EZMoney Bob

I traveled all over Luzon, Mindanao and many other of the Philippine Islands and never had a problem. The Philippines rank 17th on the list of gold producing countries and there are nuggets there. Bob

Joemedic, I worked on building a geothermal powerplant in Mindanao back in 1996. Lots of stories about buried gold from WWII! I brought a detector to the Philippines but as it turned out I was working all the time and didn't have much time to use it so the millions and millions of dollars in gold bars is still there for you to find! I really enjoyed your country and it's hard to believe I haven't returned. Sorry I can't help with advice on choosing between the FORS Core and Goldensense. Best of luck to you. Bob

Greg, As far as I know, a couple of years ago Frank stopped making and selling the full sized "Ol' Yeller" drywashers like the one in NV Chris' video. He was still selling a smaller hand operated sampling drywasher he calls the "Lil Yeller." I don't have his contact info handy but you can find him by searching the web. Bob

Steve, Thanks for the clarification. I think you can understand me blowing off a little bit of steam, having spent about $1250 for mine. Water under the bridge now though. Bob

I was one of the initial squeaking hinges concerning the issues of a sole source dealer. It appears that I wasn't too far off in thinking that more dealers are better for prospectors. The FORS Gold pro price has dropped by about $500 from Kellyco's initial price. Bob

I use AA Eneloops and I think Eneloops are the best quality batteries out there but I couldn't find any C cell Eneloops. Do you know if they make them? I bought some AA Tenergy batteries and the OD was too large to fit in my Made in USA Mini Mag Light AA flashlight (which pissed me off) although they seem to work OK in detectors and other devices where the size requirement isn't important.

Hi Dilek, I have a couple of suggestions, not sure if many other detectorists will agree with me, but I thought they might be worth posting. About the Makro Racer Pro Pack, price is of course a very important part of the purchase decision. In my case, I have numerous backpacks and cases and do not need the cloth carrying case that came with the Fors Gold Pro Pack and a sturdy cardboard box would have been fine and I'm sure made a significant dent in the price. Similar comment about the included headphones, most all of us have a favorite set of headphones and honestly don't need more of them. Same with the battery charger, I have about 6 of them already. I think my approach would be geared more toward having less rather than more included with the Pro Pack in order to lower the price. Again I don't know how many will agree. Bob

Hi Dilek, I didn't get a US adapter with my recent purchase, but my 'complaint' is really just a matter of principle as I already have numerous AA battery chargers. I've ordered an inexpensive adapter so no need to send me one. And, sorry for being so negative and "beating a dead horse" about your sole US dealer, but they did not respond to my email about the missing adapter. I hope that your recent merger will also result in the need for numerous local dealerships. Now, for a serious matter, the Nokta hat that comes with the detector package really is very small. I'd like to wear the Nokta hat but it's just not possible! I suppose it's a good thing that the only issue I have with my detector is the hat that comes with it. Thanks, Bob

Paul, If you're in or near Reno, I've had really good work and prices at MSM, Inc., out on Greg Street in Sparks for making sheet metal parts.

So Dilek, does this merger mean that we in the USA will get battery chargers that we can actually plug in, and hats that actually fit on an adults head? (Just kidding). I have been wondering about the relationship between Nokta and Makro since some of your products appear to be very similar. The merger sounds like it will bring good results for all. Bob

As far as "improvements" to Nokta detectors go, it would be very nice and thoughtful if Nokta took the time to provide detectors going to the USA with battery chargers that can be used in the USA. We can easily buy adapters to adapt USA plugs to European spec outlets, but vice-versa is not so simple, buying adapters to allow European plugs to work here. I'd read about this issue in the past and thought it was taken care of but I know of at least one detector purchased very recently that came with a European spec plug on the charger and no USA adapter Bob

For those who are interested in how detectors work and how to make your own coils and detectors, there is the geotech1 website. I made a search coil for my TDI based on information from geotech1 and it works pretty good. Some of the engineers for the major detector companies also hang out there. http://www.geotech1.com Also, it's kind of an eastern USA relic hunting site but they also have a pretty good and useful classified section: http://www.mytreasurespot.com

<snip>... Personally, I try to stay away from the "tourist areas" and totally rely on my research, limited knowledge of geology, and what mother nature is trying to tell me when prospecting for gold. When I find that first nugget in an area that "there is no gold", then I know I'll have accomplished something! It could be next week, next month, or next year, but I'm gonna keep prospecting in areas that I think the old timers might have missed. ... <unsnip> To some extent I sometimes like to take the same approach, but...the old timers didn't miss much! What they lacked in technology they made up for with dogged persistence and focus and sometimes I wonder if not some sort of ESP due to that extreme focus. - Bob

Good on ya Steve. For the past few months I've been following your same approach of researching and studying geological maps and documents. So far I don't have much gold to show for it, but I've hiked to some very interesting areas where modern prospectors don't go. Learning local history is very interesting too, but I'm hoping the gold is going to start showing up soon. You probably know all about them by now, but the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology up near the TMCC campus is a good resource. - Bob

I've managed to drag along a lightweight aluminum ladder but it doesn't sound very practical in your case. What about making rope ladders? Plenty of free ladder making advice found via Google and they'd be fairly easy to pack in. A buddy is definitely in order, but finding someone capable, trustworthy and willing and able to get off the couch isn't always simple. I'd go for the waders, leather boots will just fill up with water and become a soggy mess. I say go for it, if you stay home and play it safe you may get hit by lightning or run over by a truck. Don't recall his name but a geologist working at the Ruby Mine in California gave a talk to one of our local clubs last year. One of his statements was "If you want to find gold you have to be willing to die for it!" His quote, not mine! - Bob

Steve, Do you still have the FORS Gold? Are you planning on attending the next Comstock Gold Prospector's Club meeting? If you still have the detector and are going to attend the meeting, could you bring it along? I'd like to see one in person and I haven't had the opportunity since, as you know, they don't have a USA dealer system. Thanks, Bob

In my humble and biased opinion, the packaging of the SDC 2300 is a real winner and I hope they use it on the Jupiter or GPZ 7000. The extreme portability is what sold me on it and I find that I take it more places solely because it's so simple to fold it up and put it in a backpack and equally easy to unfold at the prospecting site. The housing system is a huge advantage. It has some minor glitches such as the armrest folding up when you don't want it to but that's pretty inconsequential. What I would really like to see is a VLF detector in that same housing system. With a headphone adapter to fit standard headphone plugs. - Bob

Ray, those long walk places are the best. I liked Don Robinson's article on a similar topic in the new ICMJ Mining Journal. I set out for such a place last week, I was pretty excited about it, wanting to try out my new SDC 2300. Turns out I was so excited that I forgot to pack a lunch and it really made for a very long walk out! The other problem with those long walk places is it's hard to find a detecting partner who's willing or able to hike. Seems like most folks want to be able to drive their truck or ATV right to the detecting site. - Bob

Steve, Interesting, more detector products from Turkey! Makro offers some machines that look very similar to Nokta. Thanks for the link. - Bob

I'm looking for a new pinpointer, and I'd like to find a good one that will work underwater. White's advertises the TRX as weatherproof but not waterproof. I've also read about people putting their pinpointer in a sealed baggy and using the vibe feature underwater. I'll only be water detecting maybe one hour out of a hundred so the waterproof feature isn't an absolute requirement but all things being equal I'd prefer a waterproof pinpointer. Just wondering if anyone has any comments or suggestions? Thanks, Bob

Ken, if things go according to plan, with 10% by mid March or so you'll be able to retire or at the very least buy your wife a new Mustang. Went on the Comstock Club work party on Thursday to do some maintenance on the club's Yuba River claims and took the SDC along. Really happy with the portability and performance aside, the "Grab and Go" ease of taking this detector along is worth a lot even if it wasn't such a great detector (which of course it is). Did my first underwater detecting, lots of fun but requires some different recovery techniques! Also found nice polished piece of abalone shell on the bank. Not sure how it got there. - Bob

If you find more, or hopefully the source, I think it would be interesting to dissolve the calcite on a small piece with acid and see what the remaining gold looks like - might make for a very interesting specimen. Or not. - Bob

Good for you. I have a couple of variscite and turquoise claims and have started learning silversmithing. Haven't yet tried working with gold. I'm at the point now where I want to make a decision over priorities and spend more time detecting and avoid some of my numerous distractions. About selling gold, my plan and goal is to find a new undiscovered patch or pocket rather than work over old sites. The good part is that every trip is a good adventure that money can't really buy, gold or not. Bob

Chris, Steve, You guys are doing great. Impressive that you are managing websites and forums and also writing books and magazine articles and still finding time to get out and consistently find good gold, which is what it's all about. Chris, I think you even also have a day job? I suffer from the way too many distractions syndrome and thanks for providing some inspiration to get out and detect more often. Gave Ken Walls at Eureka Prospecting Supplies some money yesterday and in return he gave me a new SDC 2300! So now I'm committed to becoming a serious prospector. Going to be going detecting early this morning and hope to be posting some "finds" pictures soon. I think I know where the specimen gold you posted here came from and it ain't easy to find gold with a detector there. The SDC 2300 helped but I'm sure that the skill factor counted for a lot. - Bob

No offense taken for being mistaken for an Aussie, although my limited sense of humor and ability to spew out barrels of colorful language immediately disqualifies me. I did work for an Australian company at the Lihir, Papua, New Guinea, gold mine and made several trips to Brisbane and really enjoyed the place. Glad things seem to be working out with your AT Pro and hope it stays that way.