Non minelab detectors

Hey guys, I'm after a bit of first hand experience as to other brands of metal detectors particularly for gold use.

I'm curious about the tessoro logo supertrack with its lifetime warranty.. Or a garret of white?

It's it that minelab are the best, or are they just the most popular/best marketed.. Kind of like the gopro.

Cheers, Joe

http://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au...lab-continues-to-lead-way-in-search-for-gold/

The rest is history.

Bruce Candy is DA MAN!!

They spend more money on R&D than they do on marketing.

And that is also another big factor.

MeatyJoe said:

Hey guys, I'm after a bit of first hand experience as to other brands of metal detectors particularly for gold use.

I'm curious about the tessoro logo supertrack with its lifetime warranty.. Or a garret of white?

It's it that minelab are the best, or are they just the most popular/best marketed.. Kind of like the gopro.

Cheers, Joe

Click to expand...

The facts are, Minelab make the best PI Gold machines and the "Only" ZVT machine, Whites make some of the best VLF/LF Gold Machines as do Fisher and Gerrett are in hot pursuit of them, None of those machines can do it all which is why many of us own one of each technology, If the mineralization is low enough then a VLF would be the best tool for the job, But In quite a few areas in OZ only a PI will work, So to answer your question a person needs to buy the machine that will work the best in their intended area where they want to detect.

hope that helps.

John.

hAyyoUinAU said:

http://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au...lab-continues-to-lead-way-in-search-for-gold/

The rest is history.

Bruce Candy is DA MAN!!

Click to expand...

Quite an informative article.

Do these other companies have their own hardware or are they more of a copy of existing ideas that minelab came up with?

And John, forgive me, but what's zvt compared with pulse induction or very low frequency?

Is the gpz a zvt?

There are many areas of thought on the detectors. I have spoken to some people who swear by Minelab and others Garrett and others Whites.

I would suggest that you look at the features of each of the machines you like and see if you can try them out.

If you have a budget, then you may also need to take this into consideration.

There are many brands out there now and a lot of copies as well.

From what I have been told - you cannot go wrong if you stick to the top 3 proven brands.

Personally I had a tight budget, so I purchased a. Whites GMT first. Great machine. I then obtained a second hand Whites TDI OZ Pro - Amazing machine for the price. Though once I have enough funds I would like a back pack machine (either a Minelab SDC or Garrett ATX) so that I can hike into some of the harder to get to areas.

Good luck with your detector hunting.

MeatyJoe said:

hAyyoUinAU said:

http://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au...lab-continues-to-lead-way-in-search-for-gold/

The rest is history.

Bruce Candy is DA MAN!!

Click to expand...

Quite an informative article.

Do these other companies have their own hardware or are they more of a copy of existing ideas that minelab came up with?

And John, forgive me, but what's zvt compared with pulse induction or very low frequency?

Is the gpz a zvt?

Click to expand...

Minelab did not invent PI machines that was done by Eric Foster, Minelab took it to the next level and the other companies do have their own hardware/software, minelab have borrowed or should I say explored other companies technology and no doubt other have done the same, Mel Fisher and Charles Gerrett along with Whites were some of the first pioneers when it comes to design and building metal detectors over 60/70 years ago, Minelab were not born until the mid 1980's. But within 10 or 15 years they were climbing to the top of the tree, and their PI's and the ZED are ranked as the most powerful machines within the hobby, so for PI's always pick Minelab, but for VLF's and LF's see below and also add Nokta and Makro to your list.

Yes the GPZ uses ZVT technology

a GPX and the SDC and the TDI and ATX are PI's ( Pulse Induction )

VLF is Very Low Frequency and LF is Low Frequency which run at around 30khz to 71khz (kilohertz)

Very Low frequency machines like The minelab Xterra, Fisher F-75, fisher Goldbug, MXT/MXT All Pro and the Garrett AT Pro/AT Gold. The Absolute size limit of the Gold a VLF can see is about 0.003grams which is ( 3 milligrams ) but it has to be right on the surface..

LF machine are The Whites GMT @ 48khz, Fisher Goldbug II @71khz, Minelab GM 1000, and the Makro Gold Racer @ 56khz, Any of these machine will find Gold around the size of a grain of Sugar with the right Coil fitted to them.

hope that helps.

John.

For hot ironstone mineralised soils, Minelab is the best. They have the best technology to handle the mineralisation while still remaining very sensitivity to small gold.
Gold detectors aren't cheap, neither is the 4WD, camper and all the rest of the gear to go prospecting, so people will use what gives them the best chance on gold.

For non-Minelab detectors, the TDI SL handles the ground pretty well, but it won't match the depth of Minelabs. The Garrett ATX can be more sensitive than the SL, but for the weight and price of it, you might as well buy a Minelab.

Then you have the high freq VLF's, sometimes called LF's. Makro Gold Racer, Whites GMT, Fisher Gold Bug 2, Nokta AU Gold Finder, Minelab Gold Monster....all these units operate over 40 kHz which makes them very sensitive to small flakes of gold and small specimens etc. and all these units will see certain types of gold better than any Pulse Induction unit. BUT, the sensitivity of these machines can also be their undoing, as they will also react to mineralisation in the ground which reduces their effectiveness. So these high freq VLF's are best utilized in lower mineralised soils, which means they are more a specialty tool, and one every serious prospector should have in their kit in my opinion.

Then you have some dual purpose machines in the 14-20 kHz range, which handle hotter soils better than the 40+ kHz machines, but their sensitivity to very small gold suffers. These units are pretty much all equipped with very good discrimination circuits, so their niche is high trash areas in my opinion. The units with a proper motion all-metal mode, with threshold would be the only ones to consider for gold. These are: Makro Racer 2, Nokta Impact, Fisher Gold Bug, Tesoro Lobo ST, Whites MXT, Minelab X-Terra 705, Nokta Fors Gold+ and countless others. In this category of units that I've used, the Nokta Impact is the best handler of mineralised soils, followed closely by the MXT and Racer 2. The reason is that these three have very good SAT circuits, or more simply a means of stabilizing your threshold.

[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e267ykhq14[/video]

If PI and in Australia go Minelab

If VLF you have a wide variety to choose from. But as said above, it is wise to stick to the common brands and get one that best suits your function.

And a cheap eBay or Jaycar detector will not have the performance or build quality of the main brands. There is an old saying too, you get what you paid for.

Good luck and hope you are happy with your selection.

Hmm.
Lots to go with.
Guess minelab are popular for a good reason. If I had the funds I'd be trying everything under the sun. Guess that's why I don't have them!

Thanks everyone.

MeatyJoe said:

Hmm.
Lots to go with.
Guess minelab are popular for a good reason. If I had the funds I'd be trying everything under the sun. Guess that's why I don't have them!

Thanks everyone.

Click to expand...

Well the GM is a good deal and so are the other brands listed, Why not have a word in PhaseTechs ear, He could fix you up and he will steer you in the right direction.

hope that helps,

John.

While I have already inputted my thoughts, I believe that there is another Australian Built or designed PI detector (I might be wrong - don't shoot me) the QED. I have heard that this is well priced and capable. Does anyone have more on the new QED?

Way2go said:

While I have already inputted my thoughts, I believe that there is another Australian Built or designed PI detector (I might be wrong - don't shoot me) the QED. I have heard that this is well priced and capable. Does anyone have more on the new QED?

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Well there are a few folks here have them but they are having a few problems of various types which they are working to resolve, have a look at this link.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=23399

Hi Joe,

I bought a TDI Pro OZ in 2014. It's a very good detector for what was then about $2200 but due to the value of the Aussie Dollar they cost more now. I found gold with it.

When Minelab "re-released" the GPX 4500 in 2015 I bought one and have never looked back.

I find it way more sensitive and it can run so quietly in comparison. They are two very different PI machines and both work but I love the 4500 and many other users out there do too.

If you can afford to I would say jump in and buy a 4500 new, if you think you can't afford one look at interest free options online.

The 4500 has a lot more settings and I find it to be more versatile on a range of soils than the TDI.

I recommend hiring a TDI, and then a 4500, try them on the same ground, see how you go and make a decision based on what you find the better machine to be.

Good luck!

GPZ 7000 is not a Pulse Induction machine.

Thus my reference to Bruce Candy being Da Man.

An amazing machine to use, the more you use it, the better you understand it.

I would say it is like a VLF and PI rolled into one. Not technically but you get the drift.

MINELAB

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI

https://www.minelab.com/__files/f/2...echnology Zero Voltage Transmission (ZVT).pdf

A bit of info if anyone is interested

I think at this point if it were minelab I'd be leaning more towards an sdc 2300 if I were to go a pi machine as the 4500 is usually quite a bit steeper in price and the 5000 or the gpz are Waaay Moreton I can afford.

Either way, lots of food for thought, though I think I'll be avoiding the QED at this point as it looks a bit technical and unpolished for what I want.

I want to beagle to go all over the place with my detector, looking for gold ideally, and Perhapse get another detector or two later on with higher descrim for beaches or something..

Either way, it sounds like for a PI machine, the general consensus is minelab and then for friendlier soils my options are far wider in a VLF option.

I guess for now, minelab might be a good option for me.

Thanks everyone.
-Joe

Back on track please people.

Tathradj said:

Back on track please people.

Click to expand...

Lol, Ooops your 6 days late, :lol: :lol: :lol: