MarXthespot

Top notch vid and equipment!

I imagine it is quite challenging to explore that sort of desert, but the allure of such a pristine wilderness must be strong. The few nature documentaries I've seen of the Namib Desert were spectacular. I would love to explore there. With the treasure you've shown on the coast however, I can see why you do almost all of your hunting there. Is that ring modern or historical? It looks different than what I'm used to seeing.

Do you only hunt the coast, or is it worthwhile to hunt the rivers and desert too? For me, your country is very exotic. It looks like the treasures you find there are exotic too!

Very cool find Skeleton Coast Hunter! And welcome! Is that a ring of gold and ruby as it appears? Are you hunting in Namibia?

Found separately or in a horde? Great find!

I know the feeling goldgeek, and today is your lucky day. I've looked around too, and this is the best site I've found. Lots of friendly, helpful, and knowlegeable folks here. I'm certain you'll find lots of good info if you spend some time here. Happy hunting!

1 year + 1 year = 2 years???

Do tell us Steve.

Thanks for the input DolanDave. In your opinion, what makes the Gold Bug 2 superior for meteorite hunting? I'm brand new to metal detectors, and would have thought detecting the iron/nickel in most meteorites would be easy for almost any detector. Admittedly, I have lots to learn. Do any detectors effectively discriminate or unmask them from "junk iron"?

It is a beaut. You didn't happen to video the dig? That would be cool to see too. You must have been pumped when you pried it out of the ground. I know I would be.

Agreed. Can we see the side view too? Great find!

Timex? "Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'" ??

This will be my first detector when it arrives. Obvious disadvantages come from being new at almost any endeavor, but there are sometimes a few advantages too, like a beginner's mindset. I've comprehended the lesson, and I can see where there could be an advantage to being a novice here. I have no preconceived notions based on past experiences with other equipment, so it should be easier for me to trust; the wisdom of the machine's creators, the wisdom of experienced veterans, and my own eyes' and ears' first time experiences. You guys are making me feel confident about going after well searched common areas before I even have any personal expertise. My detector will have "eyes to see" what other detectors have trouble "seeing". That is fantastic! Thank you for this particular thread gentlemen.

I just came across this very recent academic paper that goes into many different forms of replacement mineralization of petrified wood, beyond the more recognized polymorphs of silica: opal-A, opal-C, chalcedony, and quartz. http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/8/3/85/htm Even if the article is too technical and nerdy for most to read, it is cool to look at some pics of alternative finds you might come across in your prospecting. I'd love to come across one of those petrified pine cones! Are those in Fig. 12 (Iron carbonate) similar to the ones mentioned from Alaska?

So interesting. I had never heard of this phenomenon (we don't have magpies in Michigan), but then I watched The Detectorists on You Tube after hearing about it on this forum. A magpie actually became a character of sorts on the show by making off with a great find... I think it was a gold coin or something.

Please forgive my naivety concerning this subject, but wouldn't it work to clear the area of people, and simply run expendable and cheap objects over the mines, and just let them blow up? I'm sure, if there are valuable structures in the area, this would complicate things, but those might not be "airdroneable" areas anyway. In other words, wouldn't ground drones work cheaper and better? Are we looking for high tech solutions to a lower tech problem?

Sorry to hear it wasn't gold, Simon. Still, it is a cool find, and we all learned an interesting lesson from it. AND, I still envy your happy hunting grounds! I'm sure there's still plenty of good finds out there.

Steve, do you know of a place I could learn a bit more about coil design and benefits of various designs? I don't want to study for a degree in electrical engineering or quantum physics, but would like to know more than, here is a pic of some copper windings and a wire that goes to the control box. Actually, I would like a degree in quantum physics and ee, but who has time for that???

Very sorry to hear such tragic news JW. Sincerest prayers and sympathies to all his family and friends.

The depth of that 6" coil (yes I realize it was an air test) surprised me. I would have thought that would require a larger coil. I wanted him to push it to the depth limit, and take a measurement. Still, it was impressive.

Do you think coilmakers like Coiltek will eventually fill this rather large niche (when lots of Equinox are out there) for small elliptical "gold" coils if Minelab doesn't? Or even if Minelab does make such "gold" coils? Or, has Minelab precluded that through smartcoil tech, i.e. they would have to licence it for coilmakers to be able to get the control unit to play nice with the coil?

Forgive my ignorance, but is this coil not deal for gold mostly because (A) it is open spoke and therefore gets grabbed by impediments causing it to bump/false? Or, is it more because of (B) its size being too big to navigate crevices? Or, is it (C) something to do with the DD coil design vs. other configurations? Or is it (D) mostly a combination of all of the above? .... OR.. (E) mostly something I haven't mentioned that I don't know about? I'm learning a lot from you guys, Thanks

How do we do that SteveJJ?

oops

I'm very interested to see/hear how nice (or poorly ) it plays with the Equinox at the beach. Cheers for the testing!