madtuna

I hope so Mark, was good to see you pair again

gorgeous looking ground there mark!

Unfortunately Mitchell, what the mining company will never know is how much gold the prospectors who submitted their 40E returns actually found or where they actually found it. 

Also, they will have no idea of where or what the other 50 prospectors who snuck on and poached without a 40E found.

Totally agree Reg, and yep we keep an eye out on him each season.

That Lanacoorie (sp?) gold bash thing coming up should not accept his sponsorship

This is the mess left behind here in WA by a well known Eastern states tour company.

Crap "reality" shows like Aussie Gold Hunters sure don't help and in fact have caused our station and others no end of problems.

That show is so far removed from reality. It seems to attract people who usually don't have two cents to rub together, who think they can get rich quick by picking up nuggets just laying around everywhere. No clue, no grasp of reality, no research, no preparation, no brains and no care taken.

and if I have to have a screen on the handle...I want Farrah as a screen saver

I want my speaker(s) up where my ears are not down where my arm or wrist is though.

Minelab do listen. That's why the GPZ is the way it is.

When ever a machine has a few years up someone always starts a thread in anticipation of the next offering. After the 5000 had a few years under its belt there were countless threads asking what was wanted in the "GPX 6000".

Most asked for CTX style with battery in the back, wireless, GPS included etc and Minelab gave us what we asked for. We even told them how much we were prepared to pay for it. Not many factored weight in thier christmas list.

We got what we asked for then whinged about the price and weight.

Me? I just wanted more depth in a GPX style package and better salt handling.

I was happy with the GPX format with battery on my back. Battery in a machine adds weight to the machine. Cordless though nice, was not a priority.

I don't need GPS in the machine. I have a GPS. I didn't need a screen on the handle, just another thing to knock and break and be unable to read in the sun. As it is mine has lines down it.

But dreams and reality don't always come together. I always dreamt of sleeping with Farrah Fawcett and the dumpy blonde from the Dixie Chicks...that never happened either.

16kg of specimens out of one hole apparently.

Good luck Trent, I see they are producing the goods already. Someone in WA recently scored 9.5kg  with one

On 7/26/2019 at 2:36 PM, kiwijw said:

So it wasnt after a female aboriginal.

I am a kiwi, New Zealander, & my initials are JW. Pretty simple really. Bit like me.

Good luck out there

JW ?

Actually JW that would be Jin but with a G which is a derogatory racist term and would see you dumped down a mine shaft in some places.

On 7/25/2019 at 10:11 AM, Reg Wilson said:

I don't see the use of user names, unless you have something to hide or are frightened of your own shadow.

Nope, while some people hide behind a user name for stirring crap etc, there are a million other legitimate reasons to use a handle other than your name. Some forums with a bazillion members would have a heap of John Smith’s and no doubt a few Reg Wilson’s as well.

There’s a Steve Fisher in town who keeps getting my mail and never returns it the bastard! He has the exact same middle name too.

we teach our kids about being anonymous on the web, not so they can rattle off crap on forums but for safety reasons. Amazing how much you can find out from just a name.

1 hour ago, Jin said:

 Can rest easy now. Was always curious how Phrunt and Madtuna got there usernames. Its also been very interesting to hear every other forum members story. 

 

Quit googling my bum.....pervert!☺️

My last name is Fisher, so all my life I was called all things fish...flat head, mullet guts, fish guts, trouty, tuna face etc. Tuna sort of stuck and was probably the most palatable of what I've been called. Madtuna came about after a series of unfortunate events resulting in hospital stays.

I use the same user name on all forums I'm on but usually sign off with Steve. I don't go on the anononimity thing though understand why some people may need to.

Because our station is in the gold fields of WA and heavily visited, we need prospectors to contact us so my name, address, phone number email etc is posted for all to see. Hell...there's even a photo of my bum floating about the www. No hiding here.

how weights have changed too....."this nugget weighs 3 ounces"?

Miss Elvis as a pup...with playmate?

Bringing Dogs to the WA gold fields is fraught with danger.

Wild dogs are an increasing problem and your pet dog can attract them into your camp. 2 years ago a prospector on this station was badly mauled requiring evac to a major metro hospital via the flying doctor. They say if you see one wild dog, you have a dog problem. I whack about 5 a week and usually see up to 10. I also get about 5 a week in the traps.

Baiting across the entire goldfields is done periodically where they are dropped by air with no telling where they land. We have some control of where we bait as it is done by hand. We also use traps at scent spots that are laced with Strychnine. 

Baits are like schmacko's, I've never met a dog who could resist them. Your dog will also sniff out the scent spots and risk stepping in a trap. There is no coming back from 1080 or strychnine and it is an agonizing way for any creature, domestic or feral to die.

Under the Pastoral act, you can't bring a dog onto a pastoral station without the pastoralists permission. Something we rarely give except under exceptional circumstances. People continue to do so though. I've had to put down a number of pets for distraught owners and we've also had death threats if "my dog takes a bait".

If we find someone on the station with a dog without permission, they are made to leave. This is a working cattle station, dogs chase cattle. Yours may not but we don't know that.

The below short video may be upsetting to some but unfortunately people are just not getting the message out here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwz-dOczHDo

1 hour ago, flakmagnet said:

Well Andyy, that may be true but it doesn't change the fact that, in essence, the SDC becomes a 3700 dollar smaller coil. That's an extravagance most of us cannot afford.

Not really, the SDC is more than just a smaller coil. It’s a whole detector suitable for a whole different range of detecting scenarios. I think it was marketed for its compactness, waterproofing, maybe it’s weight not just its coil size.

One thing I have proved to myself now over and over is the SDC compliments the Z remarkably, and not just for coil size.

 As an SDC owner I won’t be needing a smaller vodka jobbie for my Z, but if I didn’t already have an SDC I’d sure as heck be investigating one.

Also I can’t see Z owners wanting a smaller coil buying an SDC to fill that gap especially now that the Russians have arrived. But then with the reluctance to cut the umbilical, maybe some will.

Hi Peg, we have a very bad wild dog problem here. As much as I hate baits and it’s a nasty way to go, it’s the most affective control method we have until something better comes out.

Thanks mate, and yeah I just won’t do it again. Most of the year I am here by myself so everyone thinks I’m a lonely old hermit who needs a dog. As much as I’d love one it’s just not worth the risk to the dog or the heartbreak of losing him/her

This was my new pup also called Elvis.

I didn't want a new mate because of the risk of baits, but everybody else said I needed a new dog. I got back home a couple of weeks ago to find this little fella waiting for me.

He was very hard not to fall in love with in the short week I had him. Unfortuately he took a bait and I had to shoot him too. We don't bait anywhere near the homestead and all I can think of is maybe one fell out of the bags when the baits were delivered and he found it. The bait truck driver was the fella who delivered the pup.

Not a good idea bringing a dog out here.

This is Elvis. She was the best mate I ever had. Broke my heart when I had to shoot her after she got bit by a dirty big Mulga snake. Was the hardest bullet I've ever fired.

3 hours ago, jasong said:

To me the SDC is just a tool for bad ground. It doesn't really shine over the GPZ in any aspect I can see other than ultra dinks and gnarly ground. And it looks to me like the 10" X Coil is going to outshine it there too now.

The SDC reminds me of a backhoe - ok at a lot of things but not the best at many. The GPZ/GB2(or GM1000) combo is like a mini excavator/skid steer combo - way better and more efficient at the widest possible range of things.

If I was just starting detecting I'd probably be tempted to start with an SDC (and regret it just like I regret going with a backhoe instead of a miniex/skidsteer instead). But to expect people who already own a GPZ to go buy on is a really stupid business decision that sounds like it was made by accountants and not detectorists.

Probably different where you are Jasong just as with KiwiJw's ultra mild soil makes me drool with envy. I can only speak for where I am where the SDC is a huge compliment to the GPZ and I'd be much poorer without it. There are situations where the SDC outshines the Z.

One example, a tight patch about the size of a bus where the average depth of the nuggets was 26 inches and sitting on the cap. 17oz of chunky bits.

After every signal was removed with the Z in goes the SDC for another 3 or so ounces. Yep all tiny bits the Z couldn't here but 3 oz none the less. Many of the bits I would have thought the Z would have heard, but it wasn't the size of the bits..it was the make up or type of gold. Bits clearly heard on the SDC had to be rubbed on the Z coil to ellicit the faintest of response.

Still, if I didn't have an SDC I'd look at a smalled coil for the Z. But I have an SDC

edit: just to clarify, wasn't pulling nuggets with the SDC at 26 inches, dug the whole area out down to cap then used the SDC

2 minutes ago, flakmagnet said:

But why would would someone want to pay  $3750 for essentially a smaller coil? I guess that's considered "good business" but I don't necessarily agree.

Totally agree, and if I only had a 7000 I may have well looked at a smaller coil. But I have an SDC so really have no need for a smaller coil but do need/want a bigger coil for my Z.

The SDC compliments the Z like a finger in a bum so can fully appreciate the need for a smaller coil for thosewho only have or want one machine.

I don't want a smaller coil, I have an SDC for that.

I want a bigger coil. I had the 19" which I had good success with but it was a specialized coil for deeper ground...not a prospecting coil especially due to it's weight.

I want a larger coil I can both hit deeper ground with plus hopefully step it out prospecting with.