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Have you ever wondered about the rich deposits that are found along the West coasts of the United States?
Do you dream of owning a high-end prospecting gold machine that doesn’t weigh in like a tank?
Do you want to know what lies hidden beneath the waves and what the current has stolen to the sand banks?
You can realize those wonders and more with a prospecting metal detector that can be submerged, find the tiniest of nuggets, and can ignore black sand, hot rocks, and saltwater.
Collapse it and backpack it! It’s ready to answer the call of gold hunting anytime, anywhere.
The Minelab SDC 2300 is made for the turf or the surf – wherever gold is to be found.
At a Glance…
✔️ Best Feature: Pulse induction & MPF
❌ Worst Feature: Price
👌 Ideal For: Water, Beach, Submersion, Gold, Prospecting, Intermediates, Experts
- Pulse induction & MPF
- Prospecting & Beach
- Easy assembly
- User-adjustable
- Compact
Our Verdict: The SDC 2300 is a high-end metal detector but is not the most expensive in their inventory. It’s considered mid-range, but it may very well be the most high-performing metal detector you’ll ever buy. If you’re prospecting for rich deposits along the coasts or in the outback of Australia, you must have SDC on your arm.
Who is the Minelab SDC 2300 Best Suited to?
The SDC 2300 is no doubt a prospector’s metal detector. It’s an extremely expensive buy just for metal detecting the beach for knick-knacks, but if you want to specialize in hunting out gold deposits along beaches, this is the metal detector that gets the job done. If you have a large budget you may also be interested in the highly rated and popular Minelab GPZ 7000 metal detector to get out there and hunt down that elusive gold nugget..
With such a metal detector in hand, you can also get to unexplored terrain on foot that may have been restricted to you in the past. It’s collapsible, extremely compact, and can easily be carried with the rest of your gear on your back for overnight expeditions in the deserts of Arizona or the foggy coasts of Oak Island. The SDC is made for adventure anytime, anywhere to find the real stuff – gold.
How Does the Minelab SDC 2300 Perform?
The SDC 2300 is no GPZ 7000 but it’s still a high-end metal detector. It uses Pulse Induction and MPF technologies to provide the best type of detection for gold prospecting in various types of gold field terrains.
The SDC 2300 is made even better than conventional detectors because it’s collapsible, there’s no need to assembly any parts, and it’s extremely sensitive without the noise that comes with high-mineralized ground.
If you’re looking to prospect beyond the towel line and into the surf, you can do that too. The SDC is fully waterproof, rugged, and extendable to the lengths you need to find balance and comfort.
Not only will you find all the good and fun usuals that comes with metal detecting, you will have the capability of finding tiny gold nuggets too. It won’t take as long, and you won’t have to work as hard since the MPF tech does the detecting work for you. You just need to find the right spot!
Features & Benefits
Pulse Induction & MPF
Minelab provides pulse induction with their MPF (Multi Period Fast) technology. It picks up where conventional pulse induction leaves off by improving sensitivity, significantly reducing EMI and ground noise, and increasing transmit signal speeds.
What makes MPF different to regular PI is its transmit waveform switch-off. There is no chance of residual transmit signal decay interfering with tiny receive signals. This is essential to extremely effective detection for sub-0.1 gram gold especially in highly mineralized ground.
The gist of it is, if you’re going to pay for one of the best pulse induction metal detectors, it may as well have the best tech to actually improve productivity and quality of finds. This includes the tiniest of gold nuggets.
Prospecting & Beach
It doesn’t matter what type of hobbyist you are – everyone wants to find gold. Granted, not everyone needs to have a prospecting detector. But if you could have a metal detector that finds gold in all conditions and all terrains, why the heck not? It’ll find everything else too – it’s pulse induction.
But, when there’s the possibility that gold can be found in saline conditions, you’ll need a machine that can handle it, and this is where a specific feature of the SDC 2300 comes in. It has a Salt Mode.
The Salt Mode has a different transmit and receive signal timing algorithm that has been specially designed for optimum use in salty conditions like at the beach in and around saltwater. It’s also a fully waterproof metal detector that is submersible to 10 feet underwater. You’re not stuck to keeping dry and being wary of the surf – instead, you can enter the surf and lagoons for lost finds.
Easy Assembly
Compact, lightweight, backpackable. The SDC is designed to be small, and you may be very surprised to see how small it is once it arrives as it is only 15.7” long when collapsed. However, you shouldn’t be deceived by its compact package as it opens and extends to 59.1” at its longest. If you’re tall, even around 6’ 6”, you’ll find it more than suitable to find the right length, balance, and comfort. But, because it is somewhat nose-heavy, it should be retracted in length a tad to reduce fatigue.
The other thing about the SDC is its weight. It’s not what you would consider lightweight at approximately 5 lbs, but it may be lighter than you may have expected.
Even though it’s heavy, the searchcoil does have a skidplate that can handle harsh terrain and take good abuse. You can bring the searchcoil down to ride the ground and get as close as possible to extend depth detection. Threshold isn’t affected one bit by it, so you can feel confident in finding the smallest of valuable targets.
User-Adjustable
You will need to learn to master threshold and understand how pitch allows you to identify between targets and depths. There are nine threshold audio levels and low and high audio pitch.
There is a Normal mode of detection that incorporates 1-5 sensitivity ranges. Salt mode incorporates 1-3 sensitivity ranges.
While there is no LCD display typical of a visual display, there is a very simple visual display with 9 indicator LED lights, threshold level, and battery status. There is also an LED for a low battery warning.
Limitations
Price
Rarely does great stuff come cheap. The Minelab SDC is both a pulse induction and high-end prospecting metal detector – that is a recipe for an expensive machine. The satisfaction of spending as much as it costs is that it actually finds gold.
If you let its high price tag get in the way, it’s too bad for you. The less gold you find means more left for detectorists to find that have an SDC 2300 in hand.
Popular Questions
What Type of Batteries does the Minelab SDC 2300 Take?
The SDC 2300 requires 4x C cell batteries for operation. You can use either high-quality alkaline or rechargeable batteries. While the Minelab SDC detector comes with a rechargeable battery pack and charger, it does not come with batteries.
Are Waterproof Headphones Included with the SDC 2300?
Koss 100 ohm headphones are included with the SDC 2300 metal detector as a standard accessory, but Koss waterproof headphones are not included.
Is the Minelab SDC Metal Detector Waterproof?
The SDC 2300 metal detector is fully waterproof and submersible to 10 feet underwater. The battery compartment is O-ring sealed and is recommended to be checked for adequate sealing and to be free of contamination prior to submersion.
Does the Minelab Pulse Induction SDC 2300 have Discrimination?
Pulse induction metal detectors are poor discriminators. The SDC 2300 provides some level of discrimination only through audio. You must learn the pitch and volume of signals to determine what type of metal it is.
For example, the SDC 2300 will produce a high pitch and then low pitch tone for a ferrous target. For a non-ferrous target, it will produce a low pitch followed by a high pitch tone. Loud volume with short beeps will indicate a shallow target while quiet, longer tones will indicate a deep, large target. Intermittent beeps indicate a very shallow target or target that is on the surface.
What is the Warranty on the Minelab SDC Metal Detector?
The SDC 2300 metal detector is covered by Minelab with a 3-year warranty on the control box and the coil.
Conclusion
Minelab is the industry-standard for high-end metal detectors and it’s not hard to wonder why. But it does help to understand why such an expensive machine, maybe the most expensive you ever buy, is considered just a “mid-tier” metal detector.
The SDC 2300 incorporates some of the most advanced technology for gold prospecting that some manufacturers cannot afford nor have the expertise to provide. Not only is making a prospecting machine demanding, the SDC is also outfitted to handle salty environments. This means you can scour the beach for those gold deposits that others fail to pick up or struggle to find while you continue to trek the hot deserts of old Gold Rush territories – and all in a compact and packable package. More room for snacks and sunscreen, right?
Further Reading:
- Fisher CZ-21 Metal Detector Review (10.5 inch Coil)
- Aquascan Aquapulse AQ1B Metal Detector Review
- Minelab GPZ 7000 Metal Detector Review
- Minelab SDC 2300 Metal Detector Review
- Minelab Excalibur II Metal Detector Review