Jim in Idaho

I recently bought a pair of used non-metal boots for $50. They're made by Royer. Mine are the 6" 'Rover' model. Great condition, comfortable, and will last me the rest of my prospecting career, I bought them online on Ebay from a place I think called "used shoes. com" or something like that. Before that I bought a pair that were claimed to be non-metal, and found out they lied. Chinese brand, of course. Jim

Desert over by Green River, WY is full of them too, Gerry. Provided you're below about 6,200'. Get above that, they start disappearing. Jim

13 years ago is about when I started prospecting over there. I've spent considerable time there myself, Bear. Found chrome diopside as large as 5 carats, but have never seen a diamond. I have one little valley below Sage Mntn, and west of Cedar that still kicks out some nice indicators. We were there last summer I keep thinking that spot will give up a diamond, as it gives up the largest CD's I've found, but no luck so far. I think the remnants of a pipe are very close to that spot, having once found a CD with kimberlite still attached, but we still have not located it. Jim

Hey Bear, did you prospect for diamonds in Wyoming? Jim

Hey Clark, hope you're doing well! Same ol', same ol' around here. Jim

Looks great, Jon. That gold would be HUGE on the Snake near me...LOL Jim

My buddy and I were down in that country about 10 miles north of Winnemucca 4 years ago. We were on a friend's claim, and we each dug out a full 4" long scorpion chasing nuggets. Until then, I had no idea there were scorpions that big in Nevada. Later, our friend was stung by a 1 1/2" one.He's from the middle east, and almost died from shock...LOL. We had to calm him down, and tell him there wasn't any real danger. We later ran into a bull snake, and he almost fainted from that encounter, too. There are REALLY nasty snakes and scorpions in the middle east, so his fear was justified, though he mostly grew up in Nevada. Jim

OK, guys I got some boots bought. I found a pair of 13M's in a Royer 6" metal free for $47.69, all up. They'll do. I appreciate all the advice, and help. I've got a copper prospect to investigate down in CA this winter, and these boots will get a workout. I'm going to be doing both 2-box with the data-logger work, and doing some ground resistivity work. Chris and I found a blow hole along a heavy quartz seam down there 2 winters back. The ground was littered with oxydized copper of green and blue. Last winter I dug down along the extrusion about 5' deep. Kept digging up more specimens, but never got to any native copper. I'll use the two-box along the extrusion, looking for native copper, and the resistivity will show any highly-mineralized zones below the blow hole. I've got enough wire to "see" about 100' deep at the hole. It's going to be interesting, but a lot of work, too. The data logger, and the resistivity device both give an image to study, and save. That's the fun part...LOL Jim

Ya know, Lunk, Chris (wife) and I have been talking about that. Might be the only way to get what I want. I'm going to start in-person shopping while carrying my MD-20 to check for metal. Removing eyelets wouldn't be difficult with single-layer boots. Great minds think alike...LOL

The problem is searching out boots that don't have metal eyelets. You do a search and everybody says "metal free", but what they mean is no metal safety toe. Take a close look and they have metal eyelets. The Nortiv 8 boots I wear don't have any metal except the eyelets, but my detectors see them easily with every step. Very difficult to find lace-up boots without some metal, without paying a small fortune. Jim

Oh Boy...I absolutely hate slip-ons of any kind, Jason. I really like my boots tight on my feet. Jim

Aah heck, Bill, my deal with Doc fell through...he's out of 13's, and can't get any more. I'm back to shopping again. Jim

Thanks, Mike! I ordered a pair of the no-metal desert boots. Should work fine. I can use my regular boots for the bulk of my detecting, but those Discovery two-box units are super sensitive. The reason is that you're enveloped in the magnetic field....it's much larger than the field from a regular search coil. So the eyelets in my boots set it off with every step. I have to take extra care to remove all the metal on my body.... including my hard head....LOL Jim

Sorry guys, but I just bought those two 2-box detectors and paid $200 for the two of them. $200 for boots, for a guy that has been frugal all his life, is difficult...LOL I've been looking, and few companies make non-metal boots, it seems. For what I do, and where I do it, I don't need either waterproof, or insulated. You'd think, with all our modern materials, there'd be a moderately-priced product that would get the job done. Maybe I need some old "Keds" LOL Jim

LOL....Good Lord! $200 for those woven boots. No wonder they last...they better, Ha! Jim

Since I got interested in two-box detectors, and the use of a data-logger, and purchasing Both a 900 and 1200 from Treasure Baron in the Discovery models, my lack of non-metal boots is becoming a problem. Ever step is making a noise. can't have that. Can anybody give me a brand, and model of boot that has zero metal? All help appreciated. Lug soles would also be nice. Jim

Looking good, Jon! Jim

Different machines. Only similar circuits, not identical, Mods on original TDI are not the same mods on TDI SL. Jim

Maybe they'll get to the point they only build them to order, Steve. I could easily see that happening in the US auto industry. Something has to give in all this stuff. Somewhere "affordability" has to enter the picture. Going to be interesting to see what happens. Jim

Yup, we should never stop learning. Take books, and the 'net away from me, you might as well throw dirt on me...LOL. You did good recognizing that, in any case. Jim

Great work, Jason! Jim

I understand, Jeff. I'm curious what the actual voltage was. Also, I wasn't criticizing the test. And I agree air tests don't mean much. But my SL has often targeted a 1 grain gold bar at 3", in the ground. But, I have no experience with Arizona, or Colorado soil. Jim

My only question is why run the TDI at 14.4v? The nominal is 14.8, and the max is 16.8. I'd bet my SL would give a response to that .1 gram nugget, since it gives a response to a 1 grain piece. Granted, it's not a 6000, or Axiom, but it didn't cost me thousands, either. Jim

The newer models, made sometime in 2015 and later, included a modification suggested by Reg Sniff.That mod has been done, by several people, to the earlier machines. It increases the sensitivity. Other than that, they're all the same. Jim

I remember hiking in and staying overnight on Piru Ck. We lived in Simi Valley at the time. I remember my dad talking about the gold there. Hard for me to believe, but that was 65 years ago! Jim