The age old queston, what should I get/do

[machineman]

I have a Whites GM2 I am thinking of getting a new gold machine. I also have a tesoro outlaw and an infinium. I have been wanting a gold bug pro, but the gold but 2 intriguer me. I am not new to detecting but am fairly new to nugget hunting. How does the Gold bug pro stand up to the GB2 and how do they stand up the GM2 that I already have? I spent the last weekend in my brothers mine and pulled out 7 nuggets. Ranging from about .05g to .35g. I was thrilled but the GM2 only hit them from about an inch with the small coil. I am not particuallry thrilled with the depth I was getting. All the nuggets were very week responses and I dont think any were more than 2" down. I know there is a lot more gold there. I have seen some really small pieces pulled with the GB pro and some idiotically small stuff pulled with the GB2. They are both about the same price and I cant decide. Or should I just stick with the GM2 and learn it better? Also I was not using my headphones. How much better response can I expect with them on?

 

[steve herschbach]

Well of course what you do is up to you. I vote for getting a good pair of headphones (I use Gray Ghosts and Sun Ray Pro Golds) and learning that GM2. It is a very good machine and only slightly behind the GB2 for small gold capability. Very slightly. If you have to get another machine the Gold Bug Pro would probably do more to expand your capabilities but it will not really hit anything smaller than a GM2.

Bang for the buck says really learn and apply what you have before spending more money just to be a complete newbie with another machine. The GM2 took nugget detecting to a new level when it came out and nothing made since with the exception of PI units are really all that much better.

Steve Herschbach

 

[fredm]

Listen to the Master...he tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth...

or my opinion...in most situations you want to use good headphones...and if you want smaller gold than the GM finds get a sluice or drywasher...

fred

 

[machineman]

Thanks, I always get sound advice here.

 

[tvanwho]

I 'd give you a couple hundred bucks for the GM 2,sorry,its all I can afford right now..

-Tom V.

 

[machineman]

I have been thinking of selling it. However when I took it out for the first time it was having a loose wire problem. I am a bit of a tinkerer and finally seem to have fixed the problem. I also added a alternate ground balance. You can use it to tune out hot rocks. When I get a hot rock I switch to alt GB and balance it out. Then when I get a loud signal I can just switch to alt gb and see if it is a hot rock. I haven't had time to test it much yet but when I do I will do a good post on it. It also has a low buzzing tone on the headphones that it doesnt have in the speaker. Its like a quiet threshold sound that I cant tune out. Ill let you know if I want to sell it, but for now I will keep it to make sure all the problems are solved.

 

[tvanwho]

I just remembered I have 2 detectors I am not using currently myself,maybe could trade one of them, AT Pro or a magnetometer. I have 2 gold detectors already, an MXT -keeping that one and my Lobo. Personally,I would hang onto that GM2 and find a local guy to teach me the ropes on it. Maybe look on YouTube or consult Whites Electronics or Jimmy Sierra for some how- to videos

-T

 

[machineman]

I plan on keeping it for awhile. I would like to upgrade eventually but sounds like a I have a pretty good detector so no hurry. I cant seem to track down the source of the buzz in the headphones. i know it the detector because I have tried more than one set of phones and I have tried the phones on another GM2 that my dad has. How is Whites on repair costs?

 

[fredm]

Some detectors have a background electronic hum that some people can hear...when I had depthmaster headphones I could not use them on my old Minelab 2000 and maybe the 2200...don't remember...

try other headphones...an inexpensive type is the over-the-ear type made for cd players, etc...you will need an adaptor from radio-shack...

fred

 

[machineman]

Its not the phones. I have used them on another GM2 with no problems. Thanks for the advise, but I think I did something when I was fixing the loose wire.

 

[Joe Z]

Machineman,
that GM2 is a really good detector from what i hear others talk about..... I think i would keep it and if you come out to Arizona stop by and we can compare it to my gold bug 2 at 71kHz...... I tested my GB2 against a Minelab Xterra 705 at 18.75kHz on a .012g test nugget about an inch down and the GB2 did better in my opinion on the very minute pieces.....
but the minelab 705 was a better multi purpose machine......
Joe

 

[machineman]

I had a 705 and didnt like it. It has the iron check in prospecting mode but I found that it didnt work. It was also way too noisy. I may have not given it a good enough try but it was annoying. I sold it and got an Tesoro Outlaw. I use it now for all my general detecting. I have just about all the detectors I want now. Tesoro Outlaw, Compadre, GM2, and Infinium. I may eventually trade in the GM2 for a GB2 or pro and the last thing on my list is a ML GP or GPX. They cost so much that it will be awhile. I am trying to trade my 5" dredge for one. Thanks for the invite, I would love to try some desert detecting. I dont think I will be down there any time soon.

 

[Joe Z]

I would love to own a GPX but that is a long way off unless i hit the Lottery..... If i'm not mistaken the GM2 and the GB Pro are close in frequencies..... I wanted the 71 kHz and the GB2 is the only one that offers it and it is $100 more for it with no auto ground balance or LED screen.......many of these guys/gals out here in the desert that use GPX's use the GB2 as secondary units...... but a lot also use the GB Pro so it's a judgement call.
I'll see you out here whenever you make it LOL
Joe

 

[machineman]

The GM2 is 50 khz i think. It will hit gold almost as small as the GB2. Both detectors came out around the same time. The GM series devloped into the GMT @ 48 khz while the GB2 is the same detector as it was 15 years ago. To the best of my knowledge. If it aint broke dont fix it.

 

[Joe Z]

Wow..... 50 kHz on the GM2. I didn't know that...... That's really good and while it will still pick up the small pieces it probably gets a little more depth than the GB2. I like the sound of that. on the surface the 18.75 didn't pick up the small stuff as good as the 71kHz so that 50 would be a keeper for me.
Joe

 

[machineman]

Go to Steves prospecting page and read his guide to metal detectors. The whites GMT is looking pretty good. 48khz finds the small stuff, it also has manual and auto GB with a grab feature. The iron id is supposed to be one of the best out there, and it goes deeper than the GB2. I have used my brothers GMT and really liked it. I see them used all the time on craigs list for about $550.

 

[steve herschbach]

I have a Gold Bug 2 and I think it is tops for finding the tiniest gold. The GMT the previous Goldmaster models are just barely behind the Gold Bug 2 on the tiny gold, but the GMT gets far better performance on larger, deeper gold than the GB2. It also has both automatic and manual ground balance, a real plus. The one thing that messes new people up on the GB2 is an inability to get it properly ground balanced. The bottom line is the GMT is a far more "balanced" detector performance-wise than the Gold Bug 2.

I just wish White's would put the GMT in a smaller more compact package. I would pay $1000 for a GMT in a F75 housing. That is one way the older units like the GM2 actually beat out the GMT. FYI many people consider the Goldmaster 3 to be a "best of series" unit combining great Goldmaster performance in the last convertible box used by White's.

Steve Herschbach

 

[machineman]

I have heard alot of people talking up the GM3 sounds like a good machine. I got out today and did some prospecting withe the GM2. I am not in a really good county (fresno) for nugget gold but I thought I would try. Found alot of bullet fragments, so I know that if there was gold there I would have gotten some. I did pick up some small stuff in my pan. When I explore a new area I usually take my pan and sample. If I turn up some gold then I will try the detector. No gold in the pan and I dont usually bother. There are some mines in the area so I figure there is better gold around.

 

[Joe Z]

Finding small fragments of lead is really the sign of a good detector..... I wanted to go myself today but only had my trusty dog "fender" with me...... so i went Geocaching instead and actually found an old mine in New River az and a few outcroppings of Quartz that look to have been worked many years ago.
Joe

 

[machineman]

The most intresting thing I found today was a pull tab. Not that pull tabs are intresting but the location was odd. I was searching the crevices in the bedrock and there was this long thin crack all alone on a granet slope. It was only about 1/4 at the widest and was full of grass. I like this kind of crack because you can often pull out the grass or plants and the gold will come up in the roots. Any way I got this real sweet sounding target in the crack, so I started digging with a dental pick to get it out. Real hard going but finally about 2" down I find this pull tab . I must have worked for 10 miniuts to dig the stupid thing out. I really have to wonder how it got there.