Whites SST Sierra Super Track

http://www.goldsearchaustralia.com/...s/whites-detectors/sierra-super-trac-sst.html
Bit the bullet last night and decided to be a guinea pig. Ordered a Whites SST for a bit of a new direction for some coin/relic hunting. Haven't heard a lot about them being used in Australia but they seem like a good thing. Has a frequency of 14khz & has been described as a simplified version of the MXT but better than the the M6.
Has the same high performance gain as the MXT, same fast tracking ground balance as the GMT & same visual target ID display + 7 audio tones for discriminating as the M6.
Looked at several others including the Tesoro Tejon, Tesoro Vaquero & Teknetics G2 but settled on the SST due to having used a GMT before & being happy/comfortable with it despite not wanting to chase gold like the GMT. Will still be getting either a 4500 or 5000 for that & may still ping a nugget with the SST if hunting relics on goldfields but not holding big expectations of it there. Like that it has the same fast tracking ground balance too & appears easy to use with only three controls. Time will tell I guess but looking forward to having a go with it. Also has salt mode for the beach if/when I get there although the USA forums say to drop the gain first & use salt mode as a last resort. Has some good reports over there & apparently handles mineralised ground ok too with the stock 10"x6" coil.

Wondering if anyone else is using one & has any tips etc.?
Might be a good machine for those wanting an entry level, easy to operate detector for under $800 so I'll try to post some feedback once I get some time in with it (hopefully good :lol.

I have often looked at the SST with a lot of interest. The only thing that put me off it was the fact that I could buy an MXT cheaper second hand from the US than a new SST here. Strange how the models between the US and Oz differ, the US now have a model that sits between the Coinmaster GT and the MXT called the MX5. It too is a simplified version of the MXT/M6, but in the GT type weatherproof housing vs the SST type metal housing. The advantage of the MX5 is that it can take all of the Eclipse series coils, whereas the GT is limited to two coils. The MX5 also runs the same 14kHz frequency as the SST.

Here's an interesting clip regarding the automatic tracking on the SST, swapping from auto to all metal, then back again on a 1.2 gm nugget!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxF6N9XVQb8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Why Goldsearch don't stock the MX5 is beyond me, it lools to be an excellent all-round detector. Apparently the SST is only sold in a couple of states in the US strangely, but in tests it runs more gain than the MXT, and a bit more depth. Will be interesred to see how it goes, especially on the beach, keep us posted.

Whites MX5

The MX5 does look good with the waterproof housing. You would think with our coastline that the waterproof model would get a start here for sure.
Read on a USA forum that the SST is only being sold in some Western States where the mineralisation is higher & only in Jimmy Sierra stores as a Sierra special.
Thanks for the clip - looks like I'll have a few things to play around with. Don't know how long it will be until I get back to the coast but will post something when I do.
Should be fun

The SST will be a great tool as the GMT & MXT have proven themselfs.

The only thing that SST might benefit having is a ground balance lock like on the GT and GMT, so you don't track out the target. Might be a case of initially detecting the target with auto trac on, then switching back to all metal to pinpoint and retrieve the target. At least you have a wide range of coils availiable to you, unlike my GT which only has the stock coil and shooter coil from whites (other coils from NEL as well).

Am guessing Whites brought this detector to Oz due to its ability to handle mineralised ground better than some of its counterparts, as mentioned above, it was only sold to 3 states in the US from memory due to being more suitable to their ground.

The Tesoros you had in your list are all great coin detectors, but really lack when it comes to adjusting to salt conditions on beaches, I know my Vaquero would not even ground balance on the beach. I think there was someone else on here that had a Whites GMZ (the Sierra Gold Trac superceded it), and it worked quite well on the beach with the included "salt" setting.

Zuke_Lynzy said:

The SST will be a great tool as the GMT & MXT have proven themselfs.

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Yeah thats what swayed me, having used the GMT & being happy with it + was comfortable with the Whites brand/set up.

Goldpick said:

The only thing that SST might benefit having is a ground balance lock like on the GT and GMT, so you don't track out the target. Might be a case of initially detecting the target with auto trac on, then switching back to all metal to pinpoint and retrieve the target.

Click to expand...

It has a Pinpoint Trigger that when squeezed stops tracking so you can pinpoint the target & is also supposed to give reading/s to help with depth & size of target. You can also select "trac off" to lock the ground balancing off. If you require a rebalance you just flick into either normal or salt, pump the coil until it settles then flick back into "trac off".
Yep been readin' the manual tonight :lol:

I know the post is a few months now but how does the discrimination work? Does it have discrimination or a notch feature?

Discrimination is tone i.e. iron "grunt" and visual target display. These seem to work well. I don't mind it cause it still lets the operator decide to dig or not.

Ok well this will be my 2nd option if I can't find me a second hand whites classic.
I prefer to disc the junk out and not hear it then to have to decide.

Gidday guys. Was wondering whether anyone has used the SST in the triangle and how well it handled the ground conditions? Thinking of selling my G2 to get this for the girlfriend??

The SST will be easier to use, but the G2 will give a lot more controls once learned making the G2 a better machine.
Might be cheeper to keep the G2' give the misses a $100 aldi machine then the G2 back later on as a upgrade?

The SST is a very easy detector to use. I wouldn't recommend it predominantly for Goldfields though at 14khz. I reckon about 18khz up is the magic number for a VLF to chase some gold. The SST is very sensitive to the hot rocks & although you can make some adjustments to lessen this I would assume that these adjustments come at a loss of more depth. In my experience on NSW goldfields with it I never dug anything over a couple of inches even running it hot. It did seem to ground track reasonably well though & when "dumbed" down only picked up larger hot rocks. Being a "no threshold" machine was a bit off putting for me too.
I never got it for the goldfields & originally planned to do some coin/relic detecting which I think it would be a good, cheap option for if you could get one cheap enough. There are probably better VLF's in the price bracket though new. My coin/relic hunting never really took off as I am close to the goldfields & that's where I go when I have the time so I sold my SST.
Why not just give the missus the AT Gold or G2?

Hey guys. Fair call to both of your comments, all taken on board, thanks.
I sold my AT Gold to help fund the SPP but the G2 has always been her machine anyway. I personally think the G2 is a decent VLF, I just seem to spend more time helping her with it than I do detecting myself. I was just trying to simplify things for her...and me. Think I might just have to persevere...haha.
Hey Zuke, I've seen somewhere you have some time with a GMZ, would one of those be a good option?

I'v got a GMZ with many hours on it and it is soooo simple to use' it's funny whenever we Use it how simple life could be' it hasn't made it to the list of detectors to sell but as we both use other machines now it might go up for sale soon.
You can't get a GMZ new anymore in Australia it was replaced by the SGT bugged if I know why....

Zuke_Lynzy said:

I'v got a GMZ with many hours on it and it is soooo simple to use' it's funny whenever we Use it how simple life could be' it hasn't made it to the list of detectors to sell but as we both use other machines now it might go up for sale soon.
You can't get a GMZ new anymore in Australia it was replaced by the SGT bugged if I know why....

Click to expand...

I have a GMZ - dead easy to use and good on small gold, only issue i had was it falsing when the coil passed over a particular species of tussock grass that grows in the GT and of course the ants nests - I only ever dug one ants nest and quickly learned something that you can learn no other way needless to say i ignore them now.

a great machine..

casper

There's a GMZ on gumtree for $550...never know he might want a G2 ? As a part trade.....

Thanks Zuke, Took my SPP for a run last week, so far looks like a nice bit of kit, might have to get one for her too...haha

Decided to have a play with my old Whites Sierra Super Track today.
Had forgotten how good this machine is. fast auto ground tracking, nice discriminator mode with an excellent iron ID capability. Very good coin and relic detector.
Do not see many of these around these days.
Very simple to use. Has a sensitivity control, Search & Pinpoint selector, and a ground salt mode plus Normal ground mode and a ground tack Fixed mode (ground track in auto and then select Fixed if you want to hold the track setting).
Tone ID is Low tone for iron and various higher tones for non ferrous.

Aah.... reminds me of my Whites SPP, Sierra Pulse Pro. A great little PI machine. :Y:
I did a handle mod on mine.

I started detecting with Whites MXT Pro, SPP then a GMZ. Great detectors in the right conditions and the simplicity of them as well as at options makes me think they were under-rated detectors, very reliable too.