White's Goldmaster V-SAT ?

[Rod K]

Those who have used both the new Whites GMT and the older Goldmaster V-sat, are there any real differences in performance for nugget hunting? I know the GMT had a digital screen but that seems to be just a distraction some times. When i have a screen i seem to spend more time looking at it trying to decide if i should dig or not instead of Just digging. The GMT had a smaller, lighter control box but that is not an issue. So what, if any are the real differences/ Reason i ask is i just picked up a decent V-sat for $110 to use. Also, what is you coil of choice for the Goldmaster series. Thanks

[Steve Herschbach]

I used them all - Goldmaster II, Goldmaster V-SAT, Goldmaster 3, Goldmaster 4/B, and GMT. They are all 50 kHz detectors except the GMT, which is 48 kHz. All share the same coils. The Goldmaster 3 was in some ways the most well thought of out of the series. When the 4/B came out White's made the switch from a control box that could be chest or hip mounted to the current coin detector type box. The 4/B was roundly panned by prospectors as a result plus the Fisher Gold Bug 2 came out about then, and that also put a hurt on 4/B sales.

The GMT is actually more closely related to the MXT than the earlier Goldmaster models, which were pure analog. The main thing the GMT offers compared to the earlier models is automatic ground tracking.

Just my opinion but any differences in depth and sensitivity are so small as to not matter between the various models. You could grab the GMT and I could grab a Goldmaster II or later and I would not feel outgunned.

Click or double-click for larger image....

[Jin]

I bought one of those a while back. Tried following the manual but couldn't get the thing quiet. I think the ground was too mineralized. These are the coils that came with mine. Sorry the pictures are a little grainy. The lens on the iPad was dirty.

[Rod K]

Jin, Mine made a loud squealing sound when turned on at first too. Do what the manual says for start up step by step.

With the coil in the air

set the GEB course and fine to midway

set the Iron ID to the center Iron ID OFF position

Set the Mode toggle to the right SAT position

Set the Vari-SAT to OFF

Set the threshold fully counterclockwise

 Now turn the GAIN control to 10

Now turn the threshold 4-5 revolutions clockwise until you get a soft hum.

This should quiet it down. Hope it helps.

And thanks Steve for the info

[Steve Herschbach]

Getting hot VLFs to run well in bad ground is challenging. Generally you have to reduce the gain until the machine behaves. That may mean a setting of 3 or 4 instead of 10 but if the machine is overloading it is useless. Large coils are more susceptible to overload from ground mineralization.

The Goldmasters can be run in the worst of ground if you just accept them for what they are. 

Coil failures are not uncommon. If the machine squeals no matter what, a coil swap is needed to eliminate that possibility. Coils and coil cables fail at rates far exceeding the control box on most any model of detector. The older foam filled coils were prone to the foam breaking down internally when subjected to ongoing impacts on rocks or other environmental stress.

[Swifty]

Picture of club member Dean Chapman who hand wrapped and pored his own molds to make a coil for his GM3 that he used chest mounted And he was finding gold with it.

[Rod K]

Looks like my home State maybe?

[PhaseTech]

Yeah the old concentric coil on the GM's were prone to becoming very touch sensitive. I rebuilt mine and it ran a lot better. Anyone buying a really old one would probably want a new coil for it. For me personally, out of the Whites I'd go a V/sat or a GM3 over a GMT. 

[Swifty]

10 hours ago, Rod K said:

Looks like my home State maybe?

It's the Southern California area

[Rod K]

Looks like some of my home State of Arizona