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Hunted an old transient camp along the river yesterday that I have been eyeballing for quite a while. It paid off after about 10 min. with this 925 eagle pendant. Found the usual brass cartridges, bullets and some modern clad also. I used my vintage tesoro bandido umax, garrett pro find pinpointer and homemade prospector pick. The pendant was found a couple feet from where I parked the bike by the tree.

Not exactly a gold prospecting video, but it still deals with placer gold. My fiance and I decided to make our wedding bands from the gold that i have found in Virginia. At first we tried actual forging, which was way to hard and required to many specialized tools. So after a little more research we decided to try sand casting. This process required a few tools, but none were very expensive, and this process was easier to do. That being said it took about 10 failed attempts to make her ring and 1 failed attempt to make mine. Something to note is that the smaller and more intricate the item you are trying to cast the harder it is to get it to work properly. This video is just of making my band. All in all i am very happy with the results and i actually like the little dimples and imperfection that are in the band, it gives it character, and since im not perfect my band shouldnt be either lol. (FYI her band is perfect because she is lol) Hope yall enjoy the video. Thanks for watching.

Hello Rob. Just happened to read your post and would like to make a few comments ..hope you do not mind. Please do not let the price of Simplex+ mislead you. As our Simplex+ video says, the only thing that is really entry level about this detector is its price. This is what we say as the manufacturer of the product and we will leave the rest to the actual users of the product to comment upon as whatever I say here will be biased. Now regarding myself and service – It is totally my personal choice to respond to end users and interact with them as I really enjoy it ...and more importantly I feel like I must understand the customer profile and their needs from first hand experience to be able to perform my job the best way I can as the Sales&Marketing Director of the company. Of course, Nokta Makro is not a one-man show. I have a team of sales and operations guys reporting to me as well as many other departments who make it all happen. In addition, we now have a service center in the USA and the turn-around time is pretty good so far. Are we sprinters or marathoners? I can only speak for the current team including myself as I do not know what the future will bring. All I can say is that we made an announcement end of 2014 when Nokta bought out Makro. Within that announcement we said ''...We will not only offer a richer product portfolio to our customers but address the whole market demand with products at different price levels.'' This is exactly what we have been doing for the past 5 years .... standing behind our word. We have been working hard, really hard to reach where we are today and will continue to do so as the limit is the sky. However, regardless of where we end up, we can promise our customers that: 1. We will never forget the fact that we owe it all first to our end users 2. We will never close our ears and we will continue to listen to the actual users 3. We will maybe make mistakes but will always try to be open and honest about them 4. We will stand behind our products and our valued customers Just wanted to point these out … thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment. Dilek

Dilek is without a doubt one of the most humble and honest persons that I have ever met in my decades in the industry. She does not hype the product but lets it speak for itself, and never badmouths the competition. I have never met her but consider her a friend, and wish her good health and success wherever her path leads her.

Definitely do dig them Phrunt!! My last two gold rings were a pull tab signal and a zinc penny signal. Both were in places I’ve detected before and can almost guarantee that I passed them because it was hot and I’d already dug my share of similar ID junk targets.

Not necessarily, impedance is not just resistance (which is determined by copper wire diameter and length) but also the diameter of the coil introduces inductive reactance which also "impedes" electrical current so these are balanced to enable the coil to match the output circuitry of the detector. VLF detectors are simply inductive balance machines where the two loops (a transmit loop and a receive loop) in the coil be they coaxial (typically concentric but can also be coaxial elliptical loops) or double-D overlapping Tx and Receive loops are perfectly balanced to produce a null signal until a metallic target is introduced into the balanced field area causing a phase imbalance that is then detected. As Steve and others have suggested, there is perhaps some difference in the power put into the larger diameter transmit coils to produce a larger/deeper detection field but the field strength/density is lower primarily because of the larger area of the coil, not the power put into it.

Most detectors have simplified control sets that combine several controls into one or leave other controls out entirely. The White’s V3i offers more granular control of the detector at every level possible and so it’s manuals are a lesson in how detectors work. One main reason I own a V3i is because we will never see another detector again with this level of control. From the White’s V3i Advanced User Manual: Sensitivity Once you select a basic program you may need to adjust the sensitivity settings. Most of the V3i programs are set up with nominal sensitivities, but some (notably the ‘Pro’ programs) are set up a little hotter. Most users believe sensitivity should be run as high as possible. In some cases this is true, but if you find the detector is noisy and falses a lot you probably need to turn it down. There are three primary sensitivity settings, plus a boost mode. Rx Gain Rx Gain (sometimes called preamp gain) sets the gain of the receiver’s input amplifier. In most cases, you want to set this as high as possible and still maintain stable operation. Three things can limit the maximum gain setting. The first is external noise, such as electro-magnetic interference (EMI) including 50/ 60Hz mains and RF. EMI typically shows up as erratic operation and noisy audio. Secondly, in highly mineralized ground excessive gain can cause the input amplifier to overload or operate at close to overload due to the large ground signal, limiting the available range for target detection. Finally, the quality of the loop null can also push the input amplifier toward overload. White’s V-compatible loops are designed to minimize null limitations, but third-party loops typically have wide variances in the quality of the null which can require a lower Rx Gain. EMI affects the lower end of the signal range, which more directly impacts target sensitivity. Both ground signal and loop null affect the upper end of the signal response range, which usually results in a quicker overload. Ground signal and loop null affect target sensitivity only so far as the Rx Gain must be reduced to prevent overload. All-Metal Sensitivity All-Metal Sensitivity (sometimes called DC sensitivity) determines the responsiveness of the all-metal channel. Only target signals above the threshold cause an all-metal response, and a higher all-metal sensitivity setting will increase the all-metal audio response rate to targets. This setting affects all-metal modes including pinpoint and mixed-mode, but does not affect normal discrimination mode. Setting this too high will make the all-metal audio chatter. Discrimination Sensitivity Discrimination Sensitivity (sometimes called AC sensitivity) determines the responsiveness of the discrimination channel. This is a threshold level, so only target signals above the threshold cause a discrimination response. Setting this too high will cause noise and falsing in the discrimination audio. Tx Boost Tx Boost is transmit boost. When enabled, it triples the transmit voltage applied to the loop (from 10V to 30V) and increases the depth. Using this feature has two major drawbacks: it can overload some loops (reduce the Rx Gain), and it quickly drains the battery. There are two common uses for Tx Boost. One is when hunting an unusually “clean” area where most targets have been cleaned out, and only deep targets remain. TX Boost typically gives about a 1” depth increase. The other is when EMI noise is severe. Reducing the Rx Gain reduces EMI but also reduces target signal strength. Applying Tx Boost increases target signal strength but does not increase EMI noise, so Tx Boost can be used to improve signal-to-noise.

Quite a bit was made of ferrous falsing with the 6" coil a year ago after the upgrade, but nothing much seemed to come of it. I did some limited testing with two Equinox 800 both set up with 6" coils on tiny gold nuggets in bad soil. Short story is I could discern no real difference. There appears to be little downside to going to 1.7.5 from my use so far and with 1.5.0 having the known issue with silver on edge I am going all in with 1.7.5 and not looking back. Thanks for the feedback folks. Equinox - How To Check Version Or Rollback To Older Version Thread asking same question a year ago

The last “semi-official word” was posted on June 26 here: “the silence is goldenlol, it's a French expression, but I do not know, if it is well translated ...in short, some newsAQ production must "normally" start on July / Augustthere was some change on the machinenew stickera setting mode addand performance in reject modesignificantly improved (result of the first research on Terra)” I think it is safe to say that earlier they were thinking they were close with production expected in July/August. Then an unexpected delay occurred, and there has now been an information clamp down. That does not tell me the machine is imminent, just the opposite. It may get released tomorrow but I for one am not holding my breath. I personally now just figure next year, and that way if it comes earlier it will be a pleasant surprise. Fisher Impulse AQ Data & Specifications

Just do it. If you’re new to the machine just start with park1 and hunt away. Pay attention to any patterns that develop as to where good targets are located. If you manage to hunt everywhere before they move more dirt then try park2 or alter settings in 1 and go over it again. Usually with construction areas they work so fast that you usually don’t get to hunt it all. Put the coil to the soil and go find some goodies!!🤠

Must admit and this is just my personal opinion,i always thought something was not right from the very start with this thread,of course i could be wrong but pure gut feeling tells me i dont think i am wrong with my assumption !!

Besides latency, the other issue with using a wireless receiver as the source for your recorded audio is how do YOU hear the detector itself while recording, since the control head on-board speaker is cut out whenever you are using wireless audio. So here are some strange Equinox wireless audio fun facts that may provide some folks with alternative ideas to route "auxiliary" sources of "no latency" detector audio out to video or audio recording devices (or detecting "partners") instead of having to inconveniently capture lower fidelity audio from the control head loudspeaker so both you and the camera or your "partner" can hear the audio simultaneously. Many folks don't know this, but if you are using the BT headphones or the WM08 receiver, the control head speaker audio is cut out, but the headphone jack audio is still active. In this manner you can actually use the BT headphones to be able to hear tones yourself and you can route hardwired audio from the headphone jack via a mini-patch cable into a camera mounted on your detector shaft, detector housing, or mounted on your hat, backpack, or clothing. Another way this "feature" can be "used" is to enable a partner to hear the audio via the BT headphones while you swing and simultaneously listen to the audio using a pair of hardwired phones which can be useful in helping someone else walk along and learn how to use the Equinox. Another strange thing is that if you are using the supplied BT headphones, which also have a "hard wired" headphone jack on one earcup, is that you can actually use the headphones as a BT receiver and you can plug a separate set of hard-wired stereo headphones or earbuds into the headphone jack of the BT headphones and get audio that way. In this way you can "rest" the BT headphones around your neck/shoulders while using a set of wired earbuds. Not too practical, but it can be done if you want to use more comfortable wired earbuds in hot weather- though the bulky full-sized BT headphones are still resting on your shoulders/neck (I can't recall as I type this whether the BT headphone speakers are cut out if you do this, but I do think that is the case). Also, although only one set of BT headphones or a single BT receiver can be used in conjunction with the Equinox's BT transmitter output at any time, however, up to four separate WM08 Wi-Stream modules can be simultaneously paired with the Equinox at any time for small, four-person "group" Equinox instruction opportunities. Though, good luck getting your hands on four WM08 receivers at any one time unless you can borrow them from four Equinox 800 owners, because they are cost-prohibitive to be obtained as stand alone wireless accessories. All strange but true wireless Equinox audio factoids.

Hey Lady I’m one that knows how great your service is due to the fact I got one detector defective straight out of the box. I got better service direct from you across the water than with some in the USA . Not one time did you ask for me to pay shipping are did you drop me . I guess you could say you stuck with me through thick and thin but never left until you knew I was happy. Dilek I’ve said the same in the past and I’ll always speak up for you and your company. Chuck

Assuming you're referring to VLF machines: The power consumed by a coil does not vary at all with size. If the designers have done their job correctly, the electrical resistance should be the same, and in operation, the voltage applied to the coil should remain constant, too. "Ohms Law" fills in the missing info - the current must be unchanged, too. Hence power is unchanged. Even if there was, say a 10% variation with a particular coil, you would be hard pressed to observe it's effect on the total detector power draw. Take the frugal Teknetics T2: approximate power put into the coil is 20 milliwatts. Total power draw of the whole machine is about 300 milliwatts.

I don't know where you live but here in Colorado the wood chip playgrounds have 6" to 1' of wood chips with a thick fabric weed barrier below that. The weed barrier is stapled into the ground along seams where the fabric overlaps. The staples are targets as are many targets below the weed barrier. I always turn my sensitivity down to 10 or less in these wood chip playgrounds, watch the depth meter carefully and only dig shallow, 6" or less, two way repeatable targets. I always hunt these tot lots in Park 1 because of the tiny pieces of aluminum foil that will come in from 2 to 12 on the Nox depending on size. Park 1 is definitely less sensitive to these tiny foil pieces but will still hit on small gold targets, no problem. Sensitivity at 10 or less will also let you get closer to play structures with your DD coil. Try to always swing into play structure poles and concrete curbing with the sides of your DD coil and not with the front tip. It will double beep easily on the poles or rebar and fool you. If you use the side of the coil to approach play structure poles, sidewalks and curbs you should only get one long beep. If not, you may have a target. Wood chips do not create much resistance for the transmit and receive signal so you can really turn down the sensitivity even to 5 and still do well around play structures, sidewalk edges and curbing. Running your Nox at 16 will hit every larger target within 1' of your coil including the barrier staples, rebar, and other buried supports for the play structures. Toggle your horseshoe button to check for negative numbers and low tones in Park 1 or Park 2. You can also just use 5 tones to simplify things. 50 tones can be a bit much over aluminum targets, rebar and around play structure supports that have multiple alloys. Park 2 in sand, gravel or wood chips over gravel and sand will pick up tiny foil, aluminum can shards and even tiny naturally occurring iron particles which can all give signals in the 2 to 14 range. Park 2 is much more sensitive to these smaller targets by design. Jeff

I've already posted Rooster before. But he had a wonderful day last weekend with Klunker & I.

From a technical perspective a metal detector in perfect tune detecting no targets is in a state of electrical balance and uses no power. Different coil sizes are all tuned to reach this “null” state so in theory coil size makes no difference. These are not antennas transmitting power but more like an alternator circuit creating a magnetic field. A conductive item has current induced into it, causing a power drain. The ground itself is a huge target so simply engaging the coil with the ground uses power, and larger coils “see” more ground. So it is the engagement with a detectable target of some sort that uses the power, not so much the coil by itself. A lot of the battery power actually goes to creating an amplified audio signal which is why headphone use can dramatically save battery power. My first post is more the view from a layman user perspective, the above closer to reality, but I admit to not being a detector designer or tech wizard, so somebody else can probably get closer to the true correct technical aspects. Coil Basics by Carl Moreland

I hunt almost every day year round for 2 to 3 hours when the weather isn't below 25F or above 100F. It's good exercise, my dog gets to go too, and I get to detect!!!! I change up the pattern sometimes but 90% of the time I am hunting for coins and jewelry with my Equinox 600 with 11" coil or my Fisher F19 with Detech Ultimate 13" coil. Usually my Nox is in Park 1 or Park 2 discriminating -9 to +4 and my F19 is in disc mode, iron volume 11, tone break at 55, discrimination 35. Today, like most days I was concentrating on the pull tab, ring tab/beaver tail, zinc penny range looking for gold jewelry. That's roughly +6 to +23 on the Nox and 50 to 80 on the F19. If I am feeling pretty good I will dig anything in that range. I live in suburban Denver so no shovels, only screwdriver coin popping. It is really hot and dry here at the moment too, so I was only willing to dig shallow surface to 4" targets today so I wouldn't destroy the turf in the park I was going to. I was planning to dig lots of pull tabs, ring tabs, beaver tails and zinc pennies. If I dug a nickel, copper penny, dime or quarter in the mean time: Great! That definitely happened. I skipped over a few pull tabs/ring tabs and dug 41. Dug 11 pennies. So roughly 50 possible gold targets in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Amazingly enough before I recovered the 8 gram 14K gold ring ($240 melt value ?) the first thing in the hole was a beaver tail. It was actually on my screw driver - perfect bull's eye. I was NOT thinking "#$%%^^ another tab! I did what I usually do and rechecked the hole with my handheld pinpointer. The original target ID on my F19 with the Ultimate coil (thank you phrunt for constantly recommending it!) was a really steady 70 to 72 at 2 inches, so I was a little surprised with the beaver tail ring tab. Usually the numbers jump a little more just because of all the varying surfaces on the target when the beaver tail is still attached to the pull ring. So, I wasn't surprised that there was a second target (I was thinking maybe a zinc penny) but I was really happy that my remembering and practicing three important things payed off with a great ring. I don't find gold rings every time I hunt. I do find rings (junk and bling) at least 3 times a week along with earrings, chains, pendants etc. Some are gold or silver, most are bling. I would say that the ratio I experience between trash and jewelry is about 50 to 1. This hunt was right in line with that ratio. DIG PULL TABS/BEAVER TAILS DIG ZINC PENNIES RECHECK THE HOLE FOR OTHER TARGETS Jeff

On Friday had about an hour and a 1/2 to kill between calls. The heat has been unbearable so I went to a local swimming hole And using my Excalibur with 8" coil had one of my best and shortest hunts ever. The bracelet and ring are 14K the little ring with this pink stone is silver the men's wedding band is junk.. Strick

Today I had a chance to get up at dawn and get in a quick hunt before other events of the day. I decided to go to a familiar beach since I had read the surf report and it said there could have been a 3 hour period of 3.5 ft waves at high tide from the WNW! Ok, that is not much energy but better than the 1 ft surf at 16 second intervals all week. Off I went before the mid tides would take my beach. It was a great morning with just a bit of coolness and a partial marine layer but it didn't block the sunrise. Off in the distance you could see the planes going in and out of LAX. My plan was for a quick walk to my location before someone else would get there and then work my way back. As it turns out there were no other detectorists on the beach this morning due to the lack of major energy in the surf. Even the surfers only had small shore break to try and catch. This was the same area where I found my fantastic David Yurman piece a couple of weeks ago. When I walked fast I didn't locate much. I was following the black sand line and would stop on a target and circle and see if there was more but I kept up my plan for about 1.5 miles to my beach. Once there I was walking up and down the slope. This presents the biggest challenge to the Equinox because at the bottom there is lots of black sand and water and at the top it has been 4-5 hours since wet. The ground changes more. I had just a few pennies with all metal and sensitivity at 23 and iron volume up to 10 and everything else stock in Beach 1. (The other day I did a factory reset for the first time in over a year.) I put the iron volume (0-minus 9)up to 10 because I have learned as Simon has also that fringe targets (very deep targets too) often times read negative and when they do that they get the iron tone and it is preset at about 4. I give it a louder response. When I made my turn I found some rocks that had been washed up by the waves and I got some strong hits. Those are the can pieces that were just at the edge of the water. They were not that deep, perhaps 10 inches but they are big so just normal trash. As I worked my way back in the direction I came I worked up a bit higher than when I came in and I got my first quarter. It was deep but there wasn't much around so this is when I decided to go to 25 on the sensitivity. I rarely do this but it sounded ok so I stuck with it for this section of beach. A pattern began to develop in the finds. There was a rather narrow 'streak' or line running parallel to the waves but 5-6 feet above the black sand line. My holes were in a narrowed zone. I was gridding now down this line and also crossing it. Targets would murmur and then you would have to interrogate them and see what number it would stick on or jump around. I got some of the wires this way. Then I got a deep signal that was negative 5-6 and I took off 6 inches and it turned positive. I went down and down and could now fit the entire coil in the hole but it was still there. I lost it a couple of times because I couldn't hear it without sticking the coil on edge into the bottom of the to hear it again. I had to put down the detector and dig with my hand/arm scoop to get deep enough but the sand was not packed. I was over half the length of the scoop into the hole when it came out. I measured and the 11 inch coil can be fit in the hole on top of itself with just a couple of inches above the sand line so I say it is a 20" deep target. It is some kind of 'pot' metal in the shape of a B. The weight is 14.4 grams. Soon after I found a couple of other quarters and then returned the sensitivity to my normal 23 and worked my way back out the beach. I learn something all the time. The last picture is a picture of my finds for last month. It includes the David Yurman piece.

"Boot of Cortez" Nugget was found with a cheap Radio Shack detector !!

Since I posted this it has rained and the whole area is under about 4 inches of water and the mud makes it impossible to walk. The construction is at a standstill for now and I am looking for my old rubber boots. Don't know if I will be able to sift the mud and water to get to anything yet but I am sure going to try it. Yesterday all the coins I had found were from the late 30's to early 50's so I know it is going to be fun! I will give everyone updates on what I find, Valen

Dilek, I’m so impressed by you and your company that you can count me in. I’m going to order the Simplex based on what I’ve read so far. Best of luck!

Nice find....sounds like a great day !

If we're (really) lucky there will be some reliable info at the Detectival event in 3 weeks:

Steve’s guesses have a history of being often accurate.

Good luck! Might be some old coins there!

Definitely check the stripped areas first. You may even see coins laying about. I detected a school in Mesa, az once when they were constructing. I was amazed at the coins we found! fred

Sounds like you're in the right spot! You didn't say if you've been searching the freshly opened area or the piles. You also didn't mention the age of your finds. IMO, it's the old finds that are more difficult to find in general so go for those, even if less plentiful. Consistent with Noah said about time being of the essence, I would concentrate on the cleared area and get to the piles later (if the latter is even possible). It will be interesting to see if there is anything in the ground after they clear the next 12 inches. It could go either way, depending upon the history of this location and the density of the ground. My suggestion (similar to Noah's) is to not waste any time. Sounds like a lot of area to cover and they aren't going to stop and wait for you to finish.

Good morning LowTide Being we all human and not all easy to deal with.makes a job Stressful. You use the term burnout,well this is something we all have in any job. Dealing with some people on detectors I’d say that Dilek has gone as far as a total flame out . But I don’t believe she’d never show it because she may turn around and someone says thank you. One thank you can heal a lot of wounds . Dilek is working for a company that is not sitting on their hands watching the world go bye. You don’t have to take my word just look at the number of new detectors they have come out with. LowTide I don’t think you have to worry about that Lady she’s got what it takes for the long haul. Chuck

While we are on the subject of Dilek...........firstly I have never purchased a product from Nok/Mak and therefore I am agnostic about what they offer. But I have read many forums and posts about the company and to/from Dilek herself. She has always comported herself very well in her public dealings with customers and I would believe that it likely carries over to private communications. I do have one concern for Dilek in her position at Nok/Mak and that is burnout. I was in a similar position in Consumer Electronics for several decades before retirement. Being on the road for multiple days per month in a high stress trade show environment takes it’s toll. Trying to juggle family life especially as a young mother simply magnifies that stress. I would hope that once a month she takes 15 minutes to clear her mind and re-assess her priorities as we all get to make life’s journey one time.

It been a few years now, are there any up dates. If not it does not take away the generosity provided by vanursePaul

Just dug a nice zinc penny too!!!! This was a solid 19 on the Equinox at about 2-3”. 16.6grams of 10K. Now to do a little research and see if I can find this kid by his nickname on the ring. The other is 10k gold filled over sterling.

The only problem with not digging the foil in a playground is that any little gold jewelry that a kid is likely to loose( broken chains, clasps, earrings, gold baby rings) is going to register in the same zone as those bits of candy wrapper foil. Its a daunting job digging all that trash but most places the persistence will be rewarded with sweet shiny gold, albeit little tiny gold. I like to refer to it as “urban-prospecting” LOL I love my EQX for the majority of my detecting but in a playground I will always use a Tesoro Compadre or Mojave. When you get the sweep speed right you can find targets within a foot of those big metal poles. Best advice is to place some common targets you want to detect near the poles and play with the settings until you can find them. Varying the distance from the poles and sensitivity of the detector will teach you what to listen for.

Referenced in my response below. Bingo. Yes, Multi IQ makes it more forgiving to less than ideal GB (as I stated above) than other VLF machines (including FBS machines). So as long as you can run Multi and unless you hear it chirping with ground feedback noise, having a large GB delta in the numbers should not be too concerning. I suspect that the Equinox tracking GB algorithm is trying to trigger off sensed changes in magnetite levels. If magnetite mineralization is minimal and not the primary mineralization driver in your soil to GB phase number changes, then Equinox tracking could be ineffective. If detecting heavy alkalai salt soils, beach mode with tracking might be something you could experiment with. But bottom line, you can still be effective with Equinox without tracking because Multi IQ is so forgiving to less than ideal ground balancing. HH

Thank you Steve.Just got my stuff ready going to try her out.

Yeah I have also noticed that signals would be pretty consistent within a 2 foot range of any of the actual playground equipment, also the cement outline of the playground. Whenever the coil was about 6" away from the cement outline of the playground there was always a signal. Must be something under there around the cement! I did have my sensitivity down to 16 I think for EMI, didnt think of going even lower. I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your response.

Some of you may know what it is like to swing a large PI detector. It can turn into a job and not be fun even though the weight of gold found is good. I have used a GB 2 since it first came out and when I break it out I call that therapy. Recently Gerry's Detectors helped me obtain a Goldmonster to add to my many detectors. Thanks Gerry. I did not know what to expect , I just needed something to have as a loaner. Was not really impressed by the rod as it is a 3 piece screw together type. The big coil looks funny and the ergonomics are sort of out of balance. Well that all went away when i turned it on. The photo shows the result of the first three outings. I am very impressed. I never thought i would put my GB2 in the corner. Fisher needs a wake up call. Sorry I am the most die hard GB2 fan out there but this detector with the 5 inch round coil is amazing. Turn on and go. Rechargeable batteries and great response on the smallest gold. Did not even use headphones. The Bug 2 is better in some ways (hot rocks) but is in need of a total update. Heavier cables , push button, possibly a 71HZ Gold Bug Pro type package. I hear the Equinox is as good for gold. I guess i have some testing to do. I could easily put the heavier GPZ away for awhile and just go back to small coil detecting. If I can figure out the Equinox I could find old coins and small gold with one machine on the same day. This must be Steve's approach. Tired of heavy detectors.

Yes Strick the cost can add up. We're at $3000 already that includes him and the cost to replace a library book he chewed yesterday. No doubt more damage will follow. As long as its not my car or detectors I wont be too upset.

It turns out that there is a White's service technician that lives 20 minutes from my house. I've made an appointment with him on Friday. He's going to check the unit out and give me a few lessons and tips on how to use. How cool is that?

The 600 is a great unit and for many the best value by far. I very often just use the presets with a small tweak to sensitivity and therefore am probably going to get a 600 for use as my dedicated saltwater unit plus general backup machine.

I guess it depends what you mean by use more power. Certainly resistance varies with different coils. In general the detector puts out a regulated amount of power, and a larger coil disperses that power into a larger but weaker detection field. Small coils pump the same power into a more concentrated, more powerful electromagnetic field. This is why small coils react better to small targets, and why it takes larger gold to set large coils off, but at greater depths. Some detectors allow you to change the transmit power via a control, often labeled TX power. Others may vary that setting via programs or “timings”. Or were you simply asking whether different coils can drain the battery faster? Yes. Though most people will never notice the difference. Coil Basics by Carl Moreland

I have more to add, just returned from three weeks of salt hunting. I still believe in one tone and going to all metal mode for final decision. Many if not all true ferrous targets crisp up and number lock to the minus side better when switching to all metal. I also want to say that even though a true number lock on a target is unlikely [in moving salt water], except for shallow targets, I had no issues with making determinations on digging. With the 1,2 and 5 peso coin being ferrous and reading between -4 -7, there was plenty of iffy signals to sift through. And ALL of those iffy signals I dug, none were of any worth [all ferrous]. Guessing I have several hundred "iffy targets" dug. I am very confident at this point things are not slipping by me using my method of one tone and meter ID. . It leads me to believe that even though I do not get a number lock, the general sound and groups of numbers +1 and better are a working combination. I have always been an if in doubt DIG, person. You really get a raw look at all targets in one tone, and going to all metal really makes decisions easier. HH Dave

I kept the numbers 3,4,5,6, X ,7&8 specimens for many years before they went in the dolly pot but at least out came 26 ounces troy of gold . Unfortunately the gold price was on a peak but nothing like today price

I'm new here, I've seen your site many times and you always have interesting insights. I thought I had an account but tonight I finally signed up. Anyways, I've seen the news on these machines and have been very curious about them. Where are these detectors made, in Turkey, or elsewhere? It will be interesting to see how geopolitics plays a role. Tariffs and such. Competition is good and hopefully there continues to be a variety of manufacturers coming up with better products and pushing the limits. Happy hunting, Mark

One with an on/off button that only finds good stuff would suit me

When I was a Whites dealer I felt they had 2 solid performers. I pushed the M6 and MXT/MXTpro. No need to carry every machine they had. 15 to 20 years later they are still the best they have in my opinion. Kind of sad actually.....

Ive also read issues with down loading..... that could i guess contribute to how the programs act. Someone using the old program switching to the new .... hopefully tried reloading it again if it seemed out of whack.

Yeah, the weeping problem was with the stock shaft. Doesn't really help now and I know a lot of folks can't afford to do this, but for that very reason, I purchased a 600 as a backup to my 800 and as a dedicated water machine because salt water hunting is just tough on detectors. The price of the 600 with my dealer's loyal customer discount enabled be to get both detectors for less than I would pay for a single Deus. So I thought it was worth it. For salt beach hunting the 600 is just fine, and I can use the 800 for more challenging relic hunting situations where the extra features and wireless accessories are beneficial. If the 600 goes down vecause of a water problem then I can go to the 800 as backup. I really have no suitable "other" detector for wet salt beach hunting.

Professor, I had a complete stranger send me his 600 dollar MXT detector-- All because I asked on a forum if someone had a spare VLF machine ... Anyway, drillerdave sent me this detector out of the goodness of his heart,,, and i sure am friends with him now----he didnt know me from Adam,,, i eventually went ahead and bought it from him--- he said it was just collecting dust anyway----(but it didnt have dust on it when i got it )----- i suspect a good heart, motivated to help others was the real story!!! Hats off to driller dave---many of you know him... ------------------ The MXT is not the greatest gold detector, but if you would like to use it---- i will send it to you,,, i feel like i should follow the example drillerdave showed me.... paul