o-dat-bob,
You have an interesting possibility in front of you and I mean the old living area as well as the geographical area you talk about. I've been a Whites owner for several years and I appreciate the quality of the product as well as the finds I've come up with but this is not to say that other brands are not as good, I'm just relating my experience level.
Having a good detector is important but then it takes time to learn them and to become good in using them. I feel a modern detector is important as they are generally better than the older units. That having been said I have an 'old' whites 6000 D coinmaster that will give any new detector a run for its money any day of the week except for being under high power lines, the EMF drives it nuts. The last few years I've spent detecting for gold in the mountains with my GMT and of course it is a specialized machine built for Gold. It will find any metal but that would be its problem in an old home setting as I would not know what the metal in the ground was using this machine.
You commented about an MXT Pro that someone local to you has. I've read that the GMT/MXT share some common circutry and that is why the MXT is also a gold machine. To me that sounds like the best of both worlds except for the fact that the MXT electronics are NOT waterproof. Of course neither is the electronics box of my GMT and I've yet to drown it, knock on wood. Working around water is a special situation that requires one to come prepared for being around water. On land you can get excited about having a target and then you get a little clumsy and the machine rolls off of your foot or off of whatever you've set it down on. Around water you do not have this safety net, if you drop the detector or stumble in the water and go down you'd better have the electronics box bagged and be in good with the man upstairs.
Under the prospecting section here on Tnet, in the metal detecting area is a thread titled something like "The Mysteries of Bedrock and finding gold in it" and the fellow that started the thread is Lanny. He owns an older but not old waterproof unit and if its good enough for him then its good enough for anybody. The waterproof units have severe limitations: the coils are not interchangeable (my understanding), the headphones are also permanently attached and these are big limitations. I own three coils for my GMT, I also own three coils for my XLT and I might get a 4th for it so being able to switch out coils is important. Why? Out prospecing one gets into all sorts of size restraints - this would be rocks, trees, rocks & trees, bushes just all sorts of things block getting a large coil in and around them. The answer to this is change the coil to a smaller one.
With these points in mind and if the owner of the MXT Pro would sell it for a reasonable price then I would opt for that land unit as it has lots of coils that can be attached to it, it is a multipurpose machine (coins as well as prospecting) and then I would find some way to cover the electronics with a couple of sturdy clear plastic bags when I was around water.
The next trick is to learn the machine. Read the manual, its online at Whites, watch videos and practice, practice, practice. Build a test garden. First use the detector to clear out all signals in the ground you will plant your targets into. With all the signals gone plant coins in the ground with a good 3 foot diameter clearance all around them so you do not read two different coins. A penny laying flat in the ground at ~ 4 to 6" down, another penny only standing on its edge about 3" down (make sure it stays on its edge as you put the dirt back over it), a nickel (the nickel and the lead will read about the same as gold), a dime, a quarter and if you happen to have some small gold object glue it to a poker chip and bury it in your garden (if not then a piece of lead about 1/8" in diameter), a nail, a pull tab, an old can, etc. Once everything is in the ground and each location is Marked with the center spot and the item type, then water the area to get the dirt to settle back down. In a couple of days start practicing over your specific targets. Start with the two pennies, they react differently don't they (oh try to get some old copper pennies for your targets not the zincalons). Listen to the sounds your machine makes over each target and check out the screen to see what it says is in the ground. Test the machine over the garden in coin mode as well as in prospect mode as knowing how your machine reacts to "stuff" in the ground in both or all modes will make you all the more capable to find these "things" in the ground. Have you ever found a gold ring or a gold coin? I've found the ring and I believe the coin is out there waiting for me.
Just because you own a detector does not mean that every time you use it you will find something worthwhile, far from that. You want to be able to just enjoy being "out there" with the machine and then if or when you do find something you will enjoy it all the more. Metal detecting is not a get rich quick thing, it is a hobby so enjoy it! I might add that it is an addictive hobby......Enjoy, have fun and good success to you as it sounds like you've a great location to "play in"...........63bkpkr
All found by detecting with GMT, fine gold and lead shot on a dime, ~ 1/4 oz of gold on a half dollar. With my land machines I've found silver dimes and quarters, silver rings, gold rings, a gold tooth and other stuff including spendable change that I've used to purchase detecting accessories.
