Minelab X-terra 705 General Tips, Advice, Questions

auto noise cancel auto ground balance leave tracking off dig everything until you get use to the tones you will soon know what you are going over I found with mine ring pulls come up the same number as some coins depth is close but not that accurate but you will hit everything in the first 7 to 9 inch mark with no problems its a simple machine so don't get to caught up in indepth settings factory settings work good hope this helps

Thanks for the reply mate. Ill try tomorrow without the tracking - just want to find anything to begin with. Cheers.

Here's a link to a thread regarding target recovery, there are a few different techniques.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11178

The 2 I use are a serated tool type digger and just a simple screwdriver oh and just a simple plastic hand scoop for the beach. Plenty of target recovery tools here. Just be sure if you're digging in sensitive areas such as parks to please practice first and recover shallow targets so you don't get in trouble with your local council. It can be done so you'd never even know a target had been recovered from there.

https://detectorist.com.au/collections/tyger-stainless-digging-tools-for-detectorists

Thanks Heatho - have bookmarked those pages

Hi all
I have used my xterra a fair bit on coins etc.
When using it in prospecting mode and having a go at trying to find some gold quite often I get an odd signal/tone.
So Ill hear a tone / target and then sweep back the tone goes away.
So from right to left I get tone but then swing back from left to right no tone and then right to left tone.
Whats the go there?
Its got me confused as hell.

Im not sure whether to dig or not. Very odd
Anyone have similar sort of thing?
Cheers cam

you are really wasting your time with the 705 gold chasing they will pick up every little hot rock and mineral in the ground I started with one and dug every hole and just about every time there was nothing there great machine for coins and relic but not so for gold I would say save up and get something suited for gold and save the frustration

227dick said:

I would say save up and get something suited for gold and save the frustration

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what ?? a nox :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

They are useless in the goldfields. I have tried many times. I have had great success with coins though. found well over $2,000 this year and very little trash

Cameronpatrol said:

Hi all
I have used my xterra a fair bit on coins etc.
When using it in prospecting mode and having a go at trying to find some gold quite often I get an odd signal/tone.
So Ill hear a tone / target and then sweep back the tone goes away.
So from right to left I get tone but then swing back from left to right no tone and then right to left tone.
Whats the go there?
Its got me confused as hell.

Im not sure wether to dig or not. Very odd
Anyone have similar sort of thing?
Cheers cam

Click to expand...

Are you running in All Metal or using some Iron Mask.
If using some Iron Mask you may be on the edge of blanking/not blanking a particular target. Try switching to All Metal & it will likely be repeatable in both directions or add more Iron Mask & it will likely blank all together? Also there are some targets that due to size, shape, orientation in the ground can also respond better on detectors from one direction over another. IMO any iffy sounds etc. are always worth checking from another direction or investigating further. Give the ground a scrape & see if it brightens up any?
When searching for gold most will recommend running in All Metal + digging everything or using a very low Iron Mask to help with ground noise/hot rocks/iron trash in problem areas. Small gold can cross over into the ferrous scale of VLF discrimination so you need to be wary using discrimination.
The Xterra 705 can find gold in the right areas. I was with a tour group last year & a guy on the tour was using his 705. He got more rattles in the jar than a couple of others using machines worth thousands. He focused on a creek bed most of the day where the ground was more forgiving (milder) & shallower although one bit came from ground higher up above the creek line from memory too.

Thanks for the replys fellas.
There wont be another detector in the pipepline for a long time.
I get the hot rocks and other rubbish thing but Im just wanting to know why if i move the detector from right to left it makes a tone but from left to right it dosnt make a tone.
does it mean anything in particular?
I did watch a vugus prospecting video last night and his equinox did a similar thing but cant quite remember what the reason was.

Also im running in all metal mode no discrimination.
If i do come over ground that has rubbish etc i flick over to coin mode and discrim there.
if the tone goes i know ive got crap again lol.

cheers cam

Cameronpatrol said:

Thanks for the replys fellas.
There wont be another detector in the pipepline for a long time.
I get the hot rocks and other rubbish thing but Im just wanting to know why if i move the detector from right to left it makes a tone but from left to right it dosnt make a tone.
does it mean anything in particular?
I did watch a vugus prospecting video last night and his equinox did a similar thing but cant quite remember what the reason was.

Also im running in all metal mode no discrimination.
If i do come over ground that has rubbish etc i flick over to coin mode and discrim there.
if the tone goes i know ive got crap again lol.

cheers cam

Click to expand...

Might just be sounding off on ground mineralisation, or could possibly be a deep target that's on the borderline of detection range of your detector.

Goldpick said:

Cameronpatrol said:

Thanks for the replys fellas.
There wont be another detector in the pipepline for a long time.
I get the hot rocks and other rubbish thing but Im just wanting to know why if i move the detector from right to left it makes a tone but from left to right it dosnt make a tone.
does it mean anything in particular?
I did watch a vugus prospecting video last night and his equinox did a similar thing but cant quite remember what the reason was.

Also im running in all metal mode no discrimination.
If i do come over ground that has rubbish etc i flick over to coin mode and discrim there.
if the tone goes i know ive got crap again lol.

cheers cam

Click to expand...

Might just be sounding off on ground mineralisation, or could possibly be a deep target that's on the borderline of detection range of your detector.

Click to expand...

But why would it only make a noise coming from the right and not from the left?
got me stuffed lol.
if theres a target normaly it makes noise left and right and i can narrow down where it is and then pinpoint.
maybe it nothing.

put it on all metal see what happens hot ground just sends the 705 mad it will make all noises still not worth worrying about the 705 don't work on gold fields u are just wasting your time

227dick said:

put it on all metal see what happens hot ground just sends the 705 mad it will make all noises still not worth worrying about the 705 don't work on gold fields u are just wasting your time

Click to expand...

Depends what gold field your talking about..Works great on gympie gold fields and surrounding areas :Y:

Cameronpatrol said:

Hi all
I have used my xterra a fair bit on coins etc.
When using it in prospecting mode and having a go at trying to find some gold quite often I get an odd signal/tone.
So Ill hear a tone / target and then sweep back the tone goes away.
So from right to left I get tone but then swing back from left to right no tone and then right to left tone.
Whats the go there?
Its got me confused as hell.

Im not sure wether to dig or not. Very odd
Anyone have similar sort of thing?
Cheers cam

Click to expand...

Im new at metal detecting have a 705 and Ive been mostly at the beach and Ive had the same scenario, except that I spend 1/2 an hour digging only to find nothing but frustration...
I worked out I had my sensitivity set to high getting false signals, try lowering it and see how u go .

Rattail-1927 said:

Cameronpatrol said:

Hi all
I have used my xterra a fair bit on coins etc.
When using it in prospecting mode and having a go at trying to find some gold quite often I get an odd signal/tone.
So Ill hear a tone / target and then sweep back the tone goes away.
So from right to left I get tone but then swing back from left to right no tone and then right to left tone.
Whats the go there?
Its got me confused as hell.

Im not sure wether to dig or not. Very odd
Anyone have similar sort of thing?
Cheers cam

Click to expand...

Im new at metal detecting have a 705 and Ive been mostly at the beach and Ive had the same scenario, except that I spend 1/2 an hour digging only to find nothing but frustration...
I worked out I had my sensitivity set to high getting false signals, try lowering it and see how u go .

Click to expand...

Thanks mate will have a go
pretty sure I have tried a few settings with sensitivity but have not taken noticed what it was set to when its done its strange thing.

Here's what I know after using a 705 for a couple years now.

The amount of arrows also depends on how high the coil is off the ground. The difference between 2 and 3 arrows is not much more than an inch. Each arrow equals about an inch and on that , most modern coins rarely get past 3 arrows down in parks imo. A half decent pin pointer will pick up 2 arrows down quite easily.

Yes the depth indicator works on pin pointing mode.

I never use tracking. Just ground balance it each time you start it up and then after an hour or so I'll ground balance it again.

All metal drIves me mad in parks and unless you enjoy digging everything and hearing every lid, personally I don't. Save all metal for the beach.

I've been hitting parks now with every number turned off except 30 , 32 and 34. Maybe it's laziness but I'm finding alot of $1 and $2 coins. Even more lazy is any of those numbers past 3 arrows I rarely bother with as they're usually twist tops.

Extra tools I carry are a pin pointer and a serrated digging tool. I also bought a larger 12 inch think it is coil which made a huge difference to coverage and finds.

Edit to add , don't back off sensitivity, crank that up till it gets chattery , then back it off until it gets stable. Get the machine running at its full power and use the depth indicator.

Thanks Upside some awesome pointers.

Heatho has it covered :Y: :Y:

there is nothing like a Tyger :Y:

It all depends what you hunt for and the nature of the ground. The 705 gives you a lot of options.

I like to leave it in all metal although it can be tough going in trashy parks. But that way you get to hear everything and learn what it all means by digging. In the early days it helps to back off the sensitivity until your brain is able to catch up and make sense of it. I might be the outlier here but I like to use tracking. The ground can change quite a bit, at least where I am, and it ensures you always have the optimal ground balance in play. In time, you can also offset the ground balance via tracking to punch a bit deeper. (The manual warns that if you are in tracking and leave your detector over a target for a time, it could ground balance to that target. In practice, it just doesn't happen. You'll go to pinpoint mode quickly, which automatically switches tracking off.)

I find it's also really helpful to have low expectations: focus on getting outside, fresh air, exercise, and enjoying the potential. I actually set a minimum number of targets to dig and expect most will be trash. That way, the bad days won't put you off and the good days are even better!