My First Impression of the new SDC 2300

[Goldpick]

That ozyprospector clip shows a 1.6 gm specimen dug out of a pretty deep hole, so looks like it still gets pretty good depth on gold around a gram, even with the stock 8" coil. It's probably not going to find your retirement nugget, but the small pickers will add up over time.

 

[Borat70]

Hey there Nenad, what do you think are the chances of getting Minelab to chuck a SDC into a F3 green casing?
James

 

[Diggerdude]

Haven't tried it yet but I doubt that mate. Basically it is like running a 5000 on slightly faster timings then smooth with tracking going and a 8" coil on. Which will still get big ones , it's just better at tiddlers. Combined with the anti emi abilities , I think it will easily pay itself of in a few weeks detecting.

DD

I've got a lot of respect for you DD , when you get yours try testing it to see what the cut off point is with bigger bits , have a gut feeling is only set for very shallow little bits just like the military version is to detect the small metal parts within plastic land mines . :8

I will be sure to give it a full workout and let you know the results mate. It's got all different guts in it to the f3, I heard minelab say earlier that they just used the case etc and the actual electronics are new.
I have a super hot laterized test pit on my lease here, that should push it too it's limits, even some powerlines nearby

DD

 

[PhaseTech]

Hey there Nenad, what do you think are the chances of getting Minelab to chuck a SDC into a F3 green casing?
James

Pretty unlikely, but I'd want one too!

 

[IanSDC]

I'm new to the forum and just bought myself a SDC2300 from Miner's Den in Adelaide. Very impressed with the build quality of the unit! Its very rugged and should survive just about anything short of a nuclear blast. I have an electrical/electronic background and have worked on lots of expensive instruments and machines but gotta say my initial impression is that its impressive. I'd like to open it up and see if the quality is just as good on the inside but that would void the warranty

I have a mine not far from where I live that has not seen too many detectors so I will take it for a spin later tomorrow. Only discovered it recently and spent a couple of hours looking around with my 705 so anything is possible. It was a low yield fine gold in quartz reef that ran out quickly but you never know.

One thing I found with the SDC2300 is that it requires rechargeable C size NiMh batteries with a minimum of 4000 mAh rating. It comes with 4 x Powerizer 5000 mAh so I wanted to get another set straight away as spares. The problem is that rechargeable C cells of 4000 mAh rating and over, are not picked up at Supermarkets or local shops. Miner's Den dont carry them as spares and its such a new product that it seems no one thought that they would be hard to source. The smart battery charger that comes with the detector looks cheap and nasty but seems to work well although I think I will get something a little better.

Anyone looking for batteries might appreciate knowing that Dick Smith has them available in capacities or 4500 mAh. I located a source in Adelaide for the same as original, Powerizer 5000 mAh units at The Battery Co. They didn't have stock at present, normally do as these batteries are used in surveying instruments that use lasers. I ended up buying a set of 5000mAh batteries from urbanoutback.com for a pretty good price. All the shops mentioned above have Australian websites and I tried to post the links but newbies aren't allowed till 7 posts.

I look forward to reading more about this detector and watching the Nenad videos, never thought a phone video would be so interesting. The link to the videos seems to have gone missing anyone one know whats happened to them?

Ian

 

[G0lddigg@]

Hi IanSDC welcome to the forum,

Sounds like you ahve a nice spot to investigate cant wait to hear how you go, appreciate the info sometimes it can be a pain in the ass to source batteries just last week I purchased a torch whihc required 18650 batteries do you think i could fin them here.... ended up ordering some from HK on ebay and another set exactly the same from sydney x 6 times the price

thanks and good luck out there

 

[Teemore]

hi and welcome to the forum IanSDC,
I have also purchased one and fired it up for the first time yesterday,
Went to a obscure old digging site, no recent record of anyone finding anything there that I know of, had earmarked it for some dry washing when thing dry out/warm up a bit, but it's the closest to home.
Ground was wet and soggy with occasional drizzle, only managed just under 2 hours ...... alas no gold but the unit was a breeze to use, quiet as a lamb. recovering targets was messy/difficult due to the wet conditions finished up with 3 nails, 2 bits of lead, small piece of rusty iron and what is probably an old chain link depths ranged from 3 to 6 inches, also a few screamers which were old tins/lids could pick them as trash straight up.
Any issues?? .. probably not the most balanced weight wise, have a harness but didn't bother with it, not yet sure about no volume control, not that it needed it but in different conditions who knows. Pin pointing probably took a bit longer than normal but that should improve with use. Other wise pleased a punch. (Golddigg@ ... will be in touch).
Ian .. get out there and enjoy it, nice unit to detect with.
Cheers Tom

 

[PhaseTech]

Hi Ian,

Here is a link to my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3CbJxNXNW0

Regarding C cells, my local dick smith had the 4500mah batteries and they have been working well. I have put in an order from a European battery manufacturer for some c cells with a higher capacity than the supplied powerizers. Not sure yet what the final cost will be as shipping will come into consideration.

Cheers,

Nenad

 

[washgravel]

Well, there should be a heap of units hitting the goldfields this week, so reports from other users will surely be coming.
Here's another video I did in some more mineralised ground at Jupiter Creek. Some of the locals will surely recognize the spot

Hello Nenad,

I am new to the forum and I am wondering do you have any idea as to the Auto Tracking speed on the SDC 2300 which I assume would be the Fast one as in the menu on a 5000 therefore allowing the SDC being able to cope with the mineralised ground so much better as in your video?

If I may ask another question I am also wondering in regards to the Audio Pitch (Tone) setting you were operating with which I again assume is the High: 720Hz 15 position and not the other which is the Low: 550Hz 15 position, that is, if there is only 2 positions for this Tone setting?

Thanks and Regards,

washgravel

 

[PhaseTech]

Hi Washgravel,

Not sure what the tracking speed is, but as this is totally new circuitry, I would think that the tracking speeds don't relate to the tracking that's in the GPXs. But in terms of how it runs, I'd say it seems to be close to the Medium speed - but don't quote me on this.

In terms of performance, the SDC is clearly more sensitive than Fine-Gold (I will demonstrate this in the next video) and seems less affected by mineralisation compared to Fine, however it is not totally immune. The BIG advantage in my opinion is the fact that the SDC seems to just cruise past charcoal. Whether this is the Tracking being more effective or a bonus advantage of MPF I couldn't say.

Yes there are two Tone options, Low and High. To switch, simply hold down the Audio button when turning the unit on. I like the sound of the Low tone, but through the Koss, the high tone does seem to have an edge on those borderline signals. If you get a bad emi day (common here in the Adelaide hills) the low tone seems to smooth out the threshold a bit. I haven't really paid attention to it, but I do think that in my videos that are up have all been in the High tone.

GPX 5000 users don't despair, the SDC won't touch it for depth on solid nuggies, or larger pieces.

Cheers,

Nenad

 

[washgravel]

Hi Washgravel,

In terms of performance, the SDC is clearly more sensitive than Fine-Gold (I will demonstrate this in the next video) and seems less affected by mineralisation compared to Fine, however it is not totally immune. The BIG advantage in my opinion is the fact that the SDC seems to just cruise past charcoal. Whether this is the Tracking being more effective or a bonus advantage of MPF I couldn't say.

Cheers,

Nenad

Thanks again Nenad.

I look forward to your video demonstration in terms of the sensitivity performance of the SDC's MPF using, I assume, its 1 only timing and the GPX's MPS using its Fine-Gold timing.

Hopefully you will be using an 8" round mono coil on the 5000 for a fair comparison?

Robert

 

[Toysandthings]

Yes, be interesting to get our hands on these detectors as well.

Times r getting interesting.

Cheers.
Lee.

 

[dmnz]

hi Guys

I have an ATX and are pretty darn interested in the SDC for beach and water hunting - I wonder if anyone has a unit and can update us on their thoughts for use at the beach! or even give it a shot in saltwater! I know this is not the main aim of the machine, and maybe, just maybe the ATX is better suited for this application. Any thoughts?

Much appreciated

 

[IanSDC]

Hi Ian,

Here is a link to my youtube channel ...
Regarding C cells, my local dick smith had the 4500mah batteries and they have been working well. I have put in an order from a European battery manufacturer for some c cells with a higher capacity than the supplied powerizers. Not sure yet what the final cost will be as shipping will come into consideration.

Cheers,

Nenad

Thanks Nenad, much appreciated!

Ian

 

[xray1982]

Whats your best depth on gold with it so far Nenad? I have only found specs at 3 inches at best. all sub 1/2 gram too.

 

[PhaseTech]

Whats your best depth on gold with it so far Nenad? I have only found specs at 3 inches at best. all sub 1/2 gram too.

that's probably because that's the majority of what other machines have missed.

I haven't measured any of the gold finds yet, so not sure on depths. I did get a larger bit of lead at impressive depth which was lodged on the side of a thick tree root. Again, not measured but it was easily over 15cm.
Did a quick check on a 5c coin in an air test, and the 5000 in Fine Gold gets it about 5 cm better.

 

[PhaseTech]

Thanks again Nenad.

I look forward to your video demonstration in terms of the sensitivity performance of the SDC's MPF using, I assume, its 1 only timing and the GPX's MPS using its Fine-Gold timing.

Hopefully you will be using an 8" round mono coil on the 5000 for a fair comparison?

Robert

Hi Robert,

Your wish is my command Also threw in a 4500 in Enhance with 11" mono for good measure.

[video=480,360]http://youtu.be/VFHIBczslgI[/video]

 

[downhalo]

Awesome little machine.

 

[Heatho]

So hard to resist, really really trying............ Cool vid.

 

[washgravel]

Hi Robert,

Your wish is my command Also threw in a 4500 in Enhance with 11" mono for good measure.

Thanks for your video comparison and I would expect even the 5000 in FG setting with your tiny CT 6" round mono to still not match the sensitivity of the SDC on those tiny test targets.

I look forward to any further videos that you may post since a video can replace a thousand words or so as they say.