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Went to San Francisco and met my friend Joe. Next day we have been invited by Wes Dering to detect on one of his claims in the Iowa Hill area. On the way we stopped at Citrus Hills visiting Larry at Big Valley Metal detectors who let me try different headphones with my SDC2300. I settled for the Sunray Pro Gold which felt most comfortable and best sounding to me. Thank’s Larry it was a real pleasure to meet you! From there we went to meet Wes. He sold a very nice light and rugged pick to me before which he mailed to my friend’s house. Meeting him he showed us around the claim and off we went with lots of big dreams. I have to say that I come from Germany and have never found a square nail before. So I was wishing to find one square nail and lots of Gold. It seems like the Good Lord listened to just one part….I found a bunch of square nails but no Gold. I was lucky to assist Wes unearthing 3 nice nuggets from the same hole. He was using the GPZ7000 I was running my SDC2300. Putting 1 nugget (approx 2 grams) back in the hole and running the machines over there wasn’t any signal to be heard from the SDC but the 7000 sounded off real nice. Big difference between those 2 machines. Big difference in price also! Wes suggested to run the SDC in sensitivity 4 instead of 2 as the signals are more distinct. The machine kept stable so I ran it in 4. We had a great day and lots of fun. I was using my Equinox 800 as well. Gold 1 setting / Iron to 0 / swing speed 6-7 / sensitivity around 18-20 / nothing out -9-8-7 / ground tracking / small coil it was stable, ground balanced well but did not find gold either. Bits and pieces of lead and wire, 22 casings and square nails. With both machines I found some insane small stuff. Next day we went to a claim on the N Yuba and camped out for some days. Panning some nice flakes, snorkeling looking for crevices, using the vacuum cleaner on the bedrock and metal detector. My total take from panning is 1.2 grams. I finally found a good signal in bedrock. That had to be Gold – finally!!!!! Breaking the bedrock a small piece of very thin wire came to daylight…..grrrrrrr!!!!!! However it got in there???? Going to some other places finding many items including an old tobacco can (I was hoping for some gold coins or nuggets inside but there weren’t any) but no Gold. Second last day I finally got lucky. My SDC2300 rang up on two little pieces. They looked just like rock but weren’t magnetic. Checking them with my Equinox 800 in Gold 1 the smaller piece showed a clean +1 the bigger piece a +2. I did not believe it was Gold but took them home. Being at home now I checked them under the microscope and they are specimen containing Gold. Finally!!! yeah yeah yeah!!!! It is really sick how small of a gold these machines picked up. On my last day we went to Roaring Camp (if you haven’t been there you are missing something) where I panned a little bit of Gold from the day pile (just 10 pans or so) and found a .38 bullet which sounded off real nice with my SDC2300 – no nuggets (they are there for sure). I would like to thank my friend Joe who made all this possible, Larry from Big Valley Metal Detectors, Wes Dering for a very nice pick, a great day on his claim and some nice gold he gave to me as a present to take home, Gregg and Mike, Kim from Roaring Camp, Steve Herschbach for his advice how to run the Equinox on hot ground and some nice folks who’s names I forgot who made it possible to prospect on the N Yuba and Kanaka creek. One of the best pieces of Equipment I invested in is my 2 liter water bladder for my backpack (Camel bag) but for the next rip I will get me a 3 liter. 2 liters is just not enough fluid for a whole day in +100 F. Folks, don’t get dehydrated this is a very serious issue.

Yes and no, the biggest items aren't covered. RV (and contents), ATV. Haven't found out if the Conex is covered or not. I did recover the RV, but it's a total loss, not usable anymore. They dragged it 1/4 mile with no wheels until it buried itself, then broke in and vandalized and took everything. Including a bag of dirty clothes and half a bottle of laundry detergent, so who knows, maybe I'll get something back better than it was. 🙂 Big thanks to the GSSN guys who helped me dig the RV out and get some wheels back on so I could get it out of the road. Lent me some lugnuts off their own trailers too since mine were stolen. Those guys were top notch gentlemen. My homeowners insurance thankfully says they will cover some tools and prospecting equipment. I tried to get them to cover the RV contents, but no luck. They took virtually everything but left a ton of my expensive geology textbooks so, that was a good surprise. They ripped my 1990's defunct tape deck out of the wall, but left my easily removable $300 cell reapeater. Geniuses! Thankfully the thieves left my backhoe alone. They hid my key (I found it) and clearly they were intending to take it later, presumably angling to find a buyer who would keep quiet because that would be an easily trackable item around here if they tried to sell it on the open market. I also know the lady who runs the only heavy equipment store. My stuff is a loss but I don't even care at this point, my focus is entirely on catching these people now. I know where they live now, and I proved it to one of them today. In doing so, I also became pretty certain these people are the same ones involved in the ongoing rash of thefts out here the last decade or so.

I forced myself to lean and only use 50 tones, because I figured if one focused on the audio, they would learn nuances and clues. Still plenty to learn, but I mainly hunt by tones, although there are certainly patterns I enjoy seeing on the TID display as well. I've seen, and recorded silver dimes ringing up anywhere from 23 - 32, that's a big spread, but they were all depths, angles, orientations, some holed, some holed multiple times, etc., and they all had one thing in common, a tinkly dig me audio characteristic. So while the TID# may not always be the same, the audio is usually telling. Certain sites seem to bring the TID#'s up or down, mineralization, depth, types of dimes (thin seateds vs meaty barbers and mercs?), tough sites with heavy alkali or other mineralization can skew the numbers in any number of ways.

😄 This is the crankshaft for a Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C engine, the largest reciprocating engine in the world, used in large container ships. It's a 1810-liter engine that generates 108,920 horsepower at 102 RPM, and it idles at 22 RPM... almost 3 seconds per rotation. This crankshaft weighs 300 tons (660,000 pounds) and each piston weighs 12,000 pounds and has a stroke length is 8.2 feet.

Dealing with some family issues me, my wife and a group of friends finally made a trip to the central Colorado mountain’s to search for gold specimens on tailing piles that have been productive in the past. Part of the group this was their first time using a detector searching for gold specimens. After a brief overview of the history and different areas to search, we spent some time setting up the different types of detectors to achieve the best results. We then took off in different directions with some partnering up with others for additional instruction. It didn’t take long for the 10,000+ foot altitude to begin taking its toll and the steep terrain limiting the area they wish to search as everyone was cautious for their well-being while detecting. The group detected for three days and four specimens were found. Here are a few pics showing the wire and leaf gold specimens as found and then cleaned: Close up of the largest gold specimens: Couple of us detecting on the tailing piles:

Same story different continent...There are plenty of piggish slobs to go around. Empty beer cans, empty water bottles and unfilled holes in the desert, in the mountains and on the beach. If their Mommies did not train them properly ,they will always leave the mess for someone else... fred

Couple years back, a buddy of mine who lives in the desert had his shed broken into and a lot of expensive stuff sacked. Recently he bought a 40' steel shipping container for outside storage. Being a engineer and fabricator, he made a number of "custom & unique" modifications to it in addition to windows a door, etc. One particular window was somewhat larger and you might say could be "enticing" to the wrong kind of sort. One night he and his wife were awakened to this terrible screaming and banging coming from outside their home. Glock in hand, he walked out to find the noise coming from inside the shipping container. You see this one custom window was built so that once someone broke in, a trip mechanism engaged a heavy tension spring slamming down a steel cover over the window trapping the crook inside........just like a rat. Tom never gave the dirt bag any indication what was going on and after calling the sheriff, would occasionally strike the steel siding with a hammer. This loud echoing "BANG" coupled with the pitch blackness and uncertainty of his fate would cause the crook to wail in fear. Well eventually the deputies arrived and took the guy into custody. Coming out of the container hand cuffed; he was sweating profusely, crying , shaking and had blood running down his face. Oh, and it was obvious he'd shit his pants.

I have had my 800 since the end of April. I have to admit I was a little skeptical of all the hype but after using it a lot I the last 3 months or so , I am very impressed. This past Friday I was at a new site and when I picked up the detector to take it out of the truck the coil fell off. Both the mounting tabs were broken. I am pretty particular with my equipment so I really don’t think it was anything I did. I emailed the repair center and has been my experience in the past, they were prompt in their response and had shipping instructions to me that same day. They said the coil would be replaced under warranty but would take a few days because the service center had run out of coils and they were currently on backorder. This leads me to believe their must be a lot of people who have had the same issue. It will be interesting to see if this new batch of coils has beefed up the mounting tabs. They really are kind of flimsy when compared to the Explorer series of coils. I don’t mind the wait, it gives me a chance to get to know my 6 in. coil.

Hi guys. In the last couple of years I've noticed where I live an increase, visible and noticable, of gold detectorists doing the wrong thing. Leaving all their holes unfilled, rubbish from camps and even their actual crap and crap paper just lying there in plain site. Some even digging on tracks leaving pot holes to drive over. Yeah, there are plenty that do the right thing but the pigs are now increasing. A while ago I went to Castlemaine in Vic, you gotta be kidding me, I must have been greeted by about 100 holes and scrapes unfilled and actual crap and the paper on the walk track! Just saw similar at Avoca with a big dug up, raked area, unfilled holes and the rest. A while ago at Dunolly the same and again at Stuart Mill. Is it any wonder they want to shut people out of the bush here these days. Im getting sick of seeing it. Whats it like in the US?

Just be careful. There are much worse things than having your personal property stolen/destroyed. You're obviously not dealing with anyone with a conscience/morals/respect for others.

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.

While I expect aussie gold hunters has been good for detector sales, its probably been bad for all the things your describing. Most of us come to gold detecting from a love of the outdoors so we keep it nice by nature. If you come to it from love of a tv show and/or greed it's a very different attitude.

Here in the states 98% of detectorists are over 55, have bad knees, and only detect within 100ft of their rig... The other 2% find gold. 😋 I try to make it a point to detect in places not frequented by other humans, but when I have gone to flogged areas they usually seem fairly tidy, save for some unfilled holes and big iron left out. Maybe we just don't have the bogan infestation you ozzies do.

About a foot shallower than a 5. 😂

In some of our older sites old tools like axe heads, picks, hoes, etc., tend to ring up around nickle on the EQ800, but they have a dull'ish sound to them vs a nickle which excites the EQ800 to no end. Hard to explain, but if they can properly ID these large iron tools that would be great, although I don't mind digging them, some of them end up going home with me.

I agree, and I hope it doesn't come off that I'm complaining about the Equinox TID. My other detectors don't lock onto the TID, either. Maybe some are a bit tighter -- I haven' t really studied it closely. But I'm digging everything above 23 and usually 19-23 (Zincoln zone) as well. There do seem to be a lot of targets that come in right around nickel but, again, if 50% (or more) 12-13's I'm digging it.

First day out into the Golden Triangle, last day with decent internet for a while.. Always present my new machines to the mother of all nuggets memorial. 'Christened' at the golden alter so to speak... an old habit, just hoping the luck will rub off I guess.. The 'Welcome Stranger' was found at a depth of an inch according to Memoir 12, which is the list of nuggets found in Victoria. The 16v pack is working well, no issues with heat or reliability. The TDI SL LE is super light and well balanced, very easy to swing for hours so I'm enjoying it. Great weather, the flies and ants are not an issue so far. Best time of year to get out into the goldfields and swing your thing.. all the best. Karelian.

Went back today to that small area with my PI to see what I missed with the vlf and dug up a slew of bobby pins. Something I think I only found 1 at the salt beaches. I missed some small gold chain bits and some small ear rings as they keep falling through my stupid scoop. Really tricky to get them on the end of the scoop and bring them to the surface. Found an odd looking pointy thing with a screw back along with a cruddy old kids ring that was pretty deep 12"+ and a few sinkers including that tiny one next to the stud. I have a couple computer hard drive magnets in my scoop I use to snag broken lobster traps so I'm not going crazy looking for what beeps and they worked fairly well on the bobby pins. Definitely need to modify or find a better scoop for this tiny stuff. My run was cut short as my batteries croaked out.

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.

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

Entitled "Gold N Ghosts". His first video shows him recovering Aussie gold with his Goldmaster 24k at a "worked out" site. Worth watching! HH Jim

Was nice day with the t2 going over some sidewalk strips.

Jason, As you know I don't sell many traditional prospecting items, but mostly detectors. If there is something down the road you need to get replaced, I'll try to work a special deal with you. Thieves are the lowest of low so if you do find them, but sure to keep a level head and not do anything that could put you behind bars. I know it would be quite easy for me to end their existence, but what does that make me? If everyone could mention this to their prospecting clubs and buddies, then something should turn up. Keep us informed and glad you were able to save the books and backhoe. Gerry

Don't forget to point out all the dogs that have died this summer from swimming in algae. Get the dog lovers riled up and you'll see some action.

Your dead right Reg. It dumbfounds me at times. I even know, not here say, of a prominent PMAV member who actually had manufactured and sold hookup (illegal) behind 4wd scraper blades to pull out the scrub. And the hide of them, they all in it know about them, to say they "fight for our Aussie right to prospect" what a joke! They're part of the reason the powers hate it!

Get those bastards Jason!

Hi mate. Yes, those illegal ones, and some have been around a while too, have done some serious damage and a few still do. It saddens me to see it. But you know what. I'm glad those in power have put the brakes on Bush claims. The amount that left them after working was an utter disgrace to say the least here in Vic. Pushing outside their claims, destroying tracks, burying rubbish. I hope they never let anyone ever again here have a claim in the bush, ever.

Walking back and retrieving my back pack with pan, 1/4” screen, pick and such, I decided to sample this cut bank. Filling a pan with screened material from this top grey layer and washing it out at the river turned up a nice flat flake and a few, smaller, pepper sized pieces of gold. Feeling pretty tired from hunting adventure, I screened out and panned two 5 gallon buckets filled only 1/2 full. Total of about 5 gallons of material. From this 5 gallons of the top grey layer I panned out .54 gram of gold. I didn’t get into the red sand or bottom original layers. Yet! I too am getting a little old for such hard hunting and prospecting oldmancoyote1, so I just relaxed the following day and returned home with the venison and a little gold the next day. I guess what I’m getting at is: gold in this Northern California area, with the tremendous amounts of rain we get, can be throughout a gravel bar or concentrated in these layers. In your smaller creek it may be more productive to concentrate on the edges of the stream where the layers are more evident and accessible. Obstructions to the flow of the creek such as outcrops, sharp bends, drop offs and the like should be checked out. I take off on another deer hunting trip with my sons in the mountains downstream of Happy Camp tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll have time for a little prospecting too. Good prospecting oldmancoyote1, Mike

So, how did it go, Garikfox? Hope you and your new detectors are getting along and you are finding some nuggets now.

Sounds like you had a great time, thank you for sharing and congrats on the gold!

I have not had any major trouble detecting coins on edge at depths of 6" or more in my 4 to 5 bar Fe3O4 dirt with the Nox. The fact is my dirt is so bad sometimes in my area that I am lucky to even detect a 6" coin sized target with my other VLF detectors! If the Nox can detect coins on edge here at 6" including silver, and can hit coins with accurate enough target ID at 8" or more for me to know what is under the coil, I feel like I am way ahead of the game. Yes, the numbers do jump some the deeper the target, but I still know it is a copper, clad or silver high conductive coin and not a zinc penny or nickel. At more than 4" here my other detectors all read coin sized targets as high conductor big silver targets numerically or give no numerical target ID and just give the highest tone setting for an audio response. I did the update to 1.75. I noticed more accurate depth readings, better pinpointing and somewhat better coin on edge detecting. This may be a dumb statement, but ALL of the VLF detectors I have used have some degree of trouble detecting coins on edge, especially with DD coils. Am I missing something??????? Was there some advertising hype or stated expectation that the Nox would have no issues with coins on edge? Jeff

Every yard can yield treasures. Years ago I found numerous Buffalo nickels, wheat pennies and even a silver quarter in my own yard. Oh, I almost forgot, even a gold ring but it was on top of the ground. Ask everyone who might have been in my yard and no one had lost the ring. It has always been a puzzle for me.

Yeah, I hear ya, and it isn't impossible that there could be something good. Its just far less likely than lots of other places I have researched. If I was under house arrest then yeah, I'd search the hell out my yard. But that not being the case pretty much anywhere in the older sections of town is more likely and close, the river is more likely and close, lots of parks, playgrounds, etc. My house literally sat in the middle of a field, not close enough to the old roads for a house or yard to have been there, just the middle of the 640 acre block of farm fields. I've just decided my detecting time is better spent other places. At some point maybe I'll be bored and stuck at home for some reason and be pleasantly surprised though.

Looking forward to an update if and when it’s available. Hopefully it will improve target ID at the beach.

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.

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

Thanks everyone for your likes. You know who you are. 😊 Ok, I got blown off of Rye Patch today about noon to one sort of thing. This was after finding another little one of .26g before the wind started. I had a chance to weigh the first one and it is 2.37g. It's late because a semi truck went over the side of the road north of Hawthorne/Walker Lake and we had to sit and wait for 3 hours! More on that and other parts of the trip when I return.

I am still learning this unit and like I have stated in the past, I am only a novice at this. I have only been doing this for a few months, but without this forum and the people here I would have given up before now. You guys are great and give great information. I am only lucky that in the area that I live in people just don't know what is still buried in the ground. Some people have seen me panning for gold here and think I am crazy, but I have pulled a few ounces out of the creeks. Friends have found more than me and even diamonds in the same places that I have done. I think that when I try to learn something I just don't give up, I work out the problem and keep going. I know that you have found things that I will never find, and only because of where I am at I have gotten lucky.

I just couldn't figure it out. The old Jeep mysteriously started running much smoother and quieter and became much more stable. I would also say that it's performance somehow increased by 30% or perhaps even 40%. In fact i was so impressed i decided I would invest some time into cleaning it up a bit. As I was mucking out the interior ( forgotten rock samples, sticks and leaves, old sandwich wrappers with sandwiches, dropped nuggets and such) I found Sourdough Scott's missing ferrite ring. I took it out and put it where Scott could pick it up and now the Jeep is back to it's usual squeaky, whinny, worbally self. Mystery solved.

Nugglorius, Got two with my 800 yesterday using the 6 inch coil-so thanks. The Equinox does not handle the hot rocks at all and maybe because I don't know what to do yet. And it isn't as user friendly as the Gold Bug 2. Very sensitive to gold at depth though. Gary

The host rock was dissolve by hydrofluoric acid, unfortunately I didn't keep an eye on it while cleaning or I would have left a little rock to help stabilize the specimen. There was a smaller piece and a few wires that did not remain intact and may or may not held all together if I would have left some of the host rock. It can be handled but it’s somewhat delicate. Some of the wire gold specimens I found are more rigid and can be handled without a problem. Leaving some host rock in my opinion makes the wire gold specimen a little more interesting to look at. The gold specimens pictured were ones that I had found and I was using a GMT with the standard coil. The other gold specimen found was a leaf type variety and my friend was using a NOX 800. The others in the group were not as lucky in finding one. Interesting one of the guys had brought a GPX 4500 and could not detect the wire gold specimen, but all of the others who were using a VLF type detector could detect the wire gold specimen. Here is another wire gold specimen I found in the past in which I left a little of the host rock and limonite (before and after pictures):

Just "wow."

Been getting into the water more then I have in past years...I'm enjoying this type of hunting. Been hitting two spots...One is just a secluded swimming hole not effected by big currents and waves...easy peaceful detecting with no competition that I know of...little bit of trash here and there...the spot is maybe 40 yards wide by 40 yards deep...you can get up to your chest here if you like. The other spot is the opposite...A lot of people visit this spot as it's an actual beach on the delta....it can have a fast moving tide, gets lots of wind, big currents and waves...chest deep is too dangerous at times...theres no competition here as well but the the kicker is there are 12 bazillion bottle caps and pennies in all states of decay. It's tough hunting with the Nox at this spot...The small swimming hole I've officially declared hunted out and most likely wont be going back...No great finds to report...the small earring is 14k..the rings in the second Pic are junk (but gets the ole heart pumping anyways) the women's solitaire ring ..got me all excited till I got home and could see that it was 10K and the rock is a CZ... The wife even turned it down Beats working any day...Happy hunting to you all.. strick

Yeah....I'm sort of "casually" looking for a Pro model, though I'm very happy with my modded SL. Hope you have some great luck on your trip! I'm heading for the high country next week myself. It's just starting to cool off in my area. Have lots of detecting to do the next few months, before winter sets in. Jim

The Tdi Pro is in my humble opinion a very stylish and functional design, as is the Tdi SL. In a sense they are brothers so your confusion Jim in Idaho is understandable. Karelian

He should be saving a lot of time for finding gold since he's not posting his finds on a regular basis! I know it is time consuming for documenting and posting the results. I miss his posts. I could turn on the computer. Get a drink and see new gold finds on a regular basis. Steve's readership must have dropped considerably without him. (Or maybe it has gone up with people looking constantly for his next post!) haha Mitchel

Gentlemen Steve is correct on a lot has been said here about White’s . I’d say we have express the good the bad and with some indifference. I started detecting with White’s in 66 so you can see that I’ve been at it for a long time. I wish I could leave this world with a White’s detector laying next to me and a smile on my face knowing that. If I could find a lamp with a genie in it I hope for one wish. White’s it would be for you at one day you will be number one again detector company. Chuck

They did listen, to some extent, to Reg Sniff on at least one of the mods to the SL. From what I've seen, all the SL's since 2015, have the diodes, and C56 mod done.. But, they still haven't done the sweep speed mod Reg suggested. Jim

Hi Jin. I just returned from a trip out WA Bush. I have been experimenting with lots of settings as well. The last two days I reduced the sensitivity fairly low in difficult, high yeild and ferrite balanced on Auto. Had two great days finding small nuggets at a location which has been hammered over many years. I will attach a photo. First day picked up 18 pieces and Second 22 pieces. Not high value but very rewarding. The total area would have been maybe 30m x 30m. Sorry the photo is not real good, but you can see where somebody had dug holes and left them open some time back. I hate that. One hole on the right side of photo. I found nuggets around the sides of existing dig holes. What type of detector was used I have no idea. The ground was very clean of trash and had been scraped by a loader a long time back. Underneath the surface say 150mm down was hard Calcrete. Certainly made the pick bounce but most targets where above the hard stuff. Now after looking at JP posts I`m having cold sweats thinking about reverting to Semi auto then do to manual balance when you want to check for deeper targets. I cant wait to get back. I dug a few holes into the calcrete trying to get clarification on some signals. Eventially I gave up in disgust thinking it was ground noise, a waste of time. Probably me upsetting the balance when digging. Hope nobody finds my patch, cheers sturt