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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/14/2021 in all areas

  1. Just wanted to update those still looking for the new NOX 15" round coil by Coiltek. I just received a shipment of coils and have them in stock ready to ship. My 1st hunt with the 15" round was quite silverish with an 8 silver day. Nothing extremely deep (Idaho soils) but most coins were in the 8 to 9" range. I was able to lift the coil a couple inches off the ground and still get a repeatable signal. No it is not leaps of 6" inches on a coin size target, but I would think a buckle or cannon ball would be approx 6" deeper. Call Gerry's Detectors at 208-345-8898 to get one on its way to you.
    15 points
  2. My lad (Josh) having a play with the GPX6000.
    13 points
  3. Did pretty good using the AQ Ltd last month in the wet sand low tide slopes...1 gold per hunt on 3 different hunts! spending a lot of time hunting in "Tones" mode. I love how this machine screams over gold! Almost like it's telling you "You better dig this damn target right now If you know what's good for you!!!" 😄 The total weight for all 3 gold is 17 grams and all are 14k. The stones & pearl account for some of the weight of course so total gold weight is probably more like 14-15 grams maybe? just a guess.. Working on April now 😉
    12 points
  4. GBA, I couldn't help it... spent most of the day thinking about it, and decided to spend the waning hour and a half of daylight at my old school ground with the ATX. Only I can fully appreciate the plethora of hours, machines, coils and settings I have hit this particular 9x9 target patch with... but let's just say a lot. As I expected, I was getting hard and faint signals using a medium-ish sensitivity (8 for those of you that know the ATX), sweeping slow and digging any tone with sharp edges (even if the signal was faint). While my target area was 9x9, I probably really focused on an area about 6x6, digging tones progressively more faint than the last in the same general vicinity. As you can see from the picture, I was digging more shallow modern trash that turned I to aged iron at depth, bits of nails, a couple pieces of large iron, the .22 casing and pellet were each about 7". The snap was at 8" at hit solid, the staple was at about 7" and was a hard hit. Between two loud signals, I heard a separate softer signal. Similar to the nail bits I had been digging. I got down to about 8" in my hole with no response from the carrot, and even stood up to re-sweep the hole. Nice soft but defined dead center over my hole. Went down another 2" and got a hit with my pin pointer. Loosened the bottom of the hole with my lesche and pulled out the dirt with my hand and there was the Buff. 1936. So, GBA, I owe that Buff to you and this thread. 🙂 On my way out, I saw I had a friend watching me. I gave him a wide berth as I left the site. I love my ATX, it is a great Machine, I just wish I had more opportunities to use it. I'm not saying my VLF machines wouldn't have hit that nickel, but I am saying they hadn't yet... my opinion is that it was masked and without digging a few bits of iron around it, it would still be masked. But that is just my opinion, I'm not trying to convince anyone except myself. ~Tim
    10 points
  5. I had to go get the first of 2 flu vaccine shots this afternoon so I decided to go out and get some relic hunting in this morning. Went down a hill in back of my house that I think is a trash dump site dating back quite a bit. There was a tremendous amount of iron present, but the Equinox did what it does best - tell ya where the good stuff is. Ground balance was about 53, I was in my trusty Farm 2 mode with all metal on, F2/0. Sensitivity 22. Got me a small pile of trash, I was only hunting about a half acre overlooking the river. Found these old Mason jar seals, usually I find them broken. Got a Big ol' ax head, put a penny on it for size: And now the finds. Bit of back story, the first button I ever found with a metal detector was from a WW1 military jacket... Thought I found another ox knob but it doesn't have threads. 1983 dime, beautiful 1939 wheat penny, a no date wheat. Model T Ford key, back code 69. Could be related to the hubcap I dug in the landing, and the, uh, model T Ford I found in the woods! 😀 Marble, came up with one of the coins. I think it's the kind that is in a paint can to stir the paint. It seemed to have a metal shroud around it, might have been part of the the can. Lug nut with "R". Military device clip, probably for a medal or badge. Centerpiece is the find of the day. It took a while to get the stamp to come up, had to use a grill brush and steel wool. When you find a dog tag it is obligatory (to me anyway) to find out who it is and attempt to find the family. This is a post-WW1 dog tag for the Marine Corps. The date is the enlistment date. Theodore H. Coleman, thanks for your service. 🇺🇲 It may be related not only to the device clip, but to the jacket button I found along the road back in August.
    9 points
  6. Well they cleaned up nice! Big one is 4.91 grams.
    9 points
  7. First and foremost, I want to thank you all for those most kind comments Just FYI....I've been using my version of a "test garden" for a number of years now and it's proven very useful as well as extremely convenient for my purposes. The first thing I did after bringing the sand and soil home was to spread a tarp on an area that was target free and scan all of the sand and soil for unwanted items that would bias my testing. When not in use, I cover the buckets with their factory lids. The sea water is kept in sealed jugs so it too remains uncontaminated. Thanks again for the comments....
    7 points
  8. Just had a confirmation from Miners Den Adelaide I should be able to pick up my 6000 on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. $7999 AUD. Wife was in the car when he confirmed the price. Lucky I had already told her how much it was otherwise I would now be in the dog house.
    6 points
  9. From luckystrikegold.com.au/product/detectorgpx6000/: “UPDATE 14/4/21 We are expecting the new GPX 6000 in next week in very limited quantities.” Not a peep out of U.S. dealers, but maybe Minelab is telling them nothing. Minelab GPX 6000 Data & Reviews Minelab GPX 6000 Accessories and Spare Parts Minelab GPX 6000 Owner’s Manual
    5 points
  10. Quick note: I have a tendency to say I'm going to do something (like test a certain coil/target in my teststand) and then fail to get around to it in a timely manner. I will be investigating this site with both ML Equinox w/12"x15" coil and the White's TDI/SPP (haven't decided on coil; maybe try more than one) but since it's a schoolyard and school is in session, that limits my searching (until their summer break) mainly to weekends (and this weekend my be too rainy...). Further, I need them to cut the grass and when I drove by yesterday it hadn't happened yet. I'll make it a priority to report back as soon as I get the opportunity to work this site. Unless something unforseen occurs I should be able to make multiple hunts there this year. It's a good opportunity to experiment with detectors as well as to test my hypothesis that there are some deep (old) coins there.
    4 points
  11. Ok, so, I don’t think I could have made this up if I tried! Decided to go for another water hunt today, ATX charged and not expecting a great deal as has been ‘slim pickings’ lately - especially with the CTX / Nox / Excal. Found a spot in the water, I have walked over hundreds of times in the past! Not kidding. A mixture of luck, tides, sand, the ATX, the mono coil - and clear water! May be worth writing to Garrett about this one hunt - especially after “breaking up with my ATX” in the past, only to rekindle the efforts this week! In love again. Several old coins (mostly 70’s and 80’s), 4 silver rings, 2 junk rings, a junker gold coloured earring, and copper / plated locket.... Then 30+ grams of gold! Including an awesome Sapphire? Ring! Hmm, back again tomorrow!
    4 points
  12. I found this on a quick adventure in between jobs. It’s the prettiest nugget in my collection. Weighs under a gram but man it was fun! I found that running the EQ800 in single frequency really helped stability in this red hot ground. Here it is fresh out of the ground. On the 6 inch coil which helped me get between boulders to find it. After some toothbrush action almost looks like one of the 50 fired bullets I found today. But I’ll call it a flowing hair nugget instead. Maybe the coin shooters will let me hunt with them. Weigh in on the cheapo scale. Wasn’t wearing gloves because I’m no Nancy boy. But maybe I should have been. I think there was a parable about the guy above and his friend. It’s ok I needed the exercise anyways. But next time I’ll bring my big saw just in case. Hand stacked rocks are sometimes a good sign. The poison oak was in bloom, the air was sub freezing, and the square nails and bullets were practically jumping out of the ground. But hey I got a cool piece of gold, paid for my gas and got some threshold meditation in so it’s a win win for me.
    4 points
  13. Yes nice set up I have a similar test garden with 4 boxes filled with different ground thicknesses. The targets are simply set down under the middle of the boxes. The first boxes are filled with inland mild ground and the 4th filled with sand and salt water. I use these boxes since 4 or 5 years now and they are VERY helpful to test different settings of a machine. Of course field tests are the most important but you learn a lot of things with these kind of test gardens... On the pics below I was testing the Garrett Apex ..
    4 points
  14. 99% of my detecting is done on central Florida beaches. Since it’s impossible to establish a well stocked test garden at a public beach, I sorta brought the beach home with me and developed my own private beach garden! I cut slots in two large empty chlorine tablet buckets at various depths as shown from 2 -16 inches. I then filled one with New Smyrna Beach sand and the other with soil...for the few times I land hunt around here. I embedded numerous examples of ferrous and non ferrous targets into paint stirring sticks. I also have several blank sticks I use for gold and silver jewelry as well as artifacts that I don’t want permanently attached to a stick. I then insert the target(s) in the slots, each at its desired depth, and start scanning. This allows me to rapidly change the targets, depth and relative position of each. I can now test for sensitivity at depth as well as separation of ferrous and non-ferrous targets in a variety of scenarios using actual beach sand where I do my detecting. If I want to test in wet salt sand, I just soak the bucket sand with authentic sea water that I also brought home from New Smyrna Beach...and the Atlantic Ocean never even missed it. 😉 Works for me.....
    3 points
  15. Minelab USA had not said anything to us in the last couple weeks, but it could be because nobody at Minelab Australia has told them anything? We just finished our 1st training at Rye Patch, NV. and the customers on the list for training on their GPX-6000 had to roll back to the coming up June session. I would hope my Staff and I will be able to put some time on the GPX-6000's before we train in June? Either way, I am excited to get the GPX-6000 out there and finding a few more ounces of gold this year.
    3 points
  16. I took it out relic hunting for about 2 hours and after those 2 hours my arm was done. I ended up selling it. To me the extra coverage and slight depth advantage was not worth the extra coil weight. I can swing the 11" all day and even a big 14" on the GPX without a bungee. That big coil really throws of the balance and makes it very nose heavy (more so than the 12 x 15). Yea I could have added a counterweight if I really wanted to keep it. But when I say slightly deeper than the 11" I mean just that. On a dime sized target in my soil we're talking maybe a 1/2 inch deeper. On a silver dollar sized target maybe 2" at the most. That was trying all types of settings and modes (except the gold modes). In mild ground that coil probably does get deeper, unfortunately not in mine. It would be a great coil for a wet sand beach hunter where extra coverage is needed. But as a relic hunter I'd rather have the slightly better separation over ground coverage.
    3 points
  17. Update to my Old School Quest. With the 1936 Buffalo I recovered last night at 10"+ My checklist is filling up... Silver recoveries include: 1942 Washington Quarter (Explorer II 13" Ultimate- Thanks for the help Tom-CA) 1943 War Nickel (Equinox 11" stock) 1943 War Nickel (Equinox 12x15") Buffalo Nickel recoveries include: No Date Buffalo (Explorer XS 13" Ultimate) No Date Buffalo (Equinox 12x15") 1936 Buffalo (ATX 10x12 - Thanks GBA) "V" Nickel recoveries include: 1912 Liberty V Nickel (Equinox 11" Stock) I have also recovered a dozen or so wheat cents... only the elusive IHP remains to complete the checklist.
    3 points
  18. Cool stuff! Nice to have great sources of old stuff, so close by! I haven't found any dog tags at the beaches yet! Which is suprising! But I like the idea of returning them, if possible! Somewhat related; I have found stainless steel crematory tags on the beach! But those i generally glue to a throwable sized rock, and throw as far out as I can back at the location found! Also a few under trees! Those get replanted! Like the dog tags, I think it's a sign of respect!👍👍
    3 points
  19. Can't tell if you were just busting Gerry's chops, but the nickel IS silver - a 1945 War Nickel from the pic. Nice finds Gerry. Probably more a function of the site than the coil, but it shows the coil has what it takes to get the job done. I figure the 15" is going to give you probably on the order of 2" additional depth under good soil conditions for coin sized targets. I was surprised at the decent depth I was getting in sandy, mild soil with the 10x5. No spectacular finds but recovered coins and buttons as deep as 7 to 8" , which is not too shabby for a coil that is an inch narrower than the 6" round. So I get as good or slightly better depth than the 6" and similar separation, with decent swing coverage. Happy with my Coiltek so far.
    3 points
  20. In the areas I hunt the 9" X35 is the deepest of the three X35 coils due to similar bad soil conditions to Abenson. In milder dirt I don't think you would see too much difference between the 11" and 11"X13" X35 coils. Hopefully Chase will respond since he has much more experience with this subject. Kaolin washer, you could just private message Chase Goldman, tell him your ground conditions, target situation (bed of nails, etc), your typical settings and the depth you are trying to achieve.
    3 points
  21. Good review Dave, I know the MDT was a loner, you probably need more time with the Tarsacci to get more familiar with its settings. In regards to the Tarsacci with 12” coil not responding to the gold chain as well as the Equniox, if possible try not to use Black sand mode. Tarsacci should have hit that gold bracelet, if the Equniox can get it so should the Tarsacci. Plus, shift over to 18khz if wet sand allows. Hope you eventually get an MDT, with 12” coil it’s a great unit with terrific stability. Recently, I gave my Equniox to a friend. Tarsacci in my area and type of inland hunting, Equniox never could fare as well as the Tarsacci. Good luck! Paul
    3 points
  22. FINALLY got out on first hunt of the season! Snow capped mountains, plenty of sun, and the temps were cool enough the bugs weren't out yet. The take isn't much (.980g) but FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!!!
    3 points
  23. Welcome to the forum Steve. I'm well known in Idaho for my gold recoveries, but to be honest, it's all from Southern Idaho. If I did hunt up your way, I do recommend what others have mentioned and that is to rake the piles of overburden and then hunt them. Yes it's hard work, but that's gold hunting and part of the reason we enjoy it. The one thing I would do though in thick vegetation areas is run the larger 10" coil and be sure to keep it as close to the ground as possible. On soft hitting signals (small targets or really deep) be sure to not rely as much on the ID system and check the ones that are undecided and go from left to right and back as the detector is undecided. I small or deep nugget can easily fool the ID system and especially in highly mineralized soils. Good luck and keep us posted.
    3 points
  24. Got nothing to prove to anyone else, but thanks for the offer Tom. I'm not into arguing or proving things to anyone but myself. It's way more about applicability than capability. In general, just stick to the VLF and be happy.
    3 points
  25. I've used PI detectors to pull coins out of parks your VLF is not going to hit. That's not the same thing as telling people to buy a PI for park detecting. If the circumstance warranted, I would pull out a PI to hunt a park. But wisely, using smarts. Most commentary about all this stuff seems to assume people that have no clue as to strategy and tactics, and using the right tool for the job. I know my tools, I know what they can do, and I will use any of them in any situation I can imagine where it might offer me an advantage. I will use Equinox Beach Mode to hunt nuggets in a desert, and know of a case where that would be beneficial. I do not make rules for myself like "can't use PI in park".
    2 points
  26. ORX is an outstanding gold prospecting detector........I like it better for that than the Deus. ORX for any other kind of detecting.......I prefer the Deus.
    2 points
  27. I wonder whether this tort & retort you talk of MN is a raw "questioning" characteristic that helped create the ability of Australians to take the lead in the niche industry manufacture of detector and aftermarket detector coils. Perhaps it is also that this "characteristic" is being shown by the X coil manufacturers from Russia giving us coils that are superior in performance on the ground if used in a questioning way. I hope X coils current growing pains lead to even better coil technology and maybe flow over into a competitive detector being built to challenge MLs world detector dominance and if I may say so,😉 "control", that competition will lead to even better use of technology and take out "control" which will give us even faster detector advancement. Food for thought
    2 points
  28. Nice Gerry, I haven't had that kind of success with my 15" yet - but that is about me... and not the coil. Looking forward to giving it mine a good workout on some fertile soil. Though, I don't expect to have a day like you did... awesome collection of silver! I'm also looking forward to getting my 10x5 when they are available, especially reading Chase's notes above. ~Tim.
    2 points
  29. ColonelDan ....you did very well ,,, such tests of detectors and coils will move you quickly in the acquired knowledge of the detection capabilities of their detectors as well as various coils very forward ... This is mainly because you have created a certain standard in the test room, which you can then repeat 10 times for verification to accurately verify the results obtained. Thus, from randomly good settings of the detector or a suitable coil after repeated testing .... very stable detection results are obtained, which you can really rely on in field detection ...👍
    2 points
  30. The way it sounded I figured an ounce for sure!
    2 points
  31. T keys are always cool finds. Looks like you've got some research ahead of you to find Mr. Coleman's story. Good luck.
    2 points
  32. The weather may have turned for the better in Northern Nevada. It was time to get out and check how my GPZ 7000, would handle the moisture/salt from the Winter Storms. I pulled into the Burn Barrel to camp, but it was like pulling into a KOA. I unloaded my trusty RZR and hit the trail to find a nugget. I ran into several folks out trying their luck, all had smiles on their faces and enjoying our outdoor hobby. I was told that Gerry was having his training at the Burn Barrel which explained the crowd of RV’s. I did get time for a short visit with Gerry and Lunk, before heading out. The soil, is a little noisy with High Yield/Normal. Using Difficult settled it down perfectly, but not my preferred setting for dink nuggets. Anyways, I hunted in Normal and ground balanced often to give my ears a rest from the noisy ground. I didn’t find any dink nuggets which are the Bread & Butter to any poke, but did find a couple of Steak & Lobster nuggets before loading up and heading home from the short Dirt Recon Trip. There’s gold out there, you just need to get your coil over it, I need some Bread & Butter Nuggets to complete my meal. Talking about meals, my Dog Marley refused to eat his normal dog grub on this trip, and only wanted what I brought “Fried Chicken”. Until the next Hunt! LuckyLundy
    2 points
  33. Great hunt with a 15” coil in the turf!! 👍🏼 Years ago in my area, that output would be my norm on a given hunt, along with 30-40 wheat pennies. I never used a 15” coil for turf hunting in my neck of the woods, but I had a 13” coil I used for a couple of years on my Explorer SE that performed beautifully in the high trash parks I typically hunt.
    2 points
  34. Joe is right, freshwater the stuff doesn't move much. I've dug seated dimes just a few inches deep in hard pack gravel, a KG that was maybe 6" down. Sandy man made beaches for fresh water is different as that is trucked in and pushed around. Unless there are weeds and vegetation putting layers of mud over them they stay put.
    2 points
  35. Over on the 6000 threads they are showing a few pictures of attractive detectorists. (You don't need to know how to use a detector in order to be a detectorist.) One picture I saw had been significantly photo-shopped. There is a bit of grumbling about the use of models rather than REAL detectorists. Here is a REAL detectorist. I showed her how to hold the detector and the scoop! What a FIND! I had just a junk chain at this point but I hunted my way back to finish my 2 hour hunt and I got a small little hit. Sometimes you just have to go slow. It turned out to be a 10K .78g (.5 pw) earring at about 6 inches. This is my first gold in a couple of years with the Avantree headphones. They are quite a bit different sounding for me. It affects all the targets I hear and it also affects the pinpointing. I don't know if they are 'better or worse' than the Minelab headphones but they are different. As I was leaving the beach I got an odd signal which became more familiar but you just have to dig them once in a while. It got deeper and deeper so I suspected what it was and I confirmed it. A can at 20 inches or so. This was my haul for the 2 hours. There were a couple of steel earrings about 10 feet apart and a rusty chain which I scooped in half with the big scoop. That is a problem with the tank scoop. It will go through most everything. Be careful out there and never photo shop. Mitchel
    2 points
  36. Well done my friend and such a pretty find. One thing able gold is each piece is unique in its own way and you certainly added a beauty to your collection. Those pics are incredible and the piles are just itching for a good detector to swing over them. If any larger gold in the area, I certainly would swing the piles. Thanks for sharing and well earned.
    2 points
  37. Good to see you Lundy and sorry I did not have time to chat, but was with a gaggle of new customers eager to learn their gold detectors. 5 Gram nugget at RP is some serious Steak/Lobster and certainly worth your time. I actually enjoy the smaller one with its Rye Patch pattern, very nice. Customers recovered 12 nuggets during the training and most found with the GPZ-7000's, but the Monster and EQ-800 hit a few as well. Hopefully I can get back down there later this summer and spend a little time chasing some steak & lobster with the new GPX-6000. Thanks for swinging by and see you down the road.
    2 points
  38. Dave, Very nice write up👍 Have you tried just running the cable along side of the rod instead of wrapping it around? Note my pictures, I have the cable wrapped once around the bottom and once around the top and the pin is in the bottom hole. You don’t even need to wrap it around the top, however I would at the bottom (so I have cable to spare). Also note that the rods do NOT need the spring pins to go into the holes for them to fasten. The locks work great without the springs. The locks are also adjustable by simply turning the handles. So you can still squeak out around another inch that way.... Aaron
    2 points
  39. Tom your not going to seed the park with bb's and pellets first are ya? LOL
    2 points
  40. You don't have where you are located in your info page, so hard to say! But generally, in fresh water, stuff doesn't move as much, unless you have "tides" and wave action like say, the Great Lakes! Items just get deeper in the sediment/sand/gravel over time until they stop on a harder layer! That's not written in stone, but you get the idea! There can be several factors in play, depending on the location! Like currents, runoff, drawdowns in winter, drought, flooding, dredging, etc...! If you find the history of a lake or waterway, or know where people congregate and swim, that should give you an idea of depth for losses! Again, area and environment dependent, but the deeper you go, the less good finds from swimmers to be had! Unless you have knowledge of a floating platform, or other structure that would alter the depth where swimmers normally congregate! But then you enter the realm of underwater detecting; a whole other discipline!! And one last thing! Hazards: Boaters, Currents/Dropoffs, Temperature, and Dangerous Wildlife/Bacteria! Wear Water Shoes at a Minimum, and cover any exposed wounds! Broken Glass, Sharp Object's, and Flesh Eating Bacteria ain't no joke!! 😫 Applies to most all waters, fresh or salt! 👍👍
    2 points
  41. Welcome. Sometimes targets that keep sound off that are deep are usually big pieces of iron. One trick to distinguish big targets is to lift the coil up and see if the signal starts to drop off or not. Large objects the targets have greater distances and signal is still strong even with the the coil a foot away. Not sure what machine you have but if you put it in pin point mode you can hear if the sound is short or long keeping your swing speed the same. There are links here on where to dig, rules etc but I can't seem to find them.
    2 points
  42. At the top of the page is downloads and then if you go to books, Steve has lots of useful books for free there. @Gerry in Idaho has written some excellent articles as well that he has on his website. It will take a good bit of practice and education. If it were as easy as buying a metal detector and getting out there, all of the surface gold would be gone. If you look at places like the Rye Patch in Nevada that has surface gold, it has been thoroughly detected for decades but still produces.
    2 points
  43. Welcome To the forum John, Looks like an historic area your in! Check your local rules and hit some old parks! Any detector will find stuff, but you have to put in the time! Make sure to practice good detecting edicate! If you read some of the more recent posts on the Meet and Greet, you will get some beginning detector advice for those new to the hobby! Check for local detecting clubs that may be near you! They sometimes have permissions for group hunts as well as much experience! And a good source for used equipment! Ask away if you need any more help! Good luck!👍👍
    2 points
  44. Some shipping this week, possibly in stores early next week, with regular batches (maybe) in the following weeks. But at least that means the wheels are in motion and users will start to get their hands on them soon.
    2 points
  45. Looks like a nice set-up and i will have to try it myself for sure. I can use a good system like that to prepare for a good hunt. Since I don't live near your beach can you please send me some of the sand and water.
    2 points
  46. And it’s tripled for users of canned settings. Very few people really understood the timings on the 5000 and earlier models, and it did not help that they were designed over time, and sometimes had names that mislead people. Even worse is the idea that no one timing gets it all, so multiple passes with multiple timings are the order of the day. GPZ 7000 was a move in the other direction, and the 6000 reduces settings further. Some think this is a bad thing, but the larger number of more casual types will actually do better with fewer controls, not worse. Minelab GPX 6000 control summary Initiates Bluetooth® pairing for headphones (long press for at least 2.5 seconds). Cycles through the backlight settings - High, medium, low and off Power On/Off - Restores factory settings (press and hold from off for at least 7 seconds). Adjusts the sensitivity level. Toggles between Difficult and Normal Ground Type. Toggles between the Threshold On / Off settings (long press for at least 2.5 seconds). Initiates Noise Cancel process. When a Double‑D coil is connected, toggles between the Double‑D Modes, EMI Cancel and Conductive Ground Cancel, (long press for at least 2.5 seconds). Adjusts the audio Volume Level. Press and hold Quick‑Trak Ground Balance to conduct a Ground Balancing operation.
    2 points
  47. One of the best things about Whites metal boxed detectors was better EMI resistance.
    2 points
  48. Don't give up on the VLF's. Lunk & Gerry on this forum encouraged me on the vlf's and I've been trying for 3 years now and have approx 1.5 oz of tiny to medium sized gold pieces and am having fun with it although 70% of my days I'm skunked. I love the mountains and being out there - the bonus is the good days when I find a piece or two. One thing I've discovered is that extreme moisture content in our soils definitely limits the depth I've been able to find targets, especially the small and flat nuggets. I was going to go out this weekend, but decided it's still too wet (even some snow this morning) so I postponed my first trip. I'm just north of Cd'A and have quite a lot of research on areas to check out south of Moscow- have driven in and looked around at some, but my buddy and I decided to wait for drier weather so haven't hiked them yet. Lunk has encouraged me to bring a rake and shovel - sometimes it's been very helpful to have along. First photo here is 2 pieces found during a dry fall day - no shoveling, approx 10" down. The following photos are the same exact spot three weeks later - very wet detecting each inch by inch layer both raking and shoveling carefully. I'm sure there's more nuggets there, but 4 hrs only produced the tiny flat one less than 12" from the previous two which were both very audible; last one was barely heard at 1/2" depth - yet quite sizeable compared to dozens of micro pieces I've found at greater depths. That's when I cleaned my gear, put it away for winter and started making plans for places to visit this coming summer. Mike
    2 points
  49. Here are the results on the four gold specimens from the post "Cleaning Gold Specimens - Step By Step Methods". Specimen A: \ Specimen B: Close up photos of Specimen B front and back: Specimens C: Specimen: D
    2 points
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