Steve Herschbach

Welcome to the forum AER, and thank you for the informative post!

32 minutes ago, hawkeye said:

Very interesting, but how do you carry all that paraphernalia?

One of the nice things about hunting northern Nevada is that I can drive my truck very close to most locations. That does not help when going on a long wander across country, but I often park my posterior on a place and hunt all day, carefully gridding away. That being the case it is easy to just put the GM1000 and shovel in the middle of my hunt area, and get them as needed.

Normally I just use my pick, but when using the GPZ19 a little extra help does not hurt. I actually don't have a problem locating most gold nuggets - it's the ferrous trash that can have me chasing a target too much. The GM1000 really helps with them - a lot.

Sorry about that Merton - I hope your new coil is working fine!

The Deus does amazing things in target separation with the coil sizes it has. The cheat is that other detectors can do nearly as well by simply employing smaller coils than the Deus. The catch is A. you lose ground coverage and B. you lose depth. The reason the Deus is such a popular detector is by getting small coil separation characteristics out of larger coils.

In my case I finally had an epiphany of sorts when doing my last big round of detector testing. I finally realized that no matter what, I only have so much time to go detecting every year. And that when given the choice, I will always go chase gold nuggets before I will do any other type of detecting. My second favorite type of detecting is jewelry detecting. I dabble around coin detecting but it is mainly as something I can go do quickly in a couple hours.

I like the idea of seeking out old townsites or cabin sites, stage coach stops, etc. The problem is that to do that takes just as much time and effort for me as going nugget detecting. So next week I have a few days to go someplace. My choices are to either go nugget detecting, or go to that 1870 camp and hunt the ferrous trash for whatever I can find. Despite good intentions, the last few years has proven to me I will almost always choose to go nugget detecting.

I already have the best gold detectors made, and while the new Deus HF coils certainly make it more capable in that regard, there is no reason to own it just for nugget detecting. If I really was going to follow through and get into sifting ferrous trash for a coin or whatever, I would keep it. For me it just got down to being realistic. The few times I will go do such a thing I have machines that may not be quite as good as the Deus - but they are good enough for me.

Absolutely none of this is a knock on XP or the Deus. Great company making superb products. It's just that for me they target a specific use that is last on my list of things to do with a detector.

Safe travels!

OK, I like the Gold Monster but I figured some die-hard Gold Bug 2 might feel differently. Nice to see it's not just me! Thanks for posting Steve. Nice sluggy stuff.

Ironically I got a brand new Gold Bug 2 not too long ago after going without for a couple years. I have yet to find a nugget with it however as I just keep grabbing the Gold Monster instead.

Let's assume you guys can't mass produce a BigFoot coil. Fine. How about a Tesoro Cleansweep clone? It is just an elongated DD - should not be a problem.

Slap it on something like the MX5 and call it the Jewelry Vacuum or Kenny's Super Sweeper. Whatever. I will buy one.

BeachHunter ID is gone. Where is the V3i stuffed in MX Sport case that should replace it? Lose all the excess controls except what can reasonably be accessed via the MX Sport buttons and menus. In fact it could all be the same just add one more option to choose between frequency settings. It would be better yet with a coil as described above as an optional accessory item.

MX Sport needs built in wireless headphones to eliminate this....

I accidently found this website that posts pictures and reports almost daily. Lots of photos of some famous finds, beach conditions, etc. Be sure especially to look for the Treasure Site Reference Link List in column on left.

Check it out.... http://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/

The design is not the problem, getting somebody to make them is. I kind of get why nobody wants to make the actual BigFoot design (too labor intensive), but nobody has ever given a clear explanation about why we can't get more Tesoro  Cleansweep type coils. They are just a simple elongated DD coil. Perfect coil for the Garrett AT series and a large user base to buy them. I would think NEL or Detech in particular would be all over it.

It could happen and will if I can swing it. Keep letting us know what events Nokta/Makro is going to attend as far in advance as possible.

Picked up by Minelab (with permission) and republished as a Treasure Talk entry.

0.7 gram nugget found with Gold Monster 1000

9 hours ago, Bryce said:

Steve, GM question for you...

When its in iron discrimination mode and you see the bar go all iron, is it possible that there could be gold there too but the iron signal wins overall?

There is no perfect discrimination system on a metal detector. It is very easy for the GM1000 or any discriminating detector to identify gold as a ferrous target, especially in highly mineralized ground.

The detector "sees" everything under the coil. One tiny gold nugget and a few gallons of iron mineralized dirt. The more mineralized to soil is, the more likely it is that the detector will add it all up and respond ferrous. This is especially true of weak signals. I have seen the meter read full ferrous several times on a target while responding just once as non-ferrous, and turn up a nugget. If using all metal plus the meter (that is how I do it) then check the target from several angles and at different sweep speeds. If it responds non-ferrous just once - dig it! Look for reasons to dig, not reasons to pass on targets.

More on subject

It's been a slow go this year as I explore completely new locations off the beaten track (which usually means a skunk) or finding the last few nuggets in well pounded patches. Get them fast or get them slow however - they still add up.

This hunt was almost entirely with the GPZ19 as I had a large area to grid with minimal chances of gold plus I wanted to get more hours in with the large coil. It has gone from a coil I thought I basically would never use to one that I will be using more often going forward. The coil seems to run slightly smoother with my Insanely Hot Settings as it reacts a bit less to near surface mineralization and hot rocks. The coil does have more issues with alkali ground than the stock coil, but the new Patch Mode (Locate Patch) seems just right for the 19" coil at a lot of places I hunt. The GPZ19 is great for covering large open areas where I think nuggets will be few and far between. In other words, I am looking more for ground coverage than depth - extra depth is a bonus.

The Gold Monster 1000 was a great aid in pinpointing. Not so much for when digging a deep nugget (though it is helpful for that) as for making short work of the ever present surface ferrous trash. Nothing like a 19" DOD coil for chasing tiny brown ferrous bits in brown dirt, and that GPZ19 coil will hit little trash far better than one might think!

Anyway, just a few nuggets adding up to almost 3 pennyweight (4.4 grams) this outing. Largest nugget 2 grams. The four on right were found with GPZ 7000 and two on left with Gold Monster 1000 (10" coil). Click photos for larger versions.

The larger Gold Monster nugget has some nice character in closeup....

2 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Am I asking too much?

Probably! 

All I want at this point is a 19 kHz F75. Looks like the F19/G2+ is as close as I will get. That being the case I just wish that big number while in all metal mode was the target id number instead of the ground phase.

Now you would think a 19 kHz F75 would be easy and changing the F19 ground phase number to be the disc number instead would be even easier.

And that 19 kHz F44? That would be great!

No breath holding going on here however. I just got my new G2 and that will tide me over until FT takes the wraps off something new. If not then eventually it will get replaced by the either the F19 or G2+.

I believe BS equals Black Sands and not what you are possibly thinking it means.

I easily hit gold under a grain with the 10" coil. It is hot enough I see no need for the small coil unless I was in real tight quarters or trying to get that last flyspeck. The 10" coil is more stable, covers twice the ground, and gets better depth on larger bits. I have not used the small coil in months.

There is nothing official. Bill Southern has inquired with Minelab directly but so far reports no response. I started this this thread in an attempt to get a handle on the issue - how real is it and how widespread? You have people reporting no issue and people reporting severe issues and some in between. My unit is relatively knock immune, only getting there at manual sensitivity of 9 and 10. Since I am normally running sensitivity 6 - 7 - 8 or one of the auto settings I am not normally encountering it as a problem. I get no sensitivity to touching grass also and others report this as being an issue.

The GM1000 also lights up hot rocks as you run over the ground at high sensitivity levels in a way that mimics touch sensitivity, and I am not sure how much of what is being reported as touch sensitivity is this instead. The bottom line is I think this is still in a "collecting information" stage at most.

Here are some rumors...

Link deleted since Findmall Forum update broke all old links

Link deleted since Findmall Forum update broke all old links

http://md-hunter.com/minelab-announces-sensation-new-2017/

http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,129405,129412

http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,130332

http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,130667

http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,130692

From https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/news?article=315332

"We are very excited to announce that our newest metal detector will be unveiled at Detectival UK Rally on Sep 16th, 2017. Detectival will be held from the 15th to the 17th of September on 1,000 acres of undetected land close to the medieval market towns of Burford and Charlbury, approximately two hours outside of London. 

This event, proudly sponsored by Minelab, will also be a great opportunity to learn more about our new technology, meet with Minelab staff for product demonstations and participate in token hunts with other metal detecting enthusiasts from across the globe! Best of all, all proceeds from the event raffle will be given to two charities: Asthma UK and the Lullaby Trust."

On Tuesday, August 29, 2017, History Seekers welcomes guest Thomas Boykin, project manager, of White's Electronics, Inc. We will be discussing what detectorist want to see in the next generation of metal detectors. This is a great opportunity for loyal listeners from all experience levels to have input. Get your questions and suggestions ready, due to call volume time will be limited to approximately 30-40 seconds. 

Tune in live on Agust 29 at 9:00 PM Eastern / 8:00 PM Central directly from our web page under the media section (historyseekers.net) OR directly via www.spreaker.com/historyseekers

How to win the White’s MX Sport

Be sure to like the History Seekers and White's Electronics, Inc. Facebook page to stay up to date on this show! Thomas Boykin from White’s Electronics will be on the show Tuesday, August 29, 2017 to talk about your suggestions as well as to give away an MX SPORT! 

Here is how to enter to win:

1. Go over to the Whites web page and request a free catalog. Be SURE to enter a valid email (must be the same email used to submit step 2). Request here: www.whiteselectronics.com/request-catalog

2. Submit your suggestion for features/abilities that you would like to see on your next detector. You must submit a brief suggestion to info@historyseekers.net . You must also include your correct shipping name/address/telephone number (contact info in case you win)

3. You can make multiple suggestions but only ONE entry is counted for the drawing. 

4. All entries must be received at least 3 hours prior to the start of the History Seekers Show (9:00 PM EST) to be entered in the contest. 

We will be talking about suggestions made and taking callers to discuss your thoughts on them on air. A winner will be announced by White’s at the end of the History Seekers show. If the announced winner did not properly qualify a runner up will be chosen later at the discretion of White’s Electronics. In the event that the show must be rescheduled for any reason, the contest would be rescheduled and announced later. This contest is not connected with Facebook. It is free to enter with no purchase necessary and void where prohibited. If you would always like to see these types of contests be sure to click on History Seekers and Whites Facebook page then click the follow and select see first. This will ensure that you always get notified of events on both pages.

34 minutes ago, MontAmmie said:

I think I'm going to do a test this week on a section of "my" beach.  Go over it with the DFX, then the Infinium and see what the DFX misses.  I'll report my results.

I do that sort of stuff all the time and sure would enjoy hearing your report. 

All single frequency detectors struggle with salt water. Little known fact is salinity levels vary at different beaches around the country. I get the impression the AT Pro is borderline, and works ok at some beaches but not well at others. One goal in the AT Max was attempting to address this issue.

Were it not for the Minelab announcement I would lean AT Max myself. However, with the AT Max now delayed until sometime in September it would be nuts to not wait and have Minelab show their hand before making any decisions.

Got yo love those plain 14K gold bands - I am wearing one right now I found detecting, one of many. Just goes to show though that the real secret to detecting is patience and getting in the hours - now go find some more!

That's awesome Peg. Great gold and great photos - you are living the dream!

Welcome to the forum! There are plenty of people using VLF detectors to find gold. I have found several ounces of gold with the F75 myself http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/finds-Steve-Herschbach.htm The F75 is a close relative of the Teknetics T2, which has been sucessfully used to find gold nuggets around the world, especially in Africa. The fact is I can find gold quite well with any modern VLF detector running at over 12 kHz that has a ground balance setting. "This VLF versus that VLF detector" is not as important as learning the VLF you have well and putting yourself on gold bearing ground - and getting in the hours.

I have found significant amounts of gold with the following VLF detectors: Compass Gold Scanner Pro, Fisher Gold Bug, Fisher Gold Bug 2, Fisher F75, Makro Gold Racer, Minelab XT 17000, Minelab Gold Monster 1000, Nokta FORS Gold, Tesoro Lobo, White's Goldmasters/GMT, White's MXT

I suppose I should go find some gold nuggets with the Nokta Impact and post them just to show it can be done. Maybe next trip. Anyone choosing to use a detector not made and marketed specifically for nugget detecting has to get used to being lonely on the forums. It's not that the machines are not capable, but that people are just naturally going to tend to use detectors made for coin hunting to hunt coins and detectors made for nugget detecting to hunt gold nuggets. In general however you will get an edge gold prospecting by using detectors made specifically for the task. The most important function on most coin, jewelry, and relic detectors is some sort of discrimination capability. Nugget detectors focus purely on finding low conductive targets in highly mineralized ground. What discrimination they offer, if any, is usually a secondary consideration.

"We will begin building and shipping the new AT Max detectors after the Labor Day holiday. Please be aware that it may take several weeks to completely fulfill our backlog of orders both internationally and domestically, but the wheel is in motion."

The GM1000 should handle all but soaking wet saltwater sand. Auto sensitivity is your friend!

Match made in heaven...

.... GPZ19, Insanely Hot Settings, Patch Mode, and GM1000