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I purchased the 12 inch Nuggetfinder Z coil from Rob last week. I took the stock coil off and held the stock and Z coil in my arms held straight out. What a significant weight reduction on the new coil. I had a couple of hours free last Sunday. So I went up to a beaten patch of mine that I've found 100s of small nuggets in and a few bigger pieces. I found this nugget in 2 hours of looking. Not sure how I missed this with the stock coil, but I did. I had to have been over that spot dozens of times. Never heard anything there. But 1st pass with the Z coil it gave me a down low with a slight warble. About 10 inches down it popped out. I also have to say pinpointing is so much easier with this new coil. Reminded me of pinpointing with the NF coils on the gpx 5000. The weight difference and pinpointing are a major plus in my book. The 8.2 Pennywight darn near payed off the coil in 2 hours of detecting. I'll be getting out this weekend for a full day of detecting and can give more information on new coil.

8 grammer found at 11 inches. Nothing special as most detectors PIs should see something that big at that depth, but at least we get to see a big one finally found on film.

Hey AfreakofNature - Well, when it comes to video's, someone will always have their criticism. I couldn't tell you the number of "negative" comments I got over the years on my Youtube videos where I was hammering and chiseling nuggets from ancient caliche gravels and someone would say I planted the nugget there! LOL I guess the bottom line, congrats on new GPX 6000 owners that gotten over gold nuggets already. Hundreds, if not thousands of us here in the good ole' USA are still waiting ..... Yawn! I have a buddy in Africa right now giving me weekly reports. Him and his family have a large placer operation with 30 locals working for them. Most of the locals do all the hard labor and some detecting. He said most of the gold is smaller, up to 3-4 Grams, so the GPX 6000 is doing really well. He didn't discuss how much gold, nor did I ask. However, he mentioned most of the ground has been hunted hard with VLF's (lots of Goldbug's), plenty of Counterfeit Minelab's, and some genuine Minelab GPX 4500's & 5000's. They are finding gold that was missed. Rob

Congratulations Jeff, and thank you Gerry for doing this. I always liked you, and this is just another example why.

Good tests doing it that way. Much more accurate. Make sure you have your buckets protected If you have kids running around or coming over. They will play with the buckets and put all kinds of stuff in them and take dirt out of them. I had the same kind of bucket filled with sand in the house last winter and my nieces kids mixed ashes in it from my pellet stove and messed it all up and I couldn't use it. Plus they put sand all over the floor. If kids see a bucket of dirt they are going to play in it lol.

Went out detecting this morning before the FL weather fried my brain. I was out for about 1 hour, so that explains the heat. I went to a local baseball field and was getting deeper Memorial pennies in the shade. I got a scratchy signal mixed with enough high tones (50 tones) to investigate. It turned out to be my second-ever Barber dime! Thought I would share this mundane find (for most of the seasoned detectorists) because sometimes in summer there are not a ton of posts. Equinox 800, 15", Park 1, 7 recovery, 22 sensitivity

Hey Colonel Dan, Just a little update! I'm in the process of collecting my square cat litter buckets from my neighbor (still need more) to create my portable test garden for home! I think I will line the inside of the bucket where the slots are, with bicycle inner tube, or a piece of shower liner to minimize sand loss! The rubber with a single slit behind the bucket hole should suffice to accomplish this nicely! I also will use my large bar magnet to clean the different soil buckets that will be iron free! But will have a few intentionally littered with iron bits to simulate a few beaches I occasionally hit that have iron groins shedding every hundred yards or so! I also want to have one with those melted aluminum bits I also run into! If anyone wants to send me some dirt littered with gold nuggets, I won't say no!🤣 If you have any more suggestions you want to share, post away! I really appreciate the idea for the buckets! 👍👍

Aye ML no doubt can be taught little about detector manufacturing but they could take a leaf out of the aftermarket coil manufacturers book and produce even better detectors or let the aftermarket fellows do what they do best. Contentious issue I know but it is for us users benefit and users/purchasers are what tis about.

What frequency and coil were you using? Flat round iron tends to wrap around easily to the high 90’s on ORX and Deus and since the detector is being “fooled” in those circumstances, you will likely not get an iron probability reading unless the ID also bounces into the ferrous range. Deus has additional settings (silencer) and setups (TID free to vary with frequency, pitch audio) that help better ID iron that is wrapping around and falsing high. ORX lacks these features. As mentioned previously by Jeff McClendon, you can interrogate the target in Gold mode with a high iron audio reject setting to see if the audio breaks up in gold mode. Usually you just have to take your medicine on round flat iron and dig it to be 100% sure.

First of all, the "blindness to iron" objects which I know happens based on yours and Jeff's experience is not something I have knowingly encountered on a broad scale. Therefore, I conclude it would have to be a very narrow subset of iron targets and the concern regarding masking, as I have stated previously, would not be something I would lose sleep over or that would make me personally hesitant to use the Orx in relic hunting situaitons. But I do get that when you don't have full confidence in a machine and have a perfectly suitable alternative (e.g., your Kruzer) it makes sense to pull that one out for the specific job at hand. The Orx/Deus is not a machine that every one who uses one necessarily clicks with because of its quirky audio and other unusual features. As Jeff said, the additional adjustability of the Deus discrimination setting to "less than zero" can help reveal the target in the "disc" modes and that may be the missing link here. One mode I like to run on the Deus is Full Tones/No Disc (-6.4) and you can believe not much in the ground is "invisible" in that setup but Gold mode/Gold Field really makes the ground "invisible" to me. I would encourage you to see how your target responds to other parameter variations (frequency and reactivity) in both the disc and gold modes but other than that, you have what you have and should use the tool that you have most confidence in for any particular situation. Another area where the Deus shines is in the ability to rapidly change the program mode by simply hitting the +/- buttons. Another UI feature that was not included in the Orx. That makes interrogating targets with different parameters (frequency and reactivity) within the same mode or even different modes (Gold, Deep, Fast) very easy and quick to accomplish. You also previously mentioned that you were concerned about the lack of target ID in gold modes even though you got an audible target sound from your silent ferrous targets. Well, to me, that is just another "tell" tool. I often switch it up an search in Gold Mode and then if I hit something iffy (get no target ID), switch into a disc mode to further interrogate it. But again, that is an approach that is really helped by the Deus user interface vs. having to cycle through modes with the # button on Orx. As I said, the Orx simplicity does come with some notable compromises/limitations which can result in different behaviors at the very fringes of operation as well as providing more desirable audio options and that is the reason why I reach for the Deus and have Orx as a backup should I ever need it in situations where my Deus would be the detector of choice but unavailable. for some reason. Not to my knowledge. They came with ver 0.1 firmware. XP issued the 0.1.1 variant presumably because of a handshaking problem with a specific batch of headphones but that firmware did not touch the signal processing aspects of the Orx which are contained on the coils (the remote does no real processing, just acts as a conduit for the user interface, visual ID, and wireless audio and "programs" the coil via the program settings options). Yes. And I will do that as well with my iffy iron targets. And, no, you don't have to walk on eggshells here. No one is going to have stroke based on what you are saying. When experienced XP users engage you, be sure to remember that our frame of reference is that we have been swinging the detector for years. We have probably just committed some of these quirks to "muscle memory" in our detecting routine and don't consciously think about it as being as impactful as it might seem to someone new coming over from another machine. We have seen it repeatedly when new XP users first get this mosquito noise generator in their hand, it is more often than not, off putting if you are used to bing-bong target audio or fluty tones. Some swear it has no depth. It really is not a machine experienced detectorists usually say is amazing right out of the box. But invariably, most of the folks I know grow into it and eventually get more confident with it as they swing it more. So if you feel like you can get over this specific issue and simply stick with it, you might be pleasantly surprised even as a relic machine. I remember when I first got the Equinox, I had to make a deal with myself, that I was not going to pull my trusty Deus out for 6-mos until I either embraced the Equinox or wrapped it around a tree. The first several weeks with Equinox were not inspiring a lot of confidence in me. Now I love both of those detectors for what they are and use them both in different detecting situations. GL HH and HTH

I have already given you the answer to your original question which you have repeated multiple times. I gave it to you in my first post. There is nothing unusual or wrong with your ORX. Your very rusted tin target just like some of the very rusted tin targets I have come across and kept, will not give an audible tone response in default Coin and Fast on the ORX or in any of the default version 5.21 Deus discrimination modes except for the Hot program which has iron discrimination set at -6.4. Yes the Deus adjustable discrimination scale for its discrimination modes is -6.4 to 99. ORX is 0 to 99. My thin rusted tin targets start audibly responding at -4.5 and give full audible response at -6. This happens with any XP coil at any frequency, reactivity setting etc. Now, whether this limitation that ORX has in its adjustable discrimination scale will cause masking in real life situations..........I don't know. If I came across a target that nulled out the background chatter and indicated a pretty big target which was probably some form of iron, I would probably dig it out no matter what so it wouldn't cause masking. I just use the nulling as another indication of an iron target. Jeff

As I said stock coin modes the point where ground mineralization overlaps minimal iron targets is the issue. This may explain why bottle caps though they sound bad do not have any iron audio off edge of the coil. Wondering if the whole scale is mapped higher because on the Gold Racer 56khz a aluminum can would be in the 86-86 and similar frequency on the 9"hf is about 10 points higher in many cases. Last question did XP have variations in batches on the machines, maybe some have a different firmware? Chase do you have the x-35 coil too? If so might be worth testing that target against both coils.

Kac is describing one type of possible iron issue where there seems to be no audio response over iron targets. I would like to know exactly what mode and settings are being used in those instances. Bushranger is describing something very different. The following video might help. Its worth a watch just for Gary's dog's detecting skills.

My only "kid" left in the house is about 6 ft. 4 in. and 300 +!! He could mess with them; or me, but I think we will be ok!! Unless you tell him there's food in there, than all bets are off!!🤣👍👍

Norvic, I agree, Minelab could, if they really wanted to, hurt or really eliminate the aftermarket coil business, but they again why? I think the aftermarket companies have probably increased Minelab sales over the last 20 years, allowing the customers to even have more options over other manufactures. The one advantage to date is there are so many items such as coils, headphones, boosters, battery system, headphones, covers, heavy duty skid plates and more available for the Minelab metal detectors and very little for other manufactures. Just my thoughts, Rob

Hello fellow detectorists, To anyone thying to decide what metal detector brand to choose in my opinion MINELAB is great , just wanted to let you know about Minelab service and people who work for them in USA. I have a ctx3030, In January 2021, when my warranty was about to expire, my ctx control box got wet I sent it to minelab service . I talked to a lady named Molly, she was great. I was then instructed to sent the detector to service to a man named John DeAmeritt ( great guy ). He tested and replaced the LED screen and sent the machine back , again the machine did not work properly so i sent it back. After much testing John could not find the reason for the problem so they put a whole new control box on it in May. The unit cost $1200 - 1300 for part and stilled covered cost Thank you MInelab

No judgement here! I actually think that this is a good catch on your part, no matter how or why it's doing this! May help others down the road! That being said, being a new detector, I would hope the response you get from the manufacturer either solves the issue, or they replace, or repair your unit! Good information, regardless! And I'm out of likes for now! I'll hit you, Jeff, and a few others back, when I get a refill! I'm always running a deficit, when trying to catch up on the forum! So much to like!😁👍👍

My bigger concern with the 9" HF is the blindness to iron objects, last night in local park I was watch the phase meter and sure enough dug it to find a chunk of iron. No audio no iron grunt, just a jump on the phase meter. Concerned me enough to think that the line where ground mineralization and what is a physical object is off on the machine and believe it should be updated. I assume this quirk (won't say bug or flaw or peoples blood pressure will sore through the roof and don't want anyone to have a stroke over it) was enoug for me to email XP to see what they say. Oddly the Americas site doesn't have any email support so time will tell. And this blindness is in coin modes of any frequency. Gold modes you will hear a target but no id's so hunting in gold mode in some the areas is not a productive option for me. I tend to hunt in a disc mode first to scout out an area and if I get iffy targets will switch to an all metal mode to further investigate. Something I always have done with my Tejon and have adapted to on my other machines.

This is a timely thread as I was out for the first time with my newly purchased ORX today and struggled with any consisted ID of iron items. So much so I was wondering if I have received a faulty ORX! As an example one target gave a solid 97 in both coin fast and coin deep. Even with a 7-10inch plug gone and item still deeper with coil in the hole ..solid 97 and zero bars re probability of iron. Digging slightly deeper the mystery object was a large flat piece of iron plating. Even out of the ground the ORX is giving the plate a solid 97 and showing zero likelihood of iron. Is this normal, is there something I have missed or should I be concerned? Any help would be much appreaciated.

But this depth is more impressive on a 1/4 grammer.

Had an invite to detect near Culpeper VA yesterday in the red dirt. The tarsacci found this awesome Eagle button. Have a couple hunts coming up near Culpeper in the next few months, I feel comfortable swinging the detector in the difficult soil. Will also be doing water hunts this summer.

June is looking good already. Size 5, 1.8g, 18K & PLAT, 2 diamond and 1 Sapphire ring. Working the wet into the surf. Equinox 800, Beach 1, sensitivity 23, AM. Also got two small silver bands but they are not as photogenic as this little pretty thing. Oh, I found my name again. CUNIAGAU

Here's an inside pic. Actually turned out better than I expected. It's easier to read now than with my bare old eyeballs!

Enjoyed the video! Very informative! Thanks Jeff! It's funny, even though I've never used an Orx or Deus, I see many commonalities with other detectors, when it comes to investigating a target! I believe it's a lot like splitting hairs these days, with most modern detectors! Everyone has their favorite to use, but most all of us have more than one we still use, or keep around for various reasons! There's alot of overlap amongst them, but it funny how we always feel in-tune with a particular unit, over the others! Nothing wrong with that; and no reason that should ever change! "Different strokes for different folks" as long as we don't loose perspective that they are only tools, and we are the brains of the operation! Nothing "yet" can replace that!👍👍

And if that doesn't reveal anything, Ken might just have to send me that flat tin top after all so I can see if I can replicate the issue.

I had an ORX for over a year. I really liked it for relic hunting and for gold prospecting. For coin and jewelry in thick aluminum trash, it would not be on my top five list. I mostly used it in the Gold modes for prospecting and when hunting for deep relics with just a little discrimination using Iron Amplitude Rejection of 1 or 2 to break up the audio on shallow iron targets. Disc IAR did not have much or any effect on deep iron. In the Coin Fast and Coin Deep modes I did not pay much attention to the target ID numbers or the iron probability meter which from my experience were only somewhat accurate on shallower targets. The Deus is a little better but those two visual aids are not what these detectors are all about. The audio on the ORX and especially the Deus can tell you all you need to know. When you are over any type of iron/steel target and you are using some form of iron discrimination, you will hear the target’s audio splutter, stutter, crackle, break up, sometimes high tone, sometimes iron tone depending on swing speed, swing direction and what part of the coil-center spine or outer edge is detecting the target. All of these things are telling you there is an iron based target under your coil somewhere, no matter what the iron probability bar on the ORX or the horseshoe graph on the Deus and the target IDs are telling you..... If it isn’t a ferrous target, the audio is generally crystal clear and consistent on two way swings for shallow to medium depth targets. The audio will be very quiet and high tone on most deeper non-ferrous targets and the numbers if there are any will be in the 90s which is why I usually hunt in two or three tones for deep relics and for gold prospecting since the numbers really don’t mean much on deep and really small, shallow targets.

You should try a tip that Chase showed me. Swing the detector a foot or more above the target when you get a signal like that. Every time I have tried to dig one of those strong signals (another detector) it always turns out to be a huge piece of iron or steel. I ignore them for the most part now, especially since I don't find anything at the depth indicated.

Improvement on previous GPXs, and with good slow coil control, allowing the 6000s GB to work goes close to illiminating in my ground. Operator coil control is still paramount, and I suspect always will be.

Rob’s video shows it like it really is, it can be hard work but it also it can be fun. And you don’t need to bring your own drywasher to do it. Announce your plans when you are visiting the west I am sure that more than one of us would gladly use an extra shovel bum to schlep buckets full of dirt over to our drywashers! 😁 Seriously though, if ever visiting in So Cal, I’d meetup with someone from DP to go for a day as a guest to one of the club claims I belong to or to an open BLM area. Drywashing and detecting can be pretty fun and there’s always at least a bit of color to be found.

On ya Jeff and thank you Gerry for being a few pennyweights short of an ounce, nah only avin a go.😉

Conditions were pretty weak all this month, went out on several negative wet sand low tide hunts at a few spots. Started out the month with a small piece of 10k that looked like it was part of a gold nugget ring and also some grey crusted silver from an area that had a cut and some erosion.. Next peace of gold was the 10k nugget ear ring and a small silver peace ring found waaaay out in the negative low tide wet sand plateau, no doubt fresh drops, targets were few and far between at that beach. Next gold item was a tarnished 10k ring that looked like it had a pearl at one point since there is a post sticking out in the middle of the setting, also found some more dark crusty silver on that hunt from an area that had heavy black sand and steep wet sand slopes. The final hunt towards the end of May was a bit on the weak side, not many targets despite the high/low negative tides caused by the mega full moon. Pulled out a small 10k crucifix and was sure that was gonna be the last gold for the month, but as I was zig-zagging the wet sand on my way out I hit a screamer of a signal at the upper slope area, one scoop down, dump the sand and saw the outline of a ring, thought is was just silver at first sight but then I picked it up and noticed the weight, then noticed the hallmark.....Booyah! 18k/Plat Fred Goldman combo band! I was stoked! Called it quits and went home. Gold total for the month: 10k- 4.1 grams 18k/Plat - 11.5 grams Thanks for looking and GL out there!

Believe me, it is great for relic hunting in hot dirt and junk iron. See some examples of my ORX finds below. I prefer the pitch audio and full tones audio of the Deus, though, so the ORX serves more as a backup. Even though I prefer the ground grab implementation and the way target/ground condition/settings are displayed on the ORX. I don’t think there is a bug in the way ORX “sees” ground phase and mineralization but I will note that for auto ground balance tracking on Deus, the Deus has an advanced setting for ground sensitivity which sets the responsiveness for GB tracking to preclude overcompensation due to the detector tracking algorithm responding to ferrous targets (the tracking feature is absent on ORX but the ORX ground grab feature pretty much obviates the need for it, you hear ground noise, punch the ground grab button and make it go away).

Just so you all know, I ran out of Likes today so please don’t be offended. First and foremost. I cannot say in words...because I don't think there are enough and or I don't know the proper way to say it. But as a Marine and one who signed up knowing the ultimate sacrifice could be... and then hearing the news of a few USMC brothers who never came home, my heart goes out to those families and loved ones. Memorial Day is a proud day for many, yet heart-wrenching somber for others as each of us treat it differently. There's not... it's easy as black or white, right or wrong in my mind as some of us have never taken the knock on the door that tears our heart out. But yes, so many have had to go through that pain and agony. Memorial Day means so much to so many and in a variety of ways. All I can do is thank each of you who did post pics, stories and tributes to your loved ones and those who gave their all. I salute you. Now onto our freedoms of this fine forum, the ability for members to go out and make new memories with family/friends or be solitude how you desire. We had a pretty good turn out for this contest and there were a few 1st timers making comments, posting pics and having fun. It’s good to get new faces/names on DP and active with what we all enjoy (detecting and gold). Yes I realize we have some highly successful Swingers and I thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise for all of us to learn. Also, I see some young blood newer names who joined in the fun and I hope each of you continue to ask questions and share your experiences as you progress and get better. It’s the asking, sharing, bouncing off ideas/knowledge that eventually helps us all become better with our detectors. You must realize, even guys like Steve H and I who have been chasing nuggets with detectors for 25 yrs and a few members even longer (especially you Aussie mates), but the reality is….we were all greenhorns at one time and dumb as a rock. Eventually down the road, we’ll be old and not so nimble, so we’ll be looking for you newer gold chasers to help keep our fire and dreams/desire going. The tally – My count showed approx. 60 names went into the drawing for the Dream. The winner of the Dream GPX-6000? Everyone who entered, posted, commented and yes even you Northeast & Norvic. I thank you all. The winner of the new Minelab Gold Monster 1000 is…… Jeff McClendon. Jeff, please call Gerry’s Detectors so I may get this Monster sent out to you. Again, thanks everyone for posting pics, sharing memories, family stories & contributions to those who gave the ultimate. Hopefully down the road I’ll be able to meet some of you out in the gold fields and we can make some memories and dig a few nuggies. Then we can share pics, stories and knowledge for others to glean. Happy Hunting all. Thanks, Gerry Gerry's Detectors 208-345-8898 www.gerrysdetectors.com Gold Detector Field Training Genuine Metal Detecting Experts

Darnit I shoulda read this one! Posted this photo over Memorial Day weekend, too. I'm a Veteran. The RV park was full of Vets and active service. Thought it was only for those going for the gold... I'm an idjut. 🤪 Good on ya Gerry, and congratulations to Jeff. I certainly won't miss it if onea you fine vendors does it again. 🧐

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Nothing mundane about that find. Excellent! Showed what 50 tones can do with the right person. 👍

Not for nothing but sometimes not integrating the pinpointer has it's advantage as you don't need to turn it off to activate your coil to recheck a target location. The advantage to integrating the pinpointer is that it does turn off the coil which guarantees there is no interferance or conflicts between pointer and machine.

I saw the 95%!! And bookmarked the website for reference! Thanks!! I'm outta likes for now, so👍👍

Thanks Joe, the Numista rareness rating is a 95, 100 being the rarest. It was tough getting enough corrosion off of it to identify it. "Poor Pierce" indeed 😀 I wonder how many of them were used as slugs in soda machines... It's the same size as a quarter.

Looks like granite to me too. Photo isn't clear enough.

The Apex sounds like a good detector. I'll probably get one when it's waterproof.

granite

Thanks for the contest Gerry ! I try to live for my friends that didn't come back and help those that did , a broken shell of what they were before going.......... Congrats Jeff ! May your luck continue on the hunt.

Gerry, Thank you for running the contest and I also want to say THANK YOU to all that have served and continue to serve.

Memorial Day, Dad was Army Air Corp 40-45, Mom was in the first group of WAVE's 41-45. I made 6 years Army National Guard 65-71. Brother Tony, #2, finished med school and went to Germany (Army) to take care of the wounded flown in from 'Nam. Brother #3, Jim, USMC 66-70, was in the last convoy out of Khe San. He made three+ tours. My old mining partners were marines. My life has always seemed to revolve around those that served. The old flag is the "new" 50-star my Mom bought to celebrate the '61 Kansas centennial. The booney hat was my brother Jim's. I can't find the 'Eagle, Ball, The Anchor' emblem. There's lotsa emotion and pride on Memorial Day. Too many stories to tell. No gold today Gerry, just golden memories. Semper Fi to my friends, and God Bless our troops.

There is Gold and then there is GOLD! Thanks Gerry for giving me an excuse to put him in a picture. Mitchel

10 minutes after I started detecting today I found an 1827 Large cent. My oldest Large cent up to this point was an 1847 and this 1827 is in way better condition than that one.

I recently went out to a very trashy local park to test out the new Colitek 10x5" coil with my Equinox. This park has been heavily detected and has high mineralization mixed with tons of ferrous and non ferrous trash. I had also covered it pretty thoroughly with the 11" & 15" coils since last year and figured it was pretty hunted out. The new coil proved me wrong and provided many unexpected targets. It also went deep. In my area we can't dig plugs so anything over 8" is out of reach and I left many deep signals behind, but what I found in reach really surprised me, including my second 14K White Gold ring! I guess nowhere is ever truly hunted out. 🙂

I dug a unique silver ring on the beach yesterday with the Equinox. I was expecting a quarter and got the ring instead. Doing some research, I determined that it is a Sound Wave ring. More research determined that it was a Spotify Sound Wave ring. If you have the Spotify app on your phone you can go to Search and then go to Scan and scan the ring. The app will open up a playlist of some 10 hours of "Alina and Parker's" favorite songs. And that is just another reason why I love this hobby so much. You learn something every day!!!

I have an Avantree clip on blue tooth adapter it’s low latency that I use with my Tony Eisenhower waterproof headphones also some waterproof earbuds, just put it pocket so it stays dry, works well.