MXT Pro beginner , Is this normal ?

martinguitar

Jr. Member
Feb 28, 2012
73
56
Ohio
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I am about 10 hours into using my MXT Pro , so yes a beginner with this machine . My previous machine was an old Whites 2900 . I am starting to make some finds by listening for a good repeatable sound , lifting coil from ground to compare sounds and readings , and watching the VDI . It has the 12" coil and I know it is to large for most areas I hunt which are old homesites and old one room school houses .

My question/concern is about how "noisy " this machine is . I can hunt an old "run of the mill" 1900's era southern Ohio homesite and even with the gain backed down to 4 or 5 and the discrimination set high or low I get all kind of tones with this machine . I have tried the coin and the relic programs and the different audio settings . Like I said I have been finding some coins but it seems I am always slowed down by these constant sounds and readings on the VDI . If you watch the VDI its flashing everything on the screen from iron to $1 and all in between and its grunting , chirping and every noise in between in the coin audio on mode . If this is normal for a MXT, I can get used to it . I just want to make sure there isnt a problem with the machine . Maybe I am just used to my old 2900 Whites where if I ran the discrimination fairly high it would run pretty quiet in the same areas .
I know the 12" coil is to big so a 5.3 concentric coil is on my Christmas list.

Thanks in advance.
 

Yes, the MXT is a very noisy machine compared to others. It has to do with the frequency required to make it sensitive to gold in the prospecting mode.

It's fairly noisy, but you get used to it.

I've found that I just ignore the display until you get a good repeatable tone.
 

Make sure to have the threshold where you can just barely hear it for the gain you'll be running it at when first starting and make sure and get a good ground balance. This will help some but you'll still here some noise, I try and run mine at +2 gain any more than that its to noisy to hear the really deep faint signals but at +2 gain you'll get great depth on the MXT. I like the D2 coil it gets as deep as the 12" coil with better separation and stays on my machine 95% of the time. HH
 

A few of things that will help - Lower the sensitivity, use single tone, use a smaller coil, lock the ground balance after ground balancing, and turn the threshold down, just enough to run without a threshold like silent search. Of course four of these five things will results in loss of depth but sometimes you don't need maximum depth and these will all help to reduce the noise.
 

I've ran my MXT in just about all the combinations that you can think of,My suggestion is : #1 you gotta get a smaller coil for the home sites, theres just to much trash to run the large coils, I use the 5.3 mostly #2 A 9.5 in. coil for relics maybe the 12 in after you get some more swing time in on it.
Settings...Try In relic mode set the gain at 1 pre set. Set the disc. at the nail reject ,or the 2nd preset. and set the threshold just above silent. jmho.
.................HH
Also run your toggle switch in the forward position. You can use these same settings in the coin jewelry mode, with the toggle switch forward and it will cut out most of you iron signals. Again jmho....
 

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I love the MXT PRO and it is a great machine. Everyone gave some great suggestions. I sold my 12" coil when I got it and got the 10x12 SEF coil which I love. Great separation for it's size and deep. I went back to a hunted out site and found a lot of coins I missed with the 6x10 coil. If you are in a trashy area that 12" coil will drive you nuts. I try to run my gain about +2 or +3 and zero discriminate. I want to hear every target. Those deep signals will only be a short faint beep and you have to swing much slower for the deeper targets. One tip I can give is to learn to listen to the tones and not rely so much on the display. I only hunt by listening for the high tones and really pay more attention to the faint deep signals. You don't have to look at the display for every signal. Good luck and have some patience. You have one of the best machines you can get. Just take some time and learn it. You will not be disappointed.
 

Thanks for all the suggestions .
The next purchase I make will most likely be the 5.3 coil.
 

yes, get the 5.3 or the 6x10dd. you will get another feeling about that detector
 

I use the 6x10 and adjust the threshold to where I can just barely hear it. I run my gain as high as I can and not get the chatter and I run the coin and jewelry mode with desc. set just below nickel. Set like this it almost like having a silentsearch machine like the m6 but with the power of the mcg.
 

Locking the ground balance after balancing will definitely help as will a smaller coil. The 5.3 is a decent coil but I prefer the 4x6 it separates much better and is easier to pinpoint with imo.

FWIW when I first got my 5.3 for my MXTP it would overload on nickels when close to surface and had a problem ID'ing zinc pennies properly. Took my coil and detector to dealer and tried a brand new in package 5.3 on my machine with the same results. We then tried the two 5.3's on his MXTP and both acted the same way(overloads on nickels/zinc cent id problems). We both found this to be pretty strange!.
 

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