What's a good Gold Detector to start out with?

Hi guys just looking to buy my Fisrt detector , I am looking at gold field detecting and beach and relic , would like a waterproof one !! I have about $3000 to spend , would I be better off buying two different ones to suit both ?

How much better is the gpx5000?

G'day Rick,...hard one to answer seeing there's quite a few detectors out there at the moment. Firstly.." in my opinion " nothing on the market will beat the gpx 5000 if it's " Gold only " your talking about. By the same token you wouldn't take the 5000 onto the beach to detect coins/jewelery. There's heaps better detectors out there for that. Whites have a TDI ozz PI Series out at the moment, and I'm about to test this machine against the gpx5000. It's reputed to very close to the 5000 in performance on the gold field, and has the added advantage of coming with a waterproof coil suitable for beach work. It also has discriminating capabilities better than the 5000 for "relic" work....and at just over 2 grand absolutely floggs the 5000 price wise.

I can give you some detailed UN-biased test results in about a week If that helps in your decision...Cheers Wal.

Looking forward to that Wal!

I would suggest AT Gold (based on personal experience) if your budget was around the $1000 mark, but if your looking at spending $3000 you're bound to find something better in that price range

Thanks guys , look forward to your results wal , not sure if I can wait that long !! Might save for a 5000 pending your results and buy a another just for beach and relic first.

G,day nugget , what do you think of the x terra 705 for beach detecting? Would like to buy something today

Is the at gold good for beach?

I can't really comment on the Xterra 705 as I've never used one. In regards to the AT Gold it works very well on dry sand, even picking up on tiny targets like the backs of earrings, but due to its design / frequency being optimised for gold its not suitable for salt water use.

Hi, I'm also curious about how much a person needs to spend on a gold detector. Some on ebay seem to start pretty cheap, are they rubbish, is second hand the way to go for a first timer not keen on going overboard?

Hi Harvest.

Cut my teeth on the minelab 70 and the newer 705. Great on the parks, ovals and schools etc. Also very good for beach work but they're not a water proof machine so don't expect to be able to 'dive in'. Simple to use with clear digital displays and basic instructions. Very wide variety of coils. (Starting to sound like I work for minelab--I DON"T). That's only my personal opinion from using these machines. Hope this helps

well thanks and how much do they go for?

Expect to pay around $900 to $1000 for a new one with standard coil. There's one on Ebay for $600 with large coiltek coil (coil alone about $200) but from time to time great deals come up with multiple coils. You need to do your home work but there are some great second hand units out there. Good luck

Harvest said:

Hi, I'm also curious about how much a person needs to spend on a gold detector. Some on ebay seem to start pretty cheap, are they rubbish, is second hand the way to go for a first timer not keen on going overboard?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't waste money on "no name" detectors / chinese ripoff's on ebay, you're bound to be disappointed.

For a gold configured detector you can expect to pay between $1000 - $6000 with the latter being the supreme such as the Minelab GPX 5000.

For great starter / intermediate machines, take a look at the Garrett Infinium LS and AT Gold, Whites GMT Goldmaster and the Fisher Gold Bug range, most of these detectors can be brought for just under $1000 new, so you should be able to pick them up second hand for anywhere between $300-$800.

I hope that points you in the right direction.

Hi all,

Wal, how did the testing of the new Whites go mate?

Jim & Kerrie

Hi all, this is my first post & I'm brand new here & looking to make that first detector purchase. No doubt you're all sick of this same question. I have read just about everything I can on the various detectors & everyone has an opinion, trouble is few of them seem to match!

I have $2k to spend on a new or second hand detector, I get that the Minelabs & PI in general seem to be the way to go but as you can see from the budget that isn't a reality at the moment.

I live on the mid-north coast NSW & am looking for a machine that will find the coins & necklaces etc at the local beaches, and hopefully help me finance into a PI machine, but which I can also use looking for gold locally & out west. Although it would predominately be used at the beach I would like a machine biased toward gold.

As I said I have spent days reading the various forums etc; and as soon as I think I've got the answer someone comes up with a, seemingly, better machine, or slams the one I thought was the go!.

I seem to keep coming back to the Whites GMT but really know no more than I have been reading over the past few days so ALL advice will be most gratefully received & considered.

Cheers, Steve 8)

G,day Aussteve welcome to the forum, Mate Can't be much of a help in making Your decision in the end You must be happy with it ! Ya between a rock and a hard place !! but never fear there are some really swithched on people on the site who will help I myself use an old Minelab explorer 2 coin detector ,,,, Very hard to use and to Quote Minelab NOT meant for Gold detecting !!! I have found coins & relics but Iam not confident when in gold country !! According to Minelab if I can stabilise the machine in mineralised ground the best I can hope for is 1/2 to 1 gr ,,smaller possibly not!!!

Regards L/R

G'day aussteve, welcome. detect a den have a second hand GPX extreme for 2 grand which would be a good buy. Mick

axeman said:

G'day aussteve, welcome. detect a den have a second hand GPX extreme for 2 grand which would be a good buy. Mick

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Mick. I was leaning toward one of these when I read a couple of comments saying they were a waste of money? As a newbie it's difficult to sort through all the information & opinions.lol

G'day aussteve,

Touchy subject at the best of times. As you will have read all over the place a PI machine is always best on the gold and a VLF machine will always be best on coins and relics. Bit like cars i guess. A mini will tow a caravan but not as well as a landcruiser.

By your description of the amount of use in each field, and assuming you eventually would like to get more serious down the track on gold, I would still lean toward a PI machine. There's 2 in your price range and both have a lot going for them. First there's the Garret Infinium, and as an entry level gold detector a hell of a lot of nuggets have been found by them, especially in NSW where the mineralization is no where near as bad as over west. On coins they're right up there but not quite as dedicated to trash discrimination.

The second option is the New Whites PI oz series, one of which i have recently purchased for Liz. Ive had a run with this machine and am becoming quite impressed with what you get for your Buck. It has already found gold and only been out twice. Admittedly I've only used it in NSW and will certainly be giving it the once over when i take it over to WA end of July. There's no coin out there that it won't find. I've heard that it can't handle the NT mineralization, BUT, i have a mate over WA at Halls Creek (ironstone capital of the world) who says with the correct settings it's very capable on the gold.

I will be doing some serious comparisons with the 5000 and at this present moment I'm more than impressed with what the whites can achieve....Best of luck on what can be a touchy subject....Cheers Wal.