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Unfortunately, nothing much to brag about this winter . The weather, in sharp contrast to last year, was wet and miserable and all the properties targeted were under crop. Anyway, enough excuses. Managed to scrounge an ounce reworking last years shallow leads which were now free of long grass, allowing the coil to run at least 4" closer to the ground. The three rough bits were detected by Reg Wilson and I on an excursion to a patch of forest way out on the western edge of Victoria's gold bearing zone. The larger 5 gm piece (found first by Reg) got us excited but only had two more small companions. All found with the very latest QED which Howard graciously supplied for testing. The unworked shallow lead discovered last year and I reworked this year. Reg and I recovered many ozs off it last year, including 19 and 53 gram pieces. It begins at the small ironstone hill in the background and extends for well over a kilometre with the gold thinly scattered along its length. Looking down the lead the other way. It runs directly down the centre of the image and (hopefully) beyond the distant tree line onto the next property currently under crop. Detail of the rough 5 grammer:

I finally got my hands on the long-awaited new 6-inch coil for my Minelab Equinox 800 (thank you Gerry); definitely a sight for sore eyes! I had a couple of hours to kill this afternoon, so I took it to an old nugget patch where I had found a few bits with the Gold Monster last year. The Nox is ultra-lightweight with this small coil, making the detector nearly effortless to swing. Set to all-metal in Gold 1 with Sensitivity at 24, the EQX was zipping pretty hard on the hot rocks, but notch-discriminating them out helped tremendously whenever they started to get thick. Straight away I got a hot rock signal reading -7,-8,-9 on the EQX display, but in the mix were some jumpy positive numbers of anywhere from 1 to 5...hmmm, definitely worth investigating. After removing the first inch of soil with the pick, the small hot rock was out. Moving the coil back over the target zone now displayed a solid 2, with an occasional jump from 1 to 5. After another 3 inches of depth, the target was in the scoop: The small, heart-shaped nugget was undoubtedly apropos, since I was already quite enamored with this little 6-inch sharpshooter.? Just 2 feet away I hit a persistent signal of 1; this time, the gold was only an inch deep...easy money. Swinging down slope only a few more feet and I had a repeatable 2 on the display; a screamer at 2 inches, this bit had some thickness compared to the first two, and was in a small clay-filled crevice in the bedrock. The fourth target was a ripper from the get-go, but as I was removing soil from the hole, I noticed a much fainter signal as I waved the scoop over the coil. A quick sifting revealed a tiny little speck of yellow: No doubt about it, the 6-inch coil is super hot. With the main target still screaming in the hole, I finally had it in the scoop after removing 3 inches of soil: a mini arrowhead-shaped golden beauty. I couldn’t be more pleased with this new coil, a solid performer on the gold fields. Well done Minelab.

As a Christmas present, a friend of mine asked around amongst many friends/acquaintances and received five positive replies for permission for me to search their properties. Last weekend I went to my 3rd (actually 3b since this is a property now owned by one of the original five, but a second property). I find it interesting to compare/contrast two of these properties which I'll call 3a and 3b. 3a) small (<1000 sq ft) home built about 1940 on a corner lot. Total property size ~0.1 acre. There is a detached garage, part of the yard is fenced off for farm animals, and although I had permission to search in with them (goats and chickens) I didn't do as thorough of a job searching their space as the rest, for obvious reasons. I was expecting good results but a 4 hour hunt only produced one old coin -- a late 1930's Wheat Cent. It's possible this site had been searched previously but I think it's less likely than a second theory -- whoever has lived there just didn't hang out much in the yard and/or didn't carry coins in places where they could be dropped. Regardless, I was disappointed to the sparsity of finds, but that just makes me hungrier for other sites and more excited when those produce. To my surprise and appreciation, that home owner told me she was in the process of buying a rental and said I was welcome to search it. Proceed to... 3b) similar size home and lot, but this time no farm animals, built ~1955. Assuming the 'old' coins I seek stopped being circulated by the early 1970's, this property only offers about 15 or so years to have accumulated these targets as opposed to twice as long with 3a. After my previous experience I wasn't expecting a windfall but still was hopeful. Last Sunday I was able to put in 3 hours of searching and covered a little more than half of the searchable ground. During the hunt I was finding a moderate number of coins, mostly copper Memorial cents, a few clad dimes and quarters and a couple Jefferson nickels. I was discriminating hard against Zincolns which might have been a mistake. Two of the copper cents I found (I think both were Wheats but not sure) hit 20-21 ID on my Equinox 800 (Park 1, 5 custom tones, ground balanced, recovery speed = 6, iron bias = 2, gain = 18). When I don't expect Indian Heads I tend to discriminate at 21/22 ID break. I don't like trying to clean coins in the field so although I knew I had some Wheaties I wasn't sure how many. Turns out 7 of the 21 pennies I recovered were Wheats. My standard procedure is to soak in just water for several hours and then use just my fingers (including fingernails) and a soft toothbrush to figure out date+mintmark. Soaking removes the loose grit (think 'abrasive' which is why I don't mess with coins in the field) and a fingernail is soft enough not to scratch the metal. As most of you experience, copper coins that have been in the ground a long time tend to build up a scale which doesn't come off easily. 95% of the time I have to scrape the date area with a fingernail. It's kind of a fun process because rather than seeing a date immediately there is a gradual revelation. For example: "looks like a 194x, no maybe 191x (scrape some more), OK 1942? or is that a 3 or 8? I'm seeing a mintmark but can't tell if 'D' or 'S'. Hope it's an 'S'...." Part of this process is driven by poor eyesight, even using magnifiers. That's exactly what happened with the coin shown below. It looked like a 1924 but there was too much scale to see a mintmark. As usual I hope for the best "please be a -D" but my dreams almost never reach fruition. However, this time, bonus!! Just as I had begged for, a -D (Denver mint) showed through. Of the >200 business strike Lincoln cents, the order of rarity (based upon mintage) is 1909-S VDB, 1931-S, 1914-D, 1909-S, 1924-D. I found the fifth scarecest Lincoln (not counting the rare and sometimes valuable 'error' coins such as the Double Dies and off-metal planchet errors nor 'proof' coins issued for collectors only). In the 1960's I searched bank rolls and pocket change religiously for my collection. I estimate over the years I looked at 25,000 or more Lincoln cents and not only did I never find a 1924-D, but no cents as valuable either. (Actually the value even today is quite modest. Given its wear, even if I can successfully clean off the scale it would only be worth about $15 on Ebay.) Since restarting metal detecting 3 years ago I've found just over 100 Wheaties. 1/100 beats 0/25,000 every day of the week.

Ah, yes, the RB7 Red Barron, found quite a bit of gold with one of those. Had mine hip mounted. They had a damned good discriminator.

An old photo approx 1990. Note the hip mounts.

A couple of comments. First, only you can determine whether the 600 is all you need. I can say that the answer for you is "probably" but I will point out a couple of things based on what you stated your objectives where. Note that the 800 has one mode (Field 2) where the default recovery speed of 7 exceeds the capability of the 600. I am not sure this is a big deal at all. But it is what it is. Two modes Park 1 and Beach 1 have 800 defaults that do not match up with the 600 equivalent defaults as far as recovery speed is concerned (Park 1 3 vs. 5 and Beach 1 2 vs. 6). Again, I do not think this matters much. I typically use 50 tones so I do not use the no-ferrous tone custom breakpoints at all (50 tone breakpoints are fixed) other than when I use 5 tones in default mode. You also have 2 tone mode besides 5 tones. Don't sell the user profile button short. It is very convenient and it is basically the only thing I miss when I am using my 600 (which is a dedicated salt beach machine and backup to my 800) because I like to instantly switch between modes when interrogating certain targets rather than toggling through the whole menu. Gold mode is not just for prospecting, I like to use it in thick iron situations because the VCO audio gives me a different take on what is going on underground, and helps to better identify large profile targets than the under modulated tone modes and sometimes help to separate targets better than the tone modes. If you goal is to really hit highly trashy sites hard, then the extra recovery speed is helpful because at that point you are not going so much for depth but to separate those keeper shallow targets that everyone else has missed with their slower recovery machines. Will the 600 at recovery speed 3 do the trick? Yeah, probably for 90%+ of the situations it will be sufficient, so the 600 is should do you just fine. It is really impossible to tell what difference those extra recovery speed clicks will do for your specific detecting situations, quite frankly. I think the 6 inch coil is more important for what you are trying to do than the extra recovery speed clicks. Iron Bias - I really don't care much for this filter so the difference between the two units is immaterial to me. Hope this helps. HH

Perhaps your friend could loan you the GPZ to try...I doubt it is a good choice for your purpose...and that 14 inch round coil will not get you very close in big rocks... fred

My first half decent detector was the Minelab XT17000 with the round and elliptical coil, plus a whopping big 18" coil that I'm guessing was originally from an Australian made Midas detector. I really didn't do that machine justice at the time, being new to prospecting and lack of the internet meant a pretty big learning curve trying to locate anything of worth in the field. I was actually after a Whites GM3 at the time, though didn't own one till many years later.

Hi All, For me the 800-"extras" of the ML-80 headphones and the WM-08 module are a big plus. When I got my EQX in July we had a heatwave here and I started off with using the WM-08 headphones to see/feel if they were not too hot in that weather. I found them to be very comfortable and with very good audio. Ok, they became a bit wet and slippery on the ears, but I was sweating all over the rest too, so nothing big to fuss about. After a couple of 2/3 hour hunts with the headphones I tried the WM-08 module with the blue wired XP FX01 backphones. I found those to be definitly cooler in that weather. Also they offered more "interaction" with the environment, as they do not shield the sounds of your suroundings as much as the more enclosing over the ears ML-08. Before the EQX I used another brand/model of detector with the Garrett Z-Lynk modules and the same XP FX01 backphones. Always been very satisfied with this combination. No lag and good audio and comfortable. I personally did/do not find any difference in lag (= no noticable lag) between the Z-Lynk, the WM-08 or the ML-80. I swing at a moderate speed. Apart from the detector itself, for me the extras, ML-80/WM-08, make my upgrade to the EQX even more of a succes. The ML-80 headphones are my favorites (comfortable, excellent sound, light, good soundshielding, warmer, and affordable replacable if neccessary), but when it is really hot weather I can use the backphones with the WM-08. Edited a bit later/forgot to mention: With the WM-08/FX01 backphones I had to give the volume on the EQX 2 to 3 more clicks (from 20 to 22/23) for the same hearing volume as with the ML-80 headphones, because that combination is not as well "soundshielded" as the ML-80 headphones. The surplus cable of the backphones, between the 1/8" plug and the inline volumecontrol, I roll up and put that behind the WM08 in my breastpocket, with the volumecontrol hanging outside the pocket. That way I can easily and quickly turn down the volume when, at times, the pinpointing sound comes in relatively too loud for comfort. The WM08 is in this breastpocket on top of my smartphone. The smartphone is switched on in "simple" phonemode (NOT in airplanemode and wifi/bluetooth disabled). Even hunting in fields at a distance of less than 500 meters from a celltower or at less than 100 meters from above ground power lines I didn't notice any interference on the ML-80 or WM08. After noice cancelling no interference on the EQX itself either. Greetings, Bob'ke

Lunk, Thanks for the report, and congrats on the great gold with that 6" coil dude. I also got a 6" for my nox800, love the NOX compared to the CTX, which I used for years. It hits great on gold, and have found some nice old coins and artifacts in the desert with it also. Neat little trick I learned not to long ago, from the prospecting, park, and field modes, if you are getting an iffy signal, like nickels, or even trash, place the machine in all metal mode and pump coil above target, a trashy target will usually dip into the negative, as your gold and nickels will usually stay in the 1 and above. Dave

I have a soft spot for "Paint Your Wagon" The "making of" video...

There is no such thing that I have ever heard of. Depth is determined more by target size than the metal involved. However, if you had test coins all exactly the same size made of different metals you would see depth differences. The difference will depend mostly on the frequency the detector operates at if we are talking single frequency detectors. Lower frequencies tend to favor high conductors and high frequencies favor low conductors. However, there is more to it than just frequency, such as ground balance efficiency at different frequencies for example. Long story short the differences would be relatively small except when comparing the highest conductors to the lowest conductors, and the difference will vary model to model depending on the frequency and other factors. Some info here on the subject..... https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/3778-vlf-punching-deeper/?do=findComment&amp;comment=41284 Once you get into multifrequency operation even the information regarding relative frequencies gets tossed out the door. Here is a post about the White's V3i and several coins compared at different frequencies. Notice how the difference between coins changes with the frequency change... Link deleted since Findmall Forum update broke all old links

A lot of these audio signatures will come with added time on the Equinox. When I first got my EQ I don't remember hearing some of these subtle nuance's in the audio report. The best thing to do is practice and hunt. On off days when I don't have time to hunt I hit my test garden and listen to each target. That might be a good suggestion for you. Bury a few coins at various depths and orientations. Bury a pop pull tab at 3" and maybe a beer pull tab at a different depth laying horizontal. Now bury a beaver tab at 3" and practice listening to each. In a short period time you'll start hearing some of these differences.

I am with Dave on this one: Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Welcome to the forum! You say you pan, sluice etc. and only use the detector to see if you have missed any gold. Has it been the case that the detector has revealed lots of gold you would have otherwise missed? If not, I can’t see wanting to spend much money for a detector for the task as described. A light weight and relatively inexpensive VLF should do the job just fine. In other words, if the GMT has served you well all these years, why switch? On the other hand if money is no object the SDC 2300 has lots going for it. Power, ease of operation, plus a very compact, waterproof design. The GPZ honestly just seems a poor match for the job. If you stick with VLF, and are interested in GMT type performance but waterproof, check out the Makro Gold Kruzer.

The River I spent several weeks in early July, panning and sluicing on the N. Fork of the American River. I've been going to the same 10 mile section of the river for over 20 yrs. That part of the river is designated Wild & Scenic, so no motorized equipment and no claims. It's one of the few places in CA gold country you can access a free flowing river without stepping on someone's gold claim. Access is not easy, although there a a number of trails up and down the river. They're all rugged, often steep and always overgrown with poison oak. I have often encountered "locals" who at various times attempt to eke out an existence by panning and sluicing the river. Generally friendly and sometimes willing to share local knowledge of the gold. When I meet them I make a point to brew up a big pot of spaghetti and feed all comers. Many years ago, I met a guy my age driving a new Jeep Cherokee. He was socially awkward, but I learned he was a software engineer from the Silicon Valley and had taken up gold prospecting on weekends. He was not very successful, so my 6 yr old son and I invited him to come dig in a hole we had started. He sluiced a few buckets and declared that was more gold than he had ever found. Skip ahead 10 years, I found him living in a tent on the banks of the river having spent 2 years pursuing the golden dream. He was eking out an existence and seemed to be perfectly happy. Imagine a 6 mile hike uphill, just to reach a paved road, hope for a ride to town to get supplies then repeat the process back down. Supplies are limited to what you can afford and carry on your back. The local mining supply store pays 80 percent of spot, for good clean gold. This guy still had the math and engineering brain so he could tell me exactly how much he was earning per hr, although he did not factor that it was in fact a 24 hr a day job, living on the river. Every now and then "flatlanders" discover the place and bring down a bunch of gear intending to strike it rich. They are soon disillusioned and I find their gear stashed in the woods. I've seen one sleeping bag stashed in the same spot for over 4 years, untouched. Buckets and digging tools get carried away by spring floods and I find them littered on gravel bars. Access There is an old mining road ,overgrown, heavily rutted, washed out and frequently blocked by blown down timber. It currently takes me about an hr to travel just over 3 miles down that road crawling in 4 wheel drive low locked in 1st gear. At one time you could drive to within 100 yds of the river. There was a fabulous camping spot under a massive oak, with a spring nearby. In their infinite wisdom, the BLM blocked the road about 1.5 miles from the old camping spot. They brought in some heavy equipment and dug tank traps to block all future traffic down the road. For many seasons I hiked the rest of the way down on a variety of trails. A few yrs ago, my son, then strapping teenager and I started hacking an ATV trail around the tank traps. We spent a few hrs a day for over a week cutting a new trail. It's passable by ATV to this day, but you really have to know the danger spots or slide right down the hill. I've winched my own ATV up that zone many times. More to come in Part II.....

good going guys

It is really good to see and hear from you guys again. Nice looking gold. Darn crops! They keep you from your fun. Mitchel

Always nice to find one out of the oridinary GB. Congrats!

Simon, Since the Equinox does not noticeably over-modulate on large or shallow targets like the T2 does, those aluminum beer and soda cans do tend to ring up with good sounding audio and id numbers. That is where I have had some success with pinpoint mode. Provided the offending target is not too deep, I have been able to differentiate pop cans from good coin targets by sizing up the target in pinpoint mode. Since it is a non-motion pitch mode it becomes relatively easy to ascertain that you have something too large to be a coin or jewelry target under the coil unless its profile is small because of its orientation or depth. This technique works well for large falsing iron targets as well in farm fields (e.g. broken plow blades). Gold mode also works similarly well in thick iron junk situations, but since it is a motion mode (you need to swing the coil over the target to get the VCO variable pitch intensity audio) it is not as definitive as pinpoint mode. I am a dig it all proponent if you have perpetual site access because digging the junk and getting it out of the way can reveal masked keepers underneath and if you have the time and the site can withstand the digging, dig it all and cover every inch with your coil if you can. However, no sense digging up your own yard or another's pristine landscaping unnecessarily and this method can save on pulling too many junk target plugs or can save some time if you only have limited time at a site. HTH.

I agree with all of the above comments. The smooth top and rough bottom are possible clues to a fire origin. A SWAG calculation using your photo with the quarter and your 8.79 oz weight strongly suggests aluminum.

Mitchel, I haven’t strayed too far from the stock settings of Gold 1. I hunt in the all-metal “horseshoe “ mode unless the hot rocks get too plentiful, in which case I changed the discrimination pattern to reject only -7, -8 and -9, while accepting everything else. I’ve also set both Iron Bias and Threshold Level to zero. Hopefully you’ll break your dry spell soon.

Thanks for the wisdom. I am glad that we have the resources that you share both on the forums and you tube. I do have a test garden with all sorts of items, shell casings , nails, beer tabs,silver,etc...however it is behind a shed that has gardening stuff on rear wall and that had thrown a loop into the mix by it’s location relative to the first row of targets. I have to move that row of targets out to a different row. I guess from the previous world (figuratively speaking) I came from I relied on an explorer or garrett display and the tone had less value to me . I am also finding that I dig items that are close to the vid of good targets for fear of missing a hit, and then when I find it’s trash dig it, but had not really listened to the signature. I need to be aware of what I am hearing and put a description to the sound as opposed to digging because it may be a good target. Both very excellent suggestions. very open to all thoughts and methodology. Jim

Right, aftermarket is a good option, I forgot. I found my self really liking the WM-08 module because the WM-80 headphones are way too hot for summertime land use. I've been using the blue wired Deus back-phones with the WM-08 module, modified to have the wire just long enough for the module to sit in my pocket. I also removed the volume control as the Equinox has one already. This is even more comfortable the the Wireless Deus WS4 setup because I don't have the weight of the puck on my head, as light as it is. Though to be fair I could stick the WS4 puck in my pocket with the adapter in effect doing the same, however the thought never occurred to me at the time. The WM-08 module is also faster, about twice as fast as the aptX™ headphones however I can't say that I've noticed a difference yet, I only did a few early hunts with the headphones so too early to tell. Maybe when I switch to the WM-80 headphones in the cooler weather I may notice a slight lag but for now it may be reaching the point of diminishing returns, having after market aptX™ headphones may be the way to go, especially if you can find a cooler on-ear or even a earbud solution. I can't wear earbuds but the seem to work OK for some.

Makro and Nokta are doing the General Motors / Chevrolet thing with two separate but similar product lines. Another example in the industry is First Texas (Bounty Hunter, Fisher, Teknetics). Rather then it being a case of spending R&D dollars to duplicate what you already have, it is a way of getting more bang for the buck out of an R&D dollar by having it apply to multiple product lines.

Propjob, Repeated use and understanding what the audio is telling you by using your brain to associate the audio with the target builds your audio "muscle memory" such that you stop consciously thinking about what the audio is telling you and you just start picturing the probable target in the ground (the audio painting that virtual picture in your brain). It is important to dig trash as well as keepers for this to take hold. Don't just listen to silver dimes in your test garden (though it is a good way to reinforce what a good target sounds like, as Mark suggested), but you need to get out there with some real world swing hours and dig all the targets until you can start calling the target before you dig it. When you can rely on the audio as the primary means of target ID with the visual ID as backup/confirmation, then you will up your keeper to trash ratio significantly..

Lunk, Thanks for your report. Nice gold and I'd say good depth. My experience in the gold fields with the 6" coil have been unrewarding so far. I've found tiny wire and tiny lead and been thrown off my numbers many, many times. I was out in a trashed patch Saturday night and part of Sunday with no joy. I must also admit that half the time I was using my 7000 and didn't find any gold either. I'd like to know more about your settings before I try to 'detail' my experiences. Mitchel

Classics noted above. But one that often overlooked nugget is Charlton Heston in "Mother Lode" :) "You stay the hell out of my mind, laddie." Rex

Thank you Andy! The worst thing that can happen is they so no, you simply move on to the next one, more often than not, they say yes. People are more open than you may realize. My motto is: "nothing ventured, nothing gained" Sometimes the permissions absolutely suck, but, the ones that produce just energize your drive to get another one.

? Robert Palmer is dead??? I had to Google that to make sure you were talking about the same bloke I was thinking about. Died years ago apparently. News doesn't get to Oz real fast since the Overland Telegraph line got a kink in it in '88! Nice gold Lunk. Did I hear you say I should sell my gold monster to fund a 6" Equinox coil, have money left over and make the wife happy? Not a bad idea at all ?

You are slaying the coins Dan! I spent some time beating the 600 drum because I am convinced that it is the true killer bargain. People keep comparing the Equinox models to detectors costing two or three times more money. That’s not how people shop - most people have a budget they want to stick with. And for under $600 with some shopping nothing else comes close to matching the 600 both for features and performance. The 800 gets all the attention but in my mind the 600 is the the one that really wows me. Anyone looking for a new full warranty detector under $600 the Equinox 600 is definitely the one to beat. It’s hard for me to understand why anyone would consider anything else in that price range.

The Equinox got wet for the first time today, it survived and will be without a doubt my primary water detector. I can do 80% of the area I want to do without needing the waterproof headphones, which is kinda nice. The beaches are fairly well sanded in here right now, but I know where to look for a few spots of clay. Things are going to get real interesting this fall when the mighty winds shift. Pictured are the older coins. A 1957 Penny, 1959 silver dime and a 1952 silver quarter. Not a bad bit of change considering I only found 5 coins total. Also a brass ring and a nail that might be from a horseshoe.

Coins sure are nice to find but so are balls and buttons.

I have never prospected in Oregon so can’t help you directly. However, to get started here are some locations: Oregon Gold Placers Most of these areas will have mining claims or land management restrictions. A good place to start learning about these is: MyLandMatters.org Finally, here is an article describing how I go about looking for gold, with New Mexico used as an example: Determining Where To Prospect For Gold Nuggets? I hope this helps get you started.

Thanks Peg. Steve already posted what you’re looking for a couple of months ago here: Further on down in his post, he has an excellent bit about how to set up the EQX 600 for gold nugget detecting.

Mitchel, I remember that movie, good one. One of my favorite mining movie is the oldie but goodie Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Dave

Upon returning from my beach vacation and a difficult week at work (always seem to get behind when I go on vacation) I returned to the school construction site. A lot of dirt has been moved in the last two weeks and I got another one of those 1st (Francs 2). The mercury was on edge by the way the audio responded, but it's amazing how the Equinox will not vary much on the ID when it comes to coins and pull tabs. Even though the coin was on edge, the ID was a steady 23-24. I knew it was a coin of some sort.

November 25, 1972 I sent a letter to my mom. I was 14 years old and just got my first metal detector and mailed a copy of the ad with the letter. My mom gave me the letter and ad back recently... My first detector in 1972 - a White's Coinmaster 4 TR for $199.50 (a lot of money then, especially for a 14 year old!).... And from the letter, my very first detecting report... "I went hunting at Goose Lake and Elderberry Park for coins. I only went hunting five times and I've found: One 1964 silver quarter, seven silver dimes, including one 1936 mercury dime, four ordinary dimes, six nickels including one 1943 and one 1944 silver nickels from during the war, thirty pennies, the oldest a 1946, two bullet shells and one bullet, some parts of necklaces, and 10 billion pop can lids, gum wrappers, etc." No discrimination yet in 1972, and aluminum was already showing up in quantity. Only a couple inches of depth, but as one of the first guys on the ground with a detector locally it was easier to find silver in those days then it is now. I also mention in the letter I am saving up to buy my first gold dredge, a 3" Keene with no floats, for $379 new plus shipping. So my first detector in 1972 followed by my first gold dredge in 1973.

I have a couple of these printed packs. They will fit in the case with some modification. So will the super hot 16v battery pack I have. Officially White's can't endorse a 16v battery due to the increased chances of component wear and heat generated by the large caps on the board. The 18650's diameter prevents use in this waterproof case without a slight modification (2 minutes of Dremel action) on the inside of the case. This may void your warranty. The 14500's have the right size to use in a battery holder but usually come out about 750mAh. You could do 4 x 2, get 14.8 volts out of it but only have 1500 mAh. Less time to hunt than the OEM pack. All of these things are options for intrepid DIYers, but our goals were 1) release this in a timely manner before the competition 2) keep the price of the detector reasonable and 3) don't push the hardware to the point of failure. I know it's not ideal, but at the worst you can carry an extra battery in a waterproof case or baggie with your wallet/keys/phone. And at least you will still have a nice deep seeking PI before fall of 2018. This project is more of a "Huh, that's a good idea. Why wasn't this done before?" vs. making a huge engineering project out of it.

Gosh, it looks like we do have a waterproof TDI after all! Ships with a Heavy Duty battery for longer run time and also has increased sensitivity and stability due to the hardwired coil. A bonus we did not expect! Want a mono coil? Coiltek? Miner John? Etc? We are working on setting that up in "White's Custom Shop." Or if you are handy you can DIY (note: this will void your warranty). Sorry for not having more info earlier. We like to tell our dealers first and wait until products are ready to ship. Now excuse me while I jump in the Klamath River and find some nice nugs in the bedrock. https://www.whiteselectronics.com/product/tdi-beachhunter/ White's TDI BeachHunter Specifications Operating mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pulse Induction Pulse Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.6kHz - 3kHz Pulse Delay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10μs - 25μs Search modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PI, Ground balanced PI Ground balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Differential delay Audio tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hi/Lo Audio output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hard-wired headphones Search coil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12” Dual Field (aftermarket coils available) Weight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 lbs (with 12” DF coil) Length. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 - 48 inches, adjustable Batteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8) AA, NiMH & alkaline Battery life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6 hours typical2 Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 years, transferrable Waterproof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25ft/7.5m White's TDI BeachHunter Owner's Manual

I got to spend the day with my mom and after visiting friends and family we decided to hit one of my detecting spots because she was interested in finding some treasure. I have hit the spot several times with various other detectors. I'd given her the Fisher F-22 and put it in coin mode to make it easier. Wouldn't you know out of the first hole she digs a 278 year old coin. I couldn't believe it since I've never found anything there older than the 1920s ? needless to say I still have a grin on my face.

I have found meteorites on the surface in the desert that have been there for 40,000 years and pultabs 3-4 inches deep in manicured lawns. Pultabs have about the same or lighter specific gravity than the soil the are buried in. They didn't sink. Eolian gold nuggets can be found on the surface with desert varnish on them.

Possibly my last beach hunt until fall. They don't allow detecting while the public is using the beach, once they open for the season. Today I tried 2 beaches, but quickly left the first one to go back to a more reliable one. It was a good move. The gold streak continues with 2 (possibly 3) gold items. I found some nice silver too, including a beefy .925 Academy ring. Great day to be out detecting and I finally found my first gold chain with the Equinox!

They don't say for nothing someone Rubbish is someone treasure. Wish you luck. Hope to come back with a great story. GoldEn