auminesweeper

Here is how I fit all my coils, When the Velcro is placed between the two lower rivets or below them they stop the Velcro from sliding up the shaft, and by placing the top Velcro just below the top clamp seems to hold the cable tighter allowing the cable to be wrapped more evenly around the upper shaft. J.

Interesting test Jim, well done, great effort. I have always used the GND meter to see the changes and where they are at their highest that's when I would use the black sand % meter to measure the actual levels, The GND/Ground Phase is the quickest way to locate the general bs area, the bobbing of the coil is really like when you ground balance the GMT/MXT's and normally happens within One or Two pumps of the coil so the GND meter responds faster within those one or two pumps of the coil, I only use the black sand meter as a secondary meter having the GND meter do all the major work, thanks for you efforts. John.

That's an incredible success rate when you consider that you were using what is basically a Coin machine all be it with a HF coil. outstanding work Steve.

Back when I first found Gold I had so much trouble with people trying to find out what and where that I never posted it because some folks just get nasty when you do what they can't, I have only post 2 coin finds in the past 7 years because of it, Gold does strange things to people, "Me" I don't care if I find it or not, It is a great happy feeling to find it but I would rather keep that feeling to my self and say nothing. I have done ok but no where near what you guys have. Here's a couple of nice finds from Whites web site, 12 ozt+ https://www.whiteselectronics.com/find/mxt-finds-12-2-ounce-nugget/ MXT Gold Magnet, https://www.whiteselectronics.com/find/mxt-is-a-gold-magnet/ John.

Thank you, when I click on them I have a circle spinning round and then a blank page loads, Not to worry thank you for trying. J.

I can't get the pages to load, mmm I hate computers

The reason I said that maybe it was the wrong machine for him Is because he seems offended that people not posting or raving about the Impact, Almost all modern VLF's can find gold so I don't see what all the fuss is about, like all machines one day it will shock the daylights out of Mike proving just how good it really is making all his worries unfounded, Nokta are a brilliant company and they are a young company and people are slow to embrace new machines because of this when pitted against one of the older companies especially one like ML who has become the market leader in prospecting, Just reading some of the posts on that link does raise doubts with me at first glance and reading between the lines I could list any of a dozen reasons why people are having issues with performance, but lack of knowledge can do more harm than good. I like the Impact but because I use a machine that is a sure bet I am not ready to risk that on something that is unproven, many machines will often prove us wrong doing things that we thought not possible but the most important thing is Mike gets out there and uses it, It is what he thinks about it is all that matters, J.

Yes the GM is unproven but because it is a Gold based machine people are more likely to buy that for prospecting, and being a prospecting machine it will grab the most attention on prospecting forums, You know just as well as I do that in Australia that ML will get all the attention over any other brand regardless, Whites make a couple of machines that have found way more Gold than any of ML's VLF's could dream of but Aussie's love their Minelabs, The Impact is not a Gold machine, Yes it can find gold but where VLF's end up wanting is when the ground hots up you have to reduce the Gain or they overload, and where they fall short is that in hot ground when you reduce the gain they loose their ability to see small gold, I can make my MXT A/P see bits that weigh only 0.003 grams on the surface but when the mineralization goes up and I have to reduce the gain then those small bits start to vanish, With the GM because it runs at 45khz when you reduce the gain they still have the ability to see very small bits because of the frequency the run at, Your impact would have been better if it had the frequencies of 5khz and 15khz and lastly 50khz, 20khz is barely any better than 14khz, 99% of prospectors are going to pick the GM over the Impact simply because of the frequency because they know they will have to turn it down but it will still retain most of it's sensitivity, Classic example of this is the Whites GMT, I have some test pieces that weigh less than 0.0001oz and the GMT can see them, That is about the limits for any detector, After that you need to pan any thing smaller, You are not likely to see many if at all any reviews of people using the Impact for prospecting unless someone just takes theirs along for the ride along with their 5k/Zed, Take me for instance, I love the MXT's which was invented 1999/2000 now in it's 4th revision, Your Impact performs exactly the same as my MXT, I was thinking about getting the impact but apart from a few extras it does not perform any better than my MXT All Pro, The Impact has manual GB which I would like but to be honest I have gotten by without it for over 7 years so I don't think that I really need it to be honest so it is really a matter of want than need. Plus there are over 40 Coils made for the MXT and it has a proven Gold history, and so have many other VLF's. One thing to bare in mind is that since around 1997/2000, VLF detectors have stood still since then and some have even gone backwards when detectors went digital, I have an old White's machine that will smoke any VLF and all but the 45/5k PI's when it comes to depth and it was made in 1987, the only ground breaking things we have seen is BBS, FBS, and the ultra lightweight Deus, Apart from that every detector is just a rehash of what came out 20 years ago. I don't know why you appear to be so offended because no one is using the Impact for prospecting, Just because companies say it can do it does not make it the right machine for the job, Most people would pick the V3i over the MXT for prospecting because the V3i can run at 22khz, And yes it can see tiny bits in Air tests and back yard tests but it lacks the ground balance system that the MXT's have which is the same/similar sort of setup that is in the GMT which is designed to handle higher mineralization that is in areas where Gold is found, The Impact is a modern masterpiece, but people have already had machines that your Impact was based upon, and for all out prospecting VLF's Nokta/Makro already make 2 very fine machines that excel at prospecting, and if that was your goal then I think you bought the wrong machine. hope this helps. John.

You need to talk to Nenad ( PhaseTech ) he would be the man to ask in OZ, As for the GB 2, most people prefer it because it is a dedicated prospecting machine and like the GMT they have a proven history, and so have many of the multi-purpose machines, Your impact on the other hand is an unproven multi-purpose, multi frequency machine, which is why folks still go for the GB2.

Mike, I think you will find that anyone here who has used the GM or the Nokta will have no reservations about speaking their minds albeit in a constructive way and they will rip in to it if they are not satisfied with the end product, There is a big difference in expressing the short comings of a product than just getting stuck in to the company, Have no fear if anyone is P'd off with ML they will let them know it, It is a shame that you don't have another machine like a 45/5k to run in the hot areas, But as you know VLF/LF's are not made to be used in such places, Being an LF they do suffer where mineralization is very high to extreme where even a 705 or an F-75 or Goldbug Pro would be a safer choice because the lower frequencies handle the hot ground a little better Not much but a little just the same. But If you knew that you wanted to detect there I am wondering why you bought the Nokta instead of a second hand PI, even the Whites TDI SL would work in the areas that you are trying to detect, I can't help feeling that either you were led astray by a dealer or someone gave you the wrong info, either way it is the wrong machine for the areas you want to work. John.

I like detecting a day after a thunder storm or a couple of days after a good rain, it seems to help a VLF, but PI's don't like wet ground so much. stay safe. John.

Chuck, you might find that the GM is too hot for the beach and if it does not have a salt mode then it won't work very well in the wet sand, Not having run one of them I am just guessing here, Ok. Stay safe Chuck, I am watching the news about your storm, John.

Sorry to hear of your troubles Chuck Some of the things Doctors give us can knock us sideways, Hope you feel better soon, One thing I always do when I get a new machine when I have put it together is then check all the Non standard connections like where the Coil lead goes in to the coil because 9 times out of 10 they will be only finger tight and some of them have been very loose and I hate the thought of getting water in there or even worse like having the wires come completely out. So you need to get that sorted with ML asap. Yes it sounds like the mineralization was way too high, were there any Basalt rocks in the area ? I know they effect VLF's to the point where nothing works, I had one area where I could not put the coil within 12 to 14 inches from the ground, Which is another reason I bought a PI, but I only use it if I have to, Chuck have you detected in that area before or was this the first time you had been there ? J.

I just found a Winch shoot out done by 4x4 Australia where they got Australia's 7 top winch's and gave them a heck of a workout and it seems the normal version of my Winch came out on top, I have the SD/ Short Drum version as used by the SAS, So I might be adding the C9500EWX to the front of my Truck and fit the SD to the rear, John. https://www.4x4australia.com.au/gear/recovery/1708/12-volt-winch-comparison-review-video

Don't give up and loose faith, Detecting of any type is a life long process and we never stop learning, As for the depth you are seeing in your tests that will change out in the real world sometimes it will be deeper sometimes it will be shallower, No 2 Nuggets are the same and depending on their shape/thickness 2 identical weight nuggets can and will be picked up at different depths, ground conditions will play a major part in this also, At what the GM can do it is the Bees Knees, but you can not go comparing it to a GPX, The GPX has got lousy discrimination and is a very deep machine with the sole purpose of finding Gold in highly mineralized ground. Your GM can tell whether a signal is junk/Iron or Gold, Copper Lead or some other Alloy, and In old mining sites it is perfect for sifting through the junk that miners left behind pulling out nuggets that they either threw away or missed, All people should try to use a VLF/LF machine first and I am not talking about when they first start detecting, I include all prospector/detectorists, If a person can get their VLF (LF) to work in their sites then that is a good thing because it will save them time in digging less junk, There is a fashion in Australia where most seem to be convinced that you have to have a PI machine when this is only partly true, A person should check the ground out with a VLF first and if needed then switch to a PI machine. PI's have become more of a crutch where people swear black was blue that a VLF is useless out there when it is not true, 99% of them wouldn't even know because they haven't even tried one there so how do they know ?. Before the birth of the PI all people had was VLF's and they did quite well with them also, Take a PI in to an old mining area and I guarantee that you will be feeling very let down within the first 2 hours of digging junk where "Your" GM will run rings around them, What I am saying is there is a right and a wrong time to use a GPX/TDI or what ever other machine you want to add and there is a right and wrong time to use a VLF. The Smart prospector will own both and have them both at hand when the need arises, In my years of detecting by picking the right machine for the task at hand I have yet to be skunked no doubt it will happen, But if one machine is not working for me I swap machines and if that don't work then I change coils etc, Any one can learn how to run a machine but learning the skills as in what machine/coils to deploy to suit the current conditions makes a huge difference, Classic example is try running a GPX with a thunder storm within 200 miles of your location and as good as the GPX is they don't like storms yet the TDI SL can be maxed out in such conditions, The GPX series are the best PI's but junk and storms will drive them nutz, Have a good read of Steve's Guide to Nugget Detectors, and you will see that he owns a few that he can adapt to his current conditions and locations, the wise prospector would do likewise, and when you can afford a GPX I would hang on to your GM-1000 so you can adapt to your locations also, hope that helps, https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-guides/steve-guide-gold-nugget-detectors/ John.

I never said I did not accept you findings, but I did mention a couple of other things to try ?, But 20khz is not a low frequency I am talking about frequencies at 12khz and lower, because they will handle higher mineralization better. J.

This just hit the news over here an hour ago, It is good to see there are still great finds to be made, John. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-40962865

Well both of them really because the lower the frequency the better they run in hotter ground, If your impact is noisy in 20khz then try and work the next frequency down, But there are limits to what they can do, and if that don't work then try a smaller coil, If your ground is low mineralized then a small concentric might be just what you need to find the tiny stuff,

Last year I bought a very old machine and a couple of things that stood out is the signal of trash / good targets was a bit on the slow side, In it's favour the depth/power is unrivalled but one of the best features is that I can ground balance it and then use the Disc to either fine tune the GB or wipe out hot rocks where modern machines use S.A.T. smooth out the ground the hot rocks still remain and this feature of using the disc is new to me but it is missing on all newer machine and sadly so is the raw power, Having two GB pots (stacked) is a bonus being fine and coarse with addition of the Disc allows the machine to work in all but the worst conditions, Large Iron does not seem to worry it either, I can't help feeling that over the last 2 or 3 decades although the newer machines have some great features that they have somehow let the important ones fall by the wayside. John.

Mike I can understand where you are coming from but I think either you bought the machine with your heart or someone was less than honest with you at the time of purchase, A higher KHz machine will suffer more than a normal VLF in such conditions because they are so sensitive, where the Relic or the Fors Core etc might be the better option, Although LF machines are hot on tiny Gold they also have an adverse side to them as well. I can make my VLF work in most soil conditions because of the amount of coils I have but if I added the cost of the 8 coils to the price of the machine then it would most likely equal the cost of a GPX/SDC but because my detecting covers many facets a GPX would not suit my needs at present. I use another brand but the Nokta's are great machines and it will serve you well, you also need to remember that not all of Australian soil is like the hotspots in the GT and your machines and the GM will work fine and produce good quality nuggets, The biggest nugget ever found with a detector was found with an old Garrett ADS and PI's and ML were still in limbo back then. You need to remember that some of the people here have been doing this man and boy and although their comments might seem a little harsh at times, Their list of demands differ from the person who only goes out once every 3 or 4 months if that, But saying that there is nothing stopping you from putting your coil over a retirement nugget and end up being rich enough to buy 30 GPX's, That's down to fate and the Nugget does not care what brand or detector found it. I think you are worrying too much about peoples views about certain machines than what your results have proven, You have found Gold with yours so you already know it is good, what more proof do you need, sounds to me like you already have a winner. hope that helps. John.

I still don't see why all the fuss about a machine that is "not" designed for extreme conditions, I can understand people taking there to see how it does but there is no point in complaining about it when it behaves just as they thought it would all along, when a lower KHz machine might be the better option with a hotter Coil If a VLF has to be used, I can understand taking it along as and when it is needed if the ground is full of junk but in hot soil conditions I would be more concerned about how the GPX or SDC would run. A VLF/LF will run there but at a reduced Gain setting so depth will be lost and sensitivity to small gold will be out the window and the only way to regain some of those losses is to use a very small concentric or DD coil , This is detecting 101 and the type of stuff people learn in their first year of the hobby, Seasoned prospectors should not be making such a mistake. John.

Absolutely, as of yet the perfect detector has not been invented, How ever there are many that will put a smile on an old face. Most people would benefit more by going over the machine they have with a fine toothed comb and learning every thing about it including exploiting every coil made for it, Coils are not just for sifting through the junk, they do much more than that and they effect settings due to ground condition and target response and target location and much much more, 90% of users expect an out of the box all seeing eye when what they really need is to learn the machines they have to extremes and only then will they know if they need another machine or not, A VLF and an LF and a PI and maybe a water machine will cover 99.9% of peoples needs some might feel the need for the ZED, But on the whole that is all that is required, I have got to the point in my detecting where I almost know the machines I have, but new locations and swapping coils can mess that up and it's time to learn all over again, There are too many variables in detecting to create the perfect machine, tighter discrimination and better ground rejection is the way ahead, We can add the extra depth just by swapping coils but it would be nice if we saw some lighter larger coils because many of the newer machines tend to be noes heavy once a larger coil is fitted. John.

AMEN to that, theres nothing wrong with any of the machines, and it only has to please one person, Approval is nice but it won't make it work any better, The detecting world of VLF's is in limbo at present and has been for a few years, hitting it's peak in the early 2000's and all we have seen is variants thereof, too close to call but the hardest part is picking one over the other, I am in no rush to buy another VLF until they break new ground, The GM is impressive because they removed all the junk and served up prime rump without the bones. all in all it is a serious VLF/LF. J.

I don't think anyone in their right mind would use a VLF/LF machine in hot ground like in the GT, and if they did they would have to reduce the Gain, ML already made machines to deal with that kind of dirt, even people who have never been there have heard about the GT. Why people are asking or start complaining about the GM 1000 working in the GT is beyond me, 99% of people already know the answer, that's like entering a Dump Truck in the Indy 500. J.

Thanks GB, Yep those Energizer Ultra Lithium batteries are very powerful and 8 of them will run the TDI SL for well over12 to 14 hours but they are not cheap. They are the only battery that will not leak, and they are the only battery that are supplied/Guaranteed with some of my high tech gear, and they have a 10 year shelf life, with those fitted in the MXT you should get about 80 to 120+ Hours out of a set of them, with the TDI SL they will triple the run time of the factory 2200 mah battery pack, thanks for posting it. John.