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I noticed a lot of the older threads had lost their attached "tags", probably due to an update somewhere along the way. I've been spending hours today working from the oldest threads forward retagging everything and also moving some threads to other more appropriate forums. Seems to be mostly 2016 and before stuff. Whatever, housekeeping. It has been interesting in seeing the large number of "gold found" threads created back in the 2015 - 2016 time frame especially. We had the double whammy of the SDC 2300 followed by the GPZ 7000. Both machines are good at finding gold missed by the earlier Minelab PI models. This created a mini gold rush in two ways. First, the machines actually do target gold the other models were weak on so they did find gold the others could not. But a large portion of it was simply new machines giving people confidence to go back and hunt old areas once again. Often there is knowledge from prior hunting that allows a focus on where the gold is known to be. Gold was also therefore found the earlier machines could have found but that was simply missed by earlier hunters. Well, four years on now and things have slowed down a lot. It's mostly the old die-hards still at it, but lots of people that were active back in 2015 have gone quiet. I'm sure I know why. There were many old "dead" patches I hit with the GPZ 7000 that came alive again. The problem now is it is back to eking out smaller and smaller returns for time spent. The sad fact is there is only so much readily available ground out there and we are once again hitting that depleted stage with existing technology. This can't go on forever as every nugget found is one less to find and they are not growing back. We need a new toy soon or things are going to get pretty quiet. Compared to 2015 they already are. We've seen this story many times before going back to when Minelab PI took over from VLF, and gold VLF machines taking over from the coin detectors prior to that. Forum threads tagged "gold found"

To put things in perspective, there is literally no talk regarding the Vanquish on our forum here in OZ, only disappointment on how it has been packaged in what looks to be a pretty cheap housing - supposedly to mimic the styling of the Ace series of detectors to draw customers away from the US product. Yes I know the Vanquish range is directed at the budget end of the spectrum, though with regards to build quality, Notka/Makro have really set the bar high on what you should expect for your hard earnt dollars. Question is whether Multi-IQ will be enough to win over the budget market, or has Minelab underestimated on how well the Simplex+ would be received for a single frequency detector, both by those new to the hobby, and more interestingly by the more experienced detectorists who already own/have owned more advanced detectors. Aside from performance, you cannot deny how much of an effect the perceived build quality has on making a choice on a detector, and the Simplex to date has received plenty of glowing reports in that respect. Another point to consider is lack of a facility to provide software updates on the Vanquish, hopefully things are well sorted prior to release to resolve any niggling bugs (thinking MX Sport debacle). Whilst I may sound overly critical for a detector that has yet to be released, first impressions can possibly make or break a detector. First time I saw the Vanquish I didn't mind the shaft design, though the control box was a definite meh, not something I'm not used to saying about what are usually well designed and innovative products from Minelab. I can only hope that Minelab's gamble to lure prospective Ace owners away from Garrett pays off, or will it simply alienate some, I guess we will soon see. Hopefully the performance side of things will impress enough to make the build/looks fade into the background, might not even enter the mind as being an issue for those new to the detector/hobby. One thing for sure is how budget and even mid range detector pricing is going to change over the next year or two in response to these new releases, and on how some manufacturers intend to remain competitive with their current lineups.

Thanks for all of the entertaining and helpful comments. Spent a half day detecting, today, and got nothing but little bits of lead, iron, and hot rocks. At that point, I usually grab a parting bucket of dirt to bring home and soothe my bruised ego. Here's the product of 4 gallons unclassified dirt.

Just got my XP ORX last week and took it today to a ground I tested many times with my Whites TDI SL in Rio Verde Arizona and yep the ORX is a step forward in my opinion ..... These were found today (9) Nuggets the largest is 4.46 grams at 10" inches, for a total of eleven grams of (22kt) gold and yes packed in solid mineralized hot ground not touched in millions of years ....... Does it work ? well let the images answer that ......

For relic hunting I have seen some limited advantage to using the 55 khz/74 khz (9.5 inch elliptical HF coil) under certain conditions of extreme mineralization and iron. For me the 9" HF coil stays on my Deus 90% of the time. But for maximum flexibility for most types of detecting be it beach hunting, park hunting/coin shooting, relic hunting, or nugget hunting, the X35 excels. If I could have only two coils, it would be the 9" HF and the 11" X35. If I could have only 3 - I would add the 9.5x5" elliptical HF. If I could have only one "all around" coil, it would be the 9" X35.

No nothing has really changed and I don’t expect anything to really change as regards VLF metal detectors. All you have to do is spend as much time as I do cross checking on real targets to see just how minimal the real world difference is between all the top detectors. There are literally dozens of detectors I can grab and do about as well with, so it just boils down to the specific type of detecting you like and what features you prefer for that detecting. If any detector completely blew all the rest away everyone would use it, but that simply is not the case. It’s all splitting hairs on the hardest targets, with most detectors all being able to find the vast majority of targets equally well. Your detector skills and locations are what matters, far more than the exact detector used. And don’t forget the hours. A $200 detector that gets used will find way more than a $2500 detector in the closet! Here is the photo I could not post at the time that shows the fourth detector that was involved in my testing. I sold all the others plus my CTX 3030 after completing my tests but still have that one with the white coil.

Is that because of the coil you have attached, because I would be using it anywhere there is iron whether open or tight spaces. The ORX is the superior machine in if iron infested and it makes a great open field running machine too with the right coil. I would do a quick scan of the property using whichever detector has the best swing coverage. Look for concentrations of good targets, concentrations of iron, concentrations of non-ferrous junk. Look at both the keepers and the trash you accumulate. Coin and relic concentrations (e.g., buttons, thimbles, buckles) should be exploited and carefully gridded, obviously But trash can also give you clues - horse tack, ferrous door handles, concentrations of nails, cooking pots, utensils and tools can also point you in directions you should focus on. Also, gather clues from the non-metallic finds such as plateware, china, glass, ceramics, etc. Look for areas where people may naturally gather, clotheslines, wash areas, high points. Humans are creatures of habit so think about where you might like to picnic, laze by a tree, or dry your clothes. Remove as much trash as possible to unmask deeper keepers. If you are in really thick iron situations, then consider lowering your sensitivity to reduce ferrous overload on the coil and see if some shallower non-ferrous keepers pop out of the muck. Hit the site with different detectors and different modes and different frequencies, if possible. Make sure when you re-scan an area you do it from a different direction of orientation. Some targets may not be visible until you turn 90 degrees and if you don't see it the first time you will never know unless you come at it from that other angle. Set your expectations accordingly. Old does not necessarily mean the property is brimming with coins or even keeper non-monetary targets. Folks may not necessarily be rich in property. Also, it is highly probable the site has been hit before by detectorists. Your ORX with its superior performance in iron and high recovery speed should help with masked targets that previous detectorists with slower machines might have missed. For ORX, I highly recommend you use discrimination (set between 7 to 10) WITH iron volume vice no discrimination to ID iron and non-ferrous. The discrimination is not just for filtering iron it also helps keep iron from down averaging non-ferrous target IDs. Hope this helps. Good luck, happy hunting, and enjoy your new site. Nothing as exciting as a fresh permission and the anticipation of great finds. Chase

if you drywashed pickers of any size.....like barely flakes...you are not wasting your time...you are investing time in finding better gold than you drywashed….nugget hunting with a detector is not for the faint of heart nor those without Patience... sounds like a good place to me....stay off the RES!!! fred

I went to a beaten patch yesterday. I pulled 7 nuggets out of it for approx a 1/4 oz. The reason they were missed by me earlier, it because it is usually very wet ground. But we are having a very dry fall, so I was able to hear the soil better.

I am not really looking for a new detector to add to my arsenal. I think my Deus, Equinox, and GPX cover the bases pretty well. I keep an MXT and F75 DST around mainly for nostalgic reasons (like a guitarist collects guitars) and because they were classic designs in their day with solid performance, features, design, and ergonomics bar none in the case of the F75. I laso keep my Tek Delta around because it was the detector with which I really learned how to detect and helped me form a passion for the hobby. Plus they all support concentric coils which are advantageous under certain conditions. So why was I still drawn to the two new low cost offerings by Makro and Minelab? There is always something refreshing about a stripped down, back to basics detector design that incorporates the latest tech and capabilities (e.g., Multi IQ for Vanquish, straight forward single frequency detecting with decent all metal capability, and a waterproof package for the Simplex). Why get another detector, when my main arsenal seemingly consists of detectors that should easily outperform either Vanquish or Simplex? The answer is simple, performance diversity. Hitting a site with a different detectors of diverse capabilities, features, performance usually pays of if you have the luxury of time and access. Last week, at several different types of CW relic sites in Virginia I was able to use the diverse capabilities of the three detectors I mentioned in the second sentence of my post and each delivered with keeper finds under the conditions to which they typically excel. The GPX penetrated deep into highly mineralized soils of those Virginia fields to snag a number of deep non-ferrous brass and lead targets including my first US Cavalry bit boss - a "bucket lister" for me. The Equinox with its Multi IQ capabilities and diverse modes (including gold mode) was able to ID and lock onto shallower no-ferrous targets in the mineralized muck of multiple non-ferrous and ferrous targets which enabled me to ultimately pull several non-ferrous keepers out of a single hole. And the Deus gave my tired arm a break while deftly navigating between huge chunks of big iron in pitch mode that enabled me to literally visualize the large target footprint of these big iron targets and as a result snagged some actual ferrous CW relics including stove leg and some antique door hinges and other unique ferrous keepers. So what does this have to do with Vanquish and Simplex? The Vanquish is a very capable entry level detector with some high-end features (Multi IQ) and a cool coil selection and neat stem design but, not surprisingly, very limited setting customization options and missing features that appropriately put in a couple of notches below the even the Equinox 600. Some of the missing features are quite frankly head scratching as far as I am concerned (e.g., not fully waterproof housing, lack of user firmware update capability, no single frequency mode option, and while the coil selection is compelling, those coils are not also compatible with Equinox - a missed opportunity IMO - confirmed with me in person by Debbie S of Minelab at last week's dig). Sometimes manufacturers tease higher end features into their new lower-end offerings that are otherwise not available in their mid or high level offerings. Other than the decent coil selection, there is no such situation here. The Equinox envelopes the Vanquish completely. Bottom line, the Vanquish is solid and provides "multifrequency for the masses" but brings nothing to the table for Equinox users. That is not slam, it is a fact and frankly is not unexpected. If the coils were cross compatible with Equinox, I might seriously consider picking up a Vanquish solely for the opportunity to use the coils on Equinox while getting a fairly decent emergency backup or grab n go machine in the process. But with the coils solely married to the less capable Vanquish and without the capability to wring the most out of them, it is a pass for me. The Simplex on the other hand is limited to single frequency and the emphasis is on solid basic performance and ease of use. Yet Nokta has packed it with some high end features such as fully waterproof, wireless ready (and cheaper than the wireless variant of the Vanquish), firmware updates (updates and bug fixes have already been released), and the promise of some decent accessory coils consistent with the Nokta track record on their other recent detector designs. So there are slight feature advantages that in the Simplex design that provide something a little more compelling in the "basics" than Vanquish, though Vanquish does have Multi IQ going for it. Since I do not own a Nokta or Makro detector, the Simplex provides the performance diversity that the Vanquish does not, IN MY CASE. This would not necessarily be true of those who might own a Kruzer, Anfibio or Impact. For those folks, the Simplex probably looks to them the same way the Vanquish looks to me or the typical Equinox owner. At this price point, the performance diversity is worth it. I get Nokta's signal processing which is lacking in my arsenal, a decent VCO all metal mode (which I prefer over the processed discrete tones of the Equinox in the non-gold modes) and the prospect of decent accessory coil choices with user upgrade-able firmware in a waterproof package. It is still entry level and fairly basic, but compelling to me from a performance diversity standpoint, nevertheless. Remember, this is only my opinion and is applicable to my particular situation based on the detectors I already own and the type of detecting I like to do (primarily CW and Colonial relic hunting). It should not be misconstrued as Simplex is better than Vanquish or that these detectors can outperform their more expensive and capable cousins. So do you find either the Simplex and/or Vanquish compelling even if you do own higher end detectors already? Discuss your thoughts below.

Well, I can say, I almost gave up on this 14k gold earring and sterling piece. The detector (Equinox 800, park 2) kept telling me it was there but my pinpointer was not so sure until it actually touch it. The color of the ground and the fact I didn't have my glasses on proved to be a difficult task in locating these two precious items. Just remember if the detectors says there is something there don't give up until you know what it is. The second photo was a blast in recovering all those sterling pieces. And then the old button, very ornate.

When it comes to marketing never underestimate the power of a name. The Minelab name alone will sell the Vanquish versus a company that truthfully few outside the forums have ever heard of. I’m a big Nokta/Makro fan, one of the first, but they have a long way to go to match the power of the Minelab dealer network. When the company combined they should have just dropped Nokta and gone with Makro. Would have put them just ahead of Minelab in alphabetical lists instead of just after. Simple decisions like that matter, and Nokta/Makro is clumsy no matter how you say it.

Can you guys suggest me a country that let people pan for gold without any / or special permission ? My goal is to make over $100 Everyday Thank you in advance

That is very good advice to enhance sensitivity to smaller targets in my somewhat limited experience with the QED. As phrunt said, only two or three clicks below null can make a surprising difference in sensitivity. This should also allow you to lower TH. A.

That's a mantra, particularly if you're looking for old coins. Relics, on the other hand, everybody dropped (or more likely threw out) those. Coincidentally I was hunting my favorite old school yesterday when a young woman approached and asked if I was the one who posted on Facebook about wanting to detect old properties. I told her "no" and she started to walk away. When I inquired further she said she lived on an old homestead which had old foundations for which she was curious! I told her I liked to hunt those sites and she gave me her address and phone#. Funny how when we go from young men to old men our appreciation for the value of young ladies' phone numbers change.... 😛 Just another example of why I don't shy away from hunting public sites when people are present.

Reading this thread, in Summary…. Gold finds go up with the introduction of new technology and after a while gold finds taper off until new tech arrives eg the 2300 and the Z. Now gold finds are tapering off again. But rather than new tech via a machine, its the X Coils for the Z and as JW above says: "Whack on an X coil & it will be game on again". I recently went to the Victorian GT with a group, to me it was more of a social outing rather than serious detecting, with the Z, I found countless small and very small shot, the ones that are around 1mm in diameter, sometimes 2 or 3 to a mullock heap, along with an 1853 3d, and then its those deep targets 60cm + down and the hole xx cm wide for a rusty bolt/piece of brass. 2 such holes in the morning and ditto in the afternoon for someone who is on the wrong side of 70 is my limit. Friends with Z machines do not have the X coil, so I really do not know what I am missing, is it deeper holes/more lead shot, or.........? I am very happy with the Z in WA, more of the yellow stuff in Vic would not go amiss. And like others, am not keen on a Non Minelab modification, so maybe I will miss the game. Peter.

I'd say you are in the right place, for a four gallon sample!!! GaryC/Oregon Coast

Those are some great finds. I have found the ORX to be much better than the Deus for gold prospecting since it has four features in its two Gold modes that the Deus Goldfield mode lacks. They are Iron Volume, dedicated Threshold Tone with volume adjustment, the big Iron Probability Bar, and the big, awesome numerical Target ID display. These can turn the ORX into a two separate VCO tones detector: ferrous-low VCO tone/grunt and non-ferrous-med/high VCO. It also handles hot rocks and hot ground very well. With the addition of the display and iron bar plus the lightweight portability............it makes for an outstanding gold prospecting detector that has easily found gold for me too. Jeff

Agree about Alkaline quality. The Varta brand are very good.....always very good voltage and fresh plus I’ve never had any leak on me or die prematurely. I’ve had problems with Duracell and Energizers on a regular basis......these are nearly always made in China or Indonesia. I’m amazed at the Varta price.....it’s possible they are so low in order to get you into the store and get you to buy something else...........Is that why I have 48 hammers ?

Beau, if nothing else works, don't be afraid to try Severe Ground Type; in the right circumstances it can be a real weapon.

from what I can tell, the T2 is as you describe. You pull the trigger towards you and it goes into pinpoint and it is static. Personally have not ran all-metal much at all with it due to it scrambling my brain with tones. Much prefer the different tones of discrim mode.The T2 is an odd beast in some ways as many have stated it shows another boost after disc 50. Experimentation I've done though has shown that disc above 21 on the T2 will really mask good targets if there is iron around. Have ran it as low as 10 before with good success. Personally love the T2

I have attached some pictures of the place. Doesn't look like much but it has been added to also later on. Thank you for the wisdom. According to the history of the property this man moved down from New York to this place. He was described as "wealthy" and he was a dentist. This of course was back in the mid 1800's. He died in 1873. Now what wealthy meant back then vs now might be two different things. Later on the property was owned by a farmer, then stayed within their family tree until it was sold a few months ago. I'm guessing the most productive spot will be around that front door in the yard. I'm really interested in hunting it but as with any smaller town place there will be nosey neighbors on both sides. Lucky for me though permission is granted, and even if they were to call the "law" they all mostly know who I am. I'm hoping to find some things that would be of interest, and our idea of "wealthy" may have been something different back then. I wonder if there may be things buried there on purpose.. As a lot of people in older times buried caches. Wish I could find some older pictures of the place but have yet to find such a thing. It's real clear to me the detectors I have and the coils on them are not geared towards deep detecting. They are geared towards hitting more modern trashy lots. The GOOD news is all this time hunting in modern garbage has helped me tremendously in locating and determining what is worth digging vs what is not. I'm much more proficient with the T2 vs the ORX but the ORX has strengths the T2 does not. My coin program is set to 13.6khz disc 7.5 gain at 75 to start off with but I will pump it up until it chatters, then back it down til it barely stops. Reactivity 2.5 I have my second custom program set to 31khz and plan to use that on questionable targets. I've heard the higher frequencies do well for relic type hunts. Dunno, never used the higher ones much because they tend to make aluminum can slaw very strong. Don't expect to find a lot of valuable things the first trip or even after 3 trips. It takes me a bit to feel a place out and get in the zone. But once it starts happening the feeling you get is nothing short of blissful. The wind was blowing today up to 28mph with air temp high at 47 degrees F. Nah, not going out in that. Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. Lucky for me I have Monday and Tuesday off from work.. Still cold but wind much less and probably days I will try it. O

I have used a QED PL1 with early software on the beach in Vietnam where it turned up Russian coins, but no jewelry unfortunately. It behaved very well, and moved from dry to wet sand without a problem. The locals were most intrigued as I don't think they had seen a detector in action before. That PL1 is still in Nha Trang where the owner uses it mainly at night so as not to draw a crowd of onlookers.

Hello All My First major outing with the QED. I intend to write a review here after ever major outing with the QED, until I understand the detector. This also posted in AEGPF. This is my first PI detector. Price, Capabilities and Aussie made were the driving factors to buying this machine. I went to Warwick GPA for two days. Two purposes for the trip one to recon as much of the all GPAs as possible and two to test my new QED. Recon was to look for potential Dry wash locations. That a different story. I found all the trash left in the GPA. Bullets, horse shoes, rusting tin, slug gun pellets. Nothing very deep though, all at only a few centimeters. This concerned me so I buried a five cent piece at 20cm on its edge to make it as small a target as possible. Picked this up no problems at all. Full repeatable target. So I am hoping I just didnt walk over any deep targets I took an XP ORX and my QED QED got a good 18hrs of use over the two days and used my ORX on some of the same ground: I found it interesting on how the VLF reacted compared to the QED. ( Not Direct comparison test) My QED setup is as follows: QED PLII with Detech Shaft 11" Detech Ultra sensing Quest WIFI to a set of (Apple ipod earplugs ) I am going to buy a good set Warwick I found has a great difference in minerals across the area. So I had to make sure I basically reset the QED every time I changed location Quest WIFI - Worked very well. Battery lasts for 24hrs, just as well as I forgot to turn it off most of the time. Had receiver in my top pocket so my earplugs never got in my way. Forgot I still had them in a couple of times Overall very happy with this audio setup Detech shaft - Excellent 11" Detech Ultra sensing coil - Being my first coil other than HF on ORX - I a had to get use to it sounding hollow while passing it over the ground. Being hollow cuts down on weight I suppose which is good. I had to Factory Reset at every new spot I detected, as trying to adjust from the previous location was to hard. So in the end I just factory reset when I turned in on at a new location and went through the setup process. Working through the settings starting at 2, then 1,3,4,5 I talk about each setting in the order I used in my setup process THS-B - Setup range was 49 to 59 so around 54 was mid point. I used it at mid the entire time so I would received an even tone for Small and Large targets MGB - Setting ranged from 170 to 210. I very quickly got use to checking MGB on the Fly. I did find myself trying to balance in the wrong direction quite a a lot, this just meant spending time cycling back the other way to get correct MGB ( Silence in the Ear Plugs). MGB is achieved on the down motion of the coil, but I was receiving a tone on the up motion as well. Once I got use to this I adjusted the MGB until neither tone could be heard. Once MGB was achieved the detector was silent. THS-A - This setting initially confused me a bit, as to me it I felt it wasn't really doing anything, after watch the training video over and over and reading some more I understood its relationship to THS-B. This how I used it - (This may be totally wrong so I will need some feedback here). Once I achieved ground balance I would adjust THS-A up until I could just here a tone being produced I would then turn it down until the tone was only just audible. I took this as being the sweet spot for THS-A. Around 50 all over the GPA Gain - Adjusting Gain up above 2 produced an unstable response from the QED so 2 was the max setting for most of the trip. Adjusting Gain up also effected the tone produced by THS-A. I put the Gain up and went back to THS-A to try and adjust the tone out. This had no effect. So reset THS-A and lowered Gain to make detector stable Mode - This setting is coil and ground specific to achieve a balance. I found that 3-4 was good for all areas I detected. Anything higher or lower made the detector unstable After going through this setup( Only took a minute or two). QED was basically silent except for the very low tone that I could only just here from THS-A. While swinging I kept the coil in contact with the ground. I did not receive any coil to ground contact noise. At times I had to check that the detector was still on by passing it near my boot to get a target response ( steel in boots) The silence surprised me, but was excellent as I didn't have to have continual noise in my ears detecting In patches this happened. I would get single tones from the detector both high or low, swing back past the spot of the tone, nothing. If I started to get these tones, I sometimes stopped moving the detector and listen, random tones still produced (EMI ground mineral) ? I also came across patches that produced multiple random tones. For example a patch 1m square where the detector was silent all around it, but just produced random tones all over the 1m Square. Nothing repeatable in one spot. I dug this out of curiosity, after removing a couple of cm all tone was gone and no target could be found or single disappeared. So eventually I just ignored this type of signal response putting it down to soil type\minerals. I also had tones that produced like a wobbly type noise that was over one spot that sometimes came and went. When dug target disappeared or I found I just spread the target noise over a wider area. When target was found the tone was easy to recognize and repeatable over the one spot Please feel free to give me feedback on my setup. I dont know if I am reducing the small target detection or loosing depth This was my first experience with the QED. Overall I am very happy and excited with my purchase. All I need to do is walk over some yellow and find it. I think my next move is to setup a test patch somewhere. Lead sinkers from sub gram and up

I think Minelab may have pulled the extra early intro trick one time too often. The machine is not supposed to actually be available until sometime next year. In the meantime the Nokta/Makro Simplex+ is actually shipping, stealing the thunder. The gap between announcement and actual shipping dates on Vanquish is so large that people will have almost forgotten about it by the time it's available, or at least it will just be old news. It seems to me Minelab is squandering a certain amount of excitement that results in people making quick impulse buy type decisions. Given too much time people calm down and find reasons not to buy. I can't say I am a big fan of machines being announcement way before they are available. Hopefully the trend reverses. It may be Vanquish proves to be the time it went to far and we we go back to manufacturers keeping a better lid on things until we can actually buy them. Minelab Vanquish 340 Data & Specifications Minelab Vanquish 440 Data & Specifications Minelab Vanquish 540 Data & Specifications Minelab Vanquish 540 metal detector

Took the ORX to 9,200 feet in the Colorado mountains today. It did really well in a lot of iron, tin, lead, brass, along with ironstone and gneiss/schist hot rocks. One 2.5 grain nugget/flake and a nice 1.5 gram specie. Gold 1 worked really well with frequency at 54 kHz, IAR 2, reactivity 2, iron volume on, sensitivity 90, threshold 10, 9" HF coil. The 1.5 gram specie was 6" deep with a nail and ironstone hot rock within 2 " radius. I could still hear the gold loud and clear. The 2.5 grain was 3" deep. The lead bullet and button back were both 8" deep. I was fairly certain that the iron and tin can shards were iron range targets but there is so much black sand at this location that every target has a little iron response especially in the scoop. Kept thinking I was going to break the ORX in this rugged terrain. No problem. Can't wait to get back up to this location that is NOT known for any gold over 1/2 gram. Jeff

My Simplex arrived today, and of course its snowing and 25 degrees out. Yesterday it was 75. So I'm stuck inside for a few days and figured I might as well make the most of the situation. Very well made unit. Here are some Target ID numbers, air testing, Silver half... 94 .Silver 25c …...90, silver dime ...83, nickle...25, one cent copper...73, 1c zinc 66, $1 gold coin...22, $2.50 gold....38, $5 gold, ….56. I like the wide spacing between the coins at the upper end of the scale. TRASH...……. rusty bottle cap....30's to 50's, plated cap....55, round pulltab with tail extended....30, round pulltab with tail bent over the ring....36, tail.....21, square tab....30, 3/4 " long lead fishing weight.....38. Alum twist cap...68. The relic mode tested out the deepest , followed by all metal , then park mode. I In relic mode, I manually set up the GB at 90, full sensitivity , volume at 4, no headphones. Inside my 12 x 24' shop with 3 fluorescent lite fixtures and a pellet stove cranking out heat. Repeatable audio signal, 50c silver …...17"...…. VID readout 11"...……...25c silver , 14" &10"...……...10c silver, 13" & 9", 5c......14" &11", 1c copper, 14" &10" , Ultra thin womans 14k gold ring......13" &10" $1 gold coin, 11" & 8", 2.50 gold coin..13" &10", 4% gold coin...15" & 10". In park mode with is 3 tone, and a faster speed, for better separation, same settings, as the relic mode, solid audio & solid VID readout is as follows. 50C....13" & 11", 25c....12" & 10", 10c....10" & 9", 5c....12" & 10", 1c..10" & 9", ultra thin gold 14k gold ring.....10" & 9" , $1 gold...9" & 6", 2.50 gold..11" & 9", $5 gold..12" & 10". Air depths in all metal mode were about an inch greater than the audio in park mode. These are all air tests, it will be interesting how this unit does in real soil testing conditions. I had an EQ800 and loved it, but had to let it go in summer when my wife ran up some hefty medical bills. This unit is waterproof like the EQ, but an affordable price tag( for me). I think I will really like the expanded target readout range. That was one thing I disliked about the EQ, was the compressed VID numbers. The EQ was one heck of a performer , but I think I will have just as much fun with this unit! When it warms up I will get out and share my results , thoughts and opinions! HH. Red

I'm pretty sure that the F19 will use the GREEK series coils like the F44, Gold Bug Pro, Eurotek Pro, Gamma, Omega etc. ?

A long time ago I had the entire world supply of a certain “space rated” transistor (not an IC or a chip - just a stinking transistor) in my bottom right-hand desk drawer. I was a contracts manager at Allied Signal (now Honeywell since they bought Honeywell) and we had a product which used this component on a launch vehicle. We got an order for the product from a customer and suddenly the you know what hit that rotating thing. The parts in my drawer were absolutely required and WAY no longer available. Only problem was the “traceability” could not be documented. A gap in the paperwork made them unusable. A couple of weeks of furious phone calls (this was a while back!) and I scored the precious bit of paper. Got a nice raise that year.

Is amazing how the Dominican Republic is not included and the Barrick Gold mine here is possible the largest in the world.

The basics of all tuning is to find the most sensitive settings that will handle the ground and hot rocks effectively. What you have left for power when that is done is what you have. Attempting to go for more power will bring back the hot rock or ground response... that is the problem in a nutshell. First thing I would do if Normal/High Yield is not working is try Normal/General. Next up Difficult/High Yield and then Difficult/General. In each case sensitivity to where the detector is on edge of stability. It may be that once you get the machine stable you will feel you have “choked the settings down” too far. Unfortunately that is how this game works. Some ground forces you to detune the machine, which in turn means it might not do what you want to do. As GB just mentioned the GPX may be the better option. The sad truth is not everything is as detectable as we want, and some locations are such that any detector is almost worthless. Luckily those areas are extremely rare, but artificial locations like a manufactured pad are high on that list. Even if a machine is unstable, working extremely slowly and digging signals that are different that all the other noises can get results. Background noise and hot rocks have a certain audio pattern and a nugget will often sound slightly different. I’ll still miss a lot but I can usually pull nuggets out of some pretty bad background noise by working very slowly and patiently. Or go somewhere else easier!

If that were possible a lot more people would be doing it. Panning is a prospecting method, and not normally a way to go out and make a living. What country are you in? There are places all over the planet to pan for gold. No matter where you go there will be rules, regulations, and property owners to deal with. Here are some public areas in the U.S.

For me its the 14x9 EVo NF. No need in a smaller coil that that its hitting #9 birdshot to 3".

At this point in time, it's the Aerospace and Defense sectors that are driving the electronics sector for US manufacturers. 1st Texas might have anticipated this huge increase in business and jumped in. Companies like this purchase their laminate from suppliers like Dupont, Isola, Rogers, AGC Nelco just to name a few of the suppliers that meet the strict SQAP requirements of both Space and Defense PCB projects. But having your own PCB business allows you to control many of the quality and trade secrets that go along with the electronics industry. Check this out https://www.moog.com/markets.html As you can see, Moog is into more than just one area of high end electronics.

G'Day All New to Detecting located in Brisbane Own QED PLII and XP ORX

Some random notes, and if you don't know what I am talking about as regards some detail of this machine or that I apologize. Well, I finally updated my XP Deus with 11" coil to the version 4 update. Then I hauled it and the Nokta Impact with 11" and Teknetics G2 with 11" out for several hours of cross checking coin type targets. The G2 is a Gold Bug Pro variant running at 19 kHz and I put it up against the Deus at 18 kHz and Impact at 20 kHz. I acquired the G2 new recently to use specifically as a benchmark unit because I am very familiar with it and because in my opinion it does 19 kHz as well as it can be done. I spent hours swapping machines as the hunt machine, then cross checking the undug targets with the other two. Lots of settings tried, with the main goal to try and find some deep fringe type target or target in trash where any machine can get a clear and definable edge. Well good luck with that. All I mainly did was impress myself again with what a little powerhouse the Gold Bug Pro/G2 is for the price. It is fairly mineralized ground but not the worst, 5 bars out of 7 on the G2 Fe3O4 meter, ground balance about 86. The only real "aha" moment was in learning the Impact really likes to upscale shallow small foil when in 5 kHz mode, but shoves the id back down to where it should be at 14 kHz or 20 kHz. All the machines like to upscale deeper aluminum in this ground. All three seemed to get tricked in much the same way on certain targets, like a deep pull tab reading like a dime. For gold hunting purposes I do not mind machines upscaling low conductive targets, and in fact the Impact 5khz mode may have a benefit in nugget detecting because it does want to push light foil (and therefore small gold) higher. But for coin detecting upscaling aluminum is annoying. Pretty much par for the course however for mid to higher single frequency machines. I found running the Impact in VLX1 was nice as I could flip over just one click to the Gen(D) mixed mode program for a dramatically different read and better target definition. Target id numbers in my ground are slightly higher in the "expanded ferrous" modes like VLX1 and VLX2 compared to DI3 and DI4. The Deus V4 Gold Field program does seem to pack some extra punch now, be fun to get it out nugget hunting once the elliptical coil hits the streets. The new Deep mode really seems great while the new Hot mode is, shall I say it, interesting. First time I have used the X-Y screens also. The G2 is what it is, almost no controls but it gets the job done with what it has, and good solid id. Deus and Impact in the other hand have countless options and programs to try, but by and large there is no magic bullet. Three great machines, I can hunt with any of them. It will take a lot more hours to sort it all out. I find when running machines that are all hitting the VLF Wall that it is the "other things" that get my notice. The Impact is obviously the heavier of the three (4 lbs 4.7 oz / 1946 grams), although very well balanced, so I give the feel on my arm award to the G2 (3 lbs 1.5 oz / 1404 grams) and the Deus (2 lbs 4.0 oz / 1020 grams with 11" coil and control box). The G2 and Deus are neck and neck in the comfort department FOR ME* but the G2 feels ever so slightly better to me, I am guessing because the coil is lighter on the G2. The G2 slays both the Impact and Deus for speaker volume if run without headphones, but on the other hand it has no volume control so would be too loud for some situations. Been awhile since I ran a Gold Bug Pro / G2 unit and caught myself when switching from disc mode to all metal when cross checking at one point and forgetting that the "big number" changes from target id in disc mode to ground phase in all metal mode, so I was looking at the ground phase instead of the little speedometer thinking it was target id for a couple goes. That one quirk always had me liking the F75 versus the Bug in all metal. I wish Fisher made a 19 kHz F75! *On arm comfort is a very subjective subject. In particular it has a great deal to do with the size of a persons hands plus length and thickness of their forearm, and their height. You really can't take any one persons word on this subject as it is like buying hiking boots. What fits one person does not fit another. It is not all about detector weight by a long shot. Balance is very important as is the all important hand grip. I am 5' 11" with forearms on the thinner side and smallish hands. For instance, my forearm really bounces around in the large Impact armrest area. The Deus armrest which may be too small for some fits me better. For me personally, the 3.5 lb Teknetics T2 / Fisher F75 is the most comfortable detector I have ever used. It is superbly balanced and something about the hand grip that narrows to the top as it cants forward really makes my hand happy. I can squeeze the armrest shut to fit my arm. So if you find the F75 to be a great fit for you, my comments apply to you. If you hate the T2/F75 setup then what I have to say is less important.

I had a F22 and now a F44 and they are virtually the same machine performance wise with the same size coil. F44 just has Gb and a few other things. I expect they will give them new paint jobs and lower the price below Simplex on the F44. With the 7.69? frequency they are really hot on coins. I mostly hunt playgrounds and don't need a machine to pick up targets 8-12" deep.

A while back I was looking in my own back yard and along side the sidewalk I found a 1889 IH. Then I did some research and found out just what has been on my property, and I like it. Come a few days with 45 degree weather or above I will be back out there looking for more. We are in the 20's right now and my 800 is begging me to take it out in the sun. You have received some very good information from these guys and the only thing I would add is remember it.

Not all sites are productive. A house less than 3 miles from this new one had nothing but modern coins and lots of iron in the ground. One other I visited within half a mile of this new one gave me silver coins. It is a more modern house. I'm hoping this older one is still "in the silver belt". Compared to that silver coin producing house, this one was owned by more prominent people. We shall see what it produces. Maybe I will get lucky enough to unearth a 1800's coin. I've rode by this place for over 18 yrs on the way to work and home. It has always called out to me for some reason, just like the other house did that gave me the silver coins. Really feel there is something important there to be found. Could be totally wrong but the fun will be seeing what it holds!

That's a great looking home/homestead. I do hope this winter is one of those we've had lately where the ground doesn't freeze and there are lots of opportunities for you in low wind, 40s+ temps. Chase gave tons of good advice (as always). I can't add much, other than to not be surprised if some of the ground has been reworked at times in the past. Keep an open mind and you'll do fine.

Pinpoint on most detectors is non-motion minimally filtered. That's the maximum sensitivity you can get. Pretty sure that even on the Minelab Equinox which doesn't give you a minimally filtered detecting mode, the pinpoint is just that. The Fisher F75 has three modes (and lots of discrimination processes): discrimination (with processes), motion all-metal, and static all-metal. There is also a toggle switch for going into pinpoint, but I'm pretty sure that is identical to static all-metal. Is the Teknetics T2 configured similarly? (Note that unfortunately the term 'all-metal' has different meanings depending upon manufacturer. Not only are detector manufacturers competitive in their products, but some like to be competitive/contentious when it comes to definition of terms....)

My general setting for the area are: GM - High Yield GT - Normal Sensitivity - 8 Volume - 15 Threshold 35 Threshold Pitch 35 Volume limit - 5 Audio Smoothing - High Ground Smoothing - OFF I tried High yield/GT difficult, General/ GT normal, General/ GT difficult. Also tried these settings in GS off and Locate Patch. To be perfectly honest, adjustments beyond that felt beyond my experience at this point. I have less than 50 hours on the ground with the GPZ . I didn't want to start chasing the white rabbit.

Regis,i reckon the QED could work well with your new Detech coil,are you thinking of getting one,must admit i really like the reviews that this Pulse is getting !!

Bells and whistles are nice but almost all comparison posts and videos ask only one question.... “how deep does it go?”

Tom Walsh likes metal detectors. HH Mike

Redneck I too just received my Simplex but I haven’t yet had the opportunity to truly test it in the field. If the weather will hold tomorrow will be the day . I know I joke lots about everything. What I’m about to say is no joke. I’ve had a lot of detectors over the years and spend lots of money to have them . Buying the Simplex I can say never spending so little but getting so much for my money. Thank You Nokta/ Makro for a top quality machine! Chuck Anders

And not all that long ago (in detector development years😁) they hired Carl. I don't think that was so he would help make night vision goggles.

Amethyst does look good, better on silver I think. Found this thing 14k amethyst ring couple years ago and doesn't doesn't stand out as much as the silver ring. Sorry pic is blury and my niece has it now.

Having Googled and compiled all the U.S. gold coin responses I could find for the Equinox here is what I came up with: Coin Target ID $1.00 10 11 12 $2.50 15 16 $5.00 18 19 $10.00 21 $20.00 25 26 27 Minelab Equinox U.S. common coin and gold coin (yellow) target id numbers

Thanks David, you are too kind. I consider myself blessed to have at least has some input on a few detectors over the years. Nothing major but over almost 40 years of nudging and pushing and yes, by posting on the internet, I have had at least a tiny part in the direction of things. All quite selfish really. I just want to get that "perfect metal detector" I have been after all these years!