Help!! Im Going To Australia soon to do some prospecting for a few weeks and need advice on a new detector .. whats the best one between the fisher Gold Bug 2, and the Minelab Eureka Gold,And Why?? Yes I,d Love To Get An X-400 but the Wife Said NO-WAY!! Greatfull For Any Advice..
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advice needed!!!
- Thread starter josey
- Start date
Gerry in Idaho
New member
Josey, I was there last year for a month and we found some gold. Not as many big ones as we'd hoped for but just getting to go to Down Under was enjoyable enough for me.
If you are on a budget and can only spend $2000, then I'd recommend a used Minelab GP-Extreme or GP-3000. If you can only spend $700-$1000 then most of the VLF Gold machines will do fine. I myself prefer the speed, signal response and manual Ground Balance of the GB-2. I also have and use the EG, but the signal response on small gold is not as good as the GB-2. The EG does not have the depth on small nuggets and specimens like the GB-2, but the EG does have more depth on larger nuggets over the GB-2. Contrary to what many say...many Minelab dealers, a person who works at Minelab and the person who did the Field Test on the EG that is on Minelabs web site, it does not have a good discriminator for Coin Hunting. But the GB-2 does not either.
If you get a GB-2, then be sure and get an extra coil
If you get a EG then you can also get a 15" coil for it when hunting the deepest Gold.
My2Cents- Buy a used GP.
Either way, I can sell you whatever you want and when you are done with the trip, I'll take your gold machine back in Trade for any other detector you may want.
If you are on a budget and can only spend $2000, then I'd recommend a used Minelab GP-Extreme or GP-3000. If you can only spend $700-$1000 then most of the VLF Gold machines will do fine. I myself prefer the speed, signal response and manual Ground Balance of the GB-2. I also have and use the EG, but the signal response on small gold is not as good as the GB-2. The EG does not have the depth on small nuggets and specimens like the GB-2, but the EG does have more depth on larger nuggets over the GB-2. Contrary to what many say...many Minelab dealers, a person who works at Minelab and the person who did the Field Test on the EG that is on Minelabs web site, it does not have a good discriminator for Coin Hunting. But the GB-2 does not either.
If you get a GB-2, then be sure and get an extra coil
If you get a EG then you can also get a 15" coil for it when hunting the deepest Gold.
My2Cents- Buy a used GP.
Either way, I can sell you whatever you want and when you are done with the trip, I'll take your gold machine back in Trade for any other detector you may want.
I know if your heading to the Golden triangle in Victoria you can get your hands on a GP/SD for about $45 AUS a day and depending on the amount of time......days weeks of usage they will probably decrease the price overall. Its just an idea and might save you a bit of money if you dont really want to buy a detector of your own or may never use it again ect ect. Ebay is always a great option too and there are tonnes of detectors goin on a daily basis. Anyway I hope you get it sorted and have a great time here in Australia.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Josey, if you are taking an organized tour, the operator should have Minelabs and coils for rent...My last trip I used the GPExtreme and either the mini-ufo or the 14 DD and did pretty well, for an amatuer...If you rent make sure they give you a good battery, etc and spend a few hours at or near the shop getting instruction and making sure everything works...if I were buying a vlf for nugget hunting I would be getting the xterra70...it is much more cutting edge than the others...you don't mention having nugget hunting experience but OZ is a lot different for nugget hunting then anywhere I have hunted in the US...
Good Luck
Fred
Good Luck
Fred
Gerry in Idaho
New member
I only mentioned the GB-2 and EG before on my previous post because those are the only 2 VLF machines you mentioned.
I have used both those units with SUCCESS.
A couple others helpful people mentioned the Minelab X-70.
I have also used the new X-Terra 70 with SUCCESS here in the US for Gold Nuggets and in England for Ancient Coins and Artifacts.
What I like about the GB-2 is that I can find all sizes of gold, from the smallest pin head nuggets to the larger oz+. If I want to miss the small ones with the GB-2, I can easily make adjustments so I don't hear them. With the X-70 the others are mentioning, it is not as good on the smaller gold as the GB-2, so at the end of the day, you will end up with less pieces. But it is deeper for larger gold than the GB-2.
The attached photo show my handful of Gold Nuggets with a GB-2.[attachment 58662 aua.JPG]
The other handful is one of my customers on the same trip and you will see that he finds less nuggets than I do (also using a GB-2), but he finds bigger pieces. He tunes out the small ones and only chases the bigger ones.
[attachment 58663 aub.JPG]
The other photos below show some of the gold I found with my own X-70 detector and the 9" Spider 18.75 kHz coil.
[attachment 58664 auc.JPG]This was the 1st piece of gold I found with an X-70.
[attachment 58665 aud.JPG] This is the largest nugget I have found with an X-70, SO FAR!!!
[attachment 58666 aue.JPG] A customer of mine and good friend (Tibor) found this Beautiful Specimen with his X-70 on the same trip with me.
[attachment 58667 auf.JPG] Yes you have seen this picture before. Minelab uses it in their ad for the X-Terra detectors. These nuggets were all found by myself with an X-70 on the same trip.
If you are still not sure which gold detector to buy, give me a call and we'll chat. I am quite different than most dealers since I actually use, sell, compare and train customers on all 5 major brands.
Enjoy your trip.
I have used both those units with SUCCESS.
A couple others helpful people mentioned the Minelab X-70.
I have also used the new X-Terra 70 with SUCCESS here in the US for Gold Nuggets and in England for Ancient Coins and Artifacts.
What I like about the GB-2 is that I can find all sizes of gold, from the smallest pin head nuggets to the larger oz+. If I want to miss the small ones with the GB-2, I can easily make adjustments so I don't hear them. With the X-70 the others are mentioning, it is not as good on the smaller gold as the GB-2, so at the end of the day, you will end up with less pieces. But it is deeper for larger gold than the GB-2.
The attached photo show my handful of Gold Nuggets with a GB-2.[attachment 58662 aua.JPG]
The other handful is one of my customers on the same trip and you will see that he finds less nuggets than I do (also using a GB-2), but he finds bigger pieces. He tunes out the small ones and only chases the bigger ones.
[attachment 58663 aub.JPG]
The other photos below show some of the gold I found with my own X-70 detector and the 9" Spider 18.75 kHz coil.
[attachment 58664 auc.JPG]This was the 1st piece of gold I found with an X-70.
[attachment 58665 aud.JPG] This is the largest nugget I have found with an X-70, SO FAR!!!
[attachment 58666 aue.JPG] A customer of mine and good friend (Tibor) found this Beautiful Specimen with his X-70 on the same trip with me.
[attachment 58667 auf.JPG] Yes you have seen this picture before. Minelab uses it in their ad for the X-Terra detectors. These nuggets were all found by myself with an X-70 on the same trip.
If you are still not sure which gold detector to buy, give me a call and we'll chat. I am quite different than most dealers since I actually use, sell, compare and train customers on all 5 major brands.
Enjoy your trip.
Gus in idaho
New member
n/t
While your great success with the GB2 in your area is obvious I know for a fact the GB2 does struggle here in Oz with ground conditions. You can forget the spider coil here too cause it aint gonna work like it does over your way. DD coil all the way here and as far as the XT-70 not doing well on small gold well I'm not too sure about that one. I think B.T and others will have something to say about that here. It's so difficult when comparing country and machine because of the huge difference in terrain. Here in Australia I would back the XT-70 all the way with the Elliptical DD 18.75 khz coil and if I were to head your way Gerry I would probably have the GB2 by my side and my XT-70 at arms length. Just my two bobs worth.
Cheers!
Cheers!