Low budget PI detector

[Bluemeaway]

Gidday,

Relatively new to detecting, having been doing some reading on The benifits of PI and would love to own a machine.

Question are there any good PI Machines for around 800$?

I've also been looking at the surf pi 1.2 kit, does this unit perform well in the goldfields and would you recommend it for beach and gold nugget hunting?

For what the technology is it seems that 2-10k is over the top for what they are??

 

[Guest]

Buy cheap, get cheap.

 

[Nuggetbuster]

Might be lucky and get a Minelab SD 2000 or SD 2100 for that price.

I'd say that the Surf PI kit would be good for the beach but next to useless on Aus goldfields.

Yes, just like new cars, the market price seems over the top if you're only literally taking into account the cost of the sum of the parts.

However, try seeing what it costs to do all the R & D, prototyping, testing, production, marketing, etc. on a detector that effectively handles extreme mineralisation. I imagine price per unit would be quite high. Then take into account a profit on top of this (which is necessary for a company to bother with all the trouble), and you get the picture...

 

[AuMan]

Gidday,

Relatively new to detecting, having been doing some reading on The benifits of PI and would love to own a machine.

Question are there any good PI Machines for around 800$?

I've also been looking at the surf pi 1.2 kit, does this unit perform well in the goldfields and would you recommend it for beach and gold nugget hunting?

For what the technology is it seems that 2-10k is over the top for what they are??

Check the name of the "surf pi", it says it all About all you will get out of that is a bit of experience soldering things together and if your lucky find something at the beach, like a nice ring that you can sell to fund a decent machine

So for your budget of $800, your options are limited.
Sd2000 were good in their day, but very hard to find gold with them now.
Sd2100 not too bad, but bare in mind that they are old and may need some TLC to get them running nicely as some components in them will be fairly worn by now, causing them to be a bit noisy or even unusable.
F1A4 in their stock form are not too bad of a detector. Has auto ground balance. At bare minimum you would need to change the coil plug and make a headphone adaptor. Then at some point later on you have the option of upgrades for them. However these detectors are getting really hard to find now. Most who have them are not looking to sell them, in fact many are trying to get another for a spare for when a mate comes along detecting or when the mrs steals theirs

As for the cost 2-10k, well after you have built one that performs just as well in every regard and the performance has been verified by independent testers, come back and tell us how much you will want for one. Don't forget to record all your R&D hours...

If you increase your budget to around $1500 you will have a few more options available and your chances of finding gold when you walk over it will be higher. If you start out with a cheapy machine your chance of success will be very low and you will most likely loose interest before you do succeed.

 

[GypsyGoldAu]

If you start out with a cheapy machine your chance of success will be very low and you will most likely loose interest before you do succeed.

Unless he spends $5-700 on a Coin machine and becomes a master coin/relic operator and uses his finds to buy the "gold" detector.

 

[rocketaroo]

what about c scope PI machines?

 

[AuMan]

If you start out with a cheapy machine your chance of success will be very low and you will most likely loose interest before you do succeed.

Unless he spends $5-700 on a Coin machine and becomes a master coin/relic operator and uses his finds to buy the "gold" detector.

Ahhhh, but the OP was asking about PI machines But yes, that could be a good suggestion...

In the mean time we will be out there depleting the available detectable gold supply I removed 25 nuggets* from the available supply yesterday

*if you could call them that! They do rattle in the jar like nuggets though

 

[AuMan]

what about c scope PI machines?

Never heard of these being used in the Aus goldfields to find gold. Probably better off saving the money and building the surf pi Most likely the performance/end result will be the same.

Happy to be proven wrong.

 

[GypsyGoldAu]

If you start out with a cheapy machine your chance of success will be very low and you will most likely loose interest before you do succeed.

Unless he spends $5-700 on a Coin machine and becomes a master coin/relic operator and uses his finds to buy the "gold" detector.

Ahhhh, but the OP was asking about PI machines But yes, that could be a good suggestion...

Yup...my response was based on suitable outcome based on the budget, and in the event he doesn't end up with a PI at the start but can become successful with another way of getting the PI eventually, so therefore not necessarily give up altogether... :lol:

 

[docjohnson9]

Your best bet would be a Whites SPP mate, but secondhand you'd be looking at between about $1000 -$1300.

 

[ozziii]

Best choice for new detector on a budget is the Whites SPP, new is $1545, standard coil does ok but worth upgrading to a Minor Johns or Razorback for around $300 later on & worth adding the conductivity switch but thats cheap & easy.
They are a decent detector, handle EMI very well & they are pretty easy to use for someone new to detecting, nice & light too.
Well worth a look.

 

[GaryO]

Check out this item I found on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=331665178960&alt=web

This unit is good value for the money , and they are still a decent detector. A little over your budget but they usually fetch over the $1400 mark.

Gaz

 

[grubstake]

Relatively new to detecting, having been doing some reading on The benifits of PI and would love to own a machine.
Question are there any good PI Machines for around 800$?
I've also been looking at the surf pi 1.2 kit, does this unit perform well in the goldfields and would you recommend it for beach and gold nugget hunting?
For what the technology is it seems that 2-10k is over the top for what they are??

Beach PI detectors aren't particularly expensive - here's two on Gumtree at present:

But without ground cancelling circuitry, they'd be no use at all in the goldfields, where the often intense mineralisation has a huge impact on detector performance. Even circuits that are claimed to work well overseas, can fail miserably when facing the challenge of mineralised Aussie dirt.

That's been the genius of Bruce Candy and Minelab, to develop ground cancelling PI machines that can cope with mineralisation and still detect gold nuggets of all sizes, shapes, depths, purity, etc. They're not cheap machines, but they have been proven to work under tough conditions. Minelab have wisely protected their hard-won technological knowhow with an almost impenetrable wall of patents and other manufacturers are left playing catch-up.

If you haven't already seen them, Reg Sniff's two detailed articles on Understanding the PI Detector are well worth reading to give you a better idea of what actually goes on under the hood:
http://www.deeptech-bg.com/Understanding_The_PI_Detector.htm
http://www.nuggetshooter.com/articles/UnderstandingPIdetector2.html

 

[SteelPat]

The Surf PI kit is not a good choice for the gold fields. You can adjust the sample delay but it is a little too long to be of any use on small gold nuggets. They work quite well for beach/park work and you will find there are a few YouTube videos showing them in action. Ground balance is also needed especially in mineralised soil in the gold fileds.

 

[Guest]

The surf PI original kit will not get the small stuff and will be next to useless because of ground noise here. However I would hazard a guess the square board DD with external pots could be made to operate here with the right coil and shielding. I have a Garret Infinium, but the vlf Whites GMT will run rings around it on quiet ground. Most standard production cheapies will not have the required adjustment for OZ, or the beach, without a modified coil or severe dumbing down.
I will try to mind my Ps and Qs, but I will not condone or support crimelab whatsoever, due to the number of one-eyed supporters and their mob mentality. It is one thing for them(corporates) to ride Bruce Candys genius, but quite altogether another to disseminate propaganda regarding the discrimination abilities of PI detectors. When I am shot down on other fora by brainwashed myblab supporters for telling the simple truth-BFOs discriminate well, PIs don't-I can no longer believe anything I read regarding detectors without first-hand experience. They may "punch through" the hard ground well. That just means more iron to dig.

 

[PhaseTech]

If your budget is strictly around $800 forget PI in my opinion. Get yourself a GMT (or Eureka Gold) and hit shallow and/or low mineral areas and you will find gold. Dig dig dig until you can afford a decent PI. I would say bare minimum these days would be a GP extreme.

 

[Guest]

Amen brother. I loove my GMT. If you're into panning etc. this machine will also find the black sand trace as well. And the ironID grunt is reasonably reliable. I only paid $500 for mine, still under warranty, and found gold first time out. At least Whites will give you info on your machine, and if they are unable to service the older models, at least you will be able to get a schematic. Certain others will just poo-poo you and tell you to buy their latest machine. After the Surf DD will be the minipulse revD for me, then the xr71 sniffer.
Whatever detector(s) you own, if you're not swinging it over the gold, you won't find it. So research,research,research first.

 

[SteelPat]

The surf PI original kit will not get the small stuff and will be next to useless because of ground noise here. However I would hazard a guess the square board DD with external pots could be made to operate here with the right coil and shielding. I have a Garret Infinium, but the vlf Whites GMT will run rings around it on quiet ground. Most standard production cheapies will not have the required adjustment for OZ, or the beach, without a modified coil or severe dumbing down.
I will try to mind my Ps and Qs, but I will not condone or support crimelab whatsoever, due to the number of one-eyed supporters and their mob mentality. It is one thing for them(corporates) to ride Bruce Candys genius, but quite altogether another to disseminate propaganda regarding the discrimination abilities of PI detectors. When I am shot down on other fora by brainwashed myblab supporters for telling the simple truth-BFOs discriminate well, PIs don't-I can no longer believe anything I read regarding detectors without first-hand experience. They may "punch through" the hard ground well. That just means more iron to dig.

Not sure why you are so angry but here is my take on things.

I have not seen one PI kit - even with extensive mods - that will get the depth required in mineralised ground in the gold fields down here. A good ground balance circuit is essential. Some of the mods I have done on a few of my designs have come close to some of the commercial PI machines but thats not going to help these days.

Unfortunately most of the easier gold, close to the surface in the mineralised ground has been found with older machines. New generation machines have opened up old ground again finding deeper gold in heavily mineralised ground.

The thing about Minelab - whether you like them or not - is they do extensive testing in the ground down here. Yes you do pay a little more, and some owners are very one eyed but they still have quite a good product.

I keep an eye on a few of the forums and Facebook pages and unfortunately I have not seen one other brand of machine perform as consistently as a Minelab machine in the ground down here.

And I am not sure what you are on about regarding the discrimination. The way a PI works does not lend itself to discrimination. If you want to find gold - be it small or large, unfortunately you have to dig all targets whether you like it or not. I have seen very small gold attached to ironstone. If you discriminate the iron, you wouldnt see the gold.

 

[Guest]

That is right with a PI and most vlfs, but not with a BFO or (basic)IB. Place a 1c piece under a pair of fencing pliers and it will still be heard, because the appropriate adjustment is available. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself. Adjustment and dumbing down are often confused, again by the dissemination of corporate propaganda. Discrimination is usually done by the latter. By placing the BFO coil above the pliers and adjusting, the coin can easily be heard when the centre of field goes over it.
With a basic IB the iron tone is normal-high-normal. With any included non-ferrous it will tone normal-low-high-normal, the same as all non-ferrous.
So yes, a commercial detector will be dumbed down by discrimination, and mineralised ground will need this, so you will miss the gold.
By the way, how many ML operators out there, do you think, can set up their machines properly? Are the 7000s pulling the gold out the solid ironstone areas, or just the same old grounds the 5000s were?
And these are definitely not low budget PIs.