G
Guest
kicksome said:Hi everyone i'm not sure if this is in the right section but im looking for a bit of guidance. I'm new to gold detecting and am quite enjoying it - I purchased a 2nd hand White's GMT goldmaster VLF machine for cheap just to make sure that I enjoy the hobby before making the big jump into a hefty priced PI machine. Now my predicament is; I'm finding the VLF very frustrating in the highly mineralized ground where I live (Bendigo VIC) It's very chatty and i'm finding it hard to distinguish between hot/cold rocks and actual targets. Most who I have talked to suggest going PI. So therefore I'm considering selling my GMT and buying a cheap PI unit. But with having 2 small kids and a mortgage and all that garbage I am on a rather tight budget. I wouldn't mind getting some more expert opinions on a good cheap PI machine that I could purchase. I would like something rather user friendly, and like I said, the more budget friendly the better
So far from my little bit of research, I've come across a few of these which seem to be in my price range. (2nd hand)
Whites TDI pro
Minelab sd 2000/2100 (No auto ground balance?)
Minelab GP Extreme
possibly QED if I could stretch it. But maybe not so user friendly?
If you had to pick one of these, which way would you go? All opinions welcome!
Thanks again
Gday
You would be better sticking with the minelabs, the better of the three models you mention would be the gp extreme, the sd2000 and sd2100 are still capable detectors and good on deeper gold but the extreme is definitely more sensitive to small gold and has good depth as well, I had an extreme for many years and found lots of gold with it, I have seen them go for as little as $700 to $1200 and thats good bang for your buck.
As you are new to the game you want a straight forward and easy to use detector, some of the modded detectors like the F1A4 work well but you really have to have a fair bit of detector using experience to get the best out of them, cant comment on the Qed, have seen many for sale though, also the Whites Tdi pro, the minelabs are Australian made for our conditions and handle the mineralised soils here very well.
The up side of the minelab extreme and sd models is that you can get lots of second hand accessories for them, including li-ion battery systems and boosters, coils , dvd's on how to use them and so on, adding to your arsenal is easy and relatively cheap, don't be concerned about them being faked as the only fakes started with the gpx4500 and later models, the early models are all safe to buy but obviously buying from a dealer or something that you can see working is the way to go.
From experience if I had to go back to an earlier model detector or wanted something to carry as a spare or back up machine I would be looking for a Gp extreme for sure, if you can later stretch your budget two other option that you can get in the $2000 to $2700 range is either the gpx4500 or the sdc2300, the sdc being the less complicated of the two machines to operate, but both are very good value for the money.
cheers
stayyerAU
