

 

[atomicscott]

I would get a Tesoro Vaquero instead of the ATP. <img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1115340"/>Read this book from Amazon and it will explain why the Vaquero is better. Or you might find a used CZ-3d.<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1115341"/>

Wow, so if the book says the Vaquero is better, I guess it must be true! Tell that to all the people who prefer the AT Pro after using both.

 

[fireguy]

From my research It seems the 70 would have the edge on the audio having 28 tones to audibly make out good targets and the at pro has the advantage of having 1-99 of numbers where the 70 I think has 1-45 so basically twice as much. Am I right when saying this.

 

[atomicscott]

From my research It seems the 70 would have the edge on the audio having 28 tones to audibly make out good targets and the at pro has the advantage of having 1-99 of numbers where the 70 I think has 1-45 so basically twice as much. Am I right when saying this.

Yes sir, I agree! Since most (experience detectorists) hunt by tones, I believe the XT would have the edge. As far as versatility and durable build, the XT smokes the AT Pro AND the Vaquero ( I'm not saying the ATP & Vaq are not durable).

 

[DiggerinVA]

I dont beleive Minelab makes a machine more durable than the ATpro....and as for versatile, try gettin in a creek or river with an xterra. And out of those 28 tones how many do you dig? Any experienced hunter knows that good stuff can be anywhere from foil range up.....so I see anything more than 3-4 tones useless.

 

[DiggerinVA]

I can call a coin with pro without looking at screen everytime. ...only exception would be nickels...have to look at numbers to tell them from pulltabs. Buy the machine you like after research...but I wouldnt trade my ATpro or gold for two xterras or two vaqueros. Just my opinion. ..

 

[fireguy]

Not trying to be mean but the more information the better. The two machines just seem to portray them differently, one through audio and one through numeric. The argument of everything above foil dig and more then 3 are useless would be about the same as me saying anything above foil dig so having 99 numbers is useless all you need is 3. I'm just trying to compare how the 2 portray the information in my situation.


Again I'm also not looking for follower battles. People who have minelab love them and people who have at pros swear by them. I'm researching for information on the 2 not who has the most die hard fans.

 

[JrMack]

I don't have an opinion on the AT Pro because I've never tried one, seen a lot of info on them and videos, I like the idea of having a water compatable machine though-even if for a light summer rain! I have a 305 and a 505 minelab- the 505 is a little stronger than the 305 as far as depth but I would love to get the 705 for the automatic ground balance.. no gold nuggets where I am for prospecting mode on 705, but the minelabs x-terra series are a great machine with the different frequency coils.

 

[fireguy]

I don't have an opinion on the AT Pro because I've never tried one, seen a lot of info on them and videos, I like the idea of having a water compatable machine though-even if for a light summer rain! I have a 305 and a 505 minelab- the 505 is a little stronger than the 305 as far as depth but I would love to get the 705 for the automatic ground balance.. no gold nuggets where I am for prospecting mode on 705, but the minelabs x-terra series are a great machine with the different frequency coils.

I mainly hunt for coins how do they do on differentiating a coin from other objects

 

[JrMack]

when you hit coins its a steady tone swinging back and forth, the trash most all the time drop to a lower tone on the edges. the hf coil is a solid #12 on nickles and copper pennys are easy to find. I do hunt using the 99 tones all the time also. Really like the 505 I have.. my best find last spring was a CW US cartridge plate that was around 11-12 inches,comparable with a 705! good luck on decision.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

...I too only know the Pro...but as mentioned above..You can tell its a coin before you look at the screen. it did take me awhile to understand the high tones....But once I figured out the coins nice high "whistle" sound...opposed from the loud obnoxius sound that it gives on screwtop....Ive used it for a few years now , but now i can tell th size of the object pretty well and if the depth matches the pinpointing depth..its about 90% chance its a coin, or coin size....the only thing i dont like about the pro, are the signals and tones it gives on super shallow coins. The fact that the sound actually drops on deep coins is great for me..i can still do quick sweeps and hear it

 

[slink]

If the end goal is etrac the xterra makes good sense.I say get the xterra helps you make a solid desicion on minelab before getting etrac.

 

[atomicscott]

when you hit coins its a steady tone swinging back and forth, the trash most all the time drop to a lower tone on the edges. the hf coil is a solid #12 on nickles and copper pennys are easy to find. I do hunt using the 99 tones all the time also. Really like the 505 I have.. my best find last spring was a CW US cartridge plate that was around 11-12 inches,comparable with a 705! good luck on decision.

I have to agree. For it's price you get a lot of detector in the 505! I believe X-Terra guru Randy Horton said It IS just as deep as the 705. You just don't get the auto-tracking or dedicated prospecting mode.

 

[barrywk]

hi fireguy...I own a xterra 505 and an At pro...without getting into which detector is better or deeper (because I honestly dont know LOL),I will tell you its an individuals basis on what works best for them...I can only tell you why I like my AT Pro (now this is the part where the At Pro bashers come out lol),better than my xterra 505.The xterra was my first detector and I believe it is a good detector,but when i was using it,I was finding things but it seemed like everytime i used it I was having to relearn all that i had already learned and there just seemed to be something missing for me so I bought the at pro and I took to it very quickly and I learned it very quickly and I got along with it much better and faster than I did the xterra. After awhile I analyzed why that was...For me it was first off less of a learning curve on the at,second i liked the menu better on the at,the reason was I was having trouble remembering the symbols for the different functions on the 505,the at uses words for its functions...then the biggest thing is the tones..for whatever reason my ears tune into the tones a lot better on the at than the 505.Thats it in a nutshell....But i would be remiss if I didnt say that now that I have more swingtime and knowledge about detectors under my belt,who knows...maybe I could make better friends with the 505 now and in the future I am going to try it again

 

[AU_Solitude]

I love my X-terra 70, not to knock Garrett's products because I have run a friends AT and owned all of the ACE's. The depth, versatility, the way the detector speaks to you...probably never going to buy anything but Minelab from now on. I am a convert.

There are simple tricks to discern whether metal is going to be junk before you dig it (you'll dig anyway obviously), the tones, prospecting mode, I can't say enough. Being able to swap coils and frequencies? Come on its amazing.

I hunt mainly old homesites and fields during the winter months and the X-terra has been killer in iron infested areas.

Depth with the stock coil is good, with good ground balance I dug a piece of can slaw at 16", quarter at a solid 10" which is my deepest coin to date. Slap on a coiltek WOT and you have an unbeatable machine for the fields, 10.5" DD or 6" DD for those trashy sites.