Depth Of 6000 On "larger" Gold Gerry ?

[aerospace guy]

Gerry, in June you did air tests on all the detectors present at Rye Patch including the just arrived 6000. Your memory is better than mine and you are in contact with lots of detectorists so you may be able to answer the depth question for me? While in Rye Patch in June , Paul, a former student stopped in and showed a pic of a "large" nugget found 30 inches deep with his 7000. The gold pic looked to be 3/4 wide by 1 1/2 inches long and flat. I have seen lots of pics of small gold found with the 6000 because most all gold found is small of course. Just curious about depth on larger pieces if you or anyone has any info ? Failing anyone sharing info I am curious on depth of the EQ800 on say a 3/4 piece of gold since that is what I bought from you. One of your instructors said that weekend that the EQ will detect maybe 14 inches on a "large" piece? I know, I know, a lot depends on density of gold, size, position in ground, ground conditions etc. etc. Seems the 6000 is going to pick up way better on "moderate" gold than the EQ from what I observed at Rye Patch..The EQ didn't "hear" some of the 6000 targets we all saw. I'm just wondering that if I am ever fortunate to swing over a 3/4 or 1 ounce nugget what my chances are of hearing it at what depth? Know you are a buy guy....any chance, downtime you get to answer is appreciated! 

[Rob Allison]

Hello Areospace,

   I will let Gerry answer the question more directly, but I will just toss in that any PI in my opinion will find a 3/4 to 1 ounce piece at a foot or better with no problem if you are paying attention.  It might not be a screaming target, but still something you would investigate and dig hopefully.  There are so many variables when it comes to depth and some like to use the "stretchy rulers."  

Wishing you much success out there and hopefully a nice whooper under your detector coil.

Rob

[Gerry in Idaho]

Thanks for reaching out and asking questions on depth.  Rob is correct about the variables that change the outcome.

I and a few of my customers have dug many nuggets with VLF detectors at depth of 10" or more and a few closer to the 14-16" range.  This nice prize was found at the 14-16" range and the 15x12" coil is in the hole to show depth.

I'll be honest though, they are not small gold.  Even this year I have dug nice specimen gold at 12"+ so I'm good with those depths.  This one was found using stock 11" coil and found at 12-14"

As for getting depths in virgin soils (undisturbed ground) like we hunt in much of North Nevada on small solid nuggets (Rye Patch type gold) I can get a VLF technology detector approx 4" to 5" on a 1 gram.  A 1/4 ozt approx 6 to 8" and a 1/2 ozt approx 10".  I dug a 3/4 otz nugget many years ago with a GB-2 and 10" coil at Rye Patch that was every bit of 10" in virgin soil.  Below are a few other nuggets I or I was with customers that were dug using VLF detectors at depths of 10"+.

Now take those same size nuggets and go into tailing piles and your depth greatly increases.  Do you know why?  Less mineralized soil and or black sands that the VLF detector needs to get through.  That's why I enjoy hunting tailings more than virgin ground with a VLF.  Plus the VLF detector is lighter and faster than bigger PI's and has better iron identification.

Here is the issue with many that hunt for gold with a VLF detector at such sites like Rye Patch, Quartzsite and other well know nugget producers.   If you go where others who have hunted using big PI's and or GPZ's in the mentioned sites, you are best not to use a big coil on the VLF detector.  You're better off using a small coil to get the best results on tiny nuggets.  Bigger machines, especially SD/GP and early GPX models miss many small nuggets as that is one of their weaknesses.  So you need to take that knowledge, get your VLF and put in the smallest coil you can get and then go find the tiny ones they missed.  Below a prime example of using a VLF detector with small coil to find a tiny nugget

Trying to put a big coil on a VLF detector so you can match the depth of a PI is just plain ridiculous for most (not all) known nugget producing grounds.  VLF's can not handle the soils and will not perform near as well as a big PI machine.  BUT...if you use the VLF in tailing piles with no soils or mixed, then your depth of the VLF will go up and you actually could use the stock coil or on a rare occasion go big.  Not saying the bigger PI's are not good in these situations, but the weight of the bigger detectors are excessive and their Iron ID capabilities are not as good as todays VLF's

If I was on a budget of $3000 to find as many kinds of gold possible, here is a good setup I would consider.

My #1 selection for VLF (at this time) is the Equinox 800 with stock coil and a small 6" round coil.  Cost for both detector and extra small coil approx $1100. 

The other detector would be a used (from a dealer who knows how to test it properly) GP-3000, GP-3500 or GPX-4000 detector.  This is your power detector to get nice nuggets at depth in most all soils.  These detectors can be picked up for $1000 to $2000 and are proven winners when it comes to 2 gram nuggets and up at depth (better than a VLF).

Hope this helps and if anyone else wants to add, please feel free.

[aerospace guy]

3 hours ago, Rob Allison said:

Hello Areospace,

   I will let Gerry answer the question more directly, but I will just toss in that any PI in my opinion will find a 3/4 to 1 ounce piece at a foot or better with no problem if you are paying attention.  It might not be a screaming target, but still something you would investigate and dig hopefully.  There are so many variables when it comes to depth and some like to use the "stretchy rulers."  

Wishing you much success out there and hopefully a nice whooper under your detector coil.

Rob

Thx!

[aerospace guy]

1 hour ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Thanks for reaching out and asking questions on depth.  Rob is correct about the variables that change the outcome.

I and a few of my customers have dug many nuggets with VLF detectors at depth of 10" or more and a few closer to the 14-16" range.  This nice prize was found at the 14-16" range and the 15x12" coil is in the hole to show depth.

I'll be honest though, they are not small gold.  Even this year I have dug nice specimen gold at 12"+ so I'm good with those depths.  This one was found using stock 11" coil and found at 12-14"

As for getting depths in virgin soils (undisturbed ground) like we hunt in much of North Nevada on small solid nuggets (Rye Patch type gold) I can get a VLF technology detector approx 4" to 5" on a 1 gram.  A 1/4 ozt approx 6 to 8" and a 1/2 ozt approx 10".  I dug a 3/4 otz nugget many years ago with a GB-2 and 10" coil at Rye Patch that was every bit of 10" in virgin soil.  Below are a few other nuggets I or I was with customers that were dug using VLF detectors at depths of 10"+.

Now take those same size nuggets and go into tailing piles and your depth greatly increases.  Do you know why?  Less mineralized soil and or black sands that the VLF detector needs to get through.  That's why I enjoy hunting tailings more than virgin ground with a VLF.  Plus the VLF detector is lighter and faster than bigger PI's and has better iron identification.

Here is the issue with many that hunt for gold with a VLF detector at such sites like Rye Patch, Quartzsite and other well know nugget producers.   If you go where others who have hunted using big PI's and or GPZ's in the mentioned sites, you are best not to use a big coil on the VLF detector.  You're better off using a small coil to get the best results on tiny nuggets.  Bigger machines, especially SD/GP and early GPX models miss many small nuggets as that is one of their weaknesses.  So you need to take that knowledge, get your VLF and put in the smallest coil you can get and then go find the tiny ones they missed.  Below a prime example of using a VLF detector with small coil to find a tiny nugget

Trying to put a big coil on a VLF detector so you can match the depth of a PI is just plain ridiculous for most (not all) known nugget producing grounds.  VLF's can not handle the soils and will not perform near as well as a big PI machine.  BUT...if you use the VLF in tailing piles with no soils or mixed, then your depth of the VLF will go up and you actually could use the stock coil or on a rare occasion go big.  Not saying the bigger PI's are not good in these situations, but the weight of the bigger detectors are excessive and their Iron ID capabilities are not as good as todays VLF's

If I was on a budget of $3000 to find as many kinds of gold possible, here is a good setup I would consider.

My #1 selection for VLF (at this time) is the Equinox 800 with stock coil and a small 6" round coil.  Cost for both detector and extra small coil approx $1100. 

The other detector would be a used (from a dealer who knows how to test it properly) GP-3000, GP-3500 or GPX-4000 detector.  This is your power detector to get nice nuggets at depth in most all soils.  These detectors can be picked up for $1000 to $2000 and are proven winners when it comes to 2 gram nuggets and up at depth (better than a VLF).

Hope this helps and if anyone else wants to add, please feel free.

Thx Gerry!