Old SD2100 Setup


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Yo All...For some reason there's been quite an interest lately in the old SD2100 and folks have been emailing me about how my Ol' Baboo is set up...Here's what I've found works for me and makes Ol' Baboo so sensitive that she bursts into tears if I curse a hot rock... :lol: ...My detector is the old green box original sd2100...I run the pocket rocket 7.2 battery system with a very short, 8", cable between the battery and the signal enhancer...That makes a huge difference in sensitivity and stability...I also use a signal enhancer from Doc that I got from Rob...Finally, I use Black Widow headphones, also from Rob...I also use pliers to secure the connections between coil cable and detector, battery & enhancer and enhancer & detector...Finger tight only will produce noise...I also use the following coils, in order of preference: original fiberglass Nuggetfinder 14 E Mono; Nuggetfinder 5x9 E mono; Coiltek 17" e mono Wallaby; Nuggetfinder round 14" DD; Coiltek 18" DD Pro; Coiltek 6" Sniper Mono; ML 8" mono; ML 11" DD; Coiltek 14" mono; Coiltek 12" Platypus DD...The number of nuggets I have found with the coils listed above is in the order listed...For a year or two in the past, I ran an 8.2 volt battery system which increased the volume of the signal and also increased the noiseyness of the detector...I find that the Pocket Rocket at 7.2 volts is the perfect set up ... I have found that with the 17" CT mono, for example, the above setup allows me to hear a 1/2 gram solid slug nugget at 15" in moderately mineralized ground...Hope this helps...Cheers, Ron

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Hey Ron good idea, starting a string on the 2100. I'll throw in my two cents. I agree on the plug, must be very tight or gone. :lol:

actually the plug is still there I just capped and bypassed it in case I need it later. of course this is a little extreme and not for all,

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg70/aznuggetbob/sd1.jpg

As far as coils go my top two favorites are:

the stock 11 inch mono and the 10" x 17 coiltek. but they dont work well in super hot ground or were there is a lot of volcanic hot rocks. as you mentioned Ive heard a lot of people like the 11"x 17" Wallaby on the 2100 but I have not got a chance to try one myself.

Aznuggetbob

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Hello Uncle Ron,

I've been selling a crap load of SD2100v2's at the new lower price of $1,199.95. A matter of fact, my Wife called this afternoon and stated two more sold and we need to order another big batch before the Gold Show in Phoenix.

The Pocket Rocket System is a must for the SD's. I would also recommend a good pair of headphones (Black Widow's Rock) and a Monoloop coil. I have all this stuff in stock at all times if anyone is looking for a new Minelab PI.

Talk with you later,

Rob Allison

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Hey Lizard and All,

Ya, I was on the run this afternoon and goofed on the price. The reduced price is $1,199.95, which is a smoking deal. I heard this evening from Minelab that there are only 48 SD2100v'2 left in inventory. Once they are gone you will have to search for a used one.

I'm still offering FREE UPS Ground with Full Insurance and Extended Warranty.

Take care,

Rob Allison

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Hey Rob or Ron I too would like to know why everyone is looking for the old 2100's aren't the new SD2100v'2 as good? At the price you are listing I might have to buy one if there is not a reason why everyone seem to rather have the old ones. Thanks for your input. AL

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Hey Hendo.......I have no clue about the new SD2100's...Never used one, actually never even saw one, but Rob, Doc & other dealers sell a butt load of them so they must be pretty good...All I know is that I've never seen enough performance difference between ol' Baboo and any of the subsequent models, all the way up to the 4500's, to prompt me to trade "up"....I find gold and that's all I care about re: detectors...If I really thought I was missing significant gold, I'd make the change in a hot second...It's just I've put so many hours on Baboo that I know, 98% of the time, what's under my coil...Even with this new little hotness CT6" sniper coil that I'm just really beginning to appreciate...(Found a couple of micro dinks today on the Hill with it I'll maybe post later.) .... Cheers, Unc

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Hi all I'll tell ya I have several mods on my old green beater 2100 and she is a sweet ole machine and still serves me well. but I should also say that some of my mods only add up to a V2. some of the mods in my 2100 are nothing more than replacing old weak parts and to some extent a performance gain just with new parts. some make it more user friendly as in the 2100v2 and some mods can push the levels up into the newer machines and arguably beyond. I have to admit that fresh 2100V2 out of the box does sound like a tempting deal especially at the big price and many upgrades in performance can also easily be achieved by aftermarket components such as the pocket rocket battery system or coil upgrades. the way I see it is even if slight mods only gets you an inch or two more depth it can make a lot of difference in your take home for the day. I have to admit Ron has a great coil selection and sometimes the right coil and knowing were to use it can chase the skunk away. Im always interested in hearing opinions or new ideas. I would also like to share some tuning ideas that work for me. Take care AzNuggetBob

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AzNuggetBob,

I am very interested in the different mods that you have done. I purchased a V2 specifically for mods. I thought about an old green box, but after hearing about the internal part upgrades, I figured that with the price drop it would be better to just start out with a new V2. The SD will be a new experience. I hope you will post about the technical upgrades that you speek of. I would rather not send my new machine to OZ for mods. I already ordered the external mods such as a signal amp and battery. Please share your tuning ideas as well. I look forward to hearing about your experience with this machine. Take care.

Cheers,

matt

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Hi Matt I agree thats basically what I was thinking to in my last post is the 2100v2 is already a mod from the old 2100 to a certain extent not having to use that screw driver adjust and with the big price drop the new ones are almost down to what you might expect to pay for a good condition old 2100 and one of the problems Ive noticed in the older sd's is some tend to drift more than others as far as tuning. some Ive had drift very slowly and you wont even notice without doing a retune check every so often. Ive seen some that you almost had to turn them on set them on the ground and wait for warm up so to speak. Ive owned several 2100 sd's and no two seem to be same in performance. sometimes I think it also has to do with component and coil matching. the old potentiometers work great when there new but if there well used there going to give you a lot of problems. the original pots are getting very hard to find. I got a good deal on some of the original spectrol 534 50k ten turns and have replaced all of mine. but you can just replace them with the new manufactured ones anyway.

AzNuggetBob

One more thing I wanted to mention and this is important if you decide to buy a new 2100v2 for the purpose of modding just keep in mind that doing internal repairs could also be voiding your warranty!

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Hi Matt here is a more info on one of the mods I came up with for the 2100 and the V2 series. where the tuner adjustment used to be Ive installed whats called a counting dial potentiometer. there are several reasons I chose this type of pot. first the 2100 doesn't have an external knob and must be tuned with a mini screw driver out in the field. also there is not very much room inside the detector behind the face panel because one of the circuit boards almost lines up there for the screw driver pot behind the panel face. and a standard panel pot probably wont fit. all the working parts of this counting dial type pot is outside enclosed in the knob and last you can use the dial to return to the best spot within the tuning range of the pot. and this is why its so useful. this type of pot is commonly referred to as ten turn counting dial panel pot. They also made a 15 turn version and I recommend 15 turn if you can find one. it will allow finer tuning. mine is a ten turn rotation and is shown on the dial from 0-10 and in tenths withe second hand, a very cool pot. early on when I got my first 2100 I hated the screw driver adjust and later was doing some bench tuning\testing and realized that there are at least two sweet spots within the full range of this adjustment that made the detector the most sensitive. one is best for larger deep nuggets and the other for smaller shallow nuggets. but I could never be sure where they were out in the field while tuning up to hunt. Now this tuner is primarily used for tuning out interference so the best place to test for your numbers is an area with the least amount of interference. its best to fix your detector on a bench or if outside on the ground. switch to channel#1 for small nuggets and then #2 for big nuggets then slowly rotate through the entire adjustment of the pot at the same time wave a small nugget in front of the coil note the numbers on the dial. (for example 2.4 and 8.3 are mine) but they differ from one 2100 to the next. when the best audio signal response is found do the same with a larger nugget further from the coil. you can also use lead bird shot or bullets. when you use this mod out in the field start with the detector set at the best performance numbers (big or small nuggets) and only adjust off of them (up or down) far enough to tune out interference. the closer you stay to your number the higher the sensitivity. when you move to a new hunting spot start at your number when tuning up and your going to always be at the best tuning location on this adjustment.

These were very expensive pots before they were discontinued by the manufacturer but you can still get them. I found mine on ebay for about $15.00. there are several different types that were made by different manufactures but of the ones I found this model fits the best.

Take care AzNuggetBob

http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg70/az.../th_potmod2.jpg

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AzNuggetBob,

That is exactly the kind of modding I have been thinking about. Since the V2 has external knobs, I will have to see if I can replace the knob with one of the pots. I started this project with the Goldscreamer and PR battery. Since I have no experience with the SD machines, my learning of the controls will take a little time. I read through the manual and have a good idea on how this machine runs. I trying to figure out how the balance 1 and 2 work. It seems to me that somewhere I read that the 1 and 2 are channels. In the between setting "search" you are running both channels, but each channel can be run seperately, preferably running the machine on channel 2. What is your opinion? Thanks again for the help. Take care.

Cheers,

matt

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Hi Matt There may be another option for you and other V2 owners that want a counting tuner pot. they also made just counting dials that can be attached to an already existing pot and no soldering. its just a matter of getting the correct shaft size and having enough room on the panel face. they install like a new knob. most are wider than the pot I used, btw the maker of the pot I used is Bourns but Im still trying to find the part# On the new one there normally well marked but I dont see it. but I can tell you its a 100k on the 2100. I still have the old board trimmer style pot I took out. As far as tuning your new machine you right there two separate channels and should be ground balanced separately. you can hunt in ether channel. each channel is a separate frequency. the switch isolates or combines them. if you have the switch set to search its almost like having two metal detectors combined but electronically alternating between each other with the two transmitting frequencies. If Im having problems with ground mineralization I will hunt in channel 2 especially if Im using a large mono coil. monos are a little more sensitive to ground mineralization than the double d"s. but channel two is smoother than one.. its debatable as to why, I think its because its the lower of the two frequencies and higher frequencies are more affected by ground mineralization. Im still learning a lot about the electronic end of them myself. I just tinker with them in my spare time and if I can get a little more depth, why not. Take care AzNuggetBob

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Guest Mike C...

Hi Bob I would be interested in one of them clock dials for my threshold--but only the one you externally mount to the existing pot--it would half to be very small as there is not a that much room to clear the box lip--any help would be much appreciated--also to all of you 2100 users--just buy a Gpx and you won't have to do any mods ;) -Mike C... :ph34r:

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I have a question on ground balancing. i just bought a new 2100v2 and both balance controls seem to do nothing. I have tryed many days, many soils, even asphalt. It is though they are unplugged. I reread the instructions twice. Also the tuning is the same way. I even tryed next to the high voltage lines in the Yuma area...nothing. do I have a dead unit? I sent it to minelab and they could not find a problem. also should it pick up a dime 6" off the ground? new with stock dd coil. thanks in advance.

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Hi Mike this one may work , take a look at the pdf spec sheet on this one and see if it will fit. price is right. I didnt check all the details on this site. btw Which GPX you swinging these days. AznuggetBob

http://octopart.com/info/Bourns/H-22-6A

or try google search, this may be what your looking for. Bourns Part# H-22-6A

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John, it definitely should pick up a dime at 6", even more....Ground balancing a 2100 can be frustrating sometimes...For years I didn't think it was doing anything when I tried, but now find that it is essential to GB the detector, especially using a mono coil...It doesn't seem to matter too much on a DD coil...You should balance channel 1 (top dial) then channel 2, then hunt with the switch set to the middle...Did you get lessons from whomever you bought the detector from? All legit dealers will give you field time to learn the basics....Cheers, Unc

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I have a question on ground balancing. i just bought a new 2100v2 and both balance controls seem to do nothing. I have tryed many days, many soils, even asphalt. It is though they are unplugged. I reread the instructions twice. Also the tuning is the same way. I even tryed next to the high voltage lines in the Yuma area...nothing. do I have a dead unit? I sent it to minelab and they could not find a problem. also should it pick up a dime 6" off the ground? new with stock dd coil. thanks in advance.

Hi John did you include your coil when you sent it back to Minelab? AzNuggetbob

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John, it definitely should pick up a dime at 6", even more....Ground balancing a 2100 can be frustrating sometimes...For years I didn't think it was doing anything when I tried, but now find that it is essential to GB the detector, especially using a mono coil...It doesn't seem to matter too much on a DD coil...You should balance channel 1 (top dial) then channel 2, then hunt with the switch set to the middle...Did you get lessons from whomever you bought the detector from? All legit dealers will give you field time to learn the basics....Cheers, Unc

mine lab said it does not target well in the air and needs the ground. I will go back to the dealer in san diego to chat. thank you for the info on the dd vs the mono coil with regards to ground balance. I had a old garrett from the 80s i am used to. I did send my coil also. thanks , john

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