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Gold Bug For FORS Gold?


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Thinking i might trade my Fisher Gold Bug for a Nokta Fors Gold. It is the standard Gold Bug digital not the Pro. What do you all think, good idea or not. I have heard the Nokta is a bit better even than the Gold Bug but have no first hand experience with one. Anyone that has used both cares to respond i would appreciate your thoughts.  Thanks

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The Nokta FORS Gold is actually a very good general purpose 15 kHz detector. The Nokta FORS Gold+ is a more gold specific 19 kHz nugget detecting machine. The FORS Gold+ would in theory be a step up in that you would get manual ground balance and a variable Self Adjusting Threshold (iSAT) control. In reality however I think what you would basically be doing is trading a capable mid-frequency VLF for another capable mid-frequency VLF. That being the case it is more about how many hours you use a detector to prospect every year and how proficient you get with your detectors. Most people only get out a few times a year, and never really put in the hours to become truly expert with their machines. If that is the case I don't see any real advantage to making a trade like you suggest unless you are just wanting something different. However, if you put in hundreds or thousands of hours a year detecting, then any small advantage can be leveraged and does add up to be worth it.

The $499 standard Gold Bug is an incredible value and overlooked by most people because it lacks the "Pro" moniker. The only difference between the standard and Pro models is the Gold Bug Pro allows you to tweak the ground balance manually. The truth is the ground grab function on both is very good, and most people hardly use the manual ground balance if they use it at all.

Personally I prefer the compact light weight (2.5 lb) design of the Gold Bugs. The FORS at 4.3 lbs although very well balanced is obviously quite a bit heavier and does not break down near as easily or as compactly. And while some people like it the handle on the FORS models is one of my least favorite.

I guess the main question I will end with is - what coil do you have? The 5" round DD? If so a 5" x 10" elliptical coil would be a great investment to improve what you have.

I always hate to imply that there is any real advantage to making lateral trades. Going from one mid-frequency VLF to another rarely makes any significant difference, whereas going from a VLF to a PI is a huge change. Or going from a mid-frequency unit to a very high frequency unit, also a significant change. That is why I sound a bit negative on the idea. That said, I think the Nokta FORS Gold+ is about as good as it gets when it comes to mid-frequency VLF nugget detectors. If I wanted to prospect for gold and could only own one VLF detector to do it with, it would definitely be on my short list.

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Thank you Steve for the info. I have both the 5" round DD and the 5"x10 DD coils for the Gold Bug. The Nokta comes with the stock 7"x11" open coil. So it sounds like i should just keep my GB?

 

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I have kept my Gold Bug mainly for a "loaner" to friends who want to come along but not really prospectors ( lots of hunting and fishing buddies)  Lite weight, easy, tough and effective its a good machine. However, I find myself grabbing it (or my F19) often when prospecting out of a back pack because it breaks down and stows better than most any other  detector.

I recently bought the NEL 6.5x3.5 "Snake" coil for my GB/F19,  I've only used it twice in the desert but it really seems to work  well.  I can run the sensitivity a bit higher with this coil (compared to the stock round puck and the 6x10 loop). If you keep your Gold Bug I would recommend buying this NEL coil for it.

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I own both detectors you mentioned, and if you already have a Gold Bug with the 5" x 10" DD I don't think you are going to find any improvement making the switch. As Steve said, although I do think the Fors Gold is a solid gold detector I find it the be kind of bulky with the design and extra weight. I would be perfectly fine with that if it was a "better" detector, but it's not really. Very similar in performance overall.

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Thank you both for the reply and info. It is appreciated.

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The Fors Gold+ is great in that you get two great gold sniping coil sizes as standard, 10x5 and 5" round. The all-metal mode is nice, not as smooth as you can get it on the Gold Racer or Racer 2, but targets are very bright and zippy. For my large hands, I prefer the handle style and shape of the Fors units. (If you've seen my youtube videos on the gold racer I have wrapped some padded tennis racquet grip around the handle).

I have no experience with the newer Gold Bugs, but like Steve said you'd sort of be trading one mid-freq VLF for another. I'd probably keep the Gold Bug, and get something a bit different, like the Gold Racer as that will give you a much higher operating Freq. Then you may end up keeping both, or decide to offload the Gold Bug when you see what the Gold Racer is capable of. 

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Thanks for the reply and the info on the Racer. For now i think i will hang on to the Gold Bug unless i could trade it towards a PI unit.

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