Question on the 705

[ItsSawGood]

Hi all!!!

It is time to upgrade from my BH Tkr IV. My budget is allowing me up to a Garrtt ATPro or a 705. So other people on other websites who have been making the same decision are saying to go with the Pro if you would also like to M.D. in water. They totally dismiss the 705 from what I read. Seems to me others avoid water at all cost with the 705.

So at the risk of sounding stupid, which I do several times a day anyway, the coils and shaft are not submersible. I am not looking for an MD to go scuba diving with, but searching in the shallows of a river while keeping the box out of water is a no-no?

Sorry for being dense but I have to ask!!!

 

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[Pennypacker]

Most of the Xterra coils are waterproof. I use mine at the waters edge quite often. Just be careful if you wander into deeper water, it becomes more difficult as you don't have a place to set the detector down. On the shoreline, no problem. Just don't lift the coil in the air as you may have water flow along the wire to the control box.

Perhaps I am in the minority, and I haven't used a ATPro very much, but the 705 is a MUCH nicer machine then the ATPro. IMO the ATPro is VERY overrated. (I have a 505)

It's a tough call. Myself, I bought an excalibur II for the water, it's the real deal. It's pricy but a very nice machine.
The ATPro I would consider water resistant at best. Care must be taken when sealing the battery compartments and other orifices.

Assuming freshwater use and discrimination, I would consider a Tesoro Tigershark in that price range. It's a real waterproof machine that should work just as well on land. Due to the nature of an underwater machine, the lifetime warranty of the Tesoro is very attractive.
Note: I have never swung a Tigershark, but I do have a Tesoro and I can vouch for their awesome service department. Even a second hand machine has a very reasonable flat rate service charge of about $60, which is cheap considering they pay to ship it back to you. First rate company.

You could also take your chances on a used excalibur, but I think the Minelab is much more expensive should you need to fix it, which is why I purchased a fresh new one.

So ya, it's a tough call on what to do, but there is no comparison between the two, the Xterras are superior, by quite some margin I will add.
A guy I know has the ATPro and has about 8 clad coins for the year and digs manhole size plugs. My 505 will break the 400 coin mark on my next trip out and has yielded me a stunning silver chain so far this year. Same site. I have spent a bit more time out then him, mainly because he gets frustrated with ATPro easily. He used to get a little more with his BH Discovery 1100.

I already have a gold machine (Tesoro), so I did not need the 705 with the "prospecting" mode. I put the money towards a couple extra 6" DD coils instead. AFAIK, the 505 is missing the backlight, and doesn't have as fine of increments on the notch discrimination. No big deal. The backlight would have been nice, but honestly I have never needed one.
Something to consider as you might be able to save a few bucks with the 505 to put towards a dedicated water machine.

 

[Pennypacker]

I just wanted to add, I believe the 705 also has automatic ground balance. I manually set the 505 when I arrive at a site, and just check it once in a while. Sometimes I need to bump it up or down a click or two, but for the most part it's pretty consistent in my area.

 

[ItsSawGood]

Thanks PennyPacker!!

Well, I did it today. Normally I hate buying anything at Cabelas due to how expensive they are. But with all the Cabela dollars I had and also some gift cards,I picked up the 705. The 505 was not available at the store or I would have gotten that. Took it out for a little bit after reading the instruction manual to a local park. My oh my!!! A robust machine. This ain't the BH T IV!!! Looks like I have quite a bit of learning to do.

 

[Pennypacker]

Congratulations on your new slot machine!

I just got in from using the 505 at a new site, broke the 400 coin barrier (37 coins) and found a nice gold tone and glass ring. It does have a "10", stamped in it, but I suspect it just means size 10.

A high percentage of the coins are from the sixties, so I'm going back tomorrow to try the 6" DD 3KHz digger coil to see if I can wiggle out some silver.

Also found a little Mexican hat charm, Olé!

 

[rustyfind]

Congrats on the buy. I bought a 705 last week and it is an awesome machine. I went to the minelab site and joined their site. Then downloaded the 96 page book by Randy Horton for free. Great load of info. Been in the desert for nugs but no luck yet. Lotsa hot rocks and the new info from Randy helped. Try again soon. Heading north in a few weeks and can't wait to coin shoot. Good luck and enjoy the hunting..

 

[atomicscott]

Most of the Xterra coils are waterproof. I use mine at the waters edge quite often. Just be careful if you wander into deeper water, it becomes more difficult as you don't have a place to set the detector down. On the shoreline, no problem. Just don't lift the coil in the air as you may have water flow along the wire to the control box.

Perhaps I am in the minority, and I haven't used a ATPro very much, but the 705 is a MUCH nicer machine then the ATPro. IMO the ATPro is VERY overrated. (I have a 505)

It's a tough call. Myself, I bought an excalibur II for the water, it's the real deal. It's pricy but a very nice machine.
The ATPro I would consider water resistant at best. Care must be taken when sealing the battery compartments and other orifices.

Assuming freshwater use and discrimination, I would consider a Tesoro Tigershark in that price range. It's a real waterproof machine that should work just as well on land. Due to the nature of an underwater machine, the lifetime warranty of the Tesoro is very attractive.
Note: I have never swung a Tigershark, but I do have a Tesoro and I can vouch for their awesome service department. Even a second hand machine has a very reasonable flat rate service charge of about $60, which is cheap considering they pay to ship it back to you. First rate company.

You could also take your chances on a used excalibur, but I think the Minelab is much more expensive should you need to fix it, which is why I purchased a fresh new one.

So ya, it's a tough call on what to do, but there is no comparison between the two, the Xterras are superior, by quite some margin I will add.
A guy I know has the ATPro and has about 8 clad coins for the year and digs manhole size plugs. My 505 will break the 400 coin mark on my next trip out and has yielded me a stunning silver chain so far this year. Same site. I have spent a bit more time out then him, mainly because he gets frustrated with ATPro easily. He used to get a little more with his BH Discovery 1100.

I already have a gold machine (Tesoro), so I did not need the 705 with the "prospecting" mode. I put the money towards a couple extra 6" DD coils instead. AFAIK, the 505 is missing the backlight, and doesn't have as fine of increments on the notch discrimination. No big deal. The backlight would have been nice, but honestly I have never needed one.
Something to consider as you might be able to save a few bucks with the 505 to put towards a dedicated water machine.

Most Minelab X-Terra coils are waterproof. True, all the concentrics are waterproof. That leaves only TWO Minelab DD coils that are waterproof. You have a choice of a 6" DD 18.75 khz coil or the 6" DD 3 khz Digger coil. This is why was interested in the NEL coils. They are ALL waterproof

 

[Longhair]

Most Minelab X-Terra coils are waterproof. True, all the concentrics are waterproof. That leaves only TWO Minelab DD coils that are waterproof. You have a choice of a 6" DD 18.75 khz coil or the 6" DD 3 khz Digger coil. This is why was interested in the NEL coils. They are ALL waterproof

There are also the three 15" All Terrain coils that are waterproof DD configured coils.

 

[atomicscott]

There are also the three 15" All Terrain coils that are waterproof DD configured coils.

Thanks Longhair, I stand corrected. I forgot about the WOT coils. I never think to consider those because they are $300.

 

[Longhair]

Thanks Longhair, I stand corrected. I forgot about the WOT coils. I never think to consider those because they are $300.

Of the twelve available authorized coils for the Xterra line, only 4 are not DD coils, and only three aren't waterproof.

 

[SW Iowa Digger]

The Xterra is a silver finding monster

 

[Patriot 1776]

AT-Pr0

Hi all!!!

It is time to upgrade from my BH Tkr IV. My budget is allowing me up to a Garrtt ATPro or a 705. So other people on other websites who have been making the same decision are saying to go with the Pro if you would also like to M.D. in water. They totally dismiss the 705 from what I read. Seems to me others avoid water at all cost with the 705.

So at the risk of sounding stupid, which I do several times a day anyway, the coils and shaft are not submersible. I am not looking for an MD to go scuba diving with, but searching in the shallows of a river while keeping the box out of water is a no-no?

Sorry for being dense but I have to ask!!!

Itssogood
I think the AT-Pro is the way to go, you never have to worry about when it starts to rain, also detecting in lakes and pounds are producing a lot of great finds
Give me a call , we have specials MD kits free with that detector
dennis