The gold monster 1000 VS the SDC2300 from someone who owns both

[aussie84]

Copied from a reply post, I'm hoping might be helpful to someone getting started as i currently am......

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 to the SDC - 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 at all 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, the SDC has not.

 

[mbasko]

No problem - keep the monster & give the SDC to your winning eBay bidder. They will be pleasantly surprised. :Y:

 

[HarryHoudini]

I have found the SDC to be really great machine. You need to have confidence in your machine. And may I say loads of practice. A turn on and go.
Sounds like you have already decided to move back to the monster.
Price maybe high but I will say all good Gold machines cost money. Really good machines are robust as they tend to be used in really harsh areas.

But I will say if you prefer the monster, sell your SDC and recover some money. I am sure you can sell quickly. The SDC tends to sell quickly.

Cheers

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Use whatever works for you.
But if you are trying to convince others who have used an SDC and GM that the GM is better or the SDC is rubbish, you are paddling the wrong way.

The right detector for the right location.

And as repeated many times on this forum.
Not one detector will do it all. No matter what anyone says.

But if I had a choice to go detecting I would pick an SDC over a GM 9 out of 10 times.

 

[aussiefarmer]

2 different technologies, its like a brick and a 4x2 , they sort of do the same thing but in totally different ways.

 

[Rockhunter62]

Hi Aussie,

One thing I noticed with the above post was that the student explained how the GM was set up but not the SDC. We have both and have now found gold with the GM. The SDC has definitely found more gold than the GM. We took a while to work out the settings on the GM and yes Auto Plus does work out to be about 6-7 in manual mode. If you start using higher settings in manual you will definitely get more false signals. We use it in Auto Plus All Metals for searching and adjust settings when we have a target. Most times we'll just dig the target anyway to enhance our knowledge of the tones to targets.

Our SDC up here in NQ is running flat out, i.e.: sensitivity range 5, threshold max.(2 or 3 led's lit up) No false signals here and to my knowledge no targets missed. We also run a BZ booster to twin speakers. The SDC will pick up hot rocks (hates basalt) but not as much as the GM. They are two different detectors.

We were in the same boat as the student after we got the GM. No confidence in it and many trips before we found gold with it. I like both detectors and my wife loves the weight of the GM. Like anything that you have tamed it is the same process to go through to tame another detector to be confident in it's abilities. I'm sure that the student would have been in the same boat as us if he bought the SDC first. Time and patience will prevail.

Hope this info helps others.

Cheers

Doug

 

[user 7268]

Have to agree Aussie ...................... those SDC's are useless. I'll trade you a new monster for it and I'll cover the post costs, the old Go Figure is about due for an upgrade :Y:

 

[aussie84]

Ok ok i think maybe I didnt get my point across that well. I am certainly not going to bin the SDC. The point I was trying to make was that the monster isnt terrible like all the videos online suggest, nor is the SDC the sure thing that its online reputation seems to suggest. Either way I AM certainly disappointed that it didnt find the nugget that the monster found in difficult ground so easily. It left me scratching my head as to whether or not my money was not as wisely spent as I thought it was. sorry if it sounded like I was pouring **** on the SDC that wasnt my intention, and Ill admit it does read like that now that Im re reading it. Heading out again this weekend

 

[HarryHoudini]

Aussie84, you just need to walk over the gold.
We dont find gold every time and the SDC is certainly up for the job if you walk over it.
Personally the SDC would be my pick over the monster.
Mind you a $1k monster will not compete with a $3.5k SDC machine but they all have their place.

Cheers

 

[MikeB05]

Guys so here is a true story based on walking the gold fields last weekend at Warwick Qld (Durikai).

Two of us..one with an SDC (me) and my mate with a GM1000.

He raked an area, asked me to swing over it...no response from my SDC (with Steelphase SP01 enhancer).

In front of me he swung over the exact same area with his GM and got a signal..dug it up...small 1/2 gram chuncky bit of gold.

My SDC would read and give a signal on this half grammer only when it was out of the ground. MY SDC completely missed it..not even a hint of threshold change going over this gold ...one inch under the dirt!!!

I talked to Minelab and they said...different machines read different types of gold. The GM being a LF picked up the chunky wiry gold and the SDC being single frequency PI missed it.

To finish the story...my mate then found two more nuggets in the same patch.. by the end of the week-end his total haul for the weekend 5 nuggets at 6.85grams with a GM 1000.

Me I got ZIP with my SDC.

I have previously found gold with my SDC but solid smooth sub-grammers not wiry chunk reefy type gold.

Minelab tell me ..nothing wrong with your SDC...different gold responds to different machines. Not great advice when I can only use one detector at a time and dont want to walk over gold with a machine that will not hear it.

Now feeling a bit bewildered and questioning confidence in my SDC

 

[Northeast]

Evening Aussie.

This little site is a great place to start when researching a detector. I keep putting it up for people to see as hopefully more newbies will see it, have a read and be better able to choose their weapon http://www.detectorprospector.com/gold-prospecting-guides/steve-guide-gold-nugget-detectors.htm

I am not wanting to sound harsh here but saying in your post that maybe the information you have put up may help someone in the future - unfortunately the guidance of a detectorist with 5 days experience on 2 new machines is probably not the best guidance for other new people entering the field. Again, not trying to have a go or start something, just my opinion. Happy to suggest a few things about both machines. And Ive owned both and still own a GM so feel that I can help with some practical experience.

Whoever told you that the SDC was the ducks guts on super fine gold was lying to you Im sorry. It is really good on really small nuggets - especially in mineralised ground. But it has its limits on tiny, tiny gold, and super fine gold - like what you get in a gold pan - is out of the reach of all detectors. For the SDC 0.01 and 0.02 of a gram is usually no problems but much smaller and it is going to depend on the ground, the day, the sensitivity setting, etc.

Why your SDC wouldnt see your test bit of gold - Im not sure. But different detectors will see different pieces of gold in different ways. I have read of people scrubbing sizeable pieces of wiry gold over the coil of a GPX and it doesnt make a sound - and thats a $5000 detector. But the GPX in many ways is the ultimate gold detector. Every machine doesnt get it all.

The GM is a highish frequency VLF. It does not eat mineralised ground for breakfast but it will find bits a fair bit smaller than the SDC, especially with the 6 coil.

Unless you have a dodgy machine there is a major depth disadavantage by detecting in Gold Mode. All Metal Mode will detect much deeper. On the machine it shows about an approximate halving of the depth in Gold Mode and in my experience that is about accurate. An almost 2 gram piece insitu could only be seen in Gold Mode when about 3 inches from it. In All Metal Mode it banged hard at 6 inches.

I am hearing what you are saying about hot rocks in All Metal Mode. They are a pain in the a$$ if you are running sensitivity too high. In hot ground I run in All Metal Mode but only on sensitivity at 3-4. Even at sensitivity 4 the GM is still VERY sensitive to small, shallow gold and it is usually much quieter on hot rocks/ground. People trying to run AMM at sensitivity 8 in hot ground are just asking for beep fatigue.

In some places like NZ they can run AMM and manual sensitivity of 10 due to really mild mineralisation. It would be a rare place in Oz that that can happen. Check out a few of John Wilsons Treasure Talks as he discusses his insanely mild ground a lot.

In another of the Minelab documents it also discusses manual versus auto and auto + sensitivity. In my experience auto sensitivity gives me about the equivalent of manual 2 or 3 in my area. The ground/rocks I detect are just too much for it and it automatically dumbs down the machine until its smooth/quiet. Yes, auto and auto + can send the machine to higher levels of sensitivity than manual 10 achieves but I personally believe those situations are rare and you would require insanely mild ground and essentially no EMI. Remote NZ perhaps?

JPs Treasure Talk or Knowledge Base articles on the Minelab website are also good starting points in running the GM.

Most of the videos that are on YouTube showing the use of the GM are terrible displays of how to use this detector and should just be ignored. Unfortunately that is what a lot of people look at before purchasing a new machine.

I know the GM is essentially sold but in my opinion you have the better machine remaining in your possession. It is called the Blue Hoover for a reason and in mineralised ground where the coil is actually going over some gold you should have a great time with it.

As others have said though, you wouldnt have any trouble getting rid of the SDC if you wanted to go for another GM. If you did that you might also look at the Equinox although small coil choice is limited at present. Apart from gold though, the Equinox will also double as a first class coin and relic machine if you decided to do that too.

If you want another GM I apparently have to sell mine to buy the Equinox. Ill keep having that argument with the good lady and if you see a GM for sale next week you will know who won

Heaps of research, reading and checking out much of Steve Hershbachs posts on his detectorprospector website re: the detector you may be considering is worth your while.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do :Y:

 

[Northeast]

MikeB05. Does sound a bit dodgy as some of those pieces sound a decent size. But PIs are better on solid bits.

Best to buy a GPZ - they get the solids and the wiry :lol:

 

[Dron]

Now feeling a bit bewildered and questioning confidence in my SDC

Half gram piece my gut tells me the SDC should have picked it up easy ... I've dug .19g piece at 13cm with the SDC ...

What settings were you using on the SDC? What settings were you using on the SP01?

Were you using headphones?

All machines are different though. I've had a mate pick up a gram nugget with his GP3000 and 17" coil on a raked area I'd been over multiple times with the SDC. It was just too deep for the SDC to see I'm guessing. There are many variables.

Confidence in your machine is critical to success, so I hope you find a solution.

 

[MikeB05]

MikeB05. Does sound a bit dodgy as some of those pieces sound a decent size. But PIs are better on solid bits.

Best to buy a GPZ - they get the solids and the wiry :lol:

Thanks Northeast.

Minelab have asked me to run some physical tests on my SDC before they will consider checking it.

Given all the tech in these expensive machines it's weird they they don't have a port for plug-in diagnostics to ensure the machine is running as intended. Even the cheapest motor cars have that.

 

[Northeast]

Mike, thats actually a great point. To be able to plug your machine into your computer (like the GPZ, CTX and Equinox already do) and for Minelab to be able to connect straight to your computer or you connect to an app for diagnostics. Could tell all sorts of things about power levels, circuitry, connections. I am not the most technically advanced bloke but it seems like it wouldnt be that difficult?

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Guys so here is a true story based on walking the gold fields last weekend at Warwick Qld (Durikai).

Two of us..one with an SDC (me) and my mate with a GM1000.

He raked an area, asked me to swing over it...no response from my SDC (with Steelphase SP01 enhancer).

In front of me he swung over the exact same area with his GM and got a signal..dug it up...small 1/2 gram chuncky bit of gold.

My SDC would read and give a signal on this half grammer only when it was out of the ground. MY SDC completely missed it..not even a hint of threshold change going over this gold ...one inch under the dirt!!!

I talked to Minelab and they said...different machines read different types of gold. The GM being a LF picked up the chunky wiry gold and the SDC being single frequency PI missed it.

To finish the story...my mate then found two more nuggets in the same patch.. by the end of the week-end his total haul for the weekend 5 nuggets at 6.85grams with a GM 1000.

Me I got ZIP with my SDC.

I have previously found gold with my SDC but solid smooth sub-grammers not wiry chunk reefy type gold.

Minelab tell me ..nothing wrong with your SDC...different gold responds to different machines. Not great advice when I can only use one detector at a time and dont want to walk over gold with a machine that will not hear it.

Now feeling a bit bewildered and questioning confidence in my SDC

Durikai has some strange patches that can be so noisy to PI's. Wouldn't surprise me if the SDC dumbed itself down. Nothing surprises me out there.

Oh...and my SDC found me reef gold without any problems. Ranging from all sizes. Whilst the MAKRO GOLD RACER (Higher frequency than GM) had problems on some, others it heard. Have it on video. Makro grunts, SDC sings. And it was all reef gold, which is not smooth at all.

Even ZED can have some trouble in certain areas.
But in saying all that, a VLF can still do okay out there, just depends on all the factors.
I could be wrong, and don't take this badly, but it sounds like your mate is more in tune with his GM than you are the SDC. Whichever machine you decided to swing for the day, you need to get to learn what it is doing and not doing, and that it will not find it all.

SDC's can punch deep on the smallest of targets, but dirt in between the coil and skid plate can reduce that. And even mask signals.
Or EMI, or ground. No machine is perfect.

See, GM's and VLF's false a lot, and a lot of time can be spent trying to decipher if the signal is worth digging. The SDC is a dig me signal, no mistaking it, no matter how faint the threshold break. So when you find a target with the SDC, which tend to be clear as day, even if your mate comes over and tests it with his GM, he will know there is a target there, without needing to decipher if its worth digging. So it will always tend to pick it up. When you reverse the scenario, it becomes different.

A VLF will probably punch deeper, but a PI type will punch clearer. It is a YES or NO scenario, very rarely in between, unlike VLF's.
And that time saved is time saved detecting more ground. But you need headphones out there, especially with these machines.

Then again, a VLF can have some sort of discrimination, even if it is just iron discrimination, and this can also save times digging junk.

Back to the beginning again.

Not one detector is the best, it all comes down to sticking to one, and knowing its limitations.

Good luck

I hope you and the SDC end up getting along better.
I hate to see a damaged relationship.

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Even a GPZ, you can't do it all in one swing. You need to decide what type of gold you are looking for and what ground and then run the settings accordingly.
If you want the real deep stuff, then you will sacrifice the shallow small stuff. And vice versa.

BUT THE GPZ STILL KICKS BUT OVER ALL :Y: :Y: :Y: :Y: :Y:

 

[Moneybox]

We've struck the same difficult to detect gold over here. The 4500 ignored it and the SDC only got the big bits. We got another 2 oz out of a small patch with the Jackwinder (drywasher). Same thing, a lot of it was up to 0.5g and the SDC never knew it was there.

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=23832

 

[maulbrooks]

Hi,
Horses for courses. These are 2 different machines trying to find fine gold in different ways. The sd2300 is probably closer to the ideal given the overall mineralisation of Australian soils. Detectors send out a magnetic field that cuts across the conductive small nugget inducing a small current in the nugget which creates its own magnetic field which is read by the detector. The Gold monster is a cheaper VLF detector that blasts continuous high frequency that greatly excites currents into the small nugget causing a larger magnetic field, easily read by the receive coil of the detector. If this was the only consideration the gold monster would be superior to the sdc. However blasting high frequency from a transmit coil also excites currents in iron and other minerals in the soil masking the nuggets magnetic field so the detector cant see it. Using gold mode or auto balance etc to try to overcome this problem just makes the gold monster worse than the sdc2300.
The SDC2300 is a single frequency single coil pulse detector. It sends one pulse into the ground then listens for a magnetic field. The delay in listening allows the nuggets field to decay quickly. A pulse induced magnetic field is much smaller and shorter lived than those induced by high frequency detectors and this coupled with the fact the the smaller the nugget the smaller the field means the sdc can miss small nuggets especially if the coil is moved on quickly. However the sdc can detect small nuggets deeper in mineralised soils. So which detector depends on where in the world you are. Most of the cost of better detectors in Australia comes from overcoming mineralisation.
So these videos of detector air tests on small nuggets are worthless comparisons, the only value of an air test is to demonstrate if your detector is working properly. Cheers