Steve Herschbach

There is a lot of information about the Gold Bug 2 on this website at https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-reviews/fisher-gold-bug-2-nugget-metal-detector/ Ken has you started. If you get frustrated with ground noises (hot rocks) or trash the iron disc setting will make the detector quieter but less sensitive. Even then the Gold Bug 2 is more sensitive than most detectors. There is of course no setting just for gold. Even with the discrimination on you will dig plenty of lead and aluminum and some large steel items.

Neither Garrett nor Minelab support units sold as military surplus. Minelab has what I feel is an overly aggressive policy of declaring detectors obsolete. Let's face it, their only real competition is older users models they have made and not supporting those models helps drive sales of newer detectors. The latest list of "obsolete" detectors is at http://www.minelab.com/usa/customer-care-1/obsolete

Here is the latest Minelab Treasure Talk blog by JP about GPZ ground balancing details http://www.minelab.com/usa/treasure-talk/my-method-for-ground-balancing-the-gpz-7000

Yes, the Gold Bug Pro is 5" round and Gold Bug 2 4" x 6" elliptical so some confusion I guess about what we are looking for here. Interesting Jim you are one of the few to know that. Fisher just went from epoxy filled to molded coils and new scuff covers. I was going to post about that at one point and forgot. It is going to mess a lot of people up going forward. I did not catch that the new covers are black. Be interesting to see what people think of the new coil. I am guessing epoxy filled could will end up being sought after.

Go easy guys. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on subjects like this, and the Lost Dutchman Mine is far from established fact as a real mine. Any explanations involving discussions of "believe this" or "believe that" are discussions of beliefs, not established and proven geologic facts.

Not yet but I will get them (the CoRe and Gold) out more soon. The Gold is a great unit but the CoRe is the same unit with the addition of a Salt mode called Conductive Ground (COG). Same cost so basically an extra mode for free that may be useful on alkali or other really bad ground. Plus probable better resale value as the CoRe seems to be in far more demand. Lots more people looking for it than the Gold model. Here is the thread on the differences http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/531-difference-between-nokta-fors-gold-and-fors-core/

I am very curious to hear what you think also. My main concern is not that it can find gold. Any decent detector can in the right hands. The ground handling capability would be my main concern. Most mine detectors run in what is effectively a non-motion mode for maximum sensitivity. They are made to search small areas and difficult to use compared to most prospecting detectors. Of course mods can fix this sort of thing if a person has the ability and desire. Obviously in your case this is just a desire to try something different and I appreciate that. I really do hope you share your overall thoughts on the practicality of the unit once you have the chance to use it.

A good Fisher dealer will stock the coil covers. If your dealer does not stock them then you will have to order from one that does. I have never seen a black scuff cover for a Gold Bug however so maybe you are talking about an aftermarket coil? That would be a whole different problem if the coil manufacturer does not make a decent scuff cover for the coil.

I also sell my gold as I go but I have to admit at this point it would be nice to see it all now in a single pile. I wish I had at least taken better photos of all of my finds over the years.

If there is mineralized sand or other material trapped in the scuff cover it would not be good. But assuming area is clean the thickness of the average coil cover is minimal and unlikely to make any difference. The only detector I think it made a difference in is my Gold Bug 2 with 6" coil. When hitting tiny gold weighing less than 1/10th grain scrubbing the coil to get the gold as close as possible to the coil winding and not using a scuff cover is one of my tricks for getting a leg up on the competition. I thought about the same with my SDC 2300 but wearing out an expensive hardwired coil is not a realistic option. People that prospect enough to wear out coils are wise to use scuff covers. Worn out coils lose all depth and efficiency! They cost even more to replace. Even more casual users will see a benefit at the time a detector is sold in better resale value.

There appears to be do much specie gold found in Australia it has no extra value unless very exceptional in nature.

Just a sweet all around detector, the 705. The discrimination options for coin and jewelry detecting are top notch and in Prosect mode it is as powerful as a VLF can get. Enjoy!

Most of my adult life I made my living selling mining gear and other stuff. Answering questions was literally my job, and I picked up a few things over 40 years on the job. It would be waste to not continue to share what I know. And the Google ads help pay my gas bill. Honestly though the thanks is mine to all of you. I provide the forum and set the ground rules, but you all make the forum what it is. Build it and they will come? And what is gathering here as far as I am concerned is the cream of the crop. The people with something to say worth listening too. It really is your forum, so thank you!

Looks like a yes! I will get on this fairly soon. I am in the middle of a couple things so may be about a week. Edit: Calendar added, event suggestions welcome.

It is an Amazing Find for sure! Congratulations!! I periodically go through threads that have been inactive for more than 6 months and move them to the appropriate Archive. You can bet this thread will end up in Amazing Finds. Thanks for telling the story and especially the mouth watering picture.

If I had all those detectors at my disposal (I have), I would toss them all in the truck and go use them for a day. See which you like the best for what you do. Not many people get to test drive and compare that many detectors at once. Have fun!

A calendar is easily activated as part of the forum. Are many forum members are interested is the question now.

The short answer is yes, all SD, GP, and GPX coils are compatible but out of the over 100 varieties made there may be a couple oddball ones out there. Nugget Finder had a weird one with a switch on it that may not work on all models? I found some nice gold with my old XT17000. Not a bad VLF detector for hunting really mineralized ground but there are certainly hotter machines for milder ground.

All the 13 kHz to 19 kHz detectors in threshold based all metal mode are all so close in performance it does not matter. It is all the "extra" features that make them different. For prospecting though I can grab any of them and find gold about as well as with the next. They all have ardent fan clubs for good reason - they all work reasonably well.

Luckily with some sense the odds are in your favor if you get bit. It has been estimated that 7,000–8,000 people per year receive venomous bites in the United States, and of about 5 of those people die. Source: CDC http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/snakes/ Some good up-to-date info there on what to do and not do if bit. Interesting true fact is that attempting to kill a snake that has not bitten you increases your risk of being bitten by a snake.

Great gold Lunk, but the weather sure turned nasty this morning!

OK, here is a Gold Bug vs Gold Bug 2 story for you. It was 1991 and I had my brand new Gold Bug 2 hot from the factory. I had already proven to myself it could run rings around the old Gold Bug for finding small gold. My family made a trip to some old prospecting haunts in Alaska to go detecting for a few days. My sister was along with her old model Gold Bug. I was of course bragging my new Gold Bug 2 up to her and her "old" model. All is going well and I am finding gold, but there is one patch of hot bedrock that the Gold Bug 2 just hates. I can't get any ground balance at all on it or even get the detector close without an overload without turning the sensitivity way down. Lots of gold on easier stuff to hunt though so I just leave it be. My sister wanders onto the bedrock with the original Gold Bug, and it easily ground balanced on that hot bedrock and ran just fine. Pretty soon my sister is digging a pit. And out pops a 7 pennyweight nugget, the biggest of that trip! I learned a very important lesson very early on about the Gold Bug 2. It may be hot as a pistol, but a lower frequency VLF wins the day on larger gold in really hot ground. The main reason I still think about the old Gold Bug now and then is it would handle really bad ground better than most modern VLF detectors and in fact was the only VLF detector I ever tried that would ground balance out arsenopyrite. If I ever trip over one in good condition really, really cheap I would probably buy it out of nostalgia. The compact removable box, S rod, and elliptical coils were ground breaking design moves at that time. A true nugget detecting classic but passed by with newer technology. My sister in 1991 with her Gold Bug and the 7 dwt nugget she just found with it:

Normal is always my default ground setting unless forced to do otherwise. From http://forums.nuggethunting.com/index.php?/topic/11331-nugget-1-of-5-gpz7000-03192015-4-gram-8-inches/ "Always at least try to run in Normal ground setting. If you can't get it to settle down in Normal, no big deal, just go back to Difficult. Normal is certainly not just for coins and relics, it is the hottest setting for gold if the ground allows it. It adds considerable punch on small nuggets in milder ground. Probably not going to work many places in Arizona but I have had good success with it in Nevada and California." and at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/827-minelab-video-gpz-7000-ground-type/?p=8258 "Obviously the Gold Modes are causing far more questions for people than the Ground Type setting. My only note here is to say I have been finding the Normal/High Yield combination quite possible at various locations in California and Nevada, typically where there are lighter colored soils. Some areas it is a total no-go but in the U.S. at least be sure and do not fall into the habit of always using the Difficult setting. Give Normal a try, and go back to Difficult if need be. The sensitivity to small items gives the SDC 2300 a serious run for the money, even with the larger coil, while delivering more depth on larger nuggets.' I always run Smoothing off. Sensitivity normally never higher than 12 and possibly as low as 6.

I was told directly by Dave Johnson (the designer) that the coils are not compatible between the original Gold Bug and new Gold Bug. I doubt it would hurt anything though to try it.I like the old Gold Bug and still have a new 4" round coil rat holed away just in case I ever got one again, but the lack of iron disc is the big problem. If I want to dig it all, I will use a PI.

They are usually clearly marked 14K or 18K. In the case of platinum usually marked 900 (90% platinum). If no marks at all it is probably costume jewelry but not always, as people can and do make their own jewelry. When in doubt Google is your friend. Here is a handy chart from https://www.hooverandstrong.com/metal-information HGE (heavy gold electroplate), gold filled, plated, RGP (rolled gold plated), and EP (electroplated) identify jewelry that is rolled, filled, or plated with gold. In other words, not solid gold and much less valuable. In the UK especially hallmarks are used to identify the jeweler. http://www.gold-traders.co.uk/hallmarks/ In the U.S. big name jewelry is similarly identified.