Jim in Idaho

Great writeup! But, I've got a new wrinkle on a gold pan....my automatic panning machine AKA "Sweep Jig". Utilizes a flexible bottom, or diaphragm. I've been working on this since August of '16. Patent has been applied for. You can see the old prototype running here:Sweep Jig at Bonanza Bar Works well, even without water. Jim

I've been using the Reidman pack for a couple of years, with no problems. There was a recent post on another forum saying that resistor #9 got too hot to touch when he used the 4-cell pack. I haven't checked mine, but am going to keep using the 4-cell. It may be that Whites don't want to produce a pack capable of 16.8 volts when the capacitors in the power supply are only rated for 16.0v. Using the 4-cell pack is counting on the safety factor built into the capacitor rating. I'm using a charger that lets me set the max voltage, and I'm now keeping very close to 16.0v, just in case. Staying at 16v also increases the life of the pack. Jim

Man, I really like that green in the second pic, Jim...gorgeous. And I agree....DD does know his rocks! Jim

I understand. I have no idea what changes he's made. I thought I bought one of his early units. I've had it 2 or 3 years. I use an adjustable-voltage charger on mine. I can set the final voltage to any level I choose. That saves pack life by limiting the voltage to 4.0V/cell. I can also use that charger on my RNB pack for the GMT, and DFX, at 12v. My adjustable-voltage charger has a wide input range, too...from 8.0 to 65v DC. Jim

Yup, Fred....I can't count the nights I've spent sleeping in the cab of a pickup when the weather turned south...even in the winter up here. ya do what ya gotta. Jim

Not so, Luke. Here's a pic of my Reidman pack. No point on the bottom is higher than the perimeter edge, as seen. Jim

I think it's mainly the cost of compliance tests for the EPA. Takes a lot of vehicle sales to get that cost back. Jim

Reidman removed the factory base in his pack, and replaced it with a thinner sheet. it slides in smoothly, with no untoward pressure. Jim

Will do. I've got the auto in the Dodge, and have had great luck with it, but know nothing about the Cherokee automatics. For a really serious backroads rig a stick is the way to go. Jim

I like the sound of that. I've considered doing the same, for shorter trips. Just me an dog, don't need a passenger seat taking up room. I was thinking Cherokee, too. Jim

Jamie, I don't have a clue. Jim

Yup...I've read a lot of good reports on the Trooper. Solid outfit. Jim

I've been driving the same 2001 Dodge diesel 3/4 ton 4x4 since it was new. This the 18th year. it now has about 307,000 miles on it, and well over 20,000 of those on dirt. It's never stranded me. I put $10,000 into it a year ago, and brought everything up to snuff. Now runs like new again. Even with that investment, the cost of ownership is under $3,000/year, with many years of use ahead. I put an aluminum flatbed on it when new, and it has hauled more equipment and supplies than can be believed. Or, pulled my little Alaskan camp trailer, with the 4 wheeler on the flatbed. I've logged every gallon of fuel put in it, and for all uses has averaged almost 17mpg. It would be the last of my possessions sold. Here's a pic of me stuck in the Wyoming clay a couple of springs ago. Had to wait 3 hours for it to dry out before continuing on.

That pack is cheaper now than when I bought it. I'm pretty sure I paid $150.00 for mine. Jim

This is the pack I'm using. Direct plug-in replacement, but 14.8v nominal rather than 11.1v of the other lithium ion offered. Actual max voltages are 16.8, and 12.6. Nominal voltage on li-ion is 3.7v/cell. Max is 4.2v/cell https://www.ebay.com/itm/Whites-TDI-SL-custom-Li-ion-14-8v-Battery-Higher-voltage-to-push-SL-to-new-depth/222810586564?hash=item33e08bbdc4:g:HfMAAOSws5Baah8g

LOl....I'm not going past 16.8v with mine...thank you very much. but, if you let the smoke out, you can refill it with this... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Interlogix-Smoke-in-a-Can-Safe-Secure-Smoke-Detector-Testing-SM200-FS/272771573113?epid=1900573491&hash=item3f8273e579:g:AqQAAOSw6B5Zcj02

The 4-cell lithium pack maxes at about 16.8v. I've been running that pack in my SL for a couple of years with no problems. But, the capacitors in the SL power supply are rated at 16.0v, so running the fully-charged 4 cell pack is taking advantage of the safety factor built into those capacitors. One of Whites engineers mentioned in a post that as long as one stayed below 18V he was probably OK. I did a lot of testing of the voltage differences on depth and sensitivity, and there's a definite benefit, but it's mostly confined to the larger coils. In air tests my SL, with the 12" factory DF coil can detect a 1 grain bar at 3". It can detect a nickel at nearly 17". That's about a 20% improvement on the 12v battery pack. Jim

Doc, if you look at this chart, you can see the difference in magnetic susceptibilty. Silver is about 50% higher than gold. When you add in what Jim H. said, you can see why nuggets are more difficult to detect. This chart also shows why pulltabs and aluminum cans are so easily detected. Jim Magnetic_Susceptibilities_of_the_Elements.pdf

Conductance is a simple way of explaining the difference in metals, but what really matters is the metal's ability to generate, and hold a magnetic field when current flows through it. Jim

Ya know, that's something I hadn't even considered. I appreciate that idea. It sorta looks like it was formed in rock. I guess I should do a specific gravity test on it to start with. Right now, though, all my time is spoken for. But, that's something I should do this winter. It's also too big to weigh on my little Gem Pro 250 scale, too. Jim

Yeah...I hadn't even thought of that, but the wife mentioned it while looking at it last night. So, I naturally thought.."I know just where to ask"...LOL. I first thought it was from the firebox of a locomotive, but there's no way that would be hot enough to melt iron or steel. It was found about 100 yards from the tracks. There is quite a bit of junk laying around that area. I think that stop was sort of a track maintenance place. There are cinders along the track there for a ways. There's no water available there. That track originally ran up to the town of Mackay where there was a substantial copper mine, and also serviced the gold and silver mines in Montana, and the Idaho area around Salmon. Now it runs out to the Idaho Engineering Laboratory. Jim

It's not actually rock, Fred.....it's solid metal, though I am definitely not arguing that it's a meteorite....I have no idea what it is. Jim

I guess I'm as big a moron as all the other meteorite wannabees, but here it is. I found this hunk of metal out in the Idaho desert. It was in the vicinity of an old railroad stop. That railroad dates back to the late 1800's, and that stop was abandoned long ago. I figured the rock had something to do with the railroad, but looking at it the other day, I started wondering. I had it checked at a local scrapyard a couple of years ago, and the gun showed it had +/- 10% nickel. It will cause a round magnet to roll around. It's about 2" across at the widest point. What say you experts? Everything I know about meteorites could be written on the back of a postage stamp, with room left over. The closeup pic is a small broken face. We ground a flat spot on one side so the xrf gun could get a reading. Jim

Interesting how one man's rarity is another's common find...LOL Jim

Really nice, Bob! From what I've seen in Wyoming, and Idaho, blue flourescence is fairly rare. That "tube" nodule is also a special find. Jim