HardPack

Ran a 6 hour test run with the Johnson SPX 2200 pump (rated 12v 7.5a) using the Jackery 1500. The Jackery’s 12vdc 10a outlet plug is actually regulated at 13vdc. The pump used 437 watt over the 6 hour test or an average of 72.83 watts per hour (73w/13v=5.6a). The pump lift was 26 inches. Water loss off the Grizzly bars was approximately 8 gallons per hour, setup up a rear capture bucket to direct the water to the tub. 

Great write up.

I have an older Jackery Explorer 1500 with a Lithium Ion battery, with 1488 watt hours, good for fridge backup but at 32 pounds is too heavy for light weight highbanking. Later today plan to run a longer pump test with the Jackery 1500 to verify wattage use.
Looking at the Bluetti EB55 ($350/16.5lbs) with the longer lasting LFP battery, with 537 watt hours and a DC discharge efficiency of 89% (537 w/h x .89 =478w/h). A 75 watt water pump at 478w/h is approx. 6 hours of runtime without any solar panels. The EB55 can handle up to 200 watts solar panels.

The Ruby Mine in Sierra County (photo#6) was a producer of large nuggets. There are a couple of YouTube videos of the Ruby mine. In one of the older videos a geologist walks the mine’s Eocene river channels showing the location and bends where some the largest nuggets were discovered. The original mine owner donated some of the nuggets to Sierra County. Sierra County later donated the nuggets to a LA museum for safe keeping. Here’s a link to the Ruby:

http://www.rubymine.com/

Youtube video link:

Who remembers Jack O’Connor, who wrote for the magazine Outdoor Life. His stories of elk hunts in the Sawtooth; and his 270 pre-64 Winchester Model 70. Wonder if the mail boat still makes the run up the Salmon. 

Testing a recirculating setup with the above Gold Hog mini highbanker (30 pounds) using only one 12vdc bilge pump and one of the shallow tubs. The smaller tub holds approx. 16 gallons of water. The pump is a Johnson SPX 2200 with 2080 GPH ($94/5 lbs) at 13.6 volts. At 12v the actual flow is closer to 1800 & 1900 GPH. The pump at 12vdc has an average draw of 75 watts and 6.2 amps. A small solar generator such as a Bluetti EB3A (268 w/h x 85 %)($210) could possibility operate the pump for approximately 3 hours. The solar generator has a 12v/10a outlet plus a built in solar charge controller at a weight of 10 pounds. Equipped with a Bluetti 120 watt solar panel ($249; 12.6 lbs) at a 6.1 amps charge rate should increase operation time to around 6 hours. Drilled the hopper support legs to allow the hopper to set at 1 degree for a clay prewash as needed. Jackery and Ecoflow both have similar size solar generators/ panels. The GH highbanker has Grizzly bars which reduces or eliminates bucket classifying. Normally stockpile a couple of cubic yards of material prior to running. 

Use a military style adjustable 2 inch wide with a plastic snap buckle. Carries a finds pouch containing probe, small shovel; separate pick holder.

The Neptune/ Poseidon design points to maritime, my guess is boarding party, close quarters, naval officer; British, French or Continental; Navy or Marine. The gold plated button may be connected if from a uniform.

These folks may be of help:

https://www.usmcmuseum.com/

2 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

In an early house owned by the Lee family (Stratford Hall) not too far away, there is an original painting of Marquis De Lafayette painted by Thomas Sully. Quite the place to see.

A person could spend a lifetime exploring the history in Northern Virginia. Quite a place indeed.

45 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

French sword

Viva Lafayette! 

1 hour ago, F350Platinum said:

this area was established in the 1640s

Finds as these sure puts a person I touch with our history and how far we have spread out since that time. 

6 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

we occasionally recover CW military relics although practically no notable CW activity occurred in the area, and these too, were likely lost by locals who were former CW veterans who returned with their military uniforms, equipment, and firearms.

I believe it may of been the owner of a scuba/skin diver outfit in Alabama that acquired a rifle from the CW that bore the initials of his great grand father. Regardless of what side your family found itself during the CW, could you imagine the meaning that would hold.

On old mining claims 22 caliber brass casings, rifle & pistol brass casings and both steel & lead shot are common. Even with very limited tonal nuances the TDI SL I agree it is “dig it all”  when detecting for gold.  For coins the TDI Sl target conductivity switch, pulse delay and ground balance adjustments not so much a “dig it all”.  The E1500 screen with a target conductivity number is a big plus. For example, a consistent reading for 22 brass casings with just a lift of the coil will help to verify it is a shallow target as opposed to deeper target. Also the threshold adjustment with the aid of a tonal graph & threshold level is very helpful. 

1 hour ago, F350Platinum said:

One side appears to depict a person with an animal, the other a person with either a farm implement or trident.

Any British Naval or Royal Marines officers posted in the area. On the hand guards I’m guessing Neptune, trident and seal. Either way, I’d have to start detecting old Spanish Missions after dark to find that kind of history. Thanks for the post,

On 1/26/2024 at 12:43 AM, John-Edmonton said:

Did some modifications to my California Mini.

Going to take a closer look at your setup. I need Grizzly bars for classification and a pre wash for clay. I like the light weight aspect, I have to make a steep climb up & down into a claim without road access and limited water. The claim has flour, flakes and gram size gold in bench gravels.

10 hours ago, midalake said:

not the first to bring up issues with Equinox coils and capability. 

Plenty of good reviews of the Coiltek NOX 10x5 on the Equinox 800. Now that the sun has returned I’ll get the Coiltek NOX 10x5 mounted on the Equinox 900 out to a site far from any EMI. Provided the creeks go down. 

10 hours ago, John-Edmonton said:

Here's the totals for my flour gold

2.46 ozt of flour gold represents a lot of hard work.💪💪

30 minutes ago, phrunt said:

You booked a flight from Nevada to Germany to see a Nokta booth?

Haven’t seen the sun for a week I’ m ready for a flight anywhere booth or no booth.😄

Join Nokta Detectors at IWA OutdoorClassics 2024! Booth: Hall 4 / 4-537, Nuremberg, Germany 29 Feb - 3 Mar. Don't miss the chance to explore our latest products. See you there! #NoktaDetectors #iwa2024

Booked my flight yesterday.🙃

18 minutes ago, Ndplumr said:

I finally took some time to research this area

USGS has a “Historic Maps” library online. You can pick a point on a topo map of your area then scroll through the dates to pick a historic map of interest. Old structures and trails often come up. I believe USGS also has an online tutor.

1 hour ago, Goldseeker5000 said:

Hardpack, I don't know what you are talking about! X-ray glasses, dowsing rods? NO!!!, those WON'T be in my next book. I don't know if you are trying to be funny or not. If you are hahaha 🤣🤣🤣 if you are being serious don't start false rumors if you don't know what you are talking about. 

Sorry was just attempting to get Ndplumr to expand his research library. I’ll edit the post.

On 1/26/2024 at 12:39 AM, John-Edmonton said:

Fantastic entertaining video. Perfect for this time of year

Canada Over the Edge has a recent YouTube video Natural Beauty Surrounding Yukon Territory Largest City posted by Track Travel Documentaries. The video explores the area around Whitehorse with some scenes of the Kluane NP glaciers and river valleys. I didn’t link it because it is an hour long video. I definitely have the Yukon on my list.

2 hours ago, Ridge Runner said:

PI detector now would be the time to do it

Also sure to be a waterproof PI to a depth of ?? meters. We are still patiently waiting Dilek.

I have only used the EQX 900 with the Colitek 10x5 detecting two high EMI sites so have not fully explored this coil on non-EMI sites. Both of the stock EQX 900 Nox 11” & 6” coils detected both of the EMI sites and were stable at higher sensitivity settings. On the other hand, even with the sensitivity lowered to 15 the Coiltek did not completely settle down. My thoughts were the coil was hyper-sensitivity which could be a good thing on a different site. The Coiltek 10x5 was originally designed for the EQX 800 correct. After reading about the Algoforce E1500 ability to caliber different coils, I started to wonder if perhaps the Coiltek 10x5 is not fully calibered to the EQX 900. What do you think?

2 hours ago, JCR said:

stick out of an old battery

Yeah, I was thinking about that just this morning. The cylinder 6 volt batteries had a center graphite core connected a terminal. That probably got through my filters since the old placer miners didn’t have batteries. Need to look up more often. Graphite may explain schist type hot rocks. 

4 hours ago, hangtownrods said:

900 is useless ids jump all over

I had EMI issues with the Coiltek 10x5, could be the coil is not specifically calibered to the EQX 900. Both the stock EQX coils were stable on the same site. Now I actually prefer the 11 inch coil and multi tones. I focus more on the tones than TID with multiple passes. I agree the detector is jumping and not a real confidence builder. Iron trash can affect (reduces or pulls down) target TID & tones. In Multi frequency detection depth can be reduced with small iron trash buried across the site. And perhaps the same for high soil mineralization. Have you used any of the single frequencies such as 10 or 15 kHz? Keep in mind the 800 and 900 are different designs. Sooner or later Minelab is going to have to address this jumpy TID issue with a software update. Hang in there.