Help needed with ebay purchase

Hi.. I'm a prospective prospector so still have LOTS to learn especially about which machine to get.. it all sounds a bit complicated. From what I've read and what I can afford the SD2200 sounds like it could be ok but are they ok for a female beginner? ..I've read where some of you men struggle with the weight so I'm a bit concerned or is that just the battery? How do I know when an ebay machine is the real (Minelab) deal pls? Would very much appreciate some advice. Also is it necessary to have 4wd for the Vic goldfields and is there a group or another female who would let me tag along in my camper pls? I'm doing a w/end gold prospecting instructional tour mid Sept 2010 would then like to put it into practice for a week or two or three.. Some company and advice now & then would be great.

I don't know much about the 2200, but you can access the vast majority of the triangle with a 2WD.

Hi Hope
A week in the goldfields is a long time for the inexperienced,it'll bring you down to earth.Ive always preferred 3-4 days of good solid detecting and planning each trip so I dont waste time running around.You could hire a late machine which are user friendly with a tour guide and some instruction.See how you like it before you outlay the money.
Finding some of the yellow stuff is very rewarding but doesnt come easy some determination is neccesary.Good luck and let us know how you do.
Steve

Hi good to see another detectorist joining the ranks. You will i am sure find as have many others that it is a fascinating hobby and at times very rewarding financialy, but always rewarding in lots of other ways. Ok now to the detectors, the detector i would suggest to you is probably the best minelab has made. The good ol SD2200D, the reasons being as follows. The sd2200d has auto tracking-ground balancing. And has a damn good discriminator, which has two methods for detecting different items, first is ability to blank out nuisance items such as nails-rusty iron-wire, ect. And second is by tones you can tell different items by the sound-tone emitted by the detector as it finds different items, this feature is very handy for rubbishy areas,and good for beach detecting.any detector before these sd2200 type didant have auto ground balanceing ect,so for a newbie detectorists, and old hands, not having to ground balance your detector is a great help indeed. Itst kinda like the difference between driving a manual car and an automatic car, much easier and a pleasure to operate. Ok the auto ground balanceing keeps your detector at its peak performance, detecting at the best depth possible for the areas you are searching. Checking the ground conditions hundreds of times every minute, making sure your detector is as i said before detecting at the best depth and sensitivity possible. Thereby ensureing the best chance of finding that elusive gold and treasure. As for the whieght issue you can always seperste the control box and battery into a carry bag on shoulders, and also the control box can be worn on your belt or hung round the neck at front for easy access. The rest the rods and coil ect are then a lot lighter. It is realy a personal preference, some guys and gals prefer to use a bungee cord to support the wheght, others like myself like the control box and coil ect in one piece. I have a friend Wendy who is just starting up detecting, she loves it, and is also like yourself going to get a campervan intending to go bush more often. She found that joining a detector club is also a great help in detecting and you get to make a lot of new friends,and go on club outings ect. So ask around and find your closest detector club and join in you will like myself and many others find this a great way into. The hobby and very benifisial. Ok so there we go i hope this helps you out a bit. If you wish to talk anytime just ring me ken on 0438825329 my dear wife Margaret may answer just ask for me, i will be most happy to discuss detecting and types of detectors with you , by the way what area are you in ??? We are in country Sa. I know of a couple of detectors available.ok regards krakenup ken

Not sure if you realised there Ken, this topic is almost 4 years old now sop I reckon they would've already bought their detector by now...