AU_Solitude

17 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

10 feet serves for most people but for diving the machines rated for 100 ft plus are they way to go. I have not done SCUBA for many years now so this fits my Hawaii mask and snorkel needs to a tee. And sure looks to be easier to pack in luggage than my CTX.

That's true - the reality is, even if it was rated at the 10 meters I'd like, it would probably need to be heavier to be neutrally buoyant, and then I wouldn't like using it on land. I have wanted a truly dive capable gold machine for a few "secret" sweet spots, current water machines can pick up the larger multi-gram pieces. I.e., Excalibur,  but there is a great deal of smaller gold. Getting dive gear in these spots is a chore of its own though and this is a small niche that I can live without. Minelab really has something here as it seems like it will cover a broad swathe of most individuals detecting needs.

25 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Three meters - somebody misspoke.

Oh bummer. Well it still looks like a great machine - I may not be as quick to run and get one though. 

Just read waterproof to 10 meters - looks like I'll be getting another detector soon!

Darn, that 40kHz is not far off from the monsters 45 - this could be a do it all unit for me if the waterproof rating isn't another measly 10 feet issue. I'd like a unit to take to 20-30 ft mark in freshwater with the 40khz.

California, USA (PST): 12:45 AM Saturday, September 16

Hmm...pretty sure I'm going to be in gold nugget dream land - I'll be happy checking out the news with my morning coffee. 

5 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I think reports like yours are more valuable these days than reports from somebody like myself. Good, dispassionate reports from regular owners of detectors, pro and con, are always welcome and I wish more people would take the time and effort. That being the case I really want to thank you for a well written, concise report!

Thank you Steve!

So I rolled the dice and picked up a Monster even though I am well aware of the potential coil problems. I know Steve, Chris, and many others who are vastly more experienced than myself have reviewed the detector but I thought I'd document my first six hours of use here as I am more of a novice. 

Things I Like:

1. Build quality - most of the photo's online make this almost look like a child's toy, fortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth and I really love the cam-lock system. Not quite as portable - or quickly deployed - as say the SDC, but I can break it down and fit it and the SDC in a 30L weekend pack. Very adaptable.
2. Automatic ground tracking - As a fairly new prospector I love this for one reason - it eliminates the human element of error. I can use old standbys like the GB II fairly well, adjusting with my thumb as I go, and doubtless manual ground balancing is an edge under certain circumstances, but occasionally my mind wanders and needless to say I know personally I'm not getting optimal depth 100% of the time with manual ground balance.
3. Speaker volume - love the adjustments here; I can dial it down when in the middle of nowhere or crank it when working near water (Headphones see below.)
4. Iron/Gold Probability - I dug probably 200+ targets in six hours, the only time the discrimination was off initially was on a few square nail bits, and it pegs very strong gold on graphite hunks. All hot rocks I encountered swung to the iron probable side occasionally crossing over a little.

Things I don't like:

1. Lack of 1/4" headphone jack - I like using headphones and while I can get an adapter for the 3.5, my favorites are 1/4" and it's just one more cog in the works to bug out.
2. Threshold - this is going to take some getting used to. I actually ran most of the time in auto+ just to get some noise.

All in all I am happy - I'll probably honestly keep this as my sole gold VLF and sell off the others. It's still a new machine, but I have not experienced any of the falsing or bump issues that seem to be so prevalent here on the web. I have ZERO issues with tracking out targets - as long as you maintain a wide, slower, swing speed over the target it doesn't seem to be an issue. 

It hit 113 degrees (officially)  here today, home Thermo showed 116. Not pleasant weather.

I love how compact the SGT is, however, my one and only complaint and the deal breaker for me is there is no iron probability indicator or disc mode - this may be fine for some individuals who primarily hunt in desert areas with little or no iron trash,  but in my locations it's a necessity. 

I keep telling myself...don't...press...buy... Such an amazing deal. I'll probably cave before the end of the day and buy one. 

Fantastic! Nice size pocket. 

You'd be surprised at the number of electronics that you find underwater that can be dried out and powered up. A guy I've dived with found a phone on the bottom of a freshwater lake in about 30' of water, it had some surface rust and had apparently been down there for quite some time, before he even dried it off it powered up. Best of luck - cold water generally means good viz as long as the bottom isn't a bunch of loose sediment! 

Beautiful pieces!

Way to go! The blue vacuum strikes again.

Stunning! 

10 hours ago, Randy Lunn said:

This summer is going to be GREAT!

That's what I keep telling my self, no 4wd so I can't get out for a lot of these glorious wet weather hunts people keep posting about.

Beautiful. 

I think a good pair of boots would be a better investment. 

Fantastic!  The SDC is such a simple, but so very effective machine. I'm sure your son will be finding a lot more gold with it in the future. 

You have a fake, "gpx" on the side of genuine minelabs is in a different font, the screen is wrong, those are two of a few issues I see. Hopefully you didn't waste too much money on it. 

You probably have a fake.

The difference in turbidity at the coastline is incredible. 

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Fun to hear the guy yell through his regulator! Makes me want to get back into scuba. Great find, thanks for sharing the video!

That was my thought, that takes talent! 

Great article Chris. That herringbone piece is exquisite. 

Another Yuba pic. Churn gold, churn!