I am here, but for some reason did not get notice someone was posting in this topic. Anyway I have not used the newest model of the ATX and though I did like the detector I quickly switched back to my Minelab GPX at the time due to weight and some control box issues that caused some falsing in the early Garrett ATX. They should have that fixed now though... The Minelab GPX 4500 would be a better option for the same money and in my opinion and is a far superior nugget detector. Now consider that with the 15% Military discount and the 5% I give GPAA members one can be had for around 2200.00 here at Nugget Shooter.

I have used both and though the ATX is a very good PI unit it is not nearly as versatile, stable, or deep seeking as the Minelab GPX 4500 check my site for more info to compare the 2 as I carry both... www.nuggetshooter.com

Cheers, Bill

Thank you Bill for your reply. So I have looked at the ML4500 but after watching several Aussies on YouTube and reading some comparisons here were my conclusion and would be interested to know if maybe the ATX might be the best fit for me.

1. The ML4500 has EMI issues especially around Powerlines, Airports (some say even in Air Traffic Patterns), Commercial Heavy Equipment like Tractors and other detectors and EMI doesn't affect the ATX.

2. Another advantage that I have heard over and over is if one is detecting in an area where most nuggets are subgram but the occasional 2+ gram nuggets are found at greater depths, the ATX can hit both with one coil and one mode, no need to switch coils and modes in general and once you start adding the Coils to the ML4500 necessary to go deeper than the ATX the costs difference is even more significant.

3. The ATX is a better Relic and Beach detector with better discrimination features.

Anyways, this obviously is all research and opinion based but I respect your work and experience Bill and wanted to know if there is any merit to these points as these advantages would be the better fit for what I seek.

OK it indeed does make a difference in what will "fit" best and originally nugget detecting was the main focus I thought. If you plan to hunt around allot of power lines and at the beach etc. with a all purpose detector then the ATX would likely be a better unit due to being waterproof as well and it will indeed work better in town. We do not have issues with power lines for the most part nugget shooting. So if coil/relic/beach/and occasional nugget shooting is your plan that the ATX is a good bet. But you can indeed hunt near power lines with the 4500 when set up properly quite well and I have done it.

The 4500 though nugget shooting will our perform the ATX with any of the coils from 8 inch up. I have tested them side by side with the 11 inch stock coil and the Minelab is more sensitive to small shallow gold as well as deeper gold. With larger coils same result and I would be using the ATX myself if it would find me more gold. The different modes offer the operator more options to handle different ground conditions and what you have heard is a bit inaccurate. There is a reason when it comes to what people are actually using that post the gold finds consistently show Minelab PI and their tool of choice simple as that. Allot of detectors claim to be as good or better, but the proof is in the finds posted on forums, FaceBook, and passed around the campfire.

I am talking about only PI detectors in the price range you are working with as for nugget hunting there are also other options to consider though much more costly. There are also many VLF options in all purpose detectors as you already know.

I can only base my opinion on having actually had both in the field testing them myself and do not watch many videos simply because I am in a position to get my info hands on and for gold nuggets the GPX 4500 is a superior detector once mastered and having the options to change coils and settings to suit the ground is important and an advantage. Where on man sees more settings as a hassle another sees the advantage of learning to use them to fit different hunting conditions and styles. The ATX is indeed a decent PI detector if you are wanting to have an all purpose unit including water use in a PI, but for serious nugget shooting Minelab is simply the best option out there and this is not from word of mouth, but experience. There is a very good reason the folks that hunt gold nuggets professionally and/or focus mostly on hunting gold nuggets with a metal detector use Minelab PI and now other newer Minelab technologies like MPF and ZVT as in the SDC 2300 and GPZ 7000.

Just trying to help not confuse anyone and I can use any of these detectors when I hunt and I go with what will get me the most gold and I am not as brand loyal as I am interested in results. If any one of the manufacturers out there would come up with a better detector to find gold nuggets I would be using it in a New York Minute and I try each and every one that comes out to be sure I do not miss the boat.

That was an awesome response Bill. I very much appreciate it. So I think between last week or whenever I originally posted the question and this week I began to think more about my everyday situation. I want to get into some Nugget Shooting which was what got me considering a PI... But realistically I am probably only going to be able to detect any real Gold Bearing Grounds maybe every 6-8 weeks and will be mostly Relic Hunting in the desert I live in which at least uptil now big gold or nuggets for that matter have never been found. We also have Lake Powell Near me with plenty of beach and has been growing in popularity among locals and I have always thought about trying it out... So without giving up on a detector that is good for nugget shooting, since my original question I have evolved in think more realistically about my everyday use and needs. So maybe I should just get both LOL

Not sure about both unless a PI is what you feel you must have for coin/relic hunting as there are some awesome choices out there for very capable detectors for that purpose in a much lower price range that will do the job and as always there are the more expensive units with once again more features to help the operator cover more hunting conditions and more accurate and reliable discrimination. While nugget detecting we do not use discrimination as it is not reliable on PI detectors or VLF when nugget hunting due to nuggets not playing fair so to speak being in-uniform, not pure etc. Also gold is a very poor conductor....

Your comment was however very true and it is in my opinion better to use a detector designed for what you plan to hunt the most as when manufactured to hunt both there is some loss of performance on both ends. The two types of detectors Nuggets or Coin/ relic are very different in what we require from them as far as ground and hunting conditions. We dig everything nugget shooting, but coin or relic hunting often we are looking for a certain type manmade target among oodles of trash and accurate discrimination is a must.

I use a coin/relic detector for that purpose and a different detector for Nuggets.....

So I have a Teknetics T2 SE and I love it... It goes deep, has fast recovery and decent separation and accurate reads. I do very little coin shooting as my area has proven to be terrible for it. I use it on trashy sites, old homesteads and in the desert... When I say I want a PI that is good for Relics... It needs to be good around EMI (Powerlines mostly) and something I can use to actually target deep Iron with as some of the best relics in my area are iron (cast iron and such)... So looking to go even deeper than what the Teknetics T2 SE is capable of with a 15 or 17" coil... I understand the Deepseeker Coil on the ATX should do this for me. I also want to search more for old wagon trails, bandit hideouts and caches. The beach idea is to mix it up.... AND... I want to start nugget shooting, mostly in the Gold Basin Arizona area. With all of that in mind if had to go with one detector for all of this... What would it be? I keep coming back to the ATX but I have only ever considered the ML4500 or ATX and even the ML5000 briefly.

I brought my LDMA metal detector to the Loud Mine camp for the outing next week. Hope to find somebody to train me on how to find something .. was kinda hoping there would be a few demonstrations and training classes while we're here.

Ed

To Discriminate or Not

My questions is this, unless I use discriminate mode set at about 20 (Fisher Gold Bug) I have constant signals on all metals all the time, if I was to dig each signal I would be in the same sq yard for about a week!!, the signals are from weak to very strong and many times there will be nothing , or of course the old piece of barbed wire,square nail etc.. ground balancing the machine is pretty simple so I do that frequently.

By using the discriminate mode am I losing gold at 20? (i have no idea what that number stands for) it seems that most iron junk reads from 20 down. I've used a 1/2 oz gold coin and a couple of little "pickers" that read around 40-50 on my MD, additionally the tone on discriminate is also more distinct ( lead sounds really good!) any advise is appreciated.

FYI . I use a set of "whites" headphones

Thank you

Shane, I would have to say your research is sound on PI units for coin/relic and a Minelab gold nugget detector would not be my first choice. For that type work I use a CTX 3030 from Minelab, but not a PI. I do know the 4500 and 5000 are both used in the East to hunt battlegrounds etc. to get deeper than previous VLF hunters have and some incredible finds are being made. These guys dig everything because artifact hunting requires that or you miss some important finds. Coin hunting often the user wants accurate discrimination and that is not possible with a pulse induction detector and discrimination comes from a broken signal response.

Have you looked at the CTX 3030?

 

Tony,

 

 

GB or GB-PRO? What are you hunting gold or coin/relic?

If you are nugget shooting it is always best to run all metal and dig it all. 

 If coin or jewelry hunting in parks with the Gold Bug I usually turn sensitivity up to 12 oclock, then threshold somewhere near 11-12oclock, where you can just hear the hum, then do a ground grab over clean ground until the GB # settles in.

Then you can crank up the sensitivity and turn down into disc and run it up to 38-40, then you can either run in all metal with it set approx 11 oclock or where you can barely hear the thresh hum and watch the top of the speedometer ID's for targets above 38-40, or if you choose to run in disc mode just listen for strong repeatable signals and dig those over 38-40. I use 40 and have not missed much gold jewelry, from my experience. Lots of gold rings I have found at 50-52, but as high as 63-64 (it is a large gold spectrum) nickels hit solid at 58 usually. The settings above will not guarantee great targets but will cut down on the frustration of digging as much trash. 

Hope that helps

I believe Bill would agree that it is not a good idea to use discrimination mode nuggetshooting, unless perhaps to check a target.

 

 

I have looked into a CTX and XP for that matter. Most everyone who has experience or owns a CTX and a T2 SE like what I already have tell me that I may have slightly more success in coin shooting and of course beach hunts would be possible with the CTX but if my main focus is Relics and Nuggets and some beach hunting then the T2 SE and ATX would be the better combination in the ways I seek to improve my options.

As for the ML 4500 or 5000...

I hate all of the necessary parts, the battery is separate from the main unit housing... Cords everywhere, not waterproof, super sensative to EMI and RFI and one must spend a fortune for all of this when maybe I can gain a couple inches of depth (which not everyone agrees that the ML 4500 or 5000 actually does get more depth than the ATX)... I get opinions that go back and forth on this. Funny thing is, what most complain about over a ML other than the price is the sound (noise) which the one thing I actually like LOL... I am taking the plunge and getting the ATX which btw apparently there is a new closed DD stock coil that achieves even greater depth with improved stability.

I got a Deus and its pretty impressive all around, I took it to Coronado, Ca beach a month or 2 ago. Worked great. Although I preferred to run it in Goldfield mode (aka all metal) got more depth than the stock wet sand /dry sand settings. So many features to tune and now they are releasing a v4 with upgrades for nugget shooting and new coils, but then again its no PI machine but a great VLF incredibly light and versatile

I know... I looked at that... Truthfully to your XP and Bill's CTX... I also saw the v4 and smaller coil that the XP is coming out with this week. It was super hard for me to pass up on either one as I realize I am spending enough to own one of those great machines. But after much consideration and gathering a ton of opinions (in which I paid particular attention to CTX and XP owners who also own and use the T2 SE that I use)... I just got to go with a PI. I mostly relic hunt in which I will begin focusing more on Old Wagon Trails and Lost Treasures so I need to go deep. The 20" Monocoil that ignores near surface targets and can pick up smaller targets at 2 feet is of great interest which the ATX offers. I also see many Western Australian Nugget Shooters liking the ATX and the new DD closed coil sealed the deal for me. My goal will be to master it. Using both my T2 SE and the ATX I should be able to clean out any area of all good targets. I think I will have to add a Gold Bug II and AT Pro or the XP eventually before I can feel complete!

The XP is a great detector and light as a feather and I love it for coin relic hunting and the info above is very much correct. The XP will not go as deep as the CTX, but is super fast and will hear a dime half under a tin can lid by giving a slight chirp indicating a good target among trash. I also like the prospecting mode on the XP and it handles hot soil well. The ATX is also a great choice for an entry level PI and is a great detector as well as waterproof and will serve you well and yes will clean out most targets within it's capabilities and I hand it to Garrett for coming up with a lower priced entry level PI to give folks a different option. It will leave some small deep nuggets as well as large nuggets in very deep ground the GPX or GPZ models from Minelab will easily hear, but the cost difference in the two is important and Garrett does not claim it will out do the higher end PI units from Minelab..

Anyone out there know anything about a Metal Detector Called Detech? As I am being told this European Company's product is so good they even make Coils for Minelab/Garrett to name but a few of the big guys in the Industry? Is this true?
Regards Patrick.

Has anyone seen/used a Makro Gold Racer metal detector?

I have not tried that one yet, but you may want to look at the Minelab Gold Monster 1000, it is a VLF for gold with fully automatic ground balance, no threshold to listen to, and a discrimination that is dependable! All this is controlled by a 24 bit micro processor and the cost is very reasonable at 700.00 (with military discount it is 679.15) GPAA also available through me... In my opinion it is likely the best VLF available and at 45 kHz it will hear gold as tiny as even the GB2 without all the noise.....

I just picked up a Whites Goldmaster II in mint condition it's spent the better part of 26 years in a leather carrying bag in a closet. It has the original rechargeable battery pack (that took a full charge) and it has the original battery pack to put AA batteries in, I don't think this thing ever had AA batteries put in it. Has anyone ever used this model I know its a bit on the old side but for the price I couldn't pass it up. I've read great things about this detector just looking for more opinions and info. Thanks in advance.

Bill, (may I call you Bill?) I have recently bought the very first TDI SL Special Edition. I wish to get (pay) for instruction form a PRO. Ok, it's not a Minelab but I certainly would like to hook up. I will move from the Angels Camp area to Yarnell (Stanton) in April, where I will use the machine extensively. terry_cieszki@yahoo.com   Tnx.  ╦╦Ç