OK guys... analog or digital?

[TerryC]

I own the Gold Bug 2. Owned the White's GMT. Both are analog machines. I've been hearing a lot about digital machines. Which "gold machines" are we talking about when you say digital? The GB2 is very sensitive to small gold. Are the digitals better, and why? I'm not looking for an "advertisement" on any particular machine. Tell me specifically why a digital is better than what I have (if that is the case). What features would make them better (more sensitive) than what I have? TTC

 

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[IMAUDIGGER]

I own the Gold Bug 2. Owned the White's GMT. Both are analog machines. I've been hearing a lot about digital machines. Which "gold machines" are we talking about when you say digital? The GB2 is very sensitive to small gold. Are the digitals better, and why? I'm not looking for an "advertisement" on any particular machine. Tell me specifically why a digital is better than what I have (if that is the case). What features would make them better (more sensitive) than what I have? TTC

You are not going to find any detector more sensitive to small gold than the Gold Bug 2.
I don't know much about the technological differences between the analog vs. digital except for the available settings when using digital.

I do know there are some digital detectors out there that are as sensitive, but perhaps give you more options to handle challenging ground.
Push button ground balancing is pretty dang nice when it works right.
One thing I like about my digital gold detector is the ability to better relic/coin hunt and hunt gold in trashy areas.

I'm assuming the Makro Gold Racer is digital because it uses buttons, has memory and a digital display? Don't know what's inside.

Nothing wrong with the Gold Bug 2 for nugget hunting. There is a reason it has been in production for so long without any changes.
Personally if I had a GB2 in good condition, I'd be looking at buying a PI detector.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Terry, the analog or digital argument, to my mind, is all about the control systems. All the guts are digital as far as I know. Knobs=analog.
Push buttons =digital.
Jim

 

[TerryC]

I appreciate your posts guys. I need further study. TTC

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

If you think you are going to be able to re-visit old locations already heavily detected with the GB2 and pull some nuggets out of the ground with a new "digital" VLF detector...it's not going to happen unless it is an area that has lots of trash or there was a issue with hot ground.

However, a PI with a big coil....you just may pull some lunkers off the bedrock in the areas with little trash. Be warned though - those types of detectors will send you digging a foot down for a tiny bit of iron. That's why you see all the huge unfilled holes left by the lazy PI nugget shooters. They are disgusted with what they find at the bottom. If they found a big nugget they would fill the hole up and neatly disguise the area so as to not tip people off.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

I much prefer analog controls....they're faster to adjust. But that said, with the sophistication of adjustment on the coin and relic machines with discrimination, you literally could NOT have room for the analog controls required. You'd have to have a monster box on your detector. The best gold units, however, don't have many adjustments, so there's room for analog controls (pots). Like the GMT...it has 6 analog controls, and 3 digital.
My TDI SL has 6 analog controls, and that's it. But the DFX, with all its various adjustments, would require a ton of analog controls. Instead it has 5 digital buttons, and 1 analog switch, and those 5 buttons allow me to, digitally, control a whole myriad of adjustments....a quick look at the book and there are at least 40 adjustments controlled by those 5 digital controls. Imagine having 40 analog pots, or switches on your detector control box.
Jim

 

[TerryC]

I much prefer analog controls....they're faster to adjust. But that said, with the sophistication of adjustment on the coin and relic machines with discrimination, you literally could NOT have room for the analog controls required. You'd have to have a monster box on your detector. The best gold units, however, don't have many adjustments, so there's room for analog controls (pots). Like the GMT...it has 6 analog controls, and 3 digital.
My TDI SL has 6 analog controls, and that's it. But the DFX, with all its various adjustments, would require a ton of analog controls. Instead it has 5 digital buttons, and 1 analog switch, and those 5 buttons allow me to, digitally, control a whole myriad of adjustments....a quick look at the book and there are at least 40 adjustments controlled by those 5 digital controls. Imagine having 40 analog pots, or switches on your detector control box.
Jim

Good post, Jim. Tnx. TTC

 

[4x4x4]

..I'm from THAT era...
"Give Me Analog or Give Me Death"

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

I used to feel the same way...give me a toggle switch over a button!
Manual ground balance via. knobs only....

Now I'm liking the buttons and presets pretty well and the auto ground balance via. the trigger is very fast.

Knobs vs buttons doesn't = analog vs. digital.
Take the Makro Gold Racer and the Nokota AU Finder. They are pretty much the same machine - one has a digital display with buttons, the other has knobs and toggle switches.

 

[Ragnor]

My understanding would lead me to believe that analog equipment is going to be superior to digital. With digital there is always going to be some clipping involved of the signal. Analog is a pure wave where as is digital is just that, digital. Now is all that going to matter enough to make a difference in a metal detector? Well, probably not. In fact perhaps that clipping might even be an advantage in a go/no go type circuit. Something where the digital circuitry is processing signal recognition, lets say. Now I do not know if we are even that advanced yet. I really don't keep up on technology I can't afford.

But I can say with confidence that Nikola Tesla would have said analog is superior when it comes to resonance induction. That's my two bits.

 

[63bkpkr]

Good Morning Terry,
I find your question an interesting one as I have found it to also be a part of my life. My first real detector (coin type) was a 6000D Coinmaster, a pure analog machine with lots of switches and knobs! I came across some directions of how to "supertune" the machine, aka locating the machines high and low cut off points for certain metals. Once the supertuning was completed I had an analog machine with some tape markers on the box showing me just where to set a couple of the knobs. The supertuning gave me a machine that told me exactly what was in the ground before I dug, again for coins and gold jewellery.

Then I purchased the Whites XLT, a digit-alish machine and I've not used that machine very much. The old 6000D had spoiled me. I suspect that if I were to really force myself to use the XLT I would become used to how it worked, would learn what it would do and I might even learn to really enjoy it however my mind recalls the days out with the 6000D and how it would tell me exactly what was in the ground.

Is the technology worth the price as well as the learning curve and remembering just how to get all that the machine can do, (that would mean re-programing my brain and teaching myself new tricks). Then again what prospecting machines are digital, I pose this question as I simply have not kept up with what is out there though I'd guess the newer Minelabs are digital as well as darned expensive. They made quite a splash for awhile and then 'poof' folks stopped talking about them. How about the Nokta or Fors brands??

One person that should be a good source for a comment on all of this would be Steve Herschbach at DetectorProspector.com so you might try asking him and then sharing his comments with us poor folk (poor folk including myself either mentally or monetarily, or both).

Right now I have my aging Whites GMT with every coil Whites offers for it. Carrying in all of those coils at once, along with the detector, would be a real chore and I would need a darn good reason for doing that! But, then if there was a reason I would do it though it would push my normal pack weight closer to 100 lbs. Any thought of doing that would force me back into a regular exercise program, though I need that anyway. Currently my job has my complete "attention" to where when I get back to the apartment all I want to do is relax. My mountain bike is mounted to the trainer right there in the living room and my only excuse for not using it as much as I need to is because I'm just dumb!

Keep asking questions as it shares the knowledge base out there with all of us...............63bkpkr

 

[TerryC]

Thanks for the post, 63. You and I are from the old school! Newer is NOT always better. Better is to know the machine one already has. C'mon guy, I KNOW you can handle a 100 pound pack. Appreciate your posts. TTC

 

[TerryC]

Most must agree with me that Jim Straight is the expert's expert as far as gold detecting goes. From his seventh edition of The Nuggetshooter's Bible, "Thus it is not so much the machine, but the skill and persistence of the detectorist that brings home the gold. Jumping from one machine to another may not be in your best interest unless it has a particular advantage in extreme hunting situations..." TTC

 

[Jim Hemmingway]

Most must agree with me that Jim Straight is the expert's expert as far as gold detecting goes. From his seventh edition of The Nuggetshooter's Bible, "Thus it is not so much the machine, but the skill and persistence of the detectorist that brings home the gold. Jumping from one machine to another may not be in your best interest unless it has a particular advantage in extreme hunting situations..." TTC

Terry... glad to see you quoting our good friend and mentor, and longtime contributor to various forums. Jim Straight is unique in this business, earning a highly respected name through his dedication and success as a working geologist, while authoring numerous informative articles and books about gold prospecting and related topics... a genuine Pathfinder.

Jim.

 

[Hard Prospector]

If I were in the market for a hot vlf, I would not buy anything til the minelab gold monster comes out (very soon) and watch reviews.

BTW, my F19 with the NEL "snake" coil is darn near as hot on small gold as my GMT or GB2 ever were.......Rob

 

[TerryC]

Terry... glad to see you quoting our good friend and mentor, and longtime contributor to various forums. Jim Straight is unique in this business, earning a highly respected name through his dedication and success as a working geologist, while authoring numerous informative articles and books about gold prospecting and related topics... a genuine Pathfinder.

Jim.

So true, so true! I have the 7th edition AND an autographed 5th edition. TTC