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First out for the year, found a spot that has cuts that are over my head. I know how they got there but best I hold on that for now. One thing for sure targets are every where, on the top shelf, down the slope, and in the bottom. Just have to wait for a better tide so I can hunt the whole bottom and not worry about sliding down the slope. Most targets are shallow. First gold was maybe 12 inch's? Going to be interesting to see how long this spots stays intact-ed. I knew something was up and one reason I took the Excalibur for I had no clue on what I would be walking into. I am debating on taking the 8 inch on the "AQ" next trip. Seems to be no trash at all.... Three hour hunt, 1916 Class Ring and 1929 Class ring. 4 Silvers, which are eaten bad by the brackish waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Water is just dipping into the high 30's, full hunt I was toasty but Need to make some adjustments to my gloves, left glove is like wearing a sock.. No mobility.

I would like to thank the donner of this 583 earring for my first AU find of 2021. Beach find Jan 5. The AQ hit it hard!!!

Hello to all and Happy New year it all started well as one the beach i hunt seems to have been cleaned of the loose sand by the recent storm,glad i could use my MDT after his minor repair .Did again some deep stuff ,the lamp bulb socket and the pyramidal lead where at 40/45 cm i tried to max out the machine and it was fun.As you can see lots of brass junk missed by others but i guess they did get the gold😃😃😆😆 Then the car gearbox decided it was time to die and the lockdown PART III started.... 😄😄😍🤣 Enjoy RR

Here’s a story I’m keen to tell - I put it here. Because I couldn’t figure out anywhere else to put it ...my bad... Ok, this whole fireplace thing has apparently become a thing on our neighborhood FB page. I put this there as my last word a bit ago, but why should the rest of you lot escape the last words I have on the subject of use of the fireplace in my home...? It was a long time ago. In the winter (camping season in Arabia) there was usually a strong inversion overnight. The cooler ground would cool the low air and the warm upper air would form a blanket over all. Every scent trapped near the ground. At daybreak one Friday morning a couple of dozen years ago, about 70 miles from the nearest paved road, we awoke in our campsite to the intense smell of new baked bread. We were miles from the nearest settlement. I climbed a nearby hill and looked “up breeze” (just a breath - there was no wind) and a good ways off there was a tiny village. We broke camp after breakfast and drove about 8 miles to the village where we found the source. Friday morning - the Muslim sabbath - and a bakery had fired up their bread ovens before dawn. That scent of new-baked bread had made its way 8 miles or so to us - on the softest breath of the downwind drift of air. I am very sensitive to smoke and smell emissions. I hope to avoid annoying or inconveniencing any my neighbors with the careful and lawful enjoyment of one of the important features of the house we paid good money for. Just a desert campfire - captured and tamed in our living room - bliss.

April was just a rumor, nothing more. There is no official release date, and frankly I think April is optimistic to the point I’d be betting against it. For all we know Tom Walsh could still just pull the plug in the whole thing. I kind of hated selling my Ltd as it is possible I might not be able to get a “finished version” if one never goes to full production. I think I heard that something like 70 units have been produced so far, but could be wrong about that. I would rate the cooperative information sharing aspect of this “pay to prototype” as a fail. FT locked down the information flow, and people know as little now about what is going on as before this all started. I decided to bail and wait until the company gets it act together. I wish them success in doing so. My thanks to Rick, Alexandre, Willy, Joe, and the other forum members for listening to some of my thoughts about the Impulse.

I was so close in buying the TDI Beach Hunter and decided to wait. And I am glad I did. As for small chains, I have no issues skipping over. I rather find rings. Here is my first chain I found with the AQ but it had a charm when I found it. I took the charm off just to weigh it. Nice $450 melt value.

Went out last night for a low tide wet sand hunt with the AQ. Got to the beach a little late, tide was already coming in so I was only able to hunt for about 2:30 hrs before the swells took over the slope. Pretty sanded in conditions but still managed a little clad and hit a surprise 2.2 gram 18k white gold diamond half band about 2 scoops down on the upper slope. Also pulled out a 1957D wheatie at some point. Took a pic of the settings I was running, I was in All-Metal for the entire hunt. Have I mentioned I'm a big fan of OBN's Big Battery? 😁

My advice would be to get a more versatile and affordable detector. Namely, an Equinox 800 and possibly the 6inch coil for max micro target sensitivity. If there is small gold near the surface, you will find it and that would clue you into whether it makes sense to drop serious coin on a PI. If you don’t find any natural gold, at least you have an excellent coin, relic, and beach machine too. That 10 acre site might not give up nuggets but it could give up relics or coins, perhaps even of the gold variety. GL

Simultaneous Multi Freq just isn't as effective in bad ground as Pulse Induction is. I have used the Equinox in a few bad ground spots where other single frequency gold units struggle to work, and in all cases the Nox in multi was very impressive on the test targets, but start moving around and it is a different story. In most cases the Equinox ran better in 40 kHz and even more so in 20 kHz. But no harm having the Multi option there, because there would be many places it would (does) work very well. So yes, a Multi Monster would be awesome. Or should it be called the Equinox Gold?? I actually think a gold focussed Equinox would be the better option. Much easier to make, and all that would be required is a solid 7" elliptical coil and new software.

Problem is when you've been implying it is imminent for multiple years, you kind of lose credibility. They've been saying that about the Deus companion app for years also. It's always just few months away. A few months later, its still a few months away. That's how XP has done things since they announced version 4 SW is imminent 1.5 years before it was actually delivered. I've been seeing photos of their 2-box coil since 2015. Bottom line, I'll believe the XP rumors when I actually see some hardware and not just whispers or even glossy marketing brochures.

Golden, Will the owner of the property let you pan samples? I would pan to see if you can get some color. That will help you determine what type of detector to get. Mitchel

Ron - Welcome to the forum. Do you have the stock 6x10 on there now? Whites makes an 8 x 14 coil, if you can get your hands on one, that will eek out some additional depth. But it can set you back about $175 to $250. Also, with the GMT operating at 48 kHz, it is really not going to give you much high conductive coin depth (general purpose coin detectors usually run at 4 to 14 kHz). The problem with high frequency is that it does not penetrate as far into the ground as lower frequency machines and a bigger coil will only marginally help depth at that frequency. You can get a lot of detector for $250 to $350 today. I would recommend instead considering a general purpose detector such as the Nokta Simplex+ or Minelab Vanquish in the $300 ballpark if you want to do coin detecting rather than investing in a new, expensive coil for a gold machine that is only going to give you poor to mediocre depth on coin shooting. The GMT is a great gold detector, one of the best in its hey day and can still get the job done on nuggets But it is optimized for gold, micro jewelry, and meteorites, while coin shooting (unless you are talking gold coins) is not really in its wheel house. Right tool for the job. HTH

I have got up on my soapbox every year about this time to prognosticate about the coming year in metal detector technology. 2020 was an especially significant year as we lost another major player in the industry. A few years ago it was Tesoro going out of business. In 2020 we learned that White's is closing shop and being acquired by Garrett. It is unknown if Garrett will attempt to keep White's alive as a separate product line, or simply acquired the rights and technology to keep somebody else from doing so. At the moment it seems White's has gone away for good, but it is not impossible Garrett will revive the name in 2021. Whatever they decide will have a major influence on metal detecting in the future. But in the meantime we have fewer players now to speculate about. Garrett/White's - we just saw the release of the Ace Apex, a first foray into multifrequency by Garrett. The company already has a very well implemented wireless audio system, and the Apex is fully rechargeable. The White's acquisition means Garrett adds the V3i multi tech and TDI PI tech to their IP base, and this along with the half-sine patent means Garrett has a fresh shot of technology options to choose from. The White’s 24K is a superb product, now unavailable new. However, I expect an acquisition of this magnitude to take time and I'm not holding my breath on any really new product in 2021 from Garrett. At most perhaps a revival of some White's models, or releasing clones under the Garrett name. At the moment however I see Garrett as the U.S. company with the most potential for the longer term future, regardless of what happens in the near term. First Texas (Bounty Hunter, Fisher, Teknetics) - whereas Garrett seems to have a purpose, First Texas seems adrift these days. Most of the Fisher models on the website have been discontinued, or are decades old. Teknetics as a brand seems nearly dead, focused on factory direct sales. Basic advances like in-built rechargeable battery systems, wireless headphones, and over the internet updates - all go ignored at the company. The only news is a new line of pulse induction detectors, but as the lack of interest from users on the internet shows, most people are not screaming for First Texas to bring a PI to market. Everyone wants to hear about a major response to new machines like the Equinox, but so far it's crickets from First Texas. The final production Impulse AQ will hit the market in the first half of the year, but I expect it to have almost no impact on the overall detecting world, or even the beach detecting world for that matter. People will still choose VLF over PI for beach detecting by huge margins, so the Impulse AQ has a shot at being nothing more than a niche detector in a niche detecting market. The Gold version has potential to crack open the gold prospecting market that Minelab currently dominates, but it is going to have to have a very attractive price/performance ratio if it hopes to make Minelab users consider a new brand. For many gold prospectors Minelab currently is the only choice in detectors. Hopefully there is more going on at First Texas than PI, because they are sliding into irrelevance in high end VLF. It seems more models keep slipping into the Bounty Hunter lineup, and if nothing changes someday the Teknetics and even Fisher lines may be retired. Or the Fisher line could be boosted with new high end machines to become the high tech alternative to Bounty Hunter. That was the original plan buying this old name in detecting, and 2021 will probably determine what happens for the Fisher brand in the future. Revival... or the next slow death? Minelab - on a roll still, with the new GPX 6000 due out this spring. When it comes to cutting edge technology, Minelab remains the company to watch. There is no doubt a replacement for the CTX 3030 in the works, but there are no solid hints at when it may arrive. I am guessing 2022 since the last two rollouts were for coin detectors (Equinox and Vanquish). Minelab tends to address areas in a round robin fashion, and I believe 2021 will preferentially freshen the gold prospecting lineup. Nokta/Makro - the easy picking low hanging fruit of single frequency VLF has been fully exploited at Nokta/Makro, and it remains now to see if they can make the move up to higher tech product like simultaneous multifrequency and ground balancing pulse induction. The rapid pace of new product releases has stalled out as further advances will be more difficult. Historically NM has used their Christmas card to hint at new releases, and this year they took a pass on that. I'm hopeful for 2021 but certainly not holding my breath, as it may be fall at earliest before we hear more. Tarsacci - a new 12" coil for the MDT is in the works, and a possible change to the battery door design in future versions. XP - still largely a one-trick pony with the DEUS, and the ORX, which is really just a subset of the DEUS. Will we ever see multifrequency or PI from XP? All is quiet now with the news over ORX run it's course, and right now there are no hints of anything new from XP for 2021. Just random blatherings from an industry old-timer, worth every penny paid. I'm pretty well set for detectors these days, with only the grudge match between the Minelab GPX 6000 and Fisher Impulse Gold having any interest for me personally. I have to put my money on Minelab when it comes to cutting edge tech, but I do hope the Impulse Gold is good enough and low priced enough to shake things up.

Nokta Makro new Youtube video

I have sold approximately 25 units to date. FTP sold at least a couple to established customers. Thanks Steve for your excellent summary of where things seem to stand.

Coils are brand specific, and usually model specific. Putting an AKA coil, even with the proper connector, on a Garrett detector, is almost certain not to work properly, if at all.

So far i got no gold or silver with mine but i got deeeeeeep stuff.I m not saying it doesn't find gold i m just showing that there is no miracle machine........Raw and Honest 🍗🍖 RR

Super nice half dollar find! I'm envious. IMO the best settings are the ones that are working. But also good to experiment and seek advice as you are doing. The Minelab Equinox has so many settings compared to most detectors. That allows you to go both directions -- finding ones that work better but also others that work worse. And in between there are many that don't seem to have any effect for the particular site and target(s). Site is a big variable and optimal settings for one site (or even part of one site) may not be for another. Something I do is hunt with a certain mode+settings and then when I get an interesting target (or even an uninteresting one 😁), I switch to other mode(s) and see how they respond before I dig. That's pretty easy if you want to switch to a different mode (same or different settings) or same mode (same settings) with different frequency. You can also change one setting variable (e.g. recovery speed or iron bias) but don't forget to change it back. If you want to use the same mode but have multiple things you'd like different you can take advantage of the User Profile memory location. So for example if you are searching in park 1, Recovery Speed 4, Iron Bias F2=4 and wonder what Park 1 (i.e. same mode), Recovery Speed 6, Iron Bias F2=0 gives just save the latter settings in User Profile. Of course it's better to have just one setting different because when you see a difference in signal you won't know which settings variable (or combination of settings variables) led to that difference.

I agree but aren't all manufacturer the same????? they need the hype :) The hoard hunter is a delicate one as when you hunt hoards it aint anymore a hobby....... RR

This has been my favorite place to buy from https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/store-finder/ They are in the US and Canada.

XP Have made no secret that a new machine is imminent, they have also said the DEUS is not being discontinued or retired. If I were to put my money on anything it would be a waterproof multifrequency.

Hi Folks Yep it's old kiwigold back again. (Trev from New Zealand) some of you may remember me from days gone by. 73 years old now. Had a dose of throat cancer diagnosed late last year, 30 treatments of radiation seems to have sorted that out. And my prognosis is good. After a long absence from chasing gold have decided to get back into it. Ha ha one last fling lol. Before the body gets to tired or my back craps out. Small scale I must admit. No more underwater dredging for me. I will be working the banks for mainly fine gold. Have put together a system utilizing a mid western prospectors dry land suction nozzle. Now down to a two and a half inch suction nozzle. Guess I won't be shifting much eh. But at least everything is a lot lighter than what I used to use. And I don't expect to make a fortune. More of a paying hobby if I am lucky. Will flick some pics up, when I get on the river and everything running. Now back to the Subject heading. A guy here in NZ got hold of me, wanting two ounces of as pure as he can get beach gold, not pure as in purity,but not contaminated with to much black sand. Now I don't do beach mining any more, that was years ago. Like about 20. But I have a mate who still does. And maybe able to help. But we all amalgamate our concentrate. End up with a blob of gold sponge, which we then melt. Now somewhere years back on one of the gold forums. I recall seeing a mention of how to convert gold sponge back into free running gold. It may have been, soak in lemon juice or vinegar for a while. But not sure on that. My memory ain't what it used to be. So can anybody assist who knows of the method or knows someone that does. I have attached a pic of some gold sponge I had. Sadly I turned that into a little blob of melted gold. A whole .58 of a gram. Yahoo I'm rich. So I can't experiment with it. Good to be back. Although I do read the forum from time to time, haven't posted for several years. Cheers Trev in New Zealand.

I had it backwards; I was missing things because they got lost in the high gain noise. The more difficult the site, the more important it is to find an efficient signal balance. @cjc's book help a lot for me. That's good advice JCR! It's like once you get up towards 90 everythingis clipping down and harder to hear--not easier. cjc

The customability of NoktaMakro and other newer machines is what makes them so great for me. They are capable of detecting almost any site. I guess this trend was started by XP with the Deus. The limiting factor is me, the operator. Your thinking outside of the box encourages me to beware of getting in a rut.

This picture is 3 weeks old, I 'm waiting for a today update. My grandson discovered metal detecting "for treasure" on tv. He's watched countless videos of how to and getting big finds and then my son told him I used to detect. Next step, using my old Whites spectrum in the back yard....he keeps finding stuff I've missed after 15 yrs of "cleaning it out". This Christmas his parents and I got him a basic set up with all the tools; pin pointer, shovel and belt with a trash bag. I gotta work on his making a smaller hole and leaving no trace But, damn I'm proud of him.

I got tired of trying to find a piece of aluminum I needed to build my custom ATX metal detector http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/462-garrett-atx-strip-down-rebuild/ and finally just found it online. I do not know if these guys are a good deal price-wise but they have a heck of a selection and great online process. Check it out at https://www.metalsdepot.com/ You have a great metals supplier, please post them here.

Although nowadays there are several coin detectors on the market with the ability to work efficiently at frequencies of 30 khz, 40 khz and more khz ... ,, so I think that Gmt working on 48 khz - without the possibility of identifying VDI and other other necessary the detector setting function would be a bit behind .. when detecting a coin -aj when using a larger coil ... In Steve's GMT Review you will find what coils were made for GMT ...

Love those old class rings. I remember my dad wearing his 1924 class ring. It seemed to be worn smooth back in the 1950's. Congrats and get that AQ out there and see if you can find more classmates!!!

Garrett has acquired White's Electronics and will honor any and all warranties. Service and repair of White's detectors will also be handled by Garrett.

I miss a good fireplace fire from my early days in north Florida. There is a price for such bliss in the form of a chimney fire if you are not careful. Mitchel

Thanks I will up the iron bias number in F2 and see what happens. I still can't figure out why in the Park I was talking about Park2 works better or appears to work better than Park1 on the deep silver dimes. Today my only silver was this Walking Liberty half dollar. Park1, F2-1, Sens. 22, Recovery 5. GB 12. Very impressive depth.

The Anfibio has the same TID limits in GenD mode. That is my one disappointment with the unit. If I want to run All Metal on a site I will use the AT Max with Iron audio on. Very deep & IDs stay almost to the audio limit.

Nice looking ring and 18k too!

Was out today at a local park for a couple hours. We just had quite a bit of rain yesterday, so beware of fire ants! After making two trips to the park, having left my earbuds on the workbench the first time, the grass had a chance to dry off a bit. The True Love ring was first, about 4 inches down with a sold 9. I'm thinking it may be stainless, as there are no markings. The 14K gold came about 10 minutes later with a solid 11 down about an inch...maybe. This is the same park I found the gold turtle at a few months back. To cut down on penny retrievals, I tried ignoring the 19-21 numbers unless they were screaming. Was using the 15" on the Equinox in Park 1 with 7 recovery speed.

Boy do I hear that! The knuckles on my scoop hand are still sore from last week's digging, even with a Motus T-grip to help, although the muscles have recovered well.

Amen to that, been say that for years....And the AQ is the machine. I've got spots like that the Excalibur may hit 6 to 8 inch's, I've noticed the AQ hits much deeper.. more like 12 to 14...tough digging thru shells and clay. Both machines in AM.

Advice: Don’t overthink it. If you are not having issues with noise or detection, leave it be. Don’ts: Don’t wrap it so loose that it flops around, don’t wrap it such that it constrains your ability to position the coil at the desired angle with respect to the shaft to keep it parallel with your desired swing plain and to lie it flat for transport. You want to minimize strain at the coil cable to coil interface or at any place else along the coil cable that could cause wire breakage due to repetitive flexing at stress points. Otherwise, other than certain special cases with certain coils and detectors, a properly shielded coil cable should not care from an electromagnetic standpoint where you start the shaft wrap.

Thanks everyone for your replies.... I’ve ordered the 15 inch coil last nite..... supposed to be here by the 15th.... will then take it out for a run..... thanks again all..... Al

Welcome James and thank you for your service! This is the best site for anything you want to know about metal detecting and prospecting. It's a great place to share finds as well so don't be shy.

Good to hear there are some good companies to keep in mind. The only shops around here are across the river in Portland, anymore I don't go over there unless necessary. Kellyco took care of the situation, I'm sending back for another one.

I've had good service with Kellyco through the years. I admit that I haven't bought much from them in the last few years since they moved locations, but, what I have bought worked out well. My main gripe with them in the past was the with the freebies they include with their "package" deals. I found the extras to be mostly junk or of very poor quality. I found that there were other online detector sellers with great customer service and who included quality accessories instead of Chineseum crap. In many cases, I also got a better deal going with them. Big Boy Hobbies, Columbia, Fort Bedford, Colonial, and Extreme, along with a few others have been as good, or better in service and/or products. Going with Amazon, WalMart, etc is not something I would do when buying a detector the first time. They have no experience in detecting should you need tech or operational advice, and their customer service is just an e-mail telling you to send it in to the seller for warranty. For a first machine, or relative newbies, I recommend using a local detector store if you have one. They can be a wealth of info to local conditions and can fit you to a machine that will work best in your area and with your particular machine needs. Once you have some experience, that won't be as beneficial, but, still a great way to support the hobby and local economy. It's always nice to have a friendly local seller when you need a last minute repair or replacement part right before you head out for a road trip. I broke a digger the day before I was to fly out of state for a hunt nowhere near where I could get a replacement. A quick stop at Columbia and I was on my way with what I needed. It's hard to do that online regardless of how much you like their price and service.

I rarely take my 12 X 15" coil off! I think it gets another inch or so in depth over the 11", but, the added coverage is more than worth it even if the depth was the same. I still find tiny targets with it, so, I don't think I'm missing anything. Maybe if I was nugget hunting for tiny gold, but, even then, it might get you a deeper big nugget 👍. If I know I'm going to be hunting all day, I also use a sling. For 4-5 hour hunts, I don't have a problem with it at this point with my 67 year old arms.

That should work pretty well for cleaner targets. You will probably be limiting masked targets to a broken/clipped response. The best thing I have learned on my Anfibio Multi is to just reduce the Gain on busy ground or for EMI. After quite a lot of testing/experimenting in the test garden & in the field I lost my fear of missing something if not running it hot. The factory preset gain of 70 is surprisingly deep. With the 9.5X5 DD or 7in concentric it will hit a 6+ inch coin size target. That is deeper and just as quiet as 3DI @ 89 Gain. The real benefit is you can hear what the detector is telling you.You also get more nuance in the tones. It is no longer overwhelmed with "noise". I had it backwards; I was missing things because they got lost in the high gain noise. The more difficult the site, the more important it is to find an efficient signal balance. @cjc's book help a lot for me. I have also found a lot of benefits in the Beach mode's filtering for Iron ridden or wet ground sites. Your Kruzer should respond very similarly.

Kellyco is a very large and very old business, with average customer service. That means they make most people happy, but due to size snd volume you can also find plenty of people with complaints. They are rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. None of which helps you. Between the pandemic and the holidays, things can get crazy, and a mistake was made. Best bet is to be patient, call them, and find a solution. You can generally count on them making good on their mistakes.

Thanks Mike, For now I'm only making one, and until I get the coil wound and do some real world testing I'm not sure if it's worth seriously pursuing. I'm a builder/designer, I've worked with magnetic's instruments in the past that gave me the foundation for what I'm doing here. I know the old revision will discriminate well, but I've made some updates to the new revision that are meant to improve the design, hope it works. About the two tone option for ferrous and non ferrous material, I have my design set up to do something similar to that, when I get further down the road I'll be able to elaborate on this feature. A quick question: When I see guys using their machines, they have to be swinging in order to get a signal, is this the case with most VLF detectors? Can you guys give me a quick rundown on some of the machines and how they detect? I ask this because I've set up my machine in a configuration where you don't have to swing to get a signal, it's in constant search mode, kind of like the machines that have the pinpoint mode. -S

Here is a great article written by Teresa aka (Coilpower) on the Tarsacci Forum I thought I’d share.... Tarsacci MDT 8000 Precis and Methodology for new users. Having used the Tarsacci MDT8000 for relic, mud, water, beach and black iron sands since the beginning of 2019, this article is aimed at new users and as an optional refresher for others including myself. A detector which gives PI depths but with target indication along with no sub menus....a weight of only 1.63kg, quality craftsmanship, superb ergonomics and carbon fibre components along with all the computations already dealt with “under the hood” within the unit itself, leaving the user free to only “fine tune” to the site being detected, is indeed “revolutionary technology.” It is those last two words that in the beginning led to the presumption this detector was for the more experienced users and primarily beach hunting. NOT SO. It was later found by users to be a multi functional, multi talented detector easily learnt. So..... all that is needed is the correct mindset, a little time becoming familiar with it and of course experiment like you would any detector. Several internet savvy people have taken great time and effort creating You Tube clips showing the attributes of the Tarsacci. For those with limited internet, I hope you may find the following exercises of some use thereby gaining enough confidence and eliminating frustration before heading out hunting with your settings....and.... READ THE MANUAL!!!! NB: Not written in the manual is which way to insert the EBL battery.....Insert it PLUS FIRST, otherwise it wont turn on....so don’t panic if you put it in wrong, no harm done. Legend: TrH on unit but written here= TH = threshold, Dsc = DISC = discrimination, Sens written SENS =sensitivity, Gb = GB= ground balance. BlkS=BLKS=black sand, St=SALT= salt or salinity, Track=tracking, Fc=FREQ=frequency. PP= pinpointer. AM=a true all metal mode showing ferrous or non ferrous target, DISC = discrimination, MIX = mixed mode.....audio sounds are AM then DISC heard in that order. Note the following “air” exercise is absolutely NO indication of the depths that can be achieved as the Tarsacci uses the earths matrix, also “test gardens” do not give quite the same results as “cold” hunting. 1. Collect a variety of tear tabs, bottle tops, coins, rings, etc....trash and treasure and keep these permanently in a plastic container for future use. 2. After the obvious basics of turning on the unit and becoming familiar with the buttons, note how the black outlined box has a much thicker black outline when engaged. It is then the user can change it. 3. BLKS and TRACK are the only two boxes that will be entirely filled with black when engaged. 4. Place each piece of trash/treasure on the lawn or concrete (without steel in it) in a large circle. 5. Find a spot and using PP make sure there are no targets heard under the coil. 6. GB the unit, then SALT balance. When BOTH of these are in correct balance there should be NO NOISES heard. The unit is SILENT!! 7. Generally a good quick middle of the road setting is GB of 560 and SALT 27 may suffice. If not, adjust SALT up or down. With experience gained I cannot stress enough to GB and SALT balance correctly for SILENCE from the unit to the point you actually take a swing over your spade/scoop to make sure its working! Chatter, even slight, will distort signal processing by the unit to identify your target in a clean, clear, precise manner possibly tricking you to ghost targets not to mention a cacophony of sounds through your headphones. 8. For this exercise adjust SENS to 4, TH to 0, DISC to 0, BLKS off, TRACK off, FREQ to 18 and swing over your circle once with different settings from minimum to maximum in each. 9. Go over your circle of targets firstly in AM, then DISC then MIX. Get used to changing this MODE button without looking. You will find a personal preference of MODE and in the field no doubt will use all or one of them. 10. Again doing the circle, change DISC to plus 30, then minus 30. Note the audio feedback received with regards to the iron sound. 11. Change SENS from 1 through steps to 9. Leave TH on 0. Note chattiness from high settings. 12. Change TH from minus 9 through steps to 0. Note the correlation with regards to depth, density and size. Note SENS and TH are a balancing act to achieve varying results, size and depths the user wants. 13. Do some circles with your eyes closed to concentrate on audio feedback alone. 14. Experiment with different swing speeds over a target. You will find the optimum swing speed for the Tarsacci which differs from most other detectors and when correct will give a clean, clear and distinct target sound. 15. This leaves you with BLKS, TRACK to use/not use in the field. Note that by employing BLKS it is an extra filter used to settle “chatter” down whether you are in black sand or not. 16. FREQ of 6.4, 9,12,and 18 are sensitivity ranges related to size and conductivity. Experiment. Basically by using settings on minimum and then maximum it will give you a good feel as to how each setting is integrated with another and the cause and effect they have in being altered upon other settings as to the overall balance of the Tarsacci and results achieved. Too high a SENS setting will give you an unstable chatty unit. Do not ever underestimate the power it has to surprise you.... even if the settings appear low. In time as your confidence grows you will find the optimum site setting no matter where you hunt. Just remember THE MOST IMPORTANT is to get the balance correct between GB and SALT to run silent and your swing speed. Thankyou for taking the time to read the above. It was hard to try and keep it short without overwhelming the user to “balance” all settings. This is but a brief insight into Tarsacci technology, exciting! Teresa (Coilpower)

I second Pimento's call out of the Geotech forum as a tremendous resource for detector DIY'ers.

I'm not exactly sure where to post this, or really how many people might find it useful. But it's been an expensive lesson trying different ways to get a real-time, cloud connected security camera video feed on my remote land. There is an expensive 4G trail cam that you have to pay a fairly hefty monthly fee for, and are pretty well data restricted. This wasn't working well for me, so I decided I'd try something like a Verizon JetPack connected to a router, and then wiring up a network of security cams with an NVR or wired directly to the router. Ugh...expensive as heck. And if one component needs reset then I'm screwed 1000 miles away. Plus they all need full time AC power and ethernet cables strung. Wireless cams are of very limited range, especially if I secure the jetpack/router or NVR in my metal Conex. On a whim I decided to try the ReoLink Go 4G even though it said it only works on T Mobile networks. There are only Verizon towers out here, but I got it hooked up last night and it works, not sure if it's using the Verizon tower or if there is a new T Mobile tower now? T Mobile prepaid cards are cheaper, and have way more data than the trail cam 4g thing, and the resolution is better. The software is better too. I can see my cameras anywhere in the country now, and even if someone steals the cameras, the video stays in the cloud and I have a face to give to the sheriff. It's also solar powered so it doesn't need connected to power, I can hide them anywhere on my property with no cables, and the panel seems to provide enough power to let me stream the cameras when I want to see what's going on. Anyways, finally satisfied with a product after a year of researching and messing around. Hopefully that saves someone time and money if they too have remote property or mining equipment they want to monitor from wherever they are at.

Crystalline 17 gram specimen...

You can also try at McMaster-Carr in Chicago, HUGE selection of everything, just watch out for shipping, so they don't get you with a truck freight charge vs UPS. http://www.mcmaster.com Also, try http://www.onlinemetals.com They keep sending me email notices for 15, 20, even 30 % discounts going into Xmas. They seem to have recent competition from Ebay sources I would suspect, where I have been ordering small amounts of metals this year, sometimes with free shipping. I just got a notice today from McNichols Company. They sell sheets of Perforated and raised expanded metals like we gold prospectors might use to build highbankers, dredges, sluices etc.Normally, they sell only 4 x 10 foot sheets which ship by truck and are basically unaffordable for us small guys. As of today, Jan 15, they have 1/3 to 1/2 size sheets available. The one I have my eye on is now $59 for 3 x 2 feet x 3/8 inch holes in 16 gauge. Am assuming this can be sent by UPS or US Mail instead of truck but better call 1st? http://www.mcnichols.com/smallsizes/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Minis_r4_c1Map&utm_content=Smaller+Perforated+Sheets+Now+Available&utm_campaign=010815_Minis They show 2 phone numbers, 800-237-3820, and 877-884-4653, email contact at Sales@mcnichols,com -Tom