50 all metal

[thompy]

does the 50 have true all metal mode, just currious, my son will be using it when we go prospecting. he's ten so no, im not buying him a 70, havent even tryed the 50 yet

 

[rifleman]

Yes it does have a true all metal mode. You said he is going to use it when you go prospecting. Are you talking about gold prospecting or prospecting for old coins and relics. If your talking about looking for gold, the model 70 works far better for nugget finding as it has the prospecting mode that the model 50 does not. If your not gold nugget hunting, the 50 would be a great first detector for your son. That's not to say that the 50 couldn't find gold nuggets, it will, just not as small, as deep or as easily as the model 70 would. Either machine would be a great choice for your son. He's a lucky kid. If you looking for gold nuggets, have your son save up for the 5" X 10" 18.75 DD coil.
It's the best coil for gold and fits both the model 50 and 70. The 5 X 10 is not waterproof, so for underwater use, the 6" DD 18.75 is the way to go. Once you get your son the detector, be sure to have him visit this site. Lots of good information to get him on the right track and many great people to help him along.

Good hunting, John K

 

[BarnacleBill]

The Coin & Treasure All Metal Mode is similar for the X30, X50, X70. That is if you are thinking in terms of Tesoro's ED 120 vs ED 180. The Xterras are ED 180's in that you can accept/hear all sorts/shapes/sizes of iron in the Pattern or Coin & Treasure All Metal Mode. So if you have an X70 and are using it in Coin & Treasure All Metal Mode, using an X50 in the same Mode will act very much the same.

Now comes the sticky part, and only the Minelab designers could answer this question for sure, how "All Metal" is it? Fortunately the Prospecting Mode of the X70 provides a readily available comparison of what a very raw All Metal Mode would sound like on the Xterra platform. It's obvious that the Coin & Treasure All Metal Mode has much more filtering than the Prospecting Mode since it is so much quieter. Does this mean it doesn't go as far down the discrimination scale into the minerals(GB) region as the Prospecting Mode? The Prospecting Mode is definitely more sensitive, and the Iron Mask acts like an "Expanded" iron disc range, but how far into the "Mineral/GB" range the Coin & Treasure All Metal Mode really goes I don't think has been answered completely.

Some tiny specks of foil and lead shot comparisons between the two Modes on the X70 should give a good idea of how the X50 will react. Using either the HF elliptical or 6 inch HF DD will give an immediate and dramatic boost in sensitivity to the X50 for gold hunting.

I hope you two have a blast and good luck on your venture!

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[thompy]

thanks for the info, i have some old gold mines from the 1880s in the area, generally I'm a relic hunter, sites to do with charcoal kilns, old pig iron furnaces, towns, stuff pertaining to early iron ore mining, logging camps. i questioned the all metal mode because i talked a buddy into the 70 and know the prospect mode is more sensitive than all metal, and have read on the 50 that, in disc.mode it is as deep, as all metal mode. personally i use the t-2 and love it, but do like the xt-70 as well,haven't decided which is more sensitive yet on given targets, thanks for the replys, thompy