WesD

Scott the never skunk sdc is the best creek hunting bedrock detector out there.  I used to use the 8x6 NF coil and 5000 combo, but the sdc cleans up on flat small, low conductive gold we find in creeks. The 5000 just didnt hear a lot of these targets for whatever reason.  The factory sdc coil is hard to beat and very waterproof.  Ive had mine in the creeks the last 3 years snipe- detecting and no ill effects.

In the Normal ground setting I dont go too high on sensitivity setting as it brings in a lot of ground and emi sound.  On the other hand, in Difficult ground setting I might max out sensitivity and the detector still runs pretty smooth even in high mineral ground.

Likely the golden bean counters at Minelab didnt want 2300 sales to drop with introduction of a 7000 small coil, and put a stop to that ever being released.

Sounds good, Thanks Jason

Jason,  When you get a chance, it would be great to hear how the 10X signals compare with the SCD2300

10 hours ago, jasong said:

To me the SDC is just a tool for bad ground. It doesn't really shine over the GPZ in any aspect I can see other than ultra dinks and gnarly ground. And it looks to me like the 10" X Coil is going to outshine it there too now.

 

You could say the sdc shines proudly in the aspect of having that small coil we greatly needed for working tight bedrock and pinging that "low conductive" gold. On the right deposits the sdc will find plenty of dinks behind a Z. 

I'm just wondering now, does the 10X have any depth gains on the sdc? 

I agree that small coil would have hurt SDC sales and probably have very similar performance.

If you have an sdc2300, it would be great if you could compare target signal strengths with the X10 coil. I'm just curious if there is an advantage over the SDC on small gold.

Thanks for the review!

8 hours ago, phrunt said:

I'll ask JW if I can run his SDC for a day and see, it's just sitting there for years gathering dust.  The GPZ with 10x9" is punching really deep on absolutely tiny gold.  Remember GPZ coils are built very differently to SDC coils and the technology running the detector is very different.  He thought his SDC was faulty as it didn't give the results he expected, sent it to OZ to Minelab for a checkup and got the all clear on health.

I should add VLF's are better than the GPZ with stock coil on the tiny bits of gold by far, the 10x9" JW is running has changed that and now only the tinest bits the VLF's are better, the small but deeper bits go to the GPZ.

I don't doubt the Z with a 10" coil will do really well,  but if you are looking for a cheaper alternative, the 2300 is the next best thing on small gold at depths greater than a vlf will punch.  Run the sensitivity up 4 or 5 and listen for the faint signals.  We were cleaning up a lot of patches that were worked with the 5000 and 8x6 coil.  I believe the 2300 has a  faster receive  timing than the gpx, so its not like you can just strap on a small coil and expect the same results on the 5k.  Spend some time running an sdc and you will like it after you learn its language.

 The sdc is like the gpz on small gold but better in my experience.  If that were the case about the 2300 having no advantage in mild soil, you also wouldn't have any advantage using the Z.  The vlf would be all you need, but obviously the Z punches deeper weather it be hot or mild ground.  Its the same story with the 2300. The less mineralized the ground, the deeper you will shoot down.  If your crumb chasin that is the detector to own! 

6 hours ago, phrunt said:

I am a bit shocked with JW's results today, I've even done that ground to death with my Equinox and Gold Monster, and VLF's here love the shallow bedrock in that location, no hot rocks, no mineralisation... nothing to hinder them yet JW comes out with 11 nuggets! It's just mental. I was skunked!

Simon, get yourself an SDC!  They are affordable and you will get that deeper tiny gold too.  I have had a 7k since day one and still love using the sdc because it finds small gold.   Max the sensitivity on 5 and you will be pinging little bits and party on.

Id agree maybe the original intent was to provide a lineup of additional factory coils, but for some reason unbeknown to us they seem to have aborted that idea ☹️

My guess is a whole new machine is eventually coming out and they don't want to waste money developing coils for something old that they will be phasing out. Lets hope the next top gun detector from Minelab is half the weight and has a small coil option.

Ive been using the open topography site for some areas in California. Unfortunately it only has limited imagery of the Motherload area. Otherwise , very cool as it strips the vegetation away and every prospect can be seen

Hey Mitchel, Hope you get one! Otherwise enjoy being out in Gods country! Wish I could have made it out there too. I went to Oz when I was 18,  but all I wanted to do was go to the beach back then.

I think its the main one you see thats claimed and  heavily dug up, right side driving up from the old tree pond area. 

Thanks KS!  Looks like the overalls were marketed for the train workers, but Id imagine others used them too.

Thanks Kac, The head light button is just a two piece type button with the small loop on the back, so definitely its clothing related. The Kicker clip has biting teeth on the back and a wire,  so it could be some type of suspender clip

I found these two guys in the Motherload country.   Our Kicker is a suspender type clip, maybe for a horse ?

and Headlight is a button.  Any of the relic experts here dare to date them?

Thanks

8 hours ago, AussieDigs said:

Now this is something that really peeves me. People littering. The amount of rubbish around is disgusting.

 

Man, That's still  pristine! Come to California and you will see trash... like a meth lab setup there or some backwoods "gardeners" camped out all summer!

Ya Flak,  the gpz audio seems to be all over the place, especially in Difficult ground setting. Gold seems to give almost a confused grunt signal.  In Normal, I tend to hear a high low signal on all small targets ferrous or not.  At least that's what my ears hear.  I wonder if that was a misprint in the Minelab article?

My guess is someone at Minelab probably figured they would make more $ selling  complete detectors, as in sdc2300s, than by offering a small coil option for the gpZ

It would be great if Coiltek or Nuggetfinder made a waterproof potted coil for us California Motherload prospectors.

5x10ish size  for chasing bedrock cracks. A lot of guys use the sdc in the creeks here as they are an absolute gold getter.

I hear you on that Lucky! Its one awkward swinging detector, but we love it anyway!

Thats still an awesome looking coin!  If you sent it in for grading, like NGC, my guess they would grade it XF Details Scratched.