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I'm not sure where to start, I had an epic day that I never thought I'd see. There are some things you never figure you'll dig and when you least expect it.... BAM!!! I met up with a fellow hunter to do a little relic hunting at a old fort site. His day started off with an 1846 Mexican 1/4 reale and then an awesome button, which he ended up finding 2 of. I started off with the usual lead and percussion caps and finally a 1846 Mexican reale as well. I was having a frustrating start with my wireless earbuds cutting out and the other pair not working at all. I tried using wired earbuds on the Equinox, but kept pulling them out almost everytime I set my machine down. Jimmy let me use his ML80's and that helped me settle down and get some serious hunting done. Jimmy ended up leaving after a few hours and I told him I was going to hunt for another hour and then head to the house. My goal was to at least find a couple of nice buttons to make a day of it, little did I know the fun was about to begin within the next 30 minutes. I worked my way around to the other side of where we had parked, and started finding more lead and a few more percussion caps. I got a screaming 25-26 hit on the Nox, I dug down about 8" and figured I had hit a can or something. I covered the hole, but, thought to myself..... that could be a buckle. I redug the hole and finally pried out a top of an old aluminum can. About 15 minutes later I get an almost identical signal, 25-27, but, when I pinpointed it sounded different. My thought was I was digging a silver coin at depth, so....I was quite a bit more careful with this hole. Almost 8" down I pop out a huge round thing it didn't register what it was until I picked it up and felt the weight. Then it hit me......no freaking possible way!!! I saw the back first, then turned it over, the front had about a 1/4" of dirt caked on it, I carefully rubbed it and there it was My first Union breatplate, something I only dreamed of finding and now there it was in my hand Thank God I didn't dig it like I had dug the other target, no dig marks on either side. Jimmy had found a US buckle a couple of years before, now, I had me a breastplate, something I never thought I dig.

I may be wrong but I believe this specimen with 72 ounces of gold in it was found at Poseidon only a few years ago by the people that now have the lease there

A few little curious discoveries lately, the 24K is definitely a quirky machine. Its more stable and sharper on tiny signals when in locked GB, creates much poorer signal when you're trying to find said targets in your scoop and sometimes has a complete fit and wont ground balance after a loud signal. I have thrown away good targets because I didnt hear them in my scoop! Only by slowly bring the scoop towards the edge of the 6" concentric coil, can you confidently hear if you have the target...and even then its far quieter than in the ground. When the ground balance issue happens, I simply lock the GB and give it an instant ground grab.....solved! I'm currently at 26 bits of gold and approx 300 bits of trash, all off ground Ive hammered for the past 30 years. All in only 6 hours total. I am sold on this machine....love it!

Not exactly gold, but needless to say the Gold Monster went crazy! No problem picking it up at 18" deep. 28 lbs. Neal

Busting bedrock hasn't panned out that well, so I decided to heed Bill Southern's advice. I broke down the crust on the first pile, and started swinging the EQX 800. 15 minutes into it, and "bingo", nice little 3.2 grain nug, all rough and course like it hasn't traveled far? "This is going to be an EZ day" I'm pretty sure ran through my mind, since there were plenty of tailings' around? I guess the penny is somebody's idea of a "cruel joke"? At least it was shallow. Brett

I went out to my storage unit (we downsized last year - all the junk is in storage) and got out my crystal ball. After dusting it off and giving it a dose of Barkeepers Friend, I rubbed it vigorously. Misty figures appeared before my eyes - I saw someone seeking gold nuggets in Africa. He looked like he was using a Teknetics T2, but as I looked closer - it was something else - it was a PI detector....but what kind?. At that point the cat jumped off the couch and landed in my lap. the crystal ball is on its way back to the manufacturer for recalibration. Beach hunters are not a mass market, European relic hunters and “artisanal miners” are potential mass markets. Neither of these markets are currently served by a light, ergonomic PI detector offering the immunity from bad ground that GB PI’s offer. Whose detector will I see when I get my device back from Madam Sara’s CB (Crystal Ball) shop?

The Poseidon Nugget’ was unearthed in the Parish of Waanyarra. The huge nugget weighed 953 oz gross and 703 oz net. Woodall and party found the nugget 10 inches underground, 2 inches above bedrock with much quartz. This find began the last of the big rushes to the area.[1906] On private land. This [Poseidon] was the last great alluvial rush in Victoria. 3000 were camped here in 1906 with store established catering for all the miners’ needs. One storekeeper was charged and fined for selling sly grog. The reef above and opposite the gully had been rushed in 1859, but this side neglected. It was nearly fifty years before John Porter testing the ground with a hand auger, found wash and sank a shaft onto nuggets. From its size, more large nuggets have come from this lead than any other in the world. 703 oz, 675 oz, thirteen others over 100 oz, nineteen from 50-99 oz, fifty two from 20-49 oz and two hundred and eight from 1-19 oz. ... the Premier awarded [James Porter] £500 for the discovery. He was the last man to receive a reward for the discovery of a new goldfield in Victoria.

Got a birthday card from my brother and sister in law yesterday...... looks like they know me pretty well...Hahaha Taking this to replace the 800

I love seeing pictures of the old miners at work. It would be nice to have a few hanging on my wall in my office. strick

The lesson here is this, hunt where gold has been found before, move rocks, rake the ground a little, they didn't get it all.....

Between work and projects I've managed to get out on a few hunts. I bought my buddy an equinox 800 since he has been kind enough to let me run all around his ranches as if I own them myself. He has showed some interest in detecting...he thinks he's going to find a 1 pound gold nugget . After spending some time showing him how it works...I'd mark a target and then have him go over it and then dig it...he started to get the hang of it. So on our second outing he goes and finds a 1855 seated quarter (like Deathrays) but not in nearly as good condition. He was stoked and I wish i had brought my camera with me so I could get a pic of him smiling and holding the coin. Been hitting some other locations near where I live. Old homesites and street tear outs. Day before yesterday was a quick but pleasant hunt. Dug the standing liberty and put it in my pocket so it would not get banged up in the pouch. I never look at items much in the field but wait till I get home. I was glad I put this coin in my pocket. I'm going to have to get it looked at just to make sure but I think it's the real deal. If anyone knows what the sun god thing was? kinda cool digging it and have that smiling back. HH to you all strick

There will be another Telescopic Equinox rod option available soon. Hopefully by the end of April. You won't need any adapters either. I believe Serious Detecting will be the US supplier. Detectorbits Uk February 6 · Totally Telescopic Equinox stem Currently in Manufacture at Detectorbits. Watch our website and Facebook pages at Detectorbits. Coming very soon. We have had it designed by an expert with some nice features that others do not have. Currently in manufacture and will not have any part 3D printed. Perfect for taking on a plane in your luggage and the Carbon has a nice two tone Red & Black colouring to it. The three piece stem has a unique feature running throughout its length Inside that makes it impossible to twist or wobble. For more details call Tony at Detectorbits for details or to get in the queue. Photos will follow very soon.

Since the Impulse AQ does not have the capability to handle extreme ground / hot rocks I would be happier with a Garrett ATX in a good ergonomic package. I only ever sold my ATX as sort of a protest move. It is a well behaved and versatile circuit. But they either make what I want or screw it. I’m done lending any degree of support to ergonomic nightmares. SDC is a bit limited so if I had my wish from Minelab it would be a subset of the GPX circuit. Imagine a GPX 5000 in a package similar to the AQ. I honestly am content with the Equinox for beach detecting so my interest lies in supporting what this could become as a inland unit. I just don’t get to the beaches enough really to sink a couple grand into a dedicated beach machine. But I will support any company making the moves I like and I like the direction here. I may therefore get one to, as I explained before, to try on milder inland situations. It is mostly a timing thing for me. Too late in the fall and I may as well wait through the winter to see what happens next. Everyone but me wants more power. There is enough power for me out there already. It simply exists in packaging that I am now waging war on going forward. There is enough heat on now from various companies that we are finally getting real competition. As consumers we are in a good position to start DEMANDING proper ergonomic machines. The old “detecting is a niche market so we can’t afford it” excuse has long since gone by the wayside. With FT finally making the first move in some ways it is actually Garrett’s and Minelab’s game to lose. The hardcore beach hunters are going to love Impulse AQ, no doubt about it. If I lived nearer to saltwater it is a no brainer for me.

Well, since you brought it up Rick I will chime in. I was not wanting to rain on your parade. ? You are right, a beach PI is not going to move the needle at First Texas. It’s obvious that after years of work CZX went nowhere, and so FT was stuck in a “we need to find something quick” position. Thankfully for them this came along. But unless it can be leveraged into some sort of dry land detecting model it certainly at this point does not fill that desire by many for a new machine to replace the F75 as the flagship. Still, for me personally I am ecstatic to see this. I have been beating on Minelab and Garrett for YEARS to just take either the SDC or ATX and put them into something other than an off the shelf expensive military housing. They have the circuits, but producing a PI like what we are seeing here.... they just won’t do it. At least they would not. Perhaps if FT succeeds in getting this off the ground with a dry land version in the wings we will see action on other fronts also. I love competition! ? I guess one thing is settled. Fisher posting this info to their Facebook page makes Impulse AQ the probable official name.

I would love to find one of those, congrats, that's a great find indeed!!

Congrats on a great find! I keep thinking one of these days! strick

I have found several coins, usually nickels but some pennies in known old patches. Some people believe they need to leave something of value where they found nuggets. Several years ago I dug un unspent 357 mag round. Might have been funny to the person that left it, but could have been a dangerous situation if I had hit it just wrong with my pick. Norm

IMPRESSIVE!! WOW! Great hunt, Dan -- a whole pile of super finds, AND a bucket lister, to top it off!! CONGRATS!!! Steve

I will scan my publication.

Dan - big congrats and what a haul. Got my first Eagle Plate last year...with the Nox, no less, and some early silver, buttons, and a few minie balls on one of the best detecting days ever for me - so I can relate to the joy you are feeling. Great saves.

Found only a few small pieces here personally, but was following up on Jim Stewart, Reg Wilson and John Hider Smith. These guys didn't miss much! I don't know who 'said' that but it brings up an observation ... should I follow or avoid the trail of these greats when seeking nuggets in May? haha (And just think, there were 3000 combing the area long before these guys!) Mitchel

Hi Strict, Beautiful places to detect, love just getting out to those scenic historical sites, the finds are icing on the cake ? Great spots, black powder flasks, buckles, and seateds, doesn't get better than that on the west coast. Congrats to your friend on the seated quarter! That 1918 over 1917 SLQ is a great find! Probably not what you're looking for at gold rush era camps, but I'd take it any day ? The sunray thing is pretty cool, not sure what exactly it is though. That buckle you found with the nipple in the center, I found something similar to that recently, do you think that's a horse tack buckle? That rectangular metal item next to the license plate tag I believe may be a scale weight. Does it have any writing on it? I found one, and I believe it was marked with the weight in grams, it was ID'd as an apothecary weight, but they were more likely using it to weigh gold IMO. Congrats again on saving so much history! Brian

Nuggets from the Poseidon Rush. Left: "The Christmas Box" - 18 December 1906 Middle: "The Poseidon" - 18 December 1906 Right: "The Federal" - 12 December 1906 David Gordon Collection. Poseidon Nugget. This is the actual hole from which the monster nugget came to light in 1906. Looking west down the course of the lead. David Gordon Collection. The above images are from the excellent Tarnagulla.Org website. Well worth a visit. Found only a few small pieces here personally, but was following up on Jim Stewart, Reg Wilson and John Hider Smith. These guys didn't miss much!

Because of heat waves, vehicle trouble and well, almost a complete lack of motivation, I have done very little detecting this year. In the early days of the 5000 I got the bigger speci at Moliagul and it`s got about half a gram of gold in it. Since then I have gone over and over and over that area with the 5000, 2300 and 7000 for no result. Yesterday I was out there again and about 15 feet from the first specimen, I got the smaller one with the 7000. Very faint signal that just broke the threshold and about 6" deep. The bottom picture is the only bit of gold visible in it and is almost impossible to see with the naked eye, but the signal it`s giving off says there`s maybe a half a gram to a gram of gold in it. Once the better half has seen it I`m going to bust it open to see what`s inside but I think with this one I`m going to end up with a heap of small bits of quartz with a little bit of gold in them. Dave

Hello and Welcome to the party! I can tell you from experience that you definitely want the Equinox 800 over the 600. There are more settings available to tweak. Unfortunately I did not have a chance to test my Equinox 600 in water or the beach environment. I hear they are really good in that environment. I can tell you that I had some difficulties with the Equinox 600 and me and the machine simply do not click. I'm trying to sell it now. It's a good machine but where it really shines is on a beach or in water. Please be aware it has a small Target ID Range also. It will hammer gold hard, that I can tell you. And one of the very few detectors I've seen that is really killing it on nickels. I did try a Kruzer Multi before I returned it for the Equinox. The Kruzer I had showed some issues with the backlight display. It flickered and anytime I lightly tapped the detector it would either go really dim or go back to how it should have been. Only took it out once and did not notice it until I turned the backlight on. It was mighty chatty too. The Equinox is usually a smooth operator if your settings are right. This is about all I can offer to you with advice. There are many other people here with FAR more knowledge of different models than myself. Best of Luck! I hope you uncover a cache!

Now, for something different, Flashback Friday Entry:(This is a true story, although I have taken some liberties in enhancing some details, but I have not exaggerated any of the facts about the gold.)Before I start this story, I’ll need to provide a bit of background. I was chasing the gold in the mid 1990-s one summer, in a wilderness area far to the north of where I currently live. While there, I worked with some large-scale placer miners, helping out whenever and wherever I could. In return, as the miners were a wealth of knowledge about the new-to-me area, they gave me valuable tips on where to look for gold in that heavily glaciated region. They also let me tag along as they excavated to bedrock so I could see firsthand the local variables of gold deposition. However, as any of you that chase the gold well know, even with tips from the locals, it’s still possible to find trouble while looking for gold, and that trip was no exception.Story Title: Gettin’ High On Placer Diggin’sSorry in advance to those of you into illegal or licensed substances, or those of you hardy enough to have actually smoked gold, or had it ground finely enough to inject or snort, because this tale does not deal with banned chemicals, licensed stimulants, or hallucinogenic substances. (Except I do think I have hallucinated while dreaming about gold in the past, especially during our long winters.) This story deals with the mind-altering effects of a metal. However, this prospecting tale itself is nonetheless mind-altering and reading it is not without risk.One summer, when the snows had melted and the swollen rivers had dropped enough to allow travel, I headed up North to the gold-fields. Up north means a sixteen-hour drive from my home. But, why drive sixteen hours when there are other gold fields much closer? Well, there’s far less people that’s why, and there’s coarser gold. As for population, there are less than thirty souls. As for the gold, it’s chunky and knobby. On a related note, some of the local boys dig test-pits right in their front yards, then shovel the dirt into a small high-banker onsite, and they get good gold.But, I digress again, and as you'll see, I'm pretty good at digressing. So, to summarize, less people, that’s good, right? But bugs? Bad! There are tens of millions of nasty, blood-sucking, winged vampires! There’s no way to hide from, or to outrun them. The bears, by comparison, are less of a concern, mainly because they can’t fly. But, because the bears are huge, smelly, and can be cranky (kind of like me after too long in the bush) they do deserve some respect.In retrospect, I was in an area of low mountains with fresh, crystalline streams, surrounded by thick stands of deep-green boreal forest. In the low places, mysterious swamps nestled into the hollows and were bordered by countless mounds of glacial till, leavings from the miles-thick ancient glaciers that once bound the land in perpetual winter. The moving glaciers generated havoc, and the ancient, glacial meltwater produced numerous, titanic rivers, and some placer excavations have exposed seven or eight overlapping and intersecting stream deposits. In contrast, the frozen glaciers were dozers on insane steroids, cutting deep down or deep into the original bedrock, then pushing sections of channels helter-skelter, or orphaning sections of channel high above the present streambeds. It was one of these orphaned sections that this story is written about. One day, I was sitting near the wash-plant fixing a broken six-inch pump. Having been at it a while, I took a break. Looking across the river, I noticed something high up on the opposite slope. A line of boulders and river rock ran in a well-defined line along its side. The line indicated an ancient riverbed resting atop the underlying black slate bedrock. It was roughly sixty feet above the modern-day river, and sections of that high channel had sloughed off, exposing a bit of face. Because of this, I scanned the area with my binoculars to gather more information. Clearly, the channel rested on a bedrock rim, while the river-run itself was covered by eighty or so feet of boulder clay, which was then topped by thick forest. All at once, my pea-sized brain was hammered by a giant, golden brainwave . . . I had to cross the river to sample that channel!No argument or thought of personal safety holds me back if there's a shot at getting gold! As hot fever had fired my resolve, I had to act.I grabbed a five-gallon (20-liter) plastic pail, shovel, pry/digging bar, and a small sledge; these items all fit neatly inside the bucket. Next, I shouldered into my prospecting backpack. (I keep all of my essentials in the backpack for easy transport. Nonetheless, when fully loaded, it weighs just a tad under a fully loaded B-52 bomber.) However, rather than worry about the gear in my backpack, I should have chucked it out and made room for a back-up brain instead. As will be seen, a spare brain would have saved me a lot of trouble that day . . .Regardless, all packed up, I made my way down to the river. Now, in Canada, even in mid-summer (which it was), the rivers that far north in B.C. NEVER get warm. In fact, if you dunk your head, you get instant brain-freeze! Ignoring rational thinking, I had the clever idea to delicately pick my way across the stream in my rubber boots, and ballet-like, I flitted from rock to rock. Yet somehow, I lost control. Disaster struck! Prospector, pail, and pack plunged below the surface. (Any comments uttered after surfacing will not be printed here in order to protect the innocent.)In spite of being wet and cold, I fully enjoyed the rest of the crossing (that’s a huge lie!). I felt somewhat refreshed (another whopper) after dragging my cold, soggy carcass out of the water. On a brighter note, after dumping eighty or so pounds of ice-water from each boot, it was easier to walk.So, threading through the poplars and aspens beside the river, I then headed up the slope until I hit a new obstacle: boulder clay. This is the stuff I mentioned earlier, a nasty mixture of tan to yellowish clay liberally dosed with boulders that was abandoned whenever and wherever the lazy glaciers wished. Boulder clay sloughs or oozes down hillsides when it's wet, and later it dries into bomb-proof concrete, though not quite as soft as concrete. As well, getting a toehold on it is the devil. Regardless, I somehow cut some steps with my shovel, and through stubborn dedication, I progressed a third of the distance upslope finding a v-shaped wash filled with cobbles and larger rocks, ones birthed from the channel and boulder clay above. The v-shaped wash held a nest of ill-tempered branches, dead limbs, and exposed roots that blocked my way. However, even with my squishy, soggy socks and boots, I navigated Mother Nature’s hazards. I continued upslope and worked my way into some sheltering pines. At that elevation, the smell of the pines is a wondrous thing; it's a smell I'll always associate with the true sense of freedom only to be enjoyed in the mountain environment while out chasing the gold. At last, I reached the high placer diggin's, the coveted bedrock rim with its ancient channel. Eagerly, I went to work. (I need to provide a little description of the worksite here: Imagine how tricky it is to rest one rubber boot on a three-inch ledge of bedrock, as the other boot powers the shovel, all while trying to maintain enough balance to avoid a tumble down the mountain. Imagine as well using the pick and bar in such tight quarters, while trying to carve out an excavation, one running three feet into the face of the boulder clay in an attempt to expose the bedrock.Success arrived when I exposed the underlying black slate of the high channel. Then, pulling my sniping tools from my backpack, I cleaned every little crevice, cranny, and dip or gutter in the slate and dropped the collections into my bucket. In addition, I added some oxidized reddish-orange dirt to my bucket as well.Not relishing the long haul down to the river with a small load, and wanting a good test sample, I loaded that bucket as heavy as I could in case I only made one trip. So, with the bucket filled, I tossed my tools over the edge to a landing of sorts, lifted the bucket, and turned around. Instantly, I realized something shocking; that return slope looked a lot steeper than it had on the way up! What mind-altering substance had possessed me to get where I was anyway?Clearly, some moron had deluded himself into scrambling to a place no sane person ever would. Moreover, I get myself into such fixes by denying the existence of the laws of physics, and probability, etc. I override and defeat all laws, and any stored wisdom when I'm gold crazy. Yet, I carry on in happy oblivion until I realize far too late what I've done. Regardless of my denial of scientific laws, etc., one law never surrenders to my delusions, and that law, as we shall see, is the irrefutable law of gravity!So, there I was, faced with a problem. I had to go down, no option, because I couldn't go up a vertical wall of boulder clay regardless of how high I was on gold-fever delirium. Deciding on a better course of action, I took the first step down. (This in spite of my brain trying too late to warn me of some impending doom. Come to think of it, I often override my brain's warnings to court danger while chasing gold.)However, the first step really wasn't that bad. I just leaned into the hill and put all of my weight back on my boot heel. Miraculously, it held me in place, and the eight-thousand-pound bucket of gravel and I took another step forward. (Could it be that the bucket was so heavy because of its high gold content? Or, was I just an idiot that had severely overloaded it?)I kept at it, leaning and stepping, and soon found myself in the branches and cobbles that littered the earlier mentioned wash. I took several more steps but then a malicious root or scheming branch snagged my boot. Well, that bucket just kicked out in front of me like it was rocket-boosted. (At about twice the speed of light, Sir Isaac Newton’s law had instant and complete control.)Immediately my brain switched to its salvation-panic mode as I yanked myself back as hard as I could, the bucket jerking back toward me. However, the problem was, my feet no longer cared what I was doing, as in trying to right myself, they chose instead to betray me by heading down the mountain. The effects of gravity increased in intensity as I picked up speed.Now, when viewed from the other side of the canyon, it must have looked as if someone had shot and wounded a strange forest creature, some ugly beast, a raging bull-moose perhaps, or some other smelly, cantankerous critter (a classification I could easily qualify for after weeks in the bush!). It also must have looked as if that crazed creature was hurtling down the slope to a certain and speedy demise.The real truth, however, is that instead of being out of control, I was magnificently in control, in fact, most supremely so. Even with my rubber boots throwing off more smoke than an Alaskan smudge fire, the accompanying smoke was a planned effect to keep the bugs at bay. However, keeping the smoke pouring from those hot boots while simultaneously attempting to apply my brakes among the boulders proved too tricky. In addition, the fact that the three gold pans in my backpack were absorbing more shock than a crash-test-dummy at impact was only a minor annoyance. As well, bashing off the face of the boulder clay was merely a slight test of my prospecting mettle, so to speak.At last, still breathing (though hot and ragged breaths those breaths were), I came to a sudden stop. Some friendly tree branches gracefully halted my ballet-like plunge. (It's rumoured a visiting Russian judge, observing from across the river, gave me a 9 out of 10!)Now, for those with a sense of the divine in nature, this was the perfect moment. The moment that finds the human at one with the mountain (and miraculously still alive). However, more remarkable than my survival was that the dirt had not spilled from my bucket! Yes, that is the wonder in this high placer tale—not a stone was lost from the bucket, not a single grain of sand! So, with pay-dirt still intact, I somehow made my joints regain function, more or less (more pain and less function!). However, with renewed confidence, I set off once again. The only obstacle remaining was the sullen boulder clay.At some point, you'd think the brain would revolt, refusing to power the muscles required for descent, especially after a such a brush with imminent extinction, all perpetrated by some ambitious idiot bent on chasing dirt! But no, the brain can always be overridden! I've located the master switch to disarm it. I've used it many times to stop logical thought, yet I have somehow survived to tell this tale. (This is proof that life is full of mysteries, ones not easily solved by rational thought.)At any rate, about a dozen steps down, the clay, somewhat wet from a seep, remembered one of its admirable qualities, the slicker than greased Teflon quality, and off I went again. This time it was only a playful, sort of jarring bashing, with the odd bone-numbing wallop thrown in for variety. It lasted for a mere twenty or so feet, then I came to a feather-like stop on the gravel below, the contents of the bucket still intact.Although amazed at the miraculous luck required to save such a valuable cargo, I took a break and picked a pan full of golf ball-sized gravel out of my mouth. Next I pushed several teeth back into their sockets, then replaced my left eyeball. After that, I checked to see what the crooked protrusion was that seemed to be attached to my head. Finding that it was my neck, and finding that it was still attached to my shoulders, I set off to the river to pan the dirt!Three flakes, in five gallons. . . . You can't make this stuff up.I guess there's a lesson to be learned here, but far be it from me to get preachy, or to force my hard-earned wisdom on any of you. I'll let you figure out the drug-induced dangers of gettin’ high while chasing placer diggin’s.All the best,Lanny

Swegin ... I saw her on minelab.forum - .. looks good ..

My days of swinging a 3 pounds or more detector are over! With modern materials, etc. there is very little need to continue to produce heavy, chunky machines IMO. I would rather spend the day swinging a light, well balanced, stable machine. I don't care how deep a new machine will go if I can't swing it all day without being strapped to the machine! ? I believe that I will find more with a good quality light machine that I can swing for 8 hours vs. a supercharged monster that I can only swing for 1 hour. Not everyone is 25 years old and built like the Hulk. LOL

Congrats on a super hunt. I bet you go back and pound that place all over again. I find a nice steady, slow to mid speed swing works best for depth (as far as coil control is concerned). Good luck there and keep us posted. That breast plate is perfect!!!

Recovery speed 1, seriously? How could anyone swing their coil that fast and why would you have to at recovery speed 1? I don't get it. But then again, I am not going to lose sleep over a demonstration of something I will probably never encounter. LOL. Not a fan of air tests even if it is a ML sponsored air test. Thanks for sharing, though, David.

I have observed this behavior also with the 600 and a set of bluetooth headphones. The headphones say connected, the detector says connected but either you only get sound through the detector speaker or nothing at all. Turning off the detector wireless for 3 seconds then back on always gets my setup working.

Hi Gerry, Would you happen to know the weight assembled with the factory 11" coil? Then we could compare it to the advertised weight from Minelab. Thanks, Cal

Just love the history around it!!! RR

I am pretty interested in a nugget version of this AQ, initial tests show this AQ is near on par with depth of a gpx with a 15" coil. Due to the 7 usec timing it would make a killer small nugget machine once setup with AUTO GROUND BALANCING for the desert. I want something like this to keep tuned just for small nugget hunting, its so lightweight compared to a minelab big gold machine I could see owning one maybe if it pans out.

If this is true 10. Price. It will cost approximately 2100-2500 US dollars. New technologies cost money, yes, but they also bring an advantage over all other metal detectors. I won't bite, my TDI is more than sufficient at the moment. Water proof is good but my Equinox will do for water hunting. TDI for super bad ground Equinox everything else

Thank you. So now it looks like the beginning and the end are a bit 'set.' I would be pleased to swing with you. Maybe I'll have a patch or two for you by then. haha

Thanks Cal...im sure the buckel is off a halter...the rectangular thing is a small pad lock. It has writing on it but hard to discern...will tumble it. I have found a couple scale weights in the past. All the stuff in that picture includind the quarter were found close to where i live. Now if i can only figure out the sun god thing. Probably not very old as im finding lots of modern clad in this spot. Strick

Chuck, you have really been tearing it up lately. My only thought is what magnificent finds you may have produced if you had only been swinging the best detector, the Deus? Signed, Deus fan boy

JR, thanks for the link! 328 pages of photos. All the best, Lanny

Up in the foot hills there are some areas where the ground varies every 5 feet and the machine needed to be re manual ground balanced every 5 feet! so I gave up and switched to tracking and the machine ran better. Not perfect but better. In the ground down here in the bay area I do a manual ground balance as needed and the machine runs nice and smooth. When I get into a bunch of nails sometimes it's hard to find a clear spot to to a manual ground balance so I'll try the turn on and go method and just forget about ground balance.......sometimes ignorance is bliss as they say strick

Post it here. It would be a good read.

Smart man, and even more patient and disciplined. Lots of people rub the heck out of the coin in the field and then rationalize "I knew it wasn't going to be worth much...." This is an example where they would have been wrong, wrong, wrong, and very costly. You did well and you deserve whatever it turns out to be worth, whether you keep it, sell it, whatever. I'm still in awe that you found this coin. If someone told me s/he read a post on a website that someone found a 1918/17-S quarter in this condition while metal detecting I wouldn't have believed them.

Old post but in case anybody is reading it. Please check out the Stealth Scoops from Sunspot. i consider them to be the perfect beach scoop. I use the 720i with a Carbon Fiber handle.

Holy ____! I'd be shaking if I found an 1918/17-S Standing Liberty. Not that it means anything, but that is my favorite 'error' coin of all time. Take a look at the VF-35 graded coin here. https://www.pcgs.com/photograde/#/SLQe/Grades It's an 8/7. Look at the weakness on the 'ER' of 'QUARTER DOLLAR'. That's likely a die weakness which helps authenticate your coin, not that there is much doubt with how strong the overdate is. I'm not going to try and grade this from your photos, but it's safe to say if you sell it you can buy any modern production MD short of the GPZ7000 (ok, probably not a GPX5000, either, but I'm not feeling sorry for you ?). BTW, in terms of rarity this probably isn't close to being up there with the 1850's and 1860's -S mintmarked quarters that have been shown here in the last few weeks. But in terms of value it's probably well above those. This is a good example of demand. Lots of collectors out there want an 18/17-S Standing Liberty. "Find of a lifetime" may be turning into a cliche'. But consider this -- you might be the only person ever to find one of these with a metal detector. I don't know what else I can say, except be proud and enjoy!

Tracking can mess you up if you're detecting around a lot of iron as the detector will start to track to the iron (nails). I've found that unless I'm hunting in highly variable mineralized ground, the detector works best by doing a manual GB, or just turning it on and hunting works better than using tracking.

For me the key to using ground tracking is that the ground must be highly variable. It is not how highly mineralized the ground is but how variable it is that matters. If the ground is relatively homogenous I don’t see a need to track the ground and in fact I would tend to recommend against it. In very low mineral / low salt ground there may not be enough mineral content to track to and the machine could run away with itself as you have described.

Was looking at my AT Pro that I run with a big coil and trying to figure out if I could make a counter weight or not and looking under the armrest I discovered Garrett put a wire clip! After all these years I never noticed it. After giving up on the idea of a counter weight I hooked the headphone wire to the clip and discovered the wire had a nasty slice through it and was only held together by the copper shielding! Dug through my box of stuff I use for electronic repair I had a container of liquid electrical tape. Looks like I'm good to go. Close call as I plan to hit the beaches this weekend.

Very sad. There was my post about searching in Russia.

Had just an hour yesterday but given the bad weather coming our way (considerably worse other places, though) I decided to take advantage. Went to my recent best producing site, a school yard. 11 inch stock coil, Park 1, ground balanced, recovery speed = 5, iron bias = 0, gain = 20, no discrimination (i.e. horseshoe toggled), 50 tones! Dug a few moderns in the first 15-20 minutes. Then I got a solid mid-20's signal. Did the usual 90 degree angle of attack method. One direction was steady around 25 or so. The other direction was swinging from about 23 to 28. I didn't notice any obvious nearby iron grunts but my brain is pretty good tuning those out. Six inches later I saw the sweet white color (see photo below). This one is well worn -- probably About Good condition. No mintmark (Philadelphia) and weighed in at 2.22 grams. Compare that to a freshly minted dime of 2.50 grams so 11% loss due to wear. Best WAG is that this was dropped in the 1940's. Nothing special in terms of scarcity, but silver always gives me a good feeling. "Beginner's luck" (with 50 tones) is a serious candidate for the reason I got this nice result. But I was surprised at how smooth this hunt went. It's not my trashiest site by far but anthing with ~100 years of lost items that hasn't been searched to death is going to have trash. I still have a lot to learn (actually that goes without saying, always) but for the first time ever I have a good feeling using multitones, and that includes previous attempts with other detectors. Thanks, again, for all the responses. I can't wait to get another decent weather day (next weekend?).

The majority of todays readers are on the internet. Even my own local paper "Idaho Statesman" is downsizing and they keep trying to get me to order the digital subscription. I'm the kind of guy who enjoys a good read (paper or magazine) in the morning with my 2 cups of coffee. So sad to see.