XLT Depth

[Twinkletoes]

Today I dug a 1943 War Nickel with my XLT at 6 1/2" - 7" measured with a ruler. The VDI reading was +24 and the DC Phase ground mineralization reading was -61. I will be posting pictures later in "Today's Finds". I think this is good performance for any machine. What are your thoughts?
H Digs

 

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[shadowcat1971]

Is that the deepest coin you've found with your XLT? I haven't found anything deeper than 5" with mine. What coil were you using? Sent it in to whites for a tune up, I hope I can get more depth with it as soon as the dam snow melts!

 

[liftloop]

the plow went by this morning it's April well the sander with the under blade drove by...

 

[glabelle]

A depth reading on a target means nothing without a measurement of the surrounding matrix (ground). The ground is the largest factor determining depth of detection for any VLF machine. An air test would give you the max distance, extreme ground could overload the machine such that you could get no depth at all!

George

 

[Twinkletoes]

Is that the deepest coin you've found with your XLT? I haven't found anything deeper than 5" with mine. What coil were you using? Sent it in to whites for a tune up, I hope I can get more depth with it as soon as the dam snow melts!

I have recovered coins deeper than that. Pennies, dimes, quarters, halves, etc all have higher conductivity and therefore tend to respond more deeply. Nickels are lower conductivity, like gold, and do not tend to "hit hard". I have read many posts that question the XLT's depth abilities and it's ability to find nickels. I feel that the 6 1/2 " depth on a nickel is good, but I am curious what other people are getting.
I use the standard 9.5" coil for all my hunting. I keep thinking that a smaller coil would work better in high trash areas, but then I look around a 5 acre site and think the 9.5" coil is too small!
With all that said, I do think "depth" is overrated. Most of what I find is under 6", and much of it falls in the 4"-4 1/2" range. I do like the ability to go deep at older colonial sites. But usually it's not necessary.
Your XLT tune-up was a good idea, you will know for sure that your detector is operating at full performance. Properly set up your XLT should give you all the performance you need. Let me know how things work out. I'll keep an ear out for "deeper" reaching detectors. H Digs

 

[wingmaster]

Whats the max depth on a dime for the XLT just to be curious, with my MXT I've found silver dimes at 12" as most of the pounded old parks around here the only silver left seems to all be 10-12". HH

 

[shadowcat1971]

The deepest dime I have found is about 4.5 inches with my XLT. You finding dimes at 12" is insane! I can't believe your MXT can do that. Is there that much of a difference between the 2? I love everything about my XLT except for the fact that I haven't found anything over 5" with it. Still trying though, pretty mineralized soil where I'm at so still trying to tweak.

 

[Twinkletoes]

Whats the max depth on a dime for the XLT just to be curious, with my MXT I've found silver dimes at 12" as most of the pounded old parks around here the only silver left seems to all be 10-12". HH

The size of the coil affects the depth of a detector. I have the standard 9.5" coil and any depth beyond 10" is extremely good. I have found dimes at 8", quarters at 10", and large cents at 10+". Of course larger objects, like cans, can give a good tone at very frustrating depths. For discussion purposes only, I feel that the diameter of the coil is close to the maximum depth for coin size objects. Meaning that a 10" coil will function efficiently up to 10" or possibly 12". After that it becomes very questionable. Does your detector go beyond these hypothetical limitations?

 

[wingmaster]

I can only get 12" with the D2(whites 10" DD coil) and a detech 13" ultimate DD coil, I bought the 13" coil looking for a little more depth over the D2 and while the depth seems the same it does seem to hit better on the really deep coins on edge. I was working an old baseball diamonds that have been long forgotten and been over the area several times with the D2 and pulled 3 more silver dimes and 1 silver quarter on edge at 10-12" deep that the D2 hit but didn't sound good enough to dig that I passed as trash and the 13" coil gave just enough better signal for me to dig.HH

 

[shadowcat1971]

Are we still talking about XLT depth? Obviously not with those coils you are talking about. The MXT sounds like a helluva detector getting those depths. Pretty sure I've never heard of an XLT going that deep even with a larger coil. That's what I am trying to find out. With the proper tweaking, and 12 coil, I should be able to get at least 8"? Cause I haven't yet dug a hole that deep yet. Is the XLT capeable of that?

 

[Twinkletoes]

Are we still talking about XLT depth? Obviously not with those coils you are talking about. The MXT sounds like a helluva detector getting those depths. Pretty sure I've never heard of an XLT going that deep even with a larger coil. That's what I am trying to find out. With the proper tweaking, and 12 coil, I should be able to get at least 8"? Cause I haven't yet dug a hole that deep yet. Is the XLT capeable of that?

Yes, I am talking about the XLT. Wingmaster is talking about the MXT. You are right, sounds like the MXT will out depth the XLT. However, the XLT will go 8" deep or more on good conducting targets (silver, copper, and most coins.) with the stock 9.5 coil. I don't think we are talking about a huge difference between these machines. It sounds like you haven't been getting the performance out of your machine that you should expect. I don't recommend the larger coil until you get the machine operating properly. I think everybody would agree, you have an excellent machine.

 

[shadowcat1971]

I have a 12" hot shot coil for it, can't wait to see what kind of depth i can get with it! Up until now I haven't found any deeper silver, hope my luck changes! Thanks!

 

[Twinkletoes]

I have a 12" hot shot coil for it, can't wait to see what kind of depth i can get with it! Up until now I haven't found any deeper silver, hope my luck changes! Thanks!

That's fantastic, you already have the larger coil! You should do well! Keep hunting, I know there is lots of silver just waiting for you.

 

[shadowcat1971]

Thanks twinkle toes!

 

[Twinkletoes]

If you are interested in my custom XLT programs I will be happy to share them with you. H Digs

 

[shadowcat1971]

Sure! I would love to see your custom programs! Thanks!

 

[Twinkletoes]

Sure! I would love to see your custom programs! Thanks!

View attachment 774835

Here you go! Let me know how they work for you. H Digs

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[shadowcat1971]

That's sweet! Thanks! I'll try them out! Do you ever hunt in mixed mode? I tried it a couple times last year, hard to get used to but I heard you will get more depth? Also have you used your XLT at the beach(freshwater) for jewelry? Any luck in wet and dry sand, or up to thigh deep? Gonna try more of that this year!

 

[Twinkletoes]

That's sweet! Thanks! I'll try them out! Do you ever hunt in mixed mode? I tried it a couple times last year, hard to get used to but I heard you will get more depth? Also have you used your XLT at the beach(freshwater) for jewelry? Any luck in wet and dry sand, or up to thigh deep? Gonna try more of that this year!

Mixed Mode is the program that pulled that War nickel at 6"-7". I don't use it for general searching, but I use it in high probability areas to get the deep silver. It is the deepest way to hunt. Work it slow, be sure that it's ground tracking every 3-5 sweeps. Good targets will chirp, then you can pinpoint them and double check the VDI and DC Phase before digging. Turn off Mixed Mode when trash is heavy or for relics. In my opinion MM off is the best RELIC program available!

I prefer to hunt in layers. First I use my basic coin program. Then if there are old coins in the area and I don't want to dig zinc pennies I use H Digs Pre 82. That program eliminates all pennies 1982 to present so I can focus on the good stuff.

The ring program is a good gold and silver program. Sometimes I use it to search for coins. It eliminates a lot of junk so you will lose some jewelry, but by not digging trash, you are able to cover more ground and hopefully recover more rings. It works well around fresh water, not as good around salt water mineralization. H Digs

 

[wingmaster]

Mixed Mode is the program that pulled that War nickel at 6"-7". I don't use it for general searching, but I use it in high probability areas to get the deep silver. It is the deepest way to hunt. Work it slow, be sure that it's ground tracking every 3-5 sweeps. Good targets will chirp, then you can pinpoint them and double check the VDI and DC Phase before digging. Turn off Mixed Mode when trash is heavy or for relics. In my opinion MM off is the best RELIC program available!

I prefer to hunt in layers. First I use my basic coin program. Then if there are old coins in the area and I don't want to dig zinc pennies I use H Digs Pre 82. That program eliminates all pennies 1982 to present so I can focus on the good stuff.

The ring program is a good gold and silver program. Sometimes I use it to search for coins. It eliminates a lot of junk so you will lose some jewelry, but by not digging trash, you are able to cover more ground and hopefully recover more rings. It works well around fresh water, not as good around salt water mineralization. H Digs

Will that take out half dimes on my detector they come up 60-62 VDI same as zinc pennies. HH