Question from newbie concerning White's MXT

skeeter

Still trying to learn........I have noticed when searching old housesites, when I go over a coin that is near the surface, it picks up perfectly. When a coin is deep, I can not tell what it is and I have been digging up a lot of junk. Is there something I am not doing right or is it impossible to distinguish a coin that is deep?

skeeter

Thanks to all .............for all the answres!!!!!!!

2bits

Hey Skeeter patience my friend !! its easter sunday and we all come in at different times !!

My whites Eagle spectrum will properly Identify coins down to about 8 or 9 inches .

and Im sure that the MXT is also at least as capable as my old whites machine .

what exactly does the machine say in these circumstances ,,are you using the numbers, graph or written ID or all three to decide to dig or not ?

many things show up as what maybe coins ,,can slaw is bad ,as well as some types of mineralised soils are bad ,high Iron content soil or soils high in salt can and will mess with your detector ,,sometimes a custom program is necessisary to get it to work right in such cases .

millennium

I don't have a Whites....so I can't answer.....But to be honest.....You posted on a holiday when friends and family are visiting...You may as well give up metal detecting...it takes a lot more patience than you have shown here...

BentFork

Skeeter, What you're experiencing is normal for MXT operation. When you encounter a surface or shallow object the machine will give you a good strong tone and a good VDI indication. But the deeper the object is, the less the machine's threshold will be broken and the less possible it will be for the machine to give you a good VDI. In other words, a deeper target will only cause a slight change in the threshold. It will just "whisper" for lack of better words. Very deep targets can cause the threshold to go completely silent and the machine will be unable to disciminate what it is (no VDI indication).

Here's a trick you can try. Place a quarter flat on the ground. Sweep it at varying heights and note how the machine reacts and dsplays information. The higher you get from the object the less the machine will be able to detect and discriminate.

Jeff Foster's book "The MXT Edge" is a very good and comprehensive book on the MXT. I have a copy myself and occasionally I will even refer to it.

Just my suggestion, put your machine in Relic mode and hunt. Don't become too dependent on the Coin and Jewelry mode as it only has one tone. With Relic mode you can adjust your desired discrimination and whatever is "accepted" will be a high pitch tone, and what is below the discrimination is a low pitch. That's with the trigger switch under the display in the center position. Also, I don't rely upon the VDI to tell me what the item is. For example, a dime, quarter, penny, ring, button, buckle, and etc. I like to tell folks that before they dig an item to gather as much info as they can. What is the VDI? Is the VDI the same both directions? Turn sideways from when you encountered the object. Is the VDI different this time. Is it the VDI consistant with each swing? Anyway, what I'm getting at is decide for yourself what the object is before you dig. Then if you're incorrect in your assessment try to figure out why. Once you get the hang of it, some of those targets you once skipped over will end up as gold rings in your pocket. Or deep silver coins. A deep silver coin will not react like a clad quarter on the surface.

HH

G Man

skeeter

Thank you Benfork, for that informative answer

Millennuim.........

ricko

A coin garden can really help you ..... various coins, buried at different depths (be sure to keep a map), separated well.... none close to each other. If you have enough area... also try some on edge... mix copper, silver, nickel... different coins... also, let the dirt settle before testing.. water it a couple of times... Cheers, RickO

2bits

You said you were digging alot of junk ,,right ? what kind of junk ? what does the machine register these targets as ?

sure you can set up a coin garden but don't expect the readings to be exactly the same as coins which have been in the ground for along time ,, the halo is very small on a newly buried coin and the depth it can be detected at is significantly reduced.