Cheap metal detectors

Zuke_Lynzy said:

Yes your right' some great deals can be had on the bay and I buy and sell a lot of stuff on eBay myself but buying your first detector is worrying enough without purchasing it online and overseas, unfortunately not a lot of options with a first buyers budget being under $500, unless you settle with a Aldi or jay car machine to get started which do show great results.
And on a $300 budget you could get one each.

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My first detector was a minelab advantage for $180 and then I moved onto a minelab 305 that I got for $260 of Gumtree and now I'm using a Garrett AT gold that I got on eBay for $670, so I guess it's all about searching the sites for a bargain and just working with what you can afford, buying brand new does cost more and buying second hand can be a risk but that's just life, Most of the times with second hand detectors ul find that ppl find the urge to start prospecting and go out and buy a brand new detector, then after a few times using it they'l decide it's not for them and just sell it on..

the duck said:

I use the lobo as well and it will find gold and its not bothered by the mineralisation of the GT but we all know a minelab is the only way to find gold but are you going to find 4500 worth of gold and if your a newbie are you going to be able to use a minelab 4500 to its potential
As we all know most people come to detecting to find their gold nuggets but very few are successful and you will not find enough gold with a lobe to buy a 4500 best start cheap and see if you like the hobby first as some dont last long swinging the coil
I know of a lot of people who have minelab 5000 and still have yet to find gold and i think you will see them come back on the market soon

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Some of the largest nuggets found in Victoria were with a VLF. Where a Minelab PI excels is in highly mineralised hot ground like you find in and around
Talbot though my GP3500 still picks up the odd hot rock or ironstone. A 10oz nugget was found in central victoria at a depth of no more than 10 inches
in pipe clay about 6 months ago.

My guess it may of been dropped by the old timers who may of been carrying a few or it was tossed aside among the clay without realising while
working the area. A vlf with correct coil would of picked this nugget up which was buried in clay but you need to walk over it.

Gold prospecting is interesting and everyone has a theory where to find gold even though we learn the basics. Sometimes you will find it
where you least expect it. An example includes near tracks or away from the gold diggings leading towards a track. So spending $4000 on
a detector is not the be all and end all though it helps.

You need to work with the strength of your machine and match that with the right goldfield. eg high khz vlf for small nuggets on once gold rich
shallow alluvial gold fields.

If it fires up it will be a good tool to learn with as most of the finds will be junk anyway. Low and slow and tune it to understand the difference between lead and metal.

It's a gold snoop cant remember who makes them but they are okay .use it in disk mode an the discrimination close to 5 an you will find some pretty cool stuff! I've found heaps of pre decimal coins with mine an a 9 ct gold Ring a silver ring. It will be worth while using it .! I haven't used mine for a while as I up graded to a at gold.

thanks for the reply man! yeah well if it is i might give it a go! ahha might go to a local park or somthing this week

juat looked it up then it must not be one of the worst ones as it is rrp 279$

They're not flash to look at but they work quite well. Av a play with it!

Looks like the Gold Snoop that I have... (Jack Lange detector) it will find stuff ok..you will have to dig everything though...not really good for discriminating...pretty good depth capabilities ...crank it up and play with it ...you'll have fun for sure..

set both knobs about halfway to start with and play around from there with settings

Horses for courses I say. I own both an Xterra 705 and a GPX4500, while l started off with the 705 (which was the combo pack with Mono and DD coil) and thought it was the bee's knees - even when gold hunting in some mineralized areas. I would never go back to nugget shooting with the 705 now I have the 4500. Although, yes it is possible to find gold with the 705, it just doesn't stand up in comparison to the 4500 (which did cost 4x as much!).

It was very noisy to use, but as a beginner, it was excellent and l learnt a lot - especially about hot rocks! So as suggested above, start with something basic, if you enjoy it enough you can always upgrade later. But as also suggested, don't get a cheapo machine that you will end up hating and will turn you right off the game.

And remember if you don't stick your coil over it, you won't find it! Regardless of what machine you are running!

Chazza - well said. I run the 705's baby brother the 70 with my 4500. They compliment each other and are great tools for their respective jobs. I have said it many times - the VLFs do have a place on the gold-fields - just aim for very shallow small stuff on clear mullock and quartz dumps. There are 1,000s of mullock heaps and hundreds of old reef workings in Vic waiting to be detected over and IMO, the VLFs can do the business no worries.

Argh I'm confused now what to buy I'm a total newb!! But want to learn I'll spend up to $1000

Anicefeeling said:

Argh I'm confused now what to buy I'm a total newb!! But want to learn I'll spend up to $1000

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No rush in buying a machine.

You can always hire a few different ones.

Good luck with it.

Zan said:

Hi everyone!
My boyfriend and I have recently started gem fossicking (we are new to the hobby but are already addicted) and he now wants to try his luck finding gold, coins and the like with a metal detector. His birthday is coming up and i was wondering if i would be able to get anything half decent in the $200-$300 range..? I've seen them for sale for thousands but also saw some cheaper ones on ebay, I just dont know whether or not they'd be useless..I know NOTHING about them at all, so if anyone had any info/advice for me that'd be great..! What sort of detector should I get for a first time prospector (something reliable) and what price range am I looking at..?!
Thanks

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Zan the objective is to get a present for a first time prospector. As someone new to prospecting it would be best to hold off the big investment in the metal detector until you have done some more research on this.

I would suggest going out with a few forum members and picking their brains and perhaps hiring a detector for a day from a dealer.

If you really want to get a best prospector a present that will last their whole prospecting life I would suggest investing in a set of goldpans like the Garrett deluxe set. It's a cheaper option and you will be able to go out and prospect for gold with it. Learn to do gold panning first, talk to people about their experiences with their metal detectors and then go and invest after you have hired one. It's a big investment and one you don't want to get stung on by some shonky operators.

If you do decide to buy one the go with a reputable dealer who can offer you a warranty on the product.

Hope this helps

well, you can pick a Chinese detector for $100, all the way up to a minelab gpx5000. for about $6500. depends how serious one is.
it takes more than just a good detector find to targets. research, perseverance, and hard work are also needed.many start off with low level models like ace 250/350, m/l 305 and similar and learn and up date along the way.mbe vdi read out might be easier for new comers,it helped me.
for a bit more, you may get a/t gold for more versatility. just try as many forums as you can, check product reviews etc. mbe find a local club to join,a wealth of experience and help.

What about one of those EX military detectors? Are you allowed to own them?

A nicefeeling why would you bother with those? If you really want to spend up to a $1000 on a metal detector go to Anaconda or Miners Den and get yourself a Minelab 705 Gold it's a great beginners machine.

http://www.anaconda.com.au/Product/Camping-Gear/X-terra-705-Gold-Pack-Metal-Detector#90036500

http://www.anaconda.com.au/Product/Camping-Gear/X-terra-705-Dual-Metal-Detector#90036501

http://www.minersden.com.au/minelab-x-terra-705-gold-pack-metal-detector/

http://www.minersden.com.au/minelab-x-terra-705-dual-metal-detector/

Of the two dealers I would recommend Miners Den as the staff are usually metal detectorists / prospectors.

Best of luck with it

Ok thanks I just saw it on eBay

Don't touch eBay too many shonky operators people have received empty shells instead of working metal detectors. You've got a minersden in Sydney and I'm sure there's an anaconda store nearby.

Seems like the Minelab X-Terra 705 is the best for a beginner?
at about 800-1000 I'm only after golf nuggets not going to work the parks or beaches at this stage.
What do you guys think?