apdp Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Hi everyone, bought the Minelab for myself about two years ago for the beaches of Florida. Just got transfered to the desert and have taken it out nugget detecting a few times.My question is: does it work that well for nuggets. I set it on all metal and then ran through noise cancel. I picked up some hot rocks on the surface and that was about it. I figured it must not be working that well as if there were hot rocks on the surface I should have been picking some up below the surface but did not seem to. Air testing my gold watch showed about 10-12" at this setting. Am I setting it right.Any information will be much appreciated.Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted December 20, 2006 Admin Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Hello Apdp, The Minelab Explorer II is one, if not the best coin/relic hunter available. However, the detector wasn't designed to run in very mineralized areas or find small gold nuggets. You will find larger gold nuggets, but using this detector for nuggethunting could be a big waist of time. You will be missing more gold than you find in all honestly. I would strongly suggest a good VLF gold detector as the minimum. If you can afford it, I would look into the Minelab PI (Pulse Induction) Metal Detector such as the SD or GP series. Thanks for joining the forums and hope to hear back from you. Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apdp Posted December 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Hi all, and thank you Rob for the info. I had thought I paid alot for my detector until I looked at the SD and GP prices. It looks like the 3500 and 4000 are out of my price range. I was looking at the 2100s and 2200s. I also read about the 2000. I noticed some of these have v2 added.Anybody know how different these detectors are (the 2000 series). It looks like alot of people are happy with the 2100 with a voltage booster. Thank you all for any response.AP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted December 21, 2006 Admin Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Hello AP, The SD2000 was the first Minelab Pulse Induction (PI) detector built many ... many years ago. This detector has been discontinued for a long time, but some still use it with modifications in Australia. The SD2100 was the next detector built and was a big step up from the SD2000. The next was the SD2200d, which was pretty much the same electronics as the SD2100 but had more features such as Auto Tracking, Discrimination ....Since the SD2100 & SD2200 were such good sellers for the price range, Minelab decided to keep them around. The newer versions are called the SD2100v2 and SD2200v2. I think it means "Version 2" of the original version. They changed control box color from the Army Green to the Blue and some other minor changes. The SD's with a regulated battery system like the Coiltek Pocket Rocket Li-Ion System will help increase performance and stability. The GP series, GP Extreme, GP3000, GP3500 and the lastest GPX-4000 are much more sensitive to smaller gold and smaller gold at depth. I also believe the GP3500 and expecially the GPX-4000 are getting more depth over the SD and ealier GP series. Hope this helps a bit,Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 Apdp. Right now is a fantastic time to get a real bargain on a used Minelab Pi detector. With many folks purchasing the newest one , their old one is up for sale . Check the classified ads on all the gold forums . There are a ton of nearly new Gps and SDs , and real bargains on older well used units. The Pis are very reliable and will last a lifetime so buying used is not a real chancy thing. Repairs if needed aren't that expensive. Our old beat up 2100 is still working as new and has never needed repairs. You don't need to win the lottery to be running an excellant gold machine.----Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apdp Posted December 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 Thank you both for the information. It has been real helpful. AP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.