Need Recommendations for a Gold Metal Detector

[Gigahertz21]

I posted this already on the Nugget Shooter forums, but I want more thoughts and recommendations. Thoughts? Comments/Recommendations on other detectors?

I live in Colorado Springs and want something I can use to look for gold around streams, rivers, mountains when I go up fishing, but I also want something that will be good for relics/coins/etc. I want a detector that is easy to keep ground balanced and one that will not be driven crazy by hot rocks.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Giga,

Steve H. is a good friend of mine and I think that is a very fair write up. However, I believe he wrote that before the Minelab X-Terra 705 was released. I would also look into the Minelab X-Terra 70 or 705 (I prefer the 705). I've used all the units you mentioned and they will also somewhat struggle on hot rocks. All those detectors listed are VLF's, or Very Low Freq. detectors. Given the somewhat older technology and ground balance they will struggle a bit in heavy mineralization and hot rocks.

Hope this helps a bit,

Rob Allison

[Gigahertz21]

Hey Giga,

Steve H. is a good friend of mine and I think that is a very fair write up. However, I believe he wrote that before the Minelab X-Terra 705 was released. I would also look into the Minelab X-Terra 70 or 705 (I prefer the 705). I've used all the units you mentioned and they will also somewhat struggle on hot rocks. All those detectors listed are VLF's, or Very Low Freq. detectors. Given the somewhat older technology and ground balance they will struggle a bit in heavy mineralization and hot rocks.

Hope this helps a bit,

Rob Allison

All right, thanks alot. I have to stick to a VLF detector for now, the pulse induction detectors are just too much....maybe if I'm lucky enough finding stuff with a VLF detector I can eventually upgrade to PI detector in the future.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Giga,

Yep, many do the same thing when it comes to metal detector. Start with a VLF and then upgrade in the future to a PI. All the metal detectors listed are great. I'm sure you're going to have success with whatever you choose.

Keep us updated.

Rob Allison

[Gigahertz21]

Hey Giga,

Yep, many do the same thing when it comes to metal detector. Start with a VLF and then upgrade in the future to a PI. All the metal detectors listed are great. I'm sure you're going to have success with whatever you choose.

Keep us updated.

Rob Allison

I have another question, you suggested the Minelab X-Terra 705 and it seems to be a pretty good one. Since you said you have used all the detectors I mentioned, why did you suggest the X-Terra 705? What did it do better then let's say a Tesero Lobo or the White's MXT Tracker/Goldmaster GMT?

Steve did have a review of it in the guide I posted in my 1st post, he did mention that it's not proven yet since it's so new. The one thing I saw is that it comes with a 7.5khz round 9" coil, and in the PDF file I posted a few posts back, Steve said, "People will tend to use the 18.75 kHz coils for gold." So I guess that means after buying the unit, you'll have to turn around and buy a $130 18.75 kHz coil for the X-Terra....kind of pricey.

[Frosty]

Hey Gigahertz,

Rob won't steer ya wrong, that I guarantee! I live north of ya in the Litteleton area and have been beeping for a few years in Colorado. A good VLF seems to work well in CO. then upgrade to a PI later and venture out to AZ! Good luck and keep on beeping - Frosty

[Gigahertz21]

Hey Gigahertz,

Rob won't steer ya wrong, that I guarantee! I live north of ya in the Litteleton area and have been beeping for a few years in Colorado. A good VLF seems to work well in CO. then upgrade to a PI later and venture out to AZ! Good luck and keep on beeping - Frosty

What VLF are u using?

Right now I'm looking at a Tesoro Lobo at $500 and a Minelab X-Terra 705 at $500, which one would you guys suggest?

[whats4supper]

not to be crusty, but if you're a novice, any old stick will do. Detectors are much like hammers, and after you buy one and use it, likely you will go back for another one that fits the bill in what you want the specific hammer to do. Chances are, you'll end up with a whole selection of hammers- each one job specific.

If you're after a relic detector, get the MXT or some other programmable job.

If you're after natural gold, get a 2200D if you can find one, or some other PI-based detector which will work in high mineralized ground- I MEAN HIGH background mineral, black sand, ores, lead, and others, for the natural gold will be in that, not in some simple setting that a mostly cheap detector would work in.

Along with your investment in a rod or two (I have 5), plan on sophisticated headphones, extra batteries, a selection of coils and sizes, a swingy thingy, a pinpointer (optional), good pick, a shovel, a strong magnet, and a good backpack with pockets for the snacks, drinks, band-aids, detector fix it parts, and space to store your trash and relics or nuggets.

Above all, TIME. time to learn your detector. it can be naiive, but many think they can just buy a rod, swing it 50 times, and get rich! Gold lying around everywhere, anyplace, just waiting for a loafer to come along and get it. The last part is true, but it takes an experienced dude most times to recognize it. Don't be hard on your self if the first time out, or 2nd, or 3rd, or ... you don't find the motherlode. Like all those posting pics on this site, wealth comes one nick at a time. If by some chance, you happen to be one of those that finds a honker first time out (it happens), don't let the illusion of not finding anything, or anything big, dampen your hobby and enthusiasm to go on searching.

If you plan on praying to God in order to get the goods, forget it altogether. God and Gold are at odds, and one of those are an accelerator to personal ruin, if it gets out of hand (at least that's the story of the scriptures). However, if you read Sitchin or Tellinger, or Childress, and Charles Pellegrino's In Search of Sodom and Gomorrah (good reading all), we were genetically made to be miners or slaves since Day One, and looking at the dirt and rocks at our feet, is some sort of homing mechanism for the human race.

If you plan on getting some detector to use only 3 or 4 times, then put into a closet, save your money and time and get your detector at Big 5.

[Gigahertz21]

Along with your investment in a rod or two (I have 5), plan on sophisticated headphones, extra batteries, a selection of coils and sizes, a swingy thingy, a pinpointer (optional), good pick, a shovel, a strong magnet, and a good backpack with pockets for the snacks, drinks, band-aids, detector fix it parts, and space to store your trash and relics or nuggets.

How strong of a magnet would you suggest and how big? I know on eBay they have some really strong N50 grade magnets that have a pulling force of 240lbs, link to below

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

For the pinpointer I was planning on getting the Garrett Pro Pointer that got 5 stars from the link below:

http://www.bigvalleymetaldetectors.com/bestpin.htm

Any suggestions for headphones?

[Toad_Whisperer]

Somethings wrong with this poll, it keeps showing different numbers on the GMT. There was 6 or 7 now only 3. whats going on?

[Gigahertz21]

Somethings wrong with this poll, it keeps showing different numbers on the GMT. There was 6 or 7 now only 3. whats going on?

I think you are talking about the same exact poll in the nugget shooter forums. The GMT there has 7 votes.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Giga,

I received your PM, but will answer you here so others can see it. I think they are all great detectors, but the 705 is the newest, digital coin/relic and gold prospecting unit. I sell a bunch of the X-Terra's and as you can see from the forums many really love them. I've found nuggets down to a few grains with the X-Terra 705, plus it's an awesome coin/relic detector to boot.

The best coils for gold nugget hunting will be the high freq. 18.75kHz coils. If you purchase the X-Terra 705 from "Rob's Detector Sales" you will get the new 6-inch Round 18.75kHz coil FREE with the purchase and with a few other goodies!

The other coil I recommend for gold nugget hunting is the 10-inch elliptical 18.75kHz DD coil.

Hope this helps a bit,

Rob Allison

[Toad_Whisperer]

I think you are talking about the same exact poll in the nugget shooter forums. The GMT there has 7 votes.

Ahhh, I was beginning to think the old meds weren't doing their job

[AZNuggetBob]

I generally use three different machines out of the choices and two that are not mentioned? depending on were, gold size, ground mineralization, and trash, and when I voted it only accepted one vote and not my first choice. Take care AzNuggetBob

[Gigahertz21]

Well everybody, I just bought one off e-Bay, I ended up going with a used Minelab X-Terra 705 for $420 shipped that was listed as having under 20 hours of use.

It was listed at $500, but I used the Bing Microsoft cashback promotion through eBay, which is currently at 14%, and saved $70. Then I'm also in the eBay Bucks program and that saved me $10. So I think I got a pretty good deal, the seller has 180 feedback at 100% positive, and has sold several high priced items including a car so I'm not worried about receiving a junk unit.

I was looking at several Tesoro Lobo's but then I figured I would go for a more all around unit, and went with the X-Terra 705.

Now it's on to the accessories, so far on my list is to buy a pair of the DetectorPRO "Black Widow" headphones and the Garrett professional pinpointer. Other people also mentioned buying a strong magnet, so I'll take a look around for one of those. Eventually I'll probably have to buy a 18.75kHz coil for the X-Terra in order to search for gold better, but I can't be dropping a ton of money on everything at once. What other accessories would you guys suggest?

Thanks all for your replies in this thread and the PM's I have received, I have learned alot in the last 2 days.

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi,

The 705 is a great detector and I am sure it will serve you well.

The pdf and quotes leave out one important part in the original -

"Steve Herschbach

Copyright 2002-2009 Herschbach Enterprises - Please do not reuse or repost without my express permission."

As my permission was neither sought nor given, I request that the pdf link and quoted sections be deleted. The pdf in particular is a compilation of posts and so not true to the original form. I hate to be a pain but I have to protect my copyrights.

Steve Herschbach

Herschbach Enterprises

[claim jumper]

The X-TERRA 705 is the way to go. Just as good as any of the VLF gold machines, and you can coin hunt also!!! The Discrimination is way more adjustable than the MXTs and LOBOs. And its way lighter!!!

[Gigahertz21]

Hi,

The 705 is a great detector and I am sure it will serve you well.

The pdf and quotes leave out one important part in the original -

"Steve Herschbach

Copyright 2002-2009 Herschbach Enterprises - Please do not reuse or repost without my express permission."

As my permission was neither sought nor given, I request that the pdf link and quoted sections be deleted. The pdf in particular is a compilation of posts and so not true to the original form. I hate to be a pain but I have to protect my copyrights.

Steve Herschbach

Herschbach Enterprises

Sorry about that Steve, I didn't even realize those opinions on the metal detectors were under copyright. Somebody on another forum sent me a PM asking for my e-mail so they could send me some really good information on which metal detector to buy, so I did, and they then sent me that PDF.

I will delete the PDF and any other information I copied and pasted out of that PDF.

BTW, the PDF was great! Your opinions made a big difference in which metal detector I chose.

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi,

Not a huge deal and glad it was of help to you. I keep a lid on that particular content because I want to keep it up-to-date. I may need to move it to a new location however as the Alaska Gold Forum went to a "pay-to-see" status and I want the content to be available to all. So I'd better get going on setting up my own forum.

Steve Herschbach

[GARY SMITH]

I just bought a 705 a few weeks ago from Rob. Got the DD 5X10 high freq coil also. Have not been out looking for gold yet, but have been to some old 100 plus old homes and have found some good silver coins with it. The GMT might be a bit better on gold, but not much I would think. Plus the disc is more programmable than the MXTs. I think once it gets out in the goldfields around here, the GMTs better watch out!!!

[Gigahertz21]

I just bought a 705 a few weeks ago from Rob. Got the DD 5X10 high freq coil also. Have not been out looking for gold yet, but have been to some old 100 plus old homes and have found some good silver coins with it. The GMT might be a bit better on gold, but not much I would think. Plus the disc is more programmable than the MXTs. I think once it gets out in the goldfields around here, the GMTs better watch out!!!

The 705 I got off e-Bay is suppose to be here on friday, I'm curious about how the stock 9" concentric 7.5kHz coil that comes with the 705 performs? Can you search for gold with it or is it a must to purchase the X-Terra 10' x 5' DD 18.75kHz Elliptical to even find gold?

I was looking at the minelab accessory page for the X-Terra 705, they have 4 separate coils just for the 18.75kHz frequency....what is really the difference? Wouldn't one work just fine, or is it all just marketing to make people think they need to buy all these coils.

http://www.minelab.com/consumer/page.php?s...amp;pNm=X-Terra 705

[GARY SMITH]

The 705 I got off e-Bay is suppose to be here on Friday, I'm curious about how the stock 9" concentric 7.5kHz coil that comes with the 705 performs? Can you search for gold with it or is it a must to purchase the X-Terra 10' x 5' DD 18.75kHz Elliptical to even find gold?

I was looking at the minelab accessory page for the X-Terra 705, they have 4 separate coils just for the 18.75kHz frequency....what is really the difference? Wouldn't one work just fine, or is it all just marketing to make people think they need to buy all these coils.

As far as what I know the 5X10 DD coil is lot easier to use where you have "hot rocks" basalt. You can usually ground balance them out with a DD coil to some extent. The "concentric" coil is a tad more likely to sound off on basalt. And the 5X10 DD coil being the HIGH freq coil (18.75khz), it will pick up the smaller nuggets better. So if your looking for nuggets, the 5X10 DD coil is the best for small gold.

This "IS" the forum for gold searching, but check out this link for TONS of info on the X-TERRA 705.

http://www.findmall.com/list.php?55

Be sure to read the "FAQFAQ" part in the top of the forum. Lots of necessary info on understanding the 705

I hope posting the link is OK with Rob!!!

[Gigahertz21]

Alright, thanks for the info Gary.