Detailed Review Of White's Goldmaster 24K

[dirtman]

Thank You Steve for "making" the time to do a quick evaluation on this newcomer.
I myself have been waiting "years" for Whites to upgrade the GMT line !
I used a GMT for quite a few seasons and did very well in nuggets and meteorites with it.
Truth being over 60 small nuggets from 1 patch alone.
Next thing will be getting my hands on one to try out.
Its also very satisfiying to me to see a new "Made in the U.S.A"  entry in the Gold Specific detector field.
Hope to see you somewhere in the field this season.
Hapy Huntn.

[Glenn in CO]

Great Review Steve! Lot of detail information and honest evaluation on the new 24K,  White's should put you on the payroll!

[EMField]

Informative write-up Steve.  Thank you.

Question.  Is there a noticable difference/enhancement in performance with the extra voltage put to the coil with the 24k, compared to the lesser voltage of ther GMT?  

[Steve Herschbach]

I did not have a GMT to compare directly, and so can’t answer that question with any degree of confidence. Things get real hair splitting when detecting 1/10th grain nuggets. I still know people who think the Goldmaster 3 is better than the GMT.

I have been getting lots of messages from people who seem to think I have secret private information regarding which over 30 kHz detector is best. The truth is not much has changed since the 50 kHz Goldmaster II came out around 1990. I can drag a half dozen of these “over 30 kHz” nugget detectors out and spend hours trying to figure out which one I like best. They basically all get the job done, and none so well as to make the others not worth consideration.

It very much does boil down to what feels best on my arm and sounds best to my ear. Most importantly, which machine is best depends a lot on the exact mix of ground, hot rocks, size and type of gold, the amount of trash, and level of operator expertise. This being true I might prefer one model at one location, and a different one someplace else. This is actually almost guaranteed.

I just don’t see how anyone can make decisions like this based on anything other than getting and using the detectors in question. Sure, I could pick one for you, but you might hate it for reasons that matter not at all to me.

I think the 24K is a fine machine but my gut feeling based on memory is no, it does not automatically blow the GMT away. It’s just different, that’s all, and I have no idea whether a die hard GMT user would consider this an upgrade or not. From my perspective going from one 48 kHz detector to another 48 kHz detector is a side step. To really add capability you need machines to be as different as possible, not the same as possible. Will switching from a GMT to a 24K make a giant difference in gold getting capability? Not really. Would adding a TDI SL to a GMT extend a prospectors capability in a significant way? Much more likely.

So if I was going nugget detecting tomorrow and had to pick one, the GMT or 24K, which would it be? I honestly do not have a preference. I tend to trust the GMT more as being the “old reliable” but I did like the concentric on the 24K. Yet I have never used that coil on the GMT and it might do just as well. Gun to head I would probably go with the 24K just because it’s new and I do like the new toys. But if a GMT owner gets a 24K and says they prefer the GMT I am not going to argue with them either. If I can barely decide which machine of four I like best when they are sitting in front of me then I have to really, really sympathize with those trying to make these decisions just based on reading reviews.

[EMField]

Thanks for the reply Steve.

Most of the changes/upgrades on the 24k are pretty clear, or understood with your hands on explanation, e.g. the different threshold system.

I guess I'm trying to wrap my head around the end result, or performance enhancement caused by the increase in voltage to the coil, if any?   Whites has made a point to prominently mention it as an improvement over the GMT, yet with no explanation of any benefits to be derived.

Perhaps tboykin can chime in?

[Steve Herschbach]

On 9/11/2018 at 12:30 PM, phrunt said:

Upon looking at the Whites 24k I notice it has a feature I do like, it sits stable on the ground.  I get really annoyed with my detectors falling over all the time.

White's has always made the most stable detectors . That's another advantage to rear mount battery boxes - low center of gravity.

John, thanks.  I figured I may as well put my newfound 24K knowledge to work showing the detector to people at the Rye Patch hunt. Some forum members were also inquiring about whether I would be there and so I will be there. I don't show my face in public often these days so it is a rare opportunity to chat with some folks.

[EMField]

Well, it took a bit of searching, but I found what Whites suggests is the result of the increased voltage to the coil.  It is contained in the introduction page of the user guide. It says:

"The GM24k features a 54% increase in coil voltage over the GMT.  You will see this in increased sensitivity to small nuggets".

That will be interesting since the current GMT is already easily capable of finding sub-grain bits.  How much smaller can you go?

What would be truly noteworthy, is if the 24k can find those tiny bits at demonstrably greater depths than the GMT.

I'd love to see the GM24k/GMT working side by side at Rye Patch, it would be a fun time.  Unfortunately, it would be over 2000 miles for me to travel one way.

[mn90403]

I bought my first detector in 86.  It was a White's.  I still have it and it has a stand for the metal box.   I'm glad to see something new from Sweet Home.

I would not get this White's unless I had a cover for it and then I would still prefer to have a stand get those batteries up off the ground.

Mitchel

 

[Joe McHugh]

Very detailed review I've been waiting for this, thanks Steve. I think all high end VLF detectors are hard to separate when it comes to pulling tiny nuggets. For me, it's how one detector can handle highly mineralised ground and hot rocks over another. I love my sdc2300 but would like a good VLF detector also & now with so many improvements lately from Makro, Whites. Minelab etc.. It's not an easy choice to make. That said I'm liking reports coming in for the Gold Kruzer, I may have to wait until some of my fellow Aussies chime in to see if it will be good enough for our conditions.

Joe.

[Steve Herschbach]

Was out with Tom Boykin of White's Electronics yesterday running the Goldmaster 24K around on some old beat patches. The big stuff is about gone but little nuggets remain for hot detectors like the 24K. I managed to snag these four little bits, 7 grains total, largest piece 3.8 grains using the 6" concentric. Nice, easy running machine. The XGB multiple point ground tracking does seem to offer smoother operation with at least some combinations of hot rocks and ground. The place we were at is medium alkali ground with two particular hot rocks that trouble machines and the 24K ran great in this type of scenario.

It's been fun checking out the 24K as it kind of brings things around full circle in a nice way. I got my first detector, a White's Coinmaster 4, in 1972. And now 46 years later I am playing around with a new White's detector! A fitting end to my series of detector reviews over the years.

White's Goldmaster 24K gold nugget detector with 6" concentric coil