Cabin Fever

Great report Steve! Is the stock 10” x 5.5” DD coil epoxy filled? Did you experience any falsing from the coil when hitting rocks and brush? Bryan

Ok I see where you are coming from. Very interesting.. I need to take a day some time and just dig ALL Non Ferrous and see what happens. I'm guilty of doing everything I can to only pull coins but I'm sure that's why I don't come home with gold jewelry. I'm addicted to silver coins for some reason. I will pick a day and see how many pull tabs I can find. I'm sure I will learn something from that. Bryan

I missed your post above mine wile I was writing it Steve. What detector are you getting better depth with? I'm always looking for something better. So far I have tried the CZ5 (along time ago), F75 LTD, Gold Bug Pro, X-terra 705 and the Racer. All good machines but none of them have been able to identify deep silver like my CTX. I would love to drop the 5 lb beast if I could find something better for deep silver. Thanks Bryan

Great write up Steve! You have a talent at putting complicated things in to simple to understand form. As far as the CTX goes, I think of it as a park high conductor detector. I haven't found a detector yet that can identify deep copper and silver coins as accurately as the CTX in my ground. It is frustratingly slow and heavy when compared to the Racer and Fisher machines I have owned but when it comes to coins in the 8"+ range in my tough soil the other detectors start to identify coins as iron most of the time. And like you said. You can't go in to a nice park or yard and dig holes every few feet. Pulling shallow coins out of heavy trash is a different story. I would take my racer across the trashy areas after my CTX and pull more coins. Different tools for different jobs. Thanks again. Bryan

Ya I'm curious about the iMask too. Wonder if its a way to notch out or silence unwanted signals. The two different disc modes are interesting too. I'm thinking they might have dropped the 3 tone which is fine with me as long as you can fly between the saved modes to check signals easily. With the adjustable tone break I wouldn't really need 3 tones. Bryan

For anyone wanting a Tesoro Silver to make into a pinpointer, I listed my Silver Sabre in the classifieds.

I'm making a shorty for a different reason than most of you guys. I don't need a pinpointer because I don't hunt with a big PI detector but when I do go nugget hunting I tend to dig and detect into the side of the bank or work bedrock outcroppings. I pull the middle rod quite often. I just ordered a Tesoro Vaquero which is supper small and light like the Silver but also has the ability to ground ballence. I also ordered a Nel 3.5x6 snake coil for it. (6 weeks out!) I'm hoping this will make for a good nugget hunter. It will also double as my nail infested site coin shooter to complement my CTX. I also like the fact I can leave it in my truck year round and not worry about it getting stolen or ruined by extreme temperatures.

Does anyone sell the Pro-Swing bungee by itself? I found a kit that comes with a strut but I just want the bungee. I will be using it with my CTX when I put on the 17" coil, so I don't think I will need anymore support than just the bungee hooked to my backpack.

Makro Racer

Hey Steve what do you think of your InReach? The ability to text both ways seems like a neat feature if it actually works. Have you had a chance to try it out?

Bear spray is probably better protection than any pistol. Very light too.

Great write up Steve. Thanks for taking the time to put that together. This is an awesome site and I appreciate your effort. I will second what Lunk said too. I learned a lot reading Fists Full of Gold. Lots of information in that book.

Nice find! I have never found an arrowhead let alone a copper one.

Not sure about the one on the left. It's hard as a rock but light. I call it a petrified turd. The one on the right is my old man rock.

Took the new Racer on its first hunt today at an early 1800s park that has been worked over for many years. I went to a curb strip where I found a merc dime with my Gold Bug Pro last year thinking it would be a good test. I detected a small section in 2 directions last year and hunted it twice after I found the dime and did not find anything else. Within 5 minutes with my new racer I found a wheat penny about 6 inches down. After working about 1/4 of the area I found 1 more wheat and an older memorial cent both a little deeper than the first. The one thing they all had in common is they all had trash in the hole or right next to them. I moved to a different area that has old as well as newer trash near the beach. I got a nice copper penny signal and dug a rusty nail 6 + inches and thought the Racer got fooled. Stuck my probe in the hole and got a signal. Went down a few more inches and picked out a wheat back Directly below the nail. Went a couple more feet and did the same thing with a clad dime just not as deep. I am very impressed with the racer. Can't get over the menu setup. Brilliantly simple! Move between all metal, 2 and 3 tone to check signals without even looking. When I dug trash I knew I was digging trash. Coins just sound good and ID good. It's hot on nickels too. I know this is going to be a great all around detector. I have not run the newer upgraded Fisher F75 but I did own a LTD model a couple years ago and I Can say I would never trade this Racer for a new one. As far as the Gold Bug Pro, the Racer is a significant step up as far as a coin machine which I know the GB pro was not designed for. Can't wait to try it out in the gold fields.

Just got my Racer and ran outside for some quick testing before it got dark. Not sure what it is but I like the feel of swinging the GB Pro better. Something to do with balance, arm cuff or both. After that the Racer features drown the GB Pro and the menu design is awesome! You can fly through the settings with ease and I did not even touch the manual yet. Ya you can hunt coins with your Gold Bug Pro but the Racer is at another level of machine for all around hunting. The Racer didn't lump signals together any more than my GP Pro. In fact it was easier to distinguish caps from coins (on top of ground for test) than the GB Pro. If you raise the coil off the ground the ID numbers fall off fast but hold steady for coins. Zink Penny 82. Copper penny. 84 Dime. 84 Silver dime. 84-85 Quarter. 88 Silver quarter. 90-91 Steel cap. 82 but fades to 63-70 when coil is raised Flat cap. 89. Fades and jumps from 83-91 when raised Flat aluminum cap. 83. That one will get you Numbers on coins lock nicely and don't jump much. The Gold Bug Pro is a little hotter on the bick pen test as expected. This was an extremely fast test but so far I am exited about the Racer. I will try to get out and play with it over the few days.

Hey Goldbrick I bought a racer to hold me over until the Gold Racer comes out. I should get it tonight and I will be comparing it to my GB Pro this weekend. I am hoping the Gold Racer is noticeably hotter than the Racer so I can have two of the same type detectors for different types of hunting and conditions.

Found my first nugget with a metal detector there 20 + years ago. I heard the land has been sold but I haven't been able to get a straight answer If you can detect the tailing piles or not. I have heard yes you can and then I heard you can camp and hike but no to prospecting, which will be enforced.

The SDC is Pulse Induction. I don't know much about the Eureka Gold but I think it is VLF. I was just thinking if I was just starting out metal detecting for the first time I would pick up a simple VLF machine and start off coin detecting in a local park or school and just learn how to find stuff. Then hit the gold fields. There are quite a few good mid priced detectors out there that are good for finding gold as well as Coins, relics, jewelry etc. Not that a PI machine can't do that but there is very limited discrimination on most of those type of Detectors and they are vey expensive. Steve has a lot of great info. On his site about all the different brands. If you get serious about nugget hunting you will end up with both a PI and VLF detector if not a couple of each like some of the members here.

I agree with featherdfishead. If this is your first metal detector I would pick up a VLF machine and learn it first. You will want both types in the long run anyway.

Love those nuggets! Nice color and lots of character. What did you use for equipment?

Nice! My almost 50 year old eyes will appreciate that! I was glad to have Id in AM mode on my Gold Bug Pro but it is very hard to see when you are swinging the detector and any poor lighting or glare made it vey frustrating.

Thanks for the write up Steve. I too am waiting for the Gold Racer to come out. I will be looking to replace my GB pro with either the Gold racer or F19. Does the Racer give a VID in all metal? If not I hope the Gold Racer will

Thanks Steve. I am looking forward to your post tomorrow. Curious to see how the Racer holds up in discrimination mode as far as loss of depth compared to AM mode.

Speaking of Gold Racer. Is there any word on when it might come out? Can't wait to hear more about it. I'm curious to see if it's much different than the Racer.