$2k spending budget

Hi all,

Very new to the game and have done some panning and detecting now i cant shake the bug.

Im located in the northcoast of NSW and in future hoping to travel across OZ detecting.

1500-200 is my spending budget. I would like a detector for GOLD mainly, not much of coin and relic.
I wanna detect bush and rivers as they are my location. I would love the gpx 5000 or the atx pi but until i find a couple nuggets
they will have to wait.

thanks in advance Farm-gold

Hi there, if it were me i'd go for a GP Extreme, you may just squeeze one in for 2000. MARTY

Looking at WANTED TO SELL the 4000 and the 4500 are both VERY good prices ! but i'd be making sure there legit !

marty wrote:Hi there, if it were me i'd go for a GP Extreme, you may just squeeze one in for 2000.  MARTY

Cheers marty, i did look at that product but i rather something Newer and is still in production. I rather not buy second hand.

FG

G'day farming-gold,

I think you will find that Minelab will still service these machines if they have not been modified.  
Good luck out there.

Cheers.

Mike.  

Mike54 wrote:G'day farming-gold,

I think you will find that Minelab will still service these machines if they have not been modified.   
Good luck out there.  

Ok sweet.

I have been looking at the GP extreme and also been looking at the Garrett AT Gold any opinions on the AT Gold?
They say the at gold is good for finding little nuggetz but what is stopping it from finding my BIG nuggz?

farming-gold wrote:

marty wrote:Hi there, if it were me i'd go for a GP Extreme, you may just squeeze one in for 2000.  MARTY

Cheers marty, i did look at that product but i rather something Newer and is still in production. I rather not buy second hand.

FG

Hi FG
The best detectors for gold in the world hands down are as follows.Minelab Pulse induction machines.First best Gpx series second best Gp series third best SD series.The reason being none to date have Full Depth Capability on our Highly mineralised and variable soils only these.There basically bullet proof and you can get a warranty if you buy through a dealer.Stay away from modded ones Minelab wont touch them.So if you are keen to be able to obtain results up to one metre,look to the above.This forum is a revolving door with newbies being sidetracked by unproven attempts by other companies to offer products that don't come even close to these machines.When there is something better the fulltimers will change in a heartbeat,then everyone will know.
Cheers Dig

Dig24crt wrote:Hi FG
The best detectors for gold in the world hands down are as follows.Minelab Pulse induction machines.First best Gpx series second best Gp series third best SD series.

Thanks Dig that helps a ton. I would love a gpx but i just dont have the budget 3k-6k. Ive been on the minelab website and they only have two gpx in production.
If i were to go to GP series ( im guessing GP EXTREME is the best out of the GP series?)how do i obtain a brand new model when the production line has stopped?

FG

FG
The Gp series have 3 main machines Gpextreme Gp3000 and Gp3500.The 3500 is the best of the 3 as it has push button ground balancing.The Latter Gpx machines are good,but don't get to caught up in this.All the Minelab Pulse induction machines have excellent performance.Its more important to understand gold and its nature and how to get the best out of your machine.You wont be able to buy a Gp series machine new.Buy a secondhand one thru a dealer and get some lessons.You will get a warranty.
Cheers Dig

Dig24crt wrote:FG
The Gp series have 3 main machines Gpextreme Gp3000 and Gp3500.The 3500 is the best of the 3 as it has push button ground balancing.The Latter Gpx machines are good,but don't get to caught up in this.All the Minelab Pulse induction machines have excellent performance.Its more important to understand gold and its nature and how to get the best out of your machine.You wont be able to buy a Gp series machine new.Buy a secondhand one thru a dealer and get some lessons.You will get a warranty.
Cheers Dig

Thanks again Dig im learning more every time.

I tend to buy things that are newer as they are the better performers but as I've posted this topic on is 2k Budget. Im trying not to get caught up with all the different machines but the variety is hard to depict what i want from it as each machine is suited to environments and whatnot.

I will check the GPX series and see what i can budget, can you give some insight on the AT Gold by garrett?

FG

G'day farming-gold.

Here is a link to the Garret AT gold there is some others in there as well. Happy reading.  

https://golddetecting.forumotion.net/t8026-anyone-finding-gold-with-the-at-gold

Cheers.

Mike.  

Mike54 wrote:G'day farming-gold.

Here is a link to the Garret AT gold there is some others in there as well. Happy reading.  

https://golddetecting.forumotion.net/t8026-anyone-finding-gold-with-the-at-gold

Cheers.

Mike.       

Cheers Mike thats a good read. Im interested in the AT gold as it can sweep water. Im still looking through different models. But I do tend to lean towards the ability the minelab series have with 1m depth scan. If i see one that does water aswell im happy but with my price budget I think AT might be my best bet but imma keep searching.

FG

G'day farming-gold and welcome to the forum

Any metal detector could or should possibly find gold, some do it better than others, and some will find tiny bits as well as big bits and some real cheap ones will struggle to find even big bits.

VLF machines are cheaper and well within your budget price for new ones, but some will struggle with our mineralized soils in Aus but they can and will find tiny bits of gold, Gold Bug 2 or the Whites GMT both in the VLF type of machines will signal on the smallest bits you could imagine.

As for a Minelab PI machine in the bit older models, don't get to hung up on whether its 2nd hand, as long as it is in good condition and has not been modified then Minelab will and can service these machines.

If your budget is around the 2 grand mark then a good Minelab GP extreme with some extra coils will be about your best bet, just remember that most of the well know areas have been done over with this machine and then by the latter ones after it, you need to research areas that haven't seen so much detector activity over the years.

A metal detector is just a tool and then you need to learn how to use it to it best potential which ever one you decide t get.

Best of all make sure you have fun out there.

cheers dave

If your after ones that can go in water and are Minelab then the 2 I can think of right now are the Excalibur and the new model CTX3030

There may be others but seeing as I don't go detecting in the water I don't pay much attention to them.

cheers dave

davsgold wrote:If your after ones that can go in water and are Minelab then the 2 I can think of right now are the Excalibur and the new model CTX3030

There may be others but seeing as I don't go detecting in the water I don't pay much attention to them.

cheers dave

Thanks Dave wealth of knowledge.

I don't mind if they are Minelab or a different model, atleast it can go in the water and have some good capabilities like the Minelabs do.

My area that I know of hasnt had or if any detecting done to it.. there have been gold mines all around the area but that was atleast 5 decades since operation.

Thanks FG

edit: thats it for me tonight ill check in on posts tomorrow thanks all.

Don't compromise..........I suggest 1). Hire a GPX machine and see how you go.
2). Ring some of the bigger dealers to see if they do "terms" on the GPX (you maybe able to do a deal whereby the dealer waves the hire fee if you buy!).

Be lucky.

I think im gonna go to our local camping store and take a look at that AT Gold. They do have the minelab Eureka dont know about vlf though.

I think im gonna go to our local camping store and take a look at that AT Gold. They do have the minelab Eureka dont know about vlf though.

Both these detectors are VLF machines.

The minelab Eureka has 3 frequencies "6.4kHz for maximum depth, 20kHz for general detecting and the super sensitive 60kHz to find the smallest gold nuggets"

The AT Gold has 1 frequency by the look of it, 18Khz

cheers dave

davsgold wrote:

I think im gonna go to our local camping store and take a look at that AT Gold. They do have the minelab Eureka dont know about vlf though.

Both these detectors are VLF machines.

The minelab Eureka has 3 frequencies "6.4kHz for maximum depth, 20kHz for general detecting and the super sensitive 60kHz to find the smallest gold nuggets"

The AT Gold has 1 frequency by the look of it, 18Khz

cheers dave

I guess i like the feature of taking it into the water.

I like the range of frequencies from the Eureka but I wanna skim through water aswell.

I'll check out them GP's see what i can decide on. Just wish one was in my hands.

Been searching through different models, came to the conclusion that water is my main reason for use of a detector.

Ive been looking at the Infinium and the CTX3030. I would like the GP extreme if it was able to go a few feet in the water.

The AT Gold compared to the Eureka gold. I do like the three frequency option but again it came down to use in water.

AT gold is what im leaning towards...get some finds then saves for a GPX.

From reading your posts farming-gold I got the impression you were more interested in looking for gold than coins or relics, but your short list has changed from bad to worse in regards to prospecting detectors. So what exactly are you intending to use the detector for? You have received some excellent replies but it seems your ignoring them.

Basically there are 3 classes of detectors: Prospecting, Coin & Relic and Multi-purpose (combination of the two). Prospecting detectors are good at finding gold, Coin & Relic are good at coin & relics. The catch is that prospecting detectors are not all that good at coin & relic hunting and vice versa. Multi-function detectors can however do both. The catch is as davsgold has already said, some are better than others. Truth being that most muti-purpose detectors are good at finding coins & relics and next to hopeless on gold. Theoretically they can find gold but they don't do a very good job of it. So, if you want to buy a detector to find gold you SHOULD consider a dedicated gold prospecting detector.

Now to complicate things there are 2 types of detectors: VLF and PI. I'll give you a quick run down on the pros and cons of each.

VLF

1. Low cost
   
2. More sensitive to small shallow gold than PI detectors
   
3. Good discrimination
   
4. lightweight
   
5. Very sensitive to mineralisation in the goldfields
   
6. More difficult to master than a PI
   
7. Does not go very deep
   

PI

1. Excellent depth
   
2. Quiet and easy to use
   
3. More expensive than VLFs
   
4. Does not suffer from mineralisation as badly as VLFs
   

In my opinion
The best PI prospecting machine is the GPX 5000. The second best is the GPX 4500 and the third is GP4000 and so on down the list all the way back to a SD2000. Simply nothing else comes close.
The best PI coin & relic. ?
The best muti-purpose PI ? Possibly the ATX. This machine has just been released so time will tell
The best VLF prospecting machine: the Fisher Gold bug 2. I don't recommend this for a beginner though, it's a highly specialised detector that complements a GPX 5000.
The best Muti-purpose VLF: The Fisher GoldBug Pro. This unit CAN find gold and does it well. It can also be used for coins & relics.

The CTX3030 is a high end VLF coin & relic detector and hopeless on gold. The infinium is a muti-purpose PI detector more suited to coins & relics than gold. The Eureka is a VLF prospecting detector that in my opinion is an under-performer. I never thought much of its predecessors (XT1700/XT1800) way back in the early and mid 1990s, and I prospected for a living back then. AT is a muti-purpose VLF machine that probably can find gold, but I would never want to use it solely for that purpose.

If you want waterproof then don't bother with the current round of prospecting machines. As far as I'm aware none are waterproof except for the ATX. Most of the coils used with Minelab machines are however water resistant and this might be good enough for your purpose.

that is a great post, good onya Nebuchadnezzar
davsgold was also, wealth of info up there
regards trashy

Sweet thnx Neb. I don't ignore any post, it might seem that way in my posts but this is just the way i work to understand what im after.

Your post and others are the reason i didnt buy the  AT gold over a week ago.

I know i want a sole purpose GOLD detector that is PI and is atleast coil waterproof, so I can skim 1-2ft of water.

and im on looking for a gp extreme or 3000.

G'day FG,

I think Coiltek make a waterproof coil that does suit the ML PI's. I would google to check this for sure.

Try this link.

http://www.coiltek.com.au/collections/gold-coils/products/12x8-dd-platypus-coiltek-manufacturing

Cheers.

Mike.    

Thanks mike that is a sweet coil for waht i want just need diff colour

Mike54 wrote:G'day FG,

I think Coiltek make a waterproof coil that does suit the ML PI's. I would google to check this for sure.

Try this link.

http://www.coiltek.com.au/collections/gold-coils/products/12x8-dd-platypus-coiltek-manufacturing

Cheers.

Mike.    

*********************************************************
Try a second hand C/T 24x12 UFO, it is spoked, lightweight and punches deep for what you want in the water (solid epoxy & w/proof.....check with Trev @ C/T.....fits all M/L PI machines........should get a used one for $200.

Created new thread.

sandy2010 wrote:
Try a second hand C/T 24x12 UFO, it is spoked, lightweight and punches deep for what you want in the water (solid epoxy & w/proof.....check with Trev @ C/T.....fits all M/L PI machines........should get a used one for $200.

Ahh v nice. cheers sandy!

farming-gold wrote:Thanks mike that is a sweet coil for waht i want just need diff colour

I don't think the colour is gonna make any difference to the way it works mate.  

cheers dave

davsgold wrote:

farming-gold wrote:Thanks mike that is a sweet coil for waht i want just need diff colour

I don't think the colour is gonna make any difference to the way it works mate.   

cheers dave

O i kno that