which one to buy

G'day everyone,this is my first post.i am looking to purchase my first gold detector,my limit would be around $3000-$3200.which detector would you informed people choose out of gp extreme,3000 and 3500. i noticed on some websites there are sd2200v2 detectors (new) still advertised but have been informed they are no longer in production.
i spend a lot of time in winter on my days off (5 days every second weekend)out in the murchison,cue,sandstone area of w.a. so thats where most of my detecting will be done plus about a 3 week trip later in the year through the leonora/laverton area.
a very happy and safe new year to you all.

cheers,
sparra

Gday sparra


For the amount of money you have you may as well go for the 3500, they are a pretty good machine and you should even be able to get a few extras like coils in that price as well.

I ran mine with a coiltek li ion battery system (pocket rocket) and a coiltek mini signal booster, and found that to be a good combination, on of the best coils I used on it was the stock standard 11" dd coil, and the other coils I used were the minelab 8" mono and the nuggetfinder sl mono coils were good on it too.

Have a look at ebay they pop up from time to time on there, failing that try Reeds prospecting they may have something in stock at the moment.

cheers

stayyerAU

Hi Sparra
The Gpextreme Gp3000 and Gp3500 are all good machines.The 3000 is a quiter working platform than the extreme and the Gp3500 has the benefit of a quick trak button on the handle.
The 2200v2 is the mystery machine of the group.There are those that only buy new so I can only imagine that this machine was designed to capture the mid pricepoint market.
When say a gp3000 sold at $5600 the 2200v2 sold for far less.As you only get what you pay for I would put the 2200v2 as a fourth choice.Keep in mind what coils and accessories you get with your purchase and stay away from modded machines.
Cheers Dig

hi Sparra, i agree with dig and stayyer, before upgrading i had a 3500, used the 15 x 12" commander DD most of the time, a GREAT detector and coil combination, best of luck, regards, gary

Finder Keepers in Kalgoorlie Boulder have some good detectors currently in stock. Have a look, go to www.finderskeepersgold.com
They are good folk at Finders Keepers and they can be trusted not to rip you off.

Cheers, Jim

Jim you and I finally get to agree on something , Finders Keepers in Boulder are a decent bunch of people who give honest advice based on regular personal infield experience.

JP

Thanks fella's for the great advice on my detector query.Looks like i will go for the 3500.
that's also good to hear about finders keepers being good people to deal with,i will be passing through Kal in a couple of weeks time,will call in and check them out.
once again,many thanks to you all,
cheers, sparra

gday sparra check your pesonal messages

Actually, JP all the detecting shops that I have dealt have been extremely good. They are all good, honest folk and very helpful. Those I haven't dealt with I cannot comment on.

Cheers, Jim

Hi mate i say you should get a nice sd 2200d why????
easy in my opinion and that off anyone who knows about detectors.
the sd 2200d is one of if not the best detectors made by minelab.
it has the auto tracking and discrimination, but most don't bother using
discrimination though. Anyway this detector, is rock solid reliable, and will
with a decent DD coil be a killer machine on gold and coins and beach for jewelry ect
why bother spending 4-5 thousand on a minelab detector just to keep up with the joneses
i know the newest detectors have more and more features, and bells and
whistles ect. But the sd 2200d series have everything you could ever want
in a detector and at one third of the price of a new one.
the sd2200d detector finds hold ect consistently, both small and large
gold, at good depth,and is a rock solid dependable detector. All you
need do is buy a sd2200d detector in good condition, and use some of
your spare money to get some extra coils, a 14 inch coiltek dd pro coil
and the standard coil with the detector, will do nicely and handle just about
any detecting you will want to do for quite a while. This setup with the 14inch dd
coil will allow you to use the discrimination if you want to. But usualy most run
there machines in all metal, and the 14inch dd coil will allow the sd2200d
machine to go nice and deep on most ground with minimum noise, merrily
picking up any nuggets that happen to be under your coil. So there you have it so anyone out there looking to get a good detector at a good price the sd 2200d is the detector to be getting any detectors before the 2200 range
don't have the auto ground tracking ect. And you should be able to pickup a good one with
some extras for around $1,700 to $1,990 depending on accessories with the detector.
you would be lucky if it comes with some extra coils, chargers,batterys, bag ect. So there you go.
so good luck and do make sure you don't buy a detector that doesant have auto
tracking or you will regret it. It is a pain in the bumb yo have to ground
balance your machine every 2miniutes, which will occur in most noisy ground
in good old Australia. Regards ken. Krakenup.