Good all round detectors

[dave14110]

My Opinion only. There is a big hole that in the detector range. All of the detectors that can handle the mineralized ground do NOT have digital target ID & these are Pulse induction & are best suited to Goldfields. All of the machines that can discriminate well & have digital ID target display are best suited to treasure collecting, but will chirp a lot on mineralized ground making them often near useless, or hard to work.
If I could or (if wife would let me I would have at least 2 more but lets just say No) or at least for now LOL.
all detectors are design for one purpose or the other & not great at both.

 

[Guest]

My Opinion only. There is a big hole that in the detector range. All of the detectors that can handle the mineralized ground do NOT have digital target ID & these are Pulse induction & are best suited to Goldfields. All of the machines that can discriminate well & have digital ID target display are best suited to treasure collecting, but will chirp a lot on mineralized ground making them often near useless, or hard to work.
If I could or (if wife would let me I would have at least 2 more but lets just say No) or at least for now LOL.
all detectors are design for one purpose or the other & not great at both.

My teknetics g2 handles the ground fairly well.

Grab a piece of ironstone and run it under the coil
machine goes off Not so in the ground. Threshold is
not super smooth but fairly good.
With a 5" coil its super hot on tiny targets.

The g2 is one of the best where you can hear
the iron and can pick Up good targets sitting next to iron.

Only issue as explained above is whats left in the ground.

If you need an id vlf for gold then choose the g2/fisher
gold bug pro.

G2 can find coins at about 8". Most coins i find are only
4 or so inches. The advantage with the G2 compared to
AT Pro is it can pickup finer jewelery due to the higher
Frequency.

 

[Nugget]

For detecting both beaches and goldfields I'd be leaning towards the AT Gold over the Pro. It's a bit of a catch 22 though as the Gold wont handle wet sand at the beach but will perform fairly well in the goldfields, whereas the Pro will handle wet sand at the beach but won't perform as well in the goldfields. Over all I find the AT Gold to be a more sensitive and responsive machine.

Of course there are many other options out there and I'm sure some members will be along soon enough to throw in their recommendations.

Just a question?

Have you used an at gold in the gold fields on iron
infested Hot ground?

I have and the at gold chirped madly on ironstone
bits.

Maybe it was me not sure but would like to see a
youtube Video where my experiences have proven
wrong. After 3 hours Testing in Maryborough
detector was sold.

I've ran the AT Gold at Nundle which I'm sure many members can vouch as being about as mineralised as it gets in some areas. Using the 5x8" DD coil, spreading the ground balance window and knocking back the sensitivity a little, I've been able to get it reasonably stable in some pretty heavily mineralised areas. I've also tried the same settings using the 9x12" Concentric coil and couldn't get it to shut up.

I'm not saying the AT Gold is the beez knees but for a Gold marketed VLF detector within it's price range, it isn't a bad unit.

The g2 is one of the best where you can hear
the iron and can pick Up good targets sitting next to iron.

The AT Gold does this very well also.

 

[dave14110]

well that just raised another issue wolfau you say 5" coil, but that is still a very big limit. It limit's depth and ground covered & there is a lot of goldfields with iron stone on surface. My brother did find a 36 gram nugget his with xterra 70 at maryborough but thats was more luck that anything.
I don't say it can not be done, but the pulse induction will work much better than any vlf machine in the mineralized goldfieds. The vlf will work better than any Pulse induction in parks etc simple because it can discriminate with digital ID.
It is only recently that we are start to see pulse induction machine that are suppose to be able to handle mineralized ground & now waterproof, but these still don't have digital target ID display & that is the the detector I am wanting next.
To be honest I was hoping that new minelab was going to have it but I was wrong & disappointed.

 

[Nugget]

With a mentioned budget of around the $1000 mark, lets not turn this discussion into a VLF vs PI debate.

 

[Guest]

You can buy a 2000 for under $1000.

There are a few extremes and 3500 being
Sold on ebay being relisted and not sold
Starting at $2000. These will sell from $1600
As the market has now dropped for these
Detectors.

Dave the testing patch with the 5" nel
Was iron infested where i had found .15
Bits with my dingo and 6" widescan. Area
Since has been hammered with other
Machines.

Its where i test my vlfs and was doing like
For like comparison tests.

One last thing. The lesson i learnt if
You want to use a vlf in the goldfield
You need to use something the current
Minelabs can't compete with. That is the tiny
Gold. The minelabs can find stuff the at gold,
G2 etc can eg .15, .2 grammers anything
Smaller it may just struggle. Thats where
You need a gmt or gold bug 2 due to the
Higher frequency range being able to
Find the smaller stuff. With this type of
Machine you can also use it for micro
Jewellery beach hunting.

 

[Flossie]

Lots of interesting things mentioned here.
so basically im looking at either the AT pro, or the Xterra 705. From what i read about the 705, minelab offers a selection of coils that operate at different frequencies whereas the AT Pro's coils only operate at the one frequency. Is this correct? Because if a simple change of a coil means that i can operate in areas of high mineralization i dont mind doing that. As for the waterproof feature of the AT Pro, i like it and i think its great...but i wont be submerging my detector. The closest it will be to getting wet will be if i place the coil on wet sand.

 

[Guest]

Yes your correct.

Its hard to get one machine for everything.

I own 4 and they are all different. There is also
nothing wrong With a 2nd hand machine and you
Don't loose that $200 to $300 from new price if
You sell it.

Out of your choices Get the 705 and 15" low khz
coiltek wot coil.

Perfect for beach or deep gold.

[video=480,360]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARFugVwavso[/video]

 

[Flossie]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll go pay jeff at reeds prospecting supplies a visit tomorrow.
I dont have an issue with buying second hand, so long as the machine functions properly. But having a warranty is always reasurring.

 

[Guest]

Anaconda also sells these. Sometimes they have
Them on special.

Good luck with it.

 

[Shane]

Yes your correct.

Its hard to get one machine for everything.

I own 4 and they are all different. There is also
nothing wrong With a 2nd hand machine and you
Don't loose that $200 to $300 from new price if
You sell it.

Out of your choices Get the 705 and 15" low khz
coiltek wot coil.

Perfect for beach or deep gold.

[video=480,360]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARFugVwavso[/video]

YEP!!

 

[RottenRon]

For what it's worth, I agree with Wolfau.
I have a 705, but admittedly, haven't found any gold with it yet
It works a treat at the beach with the 15" Coiltek coil.
The discrimination works well, although I search in all metal mode, and just read the numbers on a target.
That seems to get extra depth and lessens the chance of missing a faint target.
My next detector is Garrett ATX. Should be here mid Feb. and I can't wait.
You might find some of the posts in this thread https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3134&p=2 interesting reading.
Good luck with whatever you buy anyway.
Cheers, Ron.

 

[laurie02]

One other thing. You don't need a 5000 to find gold.

One of the gp series detectors will do just fine.

absolutely agree

cheers

 

[dave14110]

Nugget I was not trying to turn it into vlf verses PI. I was trying to point out the limiitations both of a vlf & PI.
Both have limitations which were pointed out.
My earlier post recommends the Garrett AT pro over the Xterra even though I own the xterra 70.
I was just trying to give an opinion.

 

[Goldtarget]

You raise some interesting points wolf. Took the t2 out for a week scoring a .3 gram and multiple shot first day i used it with a 5 inch dd, loved that machine, coin shooting it was a dream. I was in the trashiest hot ground and still grabbed some yellow. If the budget stretched to add this in i would recommend it. Not sure of g2 + 5dd price (and i say this in response to the 1g budget that was set) but your point was well made and basing it on my own testing with at2 i have no doubt the results would easily be replicated by the most basic beginner with some instruction. Again not the g2 but i got some pre decs on two sites I've hammered over a few years with boost and extremely effecient gb, it well and truly outdid the at pro in depth, and accuracy. On your comments i might get out the g2 on hire and do a compare. so thanks for your post.

 

[Guest]

For what it's worth, I agree with Wolfau.
I have a 705, but admittedly, haven't found any gold with it yet
It works a treat at the beach with the 15" Coiltek coil.
The discrimination works well, although I search in all metal mode, and just read the numbers on a target.
That seems to get extra depth and lessens the chance of missing a faint target.
My next detector is Garrett ATX. Should be here mid Feb. and I can't wait.
You might find some of the posts in this thread https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3134&p=2 interesting reading.
Good luck with whatever you buy anyway.
Cheers, Ron.

Thank you and well done on your purchase.

Want my tip without offending anyone? Connect
the large coil to your ATX and use that where miners
holes are about a foot deep.

Leave the fly specks for the well off city folk..

 

[Guest]

You raise some interesting points wolf. Took the t2 out for a week scoring a .3 gram and multiple shot first day i used it with a 5 inch dd, loved that machine, coin shooting it was a dream. I was in the trashiest hot ground and still grabbed some yellow. If the budget stretched to add this in i would recommend it. Not sure of g2 + 5dd price (and i say this in response to the 1g budget that was set) but your point was well made and basing it on my own testing with at2 i have no doubt the results would easily be replicated by the most basic beginner with some instruction. Again not the g2 but i got some pre decs on two sites I've hammered over a few years with boost and extremely effecient gb, it well and truly outdid the at pro in depth, and accuracy. On your comments i might get out the g2 on hire and do a compare. so thanks for your post.

Your welcome. The G2 is favoured in the US by
serious button And relic Hunters. They set the
discriminator on 30 and the low tones are
Your 30's and under and high tone 31 plus.
The iron tone can be set To 80. So if you want
to set it at 74 for example only the $1 and $2
Coins will come through and some other targets
that read that
High.

The only issue is with the standard coil the g2
loves screw caps.
I don't really have this issue with my cz3d and
if i can remember The tesoro discriminator works
on screw caps where these Both crackle.

The G2 also has an ability to read the ground and
let yo Know how mineralised it.

 

[Flossie]

Picked up my detector today from Reeds prospecting supplies. Ended up with an Xterra 705. Turns out that i was 3 days late to take advantage of a deal where this model of detector comes with minelab koss headphones, a cover and a flashlight. But because the sales people where top blokes they gave me those accessories for free. Couldn't be happier

 

[Guest]

Picked up my detector today from Reeds prospecting supplies. Ended up with an Xterra 705. Turns out that i was 3 days late to take advantage of a deal where this model of detector comes with minelab koss headphones, a cover and a flashlight. But because the sales people where top blokes they gave me those accessories for free. Couldn't be happier

Great Stuff and congratulations on your new machine.

Its a great hobby depending on the weather though.

If detecting parks get there early like 6am or 7am and hit the tot lots.

Depending on size 3 hours is generally enough to detect a tot lot.

I have encountered a couple of trouble makers in my journey so that's why I prefer to get there early or if beach detecting

I start from midnight. Just learn your machine and be patient.

 

[Goldtarget]

Good to hear Flossie, here's hoping your new machine brings you many great finds and treasures.cheers