dayton ohio - need xlt help

[buckeyehunter]

about ready to ditch my XLT and go with something else, i have never had any luck since I got it and I have read, practiced and had lot of trouble - anyone in dayton ohio area with xlt to maybe meet with.
I also work in COLUMBUS, could possibly meet with someone a evening after work.

mike

 

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[ivan salis]

what types of problems are you having---finding anything at all? or just junk stuff? Ivan

 

[SC_hunter]

Was thinking about getting an xlt..hmmm..maybe I better watch this post...

 

[teverly]

Have never used an XLT but maybe i can help with some general information.
I live in Richwood which is about 45 min northwest of Columbus.
Please put another post explaining exactly what is wrong and i am sure there are a ton of people on here who will help you out.
I can probably try and arrange to meet with you sometime the 1st week of July,the 5th or 6th....
I will also contact my club president and see if any members live near you or if there is a club close to you.
Here are a couple of clubs in DAYTON im sure if you contact one of them they will be more than happy to help you learn....
BUCKEYE METAL DETECTORIST OF OHIO
1-513-257-3284
OR
BUCKEYE TREASUREHUNTERS OF OHIO
C/O Lloyd McIntosh JR.
5077 Norris Drive
Dayton ohio
Iam sure they have a member or members that will be willing to help you out!!!

 

[buckeyehunter]

Ivan,
Wouldnt really say problems as much as not getting out of it what i thought i would, i started with a PRIZM III about 4 years ago and liked the machine but upgraded to the xlt for depth and to be able to change to a smaller coil - i hunt a lot of places with age and with age comes more trash.
I would say I am not getting the dept I thought I would, on a coin size object i would say probably 6 inches and I would say at about 5 or six inches no matter what program i am running the machine is a LOT less accurate at telling you whats in the ground - for example i was running the stock relic program last year and found a indian penny at about 4 inches, my machine was actually jumping from dime to pull tab, that is only one example, you wouldnt believe how many solid quarter hits with vdi about 85 and it is junk.

I have never felt compfortable with the machine and I do a lot of detecting, i have kept using it even though I still have the prizm just because everyone says what a great machine it is, i have ran strictly stock programs and have tried just about every imaginable modification and other peoples programs with very little success, not blaming the machine but as uncomfortable as I still am with it I am about ready to get rid of it and try something else but would really like to meet with a person more knowledgeable than me with an xlt to see how there's function and see if they can teach me anything!

Mike

 

[buckeyehunter]

wow guys! thanks for all the quick responses!!

mike

 

[teverly]

Just glad to help.
Let me know how it works out.
Also part of the signal problem may be the fact that the ground is so dry.I have silver dimes that read between junk and silver with my explorer.The amount of moisture can have a strange affect on some signals..
Just dont give up...takes practice and a some time..i have been using my minelabs for about 4 yrs now and still learn new things every now and then...
GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY HUNTING!!!

 

[buckeyehunter]

I think if I bought something else it would be a minelab,curious how everyone likes the new SE.

I have detected in all kinds of soil conditions here in ohio, dry,wet, sandy, clay, i have only had the maching for about a year and a half but use it quite often, I try to get out a couple times a week, every sat. and usually atleast a while on sunday, i would have hoped i would have figured it out by now and I feel to some extent I have and am just not happy with it but really hoping someone can show me something I am missing, i'm not the brightest bulb, probably is just me!

 

[ivan salis]

well to be honest having a old hand to show you the ropes is great--plus having a hunting buddy to share the fun with (and the gas cost & help with research is great too)-there is no 100% solid--- will be right on target machine--- that hits 12' deep silver and gold only and pre sorts the trash for you machine---because if their was I buy a dealership selling them ---fast!!! it takes a long time to get to be "freinds" with the machine and not want to beat it with a hammer---remember this when you want to wrap it around a tree---ala golf club style====think the "machine" is your freind ----and if that doesn't work---you paid money for it ---and if you kill it you can't sell it---Ivan

 

[buckeyehunter]

Ivan,
I understand no machine is perfect or do everything and I am ok with digging iffy signals but I just find it hard to believe that after a year and a half that i am not getting any more out of the XLT than i was my Prizm that cost significantly less and made by the same company.

 

[ivan salis]

well sad to say you gotta watch the massive hype and huffing and puffing that a lot of detector companies push and some personal folks are big time fans of "their brand" of detector for whatever reason it maybe and will happily tell you that you "need" their brand to be "happy"--when dealing with the upper end type machines there not that much differance between brands ---its really the user and his skill in using them---however some makes and models are a bit more user freindly than others and are thus easier to master----Ivan

 

[GroundSnooper]

Mike, I am about 35 miles north of you in St. Paris, I have an XLT and a DFX. Specifically I use the DFX but sometimes change to the xlt as I think it is a little better with the 6kz coil. A lot of times the vdi will vary if it see's any trash in the area and confuses the signal. Though it may properly report the coin it will also report the nail or bottle cap it sees. In this instance usually a smaller coil will get you closer to reality but you have to remember way to many things alter the signal, the amount of corrosion, the angle of the coin where it lays, any minerals around or over top of it, any trash around it, how dry or wet the soil is etc. I have never used the Prizm and started out with the XLT so I am sure there is a difference in how the 2 work. With the XLT you can swing fairly fast and still pick up the coins, if you swing to slow often it will not report it. So that is an adjustment to get use to. I know a guy who swears by the XLT and has much more expensive detectors but claims the XLT will out perform a lot of them on general detecting. Now it won't out perform a minelab looking for gold nuggets but the minelab won't outperform the XLT looking for coins either. Gotta match the detector to the item you prefer to find and how you like to detect. XLT has some nice settings you can alter to fit you, I am not one to ask about how to change them but I can give you a good website to find out if interested. I generally use the Jewelry beach program exclusively and have found $87 in coins in the last 3 months, almost 1200 of them. I have learned that when it says it's a bottle cap and reports a vdi between 50 -73 it is usually a penny. Why, don't know but I learned what it thought it was and what I knew it was. We should hook up for an afternoon of hunting.

 

[teverly]

Mike any luck getting out with someone to help you?

 

[buckeyehunter]

Teverley,
not yet, no one in the dayton area yet, i am still using it and TRYING my best.
Thanks for checking up on me!

Mike

 

[GroundSnooper]

I must be invisible

 

[buckeyehunter]

tmcblane,
sorry about that!, i have been working a lot of hours and life has been crazy, i would love to get together with you sometime and the sooner the better!! I need help, the more I use it the more frustrated i am!