Metal Detector advice $500 to $1500

[thebeans]

hi all iam new to the forum and metal detecting in general and was looking for a bit of advise on witch detector too get.i have about $1500 to spend and I was looking at x terra 705 or the garrett AT gold any advise would be great

 

[XIV]

i would defiantly go the garrett
with out being mean to minelab who make an excellent detector
the X terra range is a peace of crap,
the 705 is the top of the range of this series and will find stuff, but still not worth the money
its like buying a honda getz and racing it against a Holden ss
too many people have been disappointed with this range but great for the kids to use
i got a 305 for $100 from a mate who couldn't work it out and was about to though it in the bin
so i take it with me to the beach when i go fishing
it keep the kids entertained for hours and i get a few hours peace and quiet until they find a coin

 

[thebeans]

thanks for the reply XlV was thinking the same with the money and the x terra.

 

[Roscoe]

thebeans, It depends on what your main use will be, Coin/relic/gold? Both machines have advantages and disadvantages and you will have to weight those up. I have no experience with the Garrett AT gold , but i have with the X-terra 705. The advantage of the X-terra 705 is definitely the ability to change frequencies. You can run coils 3khz,7.5khz and 18.75khz. There is some good after market coils for the x-terra 705 from coiltek manufacturing. The x-terra 705 is very user friendly. I mainly used my x-terra for coin and relic hunting and prefer a Pulse Induction machine for gold detecting. The X-terra is a very good coin and relic machine with prospecting mode as well.

I forgot to mention, its made by an Australian Company.

 

[thebeans]

thanks Roscoe for the reply. I will be using it for gold only and now iam totally confused as I have been reading other posts and people are saying that the x terra will not pick up gold under 3 inch and from wot I can gather thay recon go for a SD

 

[Teemore]

the X terra range is a peace of crap,

Maybe some X Terra uses can offer their views on this, I have a 705 but have not yet had a chance to fire it up in the field.

It should be noted that it comes in well under the budget quoted and I'm sure that at that money many other options are available, the X Terra range can be purchased with a discount by Anaconda members and has been offered at discounted prices by them in the past (that's why I got mine).

Horses for courses, I hope to use mine as a training tool, when I get serious about gold detecting I'll spend the cash and get an upmarket, and expensive Minelab ........ unless the Garrett equipment proves to be almost as good.
Cheers Tom

 

[Roscoe]

thebeans, If you are chasing gold then i would recommend a Pulse Induction machine. For the budget you set that would allow a second hand minelab SD series or a New garret infinium. I would recommend you Hire a PI dector and see if you like the hobby and have the time to sustain it. I say sustain as finding gold is not easy and it takes lots of time. If you do then budget for the best detector you can buy. IMO,the Minelab PI dectors hold their value a lot better then all other detectors. If you pick up a good second hand minelab PI for the right price you will be able to sell later and get your money back, this is often over looked by many. The VLF detectors like the AT Gold and x-terra 705 are good around old workings because of the amount of iron and junk. The VLF detectors have good discrimination ability. The PI detectors are better in high mineralised ground and they go much deeper then VLF. Try to work out were you would most probably use the detector. Also, I see a lot of people buy expensive detectors only to find out they have no were to use them. Find out were you are going to use the detector in your area. Some Gold fields only run on private property. Hope this helps in some way good luck.

 

[nuggetino]

+1 on buying a used SD series detector. I'd rather save up a couple hundred extra bucks and go for an SD series PI detector for gold. Hard enough to find gold as it is and I'd hate to think I'd be missing nuggets that could otherwise be in my pocket by using an inferior detector, at least where gold is concerned.

 

[Goldpick]

With that sort of money, you could afford a second hand Minelab SD2000 or 2100 for deep stuff, and spend the rest on a second hand high frequency VLF detector for the pickers that the SD won't pick up. Plus with a VLF machine with iron discrimination, you will be able to work trashy areas that will drive PI machine nuts.

Both machines have specific applications, and will complement each other out in the field. Plus if you are new to detecting, the VLF will be good to learn the basics of detecting on.

If you are looking at just VLF machines for gold, don't forget the Whites GMT, plus another great machine as an allrounder for prospecting, relics and coins would the Whites MXT or MXT Pro. The GMT runs very high a very high frequency for small gold, but is more susceptible to hot mineralised ground, whereas the MXT runs a lower frequency to go deeper, but more stable in mineralised ground.

Fisher also make the Goldbug 2, which is the most sensitive VLF on the market, and often a favourite detector to compliment a PI machine.

The Minelab Eureka doesn't seem to get much airplay, but I reckon it would still be a better machine for gold only duties than the 705, the Eureka is a very mis-understood detector with 3 inbuilt frequencies for shallow, intermediate and deeper targets, plus has a good range of coils available.

Unfortunately a lot of people don't have the patience to learn the strengths and weaknesses of their particular detector, and expect to walk out onto the goldfields and find the Welcome Stranger nugget in the first 5 minutes of detecting. Hence they they tend to prematurely give up blaming the detector. I'm learning new stuff every day with my detectors, and gold doesn't always come easily - so research your detector choices, and most importantly, research the areas where you expect to go hunting.

So keep at it, and ask lots of questions, talk to people who own these machines, and as mentiomed in a previous post, think about what areas you intend to detect, as this may dictate which detector may be most suitable for that particular area. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[rc62burke]

Hi Beans
Some very good points have been put forth so far.
For your budget IMHO there is no better choice than the SD2200d if you are in an area where you can run mono's on it all the better.
You said, train yourself on the VLF, IMHO opinion this is a common misconception, you will get the basics but remember they are 2 different tools & therefore are used differently ( like a hand saw V's a hacksaw )
cheers
Lee

 

[loamer]

The 2200D has been widely reported on this forum as being good - it is! The "D" stands for discrimination and the 2200D with a DD coil will kill anything running a mono on trashy ground any day of the week. I run a 2200D and a 4500 so I have a fair handle on their capabilities. The 2200D is very simple to use, robust in design and was a game changer in its day. Some people have them modified - some don't. A very basic change is to go over the the small lithium batteries. They are a great machine. As for a PI/VLF combo - I also run an Xterra 70 (DD) for small clean up jobs, clear mullock etc - very good machine if you know what you are doing. The US instruction DVD and manual are next to useless but with practice, trail and error they are deadly on small sized stuff on the right ground.

 

[G0lddigg@]

second loamers comments most of the old bloke i know who purchased gpx5000's are now chasing the sd2100 or 2200 series, they are proven and they work well in highly mineralised areas. Question is do you want to concentrate on sub .2 gram pieces mullocks etc. or are you planning on really covering some ground? Ive seen sd2100 and 2200's go on ebay for $12/1400 thats a steal. cant comment on the xterra sorry

 

[Ben78]

Would a 5000 with a DD on 'normal' really not be as effective as a SD?

Back to the topic, Whites TDI is a good machine. I owned one before the 5000 and whilst I didn't, people are finding gold with them in Australia. Never had any issues balancing it in some very hot ground. Wal picked up a 0.25g piece with his in WA this year. On the beach I dug a dollar coin half a metre deep with it, and there is the capability to set it up to only dig high conductors using the delay and ground balance settings. Folks in the US claim that they can reliably dig silver class targets in parks with theirs - doubt anyone could do that with a Minelab.

 

[thebeans]

thanks all for the replys . I live near chinchilla qld soo will be detecting around warwick, Goondiwindi on private land I hope. will have a good look at the 2200D

 

[loamer]

Would a 5000 with a DD on 'normal' really not be as effective as a SD?

I stated that the 2200D with a DD is equal to anything with a mono on. It was to highlight for a potential user/buyer that it is a great detector and in certain conditions equal to a newer detector. I also ask myself - how many mono users actually carry a DD in a day-pack when out detecting? Unless of course they detect within cooee of a vehicle like most people I see and then its a mute point. Want gold? Go bush.

 

[Ozjono]

i would defiantly go the garrett
with out being mean to minelab who make an excellent detector
the X terra range is a peace of crap,
the 705 is the top of the range of this series and will find stuff, but still not worth the money
its like buying a honda getz and racing it against a Holden ss
too many pceople have been disappointed with this range but great for the kids to use
i got a 305 for $100 from a mate who couldn't work it out and was about to though it in the bin
so i take it with me to the beach when i go fishing
it keep the kds entertained for hours and i get a few hours peace and quiet until they find a coin

Never seen a Honda getz before must be rare LOL maybe Hyundai. . as for the xterra range being shit there definitely not.
there a great machine if you learn how to use it properly .but if chasing gold buy a something suited

 

[thebeans]

wot would u buy ozjono for the money I have

 

[Goldpick]

Hi Beans
Some very good points have been put forth so far.
For your budget IMHO there is no better choice than the SD2200d if you are in an area where you can run mono's on it all the better.
You said, train yourself on the VLF, IMHO opinion this is a common misconception, you will get the basics but remember they are 2 different tools & therefore are used differently ( like a hand saw V's a hacksaw )
cheers
Lee

I wasn't insinuating that using a VLF was pre-training for a PI machine, as you mention, they are operate under completely different principles, but basics can still be learnt about general detecting and how targets react, how to read the ground etc etc. I believe it's a bit like learning to navigate properly via using maps, compass and a protractor before jumping out and buying a GPS. A bit old school thinking, but I believe you can learn a lot that way.

 

[Tassie Daz]

Hi the beans, Mate I've been looking to buy a new detector too. I've waited for the new ATX to hit the market and while waiting I have downloaded and read the manuals for the GPX 5000, Xterra, AT Pro, AT Gold, Whites, and the ATX. I have also downloaded watched and saved about 20 videos on the Garrett and ML. I decided to settled on the ATX for only one reason. I could afford $3000, but couldn't afford $6,000. All the guys on this and other forums will tell you to buy the best you can afford so that's where it really sits. I dont think my ATX will "reach" as far into the soil as the GPX but I have to live with that because that's the decision I had to make. It seems the make of detector will invoke much discussion and emotion because we all think the decision we make is the best. What ever you buy mate, good luck with it and I hope you don't end up finding the nugget that's got my name on it.........cause I haven't found mine yet. Good luck none-the-less. TD

 

[Scoopa]

Hey 'thebeans' you've started something now! I look at it this way. Both the Garrett and Minelabs are good machines for the money. However the X-terra's give you a greater variety of frequencies for your dollars. That translates into great areas of application. As far as simplicity of use is concerned, if you are having problems setting either of these detectors up, you may reconsider going to anything else until you master these. I know XlV said his mate 'couldn't work it out' with the 305, in that case he hasn't got a hope in hell of using any other detector. The X-terra series are straight forward and simple "no fuss' machines. I've had the X-terra 70 & 705 both great. I have a 505 as a back up to my E-trac. They've never missed a beat and would recommend them. I think it's a little bit like Holden V's Ford