strick

Nice Work Ray !! Good things happen to good people.

strick

I got a good laugh at the ham slicing video with  sdc 2300.....very clever. Aside from the gold finding abilities of both machines little has been said about their structural engineering. I  sold my ATX and bought the SDC. The quality of engineering in the Minelab wins hands down in my opinion. Early on I was having problems with the ATX and a floppy coil. Then there was the problem with the cam locks getting even the smallest amount of dirt in them and jamming up. They are not easy to clean. The little battery holders that Garrett uses with the ATX and the AT gold are very fragile and break easily should you accidentally tilt the machine and they fall out.  To change the coils on the ATX you need to be a trained contortionist in order to get your fingers into the guts of the ATX. That being said I did like the power and sensitivity of the ATX. Great machine for the money,

strick

The finding of nuggets is all in the search. The hardest part is getting your coil over a nugget.

Yes I am finding that out. Rings are much easier So far I'm "zero for one" on gold prospecting trips. Unfortunately in my case what will be harder then finding gold bearing terrain will be finding the time to take off work to go looking for it. I am self employed and my boss can be a real stickler about leaving for more then a few hours. In the mean time I will get my gold fix on great web sites like this one and I'm hoping to learn as much as possible from experienced prospectors like yourself. I try to read everything I can on the subject. Thanks for the help fellas!

strick

OK...Thanks Steve. I was hoping that was the answer. The machine is intense...seems to be always thinking and adjusting itself. A few more pictures....

Another view down the canyon....

and one from the bottom looking up. Wish I could say I found some gold there.

Recent beach hunt

strick

When ground balancing with my previous metal detectors I am used to hearing the change in pitch of the threshold as the metal detector is being raised and lowered. With my SDC it barely makes any noise at all when ground balancing. Is there something wrong with my machine or is this normal for this unit?

Chuck Strickland

I am enjoying this thread immensely...it is inspiring for a newbie like me to see the gold you guys are pulling out with the sdc 2300.  All I need to do now is place myself in a decent area and start hunting. Just got back from a trip to the trinity alps but did not have any success. Thanks for posting fellas...

strick

Thanks so much Steve. I found my first gold ring this past weekend on the beach (only 10K) but its a start. Heading to the little town of Washington this weekend for an ATV/metal detecting adventure and then a back pack trip into the trinity alps weekend after that. Looking forward to prospecting wit this cool little metal detector. Thanks again for the welcome.

strick

First post new member here. Love the graph and I'm glad to see that I finally fell into the innovator group. Looking forward to trying out my 2300 in a couple weeks up in the Trinitys. It fits nicely into my small day pack.  Hoping to learn as much as I can from you guys. 

strick