UNBIASED REPORT ON SDC2300

Gidday Guys,
You asked for an unbiased report, so here it is, warts and all !

I spent 3 hours with my new SDC2300 Tuesday afternoon near Ballarat, a place I have never detected, and way out of my usual stomping grounds, so I had no hopes for anything ! Just wanted to play with it before I headed home to Ararat the next day.
Well I did manage one very small piece of gold of 0.2 grams, 17 small bird shots, and 10 other small bits of junk.
Firstly what I liked :
I was running the sensitivity at 4 and all the targets were nice and crisp. The machine is dead easy to use, especially for me, being used to the GPX5000.
I found it very easy to pinpoint the targets with, and a plastic spoon definitely helps !
It will be dynamite anywhere the ground is noisy and shallow small gold abounds ( WA for example ).
I spent another 4 hours today near Ararat going over a couple of small patches I have flogged with the GPX4000, 4500 and 5000. I shouldn't have bothered, as my 5000 had cleaned up all but one tiny " nugget " of about 0.1 grams. I did however find 23 tiny bird shot. It showed just how bloody good the 5000 is on gold with a competent operator !

That's the pros ! The following is an email I have sent to Minelab telling them all the cons !

Gidday Guys,

As a long time user of Minelab metal detectors, and a former dealer from Alice Springs, I have to say that I am bitterly disappointed at the lack of thought put into the ergonomics of the SDC2300.
Deadly on small targets, and simple to use, but let down badly by ergonomics !

To put it bluntly, it is a shitbox in terms of ergonomics !

These are some of the problems :

There are no feet on it to keep it upright when you put it down on uneven ground.
The speaker is pathetic and needs to be placed facing upright to be more effective. It is barely sufficient for even the quietest environment. Add a bit of wind, squawking birds, traffic etc. and it is useless ! For a company that builds high end audio equipment ( Codan ), I would have expected a lot better audio !
There is no volume control for the speaker or headphones, to suit different hearing abilities of consumers.
There are only 2 threshold tones available. Even the X-Terra 705, costing thousands less, has volume and multiple tone controls !
The headphone cable is way too short, another 0.5 metres is required to stop the headphones being pulled off your head when the machine is put down or you are recovering a target at the coil end. Also the audio to the headphones is weak !
The arm rest is pathetic, collapses when you pull your arm out, and catches your sleeve when you try to put your arm in !
The plastic handle is hard, and is uncomfortable to hold for long periods.
There is no facility for a bungy cord to take the weight of the machine. With its batteries inserted, it weighs more than a GPX5000. I am a strongly built 95kg and after 3 hours of swinging without a bungy my arm was whingeing !
The waterproof ability of the machine is useless to me, and I suspect most others. Simple shower resistance would have been enough. Who the hell is going to stand out in the freezing rain and dig in the mud ??!!

I and many others have had to extensively modify our machines just to make them more user friendly. Please see the following links to pictures of my mods. End users should not have to do this to a machine costing almost $4000 !
I would appreciate a response to my concerns.
Regards,
Rick

https://2img.net/h/i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz329/AraratGold/SDCOVERALL_zpsa26e5434.jpg
https://2img.net/h/i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz329/AraratGold/SDCSWINGARM_zps40c29221.jpg
https://2img.net/h/i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz329/AraratGold/SDCCONTROLBOX_zpsb92c94a4.jpg

To sum up, it is dynamite on small shallow stuff, has good emi rejection and is simple to master.
Unfortunately, it is a shitbox ergonomically and Minelab really need to do some work on it to make it " sweet "to use !

Can I recommend it to people : I would have to say in it's current form and at the price of $3800 a big NO !

Cheers,
Rick

I would definitely recommend a 2300 awesome little detector that outperforms other machines in the price range.

K town.  

when u weigh the 5 with its battery --the 2300 with its batteries weighs less--

if u use a harness with the 2300 -- it takes all the weight problem that anyone may have to an absolute minimum--all u basically have to do is swing the machine left to right and back again.--I will advertise the harness on the commercial section when they arrive.

I have found that the plastic arm rest stays open after a bit of dust gets in--I use a long sleeve shirt..

when I get a target I always retract the firs shaft into the housing and simply flip the coil upside down--easy--the more u play with the machine the easier it gets.

as far as patch finding --then theres no reason u wont find one--as I have said befor --on a virgin patch the gold is close to the surface and u will even find sunbakers--well that's what I have found in the pilbra at least. each to there own..no wonder we get so many punctures but that's life and all part of the adventure.

I usually have the machine on 3 or 4 and do agree on a windy day it gets hard to hear--wont be long befor someone will make a set of headphones with a booster in them or a booster to suit the xternal speaker..

Batteries up my way are a major concern coz u cant buy them anywere in town.

there are a couple of outlets on ebay with 9500mha batteries and was thinking of getting a set of them to try out.

the water proof side doesn't worry me coz when it rains up here u cant get out anyway and if u happen to be out there in the back blocks u wont be able to do much coz u will most probably go belly up and maybe break the shaft.
if u live in a place that had nice beaches or misty rain then that's another story.
I don't like it raining and I don't like the cold.

this is just my opinion coz I like the machine and use it regularly.

regards
oneday

AS FAR AS THE WEIGHT FACTOR GOES the 2300 weighs app; 2.3kgs with batteries and the 5000 weighs 2.4kgs without the battery..

some people have their batteries with the 5000 attached to the side of their detectors so comparing the weight factor then they are the same --so long as u have a gpx battery on your back pack.

the way some people are portraying the weight factor --they seem to portray a major difference.

just a bit of info.


regards
oneday

the problem for me is you are paying $4000 and they cant even supply a bungy.GET REAL MINELAB. and i have used the machine and i think it is a great performer but to many little niggles with it for me.

 I have one, I like it! First time out I rolled down a hill and flung the machine six feet on to some rock, picked it up, no damage except for a few scratches.   No cords or cables to break or get tangled. Quick to use, jump out of the truck and start swinging. Good for scouting new areas, then when found bring in the big gun (5000) and tear it up!

oneday wrote:AS FAR AS THE WEIGHT FACTOR GOES the 2300 weighs app; 2.3kgs with batteries and the 5000 weighs 2.4kgs without the battery..

some people have their batteries with the 5000 attached to the side of their detectors so comparing the weight factor then they are the same --so long as u have a gpx battery on your back pack.

the way some people are portraying the weight factor --they seem to portray a major difference.

just a bit of info.


regards
oneday

Gidday Ray,

I'm not sure what scales you are using to weigh the SDC, but I weighed it empty today on certified scales at the post office. It weighs exactly what Minelab says which is 2.3 kgs., excluding the batteries.

Once you add 4 C batteries at 80 grams each you end up with 2.62 kgs, which, as I stated, is heavier than a standard GPX running an 11 inch DD ( 2.4kgs ) !
Considering it is only running an 8 inch mono, that is heavy, and provision should have been made by Minelab for a bungy attachment.

The way I look at it is that Minelab now seem to be run by people who don't actually get out prospecting and use these things in real world conditions !

Regards,
Rick

i dont particularly care who runs Minelab so long as the goods that people buy of them are the ducks nuts--u cant please everyone i suppose but i havent had one customer complain about the weight in fact the opposite.
the management of Toyota don't drive 4x4 either but still produce the goods.

Some 400 machines have already been sold.

as far as harnesses / bungy goes yep i have got a harness which i will supply with all my sales in due course.

u expressed that u got your machine cheap so cant see a problem buying a harness for $35 to facilitate the weight factor--

maybe i dont know my own strength.

at the end of the day i think the vast majority of people are happy with what the machine is doing for them and I dont have a problem in Hiring the machine out to day trippers.

regards
oneday

Araratgold wrote (inter alia)
“I spent another 4 hours today near Ararat going over a couple of small patches I have flogged with the GPX4000, 4500 and 5000. I shouldn't have bothered, as my 5000 had cleaned up all but one tiny " nugget " of about 0.1 grams. I did however find 23 tiny bird shot. It showed just how bloody good the 5000 is on gold with a competent operator !”

Did I miss something here or did the 5000 miss 24 targets?

Col

Pebbles wrote:Araratgold wrote (inter alia)
“I spent another 4 hours today near Ararat going over a couple of small patches I have flogged with the GPX4000, 4500 and 5000. I shouldn't have bothered, as my 5000 had cleaned up all but one tiny " nugget " of about 0.1 grams. I did however find 23 tiny bird shot. It showed just how bloody good the 5000 is on gold with a competent operator !”

Did I miss something here or did the 5000 miss 24 targets?

Col

Col,
You haven't missed anything.
The point I was making was that the 5000, as good as it is, cleaned up any gold of any size ( over 0.1 grams ) but left the tiny bird shot behind ( these tiny no.9 shot weigh about 0.05 grams and have a diameter of only 2mm). ( No.9 shot = 585 pellets per 30 grams )
The point is that the 5000 is NOT missing anything of consequence !
Cheers,
Rick

but i would have thought that if someone wants to have a go at detecting and doesnt have the finance to the tune of about seven grand with a bit of fruit for the top of the range detector then this would be a good choice..

cant see why u would compare the gpx with the sdc..especially if your budget doesnt allow u to lash out.

personally i reckon u would be on a winner with the sdc.

it certainly has proven itself with sability-emi-target response etc

regards
oneday

I liked your report Rick, warts an all about this detector but, its ability to find small .02 size gold and deeper than the 5k means it has great ability to be the best detector goin around to be used instead of water and gold pan to loam. I've only had a look and feel of this detector and my only real problem with it so far is the price, [ cos I can't afford one ] but used for loaming it may well be worth all the money too.   

snapper wrote:I liked your report Rick, warts an all about this detector but, its ability to find small .02 size gold and deeper than the 5k means it has great ability to be the best detector goin around to be used instead of water and gold pan to loam. I've only had a look and feel of this detector and my only real problem with it so far is the price, [ cos I can't afford one ] but used for loaming it may well be worth all the money too.   

Thanks Snapper,

And I agree with Ray that someone on a limited budget will find the SDC to be good value, albeit with all it's ergonomic problems. I bought mine mainly for my partner, and she likes it, after I did all the fixes to it !

PS : For those who don't know, Nenad Lonic, ex Minelab guru, is coming up with a very professional fix for the poxy 6 pin headphone plug that Minelab have fitted to the thing. It is a short pigtail lead that changes from 6 pin to the standard 1/4 inch headphone jack, which will allow other headphones and boosters to be plugged into. See the following link for a pic of the prototype of the new lead.

Cheers,
Rick

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6845&p=7

Rick:
Thanks for that info on the headphone lead/plug modification. The length of the headphone cable is my only real grumble with the SDC, so I would be really interested in getting hold of a couple of these.
A couple of days ago I fired off a letter to Minelab expressing my dissatisfaction with the headphone cable. It will be interesting if/when I get their response.
If enough people let Minelab know that they are not happy with some aspect of any new machine, then perhaps Minelab will listen and offer to rectify the problem.

Col

Pebbles wrote:Rick:
Thanks for that info on the headphone lead/plug modification.  The length of the headphone cable is my only real grumble with the SDC, so I would be really interested in getting hold of a couple of these.
A couple of days ago I fired off a letter to Minelab expressing my dissatisfaction with the headphone cable.  It will be interesting if/when I get their response.
If enough people let Minelab know that they are not happy with some aspect of any new machine, then perhaps Minelab will listen and offer to rectify the problem.

Col

Gidday Col,

I wouldn't hold your breath !

Even when I was a dealer I put forward numerous suggestions as the GPX4000 had just come out, including the piss weak power cables that were also too short, shafts that were too short for tall blokes, and supplying a fibreglass upper shaft, and nothing was done.   

Even today on the 5000, the aforementioned items have not been rectified !   
Mine has aftermarket Otto upper fibreglass and longer lower shafts, and a Coiltek heavy duty curly cord.   
Cheers,
Rick

A few days ago I sent an email to Minelab expressing my dissatisfaction with the length of the headphone cable on the SDC. While the response that I received was not what I had hoped for, Minelab did have the courtesy to reply.
In part, their reply confirmed what Araratgold stated above. Nenad Lonic, through his own company, Phase Technical, is developing a headphone adaptor cable for the SDC that will allow users to connect their own headphones or speaker booster. This should be ready for sale in 3-4 weeks.
I,for one, will be keeping an eye out for it!

Col