Interesting Modified SDC2300 On Gumtree

I noticed an SDC that's been adapted to suit alternative coils, for sale on Gumtree. Whether it's any good or not I have no idea, but the question of changing SDC coils has often been raised, so it's interesting to see an actual example of this modification. Here's the full description and pix.

Minelab SDC 2300 Modified Gold Metal Detector.

Selling with a proven gold producing 12 inch Nugget Finder coil. Also have the original SDC coil modified to connect to shaft also.

This has been specially modified with GPX shaft to take other coils. Also been rewired with an external connector to make swapping coils easy.
Comes with 2 sets recharge batteries and dual 12 volt and 240 volt charger.

Very good detector, and is very cheap at what I am asking and has served me well finding gold set up with the Nugget Finder coil. This machine has more than paid for itself and some in the 6 months I have used it. I used it as my first detector to learn with and now I want to upgrade.

Asking $2500 firm.

You would not find a better detector to find gold at this price, so grab a bargain.

Has been a hard decision whether to keep it or upgrade. Was even going to keep it as my backup or if a mate wanted to come out for the day to try his luck. But the extra cash will go a long way towards upgrading. I have been very happy with it.

Please I have relisted it due to previous interstate buyer deciding not to pay before postage. I would prefer cash on pick up but will post or freight at your cost but payment in my bank account as cleared funds before I send it.

Live at Burbank (South East Brisbane, 4156).

I'd be wary without trying it first!
If not wired up correctly, & theres more to it than just wiring on a plug, they are horrendous from a recent report. I would be trying before buying.

Edit: Also considering it will now have no warranty is it really that cheap given you don't really know the quality of the work on it?
Still an interesting proposition though if warranty is of no concern or run out. I'd consider having one modded if it was done correctly + known to operate well.

The fact that its been modded and now for sale tells me its a dud.

Be careful people.

I'm thinking much the same. Modded, and now for sale for a relatively bargain price. It rings alarm bells straight away. How has the modding affected the waterproofing? How stable can the detector run with other coils? Is it still able to fold up as per the original? Evidently no warranty. Has it ever actually found any gold after modding?

why would you buy a SDC2300 that no doubt minelab have spent a few bucks on developing, design, testing etc to make it how it is, waterproof, folds up small, easy and compact, new technologies etc etc then go and modify it.
to me if the modification is that great then it would not be for sale, the sdc was made like other machines to suit a particular section of the detecting world which is like the car world, no one make , model, color will suit all hence thats why people buy what suits them at that time.

save your money and buy what you really want to for your situation.

cheers and happy hunting 8)

Why would you buy a Commodore V8 LS2 that no doubt GMH has spent a few bucks on developing,testing etc , And fit a differant camshaft and valve springs and immediatly get another 50 killowatts at the rear wheels, JUST SAYIN

Note you can still put the std coil back on his SDC, there`s lots of SDC`s almost out of warranty anyway, AND how many folks plan to use them in the water anyway, Not me, plus you can sell off the NF for a 120 buck`s and youv got the cheapest SDC around. I just paid 3500 for a new one 3 days before it came up or i would hav bought it

your all a bit negative and should be sayin Gee it would be great to see Nenad do some testing with various coils on a stick connected to his sdc
He probly has

my glass half full view

cheers Dave

i certainly wouldnt buy something that has electrical tape holding it together.

10fp said:

Why would you buy a Commodore V8 LS2 that no doubt GMH has spent a few bucks on developing,testing etc , And fit a differant camshaft and valve springs and immediatly get another 50 killowatts at the rear wheels, JUST SAYIN

Note you can still put the std coil back on his SDC, there`s lots of SDC`s almost out of warranty anyway, AND how many folks plan to use them in the water anyway, Not me, plus you can sell off the NF for a 120 buck`s and youv got the cheapest SDC around. I just paid 3500 for a new one 3 days before it came up or i would hav bought it

your all a bit negative and should be sayin Gee it would be great to see Nenad do some testing with various coils on a stick connected to his sdc
He probly has

my glass half full view

cheers Dave

Click to expand...

Fair point 10fp, but i don't know too many people that have a lazy $2500 lying around ( i know i don't) that they'd happily burn on a whim that this may or may not work.

"Paid for its self and more in the first 6 months ..... First detector to learn with."

Could be wrong but the first thing I thought was you've got balls to chop up a detector that most will leave original if your new to detecting

Must have some experience at prospecting to find that much gold in a short time.)

10fp said:

Why would you buy a Commodore V8 LS2 that no doubt GMH has spent a few bucks on developing,testing etc , And fit a differant camshaft and valve springs and immediatly get another 50 killowatts at the rear wheels, JUST SAYIN

Note you can still put the std coil back on his SDC, there`s lots of SDC`s almost out of warranty anyway, AND how many folks plan to use them in the water anyway, Not me, plus you can sell off the NF for a 120 buck`s and youv got the cheapest SDC around. I just paid 3500 for a new one 3 days before it came up or i would hav bought it

your all a bit negative and should be sayin Gee it would be great to see Nenad do some testing with various coils on a stick connected to his sdc
He probly has

my glass half full view

cheers Dave

Click to expand...

There are a few people that have been testing this out including a respected modifier from WA - Ismael Jones.
Initial reports suggest that unless wired correctly it will become very erratic/unstable.
One tester tried a 14" Coiltek Mono Elite but had severe issues with EMI & couldn't ground balance. He also tried a NF Sadie & it worked initially but then became very unstable. An older 8" Minelab mono was the only coil that seemed to work ok & the only advantage was not having the SDC coil knuckle. It's unclear at this stage if the wiring had been done correctly on these tests.
Ismael had reported that his initial testing was promising but I haven't seen any further info as yet. The silence could be good or bad news?
I myself struggle to see you would get any advantage running the MPF timing through a coil larger than 8" or maybe something up to 11" or elliptical (Sadie, 10"x5", 12"x7" etc.).
The very first sold SDC's would still have well over 12 months warranty left yet. Released mid 2014 with 3 years warranty. I just sold my 2014 released SDC with warranty to 17/10/2017.
I'd love to see alternative coil options for the SDC but I'd like to know that it had been done 100% correctly by someone who knows what they are doing prior to laying down any cash. Gumtree doesn't leave me with much confidence at the best of times.
Call it negative if you like but I prefer to think caution with modified machines is a smart way to approach them. There are some excellent modifiers of detectors out there & some cowboys too.
Trying before buying is the only way to go here IMO.

Edit: As a footnote it has also been reported that while the mod is completely reversible, putting the original coil back can be tricky or more to the point rethreading the coil lead through the tight bend at the top of the shaft can be.

thanks mbasko, for the first serious reply about others actually doing a bit of testing other coils on the SDC and Kudo`s to you for pricing your sdc sensibly not like all those others that ask 3300 when there now only 3500 new been watching and the ones that sell were making 2800, your was great value with the extra`s

cheers Dave

me personally i dont think i could part with the money unless i could really test it properly in person, i guess it comes down to the individual if they want to take that chance, to me the age of it, first detector and already modded just worries me, i will keep my imaginary $2500 (i dont have it anyway) for a rainy day i think

Gotta agree with Mbasco if you're going to offer up a modded minelab it'd have ot be a professional solution.

Sure you can buy a new ford and mod the engine for more power but if you want to do it right you'll also rengineer the rest of the car to match! Most will just deal with the reduced longevity because doing it properly would cost far more than just buying a car with more power to begin with. If someone can offer a coil swap option that allows the SDC's configuration to be maintained it'd be amazing.

Its not rocket science to fabricate the fitting of a new loop onto a detector, some of you are stressing so much about it that you will give yourselves a stroke before you bother to simply correspond with the seller and ask about .." try it before I buy it "... OK if your too far away from the seller then tuff tities you will never get to try it.

Since the SDC has been out everyone has been asking the question .. "will there be any other interchangeable larger loops for it" ...MineLab couldn't be bothered with it. Now you have the opportunity to reach out to someone that has modified a SDC !!!

OK so this person has theirs up for sale and it is in their interest to sell it, It is more than likely if there is a problem with it they may not be to happy to discuss it or they might brag endlessly on its merits.

Personally I believe if there is a problem, it would fall into three areas ..
1) the specifications of resistance and induction of the SDC coil may differ to other coils on the market = poor performance
2) A lager coil size may be to hard to ground balance and or be more susceptible to EMI.
3) There is nothing wrong with it and it works as a land based unit that no longer is collapsible and currently cant use it under water

IF IN DOUBT ..TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT.

PS ... might be in the interest of the forum to see if the seller could be contacted to contribute to the forum, his knowledge about the modification and the results of the modification before you decide to string him up for taking a step into the unknown.

Cheers

Stressing so much, giving ourselves a stroke, stringing people up, everybody's been asking the question etc etc. All a bit theatrical and overdramatic isn't it dreamwalking? From what i can see, most are simply putting up friendly posts and simply stating they'd be wary of buying from what i can read at least.

if it does work fine what would be the benefit of the 12 inch mono coil ? I don't want it I am just wondering .

aussiefarmer said:

if it does work fine what would be the benefit of the 12 inch mono coil ? I don't want it I am just wondering .

Click to expand...

More ground coverage & possibly some extra depth although I'm not sure the MPF timing is good for much more than the current depth with the 8" coil. The whole design & concept of MPF was never about mega depth but more about very fine Pulse Induction gold recovery - something high frequency VLF's could really only do previously as successfully but only in moderate ground.

Interesting topic i wonder if the seller could be contacted for more information?

G`Day Jembaicumbene and fello Fossickers.
Gumtree purchase : Minelab SCD 2300 modified.
`that`s `me`.
`i` heard on the grape vine some of you hunters out there seeking info on ``How does it go ?
I have no idea my first detector i can`t compare.
My son & `i` small tested it in beach sand with fishing sinkers in holes 6`` 12`` and 18`` holes.
The unit responded on all targets in each hole small 2 gram lead split,9 gram,30 g & 100 g.
Open holes with unit settings on 3 on salt.
That was with the NF 12`` mono coil.
So far so good.
He said, the seller his findings were 6gram , a gram & 0.4 and just under is what he apparently retrieved not shore at what depth.
Apparently a professional fossicker owned it and he had it modified by a person who does this in Brisbane and it was set up with the 12inch nugget finder coil.
Not shore about the tape yet, i`ll peel it off later. Thinking its there for additional water proofing.
The seller is up grading to my knowledge who knows he may do the same Operation to a GPZ .
Head phones are not working either that or i`m doing something wrong. New set maybe.
So hopefully comment .3 made by Dreamwalking has it right ? Mbasko also some what positive.
Not much more to report other than i`ll go place more tests holes with various coils.
Unfortunately lead sinker testing until i get out there and find me some Gold.
Nice initiation ``GrubStake``

Hi Grubstake welcome to PA
Thanks for joining the forum and thanks for the update on the sdc .
Please keep us in the loop on how you go and how the 2300 works .