Gold Bug Pro

[kazcoro]

Hello all.

I know I am asking a lot on a holiday, but a friend of a friend is selling a Gold Bug Pro. I made arrangements to go look at it tomorrow. He is only aksing 400 for it. So, my question is, what do I look for in these to make sure it works? I think I don't want the DP model, since I am going to be using for gold, right? I have never even seen one of these in person, so I don't even know how to turn it on, much less test it. I am planning on bringing a little .18 gram nugget with to check it with. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Keith

 

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[kazcoro]

Yeah, that discrimination is for the birds. Well, parks maybe. If I had only used discr, I would have only found a few of the huge pieces of wire cable and rifle shells. Offhand, do you know anybody that rents minelabs? I would like to try one out before I buy one. It's a lot of coin not to see what the fuss is about first...

 

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[Hard Prospector]

Couldn't hurt to find out what kind of beer and whisky that guy prefers, I think they call that "salting the diggins"

 

[AzViper]

Yeah, that discrimination is for the birds. Well, parks maybe. If I had only used discr, I would have only found a few of the huge pieces of wire cable and rifle shells. Offhand, do you know anybody that rents minelabs? I would like to try one out before I buy one. It's a lot of coin not to see what the fuss is about first...

You may want to look at the Garrett ATX and the Minelab SDC 2300 once it becomes available. The ATX is about a third of the price of the 5000 once all the options are purchased.

 

[Keppy]

(Excuse me for jumping in here please.) Hoser, what's the problem with the DP? Someone asked me about that the other day, and I'd like to be able to give them an informed answer.

All the best,

Lanny

... That is a good question i would like to know my self ..... But it seems like no one will answer that question...........

 

[kazcoro]

Here is the best answer I found. All credit goes to Steve. Look up Steve's Guide to Gold Nugget Detectors. I had posted the link, but took it down because I don't have Steve's permission to re-post it.

 

[AzViper]

(Excuse me for jumping in here please.) Hoser, what's the problem with the DP? Someone asked me about that the other day, and I'd like to be able to give them an informed answer.

All the best,

Lanny

Lanny, did you ever get an explanation as to why? Amazing that John sounds off on DP then not offer any input...

 

[Goldwasher]

The gold bug pro vs DP is just different coils.I believe the DP stands for Dual purpose and is the model with the largest coil. So you can relic and Nugget hunt. While the Pro is with the small coil for dedicated "Pro" nugget hunting. Just marketing terms. There was a lot of confusion during the initial release and there was a 499.00 version that I had read was different But, it seems like now it is all just coil options.....I could be off a bit, Maybe someone else with confirm.

 

[AzViper]

The person who could put any truth to the difference of the Gold Bug DP and the Gold Bug Pro would be the man who designed both machines, that being Dave Johnson who is a member of these forums.

 

[trinityau]

Hello guys, I responded to this quite a while back on the following post. Re: Need some help finding out what it is that I just uncovered. Hey All, Anyone looking to purchase a GB Pro make sure that is what it is. Several models came out right up front, Gold Bug, GB Pro SE, GB DP. The first few that came out are all Version 3, Only the GB Pro is Version 4. Yes, there is a considerable difference between both versions. I am not sure if the boxes are marked as Version 4 or not. As long as the detector says GB Pro on the control box you should be ok. TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS To someone who does not get out with detector too often the differences may not add up to much. I tried both software versions and there was no subtle difference, it was a huge difference between the two. I have not kept up with the changes but I think there has been another version. Not much change from what I could tell on the later version. My two cents, TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

[AzViper]

Hi Ray,

I have the original box my GB Pro was shipped in. No indication on the box of what version the Gold Bug Pro is other than on the far middle side of the MD it says Gold Bug Pro.

 

[trinityau]

AzViper, with the discrimination off, turn the power on while depressing the GG button and a number should appear. This will be the version you have. Mine is a 4. TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

[AzViper]

AzViper, with the discrimination off, turn the power on while depressing the GG button and a number should appear. This will be the version you have. Mine is a 4. TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

Ray that is what mine says as well. A great big 4..

 

[kazcoro]

4 here as well. It didn't work they way you said, I had to put the discr dial on discr and then push GG as I turned it on. That did the trick.

 

[TerryC]

Dave Johnson posts as Woof. Send him a PM and ask. BTW, download his free offering re: metal detectors. (52 pages). TTC

 

[AzViper]

If anyone wants a copy of Dave Johnson booklet I have it in PDF or WORD DOC. If memory serves me correctly I had to reconfigure the entire booklet as the booklet I downloaded from Fisher had the pages all screwed up and out of order.

 

[woof!]

The GB Pro, GB DP, and Tek G2 are functionally the same thing. The differences are in things you can see in a photo, and of course the distribution system through which you purchase it. The "plain vanilla" GB is fairly similar to the Pro but has fewer features and goes for a slightly lower price, not sure exactly what the differences are.

If you're buying a metal detector, the person to ask what's being sold is the person you're buying from. If you're buying through an authorized dealer, the transaction is traceable and you have a warranty. If you buy other than through authorized distribution, the factory has no involvement, keep your wits about you.

Be aware that any counterfeit that arrives at our premises for any reason is illegal merchandise (contraband) and will be confiscated.

--Dave J.

 

[AzViper]

So what Dave is saying in a nutshell is buyer beware. Those good deals that are just to good to pass up you better pass up...

From Minelabs Website,

Beware of counterfeit Minelab products being sold on the internet and from unauthorised black market manufacturers and dealers!

Counterfeit GPX-4500 Gold Detector


Only purchase from Minelab authorised dealers as listed on Minelab Metal Detectors | Consumer | Gold Mining | Countermine

The high demand for quality Minelab gold detectors has seen an increasing number of poor performing counterfeit products being sold via websites and black market dealers around the world. For a purchaser familiar with Minelab products, some counterfeit products have been quite obviously not Minelab products, as seen by one example in Photos A - C.

Unfortunately a lot of people unfamiliar with Minelab products are still being ripped off by these criminals, paying full price for a GPX-4500 only to get a counterfeit detector. In some cases the criminal counterfeiters have even taken a cheap detector and put its very basic electronics into a counterfeit GPX-4500 housing so that it appears to work to an unfamiliar purchaser. In all cases the performance of the Counterfeit products has ranged from very poor to not working at all.

Counterfeit products now cosmetically difficult to tell from the real thing!

In recent days Minelab has become aware of more counterfeit GPX-4500 detectors and Commander coils, that are cosmetically difficult to distinguish from the real thing, see Photo D - H. These products may cosmetically look like the real thing but definitely do not work like the real thing!

Most counterfeit products are being sold over the internet on websites like Alibaba.com and other similar selling and auction websites. Minelab strongly recommends extreme caution when buying from a website of this kind and from unauthorised dealers. These products are often then on sold by unauthorised dealers, including black market and street dealers.

Advertising from ‘any’ company claiming to be a manufacturer of Minelab products is definitely counterfeit!

Minelab Products are only Made by Minelab in Australia or by Plexus Corp, USA in their facility in Malaysia.

BUYER BEWARE!! Minelab will not be held responsible for counterfeit Minelab products!

The only way to guarantee you are purchasing a true high quality Minelab product is to make that purchase through an officially authorised Minelab dealer as listed on Minelab.com

Finding an authorised Minelab dealer in your part of the world is very easy. Just go to Minelab.com, click on the “WHERE TO BUY” tab near the top of the CONSUMER page and select your country, state and Zip/Post code. The details of your nearest authorised Minelab dealers will appear.

If you have any doubts if a dealer is an officially authorised Minelab dealer you can also ask Minelab using the “CONTACT US” section of Minelab.com to contact the regional office closest to you.

Counterfeit GPX-4500 metal detectors - Arabic - 17th May 2010 - 1.39 MB
Counterfeit GPX-4500 metal detectors - French - 17th May 2010 - 358.38 KB

​

 

[Hoser John]

Craigslist has also had QUITE a few bs minelabs,gareett and even a Tesoro Lobo ST,all this summer and none lately..Err on the side a caution ALWAYS, buy from ,and support, solid reliable brick and mortar local yokel stores for great info,help,advice and service!! John PS- Nuttn' left to say as covered already AZ-simply go to history function and read the massive lamentations posted here and on "ALL" forum upon the units introduction. NEW models of anything made be it cars,pads,pods or DETECTORS, the first model years have frequent problems as first runs historically do,and plenty complained. There are quite a few of those disguarded units floating around still so err on the side a caution. THE END

 

[woof!]

People occasionally post wanting to know how to tell a counterfeit from the genuine article. There are two good answers, but they're answers the people doing the asking usually don't like.

1. Buy through factory authorized distribution.

2. The factory cannot give you reliable information how to tell a counterfeit from the real thing.

Item #2 deserves a bit of explanation since it's not necessarily obvious to everyone. Manufacturers who are having to fight counterfeiters have to keep changing the product and/or the anti-counterfeiter strategies, because the counterfeiters work hard and fast to make it difficult for a customer to tell the difference between a counterfeit and the real thing. If I were to tell you "a real Fisher GB Pro looks like this", by the time I'm telling you that, there may be counterfeits which have copied that, and I'd be describing a counterfeit! ........Also, the industry is developing anti-counterfeiting measures which are not physical characteristics of the product, but which relate to authentication measures. In most cases, the factory does not disclose the details of the authentication measures beyond what is necessary for the authorized distribution chain to utilize the authentication measures.

--Dave J.

 

[TerryC]

People occasionally post wanting to know how to tell a counterfeit from the genuine article. There are two good answers, but they're answers the people doing the asking usually don't like.

1. Buy through factory authorized distribution.

2. The factory cannot give you reliable information how to tell a counterfeit from the real thing.

Item #2 deserves a bit of explanation since it's not necessarily obvious to everyone. Manufacturers who are having to fight counterfeiters have to keep changing the product and/or the anti-counterfeiter strategies, because the counterfeiters work hard and fast to make it difficult for a customer to tell the difference between a counterfeit and the real thing. If I were to tell you "a real Fisher GB Pro looks like this", by the time I'm telling you that, there may be counterfeits which have copied that, and I'd be describing a counterfeit! ........Also, the industry is developing anti-counterfeiting measures which are not physical characteristics of the product, but which relate to authentication measures. In most cases, the factory does not disclose the details of the authentication measures beyond what is necessary for the authorized distribution chain to utilize the authentication measures.

--Dave J.

Makes good sense to me! Tnx, Dave. TTC