Minelab XTerra 705 or Fisher F5 Detector for beach & prospecting

[Renatab]

Hi there, I'm new to prospecting and my husband have the fever. I want to purchase a Metal Detector. Would you recommend The Minelab XTerra 705 or F5 detector? Would you recommend Ebay, gumtree or going direct to Minealab site as I would feel safer with warranty. I live by a beach in Sydney and have seen people in wet suits prospecting on the ocean floor. I assume water proof ones are pricier.. Over the school holidays I want to take the kids gold prospecting and go camping. So it needs 2 uses gold and coins by the beach. I'm confused by the the dual coil or not.. Any advice or if anyone is selling their detectors please let me know

 

[silver]

Welcome to the forum Renatab.

 

[Heatho]

Hi Renatab and welcome to the forum. To start with I'll say I've been quite successful detecting around the Northern Sydney area, it's a great passtime and can earn you a few dollars and other valuables. On the other hand gold prospecting/detecting can be very very difficult and frustrating, don't let that put you off though as it can be a great experience to find a gold nugget, very rewarding feeling when you find one.

To be totally honest I would not select either of those 2 detectors for gold detecting as they will struggle on our highly mineralised soils, the Xterra 705 is a very good detector but it stuggles on wet beach sand, though for parks and dry sand it is excellent. I would not recommend the 705 for gold either. But for a coin hunter it is very good

The Fisher detector I have absolutely no experience with so I can't compare the 2.

One new detector that is getting good reviews is the Makro Gold Racer, Nenad here on the forum has found a couple of pieces of gold with his and recommends them as a good budget detector for find shallow gold. Link to Nenad's video test of the Gold Racer. The gold racer would probably be good for the beach and parks also. https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16502

Dedicated gold detectors (PI, pulse induction) are usually very expensive and quite difficult to operate for a novice but there is one that you can get under $4000 and that is the Minelab SDC2300, it is very easy to operate and does indeed find gold. There are older Pulse Induction gold detectors that are cheaper but they are quite difficuilt to operate without lessons.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask, hope we can help you select a detector that meets your needs. Everyone is quite friendly on here and there are some very experienced gold prospectors here also.

I would not buy from ebay or gumtree either as there are a lot of fake detectors from China floating around, when you have made a selection members here can point you towards reputable dealers.

 

[Renatab]

Hi Heatho
Thanks so much for your detailed response. We are leaning towards the Makro Gold Racer although are dreaming about the Minelab SDC2300. As such an expense would have to be justified and be sure we make a return. At the moment this will start as a hobby.. Have people found anything good on the beaches? On average how much can you make ie $50 a week. Over the holidays we'll be in Gympie so will start using it for gold prospecting over the Easter holidays..

 

[Heatho]

No Worries, glad to be of assistance. Beaches can be a very good place to detect, some great finds can be had, money, Jewellery, pre decimal coins. $50 per week once you know a bit more about detecting is very possible, occasionally in good spots $50 per session is quite possible.

I mainly detect parks, I have found they seem to pay the best for me, others really prefer the beach, I'm sure you'll work out where you prefer after a few sessions.

Today in a park I found almost $20, a couple of Sixpence and a Florin from 1953. Check out these links for stuff found today on the forum.
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=235415#p235415

Rocket (Greg) found a nice big Silver chain. https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=235380#p235380

When you're up in Gympie there are a few guys on the forum that head out there panning and sluicing quite often, I'm sure if you were to post up a thread in the Member meet ups section they might offer to help with a day panning or maybe help with an area to try detecting. Wouldn't hurt to ask anyway.

 

[Goldpick]

You don't always have to outlay over $3000 to try out one of the more high end detectors. Some detector shops will allow you to hire or try before you buy, so something that might be worth enquiring about if wanting to give something like an SDC a go. Although some shops will require a hefty deposit before venturing out, as theft has been an issue in recent times.

 

[Renatab]

My husband is obsessed with Minelab SDC2300 but if we put it on our credit card how can we recoup the expense? However spending $1000 can also be as a waste of money if no gold is found

 

[Ramjet]

My husband is obsessed with Minelab SDC2300 but if we put it on our credit card how can we recoup the expense? However spending $1000 can also be as a waste of money if no gold is found

Research research research. If you expect to get your money back in a short time you will most likely be disappointed. Most of us are not in it for the money.

The sdc is a gold detector but is for gold. Not much good in parks etc for coins.

As well as those mentioned above the Garrett At Pro is another good machine. Fully waterproof but maybe not the best detector in wet, salty sand. Many detectors struggle on the beach.
XP Deus is also worth looking at. For pure beach hunting the Minelab sovereign is hard to beat. CTX 3030 is the minelab big gun in the coin detecting side of it.

Good luck.

 

[rocketaroo]

fors gold+ worth investigating

 

[Heatho]

If you want to fast track your first gold nuggets the SDC 2300 is certainly the way to go, they are expensive but if you put your coil over a piece it will detect it in even the worst and most heavily mineralised ground. The good thing about the SDC is if you buy 2nd hand they will generally hold their value, if you buy new they will generally lose $1000 if you want to sell it. Just the way it goes......

Most people into coin shooting and gold nugget detecting will usually have 2 or even 3 detectors.

 

[Renatab]

Thanks for everyone's help this forum is excellent. We're looking into a second hand SDC 2300 for $3000 although I understand people do this as a hobby. We hope we can at least pay off the detector in the first year with gold finds.. Although I believe theres not many goldfields near Sydney. Are you saying the SDC 2300 isn't any good for the beach? As when my husband doesn't have work he could go to the beach.. Will it be ok as I thought it could work in the wet sand?

 

[Davent]

Sounds like you are getting plenty of good advice, which is great.
The SDC is pretty popular up here as well, but as pointed out, is a dedicated gold machine, not sure how it goes on coins etc.
My first machine was a whites mxt, which I bought as an all rounder. It did very well on everything (except gold) and I think the reaon for lack of gold, was where I was detecting, very well searched for years before me, the SDC guys got there before me!
I did find coins and assorted stuff on our local dog walking beach, cans, ring pulls, dog clips, collars, choker chains, coins, foil, etc, so the mxt from whites might be another option as an allrounder, also has a fair selection of coils.

 

[Heatho]

Thanks for everyone's help this forum is excellent. We're looking into a second hand SDC 2300 for $3000 although I understand people do this as a hobby. We hope we can at least pay off the detector in the first year with gold finds.. Although I believe theres not many goldfields near Sydney. Are you saying the SDC 2300 isn't any good for the beach? As when my husband doesn't have work he could go to the beach.. Will it be ok as I thought it could work in the wet sand?

The SDC is excellent for beach hunting but has no discrimination, that means you will be digging every single target, some people actually prefer no discrimination. With discriminating detectors you can work by the different tones and different numerical readouts they give and actually avoid a lot of trash like beer bottle tops and iron, or set them to totally ignore a lot of trash altogether. The SDC certainly does work well in wet sand.

Remember though that gold prospecting/fossicking is very difficult and you can have many goldless trips and get a bit of heartbreak, I still enjoy it though, it's a real challenge. If you have property or friends with property in the goldfields that will give you a big advantage.

To be honest I don't think I'll ever pay off my gold detectors but I paid off my CTX 3030 in 3 months detecting local parks.