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Value for money which gold detector

Rich... I hope you do "good." If''n the Museum is open... weekends only... visit it. The curator is Mr. Parker.
He has a great VCR on Randsburg... well worth the $20 for it.
 
Hey Rich...Do great; :detecting:... If you can check out the last (April?) copy of the ICMJ... the article written by
R Devine (spelling). I believe it starts on pg.49... Something to think about.
 
Jim, I don't believe I have that issue, I will see if I can get it.
I just found a nice gold chain, the Infinium hardly hits it but the Compass hits it real nice. Fortunately it was laying on top
of the ground or I might have missed it. Of course without the detector I may not have been looking down. Think I will
keep it.
Rich
 
I used a GPX 5000 almost exclusively on my trip to Australia and if I went again that is what I would be packing. My time is too valuable to use anything less. If I was on a killer budget I would shop for a used Minelab, best I could get for your $1500 mark. Maybe a GP 3000?

If I had to go with just one VLF believe it or not it would probably be a Gold Bug 2. I can eke gold anywhere with it others miss. I had one in Oz and it was easy finding gold with it. Most people over there are not desparate enough to have killed the patches with a Gold Bug 2 and the small stuff is plentiful. And it does add up!

Steve Herschbach
 
I have the Gold Bug 2 and have come close to selling it since getting the MXT. Steve, I'm sure you know your machine but I just don't see how the GB2 could handle the ground. I've had mine for years and after using it a couple of times in a gold patch, I guess I gave up trying to learn it, it was so erratic. Maybe all I need to do is reduce the sensitivity. My MXT, Infinium, and Sov GT don't seem to have that problem, but won't find the real tiny gold either. Maybe I should sell the MXT and keep the GB2?
 
First off, do not sell your MXT which is working for you to keep a Gold Bug 2 which is not! If, and I say if, you can get the Gold Bug 2 to actually work for you, then consider keeping it.

I only mentioned what I personally would use if on a budget and determined to get some gold in Australia. Many other detectors, like the White's TDI, could be a better choice depending on the situation. I know a couple people that clean up with GMTs over there. I am only observing that while in Oz I found it easy, I say easy, to find gold on well known pounded patches with a Gold Bug 2. People are generally looking for larger gold and therefore using PI detectors, and I do not care what any PI fan says they leave lots of small gold behind. Chris Ralph brought his Gold Bug Pro and I brought my Gold Bug 2 along to Australia for our month long trip with Jonathan Porter, and although the GPX 5000 units got most of the use, we did give the VLF units a go. The consensus surprisingly was that the Gold Bug 2 handled the intense mineralization better than the Gold Bug Pro due to the extra adjustments available. When you look at the pictures you can see how the ground is. We were in ironstone country around Meekatharra. We hunted areas with the GPX units and went back over the same places with the Gold Bug 2 and easily found small gold passed right over with the GPX. JP took such a liking to my Gold Bug 2 I left it with him!

[attachment 243276 gba1.jpg]
Steve Herschbach & Chris Ralph with Gold Bugs in Oz - note how we have stacked surface cobbles to get closer to gold


[attachment 243277 gba2.jpg]
Steve Herschbach & Jonathan Porter compare Gold Bugs


[attachment 243278 gba3.jpg]
Gold Bug gold in Australia - yeah, a GPX could have got three of those... but did not!

The easy way to hunt with a Gold Bug 2 is in iron disc mode. Hot rocks pop and click and gold goes beep. It gets less depth and sensitivity than normal but is still more sensitive than other detectors. All metal is more powerful but you do have to train your ear for what is ground noise or hot rocks and what is gold. Gold hits harder. There is of course a balance in using less sensitivity to get smoother operation, but at the end of the day the Gold Bug 2 is a harder detector to master than most. It is why I often recommend the White's GMT for most people instead as the GMT is easier to learn. The GMT also gets better depth on large gold. The GB2 has very poor depth overall, But once you master the GB2 it is a real performer on shallow small gold. I dig 95% of my GB2 gold at three inches or less.

I am having doubts anyone will ever build a better small gold detector than the Gold Bug 2 and have two for when it goes out of production. One to use and one just in case.

Steve Herschbach
 
Steve, you really know that machine. I think I'm going to keep the Gold Bug 2 awhile longer, at least untill I can try it in a gold field one more time. I may understand it better now. But it means I've got to take 4 detectors instead of 3. A fifth detector, the Compus Gold Scanner Pro, unfortunately may have to stay behind. Thanks for that review.

Yours is a real good review too, fredm.
 
James in West Texas,
James have you tried the Gold Scanner Pro against the MXT? I have a Gold Scanner Pro but have never tried it
against an MXT, I would be interested in your results, or from anyone else who has compared them.
Thanks
Rich
 
I wear a nugget around my neck to this day that I found with a Gold Scanner Pro. The depth is great but the unit is very difficult to use in all metal by todays standards. You have to move very slow in bad ground and never bump the coil. Silent search discrimination mode is easy to use but not near as sensitive. I was feeling nostalgic and got another one a few years ago but the new detectors are spoilers. Sometimes you just can't go back.

jp730005.jpg

My good old Compass Gold Scanner Pro back in the day

Steve Herschbach
 
I asked because I have a Gold Scanner Pro and an Infinium and was thinking of another VLF nugget
machine. The Infinium spoils me for not having to ground balance. I just had my Compass repaired by
Keith Willis and find it much more sensitive in Auto threshold which I find odd but useful.
Thanks for the reply Steve and I did read your update on nugget machines just out. I was impressed
by your mention of the GB2 finding lots of small nuggets that were missed by PI's. Good point.
Rich
 
Panama rich, I have to agree with Steve's assessment on the Compass Gold Bug Pro, but I haven't made any real comparisons myself. I don't see how it could get the small gold in bad ground. I have read it does well on a beach. It has a reputation of handling iron well and for hunting coins in moderate ground I would think it would do better than some more modern detectors. It was the first target id detector I ever used so I was really impressed by its discriminating ability. Mine also needs a trip to Keith Wills and with a smaller coil would be a great coin detector in trash. After getting the MXT and the Sov GT, I lost interest in using the Compass.
 
Compass also had an AU52 and an AU2000 for nugget shooting. Supposedly the smallest nugget ever found
with a detector was in a museum in Reno. It was a AU2000 using the 52KHZ setting and the nugget was barely
a speck of gold. I think those detectors were similar to the Compass Gold Scanners but had a 52 KHZ frequency
for nuggets. The AU 2000 also had a 13.77 frequency in addition to the 52KHZ..
Of course that doesn't speak to ground balance abilities or any other comparison to the more modern nugget
detectors.
What a great hobby.
Rich
 
i raced in the desert for years and every year the question was what bike was the best but i consistantly got passed by old guys on old bikes that knew how to ride them
 
Seems like there are a lot of folks liking the MXT. I haven't picked one up to try, I have used the Goldmaster a few ol years back,
it's always fun to compare equipment.
To Nevada MXT I used to help the SCORE Medical Team in desert races, good analogy about the old guys.
Rich
 
Before I Starting detecting natural gold , I researched a few months and decided on Lobo st. Wanted to add a PI for depth, so I reasearched 6 months Obectively and arrived at the Infinium LS for the Dollar. So far , they aren't lacking - just my learning curve ongoing but i'm missing less than i used to. I have found very small gold with both as well. I'm pretty serious about nugget hunting and if i add a Detector (for the $) it will be a GPX 4000 (not 5k) and I Dont see how I wouldn't be outfitted for ANY form of Detecting , Ken-Digs
 
Last week I found a small light bulb without a metal base with my Infinium at the beach in wet salt sand. It must have been reading
the tiny filament and that was with the 10 x14 Mono coil. Impressively small.
Rich
 
panama rich , I've only used the big mono myself (have stock DD and 8"M) dry & wet and really like the depth And sensitivity with it. I would bet I've got record small meteorites (1.5 ~ 3 grms ) with it - 6-8" down. I love my Finny and it's permanent in my quiver . . . :super: Ken~Digs
 
Ken,
On your meteorites do you get a high low and does it stay high low as you increase discrimination? I have done a little
meteorite hunting but not with the Infinium yet. Just curious
Rich
 
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