Steve Herschbach

https://forums.robsdetectors.com/forum/1-gold-nugget-hunting-amp-prospecting-forum/

The SDC will hit smaller gold than the GPZ and handles some hot rocks better that the GPZ struggles with. If you have larger deeper gold and lots of smaller gold then having both may be worth your while. If you prefer to concentrate on larger, deeper gold and only have so much time to devote to detecting, then a GPZ only may be the way to go. Some places however only have very small gold and so the SDC only may be the better choice. It all just depends on the person and situation, there is no right or wrong answer. Accessory coils are available that blur the line between the two models even further. Do you need a heavy salmon rod or a fly fishing rod or both? Do you need a little car or an off-road truck or both? Do you need a shotgun or rifle or both? The question is not what other people need, it’s what do you need? Only your own situation and circumstances plus how much money you want to have invested in detectors can determine that.

It was never implied other coils would work on Simplex.The main cost of making a new coil is machining the mold. Converting existing coils to work on new models is the normal, expected route, as has occurred already with several Nokta/Makro models.

Try the link I just posted under the photo. 3.74 ounces.

Some people would say the TDI has the advantage over GPX in the iron discrimination area. The truth is they both suck compared to a VLF when it comes to discrimination. Passing on a target with a PI is a risky game at best. Get a PI for ground handling and a VLF for discrimination.

Ok, here is what we have so far as of today, 10/18/19. From White’s website on the camo version of Hi-Q: “All-new patented 8×14″ Dual Field coil for improved depth and sensitivity.” White’s website on the tan version of Hi-Q: “All-new patented 8×12″ Dual Field High-Q coil for improved depth and sensitivity.“ Both detectors have the same MSRP of $1195.95. If you order the camo from White’s website, do you get a larger coil as advertised? For what it’s worth dealers are advertising both as having an 8” x 12” or more accurately 7.5” x 12” coil Does “all-new” mean all new? Does High-Q have some kind of new performance feature? Or is it just a name picked out of a hat? Or is this “all-new patented” a newer version of the patented Dual Field coil series but otherwise nothing new beyond a new housing? Ridge Runner called White’s and was told verbally this is a folded mono coil. So which is it, the patented Dual Field, or not patented folded mono design? Or is there a new Hi-Q folded mono White’s is patenting? If so, where is the patent application? Personally, just looking at the housing, it appears to be a simple mono coil design, neither Dual Field or folded mono. Yet the email from White’s posted by garikfox says “The TDI Hi-Q is our version of the TDI-MJD they perform identical...” So no improved depth and sensitivity? And folded mono, not Dual Field? Or does “our version” just mean both coils are black and elliptical, and maybe this is just a regular mono coil as seems to be looking at the housing? Or is it more a reference to the prior TDI-SL with Miner John coil and this TDI-SL and this new coil, with this version having no improved depth and sensitivity over the Miner John version. In other words, they ran out of Miner John coils and replaced it with something made by White’s, but otherwise basically the same thing? If that is the case, what is this all about?.... “All-new patented 8×12″ Dual Field High-Q coil for improved depth and sensitivity.“ I don’t think I am picking on White’s here. These are honest questions about what White’s is advertising. The advertising does not seem to match what is being told to customers verbally and via email. Or is it just me and I’m being out of line with these questions? You tell me.

What phrunt said. Larger coils are more reactive to the ground, and so the larger they are the more difficulty ground balancing. This is especially true of VLF and less so of PI due to pulse induction being less reactive to ground in general. In very bad ground, a VLF might not ground balance at all with a larger coil, and the solution is to go to a smaller coil. For detectors that can use a concentric coil, concentrics are more reactive, and switching to a DD coil will help.

I’ll never be a master of anything, but always a student. There are a lot more knowledgeable and proficient detectorists than me. I don’t know anything about anything really but do like to share what little I know if it helps somebody.

I’m hoping he was just chopping wood with it! I don’t plan on doing anything with it except possibly treating it for bronze disease. I do enjoy metal detecting for the different adventures it takes me on. Detecting nuggets in Alaska, Australia, and all over the western U.S. Detecting jewelry in Hawaii. Relic and coin hunting in the U.K. Some people specialize but I like doing it all, and that means no matter where I find myself there is some reason to go metal detecting. A nugget in the desert, a coin at the park, a ring at the beach, a relic in the field... its all the same fun and thrills for me. Greatest hobby in the world!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome back?

I would send you one if I could figure out what you need, but the answers are not forthcoming. I have quite a few but there is no point in my mailing you the wrong adapter. Can you confirm the photo I posted? At minimum I want to know what detector you want it for so I can determine if it is stereo or mono. You have three detectors listed in your profile or is it something else? Most metal detector headphones have a stereo/mono switch on them to deal with that issue because for some weird reason some detectors are stereo and some mono. I think a stereo to mono adapter will work in all cases, but am not 100% sure about that. You may be frustrated with all the questions but I simply don’t know exactly what you are looking for. I think I know what you need but am not sure. Something like “I need an adapter so I can plug 1/8” stereo headphones into my F44” would be useful information.

So you are looking for something like this, to plug into a detector with a 1/4” jack so that you can use 1/8” headphones? What detector model do you have? Believe it or not some are stereo and some are mono, so it makes a difference what adapter you use and what headphones. I think when in doubt a stereo to mono adapter usually works.

Adapter from what to what?

Just tripped over this site... really great stuff, check it out! http://demonocracy.info/infographics/world/gold/gold.html

Why is it ludicrous? Sometimes a good tool is worth the investment and a Lesche near as I can tell is a once in a lifetime investment. They certainly are not “unobtainable”... see the link below. I bought a telescoping rod for my Equinox from the U.K. and there was nothing ludicrous about that. In fact I just had a dozen Cadbury candy bars shipped from the U.K. to Reno. Can’t get them here and I got addicted to them on my last trip. 🙂 Anyway, I have no idea where ed 1 is at, I was just trying to help answer his question from personal use. Maybe the other options are better for him for the price. That’s up to him. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=lesche+digging+tool&_sacat=0

It’s not a new or old versions issue and the CTX thing just confuses people. They should just sell that version only since it works with everything and discontinue the other. The CTX, Equinox, SDC 2300, and GPZ 7000 all have the same issue and the CTX phones work properly with all those models while the basic version does not. I won’t be surprised if we go through all this again with Vanquish.

Back when I got mine there was no real choice except the original Lesche digging tool. That made decisions like yours lots easier! Mine works great and apparently will never wear out so that’s it for me. I’m sure some of the ones you are looking at are great options also, but hard to go wrong with the Lesche. Available serrated on left or right sides.

The MDS-10 is a countermine detector. You can inquire about it directly with Minelab at https://www.minelab.com/countermine/detectors/mds-10 I suspect that adapting this detector for use in coin and relic detecting is more rumor than fact, but simply do not know for sure. The best bet is contact Minelab directly at the link above and see what they say. Minelab MDS-10 countermine detector Minelab MDS-10 countermine detector folded down for transport Product Brochure Link Instruction Manual Field Guide

A lot of rods are way overpriced and so making your own is attractive. The best buy in a rod kit I have seen is the White's Space Saver Rod Kit at https://www.whiteselectronics.com/product/space-saver-rod-kit They sell the whole assembly for less than some people charge for a lower rod alone. As I post this the price is $49.95. Something to consider as you add up the costs.

Part of the reason, I believe, is that when Nokta and Makro combined they all the sudden had way too many detector models all out in a short timeframe. This had the effect of newer models immediately overshadowing and stepping on the toes of older models that were themselves still new and just introduced. The company basically stole its own thunder, and the fact newer releases were waterproof and weighed less did not help. If you want a NokMak to run large coils and like all metal modes in particular, you want an Impact. Short of getting a PI it pushes all metal VLF performance to the limit. My Nokta Impact Review

There is also no doubt some that think I am too hard on the U.S. manufacturers... somebody is always complaining I am being mean to their favorite company! Or maybe it's that I am in the pocket of "those other guys"!! The truth is simple. I more than anything want the U.S. manufacturers, First Texas, Garrett, and White's, to kick ass and succeed!!! I think I speak for many when I say my "complaining" is rooted in anger when I see this not happening. Perceptually they are just standing by while the foreign competition eats their lunch. They no doubt see things differently but I do not think I am alone on the outside looking in thinking that's what is happening. I have been a business owner/entrepreneur my entire life. I have dealt with a very large number of manufacturers over the years as a dealer, most far larger than these detector companies. Almost all, with the rarest of exceptions, have been picture perfect examples of pride and arrogance. They always know better than their dealers and their customers. They want to design what they think is best, and then tell us why we should buy it. They start small and hungry but reach a point where they are doing well. They tell themselves it is all because they are so brilliant, and that's when they stop listening and start telling. They lose their way and soon the new hungry guy eats their lunch. It's so common it's like a life-cycle law of business. "Sales are doing great"! "People love our stuff"! They only see the good and only listen to those who offer praise, and then wake up one day and wonder what happened, where did the customers and the business go? Most of what we talk about on the forums does not reflect what goes on in the minds of Walmart, Amazon, and eBay shoppers buying their first detector. We do not represent the mass market. We are the educated ones, the nerds, and truthfully, not where the big money is. But I do think we are the canaries in the coal mine. When a guy like me who has been metal detecting for almost 50 years can't get excited by anything the U.S. manufacturers are doing something is wrong. So I bitch and complain because I hope somebody is listening, that somebody will do something to get the mojo back. I really do wish them well. But don't expect to get my business from brand loyalty or made in the U.S.A. appeals. It's lead the way or follow, and right now the U.S. manufacturers cannot be said to be leading the way anymore. That does make me kind of sad.

My first underwater detector was a 1280-X actually. Way back in the day, late 80's, and since I was one of if not the first guy to hit some local freshwater swimming holes in Anchorage, Alaska I did ridiculously well with that detector. Lots of silver including lots of silver half dollars (no silver dollars for some reason) and plenty of rings. At that super low 2.4 kHz frequency it was not especially hot on smaller gold but it was killer on silver and full size rings. As you note not bad at all in the water either. By today's standards the 1280-X and CZ-21 being the only First Texas offerings still as far as underwater machines is a bit of an embarrassment however. I get that they are SCUBA capable, but very few of us need machines good to 250 feet. I am constantly puzzled about why First Texas never converted the CZ to a digital format and put it in a smaller housing. They even have Dave Johnson, the original lead designer on board. A real head scratcher. The CZ-5 was a real favorite of mine, and I would have loved to get one in a T2/F75 type setup. They could have done a small waterproof to 10 feet multifrequency machine way before now and still have not. I just don't get it.

This 11.88 ounce gold/quartz specimen was dug at Moore Creek with a Minelab at good depth with a regular size coil. We also had a 32 ounce gold nugget dug at a measured depth of 25 inches. Both targets were minimal signals at the surface. Like I said, depths exceeding three feet may not be impossible but the nugget would have to be very large, so large as to also be incredibly rare. As a rule of thumb I figure that if the gold is more than two feet deep it's out of detecting range for most practical purposes. 99% of the nuggets I have dug personally have been at a foot or less... but I dig a lot of small nuggets!

The most efficient method for removing surface material would be up to you. If you do not know where the gold is at you do not want to remove too much at once. I used a D9 bulldozer and a John Deere 450 to do this at my Moore Creek Mine, and I tried to take off no more than a foot at a time, otherwise gold could be scraped away and lost.