Paydirt.co.nz

New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

 

The forum has moved to community.paydirt.co.nz, see you there!

This forum is now an archive to preserve the knowledge and finds posted here.

Which detector to buy?
1864hatter  
Posted : Tuesday, 17 August 2010 6:39:00 AM(UTC)
1864hatter

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,007
Man
New Zealand
Location: Auckland....

Thanks: 49 times
Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)
Hey guys im looking to buy myself a gold detector for christmas. I anticipate I will have around 2 grand to spend on one but what to get? Any help would be appreciated. Are the Fishers Gold bug 2s any good or would a Eureka gold from minelab be better?

Cheers guys
And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!
Back to top
starflash  
Posted : Thursday, 19 August 2010 5:13:23 AM(UTC)
starflash

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 16/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 192
Man
Location: auckland, tairua

Thanks: 18 times
Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 30 post(s)
Hi 1864 Hatter

i have a eureka and it is not as good as $2000, it was overpriced when new , its ok for finding lines where heavies fall out on river banks but dont go there. I can pass it over a .5g nugget and it wont pick it up if more than an inch down. for the same money you can get a second hand pulse induction minelab they are far superior.

i have used a gp3000, gpextreme and a 4500 and they are truley amazing. For around what your looking at paying you will be able to get a sd2000 -2200 or gp extreme or maybe even a 4000 especially as the new 4800 and 5000 are hitting the shelves next month and lots and lots aussies will be unloading the old and upgrading to the new. buy from aus via Ebay or another detector site in aus

Edited by user Thursday, 19 August 2010 5:52:38 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified
Back to top
1864hatter  
Posted : Thursday, 19 August 2010 6:21:55 AM(UTC)
1864hatter

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,007
Man
New Zealand
Location: Auckland....

Thanks: 49 times
Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)
Thanks a lot starflash that was most helpfull. I'll keep your advice in mind have you ever heard any good words being said about the gold bugs? supposedly they can detect very small gold, but yea Minelab do offer some good gear I agree with you there.

Cheers again
And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!
Back to top
starflash  
Posted : Thursday, 19 August 2010 8:47:06 AM(UTC)
starflash

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 16/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 192
Man
Location: auckland, tairua

Thanks: 18 times
Was thanked: 38 time(s) in 30 post(s)
yes i have friends that still hold on to their gold bugs, but the newer machines are just as good on small gold and are much better depth wise. the eureka is also ok on very small gold but must be very near the surface. if i was buying another detector i would go for a second hand pi minelab machine and spend around about 2000. dont buy a new vlf machine its just not worth it, on the other hand you may pick up a second hand bug or eureka for around 400
Back to top
1864hatter  
Posted : Thursday, 19 August 2010 11:11:43 AM(UTC)
1864hatter

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,007
Man
New Zealand
Location: Auckland....

Thanks: 49 times
Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)
hmmmmm something to think about cheers for the help!!
And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!
Back to top
x-terra steve  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 4:30:48 AM(UTC)
x-terra steve

Rank: Gold Ingot

Medals: Donation: Made a donation helping cover the running costs of the site - thank you :)

Groups: Registered
Joined: 7/04/2010(UTC)
Posts: 224
Man
Location: Nelson NZ

Thanks: 103 times
Was thanked: 69 time(s) in 42 post(s)
Hi 1864hatter, how you doin?,
For 2k you might be lucky to pick up a good sd2200 which i think was the first in that series to have auto ground balance.
I have used the Eureka and wasen't that empressed.The Gold Bug is a time tested machine but it takes a while to get the swing of it.
If you are doing a lot of detecting over exposed bedrock or where there is very little overburden a recound a good VLF comes into its own.
Very true that it will not detect as deep as most of the PI's but it should be able to pick up at least 0.1 grammer jambed tight in a crack and will be able to ID any trash with out any problems.
I have spent many hours up the river using me x-terra 70 and found many hundreds of small pieces of AU.
Before you part with ya bucks don't discount a good VLF.
If you want to know the good oil about the X-Terra let me know and will post some. Cheers Steve
Back to top
1864hatter  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 11:03:43 AM(UTC)
1864hatter

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,007
Man
New Zealand
Location: Auckland....

Thanks: 49 times
Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)
Thanks x-terra steve,
I have yet to get a job lined up 4 the end of year break and after that i have to save enough to buy a detector. So its still in the early planning stages I might hav to do a bit more sniping and just pay for it with gold. I noticed u spend a fair bit of time up the wakamarina, thats actually wher ive done most of my scratching around for gold too.
All started back in intermediate when they took us 4 a day trip to the campground and showed us how to pan.....
sniping seems to be quite a good way of getting a bit of gold up ther. Sadly my biggest bit is only .22grams but hey its fun!
Thanks again
And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!
Back to top
gingerbreadman  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 11:20:47 AM(UTC)
gingerbreadman

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 19/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 473
Location: south of the black stump

Thanks: 34 times
Was thanked: 96 time(s) in 74 post(s)
Hi 1864hatter did you manage to find your self a prospecting spot around dunedin ?
Back to top
1864hatter  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 11:59:02 AM(UTC)
1864hatter

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,007
Man
New Zealand
Location: Auckland....

Thanks: 49 times
Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)
I had a bit of a look around lawrence before it got too cold and wintery. Also been out a couple of times with a mate whos dads farm has a bit of gold on it, the guys dad loaned us a flash Minelab detector so got a few small nuggets on those trips. Havnt found anything decent apart from that although I did get a 9 carat ring out of the shag river but that doesnt really count. So I guess yeah nah kind of, still looking
And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!
Back to top
Bikerman  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 12:01:12 PM(UTC)
Bikerman

Rank: Gold Nugget

Groups: Registered
Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 51
Location: Alexandra New zealand

Thanks: 1 times
Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)
Give me a yell if yer ever comin up to Alex, I'm keen to met new people doin this too
Back to top
1864hatter  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 12:09:54 PM(UTC)
1864hatter

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,007
Man
New Zealand
Location: Auckland....

Thanks: 49 times
Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)
Cheers I'll keep that in mind probably come up that way for a look once it gets warm(er)
And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!
Back to top
gingerbreadman  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 12:15:41 PM(UTC)
gingerbreadman

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 19/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 473
Location: south of the black stump

Thanks: 34 times
Was thanked: 96 time(s) in 74 post(s)
o yep well iv always wanted to have a look up the waipori river but iv never got round to it wich is pretty slack consider,n i used to live in the village!! but anyway thers quite a few water race,s in ther pluss just over the hill 1 of the biggest nuggets in otago was found so it could be well worth a look only trouble is the river can get quite rugged when they let the water go from the dam.
Back to top
1864hatter  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 12:35:10 PM(UTC)
1864hatter

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 1,007
Man
New Zealand
Location: Auckland....

Thanks: 49 times
Was thanked: 566 time(s) in 269 post(s)
Oh yea went up ther for a look at the falls with my mrs once, I noticed plenty of quartz lying around. I also got told after Id been up ther that ther is gold up there. Should go for a look up ther some time, and yea i noticed a few warning signs about the river. Might be an idea to go up a side creek....
And now....On sandy beaches and muddy soil, rings and coins await my coil!
Back to top
Bikerman  
Posted : Saturday, 21 August 2010 12:35:12 PM(UTC)
Bikerman

Rank: Gold Nugget

Groups: Registered
Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 51
Location: Alexandra New zealand

Thanks: 1 times
Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)
gingerbreadman wrote:
o yep well iv always wanted to have a look up the waipori river but iv never got round to it wich is pretty slack consider,n i used to live in the village!! but anyway thers quite a few water race,s in ther pluss just over the hill 1 of the biggest nuggets in otago was found so it could be well worth a look only trouble is the river can get quite rugged when they let the water go from the dam.



Thats true mate...I've got a hole on the Clutha that I've pulled out about $100 a day with a pan, but getting there to find its covered in water is pain. But getting to and from there I've found a few places that may be good for a detector, I'm heading out at daybreak tomorrow for a look with mine...still dunno what I'm doin yet....lol but I enjoy the area
Back to top
gingerbreadman  
Posted : Sunday, 22 August 2010 7:29:26 AM(UTC)
gingerbreadman

Rank: Gold Ingot

Groups: Registered
Joined: 19/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 473
Location: south of the black stump

Thanks: 34 times
Was thanked: 96 time(s) in 74 post(s)
Yea gota watch those hydro rivers thats for shure i had a few close calls on that waipori as when its low you just walk accross no probs but when you come back to find it rageing all you can do is just sit and wait and sometimes it can be hours before it drops away which really sucks when your sitting rite oppersit you wagon!!..actually does any1 no of a sight that you can look up and see when ther letting the water go like the clutha etc...?
Back to top
Bikerman  
Posted : Monday, 23 August 2010 4:31:49 PM(UTC)
Bikerman

Rank: Gold Nugget

Groups: Registered
Joined: 15/08/2010(UTC)
Posts: 51
Location: Alexandra New zealand

Thanks: 1 times
Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 3 post(s)
Well success is success if success is measured by finding gold.
I bought one of these as my first detector...
http://www.trademe.co.nz...er/auction-312273857.htm

Phantom Pro ND700, now to a total novice at using these things, I'm still not sure what I'm doing with it, BUT, it is finding gold..bloody fine stuff at that. It beeps several tones, and bars flash across the LCD screen. I've tried all the modes and one thing is sure...on 'All Metal' you gotta have it fully extended cause it will pickup the eyelets of yer boots with 2 feet of them.
I'm not interested in gold specks...I need nuggets and someone to tune it in ....HELP lol
Back to top