Gold Catcher

Hey BMc, good to hear from you again. I enjoyed our chat at RP. Will PM you. GC

Thanks Steve, I will be helping you getting all the nails out of CA's mine pits. Everytime I think I finally got them all I find more...Re booming signals, that reminds me of a deep traget I once had with the Z/19 in Quartzsite . The day light was almost gone and I only dug a foot deep with the target getting louder. Since it was total night time then and I did not bring my headlight, I gave up and drove all the way back home, thinking to myself it would just be rubbish anyhow. Then, it started to hunt me. The next 3 days were pure hell and all I could think of was this target that I left in the ground. It got so bad that I finally had to take 2 additional days off, drove back to Quartzite and kept digging the hole. About 2 1/2 feet down I finally recovered the target, a rusty old tin can. But despite the obvious disappointment, my soul was at peace. And It was worth it! GC

So true, Steve. Are you using discrimination at all with the Axiom for these areas? Just curious. I usually dig everything, with some exceptions where the sound of the target gives me >80% confidence it would be rubbish. But generally, discrimination has never been productive for me, unless at times using the GM for <= 0.5 inch shallow gold targets on bedrock. Just curious if/how you are using discrimination with the Axiom. I always thought the biggest leap forward in the detector world would be a "revolutionary way to do discrimination" with a PI to get to those deeper bigger gold nuggets that you are talking about, and of which there are still plenty of here in CA I am sure. However, masked in tons of miner's junk. I am counting on Bruce's ingenuity, and tend to believe that if something like that would ever exist in the future it would be a ML machine. Best, GC

I still wonder though if there are production batches that were better initially. Mine really isn't bad, with exception of a few ocasions where it was unstable. I was one of the first ones to get one in the US. But yet, I heard from others who also had earlier models that some had issues, others not. Really weired. Perhaps I just had luck with my unit. GC

Never really had any issues with mine, so I won't need a fix. Using headphones and avantree only. GC

Thanks, Simon. This sucks! Just ordered the Goldhawk 9....

The Z/NF in general/difficult (but not normal!), gain 12-15, smoothing off, are my to-go settings for the areas that you are describing. Deals with magnetite, iron rich basalt and serpentine like a champ. Beats the sdc and 6/14 by a huge margin. Sorry if I am repeating myself here, but no other detector that I have ever used comes even close in these grounds. And sensitivity for fast gold remains good. Several times now I have picked up small gold that was stuck on hotrocks that way. In thse cases, once the gold was recovered the Z was silent over the remaining hot rocks, whereas the sdc and 6 kept screaming their lungs out...I did the test several times. You have got to see it to believe it. The Z is just hard to beat when it comes to ground processing, especially when the settings are adjusted to meet the ground challenges. 🤠👍 GC

He kept mxing up 0.07 and 0.7 at the beginning. But that's ok. I have picked up flakes with the sdc that did not register on the scale. Not sure why this nugget was quiet, but I can asure you the SDC will find really tiny stuff, in particular in mineralized matrix. I don't think surface tests with air matrix make much sense, but that's just my view. Re Axiom run at maximum gain, that is telling. The 6000, even when tuned all the way down to 1 click, would scream on a 0.07 nugget. So would my Z/NF12 in HY, even at low gain. That tells you how to position these detectors. All have their place though, depending on the conditions and your objectives. Re hotrocks, I always thought that this would be the real strength of the Axiom. From that comparison, it surely does not appear that way. However, he did not share the Axiom settings used, so perhaps there are better ways for the Axiom to perform. Although the SDC is really good with hot rocks, I have areas where even the sdc is totally unusable. In these places, only the Z/NF in general/difficult works smoothly with only little to moderate loss in sensitivity for small fast gold. Re NF vs stock coil, I want to be fair. I have not really tested the stock coil for bad hot rocks. It's just that ever since I mounted the 12 Zsearch I never took it off again. 😛 GC

Totally agree. And it's not just about the weight, the 12 NF is adding stability and sensitivity. Only 1 inch narrower but worlds apart. GC

I think putting out serial numbers is a good idea. I seem to have more luck with my 6000, as I can't really say it's not performing well. Yes, it can be erratic at times, but nothing I can't usually manage. I always contributed the chatter to the enormous sensitivity, something I am not unfamiliar with being a sdc user. In fact, I found it a very useful machine, although I hardly ever use the internal speaker. For me it is a nice addition to the Z/NF, especially when hiking. The only issue I have is that it is rather hot rock sensitive, something that is not related to the problems described here. Asked if I would buy it again, I would say yes, but only for my particular model of course. I feel sorry about all the other ones having serious issues. This truly sucks! I sincerely hope that the GPZ successor won't be in the same camp! GC

I have been very happy with my NF Z-Search, it made all the difference for the 7000 IMO. So, I don't mind waiting for the NF Xceeds to become available. I know they will be superb coils, and I am in for the long run. And it is not that my 6000 stock coils are not working in the meantime. Without a doubt the Goldhawks are a fantastic addition for the 6000, I just happen to be a NF guy. GC

Hi HNSGP, I would actually consider a used SDC instead, or the Axiom. I know this will be at higher cost, but having a PI rather than a VLF will be the better choice for your purpose, IMO. Sierra Nevada is full of hot rocks and heavy mineralization, and PI, especially MPF, will be a big advantage. Swing any VLF over the motherlode serpentine schist, and you will know what I am saying.🙃 GC

I use the SDC practically always for shallow washes. But i have recovered bigger gold, including a 8g specimen about a foot deep. But I would say that this is rather an exception and depth with the 8 inch coil will depend on many factors, including soil factors, gold shape/density, coil sweep speed etc. No general rules here, but due to MPF and the small coil size the main focus for the SDC is clearly small shallow gold. However, it really depends also on how you run it. Cranking up to 5 will require a totally different listening technique than having it at 2 and listen to super faint treshold variations and warbles. Both techniques could not be more different from eachother. Running it hot at 5 will almost exclusively detect high/low signals and shallow gold, and deeper targets will often be masked. I personally like to listen "deep", something that requires a "fairly" stable treshold. But also that depends on the soil conditions, EMI, etc, and of course how deep you think the gold is. I hardly ever had a case where a surface target was noticeable only at 5 and not at 2. So, IMHO running at 2 or 3 strives a right balance between sensitivity and treshold stability, allowing for both shallow and potentially deeper targets to be heard. These are just my 2c experiences after having used the SDC heavily for >5 years. GC

The SDC continues to be a workhorse for me and it is my to-go detector in shallow mineralized washes in difficult terrain. It is a bit clunky, but extremely robust which makes it a great detector for hiking in steep canyons. Despite MPF, the SDC actually can punch remarkably deep, deeper than one would expect. However, the gain needs to be low, otherwise you will have no chance to hear deeper targets. Cranking up to 5 will focus on 1-3 inch depth very efficiently, but you absolutely will miss targets that are deeper, simply because the threshold gets too unstable to hear the faint warbles. This has been my experience for several years now using the SDC and most operators I talked to think the same. The 8 round is perfectly balanced with the MPF timings, and although I am sure the Coiltek is a superb coil, I don't see any need for the switch. I like that it perfectly folds up and packs in my backpack, and I don't want to give that up. Hopefully, they come up with a modernized version soon. GC

Many thanks, Steve! And yes I am aware of the CA glacial deposits. Although I have not spent much time in the very high up Sierra Nevada regions, I have plans to explore some areas more thoroughly. I will PM you to get you thoughts on a specific location that I have in mind... GC

Fantastic report, Steve. And congrats for finding these beautiful nuggets. Clearly, the Axiom should be called The Beast 😉. Just curious, you mentioned these are glacial deposits. I always thought glacial deposits are mostly fine gold. Is this different up there? Also, I suppose this was a private claim used for commercial operations? GC

Steve, your honesty and integrity is what has made this forum so invaluable. Thank you for being you! GC

And yeah, RP is mostly salt, and not harsh X. But nevertheless, good to compare

Thanks, Condor. Great idea. I can do the labor day weekend Sunday. PM me if you want to hook up.😀 GC

I am also curious how the 17cc performs in general/difficult. I have had several examples with the NF12 where general/difficult punched way deeper than HY/normal in highly minerlaized X laden grounds. GC

Thanks for the report, Condor. No question the 17cc / GPZ is a powerful combination. However, I wager to say that the 12NF would have also picked up a 4 grammer 1 foot deep, without any problem I am pretty sure. The comparison with the quiet 6k (11 inch?) and Axiom is telling though. The GPZ is fantastic at depth and also has superb ground processing abilities. GC

Not sure if bombarding ML with 6k upgrade suggestions would make any difference. In my case, I am fortunate as my machine is working reasonably well with the 11 stock, and if needed I dial down to manual/difficult 2-4. I also have the NF Xceed 8.5 round on order. I won't go much bigger than 11 inch with the 6k as I feel the 6k is best used with smaller coils, like a super PI-monster (just IMHO). Re Axiom, I decided to hold my fire and wait for the new GPZ release. Just too much $$$ already spent, can't keep buying high end detectors every year (wife is already freaking out....). GC

But yet I really like the 6000 too. Plus, there is the guilt. Never traded a ML for a competitor...See how far gone I am already. ML did a good job with me.😉 GC

Exactly my thinking Steve! I just feel bad to trade my 6000 in, kind of like giving your new girlfriend the boot. But I might get something sweeter in return. 😉 GC

And for 7000 users who actually continue to use it, the Axiom might perhaps be a better complimentary detector than the 6000. I am tempted. GC