~LARGO~

Hi Steve, Thanks for the correction on the original Gold Bug being run at 19 kHz... I knew that, but got in a rush trying to beat the expected rains in our area... In the last day or so I saw the Bruneau river, just out of Jordan Valley, Idaho, was running across the southbound highway 51. Lots of water to go around this year, I suspect the reservoir at Rye Patch will be full as well... Gary Long: LARGO

Hi all, Just a quick observation, the Impact does has some familiar features that lean toward a more user friendly and possibly a better weight balanced machine. I am curious about the Impact vs the Notka Gold in weight, as right now I am in a bit of a rush to get some pre-rain home landscaping done, and can't take the time for a look see on the Notka gold weight comparison... At first blush, the machine is a reasonably priced machine for the features it has, is a nicely streamlined machine that could avoid brush hangup issues, but as Steve indicates, it does fall a bit short on the kHx and really small gold detecting ability. That being said, the early Whites Goldmasters ran at a 19 kHz, and did a fair job in finding some reasonably small gold bits... I often desire to have the newest of the new, just to satisfy my detecting curiosity, and would not be opposed to give one of the Impacts a go... That is, when my brand new metal knee allows me to hit the goldfields... Got to go...it will be interesting to see just what this new little gem will do... Gary Long: LARGO

Hi Chris, Good to hear you and Dad got out and enjoyed the beautiful country. Perhaps it gave he and you some quality time to refocus at least for a bit. Take care, and keep us posted. LARGO AKA: Gary Long/Boise

Hi all, As an addendum to my post above, the plague that is presently ongoing in the Boise, Idaho desert area south of the city IS the bubonic plague. That is about all I have to report on the subject for now. I wonder how the eagles and other raptors that eat the road kill rodents fare as far as being possibly infected themselves. It could be that they are not affected. If it is that they aren't affected by the plague, my thought of their carrying of the plague infected cadavers to other areas outside the present area of reported plague is a bit concerning to me... Just a bit. Gary/Largo

The plague has been reported as found in the high desert, south and east of Boise, Idaho. Same precautions advised, keep dogs away from dead ground squirrels, voles. any in ground living creature is suspect, having plague carrying fleas. Not being specifically reported as being bubonic plague, however...

Hi Digger, Wow, it has been a while since I saw you swinging low and slow at the Patch... I haven't been with my machines for over 3 years now, and I am ready to get out soon... I keep my batteries charged, discharge them once in a while, but would rather do that out in the field... With respect to the gold specie, I have only personally known of one guy that came across such, and now I am aware of two. He found his on a ridge not far from my old camp... that tells a lot doesn't it?? Actually it was a couple of miles west from my camp, but closer to others campsites... Good to know you are up to getting out since your accident a while back... Best wishes!! Gary/ Largo...

While on the subject of what things that needed some fixing, and it appears someone has addressed the need: on the SDC 2300, just behind the search coil, the articulating hinge: now better known as the Minelab SDC Knuckle Skid Plate. Happy to see that someone has come up with a nicely done fix at a reasonable price. Look around in the for sale department. I haven't used my SDC 2300 long enough to realize there was a need there, but apparently there is! Gary / Largo

Very nice! I have never found a specie of any sort! Gary/Largo

WTG Lunk! Be sure to get with us on your way home! We all want to see your finds! Gary/Largo

There appears to be some attempt at a light shade in place. Perhaps an extension of some sort might be in order for those that have significant vision color issues. Gary

Beautiful gold, beautiful country, with SHADE! Very nice photos- Thank you for sharing! Gary/Largo

Help me out here, Steve... Here I am thinking I have my mind nearly made up to go for a Gold Racer...then here I find on the Makro Racer 2, it is a little more stable on the gold end (not using quoted verbiage, but close). That part is great. So thinking back to the original Fisher Gold Bug from way back when, it operated at 19 kHz... That was designed for larger nuggets, because there were more larger nuggets back then relatively close to the surface. Relatively. I remember seeing a miner in Alaska on the back page of a prospecting magazine using one to dig out nuggets from the permafrost. Isn't that kind of the way that it went? A person could still find nice little nuggets with a well tuned original Fisher Gold Bug 19 kHz machine, I think they are called "clinkers" from the sound they make when being dropped into a metal gold pan. So now I am thinking this Makro Racer 2 running at 14 kHz, that might be still good for some "clinkers", using the small round coil, but as well, we might be looking at a detector that quite possibly could detect even deeper, larger nuggets than that old Gold Bug @ 19 kHz could find using the larger coil option, plus being a killer coin machine with 3 tones. Now, that notion, because that is all it is, a notion, should make Paul squirm, while scratching his head even more, would now be my guess, because I am scratching mine, perplexed...as you say, decisions, decisions... Where am I off the tracks in my thinking? Or am I?? You can be harsh if you wish, no matter. Thanks very much, These new detectors have my Washingtons, Grants, and Franklins ready to jump ship right out of my wallet! Spring is coming, and in the words of a famous person: BCOT!! Gary/Largo

Hi Paul. Happy to see you got your fancy Makro Gold Racer! Wild videos just show your excitement with your new toy! Get real good with it, so you can give me some tips when I get back down that way with my (future) Gold Racer! Gary / Largo

FYI Guys... I just found a Fisher Goldstrike on Craigslist...Listed on Nov 29...not sure if it is still available, but at a $400 price tag, with 2 coils, carry bag and low hours, it might be worth a phone call! (Lewiston, Idaho) http://lewiston.craigslist.org/for/5337306939.html Good Luck! Largo

Hi Monte, Great posts! Happy to have you aboard! Keep it up! Best wishes, Gary/Largo

Hi Steve & all, Paul is the perfect person to pick for your award! I had the distinct opportunity to meet Paul out somewhere along a very long and dusty road in northern Nevada... I have enjoyed his posts and his contributions to humanity. Congratulations Paul, Respectfully, Gary Long : Largo

Hi Steve and all, Thanks for the tip on replacing the disc switch on the Fisher Gold Bug 2. While I have not experienced this particular issue, I did have an issue some time back that I would never have expected on this machine. The GROUND BALANCE knob fell off, oddly enough. I looked at the thing, expecting to see if a tiny screw had come off and allowed the knob to become removed. Nope, it wasn't a screw becoming lost, but rather the ground balance knob over the years, being turned back and forth had been turned far enough in the correct direction apparently, that it had become unscrewed of all things. Seems to me it had left hand threads, but somehow I did resolve the issue myself. I don't believe I had ever heard of that condition prior to this time... Thanks for this forum, it still remains one of my most favorite...! Gary / Largo

Hi Lunk, I am very surprised this life changer monster nugget hasn't hit most of the forums yet. It will be interesting when the story unfolds a bit more than it has. The metal detecting world will be talking about it very soon, I imagine! Largo...

Hi Strick, About to head back to Nevada, where we met for a re-visit. That country you show us here in your photos IS very beautiful and interesting! That dandy nugget really capped off your day, I would expect! Gary/Largo

Hello nugget65 Strick probably gave it away already, he knows where to find stuff! That being said, these days honestly, I don't believe there is any "good place". Where you are going covers many hundreds, if not thousands of acres you couldn't cover in your own lifetime. If you want to find big gold save your time. If you want just anything, anywhere will do. It is basically beginners luck now, you may find a nice "big" nugget just by being the first to swing your coil over it, PLUS having studied the new Notka manual, and tested the suggested settings with a test nugget or lead sinker... For the most part, the ground out there is fairly mild, but there are some places where the ground can have "hot" spots, or red ground which is generally more challenging than most. Big gold has been found in the most odd places, where you would think it would have been found years ago. So you can't hunt in the assumption that is has already been covered. I have found nice premium chevron nuggets in holes someone else had abandoned. Just keep your mind focused on the work at hand, your coil in "intimate contact" with the ground, as old time nugget hunter Hoss Blackman used to say in his lectures, and, as always going low and slow, putting any extraneous thoughts out of your mind .. Bottom line, it is a nice place to go, so enjoy the place and the time you have for making memories. Gary / "Largo"

Hi all, If you are real handy, Bill & Linda's Prospecting has plans, as far as I know, they are free... Bill may sell some other critical parts, but he may also sell small drywashers. Very nice website, with a LOT of photos and information, nevertheless... Check it out! http://billandlindaprospecting.com/ Gary/Largo

Hi Paul, I don't know what all those fancy words mean...but congrats on your find(s), and get mo betta soon, so you can hit the gold fields running/sorta... The reason I haven't seen you guys is because of a serious heart and lung condition...not mine, my wife's. She's on a slow mend, so I may be selling my 5000 and settle for a nice 2100e, if I can find a decent one, just to redirect some of my funding. Hope to see you in a bit, best wishes, tell Chris & Wilma hi... ~LARGO~

Thanks, Paul, That's a very long 4 wheeler ride. Was that all he had left? He found a nice big nugget on top of a hill at RP, figured he would try to follow that exposed dike as it dipped and rose, hoping he would find another big nugget. He walked a long ways in the direction he felt it went, not sure he found anything big again on his long walk. He and Havasu Bill were compadres out there, all part of the folk lore, and history of the place. I suspect Little Bill told you some good stories about the luck they had out there. Of course, being a hand to mouth gold prospector, you have to keep chugging along, looking through glazed eyes, hoping for the next nugget. That is what takes the gloss and glory off the romance of being a full timer. It's a hard go. Very few ever are successful at it... ~LARGO~

You are hard core for sure! My friend has a claim north of Boise, Idaho, a portion of it is at the creek level, and the rest of the claim is on top of a high ridge, where there are lots of huge water worn boulders, where they work the cracks as best they can. I did decide I wanted to see where it was they were working. This required this 73 year old guy in crappy condition and a bone on bone knee joint, to do it in 10 steps at a time increments, taking a minute or so breather, as it is very steep, and no trail to speak of. I did make it, however, carrying my Gold Bug 2 with me, and a couple of 32 oz. jugs of PowerAde Zero... Downhill going would be obviously much easier, and in the process I found large hand dug water ditches across the face of the steep incline, from early gold mining times, which I will need to walk out at some point and see where they go... The point of all this, is, if you want to get there bad enough, you may be able to find a way.

Hi all, First off, Paul mentioned Little Bill...the Little Bill I know is a equipment operator by trade, met him in the early 90's in the R.P. area of Nevada, when the very early Minelab 2000, 21000 were hitting the goldfields with great success and a roll of duct tape... I lost track of him some years back, but he can contact me if he wants thru the forums or ??? In the discussions of dry washers, I have read discussions on the Keenes, and such, and I do like the little wooden puffers very much, just like Chris showed off just above, as it was lovingly built by in Arizona, by a guy that knew how those little guys should be built. Price was right, light and did a good job I understand. I cast about looking at all the dry washers, trying to figure out what might be the all around best, all things considered. As always, it depends on who you are talking to at the time, kinda like lovers of Chevys or Fords... I finally decided on the Thompson Drywasher, which is made by a fellow in California, seemed to meet all my criteria at that moment. It is aluminum, a puffer, runs off a 12 volt battery, or whatever size you choose, or has a crank if you run out of battery power. I did buy a solar panel or two, with thoughts of using that to recharge the batteries, but as always with solar, it is only as good as where you are, and how much the sun is shining in that place... Truth is, I can't say one way or the other, just how good it might be, as I haven't put a shovel of gravel through it as yet... If a person wants to read discussions about the Thompson drywasher, I know you can Google it and learn more. So, I am just throwing the name in the foray, don't know anything more, and I don't have a dog in the fight... ie: I have nothing to gain by mentioning this brand. Have a great day! Gary/Largo