Steve Herschbach

Pulse induction detectors handle ground mineralization better than VLF detectors. That is their selling point. However, really hot VLF detectors like a Gold Bug 2 or White's GMT hit tiny goldthat a PI cannot. Tiny gold is more common than large gold, especially in glacial terrain. So going for a detector designed to hit pinhead good means you have a better shot at finding gold eventually. The closest you will get in a PI is the SDC 2300. Spend enough money, put in enough time, and eventually you might find a piece of gold you could have found easier with a $5 gold pan.

Well initially I will just stick with question asked, SDC 2300 versus SD 2100 and ignore price. Both are "dig it all" pulse induction (PI) detectors.

The SDC 2300 is compact, waterproof, tough, runs off four C cells, and very easy to operate. It is extremely hot on small gold, easily hitting stuff the SD 2100 would miss.

However, the SDC 2300 has a hardwired 8" mono coil. The SD 2100 has over 100 accessory coils available in a wide range of sizes. This means that the SD 2100 can cover ground far better than the SDC 2300 and also reach far deeper on larger nuggets than the SDC 2300.

A very simplistic generalization of both units would be that the SD 2100 is the better overall prospecting detector where the SDC 2300 is the better site machine. By that I mean the SD 2100 is better suited for a person truly out and about looking for that next good patch. The SDC 2300 is good for hitting already hard hit areas ekeing out the leftovers, or for working targeted areas like a gully. The small coil very much makes it a machine designed to work limited areas in a slow, careful fashion. The SD 2100 with a big coil covers the countryside.

There is a middle ground. With the SD 2100 you are reaching back quite far in the Minelab lineup. A used GPX 4000, 4500, 4800, or even 5000 would be something I would be looking a lot harder at, especially now that people are doing the GPZ upgrade thing. In older units personally I would not be going back any farther than the GP 3500 (a personal favorite) or the GP 3000 and GP Extreme.

In non-Minelab brand new full warranty at this point the only serious contender to Minelab at this time (in my opinion) is the Garrett ATX.

As others have noted a decent VLF may even be the best option. The reason? You are in a terrible place for gold prospecting! Northern Minnesota, I would probably be more inclined to use a gold pan than a metal detector to look for gold. The best you can hope for is some gold in glacial material pushed down from Canada, a long shot at best. If I were there I would be running a Gold Bug 2 with a 6" coil but even then it would be a bit of an exercise in futility. Seriously, a small sluice box is probably a better investment. A SD 2100 has almost no chance of finding gold there, as most gold will be flake or fines. I hate to be the guy to break it to you, but you are in a really poor location to go nugget hunting with a metal detector.

One can argue the merits of different detectors endlessly. If detecting was your main and only goal a different alternative including a Minelab PI might be preferable. But it raises other problems - proprietary batteries, battery charging, battery cable failure, etc. avoided by going a less expensive and safer route. This may or may not be your best bet, but I think it is a safe and affordable bet. Good luck!

The old F75 could be a real challenge due to the EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) issues. The new F75 is a much tamer beast, no problem for a beginner.

It is all about intended uses. You say the main use is gold nuggets, that makes it easy. A 19kHz Gold Bug Pro or F19 has the edge over the 13 kHz F75 for gold nuggets. The F19 between the two has more features and comes stock with the preferred 10" x 5" DD coil.

That said the difference between the F75 and the other two on gold in minuscule. The 19 kHz machines have a small edge on gold under 1/4 oz. Gold around 1/4 to 1/2 oz not much difference. Gold 1/2 oz and larger I always felt my F75 in all metal boost had the tiniest of edges, but so small as to be mostly psychological.

Anyway, they are all good, and sounds like you really want the F75. No reason per se not to go that way but if you are seeking the better nugget machine while keeping with the features I do suggest the F19.

Silver content by year? Do you mean coins? 1964 and earlier dimes and quarters are silver.

Interesting you are using the Excalibur but lots of trash. Were you digging everything?

Jewelry odds in the surf go up dramatically but it can be dangerous. There are many calmer swimming areas however where a person can do well. The key is be in the water where people are swimming or even just hanging their hands in the water. The reality is though jewelry finds are few and far between no matter what, digging lots of targets that are not jewelry is part of the game.

I will post my own new Hawaii story soon so stay tuned. Glad you had a good time!

Steve what was your oldest coin there,do you recall, mine was only 1950's

i just thought the salt ate the older ones. Also have you kept track of how many rings you found while in Hawaii?

Found a couple silver coins Rick, but the salt water does eat them up. 50s or 60s? Just silver discs more than coins. Coins in Hawaii are just a tiny step above junk targets from my perspective. Every one recovered in surf is just a time waster.

I will have to add up my ring haul for Hawaii but I am guessing around 35 quality gold and platinum? A pile of silver, copper, and just plain junk jewelry.

Hello Paul,

Not much said here about the tones. You are familiar with the Infinium and ATX dual tone scheme Paul. A hi-lo or lo-hi tone is generated based on the targets relation to the ground balance setting. The Minelab PI detectors employ the same dual tone system. The tones work to full target depth unlike the discrimination feature, which only works at shallow depths.

Going by dual tones only you break targets down into two categories. Low conductive and small ferrous make a hi-lo tone. High conductive and large ferrous make a lo-hi tone.

For coins, digging only clear lo-hi will eliminate most trash and get high conductive coins (no nickels). The observation of many ferrous items producing warbly or bubbly sounds is spot on. Elongated or ragged edge ferrous will often give a mixed tone response. A coin or bullet will have a very solid smooth edged response.

The tones are standard in Normal timings but can reverse in other timings. Use Normal as the main reference. However, switching to other modes can give additional information about the target by noting if the tone changes or not. When I was hunting in Fine Gold I could get a lo-hi target. Switching to Enhance could change it to hi-lo, which in that particular circumstance meant a smaller gold nugget. If the tone remained lo-hi it was sure to be a larger gold nugget.

The tones when combined with the shallow iron blanking system make for a much better discrimination scheme that a person might think as time and accumulated targets train the ear. Of course it is never foolproof and when nugget detecting can be outright dangerous. Relic hunting however it would be the only way to go short of digging everything, which is just not practical in most sites.

I will be curious on your personal take of ATX vs GPX Paul. One thing for sure, the GPX has a vastly superior selection of coils for any circumstance that may arise. I prefer the ATX "iron adio" discrimination method over the GPX blanking system myself.

Africa is not Australia and the vast majority of it is nowhere near as mineralized as Australia. Chris Ralph has made two trips to Africa and observed thousands of prospectors in the field using detectors. Almost none of them were Minelab PI detectors. Nearly all were VLF detectors, which run very well in most conditions there. There were many types in evidence but two extremely popular and well proven machines for the African gold fields have been the Teknetics T2 and Fisher Gold Bug Pro.

Any good VLF would work. I agree with Featheredfishead (Adam), get two of the same to share coils and other parts and learn one unit. The simple choice is the Gold Bug Pro, as there are many already in Africa. Parts should be common by comparison to most detectors. It will also make it easy to sell the machines and upgrade to a PI if your budget allows and if the need arises. Africa is a huge continent and there is no doubt many areas exist where a PI is the best choice.

One battery does not an issue make. This is not a new charger or mounting method, all same as CTX 3030 just larger battery. I have never heard of issue overcharging either but have put in inquiry.

The zincs self destruct anywhere, just happens a lot faster in salt water. Nobody going to be digging those coins in 100 years!

More bottle caps than I usually get - an area where the locals hang out? I try to stay in front of a tourist trap and in waist to chest deep water.

Minelab seems to have done an poor job of having plenty of accessories ready at time of release. Especially spare batteries. Anyone in sales knows the time to sell accessories is when the credit card is out and the customer is in the buying mood.

The first time I put my new GPZ battery in the charger nothing happened. I actually was using my CTX charger which I know to be good. I unseated battery, reseated a couple times, nothing, so just left it be a few minutes, and it finally started charging. Am not sure what was up with that, it was like battery completely dead but that would be odd. Seems to be fine now, it ran detector just fine.

May be a contacts issue with battery or detector or both. My guess is Minelab wants the entire thing back to 100% get to the bottom of it. It is early in the game and I bet they are being extra careful regarding new out of box issues like this. Sorry to hear about the delay Fred.

The WM10 is $275 Australian and $249 U.S. and my guess is WM12 is the same?

Looks like some of my table top shots - good going. Nothing for it but to keep digging targets. Main thing is go where the tourists congregate in the water.

I toss the zincs, the rest I usually just wash under water enough to get attached sand off. At that point a Coinstar machine will accept them. The zincs are usually too corroded and not worth the effort.

Good going - and Happy Birthday Rick!

Almost no US dealers can ship out of country because of distribution limitations.

No DDancer, I totally get and respect where you are coming from. Just tossing my own commentary into the mix. I tend to be posting to a wider audience so was not posting to you specifically. I just do not want some thing taking life beyond what is warranted.

Thanks JP for elaborating.

I think too much is being made of the idea that something is not right with the GPX until time has passed. I doubt there is much difference between me doing a cold start, Quick Track, and testing a target, versus standing in place waving the coil over the ground for twenty minutes, and testing the same target. The benefit of time would be in wandering around on variable ground and getting a cumulative ground balance. Staying in place or wandering homogenous ground would see less benefit.

Next thing people will be afraid to turn their detectors off and trying to invent aftermarket systems that charge the battery while running to keep it on for weeks at a time.

As long as you stick with well known name brands they all work. You just have to sort out which detector comes close to having the features you want in your desired price range. Good luck!

Hi Rob, good to see you here, thanks for posting. Nice nugget!

Excellent! I have used the scrape and detect method a lot over the years with hot VLF detectors, and now the SDC 2300. You do not need more depth - just get the gold closer to the coil!

I did an article on it recently at http://www.minelab.com/usa/treasure-talk/scrape-and-detect-with-the-sdc-2300

I was initially excited by the idea that the GPZ 7000 might be able to use the same wireless module as the Minelab CTX 3030. I own a CTX also, and I figured it would be great for a backup, or to run dual modules, one on each shoulder.

Unfortunately, I was told there was an interference issue, and so the CTX WM10 module is running on a different frequency than the GPZ WM12 module. I have not given mine a try, but the theory is they should not work. Bummer.

Chinavasion "Nugget" specifications https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Electronic_Gadgets/Cool_Gadgets/Metal_Detector_Nugget_-_9.5_Inch_Detection_Plate_Water_Resistant_Metal_Type_Recognition_Hard_Carrying_Case/

I would cancel the order immediately. If this is a 9.6 kHz detector with a 9.5" coil and they are quoting depth to 3.5 meters than I do not trust the company. That is a pretty outrageous claim. Detectors like that find coin size targets down to a foot at the very most and larger items at 2-3 feet at most. Better to be safe and do more research - you can always reorder later.

What are you going to use the detector for?

Frequency is a basic factor in determining the performance of a VLF metal detector. Under 10 kHz are normally coin detectors. 10 - 19 kHz are "do-it-all" detectors. Over 20 kHz are dedicated gold nugget detectors.

Multi-frequency units are good for most anything except prospecting. They are the best choice for salt water.

These are generalities only, not carved in stone. Gold nuggets have been found with multi-frequency detectors and coins with 50 kHz prospecting machines.

Some metal detector reviews can be found at http://www.detectorprospector.com/gold-prospecting-guides/steve-guide-gold-nugget-detectors.htm

Well people can just go right on testing the GPZ vs GPX and trying to prove whether the GPZ is any better or not. Frankly, I have moved on in that regard. As JP says at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/748-the-subject-of-the-gpz-7000/

"The GPZ 7000 is what it is, you can either believe or not believe. I believe!!!"