HardPack

Submitted my choice of names for the new gold/relic Nokta PI today and received the following reply: ”Submission was referred to as spam.” Double checked the correctness of the “Naming Contest” submission https address, apparently my ideas for naming was rejected immediately by Nokta Detection Technologies.

Nokta Detectors The Legend - Version 1.14 Beta 2 Test - RELEASED! Updates Made: 1) When switching to Beast mode, All Metal discrimination pattern will be selected automatically. When switching from Beast mode back to Gold Field mode, the last selected discrimination pattern in Gold Field Mode will be restored. 2) Update in the Ground Balance Menu a) When selecting between FerroCheck (FC) and Mineralization Indicator (GI), the 'FC' or 'GI' indicators displayed on the right side of the screen have been moved to the left. b) The 'FC' or 'GI' indicators which remain on the screen until exiting the menu will be automatically cleared from the screen after 2 seconds. c) When the Tracking feature is activated, the ground balance level flashes on the screen. In Beast mode, when the Ground Balance 2 is activated while the tracking feature is on, the ground balance level will be shown steady to avoid confusion. 3) General improvements have been made.

That would be consistent to what I was seeing, the primary ground balance would be approximately 42, the hot rock 2nd ground balance was approximately 47. While sweeping the coil away from hot rocks the Legend was still balanced to the mineralized ground. The ground balance reset operation may be a benefit on sites where hot rocks widely spaced.

In Multi BE mode, A discrimination pattern, I have performed the primary ground balance over the mineralized ground; then performed the 2nd ground balance over a hot rock. Question: Which of the two ground balances is the Legend now utilizing or is the Legend using both the primary and 2nd ground balance? Question: In Multi BE mode, how is the SMF weighted.

That’s where the Iron Rejection (Ir) setting kicks in, the video demonstrates the setting at 2. You will get a lower tone response over iron targets. The audio response/volume for non ferrous targets will vary based on target size, shape & depth and ground mineralization. If you use the G discrimination pattern you will lose TID 1 & 2. In Beast Mode I have yet to see a TID over 3 so you would be losing the majority of the target TID. Try using the Goldfield mode on some buried coins and listen to the target audio response & volume. Beast Mode helps dealing with hot rocks that will often suppress target TID and/or mask small or deep targets.

Note the low TID for coin size targets (dime, nickel & quarter 1 thru 3). Similar results I experienced prospecting a claim with mineralized soil plus saturated with both basalt and ironstone hot rocks. Lead bird shot, small ferrous boots tack and 22 caliber lead bullet were within the same TID range, no higher than TID 3. The hot rocks would also TID at 1 but there was either no audio response or the response was broken. Worked for me in the all metal A discrimination pattern with both the LG 30 & LG 24 coils. I always do a frequency scan and ground balance. The 2nd ground balance over any hot rock(s) is critical.

Found this notice posted on the Nokta Facebook account: Nokta Detectors ATTENTION! Dear Valued Legend users, It seems like many have not understood the Beast Mode! This includes even some of the more experienced users. Please be patient and we will make a demonstration of it for you! Please refrain from making comments such as ''it doesn't work'' unless you really understand the goal of it and how you can test it. Testing it with coins that you can already detect in other modes will not demonstrate the capabilities of the mode! Hang tight...we will show it to you soon! Thanks in advance for your patience.

Spring in the Sierra foothill gold country. The runoff is flowing. GPAA Founder George "Buzzard" Massie and his sons may recognize this river canyon. If I remember correctly their take was 880 ounces.

The Coiltek Nox 10x5 DD coil for both the EQX 800 & 900. After using the EQX 900 & CT 10x5 for gold prospecting the trick is the Sensitivity setting. The CT 10x5 is very sensitivity to EMI, ground mineralization, hot rocks and small shallow metallic targets. I have found sensitivity settings between 10 to 14 on mineralized soil works. On highly mineralized ground loaded with hot rocks a VLF detector is probably not going achieve depth on small gold targets. The ground mineralization alone will mask and/or eliminate small gold with increasing depth. An advantage I have discovered regarding the EQX900 compared to the Legend when prospecting for gold is the EQX 900 TID range. The EQX 900 wider TID range from -19 to 0, 1 to 99 allows for a slightly wider detection range for small gold in mineralized ground and hot rocks within a lower range of 1 to 5. Ground noise will normally be in the -19 to -16 TID range with hot rocks at TID 1. Highly mineralized soil will suppress the TID for small targets including gold, often between 1 & 5 with the EQX 900. The Legend TID range of 0 to 60 has a tighter lower range of 1 to 3 which allow hot rocks (TID 1), small ferrous targets, such as boot tacks, combined with the soil mineralization to mask small gold. The new Legend Beast Mode suppresses the volume level of hot rocks, such as ironstone & basalt, but the small ferrous and gold targets are still packed into the tighter lower TID range of 1 to 3. I have also experienced “coil knock” with the Legend Beast mode even at lower sensitivity settings.

Just an observation but don’t see either the AT Gold nor the ATX currently listed on Garrett Direct. A lot of existing AT Pro, AT Max & AT Gold inventory would be directly impacted by a release of a AT SMF. Perhaps a AT PI under $2k?

I’m suspecting a waterproof, rechargeable, wireless headphone, collapsible carbon fiber shaft upgraded version of the GoldMaster 24k. Or at least I’m holding off until the storm fills the sails.

I did notice “coil knock” on ground stubble in Beast mode. Lowering the sensitivity did reduce but not eliminate the knock. Good coil management is a challenge on a 60 degree brush covered slope but possible. The big plus with Beast mode was the ability to prospect for gold on a site saturated with hot rocks at depth. The Legend 01-60 TID range does concentrate a lot of small shallow targets in the narrow lower range. The LG15 6” coil may be better for those tight rocky target holes.

https://a-storm-is-coming.com/. “a storm is coming in 2024.” …. just in time for Christmas?

I am thinking the 6 inch LG15 might be the best for this site. Plus a trackhoe to get down through the basalts slope sediments to the slates. Found a few stranded wire ties left behind by whoever packed bags of pay down to the stream. May explain all of the boot tacks. Spring is bringing the poison oak and snakes up & out. I am liking the “deep target” (dt) combined with a LG24 on a site with far fewer hot rocks. At least the Beast works to reduce the hot rock impact on small shallow targets. We need input from a cache hunter.

Climbed the slope above the EMI claim, far less iron trash but an abundance of basalt and ironstone hot rocks. In Beast mode Multi started with LG 30 coil with Recovery 1, Iron rejection 1, sensitivity 15 to 22, Discrimination All Metal, Volume 2, Audio Gain 3, normal ground balance 44 to 45, 2nd ground balance over hot rocks 47 to 51. Detected with the 2nd ground balance. Found the “S” hook and smallest boot tack with the LG30. In Beast mode Multi changed to the LG 24 coils with the same settings and ground balancing procedure. Found the remaining targets in photo with the LG24. In Goldfield mode Multi with Deep Target (dt) at 1 was hot rocks on steroids at this specific mineralized/hot rock site. In the test garden hit all 8 inch coins with LG30 (1, 5,10 25). In Beast mode Multi with the Legend headphones to insure all targets were heard, not necessary unless you want to heard hot rocks. In 2nd ground balance all hot rock were a very low volume TID 1, none of the targets in the photo TID’ed above 3 when buried in the mineralized soil, maximum depth 3 inches. The 22 caliber lead bullet TID 3 at buried depth of 3 inches. The remaining targets in photo were either TID 1 or 2 at a depth of 2 inches. All ferrous metal target volume increased above the low volume hot rocks. The hot rock responses were either silent or broken depending on size, depth or concentration. The higher volume response of the ferrous targets allowed for detection, separation & recovery. The 2nd ground balance is the key, the metal detector will let know if the balance is off with loud chirping when sweeping. All targets found were ferrous and magnetic, except the lead: air TID: “S” hook 7, boot tacks 3, rusted iron 2, 22 cal. Lead 30, red ironstone 1 with very low volume (two separate stones).

The Sept/Oct 2023 BM update indicated a search mode for relics, is it now very deep relics/coins and large masses?* Come Thursday I’ll run the BM over some basalt hot rocks to see if I missed any small lead, boot tacks or masked gold out at the EMI claim to check out the following statement. “Beast mode offers users a 2nd ground balance feature to overcome mineralized/hot rocks…” *If anyone has a Facebook account you can post any questions regarding the software release under the comment section of the Nokta Detection Technologies Facebook v1.14 Beta 1 release video. I believe the factory is closed for the remainder of the week so a reply probably wouldn’t be until next week.

Nokta issued the following clarification regarding Beast Mode: Nokta Detectors Hello everybody! Just want to clarify a confusion. Beast mode is a mode itself! We didn't have enough space on the screen to have a separate icon for it. Therefore we use the Gold Mode icon to go to the Beast Mode. Beast Mode is a separate mode. Hope it's clear!

If interested there are few new videos popping up on YouTube. Here’s a link to Nokta’s release:

I agree, JCR you’re really putting the head on the pin. Nokta should be out with a firmware update this spring. I have the LG24 on the Legend recovery was at 3. In the test garden I have a clean area for ground balancing which is 42. In goldfield keeping the sensitivity at 16 and recovery set at 6, I was able get a good clean threshold tone change on all 7” and 8” targets with no TID number for any target. With the LG24 at 5” (and probably even 6”) TID for all targets. The photo is of the test garden’s granitic clay soil for comparison to your red dirt. Target sequence penny, nickel, dime, quarter & 30 caliber lead with depth 4”, 5”, 7” & 8”. The claim’s mineralized soil ground balances in the 50’s, the basalt hot rock TID is 1 rolling into 60, targets depth is not controlled and varies so often produces a TID but all are suppressed by the mineralized soil very similar to your video. Shallow small gold targets are going to be in that TID 1 to 3 range. I have access to another site with plenty of exposed bedrock. You may be spot on with recovery 6. Thanks

Nokta Detection Technologies has released the Legend firmware v.1.14 Beta-1 Beast mode, here is the description from the Nokta website: V1.14 Beta-1 Test - Beast Mode Software Update (2024.04.08) Updates Made: 1. Deep Target Identification (dt) feature has been added. This feature allows non-ferrous deep targets, which are masked or detected as iron (ferrous), to be detected as non-ferrous. To access this feature, select the Recovery Speed setting and press the pinpoint button. When you navigate with the right and left keys, the letters "dt" will appear on the right side of the screen. You can change the value of the dt setting between 1-6 by using the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons. When it is at 0, this feature is off. When you increase the value, the stability of the device may diminish. This feature can be used in all modes with both multi-frequency and single frequencies. 2. Beast mode has been added. Very deep targets may have values close to the surrounding soil and therefore may not be detected. Beast mode allows you to detect targets at depths that cannot be detected in other modes. This mode resets the ground balanced soil, allowing deep coins and large masses to be detected by the detector. However, in this mode, targets at fringe depths may not give an ID or their ID may be unstable. To use this feature, simply press the frequency key in Gold Field mode. Beast mode is indicated on the screen by the letters "bE" under the multi frequency symbol M. (April 17, 2024 edit: use All Metal Discrimination A only in Beast Mode). 3. Second ground balance feature added in Beast mode. Due to its configuration, Beast mode may cause the device to give false signals to ground changes and mineralized/hot rocks. This may cause discomfort to the user during detection. Beast mode offers users a 2nd ground balance feature to overcome mineralized/hot rocks, red bricks and other ground changes in the surrounding environment that have different properties than the soil that’s been ground balanced. With the second ground balance, depending on the properties of the hot rock or brick, in some cases, complete silence can be achieved over these falsing targets. In other cases, a broken signal may be heard. Broken sounds indicate that the detected target is a mineralized/hot rock. To use this feature, press the Ground Balance button to access the setting. Then, activate the 2nd ground balance feature by pressing the Frequency button. When the 2nd ground balance is activated, the number "2" appears on the screen above the letters Gb. You can perform the 2nd ground balance by pressing the pinpoint button. When Beast mode is selected, 1st and 2nd ground balancing can only be performed automatically. Manual ground balancing is not possible. You can switch from the 2nd ground balance to the first one by pressing the Frequency button again. ( April 17, 2024 Edit: in Beast Mode must Ground Balance). 4. Ability to reset the 1st and 2nd ground balance settings in the Beast mode. While Beast mode is selected, the ground balance value is reset by entering the ground balance menu and long pressing the up button. When the button is held down, the animation is shown on the screen. To reset the 2nd ground balance value, first activate the 2nd ground balance. Reset the 2nd ground balance value by pressing the up button again. 5. "Iron Rejection" feature in Beast mode. Beast mode, like the Gold Field mode, produces signals for both non-ferrous and ferrous targets by changing the frequency of the sound according to the strength of the received signal. In order to distinguish ferrous targets, especially those closer to the surface, depending on the signal strength received from the ferrous target, the device emits a lower tone than that of the non-ferrous targets with the frequency varying according to the strength of the signal. To access this feature, select the Recovery Speed setting and press the pinpoint button. The letters "Ir" will appear on the right side of the screen. You can change the value of the "Ir" setting between 1-5 by using the plus (+) and minus (-) keys. When it is at 0, this feature is off. When the value is increased, the probability of emitting a ferrous tone for deep non-ferrous targets increases.

I did several tests between multiple metal detectors with different DD coils for gold prospecting. The Minelab EQX 900 with the Coiltek 10x5 NOX at sensitivity settings between 8 to 14 detected 0.2 gram and smaller gold flakes. The detection depth varied per soil mineralization and the size of the gold. On the claims prospected a sensitivity setting greater than 14 with CT 10x5 picked up enough EMI to mask smaller near surface small gold. On the other hand the EQX 900 with the stock 6 inch round coil allowed sensitivity settings ranging from 12, 14, 16 and 18 with less of an EMI or ground mineralization impact. The CT 10x5 had a strong detection center line. The higher the sensitivity setting the stronger the detection at the coil tips. For gold prospecting the EQX 900 wider -19 to 99 Target ID range is a plus for sites with a combination of hot rocks and small gold. The hot rocks TID 3 to 5 while the small gold TID 1 to 8, again depending on soil mineralization and target depth. The plus is the CT 10x5 will detect larger deeper gold plus smaller surface gold if the target is detected along the center line tip to tip. The coil edges do detect but on small gold the signal is weak even with headphones. The CT 10x5 NOX is a very sensitive coil so increasing the sensitivity setting will pick up more EMI and ground mineralization without much benefit. For gold detecting with the EQX 900 I keep the recovery at 4, Iron Bias at 2 (which allows rusted square nail/iron signals to partially come through) then set the sensitivity to the site soil mineralization/EMI. Using the 1 to 99 Discrimination pattern avoids the lower TID ground noises ( -19, -18, -17). Hitting the All Metal horseshoe to verify ferrous (rusted iron) or non-ferrous targets…and dig all when in doubt.

The California Department of Water Resources measured the Sierra Nevada snowpack’s water content at the Phillips Station in the Lake Tahoe area at 64 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 27.5 inches. DWR’s electronic readings from 130 stations placed throughout the state indicate that the statewide snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 28.6 inches, or 110 percent of the April 1 average, a significant improvement from just 28 percent of the average on January 1. Plus an April storm system forecast is for snow level dropping to 2500 feet on Thursday the 4th.

The California Water Control Board locked that subject down in this State. Still a few out there but I don’t expect to see any posts on the subject. A couple of Carson City locals pointed out the location of an old stamp mill along the Carson River out of Dayton Valley. May not be much gold but they claimed to of found plenty of mercury flipping stream boulders. The river hasn’t froze over since the last ice age but the wind and snow blowing down the canyon may be close enough.

The majority of the party did stayed behind to continue trapping for beaver on multiple tributaries up into the lower foothills. Smith left instructions if he did not return by September they were to sell the pelts then head for home. They must of been totally focused on beaver not to see all that free gold under foot.

Been detecting the claim with the Legend in goldfield multi, sensitivity 15/16. In the test garden the soil is different from the claim but similar ground balance numbers. In the test garden I was able to hear a faint threshold break on an 8 inch deep 30 caliber lead ball. Today I used a 56 kHz single frequency VLF detector in All Metal on the claim to double check. The TID range is 0 to 99 so the hot rocks were hitting TID 3/4. Picked up the same targets ranging from 22/40 caliber lead, lead pellets & boot tacks. Both detectors are actually smoother at mid range sensitivity settings. I think lifting the coil is a good option, if in doubt dig. However, per the ML EQX 900 manual…search modes… the Multi IQ processes a lower or higher weighted multi-frequency while “ground balancing for soil”. Assuming the Legend also uses the remaining SMF for “ground balancing the soil” this may identify the missing small target problem. There might be a trade off where small targets are ground balanced out as a part of the mineralized soil. Could Recovery speed, even on low iron trash sites, be a solution?