SDC2300 v Goldmonster 1000 (GM 1000)

[Rockhunter62]

Hi everyone. Just joined, first time poster. I recently moved to a known gold bearing area so i purchased a Gold Monster as an entry level detector for fine gold with the mindset that i was taking up a new hobby. I found a few little pieces and was very impressed overall, but after reading all the reviews and being totally hooked on detecting after my little finds i decided to "upgrade" to an SDC. I just have to say....and i say this through gritted teeth because this thing was f*** expensive for a student....that i'm extremely disappointed with the SDC after using the monster.

At this point, i would like to pause, backtrack a little bit and explain how i arrived at this point.

The GM instruction manual talks a big game regarding its auto and auto plus settings. The first 5 days of ownership proved this to be absolutely rubbish in Australian conditions and was the primary driving force in my decision to upgrade - the auto and auto plus settings are incredibly agressive and significantly decrease the sensitivity of the detector in the mineralised soil we have around here (warwick). I found my first gold nugget on day 5 after realising that manually setting the detector's sensitivity relatively high (around 6-7) and leaving it on gold only discrimination gave almost the same sensitivity to my little gold test target as the so-called 'deep all metal mode' but with much fewer false positives from hot rocks and mineralisation. Although i still got false positives, they were minor in tone and NOT repeatable making them easy to ignore and allowed me to continue detecting. The same gold target i used for testing did not register on the SDC - i repeat - did NOT register....AT ALL.
The SDC is immune to the hot rocks in this area which is great - i mean REALLY great. The GM would beep on everything coloured red and riding on the surface in all metal mode which got really annoying really quickly, necessitating the need for switching to gold only mode which made a huge difference when activated. Even in gold only mode (from my experience) the GM is more sensitive and will give a nice solid beep on a known fine gold target where the SDC signal is indistinguishable from its idle babble on the same target. Saying that the SDC is the gold standard in super fine gold is, in my experience a huge myth.

This is a big problem for me because my gold monster is now on ebay, with active bids (meaning it will sell), and i wonder now after using the SDC whether i am making the right decision. Honestly, every fibre of my being wants to go back to the monster. Sure it takes some getting used to and is prone to false positives....but it HAS found gold. To this date, here in Warwick, the SDC has not.

My summary - GM users should set their sensitivity high manually and leave the detector on gold only mode. Swing back and forth to find targets that repeat. SDC users enjoy your walk in the forest until you come across birdshot on the surface or a gold target large enough to register.

Suggest you put more time and effort into working out the SDC. The machine speaks for itself but it looks to me as the user is blaming his tools.

Cheers

Doug

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Recently sold my SDC as I just wasn't using it as I always grabbed the Z first.

Only time I really used the SDC in the last 6 months was putting it in the back pack and walking in to a reef/mine location.

Purchased a GM a few weeks ago and have used it 5 times now. Finds incredibly small gold and in gold mode and auto sensitivity it seems pretty good on hot ground/rocks - but will vary from one location to the next I'm sure.

Probably losing some depth compared to the SDC but I dug a bit of cigarette foil this afternoon that would have been at least 7 inches down - so will certainly pick up a bit of gold if it's a decent bit. And dug the foil today as it indicated on the gold side of the indicator only.

I'm very happy with my decision so far. It's very light and very simple to use and it seems to compliment the Z very well. You already have a PI in the GPX so maybe a GM would compliment your situation too?

I wrote a little blurb about how it handled in the 'Gold detecting show n tell' page a few days show if you're interested.

And it's $2500 cheaper than an SDC

Couldn't agree more. If you already have a capable PI machine, then having a VLF in your arsenal is a must.
Maybe forget the GM and get a NOX, I am pretty sure it will be just as efficient as the GM, especially with relative coils.

Good luck on your decision.

Rick

 

[shakergt]

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=25599

This covers it

 

[CoryDale]

G'day Mate,
Just a question- the gold you say does not register on the sdc- was it found with the monster? if yes, then that is the problem. VLF machines can see some gold that PI machines simply can't due to their surface area / texture. And again, the PI machines can see a LOT of gold that vlfs cant due to the ground noise and depth.
I had a customer with a monster recently find 6grms in Durikai and his mate with an sdc could not hear any of the targets. As soon as i saw the nuggets i could tell they are just the type of gold that sits in the window of a PI machine- hence the reason those pieces were still there in such hammered ground.
so don't stress about the sdc not hearing 1 nugget- chances are it is just simply a piece that does not respond well on a PI machine. Give it some time and you will get to love the sdc.
Cheers,
Cory - Miners Den brisbane

Hi everyone. Just joined, first time poster. I recently moved to a known gold bearing area so i purchased a Gold Monster as an entry level detector for fine gold with the mindset that i was taking up a new hobby. I found a few little pieces and was very impressed overall, but after reading all the reviews and being totally hooked on detecting after my little finds i decided to "upgrade" to an SDC. I just have to say....and i say this through gritted teeth because this thing was f*** expensive for a student....that i'm extremely disappointed with the SDC after using the monster.

At this point, i would like to pause, backtrack a little bit and explain how i arrived at this point.

The GM instruction manual talks a big game regarding its auto and auto plus settings. The first 5 days of ownership proved this to be absolutely rubbish in Australian conditions and was the primary driving force in my decision to upgrade - the auto and auto plus settings are incredibly agressive and significantly decrease the sensitivity of the detector in the mineralised soil we have around here (warwick). I found my first gold nugget on day 5 after realising that manually setting the detector's sensitivity relatively high (around 6-7) and leaving it on gold only discrimination gave almost the same sensitivity to my little gold test target as the so-called 'deep all metal mode' but with much fewer false positives from hot rocks and mineralisation. Although i still got false positives, they were minor in tone and NOT repeatable making them easy to ignore and allowed me to continue detecting. The same gold target i used for testing did not register on the SDC - i repeat - did NOT register....AT ALL.
The SDC is immune to the hot rocks in this area which is great - i mean REALLY great. The GM would beep on everything coloured red and riding on the surface in all metal mode which got really annoying really quickly, necessitating the need for switching to gold only mode which made a huge difference when activated. Even in gold only mode (from my experience) the GM is more sensitive and will give a nice solid beep on a known fine gold target where the SDC signal is indistinguishable from its idle babble on the same target. Saying that the SDC is the gold standard in super fine gold is, in my experience a huge myth.

This is a big problem for me because my gold monster is now on ebay, with active bids (meaning it will sell), and i wonder now after using the SDC whether i am making the right decision. Honestly, every fibre of my being wants to go back to the monster. Sure it takes some getting used to and is prone to false positives....but it HAS found gold. To this date, here in Warwick, the SDC has not.

My summary - GM users should set their sensitivity high manually and leave the detector on gold only mode. Swing back and forth to find targets that repeat. SDC users enjoy your walk in the forest until you come across birdshot on the surface or a gold target large enough to register.

 

[Rockhunter62]

Hi folks,

Here is a little comparison between the SDC and the Gold Monster 1000 on the type of gold we found recently. Please forgive me for my commentary as I am still not good at public speaking unless a few beers have been had beforehand .

The SDC was on sensitivity 5 threshold max and the GM was on all metals, Auto Plus and vol about 7. We didn't even try the GPZ as one had been tried in the area beforehand and only picked up a couple of small nuggets.



Remember folks we are only putting up what we have worked out to share with others. We previously were very sceptical of the GM's ability but have now found a use for it.

Cheers

Doug

 

[Rockhunter62]

Hi folks,

Another video supporting the Gold Monster's ability. Remember the SDC was not picking up these targets.



Cheers

Doug

 

[Way2go]

I am not an owner of an SDC2300.

I will need to get it out to prove that it works and finds the yellow stuff.
If it does, and by looking at the videos, I may need to get someone with a GM1000 to go over ground I visit, to see if I missed anything.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I am sure the GM will out perform the SDC when it comes to very small Gold, at present the GM is about the best LF machine on the market, In hot ground the SDC will reign supreme but for what the OP is talking about and for what aussie84 is talking about the area he is detecting almost any VLF or LF will have the edge,

Northeast is right with what he says in post #6, In medium soils I have found bits of metal and lead weighing as little as 0.006 grams using a hot VLF so the GM being an LF is going to be even hotter at bits weighing the same size or smaller, My soils are thick heavy sticky Clay where there is that much Iron and junk in the ground from WWII "Bomb Damage" It is impossible to detect there but I managed to find that piece of lead weighing 0.006gm at about 3/4" deep but took forever to locate it. It will see bits smaller on the surface although that's pretty cool to be able to do that, but there has to be a point you have to ask your self is it worth it,

The SDC finds extremely small Gold but is there a cut off point where prospectors say that's enough because the next step is panning if you go any smaller but these VLF/LF machines with the right Coils are bordering on pan sized Gold, Because once you find bits that small It took me over 20 minutes to locate it using a magnifying glass so then it becomes not practical with the time wasted, There is a video on YT of a guy showing how small Gold that my machine can see and he was getting VDI readings from about a dozen classified specs all separated in a plastic bag that he had found in above average mineralized dirt. But is it really worth all that effort to find such tiny specs ?

My want to find tiny stuff tells me to fit my hottest Coil but common sense tells me that you can have too much of a good thing,

John.

 

[isolation]

Hi folks,

Here is a little comparison between the SDC and the Gold Monster 1000 on the type of gold we found recently. Please forgive me for my commentary as I am still not good at public speaking unless a few beers have been had beforehand .

The SDC was on sensitivity 5 threshold max and the GM was on all metals, Auto Plus and vol about 7. We didn't even try the GPZ as one had been tried in the area beforehand and only picked up a couple of small nuggets.

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/XaC9A_0MtDQ[/video]

Remember folks we are only putting up what we have worked out to share with others. We previously were very sceptical of the GM's ability but have now found a use for it.

Cheers

Doug

Just my opinion, but I would have turned the SDC down to 3, and I ALWAYS keep the coil in contact with the ground. I could be wrong, but it looked you weren't scraping it on the ground.
I haven't used a GM, but I'm more than happy with the SDC. If I want gold smaller than 0.02g, I'll go sit in a creek

 

[Ded Driver]

I picked up a 2nd hand G/Monster (for $800 with cupla extra tools) so before I get out to Kalgoorlie in Sept I thought I'd try it out on junk (using the 10x5"coil. Our local trotting track has a large open grass/gravel area outside so I had a swing around there. This thing is so easy to use I was surprised. It easily discriminates aluminium from steel (thinks Al is Au). From this I have some idea how it talks & the different response/sounds for different metals/diff sizes. I was also making sure the unit was working properly. I'm liking it already & looking forward to trying it on the goldfields. It certainly picks up very small pieces of aluminium a couple of inches down.
For your amusement here's a pic of a beautiful nugget I located .......................................Aluminium cans been in a fire when they cleaned this area up.

 

[Rockhunter62]

Hi folks,

Here is a little comparison between the SDC and the Gold Monster 1000 on the type of gold we found recently. Please forgive me for my commentary as I am still not good at public speaking unless a few beers have been had beforehand .

The SDC was on sensitivity 5 threshold max and the GM was on all metals, Auto Plus and vol about 7. We didn't even try the GPZ as one had been tried in the area beforehand and only picked up a couple of small nuggets.

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/XaC9A_0MtDQ[/video]

Remember folks we are only putting up what we have worked out to share with others. We previously were very sceptical of the GM's ability but have now found a use for it.

Cheers

Doug

Just my opinion, but I would have turned the SDC down to 3, and I ALWAYS keep the coil in contact with the ground. I could be wrong, but it looked you weren't scraping it on the ground.
I haven't used a GM, but I'm more than happy with the SDC. If I want gold smaller than 0.02g, I'll go sit in a creek

Hi Isolation,

Thank you for the feedback. The coil was as close to the ground as possible as seen in the video you could hear it hitting the rocks on the ground. The target was in the leaf litter/surface so if I cleaned the material away the target would of moved also. Both coils were at the same height. I always try to keep the coil scraping the ground normally which is actually a bad habit for an ex mine detector operator. 8)

I can't remember what settings the original operator was using but I will pass on your idea about using sensitivity 3 instead. Personally I can't see a reason to dumb down the machine if it can work in the conditions we were in.

I only made this video to show people the GM's ability in these conditions not to in any way put down the SDC. The reason I posted it in this topic was because I found this topic before I could find the GM topic.

Cheers

Doug

 

[isolation]

All good Doug, I wasn't having a dig at all, and I appreciate your effort.

I don't see it as dumbing down the machine if its more stable and let's you hear the subtle target responses more clearly. It sounded quite chatty in the clip.
Perhaps I'm missing some detail watching the video on my phone.

As easy as it is to use, I think there is still some skill required in getting the most out of the SDC. I think that comes with time and experimentation, just as you have done with the GM.

Keep up the good work fella :Y:

 

[Gassman]

As a newbie...so confused now..am looking at a SDC 2300.. every one sez good..then I'm looking at prices n warehouse in brisse has got GPX 4599 now at same price...n a gold monster is almost a third of those prices again.. decisions to be made..i spose it still comes down to area.. operator then the machine n practice...??

 

[Muk]

Sdc easiest to use and nails gold cheers Muk.

 

[aussiefarmer]

I have a sdc but havent even seen a gold monster , but my understanding so far, is the gold monster has discrimination and that is the only thing it has over the sdc , Minelabs price scale pretty much tells you how good a machine is imo.

I have learnt alot since i made this statement and now my opinion has changed somewhat,

They are different technologies and therefore they will signal on different targets aswell as alot of the same targets, so either machine will clean an area out and wont find anymore , then if you grabbed the other detector theres a great chance other nuggets will signal . Sounds strange but i have seen it.

The gold monster will imo find smaller gold and have more chance on species. They both will find good sized gold and junk.
The sdc probably handles hot rocks a little better.

Well and truly out of date but the original post mentioned not having time to get the best out of a 4500.
The simple thing is to use the book settings and they are great gold finders , add a sadie coil or a 12x8 evo and they will sniff out most the tiny gold a sdc or monster will find.
I always worried about the learning process for 4500s and 5000s so didnt go that way but a mate how never had a detector got one and used the basic settings and it is a gold magnet.

I have said it before but now i am convinced , different nuggets signal to different detectors , and different coils and different settings and also different days /weather conditions.
To prove this to my self i grided a 2x6 meter hotspot , raked all debris and loose stones away , used the sdc there ,slow, low, overlapping and got gold on 6 different trips somedays i covered the patch 2 or 3 times to guarantee it was clean but would get more next trip , some of it could have been what channel the sdc tuned it self to each day on start up. I also ran a 7000 over it on a later trip and found 2 more small nuggets.

This phenomenon is why you can still get gold off a flogged area , that and the fact most people never cover every square inch.

 

[Gassman]

Thanks Muk .. sometimes i think I just need a couple of sieves n a pan to Muk around with,.but not much water around..in most places I'm going too.. sorry I used yer name in a bad way ..could not help it.. I'll just keep reading..I spose..does me head in.. perhaps gold monster for her..SDC for me... lol.. :awful:
.

 

[Booney]

Great thread guys ,lots of good info here :Y:

 

[SwiftsCreek]

Can people suggest a comparison on depth between a GM1000 and SDC2300?

The 12/14 year old kids need a smallish detector for hiking up in the hills around our property, I heard the GPZ7000 is heavy so its not a goer.

They found some gold as big as my thumbs just scraping around by eye on the top of the mountain range so we want to know which machine will be better depth wise?

We are not too concerned about the price.

You can keep the fly poop.

Which machine will go deeper on big ones?

 

[Goldtalk Leonora]

between the two you list......sdc 2300

 

[silver]

Thanks for the fly poop SwiftsCreek .... where exactly do I go. I just gotta check to make sure there's no E.L over it first... but I'll be there monday Arvo.

Sorry lads.... first in best dressed

And..... a big warm welcome to the forum for ya's all.