The SD 2000, 2100,2200

These were excellent machines in their time and found loads of nuggets when they were plentiful. Obviously they are still being sold and being used. Are they still successful and if you have one, tell us about it.

Zilch, nothing, useless.
dont think theres much hope for the 2100 nowadays.
But still trying
Ed.

Your wrong there, these older model still have a lot of life left in them, have you tried running a higher voltage, and an audio booster, and don`t waste your time with mono coils.
cj
ps found eight small nuggets last week with my old banger lol

I have a SD2000, not modified as yet and have found quite a bit of gold with this detector. Just recently one particular patch I have scored 21 pieces rangeing from one small speck of gold in a small rock, .4grams upto 18.2grams. All in a span of 1 month.
Earlier when I was a real beginner I started getting little bits now and then, have a drought, then a few more bits and then a drought.
The machine is simple to use and not a lot of buttons to get one confused.
This is my first detector and been in this game for about 3 years. Still learning all about gold detecting and everything that goes with it. Cheers SmallestKerri

Good to hear the old machines are still finding some pieces, It must be me not going to the right places and not walking over it.
I did aquire a signal enhancer on monday but havnt tried it out as yet so hopfully will try it on sunday, I did try a monno coil from coiltech in Maryborough and agree with ya dont wast ya time with it as it was too noisey so wont bother with a monno again. I also found out my 2100 was the later version which is suposed to be the better one so just have to get back out there and have another go.
Curently useing the standard 11" DD and thinking of purchasing a 14" DD, what coil did you use to pick up your pieces and how far down did you pick em up at.

Good luck to me.
Ed.

Sad news Ed you still havnt got a piece yet keep trying it will come mate I will catch up with you soon so we can head out local I have covered some country since the last time I saw ya and I even tried th GP 3000 and didnt get anything I'll be using the Gpx 4500 tommorrow I will let you know how I go,since my Hj 308 Sandman ute is doing so well on ebay I will be buying my first pi machine so read these posts and trying different models is helping me with my choice.Cheers Dave

Evening members and SD2100 owners,
Used an SD2100 for many years swinging the 18" Mono.
I too believed you could not run a mono until one morning I perservered and found this machine could be tuned to obtain a steady threshold and I could walk over ground that others were amazed that there was a big mono hanging on the end of the stick.
Just copied the method from my old website, hope it gives a new lease of life to those who are still swinging the tried and proven SD2100;

Tuning your Minelab SD 2100:
"Firstly you probably HAVE missed many nuggets with your SD "warbling" in your earphones. When I now get the slightest variation in the "hum" I scrape off the top layer of rocks, grass etc and if the signal has improved it is usually a small target, hopefully a nugget.
Getting back to tuning:
With the machine turned on and holding it at waist height with base of coil vertical, rotate 360deg, noting which direction the warbling is greatest.
Lay the detector and coil on the ground with the coil tilted up at about 45/60 deg and facing direction of strongest interference.
Place one hand on the box to keep it steady so there are not any false signals (as you can well imagine the 1 & 2 balance positions are not ultimately tuned at this stage) with your other hand using the small screwdriver, rotate the tuning screw clockwise. (At this point it may be easier to remove your back pack and lay it next to the detector) If you haven't achieved any improvement after say 20 rotations clockwise, rotate anticlockwise for 20 rotations (back to starting point) then keep rotating anticlockwise for another 20 rotations. (This pot does not have a "stop" so it may take time.)You may feel like a bit of a dork out in the middle of nowhere down on all fours with your butt in the air but believe me it is worth the effort.
If you persevere eventually the threshold will become a steady Hummmm! You will only need to readjust if you move to complete new mineralised ground or your machine again becomes unsteady. After you have your machine humming steadily stand up and go through the 1-2 positions of balancing your machine.
At this point it is advisable to select the “Tone” that most suits your hearing.
Using a small target (shotgun pellet is ideal) scrape a small hole and place target in the hole. Now swing your coil across the target, vary the tone until you get the clearest/ sharpest signal that suits your hearing.
LOW and SLOW and ALWAYS investigate any change in tone no matter how slight, those little grammers soon add up.
Pinpointing your signal:
When a signal is targeted, draw a line through where you think the target is, now step around 90deg and again swing and again draw a line through where you think the target is. Where the two lines cross will be approximately where your target is laying. (After you become confident you will find only imaginary lines are required.)
Coils:
Mono coils have a different target centre to your DD coils, practice with both using previous pinpointing method until you are confident. If the ground is highly mineralised and your machine continually chatters you may need to use your DD coil only.
Tip:
If your signal varies considerably while using the pinpointing method it is quite possible your target is ground noise. (Scrape of the top layer of dirt, the signal should increase if it is a target.)
Good luck on your next visit to the goldfields, and yes, I would be interested in hearing from you whether this advice helped in any way."

Hoping this can breathe a new lease of life into those swinging the SD2100
Cheers
Peter

Again members,
Meant to mention, on a recent trip I had the occasion to strap my old SD2100 (sold it to a detecting mate) and I wondered how I could have carried that weighty 12V regulated battery on my back for hours a day.
Had a Reeds Li-ion battery pack tucked in the spares box, dug it out wound the power output down to 7.3V and fitted it in the back pack.
Not only did a great weight come off the shoulders but my old trusty machine purred and I believe was even more stable than from the years gone by.

Peter

G,day Peter(nightjar)
I finally tried you way of tuning in the 2100 yesterday but made no diference to it at all.
When you say 20 turns to the left then 20 to the right until you hear a hummmmmmm, I persume you mean with the ground balace on (1) then the same with it set on (2).
Can you clarify this for me, as I had it set on search.
I gave myself til xmas to find a nugget with it but now extended it til newyear.
I got to be the unluckyest bloke out there.
cheers
Ed.

The SD2000 is believed to have made over 500 millionaires in Australia the first year it was released. Mind you, this was a very powerful detector compared to all that had come before it. When this detector was released, gold was worth a mere fraction of it's current values and yet people used them to clean up here. Their superior depth gave up a LOT of gold for those early prospectors new to the 'electronic prospecting' boom... and a new (second) Gold Rush came about. The SD2000 included Minelab's military paint job (courtesy of Minelab's Mine-Detecting equipment and parts) in a drab olive color... which can also be seen on the Golden Hawk detector they launched in the last decade.

The SD2100v2 is a far cry from the earlier "d" model that came before it and the SD2200v2 is the current incarnation. I believe that model just went on special recently from Minelab and dropped down in price for Christmas by about $1000.

The newer GPX series detectors like the GPX-4000 started a third "gold rush" when they came out because they could stabilize on the noisy soils and gave slightly increased depth over previous models. But the SD2200v2 is still an extremely capable detector and is used by plenty of serious nugget hunters around the world today. Most users prefer the Auto features of the SD2200v2 over the Manual settings of the SD2100v2. But the performance and capabilities of both models are very similar, if not the same.

Minelab SD21000

This Minelab SD2100 has found in excess of one million dollars worth of gold. It has lead a tough life. Once it had been accidentally buried in dirt by an excavator and another time it was drowned in the river. This detector has never been back for repairs and is still functioning well.

http://www.nqminersden.com/frank_and_leo.htm

The 2000, 2100, and 2200's are missing Dual Voltage Technology. Is that a big disadvantage or only a very minor thing?

I have heard on Finders Forum that a 2200 went deeper than a GP detector in a test and was preferred for depth by someone. I wish I could find that post to put the link here. Another post on Finders said the older green box SD 2200's were better than the new blue box 2200 v2 models and gave reasons.

Hello all,
I have just come home from a week away, sat down with some time out to experiment with some air test!
My trusty old Sd 2200d versus a 3 month old 4500 which is owned by a pro prospector mate, well i couldn't believe the outcome.
Some amazing results, oh and a chance to work and see what all the settings do and don't do!
The guys at minelab where not far off recieving a very nasty phone call
But in the end i know what i am going to stick with!
Scotty

Scotty, can you please tell us a bit more in a little more detail about your test when you compared your green box SD 2200 to the GPX 4500 ??

Thank you!

Beer Beeper,
Mate i would love to open up on this forum but it only causes **** back stabbing and havoc!
The experiment was done in a manor of equalibrium swapping coils etc and the results were unbelieveable!
Scotty

Sounds like the 4500 had it`s arse kicked LOL
cj

Judging by the amount of gold recovered at depth by the GPX-4500 by professionals, I'd be genuinely surprised if it were shown to be less sensitive than the 2200v2. I am VERY fond of the SD2200v2 though and have a hard time convincing people that this detector has much the same depth as the GPX series. For someone not needing the "whistles and bells", the SD is a nice, powerful detector that would give the GPX units a run for their money. Both are still manufactured (at the moment) too! I am under the impression that the GPX-4500 is far more sensitive to smaller gold than the SD2200v2. As for air tests, the GPX-4500 is more prone to interference from ANY electrical wiring within 50 yards of the detector when it's turned on. This is one of the reasons it's so sensitive to small targets in noisy soils. If you air-tested the 4500 at home, the results would have been disastrous, I'd imagine. The EMF from most 240v wiring in the average home radiates out for about 25-70 feet from the wires themselves. I think the 2200v2 is going to be far less prone to interference near a house and whilst sensitive to larger nuggets at depth, doesn't have the sensitivity to extremely small "rice grain-sized" nuggets that the GPX-4500 has.

______________________________

As an example, I ran a 1.5 gram gold nugget alongside my own GPX-4500 with a 15x12" Commander coil during an initial power-up test several weeks ago. The GPX-4500 ignored the nugget COMPLETELY and this sure had me baffled. I'd even shut down all the electricity to my apartment for the test too. It was as if the coil was asleep. I then ran the same nugget near the Elliptical HF coil on an X-Terra 70 and the unit screamed at me.

As soon as I turned up in the bush the following week and dropped the same 1.5 gram nugget onto the iron-laden soil, the GPX-4500 wailed loudly when I ran the coil over the same nugget at height. So the lesson learned from my own experiment was to never bother testing my GPX in the suburbs. I'd been told this was the case.

Not sure how the SD units work under indoor conditions but my guess is they can handle some of the electrical interference better yet are slightly less sensitive outside to smaller targets.

Went out yesterday to try to tune 2100 in and spent half hour trying with no luck so waved it about a bit for half hour, ground balancing it 3-4 times befor cracking the beeps with it and come home thinking about selling it. Befor I do is there anyone close to Ararat that could meet me out bush somewhere and tune it in for me to save me driving to coilteck.
I enjoy going out when I can and would miss it if I gave up even tho I find only crap.

Help please.

Ed.

Ed, will be going through Ararat New years day, weather permitting, if you want to PM a contact no, happy to catch up and have a look at your detector. Mallee00 and the mutt

Hey Scotty
20ks down the road from you "skill not luck" shhhhh about sd2200 seen regulary what they achieve.Has me scratching my head, six more months with what Ive got then back to the future.
Cheers Dig

Gday All,
My friends and myself have done alot of tests with Minelabs SD2000-2100-2200d-GP extreme and GP3000 on in ground targets.
The old 2000-2100 gave a clear signal on nuggets over 4grm at about 15 inches,with nuggets smaller than this only detectable to about 8 inches.
The 2200d was nearly as good as the GP`s, on nuggets around 10grms over 20 inches deep,but could not detect a 2grm nugget at a depth of more than 12 inches.
The GP extreme and 3000 were the winners on smaller bits at depths greater than 12 inches and better at picking up 2grm pieces deeper than 15 inches.
All tests were conducted on different types of ground using regulated power supplies with coiltek and nuggetfinder coils.
My last SD2200d had a up-grade with the mono switch fitted and a reg power supply and it was close to the preformance of the extreme,but still lacked abit on small stuff.

Scotty whats the serial number of your 2200? come on Scotty tell us more start a bun fight LOL
cj

CJ,
Mate my serial number is 045230, but dont be fooled as i run twin enhacers one via the battery the other has its own battery.
Hence the reason i find that fly ****!
Scotty

nugget_hunter69 wrote:G,day Peter(nightjar)
I finally tried you way of tuning in the 2100 yesterday but made no diference to it at all.
When you say 20 turns to the left then 20 to the right until you hear a hummmmmmm, I persume you mean with the ground balace on (1) then the same with it set on (2).
Can you clarify this for me, as I had it set on search.
I gave myself til xmas to find a nugget with it but now extended it til newyear.
I got to be the unluckyest bloke out there.
cheers
Ed.

Ed,
Sorry to hear you haven't been able to tune your SD2100. My method definitely works.
Forget about the ground balance at this early stage of tuning.
Leave the balance switch between 1 & 2. As I wrote you need to balance after the machine is tuned.
The machine MUST be held perfectly still during the process, turn the pot very slowly.
The 2100 is without any doubt one of the finest Minelab machines, selling it is not going to solve your problem.
You have made the most positive move by asking questions, given a little more time and practice can almost guarrantee you will you will master it.
Good luck
Peter

Ed,
What I should have added is the tuning mentioned for the 2100 is appropriate for the WA goldfields far removed from any man made interference. The nearest micro wave towers or power lines 70/80 km's away.
Cheers
Peter

Scotty have you tried it with no threshold, enhancers flat out

hi cj
ive seen how good scottys 2200d is the 45 serial numbers are suppost to be the better ones to get
apart from that scotty knows how to really crank it up its one of the best 22s around
i was lucky enought to find a 45 serial number in excellent cond myself getting real hard to find one though
so will be catching up with scotty over the weekend to get some settings and see how they go side by side only hope mines half as good as his
ive run the threshold off before but had the enhacer half way with good results usually run the threshold about 11 oclock
them old green boxes still produce the goods best of all they punch real deep
cheers john

Hi John,
Channel 2 and Deep is a great setup for DDs in Vic.With this setting and a 18dd pro they become very quiet.The truth is to that all machines are not alike.We tested 4 from coiltek,one from SA that we new of its history and had found plenty of gold {in beautifull nick},was outdone in stabity and depth by a ratty looking one from Bung Bong.The battle will rage forever green V blue and I suppose the end result is the results you achieve.The perfect machine cant be built,much the same as the perfect car.There are those that swear by their machines and thats a good thing.Confidence is the name of the game.With that confidence we slow down a bit and start to hunt rather than just taking a machine for a walk.
Cheers Dig

hi dig
thanks for those settings mate will give them a try i prefer a DD most of the ground we hunt on is pretty hot
couldnt agree with you more a banged up battered machine will perform just as good
and not all the same models seem to peform as well as others same settings coils etc
seen it all before
caught up with scotty ran thru some settings and borrowed a mates coiltek lightweight 16in mono to try out
its ran quite on the 2200 and was impressed just how sensitive it was so i might have get one
yeah the blue and green debate will still go on but at the end of the day get to know how your machine talks to you and it will reward you
very happy with this 22 we got seems very quite n stable no yella as yet
cheers john

Hi guys,
Firstly I finally picked up a small piece with the 2100 at 2'' with no enhancer (it wasnt connected for some strange reason) and a 250mm mono so I will keep it now lol.

Ok the problem now is I went out yesterday with a bloke with a sd2000 and we set him up 1st with a small lead test piece in a plastic (sd memory card holder) and his 11'' DD coil wouldnt pick it up even if you touched the test piece but would pick up a half lead bullet at 2'' and he has a constant high piercing noise comming thru his headphones even with enhancer turned down and thresh hold turned down, we even disconected the enhancer but still there. we tried my monno coil on it and the piercing noise was still there but would pick up the test piece at 2'' compared to me picking it up at about 5-6 ''
any ideas on what the high pircing noise would be and how to get rid of it.
would blue electrial tape reduce the performance of the coil being the reason why it wouldnt pick up the small piece.
cheers
Ed.

a standard non modded 2000 with the 11ins DD coil will not pick up a very small nugget, a small mono will, but get the noise problem fixed first.
cj