GOLDSCAN 5- Questions...

[cabochris]

I am seriously thinking about the purchase of a Goldscan 5 as a replacement for my Infinium. I would use the GS5 for beach hunting and gold prospecting. On the beach I would hope and expect that the GS5 would be very sensitive to gold and go very deep. My other choice would be a GP3500, which is known to go deep in the sand!

Yet I am leaning towards the GS5 because I feel it would fare better in a beach environment- sand, spray, salt... Plus it costs less than a 3500 and I like the idea of having something different.

I really like the Infinium concept, but am hoping the GS5 a better machine for my needs? Plus I hope the GS5 can really give the 3500 a run for the money! From what I have been told so far, the answer is yes.

Assuming the GS5 is better than my Infinium and on par with a 3500, then I have some concerns. First, the idea that the GS5 can utilize ML coils- such as Coiltec, is a big plus. I can just see myself on the beach using a big mono for depth and ground coverage. Then also a small elliptical for small gold nuggets out prospecting. Sounds great, so long as those coils really work well with the GS5? I would not want to purchase those coils if I had to substantially reduce gold sensitivity to make them work? So is using such after market coils an effective reality with the GS5?

Second, in one way having rechargeable batteries built in the case is a good thing. On the other hand my concern is, what would I do should I ever travel to some exotic land, where power to recharge is difficult to find- such as miles out in the bush? Could I purchase and bring several extra precharged battery packs for the GS5 and change them in the field? And would those batteries hold their charge in storage? What about a 12V car charger?

Third, like the Infinium I like the tone ID. The single reporting tone on the GS5 sounds better than the 2 on my Infinium. I understand that the 3500 sort of has tones too? My question is does the GS5 tone ID go to depth, or is it limited to surface?

Fourth, the 3500 has this DVT technology, which seems to make sense in their ads. How significant is DVT and would that put the GS5 in second place? Not that that would be a bad thing, because I would still go with the GS5 for more practical reasons.

I know this is long, but by the time I purchase a GS5 and extra coils it is a good size investment and I want to make sure that I'm doing the right thing. Also, this may help others to decide on a GS5 too. Thanks, CC.

 

[bakergeol]

Hi CC
I believe Mr. Bill has been under the weather lately so I will try to answer some of your questions.

Coils- I own 2 Eric Foster coils 6" and 11" as well as a Nuggetfinder ellip 5"x9" mono and a Coiltex 14" mono. They all work extremely well with the GS5. It simply is a non issue.

Battery Issue - Yes you are correct in your concerns here. To that end Mr. Bill is shipping me another battery with an external charger. An auto 12V charger is something you need to ask Mr. Bill about. The downside is that they are expensive but the same issue exists for the GP's.

Tone ID - The tone ID doesn't change with depth. The GS5 has 2 modes-regular PI mode and GB mode with tone ID. You have greater depth with the PI mode so I have a tendency to run it in PI mode and switch to GB mode for tone ID. In contrast to the Infinium the low conductor tone(high tone) is narrow range and you are not going to dig the amount of low conductors with the GS5 as you would with an Infinium. The high tone is geared toward small gold typically found in women's high value rings which are more commonly lost than men's large rings. For this reason the GS5 is tough to beat at the beach. You can also see using the high tone in high iron trash areas(some heat treated steel, pull tabs, bottle caps and lead produce high tones)for small nuggets would have an advantage over a GP. But you have to remember a one ounce nugget will produce a low tone.

Comparisons to the GP3500- Sorry I have never used one and as I am a new PI user I can't help you. Reno Chris did a post awhile back comparing it to an older GP so you might want to go back and review his post. As the GS5 has been out a while if it was a GP3500 killer in the depth department we would have heard about it by now. So you are going to have to wait for some future comparisons in the gold prospecting arena.

I imagine the status quo will not change much. The GP3500 will be the dominant detector in Arizona and Nevada in typical desert non trash sites. Whereas the GS5 will be a better detector for the beach or in high iron sites for small gold. As I detect for gold in high iron sites, depth is not the main issue for me so the GS5 was more suited for my area.


George

 

[cabochris]

Hi George and thanks for your help. I think it is now clear to me that the GP3500 would be out of its element on a beach, perhaps in stormy conditions.

I own way too many detectors! I pulled several of them out and sprinkled some found gold nuggets and several gold rings around in my yard. There is no doubt in my mind now, that my Infinium with 14 Mono coil beats them all by far on gold! (except GB 2). Yet I still do not like 14 DD coil as much.

One big disappointment was a new ML GT! I thought it held promise. I guess not! The Infinium was clearly better than my Excalibur with WOT coil! However for shallow water hunting my Excal 800 is my favorite where I hunt. I do not like the Infinium underwater, so far?

So the Infinium won hands down for beach work. Yet I am pretty sure that a 3500 still would go deeper on the beach.

With all this in mind, and the fact that I also like gold prospecting, I think I'll keep my Infinium and perhaps purchase a Goldscan5. Between those two and my GB2, I should have all gold prospecting and beach work covered? Plus, I'll have back-up machines on trips. In reality perhaps the Infinium could do it all, but as a compromise. I'll have to think about it a little more, but I think a GS 5 in in my future. Chris.

 

[Wirechief]

Hi Cabochris, Did you say you tried the Minelab Sovereign GT and was dissappointed? I am trying this same detector with the Coiltek WOT15 " DD. So far I'm not sure if it is working very well. I don't feel that is going very deep at all. I am not real happy so far. You might share your experience with the GT if you don't mind. Thank you and take care. de John the Wirechief out Blackwell way.

 

[cabochris]

Hey Chief,

That is right! I just received my new Sov GT and unless there is something I am overlooking, which I doubt, my GT with 10" coil will not go as deep as my Fisher 1280X! Can you believe it? I ground balance the GT, set sensitivity as high as I can, then test. The 1280 actually will pick up a thin gold ring buried, deeper! Wow! I even turn track off on the GT in all-metal. I will have to do some more testing, but it looks like the GT will have to go!

My Infinium Pulse detector blows all my others away on buried gold rings! And I mean nearly twice the depth! Also on under 1/4 ounce nuggets the Infinium is clearly the winner too. This is with 14 Mono coil. (but my GB 2 and MXT will detect smaller nuggets).

Where I do my shallow water hunting, so far my Excalibur 800 finds most of the gold for me in the shortest time. I travel to hunt, so I do not have much time when I get there.

However, I'm looking for a new detector for Beach use. I thought the GT might stand a chance, but know better now. I'm looking for depth and now believe at the saltwater beach, nothing can touch a pulse detector. If I'm wrong someone educate me please! I have heard on the beach with a ML3500 one almost needs a crew of professional diggers! The 3500 must be a great machine, however in a particular gold field I saw a guy who found more gold with an MXT than a seasoned electronic prospector with a 3500! Lots more! Yet I'm sure in tough ground that would change.

I'm pretty certain I want a Goldscan 5 for saltwater beach hunting after storms and for gold prospecting. With larger Mono coils, I think it would be tough to beat? One good find could more than pay for it... then I could buy another one as back-up. Unless I am wrong, I hope that the GS5 is easy to travel with, sensitive to gold, is rain/sandproof... I know the glitter of gold in my scoop and dream about gold Spanish coins!

Having tried many detectors, I think the future of detectors lie in refined pulse machines. Of the ones I have played with I like the Headhunter, Whites PI Pro and the Infinium. And hopefully soon a GS5. While Impressed with the PI Pro and HH, the Infinium and GS5 seem to be more towards refined. Now if Mr. Foster would only make the GS5 waterproof! CC.

 

[Wirechief]

Hi Chris and many thanks for the feedback on the GT. At this point I am going to have to spend a lot more time on the GT. There have been times when I didn't even think it was working at all. I talked to Dick at Minelab and he said that there is no way it will see my silver dime faceup at 9 inches that is freshly buried by me. Of course we talked about the Halo Effect. He said that the multi-frequency detectors operate much different from the single frequency type. But I told him that I thought that's the reason Minelab developed the BBS stuff for more depth, I really didn't get a good explanation why it doesn't seem to be going very deep. Nothing against him.
I have to tell you Chris I am a Minelab dealer but just came on board with them. But this is a PI forum and especially for the Eric Foster PI's. I have a Beachscan made in the early 90's I believe but no beaches in West Texas. It is very sensitive and I personally would love to have a Goldquest or Goldscan 5. I would also like to try an Infinium but just haven't been too sure about them. But you seem to be very happy with the Infinium. Yes I'm hearing the Minelab 3500 is really deep at the beaches! Let us know what you end up doing Chris and Eric is a mighty fine fellar to deal with and has a great instrument. I'm also a Garrett dealer and I have been trying to justify getting an Infinium. Ok I will CU later Chris and I hope everything works out. John the Wirechief out Blackwell way.

 

[willy]

I'd say that, for the price, the Infinium is a great deal. I've had one for a year now and am impressed by the depths I'm pulling stuff up from. It's also surprisingly sensitive to small, low conductive targets. I've got a little nugget that weighs in at around 3 grains that can be picked up by the Infinium with either the small DD's or with the monos. This is better than most VLF's and, when factoring in mineralization, maybe all VLF's. It also doesn't hurt that it's waterproof. One thing I'd like to do is figure out how to implement a circuit that, with the push of a button (or flip of a toggle), would momentarily put it in full disc./delay. I've found that the tone break point also advances with the disc. to the point where some silver starts to read as a low conductor. This has definite possibilities re. coin hunting. ..Willy.

 

[Anonymous]

Get with Mr Bill on the Treasure Baron w/cointrax-2 chip. At the beach or anywhere else no VLF will touch it.