Just Bought An SDC2300

I just bought a SDC 2300 on Friday. I'm heading off to the goldfields early Tuesday morning to try it out. It would be nice to find some gold but I am a realist. If I find any gold in the first few trips there I will be delighted but more likely I will find everything else.

I have five things in my favour:

1. I am retired and have plenty of time on my hands.
2. I am a musican and play an AKAI EWI 5000 at close to professional level. (I have somewhere between 7000 and 8000 hours of practice to get to that level.) Metal detecting I believe is similar. If you want to become skilled at it then you have to put in the hours.
3. I enjoy doing research. I have spent many hours on the net learning all I can about gold prospecting. (That includes this Forum in my research.) I have also watched numerous Youtube DVDs as part of the learning process. (I have spent some time in the goldfields in WA but never found any gold.)
4. I love Australian History. That means if I find the occasional lead shot (maybe not so occasional ), or an old tobacco tin, etc. I will be happy. I also have the opportunity of trying to look through the eyes of the early prospectors to see what they saw and then build on that knowledge.
5. I love being outdoors in the bush. I have spent many, many weekends in the blue mountains and elsewhere hiking with a pack on my back or just going into the bush to camp. As a sideline, I have also done caving and abseiling. (I must be getting soft - I have recently converted a Tarago into a campervan which of course has a bed or I can use the awning and surrounding tent to sleep in.) Nah, I'm not getting soft, just adapting. After all, I do want to spend quite some time out in the bush searching for that elusive nugget.

So there you have it. Wish me luck as I head off into the great outdoors to try my luck.

Happy Prospecting

B n B

PS. I'll tell you why I call myself Bush n Beach in another post.

Show us all what you found when you get back. And good luck :Y:

Welcome. I think you have a great attitude and I hope you find lots of gold!

Coming from a musical background I think will give you a big advantage, because when we detect we are listening for the minute variations in pitch and volume that tell us what is happening beneath the soil. It's all about training your brain.

Did you get some aftermarket headphones or are you going to use the stock ones?

Thanx for the encouragement Wishfull and 7.62marksman and I will show you what I find for sure!

Hi Dron. Thank you also for the encouragement. At this stage I will be using the headphones that came with the SDC. Can you recommend better aftermarket headphones?

I found with mine I needed a booster the sdc is not really that loud may depend on your hearing the standard earphones will get you started just see if you can hear the machine or not would be the first step because if you buy new ones you need an adaptor I found the pro sonic worked well also good luck

Thanx for the tip savage bitter. My hearing is good. (I think - I can still hear cockroaches scratching in the kitchen or is that mice )

Another question. Are the waterproof headphones from Minelab any good?

G'day BnB , well you've got the right machine for the job ,you will find gold with it if you look in the right places.
Don't be discouraged with all the bird shot you'll find ,it sounds the same as the gold most of the time .
Practice getting good at finding the shot and the gold will come .look around the mullock heaps ,surfaced areas and shallow ground .
Start with the sensitivity on 2 till you get your ear in and when your confident run in 4 or 5 or as high as you can for the ground your working.
Cheers Booney

Bush n Beach said:

I just bought a SDC 2300 on Friday. I'm heading off to the goldfields early Tuesday morning to try it out. It would be nice to find some gold but I am a realist. If I find any gold in the first few trips there I will be delighted but more likely I will find everything else.

I have five things in my favour:

1. I am retired and have plenty of time on my hands.
2. I am a musican and play an AKAI EWI 5000 at close to professional level. (I have somewhere between 7000 and 8000 hours of practice to get to that level.) Metal detecting I believe is similar. If you want to become skilled at it then you have to put in the hours.
3. I enjoy doing research. I have spent many hours on the net learning all I can about gold prospecting. (That includes this Forum in my research.) I have also watched numerous Youtube DVDs as part of the learning process. (I have spent some time in the goldfields in WA but never found any gold.)
4. I love Australian History. That means if I find the occasional lead shot (maybe not so occasional ), or an old tobacco tin, etc. I will be happy. I also have the opportunity of trying to look through the eyes of the early prospectors to see what they saw and then build on that knowledge.
5. I love being outdoors in the bush. I have spent many, many weekends in the blue mountains and elsewhere hiking with a pack on my back or just going into the bush to camp. As a sideline, I have also done caving and abseiling. (I must be getting soft - I have recently converted a Tarago into a campervan which of course has a bed or I can use the awning and surrounding tent to sleep in.) Nah, I'm not getting soft, just adapting. After all, I do want to spend quite some time out in the bush searching for that elusive nugget.

So there you have it. Wish me luck as I head off into the great outdoors to try my luck.

Happy Prospecting

B n B

PS. I'll tell you why I call myself Bush n Beach in another post.

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It is music yo the ears when your detector goes off in remote virgin county. Good luck.

Enjoy the experience B n B and what is an AKAI EWI 5000?

Welcome b&b hope you settle in with the src pretty quickly as for getting soft there is no point getting older if you dont get smarter. Good luck and happy swinging
Jim

The stock headphones are fine but tape the cord to your detector or it will wear out eventually from flexing.

The Minelab underwater headphones sound amazing when your head is submerged fully underwater. I think they use bone induction or something? Anyhow they are twice as loud underwater but on dry land they are too hot and your ears will get sweaty.

If you upgrade to the adaptor lead you will be able to use any headphones you like or even have lying around the house. I recommend something comfy.

WOW! I am truly thrilled with all the kind and positive feedback I am getting from you guys here at PA.

Hi Booney. Thank you for the very, and I do mean very, helpful tips re the bird shot, the areas to search and info re the SCD2300. I have written down this info in my special prospecting book of tips and suggestions.

Thank you for the encouraging words, Pete's Pick. I can't wait to ear that music of my detector going off.

Hi Flowerpot. I am heading off late this afternoon to go swinging and I am sure am looking forward to the experience. :drooling:
Now to answer your question re the AKAI EWI 5000. Whenever I play in front of a new audience, I have people, especially musos, coming up to ask me what it is so you are not alone in wondering what it is. It is an electronic synthesizer which authentically mimics the sounds of other instruments such as all brass and woodwind instruments, panpipes, etc. and is a very expressive instrument with a very sweet sound (and yes, I am hooked on it - I love playing it especially for congregations. A group of us are going to sing Christmas carols in a Nursing Home and I will be playing my instrument along with the singers. I am looking forward to it as these dear elderly folk really enjoy it.

Greetings Reynard.I have to admit I chuckle every time I see your Avatar. I just hope you don't use that baseball bat. Those on the receiving end would really get the point! layful: I appreciate your comments and am certainly looking forward to getting out there and swing and getting the feel for the SDC.

Hi Dron. I will take your advice and tape the cord to the detector. That's a great tip. Thank you. Also, thank you for the link to the adapter cord. I have saved it and will order one when I return from my trip as I have a few headphones lying around at home which are very comfortable.

Howdy ctxkid. I like you already as well :Y: and I will share my finds eg. birdshot, scraps of metal, old rusted out tins, etc. and, if I am really, really, really lucky, and have been a good boy for Santa O , I might find some gold :rainbow: :goldnugget: ickshovel: (but I won't hold my breathe! lol)

Have a great day Guys. I look forward to chatting with you via PA in the future.

Happy Prospecting

B n B

Awsum intro! With that weapon.... your off to a good start!

Good luck and happy traveling, B n B

Goody

Baseball bat ?
that's me plck

Greetings all. I have returned from my trip to the goldfields and I will share my observations and discoveries but before I do I would like to thank you mudgee hunter and goody2shoes for your encouragement. And reynard, that is sure a dangerous looking pick .

Now for my observations. I went to an area where gold had been found by the early prospectors and where those with metal detectors have left their evidence by not filling in the holes (some quite recent).

The area where the gold had been found was very similar in appearance to the goldfields of WA but with more vegetation. Much smokey and pink quartz and iron stones (ie a very mineralised area). The SDC handled it beautifully. It was hot and dry on my first day and I began to appreciate what the original prospectors had to contend with. The heat, the flies, the shortage of water and the great distances they had to travel from Sydney before they even arrived at the goldfields. No smooth highways or air conditioned vehicles for them. What took me a few hours must have taken weeks for them.

So what did I find on my first day?



As you can see a lot of metal. No gold but I still enjoyed myself learning how to use the SDC. Notice the 2 birdshot. I think that is a good start for hearing what gold sounds like I believe. This was all found on the hillside descending to the diggings and around the diggings.

My second day, in the morning I scanned another area before breakfast and found a horseshoe. It was reasonably deep (about 20-30cms down) and had obviously been there for a long time.

After breakfast I drove to the other end of the diggings and scanned the diggings and nearby hillsides. This is what I found for the day:



Again, further additions to my metal collection. I found a lot more birdshot on this day. Am I improving or was I just in an area where more birdshot was used, or where others with detectors hadn't been. It was a bit of a distance from the diggings.

Can anyone identify the large piece of metal on the top right? Is it a metal boot heel or part of a horseshoe? That was the the only piece of metal there as I checked the hole and surrounds after I removed it.

I did a little bit of scanning on the third day (found nothing) but the rain encouraged me to pack up. (I was planning on going home on this day anyway, just a little bit prematurely.)

The drive home over the blue mountains was rain and fog. A slow trip home.

I'm buying a Minelab XTerra 705 next week so I can go to the bush or the beach. At the beach it will be bodyboarding during the day and scanning in the late afternoon.
Oh, the joys of being retired!!!! It's a hard life but someone has to do it! layful:

Happy Prospecting

B n B

Bush n Beach said:

I'm buying a Minelab XTerra 705 next week so I can go to the bush or the beach.

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The XTerra 705 will prove very difficult to use in wet sand. I suggest you look at either the Equinox 600 or 800, which are Minelab's latest multi-frequency detectors, both of which will function much better at the beach (and elsewhere), than the now-obsolete Xterra.

Yer mate as said above..The 705 is an Awesome machine in dirt and dry sand but is very difficult to get used to on wet beach it will false alot but you will tell a good target.