Minelab SDC 2300 Video on YouTube

[walkerrj]

Steve,

How do you think the SDC would perform in Hawaii where you did the ATX testing?  

[Steve Herschbach]

I honestly have no idea. Unlike the ATX this unit is aimed squarely at prospecting and I do not know if salt water testing was even part of its development. It does have a salt setting; no doubt for salt flats and probably sufficient for salt beaches but in the water is a big unknown. I also am very confident of the waterproof integrity of the ATX. My Minelab CTX 3030 however even though billed as waterproof seems less robust than the ATX and there have been numerous leakage issues. I therefore shied away from putting it to the test in Hawaii. When I get my hands on the SDC 2300 on the beach use is high on my list of things to do, but I am less inclined to get seriously underwater with a $4000 detector until I know more about just how waterproof it really is. But I have high hopes for it hunting micro-jewelry up on the towel line.

 

EMI resistance is a whole other issue in Hawaii, and the jury is out there also on the SDC.

 

Brochure now available for download at Minelab SDC 2300 Color Brochure

[Bearkat]

Interesting detector...that thing sure is thin! I like it so far. A bit on the spendy side, but if you have used a lot of Minelab's in the past, that is normal - performance is what matters. So far it looks like it will hit the small bits very well...

 

Bearkat

[Steve Herschbach]

Very interesting summary from JP at http://forums.nuggethunting.com/index.php?/topic/10771-2300s-looking-good/#entry74773

"The 5000 has a lot more grunt than the SDC, from a gram up the 5000 will definitely have more performance, from a gram down to 1/2 gram it's a mixed result depending on each detectors timings and how they see the targets based on depth, mineralization present and the shape and size of the nugget. So far the 5000 seems to have more outright grunt on solid pieces whereas the SDC is amazingly sensitive on anything that is prickly or specimen in nature. 0.5 gm to 0.1 the SDC starts to sing and under 0.1 the SDC starts to shout."

[Steve Herschbach]

Recovering a small nugget...

[Jonathan Porter]

Got 7 small ones for 2 grams this morning, 2 grams is good money when it only takes you 30 minutes to get it. I see a lot of comments from the keyboard detectorists about Fly Poo gold, the gold I got this morning is what I call bread and butter gold, it's what I use to pay my running costs.

I will never turn my nose up at any gold that is detectable no matter how small it is.

JP

[Steve Herschbach]

I have never yet found a piece of gold detecting and thrown it back as too small! Fishing, yes, detecting gold, no.

Good job JP. And by the way you are the kind of father a lot of kids out there would love having!

[Jonathan Porter]

Thanks Steve, that means a lot coming from you. I intend to have four SDC 2300s in my household when they become available and this summer will be making it our family pastime to head out and hunt gold together. With the SDC there will be very few skunks thanks to all the fantastic locations I have up my sleeve just waiting for a detector like this. :-)

JP

[Rick K - First Member]

I'm curious, was that stuff too small to find with a GPX-5000 on the right small gold settings?

[Jonathan Porter]

Hi Rick, a combination of both. I'm sure the 5000 with the right sized coil on could have made a response on a couple of them once you knew they were there, but the SDC just romped them in with minimal fuss. If the gold is prickly I find the sizes increase dramatically for the 5000 to generate a good response on them whereas the SDC loves that type of gold. All the gold in the picture has been missed over the past few years by the 5000 both by myself and mates who are on the patch often.

JP