Metal Detector advice $500 to $1500

[trekkie]

hi all i bought a xterra 705 gold pak what are peoples thought on it, it came with a dd 18.75k coil and should i upgrade coil for deeper targets

 

[roy cobb]

Hi trekkie they are a good detector for the cost amd a lot have them or have had one Lopk at a 6" coil but go out a learn your machine first
Roy

 

[Smoky bandit]

Great detector I loved using mine when I had it.15inch coil for bigger deeper targets ..6 inch for small fine targets or for trashy areas. :Y: Good luck :Y:

 

[trekkie]

thanks smokey still getting used to mine. wasn't sure as dd18.75khz seems to only pick up targets about 4in down and everyone here seems to target deeper

 

[Smoky bandit]

Sensitive around 22 to 24 which is what I used most of the time should give you at least 6inches on smaller coins and up to 10 inch with the 15 inch coil depending on ground conditions ect :Y:

 

[trekkie]

thanks alot :Y:

 

[oldtimerROB]

The GM has a slightly better chance than an ordinary pick for finding gold. If you use a pick and scratch the ground 10,000 million times you will have 0.0001 % of finding gold. Tin/alum foil has an ID of 18 in the Impact,s DI3 mode at 20 Khz.,so I cant see it masking gold when gold comes in at around 35. Explain to me why five foil bits I had just dug up and placed next to a gold sample masked the foil but gave a good signal for gold? I dont go around wasting peoples time on this forum like some madtunas and madhatters,I do the testing first and give out valuable and useful information on the Impact. So Northeast you are just trying to debunk the Impact and justify the use of PI,s at any cost although the Impact will easily solve the problem of the dreaded foil.Nothing in it for me, just trying to help people and I pondered over if I should initially as there are a lot are plain ungrateful people out there.
I was referring to how easy the Impact is to use on the Goldfields compared to the SDC. I have friends who have a SDC and say it has a steep learning curve.You can say what you want but I have read plenty of reports about the SDC,s depth and never criticised its ability to find fine gold at shallow depth and have on plenty of occasions advised newbies to save up the extra money and buy a SDC instead of a Gold Racer or GM. All that Nenad has done is waved the Impact a few times around some unknown location around SA and it makes him an expert to some people,whereas I have put the Impact through its paces in four goldfields in the GT.and the leading world expert on the Impact who has the guts to disclose his findings on this forum. Ive got nothing to sell or prove and Iam only in detecting for the fun of getting away from the ordinary drudgery of city life.

 

[egixe4]

Hi Rob,

I'm sorry but I can't agree with your comments above.
The Impact is not an easy machine to use compared to the SDC 2300, the Impact is a versatile multi purpose VLF, with many settings, It is not a specialised gold machine.

The SDC is by far the easiest turn on and go specialised gold machine on the market, with possibly the best GB around bar none, wrapped up IMO, one of the worst ergonomic packages.
Now if only those SDC electronics were in the Impact box.

So for ease of use IMO
1.SDC
2.GPZ
3.QED
4.GPX
5.IMPACT

Cheers,

Mal

 

[Smoky bandit]

Leading world expert...Mmmmmm Shall watch this thread with Interest :Y:

 

[Goldtarget]

Gosh Rob for the expert you seem to lacking finds. As I've stated before my gold pan has found more gold than your Impact. That's not a dig at the Impact that's squarely aimed at you the world's leading expert that has a zero gold count. Zero Zilch nada nothing. I'd give you as much credit as a bloke telling me he was an accomplished sniper playing COD on xbox.

Your attack on the Monster tells me you are unwilling to keep an open mind. I personally used one under the guidance of one of the best users of this machine about a month ago, and despite not finding anything myself I can tell you an accomplished user can and will find gold. Not more than 2 hours after handing the machine back the owner had 7 subgram pieces in the jar. The fact you think a pick would be just as effective tells me all I need to know....that clearly you have zero idea of what you are talking about in relation to the Monster.

As your threads have trailed off into obscurity you feel compelled to jump in others and highlight your obsession and lack of open mindedness.

For the OP the Monster is quite capable dedicated gold machine among others within your price range.

 

[RM Outback]

OTR the SDC 2300 is by far the easiest machine to learn your friends must be completely stupid imo if they think it's a steep learning curve.

 

[Neilzz]

Yea heard and read wonders about the SDC all round seems like a top notch machine for a decent price for its finds

 

[RM Outback]

Yea heard and read wonders about the SDC all round seems like a top notch machine for a decent price for its finds

Neil the SDC is an absolute brilliant machine albeit it won't punch deep but you can be assured if your on payable ground and there's gold within its capabilities it will find it. However as a versatile budget allrounder for coins relics and small gold the Equinox 800 is looking good since it release. I own a 2300 and use it every time I get out I've never used the Equinox 800 or any coin /relic machine but will probably purchase within the next 12 months.

 

[Neilzz]

Yea for entry levels such as myself they both seem like good machines that only minor adjustments needed especially the SDC (bit more expensive but worth the price.) and have been leaning more towards that the past week just on people's experience with them all over prospecting forums and groups on Facebook. I'm still taking in as much info on all other makes also before I commit to buy but thanks to everyone here I'm narrowing down my choices as for impact machines I haven't read up much on them or seen many good experience's with them so they aren't on my list

 

[Fnx50]

My opinion, for what its worth, is that by canning a particular machine, one only serves to diminish oneself. What is needed here, and what was asked, is what machine would best suit the members budget and expectations. If you want to personally attack each other, might I suggest you take it outside?

 

[Neilzz]

We're all friends here I'm only after one's experience in machines in the budget range otherwise gpz7000 all the way

 

[ProspectorPete]

Hi Neilzz, it's great that you are still keeping an open mind and taking in as much info from forums, topics and real life users on certain machines.
My only advice I can offer is when it comes time to pay the hard earned for your detector of choice be sure it's the one you are going to really be happy to get to know the ins and outs of, when I started detecting 4 years ago I bought my first detector and instead of really getting to know it I always felt it was lacking what the bigger more expensive detectors had so I started detector hopping for a while and never really satisfied until recently.

In hindsight if I took the time to really get to know my first detector and use it to it's strengths I would have been quite successful instead of frustrated.
Anyway, just thought I'd pass that on and hopefully you won't head down the same path, taking your time choosing like you are is great and I'm sure you'll be happy with which ever detector you choose :Y:

 

[Neilzz]

Thanks Pete yea I purchased my first machine without doing any real research and am regretting my eBay special lol definitely will be fully committed to at least an entry level detector but with the choices I've come down to they're all a win compared to what I have

 

[Rockhunter62]

Hi Neizz,

We first boughtt he SDC and used only it for the first year. Easy machine to learn and very capable in finding gold to approx 20cm give or take depending on settings, size of target etc.

Bought the Gold Monster 1000 next for Carol. After using the SDC we found that it's a totally different machine to master, PI verses VLF. It took a us a bit but we finally found some gold.

We now have the GPZ 7000, haven't used this one yet but the one I used last year led me to believe that it is basically a big SDC for ease of use. I love it.

Carol now gets the SDC and the GM 1000 will still sit in our arsenal.

Whichever detector that you decide to buy, put the effort into learning how it works and try not to listen too much to the nay sayers.

All the best.

Cheers

Doug

 

[Neilzz]

Thanks Doug yea the SDC seems quite forgiving for beginners like myself with easy adjust settings and working well with relic collecting and I am contemplating on putting a few more $$ into it and getting the SDC. The GM also seems like a great machine but the SDC seems to perform better all round with appropriate coil's for what your hunting so seems like a win all round