First day with XT 705

[machineman]

I took my new XT 705 to the park today for some hunting and learning. Only real find was a wheat penny, my second. I started using the 9" MF concentric then switched to the 10.5" HF DD. I found the 9" to be fairly easy to use but the 10.5" was really hard to get to pinpoint and stabilize on a target. This is my first day with this detector so I know there is still a lot to learn. I am having trouble figuring out what to dig. I came from using a compadre and it was a great beep and dig machine, easy to pinpoint and decide what to dig. This machine is just the opposite. I cant decide what to dig, and have trouble pinpointing. How do I decide what to dig and what to skip? I know I skipped a lot of good targets today because I couldn't get a stable number or sound. I know I probably just need more time to learn the machine. I think I am going to run the 6" coil next time to try to learn the machine better.

[DirtAngler]

Pinpointing with the 10.5" DD coil isn't that hard. Hit pinpoint, drag the coil straight back and note where the sound drops off, the target will be right in front of the coil. Also, when I had that coil, the target was very near the sticker in front of the detector rod connection. Listen for the highest tone.

[Longhair]

To add to what DA said, I also find it more accurate if I pinpoint the target from two directions to zero in on the exact spot.

Aside from that, the HF coils will display less accurate jumpy TIDs on high conductors like copper and silver. They are intended to be more accurate on low conductors like gold and lead. Inversely, the LF coil is more accurate on high conductors, and less so on low conductors. The MF coil is the most honest accross the full range. It all has to do with the target "bin" segment widths. The HF coils have narrower bins near the higher TIDs, so targets can "bleed" over into adjacent bins causing jumpy appearing signals. The LF coil has wider bins at the top of the scale, so it is more accurate on high conductors, but suffers on accuracy of low conductors due to the narrower bins on the low end. The MF coils, being right in the middle, have the most uniform bin widths, so they are the most consistant accross the entire range of TIDs.

Here is an illustration.

[machineman]

Thanks for the info, I think I am going to run the 9" and 6" MF coils for awhile until I get better with the VID and then switch to the DD coils. I was hoping to use the HF coil for jewlery but it is hard in the parks in my area.