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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/26/2021 in all areas

  1. Me and a hunting buddy happened upon a CW firing range. We thought, great, we'll dig a few minies and move on. But when we swung it was immediate target after target. A rare unexploited hot spot. Limited only by how fast we could recover the targets. Another buddy made it over to the area coming from a different field and joined in with the Deus. But this was hot Culpeper dirt so I had the advantage with my GPX 4800 PI detector. My other buddy fanned out to look for the likely firing line holding drops and buttons, but no joy. Likely cleaned out by others who were there beforeMe and a hunting buddy happened upon a CW firing range. Anyway, it kind of became an obsession and challenge for me. I would either be continuously recovering a target or checking/confirming one of my buddy's Deus targets. Would the minies dry up or would I drop from exhaustion? The minies won. 81 minies, one button, and 7 hours later, I called it a day with plenty of targets still heard as I walked out of the 20 yard by 20 yard patch. If you did the math, that is one minie recovered on average every 5 minutes. So now I have that out of my system, can take the memory of the day I dug minies at will, and will probably never have a day like that again, which is probably a good thing. P.S. The minies with the star marking in the cavity mean they were manufactured at the Washington Arsenal.
    16 points
  2. Purchased a 12", was sent the rest for free later on. My reports on them can all be found on this site. Have 2 concentrics that were sent to me as I was heading home from winter prospecting so I haven't had a chance to test them yet. From basically day 1 I've explained what I paid for and what was sent to me for free. In fact, I was the first person to ask the same from others, including other products too. I've gone out of my way to take as neutral of an approach as I humanly can and report on both the things I like and the things that need improvement. And while those reports can be found in prior posts, it's also no secret that now I still haven't put the stock coil back on since getting my X Coils, nor do I ever plan to.
    11 points
  3. Jeff and Steve: As a former QED enthusiast, it has given me no joy to witness the disintegration of the relationship between my friend (and former QED agent) Reg Wilson and Howard Rocky, the QED creator. What has amazed me is how long the relationship actually lasted - given that both these strong personalities are in reality chalk and cheese. I'm not going into boring gory detail, but suffice it to say that the casualty list of former QED supporters is now both lengthy and distinguished. Despite this, The QED remains a popular entry level PI detector. I have never maintained it is anything other than an excellent lightweight first assault prospecting detector, certainly not a world beater as some have incorrectly maintained. It has certainly added dozens of ozs to my collection over the years: https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/4255-gold-found-with-qed/?tab=comments#comment-45878 To X Coils: I met X Coils Ilya Yalanzhi online through our common interest in detecting and ancient coins. It turned out we both had a rare gold stater of King Kotys 11 of the Bosporan Kingdom (124-133AD) Ilya is lucky enough to live in Kerch, where that kingdom was located and frequently sends me images of other ancient coins he finds as part of earning his living. We have been able to use that coin as a common test object for comparing different coils. To date he has sent me one 22" GPZ concentric gratis, I have purchased a 17" spiral DOD and have ordered a 26" GPZ Concentric which I will also pay for. He expects nothing in return except honest feedback and that I have given. I made my own adaptor. To me, it was an easy project since I have been soldering electronic circuits since they were powered by valves in the early 1960's With both QED and X coil connections I'm apparently in the eye of the storm. If certain people wish to maintain their agendas and conspiracy theories, hissy fits, whatever, that's up to them. To me, the weather is clear and sunny. Steve: I trust you have no problem with my posting on either topic. If you do, I'm sure you'll inform me.
    10 points
  4. Steve a good post and a golden opportunity for everyone to put a line under the whole sorry mess and move on into sensible discussion. No one will truly know EXACTLY what happened behind the scenes because the main combatants have largely gone away for a myriad of reasons with the main incentive being marketing and sales. I for one am not proud of my involvement because of the harm to those who do not know the whole story, that’s the price others are having to pay because of my stupid stubborn sense of injustice. I’ll own my part in the drama in the hopes that those who know me well enough can get an inkling of the true nature of what went on. I was already moving on on the subject before it all blew sky high on the forum anyway, in retrospect I should have had more faith in others and left it alone much earlier. 😔 Here’s my ‘being upfront’ statement on the subject of X coils: I am not a fan of the Flat wound DOD coils in variable reactive soils but I have not used any of the latest ones, so they might have improved since my last experience. That is not to say they do not perform because they clearly do. I am extremely grateful to X coils for paving the way for us GPZ users having at least some sort of option over the “Communist Choice” option of the GPZ14 (pun intended but no offence meant 😂 ). If it wasn’t for X coils we would not be seeing NF providing the Zsearch coils. The adapter is still an issue for obvious reasons, I made one up yesterday and even though I like to think I know my way around a soldering iron and a Multimeter I still cringe when I power up my detector to test it. I still have good communications with my contacts at X coils, that should tell people a lot about the bigger picture. I have received a reasonable amount of X coils since their inception, some experimental and others being finished product (even throughout the forum coil wars 🤔). I have over time sold off most of those. I’ve currently used the 3 examples of the new Concentric coils 2 of which which were gifted to me during the shake up with the X coil company. (I am still not fully around the new business arrangement). I have found gold with all three concentric coils. All three Concentric coils have ferrite balanced well. All three CC coils have worked extremely well in mineralised variable soils. All three show signs of having less EMI. All three are incredibly sensitive relative to their size. I understand how they have achieved this performance with the Concentric's and take my hat off to them. All three have more depth and sensitivity over standard coils even in bad ground (taking into consideration size differences etc). The sweetheart coil is the 15” Concentric with the 17” CC coming in a close second (relative to my home environment, tight bush land, the 17” CC would be in front in the more open spaces like WA). I have not used the bigger coil enough due to grass and moisture content of our local soils to fully realise what it can do. I do not sell X coils but I have helped steer a few people towards acquiring them, people who are realistic and comfortable to take the risk. I am more than happy to have a discussion on the subject of X coils because it is relative to what we do, so long as people understand there is also risk involved. Think of X coils like a remap of your diesel turbo charged engine, there is an inherent risk in modifying your car away from the manufacturers specs and if the engine blows then the responsibility falls on you the owner. There are millions of vehicles out there that are performing reliably every day with an engine remap, I am one of those people who has done it and appreciate the improvement in my vehicles drivability. X coils are basically a remap of your GPZ, but it requires a bit of risk and you need to find a guy who can do the mod for you so you can safely participate. JP
    9 points
  5. Poking around one the older park areas here and came across this pin with wings and a stone in the middle. Not sure how old guessing turn of the century or maybe 1930's? May have been plated at one time. Left the clad in the shot so you can see the size.
    8 points
  6. Looks like everyone has had their say now so hopefully this X coil thread can continue on in a positive direction moving forward. 😇 It seems to me two important things have happened in parallel, one was the major shake up with all the different entities and the other is the release of the Concentric coils. Both have had a profound effect on the situation and the many discussions around the subject. 🧐 The entities thing is less meaningful now than it was a month ago and will probably continue that way as all the friction points have been largely removed. My friction points were multi faceted and have been discussed ad nauseam, so with the personal character stuff now put aside I would like to examine the BIG changes in the form of the new Concentric X coils, because they really are a game changer especially when considering my concerns based around Ferrite balancing etc. From my perspective I REALLY have changed my opinion of X coils, Rick (Araratgold) first brought to my attention the differences in the new CC coils but at first I was a bit skeptical based on experiences with Concentric’s back in the early ZVT prototype days, but I was willing to listen because he has my respect. I will admit though I was a very skeptical because Rick had not complained about the spiral wound DOD Coils even without ferrite balancing, I’d say most likely due to the ground types he works. This is not in any way a criticism of the way he detects or the ground he works, (Australia is made up of a lot of different extremely diverse ground types) I was thinking the CC coils might behave similar over the ground to the Spiral DOD’s which in the ground I work would be problematic. The video he put up of his 17” CC coil in action really made me sit up and take notice Meerkat style 😝 and also made me realise I might have to ‘Eat Crow” due to my cautionary comments when they were first announced, so fair enough I stand corrected because when I received a 17” I too was very surprised by how well they behaved. All three CC X coils I’ve used ferrite balance well, not perfectly but more than adequate where the ground signal is far greater than the tiny bit of residual X signal I’m hearing on the ferrite, so its a big TICK ✅ from me on that score ( X signal was always a major pinch point for me). Secondly there is minimal saturation signal (unless the ground is really bad), amazingly even less than the GPZ14 so another BIG tick ✅ from me on that as well. Next was touch sensitivity and even in General Difficult I was impressed, it was easily as good as the GPZ19 and GPZ14 coils. Amazingly the bit that really surprise was salt signal, that really came out of left field and I can only put it down to a few things but I need to ponder on it some more. 🤔 So there you go, I’m eating some of my words, the latest Concentric X coils get my tick of approval on many fronts, they have very good sensitivity on even the tiniest of stuff at quite surprising depths. I have not dug anything amazingly deep yet or on the larger side of the scale with a 5 gram piece at 14 inches being the biggest so far, but all in all they have definitely improved a lot, to the point where there is probably no longer any need for the DOD spiral wound coils (unless they have improved a lot since I last used them as well). So is this a plug for X coils? No its just me being honest about what I’m experiencing and also owning my previous publicly expressed negativity. Do I sell X coils? NO I do not, if you want an X coil go to the web site and order one. JP Gold found on the first session with the 17” Concentric X coil in extremely variable ground
    8 points
  7. Thank you for you feedback We are ready with the Mechanical Team to understand and solve the problem. A lower rod will be sent to you in exchange, and we are studying the phenomenon. Tests are already carried out internally with high lateral pressure, we will continue in this direction to understand. I contacted the whole team when I saw the message today.
    8 points
  8. Hi Guys, Here's a couple of finds from my last outings with my detecting buddies. The Barber half is one of the nicer ones I've found. The Trime ... Not so much. I resisted the urge to do much cleaning so the coins will remain in their natural state. It's encouraging to see that there's still a few goodies out there to find. You just have to work harder to get them.
    7 points
  9. While not a perfect match, its shape is very similar. Guessing it is safe to say it was a brooch. https://pbuy.ga/ProductDetail.aspx?iid=21392354&pr=66.99
    7 points
  10. Hi Steve, Love my 22" X-coil for the GPZ 7000. Made my own adapter, was easy to make, hardest part on it is probably burning off the red coating on the wires to get the solder to stick 😉.. But so far love it... P.S. the adapter Minelab has on their coils looks like a double high speed switching diode, part # PMBD7000, in a SOT-23 package. The diode has an SMD code on it W5CAG. More than likely a crypto chip, as they make the Crypto chips in a SOT-23 format also. Dave
    7 points
  11. I spent a few hours yesterday with some Mano a Mano testing on the ML15 and the CT15. Disclaimer: This is what I observed in my testing, my ground, my occasional surmising, and feedback from the targets I marked. Your results will most definitely vary. I am not a scientist, nor an engineer... just a guy trying to find the best way to use the equipment I have. I am also not trying to speak poorly of either coil - as both have merits. I ran both coils with the exact setup - including noise cancel setting (it took me a few times to get the same setting though they were pretty close between the two) and pumping for the ground balance on the first coil - resulting in 0, then ensuring same on subsequent coils. Park 1, 50 tones, Horseshoe, Recovery 6, F2=6, Sensitivity 20. I marked 10 targets with the ML, then followed the same path with the CT and marked any additional tones. Then went through the process again starting with the CT and followed the same path with the ML marking any additional targets. Targets ranged in depth, wanting to better understand the VID comparison at varying depths as well as the sheer depth from each coil. Unfortunately, nothing spectacular for the virtual finds table (I guess I need to tag along with Gerry to his silver fields :)), but I wasn't expecting anything but some results I could use on other locations. Without diving into the details of each dig, what I found was: Both coils have similar depth in my ground, which is also to say - neither coil is deeper than the other - at least in the targets I tested. I found the audio feedback to be very similar on deep targets. One specific target was a piece of smashed copper tubing that was 15" deep (I'm lucky this ground was conducive to digging), and gave me a similar faint-ish signal bouncing between 17 and 20 on both coils - (quarter for size reference): I mentioned this in my earlier post - I am finding it more difficult to pinpoint the CT coil, as I don't think the hot spot is centered on the coil.. more testing needed. But using the wiggle back method works, as long as there are no other targets under the coil (which is 3" wider than the ML obviously), especially on the deeper, more faint targets. I have some initial ideas on how to approach pinpointing with the CT, having swept over the ML targets with it... but again, I need to do more testing to verify my thoughts. ID's are somewhat equal on each coil with one exception noted - the CT coil seems to false on rusty iron more than the ML. Again, this was one test run, however in my test method listed above, I found 4 additional targets with the CT following the same ML path... all were repeatable (one way... which is the fall back to keep from digging iron I understand) and ended up being bent nails when dug - and this was in F2=6... if I was running F2=0, this may have been a different story - more testing needed. When I started with the CT on fresh targets, the ML didn't find any additional targets, and 3 of the CT targets ID'd as iron with the ML. One wheat seemed to hit a little harder on the ML (9"), but I was going by memory, and the swing path was most likely slightly off... so difficult to tell. Both coils gave me the "dig" tone and id. It should not go without mentioning (again) the weight of the CT coil is noticeably heavier than the ML. I will most likely feel the effects of that if I were to spend a long day detecting with the CT. I am also interested to see what it feels like in the water - hopefully a trip to the beach soon to test it out. So, my first test I was able to target a range of coins and trash at depths between 4" and 9" (plus the one dig down to 15"), both coils accurately ID'd the non-ferrous targets (I recovered several clad coins and a host of copper pennies - including 4 wheats, no silver on this hunt, several ring pulls and square tabs, along with some aluminum trash and 3 or 4 .22 brass casings). Again, one hunt, one guy, non-scientific, my opinions. For my own edification, I will want to continue testing at different locations before I determine if there are any advantages for one over the other. As I led out with - there are most likely merits on both - just want to identify where each of them fit in my hunting. ~Tim
    6 points
  12. I have 15 and a 20in spiral wound DOD coils. I ran them last year and im happy with their performance. I did not have any problem with following the instructions to make the addaptor. Edit add detail> I have not ran the stock coils since. Below is an example of Aussie lingo and how it can be missunderstood by foreighners
    6 points
  13. Had a couple hours while my wife was shopping today, so went to a sports field to hunt for jewelry. Glad I did, early in the hunt got a solid 15 on the Equinox at about 6". Texas turf is getting pretty hard packed by this time of year, so digging was tough, especially working to leave the field the way I found it. Out popped 14k class ring. I was happy to see a name on the inside, and with a little research located the owner. Unfortunately, since passed away, but I will try to reach out to the family to return it. My first gold of the year, and my first class ring. Separate signals on opposite ends of the field, I got similar 12-13 signals, and pulled silver from each... first the chunky chain marked .925, then the child sterling cross. Also a pocket full of clad including a Martin Van Buren $1 Coin. All in all, a good day. ~Tim
    5 points
  14. An extra bit of info into the mix: For context, Joe has been a detector prospector for about 40 years (same as me) and knows his stuff and has owned his 7000 since 2015. For the smaller gold, there doesn't seem to be much between the 2 'high end' ML units. I'm sure the bigger targets will validate the 7000 though, and the tiny stuff (under .1gm) will be the 6000's territory. A friend owns a 6000 and yesterday I cross-tested a few in-ground and undug targets (6 in total) against my modded 4500 with 9" elite coil. Only 1 target I couldn't hear which was a small bit of lead shot, just beyond my reach. 2 of the targets were tiny gold, rest were lead shot and we both got them with almost identical signal 'strength'. He used the std 11" mono. It made me think twice about upgrading although I'd need to do a lot more cross-testing to be sure. He had lots of EMI problems and had to run cancel procedures many times while my modded 4500 was running Tx @ 75% and Rx @ 6 on Enhance & max frequency with zero EMI problems. It ran totally quiet without any EMI cancel procedure. At some stage soon, I'll do a much larger testing regime and video it. Nuthin like undug targets to truly test 'whats what' 😉
    5 points
  15. Kingswood, since I see you have other Minelab detectors, perhaps you'd do a little experiment for all of us using the new 6000 to scour your new patch and then hit it AFTER with other detectors. Most reports are of the exact opposite. People rush back to old patches with the newest technology like the 6000 and find what's missed. I'd be very interested to see what your 6000 missed if anything when you go back with the "old" technology.
    5 points
  16. Found 4g today in a new patch, just away from an old patch 🙂 The EMI was bad at times. I did find that clicking the sensitivity down to 5 stopped it and it still pings gold...Including a 0.08g at about 3 inches that screamed. Love this machine 🙂
    5 points
  17. That is exactly the way a good friend is acquainted here though. Much of our banter here would get a gun drawn on you in other parts of the world.
    5 points
  18. Dug a lot of silver and old coins over the years and enjoyed the hell outta it! It got kinda routine after so many years and I just got really tired of having to deal with any form of the public (asking permissions, people flipping you off, calling the cops, claiming they own curb strips, dogs barking, people interrupting asking questions, needles in the parks, etc. etc.). Needed to avoid the crowds so started after the gold. All I can say is finding something really rare, one-of-a-kind, that takes a lot more effort on your part is much more rewarding....to me anyways? Out in the brush all by yourself 99% of the time...priceless (a little gold helps also)..... Sorry to avoid the question but for me it's not about dollar value.... it's about sanity.
    4 points
  19. Thank you JP for that very balanced report. Whatever Ilya and his team have done is certainly working. These coils have basically given the GPZ the super sensitivity of an SDC ( or dare I say it the GPX 6000 ) but with the raw power of ZVT ! Some of the little bits I have been getting at prodigious depths rechaining my old patches have left me scratching my head ! Rick
    3 points
  20. That is my buddy. We were about a half mile from Lake Ontario on it's south shore.It was a old foundation off a road on a narrow ridge with about a 20 yard by 40 yard area to hunt.They were both over 7''.The other guys found a 1847 Large cent and a 1902 Canadian large cent plus a merc and a heavy sterling pin.I only got a Indian on the day we hunted with the other guys but I got the most wheaties.One buddy calls me MR. wheatie because I find a lot with the Nox.He is the one who found the huge gold ring in the first 15 minutes with the Nox and yesterday in a different spot got his first seated and it was a 1876 cc dime.I have yet to get a older then barber silver with the Nox .Clad hopper has had the Nox for a little over a year and has 2 seated, the trime plus the Barber half. One of the Seated coins was a quarter.The last Barber half I found in the turf was in 2016 with the x-terra 70.
    3 points
  21. Hey, sometimes a day of digging iron is what the ground gives you! (I have the rusty horseshoe and railroad spike from last week to prove it) 😄 I agree, the sample size is too small to use as empirical data. I hope I am wrong (most likely I am) as falsing on iron probably was well vetted by the CT team. I was thinking that throwing in a few deep iron signals on each "pass" could identify how each coil treats a deep non-ferrous item is a good suggestion you made, especially if one ID'd as ferrous and the other as non-ferrous or vice-versa. Of course there are always the variables of approach angle, swing angle, swing speed, and other man-made (at least this man) inconsistencies from one path to the next. I will say that I have spent a lot of time (probably at least half of my total swing time) with the ML15 on the 800 since purchasing it... I know that machine and coil as well as any I have. The CT "feels" different... just trying to figure out how to use that to my advantage. 👍
    3 points
  22. I actually wasn't suggesting you dig purely ferrous sounding targets (but it's your time ). If I understood your post, three targets that the Coiltek 15" round indicated having non-ferrous possibilities but that the Eqx 12"x15" showed ferrous only tones all turned out to be ferrous. If so, could that be either due to coil control or pinpointing accuracy (related properties)? And did the extra weight of the Coiltek contribute to those (in a negative way)? Three targets is a very small sample so I'm not suggesting we put much stock in these data. More testing (and not just by you) will hopefully either clarify and possibly even refute.
    3 points
  23. Thanks GBA. I only targeted non-ferrous on this test... but good comment, marking targets on the ferrous side of the scale is another telling test. I think that would be a good test running F2=0 as well.
    3 points
  24. wow! thanks guys. there are a lot of old buildings around here in Brazil indiana and 3 parks as well as a 4h park and highway 40 cut's right through the center of town. which is also historic. i have been doing a lot of reading on detecting and learned creek beds can also be a good place to detect and ball parks and the like. oh and my detecter is a garret ace 300. thanks for the welcome and the advice i'll keep everybody updated
    3 points
  25. Did a reverse photo search and got the same thing. Victorian era pin. Could have been a hat decoration in the 1800s. Cool find!
    3 points
  26. 100% will 🙂 I plan on chaining it with the 6000, then chaining back over it with the GPZ19" 🙂 That will be next weekend 🙂
    3 points
  27. I cannot afford a GPZ 7000 and I wouldn't enjoy swinging it either at my age. Cutting off the connector on an expensive stock coil in order to make an unsanctioned aftermarket coil work that costs more than most of my detectors is just beyond my comprehension unless I am working an area that will easily and quickly pay for all of that equipment, modifications and possible equipment failures due to the modifications which will not be covered by a warranty. As far as the QED, I have one. I paid for it. I did not pay much attention to what the now ex-dealer said before or after he became an ex-dealer. The QED I have works quite well with smaller coils. Is it even close to a GPX 5000........NO. Is it better than a Whites TDI for me.....YES so far. I don't have enough hours on it yet to compare it definitively to the SDC 2300 except to say that it is tons easier to swing and coil changes including DDs are easy. If anyone wants to borrow it just let me know. As far as this forum is concerned, it is where I feel at home with people like Steve, Rob A, Bill S, Gerry, and many other detector lovers and prospecting friends here that I respect and trust. My day would not be the same without this forum.
    3 points
  28. I wanted to clarify this, in case people are thinking x coil is not welcome here, due to some x coil related members leaving the forum. I support anyone or anything that legitimately extends our metal detecting capabilities. I applaud x coils efforts. What I did not like was the fact that you have to take a perfectly good coil, and use it to create an adapter. The process is not simple, and if done incorrectly can fry a GPZ 7000. The repair will cost thousands of dollars, and that is not an exaggeration. Further, there appears to be nobody who will make these for people, and warranty that if the work blows up the detector, that they will insure those costs. In others words “do this at your own risk.” Seems simple to me. No drama, just “do this at your own risk.” The knowledge of that risk was suppressed, and people who expressed concern were attacked and ridiculed. ANY mention of the risk was met with swift damage control that attempted to shout down the offending party. THAT is what I objected to. I’m a pragmatic facts based guy. I could care less about the adapter. I do care that it is something that should be a disclaimer on any “oh these are the greatest thing since sliced bread” coming from parties who received many thousands of dollars in free product. And I mean seriously, who actually buys x coils? Because from this dumb Alaskans perspective, nearly everyone reporting on x coils is sporting free coils. Are there people out there that have to buy your x coils? I’d like to know who those people are, and hear what they have to say. Even then, I’m surprised how little you can trust even reports from purchasers. I was under the impression from several people that the QED was a pretty good product. Now, the ex-dealer is revealing that they are in fact a crap shoot, with very poor reliability, and poor physical construction. The truth now seems 100% the opposite of what I was being told by people, including people who berate others for concealing things. I gave QED quite a bit of positive coverage here that I now regret, because the so-called honest reporting of purchasing owners turns out to be quite suspect. When people buy junk, they prefer to quietly move it along with little fuss. In the meantime, the rest of us are not getting a clear picture of the truth. The same thing was going on with the Impulse AQ testing. Parties experiencing issues are protective of the developers, kind of a Stockholm Syndrome thing, where you protect your abuser. Because, you know, maybe the next thing they do will be good, and would not want to get shut out of that! So relevant facts about issues that might be perceived as problematic are suppressed or hidden. I bailed out of the project over that. Anyway, back to X Coil. I just want to let people know discussion of them is welcome. What is not welcome is berating people for being concerned over the adapter. That should simply be the default position for wise people. “Do this at your own risk.” Concerned care, not panic. Second, since free coils rained down like crazy, it would be nice if reporters clearly identify themselves as people getting free gear. I’m serious. I’m truly an outside observer to all this nonsense, and there appear to be almost no people who report on x coil, that do not have at least one free x coil. So that’s my question. Is there anyone out there that is just a person that bought these, and made or paid someone to make an adapter? A straight up no question purchasing end user? If so, I’d sure like to hear from you!! If you have free coils, love to hear from you also, but please let us know the whole picture. And to mention one last time. Never did, still do not have any issue with x coil discussion. It’s ok to great product, exploring new ideas, and I thank them for that. It was all the skullduggery and drama that bothered me. I’d welcome sane discussion of the product, and if they ever make a coil for a GPX 6000, I’d be interested. https://www.x-coils.com
    2 points
  29. What excites different detectorists is as varying as the targets that a detector can find. Part of this is opportunity. It's difficult to detect a saltwater beach if you live 1000 miles from the ocean. Natural gold that's large enough to sound off on a detector? Not much of the earth's surface has that. Civil War battle field relic detecting? Millenia old hammered coins? The list is as varied as the imagination allows. There is a common measure that doesn't account for the thrill/excitement component but still gives a rough comparison for some types of detecting -- bullion value. (Aesthetic value and collectible value are other qualities but those are more complicated. Gold fever? Yeh, that, too. 😁) Finding a silver dime is an example of something that gives me a good feeling. (Excitement -- that comes rarely, when a find turns out to be a scarce date+mm or possibly a very old design.) I wonder how my modest silver recovery compares to gold nugget finds. As of this morning the gold/silver (price) ratio is 68. That varies, of course, but this value appears to be about typical/average over the last 35 years. (BTW, the record high occurred about a year ago, I think it topped at around 115. I don't know the record low, but around 15, although maybe lower. See this graph if interested.) A 90% USA silver dime weighs 2.5 g and is 90% pure. Gold nugget purity varies greatly. I recall reading that during the California Gold Rush the gold purity varied between 80% and 90% in most cases. But a lot of nuggets have been found which are outside both ends of that range. Let's assume 90% purity to simplify the calculation. Dividing 2.5 g by 68 gives ~37 mg (0.037 g) which is a bit over 1/2 grain. That's pretty small, even for the 'dink' designation, but people here have reported finding smaller pieces than that. Let's go the other direction. 1 ozt gold nugget is a pretty rare find and I suspect only a small fraction of people who have ever detected for natural gold have found one of this size or larger. But many have. How many silver dimes would it take to have the equivalent bullion value of a 1 ozt (90% pure) gold nugget? Rounded to two significant figures, ~840 or $84 face value of 90% silver coins.
    2 points
  30. Hopefully with a little prodding from JP, Minelab will take another look at concentric coil options for their next GPZ incarnation.
    2 points
  31. I would have been happy with "somewhere in Upstate New York" but now I'm packing my detectors to drive all night. See you tomorrow along the Lake Ontario shore! I'll bring you guys some (cold meat on Wonder Bread) lunch in appreciation.
    2 points
  32. Thanks El Nino! For future tests and hunts I will try to get more adept at running my GoPro. Interesting thought on larger items... I'll pay attention to that when I have them out again. ~Tim.
    2 points
  33. it's an excellent test of large coils ...... Tim..👍 Which explains a lot ... I think both coils are quite similar in detection .. according to me 15 "Coiltek can have an edge on many larger objects ... maybe in buckle size ...
    2 points
  34. Excellent writeup, Tim. I like the disclaimer (which, IMO, applies to everyone who does detector and accessory comparisons of any kind.) When you flagged targets with each coil before following up to see what the other coil showed, did you only flag targets which showed (exclusively) non-ferrous tones? If so, did either coil find a non-ferrous target that the other 'thought' was clearly ferrous? I was curious about how the extra weight of the Coiltek Nox 15 would feel. Obviously the impact will vary from one detectorist to another, but sounds like you clearly noticed it. FWIW, I took the ML 12"x15" out for a 3 hour hunt yesterday. I haven't used that coil much and at least one time in the past I thought that the weight was oppressive, but yesterday (on flat ground with fairly uniform length grass -- especially important) it didn't really bother me. When leaving I took it across a slope and then it was quite noticeable. Obviously everyone has his/her discomfort threshold for coil and detector weight, and in my case it seems to vary with time, and not in just one direction.
    2 points
  35. Joined this forum and wanted to say hi. Started detecting in January when I purchased an Equinox. Have only been detecting on the beach areas around Fort Myers so far and love it.
    2 points
  36. Thanks GBA. Challenge indeed (I put a few pretty hefty gouges in some clad in the process). The ring is from 1985 - I was going to say not too old... but I guess that is still 36 years ago... though could have been dropped at any point since then. Thanks Dog. I think my wife is on to me... she gave me the "side-eye" as I asked her when she wanted to go shopping again... haha. Not yet VL, but I have a feeling if I repaired the clasp, she may be VERY interested in the chain.
    2 points
  37. And then there's the challenge of not hitting the target with your digging tools when the ground is so hard. Nice work, both the detecting and the researching! Looks like that ring is pretty old. When was it issued?
    2 points
  38. That's an amazingly close match F350! Same feather count on the wing edges! Unique find kac!👍👍
    2 points
  39. Just to add, that the manual mentions increasing sensitivity until false signals occur when using the mono. From reading the manual, I still get the feeling that reducing the sensitivity with the mono to reduce the EMI would still punch deeper than the DD. I think.... 🙂
    2 points
  40. Kac, that is some great finds, what does the back of the wings look like. I have looked at many different wings and nothing comes close to it. It could be something from an airline to kids that fly with their parents form the 1950's. Just a thought on the airline pin, but I am looking st those now.
    2 points
  41. At about 1.1 oz per minie that translates into about 5.8 lbs. I had a day pack and a zip lock bag so I was collecting them in that once it started getting ridiculous.
    2 points
  42. You are seeing the same videos and reading the same reports as me Strick. I don't own a 6000, I wasn't a tester on it either, just watching the same vids as everyone else. What I've seen has lacked sufficient target/setting/ground info and variety to make a more specific statement. Especially since the gold I detect for tends to be much more spongy or crystalline, and the ground I work tends to be much more mild or salty than what I'm seeing in the Aussie vids. I also run way hotter settings than most Aussies seem to post, even in hot ground. What I have seen enough to conclude though, is that if I didn't already own a 7k with an array of coils, I would be buying that 6k right now. I still might buy one too.
    2 points
  43. Years back a family friend was moving and we went to say goodbye. On the way out I noticed an old sewing kit in the trash so me being me, I snagged it. It had these two buttons in with the other stuff. I’m just curious if anybody knows the age of these? They look like really nice versions of what we all dig on occasion. Cell phone pics aren’t the greatest.
    2 points
  44. I edited both of my posts above because I saw I mistakenly referred to the big button as a "Boston Central Guard" button when it should of said "Boston City Guard" button.
    2 points
  45. Great job on the saves!!!! You gotta love those kinda hunts!!! Wish you luck with the next shopping trip Ha Ha
    2 points
  46. Here is a YT video on the 12" Z Search coil vs 14" GPZ coil. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YHgCTdnQcU Some of the latest FB postings by Jen Walsh with her new GPX 6000 on Chicks with Picks Australia- From Wayne Barry : I walked over my 34 grammer a foot deep on at least 3 occasions with GPZ7000 and 12 inch nugget finder coil and didn't hear anything. But tonight checking out an old favourite spot .a boom beautiful sweat gold tone loud and clear .GPX6000. 30 gold targets since Saturday arvo I'm with Jen on this note .my new go too machine Wayne Barry Absolutely everything found today had been gone over with a 7 , 45, 23 .. nothing The 6000 has opened up the ground Jen Walsh Chicks with Picks Australia https://www.facebook.com/ChicksWithPicksAustralia/videos/516256916215137
    2 points
  47. Oh I agree with that, but we apparently disagree on who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are. I Just Don't Care. History. Water under the Ffffffing Bridge. Yes, it was this and that and the other. A drama that will live in history. If you want to perpetuate the drama, leave, put a stop to it, stay. That's aimed at the air, at the internet, at everyone out there. Maybe it’s a Yank Aussie thing. It feels like there is a disconnect at some basic communication level that just makes stuff harder. I start a thread trying to clear the air, we end up arguing over how the air is being cleared. Sigh. I'm going to descend into a dungeon and kill some trolls. You all have fun, see you soon. I'm spiraling the drain again so better take a break.
    2 points
  48. I would have no problem with the making of the patch cable. I spent many years sitting at a bench all day soldering board level parts before all of that got automated. Being dumb enough to become a professional musician I was also dumb enough to not realize that I wouldn't be able to support myself monetarily just through music. I just don't see the point in my world. In your world, you have an entirely different situation which I respect and understand. I have no problem with your decision to make the necessary mods for using X coils.
    2 points
  49. Went to another old patch today to try a different tactic; since there was larger gold found here in the past, I decided to run in Extra Deep Gold Mode. It had no problem punching 17” on a sweet, chunky 5 gram nugget, and it handles the noisy alkali soils very well, too.
    2 points
  50. Went out Thursday for a beach hunt at the usual place. It was a very busy week, and I was looking forward to some stress release, hopefully digging for some remaining silver. Kind of a random in how I was going to run my day, but I new I wanted to dig some large iron to see if it hid anything great. Just a couple of silvers for the effort and the usual clad with a couple of exceptions. I did get a nice gold wedding band with the initials of both people in it and a 52 (I am assuming the year they got married). What was odd though was the only other inscription on the ring, which was P11. I am thinking it stands for 11 Karat plum gold. That would be an odd Karat value. I had to wander around a bit more than usual and now the silver just trickles in. No heavy concentrations that I can see. I am going to try and get out Monday and do a long flat exposed beach if I can. Wrap that GPX nice and tight in heavy plastic and see if I can get some deep clad. It gives me a chance to try out my new scoop some more. I think I have only used it twice since I bought it. This is a fairly clean beach, so it is going to be a real test for the GPX. If I can score a lot of targets, then I know there is still a lot out there on those types of beaches. We will see. Hope the weather holds up and does not get too warm out there…. I like solitude 🙂
    2 points
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