Minelab SDC2300 or GPX4000 / GPX4500 / GPX5000

Hello All
I am in the position to buy either a SDC 2300 or GPX 5000/4500. Any advice on which unit to purchase would be appreciated. I have spent a lot of time researching on this forum and elsewhere , but still cant make up my mind . I realise the SDC is good on small gold , but is it better than a GPX. I am currently using a Whites TDI pro Oz

Any opinions or advice would be very useful.

Regards
mvh1234

mvh12345 said:

Hello All
I am in the position to buy either a SDC 2300 or GPX 5000/4500. Any advice on which unit to purchase would be appreciated. I have spent a lot of time researching on this forum and elsewhere , but still cant make up my mind . I realise the SDC is good on small gold , but is it better than a GPX. I am currently using a Whites TDI pro Oz

Any opinions or advice would be very useful.

Regards
mvh1234

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I'm in the same boat myself. My advice although I'm a newbie to, is to hire both and compare them for yourself before you decide. This is advice that was given to me by other members of this forum. I'm hiring them on Monday. Cost is $125 all up for both the SDC and the GPX 5000. Hope this helps.

I'm in a similar boat myself, wanting to get going but don't have much cash, can afford a new ex-terra 705 or the Eureka gold, but don't know which to go for, any advice from anyone out there, should I go with one of these till I learn what I'm doing or should I hang off and keep putting the money away till I can afford a 5000 ???? Cheers

Ned kellys not dead said:

I'm in a similar boat myself, wanting to get going but don't have much cash, can afford a new ex-terra 705 or the Eureka gold, but don't know which to go for, any advice from anyone out there, should I go with one of these till I learn what I'm doing or should I hang off and keep putting the money away till I can afford a 5000 ???? Cheers

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Yep tough question Ned. Keep in mind I'm green as you can get and I have never even been for a swing. A few weeks back now I was tossing up between the 705 and the eureka. Then I asked the same question as you have. A guy who bought a eureka told me he had bought it not long ago and can't wait to upgrade. He wished he'd bought a PI detector. He said spend as much as you can afford to. The question I've been asking now is sdc 2300 or gpx 5000. Got some great advice from guys on this forum with a lot of experience. So Monday I'm hiring both detectors to use for the day and make my mind up that way. Hope this helps. BTW it is costing me only $125 all up for both detectors for the day. Pretty cheap compared to the buy price.

I hear you chewy, I have been doing the research and the minelab sdc 2300 or the gpx 5000 seem to be the go, trouble is I don't have that sort of cash even second hand (which tends to be pretty good condition) so just to get me going I was tossing up between those two, if I get to go regular and I'm hiring that's money I'm wasting which could go toward the 2300 or 5000 but anyway thanks for the input, regards Ned :lol:

mvh12345 said:

Any opinions or advice would be very useful.

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HI MVH and others .... just a few points that may/may not assist in your decision.
1 - While I hate the pricing of Minelab detectors they do seem to find gold.
2 - the X-Terra range are a solid parks/beach detector, especially with a WOT coil (go back over some of SA Bogans posts and you'll see he did well with it). I've tried mine in the goldfields but got nothing but lead, then again that's all others with a 5000 found as well.
3 - Hiring is a great way to "try before you buy" BUT 1 day with 2 detectors will probably only confuse rather than assist. Get 1 for a weekend (or 2) then try another for a couple of weekends.
4 The SDC is a GREAT 'idiot proof' detector, simply switch on and go .... I've found all my gold with mine (around 60 pieces in 9 months).
5 The 45, 48 & 5000 GOX series are all great detectors, you may be lucky first up with factory presets BUT they will NOT work at all locations and to really get to understand these units will take MORE than a few hours over a weekend. I have a 4800 BUT always seem to revert to the SDC, nothing wrong with the 4800 just me not taking the time to learn.
6 Gold is scarce and just because you don't find any does NOT mean the detector is useless.
7 Swing slow, seem too many people rushing over the ground .... maybe they're right and I'm wrong ???
8 If a days hire is $125 (for 2x units) why not spend a bit more and kill 2 birds with 1 stone .... do a tour (GPA/G&R etc), use their supplied detector , get to try the detector and learn about "the lay of the land" at the same time ..... I should practice what I preach but haven't got around to doing one yet (but definitely will).
9 ... Enjoy you time out there ...... the nuggets are few and far between but the locations are great.
Cheers, Tom.

Top post Teemore & wise words.

Thanks teemore, will take that all on board makes good sense, maybe look for a second hand sdc on the for sale page, cheers mate

Thanks all who replied

I will get the 2300 and hope for the best. First go probably around Dollys Creek , then staying a couple of days at Talbot towards the end of the month.
Still have the TDI pro, can never have too many detectors , maybe one under each arm.

regards
mvh12345

mvh12345 said:

Thanks all who replied

I will get the 2300 and hope for the best. First go probably around Dollys Creek , then staying a couple of days at Talbot towards the end of the month.
Still have the TDI pro, can never have too many detectors , maybe one under each arm.

regards
mvh12345

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Just a tip with the 2300. Detect around surfacing
areas. Theres plenty of spots around blacksmith
Gully rd.

If you need a pinpointer i suggest a vibraprobe
580 because its pulse induction and detects very
Small sized nuggets.

Good luck with it.

Hi all I would love your advice on the following scenario. I had a gp3000 which I sold and am now ready to get back into it and I am still figuring out which detector to get, a gpx4500 or an sdc2300 I've obviously heard heaps of good things about the 4500 but I have only heard of the small findings of the 2300.

I want a capable machine to use around Australia mainly for WA as I am planning a trip there soon, then VIC and QLD that can find small to ounce size nuggets at a decent depth. If you have these machines your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks :lol:

cososa, If you want to chase large deep gold and small gold then a 4500 or 5000 would be the best choice as you have the ability to change different coils to suit the ground and size gold your chasing.

But don't you need to constantly change the type of coils and setting to chase either bit or small?

The 4500 and 5000 can pick up some very small gold even with the 11" mono. I have picked up 0.1 gram bits with the stock 11" coil.

I forgot to add mate that these pieces were several inches deep and running in sensitive smooth.

Ok good to know. How about against a gp3500?

Well i haven't owned a 3500 so i can't comment on that machine, but i have owned a gp extreme and the ability of the gpx machines to run mono's in hot ground is a big plus. Don't forget if you want to run your gpx like a 3500 you can the timings are there to duplicate the 3500. But like all of us cososa we have to work with what machine we own. They are all good machines and can find gold, but some are better at different jobs and some can give you more options in vary ground types and the size and depth of gold you wish to seek.

From what I have read the 4500 has the closest to the 5000 settings the 4800 was a bit of a in between and as such never got a lot of airtime.

Having used the 2300 and the 5000 given the choice and not a budget thing then I would go the 5000 for sure. If the budget was tight look at the 4500/4800 then the SDC2300 in saying that they all find gold. The SDC just doesn't have the punch of the others but a very good detector none the less.

To me it would only be budget that is a factor, otherwise get the best you can afford.

For WA I would go a GPX4500 if budget permits.

If you want to find gold regularly, then go SDC. If you are prepared to learn the machine intimately and get a good selection of coils, then go for the GPX4500.

Thanks for your input I've made a decision so now I've got to do more planning for the trip to WA