Minelab Go-Find information, questions

[undercover]

Thanks for the write up mate, was wondering how they went, picked up a demo model in a shop and had a fidget with the folding mechanism and theyre clever.

Yeah it serves its purpose in anyones armoury I guess, I often go away on the bike so was also ideal for me size, weight and packing wise.

 

[undercover]

Good to hear you experiences on the Go-find 40, you are correct in it not feeling like the most sturdy detector out there, bit of a trade off for the compactness of the detector I guess, though in the long term it will be interesting to see if they stand up to some abuse.

You really have to drop the sensitivity back a fair bit to get near any play equipment, though lose a fair bit of depth in doing so unfortunately - not really a fan of the square concentric coil. It certainly isn't the deepest detector around, and will often just sound off once rather than repeatable signals on deeper coins, probably better off as a detector for cherry picking shallow modern coins more than anything. In fact I'd go as far as to say my Ace 250 hits on deeper targets more positively, and offers a more expanded discrimination range vs the 4/5 segments on the go-find.

As I have mentioned previously, it is what it is, and that is a cheaper simplified detector for the kids, or for those just starting out to have a bit of fun with or to get acquainted with the hobby. If you want something to grow into as you become more experienced, there are other detectors on the market in a similar price range that offer more flexibility, accuracy and performance.

My Go-find 60 was mainly bought for the car for odd opportunity, though it needs a bit more of a run before I decide whether to place it in the keep/sell basket.

Thanks for the tip and advice on the sensitivity, will try that out my next run.

Presently for me, cherry picking modern coins is what I was after really. Coins on or just below the surface. Lots of sporting events and festivals around me every weekend. I now feel after todays test run this MD is easy and practicable, to have a quick swing after they have finished each week.

I was originally going to get the x-terra 705 Gold Pack but wanted to spend the money on a high banker (my main interest). This was purely a way to get acquainted with the hobby and be compact enough to carry around on my bike and in the car.

I'll try keep it in good condition and no doubt will see on eBay in the future when/if I upgrade.

 

[Hotrob]

Only things I will say about the this MD is the pick up is quite slow/delayed.

Not at all familiar with the Go Find range but your comment about the delay sounds to me like you may be swinging a bit too fast.
I'm still a newbie but I know when I started with the SDC I was going waaay to fast with my sweeps. Perhaps slowing your sweeps may bring your target /pick up back into coinciding.
Rob.

 

[GOFIND60]

Good review ive just recently got the 60 i got it for 370 but i had a 10 dollar voucher so 360

 

[Goldpick]

Saw this the other day, the Go-find fitted with coil connectors, aftermarket DD coil, and 35% depth increase (stock coil hardwired to board). Though the Go-find is a budget detector, would have been great to not have the coil hardwired, and offer some alternative concentric and DD coil as options.

https://youtu.be/tYNILQjc25A

Also thought this was an interesting clip on recovery speeds for the dreaded nail test, pretty good for a cheapy.

https://youtu.be/tYNILQjc25A

 

[Coinandtreasure]

Where would be the cheapest place 4 a gofind 20?
Ebay is $200 which is a little too much.
Is there n e ware else u guys know about?

 

[Wally69]

The only place I know that would be cheaper would be Anaconda but only when they had a special sale which they do regularly.

What you need to ask is "if I had it today, would I have found $20", there is your 10% discount.

 

[Macca50]

Anaconda have the GO20 on sale on line xmas special( $149 check out their web page.)

Cheers

Macca

 

[Ramjet]

It would be worth the extra to get the 40 at Anaconda. Only $25 above the normal price for a 20.

http://www.anacondastores.com/sports/electronics/metal-detectors/c/metal-detectors

 

[Goldpick]

Would definitely be worth paying the extra for the larger coil and pinpoint mode. Dang, $100 off the Go-Find 60, there goes my resale value.

 

[Eldorado]

Thinking about buying a gofind 40.I was told by the salesman that it will find gold.From my research on this forum,I do not agree with that.I have a couple of questions,has anyone owned a 40 and were you happy with it as a first detector? And why do the cheaper entry level detectors find gold rings on the beach or wherever but they won't find a gold nugget?

 

[Havinago]

I own a go find 40 it was my first detector, it will find gold jewellery and everything else that is metal to a depth of about 250mm depending on conditions (variables), and it would find a nugget if it was big enough and shallow enough, the thing is most nuggets people find a very small, much smaller than say a gold ring or chain. If you want to find nuggets and are prepared to spend the time searching you definitely need a higher end machine and preferably a PI type machine. For instance I own a Nota fors core which is a VLF (coin and relic type detector) and it would "maybe" find a gold nugget above say 0.5 grams but it would have to be very shallow (maybe no deeper than 50mm if that and hearing the signal would be quite hard) and the surrounding ground conditions would have to be right, but it would easily find jewellery depending on size and metal content ratios at depths well below 250mm depending on the type/size of coil i use and prevailing conditions (variables). So basically the amount of metal has to be at the right size and depth for each type of metal to disturb the field and give you a signal, and different machines are designed or tailored to perform with all the different variables taken into consideration. Other Comrades on the forum could definitely give a more technical explanation if needed.

 

[Heatho]

Most gold nuggets in Australia are in quite heavilly mineralised ground, most VLF detectors can't handle the mineralisation and will give constant false signals because they are not able to properly ground balance. This is why a good quality PI detector is what most people use in Aussie goldfields. This is why the minelab PI's are so popular as they are built for Aussie conditions.

 

[PhaseTech]

What Heatho & Havinago said is spot on - not to mention, the bigger shallow nuggets have been picked up long ago.
What's left is mostly very small, deep, in very mineralised soils....so you need everything in your favour - good machine, good technique, good ears, persistence, and be prepared to dig lots of holes.

There would still be quite a bit of gold in very trashy areas in the goldfields. Your best bet at getting these bits is with a very powerful VLF that has a good ground balance, and an adjustable iron reject, and a small DD coil would be a help too. The best units that come to mind are the Fors CoRe/Gold, Fors Gold + (which I'm currently testing), X-Terra 70/705, and possibly something like a Fisher Gold Bug and/or F75.

Now, I should probably clarify that when it comes to discriminating for gold, you only JUST want to ignore MOST of the larger shallower iron. This will minimise discriminating any gold. You will still have to dig any aluminium, brass, lead, etc.

Hope that helps

 

[ColinD]

I've found shot-gun pellets at 3 or 4 inches depth with the Nokta Fors, so it will pick up a little nugget if not too deep. It handles the soil around Ballarat very well too. I use it for relics, though because of where I am there is always the chance of a nugget. That said, they are well away from the GoFind 40 in price.
C
edit to add photo. $2 coin and shot found with Nokta Fors

 

[yazzombie]

Hi guys,
Ive just bought a mine labs go find 40 couple of days ago and already obsessed with looking for treasures on the beach. Just wondering if you have any tips for a noobie? Will the go find 40 be capable of finding gold at all or should i stick to beaches ? Anyhelp would be awesome thanks

 

[Wally69]

Welcome

There is more gold on the beaches than most goldfields

Looking forward to seeing what the go-find can extract 8)

 

[Ramjet]

Hi Yaz and welcome to PA.
The Gofind is a pretty basic, starter detector but I've heard good things about them. It will find d gold jewellery... if it is big enough and not too deep. OK in the dry sand but not so much in the wet I believe.
Good luck. Look forward to seeing your finds.

 

[Goldpick]

Hi Yazzombie, just moved your topic to the Minelab section, as you may get more tips here for your go-find than in the gold section, especially with regards to the beach detecting side of things. As you may have gathered, most will recommend to stick to more suitable areas like beaches and parks with such a detector, mainly due to not having a true all-metal mode with adjustable threshold.

You can start off by working the dry sand in a well frequented location, and grid up the area so you know where you have previously detected. You can do this by just dragging your foot in the sand to leave a line behind you, this will allow maximum coverage and ensure that you leave nothing behind. Wandering aimlessly all over the beach with no set plan will leave any possible finds up to lady luck, best to pick an area and stick to it until all targets are exhausted, and then move on.

Work parallel to the surf line/sandhills vs working from the sandhills down to the water line, the detector should ground track a lot more efficiently vs constantly changing from dry to wet and wet to dry agai . If you start to run along the damp/wet sand, you may have to drop the sensitivity to prevent false signals (none repeatable signals that reveal nothing when dug). Look for towel lines where people usually set themselves up for the day, often coins and jewellery are lost here, plus check any entrances to the beach where people tend to shake off their clothes and belongings before heading home.

If you have time, go down to the beach earlier in the day and note where most people are located, this will give you a good idea on where to start later in the day.

If you have any grassed areas on the foreshore, these are also good locations for shallow/recently dropped items.

Best to dig all targets to start off with, until you have confidence on how your detector operates and reacts to various items. Bury and detect a few coins and junk targets at various depths in the sand, this should give you more confidence on knowing what to listen for, and show you the depth capability of your detector. Good luck with your detecting.

 

[David22]

Hi guys I'm new to the metal detecting game. A few weeks ago I had a try of a mate's X-terra 705 and learned a bit about the detecting game however he does gold prospecting with his. I'm considering buying a detector and came across the go find 60 and was immediately enticed by its ability to fold up.

Most of the detecting I'll be doing is around local beaches and parks however there are a couple of ex-military areas nearby which I was thinking I could go snoop around. I'm also planning a trip to europe in September to go visit some of the battlefields and I was thinking that since the detector is so light I might just take another checked bag and take the detector and try it out on some battlefields.

I set my budget at around $300 and I found the Go-Find on eBay for $320 plus $10 P&H and I decided that it is close enough to my budget that I can purchase it.

So in a nutshell: I need a good light and portable detector that is easy to use and good for relic hunting around the $300 mark, is the go-find 60 the way to go?

Cheers
David