Buying my first metal detector- any advice?

[Courtney]

Hi everyone,
I would like to buy my husband a metal detector for Christmas this year but I have no idea where to start. I have done some basic comparisons and read some reviews but would love any information you could throw my way. We live in WA's Pilbara region atm but will be returning to central QLD (Charleville region) in about 2 years. My budget is $2000 and I would like a good detector that can find a myriad of metals but specifically he would like to find gold. From my research, I think that the VLF detectors may be the way to go? Is there anything else I need to know, like do detectors need to be serviced? How often do I need to replace the coils? etc. Thank you for any information that you could give me!

 

[rc62burke]

Hi Courtney
Welcome, your best bet for your budget is a Minelab PI (pulse induction) detector, not a VLF, say from an SD2200d, gp extreme, gp 3000, gp 3500 get the best you can afford.
good luck
Lee

 

[Guest]

Some good advice I recently read:

• Buy the best detector you can afford - assuming your husband will be chasing gold a $2000 budget will get you a very good SD2200 with change left over or a GP extreme. You may even squeeze in a GP3000 which are all PI (pulse induction) machines. Used price guide: http://www.coiltek.com.au/pages/second-hand-detectors
  This isn't to say a VLF machine is no good, the PI's are just better for gold hunting. There are many VLF options like Whites GMT Gold master & Fisher Gold Bug (mainly for gold), Minelab Xterra 705 (versatile - gold, coins, relics - not sure about beach detecting?), AT Gold (versatile - gold, coins, relics), AT Pro (versatile - gold, coins, relics + good on the beach) Personally, for gold, I can recommend the Whites GMT Goldmaster from previous use.[/*]

• Go where gold has been previously found - your in the prime state in WA & Central Qld also has some very good areas.[/*]

• Be patient - most people don't find gold straight away & this can be frustrating. In fact I have heard of people with a brand new GPX5000 not finding anything for 12 months+. You need plenty of patience & you need to do plenty of research.[/*]

There are plenty of options & it can be difficult. You need to work out what you are going to be doing as a starting point & select one from there i.e. its no good buying a specialist gold machine then finding that you would prefer to do most of your detecting at the beach.
If you narrow down a few machines there are plenty of more experienced people than me on here that will offer some valuable advice to help you from there.

 

[Courtney]

Hi Lee,
Thank you for your help. Could you explain why the PI is a better choice in this situation, compared to the VLF? Do you think I should buy new or is second hand ok?

Thank you!

 

[Courtney]

Thank you very much for the information! Very helpful!!

 

[rc62burke]

Hi Courtney
A PI detector will achieve a much greater detection depth over a VLF, as VLF detectors struggle with mineralisation which in turn limits the depth capability of the detector, an SD2200d will achieve approx the same depth as a GPX 5000 within reason, by this I mean the level of mineralisation will affect this.
The only PI minelab available new are the 4800 & 5000 in Australia, second hand has its risks just like second hand anything, but you can get them serviced, it would pay to get someone with experience to assist you with checking a unit.
cheers
Hope this helps, I use an SD2200d.
Lee

 

[KeeponDiggin]

And i have a SD2100.
Its proved its worth time and time again
Very good machines to learn from.