Hi Guys, I am thinking about spending a bit cash on a gold detector in hope of finding the big one Here is what I am looking at http://www.garrettaustralia.com.au/products/Infinium-Land-and-Sea.html, who's got one of these and what do you think about it? It will be my first detector so if anyone can recommend a better one at around the same price please do Also are there any prospectors around here who can shed some tips / advise? Cheers.
... Do a search.. There have been many good threads on this including what machines are good. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, good luck.
http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-10725-buying-a-2nd-hand-metal-detector.html http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-21863-detector-chatter.html http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-20914-today-i-found-while-detecting.html
Dunno if there's enough info to justify one. On the other hand, detecting threads seem to be popping up all over the place lately.
I've started looking into this myself after reading about some of the stuff the guys on here were coming across. From what I've read, Garrett and Minelab are the two recommended brands for quality and price. As a beginner it might be a good idea to see if you can get a loan of one or a second hand one as they are quite costly. Here's a great thread to scroll through http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-20914-today-i-found-while-detecting.html Edit: Looks like EM beat me to the rest
All I can say is keep your expectations in check. I know a lot of people get excited by the prospect and for sure, good finds are out there waiting to be picked up but like any seasoned prospector will tell you, chances are you'll buy a lot of fancy gear and only bring home deflated expectations. Your most common finds in the beach/park scene will be pulltabs and bottle tops But I have to admit the thrill of the chase is a lot of fun...
Thanks everyone, I will check out those threads. I occasionally do a bit of panning but haven't really got anything worth writing home about, so I'm hoping a detector might also be useful for finding hot spots along the creek bed?? I expect to pay around the $1000.00 mark for something half decent so that's not a problem. I have no intensions on diving with the Garret detector but I'm guessing I won't have any issues using it in the rain
Creekbeds can be very hard to detect. Everything gets washed into them, not just nuggs. If an old can or drum has rusted and broken up (very common) in a creek it becomes virtually undetectable. Thats where you are better off panning. Better to detect on the sides and banks to find possible nuggets/small gold. Then work your way down to the creekbed and detect, pan, whatever.
I just spent a few days in Leonora WA during school holidays. Took my son and my dad with me. Didnt find a single valuable item but had a great time just spending quality time together. Finding any gold is just icing on the cake if you do it with the right people imo. The boy cant wait to do it again , but the 9 hour drive one way is a bummer. And dont get me started on some of the locals , those tales will be told for many more years lol Definately a past-time i would recommend to anyone, just dont expect to get rich overnight. It happens but only rarely.
Thinking about it; not for the $ value of Au alone (more $ is always nice to have so long as it remains legal tender) but just as a cheaper alternative to obtaining some as someone that is currently 'time rich, cash poor' (compared to the more dedicated well paid stackers around here). The hobby aspects would be good for me though as I'm mainly more into indoor (though crushing quartz wouldn't be so bad to do indoors if a detector made the right noises to it =P) than outdoor activities atm. I don't own a detector; however I don't think there is any harm in doing a bit of research as step 1 about areas of interest (even better if it's virtually untouched private property you have access to) before trying it out (no good wandering around a CBD unless your 'coin shooting' for exaggeration) which is what I am currently doing before I decide to wander outside and wave a magic wand over the ground. For starting out (after putting in some book time and covering all requirements [miners right, etc.] ); what I may intend to do eventually is go with a cheap unit (something under $500 with decent secondhand value) to see if I have a liking of the activity. At the very least I will clean a lot of junk off the land, which is a great benefit for everyone concerned, and if I find it enjoyable (finding some of the old yellow would be a bonus of course) there will be less junk to dig up later if I should move on to a more expensive detector and give the ground a second work over. Doing it this way would be better than the worse case scenario of just buying a 2K+ detector upfront on the advice of generally good intentioned forum users (not that I would hold a grudge but it would be a costly time and monetary pill to swallow) and find myself taking a loss on reselling it because I find it either not as enjoyable as expected or other things in life get in the way more than I anticipate. Anyway, I thought I would share the above as where I am atm to see what others think and that it might provide useful discussion for others in a similar boat (hopefully not with a tendency to capsize with a load of the old yellow like what happens to others =P ).
Any ideas which machine under $500 has decent secondhand value? I paid $2000 for my first detector, a Minelab SD2200d. Used it for 3 years then sold it for $2000. Paid $4000 for my current GPX4500 two years ago. Guess how much it's currently worth? All the best from a generally good intentioned forum user.
I wouldn't know, hence why I keep looking to see whats up from down on metal detectors. I may have to bump the budget up unfortunately, though I could always ease my conscience for it being something xmas related I do agree that the Minelab units tend to hold their value in secondhand sales (unfortunately in my case) so am not surprised by your experiences (very nice btw). With regards to the 'good intentioned forum user' comment; think of it as a general advisory note to take caution of the comments from other people on the internet (nothing against anyone in particular and no offense intended) given the dangers I've seen prevalent in some places of the internet.
Minelabs pop up quite often in the local classifieds for much cheaper than you will find on ebay, tho garretts are a cheaper option and are probably more a better option for starting off with as most of the recent models have great discrimination modes allowing you to tune out crap and listen for just target metals plus they are a lot cheaper.
infinium great on the wet sand beach hear they go deep with the mono coil good for us urban prospectors
Just spent a week in Ora Banda !! Not a great deal to show for it but as you say its a great pass time. We took a minelab 4500 and a garrett infinium. I was surprised that the garret performed as well as it did. No electro magnetic interfearance that I had expected from the lower tec machine. But you get what you pay for, poor plastic cable fittings easily broken when snagged on trees etc. Certainly not as robust as the 4500. The garret seemed comfortable at at 0 to 8 inches depth, but the 4500 pulled up stuff from around 18 inches. ( small piece of quartz with a tiny bit of gold ).
Butch what settings did you use on the 4500 @ 18 inches for small gold and what type of ground were you prospecting in? REDBACK
