Leaderboard

I will answer some of everyone's thoughts/questions here. Yes the gravy is gone and actually has been gone for 20 yrs, but each new model did open up another layer/size of gold success. That continues today with the GPX-6000. Part of the reason any good quality VLF nugget detector can still find a few bits at RP, is the smaller coils. To me, a small coil and proper coil control is a must for Rye Patch and most other well known hunted out sites. Can I found 10 to 15 pickers a day out there with the likes of a Garrett 24K, Fisher GB-2, GM-1000 or EQ-800> Yes as long as I am using the smallest coil possible. No use trying to compete with the depth and power of a Pulse Induction at RP by trying to put a larger coil on a VLF. Any dealer who says a larger coil will give the same depth is foolish and uneducated. Yes on a rare occasion in non mineralized soils a larger coil on a VLF has an advantage, but not at RP. Yes we had many people find their 1st nugget ever. I even had folks who show up with a detector still in box. That's not how I prefer them to be, but at least they have no bad habits. Speaking of that. Experienced coin hunters are the hardest to train. They have to many bad habits from the yrs of success finding round coin size targets. Why do so many of my customers do better than most? I feel it's the style of Training my Field Staff Experts and I provide. 1st off, we have a vast knowledge and experience level of finding many different types of gold in their environments of holding places from many states and a few countries, with a variety of detectors. We teach things most dealers don't know and or haven't experienced. 2nd, it's a 3 day camping event with like minded people who enjoy the outdoors. The amount of time my different staff spend and explain things to each customer giving them added opportunity to remember more of what we teach/share/show, repetition repetition repetition. 3rd is location. We always train at the same area as we know how much gold has come from there. No spots at Rye Patch have ever had a coil void. I can assure you ever square foot as had at least 5 different detectors and 3 sizes of coils over each foot so many times it's silly. Not all of Rye Patch is gold ground. There are acres of dead land and we can't find a piece to save our lives. I know the old patches and the dead quiet ground. Keeping my customers in the better dirt is most important. Is RP hunted out? Yes, Yes Yes... Is there a few nuggets left? Most certainly and I can find them if I want to impress someone. Would I recommend a beginner to go to RP on their own? Heck, even if you are halfway ok with a detector, I would not suggest it. Why then do I train there? Because I know of you find a nugget at RP, you are certainly doing things right. I also know the average Joe on their own will go home with ZERO nuggets over a weekend. This is real life nugget detecting for many so if you can enjoy your ZERO nugget weekend and still have fun, then you might be the right kind of person for nugget hunting as it's one of the most patient styles of detecting I'm aware of. Just like Steve H mentioned. He/I and many others are spoiled from hunting/finding bigger gold and so to work our butts off for a couple grams is hard to be happy much more. Old coin/relic and jewelry hunting is actually easier and more productive. But we also like to still go back to RP and sharpen our skill on a new model, new coil or etc. Me personally, I feel area out Sawtooth, Rabbit Hole Barrel Springs, Blue Mountain, Seven Troughs have better potential and I know for a fact they have not been detected as much. I was recently asked if I plant the nuggets for customers. Heck, I've had dealers say that for years. Bottom line is those lazy asses don't know shit about Rye Patch. Ask any of the customers who are lucky to find 1 2 or 4 nuggets during the 3 days. I'm most certain, they'll laugh in your face as they know how many hours of swinging and how hard they worked to find those few little pickers. Is Rye Patch still worth going to? If you want a challenge and are a top hunter, then you'll find a few. For most, as mentioned before and go see Danny at Gold Diggers Saloon. I know his land has been the least hunted and feel has the best chance of success. Yes it might cost you $20 a day, but I know how hard the other areas have been pounded. Having the newest technology GPX-6000 will certainly up your chances. Does anyone remember Chuck from Texas? He made a killing out there in the 90's. On a side note. Don't get gas at the Rye Patch station on south side of Interstate at dam exit as it was over $6 a gallon for gas. Either fill up in Lovelock or Winnemucca. On side side note. The pic is the biggest non solid nugget (specimen) I have witnessed being found at Rye Patch proper. Scott found this rare piece close to the burn barrel with a GP-3500

If a CTX 4040 came out and for some reason I didn't have the money to buy it I'd sell a kidney to get it as the CTX is the best deep old silver machine I've ever laid my hands on and it feels like I could go out blind folded and pull up a silver. I think if it does come out it's going to be similar pricing to the existing CTX which maybe out of reach for a fair few buyers, I think that's partly why the Nox took off so well, it was more affordable. The CTX being pretty expensive seems like it struggled to get the popularity of the Nox even when it was the hottest new thing in town. The Deus 2 faces the same thing, the Nokta Legend is stealing a lot of the Deus 2 sales because it's priced better, a lot of people who bought it are outright saying that's why they bought the Legend over the Nox and Deus 2 and with the world economies how they are price is likely to dictate a lot more buying decisions over the next year or however long. If a Nox 1000 came out (it needs to now they'll losing their dominance) then it will likely be affordable enough based off the existing Nox prices that it will sell like mad even with bad economies. Hopefully they improve build quality while keeping the price right, they'll save money in the long run with warranties anyway. I doubt the GPX 6000's sold well at all compared to when the 7000 came out and the sales it got are certainly not their forecast sales levels. It came out at a bad time and had a rough release. I wonder if more people are giving up prospecting than are taking it up too, bound to happen at some point as the gold gets even harder to find. There was a flurry of older model GPX's being imported into NZ prior to the 6000 release from Africa with people using them as trade in's for the 6000, I bought one of them but they've completely dried up, they stopped shortly after the 6000 release, I might be reading into that too much but perhaps the Africans didn't find it as good as they were expecting or they just didn't have the financial means to justify paying the price it sells for over what they could get a GPX 5000 for so the people offloading their 5000's ground to a halt. I'm glad I got one of the African imports when I did as I really like the GPX 5000 and the fact it's got discrimination for deep coin hunting and on beaches and the crazy good figure 8 anti interference coils and it handles the bad hot rock areas better than the other high end machines. The Nox was at the end of it's good sales cycle anyway as most who wanted one already had one by now so they're due for another release and the longer they take the more sales they'll lose to the Legend and Deus 2 and people who just bought a new detector are less likely to jump on another one. They either release it soon or wait a year or two and just have low sales figures from the Nox in the mean time.

Gerry, Maybe you and a couple of the other Rye Patch 'old timers' can give some weight to your words. I've made about 20 trips there over the years beginning in 2011 and I'd say I'd be around an ounce or so total gold weight. I remember calling you once about 10 years ago to get some pointers and you gave a few. It took me another 10 years before I took one of your classes. Some of your instructors have found pounds (12 troy oz to a pound) of gold there. They told me and I know others that have found pounds over the years in the 'greater Rye Patch' area. I think Rye Patch proper and the Rye Patch 'placers' could be limited to about 4-5 sections of land. You could probably find a stray nugget or two on lands 3-4 times that size. There were some patches based upon elevation. Some were based upon the ancient lake that was once there. Some had the chevron nuggets and some were associated with dykes. Many were pushed over the years and dry washed and/or detected. I'm not an expert on it but I really like the wide open space of it and I've had more lean days than rich ones but they are all good in my book. Mitchel

Been 106 degrees or so where I live but I think I'll try and get out early to see what I can find before my upcoming knee surgery next Tuesday. I know if I don't, then I'm going to beat myself up thinking "now I have to wait and wait before I can go back out". This is an area I have found 2 nuggets, the largest 34+grams. I have 2 people with 6000's who want to go out when temps are cooler who will split the 'finds' with me and also let me try their 6000. In reality My EQ800 is more suited for the area as there is a LOT of small wire, tacks, hot rocks etc. BUT the 6000 detects WAY deeper, so what to do? I think I would maybe regret buying a 6000 as where I detect is so full of hot rocks and trash. In the past I had a 5000 and as I have said on DP, I really really regretted ever buying that machine! I sold it and the guy I sold it to sold it and bought a 6000. The only way to justify the expense in my mind is to travel to areas like Nevada and Arizona.....still thinking this strategy over. Will post pics of all the trash I find as well as hopefully some gold. Here is a pick of my latest find this year with EQ800.

I think there is definitely a "core" of detectors ... who have been waiting for years for the new Minelab, which will carry the qualities of ETRAC and CTX .... and which will be separation and depth capabilities and target identification and Ergonomics .. over Equinox 800 ... . ...but the performance of the detector will be the most important factor...👍 Another important factor here may be the price and availability of additional coils, and accessories .. - it may also decide to buy a new detector from Minelab .. ... I estimate the price of this detector at the level of 1500-1600 dollars ,,, quite similar to ETRAC and also a Deus II ... this is a price that can pay a sufficient number of advanced detectors, or even novices who are financially all right, ....finally detecting hobby is not the most expensive hobby in the world ...many of us can agree on that...

It is a relatively cheap hobby. What if sales were better as people looked for more economical hobbies than others they might have? Also, I’m probably wrong but, detectors come in all price points. Flagship detector buyer might not be as affected by the economy but lose a few sales due to some not being able to stretch their budget up there. Hard to say where the bulk of the sales go or the demographics. Someone who has sold detectors through ups and downs may be able to shed some light on that.

April 15 1937 Last night we had a visit by four hooligans. It seems they had liquored themselves up with false courage at the tavern and came out to the mine for a visit just before dark. Sarge and Ben had stopped them before they made it all the way into camp and the crew went down to see what was going on. They were running their mouths and talking about how they were ruff and ready guys and thought they would be a good fit as a part of our crew. They said they could handle themselves in a fight and were hard workers to boot. John was getting a laugh out of all this and asked them who the toughest one in the bunch was. They immediately pointed to the biggest one who was probably in his late twenties. He said he would take on any one of us in a brawl and prove he could handle himself. John surprised me and took him up on it. I knew that John didn’t mind a good fight if he had the reason to do so so maybe he just felt like he had been challenged. John asked the hooligan if he was up for a game. He said they would stand toe to toe. They would flip a coin. The winner would get the first punch and then the other man would return it. This would continue until someone gave up or was knocked out. The hooligan was all for it. I flipped the coin and the hooligan won the toss. The entire crew and the other three hooligans formed a circle around the combatants. They squared up and I saw John brace himself. The hooligan delivered the best punch he could throw from the close quarters. It caught John square on the jaw and his head snapped to the side. He looked at the guy and smiled. Now it was his turn. John is about as ruff and tuff as they come and he let his right fist sail into the hooligan's jaw. The guy’s knees started to buckle but to his credit he stayed on his feet. He was a little unsteady as he threw another haymaker that found its mark. John just shook it off again with the same smile. Now John let his hip turn as he threw a cross from his shoulder. I saw the hooligan's lip split open and he spit out a tooth. He was still on his feet but more shaky now. He let a good right hand fly once again and John’s head snapped back and he started spitting blood. He was still smiling. John kind of gave a grunt as he let his right hand fly once more. It was a crushing blow to the nose of the hooligan. There was blood everywhere and the guy sank down on one knee. He got up and gathered himself. John braced himself for the next punch which connected but it was a weaker punch and only grazed John's face. John asked him if he wanted to quit. The guy shook his head no. John let one fly and there was a sickening crunch and more teeth were spit out but the guy stayed on his feet. He was tough. He let John have another punch but this one was weaker still. John delivered his next punch into the gut and the guy doubled over and went down on his face. All the fight was gone out of him now. His friends picked him up and they left camp telling John they couldn’t believe what he had done to their friend. They said he’d never been beaten in a fight. They said they were going to tell everyone in town that the rumors about us were true, that we were not to be messed with. The next day we worked the kettle. John’s face was badly bruised and he couldn’t eat solid food because his teeth were sore and one was loose. We did a good day’s work and ended up with one ounce of gold. John was eating oatmeal for supper. TO BE CONTINUED ..................

Don't know this guy (think i met him at a detecting rally). This clip seems to go nowhere then wham, big nugget. Way to go Chuck. Edit, seem he changed clips will ad it if found. It's about a four ounce nugget that he got soon after they started swinging.

I'm puzzled by your dislike of the 5000 and I recall it's because you were worried it missed certain types of porous gold and while you will possibly find the 6000 easier to use as some people do and it will hit on some gold the 5000 misses I think you should really take up peoples offer to let you try before you buy, I wish I did. Your area sounds a nightmare with a 6000 and perhaps your Nox is the best tool for the job. If you're planning on going prospecting all over the place then a 6000 might be worthwhile, but your 5000 would have been too and you offloaded it. Yes the 5000 will miss some gold for various reasons, so will the Equinox obviously with depth limitations, and so will the 6000. No detector is perfect and your expectations are possibly too high. You've got an offer to try before you buy, take that offer.

Good point. But how long can you wait? What if a competitor releases a machine cheaper than your machine and gets what little market share there is left. Release too early and there are fewer buyers due to the economy, release too late and someone else has already teased out sales with a lower price tag. A hard game to play for sure. Stockholders always want sales, but they also want you to get the maximum for each machine. Sometimes its a no win situation. I would love to know how many GPX 6000's were sold per country. I have to think it was not that many. Minelab made its mark with great sales on the Equinox, but Deus answered back, although I think a bit to late. Will Minelab counter with a great high end beach machine or will it be a true relic machine?? No one knows 😄

You all did well, thanks for posting Gerry. Got to admit to myself however that the last 7 years of GPZ activity have put a serious hurt on the Northern Nevada goldfields. The 6000 is cleaning up leftovers, but it's nothing like the gold rush feeling I got hitting patches first time with the GPZ 7000. It's like it has cleaned up 85% plus of what was left by previous machines, and we are now chasing the last 15% or less, and it's generally the smaller stuff. Hate to say it, but getting a little too lean for this spoiled old timer. Coin and jewelry hunting is looking better all the time.

Just getting caught up and returning from Rye Patch NV and the 3 Days Field Training class my Staff/I offered. Even though I stress to folks that finding gold is not the most important part of the class. The 3 days with my Field Staff/I is really all about knowledge and how much of it you can retain. But the feeling of a rattler in the bottle makes for a better ride home. With the drier soil conditions and the majority of customers using the newest technology detectors, we were able to have a very high gold nugget count. In fact, this is one of the most Successful 3 days trips I have held in the last 5 or 6 yrs. Approx 40 nuggets were recovered by the group as a whole. Yes we had and always do have a few who did not go home with a nugget. As I feel, that’s really not as important as going home with detector knowledge. Part of the training is to compare undug targets with the different detectors in the class so we all get to see, hear and learn from those rare opportunities. When you get to swing your own detector over the spot and hopefully hear the signal, you start the process of building confidence in your detector and your coil control to get optimum signal response. On occasion we find some model of detectors do not do as well as others and that is knowledge gained, even though sometimes hard to swallow. The best wow target was approx. 10” depth and found with a GPX-6000. From the surface none of the VLF’s could hear it, the GPX-5000 did not, as well as the GPZ-7000’s. After 2” removed, the GPZ still had issues. 2 more inches removed and the ZED gave a dirty signal (kind of like a small piece of wire), but the 6000 was just simple loud and clear. At about 6” depth the VLF heard it but their target ID read IRON. (realize every detector on the market has a max depth of proper ID before the system is unreliable). Finally at 8” the NOX had proper ID of a non ferrous target and we were all getting excited expecting the customer to score his 1st Rye Patch nugget. Well you know gold hunting, it turned lead. The most nuggets recovered were by 2 of the repeat customers. One of them has been on top of the technology change and realizes the importance of hunting the old sites with the newest machines for best chance of success. He shed the weight of the GPZ-7000 to shine with the new lighter GPX-6000 and his efforts were golden. The other (his hunting buddy) stepped up from an SDC-2300 to the 6000 and this was his best trip to RP ever. Just goes to show those old patches can still produce nuggets if you have the new GPX-6000 in your hands. We had 2 hard chargers in the class (GPX-5000 and a GPZ-7000) that went home with plenty of knowledge and education, but did not find a NV nugget. I’m not saying those models of detectors are no good, but just realize this is Rye Patch, the same area hunted with every PI since the early 90’s. The good thing for these customers of those models, my staff/I were able to shine light on when we’d be using some of the features/capabilities of those model of detectors. The GPX-5000 has IRON ID capabilities for trash areas and the GPZ-7000 can find the biggest of gold at near 4’ depth. The dangers of Rye Patch are still there. 4 flat tires that I am aware of, 1 dead battery on a truck and a caved in tent from the high winds. The snakes are out and the Mormon crickets were on the move. If you are going to go. I highly recommend for those who are not familiar with Rye Patch to check in at Gold Digger Saloon. Danny, the owner has some of the better ground (claims) that have not been hunted as hard as the surrounding area. I think he charges $20 or $25 for a day which is pretty reasonable. The best part is you get a map so you know where you are and not on any others persons claim. If you enjoy Pizza, they absolutely have the best pizza and coldest beer around. Summery of the weekend. Older model detectors don’t stand much of a chance when compared to the new. Still a few nuggets left, but they are getting smaller and fewer. Even if you have a new detector, if you don’t know what you are doing, the deck is stack against you at Rye Patch. The lake is gone…it dried up. One of my Staff said it best. Cell phone = detector. Who owns a 10 yr old cell phone and goes to Rye Patch and expects to find gold. Pics are of my customers and some of the Rye Patch gold success/smiles shared.

I wonder how much the health of the economy factors into if a company like Minelab wants to release a new product. Do they hold off if the economy is weak? No matter how good a product like a metal detector is people have to pay for the necessities first. I wonder how this plays out with the inflation at least in the U.S. the highest it's been in decades. Gas prices and food prices on a steadily rising to the point the public has to tighten their belts so to speak. All the talk or wishful thinking has been about Minelab releasing a flagship detector. Flagship models are generally a companies most expensive model. Would they release a flagship model when the economies around the world are doing so poorly?

April 16 1937 I was up early this morning. It was way before the first of the crew got up and it gave me a chance to do some thinking. It seems we are getting off to a slow start. It is very early in the season so I am not too worried but the crew doesn’t seem focused on mining like we were last year. Also, we have a new crew member in Hudson. I am feeling a bit of doubt on my leadership skills. I try to think of Jed and what he would do and say. We all need to start concentrating on our jobs at hand and not so much as being mining legends and ruff characters to the town folk. I think John enjoys the fame but I could do without it. When breakfast was finished I called a quick meeting before we headed up the mountain. I laid it all out there on the line and asked them if they were ok with me leading the crew and wanted to know if I had their confidence. They all to the man assured me that they were 100 percent behind me. Even Sarge and Ben expressed much confidence in me. I was relieved to say the least. I have big shoes to fill here and I can never be Jed. He was one of a kind and I miss him every day. I keep expecting to see him coming down the mountain and into camp and uncorking a bottle of whiskey. It has been hard for me and it’s not getting any easier. We all worked our jobs today without drama and collected one more ounce of gold. The southern kettle was not paying well. TO BE CONTINUED ....................

Thanks! There were a few trimes found during the hunt, but they were taped to IHPs so people could find them. What an odd VID that must have showed. 😄

You are not missing much, if anything. From my D1 experience, the marginal increase in coverage and miniscule depth advantage vs. the cost and added weight/imbalance make this coil a waste of time and money for the D2 IMO. Wish they dropped this form factor entirely (or at least delayed it) and focused instead on providing an equivalent/compatible coil to their excellent 10x5 HF D1 coil. That is the true gap in the D2 coil lineup at the moment.

Hey got a new yellow lab puppy. Just wondering if anyone has ever named their lab Minelab? My wife won’t go for it….

Cant find the clip. Believe it was a found in a old spoil pile from the 1950's. Mining operations are are starting again and this guy was invited to show them how to use detectors. A seven ounce nugget was found there also. Apparently the 1950 guys let a lot get by. this is it i hope.

I sell on ebay, and up until this year I had 100%, but for some reason and without contacting me first 2 people bought items for less that $10 and gave me a neg. Usually if someone is not satisfied I give a refund with out questions and do not ask for the item to be returned. Its much like buying from Amazon, a product has 4 1/2 stars, if you read the reviews there is always 1 or 2 people who give the product a 1 star, usually for no reason other than having no common sense. A product may state it is water resistant, and the complainer says he dunked it in water and it stopped working. I've run into more than my share of bumper babies in my lifetime. a bumper baby is someone who was dropped on there head one too many times.

It is the highest priced version of the same machine available elsewhere, so quite possible. Get a Bounty Hunter Time Ranger Pro instead.

My english to but i will try to explain I degrease silencer , ground balance -5 points, reactivity I go very slowly and in the sound of the headphone there was a Little good sound in the middle of the noise. A lot of time there was a coin or a good target. Obviously I use this settings in small zone. The coil Is very heavy This is my experience with Deus 1 and the 11*13 coil.

Just hope they can hold the line on subscription costs . . .

Yep, couldn't have said it better. Most of my gold detecting these days for is jewelry on the coast. Too bad nugget patches don't get replenished with each new beach season.

It rang up a very strong 99 on the Deus II because it was snuggled into the grass just below the first 1/8" of soil on a baseball field. I live in the Tampa area, so it makes sense to be here. I think it's aluminum, but it seems even too light for that. 🤔 Fun to find, but sure wish it had more density!

Looks like a great trip with a good supply of nuggets, the Nox users appeared to do very well even getting some of the bigger bits, you're very good at what you do Gerry 🙂

I also think the Deus 2 is great in the water, I routinely dunk it in the brackish water here now. I agree with Midalake that it is equal to the Equinox especially in the dry sand, and I use the 10x5 on the Equinox. Frankly regardless of claims I would not dunk it! I wonder if @Erik Oostra would venture a go at his experience diving with the Deus 2. He has a lot of experience with it. I recently did mention how much I like the bone phones, but I am not diving with them. For me it is situational awareness.

April 14 1937 Last night was a rough one. We were woke up by the constant screeching of bobcats in the middle of the night as well as gunfire by Ben and Sarge to scare them off. I was up well before dawn and cooked up breakfast for the crew who got up a little later than me. We were all a little tired and the morning was clear and cold. John and I worked the kettle and Will and Hudson were doing good work keeping water heading up the mountain. I found an area of sunken bedrock full of cracks big enough to work and John and I took out some rich gravels. When we ended the day and did the weigh and got three ounces. That put us all in a good mood. Sarge and Ben are also in for a small percentage of the weighs. I think Jed would approve as he always wanted to be fair with everyone and was quite generous with people he trusted. TO BE CONTINUED .................

I think there are quite a few real world water users in the Deus II part of the forum. Maybe you should ask some of them. XP Deus II DP Forum

Now if that was 10-12" down your heart would be pounding at first hehe.

I'm slow on posting Chase, I dug back into the manual after my post above only to see that you CAN distinguish iron (2 tones). I gave it a go the other day and was pleasantly surprised. No great targets but it was fun in the water after a short trial on the dry sand. Today will be a good test with the bone phones and my snorkel. Overall I'm happy with all this machine can do. Cliff

Bedrock Tips, Part 2 If you’re lucky enough to detect truly virgin bedrock, you'll need to carefully analyze the suggested answers to your questions (Part 1), plus you'll need to pay close attention to what the detector is telling you about the temperature of the rock you're hunting as well as that of any accompanying hot rocks. For example, racing into a cut while swinging your coil like a madman, to quickly cover as much ground as possible, is a bad idea. Why? Virgin bedrock demands consideration and respect due to the exceptional possibility of hidden gold. Moreover, it demands a slow approach while listening to the ground minerals and scrubbing the surface to obtain every bit of depth while listening carefully to the tiniest alterations in the threshold. Plus, paying close attention to the mineralization helps you learn which coils will work best, including which sizes (or shapes) to use. (A variety of sizes and types helps get the job done right, and in extreme ground, the wrong coil type, or size, will waste your time.) Paying attention to the mineralization will often give you visual clues in a variety of colors which also help identify zones of the heavies that run with gold. While working bedrock, you might try a tiny detector like the Falcon to find streaks and runs of fine gold that will elude your bigger detector's coils. It's surprising how much fine gold can be left riding on bedrock or caught in cracks and crevices. Several summers ago, I had my eyes opened wide to just how much gold gets left behind and just how much fun it is to use a tiny detector to chase pockets and streaks of fine gold, which add up in a hurry! (And, any gold detector will see gold hidden in cemented crevices, a great plus.) On a different note, I now always use a one-two punch of a dedicated VLF gold machine, in concert with a dedicated PI or equivalent (for depth and to counter extreme mineralization). Working a large excavation in the summer heat is taxing work, so the VLF is easy to swing all day, and the additional higher-end tech sniffs out the leftovers. As for non-electronic sniping, it's very important to visually study the rock carefully. Often when working virgin bedrock, clay is ubiquitous (seems to be everywhere). And, that clay is a great hider, and, or, robber of gold. Moreover, look at what's riding on top of or within the clay. Are there little stones of various sorts? Is it just slick clay (no inclusions)? As well, be meticulous about examining the surface of the bedrock. Sometimes what looks like perfectly level bedrock with a solid surface may have cracks and crevices perfectly camouflaged by the minerals that are running with the clay and its surrounding material, minerals that match perfectly the color of the host bedrock. Use a variety of tools to scrape and scratch at the surface. I've been stunned while sniping non-electronically to uncover rich, small cracks and crevices in this manner. All the best, Lanny

Bedrock Tips, Part 1 How many of you have had the chance to work virgin bedrock? By virgin, I mean bedrock exposed by modern mining, bedrock not seen since the dinosaurs ruled the earth or perhaps even earlier. Furthermore, a chance to detect bedrock like this is a rare one as it needs previous, special connections with the large-scale placer miners to get access to such bedrock and claims, or knowledge acquired of former placer mined areas that now lie abandoned. Moreover, it's downright expensive to remove forty to sixty feet of overburden from bedrock which financial output stops some miners from granting access. In addition, some miners simply won’t allow others on their virgin bedrock. Added to this are insurance and mining regulations which might result in a hard no even if there’s a personal relationship with the miners. This makes the chances quite slim to none for access, unless a nugget shooter is lucky enough to find abandoned sites through research or word-of -mouth. But if such an opportunity pops up, for either scenario, there's a few things that will help find that bedrock gold. First and foremost, ask lots of questions. Find out where the heaviest run of gold was in the excavation. For example, was the gold deposit heavier in a dip in the bedrock, on at the start of a rise in the rock, heavier on a shelf, or at the bottom of a long drop before a steep rise, etc. As well, find out if there were certain colors in the dirt that indicated better pay: oranges, reds, grays, purples, blacks, etc. With the answers to a few questions like these, you can improve your odds of checking the most-likely places in an open-pit excavation. For instance, you'll find areas that were barren by asking the right questions (areas of loose wash, glacial striations where gold was gouged out, smooth bedrock, heavy sand, sloping rock, etc.), and you'll locate areas that were hot spots for nuggets by asking enough questions to get some tips. All the best, Lanny

Bummer re the broken shaft, but at least the target wasn’t another nail….that’d be my luck!😄

beter for xp to ditch this coil and market a 10x5 imo .its more usefull and you will keep it

https://www.kellycodetectors.com/tarsacci-mdt-8000-metal-detector Hmmm interesting new pricing too😳 I’ve got one new unit left, w 12” BEAST coil & ALL the accessories, for A LOT cheaper! And,,,, I CAN instruct you how to run it! Do you think they can?😂 Aaron

Fiddled with some settings, switched to 18 freq and went Gold Ring hunting. Headed out to one of my favorite sites, a football field off a Middle School. Since 2002 I've dug over a thousand clad coins, some silver rings, couple silver quarters and one Honker of a Gold Band out of there. It has been dorment for quite a few years now, even the trash is scarce. Anyways going out hoping for something Gold or at least break a Buck. In between dead spots I started digging +07 ,bouncing up to +12 .....Started getting red clad nickels. Nine nickels out of just 23 coins. Did dig 2 pull tabs couple small pieces of alum between those numbers. Every time I'd hit one of those nickel signals I would dream this gotta be a ring. Nope Nickels all nine of them. I believe +07 to +12 was caused by variances in depth, laying on its side and one was laying with a penny. Also I think 18 freq, the numbers trend a little higher. 9 Nickels, $1.25 is actually a good hunt out of that field. Well keep banging around nickels the Gold will turn up someday. (Better hurry tho )

Hi Simon, so I'm hoping it's just a battery contact issue? I've watched your videos, and have some comments. 1. Have you tried the Difficult ground type on that tiny nugget? In all the testing I've done on smaller gold even in milder soils (mild for me, not sure how that compares to your ground) I have found that Difficult is as good if not slightly better than the Normal Ground Type. Most of the time I get a better signal in Difficult, especially on the 11" coil. 2. Hard to see in all the videos, but it appears you usually have the volume flat out? Volume flat out with the threshold on I feel like the threshold is too loud and kind of swamps the signal. Drop it down to the 2nd second setting, (with headphones) and see if it improves the response. 3. Re stability of the threshold when you are by the river, I'd be happy with it in the manual setting at 12 or 1 o'clock. 4. Try and bury a nugget in the ground, and refill the hole. This is far better than sweeping the coil up in the air. Also make sure you Noise Cancel, then ground balance. Then do a few sweeps across some clean ground as you approach the target. Makes no sense ground balancing the coil to the ground level then raising it 4-5 inches into the air to clear the height of the rocks. 5. This is about the 2895'th time I've seen this - your coil cable's first loop around the shaft should be over the top, not under the shaft. When you loop the cable under the shaft, this puts a lot of stress on the cable entry point every time you put your detector down to retrieve a target. 6. Don't call a 0.03g piece of gold a nugget 😁

Kurt -- I played with such a design a couple of years ago. I prototyped it, but just wasn't pleased. The bottom line is that I found the shaft to be too "thin," diameter-wise, for such a "cable inside-the-shaft" design to be effective. Not only is the cable connector relatively large relative to the inside diameter of the lower rod, but -- the size/width of openings needed in the shaft in order to allow the cable connectors to enter and exit the shaft, result in too much of a "weak spot," in my opinion, at the location of the openings. I even used engineering-grade plastic (Delrin) fittings at the locations of the cable openings, so as to make the openings in the plastic, and not the carbon tube itself, but the opening had to be so large, that the plastic -- despite its rigidity -- would "flex" a bit, given how large the opening was, thus reducing the structural rigidity of the fitting. The other issue, and it's not a minor one, is that the Equinox coil cable is not of the coiled/retractable type. On the old Minelab Explorers, and then the E-Trac, and then the CTX -- all of which are "cable inside the shaft" models, they all utilize the coiled/retractable style of coil cable. SO -- when you extend or shorten the lower rod length, the cable also shortens or extends. However, with a "straight" cable, like on the Equinox, the cable tends to get "bunched up" inside, when you tried to install, and then shorten, the lower rod on my prototype -- i.e. the lower rod is prevented from sliding easily, especially when collapsing it for stowing/travel. The other issue with a non-retractable coil cable, is that routing the cable straight up through the shaft results in several feet of extra "coil cable" after the cable exits the shaft near the control box. This requires you to make many, many wraps of the coil cable around the shaft to take up the "slack" (sort of like some do on their Excaliburs). Anyway, the bottom line is that you need a much "stouter" shaft, at larger diameter, to effectively include openings to allow the cable to insert and exit, and to fit more easily inside. And then, you really need one of those "coiled" coil cables, to do it effectively... Steve

I have a modified Monte's Nail Board that I used recently to compare the Equinox 600 to the Fisher F2, Garrett AT Max and Vanquish 340. You can see my post discussing my results here. I recently acquired a Tesoro Cibola and Tesoro Vaquero. Both are in great shape and both have the stock 8x9 "monolithic" coils (are these concentric?). I tested both on the same Modified Monte's Nail Board using the same parameters as my previous test. Just as a refresher: Coin Position 1 (Up) = the dime is in the middle coin position, but the dime is on the same plane as the nails. Coin Position 1 (Down) = the dime is in the middle coin position, but the dime is below the plane (about 2.5 inches) the nails are on. Coin Position 2 (Up) = the dime is in the side coin position, but the dime is on the same the plane nails are on. Coin Position 2 (Down) = the dime is in the side coin position, but the dime is below the plane (about 2.5 inches) the nails are on. 4 = The metal detector gave a tone and/or VDI response that would definitely result in me digging the target. 3 = The metal detector gave a tone and/or VDI response that would likely result in me digging the target. 2 = The metal detector gave a tone and/or VDI response that would likely result in me NOT digging the target. 1 = The metal detector gave a tone and/or VDI response that would definitely result in me NOT digging the target. Here are the Equinox 600's results and settings: The Equinox 600 was set up in Park 1 where everything was stock, except I adjusted F2 = 0. Sensitivity was at 10 (out of 25). The Equinox 600 was using the stock (11") coil. Coin Position 1 (Up): Sweep 1: 4 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 3 Sweep 4: 4 Coin Position 1 (Down): Sweep 1: 4 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 1 Coin Position 2 (Up): Sweep 1: 4 Sweep 2: 2 Sweep 3: 2 Sweep 4: 2 Coin Position 2 (Down): Sweep 1: 4 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 1 Here are the Vaquero's results and settings: Discrimination nob was set to Iron, sensitivity was set to 4 and I was using the stock 8x9 coil. Coin Position 1 (Up): Sweep 1: 4 Sweep 2: 4 Sweep 3: 4 Sweep 4: 4 Coin Position 1 (Down): Sweep 1: 4 Sweep 2: 3 Sweep 3: 4 Sweep 4: 3 Coin Position 2 (Up): Sweep 1: 4 Sweep 2: 2 Sweep 3: 4 Sweep 4: 4 Coin Position 2 (Down): Sweep 1: 2 Sweep 2: 3 Sweep 3: 4 Sweep 4: 3 Here are the Cibola's results and settings: Discrimination nob was set to Iron, sensitivity was set to 4 and I was using the stock 8x9 coil. Coin Position 1 (Up): Sweep 1: 4 Sweep 2: 4 Sweep 3: 4 Sweep 4: 4 Coin Position 1 (Down): Sweep 1: 1 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 2 Coin Position 2 (Up): Sweep 1: 3 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 3 Coin Position 2 (Down): Sweep 1: 1 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 2 Pretty impressive, eh? Yet the Equinox 600 had clearly superior recovery speed. But what I found interesting was that when I compared the Equinox 600 and Cibola, they were similar in regards to target masking. Here's my rough test: The Equinox 600 was set up in Park 2, F2=0, sensitivty was 10 and I notched out everything below 17 (everything else was stock). I placed a Zincoln between two modern aluminum can pulltabs. I placed the Zincoln between the 2 pulltabs in a straight line with equal distance b/w the pulltabs and coin. I then swung my Equinox coil over the line and saw if it detected the coin and discriminated out the pulltabs. I then moved both pulltabs in closer to the Zincoln while keeping all 3 pieces of metal in a straight line. There was a point where, during the swing, the Equinox failed to beep on the coin. I'd estimate this was when the pulltabs were about 5 inches (maybe?) on each side of the coin. However. if I honed in the on coin and did those mini "wiggle" swings, the coil could detect the coin (so the separation was there with the coil, but the recovery speed wasn't, apparently). Anyways, I did the same test with the Cibola and sets the discrimination so that the coin could be clearly detected and the pulltabs not detected (discriminated out). When I did the same above test with the Cibola, it performed virtually the same as the Equinox 600, ie the pulltabs masked out the coin at almost the exact same point and the coil could still be "wiggled" over the coin only and still detect it, but not during a "full" swing. I still need to test the Tesoros more, and I'll be selling at least one of them (if not both). But I wanted to hear your thoughts as to what I could do differently to get better results with either the Vaquero, Cibola or Equinox 600. Don't my results with Monte's Modified Nail Board seem a little...too good to be true for the Tesoros? What am I missing? Is it b/c I'm using a "monolithic" stock coil (is this a concentric coil?) and the coil is averaging the nail and coin values, which still come up above iron? I think I answered this question; see below/updated post. And same for the target masking when comparing the Cibola to the Equinox 600 using the Zincoln and pulltabs. I'm not surprised by the Cibola's results, but the Equinox 600? What could I adjust on the Equinox 600 to reduce this target masking (besides getting a smaller coil)?

Just as an FYI, when I usually hunt, due to the Equinox separation ability, the only thing I have notched out is iron. So when I swing over a moderately trashing area due to aluminum, I often get the classic "machine gun" series of beeps from my machine. But since I'm hearing individual sounds, I'm capable of listening for the high tone of a coin and can hone in on one if I should hear it. These tests show that if I want to continue hunting in trashy yards and parks (assuming much of the trash is aluminum), I should continue hunting this way and NOT notch out aluminum (as to avoid masking).

I think the differences in performance b/w the Cibola and Vaquero were due to the analog nature of the machines. There's also the fact that there could have been some slight variations in the Discrimination Knob position. I'm not saying that the Vaquero and Cibola should in theory, have performed identically (I don't know that). But what I am saying is that any differences could have been amplified by the simple nature in how the Tesoros work and are adjusted. I did do the tests with no coin present. Neither Tesoro could individually pick up each iron nail consistently. When I lowered the discrimination past Iron, all I usually got was a single beep when swinging over Monte's Modified Nail Board.

It's not bias, it's a hypothesis. When I did some preliminary test on the Monte's Modified Nail Board, I was impressed with the results. I was even debating whether I should keep the Vaquero or Cibola and sell the Equinox! But then I realized it was the coil and most likely, an averaging of the nail and coin values producing the tone. not either Tesoro machine actually having the unmasking and separation ability that exceeds the Equinox. But like Jeff mentioned, these Tesoros seem to do hold their own when it comes to separating targets and unmasking, especially considering how old their tech is.

The Cibola, Vaquero and other 10 kHz and higher Tesoros were never considered to be slow detectors. They could separate and unmask targets very well in milder dirt. I am not surprised that they did well since they have a much smaller number of filters compared to the Equinox along with much less complicated processing of the return signal. Most older simultaneous multi frequency detectors suffered from slower or snail's pace recovery speed, below average target separation, minimal unmasking in iron and struggled in moderate to high iron mineralization including those offered by Minelab. Minelab's Multi IQ simultaneous multi frequency technology vastly improved the performance of the Equinox as far as recovery speed, target separation, unmasking in iron and achieving good target ID and depth in moderate to high iron mineralization. Unmasking in aluminum or other targets with similar conductivity is another issue entirely. The bread and butter target range on the Equinox due to its higher operating frequencies is the entire aluminum range from about 2 to 26 or so depending on the size of the aluminum. The Equinox will hit targets in that range really hard.

I'm surprised the Cibola and Vaquero perform so much differently on your modified MNB, given they are very similar detectors (both operate at 14.5 +- 0.2 kHz and both use the same ED120 Silent Search Discriminator circuit. It sounds like both had the same coil in your tests (stock 8"x9" concentric). BTW, it wouldn't be a bad idea to run the tests with no coins present. I've been surprised in the past when my in-ground testbed was giving a good high tone with a pulltab right next to a coin, thinking I was getting the coin without interference from the pulltab. But when I took the coin away I got the same high tone!! (This was ML Equionox in 4 kHz.)

Very interesting test results. I think the lesson gleaned (for me anyway) is that coil choice, for the conditions, is very important. Maybe I missed something? For certain areas that I hunt, I've long preferred concentric coils because (for me) they seem to perform better in those conditions. A number of people have told me I'm wrong, but that hasn't changed the fact that I've had better results (certain sites) with a concentric coil. Thanks for taking the time to do the test and post your results.

Update: I just completed the Modified Monte's Nail Board test with the Cibola and Vaquero, but used the Mars Tiger (DD) coil on each. I also adjusted the discrimination so it was one tick mark past Tab (when moving clockwise). Sensitivity remained at 4. This made it possible to pick up the clad dime, but reject the iron (consistently, w/o any chirps or small blips). Here are the results for both: Coin Position 1 (Up): Sweep 1: 2 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 1 Coin Position 1 (Down): Sweep 1: 1 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 1 Coin Position 2 (Up): Sweep 1: 1 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 1 Coin Position 2 (Down): Sweep 1: 1 Sweep 2: 1 Sweep 3: 1 Sweep 4: 1 Now that's "more like it."

Well this topic for GPX6000 coils by Coiltek has gone off the rails a bit with other brands and detectors. anyway if you’re keen to find out more join our mailing list and keep an ear out. We do appreciate all the relevant coil comments and I for one am looking forward to getting these things out there! take care all Trev.

It was written tongue in cheek because I go through this crap fest every time a detector goes to the masses.🥴 All of the things being complained about were brought up during field testing, but I’m just one voice and at some stage the detector had to be released. There’s always someone taking a pot shot with absolutely no clue what’s involved with testing or even having anything invested in what it is they are sniping about. 🤯 It could be a cloudless sunny day and an argument would ensue about it being heavily overcast and night time!🥵 I should have known better and avoided responding, same schist different day!! 😔 All detectors are flawed, all detectors have their gremlins, all detectors could have been designed better. Don’t like it then vote with your dollar and buy something else or not at all I could care less anymore. 😖 JP👣

Fisher Research originally released the 19 kHz Gold Bug model about 1987. It was a real breakthrough design at the time with a compact control box, S-rod, and elliptical coils. The detector is a good unit but is strictly all metal (no discrimination). It has no LCD readout and looks much like the current 71 kHz Gold Bug 2 but has a white lower rod and a black control panel face. Some people are confusing this old model with the new so be aware of this when looking at used detectors. The 19 kHz coils for the old Gold Bug will not work on newer versions of the Gold Bug below. The 71 kHz Gold Bug 2 is a totally different detector than the various 19 kHz models described below. Around 2010 a number of new Gold Bug models were released by Fisher. First came the Gold Bug in 2009. Then came the Gold Bug SE (Special Edition) which added manual ground balance at a bargain introductory price. The SE with minor tweaks later became the Gold Bug Pro at a higher price. So now we have two basic versions, the Gold Bug and the Gold Bug Pro. They differ from the old 1987 model by having an LCD readout. The standard version of either detector comes with a 5" round coil. There is a Gold Bug DP (Deep Penetrating) which is nothing more than a Gold Bug Pro with an 11" x 7" DD elliptical coil instead of a 5" round DD coil. The only difference listed by Fisher between the Gold Bug and the Gold Bug Pro is that the Gold Bug Pro has a manual adjustment option for the ground balance and also offers "higher sensitivity". Both models use a "Ground Grab" button as a simple ground balance method that is quite effective. The Gold Bug Pro allows you to also manually adjust the ground balance setting up or down. The manual adjustment can be used in conjunction with or separately from the Ground Grab button. The big question is the "higher sensitivity" claim. There are two possibilities here. First, that the Gold Bug Pro actually allows for higher gain or sensitivity levels. However, I was in marketing too long and have a more jaded thought. Manual ground balance allows for a higher degree of control that if used properly can get you more sensitivity. There is a very distinct possibility the higher sensitivity claim follows directly from the ability to manually ground balance the Gold Bug Pro. This could be tested with both units set side by side with identical ground balance settings and max gain. If the Gold Bug Pro is inherently more sensitive an air test should show it. I have not had the chance to do this my self but if somebody wants to there you go. ads by Amazon... My opinion? I believe the Gold Bug and the Gold Bug Pro if outfitted with the same coil are basically the same detector. The only real difference is the manual ground balance option on the Gold Bug Pro. Do you need it? Not really, and especially when you consider that for $499 vs $649 that is probably all you are getting. The Ground Grab function is remarkably effective and would suit most people just fine. I personally do like manual ground balance and so for me spending the extra money to get it is a non-issue. I do as a rule tell people that if cost is not an issue get the Gold Bug Pro. It is far more popular and would be easier to resell. But in all honesty I think the Basic Gold Bug is the real bang-for-the-buck unit. There is nothing else close to it at the $499 price point that offers full LCD readout target discrimination while in full power all metal prospect mode. I should note that First Texas owns both Fisher and Teknetics. The Fisher Gold Bug DP (Gold Bug Pro with 11" coil) is marketed by Teknetics as the G2. The Fisher Gold Bug DP goes for $699 and the Teknetics G2 is $749. The $50 extra gets you a pistol grip rod instead of the Gold Bug S-rod and an arm strap. Nice gray paint scheme also. Really boils down to pistol grip vs S-rod, purely a personal preference thing. I use the 5" x 10" elliptical myself and consider it to be the best all around coil for the Gold Bug. However, right now you have to get it as an accessory or as part of a two coil package. Fisher would be doing us a service to release the Gold Bug with this coil as standard on the unit. My Gold Bug 2 is slightly better on the tiniest of gold but the Gold Bug Pro easily outperforms the Gold Bug 2 on larger nuggets at depth. For all around nugget detecting the Gold Bug or Gold Bug Pro (and G2) have a better balance of both small gold and large gold capability than the Gold Bug 2. Fisher Gold Bug Pro & Teknetics G2 Detailed Comparison To recap first came the original 1987 era Gold Bug with knobs and switches: 1987 era analog Fisher Gold Bug Then in 2009 we got the new Gold Bug: Fisher digital Gold Bug Followed quickly and briefly by the Gold Bug SE. Note how the plus and minus buttons now have dual functions, both Disc and Ground Balance, compared to the basic Gold Bug above: Fisher Gold Bug SE The Gold Bug SE was basically the prototype for the Gold Bug Pro, which got a new faceplate decal and a higher price: Fisher Gold Bug Pro And finally, the Gold Bug Pro was also marketed under the Teknetics line as the G2 with a different rod/handle assembly: Teknetics G2 Gold Bug Pro DP compared to Teknetics G2: Click on images below for larger versions.....