Hi Rob… my comments are predicated strictly on silver hunting. The depth / sens so desirable for comparatively small gold is not nearly so important for our larger silver. Both these units acquire excellent depth on silver in tougher ground mineral here, with the added advantage of decent high conductive iron handling… mostly elongated re: nails, spikes, drill rods… as described in the silver report mentioned above. You may want to see even more Infinium information at this link
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/c...erfields-ontario-revised-february-2011-a.html.
As Steve says, unless you have a need for a waterproof unit, I’d stick with your TDI for gold hunting. At bare thresholds it is the more sensitive and deeperseeking unit. It has flexibility with its manual GB adjustments to variable ground conditions, such that reduced GB settings over more moderate ground minerals can improve depth to low conductives and improve threshold stability. The TDI definitely feels lighter on the arm.
Infinium can certainly be used for gold hunting over tough ground minerals where VLFs struggle, and in areas where hotrocks are prevalent. The threshold can be increased to improve signal response such that it matches the TDI over a wide range of target sizes. But a threshold increase must be compensated with a corresponding reduction in headphone volume to preference.
Infinium has a limited coil selection. The sensitive 8” round mono is a lightweight, good all-around nugget hunter. The 14” mono isn’t quite as sensitive to small stuff, but improves coverage and goes deeper on larger pieces. I’m
not fussy on Infinium’s DD coils for prospecting applications… the 14" is too heavy and insensitive, while the others are not deepseeking, and the 14" DD has a tendency to signal large iron as a good target compared to the mono coils. But fortunately the mono coils have handled any mineralizations encountered here to date. I wish Garrett had produced an 8” to 10” elliptical mono for searching in and around rocks and brush. And as Steve notes, a larger coil to improve depth and coverage.
Infinium cannot selectively eliminate either high or low conductive target signals, an important TDI attribute in elevated EMI environs or when searching mining camps where trash abounds. Multiple hi-low / lo-hi Infinium signals in high-density trash sites are a challenge that TDI easily handles by comparison.
Neither of these units is a Minelab for depth / sens. But in bad ground / hotrock areas where the gold size is sufficient to generate a signal, either of these units is a significant improvement over VLFs that struggle in those conditions.
Jim.
