Is it worth it?

[brucester]

Hello,

I know a lot of us are here for different reasons.

Some dream about building the best metal detector on the market and get rich selling them by undercutting minelabs prices.

Some want to build a decent detector for a fraction of the price of a gpx5000 so they can use it for gold prospecting.

Some want to build a simple detector for treasure hunting similar to the cheapies available on the market.

Others are just hobbyists interested in electronics and figured metal detectors are a challenging and fun project.

Others still are students doing it for educational purposes.

For all in the first 2 groups, my question is, is it worth it?

I mean, from what i can tell, after years of tinkering from hundreds of people on amateur forums, no one has produced anything comparable to a commercial product. I cam here think that $6500 for a minelab gpx5000 was overpriced considering that the electronics arent that complicated and they are made in china with poor quality control going by all the complaints users have with them.

It seemed like a lot of money for something so basic. But after a little research, $6500 sounds pretty fair considering how hard it is to design and build one of these things. At first i thought the price was just hype and marketing, but lets face it, no one here is going to build anything that comes close to the nugget finding abilities of the gpx5000.

Am i wrong?

Dont mean to sound like a doomsayer or a quitter but, these little kits and amateur projects just dont seem like they are worth much and i should just fork out the cash.

I hope i'm wrong.

[David_1]

I am sure if you spend 6500 you will get a great detector very quickly. if you want to save money and you build one you will lean a lot more about how they work. will it work any better I have no clue :-)

[Davor]

Am i wrong?

It would depend on your geography. In case kangaroos are hopping about you'll be able to notice more of the refinements of the more elaborate rigs, otherwise not that much.

Maybe you should reformulate your question into: "Do I really need a $6500 tool and will it ever repay for itself?"

[brucester]

yeah, i live in western australia on the outskirts of the gold fields so cancelling the ground is essential

[ivconic]

"...For all in the first 2 groups, my question is, is it worth it?..."

Personally; GP and GPX Minelab's are not that valuable for me and lot of VLF's under $500 are doing much better job, here on local soils.
So why wasting 5000e for something we don't actually need here?
I agree with Davor.
Also i can agree that same GP and GPX Minelab's can be priceless on some other soils, with no competition at all.
All depends.
If you are nugget hunter and your soils are heavy mineralized than such 5000e machine will possibly be your only choice.
Cheap, under $500 machines will not do the job for you, that's for sure.
All depends.
Cheers!

[Qiaozhi]

Hello,

I know a lot of us are here for different reasons.

Some dream about building the best metal detector on the market and get rich selling them by undercutting minelabs prices.

Some want to build a decent detector for a fraction of the price of a gpx5000 so they can use it for gold prospecting.

Some want to build a simple detector for treasure hunting similar to the cheapies available on the market.

Others are just hobbyists interested in electronics and figured metal detectors are a challenging and fun project.

Others still are students doing it for educational purposes.

Most people here are in the last 3 groups. The majority are electronics hobbyists with a particular interest in treasure detecting technology, and are people who want to understand how these devices work. Obviously there is some pride involved in building your own metal detector and then using it to find something valuable, and there is always the possibility that you could discover some new concepts that have been overlooked. Yes, it might be cheaper in the long run to simply go out and buy a $6500 detector, but where's the fun in that? Most members are here to improve their education in the subject, and they treat the money spent on components and the time involved in experimenting as part of the learning curve.

Also, as Ivconic correctly points out, not everyone has to deal with the ghastly magnetic stuff you call "soil" down in Oz.
For the sort of soil conditions we have to deal with in the UK and Europe it is quite feasible to build a detector than can rival some of the lower and mid-range commercial designs. Of course, if you want to compete with the high-end capabilities of a White's V3, for example, you would be extremely hard pushed to achieve that goal.

This hobby is mostly about the journey, rather than the destination.

[6666]

Hey Davor
did you know that kangaroo's are very dangerous here in Oz, especially if you are out metal detecting ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQf33hjFoQY

[Davor]

So you have to hit them first with some strong metal detecting device? That surely explains the $6500 tag

[Finderskeepers]

Hi Brucester,
Ground balancing is an important factor if you want to prospect for gold on aussie ground, any model within Minelab's p.i. range will do the job. Just that the GPX range of detectors will slaughter a SD and GP due to it's superior electronics and soil timings. I do alot of alluvial gold prospecting in Victoria and the soil is fairly mineralised that if I sweep the ground with a magnet, small rocks and blacksand will stick to it.

The schematics for the SD2000 is available on this forum (thanks to Zed) and if your into electronics and want a challenge, go and built it. I have built a few detectors that are mentioned on this forum and work really well at the beaches. After cycling and gold prospecting, electronics is my third hobby which i commenced almost two years ago and have learned a lot along the way. I would highly recommend that you hire a minelab GPX5000 or 4500 for a few days and also get someone to teach you how to use the machine. If you enjoyed it and want to continue on detecting, then buy one, if you didn't, then you did not lose much at all.

Kangeroos and roads don't mix well, found that out when i hit one while driving 3 years ago. Bloody mongrel did not want to stop and exchange insurance details.

[ivconic]

All depends on conditions at given location and area.
In last 25 years of enjoying this hobby; i had just few cases where no conventional machine could detect a thing, due very bad soil conditions.
So those places were almost abandoned by hobbyists during the years.
Than, 2 years ago (if i remember right) i obtained GP3000. Went there. Wow! Had handful of very nice finds!
I still remember one situation where; on one spot on the ground, Spectra V3 and XP GoldMax Power haven't made even slightest response while GP3000 pretty clearly indicated nice target.
It was roman silver denarius at 28cm depth.
That day i had 24 nice finds while my colleagues (with mentioned machines) both hadn't 5-6 finds overall.
Few months later i went there on same place with epe magnetometer and measured 190 000nT !!!! Normal values in my area otherwise do varying from 45-49 000nT.
But such places with such soil are rare here in my country. Maybe there are 2 or 3 such places with extremely mineralized and iron oxide infested soil.
Yet i do believe that situation is quite different in other areas, especially there in Aus.
So... everything is so relative and dependable on given objective conditions.
Each one of us will therefore have own choice, conditioned by surrounding conditions.

[Carl-NC]

Brucester,

Most people are here for the fun & learning. Few have those Big Dreams. Minelab's PI technology isn't terribly difficult (just somewhat), but it is well-covered by patents so most efforts have focused on other approaches, which makes the solution very challenging. And that's what attracts people.

You'll note that besides GPX, no one here has successfully replicated an Explorer, V3, Deus, CZ, or even the simplest autotrack VLF. These would be easier projects to tackle but few people are interested for some reason.

- Carl

[6666]

Hi Brucester
you dont need to spend the whole $6800
just look on ebay, there were a couple there last night
one was a good rig and 3 coils for $5500.

[brucester]

thanks all

you just saved me a heap of time searching for a cheap way to detect the goldfields :P

good luck with your inventions

[ivconic]

thanks all

you just saved me a heap of time searching for a cheap way to detect the goldfields :P

good luck with your inventions

Gold prospecting is indeed challenging.
Don't waste your time, go and do buy GPX 5000 and go for gold.
Only drawback is that you will have to forget about any comfort in working with it.
Also do obtain extra accu's if you intend to stay longer on the field.
Cheers!