Minelab X-Terra series 305/505/705

Hi guys,

I am very new to detecting and will be trying my luck in Charters Towers(Nth QLD, 100km from Townsville)

I am looking for a good detector but obviously as cheap as possible.

Reading on minelab detectors and reviews, the best I can find under $1000 is the Minelab 705 with gold pack.
minelab.com/products/adventure-detectors/x-terra-705

They retail for about $950 online.

My question, am I on the right track for a decent learning gold detector, as I am not interested in looking for anything else?

My personal experiences with the 705 on the gold fields of NSW is, it is a much better coin relic detector, than a prospecting detector.

I have just recently had the opportunity to have a go with the new Gold Bug Pro by Fisher.
This is a dedicated gold detector with the ability to hunt coins and relics, and performs much better then the 705 on the goldfields, and it should given its roots. RRP $990
I will be getting one myself in the near future for working areas unable to work with my Minelab 4500 due to the amount of trash.

My 2 bobs worth.

Gday Narrawa - Have you had the opportunity to buy / try the Gold Bug PRO......?

Myself , Having not owned any detector yet , am interested in any feedback...?

Many Thanks

Hi Narrawa, if you could compare the Goldbug Pro against the Goldbug 2 before you buy, I think you will find that the Goldbug 2 shites all over the GB Pro. For gold that is. ( Personal opinion only)

ANT1967, Yes iv had the opportunity to use the GBpro on a few occasions now and am still convinced its a better option then the 705 by a long shot, and would not waste my time with the 705 at all if gold is the hunters preferred choice.
The pro runs at 19Khz...the gb2 runs at 71khz which makes it more sensitive to small gold...and mineralization, the 705 runs on 3 different coils which determine its frequency used...the 10x5 gold coil operates on 18.75Khz, yet if you have used it and the pro you will know why i prefer the pro over the same ground.
Not even the Eureka Gold with its 3 frequencies 6.4-20-60Khz comes near either of the two Fisher Gold bugs in my opinion.

Iv used the gold bug 2 and its also a great little detector, but tends to false more often than the pro over the same ground.
Both are top little detectors, but it boils down to what it is you want it for. Both are able to find small gold, one is able to go a little deeper and is better when used as a coin detector.
The pro has the ability to fine tune its operator with the use of a digital screen, a feature i like.
The pro needs a coil like that of the 10x5, the 11'semi elip it comes with is cumbersome for a gold detector, and a pain to use in rocky areas. A few coils of varying sizes would compliment it more. (my opinion)


Still dont have one of my own yet, but its on my list of wants.

having detected at Charters Towers, i think you would have to get a GP Extreme as a minimum.

Narrawa , Thanks very much for sharing your opinions on the gold bug pro + GB 2 versus 705 etc.

me & the missus are on the road pretty much full time , but because we more than likely wont be in goldfields regularly , ( not by choice ) i would firstly be looking for a machine that can do coin & sand / beach detecting + some gold . Our first choice , in time , will then become a secondary machine

Which of the discussed ( or other ) would be more effective , in your opinion ....??

The longer term prospecting plan is to purchase a GPX / PI

Ant

Ant, if its to become your secondary machine, it would have to be able to operate well in the goldfields.
Nothing worse than only one of the team being able to get amongst it. If the better half was to commandeer the GPX, you may find yourself carrying the pick.

Having used all the above mentioned, i favor the GBpro.
Simple to turn on and go, yet is a dedicated gold detector with the ability to coin hunt, with digital readings of whats going on under the coil without needing a degree to understand it.
Just my opinion.

I did steer a couple in the direction of the pro for beach work, and they were very happy with its performance.

I believe some of the Whites are also able to operate well on our soils, however iv not had anything to do with them and can not give an opinion.

I've used the GBPRO and own a GBII as well as having owned the Eureka Gold and have to say I would happily choose the Eureka Gold over the GBPRO any day. I found the GBPRO to be very noisy over in WA last year and that was in direct comparison to the GBII. The GBII was finding heaps of small stuff the GBPRO missed, considering it runs at 70Khz it was pretty amazing just how stable it was in the noisy ground.

Have not tried the Xterra 705 yet but would say it performs on a similar level to the GBPRO. I used to use the XT 17000 professionally years ago and found it very similar to the more modern Eureka Gold which runs at a higher frequency, I have also had some reasonable success with the Eureka Gold but am not a fan of the 60 Khz frequency and would prefer the old 32 Khz option of the old XT 17000 especially with the little 10" elliptical DD coil they come with.

For some impassioned reading material on the merits of the GBPRO and GBII from a few very experienced operators go here, Link 1. Link 2.

Hope this helps,

JP

Hi Sheeds
As you can see on the right I am in Townsville also, I own an SD2200d & a Gold Bug Pro if you are seious about a detector and detecting in the Towers area mybe we could do a day out so that you can test run the Bug.
Alot of people say thay want to detect around the Towers but in practicality it is very hard to get onto property in that area unless you know someone, Do you have a place to go out there????
I am a member of the Townsville Metal Detecting club, this year a dealer has made some detectors available for hire through the club, these include GPX5000, Eureaka Gold, Infinium, & maybe exterra (don't quote me just yet not sure on models) so if you are interested can I suggest you join the club then you can try before you buy.
Pm me your email & I will forward you a club newsletter so you know whats on
Good luck
Lee

Excellent reading via the two links JP.
Yet i would have thought with the amount of yrs combined with all those operators....coils size would have rated a big part when comparing the units.

Im holding off till more coils become available for the pro. Would loved to of had a 11x? 10x? or even an 8x? elip coil mounted on the pro in some of the creeks i hunted back in NSW tho. Saw the GB2 working in this situation, but problematic GBing put a dampener on that for me. And as for the 5" coil that comes with the pro.....lets just say that while your using this coil your aging faster then your ability to move across ground.

Narrawa,

"... And as for the 5" coil that comes with the pro.....lets just say that while your using this coil your aging faster then your ability to move across ground..."

That was hilarious,

thanks...

The 5" coil should have come with a snuffer bottle...i mean to say...what other apparatus could be used to pick up such flecks more commonly found in a gold pan.

Id give this coil to a mate......as a prank.

Narrawa & JP - Thanks for your invaluable information on the said detectors etc.
Its certainly presenting many angles , pros & cons , horses for courses , so many exciting
possibilities to decide on , to tame all different kinds of dirt & find the elusvie prize..!

Again many Thanks & keep up the good work.

Ant

Purchased mine a few months ago and recently began to make sense of the information it pops up, i've just reconfigured its settings because...

A problem I have for months been experiencing here in the Snowy Mountains of Australia was comprehend all the information being displayed both on screen and via audio in milliseconds from my F70 in an attempt to find gold, which I surely hope to achieve. Australia of course has highly mineralized rocks and soils; even good grounding didn’t seem to stop the chatter and I couldn’t think fast enough to comprehend all the flashing information.

Lots of sound and other information flashing on screen from an ever-increasing number of scans, information on all the ferrous and non-ferrous + derivations found and produced by F70’s constantly moving coil in overlapping scans after scan... mind boggling information delivered in factions of a second...I found all that rather hard to comprehend, so I purchased a new 15” Fisher butterfly coil to see if that helped…overwhelmingly not really…
Again onto eBay I purchased some part gram nuggets to practice with. Tried most settings I found online in forums, also of course the F70 default settings and yes read the manual, the F70 still didn’t seem to find gold sitting on the ground right in front of it.

Finally I’ve sort of stepped outside the square and the settings I now have has the machine producing a constant hum with just a couple of sounds on detecting either non-ferrous or ferrous with very little other information being displayed on-screen…all info is still only three clicks away. From my side that's a relief, I shall keep my F70!!

Something Thomas J. Dankowski mentioned within pages and pages of his info that I have read helped. Thomas J. Dankowski I think said something like, “listen to just the sounds for a few months until you understand what the detector is telling you”! Also in an old book I read settings for an old Fisher 552-D assisted, and an online video of an Australian guy using other type of detector that constantly hummed, I’ve arrived at the following: -

Settings…

Disc Level Speed Sensitivity Threshold # of tones Notch
Programs 1 & 2
At de 30 5
At de 10 3
Full settings set in all metals mode behind the same programs 1 & 2
0 de 30 5 3 l
0 de 10 3 2f l

One blip = non-ferrous metal

Two blips like an echo = ferrous metal

Fisher F70 now runs with a constant hum

Grounded well by pumping up and down

yes I understand a Ladies ring could double blip that’s fine, F70 now does detect gold

Comments welcome…

The F70 has pretty much everything the F75 has accept the stop go trigger, perhaps you might consider a F70 instead the Gold Bug