Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 14:44
Mainey, there are five thing important in gold detection..
1) Have a good basic understanding of geology.
2) Know how to read the environment your prospecting in.
3) Having the right detector.
4) Having the right coil.
5) Understanding your detector 110%.
We use Minelab detectors and think they are one of the best on the market but some people say the White or Garrett are the best or better then the Minelab.....it's like the Toyota- Nissan or Waeco-Engel debate.
People have good finds no matter what brand they use, it comes down to the 5 things I've listed above.
If there was 3 people using the top of the range Minelab, Garrett and White detectors who had the top 5 things listed above covered, the Minelab would come out in front by a small margin due to newer technology and better design but you pay the price.
Metal detectors are divided into two categories...coin/relics or gold, a dedicated gold detector will not do as good a job as a dedicated coin/relic one for finding coins and relics and the coin/relic one will not do a good job of finding gold...there is no such thing as one detector to do all.
Some company's say theirs can do both
well.
Start of with a good gold detector costing around the $2000 mark and you will be on the right track, Garrett says their $1899 one is the bees knees and will out perform the Minelab GPX4500 hands down for a third of the price.
If you bought the Minelab GPX4500 first off I think you would be very disappointed with it and you would loose interest and sell it, but in the right hands they are fantastic.
My choice for a good fun first learning detector would be the Minelab X-TERRA 70, if you were a bit more serious then the Minelab SD2100v2 and for full on stuff the Minelab SD2200v2.
If you were looking for coins and relics you can't go past the Minelab E-trac.
Have a look around for a good second hand one, some people buy them and find it to hard so the sell after a few months at greatly reduced prices.
Jump on the Minelab site and some of the detector forums as they have good information and you will realise it's no different to the 4x4 world of Toyota vs Nissan, Waeco vs Engle debate.
AnswerID:
418240
Follow Up By: ChipPunk - Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 02:08
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 02:08
The 2100 & 2200 were suggestions I got several years ago. hey were still around the $2k mark compared to the (then) newer $3,500 models (later typically $5,500). (Shock. Horror. I was hoping for a $125 unit from Ray's!)
Not that I've talked specific models with my neighbour (he just says by the best you can afford - ie, you get what you pay...), but I did like his recent 3.5oz nugget.
It seems someone dug a hole to get whatever - maybe another nugget. He sensed something in the hole and this 3.5oz nugget was in the wall - finger-scratch close to the edge.
He reckons a good detector pays for itself within a few trips. But that assumes you know how to use it. And as written above - know where to go.
FYI - where was this nugget? Dunolly - in a oft-used gold-seeking area!
An as detectors improve, they detect the pieces previous detectors missed...
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688387
Follow Up By: olcoolone - Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 10:30
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 10:30
What people are finding is with the new Minelab E-trac and Minelab GPX4500 is areas that have been fished out are now coming back to life as the Minelab E-trac and Minelab GPX4500 can pull stuff out of the ground that other detectors have left behind.
They do this by offering better depth and better discrimination.
If you want to do coin/relic and gold detecting the two I've mentioned above are hard to beat.
Then the fun part...buying accessories and different coils.
The hard part is finding enough time.
On the last three trips we have done we took the detectors away and never used them.
But as you said if you have the right gear and some understanding, top of the range detectors can pay for them selves very quickly.
FollowupID:
688440