Steve Herschbach

This website does have a Google based search function, and the subject of cleaning gold as strick has noted has been covered on the forum at length before in two threads. Best Way To Clean Gold that thread references another prior thread with lots more details Gold Cleaning Methods Needed

Jewelry detecting for me much of the time is just aluminum detecting. It is just that they way I do it is fun and relaxing for me. Shallow targets only, no digging, just pry out quickly with screwdriver, move on. Lots more coins than jewelry normally but the difference is the coins are accidental. Just a nice way to spend some time I can do anywhere any time. Blind squirrel detecting - sometimes I find an acorn!

On the general subject of notching, tones, etc. I like having capability available and not using it than not having it and wishing I had it. You can have a machine like a Deus or Racer 2 and just run it like a single tone dig all non-ferrous Tesoro, but if you have a basic Tesoro there are too many things you just can't do. They are great machines for what they do and if they suit a persons style of detecting (generally "beep-dig") then a great detecting value. Sadly I think their day is done. People just want more and Tesoro is not delivering. They have a hard core fan base but no longer any real presence in the metal detecting world as a whole. I don't pay any attention to the company any more and that's bad.

All a person can do is try and estimate and play the odds. If you have a good idea of the type of target you are going to find you can eliminate common trash items that read differently. If I am hunting men's rings I can pretty much ignore foil since they read around U.S. nickel and higher. But foil is where chains, ear rings, pendants, and other small jewelry items fall. Women's rings and platinum fall around high foil range below U.S. nickel. Rings being round with a hole, one strategy is only dig tight VDI spreads. But something like a gold chain will read very trashy with bouncy numbers, often dropping into ferrous indications. It is fairly easy to cherry pick rings but there is so much jewelry that is not rings. Just browse any jewelry store window. The most commonly lost jewelry item is the women's ear ring, and it is also probably the least found. The real secret to jewelry detecting is site selection.

You can only separate aluminum from gold targets by choosing the targets to show the result you want. For every gold target there is an aluminum target that sounds the same. I cherry pick myself based on various criteria but all cherry picking techniques ultimately run afoul of this basic detecting fact. If you skip a target thinking it is aluminum, there is a chance it could be gold. The problem with the Tesoro Golden is that while the notch window adjustment was ok, compared to digital units like the Racer 2 it is not adjustable enough and therefore too constraining. No surprise that the detector has been discontinued.

Hard to say if it is now working what the issue was. I never use ground tracking on the ATX myself, only manual. Good news is it sounds like you got your detector working!

I always like to point out that the Gold Bug 2 only uses concentric coils. I have heard of prototype DD coils for it but none were ever made for retail.

Wow, great story Terry, thanks! I mainly just wanted to make sure you were into detecting before you go whole hog on detectors. Too many people get into this incredibly glamorous sport for all the chicks and treasure we find. Reality is a bunch of old guys digging pennies and nails, and most women run from anyone with a metal detector. (My apologies to any ladies present!) Sounds like you have paid your dues and then some, so no worries!

Did you make that call to Garrett today? That would be an excellent first step.

Lunk maybe - he has been digging gold for months while I have been lazing around the house. Big coil very much a niche thing for me - where I hunt a smaller coil would be useful more often.

Sure, a Quattro would work fine on the beach. Let me ask a question back Terry. Have you ever done much metal detecting? Or is this something you are just getting into? If you are not getting in the water but just detecting up around the towel line a Racer 2 will do as well as anything. The answer to all your questions is sure, they will all work. To varying degrees with ins and outs and opinions from everyone most any decent detector will work for almost anything. Certain uses have hard fast lines - you want to get in the water, you need waterproof. If all you want to do is detect out of the water on the beach and do some prospecting now and then, then virtually any mid frequency general purpose metal detector will do the trick. The questions then just boil down to a popularity contest for those you ask. One person might say Teknetics T2, another AT Pro, another Racer 2, another Tesoro Lobo, Minelab 705, White's MXT, etc etc and all would be right. For most of metal detecting it is shades of gray and matters of opinion. It is like saying you want a car for city driving and highway driving, what car to get? VLF Concentric Vs DD Coils

Beach detecting and prospecting tend to be diametrically opposed detecting tasks. Machines that do well at both excel at neither. For the price I do not think the Deus is a particularly fabulous beach detector or prospecting detector. Its strength is extracting non-ferrous targets from ferrous trash and it is good at general purpose dry land uses. To submerge the coil more than a foot requires a wire be attached to the coil and run up above water as an antenna as the wireless signal does not penetrate water very far. The original Racer bunched up target id numbers around 80 - not so Racer 2. If you are serious about getting in the water - obvious advantage MX Sport, although a few reports on its salt water handling so far have been mixed. While single frequency machines can be made to handle salt water they work best in low mineral situations like Florida. The more mineralization you add to the beach, the better multi frequency and PI machines look by comparison.

Nothing on price yet or weight. I am guessing not cheap and not light? But this is the one a lot of people have been waiting for, especially in Australia. My main question is what is the width? Round? Elliptical? Somewhere in between like the GPZ 14 coil? Now finally we should have a compelling reason to use Extra Deep mode.

From http://www.minelab.com/eur/customer-care/product-notices?article=280330 Minelab is pleased to announce that our new GPZ 19 accessory coil will soon be available. The GPZ 19 Super-D coil has been designed to maximize the performance of your GPZ 7000 and give a significant depth increase over the standard GPZ 14 coil. Uncover more gold - and faster! Main Features: Deeper detection (average 30%*) More ground coverage Less ground noise Waterproof (to 1m/3ft^) Super-D coil technology The GPZ 19 coil is expected to be available in Australia mid-year, and overseas soon afterwards. Further product details will be released across the next few weeks, so check back at www.minelab.com for the latest information. *When compared to the average performance of the GPZ 7000 detector with the GPZ 14 coil in typical environments. Actual performance depends upon prevailing conditions. ^GPZ 7000 detector is weatherproof only.

I think turn around time can now officially be said to be two - three weeks.

What we may be looking at here is a detector with a traditional design and inexpensive wired coils to challenge the Deus. Most people would give the Deus the nod for an edge on super fast recovery time but most would also agree the Nokta/Makro units are very close. Combine the Racer speed with selectable 4, 14, and 21 kHz versus Deus current standard of 4, 8, 12, and 18 kHz and it could be very interesting. I am betting the Impact also has the wireless headphone option - pretty obvious from prototype photos. If the Impact comes in at a price substantially under the Deus with a wide selection of affordable accessory coils, it could be the first real challenge to XP we have seen. Why are the U.S. Manufacturers sitting this one out? The F19 and AT Pro are very good competitive offerings at relative bargain prices for sure. Minelab at least has the X-Terra, but where are the First Texas and Garrett selectable frequency machines? I think we can pretty much ignore the V3i in this category - you don't see them taking Europe by storm. But White's clearly has the technology if they would apply it.

Phones, computers - consumer electronics in general, you get more bang for the buck as time goes by. I don't find that surprising, I expect it. The sweet spot depends on the retailer. Big box stores crank out under $300 units like candy. Ace 250 good example and not bad detectors for the money. For detector dealers the sweet spot is around $500 - $700 and for that much money nearly all detectorists can get all the detector they really need. Large number of units here from First Texas, Garrett AT units, Minelab X-Terra, Nokta/Makro units, White's MXT etc. Then you get the hard core serious users where $1500 - $2500 is turning into the new normal. Think Deus and CTX 3030. When I talk to first time nugget hunters who may or may not get serious about things I tend to bring up the Gold Bug Pro and for beginners wanting a do it all machine it is hard to go wrong with an MXT or X-Terra 705. For waterproof the AT Pro screams value. Other people might make other picks but those are just four super popular, super well proven and yet very reasonably priced machines. Very high bang for buck ratios all for under $800. You are right that detector companies make the big bucks on machines that sell for a few hundred dollars. However, the market is now so impossibly flooded with those types of units you are going to see more push on the high end. The low dollar guy may buy a detector once and in the closet it goes. People like me buy a hundred detectors in a lifetime and are not shy of spending large dollar amounts. We have been under served to a certain degree but that is changing now. Look for more selectable frequency machines, more multi frequency machines, more new technology machines aimed at higher price points.

"I would not be saying a word if people were not waving it under my nose" The question you have to ask yourself John is - are people waving things under your nose, or are you seeking out and reading things about a machine you have no interest in just to comment negatively? We all get it now. You do not have an MX Sport and don't want one. You are disappointed in White's. Your message has been heard and you have had your say - repeatedly on multiple threads. Going any farther crosses the line into trolling and bashing so just let it go. There are still people interested in the MX Sport so let them discuss it on the forum from here on out without interjecting complaints you have voiced before. And please, no retroactive editing of posts or explanations required. Everyone gets it so Just Let It Go. Let the drama end with this post. Thank you.

Thanks for the report Merton. I have been cautious and careful to always give the nod to the Gold Bug 2 when questions get asked about it and the Gold Racer. Mainly for the very serious reason that I know they are very close, but that I no longer have a Gold Bug 2 for direct comparison. So when in doubt, I figure I am not going to stir that pot. There will always be a Gold Bug 2 fan club in my opinion.

Almost every detector priced over $500 has issues on release these days, often with software. It happened with CTX, GPZ, and Deus, and all three you downloaded and applied the fix in minutes at home. Other models like the AT or F75 have had to be sent in for updates. Since these software updates after release seem to be so common, I am starting to think the only thing that makes sense is to only buy machines that can be updated over the Internet, or wait a minimum of 6 months after release if you want to avoid having to return a machine that has to be updated manually. People who buy in the first six months are the final testers, and I have yet to see any company give out so much as a free hat for the difficulty they are putting their most avid customers through. Kudos to White's for at least paying postage both ways - that is more than often happens. In some cases companies have charged fees to make hardware updates that their best and most faithful customers did not get because they bought early. It has gotten like this industry wide early buyer penalty program it has become so common.

Excellent advice

Yeah wish I had a 50 kHz DFX or in the case of Makro a 56 kHz Racer 2

Check out the Makro Facebook page (you don't have to join) to see a great video of Dilek discussing future Makro products and engineer Alpers talking about the Racer models. They are working on waterproof models, true multi frequency and more. Also on the page a photo of their detectors at a rally with what I am guessing is the latest Nokta Impact prototype. Currently slated to be three selectable frequencies, 4, 14, and 21 kHz (subject to change) for release by end of year. https://m.facebook.com/makrodetector/

I get sentimental over people and dogs but not metal detectors. I guess I am the opposite of a hoarder because I get no joy out of owning stuff.