Minelab X-terra 705 General Tips, Advice, Questions

We just go our 705 and I was sitting with the book. It states that it is most likely sensitivity too high. I'm not the guy to ask though because I just assembled it and it's sitting on the kitchen table.

Phil

We got the Xterra 705 in the post during the week. I never got the chance to try it out but i did read the book from cover to cover. Today we left early for an old ghost town were I previously dug a couple of old coins while digging bottles.

I turned the machine on in coin mode an opted for the quick start option where minimal setup was required. The target ID ranges from -8 to 48. The minus figures indicate iron. For some reason most of the time the only signals I got were -8 and OL (outside limit). I tried reducing sensitivity all the way down to 7 but still almost every target was OL.

I sat with the manual and tried to reset it by the book with very little change. It was better if I put it in AM (all metal mode) where it found some targets but still most were OL.

Any suggestions?

Phil

Thats strange, must be very big iron pieces in the ground. The only time I get overload, is when there is a large piece of metal close to the surface, or when I get too close to some street sign poles. Were you able to ground balance it?

rocketaroo said:

Thats strange, must be very big iron pieces in the ground. The only time I get overload, is when there is a large piece of metal close to the surface, or when I get too close to some street sign poles. Were you able to ground balance it?

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I tried to ground balance it but I didn't really understand the process. It didn't seem to improve when I held the GB button and pumped it up and down so I put it on auto ground balance. I'm going to have to spend some time with it at home. I have a test area set out with twenty buried targets that have been down there for more than a year.

Outer Limits of the Inner Mind.(showing my age there). :lol:

lures said:

Just a question for minelab 705 users when I am detecting the signal number jumps all over the place from -4 to 44 to 12 is it operator error or do I need to tweek a certian setting for it to stabalize ,detector is working a treat and finding stuff just not sure what target number to call
Thanks inadvance
Gary

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I've found that if you can't reproduce the signal # constantly with several swings it's just noise. Also pin point mode can help with your decision to dig. For example i was getting 32 from potash in the field. Pinpoint couldn't locate the target it was showing an area of response not an item. Also the pinpointer wand gave a weak response over a large area not a localized chirping.

I still dug a few times to confirm my expectations.

Its a tricky thing, to goto pinpoint, and find the machine decides its a much lower vdi. So often the good targets are very close to the crap ones. I dont trust what the pinpoint mode does to the vdi. If there is a good repeatable signal, from at least one direction, then its worth a dig. This is off topic, I dont know why the OP is getting so many overloads, and what they have tried makes sense.

Yeah. I should have said more clearly this was my way to check if it was potash without a dig. Pretty specific condition i was stuck with. Coins the vdi would drop some times but it was still a very localized signal not spanning 60cm square. Some areas the detector was pretty useless it was sounding off randomly for areas spanning meters.

I took the 705 out to our test patch today. It started working quite ok right from the start. No OL readings at all in the Capel sand. I don't know if it was accurate on the metal identification because I couldn't find our notes on what we buried. One the way back I found several pieces of foil, one steel rivet, a tiny nail, a couple ring pull tabs and a few bottle tops.

I took note of the depth indicator. The book says that each arrow indicates about 2" but even 4 arrows (8") was only ever 2" deep. I worked my way along the inside edge of the kerb by the lunchbar. There were several signals each reading 3 or 4 arrows on the depth indicator but there was only ever as much as 1" of soil above the bitumen and each target was either a squashed bottle cap or a ring pull tab. Then I took a look at a couple of youtube videos and saw the operator turn over the chunk of turf exposing a coin a couple of inches down. on each occasion their depth indicator was also reading much deeper.
Do these depth indicators work?

Depends on the size of target, small targets like a one cent, will be shallower than the meter says. Dont rely on depth indicators, they are generally in the ballpark though. If you goto pinpoint mode, you get a more accurate reading.

I have the gold pack and I set mine up at home in a test garden and it's easy to use and setup
But the minute I'm around gold baring soils mine goes off like crazy in prospecting then in coin mode it jumps all over the place -8 10 12 25 30 32 36 38 40 44 48, I lower sensitivity, I slow down my sweep speed, try beach mode, adjust threshold, ground balance...
It is a brilliant machine on coins but I am really starting to question it's gold prospecting abilities..
Had a fellow put a gold nugget about 8mm x 5mm x 1.5mm on the ground and would only beep up to 3 inches max away in prospecting and 1 inch in coin mode, was very disheartening to me after that.
But like I said best thing ever made for park coins!

Its great on jewellery, picks-up the smallest bits easily. Just doesnt cost enough, to be good in the goldfields.

Yes but now I have to break it to my other half who thinks detectors cost $80 that the $1000 detecter that I cond her into Just won't do...
She asked me the other day why I was panning and not using the detector?
I told her I was just taking samples to see if there was gold in the area

rocketaroo said:

Just doesnt cost enough, to be good in the goldfields.

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roffle

There's a video on youtube, aussies with their expensive machines, but one guy with a 705, and a massive coiltek coil. The 705 was pinging the target just as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTjXrtqFzGU&sns=em

Guys, have you tried the ID Stability "+" mode?

PhaseTech said:

Guys, have you tried the ID Stability "+" mode?

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I have briefly, didnt notice any difference. I should give it a decent go.

Try a 5c coin in mineralised dirt, makes a big difference

rocketaroo said:

There's a video on youtube, aussies with their expensive machines, but one guy with a 705, and a massive coiltek coil. The 705 was pinging the target just as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTjXrtqFzGU&sns=em

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The machine that found the target was the best signal I thought. My hearing might be more in tune with the "expensive" models? Interesting to see that it appeared to have been under the leaf litter too & many say that the SDC won't pick up targets under leaves. Not trying to be overly critical but I would rather see something found by the actual machine to prove its merits - pretty easy to get a signal on a target you know is there but a good way to compare machines on in situ targets. Be interesting to have kicked the leaf litter back over for the others too & maybe seen if they would have picked it up initially too? Would also have been interesting to see the WOT being swung at a pace that would be more like how you would be detecting at. He was very very slow over the target & I know it's "low & slow" but I haven't seen anyone go that slowly unless they are doing a small area where they've already found one or two.
The 15" WOT is still pretty sensitive though on the 705. Would like to know what the settings were in use on each machine. The blokes with the 705 & 4500 both seemed less experienced & appeared to be out getting some tips off the other more experienced people, hence checking their machines on someone else's find, so I wonder if they were set up optimally too.
One reason I don't trust YouTube vids much - too many variables that you don't know involved in most situations & very easy for people to make one machine outshine another or others if they want to. I take most of them with a grain of salt unless from a trusted source or very open with settings etc.
It does go to show though that given the right setting etc. that the 705 is a capable machine in its price range. I do have expensive tastes though so I won't be getting one for gold detecting any time soon :lol:

I wondered that also, if the 4500 was wound down intentionally or not of course it will make the 705 look better