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Location, location, location ... I moved today and the first place I stopped looked like all the others. There was some difference as the slopes down to the deep dig holes were wider and longer. I had my hopes up that this would be different but I came away with nothing again. I had another spot a couple of miles up the road to try before dark. I got there and I could see a difference. Quartz was strewn about and the oldtimer holes were not so deep. The soil was very red and I got excited for a change. My first few swings revealed a nice soil and without much trash. I decided to scout the area because I'd be back tomorrow. About 20 minutes into it I had gotten some trash, I was 'near' the road and I was digging this target. It warbled a bit but so had many others all day. I picked down a bit and there was quartz. I got that out of the way and there was still a signal. Could this be it? YES! It is a little one but my first one! I estimate about .8g but it changes what I write tonight. It doesn't remove all of the frustration from the last week and this might be the only nugget on that patch but I've got one. I'll be back tomorrow and work that area again. I'm not the first one there I assure you. A forum member Pat who makes the SP01 that I am using pointed me in this direction over two months ago. I plotted in the spots last night and got out of Wedderburn. On my way out this morning I talked to the motel owner a bit. He told me a couple of detectorists were in the hotel last night and they had found 3 little pieces in 2 days. Such is the way of gold. He also told me that at about the same time the 20 oz nugget was found in Bendigo someone in Wedderburn had kicked up (no metal detector) a 7.5 oz nugget! Maybe there is still overlooked gold in these obvious locations. I've got a long day to tell about but I'm going to cut it short and post a few pictures. I did see my first hand stacks here. I wondered how they were using them and then I saw a trench on the upper side. They were using it to channel water to the top of another gully. I had read something about lack of water had caused all of the miners to leave sometime in the 1850s or so and when the rains/water came back so did the miners. This trickle trench would have been used to feed a pond at the top of a larger gully. The order these pictures upload are just random. I've forgotten how to control the order but it doesn't care about the time the picture is taken. I have something to say about all the pictures except the scull. The teeth give it away.

It's been a good week all around. Dennis really got on the gold today, 15 nuggets total including a 3.4 gram piece. I'm going to rest up tomorrow, our flight leaves out of PHX on Sunday afternoon. We'll arrive in Perth on Tue, then meet up with Paul and Trent on Friday. We're just hoping our good luck hasn't run out. Tally Ho!

Knowing that my coin would never be graded as a very expensive coin although very desirable, I decided to make it look better for my personal viewing. I looked at a lot of U tube videos and read several things about cleaning silver without damaging the object. Just wanting to know the outcome before trying the method on my coin,. I tried it on other objects. I settled on using cotton balls, Q tips and non abrasive Carnuba oil auto polish. This didn't seem to leave any scratches, only cleaned and polished it. As you can see, all of the scratches and marks from being in the ground for about 140 plus years are still there.

I got the word that Jim Straight has passed away in recent days. I last saw and spoke with Jim a bit over a year ago. He spent several hours on both Saturday and Sunday in the ICMJ booth with me at the Pomona GPAA show. He was a good man and wrote many articles for the ICMJ. It is sad to see him go. Jim was a great pioneer in the world of metal detecting for gold. He was on site for a great many famous old gold finds with metal detectors. Yet ye was very tight lipped about those locations. A lot of great secrets passed with him. It was always great to chat with him as we traveled a lot of similar paths - we both graduated from the Mackay School of mines, but about 30 years apart. We both spent a lot of time prospecting around Randsberg, CA and the northern Nevada placers of Pershing and Humboldt counties. I will miss our talks, as will so many other prospectors.

I got this piece yesterday down about 6" and until I cleaned it I was 99% sure it was another bird shot. Over the years I have been surprised how many of my bird shot have turned out to be gold. ?

Hi, it's the war of marks, lol but it's not a problem the level of performance and separation gold / iron reaches such a level, that it is worth all the bulletproof vests :)

My take on the GB issue is simple. Test it for yourself and go with whichever gives you the best results. I have areas of mild ground and areas with severe ground. In every place I have tested the "leave it at 0 vs ground balance" on actual targets, it has widely favored ground balancing. Your area may be different. It's a simple test to do and a setting to change back to. In my opinion, that is better than just relying on what you read or what others have said. If I took to heart what people say on the internet forums, then validated 12" Fisher CZ machines and only Ireland made FBS machines can find silver coins. And or, a Tesoro Mojave can do everything these other machines can do. And if you go by what is said on YouTube channels and social media...the Garrett AT Series is the pinnacle detector series of the world. I know all that to be hog wash...but point being, test it out for yourself. I've had an Equinox since April/May last year and it gets the most use of any of my machines.

Someone, please start another rumor about a GPZ software update or new coil quickly so I have something to look forward to again. If this infographic were true it would seem to be doing a lot at once. Pricing itself into the Simplex market, replacing the long in tooth Xterra without having to change coils to detect smaller gold, tapping into the massive success of river detecting (for relics/bullets) on Youtube where almost every one of the content creators uses a Garrett currently, and potentially replacing the long in tooth Excal too. It would seem like a good product to release from a business standpoint for Minelab. But almost certainly a snoozer for serious prospectors unless someone wants a cheap machine to bang around with in the water. Price would almost certainly have to be competitive with the Simplex otherwise it's hard to see any room in the market for this product today with the EQ 600 being the upper bound, though if it's entirely water proof that would add value. I guess that might be one positive - continuing the trend of decreasing prices. I can only hope someday they start selling something like the GPZ for what it should actually be going for today, which IMO is closer to $1999 max, and I don't see any reason that a machine like the GM1000 should be selling for more than $300 or maybe $400 max. If they really wanted to release a machine that got me excited about the prospect of a greenhorn being able to finally enter the electronic prospecting market, that would be it, and I'd even give up my GB2 finally and get one myself for that matter.

I've been up Fred talking to my family for 2 hours. I went through my plans last night. I looked again at the settings I'm using which are mostly low sensitivity, difficult ground because it is still wet and growls. I reduced some of my advices on where to go to specific places on the map and I'm starting a new day. Thanks for the bump. Yesterday when I got up and out there was ice on the windshield. Same today but it melts off quickly.

Been doing MDing a long time with a Whites XLT. Just purchased a Equinox 800 and WOW!!, What a difference! Still carry the XLT as my back up. Love that Tool as well. Well,....Just wanted to say Hi.

I'll save the research and do ground research now. haha

It is a rather bleak day today compared to the last few. It looks like it could snow. Yesterday I got so warm and wet from sweat I had to take off my warm pants and put on regular jeans. Time to bundle up and get back other there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_imbalance Its all mumbojumbo to me ..but maybe to some of you electronic wizards it makes sense. And just by chance maybe a little insight on the technology coming in this new detector.

Yes... as all the others have said, Congratulation! Now you can rest a bit easier with maybe a hair less pressure knowing your prospecting skills were good enough to get you some sassy Aussie gold. Well the first is always the hardest as they say ... go get yourself some more! But above all else... take in the experience. Hats off to you Mitchel.

Congrats on getting rid of The skunk. Like first landing on the moon, That OZ nugget is one small step for prospectors and a giant step for Mitchel ! Now you can go get Big Momma with a settled mind. As one of many in your group of supporters and cavorters, thanks for easing our mind.? May you hear the singing warble everyday. Curtis

Relief! Good going Mitchel, you have a bunch of posters smiling at your first gold. The skunk has been banished. Keep it going...

The equinox was over hyped as being a ctx killer. Clearly not though it does have a great display and pinpoint. As for the vanquish we shall see.

Well done Mitchel. I knew you'd get something. Sorry I haven't been able to catch up with you but this week has been so busy with work and next week I am away. Good luck and I look forward to seeing more of the yellow from you. regards Pat

HAPPY DANCE!!!! good on you, Mitchel! fred

good on you Mitchel. I`m really pleased you wont be going home empty handed ?

Time to grid!

YeeHaa, gold is in the scoop! Nice pic of the ‘roo too. You’ll sleep a little bit sounder tonight ?

Might be worth trying a noise cancel with the F-pulse already turned on (and reasonably close to the coil) - if you haven't already done so.

Chase, I'm thinking the next time I'm out and have some marginal targets, I need to take the time to test both methods and see if one of them provide better audio and visual ID's. And apologies to everybody that WAS following this thread for hanging a hard left . Rich -

Chase, My apologies as I've addressed too many subjects by multiple individuals in a single post without segmenting where each comment came from and where my replies were directed. My reference to a "standard ground balance' is my terminology for how most manufactures handle ground balancing. Typically bobbing the coil over a piece of ground free of metallic objects while manually adjusting the GB knob OR holding in a toggle until the detector has a good read and indicates it is done sampling. Moving on. Your description below is EXACTLY my take on the Minelab way of determining the signal from the ground EXCEPT in all of my reading of how Minelab manages the ground signal, I've not come across where the ground ratios AND a manual ground balance are COMBINED for even better results. Anyway, I suppose I could have missed how the two are combined for most effective results. If I did miss this, point the way. More into the ground signal algorithm. I copy/pasted this from the 3rd installment of the Multi-IQ series on the MinelabUSA website. I've taken the liberty of underlining a few spots that lead me to believe the algorithms are handling the ground signal. https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/equinox-technologies-part-3 Let’s assess Multi-IQ for the different Detect Mode search profiles: Park 1 and Field 1 process a lower weighted frequency combination, as well as using algorithms that maximise ground balancing for soil, to achieve the best signal to noise ratio. Hence being most suited for general detecting, coin hunting, etc. Park 2 and Field 2 process a higher weighted combination of the Multi-IQ band while still ground balancing for soil. Therefore they will be more sensitive to higher frequency (low conductive) targets, but potentially more susceptible to ground noise. Beach 1 also processes a lower weighted combination, BUT uses different algorithms to maximise ground balancing for salt. Hence being most suited for both dry and wet sand conditions. Beach 2 processes a very low weighted frequency combination, using the same algorithms as Beach 1 to maximise ground balancing for salt. This search profile is designed for use in the surf and underwater. Gold 1 and Gold 2 process the higher weighted combination of the Multi-IQ band while still ground balancing for soil. However, they use different setting parameters better suited for gold nugget hunting. I looked through these statements for any inference to a combining of the two, algorithm and a manual ground balance. The question I ask myself is this, If the algorithm is an active process that is constantly reading the ground signal across the multi-frequencies to come up with a ground reference value, why does it need me to step in and give it a starting point with a manual ground balance? The algorithm will have it figured out more accurately. My thoughts are it doesn't need my help at all UNTIL it gets to the point that I'm over VERY HOT GROUND and the ground signal is so strong that the algorithm is no longer the MOST effective method of finding a ground reference to measure possible targets against. At that point, I need to intervene and engage the manual ground balance system by doing a ground balance. Anyway, I am hoping my words and tone aren't coming across in an aggressive or combative manner. Completely NOT my intention. Just explaining how I've arrived at the point in the universe where I set my ground balance at 0. Rich -

My SL was manufactured in 2014. Rechargeable battery pack was 11.62 v Fresh set of alkaline batteries in the Alkaline battery pack 12.61v I re-tested my SL this evening using the above battery packs and the 12" dual field coil. I saw, absolutely no air test difference between ground balance on and ground balance off. So, it would be obvious if I was hunting at the beach, to use the GB on feature over the pure PI function of GB off. At least I'd have some control over the iron and still hear the gold. Now I'd like to see other SL users post test results. Curious to see a date relationship to the depth reduction of ground balance on.

GET UP Mitchel...it is after 7 a.m. there!!!! I suggest you buy a rake and clear some brush and branches...maybe that will give you FOCUS!!!

We've been out every morning for a few hours since Sunday practicing for the summer of Aussie Gold. Today was my day on the big gold. I was detecting a desert wash bench zone, and got what the Aussies call a Zed Warble. Down here in Sunny Yuma the Zed Warble usually means an old rusty bent nail. A bit of digging down to the hard pack maybe 15 or 16 inches. I switched detector down to Sens 1 to try and pinpoint, bit it was still overloading with the warble tone. Dennis and I took turns breaking up the hardpack and scooping out the hole till this nugget rolled on out. The small stuff I found over the past 2 mornings, I think I'm going to throw them back for seed on the big ones.

Does look like Brit 8 over a hallmark. I would look up hallmarks rather than makers marks. Seems really rough for pewter. Tin is usually pretty corrosion resistant and over time the brit 8 turns a little dull gray but brighter than the leaded pewters. http://pewterbank.com/html/britannia_metal.html Brit 8 came out in 1769.

Looks like a great hunt - thanks for posting!

And that's why I purchased it. I wanted a simple easy to operate machine. The only issue I have with it is the tones. It seems to me that the tones are somewhat slurred. In my opinion, it doesn't have that "dig me" tone when you get the coil over a good target. Is there a huge difference in tones between the 2 machines? Of course I'm still in my learning curve so it may just be me. ? Thanks for the information. The button you dug is in awesome shape!

Daniel Tn Just wait till it hits the shops. There are going to be guns blazing from all sides. People tend to forget it's just a Metal Detector.

Rich - the following is just a counterpoint addressing the ML p. 40 statements directly and not meant to be an I'm right and you are wrong thing. Nor am I advocating that YOU should change the way YOU do business. I know you quoted Horst but I too was in the camp of why not just do a GB so that is why I am responding. Your position is valid because Multi IQ on Equinox does afford a lot of forgiveness when detecting without an optimal Ground Balance point set, I better understand your GB=0 position and just wanted to state why I do GB on regular basis as part of my startup routine (except for one situation) regardless of the soil condition and why I think I too am not violating anything ML has stated on p. 40. And again even though I have a difference of opinion, I also agree it does not mean you should in any way change the way you do it because it works for you to swing at the GB default. Anyway, with that out of the way... I interpret p. 40 a little differently but again, that does not mean my interpretation is right for everyone, here is my take. Fact - Multi IQ and multi frequency machines in general do have the advantage of being able to separate the ground signal by benefit of getting real-time reactance and resistance readings from the ground at different frequencies. That means that UP TO A POINT, the machine can readily compensate for a non-zero ground phase condition. The question is, at what point do does it start having an issue. Minelab gave us the answer on p. 40 as well as on page p. 11 which refers you to the GB procedure on p. 40 if you are experiencing excessive ground noise after conducting the quick start steps. The problem is you do not know if you are experiencing excessive ground noise unless you have removed all discrimination (horseshoe button) and furthermore, you do not know how much the ground noise is affecting detector performance up until the point you notice it though I am sure that in the grand spectrum of effects, on Equinox not having a precise GB in Multi IQ has at worst, a relatively small effect even at large ground phase discrepancies. My Opinion/Philosophy/Take on GB with Equinox - In my region I am subject to a WIDE range of soil conditions. No site, except the dry sand beaches I go to, is completely free of mineralization and also baseline ground phase readings vary greatly from site to site and mineralization is only ONE factor that determines a non-zero reading. I usually use more than one detector at a site and go with the hot hand. Unlike the Equinox, my other primary detector has a mineralization (Fe3O4) meter and I have seen Equinox ring up with some very high Ground Phase numbers even on low mineralized soil (Side note: unless you have a detector that can explicitly read out mineralization level, you cannot tell the level of mineralization at your site if all you have the Equinox ground phase reading because high GP number does not necessarily correlate to a high mineralization level). Furthermore, I have found that Equinox will ring up with significantly different Ground Phase readings on the same patch of ground depending on what mode I have selected. Finally, if I am not searching in AM mode, I may not have any idea if I am experiencing ground noise because that usually shows up as a constant -9, -8, -7 variable chatter and just because I don't hear it in the NF target region does not mean it is not affecting my NF target detection capability. Even on sand beaches, I have NEVER been to a site that has given my "0" on an AUTO GB. Since I have no way of knowing what the GP reading is going to be and at what point a non-zero reading is going to affect detectability, I just do the auto pump as part of my startup routine and swing away. So let's go to what ML said on p. 40 again. "The default Ground Balance setting of 0 is recommended for Park, Field and Beach Modes because these locations typically have less mineralisation than goldfields. However, if the ground is generating many noise signals (and/or the Sensitivity level is set very low), then using Auto Ground Balance is recommended." My take (just my speculation and opinion again, not proven fact) is that ML was really pointing out why they chose 0 and NON-TRACKING as the DEFAULT GB setting vs. TRACKING as the DEFAULT for the Gold Modes and was trying to keep things simple for detectorists of all skill levels by not REQUIRING a GB for most situations because it should really not affect detecting experience all that much, especially with the Multi IQ advantage. Many low end detectors do not have anything other than a preset ground phase reference point, and that suffices for most situations and people do just fine with them. However, I am surprised that ML is linking Ground Phase solely to mineralization, as mineralization is not the only (though it is probably the most dominant) factor in determining ground phase reading. Furthermore, in the CTX words I am especially surprised that ML said "Ground Balance should not be enabled in most detecting conditions where ground mineralization is mild." "Should not" is pretty strong language and is incongruent with them throwing in the qualifier "most detecting conditions" later in the statement. So what are those outlier conditions when you "should" GB in mild mineralization? Also, not being familiar with CTX, some of the nomenclature is also unfamiliar to me - what does "enable" ground balance mean in the context of CTX - is that some sort of tracking GB mode? If so, I fully understand why you would preferably not want to use a tracking GB feature in mild mineralization and address that below. Bottom line, I don't think ML is saying don't do a GB under mild soil confitions with Equinox, only pointing out the basis for their default settings. As far as I am concerned, if I am getting something other than 0 (and the only way to know that is to go into GB and pump or listen for Ground Noise in AM) then why wait to see if you are getting ground noise just head things off at the pass and start off with a ground balance point that most closely matches the site condition, regardless of whether that is 0 or some other number. There certainly is no down side to always doing an Manual/Auto GB at as part of a startup routine other than the 5 seconds it takes to do it and since that GB reading sticks from the last session, it is prudent for me to do it anyway since if it is not zero, then it can be WAY OFF for the new site. I also noise cancel and GB separately for each mode I use at a site. Since it is now just a routine thing, I even do it at the beach. My bottom line - Even though ML "recommends the default ... setting of 0", I do not think they are saying you "should not" do a GB, either. Unless I am missing something, there is no real downside to doing a GB routinely at the start of a detecting session regardless of the site and on the flip side there is probably very little penalty to NOT doing a GB at most sites and just sticking with the default of 0 (but make sure it really is at 0, especially if you did a manual/auto GB or used tracking at your last site). But regardless how small the penalty is, I see no reason to incur it when it is easily remedied. If I am mistaken regarding the "no downside" statement on routinely doing a GB, I would like to know. The philosophy of using tracking GB is a whole separate subject, especially considering the fact that there may indeed be downsides to using tracking GB, especially at low mineralized sites, because tracking relies on changes in mineralization to trigger a GP reading and rebalance and I don't want to get into that here. Thanks for reading and welcome feedback, especially if I am missing something that would indicate doing a routine GB is somehow detrimental or even non-optimal. Thx.

I briefly mentioned my problem with the GPZ 7000 14" stock coil. The problem was I dragged it behind the Rokon completely unaware of doing so and wore through the plastic cover exposing the copper windings inside. I contacted Friendly Minelab Dealer "Rege in PA" about getting a replacement. He put in the order but as time was drawing near for the OZ trip, there was no sign of a replacement coil in the pipeline. Rege was able do some gently encouragement and the Minelab Repair Center stepped up and found me a coil. I got it last week and have been using it all this week for my practice sessions for the Summer of OZ trip departing this Sunday. It seems they sent me the "super" coil because I'm having some incredible good luck this week on the local Yuma gold. Minelab, you have saved me from my self-inflicted misadventure. Gold photos of the last 2 mornings of detecting. I've been detecting some heavily hunted areas and finding gold around old dig holes. I'm using pretty standard settings, HY, Normal with Sens 15. I've gone back to the high dollar Etymotic in-ear monitors (earbuds). The Ety 4S model has much higher inpedance compared to typical earbuds.

I hunt mostly in city parks, public beaches, National Forest, and BLM land. I never ask permission to hunt public land. I know the rules permit what I am doing so I don’t have to ask. I do get a metal detecting permit to hunt city parks if such a permit is required. I almost never hunt private land but if I do it is with the property owners permission.

Sounds like you guys are hurting back east....I hunt where the treasure is and very seldom get bothered by anybody...maybe its because they think I'm just a poor old man out trying to have a little fun? strick

Thanks Steve. You host a great forum here. Just thought if my post helped someone else decide on how to spend their money and time it was only right as Phrunt and some others helped me decide on the Nox.

I am, I found an interesting button today. This was booming for a long time in the hole. The problem was that I was not into 'original' soil so I couldn't get my hopes up. It is the second button I've found. I'll have to take some time and make better pictures. Thanks for your wishes.

Welcome, 31-c! Much of metal detecting is making good judgements based upon what is known and what can be reasonably determined. In regards to where you can search, one approach is to assume you need permission anywhere you hunt and then contact officials for permission. I don't like this option for the simple reason that on public property, caretakers often don't know and possilbly will take the safe route of answering 'no'. Always ask permission on private property. What I do is web searching. For example, most city parks have websites. If they don't say anything about metal detecting then (IMO) it is safe to assume it is OK. Similarly with public schools. Only on one occasion have I been approached (by school security guards) and although they said we couldn't hunt, they were very unantagonistic and even polite. We just said "OK, we though ti was allowed..." and then departed without issue. On dozens of occasions I've been seen by officials and they either ignore me or smile and greet in a friendy manner. National Parks are off limits. State Parks and State Forests vary by state (and even park). Look at theiry websites. BLM land and National Forests are under the 1979 Antiquities Act. My simple interpretation of that is that keeping coin finds is OK, regardless of age, but relics over 100 years old need to be left where found. This is a non-lawyer view. Others have different approaches and they should reply, too. If you happen to have a local metal detecting club, join and get advice from experienced members. Also learn respectful recovery techniques. If a passersby notices you are carefully restoring the sod/soil/ground to its original conditions s/he will be relieved and unoffended. The main thing is to be polite and respectful if someone in authority approaches you. Even if you are in violation, most will give you a 'pass' as long as you heed that advice. If you get testy, all bets are off. Good fortune in your future hunting, and please post photos of your finds.

I have a couple videos on SL air test and hope to do some other comparative videos soon.

OK.... Got the final cleanup weighed...... Gave me a total of 1.108 gram.......

http://tour.circlepix.com/tour/titan/?id=5586726&reg=true&_seoAddress=715-White-Spar-Road-Prescott-AZ-1019921#.XOBKoshKiPo