Ken Walls

It is a good PI water prof detector. In the price range with a lifetime warranty its probably the best deal going. I was impressed by its performance a few weeks ago.

One of the best books out there is Fists Full of Gold by Chris Ralph. Alot of good, easy to understand info. I highly recommend reading it..

Very sorry to hear this, I lost 2 Labs last year, someone went around our neighborhood poisoning dogs. They got mine and 2 others on our street. Both were 14 years old, we rescued them when they were 2 months old, truly part of our family.

I was just told the release was delayed.

Flex Seal works great also, now they make it in many different colors including clear. It also adds water proofing.

Yes they do work great. Not really sure whats in them. I almost think its a Kevlar panel, they are lite and do not hinder me at all while walking.

I dont have any pics, but I do wear them. In the winter I sometimes go without them, but they are also good for cactus and other low pointy things that can hurt you.

In one interview he stated that one search party came close to finding it. I can not remember exact figures but it was within meters. Its very interesting.

Good luck out there, should have some good weather for you also.

Best advise I can give is go detecting with someone you can outrun. You dont have to outrun the bear, just your partner.

Thats going to depend on ground conditions. Normally start in All Metal, normal ground and set ground balance. Adjust sensitivity as high as the ground will let you for smooth operation.

A few days ago I saw what appeared to be a smokin deal for a ATX on ebay. It was a near new unit for $1100.

From everything you have said, I would say get the ATX. Sometimes its just easier and cheaper to get what is already out there instead of trying to make something into something it was never intended to be. Good luck in your search.

Yea, if it was only that easy.

If you are serious about getting into the back country alone, it would be wise to invest in one of the GPS units that can send a emergency signal. They usually require a subscription of some sort, but they do work and it can save your life out there. Not to mention a GPS just plain comes in handy for marking locations. They also have them that double as two way radios and give weather alerts, all good stuff.

I wear my boots and snake gators. I would rather be safe than sorry.

They can strike about 2/3rds of their body length if they are fully coiled up before the strike. A good pair of boots will usually protect you fine. It all depends on how high up the strike is. about 1/4 of all snake bites are somewhere from the knee or above, so its hard to cover all the bases. Best would be a good set of snake chaps. The detector out in front can help alittle, but it also seems to rile the snake up just in time for you to walk into it. They do not always rattle, but most of the time they will. The best thing you can do is get to medical help fast. But you do not want to run if you have been bit, that will spread the poison faster.It is also good to know what just bit you. Different snakes require different antidotes. In some areas Im in there are 4 different types of rattlers. They can figure out what you need, but speed of administering anti venom is key, so if you know what bit you, it will help. My friend was bit years ago, first thing I did was grab a shovel and killed the snake, threw it in the back of the truck and got to the hospital. The Dr said having a positive ID of the snake helped alot. The best thing if you are far away from help is to have a good snke bite kit and follow the instructions. I can tell you that with the drought and warm winters we have had here, this should be a banner year for snakes. Be careful out there.

I do this on all my detectors that have a screen.

The nice thing about the 2 box units is that they will not pick up the small trash. The down side is that the target needs to be bigger. You may miss valuable small items.

I feel when all the hype of a new detector hits, more people get excited and buy. Then you end up with more people in the field for a short time. Alot ( not all ) of these finds are from people that just get caught up in the moment and luck into a find. There has been many of these finds located in areas that most guys pass over because its a area not normally hunted. So this leads to more finds. They probably did not need the newest and best detector, just needed a detector passed over it. I do feel more gold will be found as better detectors are released to reach deeper and detect smaller gold nuggets. But we see this type of responce with almost every detector released, some of it is the detector, some of it is just someone finally put a detector in the right spot. I have always said to think outside the box alittle. Spend some time detecting new areas.

Those are mainly there for the original buyer. They do wear off, and your warranty will not be void without them.

You could always use silicone or spray the coil with flexx seal. I prefer the flex seal, it seals it and adds protection.

Yep, what he said. I guess I should have stayed at a Holiday Inn.

There is some interesting history in the hillsides behind Genoa, that could be reached easily. Also in the pinenut range in the Minden Gardnerville areas. Olinghouse has some claimed areas, but there is open areas. I have a friend with a claim there that I may be able to get you onto for a day.

I agree, the charger is what prevents overcharging, not the battery. I used to make batteries and the Lithium batteries were very sensitive to overcharging compared to other types. Most other types would just seem to leak or split, Lithium can do the same, but they also catch fire more easily when over heated. They have built in safeguards for Lithium batteries, different housing material. The chargers are also smarter to help prevent accidents.