Newbie Starting Out & Needing Advice

[BumbleB]

Hi Everybody

I have never done any detecting at all, & I am very interested in learning all the in's & out's, & to be able to get amongst it.
I don't have any equipment & have been doing a bit of research into various detectors- I big question is- what machine do you recommend? Obviously the Minelab GXP5000 seems to be the 'ducks-nuts' but carries a pretty big price tag. As a newbie, is it wise buy the best equipment straight up, or do you recommend working up to this level of machine?

As I live in Emerald QLD, are there any forum members up this way that wouldn't mind showing me the game & how to best use the equipment?
Any other info' that you think would be helpful would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
BB

 

[Stinky Pete]

G'day
BB. I would say if you can afford the latest and greatest GPX 5000 I'd go with that.
You should be able to start out with factory settings and go out there and find gold.

If the funds don't stretch to the 5000 get the latest machine you can afford, the later machines are more sensitive to small gold, they will still find the larger stuff if it's there and in reach.

It's always nice to bring some colour home even if it is a nano nugget, still fun digging.

From there they way you set up your machine with settings and coils will largely determine what size gold your searching for and also the combined weight of the machine, and maneuverability to move around obstacles and the likes.

Regards stinky

 

[BumbleB]

Thanx Stinky. With regard to coils, the GXP 5000 package comes with the 2 coils (11" Double-D coil plus 11" Monoloop coil) as standard. In your opinion, are these the most appropriate to get, or is there better ones that I should look at getting? I would prefer to pay in bit more & get the coils that I would ultimately want to get later on.

Regards
BB

 

[Land Rover]

Welcome BB, Good 2 C U onboard The only tips I have are ,,,, Buy the best U can afford and that suits You and Your needs and get 2 know Your Machine inside out ,,A bloke told Me Quote '' The person who can use an old sd 2000 properly will find more than the bloke with the U beaut top machine that can't use it.

L/R

 

[BumbleB]

Thanx LR. Yep I can understand that quote.
BB

 

[Stinky Pete]

Hi BB

The Minelab coils are a good place to start , coil selection can depend alot on the terrain that you plan on working,
And also the depth of the ground and the most common size of the gold in the area,

Large coils will punch deep and smaller coils more sensitive to small gold, elliptical coils are easier to move around obstacles and generally have a very sensitive nose for pin pointing.

We have a fair description of most of the coils and the benefits of each on our web site

Hope this helps

Regards Stinky

 

[BumbleB]

Thanx again Stinky- great succinct information.
Just another idiot question if you don't mind mate- what is the difference between the mono & DD coils?

BB

 

[Nugget]

Hey BumbleB,

Here's a post I made a while back about searchcoils, hopefully it helps to explain the differences.

The smaller searchcoils tend to pick up on smaller targets and have much better target separation but at less of a depth than the larger searchcoils. It's not always the case though as there are a number of different factors involved.

A few things to consider when choosing your searchcoil

• What type of target you are chassing, i.e. gold, coins, relics, caches etc[/*]
• The size of the targets you are chassing[/*]
• At what depth you are expecting to find these targets[/*]
• The ground conditions, is it highly mineralised ground, is it trashy etc[/*]

Concentric searchcoil

• Good for coin, jewellery and relic hunting[/*]
• Doesn't handle highly minderalised ground so well, i.e. hot rocks as well as salt water[/*]
• Average ground coverage so you will need to overlap quite a bit[/*]

Double D (DD) searchcoil

• Good for coin, jewellery, relic and prospecting[/*]
• Good for highly mineralised ground and trashy areas due to there narrow detection field[/*]
• Good target separation[/*]
• Good ground coverage, minimal overlapping required[/*]
• Cant really think of any cons for DD searchcoils[/*]

Monoloop searchcoil

• Good for coin, jewellery, relic and prospecting[/*]
• Greater depth penetration over a DD coil of the same size[/*]
• Good ground coverage, medium overlapping required.[/*]
• Difficult to ground balance in highly mineralised ground so can be noisy in certain conditions[/*]

The above information is a combination of my own personal experience and ongoing research.

Take a look at this diagram that shows the difference in detection fields between, concentric, double-d and mono searchcoils.

Link: https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6344#p6344

Cheers,
Nugget

 

[BumbleB]

Booya Nugget- great 'in a nutshell' explanation. Very helpful. Thanx!

Just back on the detector itself; is it wise to be looking at 2nd hand ones? I realise that this is a 'how longs a piece of string' question, but there is a guy up this way that is selling a 2nd hand GXP5000- purchased in 2011 & apparently only used 3-4 times; apparently it is in near new condition. On face value my concern would be with things like the Lithium battery & if it has just sat there for 1-2 years with no usage or charging, it might not hold charge properly now.

Are these machines & the accessories susceptible to under use?

Have there been any improvements (software or otherwise) to these machines since 2011?

Regards
BB

 

[Still Looking]

g'day BB..always lots of great help from the members on here...

 

[BumbleB]

Giday Still Looking- yes its great to be able to get information with a smile. Makes things much easier for Newbies like me.

I see you are not that far from us here in Emerald. Other than the Claremont area (everyone knows that area) is there anywhere else in our zone that is worth a sticky-beak? Actually why is there apparently no gold around the Emerald/GemFields? We are all so close but apparently no gold.

Regards
BB

 

[Jon]

Mate, don't under rate Clermont. That's a top goldfield. There is still plenty of good gold there. A mate of mine goes there every year and does really well, really well! Mate some places have gold, some don't. To do with the geology.

 

[BumbleB]

Thanx Jon. Ok I will not be so down on Clermont- hope yet maybe.
Yeah I have been trying to get my head around the associated geology- looking at endless geo-maps etc- Dr Google is great, but maaaaaan there is alot of info' to digest. Not being the most patient person I seem to 'choke' myself on the big mouthfuls of info' I'm trying to gulp down.

 

[Rastys 1964]

BumbleB,
Out towards Tomahawk creek you are getting closer to Clermont. I don't know if it would be worth having a look around that area. I have got some nice sapphires from out that way.

Might be worth a look.

Richard

 

[BumbleB]

Hey Rastys,
Thanx for the tip, I will definitely check Tomahawk creek out.
Actually I am amazed that there is no talk of gold in the Emerald/Rubyvale area- being so close to Clermont etc, yet no yellow 'apparently'. Hopefully it is just a case of people assuming because we have the sapphires etc that we don't have the yellow. A good friend has just taken over running one of the pub's up at Clermont so I have asked her to organize (sweet-talk & bribe if necessary) some local property owners for access to their private properties, rather than go where every Tom Dick & Harry goes. If I can get a nice virgin property or 3 to poke about on I will feel that 'yellow-fever', I know it!
Thanx again for the tip.

BB

 

[echidnadigger]

BB,
If price restricts you then a machine such as the 3500 is still a very capable machine and it wasn't to long ago that they were the best thing out there and they were finding lots of gold. All the area out there has not and never will be covered by newer machines so they will still find gold. Coils have improved over the years and the newer coils will help you find gold others have missed. Elliptical coils have a sweat spot that is very sensitive on the small stuff so you kind of get two coils in one. The Minelab 3500 was a bit of a set and forget type of machine in a lot of ways. The newer ones have a lot of variations to their settings and can knock your confidence when you are simply not going over gold, by making you think you may not have your settings right. This is not usually the case but your mind can make you think funny things. You wont be under gunned with something like a 3500 but I don't think I would suggest an older machine than that due to technological advances. Once you know that you are going to stick with the hobby then an upgrade would be an advantage. After all you will have done your apprenticeship on an affordable machine and will then easily adapt to the variations and settings on the more expensive models. Minelab machines don't depreciate to quickly so buying and selling an older model shouldn't loose to much over lets say a 12 month period while your trying your new hobby.
Just a quick note: I am not familiar with the ground up around your area so with that said, if it is very mineralized/hot then the 3500 will not be as easy to use as lets say a 5000 and as a newby you will most likely miss some targets. That may be the trade off for the cheaper price.

 

[BumbleB]

Echidnadigger thanx buddy, that's a great run down.
Yes we have very mineralised soils out this way, so maybe the 3500 might be a bit difficult for me. Maybe the 5000 is the go- bite the bullet & all that! The Wife is not going to be happy....lol! I'll need to find some yellow asap to stop her mouth moving constantly. (she's not really that bad).
With a second hand 5000 that is available up this way- was purchased in 2011 & only used 3-4 times & hasn't been used for a while; is there any issue with that? ie, the battery maybe not hold charge properly or something like that?

Regards
BB

 

[echidnadigger]

Not to sure about the life of the batteries, someone on here will be able to help with that question. So long as it was made for the Australian market and sold in Australia it should be a good machine. I'm not sure about the 5000 but I heard there was some cheap Chinese knock offs of the minelabs getting around a few years back. be careful. A phone call to minelab with the serial number might be worth the peace of mind. Minelab warranties don't transfer on 2nd hand machines but that shouldn't be to much of a concern as their back up service is 2nd to none. Good luck and don't forget to post your first nugget on here.
P.s photobucket is the best place I have found for keeping your images, then post them via a link to the site.. I might post a topic up on this site on how to do this, for everyone to learn. I'm not sure if this has been done as I am new to this site.

 

[BumbleB]

Echidnadigger
Yes mate I have heard about the Chinese knock-off's- those pricks just cant help themselves. Did you see the 4 Corners program the other week about the Chinese Govt hacking the computers of many Aussie Companies & Govt Dept's- well Coden the Sth Australian Company that owns the patent on the Minelab detector technology was one that was hacked several years back & these knock-off are the end result of that thievery. Prick can't even produce a half decent copy- just look to con anyone & everyone. Any who mate, thanx again for the the advice. Will definitely post the first find I have- you will probably hear me YaaaaHoooo from wherever you are.
Regards
BB

 

[echidnadigger]

I didn't see the program but I do know that the Chinese knock offs are a very real problem. Strange but true, the Chinese government is desperately trying to stop the problem as it is doing them a lot of international damage.
Anyway, I will be waiting in anticipation for a distant yaaaahoooo. Good luck.