The great debate what detector to use

[G0lddigg@]

get yourself a used minelab mate. you wont be disapointed. VLF is a slow learning curve and minerals will really limit your detecting. ive seen some great deals come up lately... actually Lee has one on here https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8331

what you ahve to realise is once you buy a detector you WILL end up buying other coils. if you can find a good package like this you should not ahve top spend any more money for a long time.

 

[KarlS]

I'm glad you are back mbasko. I reckon the choice of detector depends also on how frequently are you going to use it. I'm doing coin shooting almost every day and for that I use Minelab X terra 705 that works great on coins. I go to gold fields not so often and for that I use White's SPP and I'm happy with it. On positive side, it is much simplier to use, very quite and affordable. On negative, it will not search as deep as Minelab and it will not pick very small gold that Minelab does.
For someone going to search for gold just few times a year and is on limited budget, it is very good detector. And with addition of conductivity switch it can be used in parks and beaches for coin shooting.
Karl

 

[Tassie Daz]

Hi DD, Don't know about Minelab, haven't got one and probably wouldn't buy one, but I am a Garrett man. I have 2, the ATX {very exxy, $3990] but for your budget and extremely easy to use is the Garrett AT Pro for the coins, and the AT Gold for the yellow stuff. As I say, extremely easy to use and I have to tell you the Pro makes easy work of pulling coins from the ground. In an hour yesterday, 3 predecimals, a couple of days ago, $10 in coins and a 1933 KGV penny. Dead easy to use. Be interested to see what you end up with. Any questions Msg me. TD [$900 - $1000 in OZ, $600 if your inclined to buy from US]
BTW, you'll get info from all on here with the views that theirs is the best detector. In the end it'll be your call and one you live with. All the best. And happy swinging.
NB. lots of vids on NQEXplorers featuring both the AT Pro and Gold.

 

[Redfin]

For someone going to search for gold just few times a year
Karl

If I was only visiting the Goldfields a few times a year I would buy the best coin detector I could, something waterproof that will handle black sand etc.
And rent when going after Gold.

 

[G0lddigg@]

For someone going to search for gold just few times a year
Karl

If I was only visiting the Goldfields a few times a year I would buy the best coin detector I could, something waterproof that will handle black sand etc.
And rent when going after Gold.

spot on!

 

[user 4485]

Mbasko buddy ol'Pal....
Nice to see your return has bought you back where you left off'

The man wants a gold detector that he can hunt coins and relics and on a budget so not a bl??dy MineLab that won't work in town.

Also the TDI SL is not sold here in Australia so it shouldn't be compared to any other machine' on that note the upgrades to the SPP' that allows it to work faultless in HIGH mineralised soil and not to mention BAD EMI with a mono, has the same circuitry as the TDI SL so if anyone wishes they could make the simple changes to their SL and it would also work extremely well here in Australia.
Any new SPP from Goldsearch already has the upgrades from factory' Iv got all 3 The SPP,SL & TDI pro but still recommend the SPP.

MineLab Vs Whites again! it's personal choice ones more expensive and they are both good at finding lots of bullets...

Thanks mate! Good to see the Uncle Sam crew still crowing as usual but still nothing showing!

I think I wrote somewhere above that the Whites are ok for the money. Not bagging them completely - just my opinion they aren't as good as Minelab on goldfields. An opinion shared by some high profile detectorists & even Reg has said for 1/2 the price you can't expect them to match Minelab.

 

[user 4485]

I'm glad you are back mbasko. I reckon the choice of detector depends also on how frequently are you going to use it. I'm doing coin shooting almost every day and for that I use Minelab X terra 705 that works great on coins. I go to gold fields not so often and for that I use White's SPP and I'm happy with it. On positive side, it is much simplier to use, very quite and affordable. On negative, it will not search as deep as Minelab and it will not pick very small gold that Minelab does.
For someone going to search for gold just few times a year and is on limited budget, it is very good detector. And with addition of conductivity switch it can be used in parks and beaches for coin shooting.
Karl

Hi Karl - no doubt for your use the SPP does its job. May suit the OP too but would depend on area/how often etc. etc.
Just think for dedicated gold detecting Minelab is the go - for me & many others anyway. Really can't see much use in trying to get a "do all" detector because honestly I don't think one exists. For various tasks you need various suitable detectors.

 

[Guest]

I don't hang with Uncle Sam. I'll share one photo....

Found on two outings in two different locations, I agree whites Pi's don't get the depth of a Minelab but is depth what finds most gold? Maybe where you look.

 

[Big Nugget]

G'day Dirtdiggin,

instead of looking at brands, look at the features they offer.

Then ask yourself, do I want to be able to manually tune the detector for different ground, or do I want a machine that will do this automatically, maybe with a compromise on certain types of ground, but easier to use most of the time.

The former will take a while to learn, the latter is switch on and detect.

PI & VLF - PI's generally go deeper than VLF's, and work better on hot ground. ( most of our Goldfields are red hot).

One of the sponsors of this forum is Minersden who only sell Minelab, (not that there is anything wrong with that )
Maybe any Whites recommendations could jeopardize the forums ongoing support, which is fair enough.

cheers

 

[G0lddigg@]

G'day Dirtdiggin,

One of the sponsors of this forum is Minersden who only sell Minelab, (not that there is anything wrong with that )
Maybe any Whites recommendations could jeopardize the forums ongoing support, which is fair enough.

cheers

thats just not the case .... the forum is completely impartial and open to support from sponsors who want to introduce their products.

I personally used a gmt for some time its a great detector and i would buy a whites again in a heartbeat if i didn't live in such hot ground. The biggest problem i had with the gmt was it was so sensitive on small gold that i would struggle with so many targets in an around creswich. i don't want to dig every little flake.

Minelab, Garrett, Whites all have proven history in Australian conditions like youve said above its about the features. size of gold, depth, mineralisation all things that are hard to know when your getting started. I still reckon renting first is the way to go.

 

[Big Nugget]

G'day Dirtdiggin,

One of the sponsors of this forum is Minersden who only sell Minelab, (not that there is anything wrong with that )
Maybe any Whites recommendations could jeopardize the forums ongoing support, which is fair enough.

cheers

thats just not the case .... the forum is completely impartial and open to support from sponsors who want to introduce their products.

I personally used a gmt for some time its a great detector and i would buy a whites again in a heartbeat if i didn't live in such hot ground. The biggest problem i had with the gmt was it was so sensitive on small gold that i would struggle with so many targets in an around creswich. i don't want to dig every little flake.

Minelab, Garrett, Whites all have proven history in Australian conditions like youve said above its about the features. size of gold, depth, mineralisation all things that are hard to know when your getting started. I still reckon renting first is the way to go.

Fair enough mate

I agree that the GMT is tough on hot ground. ( sorry Meta. However, you prolly are the exception, seen it for myself )

But you cant compare apples with oranges, the Whites PI's are great on hot ground. Hot ground hasn't beaten my TDI yet, but it did beat the operator early on :8 .
Throw on a different coil and you start again.

I find the 6" coiltek mono great for trashy areas and it keeps me busy on the small stuff too.

Renting is good advice G0lddigg@

Like you said, all these detector's have runs on the board so each to their own.

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Dirtdiggin' where abouts are you if your close I'd be happy to meet for a swing?

 

[Ridge Runner]

Whites Are Made In The US, and so are Garrett

Yes from locally & internationally, including Asia + China, componentry!
As for the rest dribble, blah, blah, blah. The OP wants to know about gold detectors for Australian conditions not your MXT coin/relic hunting in Europe or wherever you are now. When was the last time you found natural gold with that MXT on an Australian mineralised goldfield?

I'm with Lee - get a Minelab that has the runs up. For mine, even though I have found gold with a Whites on Australian goldfields, they just aren't in the same league on our ground. Too much peeing around testing, modifying, etc. with their PI machines & not enough valid evidence of how good they supposedly are. Wasn't that long ago the TDI SL wasn't even recommended for use here or sold by Aussie dealers. Now we are led to believe that a watered down version (SPP) is supposed to be the ducks nuts. Funny how they didn't sell in the target area of Africa & now we have them here under a different name.

The Last Time I found Gold was just out side of Gympie with an MXT In 2009, 2010 and 2011,

Now If you had Left my comments as they were, I would not have to go into it and end up Slamming Minelab on such a Scale In Order to Justify My Comments To You, So lets drop the P***ing Contest, and stick to Showing DirtDiggin what his Options are,

As he has stated that A GPX5000 might be out of reach, And yes I would recommend the GPX to him But He is asking for a PI or A VLF that can Be Tuned for Gold and Coins ETC, That is Affordable.

So with that in mind his best options are For PI's IS Whites TDI Pro which will give him All that he is Looking For Next to That is The TDI SL and then the Whites SPP,

On the VLF side of things Detectors that have Dedicated Prospecting Modes There is any one of the Whites MXTs, or The Minelab 705,

Gold Search Have done a lot of Testing with the MXTs using them in Hot Ground, http://www.goldsearchaustralia.com/index.php/mxt_stories

As for the Depth Issue on Gold People have Dug 1oz Nuggets using the MXTs up to 18" with the Standard 12"/300 Coil,

QUOTE: ( Success Story with you that is very deserving of a mention.
With my previous trips to England while detecting Ancient Coins/Artifacts and digging up pounds of Gold Nuggets at Ganes Greek, AK, I already knew my White's MXT was my #1 detector of choice. So when I heard of the new 12" Super Coil, I realized I had to have one for my next Gold Nugget Hunt.
The coil arrived 2 weeks before my trip and after a quick overview it seemed to be just what I hoped for. A light weight coil that I could swing 8 hours a day and not have my arm fall off. Another added edge is, this coil has approx 30% more Depth and Ground Coverage per sweep and that is exactly what I wanted for Ganes Creek, Alaska and the Trophy Gold Nuggets that are buried beneath. The extra depth and ground coverage is what I hoped would give me the added advantage and edge over the other detectorists at Ganes.
The attached photos show proof of my Success with the White's MXT equipped with a 12" Super Coil. I found 22 nuggets of various sizes and depths. Large, Medium and Small, the 12" Super Coil covered more ground, got more depth and responded to all. I found a couple small rice grain size nuggets of .2 gram, including a few 3/4 oz'ers and even a 1+ oz'er. The depths of some of these beautiful rare and collectible gold nuggets were more than I can imagine. One particular nice nugget was 16" to 18" deep. I have been detecting for over 30 years and can tell you this. Most detectors on the market today would not have found that 1+ oz Trophy Gold Nugget as deep as it was.
My prize of the trip was a vary rare and collectible nugget unlike most in that area. A Once in Lifetime Trophy Specimen Nugget just shy of 2 pounds. As you can see in the photos, it is a gorgeous reddish agate quartz with lines, veins and speckles of yellow gold throughout. The total weight of this museum quality piece is just under 2 pounds. I have showed this rare piece of Natural Beauty to a few Gem/Mineral Collectors and others to get an idea of its value. The price varies some as expected share a but a range of $15,000 to $25,000 makes it a true, Once in Lifetime) END QUOTE,

NOW seeing as Minelab reverse engineered the MXT to see what made it Tick when they were Designing the Xterra 705, I would also Put the 705 High On My List, baring in mind it might have a limited amount of Coils Available.

The Fisher The Gold Bug Series, or F75, F70.
The Garrett AT Gold, and the AT Pro which are both waterproof to 3 meters, The new AT series seem to be slowly making their mark in Gold Detecting History, and are well suited to people who do not have a lot of upper body strength as they are very Light and have the power Needed for such tasks.

And fairly New on the Market are the FORS GOLD by Nokta and according to Steve Herschbach is one heck of a machine, I don't know too much about them but reckons they work well in Gold Baring Ground.

Anyway I hope this helps,

John

 

[user 4485]

Thanks for the link to the Whites dealer advertising blurb. I can stick one up to Minelab success stories if you like but that wouldn't be considered truthful by you blokes I'd reckon?
The fact is VLF's will struggle in the majority of our gold bearing areas - prospecting mode or not. They do have there usefulness in specific situations though. As I touched on previously, for coin/relics get a VLF - good machines are available to suit any budget from a wide variety of manufacturers. For gold get yourself a PI. If only occasionally using the SPP would do the job as KarlS has said or a used Minelab in a similar price bracket. Probably the best option for infrequent use is to hire when required as Redfin suggested.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Thanks for the link to the Whites dealer advertising blurb. I can stick one up to Minelab success stories if you like but that wouldn't be considered truthful by you blokes I'd reckon?
The fact is VLF's will struggle in the majority of our gold bearing areas - prospecting mode or not. They do have there usefulness in specific situations though. As I touched on previously, for coin/relics get a VLF - good machines are available to suit any budget from a wide variety of manufacturers. For gold get yourself a PI. If only occasionally using the SPP would do the job as KarlS has said or a used Minelab in a similar price bracket. Probably the best option for infrequent use is to hire when required as Redfin suggested.

Ok, Have your way and Get off my Back, because you are wearing a bit thin now,

I will Repeat it again Because again you don't understand when someone says they want a machine that can be TUNED FOR GOLD OR COINS.

YOU CAN NOT TUNE An SD or GP or a GPX FOR COIN HUNTING, So if you can not tune them, THEN that takes them out of the List of CHOICES, Past 4 to 6 inches or so they Can not discriminate different types of metals, YES they will find them but you will have NO IDEA what they have picked up,

Yes they are One of the best Machines ever Made, BUT you CAN NOT TUNE THEM Like A VLF or The TDI Range of Machines to Ignore certain Metals.

You are Ruining what could of been A Good thread by Aiming all you issues at me, Post what ever reviews you like, All Reviews are useful, But your constant badgering is some thing you need to take else where and let those who wish to talk about Many Brands Do So in Peace.

 

[user 4485]

Read my post/s again, never said you could tune a Minelab PI for coin hunting. Twice now I have said you need machines to suit application.
A DO ALL MACHINE DOES NOT EXIST IN MY HUMBLE OPINION! The conductivity switch is not 100% foolproof by Whites own admission & operating instructions - read them (more for the OP than you RR - don't misinterpret). Yes it does allow some more versatility but I personally would place no more faith in it than I would in Minelab PI's discrimination & I basically don't have much confidence in that.
Run in high & you will get some types of coins, large gold rings & nuggets etc. + lots of trash. Run in low & you will get some types of coins, gold, copper & lots of rusty nails. Running in one or the other you run the risk of missing something worth digging. Unfortunately with PI's if you want to be absolutely 100% sure then they are dig everything. For that matter I have seen VLF discrimination "tricked" also so even they aren't 100% bulletproof but still a world apart from anything a PI can do discrimination wise.
RR don't take what I say as a direct attack on yourself mate. I am just trying to provide a healthy but balanced debate on the OP topic. It seems you take my opinions personally. I couldn't give a rat's about yours :lol: Just kidding mate - you obviously provide a valid opinion & relevant points to this debate.

 

[G0lddigg@]

Alright fellas enough hostility, remember people read these threads young and old when seeking advice.

We've all got our opinions lets remember that dirtdiggin asked about a detector to use for predominately gold that would also work for coin and treasure.

I think its fair to say that if he wants to buy auzzie made hes got some good info on detectors.
If he wants to go down the path of cheaper US made hes got some info on that too.

I'm sure we can all agree we've had good and bad experiences with all types of detectors they all have positives and negatives each operator will have to make their own decision.

dirtdiggin - the good things about detectors is you can buy one and use it for a while and sell it if you find its not for you, you wont know untill youve spent some time in the field.
if you can budget under $1500 you have a good variety of detectors t play with. good luck

 

[Ridge Runner]

I know one thing for sure I would like to have a chance to play with the ATX as it has the power to melt things in the ground but I would like to know how it does with different types of metal, back in 2010/2011 I was going to buy the mine clearance version just to be different but now they have released a civilian version of it Being the ATX means I can get one,

My Machine does ignore coins and stuff unless I set it not too and it is A strange thing when you wave tiny bits of gold under it and it goes whooo and then you wave a Huge silver Dollar under it and it wont make a sound, flick the switch or change the ground balance and it can reverse what it see's, damn clever really, At first I thought it was a Crazy Idea, then when I did some tests I found out it was very good at ignoring things, If conditions allow If you switch it to ALL it then behaves like a Normal Detector So to Speak, but set up the other way that huge silver Dollar will only make it sound if it is within an inch to 2 inches from the coil and you get the over load sound other wise you hear nothing, but set it up to hear it and it will do so to about 19 inches.
Mine has the Duel Field coils which is like 2 coils in One, I don't think they would work as well in hot ground in Oz like the Oz series single field coils do, but they will work in fairly hot ground, but I am getting the Oz coils to add to it anyway. Along with some of the Razorback coils.

It's only Money (he Says) ,,, just a thought I wonder how much gold I could of bought for what I have spent on Detectors

 

[mattallwood]

Slightly hijacking this thread, does anybody know of somewhere around the bendigo region that does detector hire/rent?

 

[G0lddigg@]

a mate of mine purchased a ATX and was using it for 4 months with no luck, he hired a sdc2300 and went over some property and found 7 nuggets in one day. as a test he pulled the ATX out fo the truck and ran it over these nugetts. he got no signal at all.... he could not believe it. he's since decided to buy a sdc23400 and gpx5000.

thats one guys experience, another mate lkast month bought an AT gold. hes coil will only pick up a nugget at 2 inches, after taking to Garrett ove rthe phone many times they ahve finally requested his coild and are sending him a new one. point is mass produces items are hit and miss, minelab was no different, the more its made the more chance of a stuffup. the first 3500's where amazing.... second round apparently were no good and m,any were recalled. key is to talk to the manufacturer and get it sorted. this is why i recommend buying an old kit with lots of coils.