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X-Terra 705 Prospecting


Rivers rat

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So my trip is coming up i asked left right and center as it is hard to get a straight answer......so i may take my Xterra and use it .I guess GPX and Z are far too long to learn in 2 weeks ......Deus even in 80khz may struggle with OZ soil........not many Deus in Australia yet.....Have you ever tried the prospecting mode because this what i may use

 

RR

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There are people on here that know way more than I do about this. Hopefully they will answer. I have some experiences so.........

In my opinion the 705 is a perfectly good gold prospecting detector for .5 gram and larger gold with an 18.75kHz coil. It might hit smaller, shallower bits too but the .5 gram should be easy at 13cm or less. It is generally a very quiet, pleasant detector too for long prospecting hunts.

The Deus in Gold Field works very well for prospecting with either HF coil and can hit much smaller gold than the 705 down to the same 13cm or so depth. If you use the XY graph it will give you a great visual for smaller/deeper iron=horizonal line, shallower/larger iron= angular zig zag pattern, lead can give a more rounded sine wave pattern and small to medium gold can look almost like flowing cursive writing as you swing the coil over the target. It handles hot rocks fairly well here in Colorado and Arizona by using a little discrimination on the negative end of the scale. You might have to adjust that setting some for your detecting area along with the IAR settings.

Larger and deeper gold targets more than 13cm deep are very possible for both detectors

The beauty of both these detectors is their light weight and versatility for other types of detecting in OZ too.

 

good luck

Jeff

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Thanks Jeff i may take both i am entitled to 24kg.........so i may tempt it.

At the end of the day i won't invest in a GPX/Z has i wont need it after...........and Fisher will come out with something soon .

Minelab seems to own the market in Australia and good for them .I would love to find something good with the Deus down under .

 

RR

 

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I would suggest that the 705 is a very good prospecting detector where soils conditions will allow , however in australia thats not always  going to be the case and you may struggle to get much depth and be driven  to distraction by our hot rocks.The latest wave of high frequency  vlf units are being used here in certain locations to pick up the small pieces missed by  the PI units or on exposed bedrock where targets are close to the coil. I think if i had to pick a detector i see most when im out and about it would be the sdc 2300 . With the gpx variants a close second and in West Australia the Gpx models reign supreme.. For my goldfields the sdc is usually very stable , gets reasonsble depth is eay to use and finds the bits that the larger PI units may leave behind . I can and have used plenty of vlf detectors in these places but in Australia , more than possibly anywhere else you may well end up feeling you’ve brought a knife to a gunfight . Having said all that if all you have is an x terra 705  you will still have plenty of fun and get to spend time in some amazing   bush country  and just remember the hand of faith was found on Australian soil  with a detector of simpler parentage so anything is possible and i wish you luck .

??

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Hot rocks dont we love them:biggrin::biggrin:?i had some sweeeeeeeeet sound with the deus with HF ,the perfect signal and .....................crusty crispy crunchy big iron.........

 

RR

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There is nothing wrong with the X-Terra Prospect Mode. In Oz it is just more of a VLF versus the PI/GPZ side of things. I ran a Gold Bug 2 and Gold Bug Pro on hot ironstone ground in Oz with no real issue. I can get them to do the job but you may only be talking 1/3 or 1/4 the depth you might expect in low mineral ground. Personally I would not want to hunt down under with less than a good PI. But if a VLF was all I had I could go find lots of little gold with it. The PI guys leave that all over the place though the SDC is amazing and is getting a lot of that now. But who wants to go to Australia to hunt tiny bits?

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RIVERS RAT!

 The above post is worth reading twice. I loved my 705 (it died last fall) but you would be so much better off with any version of a  GPX for hunting gold. The GPXs are not hard to learn and I have been told that Australian children are required to learn to use  them before entering high school.  The 705 is probably as hard to learn as a GPX4000 and It is probably more us full on relics and coins than on gold.

 Anytime you have something that is "multi purpose" there is a compromise with each purpose, especially with detectors.

 Whatever you decide we are expecting great things from your adventure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

t

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RR,

I won't use anything less than a PI here in Oz for serious prospecting. The noisy ground and hot rocks will drive you mad with a VLF !

The ZED is my weapon of choice, but I also have a new 4500 with an arsenal of coils as backup.

You can pick up GPX 4000's for a song, this is what I would consider to be the minimum these days, especially if you are detecting in well done areas.

Back in the 80's to early 90's when big slugs were lying around in virgin fields the VLF's did well. Not now, as they only get the tiny crumbs that PI's have left behind here in Oz.

Good luck with it all,

Cheers, Rick

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Thanks Chaps I can see clearer now really helpful one last question I guess I need a miners permit right????just in case I found the mother load

 

RR

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4 hours ago, Rivers rat said:

Thanks Chaps I can see clearer now really helpful one last question I guess I need a miners permit right????just in case I found the mother load

 

RR

All the best on your adventure, and the 705 is a good machine, but it does love to complain about the hot rocks. Perhaps you can rent a PI in Australia? That would solve your weight issue with flight restrictions, and it may be well worth it to pay for few lessons on how to run a capable PI from a local specialist; seriously it might be money well spent to learn how to hunt with some general settings that work well in the area you'll be visiting.  I've rented a PI before (though not in Australia) and walked away with a handful of nice nuggets when I visited a goldfield with insane mineralization that simply wouldn't allow VLF's to operate. 

All the best,

Lanny

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