Jump to content

Gold Monster Ferrous Meter Question


ophirboy

Recommended Posts

Great gold and environs as well , for those of us still clinging to old technology I’m wondering if any one can enlighten me on where the gold monsters chance meter stands alongside the standard vdi scale . I’m labouring under a perception that the mid line on the chance meter lies close to the zero mark on a vid scale and any slight movement to the positive is a close remblance to a1-5 reading on a vdi . However due to there being no further explanation from the manufacturer I was hoping the more enlightened on this forum might be able to dispel any misconceptions here.

Regards paul??.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


The Gold Monster "Gold Chance Indicator" is really more of a "ferrous probability meter". The harder right it goes, the better the chance the target is non-ferrous (aluminum, lead, copper, gold, silver, etc.) and the farther left it goes, the more chance the target is ferrous. There is no relation to VDI numbers per se. A piece of lead could give a full right reading, a barely right reading, or if buried in highly mineralized ground, a left or ferrous reading. Same for a silver dime or a gold nugget.

It is very easy for highly iron mineralized ground to "mask" non-ferrous targets such that the detector makes a wrong call. That is why lots of people recommend digging everything. However, if trash does not allow that, then all we can do is use tools like this meter to do the best we can. With the Gold Monster, anytime the meter kicks to the right, you really should dig the target. Even if it kicks left five times and right just once - dig it. The only ones I pass on (if I pass at all) are those that kick hard left over and over. When in doubt, dig it out!!

minelab-gold-monster-1000-gold-chance-in

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ophirboy, what Steve said is spot on. I will add one thing to what he said that I look for with the meter scale. If it bounces to the iron side and still makes a sound, signal, then I will dig the target because I found that it can still be gold. If it bounces to the iron side and doesn't  make a sound while in gold mode then I walk away from it. A deep target or tinny target or even a nugget with a coating on it like a patina can mask an absolute positive non ferrus reading. This is what I explained to oneguy and it has helped him reach his 100 bits of gold.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for that I’ll keep it in mind . I normally hunt in all metal and rely more on sound and signal width more than the meter ,but I’ve noticed a lot of posts where people are quoting the vdi numbers especially the equinox users when trying to analyse the target . I’m thinking that all things being equal the numbers on the equinox are as vulnerable to the same soil mineralisation as the monster or is the multi frequency more reliable.

Regards Paul??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, ophirboy said:

I’m thinking that all things being equal the numbers on the equinox are as vulnerable to the same soil mineralisation as the monster or is the multi frequency more reliable.

VDI numbers give you more nuance, but at the end of the day they can still be skewed by highly mineralized ground and depth. Small nuggets in iron mineralized ground can easily read as ferrous no matter the detector, and that applies to Equinox. It may prove that multifrequency is more reliable as regards discrimination but it is too early to tell yet if that is the case or not. No gold detecting tool is perfect and Equinox is just another tool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess most of the posts I’m seeing are from places with quite mild soil conditions like New Zealand and Nevada , over here the soil can be atrociously bad . A lot of users of the Gold Monster here are simply running full sensitivity with the 5 inch coil and ignoring everything but the sweetest sounds and doing  quite well . Maybe because I’m old school that approach doesn’t come easy but you live and learn. 

Regards Paul??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is really funny you said that ophirboy because I bought a gpx5000 last week and didn't tell my wife. I was going to wait till  I found some nice gold to break the news to her but she startled me one night while I was in bed and she walked in while I was reading an email on coils for the 5000. I panicked and hid the phone when she walked into the room and she thought I was being unfaithful to her. I knew telling her would open a can of worms. So now I had to tell her I bought a detector, not that I was fooling around. What a predicament  I got myself into. Things are better now that she knows it was about a detector.  I paid our bills and it was my left over paycheck money but wives don't  see things that way. You may want to tell your wife you really want that detector. Lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...