John (Ma) said:
Is the book worth the money or can you learn this detector well enoughon your own? I just picked up a used MXT to toy with. I have been using the Tesoro Tejon mostly. Thanks
I just bought an MXT myself. Now, being a technical type guy, I asked the same question only I wanted to know who the author was. Who is Jeff Foster? I sent him an email to find out. This was his reply...
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"My background is in embedded software engineering. When I purchased a DFX in 2002, I was unhappy with the level of documentation that was available for the product. "Digging Deeper with the DFX" was written as the manual that I would have liked to have seen available for the product when I bought it.
The testing results presented in the book include objective data gathered from custom equipment that I built, including an automated testing system which includes a photo-optic method to record coil movement rate. The device used the headphone jack on the DFX to interface to a PC, to automatically record target responses, while the coil movement rate (actually target movement
rate) was also measured and recorded. The resulting data was used to create the 3-D (depth, coil rate, % target response) graphs in the book, to illustrate the objective effect of different settings ("Sweep Speed", "Ground Filtering", and more).
In the book, "The MXT Edge" I added in-ground mineralization tests which were performed in a test trough, using ferrite powder to create specific levels of ferrous mineralization. The results of these tests, for the available White's search coils, are included in the book. Some spot testing of the DFX during these tests were posted in the Technology section of the
www.dfxonly.com/forum website.
Both books include information provided directly from interviews with the lead design engineers of the respective instruments. I was also, more recently, involved with White's engineering in the beta testing program of the recently released White's Spectra V3 product, and am in the process of writing a book for it.
Jeff
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I can see how this could help someone understand how the machine works and is effected by the environment. IMO...It does sound more like a Lab Test Manual but then again, I have not bought it yet to see. I have a pretty good grasp of the RF technology being used (RF Fields and Phase Delays, etc). Sounds like very interesting reading. Not sure if I'll by new or wait till a used copy comes available.
A little more on the book....
http://www.dfxonly.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3987