AussieMatt

Yeah mate "experts" was a poor choice of word. Fellow forum members & detectorists would have been better. Thanks for the reply Argyle.

Been reading a lot about the new Coiltek, Nugget Finder & now Detech coils of late. I haven't had much to do with any of these but have detected a small area immediately after 2 x GPX4500 with the Coiltek Elite 14" mono attached. Although not an exhaustive or scientific test the end result was I got 8 x subgram nuggets from the area with the SDC & the 4500's nothing. 2 of the subgrammers came from adjacent to their scrapings so they knew something was there but was still iffy enough to walk away from. I keep hearing or reading how these coils are transforming GPX's into SDC's or even GPZ's but this short "test", for want of a better word, put some doubts in my mind. I've got no doubt that there is improvement in the new coils in how they enhance the target information or audio response of the detector through better windings etc. but I'm not entirely convinced it's as substantial as some make out. My thoughts are it may be about 10% performance improvement (every bit does help regardless) & 90% of a placebo effect i.e. you buy a new coil excited by the possibilities of it's performance, you regain some enthusiasm & become more positive in approach even detecting more carefully + with more purpose - then when you find gold of course it's the new coil that done it right? Another thing that has me scratching my head is how excited people are about them finding very small gold. My smallest bit with a GPX5000, fine gold & standard 11" Minelab Commander mono coil was 0.03 of gram (I think about 0.46 of a grain) so they have always been capable of doing it even with an unfashionable coil (but still a good one). Like I said I'm not doubting that there are definite performance improvements, much like the introduction of litz wire, but I do believe a lot can also be attributed to a refreshed or reinvigorated enthusiasm too. New detectors could also have a very similar affect on us. What do the experts reckon?

I've heard that it will be a spoked coil & could even be as light as the 14" DOD? Have to wait & see I guess.

Yes you need 2 if them. One x TX & one x RX as you have described.Here's a pic with tx attached to my SDC2300 & rx attached to an amplifier. Same set up for headphones but you can go through an amp or direct to any headphones of your choice. One thing to be aware of is the jack socket on the Avantree Saturn Pro low latency units is 3.5mm (1/8") so if your amp or headphones are 6.35mm (1/4") you'll need a short adapter lead to suit. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/0-3m-Pure-HQ-OFC-3-5mm-Jack-to-6-35mm-0-6cm-jack-Socket-Adapter-Cable-30cm-0-/191089621267?hash=item2c7dd43913:g:VAAAAOSwxYxUvqIy http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6-35mm-Stereo-Jack-Plug-to-3-5mm-Stereo-Jack-Plug-25cm-/190482134765?hash=item2c599eb6ed:g:jboAAOSwYGFUvDQp

Found some old pics of the GPC3500 https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12376 These were before the extra bit of smaller diameter tubing being added. Funny how things change over 6 months. Sold all my gear & pinning my hopes on a recently acquired GPZ that I'm yet to use. We'll see what happens over the year I guess.

It wasn't bad but there were a couple of things that put me off it. The main one was the handle which I could have done away with & modified something better to suit it + me but just never got around to it.I also just didn't like the "feel" of it with a larger coil on. My GP3500 was originally purchased with the whole idea of only using it with 14" round or bigger coils on it & they just felt better on the standard Minelab set up to me. The lower shaft section on the GMD is fairly small diameter - I doubt it would break or anything it was just off putting. The shaft sections seem very strong but not sure on the section locks. More time in the field than I spent would be required to see how they lasted? To fit a SD/GP/GPX control box you need to find a smaller diameter piece of tubing that will allow the Minelab arm cuff arrangement to lock onto the control box properly. The GMD upper shaft is too large in diameter for this. I tried slotted holes to start with in the GMD upper but still couldn't get the arm cuff clamp on properly & first trial run the control box kept coming off hence the extra bit of tube which worked well - no probs on take 2. At the end of the day it was fun to muck around with but for me there was no real advantage to using it. When collapsing you still need to remove the coil lead from the shaft to allow retracting which you can do with the standard lower shaft by removing it anyway. If you have a few "go to" coils I know I used to have seperate lower shafts on them for quick, relatively quick change over - something I couldn't do with the GMD either. I've since sold the GP3500 too so I guess I didn't really like it either or the SDC2300 I recently sold too. :-D Hopefully I will like my new detector once I get a chance to use it.

On Minelab site here: http://www.minelab.com/aus/customer-care/product-notices?article=271564

Modern day Ion L. Idriess in the making!

Have you thought about standalone Bluetooth transmit (tx) & receive (rx) units? The Avantree Saturn Pro Low Latency units work well & can be switched to use as both tx/rx. I've been using them on my SDC2300 & GP3500 for months now without issue & they last me a full days detecting which for me is usually up to 6-8 hours. They are very small & I just velcro them to the detector + my booster/speaker which I have clipped to me. They have no noticeable lag at all & a bloke I recommended them to had an Electrical Engineer friend test the claimed latency of 32ms. On testing he found they didn't quite meet the claim but did average 40ms even up to 5 metres (about 15 feet) away. His Engineer friend showed him how anything under 100ms is good & that it is pretty much impossible to pick lag at a latency less than that. As a comparison they also measured the Minelab GPZ unit at a claimed 10ms. It returned an average of 12ms but increased to 20ms if at a distance or objects between units. Pretty good too! The beauty of standalone units is that you can adapt & use your favourite headphones or try any others that tickle your fancy - your not stuck with the supplied pair. You can also use any booster/speaker combos that you prefer, if used, & still remain wire free. In my experience with the above units you do not lose any audio quality or accuracy. I use them with a booster/speaker set up so can adjust volume accordingly. If I were to use headphones I'd more than likely, especially with the SDC, still use the booster so as to have volume control easily accessible/adjustable but there is no reason I can see that a set up straight through to headphones wouldn't work - some people I have recommended these to use headphones only without issue.

The easier to find, shallow stuff is definitely not all gone. The SDC is testament to that - new technology mopping up old, flogged patches (even off the beaten track) where I haven't had much if any success with various other detectors. I am very confident in it (in the right location)

Yeah mate I can read English well even though I'm not American lol. I realise he wasn't using a radio shack. What I was trying to point out & you have highlighted with "most of his finds were shallow vs deep lunkers..... simple" is that comments like those, in my opinion, are just throw away lines. In that area of mostly shallow finds then it may have some truth but in my humble experience by comparison it is more of an exception than a rule. Big nuggets, huge in fact, have been found in shallow ground in Australia with older type VLF's many years ago. Big nuggets are still found now but with newer technology. No doubt some could be found with cheaper machines but like I said they would be the exception rather than the rule. What I was trying to point out, obviously poorly, was that different machines can give very different results in the same location & choosing a machine to suit your location or variety of locations can play a big part especially more so now than years ago when people were literally picking it up in places. Of course location is the ultimate factor, that goes without saying. Machine choice to suit specific GOLD locations can & does play a huge factor in success or lack of, again in my opinion only.

"Most of the gold he had ever found could have been found with an old Radio Shack detector" I'd like to run a SDC or GPZ over his patches then. Back in the day you could find good gold with just about anything that beeped. Nowadays it is very different - those same old patches still give up gold but it's difficult to find. The old VLF's, the Radio Shack just don't cut the mustard, hobbyist or fulltime pro! There isn't the plentiful, bigger bits, they are getting rarer & rarer. Without the best technology you can afford you aren't going to be doing yourself any favours - at least here in Australia. I've got gold in areas with a GMT, none with SD2200D or GPX5000 & a few more with the SDC. Other areas nothing with the GMT, SD2200D or GPX5000 but numerous bits with the SDC. Others finds came from SD2200D & GPX5000 but didn't bother with the GMT due to the ground. The SDC I feel would get more but I don't have access now. Yet again in another area the GPX5000 has been the champion with nothing from others. Combination of ground & depth. As much as location is very important, no use looking for gold where there is none, your choice of machine/s can be just as important in using something to suit that location. There are numerous areas where I now struggle to find a bit but I reckon a GPZ7000 could change that. I've found nuggets I seriously doubt that a Radio Shack or other VLF would have or could have found & that is all about location too.

Its an even older SD coil. Green in colour & on the real old ones the top looks like a bin lid.

Thanks for the feedback Luke. I'm sure you'll find some larger, deep gold & that is really the litmus test here. Those tips/settings will help many TDI users no doubt. As I said though my interest in the TDI has waned to the point it's now off my radar & have since purchased another used Minelab machine for a bargain. Unfortunately the cheaper price of having another PI to play with was a real drawcard but the current exchange rate has made it difficult to go past a GPX4500 for around the same price as the TDI if I were to consider a new machine. The 4500 in my opinion/experience would suit me better for the price but that's not to say it would suit all. Old post revived too late I guess.

Don't know about the UK but the Go-Find in Australia has been marketed as a low cost, low end, easy to use compact VLF & seems to be aimed more at kids, like Steve mentioned, or newcomers & holiday hobbyists. Definitely not portrayed as a high end must have & I can't see how you'd buy one with serious detecting in mind? Also they are that cheap any losses would hardly be massive. A few owners here have said they are happy with the Go-find for the low price as they rarely do park/beach detecting it's a cheap way of having something in the car if on holidays etc. & an opportunity to do some detecting comes up? Certainly no etrac or CTX but for the price who is expecting that?

I had read somewhere that the only difference in the new coils (Elite & Evo) was a new type of "flat" litz wire? They are still wound as monos with no wildly new windings etc. It does seem, in Australia at least, that people are finding small gold deeper with them? At the moment I haven't purchased one - my old coils still work ok! There was one report on the Aussie 4umer forum from Western Australia where sone GPZ targets were tested with from memory a GPX4500 with Elite coil. The 4500 didn't pick most of them up so while I think theres some definite improvements in their sensitivity I am not convinced on the claims that by buying one & sticking it on your GPX it all but brings you up to a GPZ.

There was a recent case of some presumed missing prospectors in Western Australia who thought they had been sending out regular text messages but they had been failing to go through. That case ended out well as they were safe & sound but just hadn't made their usual contact albeit unknowingly due to a tech glitch. This story really highlighted the importance of two way communications in remote areas to me. Satellite phone or two way messaging as a minimum so you know your message/s is getting through.

1.1kg = 2.42508 pounds

As per the title: https://www.facebook.com/107730522623314/photos/pb.107730522623314.-2207520000.1442909281./1010613769001647/?type=1&source=54&refid=17 Reported to have been found on his lease about 1m deep. Nice find Ashley.

SDC2300 mostly & a couple with the GPX5000

If you start getting "storm warbles" thru in the bush that's usually a good time to start watching the weather & planning your egress if necessary especially in heavily treed areas. Trust me I've been caught in a fast moving storm in an ironbark forest - dodging falling limbs & seeing jagged lightning isn't much fun. Not sure I'd be looking for another machine to continue with? If the storms far enough away you can usually tune it to be useable but maybe not as smooth as your describing. All PI's will be susceptible to EMI though to some degree so it is very surprising that you could run the SL inside & during a thunderstorm! Good frequency tuning circuit or very low sensitivity?

It's a great shame that the older products don't get any support in the US. Minelab Australia will still service/repair from the SD2200D on. Once parts run out they scratch them so in Australia at least you would still be ok service/repair wise buying say a GP series for a few years yet. Don't know how much service/repair life is left in the SD2200's though.

Thats awesome!

Good bags the keyboard ones. Had one for my GPX5000 & all my gear. Fit in nicely & less than 1/2 the price of dedicated detector bags.

Good to hear an outcome that your pleased with. Top result & service.