Garrett Axiom Vs Minelab SDC 2300

[Steve Herschbach]

2 hours ago, Gold neck prospecting said:

...

Welcome to the forum. Nice to hear a new perspective from a new person. Thanks for sharing. 

[Steve Herschbach]

Language Warning - Don’t watch if you prefer your expletives deleted!

Interesting video. Normally I might bet on the SDC 2300, but it’s close. Where the tipping point would be is in the extremely aggressive ground cancellation the SDC employs. It is great at eliminating ground and hot rocks, but as a result there are some “holes” in the system that miss some nuggets. Looks like Dave found one of those nuggets. It’s smaller than it appears since it’s a tiny specimen bit, rough and porous.

Dave needs a little work on his nugget recovery technique.  But in defense the little ones can be challenging at times.

[mn90403]

Ok, that is small f------ gold. Not the smallest but small.

Why do you need to turn the coil up?  Just lay it down and wave the scoop over the top.  I guess he wants to put all the little nuggets on the smooth bottom?  When he does that you can't hear them unless they are moving.  Detectors work off of the change in signal and not the constant interruption.  If you hold it there it doesn't sound off.  It is a good lesson in pinpointing to make your scoop pile.

What makes a pinpointer work differently?

[Gold Catcher]

Good performance of the Axiom. A few things though. First of all, he did not ground balance the sdc before going over the target. This can make a big difference, but perhaps it was already done before and we did not see it. Second, the 8 round stock is more sensitive than the Coiltek aftermarket coil. Third, no settings for the sdc were disclosed (was it really 4 or 5)? Third, coil moved to fast. Small targets can only be captured with very slow swing speed, the sdc misses often when this is done too fast. Fourth: the sdc should really be used with headset. Ok to use the built in speaker for filming, but this impacts performance as well. Also, for best performance the sdc should be used with the SP01. Assuming all settings are adjustes properly, the SP01 gets about 20-30% more performance out of the sdc. So, impressive performance of the Axiom without a doubt, but I venture to say that with all the above points met the experienced sdc operator should have had no problem hearing it at that depth. Even though the gold consistancy of the specimen might be somewhat challenging, the MPF timings should have still picked it up. But of course with all this said, there are always these odd examples where one nugget is heard by one detector and not the other, even when ideal settings are used. 

Just my 2 c

GC

[phrunt]

Mitchel, with your 15" CC if you are recovering very tiny gold 0.02 type stuff it's also beneficial to turn your detector upside down to use the center of the coil. 

I think the Axiom hot spot on some coils in the very center too.

The guy sure has an interesting way to recover tiny gold, not how I'd be doing it that's for sure 🙂

From what I can see the Axiom, SDC, GPX 6000 and GPZ 7000 are all brilliant detectors, so people can just use whichever one they like the best and be happy knowing they're using a very high performance machine.  Each have their strong points and each will beat the others at something.

[TE Gold]

I have never had a chance to see an Axiom in person, but it's an impressive machine from what I can tell.

The SDC 2300, oth, I witnessed in action. It's an amazing little bugger! It was a machine I recommended to a mate starting out, and it served him very very well. He bought a coiltek 14 x 9 coil to go with it, and found some really nice gold with it, including a beautiful 2.7 ozt piece. It works really well in some of the hottest ground I have found. Will try and find some pics.

[TE Gold]

I have never had a chance to see an Axiom in person, but it's an impressive machine from what I can tell.

The SDC 2300, oth, I witnessed in action. It's an amazing little bugger! It was a machine I recommended to a mate starting out, and it served him very very well. He bought a coiltek 14 x 9 coil to go with it, and found some really nice gold with it, including a beautiful 2.7 ozt piece. It works really well in some of the hottest ground I have found. Will try and find some pics.

[microsniper]

On 6/20/2023 at 10:34 AM, mn90403 said:

Ok, that is small f------ gold. Not the smallest but small.

Why do you need to turn the coil up?  Just lay it down and wave the scoop over the top.  I guess he wants to put all the little nuggets on the smooth bottom?  When he does that you can't hear them unless they are moving.  Detectors work off of the change in signal and not the constant interruption.  If you hold it there it doesn't sound off.  It is a good lesson in pinpointing to make your scoop pile.

What makes a pinpointer work differently?

Quote

 

Yes that was torture watching the recovery!  I thought the same thing..     However, after recovering some "really small" pieces myself  with the Axiom, I can kind of understand why he chose that method.

   The top of the coil doesnt seem quite as sensitive (to me) + the added thickness/shape of the scoop makes hearing the tiny tiny ones difficult to hear.  (not so with SDC).        

Iv experienced this many times now.  When i originally pick up the smallest discernible targets they must be practically touching the coil and then when i go to recover them with the scoop, i cant hear them and end up throwing them back, and starting over.   Might have to customize one of my scoops for dinky dink recovery🔎 ...

[oneguy]

On 6/20/2023 at 4:04 PM, Gold Catcher said:

Also, for best performance the sdc should be used with the SP01. Assuming all settings are adjustes properly, the SP01 gets about 20-30% more performance out of the sdc.

Just my 2 c

GC

This SP01....????  Know nothing about this gizmo, does it just enhance volume or does it actually increase sensitivity and hopefully more depth?  Outside of the ergonomics issues with the SDC the only thing "I" would like to see is a tad more depth with the SDC....

PS.... Currently run the Coiltek 10x5 and best I can tell from just an air test is the 10x5 and stock coil were equal as far as depth goes....

TIA.......

[Aureous]

My 2cW.... yes that was painful to watch. Made me wish I was there and get the target within a few seconds. Ive seen vids where other Axiom owners turn the coil USD to get a better response (Steve) but I see that as a minor detraction....annoying but tolerable. Ive done numerous tests with the SDC on tiny targets heard with other detectors and the ground balance needs about 5-10 seconds of swinging to get an accurate lock with the tracking system. A forced GB would have helped in that instance. The 10x5 mono is equally as sensitive as the 8" stock coil but is far more effective in handling ground and allows better depth on tiny targets....the size is smaller and the 'footprint' is smaller, meaning less ground noise for the processor to pluck targets out of the receive signal. Everyone I know who changed to a 10x5 on the 2300 significantly increased their small gold take....its like a supercharger. The SP-01 amp adds a noticeable % of performance as well.....Nenad did a wonderful job on both the audio patch lead and the Sp amp for the 2300. I am about to add another 2300 as a backup unit and for when the Brother visits to go detecting with me. I would never consider using/owning a 2300 without the 10x5 coil, headphone/audio patch lead and the SP-01. Its like driving a car and only getting as far as 3rd gear....