Gold Catcher

Very nice, Chet. Upper Sierras?

I used several covers but only one is robust enough to recommend it. I bought three accessories for my sdc: cover, stand and kuckle guard. The knuckle guard is THE most important thing to buy for the SDC as the coil knuckle quickly wears off! Cover: https://www.ebay.com/itm/SDC-2300-combo-pack-no2-neoprene-arm-rest-control-box-cover-bunji-cord-minelab/173124828718?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Stand: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Minelab-SDC2300-Folding-Flip-Stand-Gold-Detector-Support-Accessory-FlexiTUFF/273728443742?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Knuckle guard: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Minelab-SDC2300-FlexiTUFF-Coil-Collar-Guard-knuckle-pivot-protector-Accessory/273728372873?hash=item3fbb7b8089:g:GC0AAOSwCH9eIX8Q

I just imagine how nice it would be to have ZVT ala GPZ with an 8 inch coil (as many times discussed here). I wonder how small super-D or DD coils could go without loosing performance, or without being incompatible with ZVT. But one thing I know: a GPZ with small coil option, water proof, fold-able and weight reduced would be likely the best selling ML machine ever created 🙂 Worth the original GPZ price, or more, in my view...Would mean though that the SDC would be out of business.

OK perhaps its a round super-D as well, not mono loop. Anybody know?

On their web site it says it's a round coil. Does this mean mono-loop? If so, I wonder how this would compare to the Super-D stock on the GPZ. I always thought the super-D is harmonized with the electronics of the GPZ for better ground processing, one reason the machine is so good.

The SDC has found me more gold than any other detector I own. But as always, it depends where you hunt. Here in the Motherlode, where most hunting terrain is in steep canyons, the SDC is the go to detector. Not only because it fits in my backpack but also because it is just made for hunting gold in shallow mineralized ground. It picks up gold in ground conditions where VLF's are completely useless. The threshold can be a bit chirpy, that's why I hunt mostly with sensitivity 2 or sometimes 3 (rarely). However, in open fields, like in most deserts, the GPZ is king by far and nothing comes even close to it. The knuckle guard is the single most important addition for the SDC and I bought mine at eBay from Australia long time ago. The SDC with the SP01 audio booster is the killer combination and I can highly recommend this combo, although it slightly adds to the weight and the SP01 cable has a bit of a slack when the unit is clipped onto the SDC. Pinpointing works great with the small round coil, just tilt up. My only issue with the SDC is that the detector is not balanced well and my arm gets tired sooner than using the GPZ (both with ML harness). The swing arm on the SDC is a good idea and I will give it a, it works miracles for the GPZ which I would never use without it.

Great links and info, thanks Steve! Unfortunately, those monsters have been confined to my dreams thus far and likely will forever stay there. I am just glad if I don't get skunked on any given day and any size nugget will make my day. If I want to think big, I either wait for those monsters to appear in my dreams at night or I just look at JP's pics 🙂

Thanks, Steve. Now that's a nugget! Will look out for something like that when I am back there this weekend 🙂

It was shallow, about 5 inch deep. GPZ HY/Normal/Sens 8/smoothing off

The other day I found this little 0.4 gramer at Rye Patch. This type of "chevron gold" fascinates me. I wonder why apparently you only find this type of crystalline shaped gold around here

Awesome find, congratulations! I see on the pic that sensitivity was at 4. I wish I could go that high in the highly mineralized grounds here without the treshold going berserk. But I bet this one would have been an equal loud screamer at 1 or even in salt mode. That's why you should dig everything and not always assume it's a beer can when your headset blows off.

I keep it at 8 in HY/normal and tweak it up to 10 in HY/difficult (see JP's comments). I absolutely love the SP01 on my SDC and just clip it on the side, no wireless (as it adds to the EMI on the SDC in my experience). But I agree with the GPZ, it gets cumbersome with all the cables. I also wonder if the SP01 would add anything to the EMI when I run it hot (HY/Normal/gain>10). I am not an electronic expert, but with the GPZ at HY/normal I worry about anything interfering since the machine is so super sensitive at that setting.

Very cool, thanks JP. Sounds really interesting and thanks for the detailed description. It also shows once more that good knowledge of the geology is the foundation for success, with you being a living example 🙂

Absolutely enjoyable reports, thanks JP. Always an inspiration. Just curious, in the places where you hunt is the gold originally coming from lode deposits near by? I am not familiar with the geology in your area, but where I hunt known lode deposits can erode quiet substantially into massive alluvial fans. Interestingly, in these fans the heavy material travels up, not down. Hence, heavier gold can be quiet shallow in these fans. I was just wondering if you have a similar situation there. Your gold is nice and chunky. 🙂

Looks highly suspicious to me. Let us know....

Thanks for your detailed answer, JP! This is super helpful! Much appreciated, as always. 🙂

It also has the trash of >100.000 old timers buried. Most places don't even have a clean area where you can put down your detector without your headset blowing off your ears. The GPZ is great in finding those beautiful sounding deep targets, which turn out not seldom to be large pieces of mining equipment junk left behind >>100 years ago. Of course, unearthing this junk will often take you > 2 feet of digging, which makes this even more fun. Don't get me wrong. I like it up here. The Sierra's are beautiful and there are spots where you find gold. But for the most part I use my SDC and focus on bedrock. My GPZ I use more in the desert (NV, Southern-CA, AZ). For really hopeless areas only the GM1000 with iron meter allows for some hunting fun.

To add, I can of course go to general/normal or HY/difficult, but was wondering if there is anything else that might help. Thanks.

Good point, Simon!

Hi Jp, can you recommend settings for grounds that are plagued by high ground saturation? I usually reduce gain until the coil pumping keeps the threshold stable right above ground, but at times this means sensitivity of 6 or lower in HY/normal with the ML14 coil. Any other settings/tactics that can be beneficial without too much impacting performance? Thanks!

The way I read the ML FY20 half year result is that they just show the current fleet of detectors (with exception of X-terra). I don't think this necessarily means that the same fleet will be there next year. I still think the 4500 could disappear given it's life cycle and perhaps other changes are coming up too. I would be highly surprised if they would let us know in their current 1/2 year update for sure what will happen to their product line going forward. The only thing that we know is that they work on 5 new machines. This does not mean much since they could all be at different stages of development, with some possibly years out. The rumor mill needs to keep spinning I am afraid.

Thanks for sharing, RDD. Another example of how HY/high gain settings can miss targets

I have this exact headset and I love it. Never used it for detecting though as I was afraid the noice cancelling feature would add to EMI, or any other electronic component of the detector would be compromised. Do you recommend to use it, in combo with a booster like the SP01? Is this headset made for hearing the right detector audio frequencies? I know this can be an issue. I often hunt in howling wind which would make this a nice tool to have, assuming it would not compromise detector performance in any way. Thanks.

Much higher gain than that and I would not be hearing faint threshold variations anymore. Conservative settings work well for me but require a very focused hearing practice. Yet, this gives me better results than turning everything up into screaming mode

Great idea!