You are correct that the MX5 manual I did a cut-and-paste of had the Beach mode which you don't use. I used it, on a few occasions, although not all that often. I used it on the occasions I made it to a salt water ocean beach, also when I worked the much saltier Great Salt Lake beach. I hunt a lot of stage stops, homesteads, ghost towns, etc., in desert locations with very alkaline soil, and when the salt/alkali gets wet, the Beach mode of the MXT 'family' of detectors can be helpful.
On the other hand, some of us hunt sites that have more sever ground minerals that call for a higher GB setting, and we might have ample Fe3O4 mineralization challenges to deal with. We can also have some rapidly changing ground mineral that varies a lot from site to site or even within a single locations. Due to 'bad ground' it is handy to have some form of Ground balance, be it a manual adjustment, an automated GB, or even an auto-tracking GB circuitry.
All of these detectors, priced from the $399.95 Coin GT to the $899.95 MXT All-Pro, feature the rapid Automated GB to get a quick adjustment to the ground mineral conditions at a site, as well as feature the quick-adjusting Auto-Trac® circuitry to help work at maintaining a functional GB. Of them all, my #1 favorite is the MXT Pro or MXT All-Pro because it provides more features and functions for the types of sites I hunt and challenges I encounter. A second choice for day-to-day Coin Hunting out of all of these is the MX5 which I relied on a great deal for much of my urban Coin Hunting work.
To this day I still tout the MX5 as being a good detector for most urban type hunting. Yes, I have used it in some non-urban environments, such as hunting the same ghost town and old renovation work material I just went to work last Thursday and Friday on a run to Idaho. I have used it and it worked okay, but it didn't work the best out of what I had, and it did give me some frustrations at times. Fortunately, I had my MXT All-Pro with me last year that I switched to and that allowed me better performance because I could adjust to handle some of those challenges.
What I encounter a lot at the sites I hunt are Hot Rocks or Cold Rocks [size=small](all a matter of where the detector's GB is set)[/size]; some quick little mineral slopes or abrupt changes in the ground make-up with pockets of higher ferrous content; and many of those old-use sites have a lot of discarded iron trash. From iron washers to iron nails, to old flat irons, doors and other parts of cast iron stoves and all sorts of iron parts associated with discarded stuff at high-use old railroad locations.
Some iron is a challenges because I am dealing with the man-made hunk of ferrous trash. But in many places, I find small bits and pieces of old, decayed or decaying pieces of iron that have left a lot of rusty residue and particles to deal with, so it's not just encountering long-discarded iron objects, but remains of them as they have ort are vanishing back to nature. This is one reason why I like to almost always use my MXT Pro modes in the 'Locked' GB and not auto-tracking. I do use the Auto-Trac® function when I am in the Threshold based All Metal Prospecting mode more often, but I otherwise prefer to use the MXT Pro, or the M6 or even the Coin GT and Prizm 6T when I used them, but relying on the automated GB to balance to a site, then 'Lock' and hold that GB setting, much the way a Tesoro Bandido or Bandido II µMAX or modified IDX Pro would serve me, with an adjusted and held GB setting.
I have used a salt beach adjustment range on different detectors through the years to help me deal with some other challenges I encounter, but I have been very grateful for having detectors that allowed me to to balance and hold a setting and not get too bothered in tough environments trying to track to ground mineral troubles. There are some more cut-and-paste examples from White's Coinmaster GT manual [size=small](and it is the same electronics that were in the Prizm 6T)[/size], as well as the MXT All-Pro which, in my opinion, is the most versatile and best all-purpose detector in White's current line-up. The parts highlighted in blue are what I am calling attention to that relate to the benefits the $399.95 Coin GT has with the Track Lock option, and it is even more defined in the MXT All-Pro manual that I also highlighted.
COINMASTER GT:
TRAC LOCK
The CoinGT has automatic ground tracking (AutoTrac®) which effectively nulls most ground mineralization. If the audio is chattery and reducing sensitivity doesn’t help, lock the
ground tracking with the Trac Lock button. Pressing Trac Lock again immediately updates the ground tracking and returns to AutoTrac® mode.
MXT ALL-PRO:
TRAC Toggle-
The TRAC toggle selects the type of ground mineral rejection (ground balance) and automatic tracking to ground mineral changes best suited to the specific area. Three different positions for a specific ground condition (ground type) are provided.
The Ground position is used for normal or typical ground conditions. In this position the MXT Pro will quickly compensate for ground minerals in a few pumps of the search coil over the ground being searched and automatically track to any ground changes as you sweep the search coil during searching. For most operators the Ground position will be used for over 90% of your searching conditions. [size=small](NOTE: This is why the Auto-Trac ® works fine for most MX5 users in most areas they hunt.)[/size]
The Lock position monitors, however, doesn’t track to changing ground conditions. Man made iron decomposes to the point of tricking the Ground and Salt position tracking CONCERNING ALL MODES into thinking it is a mineralized part of the ground. This can create noise and instability during searching as the tracking system bounces radically up and down the scale, always searching for a good ground rejection setting and never able to find it. This makes it difficult for an operator to recognize worthwhile targets and/or run at the higher performance GAIN settings. In these conditions it is recommended to first go to the Ground or Salt position and pump the search coil over a clean area of ground representative of the area (free of man made iron) then switch the TRAC control to Lock. By doing so stability and success searching these trashy areas will improve dramatically.
Because ground changes are monitored during Lock, pressing and releasing the GROUND GRAB button, or switching back to either Ground or Salt tracking positions, updates to the appropriate ground setting (ongoing tracking) are virtually instantaneous.
Another example of when Lock would be used is if a particular mineralized rock or patch creates difficulties in searching an area. A hard rock mine for example with a low
mineralized quartz based rock and random high-mineralized magnetite rocks or patches. Place the TRAC control in the Ground position and balance “pump the search coil” over a representative sample of the high mineral rock or patches. Then Lock in that ground rejection setting “place the TRAC control in the Lock position”. The entire area can then be searched without the distraction of the inconsistencies the high mineral patches create.
The Salt position provides an extended ground balance and tracking range to compensate for conductive salts also called alkali. Ground rejection against salt/alkali slightly overlaps the lower end of the conductive target (metal) range. In other words if you ground balanced against significant salts, some loss of sensitivity to lower conducting metals (metals low on the VDI target scale) can be expected. ........
TRAC Summary-
The Ground TRAC setting is recommended for most searching conditions. Lock is used to hold a ground rejection setting that is first established in the Ground or Salt TRAC positions. Lock is recommended for areas that cause detector instability due to spotty extreme ground peculiarities such as a lot of decomposing man made iron or random but regular high mineral
pockets or rocks in a low mineral base.
Time and time again I have said and continue to say the MX5 is a very good, general-use, Coin Hunting detector for most people in most of the typical sites they will hunt. It is a fine pick for fun hunting in a mild or moderate ground mineral environment as well. It worked okay for me, too, in average hunting environments. My problem is that I am not always in mild or moderate ground, and I do not always pick sites that are free of hot rocks or discarded and decaying iron trash that leave decomposed crud to handle.
Reading the cut-and-past info from both the lower-cost Coin GT manual, and the up-line MXT All-Pro manual [size=small](and the MX5 is based on the MXT platform of design)[/size] I am not saying the MX5 is a bad detector because I like it and it works okay for many uses. I guess what I am asking, and what puzzled me from it's early introduction, was why did they incorporate a 'Lock Track' feature on the $399.95 Coin GT, the same circuit Prizm 6T that sold for $599.95 with their $100 off coupon, the $699.95 M6 and the $799.95 to $899.95 MXT to MXT Pro/All-Pro models ... but ignore including it as an optional setting on the MX5?
Yes, the MX5 is a great detector and a very capable Coin Hunting unit and even serves will as a Relic Hunting detector. I just felt it was an error to not include a 'Lock' option, and I also wish they would have relocated the headphone jack to the rear of the unit and not left it on the right-hand side of the control housing. I almost kept it in my detector arsenal, but it was replaced due to the features and performance of the Makro Racer, while the MXT All-Pro remained a favorite because it does have the added adjustments and functions that I enjoy having and using.
Monte
