Minelab Extreme Nugget Knowledge...

[nugget65]

Deathray here's the pic of the spur...

[nvchris]

Deep, sensitive and enhance (E) was a popular setting. Its also critical to understand how the level adjust affects ground balance.

 

If you don't have it down load the manual here.

  

 

This model was seen as a major upgrade (from the SD's) and ushered in the GP series.

 

Good luck!

[Bear]

I have used the Extreme since 2003. Only this last winter did I buy a SDC. Below are the pictures of two nuggets (a nugget and a big flake) I found with the extreme using a platypus coil tek double d in 2007 in the chicken area. The first one weighed 2 grams at about 5 inches. I went real slow over the area and found the second one which weighed in at .2 grams at probably not more than an inch and a half. The signal was faint and almost quit looking for it.

[Reno Chris]

The extreme is an excellent detector, I found plenty of gold with mine. It should have no problem with a 6 grain nugget unless it is a quartz specimen piece. Another thing is that a vial of little bits weighing a DWT sounds off like one of the little bits individually, not like a solid piece weighing a DWT - this is true of ALL metal detectors. Its the same reason a delicate 14K woman's jewelry chain weighing 5 grams may not respond at all on a detector while a 14K wedding band ring weighing 5 grams will scream - in spite of the fact that both are 5 grams of 14K gold. Shape of the target does make a huge difference. Steve has written about this a number of times.

So not hitting the little bits is the norm because they do not add up. Not hitting the 6 grain piece is something wrong unless its a quartz specimen piece and not a solid nugget.

Which stock coil were you running? the extreme came with 2 stock coils.

Make sure you are not running a mono coil in cancel mode - that will greatly reduce sensitivity.

[fredmason]

Two tenths of a gram is about 3 grains so nothing wrong with the sensitivity..sometimes the orientation of the nugget changes the signal. A flat piece on edge will give less signal than a flat piece laying flat...there are so many factors it would be impossible to describe them all...

 

fred

[nugget65]

Thnx Reno Chris.... After reading ur comment we examined the nugget and yes it does have quartz in it and is kinda hollow... As for the Lil ones in the vial one of them is 4 grains... Thnx for the help.... That's why I like this forum...

[spencer@wy]

Thanks everyone for helping to fill us in on these machines.

anyone use sd v1 vs the same sd v2? Is/are v2 machines any better?

[Steve Herschbach]

I had both the original green SD2200 and a SD2200v2 and I can't say one was better than the other.

[AussieMatt]

I had the green SD2200D & never found any gold with it. To me it didn't seem to be running right so I sent it into Minelab. They checked it out & updated it to the latest specs (SD2200v2). After I got it back I started to find gold - not saying that means anything in particular as a lot of people I have talked to reckon the SD2200D was better & went deeper too? I can't really say that one is better than the other but know that after being checked & updated to v2 specs I started finding gold & it did run a lot better afterwards but it could have just needed an alignment etc. After I got it back I used to run a NF 14X7 Advantage mono coil - many told me that the SD2200 would be too noisey down here for a mono but it was generally ok in all but a few areas.

[spencer@wy]

Matt & Steve, Thanks for commenting. I had heard/read that perhaps the quality control and components make be slightly better in older versions made at home not in china.