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What an amazing group of eager customers we had on the 3 Days Field Training. The weather could not have been any better with temps in the 70's. Friday was so sunny many of us ended up with red face and a few days later peeling skins from the sunburn. Soil was still very damp and in fact some standing water in mud puddles on the way up to camp. My Field staff/I enjoyed a variety of detectors in the class. Gold Bug-2's, Gold Monster 1000, Equinox 800, Equinox 900, Manticores, GPX-6000's and a GPZ-7000. 1st day was mostly classroom and as soon as the students with a variety of backgrounds were able to witness the varieties of gold and how they respond to different detectors, boy did they start getting excited. As expected, the GB-2's coils respond to the tiniest of gold best, but as soon as you went to a small picker nugget, the Monster, Equinox and Manticore took over. Then it was seeing how the bigger 6000's & 7000 did on small, medium and large gold. It's amazing that everyone talks the depth of a PI or GPZ but how many of you have actually seen with your own eyes, one of those detectors respond on big gold at 2 feet, 3 feet and even 4'? Yes that's what we did one a couple big ones. Some people had no clue and wondered out-loud, if they could even dig a hole that deep??? Realize this was just an air test, but it's still impressive. Of the 12 customers, most found a piece of gold and a couple folks doubled down. I know 3 of them just quite didn't get that lucky but they tried hard and there is not much we can do about that. The good thing is they were able to find small foil and #8 bird-shots, so we know they are doing it right. No big gold was recovered as expected, but I know there still has to be a few chunky 1/4 oz'ers out there. I know a couple years back Arky's wife was running around with her 7 while he took the class with his 6 and she dug up an 8 gram solid chunk of Au. So yes there are still a few but nothing like it used to be. A couple of the students mentioned that they had taken Ray Mills class (in CA) and was noticing such a difference. Ray knows Geology and so most of the 1 day class is dedicated to such. They realized this class is much more detailed on the detectors and how to get the most out of them. How to tell ground from a true target and importance of proper coil control. It's funny how I can toss a small nugget in front of a student and yet they can't find if, even though they just seen where it was tossed. At the end of the class, the students can find that same nugget and then some. That's just part of the reason our class is 3 days instead of 1. I totally agree with Mr Mills class as well and so if you desire more of the geology side, you might reach out to him. The main road along the lake was actually the best I have seen it in years. But those of you who know Rye Patch area (and Northern NV) know the rocks are treacherous on tires. There was 3 flats during training, 2 flats just after class and yes one guy had 2 flats, but I took home the cake. I had a slow leaking tire and was able to limp how, getting air at each little stop all the way to Idaho. Luckily my truck as tire pressure sensors and I can see exactly which tire and how low. Well the drivers front got down to as low as 22 pounds between air ups but still held until the next stop at Rome Station (they have a pump that uses quarters). Anyway, when I got to Boise and took it in, they pulled the tire and showed me a tear in the face that was to big to be repaired. To order the exact same tire and size, would take 3 days. Well I knew those stock tires were on P rated (most 1/2 tons are), so I decided to get something more designed for my off road travels. $1250 (after military discount) and I'm sporting some new heavier tires and better tread. Moral of the story. If you are running around in N Nevada roads, you better have at least LT class tires or higher. Make sure you have at least 1 spare tire and the correct equipment to change it. I left my compact air compressor in my big truck, so dumb me on that part. Here's the truck with the new tread. Yes those of you running around that weekend did in fact see a semi truck driving around out there. That lady has balls. UT Chris took advantage of the Anniversary Promo and $500 off. Gerry's Detectors hand delivered it to hm right out there in the field. Below - Geno from NV using a GPX-6000 and CoilTek 14x9" GoldHawk coil finds gold. Below - Dave from UT shines a smile with his 1st NV gold using a Manticore and M8 coil. Below- UT Chris found the 1st nugget of the class early Saturday morning before we even got started that day. He scored it with a GPX-6000. Below - Geoff from NV was able to find a couple with his GPX-6000, here's his 1st. Below - Chris from Idaho started the class with a GB-2 but when he seen how the Identification System on the Equinox performed so much better than most other detectors, he traded up. Good for him for trading that last day, as he still was able to find his 1st gold. Below- Nancy the trucker is tough as nails. For someone of that age to be out there roughing it and go go go, with the never quit, it finally paid off with a little help from the Staff. She knows her Manticore can find small picker nuggets. Below- Dennis from CA was an interesting guy. His brother from Idaho took my class last year and so he knew exactly what to expect. We was happy as heck once he got the golden monkey off his back. He found it with his Equinox 900 and small 6" coil. He is also the same guy who ended up with 2 flat tires. Yes he drove a new F-150 with stock P rated tires. Below - Geno gets another RP nugget. This guy is getting the hang of it really well. Below - Horny toads were just starting to come out. We only seen one snake and it was at camp but not a rattler. Why do they call them Horny Toads? Below - Dave from UT find his 2nd nugget and it's pretty nice. He used the Manticore with M8 coil again. Did you catch the phrase on his shirt? My 1st piece of gold in 2024. No it's not worth sticking in my mouth like some of my big dogs. It took all of 45 minutes to find right near the burn barrel. I used GPX-6000 with stock 11" coil. Below - Best looking nugget of the trip was Jill and her Gold Monster 1000. Again, The group of students was so enjoyable and upbeat. Geoff/Jill brought a box of smoky quartz crystals and told everyone to take a couple for good luck. Boy it must have helped as most folks found gold. What's more important to my Staff/I than customers finding gold. Customers understanding their detectors more, learning to tell the difference of a ground noise and a target, proper coil control, knowing when to ground balance and why, what machines do best on a variety of gold and most of all.... self confidence in your detector and abilities. Thanks Eli, Lunk and Spencer for your support again. I have already received a few emails on how happy the customers were with you guys. Anyone else wanting to take advantage of the Anniversary Sale and save $150 off the Equinox 900 or $500 off the Manticore..call Gerry's Detectors, as I have a few left. Also remember, those who purchase their detectors from me, get an additional discount of $150 off the 3 Days Field Training. You only pay for training when you show up. Happy Hunting. Gerry in Idaho

The fact that all of us are still waiting on Garrett and this topic is now up to 15 pages tells me we all want Garrett to succeed in giving us a new model. I thought for sure it would coincide with the anniversary of Garrett going into business April 1, 1964. Charles Garrett entered and left this world both coincidentally in the month of April (not quite over yet). From what I know of Garrett in the past, they were quite careful about getting things right, but I don't remember them going into competition with anyone over release timings. I didn't care anyway. If it appealed to me, I bought it, not a matter of marketing timing. When I started metal detecting in 1968, I knew about Garrett, but I didn't start using the brand until 1978. Things go wrong sometimes for production like parts suppliers failing to meet deadlines. Post Covid... This sort of thing seems to be the norm. I still think the new release will be all-terrain based and will be a hybrid of the older AT Series and the recent Apex. I've liked both detectors and have done well with them. For me, I'm just happy to have something to look forward to! 🙂 Their build quality, engineering and customer service is worth being patient for.

After the second week, I'm still a newbie with this machine, but apparently, applying the basic good principles the results are yet on another level. There's a place where I hate to dive, due to terrible shaped rocks that can destroy elbows and knees if a minimum wave push me against it when I'm in between and searching. The fact is that those traps helps to keep the stuff really good. This stretch of a private beach it is made of solid rocks more than moving boulders and with some erosion affecting the spot, it means really few brave people able to swim and as a direct consequence, nothing to search after the summer... But, I tried again today after being there months ago with every detector I have in my shed and surprise surprise 🫢... I named trust building this post cause the two gold pieces I pulled up downthere are a clear evidence of a better time management during the session. This morning I tuned the Manticore to be scary quiet and just stopped the few times a pure "non iron" signal it was requiring attention. The number of people that searched in this spot since always, left so few targets to listen that most of Us never even talk about or try to go again...It just don't worth the effort... Well, the picture proves different🫢. I'm not overjoying and I recognize the small M8 advantage between tight crevices, but after the 6" and the Ctx... Here's the moment when I can say goodbye to my old trusted sniper rifle.... I never tought this could happen one day...

6 months? Why not just have packs users can install themselves? Was never a fan of built in batteries on machines. Lithium can toss quite a bit of heat out and as they get older they can get noisy. 6 months is pretty low, might was well stuff alkalines inside 🙂

You never describe what issues you are having other than the antenna wire turning black. If the unit is still working when you submerge it (i.e., the remote is still receiving a signal form the coil) then the discoloration on the antenna wire is a non-issue. The warranty is 5 years and no Deus 2's are past warranty at this point. Regardless, if the only problem you are having is the antenna and you don't get warranty relief if it has failed, an XP branded replacement wire costs about $20-$25 and there are descriptions online about how you can home brew one yourself from an even cheaper length of coax you can order online. Yes this is not safety critical military-grade diving gear and I don't like having to use an antenna, so I understand your trepidation, but the rest of the unit is robustly designed for repeated dives to 60 feet (provided you insert the dive plug) and other than antenna corrosion and cable failures associated with the submersible hard-wired Bone Phones, I have not heard reports of water/dive related degradation of the key hardware (remote and coils). So I would not paint the entire detector as a being unable to stand up to the rigors of water detecting. On the other hand, for daily salt water detector, I think investing in a fully carbon fiber shaft and stem system is worth it. Here is the one I use: https://www.stevesdetectorrods.com/product.php?id=XP.D2-01 Steve is a forum member here (@steveg) and I can vouch for his equipment quality and craftsmanship and, above all, his customer service. I'm on the east coast, but I've heard good reports of it performing well on west coast beaches with black sand and appears to be a very popular detector amongst the west coast beach detectorists. Though it seems to struggle with the black sand at @midalake's Mexican resort beaches. Midalake is a hard core beach hunter and vouches for the D2, but also likes to use a couple other detector brand/models under certain circumstances. I think you should stick with the D2, but I'm biased. If it really doesn't sit well in your gut, then consider alternatives like the Minelab Manticore or Equinox or the Nokta Legend or Nokta Double Score which are great value detectors. I've heard good things about the Garrett Apex on wet salt sand beaches, though it is only weather resistant, not submersible. Good luck.

Simon is on his way to meet me for a bit of a gold hunt. That gives me a few minutes to search through my phone and post a couple of pictures. Searching through is time consuming but I'll start with a picture of Bradrona! This was in the middle of what Simon tells me is a large gold area really labeled Cardona. This was on the ride down the road from the lake at Wanaka. Somehow the hikers and others decided to leave a little (or large) piece of their clothing behind. There is gold and gold workings in them thar hills. This search for photo and posting has taken 15 minutes. One thing I need to say is my wife has better photos because it is hard to drive and take photos at the same time. Klunker said put together an album and I will when I get back. I'll check off a bunch of Google Photos and share it for any who care. Now it is time to get organized for Simon.

Admittedly I had lost all interest in First Texas and their detectors for some time, I haven't been detecting all that many years but I jumped through the First Texas ranks with a GBP, GB2 and two models of the Teknetics T2 along with their F-Pulse, now I even have an F19 on its way. It appeared with their lack of new products and very dated models they were just another generic detecting company, not something to really pay much attention to. My most recent of their purchases was the F-Pulse not all that long after it came out, while a decent pinpointer it is hardly something to be excited about a company's prospects over. Other than a coil that nobody seems to know much about and I haven't been able to find anyone that actually bought one they haven't really released anything for a very long time, and when they did it was just a rehashed older model, or as we like to call them paint jobs. Recently they started an Ebay firesale letting buyers dictate the prices they are willing to pay for their detectors, and people have been getting fantastic deals, but if you sit down and think about it for a bit are the deals really fantastic or are they about the price the detector should be in today's market, with the various competitors leaving these models well behind, it seems more like they're working out the prices people would be willing to pay and running with it, they've probably sold more of their higher end detectors in the past month or so with this firesale than they have in a year or two. Suddenly First Texas is being talked about again by people that had little interest in their detectors when they were full price. Many of us predicted this would happen one day where their high-end machines are basically entry level in the modern marketplace. I was thinking this is it, they're just going to clear out the stock and wind up the hobby detector part of their business, then I took at look at their Facebook group, I hadn't bothered to look at it forever as they were just a stagnant business. To my surprise it was very active, mainly with their marketing of course but active none the less. Every few days they're doing posts marketing their products, this really took me by surprise, and they had no indication at all they're doing an Ebay fire sale, another surprise, if there was a good place to announce it you would think it would be their Facebook group with 24000 followers, that's a broad reach of people that would see their sale that may not know about it. I think they're just settling into the new normal, working out the ideal pricing for models where they can get sales and will then return to their status quo of selling the same old models for the next decade. They appear to have a larger focus on metal detecting products outside of the hobby market on their Facebook group too, which probably demonstrates where a much of their detecting income is derived from. Their last marketing post was only 2 hours ago. Here are some of their recent marketing posts. So, they do have a pretty active marketing person on Facebook, and someone making up fancy marketing pictures. I hope they survive as a hobby detecting company, and I really hope they've got at least one more "New" detector up their sleeve, a Gold Bug 3 would be something many of us would appreciate, but I'm sure a F75 SMF would be more of a crowd pleaser for a bulk of Fisher fans.

When the ZSearch came out, my detecting mate and I decided to do some testing. He was using the stock coil and I had the 12” attached. We both used the same settings and searched some old workings for gold. We both agreed that if either one of us had something that might develop into a signal, the other person would be called over before even a boot scrape was made to confirm it. The area had been recently raked and was therefore a pleasure to detect. After about 20 minutes, I picked up a soft but repeatable signal. I called Joe over and he had a listen and confirmed that it was a definite target. We then swapped machines and ran his stock coil over the target. There was absolutely nothing to be heard. The target was recovered from a depth of about 7”. It was a good dig for a .5g nugget. A second target about ten minutes later gave the same result. We were both impressed and amazed at the sensitivity of the coil. For the next month or so we continued to test on live targets on every trip. The results were so impressive that Joe ended up buying one for himself. There were times that the stock coil did really well on big, deeper targets but you would expect that due to its larger footprint. The Nuggetfinder coil will find much smaller pieces than the stock coil when the gold is shallow. Although we would prefer to only find big chunks, the small pieces do add up. A couple of years ago when detecting in Western Australia, one member of the detecting group I was with offered me $1500 cash to sell him my 2 year old ZSearch. He and most of the group were impressed with how it consistently produced good number and deep, solid pieces of gold.

Minelab has lost their marbles again and just dropped the price of the most popular and #1 do it all detector, the Manticore. Instead of paying the $1700 we all were just 2 weeks ago, now you can get one for $500 off and only pay $1200. But if you are VET, you can get an additional 15% off as Gerry is a VET himself. Or you could just ask a few of the many DP members who has purchased one from me and got the additional savings. Yes I accept some detector and or gold trades. Yes, I just returned from NV teaching customers how to find gold with their detectors. Yes we had Manticores in the class and yes they were Successful at finding gold. Most dealers don't even know how to set up the Manticore to find the yellow metal. Well Gerry's Detectors sure knows this machine and knows it for a variety of hunts. I've used it on RR sites and dug locks. I've recovered Seated Liberty Silvers in iron infested soils. and dug many more 100+ yr old coins even in the snow. Or Barber Half dollars. Gold - Who knows how to find the gold with the Manticore? I've accomplished more than most. Natural beautiful gold is my focus. Do you know the best numbers to go after? Oh those diamond rings sure look sharp when sitting on the Manti. Or how about Golden Jesus. This is just a sample of my Manticore finds. Yes folks, I'm a real dealer who actually uses the detectors I like and sell most. And I enjoy sharing my hard earned knowledge with my customers. I realize not all dealers have the time to do the variety of hunting styles I do with the Manticore and in fact many have not even found their 1st nugget with it. So why are you even talking with them when I can match the price. And if outside of Idaho, no sales tax. No, I am not the best dealer at Hunting Coins, or hunting CW , but I can prove I use the Manticore on a variety of more hunts and have Success. Yes I am in and around gold country all the time and that's part of what separates Gerry's Detectors from most. Yes another shipment just came in. Hurry up, sale ends May 5th. If you do not have all the money up front, I can lock one in for $500 deposit.

Sent my 6000 in twice to minelab paid myself both times..the first time was before they admitted to the speaker issue so that was a fake on them paid by me as it did nothing to fix the detector... the second time was the speaker fix so I at least got a detector that worked properly after that...before that all i could think of was to get rid of the dam thing. It's a great detector now. really love using it.. strick

I am very tall so the D2 rod was never really long enough, and the flex was ridiculous. So, 100% worth it for me. For us seasoned beach hunters there is nothing out there that does not need some tweak to make it bullet-proof. If companies were smart, they would consult beach hunters on their equipment standards.

Aha… I made the “mistake” of going to their Product Manual & Guides page which only links to the old manual. The newer manual is only available via the Manticore product page. Thanks guys for the pointy finger! Instead now I’ll ask why they don’t update their Product Manual & Guides page.

Gerry included, there have been several very helpful people here that I would have to thank for their help, the well-knowns like Gerry and Steve, Chris, Rob and Ron, and the other members whom I was able to meet up with and go detecting with. I was recently fortunate enough to meet up with one member here who brought me out to one of their detecting places and gave me some great tips and pointy fingers, and as a result, this is what I found with my 6000. A little .21g nugget, and my first with the 6K. They’ll go unnamed, but they know I’m very appreciative to be able to go detecting with them. Thank you!

This story begins in 1929 - 11 years after World War One. That year Congress authorized government-funded pilgrimages for mothers and widows of American soldiers killed in the war. Leaving from New York, they sailed to France, and visited the American military cemeteries in Europe. In 1930, a grieving widow, or mother, boarded a train in Utah, bound for New York. She left New York Harbor a week later, aboard a United States Lines cruise ship. After two-days at sea, the mothers and widows were invited to the fore-deck for a formal ceremony. Each woman was individually honored with a serialized medallion made by Tiffany & Co. The bronze medallion had a raised gold-plated star and was numbered on the rim at the six-o-clock position. The serial number matched a certificate that was presented along with the medallion. Obviously, the medallion and what it commemorated would have been precious to the owner. Our story now jumps ahead 94-years to present day Vernal, Utah. Louis Haynes, a U.S. Army veteran who suffers from anxiety related to his service connected PTSD, is metal detecting with a machine presented to him by Metal Detectors 4 Veterans (MD4V.org). Since receiving the metal detector Louis has found several silver coins from the early 1900s and, more importantly, says metal detecting therapy is helping his anxiety. As Louis slowly moved his coil across the ground carefully listening to the machine, he had no idea he was about to find a real treasure, an actual piece of American history. The detector came alive, telling him some type of non-ferrous metal was below his search coil. The target was deep, and it took some work to get down to it through the hard soil. At the bottom of the hole was a 1930 Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimage Medallion! “The opportunity provided by Metal Detectors 4 Veterans has been wonderful. It has gotten me out and moving, and provided me with something positive to focus on,” said Haynes. Louis hopes now that he has identified the serial number on the medallion, he may be able to return it to the family this piece of Americana belongs with. Metal Detectors 4 Veterans Inc. (MD4V.org), is a 501c3 charitable organization that supplies veterans suffering from service related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), with metal detectors and metal detecting equipment free of charge. Research has shown that hobbies like metal detecting can be very beneficial for combat veterans suffering from PTSD, as it provides a way for them to be distracted from negative thoughts and feelings, reduces their stress, and improves mood.

Used SDC-2300 with body cover kit and $100 adapter cord for regular headphones. It will be hear in a few days as I just took it in trade. Contact Gerry's Detectors 208-345-8898

Attended Gerry's class this weekend and did not go home empty handed. Found my first two nuggets! A .42 and a .25 gram. Using my Manticore and the M8. Dime is for size reference only. Happy as could be! - Dave

Glad to see some of my customers enjoying hard earned Success and share their stories here on DP. I'll let the cat out of the bag on the location as it's tough for anyone, even the best of us. We were above the burn barrel and still on the open area. Never left there the 3 day days. Hopefully the June class is just as great f a group as this one and the weather was perfect. Ground was still quite wet, but we managed. I'll update with pics for everyone.

I look forward to the day a F75 ltd can be had for $250 NEW. LOL The marketing ads look weird. Especially that last one. They seemingly dug up what? Looked like some kids pendant from a grocery store 50 cent turn vendor. Some find that was. Maybe there are tapping into some Lithium-rich water and consuming too much of it? Nonetheless, Fisher has made some good machines in the past but sure seems they are content to be the "vintage" maker these days. I'm confused about what altered state of reality they are living in. Putting out new weirdo ads on very old hardware? That just looks stupid.

Yeah that was kind of the plan but I’ll just have to make do with what I have until I get a new coil. No point in getting upset over minor things and if this is the worst thing that happens to me this year I’ll count my blessings.

Good luck with Simon!!😬🙄 😜😆🍀👍👍

Hello All, I have several batches of Minelab GPX 5000's on the way. These are brand new, 3-year warranty and coming direct from Minelab. They are $4595.00 MAP price, so if you are interested in one of these units, please contact us ASAP to hold one. I already had a few customers looking for good, used one, now they committed to the brand-new units. Exciting to have some new one back available, as I find the Minelab GPX 5000 one of the most versatile gold detectors on the market. Email us at - rob@robsdetectors.com PM us here on the forums Call us at 623-362-1459 leave message or call 602-909-9008 for text or message. I know for a fact I will not have these long. Rob

It was registered online here https://register.minelab.com/index.html#/form/product It appears maybe he looked for warranty under the email address I used to report the issue which was different than that used to register the detector. Or that's my guess anyway as to why he could not find it. That makes little sense though as all records should be by serial number as it is the product that is under warranty, not the owner. The same serial number would track claims under multiple owners assuming the product changed hands while under warranty. I did supply my serial number, name, address, and phone number in the orignal report so it should have been easy to find. The good news is I got an answer back within the hour after sending my registration confirmation copy, along with an RMA number. I of course get to pay the shipping to send back the defective coil, always a happy feeling. Coil shipped 4/26 USPS Ground 12"x12"x4" 1 lb 12 oz $9.99 expected delivery 4/30 to: Minelab Americas Inc 3565 Butterfield Rd. Unit 121 Aurora, IL 60502

We are able to put in 6 Plans of Operation on two sides of virgin ground. The plan is to high grade the bottom 15 ft of gravel from the exposed sides of a big hill. This material has been testing out at an average of $60/yard after allowing for smelting. We will run a Pioneer 30 trommel that averages 15 yards of gravel per hour. So 150 yards of processed gravel per day at $60 a yard should gross about $9000 per day. We are running a 3 man crew who are all partners. We won't need to do any hauling of any distance (only 200 - 300 ft) but will run a skid steer as a loader. I still need to buy a small dump truck. I have been waiting for gold to rise to these levels to make this a worthwhile project and I think the time has come.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profit_maximization

I had an interesting experience this past summer. I was hunting virgin bedrock in a placer cut/pit. There were some nice nugget finds, and then I started to work a bedrock rise with a vertical edge that dropped about three feet into a larger sheet of bedrock. Piled up against that edge about six inches high was channel material the large bucket on the excavator couldn't scrape out. (Sometimes these spots hide nice nuggets too.) I took my pick and worked some material off the top of the dirt and scanned the bottom dirt with the Goldmonster. I got a signal and watched the display. The bar jumped to the right, then headed back into ferrous territory. With each sweep, it read the same way. I isolated the signal, and it was a flake of gold, about half the size of an oatmeal flake. I was surprised the display hadn't pinned all the way to the right in non-ferrous territory. I kept scraping away top material to detect the ground below. The same thing happened again, the signal ID'd off to the right then back to the left. Another flake of gold, about the same size. I looked closer at the material I'd dumped from my scoop, lots of little bits of magnetite and dark, heavily stained rocks. I worked more material in the same way, and I kept getting flakes with every scrape all the way down to where the jutting piece of bedrock met the bedrock sheet. There were a few larger pieces that pinned all the way to the right, but all the others, a nice catch of flakes, did the iffy bounce. With the Monster it really pays to check out those iffy signals or I'd have left a nice whack of flakes in the ground. All the best, Lanny

I’m in the same boat Steve, just hoping they are submersible 🤞🤞🤞

After owning the axiom for about 8months and only using monos with great success I decided to treat myself in a trashy site to only digging non ferrous targets and hey it worked! In middle of about 20 pieces of trash I could clearly hear something shining thru, low and behold 10 or so beautiful gold pieces. Half went with a friend that was with me, my half in the picture. Ended up digging every target in the pike for 2 day as I thought we were on some high grade ore but all the gold was sitting right on top with lots of trash.lol

A coin/jewelry/relic detector with fixed pulse delay set for larger coin sized targets. It will ignore the really small stuff A gold prospecting detector with fixed pulse delay set for 0.1 gram nuggets and larger. Personally I would like both options in one detector. Waterproof would be awesome.

I was hoping Nokta would make a multi-purpose PI more so than they've done to capture more markets, The Algo has done that to a degree and their firmware updates since release have even more so improved its general-purpose ability over being a Gold only machine. PI's are incredible technology and largely untapped by many detector users as they've never been made to suit their needs. I'm ony recently seeing how good a PI can be for coin hunting, incredible Target ID's and If this is the start of it, I'd love to see where they can take PI technology for general purpose detectors. If markets are slowing like Gold, having gold dedicated detectors limits buyers, and separating the Gold and Relic into two detectors seems a bad move to me, unless it was required for some technical reason. Gold only VLF's are struggling to survive with multi purpose VLF's taking over them. I could understand separating the General-Purpose and the Beach versions due to the waterproofing requirements. Let's face it though, this is Nokta, this being their entrance into the market, there will be more models in the near future, and they are about to really shake up the PI market. They will shake up the pricing too, maybe more so than they intended now the Algo's out, there is no reason they couldn't sell their PI for the price of a Legend if they wanted to.

I suspect that not only have you gotten technically more proficient at metal detecting, but that your research methods narrowed down the areas where those quality finds were to be made and you focused on hitting them. With better machines, yes, but I'm thinking the key to those quality finds is really between your ears.

Congrats on the first gold nuggets... Gerry, Lunk and the rest of that crew have helped many a newbie get hooked on gold fever... My first time out with them and my first nuggets back in 2014 and yea I got hooked good times... strick

I did nibble a little caliche off the first one to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It was mostly encrusted with it and I wasn't trusting my eyes, so I did chew on it slightly to get some of the crust off.... - Dave

Good going UT Dave, nice gold, beware of picking up one of Gerry's" toothy" habits when finding gold.

Congrats on the first gold found with a metal detector! The first are always the most difficult to find and attending a training class can sure help with the learning curve. Hope you find many more.

I'm not on the FB, so haven't seen the picture. Imagine Gerry will get some of them on here when he has time. - Dave

I seen your pic on Fb earlier today. Congrats on now being ruined for the rest of your life with gold fever.

It was a good training and good company. It was a pleasure getting to get acquainted with you UT Dave and everyone else that attended. Had a blast myself. I would recommend this for anyone that wants to learn about this hobby, or even people that have a good foundation and want more specialized training. Wasn't my first nugget but I managed to scare this one out of the ground, I mean middle of the lake....

Sounds like the class was well worth it! Ditto what Simon (phrunt) said about confidence -- that's one of the things (and most important, IMO) the class gave me. Well done by the teachers and the student. Those are pretty good size for a well hunted area. Did you find them in the burn barrel vicinity or did you have access to some other spots? Manticore+M8 are getting more tantalizing as a small native gold finding system.

It's always a pleasure to see a student unearth their first gold; congrats again, Dave.

Awesome Dave, a game changer for sure, now you will have all the confidence and be able to go back and do it yourself.

Excellent work - you must be a good student and you had an outstanding teacher.

I think the brain will be under the arm cuff too, this seems vital to fitting the capacitors and other gadgets required to make a deep seeking PI

I really don’t know about who may be testing the relic detector here in the US but I’d say it’s someone on the east coast . Now when it comes to that gold detector I do believe we have that person right here among us. So look around to see if you see someone smiling like a Chester Cat 🐱. They’ll be busting at the gut wanting to say something but have a gag order so they can’t. We’ve known him in the past to be one and just maybe he’s one again . Chuck

They show and say two different detectors and a PI detector is the best for beach hunting. If they make both waterproof that’s even better for the water hunter. When Whites came out with the TDI the first place I started hunting with it was on the beach in Ms . I never before dug so deep for a good target. So if it comes out waterproof and a PI like Nokta said it’s a match made in Heaven for you. Chuck

DD coils really do not have the ability to get the performance in comparison to the Spiral wound coils. So the older detectors SD/GP’s that needed to run DD’s to handle the more mineralized ground are not going to help out in your situation with moderate to heavy ground mineralization. Smooth timings are the way to go in heavy mineralized environments and the mods also do gain even more depth but these are expensive options to get the depth you’re looking for. If you’re in less mineralization and can run normal or sensitive timings with a mono 15” Evo coil or equivalent then you could do will getting the depth that you have described wanting with the older models. This is mainly due to the coil size being bigger than what is currently offered on the 6000 and if you went with the 5000 and ran Sharp it’s even 20% deeper yet but only in low mineralized conditions. 😳 I do a lot of comparisons videos and can send anyone a link if wanting to see different coils compared.

Sad news but as said his health was bad for a few years if the razzed you he liked it was to see how you were and maybe because he liked you for one tough man his heart and honesty was second to non He had helped so many with his golden pointy finger and that damn dingier worked 100% I was very fortunate to be in his life the past 20 yrs As he was one of the original four that made the WSPA A small prospecting / metal detecting club to show members how to find and use detectors to find and identify mineral GOLD Deposits On our own claims Mr B Godspeed my friend and his family you will be missed by many

He will be missed. For as rough as he came across he had a heart of pure gold. I don't know how many steak dinners he paid for at the outings but it was a lot. His pointy finger got me my first piece of gold, I will always be grateful for that.

Hi Ralph and others, Yes, I heard this morning the bad news, but knew he wasn't doing real well the past year or so from what I heard from mutual friends. God Bless John and his family, sad news. John "GoldMaster" B., also noted for the "pointy finger." I have some great story about John and some of our adventures during the early years of chasing Gold and Meteorites. John had a huge passion for metal detecting for gold and later meteorites. He loved to razz me, along with others that used the Minelab PI's, referring to them as Coatracks. This ended after a few large Minelab finds were made, but John loved to razz, kid and joke around. He had a great sense of humor and will be missed for sure. I'll post some more later after I dig up some pictures I have with him. John will be missed and for the ones that didn't get the chance to meet him, you guys/gals would of loved him. Rob

I remember John B from the old "detector wars" and his vast collection of meteorites. We once had an outing at Gold Basin and he provided the whole group with some magnificent T-bone steaks. I'm sure Rob and Doc will remember him fondly.

That's some nice gold, a 36 KG nugget 🙂 Wow! Nice to see the Amber from Kaliningrad on there, 90% of the Worlds amber comes from there, pretty incredible, and they can fossick for it and find it on beaches and so on. I'd love to do that and find myself some Amber, they even find it with ancient insects in it from the time of the Dinosaurs. They can find platinum nuggets in Russia too, as seen by that 7.86kg beauty in your link. The Ural Mountains appear to hold a large amount of gold.