New and having trouble with X-Terra Pro.

[tobiasf]

Hello,

I just decided to give this hobby a shot as a way to be more active. I have never done it before.

I took the X-Terra Pro to the ocean beach today and had a hard time with it. I was there 4 or 5 hours and managed to dig up only 4 things. I found a modern pull tab within a few minutes of turning it on, and thought there would be a lot of that. But there wasn't. I put the full user manual on my phone and did my best to set it up correctly. I used the Beach 1 search mode which is supposed to be for dry and wet sand. I did the noise cancellation thing. I did automatic ground balancing. I played with the swing speed, sensitivity, all metal/iron filter setting, etc.

I had a lot of trouble with the detector making false signals, meaning it would go off and I would stop and try to find the signal again and it wouldn't be there. Some of the very few signals I could repeatedly find proved impossible to dig anything up. I dug some pretty deep holes today and the detector would still go off but it would seem like the signal was moving around the edge of the hole as I dug, and nothing ever turned up.

Of the few signals that did produce I found a modern pull tab, then a #2 pencil, then a nickel (that I swear was like 2+ feet down), and finally an old style pull tab.

I was there during low tide and tried detecting along the line where seashells were gathered, but I only got one or two signals in the wet stuff and never dug them up. Sometimes I would dig a while and then the signal would just vanish, and I was checking the sand I dug out too.

Am I missing something or was that beach just really clean? I did see one other guy metal detecting and he went past me like he was mall walking. Really quick. Someone I talked to mentioned that that area is state park beach and they don't allow cans or bottles so people put their drinks in plastic cups. Maybe that was part of it. Maybe it gets picked over pretty well this time of year.

I got some good exercise anyway. It was nice to dig up that nickel towards the end of the trip. That one at least went the way I expected. The signal in the hole stopped, I found it in the last pile I dug out, and then located it with my pinpointer.

 

[John Madill]

Hello,

I just decided to give this hobby a shot as a way to be more active. I have never done it before.

I took the X-Terra Pro to the ocean beach today and had a hard time with it. I was there 4 or 5 hours and managed to dig up only 4 things. I found a modern pull tab within a few minutes of turning it on, and thought there would be a lot of that. But there wasn't. I put the full user manual on my phone and did my best to set it up correctly. I used the Beach 1 search mode which is supposed to be for dry and wet sand. I did the noise cancellation thing. I did automatic ground balancing. I played with the swing speed, sensitivity, all metal/iron filter setting, etc.

I had a lot of trouble with the detector making false signals, meaning it would go off and I would stop and try to find the signal again and it wouldn't be there. Some of the very few signals I could repeatedly find proved impossible to dig anything up. I dug some pretty deep holes today and the detector would still go off but it would seem like the signal was moving around the edge of the hole as I dug, and nothing ever turned up.

Of the few signals that did produce I found a modern pull tab, then a #2 pencil, then a nickel (that I swear was like 2+ feet down), and finally an old style pull tab.

I was there during low tide and tried detecting along the line where seashells were gathered, but I only got one or two signals in the wet stuff and never dug them up. Sometimes I would dig a while and then the signal would just vanish, and I was checking the sand I dug out too.

Am I missing something or was that beach just really clean? I did see one other guy metal detecting and he went past me like he was mall walking. Really quick. Someone I talked to mentioned that that area is state park beach and they don't allow cans or bottles so people put their drinks in plastic cups. Maybe that was part of it. Maybe it gets picked over pretty well this time of year.

I got some good exercise anyway. It was nice to dig up that nickel towards the end of the trip. That one at least went the way I expected. The signal in the hole stopped, I found it in the last pile I dug out, and then located it with my pinpointer.

Keep trying. Don't expect to find a lot in wet sand. Toss a coin or two in the dry sand and see how they hit. Yes, some beaches can be very clean.

 

[tobiasf]

Keep trying. Don't expect to find a lot in wet sand. Toss a coin or two in the dry sand and see how they hit. Yes, some beaches can be very clean.

I'll keep at it.

I just took it out in the backyard and dug 4 or 5 coins and something like a staple gun staple, some bits of unidentifiable junk metal and the remains of an old tin can I think. I'm getting the hang of it, at least with the Field 1 setting. 3 of those coins were right next to each other, so that was neat to find. A couple times I found the target was just outside of the plug I dug so I need more practice with that.

 

[Longhair]

Where did you have your Sensitivity set? Often, dropping it a couple of notches will eliminate the false signals without sacrificing much in terms of depth.
It should work well in either wet or dry sand, and even in the surf.

I would also note that public beaches are usually hit regularly with beach grooming machines that pick up most of the shallow stuff. You have to either beat them to it or go to less frequented areas.

 

[tobiasf]

Where did you have your Sensitivity set?

I change it as I go. I went to the same beach again today and I find that in some areas I get a lot of noise even if I do noise cancellation and ground balancing. The auto ground balance at this beach can vary from 0 up to the low 50s and I don't know why. I'm having trouble finding targets in wet sand now, I use the pinpoint mode but still end up digging these huge holes. For example I dug a bunch of 2 inch nails today that were all over the beach at up to a foot depth or so. Maybe some of the sand there is mineralized?

Today I dug a zinc penny, a modern nickel, a big wad of foil that I hope was from a food truck and not used to contain anything illicit, a lot of foil wrappers (including an alcohol wipe which I forgot has a foil liner), and a couple of screaming signals that ended up being big pieces of washed up lobster traps that I couldn't even get out of the sand.

I did find this just before I left, which was a treat. 100% fake, but it's the first, so it's special. I forgot what it read before I dug it up, maybe low 50s?

 

[hoser]

The more you use it the better you will get with it. It takes time and a boatload of patience. But in the long run it's worth it. Good luck.

 

[tobiasf]

I went to a different beach today and did find a lot of junk, including some 3 - 5 oz. fishing weights, which I don't mind at all; they get expensive. Also found my first toy car, was surprised it took this long.

I am having trouble with the X-Terra Pro's accuracy in wet sand. I often find a signal that shows as a bit deep or seems a bit faint and end up digging a hole, then it seems like the signal moves to the wall of the hole and I make it wider, etc. I also can't seem to get it set right to work underwater. Does it need to be relatively still / slow moving water? If there's wave action the detector just seems to go nuts when I submerge the coil. I put it on Beach 2 of course.

Otherwise it was a nice day. Lovely weather now that it's cooled down a bit, though the horseflies are still around if you are close to the dunes.

 

[Sorthious]

I went to a different beach today and did find a lot of junk, including some 3 - 5 oz. fishing weights, which I don't mind at all; they get expensive. Also found my first toy car, was surprised it took this long.

I am having trouble with the X-Terra Pro's accuracy in wet sand. I often find a signal that shows as a bit deep or seems a bit faint and end up digging a hole, then it seems like the signal moves to the wall of the hole and I make it wider, etc. I also can't seem to get it set right to work underwater. Does it need to be relatively still / slow moving water? If there's wave action the detector just seems to go nuts when I submerge the coil. I put it on Beach 2 of course.

Otherwise it was a nice day. Lovely weather now that it's cooled down a bit, though the horseflies are still around if you are close to the dunes.

I just got the X-Terra Elite and am learning the sounds/TIDs; I had been using a Vanquish 540. I'm not sure about the X-Terra Pro, but if it has Ground Tracking you may want to cut that on while at the beach. It constantly updates and reevaluates the environment and adjusts ground balance as you go. You can cut down your overall sensitivity if you're getting lots of falsing. If it doesn't have the tracking, try a manual ground balance once you're in the water, and rebalance as often as needed.

Salt water is conductive, so that is part of the reason your detector is having fits. Some detectors are designed to counteract the effect salt water has on them. Dry sand shouldn't be as mineralized as the wet sand, so your machine will be more stable when hunting there. It's when you move into the wet sand that the conductivity and mineralization will have an effect on your machine.

It sounds like you're learning pretty fast. It's great to make a mental catalogue of items and their TID(Target IDs). Also, learn the sounds associated with each TID. You'll start being able to guess, by sound or TID, what you're likely to dig. Also, with those nails you mentioned, you can Notch Out unwanted targets, especially if you're getting tons of them. Just be aware that this can also lead to missed targets. I think the Pro works the same as the Elite. So, if your TID is say 18 and your getting lots of unwanted items with that TID, click the Accept/Reject Button, while the number is still displayed, and it will notch out that number, so you don't hear it anymore. Later, you can go back and readd the number in settings ~> accept/reject.

Good luck and happy hunting!

 

[tobiasf]

Good luck and happy hunting!

One thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to get the negative IDs for iron to be loud enough to hear over any decent amount of wave noise. I've been trying to learn the all tones mode sounds but the iron is such a low tone I can't hear it well. I wanted to run with all metals on for a while to learn but it's hard to hear with loud surf without headphones. I think the Pro has a vibration mode but I forget how to enable it. I wonder how much faster it drains the battery leaving that on too.

Edit: Nevermind, I looked it up. This menu system where some settings are behind a long button press isn't intuitive to me.

 

[tobiasf]

I forgot to mention on that last trip where I found a few fishing weights, at one point I was detecting next to some rocks partially submerged in sand that also get submerged in water at high tide. My logic was that heavier objects being pushed around by the tide would get pushed up against the rocks and collect there. I thought I'd find some fishing gear if anything but ended up pulling out like a 10 inch railroad spike, or something shaped like one but a bit longer than they usually are. I've noticed with the X-Terra Pro that some of these things that I imagine should be iron don't sound like iron at all. Maybe they are some cheap form of stainless steel that still rusts but sounds different.

I got really confused trying to get it out because it was wedged under 2 or 3 large rocks just under the sand, and once I scooped out a couple inches of sand it was below the water level so the water would just fill up the hole with more sand. What really confused me though was the Garrett pro-pointer I got would scream as soon as it touched the water. I got really worried for a minute because I realized I didn't know or didn't remember if the thing was actually waterproof. Even after I got the one spike out it went off as soon as it touched the water, and the X-Terra confirmed there was another target down there. I assume it was another spike but I had already been digging and fighting the water for like 20 minutes so I gave up.

 

[Sorthious]

With so many options on these machines, there is only room for so many buttons. Only a few of the menu settings have Advanced Options, but you'll learn them soon enough. In fact, you can ignore most of those options till you learn the machine better. Also, if you screw up your settings you can, while the machine is off, hold down the power button till you see FP(Factory Presets) pop up. Or, you can hold down the Mode Button, while in a particular mode, till SP(I think this is Search Presets) pops up, to reset the presets for just the particular mode you're in.

As far as some iron sounding like a good target, I get that all the time with nails in the ground. Normally, the good sound will be sketchy/weak sounding, and, if you turn 90degrees, you can't repeat the good sound. At that point, I put the detector in All Metal Mode to confirm my suspicion that it is likely just Iron. Most times, I dig the target anyway, just to see. Sometimes that weak/sketchy sound can actually be something good and is being partially masked by the iron. I'm still learning myself, after 2years now. It's an ongoing process and takes a lot of time to refine your skills.

 

[Sorthious]

Oh....and grats on the Ring find! Even if it isn't a precious metal it's still a good find, and the sort of item you're looking for!

 

[tobiasf]

I finally managed to dig a few things in the wet sand, the type that's so wet when you dig it just fills in with water immediately. I found I had to keep it at 19 sensitivity and 2 swing speed on Beach 2 preset (the one that's meant for underwater) to not have the detector constantly making noise over the saturated sand.

I still have to work on actual underwater settings, but I have trouble hearing with the wave noise, so I might just pass on that unless I get a headset, and I don't know about that because the waterproof ones are really expensive, like over half the cost of the Pro itself.

I had trouble with lots of small bits of nails or broken off pieces of lobster traps around 1.5 - 2 inches long today. They would be deep and sound really jumpy, and when I dug at the spot I thought sounded the strongest I wouldn't find them. Then after taking out 2 or 3 scoops of sand, the signal would shift to one side of the wall of the hole. I think some people got bored of watching me dig trenches around the beach. I don't know if this is a limitation with the Pro being single frequency or what, or if I just need more practice.

 

[Longhair]

Two more quick things that may be helpful.

Have you downloaded and installed the firmware update yet? It will make a difference.
And...
You can drop your Sensitivity even more without sacrificing much in terms of depth. That will not only help reduce chatter/falsing but will also make pinpointing easier.
I was just hunting the other day in a dry land farm field that was a bed of square nails, and I ended up with my SENS set around 13 or 14 to settle the machine down and was still hitting some deep targets.

 

[Sorthious]

I finally managed to dig a few things in the wet sand, the type that's so wet when you dig it just fills in with water immediately. I found I had to keep it at 19 sensitivity and 2 swing speed on Beach 2 preset (the one that's meant for underwater) to not have the detector constantly making noise over the saturated sand.

I still have to work on actual underwater settings, but I have trouble hearing with the wave noise, so I might just pass on that unless I get a headset, and I don't know about that because the waterproof ones are really expensive, like over half the cost of the Pro itself.

I had trouble with lots of small bits of nails or broken off pieces of lobster traps around 1.5 - 2 inches long today. They would be deep and sound really jumpy, and when I dug at the spot I thought sounded the strongest I wouldn't find them. Then after taking out 2 or 3 scoops of sand, the signal would shift to one side of the wall of the hole. I think some people got bored of watching me dig trenches around the beach. I don't know if this is a limitation with the Pro being single frequency or what, or if I just need more practice.

Iron in the ground can, over time, create a Halo effect surrounding it. When you dig into the soil/sand, you break apart that halo, and that's why the signal will disappear. If you, subsequently, put your machine on All Metal, you should be able to see where the original Iron signal came from. Scratchy/Weak signals often turn out to be iron, but, sometimes, they can be masking a good item as well. If you, after finding a good signal, turn 90 degrees, and check the spot again, you should be able to get a repeat reading of that good signal. If you can't, then it's likely just iron. I'm still learning myself, but this is how I understand it, and hope someone corrects me if I'm getting it wrong. Good Luck!

 

[Longhair]

Iron in the ground can, over time, create a Halo effect surrounding it. When you dig into the soil/sand, you break apart that halo, and that's why the signal will disappear. If you, subsequently, put your machine on All Metal, you should be able to see where the original Iron signal came from. Scratchy/Weak signals often turn out to be iron, but, sometimes, they can be masking a good item as well. If you, after finding a good signal, turn 90 degrees, and check the spot again, you should be able to get a repeat reading of that good signal. If you can't, then it's likely just iron. I'm still learning myself, but this is how I understand it, and hope someone corrects me if I'm getting it wrong. Good Luck!

In situations like you described, you can often stomp on the spot and disrupt that halo to reveal the potential target for what it really is if it's junk.

 

[tobiasf]

I hate lobster traps. And tent stakes. They both sound like iron but will squeak much higher IDs as you pass over them. The tent stakes somehow bounce the signal around so it seems like they are moving. Dug some big holes today.

Otherwise pretty good day at a new spot. I found a couple earrings but both were ferrous, one might be plated but still nothing of value. The plated one was tiny though, size of a dime and was easy to hear and find. I looked at some videos and comments for the Pro and found some suggesting using Field 2 in dry sand and Beach 2 in wet / water. Also people were reporting using lower sensitivities so I stopped worrying about having it low and did just fine.

I found a watch today that I'm attempting to return. Not a Rolex, but sells for ~$200 with MSRP of ~$350. It was 2 or 3 big scoops down in saturated packed sand, 8 - 10 inches maybe. Depending on how you look at it the detector already paid for itself. Kind of.

 

[Martin_V3i]

Iron in the ground can, over time, create a Halo effect surrounding it. When you dig into the soil/sand, you break apart that halo, and that's why the signal will disappear. If you, subsequently, put your machine on All Metal, you should be able to see where the original Iron signal came from. Scratchy/Weak signals often turn out to be iron, but, sometimes, they can be masking a good item as well. If you, after finding a good signal, turn 90 degrees, and check the spot again, you should be able to get a repeat reading of that good signal. If you can't, then it's likely just iron. I'm still learning myself, but this is how I understand it, and hope someone corrects me if I'm getting it wrong. Good Luck!

The 45 degree or 90 degree. That seems to always confuse me.

 

[Sorthious]

The 45 degree or 90 degree. That seems to always confuse me.

Just think of the area in front of you where you got a target as the edge of a square in front of you. Step to another side of the square, and try to find that same target from a different side of the square. You can also go around the target from various different angles. If you pick up the target from one side of your imaginary square, but no where else, that means one of two things. Either the target is likely Iron, or it's being partially masked by iron. If it's being slightly masked, that might explain why you can only get a good reading from one direction. At that point, it's up to you to decide if you want to dig it or not. I normally do, unless I'm starting to get really tired. At that point, I use that information, and leave it be. At the same time, I make a mental note of it's location, and may try it some other time, when I'm feeling up to it. Hope that made sense and/or helps!

 

[Sorthious]

In situations like you described, you can often stomp on the spot and disrupt that halo to reveal the potential target for what it really is if it's junk.

Rock on...that's a good idea! I don't know why I've never thought of that! Thanks!