Doc

I never inquire but how big is your waist so I have some idea low large a person one belt will fit. I thought the belt was pretty generous in terms of adjustment. Obviously I was wrong. Doc

You know what I see this detector as? For those of us who already have an AXIOM, GPZ, GPX5000 GPX6000? It's a great inexpensive PI to have when your Uncle Sal comes out for a visit and you promised him you would take him gold prospecting. You give Uncle Sal a lite weight PI machine where he might actually have a chance to find a piece. Or your grandson, or a friend. Or like Phrunt said it may make a good beach detector. And a big Thank you to Phrunt, he probably contributes more consistently good information and ideas than anyone. Doc

Steve you're spot on. I get guys all the time that want to get into gold prospecting. They have money. They don't want a GPZ7000, but they don't want a Gold Monster either. That just isn't their speed. They want something that they can occasionally go out and enjoy, but not feel bad that they only go out once a month and spent $3600 for a detector. I'm sort of the same way. I don't want the cheapest, but I don't want the most expensive item until I find out whether whatever it is something I'm going to stick with or if it's another tangent interest that becomes an occasional activity instead of a burning passion. It's like golf. I love golf, but I don't like it enough to have the most expensive clubs. I have decent clubs at a price that I feel good when I use the clubs, but I also feel fine about letting them sit in the garage when I'm not using them. Does that make sense. There has to be that balance for me. If I was an avid golfer who played tournaments and my whole life revolved around golf, I'd have the best clubs. With metal detecting, I'm all in. I would detect every day if I could. So I have the GPZ7000 because this is really my passion. So I think a PI gold detector in that $1990, $2000 range is a VOID that really needs to be filled. I also think Garrett was very smart to have discrimination on their AXIOM. Minelab seems to have a mental block about discrimination on their latest detectors. We know discrimination isn't perfect, but it still helps. Doc

You are right as usual. Yes those were the days. My thought about the Algo is that it's a "gateway drug'" It allows folks to get a pulse induction at an affordable price to introduce them to the hobby. If they get hooked then there are a bunch of great more expensive options. GPX6000, AXIOM, GPZ7000. How many times do we see newbies that buy an expensive detector, and 3 months later, it sits in the garage. Primarily because they didn't invest in training and never found any gold. Folks need an inexpensive way to enter the hobby where they can test the waters. I'll bet that you have an amazing success rate with people who have purchased detectors from you that are still active, because you train them. I don't train anywhere near the people you do, but I bet 99% of the folks I trained are still out there loving this great hobby, and waiting for the next great advancement in Metal Detecting to come along. Doc

That Wide brimmed hat that Kevin Hoagland wears that has neck protection, and allows you to pass through your headphones and then the brim closes around it. It has never been cheaper that $55, that is the minimum advertised price. Well B&H audio has them on sale for $42.90. they say limited quantity. They are sort of goofy looking but they certainly are functional. According to the owner of K-Tec they were originally designed for the movie industry for filming crews out in the sun using boom mikes and headphones. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1429727-REG/k_tek_ksh1_stingray_audio_sunhat.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAiP2tBhBXEiwACslfnoWFLXyGKaEvjwYVS0FIeezeZVLBFYSUvRGkO2pFckxPgdmDiDzT5hoCgtgQAvD_BwE Doc

The warbling threshold is weird. In my area if I have a warbling threshold it would be because of EMI. I never had that issue with the SDC2300. I did find a lot of small gold with it, and like I said I was amazed at how immune it was to mineralized ground. While generally the ground here is pretty mild there are a couple of spots that I have never been able to run a detector in, and the SDC2300 paid no attention to the severe conditions and found gold. I just wonder if you had a funky SDC2300? Doc

Hard to find anything that beats the SDC2300 as far as being immune to hot ground. However keep in mind I am in the U.S. our ground is not as harsh. However, I do have spots where the GPX 5000 would scream and the SDC2300 would purr. Very simple machine to use. My big gripe was that dinky coil. Can you think of the number of times you have to swing an 8 inch compared to a 14 inch. Makes my arm sore just thinking about it. Doc

Looks great!

Maybe it's salad dressing? It's not a hat but a company beat me to an idea that I had two years ago and I just never followed through. It's a wide brimmed hat with neck protection The brim opens on the sides to allow your headphones to pass through. Then the brim closes back around the headphone via magnets that connect the brim back together. It's fully adjustable. I know I'll be wearing one I have had a horrendous time with skin cancers, basal cell and Squamous. In the last 12 months they cut my head long deep and wide to remove another Squamous cell. They got it all. Now I'm suffering from some damn skin condition the doctor thinks is caused by long haul Co-Vid called Nodularis Prurigo. I have to go for light therapy 3 times a week for 8 weeks and give myself a shot of DUPIXENT in the stomach every two weeks. I never got the jab but I got Co-Vid according to the blood tests. I was exposed and I took Ivermectin and never got sick, but apparently I was asymptomatic. My blood tests show I've had it and have the anti-bodies against it. Go figure. This Nodularis itches so bad it drives me to distraction. Pretty cool. Doc

Exactly! What the heck is it? Have to wait and see. Start saving your dimes. Doc

Just think on that one for awhile. It's in the proto-typing stage right now. The project is already past the design stage. Next Proto-type Then Field Testing - I've selected three people to do the proto-type testing. Then Modifications if necessary Then Production Maybe 2nd week of May to be introduced to the market. Doc

Project DALAS That's all I am going to say for now. But it's going to make swinging a detector very comfortable for everyone. Doc

Chuck, Two lines above my sign off Doc it says: "Thank you Kevin. Yoo made my year." Did you miss that part? I did accidentally hit post right at the beginning when I had loaded the pdf file and had to go back and add some things because I wasn't finished with the post. Maybe you were reading the article when I did the edit? Also you didn't see the slobbery email I wrote to Kevin along with hearing the phone call I made to him to thank him for such an amazing article. I did that the day GPAA posted the digital copy on their website. I am forever grateful because as you can imagine you can't even buy that kind of advertising. Endorsements are hard to come by and are much more valuable than ads. Also never read my posts for the first 30 minutes because I am notorious for adding, deleting, adding additional pictures, correcting grammar and spelling. For some reason I can never see spelling or grammatical errors when I am typing, but as soon as I post it and proof it, there are glaring mistakes. Happy New Year, Doc

Welcome to the forum. You will find this a welcoming place. And there is a lot of good information here and people wishing to learn more about prospecting. So you came to the right place. I am sure people will appreciate what appears to be a vast amount of experience you have. Doc

Kevin Hoagland said he was going to do an article on his favorite detecting accessories and he said he was going to mention some of my products. He never told me the whole article was going to be exclusively about my accessories that he uses. 7 pages! Needless to say I am flooded with orders, which is very welcome. The article is attached in a PDF format. At the end the article also directs you to a You Tude video Kevin did that ties in with the article. Thank you Kevin. You made my year. Happy 2024 to all, Doc DDS GPAA Field Test write up yellow box.pdf

That's hot! Sounds like Las Vegas in July. Doc

Hope you and your family have a Blessed Christmas. May the Baby Jesus smile sweetly upon all of you. Doc and Diana

No transmitter necessary as long as they are APTX Qualcom technology headphones. All Aptx Headphones should pair with the 6000 no problems. I carry the AVANTREE Torus, which also pair beautifully as they are also Qulacom APTX. They are $90. They have speakers which are amazing, and if it is too windy then you can use the retractable earbuds. When it's 112 degrees in the desert not wearing headphones is a blessing. Sound is fantastic. I wear them to hear the television. I was watching a high speed chase and it sounded like the cars raced up to my right ear went right through my brain and exited my left ear. It was cool, but a little weird too. The thing that makes it weird is because they sit around your neck, you get a vibration from the speaker. So not only do you experience the sound of a racing car, you get the shifting vibration which makes it seem even more real. Another really nice set of headphones is the Ncredible APTX. I don't carry them but they are good ear muffs blocks external noise, great sound and only $55 on Amazon. They also pair with the 6000. -Doc

I wear it behind my back. I don't hear it with a 19 inch. When you are above the coil or below it the sensitivity to metal is strong. I like to try and get the head of the pick as close to being at the edge of the coil as possible. Wearing it behind my back seems to work for me But I'm not sure how that would work with a 22 inch. I understand on slopes because the angle is probably putting the pick almost directly above the coil. I don't have just heads. I suppose the next time I have 500 made I should have some with just heads and no handle. Doc

My wife was bugging me about my hearing.| To shut her up I go get tested. I need hearing aids. So I figure I'll get them to keep her quiet and after a month I'll throw them in the drawer and she will forget about them. She will have moved on to something else. Like when are you going to clean the garage? So I get the hearing aids. This is like 5 years ago. I wear them for about two weeks, and I suddenly realize when I wake up in the morning I grab my glasses and put in my hearing aides. It makes such a difference I had no idea how deaf I am and how much I was missing When I was fitted in the audiologist's office with the new hearing aids, I told the audiologist, "These are defective. They have a click in them. CLICK CLICK CLICK. I take them out and the CLICK is gone. I hand them to the audiologist and said, "Here! You listen. Do you hear that CLICK CLICK CLICK?" He gets a smile on his face and says, "Oh I know what's wrong. Here, try them now." I protest, and say no that didn't fix anything these suck they still have that CLICKING noise. He said, can you do me a favor? Turn around and look at the wall. So I turn around and look at the wall. I start to get all emotional as I realize the CLICKING noise I could now hear was the second hand on the large clock on the wall TICKING off the seconds. I couldn't believe I had that much hearing loss. So I'm a believer. Doc

I designed this style pick for S.H. Wallace, WALCO around 2006. Then because they could not keep up with my demand, they quit supplying them to the United States. That pick was called the Wombat. So I found a U.S. Manufacturer. 32 inch handle sounds great until you have to pay for shipping. Here in the US. we get charged dimensional weight. A 24 inch pick shipping is $30 to New York A 32 inch pick shipping to New York is $67. 32 inch pick is great until you want to carry it on a loop on your belt and it's whacking you in the leg. But it's OK, I've been married 53 years and nothing I do makes my wife happy either. 😆 Doc

Weighs a bit over 4 lbs. I used to drill the pick head, but I did use a Cobalt bit. It is hardened. Yes you can easily carry it with a hammer carrier. Doc

Thanks guys, this helps a lot. I'm not trying to duplicate the Hip Stick. It's a great tool but there are some shortcomings with it. I have been drawing in my idea book for 4 years. I have tried all kinds of different ideas. And I also know the way most prospectors think. I think one of the reasons the Hip Stick is so popular, is because it's not some big elaborate harness system. I even got a rig from Australia that is an over the shoulder support system. Not for me, too much stuff, straps, big piece of curved metal next to your head, wants to slip off your shoulder. I get the concept, but the execution just doesn't work. Another thing sent to me from Australia mounted around your waists and it had an arm that stuck out in front of you from your waist, that pivoted right and left. Again just too much. When the form exceeds the function, no one wants it. OK it may do what it's supposed to, but it's big bulky and annoying. Prospectors are happiest when the accessory does the job it is designed to do, and does it simply. Keep It Simple Stupid, "KISS". So I think I'm getting there. Doc

I had mentioned one of my issues with the Hip Stick is it was not adjustable. You had to decide what length you want before you ordered. So I was wondering what kind of length would be needed for different people of different heights. So if you could help me out. Can you tell me how tall you are and what your measurement is from the top of your shoulder to the top of your pants at the waist. I'm trying to get an idea if something like the Hip Stick could be made adjustable, maybe telescoping with a cam-lock???? What would be the minimum and maximum length it would have to be adjustable to? For example I'm 5'7" and from the top of my shoulder to the top of my pants is 20 inches. So if you could just give me your height and that measurement it would give me a lot of data. I think this is why the Minelab Pro Swing has not caught on because they did not take into consideration that the height adjustment needs to have a lot more variation than they provide with the screw adjustment. Because it is so short that is why customers complain that it separates at the joint of the support strut. Thank you for your help, Doc

Well I have to get my two cents in. $99.95 Doc's Nugget Stalker Pick. plus s&h Made in the U.S.A. Made with sturdy forged metal. The wide blade with curved edges moves dirt quickly and efficiently. The wide blade is sharp, it will cut through bushes and brush with ease. Comes with a 1 inch X 1/2 inch approx. Super Magnet. The magnet is screwed to the top and can be removed. The handle is 24 inches long. The width of the wide blade is 5.5 inches, and from the point to the edge of the wide blade is 11 inches. The handle is made of Ash and has a little larger area at the end of the handle for a better grip. If you order the Nugget Stalker pick with a magnet, the magnet will be mounted with a screw on the top of the blade between the point and the wide blade. Or you can request we send the magnet loose so you can decide where to mount it. Doc's Nugget Stalker® Brand Gold Pick, the only pick for Metal Detecting you'll ever need. - Doc's Place (docsdetecting.com) Doc