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I had been detecting for over the 25 years with many good finds and good times. Went to many organized hunts, meetings and belonged to 2 clubs. Caught an autoimmune as well as a neck/head injury which has made me make some huge changes. Was a fishing guide for 22 years, gave that up, sold the boat, sold the truck, played in a band etc etc. Finally after 6 years the Drs all keep telling me "you need to get out and move around if only for a little while". I tried with my DFX 300 which was just bought prior to this, but it was to heavy to swing for me. Tried my regular DFX, the CZ20 with the belt and nope, nothing worked (they both for sale now). My wife talked to a friend of mine who I used to hunt with and he recommended the Minelab 800. Well, it is much lighter for me and I was able to get out for 1 hour the other day. She also bought me a Lesche digger that was the exact height as my walking sticks to which I use that as my walking stick now. Worked out well. Hopefully little by little I can add some time but for now even a little is great for me. Here is a pic after my first time out in 6 years with the new 800. Take care everyone. There is always someone else worse off somewhere and never give up!

Late this afternoon I snuck in a beach hunt. It was very disappointing in the beginning. The conditions were just great with a low tide but there was nothing much down low. I began following the advice I gave Adam about Zig Zagging and it was only producing odd targets. Sometimes the beach just doesn't have much to give you I began to say. When I reached one of my good beaches after about a mile walk and the conditions weren't right it was time to return on the high side. This I did and I worked my way into a few coins rather than just trash and by now I had 3 cheap rings which I would have been 'satisfied' with had I gotten back to my car then but it was a great sunset again. This time I didn't have my phone so no pictures of it. I worked the high side for a bit with a grid and then I heard a little 1. When I say 'little' I mean it was not very loud. It was consistent and I was hopeful. I don't get many 1's so in my first scoop I could see something sandy hanging from it and it had knots. It wasn't exactly balled up but I could tell it was a chain and I was hopeful. I could see it ... GOLD! And when I got it home I was able to measure it. It is 30 inches (a delicate link) that weighs 8.4 grams. That gives me some pause but I'll get it checked and modify the post if it is a fake. Here it is with the other junk from the hunt. Here is a hunt from 4 days ago when there was a lot less than today. Mitchel

Check the differences and think about the type of hunting you might do now and in the future. I hunt mostly beaches in Florida and never use the gold modes (but would if in Cali). Then there is the User mode which many people like but I don’t use it. And finally the number of frequencies in multi mode. Also do you need the WM08 module for your existing headphones? Others will be able to give you specifics and check the youtube videos on this question. Finally, I have hearing loss and the sound of crashing surf can interfere with hearing the detector. I had the included 800 wireless phones but they did almost nothing to isolate the surf sounds. I found a wireless set made by PAWW that included noise canceling and it works very well to reduce surf sounds. Make sure if you buy headphones that they are compatible with the Equinox bluetooth version. Lots of discussion on that. It has taken my 2 years to get a good grasp of how to set up (and trust) this detector. If you have a friend or detecting club there it may shorten the learning curve. Enjoy the search

Minelab GPX 6000 Specifications Card

Hello, everyone. My name’s Greg and I’m a metal detector in Catawba County NC. If anyone else is from the area I would love to meet up for a hunt. For your viewing pleasure, I’ve attached a nice little flat button I found yesterday at an early 1800s site I have permission on.

Thanks everyone. I will be trying my best to get out. I just sat on the ground quite a few times taking the middle of a farm field all in again. Been too long.

Not surprising. If you can only have an 11 inch and a 17 inch coil then that makes the SDC with the 8 inch still relevant for sale. And it gives the GPZ, which I know is different technology, a 13 inch and a 19 inch. Pretty sure ML is saying that if you want different coil sizes you have to buy different detectors 🤦‍♂️

I'd say if your only use will be to hunt beaches, go for the 600 and put the money you'll save from not going for the 800 toward a decent set of waterproof headphones. If you hunt the wet sand and in the water you'll want waterproof headphones. I have the 800 and hunt everywhere. I bought the LS Pelso waterproof headphones for the saltwater and freshwater beaches. They've worked well. Also, consider buying a carbon fiber shaft if you'll be in the salt water.

Day 2. Same back beach. Got there for a real low tide. A good slope to the beach with a gutter at the bottom and then flat for 30 or so metres before sloping, deeper and the low tide waves. The gutter = not a single target. There may be quite a depth of sand, I’m not sure. There are rocks either side of the life guard flags and tried around quite a few of them to see if anything had got hung up but nope, nothin’! Back to the dry sand right at the top of the beach and at least there were targets but not as many as yesterday. 20 cent piece, ring pulls, random crap and then 😳 925 means gold plated silver I think. Wife thinks it’s a real pearl as it is rough between the teeth. Fake is smooth apparently 🤷‍♂️ Daughter claimed it pretty quick! Happy with day 2 😀

Hey everyone, so I received my shiny new Vanquish 540 at Christmas, and only had a couple chances to get out and do anything with it. But I got out a couple times, and tried some things, this post is a mix of a bit of a log of my first activities/attempts, and what I experienced, what I think I learned, etc... As well as an ask for any tips/advice/help anyone has to add for my next couple outings (things to try, things to improve, etc) First time out I went around my yard/lawn/gardens, and just got familiar with the machine, played with settings, got used to the tones, etc... I found Jewelry Mode worked well initially (tried Coin mode, couldn't discern any real difference, and relic mode didn't seem like what I'd usually be using from the manual description). I started with max sensitivity which was a little chatty... Then turning it down 2-3 notches seemed to silence the machine completely, and it had no falses, but still clearly identified targets... Seemed pretty good 🙂 even found a couple coins along my driveway from long before I lived here (though modern spendies). Anyway, then next up I got a whole bunch of household objects: Modern coins of every denomination Some jewelry (10K gold rings, 18K gold rings, 10K gold brooch, 10K gold necklace, silver necklace, silver brooch, pewter bracelet) Assorted screws, bolts, etc Some brass hardware Misc Junk, aluminium etc And proceeded to setup a test spot that there was nothing in the ground, laid a board out, and swung past the items, getting to know the IDs for each, how I detect them, differences with different orientations, etc... Also tried each of the junk items, and even tried masking (pairing up junk with good items) to see what that did... Overall this process took a couple hours of playing with the detector, and I thought I had a good handle on it... So then I went to my first beach, saltwater beach, no black sand, fairly popular beach, went when it was quiet, about mid-tide. Powered up, let it do it's noise cancelling, and immediately it started chattering (still on max sensitivity) so turned it down 2-3 like I did at home, still chattery, so turned it down to 4-5 notches below max... Seemed quiet then... So then I started walking along the waterline about 1m away from where the top of the waves lapped at the sand (so sand was still "damp" but not "wet", just on the "water side" of the totally dry sand). And went along the water line at a slow pace, doing my best (and likely failing) to get a good swing technique (more on that later lol). What I found was that it was very noisy, it was picking up little beeps and bloops (sometimes with no target id, sometimes with) and if I went back and swung around that spot to see what the beep was, it wouldn't be there, so inconsistent... Then I did find a target that was consistent, and pinpointed it, dug it up, and it was a pull-tab, ok no problem that was expected to dig a bunch of those up, and at least I was able to identify a target and recover it successfully... Still had a lot of noise though, and tricky to decide what to dig and what not to. I was also noticing almost all the targets I got an ID for (including the inconsistent ones, and consistent ones) were at the max depth readout... Dug 3-4 more targets, ended up with a few pull-tabs, some can slaw, and a great big iron bolt rusted really badly, which for some reason was coming up as a high 20s on the target ID... Had another target that was a consistent 33-35 on the target and very strong, and stable, but showing max depth... And I dug down probably 18" deep (and eventually a hole like 2 feet diameter lol). Kept re-checking still had same consistent signal... But was hitting hard-packed sand, and my digging tools weren't up to going deeper... So never recovered that one... Once I went a couple hundred meters I turned around and went the other direction, as the tide had come in a bit by then... And when I turned I switched from Jewelry to Coin mode, and tried Coin mode on the return trip... Still had that noisy behavior, like I was picking up 1-2 beeps or bloops on every swing, but mostly tiny beeps (medium to high pitch, not iron tone) usually with no ID code. I did figure out around this time that the unstable hits I was getting at 14-15 id which seemed consistent enough to warrant double-checking, but weren't stable, if I turned on all metal mode, I immediately noticed a consistent iron tone, so thought those might be junk pretending to be something else... So in total I spent about 2 hours on the beach, found some trash, cleaned the beach up a bit, and had some fun. But clearly need to do some more learning to get better with the machine. Another thing I learned is I suspect my form is off (ergonomics, swing technique, whatever). I was able to get a decent swing arc about 60-90 degree arc in front of me, and I think did an "ok" job of keeping the coil at a consistent flat height, but probably lifted it a bit at the end of the swing (did my best not to). Also beach was a bit rocky/shelly, mostly clean sand, but had "debris" and occasionally bumped some of that, or scuffed off a rock, etc... Again tried not to do that either lol... But the biggest thing that seemed to indicate I was doing something wrong is I was getting a fair bit of fatigue, which became pain, in my hand/wrist and running up my forearm. I suspected initially I was gripping the handgrip too tightly, tried to loosen off that, but while the detector seems super light and simple to swing at first, after a couple hours it quickly began to wear on me (and I'm a big guy, with a fair bit of upper body strength). After coming back and reading, I suspect my first mistake was over-reaching with the coil. I had it about 20+ inches in front of my feet when swinging, didn't realize I should have it much closer... Also as I said I was over-gripping the hand-grip. So I'll try adjusting some of that next time. But any other tips there would be appreciated. Secondly, I was troubled by how "noisy" it was, and combined with all the targets I was seeing being at "max depth" indicator, was worried, that turning down sensitivity further might mean I'm missing things... I didn't seem to notice a main difference between the coin and jewelry mode, but probably don't have enough time on the machine to tell the subtle differences yet... So, first off does anyone with experience think one mode is preferable over another for general beach hunting on the Vanquish 540? Second, how should I be tuning the detector to optimize my experience? Should I be turning the sensitivity down further? Am I missing targets? (am I mis-reading the depth indicator) etc... 🙂 I didn't really experiment much with the Iron Bias setting (low vs the default of high), and I didn't play with Iron Volume at all. Anyway, any advice or input/suggestions at all would be appreciated. I'm excited to get out and get more practice in, and learn some more, but always good to take what I've learned, and combine it with sound advice from those with the battle scars to know what they are talking about 😉 I know @phrunt has already given me a ton of good advice on the local NZ id codes to look for with commonly found coin types, etc... And those matched up perfectly with what I found in my little "test garden" experiment at home... And so Simon if you have any specific advice being as you've detected in some of the similar environments I'm in, and with the same detector, any additional "nuggets" that you're willing to share would be greatly appreciated (of the information kind I mean of course, though the other kind would be appreciated also lol) Thanks! And happy hunting!

I like it! Maybe a two model duo!? Lightning, and Thunder!🤔 👍👍

I think we're gonna have to watch out for this kid ! He's got Grandpa moving his swinging arm ! .......? And another church permission ! hmmmmmmmm skuh kuh kuh kuh Are you bringing the Nox with you to the gulf ?

Is it under warranty? Fisher has excellent service, and even if out of warranty, a few bucks is better than a dead detector.

Thanks. Felt good to get out a little bit. I cannot see the date but here is a closer look.

Exactly! They want us switching detectors and not just coils.

Caleb, I don't know if this is the one you are asking about: https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/14597-a-prospector-trinket-with-tiny-gold-nuggets-or-a-tourist-souvenir/?tab=comments#comment-147613

I've seen good performance with a NEL 5" 'Sharp' and 'Snake' on a couple of models, and the new Super Fly on a Tek. T2+. Due to winter and my recent / current battle with some health issues, I have only been able to check out the NEL Sharp on the Apex briefly. So far it is working OK. However, I am going to be checking it out soon in a salt water environment because I hear the Apex and some NEL coils were not working well in the Multi-Salt function. I need detectors AND coils that are fully functional. Not sure what 5" you are referring to for a Tesoro Compadre??? Do you mean the thin-profile coil that advertised as a 5.75? Dumb marketing like White's used because that coil is what I keep on all three of my Tesoro's full-time, and it measures almost exactly right at 6" diameter. Yes, I am definitely enjoying the new Apex. It is more detector than some have given it credit for, and I especially like the 'Ripper' and 'Raider' coils for different applications. I'll mount the NEL Sharp on the new Apex I have coming, but sure hope Garrett can make the 4½" Concentric work on the MF Apex. Thanks for the well wishes. Monte

Steve, the weight is an axle socket that weighs about a pound. I can probably get away with a little less at the end of shaft as the coil “floated” a little too much there as compared to the same socket attached further forward under the cuff. Either way, the weight needed at point A to offset the coil increase weight at B is roughly double. All of that extra weight is felt at C. Which is all then felt through the arm at each joint as more weight. Intuitively I feel the counterbalance may help someone suffering from wrist, forearm, and maybe elbow pain trying to use those muscles to force the coil to be level at an unbalanced state. I feel this is were your counterbalance concept would help most. I wish it worked for me. I feel that pain or discomfort further up the arm or shoulder may be more related to the angle the detector is being held. Shortening the shaft helped bring my arm closer. I think the s-bend will allow My arm to be closer to vertical while the S-bend effectively moves the coil forward again(and so perhaps would offset coil ears like the F75). I feel more weight hanging off an aching shoulder joint with a closer to vertical arm would certainly not help regardless of balance. That’s my theory anyway so wanting to try other solutions. It may also prove ineffective for my issue. I certainly don’t want to be tethered to a harness with a less than 3lb detector and wireless headphones.

I was firmly in the 11" & 6" camp. The 11" just works great for me and the 6" is perfect for geting into tight places and working dense trash areas to pick out the good stuff. I thought the 15" was too big, too heavy, and probably wouldn't separate targets well, or be too noisy in a high target area. Well my kids got me the 15" for Christmas and I took it out to my favorite park today and it was great! I have a counter weighted carbon fiber shaft from SteveG and I just slapped the 15" on and off I went. I thought I'd get tired a few hours in but I didn't and ran it all day (6 hours). It hit targets well, separated well, pinpointed very well and worked as well as my 11" but with more coverage per sweep. I must say I didn't expect to like it, but I do. I'm going to leave it on for few months and see how it does.

Steve, I understand what you're saying about balance, but that extra weight has to be alleviated in some way and that is the fingers. With detectors being used at basically a 45 degree angle to the ground, and gravity always trying to push the detector towards the ground. What keeps the detector from dragging on the ground is the grip (fingers) wrapped around the handgrip. A person could tighten the arm cuff strap really tight, or tape the detector to their arm, bust most folks just grab the handgrip with their fingers. As an experiment, Put 3 pounds in a bucket, pickup the bucket and see how long you can hold it. Then try it with 4 pounds. Ok, wait a day so your arm can recuperate from the 3 pound test. Might be quicker to try 30 pounds and then 40 pounds. Either way, it's your fingers that keep the coil off the ground. I know that everyone doesn't necessarily like "S" rods. Same can be said about straight shafts, and straight shafts with extra weight added to their detectors.

I’m rarely messing with settings even on a GPX 4800/5000. You set it up for the desired target and soil type and go, only adjusting the operating channel as necessary to avoid interference that you may subsequently encounter. Flip a toggle for a new timing if necessary.

Don’t know anyone who actually has one but we discussed it at length in this thread.

Tom, If some folks find that an S-shaft is easier to swing, I think that's great. However, adding counterweight DOES make a nose-heavy machine "swing better," even though to some that seems somewhat "counter-intuitive." While an S-shaft might be preferred by some, that shaft design doesn't change the fact that a machine like the Equinox, which places relatively substantial weight at one end (the coil end), out at the end of a long "lever," and essentially no weight at the other end (the butt end) IS a nose-heavy unit, by definition. That's just the physics of it. Which exact groups of muscles you are using to overcome the nose-heaviness of the machine likely changes a bit, when using an S-shaft vs. a straight shaft, and so for some, it may be less difficult to swing a nose-heavy machine using an S-shaft, vs. a straight shaft. But the bottom line is that if your machine is nose-heavy (and the Equinox is), then you have to fight the leverage exerted by the coil, if you are wanting to keep the coil floating above the ground. And if the muscles you are using to fight that leverage are not sufficiently strong in order to do so without fatigue, then the machine will feel uncomfortable. Again, the Equinox is imbalanced with EITHER shaft, that's just the physical facts based on the way the machine is designed. And therefore, counterbalancing the shaft DOES make it more comfortable to swing. Steve

GB, I was using my 800/15 in my go to settings of 23/6/tracking off. The rings show no evidence of precocious metal. One is corroded. One is very thin and the other one is a little toe ring or ?. They all were 10's before I dug them. You caused me to go back and take more detailed pictures of the one ring because it is 'marked' as 2K 19 which means nothing to me. It's size and shape remind me of a pipe compression ring but the material is brassy.

Just got permission to hunt another old church in the same neighborhood as this one. They say it was the only other church for several miles from the rest of the county. These 2 churches also taught English to the Indians back in their hay days. Can't wait for warm weather to get here, but next week I have to go to the Gulf and drop off some equipment.

Took my Gold Racer out for just over an hour to an area I had picked up the barber earlier this year. There is a lot of brush and the GR solid coil works well for poking around. Along the shore of the lake I noticed a stretch of bog iron, the lake bottom is usually a light gray. Ran my coil over the area and hit some coin sized objects but numbers bit low which I expect and just under the bog iron was these coins, 1883 IH, trashed IH and an 1873 seated dime. The pond is pretty hard pack gravel so old stuff isn't that deep. Oddly that stupid sinker was about 6" down in the rocks below and tough to dig out and find. Will hit this side of the lake in the spring when it thaws.

Also uncertain about chip protection. Probably built into the coils to make it more difficult for the after market. Won't make the same mistake twice. Hopefully the X Coil team will come up with a workaround solution 🙂

Thanks. Felt good but next day was all couch! Little by little.

Great job and great attitude!!! Looks like you haven't lost the detecting touch. There is nothing like detecting to help boost good thoughts and well being. Keep them coming, Just remember all finds are good finds. Thank you for sharing your finds and your story.

On the world stage Codan/Minelab is a very, very small company that cant afford to alienate its small and unique customer base by deliberately making the GPX6000 uncompatible with GPX/GP coils without a very good reason. They have listened to us and the GPX6000 ticks the boxes in lots of areas - its lighter, it has a speaker, wireless headphones, battery attached, all cords gone, simpler to use (jury still out as to whether they have gone too far in automating everything), 2 coils included, 2 batteries included, compatibility with existing coils was on our list as well and for some reason it looks like this has not happened. We still dont really understand what Geo Sense PI is and whether because of this technology existing coils are not suitable for the 6000 - They either dont work outright or give inferior performance - hence the new coil connectors. It will be interesting to get the full specifications / instruction manuals so we better understand what is on offer. Pricing is also the other big unknown.

Just send me one and I will do a test on a dozen of my dead patches. If I pull gold out of them I will be happy to pay for it. I'll be happy to take some video and post them on the Tube... :)

Welcome back to detecting. It can be a long journey back to something normal. Before I started detecting for the first time in the late 80's I had a bout with Lime Disease. It lasted 2-3 years before the symptoms lessened and it was several years after that before I knew what happened to me from a tick in Texas. I'm glad you are able to focus on outside activity now and it will give you a break from the mental morass caused by your conditions. I wish I had sites that gave up such interesting relics and coins. Mitchel

It looks to me (definitely not sure) that the third digit is a 3. According to the Red Book there was a change in diameter starting in 1837. It's a small change -- from 38-39 mm (apparent poor quality assurance of dies for the early years??) to 37.5 mm. There was a change in the bust design at the same time but that also was subtle. Some here who have done more research may be able to give more clues. A coin from the first half of the 19th Century is a nice checkmark in anyone's finds ledger, even in this condition. The site where you found this could be hiding some silver coins, too. Hope you get a chance to get back there.

Unless there is a chip in that coil somewhere, it only means that we have to buy other coils from Coiltek or Detech, etc.... Maybe they will release other coils or they just don't care about additional coils. Maybe not worth investing the R&D on them.

Welcome (back), DB! You have a great attitude -- good to see your disabling injuries didn't steal that from you. That looks like a USA Large Cent in the photo. I assume that means you are detecting in the Eastern 1/3 of the USA since our Western members seldom if ever find those. Can you read a date on it?

If your using the 800, most caps should give a slight iron grunt that you can discern and skip! Although they can mask a good target! Beer caps and lost items naturally go together, especially at the beach! Aluminum screw caps are near impossible to eliminate, without a chance of missing a good target! Pull tabs can be discerned to some extent, but they usually fall right next to nickels 13-14, and also some gold rings! And there are many miscellaneous targets that are hard to eliminate, without the chance of missing something good! I've found that, by the the time you spend minutes trying to decipher a target, you could have dug two or three more targets, and know for sure! I usually only get picky when my knee's and/or back can't take the "dig everything" mode! Keep at it! There's gold waiting for you somewhere! Enjoy!👍👍

nickeldNdimed -- A couple of things. First of all, you are right that there are different types of pain experienced by some, versus others. In addition, some users experience "fatigue" only, not really pain, and some experience no pain or fatigue at all. If you are experiencing no fatigue or pain, then there's no reason to counterbalance. Obviously, for that person, the muscular effort to keep the coil floating is not so great, that it "strains" the muscles. But, if you are feeling fatigue, or pain, then it's quite likely due to the machine's imbalance. There are few people that couldn't lift 3 pounds, and carry that 3 pounds a long distance, with little to no problem. It is how the three pounds is DISTRIBUTED, and which muscles you are having to use, that matters. You mentioned shortening your shaft. That will definitely reduce nose-heaviness. Again, that's just physics. And yes, arm length, shaft length, height, etc. are "variables." I consider all of those, when "fitting" a customer for counterweight. You said counterweight did not help you, and that it just gave you a "heavier-feeling" machine. My guess is that you were not using the right amount of weight. If you put on some counterweight, and it's not enough to balance the shaft, then yes -- you have not solved the balance issue but instead you've just made the machine heavier, without the benefit of "balance." With that said however, the pictures you showed do indicate that you "helped" the balance situation, in that the machine is "better balanced" in the picture where you have your weighting attached, versus the one without. That would by definition mean you were exerting less "muscle effort" to keep the coil lifted off the ground with the counterweighted shaft, than you were with the un-weighted one. In any case, there's no doubt that everyone is different, their physical capabilities are different, etc., but there's also no doubt that the Equinox is a nose-heavy machine, and that if you struggle with that nose-heaviness, counterbalancing will help... If you struggle with other aspects of the machine's ergonomics, then that may be a different story. Steve

Fantastic find, chains are tough at just about any depth unless they are all balled up and even still tough. Well done!

Yep the gray lines are a common problem for the gpz screens. If you're in warranty, send it in to Minelab USA. If not, I wouldn't stress too bad, as it wont affect your detector in any way other than being an annoyance.

My New Years resolution was to quit debates and hot dogs--for much the same reason...cjc

I really like that one! 😁 Exactly to the point. So let's be an early bird, but not the very first...😉 Seriously: I don't think, Minelab desinged a "trap", they are just too good for that. But it really could be, that their market analysis showed up a large market for high-end detectors for non-experienced prospectors, so they included that "feature" in the design roadmap. But fore sure, power was also a factor. This points towards sophisticated balancing algorithms with machine learning technologies. I'm an engineer (optics & metrology) and all this machine learning stuff is a big topic for us. So I wouldn't be surprised, if the GPX6000 will be a big leap regarding machine learning algorithms for gold detectors. It's the logical conclusion, if you combine ease-to-use, more power and latest technology achievements. That would make sense from point of view of an engineer. But thanks god, we are not all engineering-nerds, so maybe I'm completely wrong 🙃. Anyway, I'm pretty curious...

The early bird catches the worm but also its the second mouse that eats the cheese. Always a bit of a conundrum when new technology comes out as to whether you should jump in straight away or wait and see. My swinging shoulder is not the best so the light weight would be appreciated. The 6000 headphones look good and i really like going cordless. Automatic tuning is a big bonus for me - will save a lot of time in field trying to optimise set up of the GPX - and i am happy with the technology doing this. I will be keeping the GPX4500 as a spare so im not too fussed if the old coils do not fit. I think the GPX6000 will bring some fun back into my gold prospecting - light weight & easy to use. I'm in.

I'll be adopting a wait and see approach to this one. I'm after a third detector to always have a spare when we are miles from nowhere. However, this might have too much irrelevant crap on it for my liking, such as wireless headphones, which I will never use, and possibly too much " automation ". I'm expecting it to sit midway in pricing between a 5000 and ZED, so it won't be cheap either ! A good used 5000 might be in order, to complement our 4500, and ZED with X coils ! Cheers, Rick

Looks like there is a double D mode but only mono coils supplied as standard which suggests its compatible with current GPX coils.

2021 is starting out to be Not to bad (fingers crossed). Yesterday started out kinda cold and damp, but warmed up to around 54 at 11:30am. I told my wife I'd be back by 3 for Sunday roast chicken and mashed potatoes. I decided to hunt a patch of woods that had an early house that was razed in 1973. (second run at this place). The ground here is infested with iron, aluminum and copper flashing. I entered in and saw what seemed to be the skull of the Devil, a little off putting to say the least. It was the oddest deer skull I've ever encountered. Thinking this might be a bad omen I proceeded on. 1 crap target, 2 crap targets, old trap tag (OK). I've always had good luck detecting deer trails, so hit the closest one. The first 5 feet and boom, a solid copper coin tone. First coin a 1896 Indian Head. Good day already accomplished. Fifty yards away I got a weird 47-56 id on the machine, I almost didn't dig it, but it had that good coin tone. At 9 inches I had my doubt's for a coin, But when it popped out at 11, I almost fell over. This turned out to be an 1864, Which would explain the odd ID numbers. The rest of the time was uneventful, but that really didn't matter. I had two old coins in the bag and a great Sunday dinner and the Devil didn't ruin any of it.

After being a dealer for a number of years and having bought and sold hundreds of detectors, I have amassed a large assortment of detecting parts and accessories. The White's lower rod attachment point is about .250 narrower than the Minelab clevis. I just used a couple of firm rubber washers to shim the White's clevis to fit the Minelab coils. I've had my Equinox and all three coils since they first became available and have yet to break a coil ear (knocking on wood). I've always been very careful with my detectors. I don't drop them on the ground like I see so many others do and I keep them clean. Fortunately I have lived in very dry environments so my detectors don't get exposed to mud. I'm super happy with my White's/Equinox "S" rod conversion and just don't understand anyone adding weight to their detector trying to make it swing better. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with on your mod.

Hi Mitchel, All my forum posts are written directly on the forum. The latest versions save work automatically in event of a computer crash, etc. Try it. Start a post, but don’t actually submit it. Leave the site, then come back and start a post in the same location - the stuff you typed before should be there. However, I do prefer using a PC instead of my phone since there are more formatting options in the editor menu. The pictures of course get edited offline and then imported. I do have a bad habit of banging stuff out and posting too quickly. Then noticing errors later and having to edit. I am glad you are all enjoying the tale. I will be slowly bringing it all up to the present and my visit to Chisana this last July. Lots more to come still.

Like many nugget hunters I cut my teeth in this hobby on PI machines. If it beeps you dig it. As time goes on we may not have the physical attributes we once had. I know if I dig 6 DEEP nails I am about done for awhile with the PI. I am likely to start using a VLF if one is handy (or take a nap LOL). The Question is- which VLF to grab? Every detector has certain attributes that make it more or less attractive for nugget hunting. I had been pondering this subject because I was contemplating buying another detector, specifically a Notka Fors Core. I need another detector like I need a hole in my head but I just like detectors and find them interesting. Recently I sold my MXT to my Brother-in-law so he could start coin and relic detecting, so I have room in the RV for a new detector. I hardly used my MXT as I would grab either my Deus, GBII, or GB Pro along with my GPX depending on what I had in mind for the day. Frankly, the MXT is just too heavy when there are light weight alternatives available. So let's talk about my possible purchase. I had a laundry list of features I hoped to get. Light weight, dependable, VID in All-Metal Mode, fast target separation in trash, and adjustable low tone break. I would love to have accurate VID in hot ground but that's just wishful thinking. I have been closely following the informative discussions on this forum started by Steve H. and on the Nasa Tom forum posted by some smart coin and relic detectorists about tone breaks, target separation, target masking and mineral degradation of targets. What is sticking in my mind is the adjustable low tone break. Just how important of a feature is it for nugget hunters? Obviously not very important if you only hunt in All Metal when using your VLF. Myself, I love to hunt around the old habitation sites and mines in gold country. A lot of times these are the only areas that have not been beat to death due to the extreme amount of trash. Plus I enjoy finding old coins and relics right along with the gold, it's all treasure to me. Due to the amount of trash around most of these sites All Metal Mode even with a VID on the screen is not my preferred option. I just do not enjoy detecting with eyes glued to a screen so a mode with two tones is my choice. But we know that gold co-located with ferrous or small gold in hot dirt can read down in to the ferrous TID range. So we need to adjust our low tone break somewhere into the upper ferrous range to ensure we don't miss co-located or deep gold. If the detector you have purchased does not have an adjustable break point and is factory set at ferrous/non-ferrous how much gold will you miss because it gave a low tone on those nuggets in the midst of trash? Or the DEEP nuggets at the fringe of detection in hot dirt? I do not think we can answer that question in a quantifiable manner but we should be aware that it is occurring. How high should we put this feature of adjustable tone break on our laundry list of detector attributes? How much will it drive up the price of the detector to get it? By thinking about the tone break and weight issues I believe I talked myself out of buying a detector and saved a grand. LOL The Notka is kind of heavy and does not have adjustable tone break to my understanding from reading the manual. If I am mistaken please correct me. I may have to wait for Notka's promised PI before purchasing from them. Obviously I put the Tone Break Issue near the fore front of my desirable attributes I would like to see a VLF have. I may just have to stick with the GB Pro and the Deus as my VLF nugget machines for now as they both have that feature. There must be other mid-frequency detectors with adjustable Tone Break, is the CTX one? Merton