Silver uMax on small/medium gold nuggets?

[SilverFinger]

I need some opinions. Would the Silver uMax be a good ENTRY LEVEL gold prospecting machine? I have a friend in Arizona who I'm trying to get fired up about detecting/relic hunting/prospecting.

I know there's a host of more expensive machines out there so please don't reply with 'such and such detector can do it'.

My question is has anyone had experience using the Silver uMax on gold nuggets and relics in all-metal mode with success?

It's a 10kHz machine where the little Compadre is 12kHz. Would the Compadre be a better choice still for possible entry level nugget hunting?

Opinions and personal experience please!

 

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[luvsdux]

IMHO it depends on your definition of "good". If you're truly interested in serious prospecting you need to go to a detector with more sensitivity, manual or true auto ground balance, and higher frequencies than mentioned in your post. That said, sure any decent detector will find gold if the piece is large enough and near the surface, but my experience in air testing small pickers with detectors that compare to the Silver and Compadre leaves them out as far as prospecting is concerned.
luvsdux

 

[Terry Soloman]

Most Gold Bearing ground in Arizona is going to be too hot (mineralized) for the Compadre and Silver uMax. You can compare them to using the Garrett Ace 250 - You can find a nugget if it is big enough (2-3 grams) and shallow enough (4" or less). Unfortunately, most of the big shallow gold is long gone since we have been hitting known areas since the 1980s with top-of-the-line gold nugget shooting machines. You are much better off trying to find a used nuggetshooter.