Compass

9 minutes ago, schoolofhardNox said:

My plan is to go over my favorite places and try tone mode first and then all metal, to see if there actually are any  targets that tone mode misses. But generally it's all metal in the iron deficient areas and mute or tone mode in the wet iron areas. Of course it may change if I get onto the beach and it seems not to be the best approach. .

It's certainly going to be exciting going back to some "hunted out" areas and running the AQ through the different modes. If it does what I hope it will do it will make all my favorite sites like "virgin" territory again. I have had many pulse detectors so I am used to digging a lot but it looks like I will be digging much deeper with the AQ.

1 hour ago, Beach Pirate said:

Hi Compass,

You are correct. 24K or 9999 as they call it here rings very high like silver. From memory a 7.5 gram 24K ring was hitting 30-32 on the Equinox. I believe hunting in All Metal mode will be the way to go.

Thanks Beach Pirate, 22K is the highest gold karat I have found with any detector so this is useful information. I like and always dig those 30-32 numbers- most of the time it's something worth keeping.

7 hours ago, LE.JAG said:

11 gold rings
nothing extraordinary,
but it is by passing after at least 10/15 prospectors
some were there a week before me !!
the spot had digged well
all were with minelab / etrac, equinox, GT, exca ....
No Pi except my Impulse AQ
the first day I had 5 gold rings
the two guys I'm chatting with = nothing .. :))

in all metals mode
it's deepest on 24k jewelry

in reject mode
there is a possibility
switch to volcanic mode
and do some tests with 24k jewelry
in rejection mode / the limit will be the weight of the 24k

but it's still possible
and in some parts of the world
especially in Asia, I advise you to do the tests

you can pass on spots with iron and find 24k
when you are an AQ ...

Thank you LE.JAG, This is good to know. There doesn't seem to be much 24K in my area but I would hate to miss one if I got my coil over it.

2 hours ago, George Kinsey said:

You had me at French Fry Basket. A friend used one on dry sand. I used a Beaver's tail to move the dry sand.

Pretty much used to be the only option unless you built your own. Back then most households in my area had these.  They were about 8" round and 6" deep and were much stronger than the ones made today. We would use short pieces of split garden hoses straddled over the edge of the basket to act as comfort grips. Hard on the back but very efficient at filtering wet sand. Of course, we weren't digging down 20" either. 😉

4 hours ago, mn90403 said:

I've managed to get out for a few sessions with these extremely low tides but there is not much to show for it.  There have not been many waves to get things moving up.  When I try the swimming areas it is long and far between targets.  It would have been great today to have a deep punching PI to see if I was missing anything with my 800/11.  I did dig a couple of targets in wet and damp sand that were 15 inches!  I don't like to say it but this represents about 8 hours of detecting with a few of the finds from dry sand on the way in and out of my beaches.

This was today's session.  Once again the sea groups things together with it being a key day.  This was all I could find on some normally very productive beaches.  Come again another day.

This session from a couple of days ago covered some of the same beaches I covered today.  I found one cheap ring.

This session was at a beach I've done good at in the past but haven't been able to park near it recently because of the closed beaches.  I got this 20-21 signal as soon as I walked down to the wet sand.  It was the ring.  Unfortunately it is one of the tungsten/carbide rings but it did fool me.  As you can see this two mile walk didn't produce much.

This last picture is just another session.  The picture is documentation.

It's sessions like this that bring the averages way down ... haha

Better days ahead!

Mitchel

For sure, better days are ahead! Similar conditions at my local beaches. It's been so poor that I know I would have done better staying up in the dry sand which is kind of like waving a white flag. 🙂

On 6/25/2020 at 8:32 PM, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

You have been on the roll "C"!! And you just retired? 

Thanks OBN, I was semi-retired and working part-time before the pandemic. When they recently asked me to return I decided to switch to "full" retirement mode. 🙂

On 6/25/2020 at 8:10 PM, 2Valen said:

Great hunt overall and hope you better luck next time.

Thanks 2Valen, I usually have pretty low expectations for this particular location so any finds there are appreciated more.

9 hours ago, Beach Pirate said:

My local beach is a gold mine. Thousands of Asian locals and tourists whom for some odd reason love wearing jewelry to the beach. The sand here has no hard pan or shells to stop targets sinking, so you have to be quick.

etc

Hi Pirate, Hopefully, I'm wrong, but I thought I heard somewhere that the AQ had some problems detecting 24K gold which, I believe, is more popular in your location. If true, perhaps,  that is only in the "discrimination" modes?

11 hours ago, Skullgolddiver said:

Being in Europe I'll wait longer for the next released model to be here.

etc

Hi diver, I did a little freediving with an early White's underwater metal detector when I was stationed in Hawaii in the 70's. I don't remember the model number but it was the size and shape of an electronic megaphone and had one earpiece that snapped into a hood.

I used to dive down and acquire multiple targets and mark them with plastic clothespins. I'd then surface, get some air and go back down and dig all the targets out with my state-of-the-art french fry basket. 

If I tried that today I would probably black out!

4 hours ago, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

Looks like a good plan, And I can guarantee it's going to work for you. Just what you posted is what I have been preaching will be the best way to use the "AQ'...........Know your spots like the back of your hand, and having a plan of attack. Good Luck and can't wait to see how all goes.

Thanks OBN, There have even been gold coins found at a couple of those spots I have in mind which is why I was encouraged by your test of the 22k gold ring.

5 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

 

Thanks Steve, Looks like one of the main draws to the AQ is its potential to handle black "magnetic" sand. My Dual Field has been good to me at my black sand beaches for shallow targets but even it overloads when the black sand is too thick.

Congrats on your first gold ring!  Reading your story brought a smile to my face because I, and many here, know that feeling of seeing gold in the scoop. Sounds like you are hooked and will get to enjoy that same feeling many more times in the future.  Perhaps the best part was having your family there to share your excitement.

I would guess that there are more than a few of us here that are already on the list for the new Fisher detector. So where do you plan on using/testing the detector? Here is my list:

- Back bays that don't get major sand movement and have a ton of iron and other trash. However, there are plenty of deep targets and old gold if you know where to look. 

- Low on the slope during extreme low tides (especially negative tides). The gold is always there but the depth depends on sand movement and which detector you are using.

- Some fresh water lakes where I have found many gold rings but know that there are a lot more that are deep because of the soft sand bottom and agitation from wind waves and boat wakes. Because there is no salt there I should be able to tune the detector for optimum performance.

- Sand dunes where we have found old coins and jewelry over the years. Deep deep targets.

- Possibly the eastern deserts of California where we have found a few locations with old coins that get buried by drifting sands and washed into black sand gullies from flash floods.

- Oh, and, of course, the jet black sand beaches.

19 hours ago, SeabeeRon said:

Hey George, good to see you here as well!

Thanks Ron, Always good to hear from you no matter the forum!

I remember when the Equinox first came out and there were a lot of naysayers who ridiculed it even though they had never used one. Sure, it is not a perfect detector and the Impulse AQ won't be either. I don't hunt with the Nox all the time but there are situations where I wouldn't want any other detector in my hands. I believe it will be the same with the Impulse AQ. 

Last target before the battery died was the gold ring- that's cutting it close. Congrats on a great hunt!

...with the emphasis on "little". Once in a while I like to ride my bike to the nearest lake to do a little detecting. I strap my scoop to the frame of the bike and put the Nox in a backpack which is easier with the 6" coil. It's about 10 miles round trip so I get a good workout and always find enough to cover my traveling expenses. 😉  Over the years I haven't found a lot at this lake but it is still fun and a lot closer than my more productive lakes.

As expected, I didn't find a lot of good targets but there were a couple of surprises. One was that some of the coins look like they have been there a while judging from the green verdigris buildup. Since I've hunted this spot several times, what that means to me is that there is some sand movement from the boat wakes and wind waves.

The biggest surprise was a small earring that appears to be low carat gold. 10K acid holds long enough to make me think it may be 8K or so. It wouldn't register by itself on my scale but when I add it to something else I'm weighing, the increase is about a third of a gram. It has a small, crude stamp which looks like "MEX" so I'm thinking it's from Mexico.

These last couple of hunts have been okay but I usually do a lot better on the coin totals.  But I haven't been seeing a lot of posts in this part of the forum so I thought I'd jump in. GL&HH!

9 hours ago, delnorter said:

 I am also am interested in the tines you’ll be getting Compass.

Thanks,

Mike

Mike, Here is a link to the web site where I purchased mine. I will report how it goes- successful or not.

https://stavrscoop.com/en/19-stavr-rake-.html

"50 people begging me about when they will get one are really quite enough for the moment!!" 

Thought you meant "bugging" instead of "begging" then realized it's the same thing! 

Welcome Mark, Sounds like you and I have a few things in common. 2020 also marks my 50th year since I bought my first detector- a Goldak (I think they were more known for pipe locating equipment!) I am also new here (kind of) and on the list for the new Impulse AQ so congrats on getting yours! Good luck with it as we eagerly await your feedback.

Nice read GB, I hope your conversation with George leads to some great finds. Taking the time to speak with people often leads to great intel. After digging so many corroded zinc pennies over the years I now appreciate real copper ones more!

Since US gold coins are about 90% pure gold (about 22K) I am looking forward to your test of the 22K gold ring. There are a couple of sites that I would like to take the Impulse AQ to that I believe could produce a deep gold coin..

1 hour ago, Joe D. said:

Thanks George,

Nice group of rings!

I'm very fond of silver coins and jewelry! My wedding ring is even silver! I outgrew the gold one, but i like my silver one better!👍👍

Wow Joe, that is one nice big ring!  I too outgrew my wedding ring many years ago and have started wearing different ones that I have found. I'm currently wearing this one that I found earlier this year in a drained lake.

It's more like a nickle in diameter. 😉

19 minutes ago, okara gold said:

I use the stock 11 inch. I am patiently waiting for a new PI. 

Thank you okara gold. You have done very well!

37 minutes ago, okara gold said:

If I recall most, if not all the chains were low single digits 1 to 3, maybe a 5 in there somewhere with a high sensitivity level around 23, beach 1 or 2, I use depending on the incoming waves. Beach 1 is too chatty if the waves are hitting the coil.

Thanks okara gold, I usually opt for the Nox at the lake and a pulse at the beach (for the depth). May I ask what coil you found your chains with?