Whites XLT Classroom Forum

I am curious to see if they are any available I have harsh ground conditions and hear that dd coils are made for bad mineralization. Let me know what they are and if they are good for highly mineralized soil.

i seem to remember hearing of large coils. like 10x12 or something like that. there's the 4x6 whites coil. not much depth. have to think if it was really good you'd hear more about it.
the biggest complaint about the XLT is the lack of coil selection compared to other machines. the 5.3 apparently is the best all around. haven't heard of any real good mid-size DDs for thr XLT. like 8x6 ot 6x10.

HH

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Garrett AT Pr o
Garrett Pro pin pointer.x2
V3i on the way

AIN'T THIS HOBBY GREAT?

THE ONLY DUMB QUESTION IS THE ONE YOU DON'T ASK.
Kelso, Wa.
where the sun don't shine most of the time.

First, let me offer up the reminder that the excellent XLT is a discontinued model. An absolute BEST top-end detector for a long, long time among all the major brands. This is coming form a very devoted fan of the XLT. I own my 22nd and I plan to keep it until I die or it dies, whichever comes first. (While not super healthy I am going to hope the XLT is worse off and not showing it. )

Because it is not made, and they aren't making ANY general-use models in the 6.59 kHz range to share new coils, we aren't going to see anything from the factory or even aftermarket. To my knowledge, there was only ONE DD coil offered, and that was the Blue Max 'Shooter" coil. It's the small elliptical coil like the Shooter Eclipse coil for the M6/MXT/DFX etc., and it doesn't/didn't work well.

I owned one and borrowed a couple and compared them on an XLT, XL Pro, Classic ID and modified IDX Pro. They lacked much depth and responsiveness and were much less exciting than the Eclipse series Shooter coils. I got better all-around performance from my 6½" concentric coil (the 5.3 BullsEye) and the 4" Snooper coil (Blue Max 350). I got rid of the Blue Max Shooter DD coil and didn't miss it at all.

Quote
88junior
I am curious to see if they are any available I have harsh ground conditions and hear that dd coils are made for bad mineralization. Let me know what they are and if they are good for highly mineralized soil.

I hunt is many sites that are considered to be "harsh ground conditions" when it comes to high mineralization. Bad ground with a lot of high mineralization and a lot of ferrous content (high Fe3O4 read-out on some models) which produce a ground Phase/Ground balance reading of 81 to 86 on a White's MXT/MXT Pro. I have had all of the DD coils for the MXT (and M6 and MXT Pro) and many of the after-market DD coils as well.

In overall use there were times that some have shown excellent performance, such as the round 5" DD Excelerator coil, but that's also because White's didn't offer a similar-size DD or Concentric coil to compare with. The XLT and other 6.59 kHz models didn't have the broad range of DD coils made for them and, honestly, I am not a big fan of most DD coils anyway.

I have had greater all-around success using the XLT and XL Pro and Classic III SL, ID and IDX Pro, all with Concentric coils, in all of the "bad ground" sites I hunt. And I have done it without any problems. I have also done it when hunting along side others using a DD coil on a particular model, be it a White's MXT or a competitor's model.

My #1 favorite coil for all my former M6's and MXT's and my current MXT Pro is the 5.3 Eclipse. An excellent-performing 6½" diameter Concentric coil. That same-size 5.3 BullsEye is my best-pick coil for the XLT and Classic ID and IDX Pro when hunting in "bad ground" and especially in and around trash and brush, etc. I know there are some times when in some cases a DD coil might work okay on some detector models, but it's not all that it is sometimes hyped up to be. More-so with some of the higher-frequency models for nugget hunting, perhaps, but not for great detectors for coin and general-use hunting like the XLT.

Just my biased opinions.

Monte

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"Your Eyes, the ONLY 100% accurate form of Discrimination!"

Stinkwater Wells
Monte V. Berry Sr.
monte@stinkwaterwells.com
(503)481-8147
My main use favorites in order by brand:
White's
MXT Pro w/6½",
VX3 w/950
Tesoro
.. Replacement coming ..
Teknetics
Omega w/5½x9¾
G2 w/5" DD

i might have chosen the 5.3 as my fav but i haven't used it that much. i have used my royal 800, as recommended by Monte, and really really like it. it seems to be just perfect for my hunting. may be missing some targets but i really really like the size and responces of the royal. but ya gotta yield to experience. with 40 yrs. of detecting Monte is the man to listen to. ya won't find anyone who knows the xlt better.

HH

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Garrett AT Pr o
Garrett Pro pin pointer.x2
V3i on the way

AIN'T THIS HOBBY GREAT?

THE ONLY DUMB QUESTION IS THE ONE YOU DON'T ASK.
Kelso, Wa.
where the sun don't shine most of the time.

Because of the differential geometry of the windings, many consider the 3X18 Bigfoot as a DD style coil. A specialty coil that is known by many as a quarter rake is a hot item on the used market. For clad and jewelry hunting sports fields the Bigfoot is indispensable IMHO.

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Bells and whistles are nice, but nothing will substitute for the basic understanding of the hobby.

CTX 3030, V3i, M6 W/Bigfoot coil, Cibola/modified