As the XTerra is such a simple, quick to set up and very easy to both understand and operate machine, I thought I'd write a post just to help along some users that may be having trouble working with tones instead of relying on numbers.
As well as a few of the old detecting methods we have been using since the good ground balance detectors started coming out in the late 70's and early 80's. I dug my first teardrop when I was 14, with a detector that had major problems at three inches. By playing with the ground balance and cutting down on discrimination, understanding the target size and signals of all junk and coins, I could hit on-edge coinage at six inches and enjoy a good days detecting.
The Teardrop Principle is a great way to get stuck straight into the understanding of the tones on the XTerra, and a good indication of the depth and variety of the different types of junk and coins in a particular spot, and the differing layers of both.
The teardrop principle is merely a natural way in which I dig a small start in very heavy trash sites, but ones that are high yielding in coins, and helps you to learn as well as keep you in touch with all or your favorite tone modes on the particular XTerra model you are using.
I favour the 305's over all in the range, because they give me a better tone change on the two coins I hunt when slanted, and the best tone warble in multi tone when fully on-edge, so I'll be speaking 305 language in this post, just quickly convert it to your machines expanded segmentation between the two extremes ie: 0-20 GB becomes 0-50 or 90, Sens 1-10 becomes 20 or 30 and so on.
I mainly hunt in 12 multitone, but drop to 3 tone for at least a third of a day. The multi helps me round off the signals when checking them, but I do get a bit tired with it and find it more pleasurable to use 3 when hunting hardpacked ground with a negative balance and lower sensitivity, or cherry picking sites I've already done but have fresh coin drops.
I start on the first solid signal at the start of and in the middle of the trash. All trash has to start from somewhere, like the edge from concrete to a grass strip in a carpark, a central area where markets or carnivals are set up, or near the wall of a canteen etc.
Iron or good, it does not matter as every signal must be dug, quickly hearing, gauging and judging every signal before digging.
It does not matter how the detector is set up at the start, factory pre-set with a touch higher sensitivity and full target volume is fine.
We all kneel and dig differently, southpaws vs right handers etc, but we all end up with roughly the same fully dug initial patch. I end up with a double teardrop pattern, simply because I dig on my right knee, detect with the right hand and dig with my left, starting a sideways teardrop from the right ...moving over to the rounded end of the teardrop on to my left, leaving me with the largest rounded part well within range of my dig tool without undue stretching.
Then staying on my right knee, I simply slide a few inches further on my knee and twist to my right to start the next teardrop, rounded end first this time from the right, over to end at the skinny part of the teardrop on the left, leaving me with double teardrop like a piscean figure. Roughly 3 x 3 feet.
I use one main unit for heavy junk teardropping, with a rounded stand so I can slide it along. The lower shaft is set a few inches shorter that my upright detectors so I can keep my phone cord within range, but still comfortable enough to detect standing.
It gives me a good idea on the layers of junk and coins, and the depth both have sunk to in that immediate ground. It is very important to clear the top two inches of 'soft junk' like caps tops and foil to bring the deeper ones to bear.
But the most important part of the process is seeing what has made a particular tone, a double signal or triple warble, or the type and size of junk that gave an added scratch off at the end of a tone. The tones made by coins flat, slanted or on edge are commited very quickly to memory!
As most true junk areas have various blanket layers of metal from surface to full depth, I think it is a good idea to take a look at it all every now and then.
(Considering most detectorists quickly move away from these spots, letting the amount of signals scare them off and becoming members of the permanent upright brigade, that ground now belongs to you).
Then I work my way out in a straight line to where the heavy junk starts to peter out. Giving me an idea of where I can stand freely and detect normally, which usually ends up being in a semi circle around the heavy junk spot ...like backing off from a grassed canteen area from the place a crowd may stand watching sporting events etc. If the area is a high producer of coinage I can drop and dig for a while and collect a few, then move off to the edges to stretch out and detect upright if the body needs a break.
The most coins I've dug from a double teardrop is well over thirty, I haven't dug a non-producer since around March. I do however target the most likely coin drop spots.
I still dig at least two double teardrops a week in new spots, and continue runs of previous nice producing areas.
Digging teardrops is hard work, granted, but the information you gain from getting on top of whichever tone mode you are working the XTerra with is invaluable. And the places you work can be returned to time and time again for a teardropping or general detecting. As you get to know the high junk drop off points, you can decide which area to work and the most proficient balance to be in, depending on the coil you have on that day.
The main culprit I have had to master is fully on-edge coins, flat coins simply take care of themselves. I only chase two coins and one of them is on edge more often than not, and the XTerra is the only detector that gives me the excact tone mix I'm after, a double-triple warble, that makes it distinctive from the almost excact tone mix some tabs give. These coins are where multi tones really shine.
The 9" and 6" concentrics are ideal for these on-edger's and are my favorite coils as the signal is always fuller than on the DD's, which either give a miss or a too often change down to iron on deeper signals, as the processor quickly tries to place it in a segment. The concentrics also let you hear the edges of targets for longer, giving you more of a chance at judging a target from coin to sharp edge junk.
The 6" and elliptical DD's are my choice though when hunting on very hard packed or gravelly dirt when running a negative balance and lower sensitivity. They get up close to metal fencing where the over-sensitive 6" concentric can't go because their hot field is splayed hell west and crooked, and the DD's have that longer coverage sweep on the shallow signals. I love hunting with them on a full day too as the digging is so quick I don't have to kneel.
Coiltek's 15" is fantastic for open deep ground and they always leave me wishing for more hours with them. They feel like a real man's coil too, and seem to get smaller the more you use them.
Ground Balance:
You would have thought this bit should be written at the end of where the Teardrop was dug, especialy now that you have a lovely signal free area to ground balance on, but .....that is not the best way to balance an XTerra.
I always start in ground balance mode listening to a nice target, a medium to deep one. When I'm in an area that I want to run positive balance in because I believe the ground has allowed a coin to sink from about 6 to 14 inches, and bring those signals up with more clarity, I stay in manual ground balance mode to make that initial signal better.
If I make the balance positive, then I hit the sensitivity up high to match the work being done by the ground balance.
When I feel I will only be getting a very low amount of falseing from the positive balance, I'm straight into detect and tone mode.
So I never actually balance with pump sound, and rarely run with an even balance.
If you are having trouble with ground balance on the XTerra, the - key makes balance positive and the + key makes it more negative. I know it sounds backwards, but those keys have to minus and plus other options on the menu too, so when you think about it, using the - key places a more powerful positive balance down into the ground, and the + key brings the power back up out from the ground.
The ground balance is the most powerful feature on the XTerra's. It wouldn't hurt to hunt in manual ground balance mode for a short time, and gauge depth and size targets in your mind, then press the button taking you out of balance mode and see what the XTerra tones make of the signal. It's also the best way to teach yourself how the balance really behaves.
If I believe a certain ground type won't allow coinage to sink, I run a negative balance and drop the sensitivity to match the lower work rate the balance is at. I simply do not need to hear any lower than a few inches. And I love those days because it feels like total freedom after searching for deep signals I have to judge.
The digital manual ground balance on the XTerra's is far different than on our old dial controls. The XTerra's segmented range mark are all pre-set. So we are simply choosing a pre-set balance with every button push. They do not drift out either side of the balance, and the balance cannot be offset by changing ground type, unlike on our old school machines.
I never let the 705 do auto anything, and are more than happy to control every function manually.
Noise Cancel:
Noise cancel is merely a small frequency shift of a third of a kHz, give or take, on each segment, while not being overly important, I always choose a noise cancel channel after listening to each segment after being in ground balance mode with the coil at the same height I detect in.
Ground balance mode is a nice sensitive mode to hear any interference. Unless you can actually hear interference in the form of any humming or buzzing you are safe and sound.
I do a couple of nights a week directly under powerlines when they are at their quietest, and any change in frequency shift is negated after the first couple of swings. But it does not affect performance, depth or tone.
Tones vs Visual:
We all worked out pretty quickly on the first range of XTerra's that the Visual ID was the most accurate we had seen bar none. But the XTerra brilliance is really with the Tone ID.
Hunting at least an hour pre dawn is a good way to get tone savvy. It only takes a couple of outings to get them ingrained in your mind.
As soon as you pick up on the tones and start judging signals and depth by ear, the quicker you can drop the constant checking of the screen display, and only use the screen for menu changing.
Running ground balance positive or negative can mess a little with the Visual ID over ground that is not fully conductive to detecting, especially on the 705 as they have a broarder segmentation range, but will not upset the tones enough to warrant a refinement of balance.
Tones vs Notching:
To notch disc with an XTerra is inviting low producing hunts. If you notch you lose. It's far better to tone hunt and judge signals yourself than allow a processor to place a signal, or not hit on a good signal at all. Notching affects depth on these units as well forcing hiccups on the edge of some tones, and you can kiss most of the mid to deep on-edge coins goodbye.
I'll pop a couple of pics up below with a sentence or two on the areas, how I hunt them and why I'd use a certain coil in each spot.
I'd like to hear the way everyone sets their XTerra's up, and the way you hunt them for the signals you are targeting, and the coils you like and why. So please feel free to post up your favorite way of doing things on this thread.
As well as a few of the old detecting methods we have been using since the good ground balance detectors started coming out in the late 70's and early 80's. I dug my first teardrop when I was 14, with a detector that had major problems at three inches. By playing with the ground balance and cutting down on discrimination, understanding the target size and signals of all junk and coins, I could hit on-edge coinage at six inches and enjoy a good days detecting.
The Teardrop Principle is a great way to get stuck straight into the understanding of the tones on the XTerra, and a good indication of the depth and variety of the different types of junk and coins in a particular spot, and the differing layers of both.
The teardrop principle is merely a natural way in which I dig a small start in very heavy trash sites, but ones that are high yielding in coins, and helps you to learn as well as keep you in touch with all or your favorite tone modes on the particular XTerra model you are using.
I favour the 305's over all in the range, because they give me a better tone change on the two coins I hunt when slanted, and the best tone warble in multi tone when fully on-edge, so I'll be speaking 305 language in this post, just quickly convert it to your machines expanded segmentation between the two extremes ie: 0-20 GB becomes 0-50 or 90, Sens 1-10 becomes 20 or 30 and so on.
I mainly hunt in 12 multitone, but drop to 3 tone for at least a third of a day. The multi helps me round off the signals when checking them, but I do get a bit tired with it and find it more pleasurable to use 3 when hunting hardpacked ground with a negative balance and lower sensitivity, or cherry picking sites I've already done but have fresh coin drops.
I start on the first solid signal at the start of and in the middle of the trash. All trash has to start from somewhere, like the edge from concrete to a grass strip in a carpark, a central area where markets or carnivals are set up, or near the wall of a canteen etc.
Iron or good, it does not matter as every signal must be dug, quickly hearing, gauging and judging every signal before digging.
It does not matter how the detector is set up at the start, factory pre-set with a touch higher sensitivity and full target volume is fine.
We all kneel and dig differently, southpaws vs right handers etc, but we all end up with roughly the same fully dug initial patch. I end up with a double teardrop pattern, simply because I dig on my right knee, detect with the right hand and dig with my left, starting a sideways teardrop from the right ...moving over to the rounded end of the teardrop on to my left, leaving me with the largest rounded part well within range of my dig tool without undue stretching.
Then staying on my right knee, I simply slide a few inches further on my knee and twist to my right to start the next teardrop, rounded end first this time from the right, over to end at the skinny part of the teardrop on the left, leaving me with double teardrop like a piscean figure. Roughly 3 x 3 feet.
I use one main unit for heavy junk teardropping, with a rounded stand so I can slide it along. The lower shaft is set a few inches shorter that my upright detectors so I can keep my phone cord within range, but still comfortable enough to detect standing.
It gives me a good idea on the layers of junk and coins, and the depth both have sunk to in that immediate ground. It is very important to clear the top two inches of 'soft junk' like caps tops and foil to bring the deeper ones to bear.
But the most important part of the process is seeing what has made a particular tone, a double signal or triple warble, or the type and size of junk that gave an added scratch off at the end of a tone. The tones made by coins flat, slanted or on edge are commited very quickly to memory!
As most true junk areas have various blanket layers of metal from surface to full depth, I think it is a good idea to take a look at it all every now and then.
(Considering most detectorists quickly move away from these spots, letting the amount of signals scare them off and becoming members of the permanent upright brigade, that ground now belongs to you).
Then I work my way out in a straight line to where the heavy junk starts to peter out. Giving me an idea of where I can stand freely and detect normally, which usually ends up being in a semi circle around the heavy junk spot ...like backing off from a grassed canteen area from the place a crowd may stand watching sporting events etc. If the area is a high producer of coinage I can drop and dig for a while and collect a few, then move off to the edges to stretch out and detect upright if the body needs a break.
The most coins I've dug from a double teardrop is well over thirty, I haven't dug a non-producer since around March. I do however target the most likely coin drop spots.
I still dig at least two double teardrops a week in new spots, and continue runs of previous nice producing areas.
Digging teardrops is hard work, granted, but the information you gain from getting on top of whichever tone mode you are working the XTerra with is invaluable. And the places you work can be returned to time and time again for a teardropping or general detecting. As you get to know the high junk drop off points, you can decide which area to work and the most proficient balance to be in, depending on the coil you have on that day.
The main culprit I have had to master is fully on-edge coins, flat coins simply take care of themselves. I only chase two coins and one of them is on edge more often than not, and the XTerra is the only detector that gives me the excact tone mix I'm after, a double-triple warble, that makes it distinctive from the almost excact tone mix some tabs give. These coins are where multi tones really shine.
The 9" and 6" concentrics are ideal for these on-edger's and are my favorite coils as the signal is always fuller than on the DD's, which either give a miss or a too often change down to iron on deeper signals, as the processor quickly tries to place it in a segment. The concentrics also let you hear the edges of targets for longer, giving you more of a chance at judging a target from coin to sharp edge junk.
The 6" and elliptical DD's are my choice though when hunting on very hard packed or gravelly dirt when running a negative balance and lower sensitivity. They get up close to metal fencing where the over-sensitive 6" concentric can't go because their hot field is splayed hell west and crooked, and the DD's have that longer coverage sweep on the shallow signals. I love hunting with them on a full day too as the digging is so quick I don't have to kneel.
Coiltek's 15" is fantastic for open deep ground and they always leave me wishing for more hours with them. They feel like a real man's coil too, and seem to get smaller the more you use them.
Ground Balance:
You would have thought this bit should be written at the end of where the Teardrop was dug, especialy now that you have a lovely signal free area to ground balance on, but .....that is not the best way to balance an XTerra.
I always start in ground balance mode listening to a nice target, a medium to deep one. When I'm in an area that I want to run positive balance in because I believe the ground has allowed a coin to sink from about 6 to 14 inches, and bring those signals up with more clarity, I stay in manual ground balance mode to make that initial signal better.
If I make the balance positive, then I hit the sensitivity up high to match the work being done by the ground balance.
When I feel I will only be getting a very low amount of falseing from the positive balance, I'm straight into detect and tone mode.
So I never actually balance with pump sound, and rarely run with an even balance.
If you are having trouble with ground balance on the XTerra, the - key makes balance positive and the + key makes it more negative. I know it sounds backwards, but those keys have to minus and plus other options on the menu too, so when you think about it, using the - key places a more powerful positive balance down into the ground, and the + key brings the power back up out from the ground.
The ground balance is the most powerful feature on the XTerra's. It wouldn't hurt to hunt in manual ground balance mode for a short time, and gauge depth and size targets in your mind, then press the button taking you out of balance mode and see what the XTerra tones make of the signal. It's also the best way to teach yourself how the balance really behaves.
If I believe a certain ground type won't allow coinage to sink, I run a negative balance and drop the sensitivity to match the lower work rate the balance is at. I simply do not need to hear any lower than a few inches. And I love those days because it feels like total freedom after searching for deep signals I have to judge.
The digital manual ground balance on the XTerra's is far different than on our old dial controls. The XTerra's segmented range mark are all pre-set. So we are simply choosing a pre-set balance with every button push. They do not drift out either side of the balance, and the balance cannot be offset by changing ground type, unlike on our old school machines.
I never let the 705 do auto anything, and are more than happy to control every function manually.
Noise Cancel:
Noise cancel is merely a small frequency shift of a third of a kHz, give or take, on each segment, while not being overly important, I always choose a noise cancel channel after listening to each segment after being in ground balance mode with the coil at the same height I detect in.
Ground balance mode is a nice sensitive mode to hear any interference. Unless you can actually hear interference in the form of any humming or buzzing you are safe and sound.
I do a couple of nights a week directly under powerlines when they are at their quietest, and any change in frequency shift is negated after the first couple of swings. But it does not affect performance, depth or tone.
Tones vs Visual:
We all worked out pretty quickly on the first range of XTerra's that the Visual ID was the most accurate we had seen bar none. But the XTerra brilliance is really with the Tone ID.
Hunting at least an hour pre dawn is a good way to get tone savvy. It only takes a couple of outings to get them ingrained in your mind.
As soon as you pick up on the tones and start judging signals and depth by ear, the quicker you can drop the constant checking of the screen display, and only use the screen for menu changing.
Running ground balance positive or negative can mess a little with the Visual ID over ground that is not fully conductive to detecting, especially on the 705 as they have a broarder segmentation range, but will not upset the tones enough to warrant a refinement of balance.
Tones vs Notching:
To notch disc with an XTerra is inviting low producing hunts. If you notch you lose. It's far better to tone hunt and judge signals yourself than allow a processor to place a signal, or not hit on a good signal at all. Notching affects depth on these units as well forcing hiccups on the edge of some tones, and you can kiss most of the mid to deep on-edge coins goodbye.
I'll pop a couple of pics up below with a sentence or two on the areas, how I hunt them and why I'd use a certain coil in each spot.
I'd like to hear the way everyone sets their XTerra's up, and the way you hunt them for the signals you are targeting, and the coils you like and why. So please feel free to post up your favorite way of doing things on this thread.
