Minelab SDC2300 information and questions

[Wally69]

Here you go RR

I like the fact that this scoop has the ability to violently shake dry dirt to sink the heavies to the bottom and rear of the scoop quickly without loosing some over the sides. It makes reducing by 50% at a time very effective.

At about the $4 mark it won't break the bank either

 

[Ridge Runner]

Here you go RR

I like the fact that this scoop has the ability to violently shake dry dirt to sink the heavies to the bottom quickly without loosing some over the sides.

At about the $4 mark it won't break the bank either

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/1916/1431053357_image.jpg

Thanks Wally,

That's Quite A far out and Groovy looking Scoop, I will try and get one of them Too.

Sorry OP for side tracking your Thread,

John

 

[user 1769]

I also use the Fiskar scoops. Local Bunnings had them for $2.70 the other week. I bought several.
I use them for crevicing also, they wear down quickly, but I find them cheaper on the long run that lolly scoops, which cost $20-30 and still only last me a season or 2.

 

[Drbean]

Yeah understand what you mean but guys I'm talking about diggings and forgive me for not making this clear the old timers already found the source.
Yes the targets are very small and can be painful and do take longer than 30 seconds . if I'm looking for a source I wouldn't be using the mop (sdc) I'd be using my 2100 with a 14 inch coil and not on diggings .

 

[Metamorphic]

I dont get it....its in the ground still or its in the scoop???

If its in the scoop, why is it so hard to get out in 30 sec no matter how small.

If your missing it through fingers, your scoop is too big making you take a bigger handful on sieving.

My old mate uses a kitchen ladel with a long handle on targets with his sdc, gotta love him, he never misses.....quick draw!

Place it in the palm and coil wave it, not in the fingers :lol:

 

[gedanate]

I dont get it....its in the ground still or its in the scoop???

If its in the scoop, why is it so hard to get out in 30 sec no matter how small.

If your missing it through fingers, your scoop is too big making you take a bigger handful on sieving.

My old mate uses a kitchen ladel with a long handle on targets with his sdc, gotta love him, he never misses.....quick draw!

Place it in the palm and coil wave it, not in the fingers :lol:

I presume that would have to be a plastic ladle? So as not to overload the detector?

 

[Guest]

It would be worthwhile for me trying this method the day I plan to drive home.

You know what its like you want to go out for that last detect before you have to drive home but its such a long drive you just pack up and go. You don't want to do half a day and be shattered for the drive home.

Pack up then put in a solid hour using DrBeans method. Maybe end up with 2,3 or 4 hours of normal detecting's equivalent targets?

Then the pain of the long drive home would be numbed by wondering how many ounces you have in that bucket in the car!

I always like bringing home a bucket or two of something to sift through over the next few weeks/months till I get another gold fix! There are a lot of us that live 4 to 5 hours drive to the nearest speck of gold, so time management and some form of strategy before you go and while your there really does count.

Cheers

RS

 

[JeffP]

What is the main purpose of this detector ? Is it only for small gold at shallow depths ? Or will it pick up larger pieces at deeper depths ?
Also would it be fair to say ,,, that it will find more gold than a GPX 5000 ,, albeit smaller gold ?

 

[PabloP]

I believe that Minelab created this machine as a backpack portable device that will more easily find the small gold close to the surface, although it will detect reasonable size targets at "moderate" depth. When you look at the design of the machine and its transmit and receive timings, this clearly should be able to better detect smaller targets closer to the surface. But the smaller coil size is likely to restrict the potential for detecting the larger/deeper targets.

Rob.

 

[IanSDC]

JeffP, have a look at this link from Minelab http://www.minelab.com/aus/gold-mining/detectors
Its got some good info on the differences of the machines including tech info on technology types used on each.

Basically the blurb states that the SDC2300 will re-open the gold fields to all the small and differing types of gold the GPX missed. Likewise with the new GPZ it supposedly does the same thing for big and small gold and everything else in between.

Sometimes the manufactures info is worth a read as there is no simple answer, except ofcourse if you have the money then skip the GPX and the SDC and buy the GPZ!

Ian

PS I have the SDC and love it, but if I had the money to spare I would also buy the GPZ for the deep targets.

 

[Heatho]

I got a Chinese coin at 40cm at Wattle Flat, someone had a scratch at it but gave up after 2 or 3 inches. I dug it out and was surprised at the depth it was at. If you wave it over an aluminium can on the ground it will pick it up with a subtle signal at 2 feet.

So yes it will get big gold pretty deep, but not as deep as a 4500 or 5000, small gold under .5g it will probably pick up a bit deeper than a 5000.

Main purpose is to find gold the others missed and it does it very well.

 

[Wally69]

Got a brass button at 10" on the same field but haven't pulled a nugget at greater than 3".

Still looking

 

[wooly]

I got a nice .93 gram nugget yesterday at about 5 inches yesterday. That was probably one of my deepest gold finds but I have also dug bullet casings, nails and horse shoes to about 12.14 inches.

 

[SCROUNGER]

It's light, it's compact, it's VERY easy (simple) to use and it's great at picking up very small nuggets. I know i'm picking up plenty of small pieces (and some a bit bigger) in already detected areas and where i'm seeing people with 4500 and 5000s working. I've found gold down to around 10 inches and bigger metal down a bit deeper. It's great for poking in and around where maybe the bigger coils can't operate as easily. It's downfall for me is that i don't feel positive about moving too far away from very shallow ground to detect with it. If i had the money i'd be looking to buy another deeper searching detector as well. But i can't fault the 2300 if you want to get some gold almost every time you go out.

 

[wooly]

Yes I agree about the shallow ground Scrounger. It also helps a lot if you rake away all the leaves and branches once you areo n that shallow ground.

 

[SCROUNGER]

Yep wooly, one day last week i picked up 6 pieces from under bark and leaves that i know i wouldn't have heard if i hadn't pushed away that overburden first. I haven't raked areas yet but i know that if i went to that effort i'd definitely be finding more. Good point.

 

[Drbean]

Last Saturday to Monday I bagged 52 peices yes I call it the mop that is what it mainly was designed to do .If there's a peice of gold as big as a football then it will pick it up ! Ok let me make it simple I always hate small talk .If it picks up small gold then the bigger the gold gets the easier it is to see to the detector .be happy with the small peices if your not on a virgin then your flogging old ground.ok I see the funny side of that after being married for 15 years!

 

[Drbean]

Hmm like to know where this 30 seconds comes from you must be Flash Gorden mate 30 seconds per target hmmm must be using the dark side.

 

[Metamorphic]

Yep once its in the scoop and out of the ground or your mullock scrape, its not that hard....10 years + of target handfuls week in, week out is where it comes from..... gives you the dark side powers to an extent i guess!

Dont get me wrong, its a sterling idea except for one thing. One very big important thing!

After you have panned the contents of your bucket back at home and find gold......can you tell me accurately the exact spot it came from???

Does anyone agree this may be a critical element in helping you to find more??

If you dont, then yes, your a lunchtime detectorist and best of luck to you!

 

[Metamorphic]

I presume that would have to be a plastic ladle? So as not to overload the detector?

Yep thats the one....the same one you spoon tomato soup from the pan into your plate with.

Once you know your detector, pinpointing targets in your mullock scrape is usually pretty bang on for me most times. If it aint in my first 3 scoops, i have missed the pinpoint

A small plastic long handle ladel, preferably filed flat at the bottom lets the smaller targets settle on every scoop with a bit of a soup shake to help, and gives a nice flat bottom surface for anything heavier to sit in to wave over the coil. You shouldnt need a big arse bunnings scoop

Detector overload is not an issue.....if your lucky enough to have a nice sizer in there, you can hear it 'clunck' on the plastic bottom on the shake and transfer back and forth between hand and ladel

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