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Wow, what a big nugget! Bill https://www.9news.com.au/national/gold-nugget-two-kilogram-160k-specimen-at-ballarat-unearthed-by-prospector-news-victoria/2568e03e-c0fc-4486-98f3-15f331f00072?ocid=social-9news

New toy arrived today. I’m having the weekend off so will take out to the yank at his remote camp on Monday for a try out. Have found bits up to 15oz at nearly 1m deep in this spot.

Make sure the Yank turns on the detector. He hates digging deep holes.

To be fair to Minelab the techniques I use have been developed by me during many long hours of GPZ use in many different areas around Australia in some extremely high X and variable X and G ground. The issue I have with the Super D coils, if you can call it an issue, is the way the GB will sound balanced when the coil is swung across the ground but the GB can be completely out as can sometimes be evidenced when the coil is pumped. So my techniques have been refined from day to day over the past four years, I inform forum readers of this not to create confusion but to hopefully improve people’s experiences with GPZ, probably kind off stupid giving away advantages but thats the way I roll. I also like to split/lift the coil up away from the ground when Ferrite balancing to clear ground effect in problematic areas such as Saturable ground and Salty ground (these two ground types generally go hand in hand in my areas), you can easily do this by placing the ferrite on a rock further away from ground effect or even perform the ferrite balance in the air with the coil flat using Quick-Trak. Once Quick-Trak is completed then just bring the coil to the ground (obviously I prefer to have the detector in Semi-Auto Ground Balance Mode), carefully pump the coil till the GB is correct then go detecting. When the threshold seems to get busy again just pump the coil occasionally to bring the GB back to accuracy (DO NOT USE QUICK-TRAK button when pumping the coil only ever use QT when you are performing or checking the Ferrite). Hope this helps JP

Let me clarify some misconceptions, at least as much as I am permitted to do so. Sales of the 24k are steady, and improving. In my own case, for my White's/Minelab dealership in the Mojave Desert, my sales of Goldmaster 24k's are better than I would normally expect for the summertime here. And, I have noted a pronounced trend: MOST 24k sales are NOT to total newbies, but rather to experienced nuggetshooters who own other models of high frequency machines purchased before the release of the 24k. Why? Because most have "outgrown" the "entry-level, easy-to-operate" machines, and are seeking to capitalize on the greater number of user- adjustable, performance-enhancing features possessed by the 24k. One final thing: the 6x4 "Shooter" is to be released SOON, and work is progressing on the 14x8. 'Nuff said for now. HH Jim

Another of my customers wanted a light weight detector for his wife and one that could do it all (well most styles of detecting). So I told him the new Equniox 800 is the detector of choice for Multi Taks hunters. Here is her story of this amazing find. What was funny and not mentioned.. All the guys in camp were giving grief to her husband because she found the bigger pieces. Heck...I would be happy just to have my wife out there swinging with me. They did not realize how lucky he is. https://www.minelab.com/usa/community/success-stories/from-nugget-virgin-to-nugget-queen

A piece of information I value and often can't find (or can find, but sometimes unreliably) are coil weights. I'm attaching a list I've assembled. These weights include the cable and the coil cover (unless noted). The uncertainty of the measurements is estimated at about 2 grams. Coils that are made with the same name and nominal dimensions, but for different detectors, will likely have some difference in weight due to the number of windings and possibly other discrete components (e.g. resistors) inside. But you can still get an idea of a weight if you find a coil you're interested in but it's listed for a different detector. An example here is the Detech Ultimate which came in at 532 g for the Fisher F75 and 549 g (as measured by Phrunt) for the Fisher Gold Bug. A more extreme case here is the "Digger" coil for the X-Terra series at 481 g and the same housing, cable, etc. of a prototype Gold Bug coil weight of 437 g. Coil_weights2.pdf

I started using the Nox 800 in Park 1 with the factory setting of 6 on the I/B. Most all my detecting is now done around old home sites, lots, and ghost town sites. As I became more familiar with the Nox, I started lowering the I/B gradually and now only run it at "0". I found that by running the lower I/B that I could go back to areas I had hunted before and continue to pull more non-ferrous each time I lowered it. I dig a little more iron now but the unmasking benefit makes it worth it to me. If I was traveling and only had the opportunity to hit a spot once, I'd increase the I/B to basically cherry pick it, but I feel the lower the I/B the better, if you don't want to miss anything. I've been detecting for about 45 years and my hearing is still very good. I most always hunt with the disc set a zero or with the horseshoe button engaged. I make most all my dig or no-dig decisions on what I hear. The meter comes into play on those signals that my ears can't decipher. Most of the time, I'm looking for reasons to dig a target, not reasons to not dig it. If I'm hunting a modern park and looking for clad and jewelry, I set the I/B at 6 but around iron infested sites I'll run the I/B at zero with my first tone break set to zero and my first bin volume also set to zero. I don't need to hear the iron "to keep me on the site" as the sites go from this fence to that fence, or I can just keep a look out for rusted cans. That's how I do it, anyone else?

You better get some vitamins for Paul...he is gonna need them! fred

When I was about 19 and in the military some people had a hard time pronouncing my last name (Dominguez) some would say Dominquez others would say Dominiquez. Anyways at the time I used to party like any other sailor, and acted wild and crazy lol, one day a coworker called me Dingo and I responded right away and it has stuck ever since that day and even now.

I use both and I honestly can’t split them much on performance , although on the hot ground I work in the monster seems to balance and track a bit quicker and has a boosted audio that’s noticeable alongside the equinox .apart from the gold monster being a bit more adaptable and more robust in the Aussie bush its 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Paul??

Klunker refers to 1. The vehicles I drive or 2. The nuggets I find I aint sayin'.

Because Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Scott was already taken.

I am an avid metal detector user and I like always being at it. Just because there is no gold prospecting for me in a given time frame is no reason to not go metal detecting for gold. There are a lot more ways to find gold than prospecting, and so jewelry detecting is very high on my list. If you like finding a gold nugget, I do not see how you could not also be excited about digging up a gold ring. Jewelry detecting and nugget detecting share many common traits, not least being the hunt for gold. Both also require a high tolerance for digging trash items, and both are best done with detectors made for the purpose. It just so happens that the detectors best used for nugget detecting are often the best to use for jewelry detecting. In other words, a lot of you guys are already outfitted for this! There are two general ways to hunt for jewelry - on dry land, or in and around water. Let's leave the dry land for another article and focus on the water detecting for now, since I am gearing up for a water hunt myself right now. Almost any detector, with the remarkable exception of the most expensive one you can buy, comes with waterproof coils and can be submerged to the control box. Minelab PI stock coils are not warranted waterproof but only water resistant so it takes aftermarket coils to get them up to speed. But they are a poor choice for wading as there is probably no machine I would like dropping in the water less than a Minelab GPX 5000 with high amp battery attached. Detectors that can be hip or chest mounted offer even more flexibility for wading applications. Few nugget detectors are fully submersible, but there are some, most notably the Garrett AT Gold, Infinium and ATX, all waterproof models. Jan 2019 note: see also Makro Gold Kruzer and Equinox 800. Water detecting can be broken down into fresh water and salt water detecting. Fresh water detecting is pretty straight forward since fresh water is invisible to your detector. The tuning and operation of the detector is similar to what you do on dry land. All you have to worry about is keeping the electronics dry, and recovering targets underwater. Fresh water swimming holes are great for jewelry detecting, and there are many fresh water stream and river opportunities for gold prospectors. Any good gold prospecting detector also works well for freshwater beach hunting. The Garrett AT Gold has an obvious edge for being waterproof. The Tesoro Lobo gets special mention for being convertible to hip or chest mount. In fresh water VLF detectors usually have an edge due to large amounts of trash often being present but PI detectors do have their place in fresh water detecting. The only way to know is to just give it a go and see how much trash there is. The nice thing about beaches though is the digging is easy compared to what nugget hunters often face. Salt water adds a whole new dimension. Salt water is conductive, and therefore a hot metal detector can actually get a signal from salt water or wet salt sand. Many prospectors already know the issues surrounding salt and alkali flats. Detectors that are used in salt water need some way to tune out the salt signal. The problem is even worse on beaches that have mineral content, classic black sand beaches. A white beach composed of broken down coral and shells is no problem at all, but add volcanic material and the issues compound. Most prospectors would not be surprised to hear that pulse induction (PI) detectors have an edge in dealing with salt water scenarios. There is an unsolvable conundrum however. The signal for salt water and small gold items, like post earrings or thin gold chains, actually overlaps. When you tune out the salt water, you tune out these items also. There is no solution to this problem with existing metal detectors because of the way they work. It is possible to find these items at the beach using a hot detector, like a White’s Goldmaster or Fisher Gold Bug 2, but you must be on bone dry sand. Any attempt to get near wet salt sand with these units will result in the sand acting like one giant target. Most mid-frequency gold machines handle salt water beaches to varying degrees. They will generally have no problem until you get on sand currently seeing wave action or actually in the water. The higher the frequency, the less able to handle wet salt sand. The Fisher Gold Bug Pro at 19 kHz and Garrett AT Gold at 18 kHz are not happy on wet salt sand. They can be made to function but only by losing a lot of depth. The Tesoro Lobo has an alkali setting and White’s MX Sport a salt setting specifically designed to handle wet salt sand. In general though these detectors will all work better higher on the beach and have an edge on small rings, earrings, and chains that other beach hunting machines tend to miss. The Minelab Eureka Gold and X-Terra 705 have low frequency options that make them well suited for beach hunting. The Eureka can be hip or chest mounted, but be aware the stock coil is another that Minelab does not warranty as waterproof. The PI detectors fare better, the Garrett Infinium and new ATX having an edge again for being waterproof designs. The White’s TDI and Minelab series do well but must be kept dry. The TDI models except the TDI SL have an advantage in being convertible to hip or chest mount. Be aware that turning off or not using a ground balance system can often add extra depth with a PI on white sand beaches. The TDI and GPX 5000 can turn off the ground balance setting, and the factory default on the ATX before ground balancing offer possibilities on low mineral beaches. For 2019 see the new White's TDI BeachHunter. For serious salt water beach detecting hunters turn to detectors not normally used for prospecting. Ironically, this is because the general lack of sensitivity that makes prospectors eschew these models makes them ideal for salt water. Multi-frequency VLF detectors are not very good prospecting machines but they excel in salt water. Two detectors that vie neck and neck in the salt water VLF market are the Fisher CZ-21 and Minelab Excalibur. On the PI side the Garrett Sea Hunter, Tesoro Sand Shark and White’s Surf PI are the three popular models. Minelab Excalibur II waterproof metal detector There are lots of options but if you ever want a specialized waterproof detector for both fresh and salt water and want to make a safe choice, get a Minelab Excalibur. It is probably the most popular water detector made and for good reason. It gets the job done with minimum fuss and will work well anywhere. I am a PI guy myself however. I have used the Garrett Infinium extensively trying to deal with salt water and volcanic sand and hot rock conditions in Hawaii. I have had success with the model but it is difficult to deal with, suffering from an inability to ground balance into the salt range and susceptibility to EMI interference. Huge numbers of posts exist on how to try and get an Infinium to behave in salt water. The new ATX has taken steps to address these issues but the jury is out there yet. I will be giving the ATX a good go in Hawaii soon. My latest water detector is a White's Surf PI Dual Field to back up the ATX. I have had good luck in the past with the White's Surf PI models and recommend them for people interested in a waterproof beach PI. Again, a simple unit that gets the job done, and at a bargain price. Where to hunt can fill a book, but really boils down to two things. The first is that the best finds will be made where people who wear quality jewelry congregate and engage in some kind of physical activity. On fresh water beaches where items get dropped is generally where they stay. The second item comes into play more often on salt water beaches. The waves and seasons concentrate items on layers, much like placer deposits. They sometimes bury the items too deep to find, and at other times expose them for easy recovery. Beach watching can teach you a lot. There is the towel line, where people set up shop for the day. Lots of items get lost here. Then there are the places where people tend to play beach sports, like Frisbee or volleyball. Best of all, are areas in the water where people congregate, with areas where people can actually stand on the bottom being best. Items dropped in sand obviously sink over time, but hard sand will resist this longest and keep the targets close to the surface longer. Extremely soft sand swallows items quickly and is not a good place to hunt. Areas where the sand tapers into a hard rock or coral bottom can be very good when the overlying sand is shallow enough to reach that hard layer with a detector. Beach detecting is very popular, but beach hunters have on tremendous advantage over prospectors. The finds are being constantly replenished. There is no beach, no matter how heavily hunted, that does not have the potential for finds. The more activity there is the more items are lost in a given period of time. The finds made by beach hunters can rival the best made by prospectors, as not many gold nuggets come with diamonds attached. I know for many prospectors it is about getting out into the middle of nowhere and away from the crowds. Beach hunting is not for everyone. But you can hunt early in the morning or even on rainy days, when people are few and far between. As more and more areas accessible to prospectors get hunted out, it is possible other places are near to you where gold may be easier to find. If you have a detector already you certainly have nothing to lose by giving it a go. Hopefully this post has at least made you consider the possibility. As always, volumes more information can be found just by Googling “beach detecting forum”. Here is an example of a hunt at White's Surf PI Pro and Platinum Rings in Hawaii I got four platinum and three gold rings over a couple week period. One of the gold rings is white gold so it looks like only two gold. All fairly plain men's bands reflecting the rough surf area I was hunting. There is a picture of everything I dug at the link including the junk. All the platinum I have ever found was rings, and when platinum peaked at over $2000 an ounce I cashed in over two ounces of platinum. Another very successful hunt was Detecting Gold in Hawaii with the Garrett Infinium Please note that unlike my prospecting outings I do not spend every hour of every day in Hawaii detecting. These finds are being made hunting on an average of two or three hours a day. I am not one to just sit around so detecting keeps me busy. And a good vacation can be paid for in finds or at least subsidized with some hard work and a little bit of luck. Waterproof VLF Detector Comparison Guide Some gold and platinum finds made by Steve in Hawaii

Looking at some usernames on this forum i sometimes wonder how they came up with their name. Obviously some have user names that are their real name but others are a little more bizarre. When i decided to join prospecting forums i didn't know what to have, so googled how you say Gold in different languages. I came across "Jin" which is the Chinese term for gold.

They say “the early bird catches the worm”, but how early are we talking here? I have been trying to make it to the beach two hours before low tide but by the time I get there somebody has already been there. The beach looks like it was bombarded, there’s open holes everywhere and junk targets laying besides them. It’s been hard trying to find the good stuff when there’s so much competition but I’ve managed somehow. Anyways, these are my good finds for July. The last 4 rings and heart are gold. The very last picture of a single ring appears to be silver with a little gold. I also found a working GoPro 6 in the water. Thanks for looking and happy hunting.

Hi everyone, i'm excited! I just purchased a GPX-5000. I got 10% off the total. With an additional 8" commander mono coil, the total came out too 3.8k. I studied for awhile on which one to get, the GPX-4500 or 5000. I figured for 1k more I could get the better one, so I got the GPX-5000, Yay!

I'm agreeing with Jim as well. The 24K is actually a very good selling and performing VLF gold detector for my customers too., so coil options are on the way. Personally, I'll take a 24K and it's fine tuning capabilities for a variety of soils, sites, and situations encountered at the many gold fields I hunt in the NW states, counties and climates...over the other VLF gold machines I sell. Now, if you are the type who does not want to grow into a detector and learn the advanced features of a 24K, there are other machines out there I'll recommend.

I spoke to a very nice Minelab engineer in Australia last night concerning JP's new Ground Balance(GB) procedure and the use of Semi Auto GB. I informed him that I had concerns about the outdated GPZ manual and Knowledge Based Article "GPZ Tips for Better Ground Balance"...basically the lack of updated/detailed procedures on "what to do" for GB based on the ground conditions. He told me that the manual is very basic guidance, it provides instructions that will work for everyone and most people should use Auto GB. He did mention that Minelab might provide more on the subject in their Treasure Talk pages, because that is where opinion pieces are posted. Thank goodness JP keeps us informed! Bill

I prospected near Ballarat for one day before going back north. Perhaps I should have stayed? haha I think you have to get permission to be in the pastures with a metal detector but obviously a good find. I wonder what he found it with if he bought a new one. What was mined in Ballarat Victoria in the 1850s? In the 1850s gold discoveries in Victoria, in Beechworth, Castlemaine, Daylesford,Ballarat and Bendigo sparked gold rushes similar to the California Gold Rush. At its peak some two tonnes of gold per week flowed into the Treasury Building in Melbourne.

And a couple cans of spinach.

Excellent, excellent article. Makes me excited about my upcoming beach trip.

I got into computers very early and set my emails up. The first was my name @hotmail.com and to limit spam and annoying people I also setup a junk mail account "Geof_Junk@Hotmail.com" so for official contact I use my Main Email and my Junk mail for any thing else. This let me check my mail quickly and check the junk when I got time.

XP Deus|ORX HF Elliptical DD 9.5" x 5", no cover, battery in shaft : 280 grams

MSC, just my initials.

We have a fella over here his name is Richard Jack...hes about 6'3...knowbody says anything to him...my first name is Chuck so you can imagine how much teasing I got when i was a kid...anyway I go by Strick....first 6 letters of my last name..its what my friends used to call me.

Competition is fierce, but it's also a race against time. Here in New England the beaches are currently sanded in. There is several feet of soft sand on the new Hampshire and North shore mass beaches making recovery very difficult if you don't get there shortly after the object is dropped. Last Sunday I gave up on a target that was over 18" down. My best luck has been recent drops on early Sunday evening.

Thanks, Condor; It ain't easy to find gold, even harder in unfamiliar terrain and English that is not always easy to understand. I look forward to a campfire chat... fred

This is my second GoPro in 3 years. I almost didn’t dig it because I thought it be another can. Next time you go beach hunting go to one that gets a lot of tourist, that’s the ones I hunt and I do ok. Good luck It’s funny/sad because a lot of the people I see doing this are veterans in the hobby. I am new to the hobby so I’m still trying to figure out when to go. I don’t like going deep (just waist deep) in the water so low tide works best for me. How were the beaches around you say 50/100 years ago? You can always make a weekend trip to Washington or come south to CA to get your detecting fix ? If I were that close I would be there every other day. I’m sure you have many nice beaches close by full of goodies. One of these weekends I might have to take a trip down your way and see what I find. HH

Yeah, he`s confirmed he`s an OZ. Hey, JW is it time the lad was transported to Tasmania????

i m a New member. i Live in Turkey. Love stones and minerals. is this stone galena ? i found the rock in seferihisar . Turkey Thanks....

I do and I am.

I got Ridge Runner from a friend back when CB’s was popular. If I had to put a date on it I’d say middle 70’s. I don’t know why everything I’ve done was back when. haha Chuck

I like to find gold and I am always right ?

RickUK,one does not need to be Einstein to work my forum name out ? i am from good old 'Blighty' and live just north of roman 'Londinium'

I`m undercover on the other side, a bit of plea bargaining and I`ll forget you confessed Jin.

Ive been on the run from the law for 20 years. Would be a little stupid to use my real name incase the police googled it.

Nice stuff! I hate the smear every detectorist gets because of those slobs and idiots.... fred

Fred Mason is who I am except on Robs forum . I am easily confused when someone uses a different name on every forum. I just keep my life as simple as my wife will allow....

Snuck a couple hours out in the area again and found this really nice barber before the mosquitos got the better of me.

X is relative to the area you detect, this is why Minelab supply the GPZ with a Ferrite so you can calibrate the detector. If there is no X signal or minimal X signal then there will be minimal effect, however if there is a lot of X signal then an incorrect Ferrite balance will have an effect. Any noise in the audio train that does not need to be there should be removed via calibration, good detecting practices and sensible settings. The operator has a choice and can decide to not bother using the Ferrite (if they do then I highly recommend they use Auto mode), the GPZ will find good gold if the Ferrite balance is out, if X is present then there will be an extra layer of noise that is varying relative to the amount of X signal in the ground but even in high X situations having a poor X balance does not kill off huge amounts of performance. But if you combine, salt signal, saturation signal, poor X balance and EMI, they can remove a lot of target signal compared to another unit that is being used more efficiently. (EDIT: added more clarity) I like Semi-Auto mode because it saves the need to continually place the Ferrite on the ground, compared to using Quick-Trak to get the G balance correct when using Manual mode. I NEVER use QT without the Ferrite present. Ferrite balances prefer a sweep method not a pump method, only use the pump method for G balance in Semi Auto mode. If you are not noticing any real difference between using Auto and no Ferrite and Semi-Auto using the Ferrite then it suggests your ground has minimal X signal. However because X signal is subtle and mixes in with general ground noise feedback my position is to always X balance with the Ferrite and use Semi-Auto mode just to be sure. It take seconds to do and removes any doubt. The percentages of advantage is in the peice of mind in knowing my detector is always optimal no matter what the ground I am working in. JP

Please forgive my ignorance, What is TX shift and TB? I figured B2 (Beach mode 2). I'm half lost without the abbreviations!

I also noticed the Quick Start guide pamphlet "recommends" charging the Equinox for 4 hours before first use.

Just a note. Avoid taking the battery down to the level where the machine shuts down. Draining LiIon and LiPos down to nothing on even an infrequent basis reduces overall lifetime such that it will need replacement sooner. The internal Equinox battery protection circuitry may preclude actually discharging the battery to extremely low levels where lifetime degradation occurs, but I avoid going there anyway, if I can. Also store it with at least 30 to 50% charge if you are not going to use it for awhile. Do not store it discharged as it can self discharge to the point were lifetime degradation occurs. Also, avoid charging under extreme cold or warm temperatures (i.e., outside 32F to 113F (0 to 45C)). Again, the built-in charge protection circuitry should preclude this, but good to know.

It's takes about 4 hrs the 1st time and maybe 3-1/2 if you run it till it shuts down.. I have charged mine 3 times and once it took about 3-1/2 hours when it shut down on it's own due to low battery. The other time it was about 3 hrs with 25% or so left. I also use my 2.5 amp charger in my truck for headphones and wireless module and it seems like no time and they are charged.

Other than a shorter run time, is there any downside (if you're in a hurry) to only partially charge it the first time? (I have a small window and one day for site access.)

Yes....Iron bias..-minelab...=...bottle cap reject..-whites...=silencer..-xp deus...=...mask iron-rutus....

This will be fun to experiment with in those really trashy parks and home sites where iron abounds! Just one more useful tool.

Approx 5 hours...

I believe it's until it is full....