I have been out of range for a while so my previous attempt at a reply was lost into the "somewheres".
So here is my experience with the SDC for any who wish to read.
At present I am using this machine to make my living, usually in a scrape and detect situation but also free ranging, so to speak. I have thousands of hours using it and it still is teaching me new things .
I run the beast as hot as I can, usually on 5 and with the threshold at max. I use headphones that are suited to me although I am presently modifying some ear protection muffs to try. The targets are easily heard through the chatter.
Nenad's idea of tuning it on 5 and then dropping it to 3 or 4 when the ground is difficult, is a winner. We stumbled on that a few months ago and it is good to see that I am not the only one who is imagining its benefits. If the first tuning doesn't sound right keep doing it until you are happy with it. A few minutes spent first thing in the day will pay dividends later. If the chatter gets too much, tune it again until it feels good again.
The green button does do things if you listen carefully. When an area gets unstable try ground balancing with it (I use short and slow up and downs) for ten seconds or more and then while keeping the button pressed slowly sweep over the ground. It appears to make a difference and even if it is totally useless it makes me feel better about detecting that area, which is the most important thing.
One hellaciously windy day the little machine was screaming at the wind so we shut down for a while. I have not experienced that since but it was difficult to say the least.
If you have a cellphone out with you, strange noises may appear from time to time as the phone accesses the towers. Fridges on the back of the ute can also give funny sounds.
My detecting style is with the coil scraping the ground (a skid plate is only 0.4 of a gram!) and it pays dividends. It takes time to identify the actual hotspot on your detector but it will hasten getting the target out of the ground and in your pocket, so it will be worth learning it.
I have heard many people explain that the SDC is only good for small **** near the surface. I disagree but if that is what they believe then that is what they will get. A lovely inverted "whoomp" was a 3 figure nugget at 400 mm (yes I measured it with a tape). It was quiet but easily recognised and as the hole deepened the target screamed like rubbish. Another similar sound was a large nut from the old stamping battery nearby, this time it was over 500 mm down. Again it was quiet to start with but that soon changed as we dug down.
The detector will tell you a lot of things if you listen to it. I listen to the "tail" of the sound to help in identifying the type of target. The tone or pitch of the "tail" helps me decide how to approach the target. If I believe it is rubbish the pick magnets get scraped through it and when the target disappears I move on. If it doesn't disappear I then rip out the top 50mm or so and section it into two piles. Target pile is then halved, halved again and again until I have a small spoonful to wave over the coil. target is then located and either in the kitty or the trash pile. Time is money as the saying goes and I don't make wages without that coil moving over the dirt. Of course the target may be deeper than 50mm so I keep using the same system until it is out, albeit the digging is often a lot deeper and less dignified. I have been described as a demented Rottweiler when digging deep noises.
My machines (I have a spare just in case) have the stupid armtrap thing modified with a piece of PVC pipe cut open and stuck to them with a 4500 armrest cover on it. The detector will not fold up quite as small but a folded detector is not working and it is a small price to pay. The handle can be padded with a soft padded tape to ease hand cramping. I also do not grip the handle, I let it hang down on my fingers. Swing speed is slow for me and hectic for my detecting partner. He hears what I can't at his speed and vice versa. Swing width is narrow for me and wide for him withe the same outcomes. I don't like the "yips" that I get as the coil angles away from the ground at the edge of the swing, he doesn't worry about it. It really does come down to personal preference, as is all that I have written above. If you are comfortable and confident with the machine the gold will find itself. If you are not comfortable and confident you will stuggle to find gold.
Batteries with large positive nipples are a must to prevent the shutdowns. Tape them if you wish as well. Some people claim that as the batteries discharge, the machine loses its depth. If that is what you believe then perhaps it is true but then you will also be constantly charging your cellphone and laptop to keep them working to their designed speed, won't you?
We definitely find more gold with them first thing in the morning. It could be a lot of things that cause this but I think this beaten up old body just doesn't perform like it used to thirty plus years ago. Cramping in the back, neck, arms and legs from a ten hour day behind a machine shouldn't affect my ability to hear faint sounds should it?
We now leave what we have done in the late afternoon/evening open and redo it in the morning, usually to our benefit with several scraps to start the new day.
Minelab have designed a superb machine electronically which is let down by the myriad of ergonomic issues that it has. I can spit dummy and focus on these problems or do my best to alleviate them and get on with learning more from what my headphones are telling me.
As always with free advice, you get what you pay for. This is what I do and think, your results may vary.
Happy hunting
