Lighter weight detector

Good morning all.
Am thinking of getting a detector for my wife who has medical conditions which leave her tired very easily. So I need something that is not too heavy and awkward, not too expensive, but will nonetheless be reasonably effective as a gold detector. I would appreciate your experienced thoughts.
Yours tropically, Harry

PS
Sorry, I should have added `not complicated' to master. I am not exactly a genius at reading manuals and my wife is worse.

Harry

I use an xterra 705 gold pack. Its very light and easy to learn. I havent found gold yet but i do however get heaps of lead (which they say sounds the same as gold) and i have a wonderful time digging relics from the goldfields, coins and jewelry from the beaches and other coins and relics from fields and abandoned sites. But it is a VLF so if its a PI you are wanting for your wife then im sure somone else on this forum can help

cheers

Hi Harry
Try a Fisher, Gold Bug Pro or F70 both vlf, Jack lange has a couple he is testing in Townsville, pm me if you want contact details so you can check them out.
cheers
Lee

Hi harryopal I too would have to say goldbug 1 2 or pro are a fine detector for small and large gold and are very light
run off of two nine volt batteries for agesand dont cost the earth just my tow cents worth.
thanks Shane

Hi Harry!

If your criteria are

1. Cheap
   Can Find Gold
   Light
   Easy to Use

i would look at GMZ from Whites. Only has 3 knobs, works at 50 kHz, and the cost is below $600.
http://www.goldsearchaustralia.com/detect16.html

But if you have $1200 than x-Terra 705 with a "DD" 18.5 kHz coil.

Cheers!

Good afternoon Rtanweb,
Not only do I not have $1200 nor do I have $600 but not having money hasn't prevented me from doing many things that I really couln't afford. I go with... you're only here once so make the most of it'. (Don't ask to see my credit card statements.)

I really appreciate all the responses. Interesting going on line to research all the respective devices.

So, thanks again.

Yours tropically, Harry

Well now you are getting into the price range of the Garrett Ace 250, Nugget Snoop Pro, second hand Scorpion Gold Stinger, of these the Nugget Snoop is probably the cheapest and will work anywhere but will be noisy in high mineralisation and over wet saltwater beach sand. you will need to run it in silent search disc mode in high minerals areas, a lot of detection depth is lost in this mode. The Ace 250 has been known to find gold here in Aussie and is pretty easy to use. The Gold Stinger is good for gold, does not like extreme mineralisation and can be used at the beach once you get to know the machine. Whichever way you look at it you are not going to get a magic do it all machine for a few hundred bucks but if you use the detctor that you buy in the conditions it was designed to work in you will get a lot of enjoyment from it. Trying to use an basic vlf or even a PI (beach type) in highly mineralised gold fields will drive you nuts and you will end up wrapping the tector around a tree.

Get out there with a cheapy, all the gold you find gradually build up your funds until you can upgrade to better detector.

G'day Harry.

If your missus gets tired quickly,a good VLF designed for gold detecting,with discriminator is the way to go.

Cheers kon61.

Hi Harry.I can get you a genuine pulseinduction metal detector,for under 1K$,Australian built to suit your needs!New!
with coils interchangeable to any of the aftermarket coils.
Very light weight .mountable on any s pole stem.
Led Target/signal indicator on box.single or twin rotary tuning control for simplicity!
an standard 1./4 inch headphones jack.has mini speaker inbuilt already!
has twin rechargeable battery inbuild chargers supplied.
12 month return to service,Free! minus postage.
Pm.your interest!
Regards Rov

Hi Rov,
a few questions if you please.
Do they work?
Have they ever found gold?
Where on the web can we read an unbiased report and feed back on your machine from users?
Cheers!

Gday Harry


If you want something lightweight and budget priced a Fisher Gold Bug might be the way to go, they will handle most soil types and will get gold, also they are pretty good on the beach for getting fine jewellery such as earings and chains.

You should be able to get one for about $200 to $250, there are also the nugget snoops, gold snoops etc as second hand for about $150, and the weekender range of detectors that k mart sells, they can be purchased for about $70 but dont expect too much from them, but they will all get coins etc at the beach.

If your wife is only able to detect for a limited time there is no point in spending too much on an expensive detector but if you get something that will handle the goldfields and beach/park conditions then you also have something you can use when you are at home and not in the goldfields for a bit of fun as well.

cheers

stayyerAU

madtuna,if you wish,I can send you a unit no obligation to do a bit of test,review off.
just pm me your contact and address details to post to.
will send you a control box an a couple of coils to mess about with.you will just have to supply your own S style stem/pole
Rov

Go for a Gold Bug 2 , cheap light and find gold

Marty

harryopal wrote:Good morning all.
Am thinking of getting a detector for my wife who has medical conditions which leave her tired very easily. So I need something that is not too heavy and awkward, not too expensive, but will nonetheless be reasonably effective as a gold detector. I would appreciate your experienced thoughts.
Yours tropically, Harry

You want light & cheap Harry ??
I got the goods mate - divining rods for her & a shovel for you harry !

Osama, like I said. They're getting closer.

Yours tropically, Harry

Rov wrote:madtuna,if you wish,I can send you a unit no obligation to do a bit of test,review off.
just pm me your contact and address details to post to.
will send you a control box an a couple of coils to mess about with.you will just have to supply your own S style stem/pole
Rov

As much as I would love to and appreciate the offer Rov, there are people here with much more experiance and knowledge than I who would be better testers.
I only have a gpx5000 and what I'd really like to is it tested againt a number of machines more in the same or closer price bracket, ofcause aswell as in the GPX series.
What interest me is it's Australian built and it's ability to run the coils we all have now.
I'd be curious also as to how it operates as a beach detector againts other makes or is it purely designed for the gold fields?

Ok,then madtuna,maybe there may be another taker here then,an can do some simple testing and review for these forums here.?somebody that has a range of PI machines,to test and compare with.
the Pulsemate detector is PI,but only developed to be an entry,intermediate level unit.Not a gpx5000 challenger.
but a pi that is as simple as possible to operate,cheap cost,but can use existing pi coils that everybody has.
make an ideal beach detector.
It has been used an tested in the goldfields an gold has been found with it.
Several have already been distributed to various other prospectors,one in WA,who purchased one altright for his own use.an also one has gone to a prospector in Dunnolly VIC.an another to a Melbourne user.
one unit has gone to USA for a Texas buyer/user.
What the reluctance to post finding and testing results,I cant understand? maybe too contraversial for whatever reasons?
maybe these other units have now already been gutted an back engineered for users purposes? sad but possibly true!
This has already happened to several of my coil builds Ive been told.
Rov

Not sure Rov, all I know is when I exercised my googling finger I could find next to nothing on Pulsemate.
As I said I am after a beach detector, and don't particularly want to use the 5000 though I did use a 4500.
Does the pulsemate have a discriminator?
Also, as for your coils, do they fit a standard ML or Otto shaft? do you have DD aswell as Mono and are replacement skid plates readily available?

Cheers!

was with pennyweight on a trip cple years ago when he was fidling wth one of these,from memory was having trouble getting the right coil to perform on it, he did have a few nugs at end of trip but remember he was pretty frustrated wth it at times,phill

Rov wrote:Ok,then madtuna,maybe there may be another taker here then,an can do some simple testing and review for these forums here.?somebody that has a range of PI machines,to test and compare with.
the Pulsemate detector is PI,but only developed to be an entry,intermediate level unit.Not a gpx5000 challenger.
but a pi that is as simple as possible to operate,cheap cost,but can use existing pi coils that everybody has.
make an ideal beach detector.
It has been used an tested in the goldfields an gold has been found with it.
Several have already been distributed to various other prospectors,one in WA,who purchased one altright for his own use.an also one has gone to a prospector in Dunnolly VIC.an another to a Melbourne user.
one unit has gone to USA for a Texas buyer/user.
What the reluctance to post finding and testing results,I cant understand? maybe too contraversial for whatever reasons?
maybe these other units have now already been gutted an back engineered for users purposes? sad but possibly true!
This has already happened to several of my coil builds Ive been told.
Rov

Rov,
What conditions do you apply when supplying one of your Pulsemates for independant testing and review?

Adrian SS

Hi Adrian ss,you wont have to buy anything.just the return postage after a few months of use.with the promise to post a few lines of comment about what you feel the use and improvements can be on a few Oz forums and here.
this is for continued developments.Good and bad comment are perfectly acceptable.
Just be aware this is still only an entry to intermediate level PI detector,that is cheap cost,but all locally made OZ.with ability straight away to use off the shelf commercial PI coils. But in know way is it ment or implied to be a GPX5000 challenger.
as a beach or park ,coins relic machine ideal for entry to PI.
Has optimisation in the code for microcontroller to handle ground mineralisation satisfactory for most areas.
Some areas are notorious and dont function as well.I am aware of this.rudimentary discrimination is via the Led signal meter an tone only.
a range of pulsemate coils are available for this unit now.including a DF coil in 12 inch.
Btw adrian ss ,I think you are also an Infinium user,true,for your interest I have an 18x14 infinium compatible coil that has been developed also.
You may find interest to test and give a quick comment an review of this?has similar funtionality an spec as the defunct Westcoil range for infinium.
Just PM a message to me with your postal details etc.an I can get the pulsemate detector an a few coils shipped of to you this week.
for your consideration an no obligation.
regards Rov

Rov.
Qte.
"I think you are also an Infinium user,true,for your interest I have an 18x14 infinium compatible coil that has been developed also." Unquote.
Are you saying that you have an infinium 18 x 14 coil that has full Infinium functionality in that it provides the Infinium iron discrimination features and that it will not cause any electronic damage to the Infinium?

yes ,I use it on my own Infinium.is 18x14 a bi(twin wind with tx an rx) wound mono in figure 8 style in the 18x14 DD shell.It requires no digitizer pcb as do all infinium original DD.,the digitizer pcb is for simulated mono only.not true mono.as used by Garretts,you may already know this.I hope this is not to technical an confusing.the coil is in use now and functions as per a DD normal.
Rov

Rov,
You have a PM.

Adrian SS

Took Rick up on his offer to test a couple of his Pulse Mate detectors and his Protoyype Infinium 14 x 18 DD style coil. Unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances I was not able to complete my testing.

However in the short period that I did manage to give these items a run it did appear that the two PIs described by Rick as Entry Level PI detectors were performing quite well with good sensitivity to coins and jewelery items. Both detectors and coils had no problems responding to one dollar coin at 10 inches +.The coils supplied were an 12 inch Spider Dual Field and an 14 inch DD eliptical. These coils were designed and constructed by Rick. Both coils had good even response and pinpointed well enough for a PI type detector. One unit had a fixed Pulse Delay and the other had adjustable Pulse delay and with a fine tuning control.
Pretty much everthing Rick has said about these detectors on this forum is spot-on and no BS.
Both units are still going through the development stage and I have little doubt that they will each be a very affordable beach PI made in Australia.

The 14 x 18 DD type infinium coil is a prototype still under development. The coil did work and gave the hi/lo tones typical of the Infinium. Sensitivity was a bit low and GB was a bit iffy on high mineralisation but it was clear that a lot of time ,thought and effort has been put into developing this coil and as anybody who has ever tried to build an infinium coil knows, it is a tad tricky. After talking at length with Rick over the phone I reckon that if anybody can get an Infinium coil up and running this bloke has got the will to do it.

I notice a lot of negative posts on this forum regards to rov and I have no doubt that you all have your reasons but I had never heard of Rov before I saw his post re the Pulse Mates and I take people how I find them and he seems like a pretty normal bloke to me who is having a go at something nobody else wants to tackle these days.

Cheers,
Adrian SS

thanks Adrian...and yep just because I may be an Fwitt doesn't mean my brother is.....even though he is

The minimum I'd recommend for gold prospecting in Australia is the Minelab X-Terra 705 GOLD (rrp AUD $950). It's lightweight and it's relatively simple to use. It has most of the necessary features plus a few advanced features found on more expensive units.

If you want to use anything less than this, you might as well buy a cheapie no-name brand from China and resign yourself to only finding gold if you accidentally stumble across it sticking out of the ground. The Gold Bugs certainly work but they don't go deep, hence the very high frequency that they operate at. It gives them an advantage in finding small gold on the surface that other detectors might miss.

All detectors will find metal. That's what they do. That's all they do. But only few can handle our high mineral laden soil here in Australia. I'd say you could CUT CORNERS by getting an X-Terra 305 (rrp AUD $395) and operate it with an optional High Frequency Coil ($195) - preferably in All Metal Mode. That comes in cheaper than the 705 with half of the features but will offer you many times the ability of a Gold Snoop (which is essentially a Chinese no-name detector that now has a name stuck on it) or anything else on the entry-level detector range. If you lived in North America, I'd tell you to use whatever you want over there due to the lower mineralization. Unfortunately, here in Australia, you simply can't expect to find much unless your detector was made to operate here. There's plenty of people here on this forum who use $7000 machines packages (with all the latest coils etc) and they go home many times without finding anything... myself included. If you hope to find gold where they didn't you'd be advised to consider anything from the $950 mark and up from there.

It's worth noting again that the largest nugget found with a metal detector in North America (technically it was part of Mexico, though the nugget resides in the USA) was the "Boot Of Cortez" Nugget (389.4 ozt) ... and that monster was found with an $85 cheapie just 20 minutes* after the guy walked out of the Radio Shack store with it. The nugget was said to have been found on the side of the road. An interesting read about it here: BOOT OF CORTEZ STORY with PiC but note that this was NOT typical. If gold was easy to find, everyone would be out there doing it and everyone would be rich. It's hard to find. Harder than the magazines make it out to be. And if you want to find gold, you can either spend some small money on a sluice & a gold pan and research for a good place to go... or you can spend about $1000 or more and get a detector that will give you a chance of finding something in our goldfields. You DON'T need the latest fancy machine but you DO need to spend time researching where you want to detect and you have to consider getting a machine that will assist you in finding gold. Otherwise, you'd be better off sitting at home and using the fuel money to buy some gourmet pizzas and a bucket of beers.

Just my thoughts.

* = depending on who tells the story.

Getting the right tool for the job is one thing, knowing how to use it is another. There is no doubt that low cost VLF detectors can find gold , after all they managed to find quite a bit in the 70s & 80s with detectors that today are considered to be low tech & cheap but the fact remains that these old machines like the deep Seekers, ground Hogs and 6000ds (that were sold at extremely high prices)are just as capable of finding gold today as they were in their hayday.
The Pulse Mates that rov is developing are primarily for beach and saltwater sand hunting where most VLfs struggle to punch much past 3 or 4 inches into the sand.

Another little fact is that there are far, far more beach, relic, treasure and coin detectorists than there are gold hunters (sorry,you gold diggers are a minority group, myself included )and there are some pretty nifty very high priced detectors for them to choose from but one fact remains and that is that none can match the PI for depth and ease of operation on saltwater beaches , so an inexspensive basic PI made in Australia should have no problem finding a nitch in the market, even if it is to be built on an as required basis.

The least expensive Basic beach PI I have used is the CS4PI; Great machine, works well but by the time you get it into Australia it is not so cheap any more and then there is the hassles of getting it repaired overseas.

Adrian SS