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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/27/2021 in all areas

  1. Fat Bastard Prospecting, all his videos are entertaining unless you're offended by common Aussie prospector language. He does a quick run with the new 6000, not a great deal of new information but entertaining none the less.
    10 points
  2. 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
  3. This release brings your Apex up to date with all improvements made since its introduction. Some of these enhancements include: Improved overall stability Faster and more accurate ground balance in saltwater More accurate pinpointing More distinctive tones to better differentiate good targets from iron Backlight powers on temporarily while making Menu changes https://garrett.com/apex-update-instructions
    6 points
  4. Well, I got tired of waiting for ML to offer a smaller GPZ coil and ordered an X-coil. I've never done any electronics soldering before and followed Simon's and Rick's detailed instructions, along with Chet's new procedures to make a patch lead using my 19" GPZ coil. I ordered the required plugs and accessories for the project. Took my time, checked with my ohm meter as detailed in the instructions, secured with double-walled heat shrink and everything worked perfectly on my 15" x 10" coil and the GPZ 19" coil worked great....nothing trashed or disabled. Bill P.S. Latest on FB X-Coils page. WOW! Even JP stated "Pretty impressive"! Rick Bryant using an X-coil 17" concentric. Some are saying the new concentrics will work as well as the new GPX 6000. "Rechaining an old patch. Another 2.5 grams today in 8 pieces with the 17 CC, including another crumb that won't move the scales that read to 0.01 grams Clear signal at 1 inch in HY Normal and still there in Difficult. Gobsmacked at how good this coil is "
    6 points
  5. Hopefully with a little prodding from JP, Minelab will take another look at concentric coil options for their next GPZ incarnation.
    6 points
  6. Went to a different, flat beach for a change of pace. I was going to wrap the GPX in plastic and go into the water a bit but found out my Detech coil needs to be weighed down in order to not float. Not a big deal, as it is a great coil and my favorite. I will know better next time and will weigh it down. Because of how flat the beach is, I expected and was granted, lots of bits of aluminum 😆. The number of coins was in line with how things seen to go for me on my area beaches. Found a bit of silver as well. Also found a ring which is either nickel or white gold. It is not as clean as I would expect gold to be, but maybe it is a lower karat. Just somehow reminds me of how some clad quarters look when they are tumbled a lot, coming out looking clean and not that red/green/brown look. Reads a solid 8 on the Nox. I still feel there should be some deep gold and silver there due to the deep coins and deep lead that is still left behind. Also, the number of pull tabs could have been gold rings as well. I do have to say one thing about the GPX line. They are very durable machines. I just hope the GPX 6000 is as durable. My 5000 has done a lot of deep woods hunting as well as the beach hunts. Things do go wrong with it (like the cam locks), but it always powers up and performs well. So, nothing earth shattering, but a decent day at the beach.
    5 points
  7. I've just been informed that the 26" GPZ Concentric I ordered will now be a 30" The designers believe this will be the ultimate manifestation of the ZVT CC and it should have some serious depth. I replied that I will now have to grow a right arm like a lobster. Oh well! what the heck! Exciting times! Could be like the old "Bismarck" days all over again?
    5 points
  8. 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
    5 points
  9. Hi 67GTA , I dont know the AT MAX but I currently own a Deus HF and a Vanquish 540 , so I will be able to compare them with the Apex. At this moment I need a few more hours detecting with the Apex to have a more accurate idea of its ability in iron trashed areas . I will update this thread as soon as I have more field test results ...
    4 points
  10. 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
    3 points
  11. Hi Guys Just thought I would share my first trip with the GPX 6000 out near home. About an hour and a half in an old spot on the NSW Far South Coast AU. Settings on manual about 12 o"clock position in difficult. Hot ground but with a steady threashold. Down @ 6 - 8 inches. Cheers Jack
    3 points
  12. 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.
    3 points
  13. What did they feed the pigs ? restaurant waist, what got in with it ? some of the tips
    3 points
  14. Thanks Slavomir for this info , I will do the update as soon as possible . Looks like they have improved the Apex audio , and powering on the backlight when activating the menu is a great idea. 🙂. I had not much time to test the Apex these last days but I plan to do a lot of field testing with it during the coming weeks ...
    3 points
  15. GC Aye I don`t think you`ll have a major disadvantage waiting for the 6000, but I suspect from your questioning you may be heading in the direction of early adopters and will evolve into helping your self out in the future, tis the spice of life.
    3 points
  16. What an interesting turn this discussion has taken. Some people might have been right all along then, when all this started. Me, I am just disappointed that no authorized and ML-endorsed procedure exists to have the plug made, by an authorized ML repair shop, including warranty. Sure, do it yourself obviously works for many and this is great for them. However, I am one of these guys who does not take any chance with a 10k investment but rather trust the engineers who built it the way it is. I am on the NF12 waiting list (will it ever come to the US?.....) and will get my 6000 any day now. I hope I won't have a huge disadvantage then, only because I am relying on products that are made by professionals without the need for helping out myself.
    3 points
  17. Interesting perspectives on gold/silver value ratios. It was never about how much dollar value I could find while detecting....for me, it was truly about the challenge of finding older/deeper targets from previously heavily detected parks/beaches that no one else has been able to find (including the targets that have eluded me in previous hunts). This goal (mission statement) drove me to finding over 6000 silver coins and over 30,000 wheat pennies since 2007 (beach/turf combined). Most likely, this mission statement evolved because of my location to countless older, silver coin era sites, coupled with the fact that I always wanted to better/challenge myself at whatever I thoroughly enjoyed doing! My gold jewelry finds, for the most part, were all incidentals in the turf (at the beach I dig mostly smooth sounding targets), but my gold finds (a little over 1.5 lbs of mixed karat values) far surpassed the value of my silver finds (including my sterling jewelry finds). I had more satisfaction, though, in finding the elusive silver coinage, but I’d also admit that all of my gold ring finds that I found in ultra deep wet/dry sand (at the fringe of detection with a PI machine) were just as satisfying (and more physically demanding). It was always more priceless to me to meet up with my local hunt buddies (I enjoy solo hunting also) and share in the camaraderie of the day in search of those elusive, deep, partially masked old coins/artifacts from heavily hunted sites...however, I never turned down a shallow gift from the gophers 🤣.
    3 points
  18. 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
    3 points
  19. 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.
    3 points
  20. 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.
    3 points
  21. 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.
    2 points
  22. Hey guys. My name is Patrick, I'm new to detection, I'm from Brazil. Sorry for the google translation ,. I would like the help of the most experienced. I know that many have already upgraded their machines to 6000 and 7000. I have a GPX5000 with a 12x15 mono commander and a DD 11 "commander. My nugget hunting region is the most mineralized in Brazil with large companies that remove material. What are the best coils to handle such a hot soil? I am thinking of upgrading to DETECH coils of 15 "ultimate or DETECH 18" closed DD. Am I right with these coils or wrong to deal with high mineralization? Thank you all.
    2 points
  23. Finally got a chance to hit the steamboat landing on the water today. A coincidental lower tide and great weather made an opportunity for me. It's a beautiful place, but fraught with risks from the poison ivy ground cover to the soft sand/muck in the river. There are places here that look solid but you sink immediately should you step there. Really didn't find much but didn't expect to. What I was more interested in was getting used to the gear and the conditions, I was wearing waders and using my scoop as a "stabilizer" as well. There are pilings, underwater holes, even saw an engine block out in the river. I only went a little above knee deep today. The water is clear but silts ahead of you as you walk. Water parallax makes it a bit difficult to locate where to scoop, but lifting the coil straight up after pinpointing helps. Found some pretty cool stuff, the steamboat mooring line cleat and the old blue medicine bottle were my favorite trash, the cleat was a 36. Thought I'd hit the jackpot. 😀 I worked my way over to the area I found some completely corroded Indian Heads just before I quit, I was only there about two hours. Got a 9/10, and scooped this very corroded "V" nickel, sadly not enough detail to provide a date. Identified it by size and the bust that was barely visible.Going back soon! They're planting the fields so woods and river are my only local diversions.
    2 points
  24. That's a nice one, congrats! I've dug one bust dime that was pretty toasty, and one bust half that was in decent shape. They're definitely not jumping out of the ground anywhere.
    2 points
  25. Welcome Ranger. I see you haven't posted in meet and greet yet, this may get moved there. I am in Virginia as well. You have quite a bit more time swinging a detector than I do but I'll give it a shot, as I want to help here. What Equinox do you have? An 800 has a bit more to think about (or not, preferably) than a 600. There is certainly no need to write it off just yet. One thing I have never had a problem finding is lead, from Gardiners to fishing sinkers to musket balls to the smallest piece of buckshot. Lead is highly inconsistent ID-wise, ranging from 7 to about 26. And brass? In 5 months I've found well over 100 buttons and countless shells. This is all in a farm right outside my door. I've been told it's an "easy" place. Brass will register as low as 12, I've had Tombacs come in at 3. Are you sure the place hasn't been hit hard? While there are no magic settings for the Equinox as I am sure you know from other detectors, depending on where you hunt (woods, field, or beach), the modes as default are perfectly suited to finding anything. Others here will help you tweak it later. In my area I use Field 2 for the 50 tones and run in all metal - all the time. That is it. No fancy additions other than moving iron balance to F2=0, but even that isn't particularly necessary. The dealer told me not to "overthink" the Equinox. That was sage advice. First suggestion when in the field you want to hunt is to do a factory reset (Hold power until FP appears from off), re-pair your headphones if using BT Aptx-ll, set your mode, then noise cancel, auto ground balance, and off you go. Quite frankly I have no idea how bad I jacked up the detector the last time I used it so a fresh start helps sometimes. I use my detector almost every day. There are a lot of reasons why certain things would elude you but from a reset that shouldn't happen. So glad you have access to a place like that! Be careful not to reveal too much about it. If I wasn't pretty far away I'd beg ya to invite me. 😀 Looking forward to your finds and experiences.
    2 points
  26. As I continue to spend my after-dinner strolls to the old school grounds with detector(s) in tow, and finding a 3rd War Nickel in the process - I am hoping to complete the quest at this site with the last item (IHP). Honestly, I am digging any repeatable tone at this point, but tend to get my hopes up when I see something in the high teens/low 20's (which are becoming more and more rare). Interestingly, old Texas Diamond red bricks give a solid 17-18 on the Equinox. Having committed to the dig by the time I identify the brick (usually 7"+ deep), I decided to clear the discovered bricks in hopes they are covering a more desirable target below. But alas, so far not the case. On a positive note, I am about 1/2 way to a nice brick shed for my detectors at this site haha :D.
    2 points
  27. Pins are no different on the old Minelab sovereign and Excalibur shafts (set low). I've broke a few of them over a 12 year period but never a Whites. I broke them because of me leaning on them when digging which will cause stress cracks then a eventual fail. Where is my Buddy Dew, that's his number one thing to break.
    2 points
  28. Beautiful day out on the river doing some scouting and testing of new equipment. Only got to punch one sample hole. Little too much overburden at about 4 feet. Got a little color, just need to find more easily worked ground.
    2 points
  29. I'm urging them to do it Aureous. Apparently its in the development pipeline - Edit: Bugger me! I've turned into a gold member. Do I now present myself at the White House for a gong?? :)
    2 points
  30. Just wondering if anyone has heard if X Coils are gonna make a large (18-24") spiral-wound CC for GPX detectors??? The Detech ones are both bundle-wound and the logical step would be to go for a spiral-wound one instead...
    2 points
  31. Tom, If you really miss that Vision/V3i, Centreville Electronics has a reconditioned one on their "used" website: "Vision Upgraded to V3i - Batteries, Headset, Manual, 1 Year Warr. - $800" Has the Vision sticker!! https://www.centrevilleelectronics.net/used.htm Can't say that there are ones I've regretted selling, buying is another story
    2 points
  32. For a while I regretted selling my Fisher F-75 LTD, but it was more for sentimental reasons than performance. I’m very happy with my current lineup. V3i, Nox 800, CTX-3030 and soon to add a Simplex just to have a dedicated single frequency machine to mess around with. Note that even now I won’t look back at the F-75, and I’m choosing to go with a $254 machine over it.
    2 points
  33. 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
  34. 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.
    2 points
  35. Didn’t see one. Have to take a closer look but my vision is a little blurry from the lead
    2 points
  36. Don’t be afraid to post the truth and don’t be afraid of internet bullies. I’ve said this a couple times but everybody who likes to bully people on the Internet think they’re a big person behind a keyboard. That persons would never say it to my face or yours knowing the consequences.
    2 points
  37. The X Coil Concentrics are seemingly unstoppable with their reopening of old patches in Aus 😄 https://www.facebook.com/groups/3553656301344280 Acting on Ilya's advice, I'm now expecting a 26" CC instead of a DOD. There's a considerable weight difference and the 26" will have a larger diameter centre winding than the 22". This should give much greater depth -
    2 points
  38. I did some quick calculations the other day and to my surprise, realised that I have spent over $15,000 buying your awesome metal detectors. I don’t have a problem with that because I hunt the beach and water during the summer and hit the gold fields during the winter. My issue is with the current line up of gold detectors, specifically the pulse induction units which range in price from about $6000 to $10000 dollars. I know you plough a good deal of money into R&D but I feel a lot of your loyal purchasers are being neglected. I remember the days when the SD2100v1 and SD2200v2 detectors were available at a reasonable price as well as the reintroduction of the GPX4500 ( but I suspect as a reaction to perceived competition). These units were available alongside your official top of the line detectors so that Mr Average could afford a high performance detector. What has happened to your ability to still offer affordable pulse machines and not have to remortgage the family home? Mr Minelab......or is it Mr Codan.......your business model is sure keeping your stockholders happy but it is a far cry from how things used to be. Current new PI units are out of the reach of many users who have supported your company for over 25 years. I could go out tomorrow and buy a new GPX6000 but the reason that I won’t is twofold......my old 2100 and 3500 running both small and large monos perform very well for me AND I don’t want to further encourage Minelabs perception that “if we build it (and sell it for a premium price) they will come”. I fully applaud the GPX6000 platform based upon initial feedback from owners but COME ON..........stop making it an exclusive club !
    1 point
  39. It's one of those days that I had to go to Plan B. Last minute plans for some detecting with a friend at an old ghost town fell thru. So, I decided to play catch up on some shallow water ring hunting I missed out on last year due to moving. The last several years, I've been scouting places to hunt for lost Jewelry, specifically, rings. Taking a page out of Mike Hillis' post on Inland Jewelry Hunting Tips here on detector prospector, I've been making changes. Some great info there. The last few years it has been paying off for me. Compared to previous years, my ring count is way up.Arriving onsite, the place still looked promising. Once geared up, i walked the shore and picked a place to start. Moments later, first target - a solid 16 on the EQ800 target ID. Some difficult digging in the rocks and the signal is out of the hole. And there is a men's black tungsten carbide ring with a center insert that looked like wood under epoxy. I was hoping it was going to be a good day. And it was. More hunting; some pull tabs, some square tabs, some fishing lures, a couple gold rings, a .925 silver bracelet. a couple more 'other' rings and two hours later, I was out of area I could hunt with the gear I brought. Looking in my finds pouch I see 5 rings, 2 of which are gold, a 3rd is a maybe and the last 2 are definitely NOT made of precious metal. After arriving at home, the magnet test shows the unmarked white gold looking ring responds very faintly to a super magnet. Rats. First water hunt of the year yields 2 gold rings (1 marked with a very worn 14k, the other unmarked) and 3 others, 1 Mex .925 silver bracelet, and a finds pouch with miscellaneous junk / garbage found where people meet water. While I missed out on having a go at an old ghost town, it was nice to turn up a couple of gold rings and a silver bracelet to get the shallow water year started. Rich -----------------------------------------------------
    1 point
  40. Well, we're more 4" topsoil, 1 foot clay, and the rest sand like a beach. The farms are Blue Marle, a rather nasty concrete like substance in the summer. Best to hunt in fall winter and spring here. 🤪 I'm near the Potomac and the bay.
    1 point
  41. Thanks so much for the advice. I'm sure you're in similar soil so I'll try your suggestions next time out and let you know. I have the 800. No, it's not been "hit hard" - at least not the area I'm in. I dig minie's with other machines every 3-4 feet at 6", so I know that where I'm hunting still has quite a few relics.
    1 point
  42. As I wrote in my writeup - it is a brass makeup case also known as a compact. When I opened it up all the broken glass from the mirror was sitting in case. These are typically late 19th to early 20th century design in this style.
    1 point
  43. More distinctive tones to better differentiate good targets from iron I am very interested to see how this changes the tones. Got to play with the AT Max last year in heavy iron and some of the lower tones were hard to distinguish from the iron tones. They tended to blend together. The Apex tones sound just like the AT Max to me. Doesn't seem to be enough tonal space between lower tones and iron.
    1 point
  44. They just need to use a better plastic formula. They should have used Marelon. It's pretty much unbreakable.
    1 point
  45. Bad news, S.g.diver. water is inside, so you really have to check the circuit board carefully to see any damage. One of my whites TDIBH went to the service and was change by new tdi past summer. No water inside, but unstable threshold and falsing... Suspected coil leakage. These machines turned to be rare nowadays, at least my dealer got rid of all whites products due to Whites shutdown.
    1 point
  46. 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.
    1 point
  47. Use your tone breaks on those annoying junk targets, makes them sound bad so easier to pick out the good stuff. I used to do breaks on ring pulls but gold falls at that spot so I use a degraded zincoln for one of my breaks. Other may be foil depending on the area.
    1 point
  48. 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.
    1 point
  49. 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.
    1 point
  50. Oh part 5, 6 and 7 coming up.. 😎 Btw I have a cat, his name is Harry as in Dirty Harry the attack cat. Tom would be no match for Harry. Tiftaaft hold on to your shorts I fully intend on bringing you part 5. Here is a pic of a non metal but most likely Chinese artifact from a different location. Just for fun
    1 point
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