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Coin and Jewelry Mode
This mode will show five different indications
on the large display. One outstanding feature of the MXT is the
ability for you to read everything on the display with ease. The
large number is called the VDI or Visual Discrimination Indication
number. This is a reference number to help you identify different
targets. The numbers range from -95 to + 94. Minus numbers from
-95 up to zero are indications of iron. Most of us in our hunting
will be dealing with the positive numbers. The higher the conductivity
of the target, the higher the VDI number. Notice in the picture
we have a quarter indicated at +83.
 There are a series of 16 blocks that appear along the bottom portion of the display screen. These blocks do two things. They give you another indication of the identity of the target in relation to how it lines up with the target labels below the display. In addition, the block changes sizes according to how confident the detector is about the target. They could be called "confidence blocks". There are three sizes to the block. If the block is large, then the detector is telling you. "I am almost sure that I have the identity of this target nailed." If the block is one half the size, the detector is telling you, "It looks pretty good, but I could be mistaken, but I would dig if I were you." If the block is one-fourth the size, the detector is telling you, "You can go ahead and dig if you want to, but I wouldn't unless the target is deep." On the screen there are numerical labels. These labels are of the most common targets found with a particular indication. In the picture, the label is 25 cents. The neat thing about the labels is when you get two labels shown, the first label is more than likely the target. The other indication on the display is the depth. This will occur when the trigger on the hand grip is squeezed and held while the coil is moved over the target. It is important to remember that the depth indication is only for coin-sized objects. The depth indicator will begin with 12 inches and work its way down as you get the coil closer to the target. Always go with the smallest depth reading to get the correct depth. Also, when the trigger is squeezed and held on the handgrip, some blocks will appear at the bottom of the display. These blocks will aid you in pinpointing a target. When the search coil is directly over the target you will have the longest possible length of blocks showing.  As you can see, in the Coin and Jewelry Mode, you have many ways to check and recheck the target before digging. Relic Mode
The Relic Mode has a different display. It
contains the VDI numbers (same as Coin and Jewelry Mode) that
are actually reference numbers. The type of metal, size and shape
determines this number. Relic hunters will normally be interested
in all the plus VDI numbers rather than minus numbers. The labels
on the display have changed to indicate the things relic hunters
are most interested, IRON, BUTTON, BULLET and BUCKLE. Of course
there are many more targets of interest to a relic hunter so it
will be important to compare the VDI number with the items found.
This way you will begin to accumulate your own list of VDI numbers
and good targets.
 The depth indicator will measure the depth of coin-sized objects when pinpointing. Using this feature along with the size of the confidence block, you can decide whether or not to dig a relic target. An interesting feature of the Relic Mode is the Mixed Mode Audio feature. This is the All Metal and Discriminate Mode working at the same time. The high, low audio sounds can take some getting use to, but is very effective in separating good targets from trash. Prospecting Mode
Hunting for gold nuggets is just a dream for
most of us detectorist and a reality for only a few. It does not
make a lot of sense to spend a small fortune on a gold detector
that you will only use once a year, if that much. With the MXT
you will always be ready to hit the nugget fields with a very
acceptable piece of quality equipment.
 The Prospecting display still has the VDI numbers but everything else on the display has changed. Gold VDI numbers can range from slightly negative up to +80. According to the MXT Owner's Guide (which is excellent), VDI numbers over +80 and below -20 are highly unlikely to be gold. On the display is the word GND (called ground phase) and is followed by a number. In the photo, the GND is 54. This number is the measurement of the ground and it tells you how mineralized the soil is you are working in. If the numbers range from the high 70's to the 80's, you are working in soil with high iron mineralization. If the numbers are low, 30's and 40's, you are in alkali or salt areas. Generally, higher numbers mean black sand and lower numbers mean less iron in the soil. The GND is useful for finding gold bearing ground in a dry wash but that is beyond the scope of this report. Another phrase on the display is Iron Target? This is a number expressed in percent. The detector is looking at the target and saying "What are the odds of this being iron?" It then gives you the answer in a percent. In the picture, the percent is 20%. Any target registering over 60% is going to be iron. Trigger (on the hand grip)
This is really a multi-functional trigger.
There are three trigger positions: Center Position, Forward Position
and the Squeeze and Hold Position. To make it more interesting,
the trigger positions have different functions in the three modes.
 In the Coin and Jewelry Mode the center position will be silent on rejected targets in the discriminate mode. This is the traditional way to use the trigger. The forward position adds a new feature in the Coin and Jewelry Mode, pull tab rejection. If you are accepting nickels then pull tabs above the nickel setting will not respond with the audio. When the trigger is squeezed and held the display will indicate depth and help with pinpointing. In the Relic Mode the center position of the trigger will cause the MXT to give a high and low audio sound, which is called the Mixed Mode Audio. The sound is based on the discriminate control setting, a low sound below the setting and a high sound above the setting. If the discriminate control is set to accept nickels, then any target reading below nickels will give a low sound and above the nickel will produce a high sound. If the trigger is in the forward position then low sounds are suppressed and only high sounds are heard. When the trigger is squeezed and held, the display will show the depth of coin-sized objects such as buttons and bullets. In the Prospecting Mode the center position will produce a low grunt sound when the coil is over iron or the target shows at least 80% iron on the display. In the forward position the grunt is gone and the audio is a VCO sound for all metals. Squeezing and holding the trigger will stop ground tracking. This feature is important when a small target like a nugget is indicated and you want to hover the coil over the target. With auto ground tracking operating, the MXT will think that the small target is ground and null it out. Squeezing the trigger when pinpointing will eliminate this dilemma. If you have trouble remembering these trigger positions, don't worry. They can be found on the bottom of the control box for easy reference. Ground Balancing
Ground balancing with the MXT could not be
easier. Ground balancing is a procedure that many people have
difficulty learning. If you ground balance a detector correctly,
you may get a little more depth. However, if the procedure is
done wrong, the results can be horrendous. The MXT eliminates
that problem.
On the face of the control box there is a TRAC toggle switch. There are three positions: SALT. LOCK. AND GROUND. For normal soil, which makes up at least 90% of our searching, the toggle should be set to GROUND. LOCK is used in soil that contains a lot of iron or rusted iron. Before you use the LOCK setting you must ground balance in either SALT or GROUND. SALT is used to compensate for alkali or salt. If you are on a salt water beach, just move the toggle to SALT and ground balance the detector.  The actually ground balancing procedure is so simple. Set the other knobs (which we will discuss later) to preset settings and then just find a clean spot with no metal underneath, set the TRAC toggle switch to Ground or Salt and then pump the coil. The coil should be moved up and down (two to four inches) a couple of times. A very neat feature called Fast AutoTrac will eliminate the ground mineralization. It is that easy! A feature I really like is the LOCK feature. Once the ground balance has been set in either the GROUND or SALT mode, you can toggle to LOCK. What this does is lock in the ground balance settings. This is very useful when you are in a highly decomposed iron environment. Rusted iron can sometimes trick the detector's ground balance because the detector thinks it is dealing with a mineral not a metal. One way to tell when to lock in the ground balance is if you are experiencing false signals, popping or chirping and it is not electrical interference. One note, when you are air testing target with the MXT, be sure to have the TRAC toggle set to LOCK. The coil must see the ground when ground balancing. Gain Control and Off/On
This knob control turns the detector on and
off and sets the gain or signal strength. On some detectors this
control is called the Sensitivity Setting. The settings on this
control go from 1 to 10 and then go upward with a + 1, +2 and
a +3. The preset is at 9.5. I noticed that there is really a big
difference in depth if you are able to use the plus numbers. I
have also found that there seems to be a noticeable boost in the
audio announcing a target when using the plus numbers. If you
can run the MXT at +3, there will be a dramatic increase in depth.
However, it has been my experience that when you run the detector
in highly mineralized soil at +3 there is a buzzing sound in the
threshold. It sounds like a bee. I don't mind, with the depth
I am getting on those targets. The gain control can be set too
high in mineralized ground. The MXT will notify you of this fact
by giving the OVERLOAD-REDUCE GAIN/LIFT LOOP message on the display.
This message can also occur when a target is very large. If the
problem is not a large target, you will have to reduce the gain
setting. Lifting the coil will get a proper ID on a large target.
Dual Control
 Dual Control-Discriminate or Outer Ring
This knob has two different functions. When
in the Coin and Jewelry or Relic Modes, this control acts as
a traditional discrimination control with everything above the
setting being accepted. The preset is just below the Nickel
setting and this is where I normally set the discriminate knob
when coin and jewelry hunting. Remember, if the pull-tabs get
to be a problem, just push the trigger forward to eliminate
them. A nice feature! I did notice one thing, however, that
is different from most detectors. When the discrimination control
is set to zero, all metal will be detected.
Now if you are operating in the Relic Mode and the trigger is in the center position, there will be a two tone I.D. which is the Mixed Mode. (All Metal and Discriminate working at the same time). Any metal target that is accepted by the Discriminate Control will give a high sound and any target to be rejected will give a low sound. If you want to eliminate the low sound, just push the trigger forward. Dual Control-SAT or Inner Ring
If you are operating in the Prospecting Mode, the Dual Control
is used to adjust the speed of the Self Adjusting Threshold
or SAT. The threshold is the slight hum you hear when operating
the MXT and is adjusted with the Threshold Knob. It is important
that the threshold remain steady so you can catch all the small
target sounds. However, electrical interference or ground mineralization
can cause the threshold to make a scratchy chattering noise.
If you increase the SAT speed, the chattering will go away and
you can separate the target from the interference noise. So
the SAT control will compensate for any irregularity of the
ground mineralization.The SAT control and the Gain control work together in the Prospecting Mode. If you are having trouble stabilizing the Threshold, you may have to increase the SAT or reduce the Gain. If you rotate the SAT to the maximum setting, you go into HyperSAT. You will start experiencing different sounds but small nuggets will have a sharper report. This setting is to be used in very bad ground conditions. Threshold Control
This control sets the volume of the background
noise. Some people refer to the sound as a "hum." The setting
should always be at the lowest audio level so you can hear
any minute changes in sound while going over a target.
Field Test
This portion of the report will deal
with the field-testing of the MXT. I am retired and have
plenty of time on my hands to metal detect, so I put a lot
of hours on this detector. I have also been detecting regularly
since 1966, so I am very familiar with how a metal detector
is supposed to perform. I am breaking down the experiences
with the MXT by weeks and reporting my feelings as if it
were a diary. This report covers Oklahoma and Southern Colorado
hunting sites.
First Week
I received the MXT at 5:00 p.m. and
was anxious to try it out before it got dark, so I headed
for the backyard with my 42 target sticks. I wanted to check
the VDI numbers against the actual targets. I ground balanced
the MXT and then placed the target sticks on the ground.
I checked the ground with the Prospecting Mode and found
the GND to be 58, very mild mineralization. I was using
the standard 950 coil and discovered the VDI numbers were
right on the mark. Using this coil I could pick up targets
12 inches away with the target sticks on the ground. In
the Prospecting Mode I could pick up a 4-grain nugget at
a measured 4 inches. I, like most of you, realize the proof
of the pudding is how does it perform with targets in the
ground.
The next day I went to an old park and it was raining intermittently. I set all knobs to preset, selected the Coin and Jewelry Mode and ground balanced the MXT. I did not lock in the ground balance. The discriminate knob was set to preset and I was using the 950 coil. After I started hunting, I found several zinc pennies, nickels, several dimes and one quarter. Nothing was old. The zinc pennies VDI numbers ranged from 62, 65. One corroded zinc penny lying on top of the ground indicated a VDI reading of 58. I checked under the penny and there were not any targets. Some square tabs would come in with the same VDI numbers as zinc pennies. I tried pushing the trigger forward to eliminate the square tabs - but still picked some of them up. The deepest coin I found was about 4+ inches deep. The rains came and I headed for shelter. Today the park was soaked from the rain and the part of the park I was hunting in was very trashy. I am still using the standard 950 coil and using the presets. I wanted to focus in on the "Confidence Blocks" to see if there were really an aid to the "dig or not dig" decision. I dug a lot of trash today and found if the "Confidence Block" was large and indicated a good target, you could almost bet the farm that it was a good target. If the one-half block appeared and the target indication was good, I established that there were normally pieces of trash near the good target. I could double check this using the Relic Mode with its Mixed Mode to locate the bad target. These blocks proved very helpful in making the decision to dig. I am starting to get impressed with this detector. Second Week
Visited a school playground and began
in the Coin and Jewelry Mode using all preset settings and
the 950 coil. The GND was 59. The first area I worked was
a sandy volleyball court and found very little because they
had just added sand. I began testing to see how deep the
MXT would go by turning the Gain to a +3. It was too much
- so I backed down to a +2 setting. I discovered that there
was a great difference in detection depth from the preset
to the +2. Deep coins under the new sand were picked up
by the MXT and the deepest coin I found in the volleyball
court sand was 10 inches deep.
I was having trouble with a pair of headphones that had a very long coiled cord. The cord kept catching the Mode Toggle and was switching the Coin and Jewelry Mode to the Relic Mode. Actually, this was a blessing in disguise. In the process of messing around with the headphone cord, I found myself hunting in the Relic Mode. It worked great on coins, as it seemed to pull them out a lot deeper than the Coin and Jewelry Mode. I needed to check this out to see if this was a fluke. This morning I went with some friends to an old part of town where they were removing houses and scraping the soil with dozers. The ground is covered with a lot of scrap metal from what is left of the houses. It seems there is rusted iron in every square foot of ground. I decided to hunt in the Relic Mode and set the discriminate knob to just below nickels. I ground balanced the MXT and then locked it in because of the decomposing iron. I was using the 950 coil. This way I would have a high tone for all metals above nickels and a low tone below the nickel setting. The gain was set to +2. The results were better than I could have ever anticipated. It seems that I was pulling a coin out every two or three steps. Using the Mixed Mode, anytime I heard that screeching high tone among the many low tones, I would try to get a VDI reading on the target. If I could lock on a good VDI number, I would dig. Many times I found coins next to a rusted iron target. The target separation in the Mixed Mode is excellent. This detector is amazing! We found several silver coins today plus a few artifacts. One problem did arise while hunting around these houses. In one area that had an abundance of metal in the ground, I noticed that the target indications were off. Quarters would read in the mid 70's and pennies in the low 60's. I solved this problem by reducing the Gain dramatically and it worked! Sometimes less Gain is better. In most areas the detection depth was excellent using the +2 Gain setting. The deepest coin I dug was a dime at a measured 9 inches. One of my friends used the detector for a short time and dug a square pull-tab at 12 inches. This Relic Mode proved to be an excellent way to hunt in very trashy areas. The ability of the MXT to pull out good metal lying next to bad metal is remarkable. I saw the need for a smaller coil, so I purchased the Eclipse 5.3 coil and lower shaft. Third Week
Today, I am visiting a youth camp that
dates back to the early 1920's. The GND reading was 56.
I decided to use the relic mode for coin hunting while using
the new Eclipse 5.3 coil. The campsites are very trashy
with fire pits everywhere - a perfect place for the smaller
coil. At this site I can use the +3 Gain setting without
a lot of interference. Right off the bat I had a loud signal
and a VDI number indicating a dime. The depth measurement
read 9 inches. I could not believe it could be a dime at
nine inches with that much audio and picked up with the
5.3 coil. This was a target I was going to measure. Sure
enough, at nine inches out comes a nice Mercury Dime. After
playing around with the Gain settings I came to the conclusion
that somehow the +1, +2 and +3 Gain settings must be boosting
the sound when reporting a target. This proved true time
and time again.
Today, I had a first. While hunting in a city park with the MXT's Coin and Jewelry Mode and using the 950 coil I found a bunch of nickels in a 4' X 15' area. A bunch in this case is 43 nickels. Strangely enough they all indicated either 18 or 20 on the VDI display. All the nickels were dated in the 60's and 70's. Because of the heat, I left early and returned later that evening to the same spot. I found 10 more nickels. One thing I have noticed is the variable sweep speed of the MXT. It seems to operate extremely well at slow sweep speeds but it also seems to function just as well at moderate to fast sweep speeds. Fourth Week
We are now in Southern Colorado where
the GND numbers are reading in the low and mid 80's. This
is very tough mineralized soil. I have found that using
the smaller coil worked better in the highly mineralized
soil. I guess the smaller coil's surface does not see as
much of the bad ground per sweep as a larger coil.
The water levels in the rivers in Southern Colorado are at an all time low due to a drought. The South Fork of the Rio Grande was barely flowing and revealing much of the bottom of the river - a perfect setup for a metal detector. I chose a site on the river where tube floaters come out of the river, hoping they dropped a few things while making their exit. The GND at this site was 84. The round river rock seemed like solid iron to almost all metal detectors I have used here, so I was anxious to see how the MXT would handle this rock. I set up in the Coin and Jewelry Mode with the 5.3 coil and used all the preset settings. I ground balance over the river rock and MXT quickly removed the annoying interference of the rock. If I increased the Gain setting to +3, I would get an OVERLOAD reading on the display and raising the coil did not remove the OVERLOAD reading. However, I could use the preset Gain setting (9.5) or +1 and +2 setting with good results. I put a dime on one of the rocks and all three settings (preset, +1, +2) would pick up the dime. When the dime was put under a 5-inch diameter rock, there were mixed reading in preset mode, and +1 and +2 settings. The MXT would read correctly when the coil was swept one way but incorrectly when swept back over the target. All detectors I have tested here before have had a very difficult time handling this river rock. The MXT performed much better than any detector I have used in this portion of the river. While testing on the rocks, I did find some coins and a small key chain. These results with the river rock were the same in all three operating modes of the MXT, Coin and Jewelry, Relic and Prospecting Modes. Hunting in the campground (yes, I had permission) adjacent to the river provided some nice targets. The ground reading was 80 and the site had a lot of man-made trash. I set the MXT in the Coin and Jewelry Mode, used the 5.3 coil, set the Gain to +2 and ground balanced and did not lock it in. This time I turned the Threshold knob to operate in a silent search mode. This silent search hunting in a trashy site really made a difference. It was a lot more pleasant than hearing a lot of background noise for hours at a time. In the campground I found that in highly mineralized soil, if the signal is mixed but shows indications that it could be good and it is deep, then by all means, DIG! Most of the time the target was good. It seems that highly mineralized soil will affect or distort the VDI numbers. Most good targets that would normally read in the 80's will now read in the 70's. The solution is to reduce the Gain. Also, if the Confidence Block is the middle size and the target is deep, DIG! The secret is dig deep targets - and the MXT goes deep! Conclusion
I did not get to visit any salt-water
beaches or tramp through the nugget fields in Arizona but
from what I have heard from other sources, the MXT also
performs with equal gusto under these conditions.
The MXT is a magnificent multi-purpose detector! About the only thing the MXT does not do is swim underwater. This is obviously a well designed and thought out piece of equipment that will give top quality results. When you are in the countryside with this detector in your hand, you feel confident that not many targets are going to escape the detection field of the MXT. It is obvious that this wonderful piece of equipment is going to carve a big notch for itself in the metal detector world. If you are interested in depth, you've got it! If you are interested in quality, you've got it! If you are interested in versatility, you've got it! If you like high tech equipment, you've got it! If you want something that works like it is advertised, you've got it! I am impressed! | |||||||||||||||
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