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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/19/2021 in all areas

  1. I think these pictures sum up the GPX 6000 very concisely and also how I feel about those people who continue to suggest my input is biased or just marketing hype!! Tiny piece at stupid depth for its size, a typical target for a GPX 6000!! 2 Deep 2+ ounce gold content specimens retrieved at 2 feet with the standard 11โ€ mono, both were very good signals at surface. How Iโ€™m made to feel when all the nit pickers come out of the woodwork at a product launch!!
    13 points
  2. FB GPX 6000 is showing many interesting finds including this one from Ian Butler. "GPX6000 Gold - Target about 17" deep, could get approx 10" - 12" above surface. GPX5000 in fine got response but not as defined. GPZ7000 gave less response approx 8" above ground in HY/difficult but performed better in General/difficult."
    10 points
  3. When you move the cable while it's pointed at your car you are causing the coil to wiggle and pick up the metal in the car. If it was just the cable causing the problem, it would cause the detector to sound off when the cable was moved no matter what the coil was pointed at.
    6 points
  4. Certainly possible, but difficult. All detectors operate on a frequency, and a transmitter running at the same frequency will jam it. But there are many machines running at different frequencies, and they have ability to adjust in a range. Option one would be a shotgun transmitter putting out a broad spectrum signal to jam all the range of frequencies detectors operate at. I can't imagine this working in the city as you would be jamming more than detectors, but maybe on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. You could also use a frequency scanner to locate a detector in use within range, and then have the jammer work only against that frequency, so much more targets. Still no idea on the legalities, but technically it should be possible. Cost effective? I have no clue. Simple example. Turn on a Minelab GPX 5000 in the middle of a field. Nobody will be able to get within 50 feet of that machine with another detector, as the GPX is basically throwing off it's own portable jamming field. So there is an at least 100 foot diameter circle that been effectively jammed. Expanding the concept for range is the problem though, as power requirements escalate rapidly. Kind of related. It is possible to block cell signals. It is also illegal in many places. Police jammers, same deal. Jamming is as much a legal issue as anything, and I'd cross that bridge first, before worrying about the tech aspect.
    6 points
  5. 100% this! I know people out my way who kill it on gold every season with old GP extreme's. I know people out here who find bucket loads with their 45's. I also know people who find an ounce or 2 every couple of months with their 7000's and 2300's, mainly in many small bits. The whole thing for me personally boils down to if physically I can be bothered going out for a few hours. With the 7000, which I still love, I umm and argh most weekends simply due to the pain I know I am going to end up in after 3 hours. The 6000 will change that for me....Patch hunting with a decent chance of finding any sized gold, with much less agony! We did some work with machinery on one of our leases last August and I swung the 7000 for 5 days straight. It almost ended up wrapped around the nearest tree. Took 6 months before I could move my shoulders normally again ๐Ÿ˜ž For me, its a hobby. I dont want a hobby to kill me. Thats not fun at all.
    6 points
  6. You are not bringing me down at all Jason, and I never claimed you gave me any flak. Your questions are entirely reasonable, as are peopleโ€™s desires to get what they perceive as totally unbiased reporting. What that means is you are the better candidate than I to be doing a bunch of critical comparative performance testing. Iโ€™ve already told you what I think, and donโ€™t have anything to add at this time. The problem with honesty is it does not deliver the black and white answers people crave. Reality is a bit more of a bummer, in that nuance and gray areas rule. Everyone has their own set of needs, and different machines match those needs differently for different people. Iโ€™m willing to ditch the GPZ 7000 for the GPX 6000, and JP is not. Why? JP pays bills with gold, and in his opinion the GPZ 7000 is what he has to use as a primary machine. Other machines like the 6000 are secondary for him. That seems equivalent to your situation. Me, I made the move from paying bills with gold, to being a casual detectorist. So Iโ€™m more in the boat with a different crowd than you. Thatโ€™s the basis for my opinion, but itโ€™s nothing more than that... my opinion. Some people Iโ€™ve just told them they should get a GPX 6000, no worries. You are a more serious operator, as are many here, and Iโ€™m not going to assume I know your business better than you do yourself. In my opinion, if everyone would just read all the Minelab info, including the star chart, and accept that it is all ballpark accurate, a lot of this fuss could be avoided. Some of the star chart positioning does involve intangibles, like will easier learning make for better operators. It simply is what they say it is, no big mystery, but like everything when you try to be simplistic, a little wiggle room is left on the table. From what Iโ€™ve seen, Minelab has nailed the positioning here very well, below GPZ 7000 but above the rest. But do not beat me up if somebody finds gold with a Gold Monster that a 6000 will not see, $900 versus $6000. That could happen, so does that make the Monster the better machine? Maybe, for some people, especially those with small gold and a ton of trash. In a trash pit, the Monster operator could wipe the street with the 6000 owner. The world is not black and white, and almost every machine has a tiny area that it really excels at, where others are weak. As far as Geosense, we know the GPX 6000 has far fewer settings than the GPX 5000, yet it claims better performance across the board. People say that can't be done with fewer controls. What if the machine was reading the ground and adjusting the timings for you, instead of requiring you to somehow know what the ground and gold is like before you've even started? I'll never claim I really know how Geosense works, but it should be obvious that it is this feature that allows for so many settings to be removed. Part of our thinking on how to choose a proper 5000 timing has been built into the 6000, so we do not have to make that choice. With the 5000 odds are casual operators are not tuned for optimum performance. This is hard to do with the 6000... you'd actually have to purposefully misadjust it.
    6 points
  7. Normally I use USPS but they had stopped all deliveries to some countries during that time.... the endcaps would have cost about 35 dollars...to the land downunder. I remember one time I shipped GG head phones over night to Shizuoka Prefecture Japan .....someone in great need ..it was FEDX 285.oo. And it ended up being 2 day shipping time. He did getting several Plat...and killer golds. Him to me.. Still keeping up with you on the ring count, just. Good to have some friendly competition brother.
    5 points
  8. One thing ML is really good at is to diversify their machines to fit various needs. IMO all current models have individual applications that are not matched by any other ML model. There never will be one-fits-all detector, ever. But what the 6000 appears to do is to sum up all that has been learned from the 5000, GM and SDC to feature an intelligent automated machine in a light weight format. To me, a good day prospecting is not just measured by how many grams I have recovered (if any...), but rather whether I had fun and a good overall experience. The 6000 appears to be perfect for that. But of course, I am in the fortunate position to have multiple options to choose from, based on the circumstances and how I feel that day. It appears though the 6000 is thus far the most overreaching detector WRT to applications, also indicated by the fact that it is the only high-end ML detector that comes with coil options (aside the 19 inch for the Z). This tells you that it is supposed to be an all rounder, with emphasis on handling and smart automation. I am still really curious though if the Geosense technology will give you yet another niche not matched by any other ML detector. But to be honest, I would not really care if not.
    5 points
  9. Concealed same cameras do wonders. Nobody should ever assume they are not being seen these days.
    4 points
  10. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) here in the USA has strict controls over these kinds of things. And some local laws even prohibit (or at least used to prohibit) scanning police frequencies (i.e. automatically searching multiple frequencies to pick up a police communication), so it's more than just transmitting that can be illegal. How are metal detectors legal? Because their RF range is limited due to their low power, for starters. (Metal detector manufacturers must go through certification with the FCC before they are allowed to sell a new model of detector. It's not just the low range that allows their use.) Building a device capable of jamming (at a distance) is unlikely to fit under the low range allowance. And that seems likely to be just the tip of the iceberg of laws that such a device would break.
    4 points
  11. Yes! This!! 100% I did pretty well with the GPZ 7000 with 19โ€ coil. I also, despite harness and bungee, after days of use, felt my shoulder go โ€œboinkโ€ and that was that. And now, no more of โ€œthat!โ€ I've got zero issue admitting I'm not the tough young buck I used to be, and taking it easier with what I have left is key to keeping the game going for me. The youngsters do not quite get it, but plenty of you know what I'm talking about.
    4 points
  12. Those are calcium sulphate and silica veins, gold has only been found in trace amounts by Curiosity so far. Minelab tried to get NASA to put a GPX 6000 prototype on the Perseverance rover, but their marketing team couldnโ€™t get spacesuits in time for their prospector models. ๐Ÿ˜‰ https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/msl/nasas-curiosity-eyes-prominent-mineral-veins-on-mars/
    4 points
  13. How about a good old fashioned stakeout? Just remember to have eyes on the site!
    3 points
  14. It looks like some type of commercial resin mix! Like used in making bowling balls! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘
    3 points
  15. Bluetooth sweep frequency jammer might knock out their headphones if they are wireless. Not sure what kind of range they have. Wouldn't be easier to put in some motion sensing lights and an alarm?
    3 points
  16. Looks like it is falsing off your car. If it was your cable it would also do it in the air.
    3 points
  17. As far as I know I can neither confirm nor deny that question. I will reveal now I was involved with Vanquish, but after Equinox I kind of decided itโ€™s pointless for testers to get involved in direct release commentary. I put in huge effort, and took not a small amount of risk to get people early info on Equinox, but looking back I unfortunately remember the rocks that were tossed my way when I said Equinox was the real deal. Just another shill, after over twenty years of accurate reports. Funny those same people now agree it was a game changer, but Iโ€™m still the suspect one? How does one fight being accused of lying by omission? I'm guilty for what I've never said, but that someone imagines I should have said? Basically, it's either be a calabash style "basher" (it's in the name even ), or be accused of being a shill. It puts a guy off the entire exercise, as despite rumor to the contrary, Minelab does not require testers to ever say a thing. Just the opposite really. It seems best when I just stay in the background, and stick to posting photos, specs, manuals, and other general info. How about this? The GPX 6000 has no threshold adjustment (just on or off) for $6000.00. No coil smaller than 11" round, only three coils (one that canโ€™t be had yet), no disc. That's makes it shite, no reason for anyone to buy one. Minelab says the GPZ is still top dog anyway, so the right combo of prior models is all you need. There you go. I can take a piss if thatโ€™s what people prefer. Maybe I have street cred now. Youโ€™ve said itโ€™s a simple equation for you Jason, ergonomics do not matter to you, only pure power, plain and simple. I see no reason why a guy with a GPZ with full coil complement would be considering a machine that Minelab says is a step down from a GPZ. Other than that you are conjecturing that the machine is better than Minelab has let on, because we know they have a long history of understating things? Or something to that effect, that maybe there is some niche where the machine will best a GPZ? Thatโ€™s honestly something I can say about the Gold Monster versus GPZ, so why would the 6000 be any different? Salt mode exists on the GPX 5000, and why would that not work on the salt areas where that is an issue? There are even salt coils made for the 5000. SDC has a salt mode - who uses it? Have these possibilities been exhausted? Itโ€™s not like the capability does not already exist. The GPX 6000 is packaging its own performance mix, but none of it cannot be achieved by at least one other machine set up right. It does get dicey trying to compare small gold performance. Nobody is saying the SDC 2300 is bad at small gold, but the chart below gives only one star. Well, think about it, SDC 8" mono versus 6000 new type 11" coil. Might the 6000 be getting similar size gold, but just a little deeper across the board due to the coil? These are the things that go into the charts, not a basic this inches versus that inches. It's a sales guide intended to help sales people ask some simple questions that direct people to a better choice. The trickery and games people assume are counterproductive to getting people into the proper machine for what they are actually doing. That creates happy customers, not tricking them into buying things they do not need. Minelab has made zero claims of new absolute performance benchmarks, though again, it gets fuzzy in small gold land, where we are dealing in millimeters, not inches of depth. Minelab are just saying there is more gold finding capability packed into a couple groups of settings with the 6000 than exists on a 5000 in any one setting, that might better suit a lot of people than some of the other options. Number one clue about the chart below... only Minelab coils figure into the equation, and aftermarket coils can change the equation. I could make a sales pitch to you on the GPX 6000, but every discussion with you comes back to efficiency. Do you need a 6000 for salt areas, really, even if it kills salt signal completely? What effect does killing salt signal completely have on depth - are you really ahead, or better off at a crawl with no salt setting? Are you going to find enough extra to make that worth the extra machine and itโ€™s cost - and the time spent finding out maybe those salt areas are not hiding as much as thought? Thatโ€™s really not a machine question, but a strategy calculus. In general, saying all youโ€™ve said, with a GPZ and full coil complement....... even Minelab is not saying you need the 6000. You seem well covered for your situation. Me, I am at the point where efficiency matters less than just having a damn good time. I like puttering with new things, even if Iโ€™m not finding much. That means I use what I like, and Iโ€™m not worrying one way or another over an inch. I do well enough to make me happy, and thatโ€™s all that matters. So a different perspective and reasons for needing a detector from yours. The GPX 6000 could have been custom made for me, and actually was in a tiny way. That being the case, it should surprise nobody, that just like Equinox, Iโ€™m GPX 6000 fan number 1. But maybe that enthusiasm makes me a poor candidate for the type of reporting most people seem to crave. Me, Iโ€™m more the giddy kid with a new toy, and donโ€™t need anyone bringing me down. Life is good. The general consensus, which I canโ€™t disagree with, is people wait about six months after release, to collect reviews from regular purchasing consumers.
    3 points
  18. I know that this is used to protect those historic areas here. Very effective. And when it comes to archeological research they remove the cover layer with the scrap metal and do their job, as the first layer of soil has to be removed anyway. Effective, cheap, and very annoying for the tomb raider.
    2 points
  19. Oh, regarding cameras. They are just no deterrent. People cover their faces, police are often slow to respond to such crimes and archaeologists donโ€™t usually have the funds to finance private security. Saying that, three people were recently identified from footage taken with wildcams during the day after their mugshots were plastered all over Facebook.
    2 points
  20. I use cellular deer cameras for security. If someone tried to steal or damage them it would be too late, the photo would already be sent to me. They are easy to hide. They are relatively inexpensive and some last a long time (up to a year) on lithium AA batteries. Non-cellular cameras are less expensive. All can be bought with a steel box that makes them tougher to get to or damage.
    2 points
  21. Hi EL, It was my first run with the DEUS and it was pretty warm out in the sun. I managed to find a complete and in very good shape pick, a small two piece button and a few musket balls and lead pieces. One thing I keep finding are wads of thin lead sheets. I would guess that was what they bought to melt for pistol/rifle balls? I need some time with the DEUS to get it down and I bought it with the 11 inch coil when the 9 inch was probably what I needed.
    2 points
  22. It kinda looks like western Australia without bushes and trees... strick
    2 points
  23. Hey Jason there are drone hacks that can remove that height limitation. I only have the Mavic pro thatโ€™s fully hackable. Iโ€™m not sure about full hack-ability on the 2.
    2 points
  24. ?? That is some kind of easy. If it was my property I'd pepper it with scrap metal. May be there is a milling company close to you. Asking them for scrap metals made of brass, copper, iron, aluminum, etc...and what they want for, and then sow this. Will be fun to watch them...lOl ๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ˜œ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคฃ oops...forgot this...: Welcome aboard, WhiteRabbit.๐Ÿ˜Š
    2 points
  25. Would love to see that piece after an acid bath.
    2 points
  26. There are these style that don't include the glasses, but still let your hear the environment too. Unfortunately not AptX either though... I stopped using headphones entirely because of rattlers and I like to listen for my dog in case he hurts himself. I dig the concept of having phones that let you hear the environment. I can see XP making something like this for some reason.
    2 points
  27. They will work, just not low latency - bummer.
    2 points
  28. I've done well with the 8x9 concentric especially in parks with bottle caps and trash but finding any concentric for a Tesoro is really tough. The 3rd party companies seem to only make dd's. I currently swing the 10x12 widescan. Mars Tiger is probably the closest you will get to that. Nel has a sharp shooter that might be good but with all dd's, flat iron can give you fits in some cases and bit trickier to tell apart with a single tone machine but not impossible. About the noise, does your machine chatter if you tap the side or wiggle the coil cable? See if your getting noise near the coil end or maybe it's the connection at the control box. One easy way to check for emi is by dropping the sensitivity down and see if that makes a difference. The Tejon has all metal mode that I can clearly hear any fluttering from emi and the larger coil is more sensitive to that. At one point I had an odd flutter and thought it was emi but turned out to be the ground balance pot that I seemed to have fixed with some cleaner made for pots. The Mojave has an auto gb so doubt it would be that.
    2 points
  29. As a guy with glasses and hearing aids... I like! I may order a prescription set as polarized sunglasses, could be great for wading work as well as the desert.
    2 points
  30. Forget the GPZ, you may need to use some discrimination for gold due to all the meteorites, and it will be getting harder to detect as itโ€™s mostly non-ferrous metals like aluminum and titanium that we have also been trashing Mars with so far:
    2 points
  31. Me. With electronics, I reject the premise, which is that multiple functions cannot be implemented as well in a single device, as in many. Iโ€™ve gone from needing at least six detectors to now needing three. The Equinox had a lot to do with that. The 6000 for me takes it down one more machine, as with the 6000 I no longer feel I need a hot VLF like the Gold Monster, 24K, or Gold Bug 2. So I sold the 24K. If I need disc while nugget hunting, the Equinox covers it. The 6000 will also probably serve as my Tahoe beach detector, which previously Iโ€™d been trying the Impulse AQ. After looking at the situation, I started selling off excess machines again a few months ago. Not counting machines Iโ€™m playing with, Iโ€™ll be relying on three detectors going forward. GPX 6000 (nuggets and beach), Equinox 800 (everything), and DFX (to run Bigfoot coil).
    2 points
  32. Our bed rock is garnet schist its like a clay the gold does not go into it we take about a foot of it we have run tests with only bed rock there is nothing in it lower on the creek they have a quartzite bed rock there's is real blocky they take about 8 feet of it to get most of the gold we have a real mineralized layer that is real hot when we find it when we do a cross cut we see old old creek channels in the cut the old channels are gold free meaning the gold was put in before the old channels came into play we have found a few old fossilized bones but no tusks yet that would be a real trophy hoping that it melts the snow and ice soon I'm so ready to get up there we are almost to eagle summit take care doug
    1 point
  33. Decided to make a day of detecting today. It was a pretty nice day so I first went back to the hill behind my house, but didn't search there. Instead I went down a ravine in the woods to a spot where there might have been some colonial activity. It was supposed to become a boat launch when my area was developed but it never happened, the road to it is almost impenetrable now. Hacked around for a bit but found so few iron signals I decided to move to the landing. The beavers were getting mad anyway, I could hear them slapping their tails against the ground. I was hoping to get a good low tide to hunt the beach but it never happened. Wind was wrong and the tide didn't go out much, so I went to Plan C which was to just randomly hack around the landing. It's starting to grow a low cover of poison ivy, so I hunted for the most part where it was sparse or not there. Didn't do too bad! Got a huge tack buckle, a small D buckle, old faucet handle, a 1990 quarter that I dug out of the gravel in the road, a 1900 IHP, a military service button (WW1) backmarked "The Art Metal Works Newark NJ", my first ever complete 17-18th century shoe buckle (extremely fragile), and the puzzle piece of the day - the other half of a belt buckle I found there a while back. If you've been reading my previous hunts, I cleaned up that tiny anvil I dug in Savannah: Kinda disappointed it doesn't have any maker marks on it, was hoping for "ACME" or something. ๐Ÿ˜€ A while back I dug a sheath out of the river, it was so packed with black river gunk I had wait a while for it to dry to get whatever was in it out. Turned out to be this knife, sad that it's completely gone, it would be worth about $250. It's a 70s Schrade Old Timer 25OT Hunter.
    1 point
  34. My grandmother once had poison Ivy once so bad that even her eyes were swollen shut. She used a product called Zanfel before it went to a lot of stores. The owner of the company sent it to her next day delivery, and she used it as directed. Within 2 hours she could see again and the swelling was almost gone, the areas that had blisters were clearing up also. By the end of the night she could not find any place that was very bad and there was no more discomfort. That product was the best I had ever seen, but with all good things, the FDA required them to "water down" their product and it made it less effective. It still works but you have to use more of it. The guy who invented it made it out of his garage until he got an offer to go into full production for another company. Long story short is there are things out there to cure it, if our government just stays out of the way.
    1 point
  35. When it was giving me fits on Friday at a site where I work, it may have mostly been emi as I turned the sensitivity down to 4 and it was less chatty. When I took it out in my yard the next day it ran a lot quieter, but would make noise when I bumped the coil or wiggled the coil wire protector where it comes out of the coil. My vaquero is dead silent until the coil is over something, but it doesnโ€™t have the 180 ed disc so maybe that has something to do with it. I usually set my disc just above iron on both machines.
    1 point
  36. usps works well for us - much cheaper
    1 point
  37. The first video I've seen by somebody that knows stuff. 4/18/2021 Digging with PhaseTech - Well, it is finally out, and finding plenty of gold already! The Minelab GPX6000 was a fun project to be involved in. Here's the first of many videos where I will showcase finds, tips and techniques, comparisons and just having fun with it in the field.
    1 point
  38. A site that plenty of us have hit, the tarsacci finds the old brass in the iron! ๐Ÿ™‚ 8 colonial buttons!
    1 point
  39. No! Still funny!! It's never stopped me from getting out there! Still love the woods! I'm just (a little) less reckless than in my younger years!! ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘
    1 point
  40. I did get a shot or two, cream, and a nice bill, as I recall! (30 + years ago)! But my hands were totally blistered, like I had been burned! It's a good thing I didn't drink alot that day, or something else would have been blistered too!!๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘
    1 point
  41. Dendrocnide moroides That might keep the riff raff from gettin' in yer way out there though ?
    1 point
  42. Hitting old grounds but this time using my Tejon and picking out the deeper stuff with the 10x12. Was able to pick out this old naval button 1800's. It was a 2 piece but back was missing. Still has some gold plating left. Not sure what the age is pre or post civ war. 2nd weekend the Tejon keeps winning the day in these picked clean places. Really got my settings down and having fun.
    1 point
  43. I love tokens they are very rare to coin (mintage numbers) and have a story that coins do not have. Finding an old token is very rare and most don't find them.
    1 point
  44. " I still say the experts can't get it right with previous technology. JP is finding nuggets with the 6000 on his flogged ground." Perhaps you are forgetting the unknown that we have at the moment - the possibility that there is actually new tech in the 6000. Whether it be in the brains or in the coil. I can only imagine that is the reason that JP is finding gold in severely flogged ground - not because he didn't know how to get the best from a 5000 or a GPZ. But that's just my guess ๐Ÿ™ƒ
    1 point
  45. Special thanks to Calabash digger for his reasearch on the pitch mode being good in iron , and His heads up on keeping the silencer at -1 so the target does not get masked in iron . well i used the pitch mode on the DEUS and kept the silencer @ -1 and it came thru for me , Got a good hit on many non ferrous targets today and some right next to iron . i was using the full tones but when i seen Calabash diggers VDs on the pitch mode i had to try that and it has proven to work very well the VDI on this target was 49 and 50 right where a 22 casing comes in or some foils . glad i dug it
    1 point
  46. 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!!!" ๐Ÿ˜„ 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 ๐Ÿ˜‰
    1 point
  47. I work only with the dealers that the manufacturers say are their legitimate dealers. I recommend dealing with nobody but official dealers, period. Anyone that is not an official dealer authorized by the manufacturer, is selling the detectors against the manufacturers wishes, and more often than not are scammers and rip offs. If the price advertised is well under the manufactures minimum divertissement price, then the advertiser cannot be legitimate. Period. They are violating the manufacturer policy, and would be canceled. The fact they are still doing it screams counterfeit. If you want to know who legitimate dealers are, only trust the manufacturer, as they designate who is and is not legitimate. Referring to third party dealer listings is a road to disaster. They can be a starting point, but then you still have to check with the manufacturer to confirm the truth. Aliexpress and Alibaba are loaded with counterfeit product. eBay is not quite as bad, but still plenty of rip offs. Even Amazon to a lesser extent must be watched, as they offer goods from other parties, and scammers do exist. The only solution? Work with manufacturer sanctioned outlets. Anything else, use extreme caution. People do buy cheap counterfeits, then resell as used, and if caught โ€œI did not know.โ€ Buyer beware.
    1 point
  48. Metal detecting for gold nuggets is perhaps the most difficult type of metal detecting. That is partly because simply having an excellent gold nugget detector does little to insure success. The operator not only needs to be extremely proficient with a capable metal detector, but also needs to have general knowledge about gold prospecting and where gold is likely to be found. This short guide is intended to focus on some of the most important aspects a person should consider when starting out new in the nugget detecting game. Metal detecting for gold nuggets is the gold mining equivalent of big game hunting. Many areas produce fine gold and small flakes, but these areas will not usually prove productive with a metal detector. Only areas with larger gold nuggets will be of interest, and so many locations that are fine for panning and other types of mining will not be worth your time if you plan on going for the big nugget. Researching the area to confirm that large nuggets have been found there in the past will help make your hunt successful. While detecting may limit you to fewer sites and more time between each nugget you find, the fact is that successful detector operators tend to find gold nuggets far larger than the finds of the average recreational miner. Detecting is not nearly as physically demanding as most types of mining, and lends itself well if you enjoy roaming freely rather than working hard at a single site. Steve metal detecting for gold with White's MXT metal detector Here are a few facts and tips to get you started: Today's machines can detect gold weighing under a grain with ease. There are 480 grains per Troy ounce with nuggets under a grain quite literally being pinhead size objects. The depth of detection grows with the size of the target. A one grain nugget may be found at two inches, a match head size nugget at four inches, and a quarter ounce nugget at ten inches. Only the largest nuggets will be found at depths over a foot. Metal detectors will not normally find buried accumulations of fine gold directly. The higher the operating frequency of the detector, the more sensitive it will be to small gold, but with the penalty of also being more sensitive to iron minerals. This can result in more false signaling and difficulty of operation in highly iron mineralized areas. Lower frequency detectors are generally less sensitive to small nuggets, but handle iron ground better. Frequencies on today's nugget detectors range from a low of 3 kHz to a high of 71 kHz. Pulse induction (PI) detectors are a special type of unit that act like they are extremely low frequency detectors. PI detectors main strength is in ignoring the worst ground mineral conditions and finding large gold nuggets at maximum depths though a few models also do well on the smaller gold. Most models feature manual ground balance controls, which allow the machine to be adjusted for the general iron content of the ground. When the ground being searched is relatively homogenous, these controls require minimal adjustments and work well. When the ground being searched has wildly varying iron content or many out of place mineralized stones (referred to as "hot rocks") then these manual controls will have to constantly be adjusted to maintain proper performance. Detectors that feature automatic ground balance will require less adjustment and will have less false ground noise. The best option is to have both manual and automatic ground tuning options in one detector. Nugget detectors find all conductive metals. Most units have the ability to tune out many common iron and steel trash items. Pulse induction detectors are not so good at discriminating out trash items and should generally be considered as "dig-it-all" type detectors.. Any gold located should be treated as an indicator, since rarely will a nugget occur by itself. It is much more likely that more nuggets are nearby, and gold smaller than the detector can locate or beyond its immediate depth of detection is present. Such leads should be followed up with further excavation and sampling with gold pans or other mechanical methods, A metal detectors greatest advantage is that it needs no water, a near-universal requirement for most methods of placer sampling. Use this to your advantage to easily check material that is far from water, such as arid locations or deposits located well uphill from the stream. Large nuggets sing out with a loud signal, but since most targets will be small, train yourself using the smallest detectable nuggets your machine can find. Learn the faint but very distinct sound that small or deeply buried nuggets make. Small aluminum or lead targets can be used as an acceptable substitute for gold. Always use headphones to enhance your ability to hear these faint targets. Coil control is one of the most important aspects of proper metal detector technique. Small items may only be detected at a few inches or fractions of inches. Hovering the coil any appreciable distance over the ground is one of the most common reasons for gold nuggets being missed. The detection field projected underground resembles an inverted cone, with the deepest depth of detection in the center of the coil. At maximum depths only a tiny area is seen by the detector, and so overlapping the sweeps is important when detecting a productive area or "patch". To find gold go where gold is found! Metal detectors can be used to prospect new areas but do not expect to find much gold in areas where gold has never been found. Instead, research and frequent areas with past known production of the kind of gold you want to find. Research is a real key to success. Remember to always obtain permission to detect on mining claims or private property and be aware of any possible restrictions on public lands. Commit yourself to learning your detector. Do not make the investment if you do not plan on spending some time to properly give the method a chance. It will be time profitably spent. The one thing that sets successful detector operators apart from the crowd is their patience and persistence. They enjoy the hunt itself, and consider the day well spent even if no gold is found. Consistent success will only come with practice. I strongly believe there is no one best detector for all conditions. The best detector for each area will depend on how much ground iron is present, how large the gold is, and how much trash is in the area. Operator expertise has by far the greatest effect on success. If you purchase a second detector, having a low frequency model and a high frequency detector will give you more versatility. Identical detectors will also interfere with each other electronically and must be kept far apart, whereas differing models can work side by side. The most important accessory item you can own is a quality set of headphones. A good set will muffle outside noise, enhance the faint sounds most nuggets make, and be comfortable for hours on end. Audio quality is of extreme importance. Insist on trying several headphones with your detector before you buy. The differences can be amazing. Make sure that the headphone has its own volume controls and matches your detector for mono or stereo operation. Several ounces of gold detected at Ganes Creek, Alaska in 2010 by Steve Herschbach Other important accessories include a stout digging tool, such as a stainless steel trowel or a short handle pick. A magnet can easily pick up small steel trash items that may be found and are hard to locate exactly. A plastic scoop or cup is indispensable in helping to separate a small nugget from the soil by scooping and waving the soil over the detector search coil. Snap plastic search coil protectors over the bottom of your search coil to protect it from wear. Carry spare batteries and a plastic bottle for your finds. Check into the possibility of using a belt or chest harness with the detector control box to protect it and remove the extra weight from your arm. Do not overlook accessory search coils. Smaller search coils will be more sensitive to smaller targets while giving up some overall depth. Larger coils will produce more depth of detection on larger targets, but will lose the ability to find some smaller nuggets. Small coils are more popular and will pay off in bedrock areas in particular. They can make a detector of moderate sensitivity perform like a higher frequency detector. Large coils work well for finding oversize nuggets discarded in tailing piles. Coils are not interchangeable between models; only coils made for your machine will work with it. The chart below shows the advantages of using both smaller and larger accessory coils. Coil Size vs Depth Fisher Gold Bug 2 Source - Field Testing the Gold Bug 2 by Gordon Zahara The most important goal is to put yourself on nugget bearing ground. These areas are well documented and can be researched. Check the land ownership and contact claim owners if need be for permission to nugget hunt. If you frequent areas that have not produced coarse gold, do not be surprised at a lack of success. For information and reviews of specific metal detectors see Steve's Guide to Gold Nugget Detectors. A huge resource for questions asked past and present is this website's Metal Detecting & Gold Prospecting Forums. Be responsible! Fill your holes behind you, and remove any small trash you excavate. Proper and responsible practices will keep more areas open to us all. Do not remove gold from mining claims without permission. It is theft and may result in that claim being made off-limits to other nugget hunters. Protect our hobby so we can all continue to enjoy it in the future. Good Luck & Good Hunting! ~ Steve Herschbach Copyright ยฉ 2009 Herschbach Enterprises
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