Help needed. Good target or bad X-Terra 70

[Degries]

Just having a hard time trying to figure out when to dig or not to dig a target. You X-Terra pros out there how are you telling a good target from a bad, coin or bottle cap. I bought this detector for my wife but she seems to dig more trash then coins. We hunt mostly in parks with moderate trash like pull tabs, bottle caps and screw caps. What is the deciding factor for you guys to dig it or leave it. I don't know enough about the X-Terra 70 to be able to help her out. I hunt with the Explorer ll and it is easy for me to pull coins out of the same area while leaving most of the trash behind.

 

[xwyokid]

When I hunt parks I use pattern one and 99 tones (However 99 tones may be a bit too much for a beginner). For me it was just a matter of getting used to the machine and listening very carefully to the tones and to some extent watching the display numbers. Hang in there, someone with real info will chime in.

 

[TURNMASTER]

A lot of trash seems to have an abrupt or broken tone. I go to all metal on those and see if I get negative numbers. Could be a bottle cap. I dig quite a few caps and less pull tabs. Modern pull tabs for me usually have a double beep. I usually dig the old style. Some times there is a coin sitting on a nail or so close that they won't seperate without the 6"DD.

I am on my 6th or 7th set of bats now, and it took a while to start to learn the tones and when a bad signal might be a good target.

I am still learning.

I Dig a lot less trash now than when I first started. Course I haven't been out for over 2 weeks. Things that must be done you know.

HH
Jeff

 

[Goes4ever]

I use pat 1. and I dig by sound not numbers, you can just tell once you learn, a coin will give a smoother sound. Hard to explain until you put lots of hours detecting, I can promise you this, the MORE you use multi tone, the more you will learn and get better with it, be patient, it WILL take time to learn. If you have the patience you will be rewarded.

Also remember if there is not good stuff under your coil you will not find it, Try to find some private yards, old schools etc....

 

[kd7aik]

Learn to read the meter it is very accurate you can block signals also with the 70 so you dont dig to much trash

 

[Digger]

Although you have more TID information provided by your Explorer than she does the X-70, there are a lot more similarities in those detectors than one might think. Especially if she is using a small DD coil. My recommendation would be to actually hunt together. In other words, work an area side by side and do a comparison of the target signals. If you get one that you think is going to be a good target, let her sweep over it before either one of you dig it. Explain why you think it is good on your Explorer and see what differences there are between the two detectors on the same target. Likewise, if you get one that sounds like it is going to be a piece of junk, unplug your headphones, both of you listen to it, and explain why you believe it to be bad. Then, dig it anyway and prove (or disprove) your diagnosis. Likewise, have her let you know when she sweeps a target that she is planning to dig. But before she digs it, you listen to it with the Explorer and then listen to it on her X-70. Again, let her hear the Explorer sounds and explain what it is you are hearing that she may not be. Trust me, there is a lot more similarities in the audio response of the X-Terra and the FBS lineup than most would think.
I spent all summer learning how to use the Etrac effectively. After having a couple Explorers in the past, I guarantee you that I would not have been as successful with the Etrac without having used the X-Terras (multiple tone mode) for the past 4 years. In the same maner, the Etrac taught me things about the X-Terra that I had either overlooked or taken for granted. Just as the X-Terra made me a better hunter with the Etrac, I can honestly say I am a better X-Terra user today, due to using the Etrac this summer.
Point is, the audio will sound similar with both detectors. Listen for solid hits, no breakup in audio and when you drag the coil back from the target, dig those whose signal drops off suddenly. If it "bleeds" away and the audio gets a much lower pitch before the sound disappears, (all metal mode) it probably won't be a keeper. And if she isn't using a DD coil, get her the 6-inch one. Heck, you're using a DD coil and you know it separates better than a concentric. Ain't any reason she shouldn't have one! JMHO HH Randy

 

[Mtnmn]

I think the more experience she gains with her X-T 70, the less trash she'll dig. Like said previously using a 6" DD HF coil in high trash areas makes a huge difference when it comes to separating good targets from bad ones. Trash generally gives off a somewhat more iffy signal than what coins do, which will generally give a more of a good solid tone most of the time. It doesn't hurt to watch your numbers either as usually coins will read just a little bit differently than trash which sounds almost the same. Usually coins will bounce back and forth between two numbers for me, while trash will either lock right on one number or else bounce slightly more numbers than a coin will. At other times trash will read either one number higher or one number lower than what a coin would read for the area your hunting in. My hearing is kind of poor, so I have to rely on numbers a little more than most guys do and as a result have learned target numbers have a language of all their own just like listening to multi-tones has its own language too...

 

[Degries]

Thanks everyone for the help. I will have to take a look at the 6"dd coil. I bought her the 3kHz coil which is what she hunts with most of the time. Also have another coil that came with the detector as a promotion. It's the 5x10 DD 18.75kHz which we haven't tried that much.