MXT vs TDI for use in northern CA, ( highly mineralized soil)

[astrolplain]

Hello everyone.

Great to have stumbled upon this site! I am trying to decide between two whites machines. MXT and TDI. I now live in North CA and plan to prospect, but my wife and I also want to coin shoot and search for other flotsam and jetsam at parks, parking lots, old fair grounds and the like. Am leaning toward the TDI but the MXT comes highly recommended from my local whites dealer(he didn't push the most expensive unit!). My dilemma, I don't want to get the MXT only to find out later is is unable to pick up the local unrefined gold and need to upgrade. Also, lets not forget the 1700 dollar price tag on the TDI. A little hard to swallow.

ANY ADVICE would be greatly appreciated!!! What coils should I have in addition to the standard? Should I get the MXT300 to get the larger coil, then augment it with a smaller DD coil?
Does anyone use this machine mainly for prospecting? If so, any pearls of wisdom to share?
Thanks

 

[hardrockminer]

astrolplain,

I have a MXT & a SuperLOBO (which is my gold prospecting detector)......If I could afford it I would get a TDI as it is a PI unit and will go deeper for nugget hunting and coin shooting (than both my VLF's) + it can be adjusted to ignore targets (say in a park you just want to cherry pick silver coins out, you can adjust it to do that......gold objects (jewelry & nuggets) are different as they come in many sizes & shapes...giving different responses to the machine ( a dig all targets is good policy)

There is a TDI forum (non-Whites run by a guy called Cougar Jim (I think)) which has a wealth of information & a gentleman who goes into extreme detail about the TDI operation, Reg is his name.

In the past I have owned a 3500 minelab PI unit & I have dug 3 foot holes regularly to find trash.........The TDI PI has more depth than a VLF but will not go as deep as a High end expensive Minelab PI .

Good luck..........................

My two cents..........hardrockminer

 

[PennyFinder]

astrolplain, from what you expressed you want to do, I would go with the MXT. Get the smaller dd coils for prospecting, 5.3 for coins. Most of the gold out there is the small stuff. The MXT does this well here and has an amazing discriminator for more versitile hunting endevours .
The TDI will find the bigger stuff well but as all pulse detectors suffers in the discriminator department, compared to the new VLF machines,although it is better than most all PI detectors.
Both machines actually compliment each other well for prospecting, I have both machines.
When the trash get tough, the MXT shines and still gets the smaller gold.
The TDI does well on heavy mineralized wet salt beaches and nasty prospecting soils for the bigger, deeper gold. Get the MXT first and learn to nugget hunt well, then go after the TDI. Nugget hunting isn't as easy as it sounds.


PennyFinder

 

[arizonaames]

astrolplain, from what you expressed you want to do, I would go with the MXT. Get the smaller dd coils for prospecting, 5.3 for coins. Most of the gold out there is the small stuff. The MXT does this well here and has an amazing discriminator for more versitile hunting endevours .
The TDI will find the bigger stuff well but as all pulse detectors suffers in the discriminator department, compared to the new VLF machines,although it is better than most all PI detectors.
Both machines actually compliment each other well for prospecting, I have both machines.
When the trash get tough, the MXT shines and still gets the smaller gold.
The TDI does well on heavy mineralized wet salt beaches and nasty prospecting soils for the bigger, deeper gold. Get the MXT first and learn to nugget hunt well, then go after the TDI. Nugget hunting isn't as easy as it sounds.


PennyFinder

Good advice....except....6x10dd coil.

 

[astrolplain]

My thanks for the wise input. My wife and I are getting the MXT and a Pioneer 505 pro (the promo from kellyco) I figure if we outgrow the MXT there is enough of a market I can recover some of the investment and then get the TDI.
Im putting in the order this morning, after my coffee.

 

[PennyFinder]

You'll never outgrow the MXT, it is too versitile. If you only buy one coil for it, get the 6x10 dd eclipse coil. It is my favourite coil. The 4x6 works between cobbles and under bushes. They both find sub grain gold, and fine chain gold jewelry. Kellyco has some nice SEF coils too, that are getting some good reviews.



PennyFinder

 

[astrolplain]

Thanks for the encouragement Pennyfinder. Ordered the 4x7dd to get me in tight around boulders and in exposed roots. Also to work in trashy areas. I was not sure if I should go with a Very large coil for prospecting in wilderness, or the small one for rough conditions. It's a done deal now. Should have my new toys by next weekend. Can't wait to nugget hunt down stream from the hydraulic mining areas, and all the drywash areas we have thanks to the very low water levels this winter.

Steve

 

[PennyFinder]

The larger coils are good on bigger, deeper, gold in open areas like deserts. I'm up in the Pacific Northwest with lots of brush,boulders, and really nasty mineralization which requires the smaller coils. The smaller coils handle the nasty ground better then the bigger coils hence you can actually get more depth in this scenario.


PennyFinder

 

[miner-2049-er]

PennyFinder...what county are you in...i am in mendocino i been researching old bars and lumber mills

 

[PennyFinder]

miner-2049-er, I detect on the Northern Cordillera about 1000 miles north of you, in B.C.
The rock here is mafic and ultramafic formations with the gold in calcite stringers where I hunt.
Old bars, you mean placer bars or public houses? What are you finding at the old lumber mills?

PennyFinder