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Got a tip from a friend on some BLM land that has produced gold in the past. I spent 4 1/2 days (30 hours of detecting) while camping out there. Weather was quite good -- only rained intermittantly for part of one day; typical temps were 70's F daytime and 40's F nighttime. Got lucky to have had recent rains which brought out the flowers: I always try and learn as much as I can while MD'ing, regardless of the site/location and intended finds. I was hunting with the Minelab Equinox 800 with 6 inch coil in Gold 1 mode, White's Prostar headphones coupled to the WM08 wireless receiver. It was nice to get away from the EMI I typically deal with at home (coin hunting). However, the hot rocks more than made up for that! At the start of each day I adjusted my settings, taking advantage of what I had used previously but also trying to keep an open mind as to what would run the quietest. Over the 4+ days I tried gains (sensitivites) between 16 and 23, ran all metal or disked out just {-9,-8, -7}, notched in only {-2,-1,0,1,2}, tried all recovery speeds in {4,5,6,7}. I Ground Grabbed most of the time but did try tracking, which didn't seem to make any improvement at this particular site. The ground phase was locally pretty stable, only varying by about 1 or 2 typically. Regardless of settings there was always at least of bit of noise from hot rocks to put up with. Surprisingly sometimes the hot rocks ID'ed at 12. As if the Equinox needed one more object to read that value.... The biggest false signal I had to deal with was wet ground. This wasn't surface moisture but rather at about 2 inches and deeper. The ID's read right in the small gold range {+1,+2} and sounded pretty clean, although they weren't quite a sharp as the real thing. However, for me anyway, close enough to not ignore. Pictured below is my 'haul'. I actually found one more piece but lost it somehow in the process of putting it into the collection bottle. One more lesson learned. Bottom line is that I quadrupled my lifetime count but still haven't made it to my first gram. All read +1 TID and all were within 2 inches of the surface. One was in the grass, lying on the surface of the ground. I'm certainly appreciative of the lead I got to this location. Wish I didn't live 2400 miles away from it.

I have been keeping an eye on the weather forecast for the last week and it paid off. I found one beach with some nice sand movement and I hunted there for five days. I managed to dig 5 gold, a few silvers and $70.92 in clad. The diamond chips on the two rings are real and all rings are 14k. One of the 14k is plum gold and another is 14kpc (pc= platinum coated). Good luck out there and happy hunting.

From Codans Management Briefing & Site Tour Presentation. I guess there's more money making machines for the bottom end market than the top. Looks like no zed replacement just yet.

The top end buyers are too critical and will never be satisfied. The profit and viability of a company has to be in a mass marketed machine that is 'competent' for the occasional user. The dealers need a good margin and then the system is happy again.

Yeah BB, You've got some pull. Qantas got your memo and gave $120.00 each for our troubles. Thanks for the help.

It's good to see Qantas and the hotel got my memo ........ I have no problems if you use Paul as a human shield ... Awaiting culling day proclamation, should be any day now, carry on. cheers BB

Good job mate—— good to see you are already learning the meaning of “Harden the Fk up” lolol This story sounds vaguely familiar.......can’t quite put me finger on it—-how bout a little help Norvic —— maybe you remember some story like this???? Hahahahaha

Beach 2... might work as well with it’s salt setting and reduced power.

I swing an Equinox 800 and it has served me well for a year now. A scoop with a long Handle is best so you don’t bend down too often. I bought a no name brand off eBay for $100 and it’s still going strong after 2+ years, even digging in rocky beaches. Best time to hunt is during storms and low tides. Also hunting during summer for fresh drops at touristy beaches is good. Good luck and HH

GB_A. Very nice work indeed! Thanks for the write up and pictures. Interesting hot rock TID spread and your various approaches to the conditions you faced. Glad you had a safe and productive adventure. It is the perfect time of year for camping in northern NV.

Nice hunting - especially with a Nox. That is no picnic up there and you have done well. I fully sympathize with the distances that have to be covered to get to good areas.

Way to go GB glad you got to make the return trip, congrats!

Your bar tab is more than that already.....

I am happy to catch up tomorrow morning if you want to go for a swing in the morning?

My information was the new detector(s) coming out wouldn't interest me, thus not a higher than equinox detector (excluding the possibility of a new prospecting model). Mid-range and a gold machine sounds right to me.

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

We started our journey on Sunday from PHX to SFO. First leg was no problem. At SFO things deteriorated. After arrival the airline departure board showed 1 Sydney departure logically in the international terminal 2 hrs hence. We made our way to the international terminal and settled in for a wait. I checked the departure board several times, only one Sydney departure showing a minor delay. At boarding time our boarding passes were rejected, wrong flight. They really couldn't help us with why there was only one Sydney flight and we weren't on it. We scurried back up to the main terminal, one Sydney flight now boarding, but upon closer examination a different flight number. There was no help desk to be seen so in desperation I Googled our flight number. Google said terminal A, and we were in terminal G. Again checked the departure board, one Sydney flight showing, not ours. We discovered that terminal A was a long way from here, after a mad dash we discovered that not only was terminal A way over there, it required leaving the secured terminal and going through security again. Yep, the security queue was clogged with the unwashed masses and the chances of us making the flight dwindled to nil. Oh no. So we went to look for the Qantas desk to try and fix our problem. No luck, Qantas has windows open from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. So I called Qantas and got an English as a Second Language(ESL) clerk, barely intelligible given airport noise and accent. Basically she told me I was F'd and that our entire ticket would be cancelled, no refund. I knew better than to argue at this point and called our booking agent Orbitz. Again, ESL but a sincere effort to help. After some long hold time we discovered that Qantas was closed for the night, but that they would work on it. I booked a $300.00 hotel room for the night and went out to catch the shuttle. The hotel clerk assured me the shuttle would pick us up at 12:52. At 1:25 I surrendered, the hotel said they would reimburse me for a cab. Next day, Orbitz came through and re-booked our flight for the same time, same terminal A. I asked about our baggage, "can't help you there", take it up with the Qantas counter at 6:00pm. First in line at Qantas 6:00pm they told me that our baggage was downstairs and would be re-tagged and put on the flight. Are you sure? Indeed, when you get to the gate you can check with them. Of course the gate assured us that naturally our baggage was on the flight. NOT. Well we caught the flight and I found that economy seats are, well economical. I had a middle seat for a 15 hr flight. My row mates were tolerable, but the aisle seat went to sleep and I hated to be an ugly American and wake him up just to stretch my legs. At about the 10 hr mark, I couldn't resist and woke him up. He was pleasant enough about the whole thing. Curiously, the young lady next me boarded very last and arrived in sweaty dither. She later told me that the Departure board showed only one Sydney flight, the same one I encountered the day before, and that she discovered the mistake in time to sprint through the terminal and security was very kind to move her to the head of the line, just in time to make final boarding. She was much younger, fitter and prettier than me, so she pulled it off in time. We arrived Sydney and went to claim our baggage to clear customs for our continuation flight to Perth. Surprise, no baggage. We went to the claims desk to make all the necessary notifications and almost missed our connection to Perth sans baggage. To make a long story tolerable, we're in Perth with 3 of 4 bags. 3 arrived at the hotel last night, the 4th won't arrived until after we make our flight to Meekatharra. Qantas assures us the 4th bag will get couriered out to us verily. Naturally, that bag has Dennis's detector in it. I guess he can dig targets for me and Paul in the meantime. So, the journey begins... Stay tuned for our misadventures in the Summer of OZ. I'm typing at 5:00 am local, suffering from jet lag. Hopefully Steve will edit as necessary.

1949er that is. Wish I had my new Nox 800 in 1849, but then again I probably would be recycled by now. Pleased to have found this awesome forum. A wealth of information and friendly people. A great place to start a new hobby in my 70th year. I just received my detector from Gerry’s Detectors. I ended up finding Gerry based on advice to buy from an outfit that will be there when you need some help. Amazon, eBay, and many other places did not fit that description. Gerry talked at length with me regarding my and a lifelong friend’s detector needs. Two days later I had my Equinox in hand. I highly recommend any other newbies save a lot of time and energy and consider using Gerry’s - he’s THE guy. I am excited yet sober about this endeavor. Learning new skills is not quite as easy as it once was. I spent most of my life destroying my hearing on turbine decks operating various power plants until I promoted to the quiet of a control room. I ended up in Northern California 15 years ago giving up my Chief Hydro Operator position and taking a promotion as Water Services Supervisor supervising operations of Frenchman, Davis and Antelope dams, and administering water rights over roughly 2500 miles of watershed. I am now in my 49th year a fly fisherman and wonder how many nuggets I have waded over, kicked, and otherwise nearly drowned on. Perhaps a method to my madness is emerging - hydroelectricity - fly fishing - fox in charge of the henhouse. ? As I type this intro, it is still raining. I think it started in February on a big snowpack. The Middle Fork Feather is still rising (more water). I anticipate Spring 2019 to be a monumental hydraulic mining season. Looking to tap my technical power generation, water, and river reading backgrounds to help me learn to find nuggets with Nox. I KNOW - a long row to hoe, but my friend and I are as pumped as the rivers are. Looking forward to the ride with you all.

Outstanding....bringing any gold home is a successful trip but spending time out in that desert and soaking it all in with friends is the real treasure... Strick

I agree 23000%..................how many times I asked directly my favourite manufacturer smaller coil in concentric........... RR

A mate of mine thinks its not worth Minelab bringing out a machine less than the Nox . Not everyone can afford a Nox or needs one. I am looking forward to this machine coming , i hope i do want one . I wont put my name down for the early ones . I will wait till i see it out there or in the shop. I will get the Vanquish 540 out of the 3 machines. If its a machine i want.

One of the few times on this trip that someone has put a found nugget to a place! haha We'll see if any are left in the cold, clear air and wet ground.

Hi Jspirko…that's a real nice specimen you've got there. Now I’m going to step out on a limb a bit and say that your sample looks to me to be a fine example of a granitic-textured, plutonic igneous rock called diorite. You may wish to read up about it and see if your rock does match as nicely as it appears in your photo. We come across diorite in northeastern Ontario. Its grain size is typical of other similar type rocks such as gabbro, granite and syenite. I tend to describe rocks as pegmatitic if the grain size generally exceeds about five millimeters. Diorite can vary somewhat in appearance, but as a course-grained intermediate intrusive (that is to say classified between felsic granite and mafic gabbro), it tends to be generally darker than granite. Diorite is typically comprised in an approximate ratio of two-thirds white, sodium-dominant plagioclase feldspar (oligoclase / andesine triclinics) to a third of amphibole such as a hornblende, or quite possibly as a biotite mica. Hence your sample has an attractive two-toned appearance similar to the example depicted below. Little or no quartz is present in diorite, otherwise we would refer to it as either a granodiorite or simply as granite just depending on how much quartz and alkali feldspar is present. As noted on the photo, you can see that my specimen possesses no ferromagnetic strength, but does ground balance to the same elevated non-conductive range as magnetite bearing rocks and other black minerals that we encounter in the field. At GB45 the rock generates a strong negative threshold signal, again similar to mafics that are comprised of heavier materials such as magnesium and iron…………..Jim.

Congratulations on the gold, where there is some, there is more! The desert is sure pretty in the spring. Thanks for sharing. Brian.

Agree the terra is a bit long in tooth these days.

Hi Goldpick, ran your buckle past a group of experts that hunt the California goldfields and hunt primarily for tongue and wreath buckles. No one is familiar with this one, but the concensus is that it is not American, but most likely Mexican, notice what appears to be cactus below the eagle. In addition, this style of buckle, as do most tongue and wreath buckles, pre-date the American Civil War, and in our goldfields in California are most commonly associated with pre 1860 sites. Perhaps that buckle has some association with the late 1840s Mexican-American War. If I learn more, I'll let you know.

Sweet! Yeah, been a cool, wet spring and still at it, warmer weather seems late this year. I always enjoy hunting the tiny bits simply because even the most thrashed patches will put a few in the vial with diligent hunting. There are hot rocks in Nevada and California that come in around 13, quite annoying. They drop out if you lower the gain enough or they can be notched out and gain left high. Either method has minor risks for lost gold. The right single frequency very often will knock them out also. There often are no clear answers, just judgement calls as what setting may be best. It is what makes nugget detecting such an interesting thing for me, and Equinox in particular such fun. I like having settings to play with, and that is the main reason I like the Equinox for hunting gold compared to the Gold Monster. Anyway, your nugget collection is growing - congratulations!

It’s fine. Some people only ever visit the original core DetectorProspector Forum (the others came later). Eventually it will all move here, but initially there was a lot of speculation on it being a gold detector so discussion there is as valid as that here. It’s best if people learn there are multiple forums here with things happening on all of them.

Yeh, it's kinda surprising Minelab made the screen protector with its button hints cover the detector logo. Once you've had enough experience stepping through the menu (and recognizing the menu item pictograms) you can replace the screen protector with one that doesn't have the menu labels. I did just that, actually using laptop/tablet screen protector which has a more diffuse finish and thus less reflection than the supplied ones. Still nice of them to include those, though.

Good luck in that area......?...... I got quite a few nugget near the airport in the bush as well as in the Alma district back in the VLF days.

I will see how I go, will be heading out around 8.30 - 9am. I will head west of the airport & see if I run into anyone.

That would be good Mop. Nice to put a face to a name. Im camping tonight on a spot that I wanted to check out. Turns out there was quite a bit of surfacing done here back in the day. Meeting Mitchel west of the Maryborough airport tomorrow if you want to meet us there. Or if you have a secret spot you wish to let us know about ?

Makes sense to hit the entry-mid range market. Just look at FirstTexas, I’m sure they sell hundreds of BountyHunters and lower end Teknetics at the big-box stores for every F75 or CZ21 thats sold.

If they can still be repaired to some degree then they are still worth something. Finds I got with my Tejon in matter of months far far exceed what I paid for the machine. Garrett is still a solid company and probably the best customer support I have seen in any company. Heard Fisher is great too. My buddy has had good support with Whites.

If they keep having this type luck you will save ammo...lolol

It's good that you are getting all your bad luck out of the way now. That can only mean great success once you get to Meekatharra (a great choice of destination imho). You guys will have a huge cheering section during your travels.

Adam, not to worry mate. I've spent all of this time out in the bush and you've helped me all along the way with your texts. That won't ever be forgotten. And Norvic mentioned someone coming to the states and looking for nuggets and where would I tell you to go? I'd take you to the same places I go and have 'limited' success now. I get skunked there often so I'm familiar with that result. I just thought here there were so many hundreds of places to look that I could get more lucky than I have. I have a pocket full of bbs to show it hasn't all been hunted. We'll have a time of it and make some memories. I'll take those home with me.

It was a really great time Dick. In every regard the trip and hunt was really enjoyable. Glad you like the story. I write them as much for me as anyone else these days. My memory for long past events is poor enough many of the details would go lost unless I record them. I highly recommend anyone into adventures of any sort keep a journal and take lots of pictures. It’s far too easy to get into the game and not take time for that sort of stuff, but ultimately the memories or records are all we have.

A couple of weeks ago I was hunting a permission that has persistent, harsh EMI. All of my typical tricks failed to reduce noise sufficiently to hunt. I went through multiple noise cancels, sensitivity reduction, single frequencies, factory reset, etc. What finally reduced the interference enough for me to hunt was to switch from my 11-inch coil to my 6-inch coil. The machine still had some interference, but it was manageable through the techniques mentioned previously in this thread.

There has been some fine analogies recently. I like this one too. DP forum has become detectorphilospher.com Be warned, I am still but a Grass Hopper. However, I guess the mind set I have now changed to is 'go big or go home'. I have the luxury of going some time between nuggets in the hope that those nuggets are sizeable. I don't envy Mitchel as he does not have the luxury of time on a trip like this. But don't worry, I will be trying to get us on to something decent - it is in the best interests of both of us ?

It would take me a couple dozen hunts to dig that many pulltabs from my parks! I hope they are quick to recover. As usual it pains me to see that gray patina on your silver coins, but the IH, OTOH, looks better than my 'dry land' dug ones. Wish it were a '77 or late 60's.

Yep it’s just a rock, looks like a granitoid type from the minerals.

Thanks phrunt, Its a neat looking ring. I'm going to have to have the amethyst ring tested. I found it's twin on Amazon. Its twin is 14k White gold. My ring even has a marking at the same location, only its filled in with the coating and un-readable. Fingers crossed..... Mike Presentation1.pdf

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. ?

Bobby pins are a pain - one of my least favorite targets.

There is nothing new that I am aware of and I do check regularly. I have seen nothing to indicate there are any holdups or delays. Edit: Rumored release now is October 2019. The problem with letting people know a detector is in the works is the assumption there is a certain number of days that can go by before it is “delayed”. However, if there is not an announced delivery date there can’t be a delay or a holdup. Work simply progresses until the detector is ready to release. And so far there is no word that it is ready to release. Nokta/Makro Simplex Data & Reviews Nokta/Makro Simplex LCD display and controls

I heard rumors at a recent GPAA gold show that Minelab was releasing a low to mid range detector to counter and one up the Simplex. So, something Multi IQ between the Go-Find/X-Terra and the Equinox. Jeff

Well I know when I fall on and break something it’s never my fault! Hey Rick, I have to admit it is fun watching you rationalize other companies putting out high priced product after you dumping on Minelab for years for them thinking they need to recoup their own engineering expenses and make a profit.

I hit the water early again this morning to see what the weekend crowd might have left. Targets were sparse with 2 bling earrings and the nemesis of water hunters in a Tungsten ring. At 17.7 grams I can understand why it flew off the wearers finger, would have made a nice chunk'O gold. ? I have started to pass up the new bottle caps. Have not dug a one that didn't bounce erratically reading Iron/15-21 or there about. T

Great concrete advice - based on experience. I know you aren’t into PI’s, but consider this. The Manta PI, which is now in the process of final development by Fisher might make an interesting tiny gold finder. It has a very short minimum pulse delay - 8μ seconds or so. that should make it able to detect all but the tiniest gold, especially at the shallow depths you are talking about. The sensitivity is variable and it ID’s or excludes all but huge ferrous as well as high conductors. the set point for that control is variable. The testing up to now of this device has been pretty Much at the beach because it is designed to be a killer on gold in salt water. It hasn’t - as far as I know - been tested in the environemnts you are talking about. I suspect with the correct adjustment of controls it might prove a killer in the grass and in tot lots. Maybe Fisher should let you test it for that.