Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/10/2019 in all areas

  1. Well......what a day, I started off this morning at 5 am to head off to a Civil war site. I found the usual relics, lead, percussion caps, but, got tired of not digging and high conductive targets. The first picture is from the Civil war site. I decided to call it a day around noon and headed home to get some things done around the house. As I drove thru town I saw a front end loader and a pile of asphalt at the old zoo. I quickly did a u-turn and drove back to see what was happening, what a beautiful site, 75% of the parking lot had been striped of the asphalt. I was informed that the parking lot was paved back in 1984 and had been a dirt parking lot going back to when the guy was a kid and he assumed before that. The timing was perfect, just as I was ready to begin hunting the guys called it a day, gotta love city workers I started my hunt around 2:00 and hunted until 8:00 pm. I began finding coins within seconds of turning my machine on and hunted until I ran out of light and gas. They didn't cut all the asphalt out completely, so, I had to use my prospectors pick to chisel thru a layer of asphalt and gravel. And of course halfway thru the hunt, my pick decided to crap out on me, so I had to skip all but solid hits until I could get my pick repaired. I'll go back tomorrow after work and chase all the stuff I left behind today and there was a bunch of it ? I'm a firm believer in the depth ability of Nox after today, I have never dug great sounding targets at theses depths until today. I was getting CTX like depths with positive ID's and strong repeatable tones and only running sensitivity at 18. Most of the silver and copper was 6-10" deep and I had no doubt I was digging either copper or silver coins. The 2 nickles hit at 25-27 VDI , which was a good thing, otherwise I wouldn't have gone after them. The only thing I can attribute the depth to today was the fact I was running my recovery speed at 4 instead of 6 like I normally do. My settings were as follows: Park 1 Ground balance 0 Iron bias 0 Recovery speed 4 Sens 18 Tone break -9 to +16, just because of the urgency of the hunt and the digging conditions, I'll drop it down to -9 to + 10 tomorrow No disc 2 tones I found a nice variety of coins and some I have not identified yet due to the crust on most of them. I ended up with: 6- Mercs 1-Barber 1- Washington 1-Walker 1-Rosie 1-Mexcian dime 2-Silver war nickles 2-tokens..1-trade...1 Tax 1-WW2 Eagle coat button I'm not sure how many Wheats, or what all was dug yet, cleaning in process. I'll post a pic after I get everything as clean as possible. It was by far my best silver day so far, I'm sure there is as many left as I took out still waiting to be rescued! Thanks for looking.
    7 points
  2. Ganes Creek ran for ten years as a pay-to-mine operation - there are several more Ganes Creek stories on the website about the place. Over 1000 ounces of gold nuggets and specimens found by visitors in that ten years including several nuggets weighing over a pound! Our visit got the ball rolling and so was the start rather than the end. The scale of Ganes Creek commercial operations made the pay-to-mine pale by comparison. The last thing they were worried about was visitors finding too much gold. Just the opposite - when it got down to where people were having to work too hard for “too little gold” then the place got shut down. I don’t expect it will reopen to the public though commercial operations continue to this day. Between Ganes Creek and my own Moore Creek operation a “golden age” of nugget detecting was possible for visitors to Alaska. Opportunities still exist but nothing even close to what those two operations produced.
    6 points
  3. Hey everyone.... Here is an interesting dig. This weekend at my favorite lot site I picked up a signal bouncing between TID's 23 to 28. Never hit a 29 or 30. It was not screaming at me like the Kennedy Half I got there recently. Since I pull a lot of rusted nails from this site, I thought this would be another nail or possibly a clad quarter. Low and behold, a 1945 Walker Half on edge 4-5" under a pine tree root. I slightly nicked the rim with my Lesche....bummer. I never would have ignored a signal like this but it sure fooled me. Settings: Park 1, 50 tones, 0 IB, 3 rec, 22 sens
    2 points
  4. Found this magician coin back in the fall of 2018, and wanted to share. Has a merc dime on one side and a wheat penny on the other. Still learning the MX Sport. Found it near a baseball field so I'm guessing some kid lost his dads coin. Would this qualify as my first silver or half silver?
    2 points
  5. if one was a beer connoisseur, which obviously no one is on here, one would know that XXXX is only to be consumed at 1-3 degrees C. Any warmer than that and it will taste like all the beer east of Kalgoorlie and south of Clermont.... Nasty, mexican swamp water....?
    2 points
  6. You are likely right about the coin Mark. I suspect however, that you are likely wrong about the Impulse AQ being too late. Here’s my thought on that. If it turns out that the statements which LE.JAG and others have made about depth on targets large and small and the quiet operation over all kinds of beaches which they have described is really there, then it will show quickly in the experiences of early users. If that sort of user experience doesn’t materialize, then it will be a problem. If it does however, it will be a case of “I hope you get one before your hunting buddies do”! Mind you - I am talking strictly about gold at the beach. What can be done about PI’s inland in terms of making good on the promise which the TDI never quite delivered on - that’s a whole different kettle of fish.
    2 points
  7. This was my first PI machine. I was looking for a lightweight, affordable PI, and the TDI SL was high on my list. When I saw the SE model I researched the Miner John's folded mono coil it came with and really liked what I read about it. I contacted Digger Bob (Comstock Metal Detectors in Paradise CA) and met with him twice prior to purchasing. I am really happy with this detector, it is so easy to use that I was detecting within 5 minutes my first time out with it. It sees targets deep enough that I bought a bigger pick lol and it also found me my first detected gold nugget. I'm working in Northern CA, steep and brushy with soil mineralization's all over the place. The weight, maneuverability and the ability to deal with high soil mineralization/hot rocks has made this my "go to" detector.
    2 points
  8. They had it blocked off but they all know me so well, they had no problem with me going in. ?
    2 points
  9. Ok.. gotta throw mine in too... this is from Steve Herschbach, Jeff Reed and myself. I think this was our first trip in there(?) Maybe you'd remember Steve.
    2 points
  10. People often forget about factory reset functions since it is still a rare feature. I am a proponent of resetting newer generation digital metal detectors on a regular basis, especially if settings get changed around a lot. The more setting changes are made, the more chance of a programming bug slipping in and messing with the operator. This is the procedure for the many F75 variants out there. From the F75 Owner's Manual page 10: RESET function The F75’s microprocessor saves all settings which you input, even after the power is turned off. If you wish to reset the settings to the factory preset, follow this process: Turn detector off. Press-and-hold the red MENU button and push-forward-and-hold the TOGGLE SWITCH. Turn the detector on, while you are still holding the controls. Release the MENU button and TOGGLE SWITCH. See the F symbol. When the F disappears, the detector is reset. Note: some latest F75 versions may show five pairs of number instead before displaying the F - the ten digit serial number. All settings have now been returned to factory defaults. Fisher F75 Metal Detector
    1 point
  11. Found this next to a fence in a local ball field about 8-10" down. It rang in as silver and has no tarnish so I am guessing it is pretty pure. Back has no maker marks and shows a small pebble finish so it was originally sand cast or delft clay. The symmetry isn't perfect so it was hand made or at least the original pattern was. Anyone have any info they may know on this such as approx. age etc? The jump ring is iron, wild guess is it may had had a leather cord.
    1 point
  12. Hi in the USA in Oklahoma we find Barite crystal formations with sand coatings that are called Barite Roses. Selenite (gypsum) and Calcite crystal clusters can also form under similar circumstances with sand coatings and inclusions. Jeff
    1 point
  13. The best Aussie Factual Gold Hunting I ever watched was the last year the GoldHounds shot vid.. Too bad the necessity of needing to be a videographer as well as a juggler was cutting sooo deeply into their daily time with ear's on.. That plus considering as little wide angle terrain as they showed other's were still able to determine approx where they were, although I'm not quite sure how those others planned to gain access while still expecting to live to a ripe old age.. Be that as it may, those gents could find some hunka-chunka chunkies! I could easily digest X 44 minute shows a season of them @ hunt & recovery.. Swamp
    1 point
  14. Recirculating Sluice - Testing a Recirculating Sluice and the April Update on what we have going on . Sneak peek at our next video !!!! Hope you enjoy the video, Jeff
    1 point
  15. jackpot! I'm always keeping my eyes open for stuff like that. Here in California they will fence off some of the areas as soon as they start working on it. strick
    1 point
  16. Me too, I hate to see them go under. Their machines have a superior audio function to say the least. When I had the Vaquero I could actually tell when the detector had found a pencil eraser metal tip. Amazing the clarity of the audio reports on the Tesoro machines.
    1 point
  17. Rumor has it they filed for bankruptcy and if so that could mean they are shaking debt and reorganizing or shutting down. Only ones that really know is the Giffords and would be nice if they just posted something on their site. My hunch might be re-organizing but I'm being hopeful.
    1 point
  18. Fantastic! Keep us posted on your next hunt results at that location.
    1 point
  19. I have checked in on this thread whilst at work today and had time to ponder. It's been a hard day ? There is a possibility that all the gold is gone. It was only shallow and the GPX got it all. But based on Steve H, JP, KiwiJW and heaps of others writing over time how the GPZ re-ignited patches that they felt were dead and buried - it seems unlikely that your little patch has flat-lined just yet. This quote intrigues me. These bits are supposed to be the domain of the Z (or an SDC)! These are the same bits that the GPX series supposedly struggle on. So that just brings me back to the feeling that something is not right with the settings or some part of the set-up. If heading back to this same spot I would use: Ground Mode - Normal (as long as it is usable). Gold Mode - High Yield. Threshold - 27 ish. Sensitivity - only take it to a point where it is just starting to get unstable and then go back 1 setting. I do understand that running hotter can also be advantageous and Steve H has outlined his insanely hot settings and Kiwi gets away with them too (and I've used these to clean out patches of tiny bits). But just to start, this is where I would go and allow myself to listen for the tiniest change to that flat line threshold - rather than trying to listen for the 1 dollar coin in a tumble dryer full of 5 cent pieces ? Volume - about 8. Volume Limit - about 10. Audio Smoothing - Off. Ground Balance - Semi - auto. I know you also mentioned here and in your email that you tried Extra Deep. From the GPZ manual - Extra Deep This setting is specifically designed for searching for deeply buried nuggets. Large, deep nuggets (typically ≥ 50 grams) produce complex and subtle audio responses, so this setting should only be used by skilled operators. Shallow targets may be missed with this setting when compared to the ‘High Yield’ or ‘General’ settings. This setting is not recommended for general use. The bold bits make me think 3 things. You mentioned that you reckon the run of gold is shallow. So maybe not the best mode. A good mode for nuggets bigger than 50 grams (wouldn't that be sweet!). Has this patch produced anything near that range or bigger? Complex and subtle audio responses - may be getting masked by the hot settings background noise? Lastly, I would take the SP01 out of the equation for a bit. This is in no way a slight at Pat or Nenad. Regardless of brand I would suggest the same thing. It is a matter of eliminating possibilities where something might be falling down. Maybe the filter choice is not right, maybe the SP01 is faulty, maybe the WM12 is faulty, maybe there are battery issues, connections, etc. I would just go back to the basic set-up and see what happens. Boosters can be great but the basic Z and WM12 combo works pretty well too. Most importantly, don't give up on the GPZ yet. It may be an ergonomic nightmare, have limited coil choice and be the price of a small car but it is an awesome gold finding machine and if I knew I had the time and the disposable cash I would have mine back in a heartbeat ? I hope something in all that dribble helps you to find the yellow stuff ?
    1 point
  20. Great place, I hope you get more!
    1 point
  21. Hi Mitchel , If you want to go for a day let me no i will take you or meet you somewhere on the Hwy if your heading to the Bendigo area. Rod
    1 point
  22. I use Normal mode often with the 4500 although with a low gain, sometimes as low as 1. The ground im more familiar with isn't as bad as some I've encountered but still has ironstone present. Although I've had this discussion with a few that disagree I've found that the Normal timings with a low gain will pick up gold missed with Enhance with a high gain. Probably the only reason I get away with doing this is that I use the sp01 on filter 3 (more compression of the audio response I guess) and turn my audio tone right down. Would I use these settings for everyday detecting? NO, but on a known gold patch what have you got to lose. In one spot no bigger than a room I dug over 20 hot rocks but also recovered 3 bits of gold that when checked in Enhance wouldn't register any kind of response.
    1 point
  23. Once you pair with wireless phones, or plug in headphones, the speaker is disabled.
    1 point
  24. Extreme enjoyment. This might not seem like much but this small school (built in the late 30’s) has been hunted for over 10 years. With machines like the: Tesoro Tejon Garrett AT Pro White’s DFX, V3i Fisher F75 and LTD Minelab Etrac, and CTX 3030 And now the Equinox 800 Countless hours hunting from three guys including myself. Now I will say we’ve found some nice stuff from this site over the past 10 years and we all thought it was cleaned out but surprise, it’s not, yea I know they never are. But I was not expecting this many nickels and some over 6” deep. Then the silver nickel at maybe 5” and tilted to maybe a 45 degree angle. I will say this machine has a very good audio response but one has to listen and learn. I did the usual noise cancel and started off with park 1. I wasn’t really happy so I tried each of the park/field programs and ended back with park 1 with one change, I set the iron bias to 0. It didn’t take long and I knew this was the settings for the day. Numerous times I tried park 2 and the two field programs but it seemed like park 1 was the very best at both a good audio and stable ID on located buried targets. After a while I started wondering why these targets had been missed. Taking my time, I stared rotating around each target and I was quite amazed at how stable the audio/ID was. These were absolutely dig, dig signals, no doubts about it, with the exception of the silver nickel. If the silver had not given a double beep I might have walked away but I’m glad I didn’t. Well, toward the end of the hunt I purposely moved to the trashy area of the school and wow this machine, even with the 11” coil separates very well. I might add, the old Minelab wiggle I used with the Etac and explorer works with the Equinox too. Found a somewhat nice signal that I thought might be a nickel. Did the wiggle and marked the spot. Called my buddy over to check the spot. He gave no indication it could be a good target but at 5” comes another nickel (gave a solid ID of 13) and surrounded by heavy trash. Well, we had to leave and to be honest I felt sorry for him because he had not dug anything but trash. Now I’m beginning to wonder if I should buy the 6” coil and hit the trash again. Extremely satisfied user
    1 point
  25. Good post on the Equinox Mark. I find the Nox to be one of the best detectors I’ve ever used. Easy to ID targets and boy does it deliver the goods on the Nickels. Best of luck!
    1 point
  26. This. The nox just seems to home in with the wiggle if you catch that good tone on your regular swing. I don't how many times I hear just a bit of a high tone and then go back to investigate while wiggling the coil and after a few seconds that signal gets clearer and clearer and I just know to dig.
    1 point
  27. Nothing new that I can see. My White's SL can perform the same audio responses. Like I said, nothing new that I can see. I can detect a gold ring and ignore nails too.
    1 point
  28. Where did you get that picture? It's supposed to be secret.
    1 point
  29. I'm in luck! I still have warranty until May! I have sent the unit in for repair. Minelab customer service is Awesome!!! They have helped me so much over the years and all I have ever paid is shipping. Minelabber for life.
    1 point
  30. 1 point
  31. Ha, yep that would be best I guess it’s just that I was having fun trying ? and at least my 12v volt recirculating set-up will work good for what I need I think. Most times I drag a bunch of river stuff out hunting and wind up spending all my time swinging the zed and never do any panning or sluicing, this year I might change things up a little.
    1 point
  32. Gold and mineral dealers like Tony Fraser in Bendigo, Brian Lees in Colorado, Wayne Leicht of Kristalle in California and others who attend the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show on a regular basis know the market well. If I found a big nugget I would ask them but would also consider an auction. In the US, Heritage Auction would be a good starting point.
    1 point
  33. Just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to those that have no idea who I am or what I'm up to. I mainly metal detect for nuggets now (chased the gold in Alaska, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, north-central British Columbia, south-eastern British Columbia, Alberta, but now I spend almost all of my time chasing the gold in British Columbia, Canada), used to dredge, sluice, high-bank, snipe, etc., (still do a bit for fun) but for more than a few years now, I've been associated with a large-scale placer operation, one that has slapped on me the title of their mining consultant. Sounds grandiose, however in no way is it, but they like to have me do testing for them with my detectors after they've finished cleaning a section of bedrock with their massive, heavy equipment. Why have me on site? To see what they're missing. Furthermore, after I've finished poking around, they've gone back and taken more bedrock (sometimes several feet) at times when I get a lot of gold in a hurry (or they've headed in another direction if there's a good line of pay shooting off under the overburden away from where they were trending), and other times when there's hardly any gold found with the detectors, they bury that bedrock right quick. It's a win, win situation for both of us as they value what I can do with my machines, and I value the privilege of the incredible opportunity. Their only caveat is that I can't tell the total weight of the gold I find to anyone outside of their crew (and I always must report it to them), but hey, who can't live with that, right? Oh, and they let me keep what I find, won't take a percentage (I've tried many times). In addition, I know a lot of other claim and lease owners that have properties they're not currently working, ones with abandoned excavations and sites, or ones they haven't got to yet, and they love to have me snoop around with my detectors as well, and if I find anything promising, they set up and get after the gold. I've been doing that for quite a few years, but I still like to check out unfamiliar, un-staked ground too. In addition, I like to write stories about my gold hunting outings, and oftentimes, I'll include information for any rookies out there that are trying to figure things out as they get started. Why? That's how I got started; a few good people (my original mentor is now 88) took me under their wing and taught me the ropes (a few clichés too many in that sentence, I know). My one son is now a dedicated nugget shooter (the other one lives thousands of kms away), and I love training him, plus my wife is now onboard with chasing the gold (she used to love panning my dredge concentrates, always heavy with goodies and always a good time for her and my mother-in-law [yeah, I know, sometimes the word fun and mother-in-law don't get used together in the same sentence]), and I'm ordering my wife a shiny new detector this winter because she's seen what we're getting (she loves to pan down our scoops of quick finds from the detectors which we slap in the pans when they're target rich for her to have some fun with; we call that speed-panning as it saves us the downtime of isolating the positive signals out of the scoop each and every time, giving us bonus time swinging the coils). Looking forward to get to know many of you, and some of you I already consider friends from associations on other forums . . . All the best, Lanny
    1 point
  34. Got out again today with my Equinox 800. Did not find a lot of coins, but did pull 1942s wheat penny and 14k gold ring. Stones in ring tested as diamonds at least according to my diamond tester. I used my usual Park 1, with recovery speed lowered to 4. Ring came in at solid 12 at about 5-6 inches. Excellent day.
    1 point
  35. Make sure to change 1and 2 so they aren’t disced/low tone in the field presets, otherwise you can pass small gold jewelry
    1 point
  36. In my experience, any of the standard modes will do well in freshwater. Field 2 is my favorite both on land and in freshwater. It just suites the way I prefer to hunt.
    1 point
  37. phrunt, you could have found it with a pointy stick mate. The EXCAVATOR found it. If you like those sort of programs (totally staged) then you are easily entertained. I can't watch them. REALITY TV!!! Yeah, right. Just embarrassing.
    1 point
  38. BeachHunter, Does that cool whiskey sip cup say "Antique"? Nice dig either way. Jim, You are right on target my friend. I agree digging those mid high tones and especially when at an old site. In fact if I am at an 1800's to 1940's site that has not been in use since, I actually dig all Non Ferrous targets. Your saves are beautiful and I enjoy the small sterling charms too. When detecting old parks and schools, I don't dig the mid high tones unless they read deeper on the depth indicator. Here is an E-Trac find that reads mid/hi, a monster 10K yellow gold class ring and even on the Equinox, it is usually an 18 and sometimes a 17 reading. I typically would not dig those #'s at the park, but it was deeper than most of the tabs. Detecting site/location also has to do a little with the tones/#'s I investigate. Thanks for sharing guys.
    1 point
  39. Nice nugget Bob! Ah, the good old days... from my last visit to Ganes Creek... 36 nuggets and 2.86 ounces total
    1 point
  40. Hi Gerry… I don’t own an Equinox but I think that you’re also asking what sort of items we normally expect to find if we dig signals that target ID generally in the screwcap range. That is to say the target ID range that lies between upper pulltab and zinc penny range. I dig all targets in the screwcap range because there are many unpredictable, interesting or unusual items within that conductive range. That’s not to say that we don’t find our share of trash such as aluminum junk and discarded screwcaps, costume jewelry including cheap plated rings, infrequent broken watches, knives and utensils, all damaged to some extent from years of exposure to ground moisture in concert with various soil chemistries. On the other hand, this target ID range produces commemorative tokens, the large Victoria, Edward VII and George V Canada One Cent coins, and our silver half-dimes. It also produces a variety of generally smaller sterling silver jewelry such as small silver rings, pendants and charms. We occasionally detect larger silver rings that fall into screwcap range because they have become disconnected where originally sized to one’s finger. Of course other valuables such as gold rings do occasionally surface, but these are a far more rare occurrence in that particular target ID range. I’ve doubtless not mentioned many other items that fit into the screwcap range. Thanks for a nifty, interesting thread Gerry.
    1 point
  41. Tesoro website is back up but the navigation structure seems to be missing. Here is a direct link to the detector index.
    1 point
  42. Be nice if they posted something on their home page on what is going on. They had so many loyal customers they just walked away from. Certainly not how I would do business.
    1 point
  43. If Gary Drayton found it on Oak Island he'd be claiming "Templar, baby!" ?
    1 point
  44. I think the price drop is because of competition and their price points. $799 for a GM-1000 with 2 coils and $699 for a new 24K with 2 coils certainly is shaking things up a little. The GB-2 will certainly go down in history as one of my all time favorites though. My last 1+ pounder was recovered with a GB-2.
    1 point
  45. Well, the T2 has no ability to save settings, and so it does come on in factory default settings every time you power up. That is not the same as doing a factory reset however, and so while you will not see any settings revert on the T2 when doing a factory reset it is still not a bad idea.
    1 point
  46. Cal, your criticisms are fair and well-deserved. FTP has been focused on owning the low-end mass market (which has been successful) but allowed the higher end to stagnate. It's been a struggle, and continues to be, but I now have people in place who can change this. It takes time and there's nothing I can do but keep working until it's done. Hopefully the result will speak for itself.
    1 point
  47. Hear ya loud n clear. We have stuff in the works but I can't tell you to delay a purchase based on "it's in the works." The Equinox convinced a whole lotta people to sell their AT Pro, my goal is to come out with something that convinces a whole lotta people to sell their Equinox.
    1 point
  48. Unless you are looking for a new pulse induction beach detector there appears to be little chance of anything else happening this year. From this thread about the new pulse induction detector in the works: ”Yes, there is a new PI in the works, that is no secret. It's not on my bench, rather it's designed by our guy in France, Alexandre. The electronics are done, we're just trying to get a decent (& waterproof) mechanical enclosure designed for it. At FTP, that's not a fast process, but neither is anything else we do. Spring is out; Summer is highly unlikely; Fall, maybe. No promises.” Carl Moreland, First Texas I am interested in one of these myself and hope they make it out the door before December. If not, no worries, there is always next year. There are new coin and gold type detectors in the works and have been for some time, but no hint that they will show before next year. We can always hope they will surprise us though - fingers crossed!
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...