schoolofhardNox

Beach hunt # 27 was a grueling one. 9 hours of hunting with a little bit of testing out a new shaft system for the GPX. I got tired of the shaft twisting because of a worn-out cam lock, so I asked Steveg to see if he could make me one of his shafts. He agreed and yesterday was my first ever trial of his products. Now, I’m not one to be soft on my machines so I decided to try his shaft out with an 18” DD coil from Detech. If it can handle that weight, then it is a go for me. 2 hours spent swinging that beast and the shaft performed flawlessly. The handle I used was the original Minelab handle, snugged down as much as I dared to, so it would not break. It only moved briefly once when I was swinging the coil very fast. Nice job Steve, I’ll be in touch for the next one as a custom design. So, with that testing done I swapped to the 14” anti-interference coil that I have been using recently. The 18” DD coil just couldn’t handle the EMI, even on cancel mode. I think running a GPX in non-cancel mode and having the coil do the canceling is the future of EMI mitigation. The hunt started out slow as I was continuing from where I left off last hunt. I was worried I would not get much from this section, but it stared to give up some silver halfway through the hunt. By the end of it, I had a really good hunt with an unexpected W/L Half showing up as well. No gold, but a very defined layer of targets came to light. Most of the nickels were early Jeffersons from the 40’s as were most of the wheat cents. Most of the dimes were Mercuries from that decade too. Same for the Washington quarters. Unfortunately, I was barely able to hear these targets not because of the coil, but because my depth dropped when the train was active. I was still getting between 12” to 18” on targets. I am more impressed with this coil than I was when I first started to use it. I’m going to give this beach a break for a bit and hit another area. There’s a guy that just bought an EQ 600 and he wants to hit a beach and ask me some questions, so it’s off to his place next week. I am really happy that the GPX has a nice, solid shaft and that the anti-interference coil works at my most severe EMI beach. It really helps to have your machines set up properly. Very happy to get a chance to dig in the sand and enjoy the sunshine.

Coming soon to a theater near you ?

I'm not sure where the stations are, but the tracks are super close, probably less than 20 feet if you are at the very top of the beach. I will never need radiation treatments.? Between the big battery on my back and the train passing by about 12 times a day, I'm good, and I have a rather glowing complexion. Now if I could just get the train to charge my batteries. ? I wish I had that young guy back, my vote is alien interference when I was a kid.

Naw, you're fine. You just got started finding silver. Don't bail on me now ? This beach is EMI heaven (if you like EMI that is ?), so a lot is left to find under the right conditions. Come on down and you can have as much fun as I have digging all those other junk targets too. ? One you try this, you will never be back ?

Beach hunt # 26 is a continuation of going behind the GPX 6000 and trying to find the deeper targets. I’m still using the Coiltek 14” anti-interference coil on the 5000. So, I started to grid the next square of the 3 squares I did with the 6000. The other day I hit square 1 and did fairly well. Today was square 2 which did not produce much, as it didn’t produce much for the 6000 either. It did produce a couple of coins but not great considering the area covered. I decided to go back to square #1 and grid it perpendicular to the shore, instead of parallel as previously done. Not much either but did hit a couple more coins. So, I remembered some of those coins from the other hunt barely registered. I slowed down and started to really interrogate any anomaly in the threshold. I dug quite a few holes which were EMI related and did not contain any targets, but there were a bunch of them that sounded a bit different. Those targets did contain coins and they were a just a bit deeper than the other, identifiable targets previous found. I did not get far, only about ½ of square 1, so I have to finish that square next time out and maybe hit square 3 and call it done. I must admit I was not really in the mood to hunt, but I really wanted to see if I miss stuff. The answer is Yes, of course. ? Even doing the same area, with the same coil, and the same settings you still can find more. Granted, I changed directions and listened better, but the goal was to get more silver from an area that is producing. Surprise of the day was a thin gold name (charm?), that was found by the pinpointer and not the target I was digging. Sometimes it’s fun doing an area again, as there is a lot less iron. Mostly a comfortable hunt, but a bit chilly in the end as the snowstorm was coming in overnight. Great to sneak another hunt in.

I knew you could do it ? Treasure at last. Congrats on the Silver with the Nox. But before you get a camera, get some boots man.? It is cold when you get caught in a wave this time of year.

Your getting in some good hunts. Nice to see a Geo III copper show up. Nice looking Buck too. I never knew they had aluminum in them. I always thought they had brass. Kind of sad really.

God, I'm hoping retirement comes before they put me in a box ? If we only could just see everything that is still beyond our reach, I think we would all be shocked. I actually look forward to the pain ? as long as I can find at least silver. I'd even be ok finding copper cents, since that era is the goal of the hunt. Anything above that layer, and the finds drop dramatically. Not many fresh drops left here. The filling in of the holes is the real killer ? I fill every hole up. At the start of the hunt I even sweep the sand that's around the hole to make it look pretty, but by the 7th hour I'm barely getting the job done. It takes me twice as long to fill a hole. My right arm is the one that takes the punishment. I tried to swing with the left arm, but no go. As for the movie, it's all yours ?, but I'll take any royalties you will give me.

That is the smartest thing I have ever heard ? Finally someone has figured out one size does not fit all. Or just hide the advanced menus. If you figure out how to access them then you are ready for them ?

Show her YouTube videos of all the different girls detecting

Nice looking seated. Almost looks like it even retained some mint luster. Great coin.

Nice half dime. I always thought those were a cool coin to dig, along with 2cent pieces and trimes. Obsolete denomination coins are the best coins to dig. Now you know there are old coins in that field!

Beach hunt # 25 was the following day at the same beach, this time using the 5000 for only 5 hours. Commitments in the morning didn’t allow me to get to the beach until just before noon. I was excited to see if the 5000 could get more deep coins in the area that the 6000 did. The section I concentrated on was about 200 ft long and I did 3 passes (so about 25 ft wide). No gold this time but really happy with the silver count. For some reason people did not get the Buffalo and war nickels. I’ve never found this many at this beach before. I’ll probably go back next time and hit another similar stretch that I did with the 6000. My biggest mistake of the day was that I didn’t pay attention to the lowering tide. When I glanced over late in the day, I could see big boulders sticking out of the water, where there were none before. I wonder how much gold was exposed with that amount of sand removed. I may try it if it’s still exposed and give the Equinox some time out there. I do not have the next day available, so I have to wait until Thursday. You never know what you are going to find condition wise, until you get there. This beach was bland for many months, but now it lit up. I wish I was retired and could hunt every day!

Until the next storm ?

Beach hunt # 24 was to be my final trip to the EMI beach. I started out early so I could have a full day hunting. I had areas that I wanted to finish up, and the GPX 6000 was the machine that was going to finish this beach up (or maybe not?). It lasted 8 hours and after the 2nd low battery warning I decided to call it quits. It did well, but the junk targets were not lacking, and I was getting tired, but I still had about a half hour of daylight left. So, I decided to pull out the 5000 which I brought just in case. It had the 14” anti-interference coil on it, so I wouldn’t have to listen to that train EMI. I didn’t like the coil at first, as I felt I was losing too much depth, but this time around I got a little more involved with it. Because time was short, I figured I would just hunt the last area that I just did with the 6000. First target was a silver dime at about 10” Hmmm. In just a few minutes, I realized there needed to be a return trip here. I think the 6000 was doing what it was designed to do and high conductors at depth was not it’s strong point. The 5000 absolutely hit targets (both high and low conductors) that the 6000 did not hear. Those targets were just beyond it’s reach. I can’t complain because the 6000 did hit a couple of silver coins and some small silver jewelry. It also hit what’s left of Susan’s gold bracelet. It was nice to see gold in the sand no matter how small it was. So, 8 ½ hours and a long ride home was all I could do. But the drive home still had me wondering about the rest of the areas I had already done. It was cleansed of tiny targets by the 6000, so maybe a return visit the following day was in order??? I think I already know the answer to that one. Fun in the sun is what it’s all about.

Nice earlier dates on the Seated. Not a ton of wear on them, so they were lost fairly new. Great finds....I love seated coins.

Nice Indian. I see a fair number of 1865's and 1869's, but not very many 1868's. Nice semi key date coin!

Maybe a small door knocker.

I guess it's not a good fit for you then. Hope you don't lose too much on selling it

You call that trash? ? Come up north and I'll show you trash. Those fields sound like heaven. The potential targets you could find go way back in time. Anytime you are digging Tombac you are getting into GW button territory.

I think if I paid for a machine from a reputable manufacturer like Deus, I would at least try it out. Don't rely on people saying good or bad things about a machine, just listen to them and then try it for yourself. If I wanted to showcase any one of my machines in a good or bad light, I could do that and some people would end up letting me make up their mind. I could make my 5000 out to be a coin monster at depth, (which it is) and people would love it, or I could show it screeching and pulsating due to EMI, (which it can do) and people would hate it. I guess the Deus II is going to be just like any other release. Some people in love with it and some great used deals to be had ?

You poor guy!! Maybe you should call BBB or better yet order another one and see what happens ?....?

It sounds like the heavier objects (coins) would get trapped in the lower part of the ripple, but the light objects (foil, pull tabs, small aluminum) would get pulled out farther to sea. If that's the case then I would be happy with what you are getting and I would dig everything in all metal, even if it was a bad, broken sounding signal. If I can hear any sound, I would dig it. The gold may be deeper than the coins are.

I use the headphones that come with the 6000. They are nicer than the nox ones. I don't think you could extend the battery time with an external set up. I never hurt from the long hunts .....until later ? Beach hunting is all that is available for me to hunt, so I do it. It's always fun when you get silver, not so much fun when you get skunked ? I haven't tried wax on the bottom, but I will if the snow continues. That was just a weird situation that had snow in the area I needed to be. Not being tethered to the machine is a big plus over the 5000. The EMI cancellation with the 14" coil is easier on the ears than the 5000, but the 5000 still wins on coins at depth. In this situation, the coins were in the 10-11" range as opposed to the 15-18" range I usually hunt. The 6000 could hit those shallower ones, so I took advantage of that and had a more pleasant hunt. One disadvantage with the 6000 is that I would have like to have some control over target volume and stabilizer like on the 5000. Also I would have like to get more gain from it but you are limited to whatever the internal parameters are. You can't really adjust anything much on it. But if I had my choice between the two, it would always be the 5000. You water guys work harder than us land guys. I bet I wouldn't last 3 hours in the water ? The drawback on land is that target acquisition is faster and easier than in the water, so you dig a lot more. I just turned 60 a bit ago, so I'm taking advantage of it while I can. By the time I get to 70 an 8 hour hunt will probably be more like 3 or 4 trips, not 1, so I'm going to dig until I can't. After that I'm going to talk to the young people detecting and bother them with old stories until the tell me to get lost ?

Or you could just e mail them or call them and ask them directly?? Would be interesting to hear if they reply to you and what they would say. I agree, the language is broad for a reason. If you don't trash your machine and it leaks by just using it normally, then I'm betting they would cover it.