Been testing my new to me detector...it's deep and hot

Played around a little today with my newly acquired keepsake. Boy this thing is both hot and deep on dimes. I never have had one of these, but have read some great things about them, so I said what the heck. I just wished I'd bought Tn Duke's NASA Tom certified CZ3d. Then I think I would have 2 of the legends when it comes to deep coin hunting. I don't think depth wise the etrac or CTX can match this thing coil for coil. And that good ole sweet silver tone, I LIKE it. That was one of the things I dislike with CTX. And the 2 etracs I had, I don't remember them sounding like this explorer XS does.

I love it! I've only had my EX2 7 days and dude,I gotta say....I've seen the light. And so have several coins that haven't seen the light in over 100 years. For southern WI that ain't bad,according to my experiences. I will post my first week findings tomorrow evening. I love it like a brother already! Nice machine ya got there!

The XS is the deepest of all the FBS units..

I bought one the first week they were released...and proceeeded to OPEN UP evey camp I knew about...it was uncanny in depth and opened sites up like no other since then for depth...to this day I cant find deeps tuff in those sites the XS took it to a new untouchable level...I nabbed alot fo confederate buttons in well hit camps...yes those XS models are HOT ON BRASS..

Actually some of the spots South Of Atlanta produced more at depth than they did when first found in the 80's and hunted hard at that time....

noisy to get the depth but worth it..that thing loves hot rocks...

too bad they wont work on them anymore..

Whites/Garrett will work on a 1960s model...but Minelab wont even work on a decade old model...

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Wow TNSS, that Explorer looks like it's in great condition...I hope you find a pile of silver with it!

IDXMonster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I love it! I've only had my EX2 7 days and dude,I
> gotta say....I've seen the light. And so have
> several coins that haven't seen the light in over
> 100 years. For southern WI that ain't
> bad,according to my experiences. I will post my
> first week findings tomorrow evening. I love it
> like a brother already! Nice machine ya got there!
So what your really trying to say is your FBS whips IDX? LOL....

Kenny
[www.youtube.com]

IDX, are you going to change your forum name??

Keith, I'm hoping she'll hang together and work. If not oh well, I can always by another I guess. Sorta like having 2 volkswagens to keep one running lol.

Duke, the explorer line seems to have a better silver warble vs Etrac/CTX, but etrac/CTX have some other advantages over explorer line. But for some harsher ground to hunt for coins in, they're all better than most other VLFs. (depth with TID reading above nail for deeper nonferrous).

There's no telling how many deep coins have been dug using the explorers in parks just by using the break in thresh hold as a way to located and old coin. I have a friend, who told me he dug a half dime in this old house site (site had good detecting find history) at 14" deep. This only going strictly by the break in threshold and no other signal/screen info. He said the break was consistent so he dug down to look. This particular gent been detecting since 1975.

Indeed have to agree with Keith as I feel the original Explorer XS was the deepest of that line...However just like the models that came after them were heavy-heavy....
Always wondered why they never came out with a lighter model in the ones that came after...

I have read about this series of mine labs on and off over the years as I've come across articles they piqued my interest but still have a few obvious non mine lab user questions. First so the Explorers are deeper than the etracs and 3030s? Why is that a person would think the top of the line models would improve or at least not slide. Why did they quit that series or at least release another up graded model? Why won't mine lab service them never thought a detector company would be that way and stay popular? I mean I drove to town the other day and bought brand new oem parts for a 75 year old tractor. I would love to try a mine lab or two, but that's a turn off to me on what the company stands for. These are all only my opinions not intended to cut in insult or in any other provoke offend anyone. And lastly there really that good? Why so many etracs and 3030s out there then? Oh yeah the where can I get one I know the love idx monster had for his machine so after reading his reports it's awful tempting to go against my better judgement and try one! Thanks curious farmer lol

Farmer thats minelab. I will say they've made progress of late after a lot of bad PR. The company historically has a track record of pushing the latest and greatest and ignoring older product existed. They've stated publicly their biggest competion is their older machines, which is telling if you think about. Many report repairs take months and there are many stories of $400-500 repair bills. Generally they make a very high quality product however and other than little things like camlocks their units hold up well over time. For what they can be had for today as far as performance the explorers cant be beat on high conductors and ID accuracy. That said they have very dated processors and the screen can hang up or lag behind the audio a great deal. Not a big deal for those of us who know the audio but its off putting for some and much improved in the etrac/ctx. Also the ergonomics will cripple your shoulder due to weight, handle angle and friction from often scrubbing the coil.

They are simply as good as anything we have available for certain tasks, even with all the cons they just perform.

khouse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> IDXMonster Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I love it! I've only had my EX2 7 days and
> dude,I
> > gotta say....I've seen the light. And so have
> > several coins that haven't seen the light in
> over
> > 100 years. For southern WI that ain't
> > bad,according to my experiences. I will post my
> > first week findings tomorrow evening. I love it
> > like a brother already! Nice machine ya got
> there!
> So what your really trying to say is your FBS
> whips IDX? LOL....

I really hate to bag on my IDX,I'm pretty handy with it. The EX2 just has more info....which equates directly to a more informed excavation. I really have to give it more time to make sure it's not just a huge run of insanely lucky happenings. I try hard to be a "numbers" guy when hunting old coins,i.e.....age of site,activity there,how long in use,etc., all the usual calculations old coin hunters seem to use. Glenn Carsons articles in W&E always try to remind people of the importance of "targeting" sites when looking for something specific. It only makes sense. I'm a firm believer NOW that an old site has SOMETHING,the odds of nothing being in a 140 year old location must be close to zero. Conversely,one of my best coins,an 1852 LC was found in a public park that used to be a farm field till the 1950s. I've found NO other old coins there in 10-12 hunts consisting of many hours,besides a wheat. The LC was about 7" down by itself,found by......the IDXPro. I'm glad I still have it and was able to trade the backup one,I feel like I have options when the EX2 gets heavy. Honestly,in cleaner ground,the IDXPro can be great. Just not FBS great. So far,so good. I love to see more Explorer talk recently,it makes me feel as though I AM going in the right direction for what I do.
On another note....my 1600 mah battery really holds a good charge,I was worried about that angle but I think it's 10-12 hour capable,so all day and then some. Even if it croaked the 1800s aren't terribly out of line,I may try an RNB after some research,and if this one shows signs of death down the road.
My one boy(I have 10 year old twins) said he likes the EX2 because it sounds like a video game,especially when first turned on. Kids these days...he's gonna get to know that IDXPro real soon,I hate going out hunting without them. I've always been an "outdoors" guy,though no game hunting of any kind ever interested me. The history and intrigue of wondering about the person who lost what I just found and what it might have meant to them....better than any video game I could ever play(except maybe Silent Hill or Resident Evil)...

IDXMonster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> khouse Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > IDXMonster Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I love it! I've only had my EX2 7 days and
> > dude,I
> > > gotta say....I've seen the light. And so have
> > > several coins that haven't seen the light in
> > over
> > > 100 years. For southern WI that ain't
> > > bad,according to my experiences. I will post
> my
> > > first week findings tomorrow evening. I love
> it
> > > like a brother already! Nice machine ya got
> > there!
> > So what your really trying to say is your FBS
> > whips IDX? LOL....
>
> I really hate to bag on my IDX,I'm pretty handy
> with it. The EX2 just has more info....which
> equates directly to a more informed excavation. I
> really have to give it more time to make sure it's
> not just a huge run of insanely lucky happenings.
> I try hard to be a "numbers" guy when hunting old
> coins,i.e.....age of site,activity there,how long
> in use,etc., all the usual calculations old coin
> hunters seem to use. Glenn Carsons articles in W&E
> always try to remind people of the importance of
> "targeting" sites when looking for something
> specific. It only makes sense. I'm a firm believer
> NOW that an old site has SOMETHING,the odds of
> nothing being in a 140 year old location must be
> close to zero. Conversely,one of my best coins,an
> 1852 LC was found in a public park that used to be
> a farm field till the 1950s. I've found NO other
> old coins there in 10-12 hunts consisting of many
> hours,besides a wheat. The LC was about 7" down by
> itself,found by......the IDXPro. I'm glad I still
> have it and was able to trade the backup one,I
> feel like I have options when the EX2 gets heavy.
> Honestly,in cleaner ground,the IDXPro can be
> great. Just not FBS great. So far,so good. I love
> to see more Explorer talk recently,it makes me
> feel as though I AM going in the right direction
> for what I do.
> On another note....my 1600 mah battery really
> holds a good charge,I was worried about that angle
> but I think it's 10-12 hour capable,so all day and
> then some. Even if it croaked the 1800s aren't
> terribly out of line,I may try an RNB after some
> research,and if this one shows signs of death down
> the road.
> My one boy(I have 10 year old twins) said he
> likes the EX2 because it sounds like a video
> game,especially when first turned on. Kids these
> days...he's gonna get to know that IDXPro real
> soon,I hate going out hunting without them. I've
> always been an "outdoors" guy,though no game
> hunting of any kind ever interested me. The
> history and intrigue of wondering about the person
> who lost what I just found and what it might have
> meant to them....better than any video game I
> could ever play(except maybe Silent Hill or
> Resident Evil)...
The RNB battery is the best thing since sliced bread. i can have my machine in my truck for 30 days and it's got full bars when I need it. I'm guessing I get 30+ hours on a charge. Plus it charges in 1 to 2 hours. Not overnight. I have the 3100 and is worth every cent. Remember you are now hunting for the hard coins. You got the easy ones along with others. You are now going to find a lot of your coins will have all sorts of trash in and around the hole which fooled other machines. Have you noticed this yet?

Kenny
[www.youtube.com]

I have had a few targets with trash either in or very close by,I think the concentric coil had a problem with that. If there was a large DD coil that was plug and play for the IDX I may have done better with some of those. The ability to pick that stuff out,no matter the machine,is key cuz as stated many times,that's a lot of what still remains. I have a feeling I'll have a coil collection growing soon,I'd love to try them all for the EX2! With the DD I'll get a good signal across one axis with good ID then turn and it turns to crap. If I get it good in one direction back and forth,I dig it up. It's been great so far,I'll say it yet again

TNSS, If you have never had one before you are in for a treat. or a treatment


Got to watch the weight on your elbow and shoulder and also your neck if you keep the rod too short.

But fun to both hunt with fool around with.

Good Luck!
HH
Mike

Yeah Mike, I've ran the etracs and a CTX. To me this xs model just seems to have a little more horsepower. This XS will be more of a site specific machine plus a keepsake detector.