Ralph Bryant
New member
Larry (IN) did a post on the X-30 back on November 20 in which he had an illustration of the different I.D. segments and related targets, and I thought that was interesting enough to do something similar with my first tests of the same machine. So I took a good mix of already dug items running the range of ferrous trash through large silver coins, and came up with the following results.
Sensitivity settings were ran at high, medium, and low levels on several targets during the tests, but appeared to make no discernable difference in the I.D. of the specific targets checked at the various levels.
To begin with, for the sake of saving some time, these items were each detected while lying on the top of the ground in moderately mineralized soil so that the ground matrix could be used as a mineralization background rather than just going through the usual routine of "air testing" sans the effects of at least some level of mineralization. This was more for my own benefit in getting a good idea as to where the different targets would I.D. and the consistency (or lack thereof) with this particular machine. This is far from an "end-all" test, but intended more as an orientation experiment since this is the first time I had the opportunity to spend any time with the new detector.
[attachment 12980 DSC00191.JPG]
-4: Junk ! Plain and simple. Each and every piece of ferrous trash fell well into the low iron range and gave the tell-tale low iron tone.
4: Foil and "aluminum paper" range. This is where every piece of foil I tested I.D.d without exception, along with a few pieces of small and thin karat gold jewelry. The smallest lobster clasp shown in the pic below weighs a whopping 1/3 gram and gave a maximum range in air of about 2 inches at max. sensitivity. Still, considering the small size and 7.5 kHz frequency of the X-30, it gave a better response than I really expected and was closer to what I would have expected from a dedicated higher-frequency gold machine, good testament to the overall sensitivity of the Xterras IMO.
[attachment 12984 DSC00194.JPG]
8: This is where bits and pieces of pull-tabs appeared to I.D., along with a small clutchback that appears to be made of very thin brass. Later I hope to do some much more extensive testing and segmenting of a large quantity of karat gold rings in a similar manner as this test to get an idea as to size and karat ranges.
12: Without a doubt, nickel range. Every nickel I had in my test materials, even some that read higher or lower than the norm on other VDI machines, all fell within the #12 segment without exception and with a good solid lock. I expect this machine to be a real nickel magnet in our soils based on what I've seen so far. Only a single pull-tab of the many used gave a #12 lock on the X-30, and even it gave a slight "sputter" in comparison to the coins.
[attachment 12989 DSC00196.JPG]
16: This is where the pull-tab range(s) really begins to pick-up, with an obvious bias at #16 for newer "break-off" coke can type tabs. Bits of aluminum wire and a pop-rivit also fell into this range, as did a chrome-plated brass button-snap.
20: A couple of older and more squared tabs fell into this range, along with a lone brass key apparently due to the difference in alloy or metal quality. This was actually one of the least encountered of all I.D. ranges during the test, and possibly a good candidate for "open notch" while hunting for karat gold jewelry.
24: This is where the "tougher" types of pull-tabs tended to I.D., including the worst of the old square type that I had in my kit, including a bent over beaver tail. Several house-type keys also would I.D. with a good solid lock in this segment.
[attachment 13002 DSC00199.JPG]
28: I've decided to call this the "Rotten Zinc" segment, since most of the more corroded zinc cents fell solidly into the #28, along with a couple of smaller brass lock keys (one attached to a steel split-ring), a fired and deformed modern brass bullet, a brass ring and religious medal, one of the very large pop-top "cannister" type tabs, and a smashed aluminum screw cap. Screw caps are another priority that I want to do alot of comparison I.D. testing on in the near future since they are one of the real coin spoilers for us in this area.
32: Aaaaah! Now we're getting somewhere......more specifically, up and away from alot of the trash. Between #28 and #32 is where the most obvious line falls between the good and bad (gold not considered). This is where most non-corroded or only very lightly corroded zincs and a couple of Indian Head cents I.D.d with solid locks, along with a thin silver Celtic cross, a couple of tokens and zipper pulls, a couple of buttons and a few keys, as well as a large and thick mens 14K band ring. I would suspect, though I haven't confirmed yet, that many larger gold class rings will fall into this category as well. More on that later.......
[attachment 13013 DSC00201.JPG]
36: This tended to be the "catch-all" segment for later copper (bronze) Lincoln cents, as well as all clad and silver dimes. I air-tested approximately 100 each Roosevelt and Mercury silver dimes, and every one, without exception, gave a good solid #36 lock-on. A couple of small silver rings and a silver link bracelet also locked on well in this segment, as did a larger brass token, a piece of melted aluminum, a brass rivit, and a larger (partially) gold plated brass or copper ring.
40: Definately the "quarter catcher" segment, as each and every quarter tested, whether clad or silver, gave a good, strong, positive lock at #40 without exception. A well worn Barber half dollar, as well as a couple of thicker sterling rings, an SBA dollar coin, and an aluminum washer also locked on a solid #40 as shown.
[attachment 13022 DSC00203.JPG]
44: At the top of the scale, an older silver Morgan dollar, a modern Eisenhower clad dollar, and a silver-clad (40%) Kennedy half dollar locked very well, as did a couple of very large and rusty pieces of iron trash that were tested out in the soil. The iron did tend to bounce from -4 to +44 however, with a much different sound and mixed tone audio than what was experienced with the larger coins.
All in all, I got a good "feel" for the I.D. capabilities of the Xterra as a result of running the above tests, understanding of course that in-ground targets may still present different problems, challenges, and I.D. readings at times due to variations in soil conditions and target masking. But overall, in terms of I.D. capability and consistency with the X-30, I was pleased with the results I've seen so far.
As a short footnote, I will also mention that I experienced some of the same "problems" mentioned by others here on the forum in the way of the too long lower searchrod section and "coil-flop", though both were very easily corrected by simply taking 3 inches off the lower rod and adding two rubber washers at the coil yoke in place of the supplied eared washers which tend to be a bit too thin for a good tightening up of the coil bolt. As far as the locking collars of the searchrod and other aspects of the build quality of the Xterras, I really saw little to complain about. The control housing fit and finish, as well as the paint job of the searchrod, and overall materials used in its construction appear excellent, and I had no serious complaints whatsoever.
More to come........
Ralph
Sensitivity settings were ran at high, medium, and low levels on several targets during the tests, but appeared to make no discernable difference in the I.D. of the specific targets checked at the various levels.
To begin with, for the sake of saving some time, these items were each detected while lying on the top of the ground in moderately mineralized soil so that the ground matrix could be used as a mineralization background rather than just going through the usual routine of "air testing" sans the effects of at least some level of mineralization. This was more for my own benefit in getting a good idea as to where the different targets would I.D. and the consistency (or lack thereof) with this particular machine. This is far from an "end-all" test, but intended more as an orientation experiment since this is the first time I had the opportunity to spend any time with the new detector.
[attachment 12980 DSC00191.JPG]
-4: Junk ! Plain and simple. Each and every piece of ferrous trash fell well into the low iron range and gave the tell-tale low iron tone.
4: Foil and "aluminum paper" range. This is where every piece of foil I tested I.D.d without exception, along with a few pieces of small and thin karat gold jewelry. The smallest lobster clasp shown in the pic below weighs a whopping 1/3 gram and gave a maximum range in air of about 2 inches at max. sensitivity. Still, considering the small size and 7.5 kHz frequency of the X-30, it gave a better response than I really expected and was closer to what I would have expected from a dedicated higher-frequency gold machine, good testament to the overall sensitivity of the Xterras IMO.
[attachment 12984 DSC00194.JPG]
8: This is where bits and pieces of pull-tabs appeared to I.D., along with a small clutchback that appears to be made of very thin brass. Later I hope to do some much more extensive testing and segmenting of a large quantity of karat gold rings in a similar manner as this test to get an idea as to size and karat ranges.
12: Without a doubt, nickel range. Every nickel I had in my test materials, even some that read higher or lower than the norm on other VDI machines, all fell within the #12 segment without exception and with a good solid lock. I expect this machine to be a real nickel magnet in our soils based on what I've seen so far. Only a single pull-tab of the many used gave a #12 lock on the X-30, and even it gave a slight "sputter" in comparison to the coins.
[attachment 12989 DSC00196.JPG]
16: This is where the pull-tab range(s) really begins to pick-up, with an obvious bias at #16 for newer "break-off" coke can type tabs. Bits of aluminum wire and a pop-rivit also fell into this range, as did a chrome-plated brass button-snap.
20: A couple of older and more squared tabs fell into this range, along with a lone brass key apparently due to the difference in alloy or metal quality. This was actually one of the least encountered of all I.D. ranges during the test, and possibly a good candidate for "open notch" while hunting for karat gold jewelry.
24: This is where the "tougher" types of pull-tabs tended to I.D., including the worst of the old square type that I had in my kit, including a bent over beaver tail. Several house-type keys also would I.D. with a good solid lock in this segment.
[attachment 13002 DSC00199.JPG]
28: I've decided to call this the "Rotten Zinc" segment, since most of the more corroded zinc cents fell solidly into the #28, along with a couple of smaller brass lock keys (one attached to a steel split-ring), a fired and deformed modern brass bullet, a brass ring and religious medal, one of the very large pop-top "cannister" type tabs, and a smashed aluminum screw cap. Screw caps are another priority that I want to do alot of comparison I.D. testing on in the near future since they are one of the real coin spoilers for us in this area.
32: Aaaaah! Now we're getting somewhere......more specifically, up and away from alot of the trash. Between #28 and #32 is where the most obvious line falls between the good and bad (gold not considered). This is where most non-corroded or only very lightly corroded zincs and a couple of Indian Head cents I.D.d with solid locks, along with a thin silver Celtic cross, a couple of tokens and zipper pulls, a couple of buttons and a few keys, as well as a large and thick mens 14K band ring. I would suspect, though I haven't confirmed yet, that many larger gold class rings will fall into this category as well. More on that later.......
[attachment 13013 DSC00201.JPG]
36: This tended to be the "catch-all" segment for later copper (bronze) Lincoln cents, as well as all clad and silver dimes. I air-tested approximately 100 each Roosevelt and Mercury silver dimes, and every one, without exception, gave a good solid #36 lock-on. A couple of small silver rings and a silver link bracelet also locked on well in this segment, as did a larger brass token, a piece of melted aluminum, a brass rivit, and a larger (partially) gold plated brass or copper ring.
40: Definately the "quarter catcher" segment, as each and every quarter tested, whether clad or silver, gave a good, strong, positive lock at #40 without exception. A well worn Barber half dollar, as well as a couple of thicker sterling rings, an SBA dollar coin, and an aluminum washer also locked on a solid #40 as shown.
[attachment 13022 DSC00203.JPG]
44: At the top of the scale, an older silver Morgan dollar, a modern Eisenhower clad dollar, and a silver-clad (40%) Kennedy half dollar locked very well, as did a couple of very large and rusty pieces of iron trash that were tested out in the soil. The iron did tend to bounce from -4 to +44 however, with a much different sound and mixed tone audio than what was experienced with the larger coins.
All in all, I got a good "feel" for the I.D. capabilities of the Xterra as a result of running the above tests, understanding of course that in-ground targets may still present different problems, challenges, and I.D. readings at times due to variations in soil conditions and target masking. But overall, in terms of I.D. capability and consistency with the X-30, I was pleased with the results I've seen so far.
As a short footnote, I will also mention that I experienced some of the same "problems" mentioned by others here on the forum in the way of the too long lower searchrod section and "coil-flop", though both were very easily corrected by simply taking 3 inches off the lower rod and adding two rubber washers at the coil yoke in place of the supplied eared washers which tend to be a bit too thin for a good tightening up of the coil bolt. As far as the locking collars of the searchrod and other aspects of the build quality of the Xterras, I really saw little to complain about. The control housing fit and finish, as well as the paint job of the searchrod, and overall materials used in its construction appear excellent, and I had no serious complaints whatsoever.
More to come........
Ralph
What I really need to do is run it a couple of weeks and dig up everything that passes under the coil, and make note of where it all comes in on the I.D. That would be the "real-world" test, as this one was just more of an "orientation" type experiment. From what I'm seeing, the Xterras are as consistent as any other I.D. machine I've tried.
I keep hearing the rumor that one of these new detectors can ID silver from clad...and that one, with pull tabs notched out, like a magnet, will suck those gold rings right out of the ground.
A few other rumors going around also, but I've yet to comfirm anything.
alot of this 
going on over the new ones, it's nice to see some good plain test results w/pics and everything. 
Thanks...I'd like to see more of this on all of them. 
