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I got my GPZ back from Minelab last month, which included a new 14" coil and lower rod. Only $3600.00 AUD lighter in my wallet. As you may recall, I bricked the detector after the Patch Lead was defective. It's still crazy hot here in Sunny Yuma, but I was bored and still curious about the X-Coil, so I shook off my concerns and cut the connector off my brand new coil and built the Patch Lead myself. I was extra careful with the heat from the soldering iron and did a respectable job of putting together the connection. I did a few practice runs on scrap wire and connectors so I was a little more confident of my skill. I got out 5 mornings last week for a total of about 12 hrs run time. At sunup the morning temps were still in the high 80's and jumping to 100 by 9:00am. Unbearable in the desert washes with no breeze. The one thing that saved me was the synthetic chamois cooling cloths, one around my neck and one under my cap hanging down my neck. The first morning I did a complete set-up with the detector since it was, for all practical purposes, a brand new machine with all new printed circuits etc. I waved the 17" X-Coil over the ferrite and got the machine nearly silent, though still reacting some to the ferrite. I started in the area where I found the 28 gram rippa last May. This area has a fairly hot layer of clay about 12" under the overburden. Last May we were able to run this zone using HY, Normal, Sens 12, (Threshold 27) with the Patch Search mode to quiet down the machine. The 17" X-Coil in those same settings was way too sensitive, so I had to switch to Difficult to quiet it down. Because I knew I could only be out for a couple hrs, I focused on trying to get that coil over gold hoping to then play with the settings. No joy the first morning. The next morning I went out to an area that had produced half a dozen 1 grammers when the GPZ first came out. I knew it was deeper and a little quieter ground. We tried Paul's 19" GPZ here when it first came out to no avail. This time I was able to zero out the Ferrite and switch back to Normal from the Difficult setting. The machine was still a little twitchy so I backed off the Threshold to 22 and got it humming along nicely. I gridded the area pretty good and came up with a few deep trash targets and then, right as it started to get unbearable hot, I got a faint, sweet rising tone. A lot of digging and sweating produced a sweet 4 grammer right on the hardpack, about 14 inches down. Now a 4 grammer at 14 inches should be well within the range of the GPZ and standard 14" coil, but I've been over that zone at least 6 times over the past 3 years. The only significant difference is the ground is bone dry this year. Last year there were still pools of water from late season rains. The next morning I was back to the area of the 28 grammer. I found that the machine was more stable and I could run in Gen, Normal, Sens 14. I got a couple deep trash targets and chased a number of hot ground seams and hot rocks. The settings were really sensitive to hot ground, but in my mind that's the only way to find good missed targets. Right at the end of the morning I got what sounded like another bit of hot ground. I switched to High Yield from General and it brightened up the target, but still hadn't convinced me that it was gold. The target was in the sidewall of a drywasher's hole, so the 17" coil was pretty awkward. I dug out the ground so that I could get the coil level and the target brightened up a little more. By then I had hit the hardpack which tends to hide these small, reddish hotrocks. I dug dozens in this same area, but I needed to check this coil's capabilities. The hardpack was brutal in the morning sun so I had to go back to the truck and get my handy Aussie (DavesGold) made pick. I'm not going out without it now. About 8 inches into the hardpack out popped a nice 1.5 grammer. I can guarantee I stuck the GPZ standard coil in the hole a half a dozen times over the past 2 years. Thur morning I got out in the same area. I chose a wash that a produced 5 small nuggets, in the sub-sub gram range, in May. I concentrated on the deepest gravels thinking deeper nuggets must be in there, just beyond the reach of the 14" coil. I gridded the zone where a bench had formed on the inside bend of the wash. I went at it from every angle and was about to surrender to the heat when I got the faintest of faint tones. Again I switched to High Yield and it brightened up some. I switched to Difficult, nothing. I started pulling down the bank so that I could get a good level swing with the 17" coil. Slightly improved tone, still unconvincing. I pulled down another few inches and got a much improved tone. I switched to Difficult and got a dull growl, more convincing yet. After much digging into the hardpack out came a nice 1.8 grammer. I even photographed the hole for this one. The Aussie pick is 28" long. I'm really starting to like this coil. It's light enough for all day use with the addition of my homemade hipstick. I run the hipstick to the bottom of the frame in my lightweight framepack, which moves the weight to the back of the hipbelt and off my shoulder. I'm also running the SteelPhase amp plugged directly into the GPZ, no wireless connection between. As per some of JP's guidance, I'm running the GPZ volume at 2, adjusting loudness at the amp. I'm running the Threshold between 20 and 22 depending on how twitchy the ground is. For the most part I'm running General instead of High Yield trying to reach those deeper targets. The first 2 targets were well within the reach of the standard 14" coil, but somehow I didn't find them over the past 2 years. The last one, doubtful for the standard coil. As the weather cools I'll start doing a quick change to the 14" coil over new targets for a comparison. Right now, it's still to friggin hot to bother. X Coil 2021 News

I began this Rye Patch trip on Thursday morning about 2 AM. It was time to go meet Dig It and see how he was doing there. This time it was a normal trip without the burning satellite re-entry I saw on one trip before. I was treated with a full moon on my way up 395, 6, 95 and I80. We met up without a problem and I headed out to places where I wanted to look and some places where I had found nuggets in the past. I'd say at least half of my trips to Rye Patch get me on a nugget and the other half don't. This is my first trip up here since Australia so I'm wondering what I gained from all that swinging. Anyway, it was good to meet up with Ken, have a chat about his escapades and try to help him understand what little I know about Rye Patch. We parted and I expected to see him again the next day. I have a bit of an open schedule and he warned me that it was going to be warmer than we planned. I went on to near the burn barrel and spent one of those glorious nights of sleep I get after doing an all nighter. I had no sleep the previous night and I can stretch out in the 4Runner and enjoy a night of no city or neighbor noise! Planes are constantly landing at LAX and if they are from Asia they fly over Santa Monica. No planes at Rye Patch. haha I went to bed at dark, watching the sunset out the front and watching the moon rise in the back! I captured the sunrise the next morning. Rye Patch is full. I've been here many times when all of that area was dry. It was a nice, clear, cool morning. Time to get going. I headed in a direction to take advantage of the morning. Before I got to my spot I had my first target of the day. I dug around and in the early light with my sunglasses on and dirt on the target I thought it was lead. There's lots of trash in the area as I found out later. I looked and looked and finally gave it a mouth wash and I saw the color! Yeeee haaaa ... a nice nugget. I've cleaned it up by soaking it in vinegar. I don't know the weight yet. I'll edit this post when I find out. I think it is my best Rye Patch nugget. Lucky Friday the 13th full moon nugget. I gridded that area for half the day and only found trash. I don't think I would have that nugget now if it had been in the reverse order. I found the clue early and gridded. If I would have found trash, trash, trash without a clue I probably would have moved on. I discovered a couple of things while looking for more in that area but they will be put into another post. It is my only nugget of the 3 days so far but I'm seeing some new to me patches. More travel tomorrow while the temperature is up. Mitchel

Today I had to go to the dentist, which I totally hate, and by the time I finally got back home I didn't have much time before company was to arrive. So I had about 25 minutes to kill and thought I would get rid of more trash from the back yard, so I can put in a test garden. First hole I dug looked like a freeze plug from the 1920's. Throw it away! Second hole I dug up a quarter down about 6 inches. KEEPER!!! Third hole I dug down about 5 inches and I think it came off a bicycle or something. Throw it away! Forth hole I dug I had to go down about 6 inches and found a penny. KEEPER!!!!!!!! Did I forget to mention that it is a 1889 Indian Head Penny!!! Then my company shows up and asks what am I so excited about as I run the penny under the faucet to get the mud off it. I simply dried it off and laid it on the table and he almost fell over. Now he wants to buy a metal detector and go with me. He asks where did I find the penny and I told him in the back yard. For 2 hours he kept asking me where did I go to find the penny and I kept telling him in the back yard. Before he left I showed him the hole that I found it in and then I filled it back in and only then he believed me. I knew that I had bought an old church, but the old grounds keeper who is a neighbor told me that it was the new church that we are now living in. So there has been 2 churches on this property plus an old house that was torn down over the past 125 years. I am going to have to check this place out more carefully every week and get rid of all the trash from the yard. Off to buy more grass seed just in case. I finally broke the 1900 mark and I couldn't be more excited. I wish to thank GB_Amateur for all his help and the settings that he shared with a novice like me. I would also like to thank this forum for all the help and input you have given me.

Victoria Australia nuggetshooter "Aureous" has launched a YouTube gold prospecting channel called "Gold N Ghosts". His first video shows some of his successes with his Goldmaster 24K at "worked out" Australian sites. Worth watching! HH Jim

You can believe me. The simple answer is the Fisher Impulse is a rumor, not a detector being made and for sale. You can’t but one yet. You will be able to get an Aquamanta someday, probably next year. Maybe sooner. Fisher does not care that anybody wants information and so asking them for it generally gets no response. My advice is just relax and not worry about it. It will appear someday or never, but no point in waiting around on companies. If I needed a detector now I would just buy something else personally. If you can afford to wait, then that’s all you can do.

Let me catch up on a couple of nugget pictures. That is the bigger one weighed. It is a nice little chunk and that is the other side of it. The second nugget I found was after traveling a few hundred miles, a couple of nights away and going back to the same general area where I found the first one. I got out of the car and walked about 40 feet and heard a target. It was this little nugget. I gridded this area for the next three hours before the wind got me and didn't find any more. That's it for the nuggets. I'll include more about this trip and I have a couple of other threads I want to start or add to. This is a little nugget of something I found. I'm going to get someone to shoot it with a XRF and see for sure. It was found at a site that had both gold and silver. I didn't find any gold.

Finally got to work on testing the 7 1/2DF, 8x6 Sadie, MJ 8x12, and 12"DF. Did a comparison on the 7 1/2DF and Sadie with both battery packs, and a comparison of the MJ 8x12 FM, and the Whites 12"DF at 16v. EDIT: I notice I cut off the early portion of the Miner John comparison. Hope you get enough of the sensitivity of that coil. It works very well on my SL. Jim

I believe you're correct Chuck, silly human pride is one our weakest links. It prevents growth.

From Russian forum https://www.reviewdetector.ru/index.php?showtopic=1740349&st=29400 More info (Google translate) : Based on the data received from Equinox users from around the world, some software adjustments were made to improve the operation of the basic functions of the device. In addition, smoother backlighting has been made possible for the Minelab Equinox 600. Now the EQUINOX 600 has a function to adjust the backlight brightness - “Low”, corresponding to the minimum backlight level of the EQUINOX 800. And, probably, the most anticipated - thanks to the addition of a new settings profile, the advanced Iron Indicator feature has become available. The initial settings of the Iron Indicator EQUINOX (Fe) will also be available, but now it is possible to switch to the new setting Fe 2. When turned on, a wider range of iron targets is cut off from the search, including and bottle caps

Yeah, at this rate I only need about 40 weeks of this kind of success to break even on my Patch Lead misadventures.

OK - so the big reveal has occurred and now it is time to start discussing what we know, what we don't, what we want to know (Equinox cross compatibility), the good, the bad, the ugly (definitely ugly) of the new Vanquish series. Here is the link to the specs. From there you can deep dive into each model and get more information. Some interesting tidbits about the 540 (I will focus on the 540 because it the full up model that is most comparable to Equinox). What I like: The standard/accessory coils look great, hoping for Equinox cross compatibility (V12 12" x 9" Double-D, V10 10" x 7" Double-D, V8 8" x 5" Double-D) Not a big fan of the housing but like the stem Good basic entry level detector. If you consider that two coils and wireless phones are included on the 540 pro pack, then the $499 US seems reasonable. Like thd red backlight. What I don't like: While I understand this is entry level, I really struggle with some of what is left off the detector -specifically single frequency operation appears to be absent. Iron Bias - fine, I guess, except you can't turn it off. Would have rather seen variable recovery speed, which also appears absent. 5 Tones only (cannot be reduced to 2 or 3, or increased above 5 and tone breaks are probably not adjustable either). I can live without greater than 5 tones, but locking into 5 and not being able to reduce to 3 or 2 is a tad disappointing. Questions and other Tidbits It looks like ground balancing is automatic Multi IQ compensation (not auto tracking, but auto Multi IQ balanced - i.e., what you get when you leave GB at 0 on the Equinox). Speculating here. Don't know what "Custom" search mode means because there is not much you can adjust. Not clear what audio accessories are included with the 540/540 Pro other than non-descript wireless headphones are included with the 540 pro. Note only 25 disc segments, so individual TIDs cannot be notched out. 540 Uses Rechargeable NiMH AA batteries. Not sure if they can be charged while installed or if they have to be charged externally. 340/440 use standard alkaline cells though I suppose you could put your own NiMH cells in there. Kellyco is advertising "Early 2020" availability and the following price points V340 = $199, V440 = $279, V540 = $369, and V540 Pro Pack (includes V8 and V12 coils and BT APTX LL Phones) = $499. I think the V440 most closely aligns with Simplex but lacks the wireless audio and total submersibility of the Simplex. Simplex lacks Multi Frequency. Pick your poison. Note that the coils are waterproof to only "1 m (3 ft.)" Not sure whether this is because the entire detector cannot be submerged (the housing needs a rain cover) so there is no need to specify anything greater or if the coils truly cannot be submerged deeper than 1 m, which would limit their usefulness as underwater coils with the Equinox, if they are even compatible in the first place. The limitations, though expected, really make the Equinox 600 look like a CTX vs.even the 540. Lol. More to come when I have a chance to provide a more detailed comparison of features between the Equinox 600 and the Simplex. Click on image below for larger version... Minelab Vanquish Controls & Displays All Models Minelab Vanquish 340 Detector Database Entry Minelab Vanquish 440 Detector Database Entry Minelab Vanquish 540 Detector Database Entry

This was a rather large update. Not so much in any of my reviews but a major shuffle in prices which changes the equation on some units as far as desirability. Steve's Guide to Gold Nugget Detectors Here are the highlights. THIS IS NOT THE FULL REVIEW, IT’S THE CHANGES ONLY.... FOLLOW THE LINK ABOVE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW! The Nokta/Makro Gold Racer dropped from $599 to $509 putting it in direct competition with the Fisher Gold Bug (basic model $449) and Minelab X-Terra 705 Gold at $499 plus the Fisher Gold Bug Pro at $549. That's a killer deal for a 56 kHz full featured detector. All the Nokta/Makro models had serious price drops, as it appears the U.S. importer was keeping prices artificially high. Nokta/Makro stepped in and corrected the situation, leading to the decreases. The Nokta/Makro Gold Kruzer was reduced from $749 to $636, a couple bucks less than the Garrett AT Gold but the Kruzer is 61 kHz and comes with two coils. This effectively puts the AT Gold out to pasture as a “new with warranty” nugget detector option in my opinion unless Garrett lowers the price. Waterproof, built in rechargeable battery, wireless, 61 kHz and two coils... the Gold Kruzer may be the best package price available right now in a VLF nugget machine. The Tesoro Lobo SuperTRAQ was deleted from the list. Tesoro is out of business, and although a few of these may be on dealer shelves still the is no warranty on them so they are gone as far as I am concerned. The Nokta/Makro AU Gold Finder with two coils came down from $799 to $679, the same price as the now departed Tesoro Lobo. The Minelab Gold Monster went UP to $849! I still have it as a "Steve's Pick" but that could change to the White's Goldmaster 24K if White's gets more coils out. More and more users are giving the 24K a thumbs up. The 24K is $729 but do remember the Monster comes with two coils and the 24K just the one now that the Intro deal is over. My "Steve's Picks" are aimed at first time buyers so I am sticking with the Monster for now due to simplicity compared to other less expensive but more complicated options. The same reason I am still showing the Gold Bug basic as a pick - it's simple and effective. The XP ORX dropped from $899 to $795 with a $649 wired headphone option. At $649 it's a good deal. A note on the Minelab GPX 4500 - rumored to be discontinued soon but still on Minelab website as current. And finally Minelab SDC 2300 increased from $3750 to $3799 No doubt about it, competition really heated up in 2019 with lots of pressure on VLF prices. Now if we could get some competition going in the PI detectors in both price and ergonomics things would be great!

I went out today for a couple hours to a school not visited previously. The old wood chip tot lot was the target area. All I ended up finding were 4 quarters, 2 nickels, 7 pennies, a small button off something, a rivet off some clothing or a shoe, and a strange metal piece that showed up in the foil range. There were indeed some junk items today but not in the picture (can slaw, a zipper, foil, a few pencil tops). I had the feeling someone else had been at this spot before because it was really quiet. Well they didn't get these! It's getting more and more difficult in these places and the finds are more difficult to pull. All the other counties around us where there are probably good things located within school grounds have a strict "KEEP OUT" policy and don't allow any kind of public activity on school grounds.

I have been digging nothing but trash most of the summer and modern clad coins. Been a frustrating season. But I finally hit a small honey pot of an area. We have a historic park and residence thats been used for almost 200 years. and its several acres. I know that literally hundreds of detectorists have been combing this park for decades, they say theres nothing left there. Well, I beg to differ. I have started probing into the least likely areas that most detectorists wouldn't venture into and it paid off the first day. I spent an hour digging stuff just along a 50 foot strip from the car, one modern coin, one really old pull tab etc every 2 feet until I flipped one plug to find 4 coins! 1907 Barber quarter, 1923 Mercury dime, a buffalo nickel(no date), and a 1919 wheatie. continued to dig clad quarters and pennys every 2 feet then a diamond ring, says 18k in the band. Then to top it off dug up this old token from a billiards room, did some research and it was a members only billiards room that ended in the 1920's in town. This one 50 foot strip of grass wore me out lol but I guarantee I will be back next weekend. Even the modern clad was all from the 60's and 70's so thats promising. And some might disagree but as long as I'm digging super old 1960's pull tabs that is still promising to me this area isn't over hunted yet.

Hello all. I found this picture: Does anyone have more info?

Not sure where your from Irondigger but here in Australia we have "Jaycar" that sells all sorts of switches and electrical stuff. The green button on the handle is only a switch and Jaycar sell simular ones. A guy once said he replaced his handle switch from Jaycar. You may have to search for the correct sized one as the website has 3 pages of push button switches. You should be able to buy one for under $5 https://www.jaycar.com.au/components-electromechanical/switches/pushbutton-switches/c/2CB?q=%3Apopularity-desc&page=0

Your CZ is a good detector. More hours in the water will probably work better than another VLF. If you do not have a PI then getting one also is worthwhile in my opinion. Since you have a good detector already, just a little more patience will eventually see the Fisher Impulse AQ to market. There unfortunately are many reasons a detector can be delayed. I personally prefer they take the time to get it right rather than rush to market.

I’m always for the underdog so I think I’ll order one plus the Simplex. It’s a great day when you can buy two for less than what I’ve paid for one . Chuck

There are signs that Whites is in trouble. For one, they've pulled back support of forums and rallies. It has been said that it's been more beneficial to concentrate on free social media platforms, and you do see them interacting on their Facebook page. Still, pulling back from all forums is a mistake and is either a sign of financial trouble or poor judgment. For another, you only have to look at the last several releases to get the sense that the same stubborn attitude toward integrating technology into their machines persists to this day. The lack of wireless, lithium ion, at home updates just for starters. The lack of any specificity of what they have in store for the near future has been disheartening. This is a mistake all US manufacturers seem to be making at the moment. When you're notably lagging behind competitors and have a loyal base of users waiting for you to make a showing, you owe it to them to keep them in some kind of a loop. The excuse that they don't want to give too much away to the competition is thin and wearing thinner when release after release the competition is outstripping them anyway. In this industry, with the limitations imposed by physics, when you're talking about companies like Whites, FTP, etc., you're not going to be entertaining anything the leading guys are not also entertaining. You're not going to be working on anything the leading guys are not also working on. To the extent that a product launch is imminent, throwing the user base a bone or two can be helpful and encouraging. Any anti-espionage benefit to radio silence is outweighed by the demoralization of users who are watching thier beloved companies get spanked time and again despite this curious strategy. It would be different if everything were kept under wraps and then out of nowhere comes this kick ass top of the line new flagship. That's not happening though. Users are left sitting in the dark, trying to be loyal, and watching others run away with all the advances while not being given the time of day by the company they love. It doesn't take a relationship specialist to tell you where this is headed. Users are going to cheat. I still love my V3i, and using it to this day, but I'm also seeing the Equinox on the side. Won't be long and I'll also be looking at a Pulsedive. A Mini-Horde could be in the cards for my kid as it seems to address a lot of the problems I see with kids machines. Either too heavy or no arm support and can't get wet.

Great points and questions Harry. There is a tremendous amount of gold all along the Klamath River. Within these large and small gravel bars, both deep and shallow, are numerous flood layers along with the layers from the original dredging and hydraulic operations. With close observation and experience they become quite apparent and predictable. Each or all can be surfaces for migrating gold to come to rest. Sample, sample, sample. The year before last I met my sons over in Trinity County for some deer hunting. They hiked into the high country wilderness while I stayed in the lower elevations. One of them killed a nice buck and left for home the following day. As I had taken a week off from work, I stayed camping and hunting. Naturally the day after they left I killed a modest buck which required a difficult drag back to the closest road. This, with hanging it and skinning it that evening left this old guy pretty darn tired. With about 5 more days to my vacation I decided to drive to Happy Camp and hang the buck in the Kingfisher Markets cooler until I headed for home. Actually I had them cut, wrap and freeze the venison so I could stay longer. Any way, getting back on track, I set up camp in a local Forest Service campground, right along the Klamath River, not far from Happy Camp, for a little R & R. Next morning, with a cup of coffee in hand, I took a walk along the river. As I walked along a large gravel bar I noticed a cut bank about 3 feet high on the land side of the bar. Within this cut bank were 3 distinct layers of material deposited by past events. The bottom layer was ancient compacted stream bed cobble which I believe had never been worked. This layer is a rather pale yellowish, brown with black coated cobble. On top of this is a very distinct layer of coarse red sand which most likely was washed downstream from old timers dredging or hydrolic operations. The top layer was a grey mixed size cobble, from suitcase size rocks right on down to sand. I think this top layer was created by the 1964 flood. Truly a 100 year flood. Opps, time to go to work. About a 45 minute drive up the Smith River canyon here in Nortthern California.

Yeah! No more blanks ... you're all patched up. You are more potent than ever. Watch out old patches a Condor is on the prowl.

Those pencil erasers come in slightly higher than a nickel on my T2, in the small gold range. It's always a disappointment to recover one. I guess the kids feel like if they "lose" their pencil that is an excuse not to do more work that day. hahaha

I like and i dont like . I like it is multi frequency . I like the stem , though would prefer straight stem. I like the coils . But , I dont like the colour . Though the cover is black , why not the box? I dont like 1/8 inch socket for headphones , and Bluetooth gets interference in high electrical areas on my beaches . I used my Nox 2 weeks ago on a field with pylons and the only way to stop the noise was to put into single frequency , I thought they were obsolete ! . I have heard of issues with the Bluetooth headphones on the Vanquish disconnecting with the machine , that happens on my beaches with the Nox . Is there a module ? If not then can we plug in adapters for our own headphones ? There doesn't appear to be many settings and as said above the segments might be too few , fewer than the Terra 705 ? And will the coins be all in one small area like they are on the Nox ? Except for the Pound/2 Pound coins . There are other things to do with settings but they have been mentioned above . On the whole , i still want to see one . But for me i can see it not being what i want . Something my dealer said to me when we first heard about a new machine coming . There are other machines coming too , i have heard of the Simplex as we all have . I have heard of a new Nokta/ Makro multi frequency but is that true ? And now i have seen a video about a new C. Scope called the Evo 6000 . That will be interesting , they haven't brought anything new out in Donkey's years . And the Evo in the video was seen in the surf ! Single or multi freq ? Looks like 2020 might be an interesting year for detectors !

Hi, I have owned several of the Vflex X-Terra series detectors and their younger detector user successor, the Go-Find series. If the Vanquish has anything close to the target separation, unmasking and overall speed of the Equinox (and we know it has some form of Multi IQ simultaneous frequency operation) it will be a BIG step up from the X-Terra and Go-Finds, regardless of what model Vanquish one looks at in my opinion. The target separation, unmasking and recovery speed on the Vflex detectors and the ACE/AT Series is woeful compared to the Equinox. A similar situation exists with the TreasureMaster and Treasure Pro along with the Fisher F11, F22 and F44 and the Greek series Alpha, Delta and Gamma (not the Omega, which has other issues) compared to the Equinox when it comes to overall speed, separation and unmasking. I look forward to hearing about and seeing actual results once the Simplex and Vanquish are released. Jeff

I'm jealous, my subdivision was built on farm fields in the late 60s.

Scott, is the kid hunt still happening as posted? Thanks, Brian.

I remember him saying at one point they stop talking to him. He wasn’t asking for a hand out on what he had to offer. I myself think it had to do with White’s Electronics boys didn’t want to look like this guy off the streets knew more than they did. The funny part of it all he did know more. Chuck

Yes...I wouldn't feel handicapped with either one of those small coils. They're really close. I thought the Sadie was bit better at the lower voltage, and the DF at the higher voltage. My understanding of Reg's relationship with Whites is about the same as yours, but Whites did finally initiate the second mod, on the TDI SL, in, I think, 2016. I know it was done on the Special Edition, for sure. They never did the sweep speed mod, however. I don't think they ever did any of Reg's mods on the original TDI's. Jim

Hey Jim I thank you for all the trouble you went to. In my opinion the small dual field with the higher voltage done great but Sadie didn’t do bad . It just comes down to if you want to hunt with the best coil you got for small gold the first time are using one that’s not so good. Jim thanks again for your work and making the video. As said Seeing is Believing . The Best! Chuck PS I think Reg offered White’s some mods on the TDI but they didn’t want to talk with him. Correct me if you know different.

Hands down, school's have produced the most for me. In fact, most of my silver and gold rings have been found at schools. High schools are the best. The e-trac was very good at sniffing out rings if there was not too much trash. I now live in a location where schools are all fenced and gated off.

I think this is what they call "prospecting"..... How have you tested the top layers? Have you ran a half cubic yard through your box or just done sample pans? Do you have any indication of how far it is to bedrock? If it is more than a couple feet, you got a lot of work ahead of you! What makes you think you "may" have found the right spot in the first place? It doesn't sound like you know what is on bedrock..... More info and we might be able to help you better

The various detector manufacturers have different policies when it comes to distributing information on upcoming products. First Texas corporate appears to keep it quiet and strongly encourages its departments and employees to do the same. Occasionally something leaks out but there seems to be some correction (that is, subsequent silence) when that happens. The bottom line is that you can't buy a promise so might as well sit tight. If you're considering buying a competitive product already on the market, well, then you have a decision to make. C'est la vie!

Great job ignoring the "it's all hunted out" crowd! I'd be happy with any single one of those four coins and you found a nearly century old coin spill. Never seen one of those myself. No argument from me. Anytime I find a ring and beavertail pulltab (circa 1965-75) I know there is potentially gold jewelry in that same region, and even some old coins. Same with with Zincolns. It's easy enough to just recover the trash so why miss the treasure?

The one issue ive had with the NOX is in my opinion is everything sounds and looks close to the same. Ive been digging pull tabs, beer tops and coins all day and they are all pretty darn close in numbers. But maybe im remembering the deus differently. I havnt used the deus since getting the NOX. But I am using Field 1 for better sensitivity with the small 6 inch coil. even though its a trashy park.

Ive read it works good on gold but with my work schedule I never find the time to get out to the mountains and try it. Hope to soon though.

Fantastic find, finding gold at Rye Patch in the heat is tough! Brian.

fact is Ive found good finds in the past in the exact same paths I've walked before. But I either was swinging differently or just didn't quite hear the signal the same previously. Thats why guys find stuff behind other detectors later. you could walk over a good target 20 times and various factors affect whether you picked it up that day or not.

I have a couple particularly old schools I hit all the time. Lots and lots of trash but I occasionally will sift out a signal and have picked up a gold nugget mens ring and a 1943 silver nickel. I used to be very impatient with cluttered school yards full of junk but now I just look at it as slowly cleaning it up so that every time I go there, the easier it gets to pick out good targets. It s a long term strategy instead of expecting to get all the goods in one try lol

When I started trying to find nuggets with a detector about 1980, I needed a test nugget. So I glued a half gram bit to a nice white pice of river run quartz.... laid it down, gold. Side down, of course ...got distracted by something.." never did find that gold. I wonder if someone else did.... bird shot will work for the small test piece fred

He really needs to fix the date stamp on his camera. Other than that decent first effort.

Well, for some reason, ML did not provide a dedicated beach mode designation so that is NOT a good start (along with the lack of the waterproof housing). Theoretically, there should be a mode (perhaps Jewelry) that should work on wet salt sand. Note that with the Equinox, only the Beach modes are stable on wet salt sand. So hopefully, there is a stable beach mode setting on Vanquish. That being said, there are a LOT of missing features on Vanquish even if there is a stable mode. Lack of adjustable or tracking ground balance and auto transmit power reduction (both Equinox features) will make Vanquish struggle in black sand and surf situations where the salt and ground balance conditions change dynamically. Lack of the ability customize tones (even just reduce tones to 3 or 2 from 5) is also a drawback. Finally, wet salt beach conditions are highly variable and the ability to manually "bias" recovery speed and ground balance settings are advantageous. Neither of these options are available to the Vanquish user. Under ideal conditions, it should be a stable wet salt beach detector but it will be at the mercy of changing conditions. With the lack of waterproofing a literal show stopper, it really makes sense to move up to the Equinox 600 if you want a capable wet salt beach detector. IMO.

The area we hunt tailing piles in Colorado has its fair share of tiny bird shot. Usually find a half dozen or more each trip. They sound just like the type of gold we are looking for.

As above and add molten lead that has been dropped on course sand and cut them in different sizes to simulate reef gold. Just remember lead that has been in the ground a long long time gets an oxide on it,

I use fishing sinkers pounded flat to simulate placer gold. Bringing gold back to the goldfields is bad luck, it seems to want to get back in the dirt one way or another!

It's a stripped-down version of the GMT...more simplified. There's a guy in southern Idaho has been trying to sell an almost new one for several months. He's asking $250. Jim

Really nice work, Shelton! Jim

The sad but true story is on my last trip to England I was with two separate groups of random people all from all over the U.S. and not one U.S. made detector among all of them. If that does not say it I don’t know what else does. That’s not being mean or biased or bashing, that’s just open eyes looking at reality.