Minelab X-terra 705 General Tips, Advice, Questions

I don't want to hire a detector, I just want to have a bit of a play on my own property for some fun. There is old mine shafts on neighbouring properties so I am curious. I am aware that the 705 is not the most capable gold machine, but there are countless reviews that it will find fairly fine gold if close to the surface and swinging slow enough.

The area is highly mineralised and I just want to know what coil would be the best that I have.

Your only chance for SMALL GOLD is to use the 6 inch dd 18.75...working small areas at a time in prospecting mode..If the ground is any hotter than mild then your chances diminish greatly...Around SE Qld the xterra can ...and does pick up bits half the size of a mach head..not sure of the weight because they dont register on my cheapo scales ..I have found a few over the last year down to an inch and a half with a strong but dull tone..The terra is best used for checking tailings or the cracks in and around bedrock..Good luck :Y: I have had a lot of people say that's bullshit..But I just smile and laugh on the inside :Y:

Smoky bandit said:

Your only chance for SMALL GOLD is to use the 6 inch dd 18.75...working small areas at a time in prospecting mode..If the ground is any hotter than mild then your chances diminish greatly...Around SE Qld the xterra can ...and does pick up bits half the size of a mach head..not sure of the weight because they dont register on my cheapo scales ..I have found a few over the last year down to an inch and a half with a strong but dull tone..The terra is best used for checking tailings or the cracks in and around bedrock..Good luck :Y: I have had a lot of people say that's bullshit..But I just smile and laugh on the inside :Y:

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You could always do an area with the small coil, and then if you find something do the same area again with each of the other coils just in case the other coils could find bigger deeper bits once you know where you are looking :Y:

Hi all,

I have taken my 705 out to the GT twice now and in prospecting mode it is just so noisy almost every single swing making it completely useless. Is this normal behaviour? I ground balanced frequently, tried auto tracking and fiddled with the threshold. It runs quiet in normal coin all metal mode but I assume it loses a lot of sensitivity?

I tried both the 6" and 6x10" 18.75khz coils. I was playing around the old mullock heaps in Dunolly.

I realise it isn't the best gold machine but I would still like to have a bit of a play in the gold fields every now and again and don't want it to be a complete waste of time.

The ground must be to hot..In prospecting mode it's running at full 18.75 khz..and picking up ground mineralization..Common for a vlf machine. The prospecting mode on the 705 is only useful in mild soil conditions. :Y:

Best thing you can do is stay away from the blood red ground, and get it into some milder ground.

What Sensitivity were you using?

I'd go with the 6" coil, and turn down your sensitivity till you are happy. Try not to get it any lower than 10, otherwise you will restrict your depth too much.

If you find that it is constantly going out of balance even in tracking, then activate the beach GB - this will speed up the tracking speed.

I was running sensitivity of around 20, I didn't go any lower as i worried about losing all my depth. I will try going lower next time and give the 6" another try

I swapped the concentric coil for the double d today only because I've never changed it from when I purchased it. Used it in coin/treasure mode.
Found it really strange working out exactly where the target was.
Saw a video where it showed the target would be under the tip of coil but seems like its under the centre same as concentric.
Does anyone else use the double d in coin/treasure mode or just gold hunting?
Should I stick to the concentric where I have no trouble pinpointing?
Cheers

Hi mate which dd cool are you using cause they pinpoint in different ways

Used the 10" x 5" Double D today Smoky, came with the 705 Dual Pack. I've never detected for gold, so someone told me to "not underestimate" it in hunting for coins.

The target will be directly under the minelab sticker mate on that coil :Y:

As SB said is where it is on mine
Roy

Thanks so much for that Smoky, it will take some getting used to, has a totally different feel swinging.

This might help a bit, someone has already done the homework for you, plus some other tips.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/m...-x-70-5x10-dd-coil-pinpointing-i-way-off.html

Thanks for that Goldpick, will test out today, may have missed something yesterday, just couldn't find some spots.

Today I found some junk, 1947 pitted & bent penny, $2, so getting the hang of the Double D pinpointing.

I had the same problem with mine I bought a 15 inch coil and it works great on high soil conditions with auto tracking on

I run a 705 around maryborough/dunolly occasionally, try dropping your sensitivity down to about 16-18 and the iron reject down to about 5-10. Recheck your frequency/emi setting every so often too, I have more trouble with that changing than I do hot ground, so long as I stay off the really red clay.



That lot was about 8 inches down at the base of some big powerlines just near the house. sorry about the dodgy photo.

Dont bother with beach mode either, itll ping every lump of red clay, charcoal etc in existence for some reason,I reckon its got to do with the concentrated nature, versus beach salt.

Hi all,

Had my very first go at detecting today with the 705. Just checked out a local park and it was more about practice. Took a few coins with me to see what ID they showed. Ill tell you what, my arm was definitely feeling it afterwards!

I used a heap of YouTube videos and this forum for assistance with settings and have found the community to be so helpful. I just had a few more queries which sometimes I read conflicting things on.

1. If using tracking on the 705 and I hit a target, do I have to disable tracking before going into pinpointing mode?

2. Does the depth indicator work in pinpointing mode? I have noticed I might hit a target with 3 arrows and then put it into pinpoint mode and see 4 arrows mostly all the time.

3. Around my house I will be looking for coins in parks and dont really want to me digging holes too deep, I read that I can change the sensitivity to a low number so I will only get the low hanging fruit so to speak. The coins sitting in the grass or
just under. Is this correct?

4. This might sound silly but is there a proper way to dig once you have your target? Dig around it first or go straight to the point? Now Ive written that it sounds even more silly but Ill leave it there for the fun of it.

5. What accessories or digging tools could you recommend? My hands get swollen between my thumb and index finger whenever I do anything strenuous really and anything that helps with digging would be great.

6. Any other tips for a beginner with the 705.

Thanks in advance, Im glad I stumbled across this hobby :Y: