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We had a cold snap in sunny Yuma, 78 degrees at 0530. I went back out to the previously hammered gold drywash zone. I found the 2 bigger pieces 2ft apart on the shoulder of a worked out gulley. They were 8 to 10 inches deep under some drywash tailings, resting on a layer of hardpacked clay. I gridded the area with no more luck, although I had bootscrapped one spot a couple times. I decided to plug in my earphones and jack up the sensitivity to 16. I gave the area a good go no new targets, but I kept going back to the bootscrapped spot. With the threshold at 1 I was getting a faint stutter in one direction, but nothing on the backswing. I used my pick to pull down a couple inches of dirt. Ever so faint signal in one direction. I decided to settle this thing and dug up a foot square down about 4 to 5 inches. Finally, a repeatable signal. I got to the hardpack layer and after a couple tries got it in the scoop. Really tiny so I measured the depth. I measure 9.5 inches. Now I can't say that nugget was actually resting at that depth, but he was damn close. He weighs in at .1 gram. The total for all 3 nuggets was 1.1gram. I'm liking the Zed with the threshold at absolute minimum. The background is chattery, but a target breaks through with ease.

Gold Prospecting and Metal Detecting for Gold Your picture on the main website, what are you holding? is that the best you can do? This is my interpretation the way it should look. LOL Ivan

I have 4 Minelab's and I keep checking the mail... maybe they found out I was hanging out with Klunker? strick

Freshly dug Australian nugget. Photo by Jonathan Porter. Can't get much better than that!

Steve, On a value scale, you (and Chris) long ago have rated over-the-top in breaking open the "close to the chest" knowledge base that has evaded many of us that love this persuit of AU. I've been a serious weekend warrior in this area for three+ decades (early 80's) and never seen such a focused attempt to educate us all, regardless of our background, level of knowledge, hardware, etc. Your approach has been so possitive, it encourages everyone. My point is that here you continue that drive, expanding yet again that knowledge base with the added Calendar, and the re-organized archive. I don't know where you find the time for all this, but just want to join the chorus in thanking you and Chris, and ICMJ, for all that you all do. Please keep it up. I now have far more time to persue the hidden treasure, and am an ardent student at your combined university. Those many followers of this forum, local, many other states, and international - all are participants in expanding that info base, but as I see it - your forum has brought us all together. THANKS!

The sensitivity +- button doesn't always work. It shuts off on its own. Even with fresh batteries. Not super sensitive. And priced higher than the other comparable pinpointers. Ill probably be in the market for the Garrett Carrot. But I do love my Zed!

Small rakes with super magnets are great for hunting old mining/logging iron litter sites! This is one made for kids @ Ace Hardware called "Real Tools for Kids"

Maybe Minelab will send me a prepaid envelope and a refund for my POS Minelab Pinpointer. Worst pinpointer ever.

Bado 1,yea i run my sdc with very little threshold also,but good headphones really help. Maybe not the deepest running machine for the money but if your looking for specimen gold or porous it works for me. I have found some nice spongy gold fairly deep running very quiet, couldnt have heard them without headphones though,my ears are bad also.

Hey everyone, First post here - Well, I'm about to take the plunge and use my hard earned savings to purchase an SDC 2300. By the way, thanks a bunch Steve for all your posts and reviews - I've probably spent a decent 24 hours reading through everything you've written about them. I've also been heavily researching how to get a really good signal from them without using a booster. I've heard from a few blokes recently who have been using 300-600 ohm headphones, and it appears they are hitting twice as many targets by using this high ohm range - due to its extreme sensitivity and how other headphones or boosters cannot pickup these subtle sounds. I'm just wondering if there is any possible credence or theoretical/mechanical basis to these claims? If so, should I be looking for headphones like the Sennheiser HD 600 (300 ohm) or the Beyerdynamic DT880 (600 ohm) Headphones? I've also heard great reviews about the Sunray Pro-Golds, but they seem lacking in this 'ohm' department according to my recent research.. Thoughts anyone? Jimmy

My website address, its on every picture and my tag line. Dangerous, I would like to suggest you stay out of the kitchen, all those knives. Ivan

i already spent the quarter...

Lucky, Thanks for the instructions and you didn't include the nugget you let my wife keep. She has a big smile on her face because you let her dig that nugget. Just to set this up. Lucky heard a target and got me to come over and hear it with my 7000. It was very faint but he knows how to teach. My 7000 heard it too so we scraped away at it. When the signal got stronger he got Lu over to hear it with her GB Pro. (All this 15 minutes he is teaching us.) She dug the nugget (under .5g) and will always have a smile because of it. Thanks. Mitchel

Lots of various interesting stuff to pull out of this data, here are some. Also probably useful to note that online/forum results (probably) differ quite a bit from the field. For instance I still see quite a few 3500's out and about despite their poor showing here, and quite a few GMT's as well, but mostly by people who don't post or go online. Also of note, I've seen some survey responses that were contradictory to other responses in other threads posted before or after the survey, nothing official anyways all in good fun but come on guys... *sorry for the small text, i had to shrink everything down so the picture wasn't gigantic on the forum.

The Magnetron 7007----- Guaranteed to get trash up to 40% deeper! :-)

Fisher Research originally released the 19 kHz Gold Bug model about 1987. It was a real breakthrough design at the time with a compact control box, S-rod, and elliptical coils. The detector is a good unit but is strictly all metal (no discrimination). It has no LCD readout and looks much like the current 71 kHz Gold Bug 2 but has a white lower rod and a black control panel face. Some people are confusing this old model with the new so be aware of this when looking at used detectors. The 19 kHz coils for the old Gold Bug will not work on newer versions of the Gold Bug below. The 71 kHz Gold Bug 2 is a totally different detector than the various 19 kHz models described below. Around 2010 a number of new Gold Bug models were released by Fisher. First came the Gold Bug in 2009. Then came the Gold Bug SE (Special Edition) which added manual ground balance at a bargain introductory price. The SE with minor tweaks later became the Gold Bug Pro at a higher price. So now we have two basic versions, the Gold Bug and the Gold Bug Pro. They differ from the old 1987 model by having an LCD readout. The standard version of either detector comes with a 5" round coil. There is a Gold Bug DP (Deep Penetrating) which is nothing more than a Gold Bug Pro with an 11" x 7" DD elliptical coil instead of a 5" round DD coil. The only difference listed by Fisher between the Gold Bug and the Gold Bug Pro is that the Gold Bug Pro has a manual adjustment option for the ground balance and also offers "higher sensitivity". Both models use a "Ground Grab" button as a simple ground balance method that is quite effective. The Gold Bug Pro allows you to also manually adjust the ground balance setting up or down. The manual adjustment can be used in conjunction with or separately from the Ground Grab button. The big question is the "higher sensitivity" claim. There are two possibilities here. First, that the Gold Bug Pro actually allows for higher gain or sensitivity levels. However, I was in marketing too long and have a more jaded thought. Manual ground balance allows for a higher degree of control that if used properly can get you more sensitivity. There is a very distinct possibility the higher sensitivity claim follows directly from the ability to manually ground balance the Gold Bug Pro. This could be tested with both units set side by side with identical ground balance settings and max gain. If the Gold Bug Pro is inherently more sensitive an air test should show it. I have not had the chance to do this my self but if somebody wants to there you go. ads by Amazon... My opinion? I believe the Gold Bug and the Gold Bug Pro if outfitted with the same coil are basically the same detector. The only real difference is the manual ground balance option on the Gold Bug Pro. Do you need it? Not really, and especially when you consider that for $499 vs $649 that is probably all you are getting. The Ground Grab function is remarkably effective and would suit most people just fine. I personally do like manual ground balance and so for me spending the extra money to get it is a non-issue. I do as a rule tell people that if cost is not an issue get the Gold Bug Pro. It is far more popular and would be easier to resell. But in all honesty I think the Basic Gold Bug is the real bang-for-the-buck unit. There is nothing else close to it at the $499 price point that offers full LCD readout target discrimination while in full power all metal prospect mode. I should note that First Texas owns both Fisher and Teknetics. The Fisher Gold Bug DP (Gold Bug Pro with 11" coil) is marketed by Teknetics as the G2. The Fisher Gold Bug DP goes for $699 and the Teknetics G2 is $749. The $50 extra gets you a pistol grip rod instead of the Gold Bug S-rod and an arm strap. Nice gray paint scheme also. Really boils down to pistol grip vs S-rod, purely a personal preference thing. I use the 5" x 10" elliptical myself and consider it to be the best all around coil for the Gold Bug. However, right now you have to get it as an accessory or as part of a two coil package. Fisher would be doing us a service to release the Gold Bug with this coil as standard on the unit. My Gold Bug 2 is slightly better on the tiniest of gold but the Gold Bug Pro easily outperforms the Gold Bug 2 on larger nuggets at depth. For all around nugget detecting the Gold Bug or Gold Bug Pro (and G2) have a better balance of both small gold and large gold capability than the Gold Bug 2. Fisher Gold Bug Pro & Teknetics G2 Detailed Comparison To recap first came the original 1987 era Gold Bug with knobs and switches: 1987 era analog Fisher Gold Bug Then in 2009 we got the new Gold Bug: Fisher digital Gold Bug Followed quickly and briefly by the Gold Bug SE. Note how the plus and minus buttons now have dual functions, both Disc and Ground Balance, compared to the basic Gold Bug above: Fisher Gold Bug SE The Gold Bug SE was basically the prototype for the Gold Bug Pro, which got a new faceplate decal and a higher price: Fisher Gold Bug Pro And finally, the Gold Bug Pro was also marketed under the Teknetics line as the G2 with a different rod/handle assembly: Teknetics G2 Gold Bug Pro DP compared to Teknetics G2: Click on images below for larger versions.....