Roughwater

When you thought you had seen everything, somebody always proves you wrong.

I for sure don't know but if I was gambler, I would bet he left the magazines there on purpose. He was just trying to spread the love.

Sounds like you definitely know your stuff john. As to my soil here in this part of NC I haven't really tested it yet but It is Red and I am pretty sure somewhat mineralized. Back in Ohio, the soil was black, rich and easy to dig in. It seemed like when it was wet I got the best depth. Not so much here. Not great garden soil here, still,they manage to farm it. As to coils, I suppose they could maybe make a hybrid coil, say a concentric DD? I don't know that they can just wondering?

Wow the small coil in the garden! I think it was AUminesweeper (John) that sent me some equations to figure the anticipated depth ability of a coil but without doing the math I am pretty sure this little coil on the the Racer2 just blew that equation all to hell. No offence to you John, I know your equation is correct (normally) but this machine and coil isn't normal. Terry

Very True. One of the most important things you can do for a vehicle is change the oil Regularly. I always by the best Synthetic Oil I can get and the best filter. That's the number one best thing a person can do for their vehicle as it protects it from the inside out. Back in the day if you got 100 K miles out of a vehicle that was great. Vehicles have gone up greatly in price but I feel like they are actually more dependable and if you buy the right brands you can expect 300 k miles and better out of a vehicle if you take care of it. My wife's 2004 has over 200 K miles on it and the only thing I have done to it is put bulbs, batteries, oil, filters transmission fluid/filter, wiper blades and brakes. A great vehicle. But my 2003 Ford Escape 4x4 was the same way over 300 k before it got totaled in a wreck.

Yea Steve, the ladies are just one of the hazards of the sport! I don''t know for sure what I like best about it. I know when I dug up that one ounce nugget it felt like I had just won a million dollars. Some folks there volunteered to take it and clean it for me. But I politely declined. Inside I saying "Are you Crazy?". There's a lot I like about it. Like Forest Gump said: It's like a box of Chocolates, you never know what your going to get.

Thanks Steve, That means a lot coming from you!

Steve, You may regret having asked me that question as here it the answer: I guess you could say Metal detecting is something I'm getting back into. I used a Whites Eagle back in the 80's in Ohio and when they came out with a new chip I bought the chip making it effectively an Eagle II if I recall correctly. But back then I didn't have any detector buddies just the one detector, one coil and I was good with it. I hunted off and on usually just a couple hours at a time. I found some nice silver coins with it and a gold ring at a gravel pit where some used to swim as well as a lot of junk too. Found a friend of a friends wedding ring. After moving to NC in 95 it didn't see much use. Then I retired the first time in 2005 from Federal service. Decided to go huntin for gold! Joined the GPAA, bought a GP 3500 from Gerry in Idaho and went to his 3 day class at Rye patch on the way to my road trip to Alaska. Found a little nugget the last day of Gerry's 3 day class. He left, and I stayed a couple more days at Rye Patch. The day after he left I decided to walk over a hundred or 2 yard from the area we were all hitting so hard the last 3 days. Gerry gave me good settings training and I used a 8" mono coil and started finding nuggets so I mentally tried to cover every inch of the area I was working and ended up finding 6 nuggets that day, the largest being a one ouncer. Next day I searched hard again but only found one more nugget so headed on up to Alaska. Did some detecting there but only a couple nuggets that year up there but was mostly hi-banking and running a small underwater dredge at Mills Creek which at one time was a GPAA claim. Did the same thing again next year (06) minus Rye patch except we went to Petersville Rec area and dredged with a slightly bigger dredge. I think I only got the detector out once while there but no luck. Long story short I ended up going back to NC, buying a new home, got married and sold all my detectors to put down money on the house. I bought a used whites TDI a couple years later off a guy that seemed pretty electronics savvy, I believe it was one of the 1st 200 off the line. I think his online handle was Reg or something like that. I build a few coils for it including a one meter coil which was crazy powerful. I had this really large metal Nut I found and it could detect it at over 5ft. But I sold that detector a couple years later and all the coils went with it to a guy heading to South America somewhere. I have been working steady but am about to retire again hopefully permanetely so have bought another detector from Gerry (the GPX 5000), and going to take his training again but in Oregon this time. Originally planned go to AK again and may but was thinking that's a heak of a lot of driving there and back and instead of those couple weeks driving I could spend that time with my coil on the ground so we'll see on that part of the plan. Being finally retired I hope to have a lot of time to get out and use the detectors in the gold fields and closer to home. Oh and this last pic is of Mt McKinley from our camp at Petersvile Rec area. We could only see McKinley on rare occasions from the camp and I had to hike part way up a mountain to get this pic of it as we could only see the very peak from our camp.

Tboykin, That's the ticket if your a do-it- yourselfer. More than one way of looking at things. As you say, If you don't spend a lot on a vehicle you won't have a big car payment so you don't need to worry about the MPG and can afford the gas and extra toys. I don't think an old couple could manage all those alternations to the vehicle though. If one has to pay someone else to do all it don't come cheap. The Subaru's are kinda low compared to a lifted vehicle but per previous post you can lift them if you like. But when you ride in a Subaru you feel so close to heaven you just glide over the rocks and ruts! I have an older 90 something Dodge Ram Dakota Sport 4x4 Manum V8. It has 200K on it but I don't trust it to take out of the county. When I get back from my long vacation out west I'll look at going over it good, maybe even replace the engine as it has pretty low oil pressure. It sets up real nice and has good sized flotation off road tires on it. I only paid 2k for it and had it a couple years now but added a couple new tires, exhaust and new battery. It's my local hunting truck.

Steve, Again, appreciate the input and I'm sure you are correct. You are not the first person to recommend a Multifrequency machine for me to use at the beach. Beach hunting for me is kinda of a secondary need so wasn't looking for the latest greatest for that purpose. However, I thought of a way to get a Multifrequency machine for cheap which would still leave me enough money and more open to also buy if I wish, a more dedicated VLF gold machine. However the Racer 2 might still be my choice over a more dedicated gold machine. I'm thinking to buy a used Minelab Quattro for 400 dollars. Then I will have my occasional use beach detector. I never really planned to be diving and such so I think it would do better than any single frequency machine at the beach and probably as good as the Excalibur in many ways. If I get more involved in beach detecting I can probably later resell it and get my money back to put toward a more dedicated beach detector. There are newer FBS/BBS machines but they are also more expensive. Some say the Quattro is a beast on the beach with depth. It seems to share it's coils with the newer model Minelab machines which is a plus. Any thoughts on that that potential purchase would be appreciated? Terry

They do make a elliptical DD coil for the Racer/Racer2 which would be slightly more sensitive than the stock coil I would assume as it's a bit shorter and narrower like the minelab Joey coil. But I'm maybe confused by the term "Concntric" as referred to a coil? Are you talking about maybe a mono coil? I'm not sure mono's are made for a VLF machine? The little 5" for the racer coil I heard referred to as a "DD concentric" coil. I'm assuming the term concentric refers to it being round, although the 5" isn't perfectly round?

Thanks much Steve for your input.

I've been on the hunt lately for a reasonably priced New VLF Detector that I can use primarily for the beach and prospecting trashy areas but any other additional modes I would consider a bonus such as coin and relic modes as I know I would use those modes at times also if available. I have tried to include all the positive and negative features I could find or think of but I invite any of you, especially those of you who have used one or more of these 3 machines for your opinion positive or negative. If you know of a better machine you feel I should look at please feel free to advise me. I highly regard your input. In short I've narrowed down the selection to the following 3 detectors as they all 3 seem to have the features I'm looking for, at least in the mid-priced range. I have also considered the CTX-3030 and the Garrett Pro as the Garret seems pretty solidly based but there is some uncertainty about it's salt water ability. The CTX- 3030 looks awesome just not sure I can go the steep price and a single freq machine I'm thinking would do as well or better in mineralized ground for my prospecting needs. XP Deus Plus Features: Selectable (4 Frequency 4, 8, 12, & 18 Khz), Very Fast Recovery speed, Ultra Light weight, breaks down easily, No wires to deal with. Has beach and goldfield modes notch Disc, Iron level, Multi-tone, motion and 4 non - motion modes, 10 pre-configured factory programs, 8 user programs that can be saved, ground tracking and grab ground balance, 5 yr Warranty, wireless digital, Rainproof, Backlight, low power consumption, lithium batteries, 20 hr life, 2 hr charge time, offset Freq. Negative Features: Coils very expensive, very small selection of coils, 1. Each component has it's own battery that needs recharge, Battery in coil is only factory replaceable. Makro Racer 2 Fast Recovery speed, handles mineralized ground well (ISAT), Has beach and deep mode. great price per feature economy, great selection of coils, notch filter, Auto or manual ground balance, remembers settings, threshhold, Iron audio, Volume control, uses common batteries (4AA), screen backlight, vibration, frequency offset Negative Features: Single Freq (14Khz), not waterproof, Good target ID's bunched together in the 80's, Whites MX Sport Pluses: Waterproof, 6 modes, Beach, prospecting, Relic, coin, all metal etc, Volume and threshold control, Ground grab, V/SAT, 20 hours on a charge,screen backlight, adjustable notch disc, Tone ID, frequency offset, Negatives: 4lbs, 8 AA batteries, 1/4 headphone via adapter, only 2 optional available coils so far, Single Frequency (13.8 Khz), New model, not fully tested by a large group, Terry

If only my wife could think of me that way!

My wife looks at me and thinks I'm out of my mind!

Looks like it might go where it wants not where U want to go. Do they make a saddle for them?

Some swear by the coat hangers but I have never heard of any one reporting actually finding a nugget with them. But some do use them as I'm sure you know to find a possible hot spot. Some apparently also use the hand held long range detectors and now I'm seeing digital versions of them. I also saw somewhere online selling an app to tell you where the gold is. Probably takes you to Fort Knox. I have always wondered who it is that buy's those long range detectors? Someone must as I have seen them online for years. Guess I always felt I need something that doesn't rely on my brain waves. Back to the dowsing rods though. I have tried them and oddly they seem to find a spot they want to cross. I never consciously tried to make them cross and they would often consistently cross at the same place. And 2 of my prospecting partners had theirs cross at the exact same place as mine did. We dug down there about 7 Ft by hand and no gold! A forth party told us the gold would be at 15 ft but we didn't have 15 ft worth of digging in us so we gave up. I would sometime like to try a blind test where no one knows where the other person's rods cross and see what happens? Terry

I bought the Minelab GPX 5000 because I want to find gold nuggets. I could have bought the 4500 a little cheaper but not by a lot as I bought my 5000 used. I personally know the Mindlab PI's work at finding gold as I found some in 05 and 06 with a GP 3500 I previously had so I went with something I know works even though the price was steep. But actually, I paid less for the 5K than I did for my 3500 as I bought the 3500 new. The only better detector than the 5000 that I know of if is the 7000 GPZ but didn't want to go a min of 7k for a detector so I settled to a degree. Now I'm in the market for a all around (Beach, Coin and prospecting) VLF detector. I want one with fast response and one that will keep me from digging lots of trash. Appears there are some good ones out there, don't have to have it till June so learning all I can and seeing how some of these newer ones shake out as well as seeing if anything better falls out out of the woodwork before June. Terry

Attached is a link to one lift kit though I am pretty sure there are other brands out there: http://get-primitive.com/suspension-lift-kits/149-product.html I owned a 91 Toyota 4 Runner, wished I still had it...It got 21 mpg 21 MPG is really pretty good for an older 4WD vehicle. I just took a look under my Subaru and it is a metal plate over the oil pan but not over the trans fluid pan. It doesn't look like it would be difficult to make one up though. Oh, I found one online for an older model http://get-primitive.com/protection-skidplates/101-front-skid-plate-.html And they have on for my 2014 model. Glad you mentioned that I think I'll go ahead and order one. Looks like it will protect the bottom of the radiator as well. http://get-primitive.com/protection-skidplates/108-front-skid-plate-.html Oh again. Further research revealed this same company makes what they call a triple armor kit, a Font skid plate, a middle skid plate for the Trans and a rear skid plat for the differential and it's all bolt on, no drilling etc. Pretty cool. http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f139/2014-xt-primitive-racing-triple-armor-kit-install-360977/

Appreciate you attaching the Video's. Really good video and nice gold. I also like the tools you use. I have a couple short handled pics but like that long handled one you used, would save me bending over as much and you can get 2 hands on it. What brand/model is that if you don't mind? Thanks, Terry

Exactly what I meant. No one wants to know their loved one has died/likely murdered, but there is some relief to knowing what happened to them and maybe a chance to bring them home so to speak.

Older Toyota 4 runners are often a safe bet. Mileage not too bad for a 4WD vehicle and most have good ground clearance. I used older straight 6 landcruizers. Fuel mileage at best around 16 mpg but pretty awesome off road vehicles. More roomy than the 4 runners. I started out to Alaska in a 4 cylinder 4 runner in 2005. I figured the 4 would get me better fuel mileage. I drove out to Texas to buy it. Perfect body and ran Ok. It made it back to NC with it where I live. But later when I loaded it up and took it to Alaska I found it was really underpowered. It would drop clear down to 35-40 by the time I would get near the top of the peaks. I was holding up the traffic behind me, even holding up the semi's over any large hills or mountains. Then the couple hundred miles of road work gravel roads loosened all the head bolts and by the time I got to Anchorage it became unreliable and I ended trading it toward a used diesel truck in Anchorage. I didn't get much for it but I was a long way from home and didn't have much bargaining power. Long story short if you get one don't get the 4 cylinder if you plan driving it very far. I guess the pro's to using a Subaru would be mainly fuel mileage and the pro's to using a older 4 Runner is that it might be a little better at handing the most rugged terrain and assuming it's older a scratch or dent wouldn't be terribly worrisome. As to the Subaru off road, it is very capable and sits up higher than most SUV's but not as high as a lifted vehicle so you have to be careful of it bottoming out. They do make lift kits for them, some are bolt on. Along with a lift kit you can get higher profile tires also which help. Like a lot of things there are compromises. When I was in Ak there were Subaru's driving out the same dirt roads my Diesel 4 WD Truck was struggling to get though. The Subies would ride on top of most of the muck where the heavy trucks were sinking in. Attached is the 4 Runner I took up to AK during a several day pit stop at Rye patch NV.

Great point about the cost not changing that much for White's detectors and some others. That has to be hard for a company to work around when cost's for almost anything else has gone up several times since the 80's. I got a white' Eagle II also back in the 80's was a great machine in it's time. The depth wasn't as good as some now but seemed good enough at the time.

We are all dreamers. My father mostly fished for catfish, channel catfish. He was very patient. He used a zebco 303, that was made with metal back then. He used 6lb test mono and a small treble hook, no weight. He would form a little ball of catfish charlie on the hook and cast it out on the bottom. He would wait till he got a bite which some days could be an hour or more. But he caught catfish from the bank when no one else was catching anything. I think to be a detectorist you have to be like a fisherman, always have that hope that the big one will come along one day. I think we have that same hopeful mentality, that a nugget or maybe that rare coin or gold ring is our prey will be our catch of the day. Our brain though is part of the equation and not just the equipment we use so whether we have a 303, a fly outfit, a caster, spinning or cane pole we adjust our style and can still catch fish. But we do tend to settle on one style more than others that we feel fits us or we feel is the most efficient for the money we are willing to pay. My dad was completely happy with his 303 but some might feel the need for that 200 dollar tournament casting reel. Where am I going with this? I don't have a clue, I'm 66 and allowed to ramble a bit. Right now my Eye is kinda fixated on the Racer 2 but I can be swayed. I do like it that the sport is waterproof as I will eventually use the detector I buy at the beach some. I know too I will be tempted to do some wading with the detector and that law of nature that says "if it can happen it will happen" means I will dunk the detector in the water at least once so that water proof feature of the sport attracts me. But right now I am thinking the Racer 2 has an edge in everything else I might use it for. I have the cash right now for a detector in that price range and I'm itching a bit but resisting the the urge to scratch, for now.

Paul, Those old White's detectors look like they just came off the showroom floor. Reminds me of the old cars folks take to the car shows, all painted up and look like new many in the original paint etc. And they still work! That's a tribute to your care and to whites and the way they built their early detectors. Looks like owners wore out before the detectors did!