Probably been done to death but........

I am looking for a detector for my wife to use and am leaning towards the 3500 with a small commander mono coil. I asked my old mate (who is a 30+year metal detecting veteran) about the different models I should look at and he said that "the best detectors Minelab ever made were the 2200, 3500 and 5000. Don't bother with models in between." He was talking about use in WA and I am hoping to hear what do you guys think about that statement?

Steve

Hi Steve,
My opinion only, the SD2100 was the best detector, kept it for 10 years, we were on talking terms, many prospectors with newer models didn't believe I could detect on the ground they were on with the 18" Mono. They were amazed when they rigged up and went for a swing, and found how stable it was.
Finally upgraded to the 3500 but got a lemon, traded it immediately the 4000 came out and same when the 4500 came along.
More than happy so far with this machine and not likely to upgrade until we see how the next new model comes along.
You never know the ATX may yet be a winner?

The 4500 has no problems in WA finding the good stuff. This will be my third season in WA with the 4500...each trip it gets better at finding the good stuff.

If your in a position to get a 5k, your better off given the age now of the 4500s. Second hand is fine as most dealers will back it up with warranty.
Yet....
The 4800 is now also worthy of a look given its price drop. Would make the perfect detector for your women and it will keep up to a 5k in WA no problems bacause you/she will mostly be using the Enhance timing.
Mine operated a 4k for a few years before updating to a 2nd hand 4500. Her tally has gone up 2 fold... the 4k is cheap and found gold daily in her hands.
Weight up how your good women intends to use the detector...every day or once/twice a week which will give you a better idea of what to buy her.?

Now for the truth.

A 3500 in the hands of a newbie, and especially a women...will not win you any awards in WA. If your thinking of this...let me be the first tell you something. Having your women out there with you is every guys dream.(ok so there are exceptions....whotever the case, you married her...    ) Put a 3500 in her hands and your dream is over. No fun if your getting gold all the time and she is battling....ya with me.??..ya have to let them have a win now & again on the tally board. Happy wife = happy life.  
If money's an issue...try a 4k at least. Or, give her yours and you buy and use a 3500.  


As for your old mate with his opinion on the best models......we all have opinions.

I'm with ya Narrawa. Got to keep her interested. Discovered that on our first trip out to the hot country. I gave her the White's VLF machine. Think I came pretty close to wearing it at the end of day 1   

djidi-djidi wrote:I am looking for a detector for my wife to use and am leaning towards the 3500 with a small commander mono coil. I asked my old mate (who is a 30+year metal detecting veteran) about the different models I should look at and he said that "the best detectors Minelab ever made were the 2200, 3500 and 5000. Don't bother with models in between." He was talking about use in WA and I am hoping to hear what do you guys think about that statement?

Steve

Without trying to put your mate down I have to disagree with his statement, the detectors that I have had the most success with have been the gp extreme and the gpx4500, and I have owned and used every model except for the gpx5000 and solely in WA conditions.

There are of course exceptions in detectors and some machines are simply better than others of the same model, and there are definitely lemons out there as well, my gp3500 got the gold no worries but it took me a short while and testing of this coil and that before I got the mix and settings right to start getting consistent gold with it, if your wife's not very experienced with detector then she may very well have difficulty with it and you are going to pay for it believe me 

Good Luck mate

au-fever 

Steve --your choice will be determined by your budget regardless what we say.

If u can afford a GPX5000 at $6500 then theres ya choice.
At $4950 u will get a new GPX4800 and after using one they aren't all that far behind a 5k. Young fella last week brought a 4800 of me and found a 12 gram piece..off to a flying start--unfortunately for him the mrs only wants to see the color of the money..

A lot of your success will come from the manner in which people swing their coil and the speed at which they walk, then there is coil size etc.

regards
oneday

Also Ray you can swing it low , walk as slow as you please have the settings adjusted by Bruce Candy himself & it wont count for sht if your not on a good run or place , scratching ol workings you will get bits, little bits & that's it most of the times lately from the reports I hear from mates at it all the time , new gear , dinkum , you need to find a new run to do any good , or a run that was poorly done because the guys that were there first had a field day & decided to take a holiday , yep its more realestate thinking to raise your tally , position ,position .

agree mate
had to stop short of writing an essay because a nice piece of bruce candy walked into the workshop and quickly posted just in case she got the wrong idea..

regards
oneday

back to steve , I found my extreme was better than the 3500 , maybe I got a lemon , the extremes go from $2000 to $2500 . The downside is they are extra sensitive on hotrocks ,you get used to that , but a great detector , albo.

Thanks all. Good advice all round and its given me a few things to think about. Just out of interest, are the GPs heavier than the GPXs?
Steve

djidi-djidi wrote:Thanks all. Good advice all round and its given me a few things to think about. Just out of interest, are the GPs heavier than the GPXs?
Steve

None at all and if there is, I haven't noticed it. but a lot depends when ya fully set up and on the size of the coil, the bigger the coil and you will start feeling it a bit.

  

GP/GPX even ATX machines are too heavy for a wifey to swing all day without complaining...

So, I got her a Fisher Gold Bug 2 for a few reasons.

After a bit of research, its a great backup/complement to the GPX.
Can't beat it for its simple setup, doesnt blow your ears on your Pulse Induction Machine when she wants to detect close by, its ridiculously very light (best advantage over a heavy GPX type machine, as it doesnt need a harness to support its weight), works in pretty mineralized ground, has a pretty good iron discrimination and is supposed to be one of the deadliest VLF detectors on small shallow bits.

in its class the GB2 is the best as far as a lot of harden prospectors go. 9v battery and ultra light as u say--

they have picked up a lot of gold left behind when others have thought it all won.

there r a couple of vids on tuning the GB2 if u haven't used it on YouTube.

regards
oneday

Save ya cash and let the misses have a few goes on yours first.

Most times they go out bush once, twice ifya lucky then never again.
It takes a very hardened and dedicated lady to consistently wanna head out into desolate places, most dont make it to the second trip out..

Good luck, and if ya do go down the VLF road keep runnin cause if wifey catches up after you've plonked a vlf in her hand your dead meat    

Must have one of the rare breed here Pete, my little lady swings the 4500 all day.   It all comes down to how the bungie is adjusted.
Nags me all summer, "Are we ready to go bush?"   

Nightjar wrote:Must have one of the rare breed here Pete, my little lady swings the 4500 all day.   It all comes down to how the bungie is adjusted.
Nags me all summer, "Are we ready to go bush?"   

Seems we both have a partner with that rare breed Peter   
Mine is a mini powerhouse of energy and very gritty attitude thank god     Hi Darlin    

First time out together i pulled the 1st micro bit and she was totally gutted when her vlf wouldnt even get
a warble when i scratched it on her coil, i never wanna see her deflate like that again...

HAR Pete , with ya , saw one in Magnet once , a blokes neighbour spotted a deflated plastic female in the back yard , grabbed it , filled it full of hydrogen & flew it like a kite tied to his mates letterbox , jeez he came home to a good surprise after work ...

geez nothin sacred with u blokes--remind me to stay on the right side of u ..  

regards
oneday

not me Ray , just how it was with the underground blokes at the time there , they are different .... was funny tho .

hahahaha Albo them were the days ay   
bet that letterbox got a good 10 visits a day, postie might have cut his lunch with his soaring Dolly