News from Minelab on the SD2200v2

[lamarc]

The sd220v2 will soon be back in production, here is the e-mail that was sent. (Friday, October 23, 2009 5:28 AM)

Thank you for your email.

In recent months there has been a huge demand for the GPX4500 product which has affected production of the SD2200V2 also.

We are currently coming to terms with our back orders as we have ramped up production so this is having a positive effect.

We hope to be in a position to return to normal production as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience.)

[DOC]

I am very sorry that you were misled by the response to the email that you posted. I don't know who would have given you that information, because according to information provided by Minelab to us dealers as of yesterday, production of the SD2200d's are still a ways off. Here is the quote regarding the status of production of the SD2200's that we dealers received.

"SD2200 –We have continuing shortages of components on this product and manufacturing remains difficult. Given the substantial demand for GPX4500 units we have therefore decided to focus all manufacturing efforts on the GPX4500

It is therefore unlikely that we will receive any more SD2200 units until at least January 2010."

I don't want you to get your hopes up, because it looks like Santa will not be bringing any new SD2200's for Christmas.

Doc

The sd220v2 will soon be back in production, here is the e-mail that was sent. (Friday, October 23, 2009 5:28 AM)

Thank you for your email.

In recent months there has been a huge demand for the GPX4500 product which has affected production of the SD2200V2 also.

We are currently coming to terms with our back orders as we have ramped up production so this is having a positive effect.

We hope to be in a position to return to normal production as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience.)

[Nuggetslayer]

Guess if you can't afford the best your stuck with used or nothing. I think that its bs that they are so caught up with the 4500 that they aren't going to make the other models till they are caught up. But they are in it for money and thats where it's at right now.

[gosthi]

Do not get me wrong, I give Minelab credit for great products as I had a SD2200 and I also bought a new SD2100 in 1997, great machines and I did love them both. But I did not like manual GB on the SD2100 because in some places I would get to the end of my grid and I would have to manual GB every time there. IMO I think it is wrong and BS that Minelab is still making the SD2200v2 and SD2100v2. At the present time they should only be making 2 PI units available to be purchased new right now, the GP3500 and the GPX4500.

[nuggethunting]

Hello Goldstone,

Minelab tries to keep a level of detectors that anyone can afford. We all can't afford a GPX-4500 and it might be too much for some people's needs. Minelab has always had a VLF detector under $1,000, then the SD series that ranged from $1,500 - $2,000 and then the high end detector that would range from $3,500 - $4,500. They want to keep that mid-level PI detector around to keep that market. The SD series have always been popular cause of their price and performance.

If the SD2200v2 becomes completely discontinued like the SD2100v2 awhile back, then I'm sure they will make something new to replace it. Just my thoughts ....

Hope this helps,

Rob Allison

[Steve Herschbach]

Hi,

I'm glad Minelab makes the SD2200v2 as it found a lot of gold with my SD2200D and later my v2. The v2 is in my opinion the bang for the buck PI on the market right now. That is if youi can get one!

But I do agree they should also still be making the GP 3500. It represented the pinnacle of the analog design, and like many I feel a certain hard to define something gets lost once you cross over to digital designs. The audio just has a different feel.

So if they had a the SD2200v2 at $1795 and the GP 3500 at $2995 and the GPX-4500 at $4495 it would offer a nice entry, mid-range, and top end series. Right now it is a huge leap from the SD to the GPX.

Steve Herschbach

[Nuggetslayer]

I agree, I loved my SD2200 that thing found the gold know doubt. It had depth and was a great detector to get my feet wet and I wish I still had it today. The GP series was a great detector too. I had the GP3000 and that thing would pick up that small gold that my 2200 wasn't getting. The GPX I have now really doesn't get any smaller gold then the GP series did maybe a little deeper. The big difference is how quiet I can get it to run so that I can here those dinks. To have a entry level, mid level, and high is a smart move, but they need to make them all availble to everyone.

[Ted Scott]

But I do agree they should also still be making the GP 3500. It represented the pinnacle of the analog design, and like many I feel a certain hard to define something gets lost once you cross over to digital designs. The audio just has a different feel.

It'll be a sad day if they ever discontinue all of that range in favor of digital. All the SD's and GP's will be highly sought after if that ever happens.

I for one, hope they continue to improve that range. It would be so amazing if they would deign to spend more than a $100 in components for their audio circuitry though. I hate square waves.

[leroym]

Well, you guys made me feel good. I recently bought a hardly used GP 3500 for $900 bucks from my prospecting partner. It had the 11" DD and 8" mono.

I then added the lithium-ion battery pak from Doc and that got that 5# monkey off my back.

I followed Doc's advice and labeled the batteries #1 & #2 and used one while charging the other.

Until I read Steve's post I did not know that the 3500 was the last analog model and that you guys held the 3500 in such high regard. Some times a guy gets lucky!

LeRoy (in Montana)

[Nuggetslayer]

If you ever decide to sell it let me know and I will give you back $900 for that machine. Man that was a good deal. Great detector you will like it.

[Ted Scott]

Hey LeRoy,

It will be an interesting experiment to find a bunch of patches with that crappy $900(!) detector. Clean them out really good for several years. Then, go buy a GPX and see how long it takes you to find $5000 out of those same patches and heck, throw in a few more new ones.

Then you'll see what a nice deal you really got just now.

[Reno Chris]

What info I have runs along what DOC was saying. The demand from Sudan for 4500s remains mostly unabated. In spite of canabalizing 2200 production to make 4500s, there is still more demand than supply. I heard ML's production of 4500s was cruising along at more than 5 times the "typical" rate in recent months to meet the new surge in demand. I think DOC is right that it wil be a while before they get back to building the less profitable 2200s.

I also heard a rumor that ML will be coming out with a 4500 "lite" - a simplified , lower cost 4500. It would fill the void between the 4500 and the 2200. Perhaps it might be next year if they ever get to the point where they can supply as many 4500s as the arabs want to buy.

Chris

[Brotofug73]

Not typically, but I would suggest practicing from a stand or the roof of your house....something. Every bow behaves a little differently

[leroym]

Not typically, but I would suggest practicing from a stand or the roof of your house....something. Every bow behaves a little differently

Huh?

[leroym]

Not typically, but I would suggest practicing from a stand or the roof of your house....something. Every bow behaves a little differently

Lost bowhunter!

[BURGESS88]

Hi,

I'm glad Minelab makes the SD2200v2 as it found a lot of gold with my SD2200D and later my v2. The v2 is in my opinion the bang for the buck PI on the market right now. That is if youi can get one!

But I do agree they should also still be making the GP 3500. It represented the pinnacle of the analog design, and like many I feel a certain hard to define something gets lost once you cross over to digital designs. The audio just has a different feel.

So if they had a the SD2200v2 at $1795 and the GP 3500 at $2995 and the GPX-4500 at $4495 it would offer a nice entry, mid-range, and top end series. Right now it is a huge leap from the SD to the GPX.

Steve Herschbach

[nuggethunting]

Hello All,

There has been a lot of debate on why Minelab discontinued the great SD series. What I have been told that there will be something to replace those units, but not sure when it will be released. I don't have any specs or know the price(s), but there has been rumors floating around about these newer units. Right now there is no mid-range PI detectors from Minelab, so I'm sure they want to pick that up soon.

Hope this helps,

Rob Allison

[adam]

So Rob, Doc said that the earliest we could see SD`s will be January 2010, now you are saying that they are discontinued ....Why all the mis-information, why are there not any straight answers to such a simple question. My god , who are you guys talking to down there at minelab? The stockboy or something? Minelab knows what is going to happen so why are they not communicating the answers effectively, and to thier very dealers no less.

No one has any SD`s, GP`s, or GPX`s in Stock ...Is that correct?

[nuggethunting]

Hey Adam,

Well first I want to say that there has been a lot of changes with Minelab USA, Inc. in the last year. People have come and gone, so there are new people trying to get all the kinks worked out.

From my knowledge the SD's have been discontinued for some time now. They started with the SD2100v2 about 6-8 months ago and then towards the end of the year I heard the SD2200v2 was also discontinued.

Minelab at this current time don't have a mid-lined PI, which kind of sucks since many are in that budget range for a metal detector. I'm sure sometime soon Minelab will bring something new out to replace that line of metal detectors ($1,500 - $3,000 range).

Right now you jump from a Minelab Eureka Gold at $998.95 to the GPX-4500 at $4,495.00.

Currently the Eureka Gold and GPX-4500 are on backorder, but they are coming slowly. If you're looking for either of these units I recommend you contact your nearest Minelab dealer, or give me a call to get on the waiting list.

Hope this helps a bit,

Rob Allison

[AZNuggetBob]

So Rob, Doc said that the earliest we could see SD`s will be January 2010, now you are saying that they are discontinued ....Why all the mis-information, why are there not any straight answers to such a simple question. My god , who are you guys talking to down there at minelab? The stockboy or something? Minelab knows what is going to happen so why are they not communicating the answers effectively, and to thier very dealers no less.

No one has any SD`s, GP`s, or GPX`s in Stock ...Is that correct?

Keep in mind this thread started back in Oct., things change. AzNuggetBob

[tomcat_0]

I have a lot of respect for the Mine lab dealers that we know and deal with. With this, I include our Mine lab distributer, who like his dealers, are subject to repressive clauses with no recourse. However, their parent organization deserves the utmost scrutiny, for their deceptive business practices, which I don't think I have to explain.

It should be very clear to anyone that follows an Australian product designed for locating "Gold", that it is priced on the volume of gold produced with detectors in Australia. How can a company that is milking it's own people, not milk the rest of the world?

[AZNuggetBob]

Hey Dean Have you heard about Sudan? plus several other new gold discoveries around the world and a few "we" have not even heard of "yet" Demand is HIGH for good metal detectors. with the price of gold at an all time high and the economy struggling I dont think there should be any doubt why Minelab is having a tough time keeping up. AzNuggetBob

[LuckyLundy]

Yep, Minelab has the market for quality and best detectors and they are taking advantage of their product. Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to hire more people to ramp up production of a product. But, why would they want to do that the R&D is bought and paid for, so it's good business sense to keep production low and demand high through the good times. When business is a little slow, they kickout products every couple of years or so. We all know there's gold rushes going on in far-away 3rd world countries, I wonder how far 5 grand would go! I bet you could live like a big dog for months. Their next machine out will have to impress me with 10% to 20% more depth.

LuckyLundy

[AZNuggetBob]

You should also keep in mind that Minelab is not raising their prices on 4500, the scalpers, middle men are, and their buying them up and also creating shortages, but from what I understand Minelab is limiting quantity orders by non dealers to slow the shortages. AzNuggetBob

[sawmill]

So what makes it OK for Minelab to cater

to supplying black market detectors while leaving

loyal customers and dealers hang out to dry?

There is no defense for their actions. They are

not doing any better than the big banks or the

greedy investment companies for their customers.

The economy is no excuse to short shift people that

helped build their little empire.