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  1. Yesterday, JW and I went for a bit of a hike to a remote spot in the mountains, I hadn't been here at all since my GPX 4500 a few years ago, and JW had been a small few times since trying out his GPX 6000 and found a few bits. The hike in is what puts it on the backburner all the time 🙂 It's a close drive from JW's house, but a big steep uphill hike, and from my house it's about an hour's drive so by the time I get home I'm stuck to the car seat, man it's hard to stand up after a massive hike and an hour's drive home after a day's detecting with the hike back to the car, at least the hike back is downhill all the way. I ran the car's seat heater the whole drive home to help the muscles recover! JW has a few years of age over me, but he is certainly fitter. It's a really cool place to go though, with great views of the surrounding mountains, unfortunately I can't put up scenery photos for fear of revealing the location to prying eyes, as you can work out the basic location by using the bigger mountains to get an idea of where I was. There has been a bit of mining in the area, and reworked in the depression years, but the earlier mining was done with a lot of work and water monitors (canons) blasting water at the hillsides to recover the gold. The Chinese hit it pretty hard too, staying longer than the other miners going over it again. It's interesting how they get somewhere, then just stop. The soils an interesting colour, almost white. Quite the drop off here down to the ground below, but oddly at least I think you'd be crazy not not to detect these high areas, as gold often pops up in the most unusual of places. My first bit of gold for the day was a bit of a surprise to me, it was a fairly faint signal, yet it was very shallow, I thought it is more likely a pellet although this area barely has any pellets at all, in fact it barely has any targets, if you get a target the chances are high its gold, aside from the occasional old bit of miner's junk like cans and a few nails most targets are gold so it's certainly a dig it all location. I took a little video of the target, so weak of a signal for the size of the gold I thought, although I'm more used to using the 10x5" Coiltek which is more sensitive but still, I was pretty disappointed. This is the little scrape of a hole it came from. The piece of gold. And its weight, quite a reasonable size piece for me, anything over .1 is pretty decent size for me 😛 I was so taken back by how weak the signal on it was I tested it this morning with the Algoforce to see how well it would do, even though it has the larger 10" round coil on it, I thought the Algoforce gave a better signal response on this particular piece. It's a bit of rough looking piece. The other interesting thing is it was right next to someone's previous dig hole, probably JW or I, we were likely using older technology at the time, as I'd only been here with my 4500 which no doubt would miss this piece of gold. It's very unlikely this person didn't go over the nugget and they missed it. The joys of newer technology. Next piece was in the path you walk on to hike to this area, there are tracks all over the place, mostly from old miners I guess however now they're hiking trails and go all through the area, you can even walk from one of my favourite ski fields to this area on tracks. This is it's dig hole, another very shallow target, an OK signal. This is the little guy Smaller than the last bit, but a much better signal. Just ignore the shaft twist in this photo, it's a feature of the 6000 🙂 After that I was walking along detecting the path, but no other gold to be found in that particular area, I did find old boot tacks though which is pretty cool, one spot had a bunch of them in one hole so I gave up recovering them, that miners boots must have fallen apart at that spot 🙂 The gold spot is the dig hole just above the pick in this photo. Here is a little video of it, I haven't watched the videos back yet but it likely shows this one had a better target signal than the previous bigger bit I found. It was pretty easy to film gold finds here as there is so little junk about, so filming bits of digs is worthwhile knowing they're likely gold. Next piece was on top of a little ridge It was my biggest bit of the day, had trouble carrying it for the hike back to the car. Deepest of the holes too. A smooth bit. This is its spot. And a little video of it, the second target next to it was one of 2 pellets I found all day. That was my last bit for the day, the day felt like it went really quick though, we finished up detecting about 7pm, but both of us didn't realize the time and thought it was about 5pm I guess. A benefit or a negative depending on how you look at it coming from the GPZ and GPX 5000 is the 6000 can have the pick so close to the coil it's not funny, it always surprises me how close the pick can go, even when you lay it down recovering targets so while using it I have a belt attached pick holder and in this location I am glad I did, as sometimes its half an hour between targets so nice to holster your pick. The super strong magnet I've got in my pick handle makes life easy too, if I'm using it more regularly, I can just attach it to my pick holder using the magnet to save the effort. It stays there when walking around as long as the pick doesn't bottom out on the ground. So other notable things from the day, this piece of quartz was so weird, it doesn't show up as well in the photo but its flat smoothed off and much like a tile or bench top, and really glossy, so weird. You can see the shine on that one side, but the entire flat surface of it is like that, and its smooth and flat although the photo doesn't show that well. It's like someone's cut it smooth and painted it with polyurethane. And my junk for the day, there was also a nail which I left behind and you can see why I say it's a dig it all location. I'm used to digging hundreds of pellets on the farm land locations, this spot, 2 🙂 Both big pellets too. And last but not least, some old miners' tins I found, I left them where they were, a bit of history. I think this tin can was never opened. This one looked like a giant sardine tin. I think I'll get a bit fitter so the hike and day of swinging a detector around going up and over hills and mounds of soils doesn't wear me down so much and go back to this spot more often, I do really like going there, it just takes it out of me. It's very difficult to E-Bike there too as much of the path is on a cliff side with a big drop and very skinny path no more than 40cm wide in many spots, I've done it before but ended up walking the bike much of the way as I wasn't crazy enough to ride it through the steep drop off areas. Today I'm completely jelly legs and walking is a challenge 🙂 JW doubled my gold count, he came away with 6 pieces, pretty small ones too, he was using the GPX 6000 and 10x5" Coiltek coil, a better choice of coil for the day, I think. I only had the NF coil on as it was left on there from a previous time. It was good to take the 6000 out though, leave it much longer and the old motor may seize from lack of use.
    31 points
  2. It's been rainy the last few days, yesterday was so windy it wasn't worth going out. Today was supposed to be warm, it got up to 65 but was 42 in the morning. I loaded up my WS6 Master with the 9" coil and my Deus 2 with the 13", and went to the field about a half mile away. I haven't been to this spot in a couple of years, an old house stood here, and I got lots of coins and other late 19th century stuff. I really didn't think I'd get much today, but I did. I walked around where the house was for a while, really behind it. I found a couple of things , and decided to head out to a small corner that I only searched for a short time but found some buttons and a couple of IHPs long ago. Little did I know the spot was a small hotspot, I kept finding coins and buttons in there until there was nothing left. The area was only about 50x50 feet, maybe less. There was evidence of cooking pits there and chunks of sandstone indicating a much older structure. Each pit had large iron in the bottom, I assume a kettle long rusted away, and lots of oyster shells. That is always a good sign. I dug 3 IHPs, the only one I could read was an 1888. The other two are toasted, one slick and the other very encrusted. When the spot dried up I went back to the house area. A big surprise was digging my first Flying Eagle cent! It wasn't until I cleaned everything up that I found I had a second one. They're pretty toasted but I can make out enough of the 8's to know they aren't all that rare, but that's about it. It was kind of a thrill to know I got two today. That wasn't all though. Here's the stuff I probably can't fit in a display box, Looks like I dug a broken and bent musket trigger guard: Got some sort of tap or plug, some recent dog tags from 2006, a lock slide, a parasol slide, and a D Buckle full of the iron pin. Here's the trash, looks like a lot but it fits in my hand: It's all just buckshot, bits of lead and aluminum. I think there's a mangled spoon bowl in there. Ok, now for the finds: I got a Buffalo and a V Nickel at the house site, no date on the Buffalo but the V is probably 1893. At first I thought it said 1882 but that would not be my luck. 😀 Got a skeleton key, a Yankee minié ball, a small brass salamander with enameled toes, and 3 buttons, a fantastic ball button, a small thick Gilt button with some gold left, and my favorite: It says "Colombia Libertad". I looked it up and while there are many celebrating the liberation of Colombia from Spain in 1810, I cannot find this one anywhere. The back has "Colour" on it, so I assume it was made in England or an English territory. I don't know where the nicks came from. 🤔 It's definitely the 1810-1850 style that is single piece. I also dug this interesting lead coin, it has lettering on it. If anyone has any information about the Colombian button I would appreciate it!
    24 points
  3. Not so long back I had a farmer friend call me and let me know that he was pulling out a fence on his property and that it was crossing a line of gold that I had detected years ago. Would I be interested in detecting the old fence lining in the hope of picking up some possible gold that may have been hidden by the fence? Naturally I replied in the affirmative, and seeing how James was having his yearly time off from farming I asked my farmer friend if it would be okay to bring my good mate along as well? He said that if I vouched for him it would be fine. The percentage for each was agreed upon, so we loaded up the old van and headed south. The fence line was a disappointment as there was old wire everywhere and soon proved to be a nightmare that yielded nothing. Also an old dam bank that could have been a chance was another waste of time. An area that I had always thought a bit too far west of the main line of enrichment looked interesting, having the right mix of stone and soil, so I gave it a shot while James detected further north. A couple of small bits soon turned up so I decided to zig zag southward to see if the colours might continue. For a while it was only bullets and broken bits off farm machinery until there came a broad signal that whispered up from depth. I took a big deep breath and slowly scanned the suspect hum. It sounded good even though just a murmur, and too positive and regular to be ground noise, not changing at all no matter from which direction or slight ground balance change. Once through the top soil the gravel began to show and confidence grew, although I was not 'spending the money' until at a couple of feet the source of the signal was unearthed. The dirty lump in my hand by its very weight told me what it was. With a wash and weigh the gold was revealed as a pretty ironstone and quartz bit over fourteen ounces. The best bit yet for my 6000 and 11' coil. Who says these are a 'flypoop' machine? James and I then gridded out the run for a half kilo altogether, his best bit being a nice worn and clean 2oz lump. Needless to say, our farmer friend was surprised and pretty 'chuffed'.
    20 points
  4. This posts a bit of a waste of time but any information is better than nothing. The coast has had pretty bad weather for a while now, today was meant to be a break in the weather and it was nice and sunny at home when I woke up so I thought I'd try take the Algoforce to the beach and try it out, I was going to be in the area anyway as my dentist is near to this beach and I had an appointment, seeing it's over an hour's drive each way to my dentist I figured it's a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and hit the beach before the appointment. Half way to the beach the wind picked up, the sky was grey and it was raining, great! I'd not want to live on the South coast of NZ, it's sure got some weather issues, drive inland an hour and you're in a vastly different climate. It doesn't help some storm from Antartica is sweeping over our island over the coming days either, so I'll have to try the beach again another day. I did film a small video while there, I dug a hole in the sand and put a $1 coin at the depth the Equinox started to lose the target, if I went much deeper the Equinox didn't pick it up at all, I was worried when I backfilled the hole the Nox may lose it but it kept the target, it was up averaging the ID's a lot, it should ID the coin flicking between 21 and 22. The Algo at that depth gave a near perfect ID on the coin which should be 66 according to an air test, I also experimented before backfilling the hole with the coin in there and the Algoforce was picking up the coin with a target signal deeper than the Equinox would. The Algoforce does lose the Target ID's at some point in depth when it still had the target signal. From this little experiment I've worked out on this beach at least I would be able to ID this coin much more accurately and deeper than the Equinox 800 can in the settings I was in, which was Beach 1, all defaults, ground balanced and 24 sensitivity. I didn't play around a lot as it was only about 5 minutes after I jumped in my car to leave the heavy rain kicked in. I did briefly take the Algo down to the salt water and have a try at ground balancing and it worked fine, this was all with the 10" Spiral X-coil, my most sensitive to small targets GPX coil so I was quite happy about that. The tide was right out so I didn't go all the way to the water to dunk the coil, It was too cold. I only didn't take my Manticore to check against it as when I went to grab it I had left the M8 coil on it and was in a rush to get out of the door so I couldn't be bothered trying to find the other coil and fitting it, so the Nox got the job 🙂 I think the Manticore would have done better than the Nox. Pure estimate, the coin was about 20 cm deep. (8 inches) The Beach does have some black sand, not ridiculous like some beaches around NZ, but still enough to cause a bit of havoc with VLFs. Here's the Video, I've kept it unlisted on Youtube as it's not very good and doesn't give all that much information but the best I could do given the circumstances. I'll try again on a nicer day when I have more time. I'm also kicking myself I didn't dig the target I found when in the wet sand, it could have been a ring, the right ID range, I was talking myself out of it as I would have had to go to the car and get the shovel and I just wanted to leave 😉 This is the weather I was dealing with; it's meant to get worse over the coming days and all the purple area is going to be snow, blue is cold air. Red and yellow are the warmer air. I'm guessing the maroon colour over Australia is the crazy hot air, we don't get that here 😛
    18 points
  5. Today Chase came down for a "do your own thing" sort of hunt, we went to a permission of mine that almost guarantees at least something old. It was pretty cloudy today but exceptionally warm for mid March, there was a threat of rain all day but it never did, thankfully. The ground is still wet from the last storm under the surface, but the high winds blew the surface dry. I always fear Chase will come all the way down and not find much, but he did ok, just about the same as me but more buttons. It ended up being a good day despite the heat and the gnats that were everywhere. I only got 4 buttons today, one may be a small boss, but the biggest one is a silvered Dandy button. The smallest one has backmarks, and the top left one has some gold flowers on the front. I have no idea what the extremely figured piece of metal is top center. I even got a 1996 dime, my pay for the day 🤣 Of course the feature item I found today was the complete spectacle buckle, my book says pre-1650, so it's pushing 400 years old. 😎 This might be the first complete one I've ever found, I usually find them in pieces. Overall it was a great day to get out there, it won't be long now until the fields are planted. Only a handful of junk, this place isn't too trashy.
    17 points
  6. I went out for two days in the NV desert to use my new Axiom. I played with the setting for the first day trying to figure out the machine and what it was telling me. By the end of the day I was running a negative threshold. Day two I spent the morning in an area that looked promising. Tons of quartz and thermally altered schist with veins of quartz mixed in. This area was absolutely silent except for a 22 bullet down about six inches. I decided to give Rye Patch district a go on the way home. The Axiom ran so quiet in the morning I thought I was way off on what I was doing. At Rye Patch I started picking up minuscule bits or iron. I was also finding tiny fragments of bullets. I met a fellow detectorist while I was there. He was using the 6000, a 4500 I think, and a goldmonster. Preferring the 4500 over the 6000 which he said was giving to much feedback with the underlying clays being so wet. Since I was finding so many little fragments and bits I knew the machine was working as it should. When I found a target I would scrape the top 1-2" and check to see if it moved. Most of the little bits were surface. A few troublesome pieces of wire were 4" down. It was getting late and I was still working on the skunk. I was headed back to the truck and got a nice hi low sound that gave a similar result when I turned on it. I scratched off two inches and it sounded better. Went to 4" and it sounded better. At 4" I was hitting some rocks. I pried the first one out and poked the nose of the coil in the hole. The sound was so good. I pried the second rock out and stuck the coil in the hole. Nothing. Checked the rock and it's a fantastic signal. I scraped the clay off the rock and ran that glob over the coil. I had it. My first nugget ever! Update of first impression. The Axiom battery seems like it will run forever. It dropped 1 bar day one and 1 bar day two. I did re-charge it overnight. The arm cuff felt tight the first night I tried it but it flexed into a good fit. The Zlink headphones will drop out if not positioned properly. The settings I settled were 7 and -7. Very little ground noise.
    16 points
  7. I have a pile of SD cards that I started looking through. Every time I have an outing I put a new SD card in my camera so I have plenty of room for videos. Which is crazy because these cards hold so much. So this guy has been a very close friend of mine since the beginning of when I got into this. He's a fellow Minelab dealer. He's a good Christian, he's gives fantastic support to his customers. He's invited me to detect on his claim. I was there when he got married and I have watched his daughter grow up from birth into a beautiful young lady. This man is just an all around nice guy and you can never go wrong dealing with Rob Allison. This picture is of Rob and his hunting partner Dennis and I. Picture date May 2013 These next two people are also dear to my heart. Both Minelab dealers. I've known Gerry McMullen forever. He has single handedly probably trained more people how to use a metal detector than all of us other dealers put together. Gerry is a no-nonsense guy, former Marine with a very dry sense of humor. I think Gerry and his wife Michelle and my wife and I have been all over the world to every Minelab annual partner conference that has been held. You can always count on Gerry to help you out if he can. Need a machine for customer, and Minelab is out, Gerry is always willing to loan you a machine so your customer is not disappointed. Gerry continues to be a driving force in this industry. He also received Mienlab's coveted EAGLE award for outstanding dealer of the year. This next person was known as the Gold Lady. Retta Atkins was such a joy. She was funny as hell and sort of a miniature Dolly Parton. If you didn't know her personality I can explain it this way. If Dolly Parton and Larry the Cable Guy had a baby, that was Retta. Unfortunately about a year and a half ago Retta and her boyfriend Darren were brutally shot and murdered in a home invasion. To Retta's spunk and spirit she got off a shot and wounded the assailant in the shoulder. But that didn't stop him from chasing her into the bedroom and emptying his gun. The intruder was looking for gold and obviously had insider information regarding Retta and her business. The world of metal detecting is a sadder place without Retta Atkins in it. She was a very close friend, we probably spoke every week. She is missed and remembered by all that knew her. They thought they had caught her murderer in a shoot out in which the suspected assailant killed himself. Later it was discovered that was not the person when they arrested the person who was responsible for their murders. This individual was found with evidence taken from Retta's home and had a healed bullet wound from where he had been shot. Daniel Matthew Avila, age 25 was arrested in March of 2023 when he was involved in another home invasion and the bullets from that scene matched the bullets from Retta's home. This picture is of Gerry McMullen and Retta in Sunset Park in Las Vegas Nevada when we were being trained by Minelab on the then new and yet to be released CTX3030. Picture date May 2012. The other gentleman in the picture is Greg Johns a former tech with Minelab from Australia. I think Greg has gone on to other pursuits. If my memory serves me correctly he purchased a large ranch in Australia which was just amazing in terms of the scenery. I hope he is doing well. Thank you all for your amazing friendship over the years. In case you're wondering I'm not going anywhere, but I'm getting that age where I have a heck of a lot more history that I do future. These folks have been part of that memorable history that I have had. Thanks guys, and God Bless You Retta. Doc
    15 points
  8. There are two markets. The hobbyists who do it for the sunshine, long walks and social outings. Lots of that here and some in Australia. Then there are the serious guys - plenty in Australia but the huge market is Africa. You can always sell hobbyists stuff. People detect for coins and jewelry and relics and some people will go detect for a few small nuggets. I lean more the other way - gold was always a way to make money for me and I did quite well with it. And those Africans? They are putting food on the table. So Minelab can come out with a multifrequency Gold Monster 2 or a lighter weight GPZ 8000 and there will be sales to be had from hobbyists. But the serious folks, the people who expect their detecting to pay for itself and then some..... that HUGE Africa market? Minelab will only see real sales numbers that matter from a detector that makes dead ground light up again. Ground that no longer pays with a GPX 6000 and a GPZ 7000 must pay with a new model. If not, it is game over because the hobbyist market is a pittance compared to the worldwide market for serious gold detecting. Technology hit the wall? Dreamers want to dream but my decades behinds the scenes experience and contacts with engineers do not allow me to wear those rose colored glasses. Minelab faces their hardest task ever - one upping themselves just one more time. They have been eking out gains on ever smaller gold and that has been working up until now. But hitting stuff smaller than a GPX 6000? We are into VLF country at that point, and what really is the point? I am the guy Minelab needs to sell. I'm ready to hang up nugget detecting entirely as not worth my time. If I just want to go detect for fun I can do that at a local park or at the beach and have as much or more fun as wandering around NOT finding good gold. The Aussies want a detector that will hit a 6 ounce nugget at enough extra depth it makes them toss a modded GPX or a X Coil outfitted GPZ 7000 to the side in favor of the new model. What I really need is more depth on one gram to 15 gram nuggets. Not a "oh gosh it seems like that signal is a bit better" imaginary difference on a buried test nugget. I need a machine that when I bury this 1 to 15 gram nugget, there is no signal at all with a GPX 6000 or GPZ 7000 and a strong signal with this new machine. No BS hair splitting, but a genuine "bang" versus dead silence. If the new machine can do that then I will buy the new one and be happy and Minelab shareholders will be ecstatic. The Africa Gold Rush and more will reignite for one last round, aided by higher gold prices. Minelab will sell piles of them, and at no doubt eye watering prices. But can Minelab deliver? As somebody with more than a wishful thinking aspect about what it takes to make that happen, I'm not very hopeful. At some point the well does really run dry, and I frankly just shake my head knowing what I know at the blind faith in the idea that detectors will never hit a wall for depth. There are genuine reasons for why that is not true and good reason to believe Minelab is having a difficult time beating what is already available. I'm quite certain there will be something to sell, some statistic generated by a positive result in some circumstance. No doubt pictures of some gold found on "well pounded ground." All I can say is I am that guy that has always, without hesitation, ditched my last Minelab the second a new version came out, and never regretted it. Not this time. I will wait until I see inconvertible proof that the wall has been truly burst through and nuggets are popping right and left out of ground we all have now about given up for dead. Until that happens it's all just opinionating and wishful thinking.
    13 points
  9. (if lazy to read, skip to the bottom for the video and pic) Hiii guys!! I'm back. Lots of no work at the moment, plenty of time off to hit up some beaches whilst we still have some hot days left in our Aussie summer. Practically living off gold finds at the moment LOL . Had a few beers so mind the lazy grammar tonight sorry! 😄 I went out on the weekend at sunset, it was over 30 degrees C, very hot and very busy. Almost did not go in the water because it was a little bit choppy and there was lots of people swimming. Little did I know another prospector whom I know was watching wondering why we were pondering so hard from the carpark hahaha. Finally went down, said g'day and he wished us luck. Wow the water was amazing!! You can hear how busy it was, I even had a woman skim over the top of me on her surfboard which you can see in the video, just as I found a gold ring. The first hunt, I got in the water and found a coin right away, then the 18ct band, all within 3.5 minutes of actually getting in the water! which told me there was going to be plenty to find. I think that's the fastest gold ring I've found. When I came to this spot 2 weeks ago it was sooo sanded in, I got almost nothing after about 4 hours so I'm very glad to see lots of clay and rocks this day. The 20gm silver bar was random, it has a name and date on the back and cleaned up really nice, 20 grams of 999 silver. Lots of silver on those rocky parts, rarely gold for some reason? Maybe cleaned up by said friend already lol I got 1 ring which looked silver but rang up really low, so I'm thinking maybe pewter. all others were gold and then a junk ring which was on the wet sand. went out the next morning at 6am and as soon as there was some daylight I was right in the water. another 3 gold rings. Yay. I cut down about 5 hours of gopro footage to 8 minutes to skip all the boring parts. No talking, no music, no bs. Simple video for all to watch just showing the finds. I plan on editing it further one day and maybe doing a proper youtube video, hence the watermark slapped right in the middle and the dull ending. I think the wrist watch will work, it hasn't got any water in it, I'm just waiting for a new battery to arrive whilst it airs out. Definitely been there a while! I found a old Tag Huer 2000 there last week about 20 meters away which was completely ruined sadly. Total weight was just over 20 grams of gold, about $1100 AUD in scrap. Assuming the "S" pattern one is 9ct for hope sake but it kinda looks like 18ct, just not hallmarked. Obviously using the Manticore - I gave up with the D2. Gave it a chance a few weeks ago but far too noisy (in this spot), too fidgety, too hard to charge, too annoying, too many breakable parts, too quiet and already on my 3-4th warranty. On a side note; I'm using the gopro hero+ since I lost my hero3 last winter. I have the WASABI extended battery, total was about $50aud and the mask from China was about $17. I like it much better than the hero 3, theres a much wider lens i think. I had lots of issues getting it going which turned out to be a non compatible SD card in the end. the battery is fine without the extended battery, I get 2-3 hours of recording and I love it! sadly I don't think they can handle anything above 32gb SD cards so I'm a littleeee limited on storage, whereas I had 64gb compatibility on the hero 3 - it was just impossible to find an extended battery setup from WASABI since they're discontinued.. hell even the Hero+ ones are "old stock clearance" now. Super open to criticism about video quality/editing if anyone wants to input some feedback whether positive or negative 🙂 Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNYQJI897Tg
    12 points
  10. Every once in a while I post excerpts from the journal on my FB page as an experiment. People who read it know nothing about prospecting or gold mining. I am always surprised when they want to read more. Some comment that the journal needs to be made into a movie. I think not a movie but it would make a great continuing weekly adventure series made for TV. Who would the actors be to play all the different characters in the journal is something I always think about. Every year starting in 2019 I get contacted by Discovery. It's actually happened twice this year. They bug me to put a crew on Fred Dodge Mine Rescue which I always tell them I have no interest in doing. This last contact came from a girl who is an associate producer based in London. I told her about the journal & sent her the link. I told her it would be a far better program than anything they are currently producing. Her response was that I should pitch it to the new programs department. I never did. If I had the funds and know how I would produce my own mini series. Some people have suggested I read the journal on a YouTube channel. Not sure about that. Lots of fun posting the entries here on Steve's site.
    12 points
  11. As noted, John had a great sense of humor and would kid people with no mercy. But he had a thick hide and you could kid him back just as much and he would laugh. He had a lot of adventures, including spending a month under house arrest in Oman. He had permission to hunt meteorites there from the authorities, but apparently not from everyone who might object. He had to buy his way out - in countries like that you can purchase your freedom if you have the money. He hunted gold in Australia, and of course all over Arizona. He had found pounds of gold in Arizona and spent a lot of time detecting there. John loaned some of his gold to Arizona museums to display. This is a tiny, tiny part of the gold he found.
    12 points
  12. I recently had some doubts about the effectiveness of my sessions and made a radical change in instrumentation. Although I had been adopting the Deus 2 on the bottom for a year continuously now, I first overdid it by dusting the immortal Excalibur and later dusting the Ctx3030... Last week the numbers suddenly spiked and I reluctantly decided to sell the Deus 2. As I write, the new owner of the remote is getting ready to go out for the first time to the beach with my former detector. What happened this morning, however, marks a historic date for me. I am a diver, I practice the shoreline very little, and in my area, given the minimal tidal variation, practically after the first autumn storms the equipment is all in the water... Well, after years, I pulled up a ring in one of the worst spots where nothing but aluminum, iron and rarely any coins turn up. I hate to repeat it, but the time saved by avoiding digging out any possible sign made all the difference. Little does the bit of gold matter; getting to dig it up matters to me. I have no words 🏴‍☠️
    12 points
  13. I was hunting one of the original Denver area parks that was built in the late 1880s. Shovel digging is not allowed at these parks so recovery is with a screw driver or probe. I have found plenty of wheat pennies, a couple of Indian head pennies, several Barber, Mercury and Roosevelt silver dimes and two silver Washington quarters at this park in the last four years after first getting the Equinox 600 and 800. I was deliberately hunting an area that I knew would not be too wet or frozen under some trees at the edge of a popular sledding hill. I have hunted this exact spot many times with the Nox 600/800 with 11" coil and Deus 1 and Deus 2 with their 9" coils. I am guessing I have hunted this area at least 10 times since it is near the top of the sledding hill and fresh dropped jewelry and coins happen in that area every year. I was actually looking for gold jewelry but I was also interested in deep high conductors. I had my Manticore in All Terrain General Multi, sensitivity 23, recovery speed 5, iron bias 0, and I had the horseshoe button engaged so that I would hear all target responses including iron. Ground balance was 4. This ground has plenty of magnetite, square nails, modern nails and is loaded with many years of aluminum and steel trash. There are very few places to ground balance. I heard a deep iron signal, saw red numbers and decided to turn on it and I was able to hear some faint, very short intermittent high conductor tones along with lots of iron tones. I pinpointed the target area with the Manticore's onboard pinpoint function and was able to isolate two separate targets and saw them clearly on the 2D screen with one upper area iron and the other at the high conductor far right edge of the non ferrous line. Depth was 8" on the depth meter. I dug the high conductor farthest right target first and it turned out to be the silver Washington quarter laying half way on edge at the center of the dig hole about 7" deep. My handheld pinpointer was still picking up a target on the left edge of the hole which turned out to be the business end of that iron skeleton key in the photo. It was laying horizontally. I recovered it, filled the hole and rescanned. I got a coin sized high conductor target response plain as day with target IDs ranging from 90 to 99 with very few intermittent iron responses about 6" to the left of the hole that contained the Washington quarter and skeleton key. Depth was again 8" on the depth meter and only one solid target trace was at the far right of the non-ferrous line on the 2D screen. Basically, I was starting to freak out. I certainly had not heard any target responses like that with the other detectors that I had used at this spot. The Walking Liberty half dollar was about 8" deep standing straight up on edge at the center of the dig hole. Basically, the Walking Liberty half and the silver Washington quarter were in a spill at the same depth with the skeleton key laying roughly horizontally between them and they were all under the Manticore's 11" coil at the same time. They were situated sort of like this but buried under about 7" of iron mineralized dirt.
    10 points
  14. I don't know. At this point I think all that will make a splash is a genuine performance boost to the point where we can go back to places pounded with the 6000 and 7000 and have some reasonable gold start showing up. If the patch is dead to a 6000 and 7000 with X coils a lighter 7000 is not going to cut it. I bitch about the weight all the time but fact is I can still swing a 7000 all day long. If a GPZ 8000 does not give me a genuine better shot at gold coming out of currently dead ground then I don't need it, no matter what it weighs.
    9 points
  15. I put this together back when I first got the MC, but did not think it would be of interest to anyone but myself. However, since the topic came up I thought I would post it.
    9 points
  16. Rob still sells them. Direct link to SteelPhase brand: https://phasetechnical.com.au/steelphase/ Many still prefer the plug and play simplicity of hardwired set ups Simon, me included. Less things to charge, and never any crackles and drop outs. Saying that, there's still plenty of options for incorporating the sP01 into a wireless setup as many users have already. GPZ - just connect to the WM12's headphone socket SDC (or any other unit for that matter) - mount the sP01 on the unit and run a wireless transmitter from the sP01 output. 6000 - cleanest way is to get a Quest LL wireless receiver, and plug the sP01 into that. (1/4" socket onboard) https://phasetechnical.com.au/quest-bluetooth-low-latency-receiver-suit-gpx6000/ Still strong demand for the sP01, and the headphones seem to have gained in popularity in the last few months as well, which is unusual as it's usually the quieter time for gold prospecting related gear so can't work that out.
    9 points
  17. Finally finished my mini WS-6 Master. First off, I bought a Golden Mask style shaft for it, it came with a steel arm cuff and foot, poorly and unevenly drilled holes for the zinc bolts (all the fitment hardware is zinc 😵), and possibly a missing bottom shaft aligner. The shaft is carbon fiber, not the thickest I've seen, but it's fine for me. It has 3 sections which make it the longest detector I own, here it is next to my stock D2 fully extended: Yeah it's that long. You'd probably have to be Shaq or even taller to complain about it. Fully extended it's almost as tall as me (6'1). I could probably use it to search storm drains if they didn't have iron. 🤣 I disliked the arm cuff, so I replaced it with an Anderson cuff for Minelab FBS detectors, it's powder coated aluminum. I used a single stainless bolt as the second hole was drilled improperly, and put 3M Extreme tape on the flange before I tightened it. I have a single zip tie on it to prevent rotation, but it probably won't. Next obstacle was a foot, I bought a Nokta Universal Bipod. Again secured from rotation by 3M Extreme tape. It folds forward and is very light. I secured the WS-6 puck holder to the mount using a single zip tie, it will not fall off. I think I learned that here from one of our other intrepid rural engineers. Gotta replace that zinc screw however, I'm sure it will rust fast. I will probably replace all of the hardware. Completely compressed the detector is a little smaller than my stock D2: I understand now why the 3d section position holder was omitted, it allows the coil to be rotated to the side to put it in a backpack. The biggest obstacle I noticed was the coil yoke, does anyone understand the XP coil securing concept? Xp coils come with a plug of sorts that goes on the wingnut side of the coil. The coils only come with one washer, and the reason for it is simple: XP puts all of the rotation pressure on one coil ear, nearly eliminating ear breakage. The plug fits in a hole on the wingnut side, and pushes the coil against the single washer on the bolt head side. This keeps the bolt straight so it does not break, and puts enough pressure on the coil so it can be made difficult to rotate. I've tested this concept with a Lyman Trigger Pull gauge. The amount of pull on the shaft in order to move it has to be greater than 5 pounds, or the coil will flop. Not so much the 9" but definitely the 11 and 13" coils, which is why you don't want to use two washers - one on each side - to secure the coil. I can pretty much guarantee bolt breakage or flop. This shaft came with two washer/grommets, that equals floppy coil. Most washers are made with EPDM or some other such compound, and they are slippery. Slippery x 2 = floppy coil or bolt bending and breaking. 😎 I found a solution to this as well, I went to my local Ace Hardware, and bought 2 hard black nylon washers and a press plug to hold them together, inserted it in the wingnut side of the yoke, and used the standard XP bolt and plug to hold it all together. Below is a photo of the assembly, you can see how it pushes the coil left to put pressure on the single washer/grommet, keeping the bolt straight. This can be tightened almost as much as you want without breaking a bolt, I'm getting 8 pounds of pull before the shaft moves, that's really good for people that don't like to spend all day adjusting the coil! 🤪 Yes, I'm crazy. 🤣 I removed two of the zip ties on the cuff, they aren't necessary anymore. The whole thing weighs 992 grams, that's about 2.19 pounds, a little heavier than the stock D2, but smaller and longer, and far more secure to use. The twist locks are aluminum with rubber grips, probably the second best thing to the carbon fiber 😀 I prefer camlocks. it may not be totally practical but it was a lot of fun figuring all this stuff out! 🍀
    9 points
  18. Finding ladies old vintage wrist watches at yard sales and converting them to necklace pieces filled with placer gold. My girls now have one.
    8 points
  19. You need a thick skin to put yourself out there, especially if you like to stir the pot. I fully sympathize as this forum is largely set up the way it is to protect my own peace of mind. The open internet can be vicious and genuinely harmful if not managed properly. Sometimes it’s just not worth it and the best solution is to step away. He has my best wishes.
    8 points
  20. Looks like everyone is having a different copy version made of all the older Minelab technology. A definite sign Minelab needs to start filling the demand for newer better detector technologies unless of course they have hit a wall. I doubt that is the case as they have the largest electronics engineering team ever known for hobby detector development and have had these engineers on board for a long time now. Surprising they have had no new releases for such a long time in the gold detector series. So what has happened in comparison to the early years when the SD/GP/GPX releases were quite frequent, seems every 2 years or sooner then. Even though they were mostly minor upgrades until the GPX series they were enough to get the buyers interested. The GPX-5000 is about 14 years old and has been still a great selling detector, now it’s not available in the U.S. and you can only get a fake on the knock off marketplace now. SDC-2300 is 12 years old and still no Platypus coil for it. ZED is 9 years old. GM-1000 is 7 years old and still single frequency. So other companies have had plenty of time to make similar designs in a lower price range. Seems like we should have had had an upgraded wide variety and selection of the above mentioned models out by now. Give me a GPX-5500 in a light package and includes the SD2200d or original GPX-4500 depth range and Micks mods incorporated into it and you would have the professional gold hunter market covered. The GPX-6000 should have been called the GPX-auto lite since it has no larger coil options and would of been a great entry level for beginners with a lower price point than the above professional option mentioned. Hopefully things change for the better with the current Minelab corporate leadership and that they get back into the top player market again.
    8 points
  21. September 6 2002 We all spent another long day on the mine. Jacob and Clay once again did themselves proud and the Old Bulldog hauled 160 yards of rich pay gravel to our processing site. Conor and I finished the reclamation just as night rolled in. Tomorrow I am driving to the Forest Service station to let them know we are ready for an inspection. Hopefully they can come out quickly and we get back to mining. There have been a lot of unexpected twists and turns to this mining season. I have learned that the best laid plans sometimes aren’t worth the paper they are written on. Our crew is strong and getting stronger with each adversity we face. I think Clay is rock solid and can be depended on in any situation. Jacob is Jacob and Conor is doing his best to become a miner. He has come a long way in a short period of time. We all ate supper together and watched the stars pop out of the black night sky. I never tire of looking at them. Jacob had a surprise for us. He brought out a pan he had processed out of the pay we were stockpiling. It was full of coarse gold. He said he’d tested several samples and they were all looking good. That material up on the mountain is definitely the rich ground. When Clay saw the contents in the pan I saw his eyes glaze over. I knew immediately he had the fever just like the rest of us. The fever that will keep you fighting against all the bad things that can happen out here on this cursed mine. The fever that can even turn you into an old outlaw like Jacob. TO BE CONTINUED ............
    8 points
  22. September 5 2002 Part Two I had a long talk with the Forest Service agent and headed back to camp to talk with the crew. Everyone was upset including new crew member Big Clay. He wanted to see gold. I was able to salvage part of our work operation. I explained that we would still be able to haul pay gravel. So Clay and Jacob can stay busy and Conor and I will use the skid steer to do the required reclamation. We should be able to get back to processing in a few days as long as the Forest Service signs off on our reclaimed ground. Then we will have to steer clear of those areas which will not be a problem. It’s a nuisance but we will just have to deal with it as fast as possible. We all got back to work and by sundown Conor and I had gotten a lot of the big trenches filled in. I am thinking maybe one more long day and we might be ready for an inspection. Jacob and Clay were working fools. I heard that old Mack rumbling down the haul road over and over. If those two stopped for lunch it must have been a quick one. We won’t let anything stop us. We sampled some of the pay gravel Clay has been sending and it has a lot of coarse gold in it. I think we have a good shot at ending the season on a high note. TO BE CONTINUED .............
    8 points
  23. I really like my Deus 2 whether it's with the full remote or the WS6 Master. I really like my Manticore too. No, these detectors do not have equal performance and unless you are hunting only by ear with both detectors, the WS6 as Master even with the big ID numbers just can't come remotely close to giving a similar amount of onscreen information as the Manticore. If a person has poor eyesight.....forget about using the WS6 as Master if you want to use its display for more information than just big target ID numbers. Manticore with the M8 coil vs Deus 2 with 9" coil for small gold nugget prospecting or micro jewerly on land is not equal. Otherwise Manticore with 11" coil and Deus 2 with 13X11" coil is very close for most other detecting. I was not an early adopter of the Manticore. In fact, I really didn't think I remotely needed one especially after buying a Nox 900 and really disliking it. I got the Manticore itch when I started to see some good reports after the first Manticore software update and M8 coil release. Now after owning one for six months, I am really hooked and I have only been using All Terrain General and the Prospecting modes. Multi IQ+ is much better than Multi IQ on the jacked up 900. Depth is fantastic, EMI resistance is really good, I really like the many audio themes and advanced features and the 2D screen is not a gimmick. I'm glad I got mine before the price increase happened.
    8 points
  24. So my plan is 2 fold - to work the upper dig site talked about in the 2002 journal with a trommel & excavator. Water will need to be pumped from the closest creek about 3000 ft in distance. At the same time another crew would work the old 1936 dig site which sits on a fault line 2000 ft west. The 1936 gold strike area produced 1000 ounces and I have had a physicist up there looking at the area. He thinks the 1000 ounces was a drop in the bucket because it was removed from a small area of raised bedrock and there is likely 1000's of ounces more just below and to the sides of the original strike. The miner was murdered and the area long forgotten until I discovered it by finding the old government report. Two crews & one big camp. I will continue to work on this plan & post more as things possibly develop.
    8 points
  25. As some of you already know, I bought another D2 rig with both the 9” and the 13x11 coils. I’ve had 4 hunts thus far with the big coil and here’s the highlights. Two junk rings, a small junk pendant, 1910 V nickel, 1950 rosie, tootsie toy jaguar, organ reed (I think that’s what that is), and the highlight of tonight’s hunt, the sterling rifle medal. That medal was as deep as the mi6 and the tootsie car was around 10”-11” deep. Everything else was 6” or less. These four hunts were at sites that I have hunted many times before. The coverage of this coil is perfect in my opinion. The weight, although noticeably heavier than the 9”, is still very easy to swing. It has a pendulum type feel to it and once it switches direction, its momentum seems to carry it through to the other end of the swing. If you’re at all on the fence about getting this coil just do it!
    8 points
  26. September 4 2002 Part Four We got back to the mine around 3:00 PM. The truck was loaded down with all the lumber needed to rebuild the tom on a larger scale. We unloaded everything and got to work. The sluice run was lengthened first. Then all the mats were put in place with the riffles. By the time we had this completed Jacob and Clay had stopped work for the day and come down to camp for supper. I explained to Jacob what had happened and he didn’t have much to say. He was happy to see the new tom was being built. Conor and I worked right up to dark on the grizzly/hopper set up and we finished up just as it was getting dark. We had done the entire job in five hours of non stop labor. There were a few minor details left to finish up but we decided to get some food and call it a day. A long day for sure. Conor and I ate our late supper while Clay drank beer. Lots of beer. Jacob seemed to get a kick out of it. He asked us about the new long tom. I told him it would process double what the old one did. I figured it could handle 10 - 15 yards of gravel per hour so if the trommel broke again we had a good backup system ready to take its place. We could hardly wait to give it a try. Everyone hit the sack around 10:30 except for Big Clay who sat out at the fire with a case of beer by his camp chair. I’d never seen anyone like him before. He is a character. I told him I’d see him in the morning and am going to bed. TO BE CONTINUED ...............
    8 points
  27. Ouch. That one hits hard. For those of you who never had the pleasure of meeting or hunting with John B., we have lost a good one. This guy had one of the best senses of humor you could ever wish to be around. He also had a razor sharp mind, was highly experienced at finding all sorts of stuff. Meteorites, gold, tall stories, and so much more. I can't pretend I knew him well but I do know the several times I got to hunt with him and sit with him in the evening made a lasting impression on me. His famous pointy finger was no joke, he knew his stuff and generously shared what he had learned. Godspeed friend.
    8 points
  28. September 4 2002 Part Three I eventually calmed down and went over to speak with Conor. He was pretty upset and told me he’d pay for the repairs. I told him no, it will come out of company funds and everyone makes mistakes from time to time. I told him it was a lesson learned for him and I had made plenty of goof ups as well. That seemed to relieve his mind some but he was still feeling lousy. As we straightened up the mess we heard Big Clay rambling down the haul road and when he dumped the gravel he stuck his head out the window and asked what the hell happened. I told him it was just an accident and we’d get it taken care of. I told him not to mention any of this to Jacob as we would explain things when he came down to camp. I told him we were heading to town to get lumber to fix the tom. I didn’t want Jacob getting all upset while he was working. Clay let out a laugh and nodded his head in agreement and rambled back up the mountain for another load. I told Conor that we would get the materials to build a bigger long tom so we could process more material and if we got going and had it built in a day or so we wouldn’t miss a beat and actually would end up better off than when we started. That made him feel a lot better and off to town we went. TO BE CONTINUED ................
    8 points
  29. 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
    8 points
  30. FWIW - XP did finally fix how the discrimination algorithms work with Full Tones and Iron Volume for all base programs and added an alternative "silencer" filter (a form of iron bias filtering on the Deus) in Update 1.0. Update 1.1 enabled the user to select either the legacy or updated silencer filter dependent on selecting the appropriate base program. The Tekkna program as demonstrated by Gary Black uses the updated silencer filter (although at its minimum setting) by utilizing Factory Program 3 as the base program. If users want to use Tekkna with less aggressive silencer filtering they can use Base Program 2 and set the Silencer accordingly as well as also selecting full tones audio. XP did not make any obvious adjustments to the discrimination or silencer algorithms with the latest 2.0 updates. Honestly, it's not clear to me that anything really needs to be addressed or fixed with respect to discrimination beyond what XP has already done. I don't think Tekkna is expoiting a flaw in D2 discrimination processong. The poke above at XP regarding their sloppy software configuration control processes is warranted. They never seem to internalize lessons learned from prior update snafus. The following is not directed at anyone who I quoted earlier in this post...it's just a separate reflection on some of the responses in this thread... People commenting/complaining in this thread about the Gary Black Tekkna custom program because it uses the Program 3 silencer or because disc is set too high for your local desirable target IDs have me scratching my head. If you think that silencer filter is too aggressive, you can then just simply build Tekkna around Program 2 or similar. In fact it makes sense to experiment to make the program work for your specific situation instead of simply condemning it as "useless". If you think the disc is too high for some of your desirable targets, then lower it. There are plenty of options. And frankly, because of the dynamic audio, I can see where it may not be a good fit for some people - not everyone's cup of tea. Full disclosure, I have tried it, but Relic really just works best for me, personally. I have ot programmed in as a "target interrogation" program option to ID falsing iron if my other Relic iron tells are inconclusive. I get the distinct feeling people go out of their way to shoot down something that has been objectively demonstrated to work well for some users, like the OP. There is nothing about Tekkna that tells me that discrimination implementation on the Deus 2 is flawed. I will make this final observation, it is really easy to throw stones and say something doesn't work because there is no burden of proof for such criticism. You simply have to show up and proclaim it as fact and state you couldn't find anything. It's a whole different matter to put yourself out there to be subjected to such criticism by sharing your positive experience with a custom program or group of settings and back it up with actual finds. I don't understand the negativity displayed against people trying to share tips with the forum. I have found that those who consistently criticize such posts, the manufacturers, or specific detectors or who constantly bring negative energy to the forum often have a track record of NOT contributing or sharing useful information to the community. Just an observation.
    8 points
  31. My wife has never been a fan of me being out in the woods, alone and off trail. Most of the colonial era sites I detect at are out in the remote woods and the trails and cart paths that once led to them are no longer visible. So years ago we agreed upon a plan that I would call her a few hours into the hunt just to let her know I was alive. Plus, I always left a map of where I would be and what time I should be home by. This has worked fairly well over the years EXCEPT when there was no cell phone service. This happened on a hunt last month when for some reason an area that usually has cell service didn’t have cell service. Needless to say, my wife was not in a good mood when I got home. It doesn’t matter that statistically I am safer hiking alone in the woods then she is when she drives to the supermarket. Reason doesn’t come into play at all in these discussions however. So to restore tranquility, I went and purchased one of those Zoleo 2-way satellite tracking units. All my wife has to do now is open the app on her phone and she can see where I am on a map. It gives the exact coordinates, shows my breadcrumbs. It’s got some other nice features such as an SOS button. It will use cell service if available, if none is available is it will automatically use the iridium satellite network. It’s pretty slick. It's a win-win. She’s happy now. If I do fall and break my neck out in the middle of the woods, they will be able to recover my body before the coyotes get to dine on me. I am happy because I can detect anywhere with out worrying about my wife getting all worked up and upset if I lose cell service. Tranquility has been restored. Lodge
    8 points
  32. He was brutally honest with himself and his followers and detractors in his final farewell video. He totally understood the dynamic, recognized the haters were never going away and never going to embrace him, and he was very self aware of how evolved in a positive manner during his YouTube journey. It just became to much of a time sink and he fully recognized when it was time to walk away before completely burning out. Some great nuggets in his farewell for budding YouTubers. This video convinced me once and for all that I am probably not cut out to be content provider in that medium. I'll stick to the written word.
    7 points
  33. They worked out their 6000 coils fail too much so what better way than to have less warranty returns on them than give people a free Coiltek with their 6000 purchase. 😛
    7 points
  34. Doc you touched on a sensitive subject for me. JB's Ouncer Club 🎯👌 When I 1st heard mentioned many years ago It left an impression on me I can't explain. There was nothing more important in my life after learning about it. A College Or Special Ed Diploma, Meeting the President, Dinner with a Celebrity, nothing was more important. I had to Achieve it, it became an obsession to me. Someone could spend the rest of their life trying to detect an ounce or larger nugget and fail completely odds were against it. I spent years at it and Dam if I didn't Trip the Switch and Beat the odds one day. And By more than double a 2.49 Oz piece. Looked like Vampire Fangs coming down both sides of it hence the photo in mouth 🤣😂 It was the Vampire Nugget of the Ouncer Club 👍👌 And with multiple witnesses hunting along side me at the time 👍 It was more important to me than any education certificates could be. Another Creation of J.B. it turned me into a Gold Monster and Loving every minute of it all thru the years ! I think I've had every hobby, interest, and Vice and Detecting for Nuggets is the Finest one of ALL. 👑👍
    7 points
  35. You'll be able to weed out some shot pellets by them having very low ID's most commonly 00 and gold the sizes in that photo will have an ID very different to a pellet. A good thing about the Algoforce is it seems to hold it's ID's until it no longer gets an ID, the ID's don't creep lower or go higher as they get deeper like is common on VLF's. It might just be my milder soils causing this very stable ID I don't know, I'd love to hear from someone else on it as nobody else with an Algo has mentioned much about it, and to me it's one of the coolest features of the detector.
    7 points
  36. I guess I'm the oddball exception here. I LOVE the 900 over the 800. To me, every feature is an improvement with the 900. I find the expanded (enhanced?) TID scale a benefit in separating known targets. I can tell a nickel over a pull tab much easier in most cases. Sure, just the tail of a pull tab will fool you still, but, that's no different than with the 800. Most of the modern tabs I find these days (not counting completely corroded ones) read in the 30's. Nickels NEVER do. They're usually a solid 27 unless corroded where they read less. As for that comparison chart, I don't agree with it's accuracy. For instance, a 29 (clad U.S. quarter) on an 800 is a 89 on a 900.....but, if it now reads 83 or 93 on a 900, are you going to pass it up just because it's an odd number? Not me! I love the "non-coin" numbers. I've found some of my most interesting relics and jewelry with those.
    7 points
  37. I went to the area using the 13" and Relic mostly, when I couldn't find any more with the 13" I went to my cart and got the 9" WS6 Master, which also has Tekkna and my Relic program. Got the ball button and the other small object that looks like a button but may have been a bell. I switched between the programs which is harder to do on the WS6, as it only stores your saved program next to the original. While the WS6 Master is for all intents a whole Deus 2, using it is not as easy for me. I looked at the lead object again and it's definitely a seal, I found a sharper spot on the side where a piece of wire passes through it.
    7 points
  38. 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
    7 points
  39. I recently got this 1236x2 because Keith Southern said it would pull silver out of nail beds and beat sites. How correct he was. I’ve been all over this coin with a few other machines. The 1236x2 got it with a clean hit. Thanks for looking. Todd Fayard
    7 points
  40. Wow Doc, That is a good picture and I remember that day. Thanks for always being a special friend. I will dig up some pictures I have with you and post them when I can. I would like to say, Doc has been an amazing friend, but beyond that, one of the best US Distributors for Coiltek products back in the day. Also, Doc Detecting is one of the best manufactures of prospecting accessories and gear out there. I highly recommend, support and sell all of Doc's stuff. P.S. I sent the picture to Dennis, he said that is when he was Fat and I was skinny ... LOL God Bless you Doc! Rob
    7 points
  41. A new TV Series has just started, Americas Backyard Gold. It has Dave Turin from Gold Rush with the idea being teaching people how to find gold with sluices, pans, metal detectors and the like. "In recent years, new gold has been uncovered in California due to heavy storms and flooding. From picking nuggets out of rivers, to metal detecting rare gold worth millions, Dave Turin shows you how and where everyday miners can find it." I've seen the first episode so far and I guess the metal detector manufacturers and those selling prospecting equipment are going to love it, it's going to bring in new to prospecting people in big numbers to the USA just like Aussie Gold Hunters did in Australia. A little rundown video of it. They sure make it sound and look easy in the episode.
    6 points
  42. Yep, it's very unrealistic, the shows' primary purpose is going to be selling prospecting equipment to new comers that think they'll strike it rich. They were using Minelab detectors, one guy the GPZ and Dave Turin had a brand spanking new Gold Monster, so white was its coil it near blinded me, that things never touched the soil and no doubt at the end of the episode they could put it back in the box and sell it as new. Notice something missing? Dave doesn't even have anything to dig a hole, no digging equipment at all, just some gloves in his pocket so maybe he's going to dig by hand. Like all of these shows they're for entertainment purposes, and very unrealistic. They make it all sound so easy and if you spend a few bucks and get a detector you'll have fistfuls of gold in no time. Nothing in the credits about thanks to Minelab or anything though, and Dave does wear a Garrett hat later in the episode, and the hat looks like it's been around for a while, so not handed to him for the show like the Gold Monster was 🙂 It was quite good to watch to see a bit of America, it seems strange pulling nuggets out of that grass paddock like that though, wish we could have nice flat grass paddocks like that here to detect 🙂
    6 points
  43. Age dictates to me a need for a lightweight wireless detector that uses non-chipped lightweight mono coils. An unchipped fixed GB option 6K is on track or if ML persists with chipped coils the E2500.
    6 points
  44. Something Not In The Journal : Back in 2014 one of my partners gave me a phone call and told me to check my email. He was pretty excited and wanted me to see some pictures he had sent. This guy is Vern in the 2002 journal and we are still partners to this day. He specializes in exploration and is known as one of the best gold prospectors in northern California. If there is gold he will find it. He has amazed me more than once. On this particular occasion he was poking around on one of our western claims. He had been taking bucket samples in a little gulley near the base of a mountain and had found trace amounts of gold. I had him checking this area because it showed no signs of previous mining by the old timers. No tailings or signs of a diggins at all. It has been my experience that when you see no sign of previous mining near large workings it is for a good reason - the old miners couldn't find anything worth their time. That's why I always like to explore at or near previous workings - especially those that showed that the old timers put in a lot of hard work. They usually did that for a reason - there was a lot of gold. Anyway, on one of his samples he started finding several nuggets of shiny material. They were about the size of dimes and nickels. He thought they were platinum nuggets and so did I. They were found just several feet below the surface. He ended up taking them to get analyzed and told me they were DSO iron. I asked him what the heck that meant. He said DSO stands for Direct Shipment Ore. Pure iron. When we had a physicist out there he did some lidar work in that area before flying a drone along the fault line 1500 ft to the east. He said there appeared to be a large deposit of iron where Vern had sampled. I found this quite interesting. I'm also wondering if there may be a large gold deposit along with the iron but at a much deeper level. Someday I may find out.
    6 points
  45. I know many of you are aware, but I'm posting this for those who may not be familiar with the situation in the US regarding service. Until the end of 2023 Detector Center was the sole service provider for Minelab, providing warranty and non-warranty repairs of its detectors. Starting Jan 1 2024, Minelab has taken this role back in house for warranty repairs. However I just wanted to post a short blurb that Detector Center is still here.... we continue to complete non-warranty service of your favorite Minelab - be it a gold machine, coin detector, or water hunting detector, etc. Basically, if it's under warranty - get it taken care of by Minelab. But if it's out of warranty we can help.... as the techs are here and we continue to stock the vast majority of the parts needed to fix these detectors. Now in regards to some our favorite older detectors (15 years old and older) sometimes we run into the situation where there simply are no parts to be found.... unless we have something to salvage from another detector. So if you need a repair on something older, it is best to give us a call and talk with one of the techs to get a feel if its repairable or not. Also we can sell you some small parts that are otherwise hard to obtain through your dealer.... not all are listed on our website so don't be afraid to ask if something you need is not listed.... 🙂 In the event you need to set up a repair it's easy - just go to https://www.detectorrepair.com and follow the links to set up the repair... or give us a call at 814-283-4270 to discuss your options. Thanks for your time everyone, and to Steve for letting me post this here.
    6 points
  46. Gerry's Detectors is offering some nice promotions to start the 2024 metal detecting season (for those of us still stuck in winter). Promo runs until end of the month and or until supplies run out. I also mention as a Veteran myself, I enjoy offering an additional 15% discount on top of the promo (excluding) Equinox 600 for $499. Purchase a new - - GPZ-7000 and get a 1 coil Gold Monster 1000 for FREE. ($800 value) You don't need the GM-1000, I'll work on additional pricing for you. - Equinox 900 and get a FREE Pro Find 40 Pin pointer. ($150 value) - CTX 3030 and get the super deep 17" coil for free. ($400 value) - Equinox 600 at blowout pricing of $499. This detector makes a great coin/relic/beach unit. On another note, our 1st 3 Days Field Training at Rye Patch NV is coming up next month. My Field Staff Experts/I will be providing hands on 1 on 1 training during the 3 days. Used detectors I have in stock at this time. - As new Gold Bug-2 with both coils $550. - used Gold Bug-2 with 1 coil $450. - used GP-Extreme $900 - lightly used Garrett 24K $550 - lightly used Minelab FBS E-Trac (Silver Slayer) $550. - shop demo Nokta Legend with WHP $400 (needs software update) - extremely rare to find White's E-Series MXT (closet queen) Hip Mount Version (special factory order) with stock 950 coil and small 6" DD Shooter $550. I can promise you this, the MXT series has found so much treasure in times past. It's simple, ID accurate, and gets the job done. I personally have recovered, Roman coins, hammered silvers, pounds of gold, Civil War relics, diamond rings, and yes plenty of old US coins. Probably the #1 machine White's ever produced for a Do It All detector (besides fully submersible). - As new in box GPX-6000 with 32 of 36 months transferable warranty. Comes with exact same items as new but for much less. $5100. Fastest way to reach me is landline 208-345-8898 or email direct at gerrys1det@gmail.com
    6 points
  47. 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.
    6 points
  48. First, Gary Blackwell is a member of this forum and even though he does not post a lot, he is still a member and may have time to read comments that are directed at him especially about programs like Tekkna. I believe his main point was to just try it and see what you think. 1. If you did and you like it great. 2. If you did and you don't care for it and have given constructive criticism, fine. 3. If you haven't tried it and you are negatively speculating .......why? I have only experimented with it myself indoors so I have no opinion....(making myself learn the Manticore at the moment since I have a good idea about what Deus 2 can and can't do). I have just about stopped giving tips and tricks on any forums whether they are my own or someone else's. I am tired of having some people try to shoot down, overly critique and interrogate me about things I have offered as possible aids for gaining more information about targets when detecting. Most of those people fall under #3 above.
    6 points
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