tvanwho

Hmm, I only live about 10 miles from Lisle, Illinois...should I go check the Minelab place out for you guys? What questions should I ask ? I thought Minelab had a repair shop in Nevada? -Tom V.

Nice post. I was out prospecting a local river this weekend and actually had my Canon camera out and in my hand, ready to go. I noticed a large bird swooping across the river, thought it was just a vulture, until I saw the white tail feathers and realized I had just missed a bald eagle shot. Is that the waterproof orange Garrett pinpointer? Any advantage to a waterproof pinpointer in the dry desert? -Tom V.

And all this time I thought a saddle was some part of a horse?

Ask HG Wells for his tips on time machine construction...

You don't by chance have some photos of the saddle where the nuggets were found? What does a saddle look like from a distance? What exactly is a saddle for us greenhorns? Is that where a smaller foothill butts up against a mountain? Why would nuggets be there? Thanks. -Tom V.

and it could be a hoax for all we know....

Thanks, Guess it won't be an issue for a while cause the property owner just had a severe flood. There are 100 foot long trees lying horizontal in the creekbed.I've been going there 30 years but never seen it that bad. This is southwest Indiana. Fact is, has been difficult to do any gold mining this year due to non stop rains and high water in the creeks plus am hearing stories of Timber rattlers coming out of the woods and harassing the 2 legged critters hiking the trails. supposedly they are endangered species and not to be killed, but if its a choice between a threatening snake or me, I will use my shovel, then bury the evidence...

now we know who has the Biggest toy in the sandbox ...

I thought it was a 705 Minelab? Nice to see a happy camper....ur a good man Paul...

Nice, were you the lucky finder?

Who knows, maybe it was my fate in life? When going on a gold trip, there are 1001 things to do and remember, I wonder how Steve ever does it? And I am trying to rebuild my highbanker according to Wal and Liz on the Australian Prospecting forum. Unfortunately, it is next to impossible to find the 1/2 inch thick aluminum catwalk grating with 1 :4 ratio diamond shaped openings that Wally says is necessary for his Walbanker highbanker and he doesn't sell parts for it.? I am trying to improve my gold catching in the creeks and hopefully gemstone catching with this design. You know anybody who uses a Walbanker in Australia? And I will probably get hassled for changing the subject, oh well...nice to talk to somebody down under now an then...

My TDi with stock 12 inch coil ran quiet in Arizona even tho the ground was red and black sand stringers all over the place? Worst ground possible looked like to me! No nuggets ,just trash found, on a 24 Karat gold claim on the side of Rich Hill I had trouble breathing at 4,000+ feet altitude tho, being used to sea level last 40 years. Heck, we use caps a lot at work in the data center where I work and nobody complains. -Tom V.

Why does it look like a sponge?

do they now come with a 5 x 10 coil as standard? I heard it was available.

so, why the Core and not the Gold version?

And these drones were Science Fiction not so long ago? How do the guys get 20 miles range? I'd be happy with 500 feet or so. Heck, when I used to do Radio Control model boats, after a few hundred feet, you cannot tell what direction the boat is facing and its almost impossible to control, much less control a RC jet plane doing 100 miles an hour or a drone. Being able to see on your transmitter what the drone sees would be what I want? Whats the cheapest drone to do that? Do unexpected wind gusts toss these little machines around? I'd sure like to fly over creek areas, looking at potential dredging spots I can't get to on foot. -Tom V.

What do you guys recommend for walking a creek where one encounters soft bottom pools that can be chest deep water and no way around it? I will be in a situation like this Labor day weekend and need to plan ahead? Need to get my little highbanker and camping gear past the spots too. Might float them in a large cement mixing tub with foam slabs bolted to the sides and a towrope but doubt it will support my 200 pounds too? Soft, gooey bottoms give me the willies as you can get stuck quite easy and nobody to help you? -Tom V.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/ This forum sure is a good one too if Steve doesn't mind my posting it? I see they don't allow gold dredging at all in Australia so they have to get somewhat creative. I am checking the DIY threads myself. Have also been checking Youtube videos for Wal and Liz from Australia for Minelab detecting videos and homemade highbankers and these folks find some amazing sapphires and opals, etc...and show how they found them, equipment they built to get the crystals,etc...hard to find this info anyplace else on the internet...

Well Guys, I had a good vacation in New York and New England altho I failed to relocate a blue crystal under a rock formation from many years ago. All was good and folks were all nice to me until the last hour of the last day I was there.I was trying to get back to my car but was totally exhausted from carrying like 40 pounds of rock breaking tools and water and a 6 foot crow bar plus hiking up and down steep stream banks and clambering over boulders. I was standing on the creek bank admiring the rushing stream and wondering how far to my car on what seemed like a never ending trail? As I turned around, I was almost attacked by the meanest white Labrador dog ( these dogs have always been so sweet and gentle around me before? ) and its owner seemed to be encouraging the dog to attack me !!! A skinny 30-40 year old woman in short shorts in a gnat infested woods and and wearing a pistol belt, spoke to me.She claimed to be wanting to see who was in the woods? She did not accuse me of trespassing or being in HER woods, but made a point of pointing her gun toting holster in my direction repeatedly.And every time, I so much as moved an inch, her mongrel would bare its teeth and looked to bite my face off at any moment !!! I had my huge crow bar in hand but was so weak I could hardly even stand ,much less fight off this nasty pooch? Maybe the dog could sense this? I asked the female how much farther to the creek ford where my car was parked? She pointed down the trail and said about a 1/4 mile. I looked that way but did not dare move cause of that dog with the evil eyes . But both the beast and the woman had totally disappeared in just seconds as I turned my head back to look at them again!! Dunno now if they were ghosts or how they both could disappear so fast?? !! Made it back to the car and then went back to the rock shop where I related my story to the women there.One of them had property near where I had my encounter but she had no idea who the woman and dog were who had almost assaulted me? I told the girls about the crystal and drew them a picture of the rock formation to look for and left Maine for good.I gave the crystal hunt my best shot and failed after 3 days. And no color to be found in the creek either unless you had a 4 inch gold dredge, an ATV to carry it with, and didn't mind digging a chest deep hole in freezing cold mountain ice water !! I am getting too old for this stuff some days. Ps, the crystal I am pretty sure was an aquamarine and was as long as my index finger.I was looking to tear apart the rock formation it was under and try to locate a possible RICH crystal filled cavity underneath. Way back when, when I had found the crystal quite by accident, I was unable to break it off. A voice in my head told me that God put that beautiful blue flawless crystal there and I had no right to break it off for its monetary value.My greed lost out and the voice got its way. Maybe I still wasn't meant to have the crystal 20 years later? I really dunno? I even had me a cordless grinder with a diamond blade for cutting open the bedrock this time as well as many pounds of hammers and chisels and pry bars, etc vs no tools at all 20 years ago. There seems to be mercury ore in this creek too I noticed. Same kind of rocks we played in as kids in the Phoenix mountains, a gray schist with black dots and black crystals in.Heck, our street back in 1969 was called Cinnabar avenue and I later found out them piles of gray schist in the desert were mercury mine tailings with a richness of 5%. I brought back a few pieces from Maine to send in for an assay. Will post a few photos later,left my memory card at work,at least my Canon SX50 did a great job this time. Wonder if these tailings gave me my anxiety issues later in life? Is mercury ore dangerous to handle? How is the mercury removed from the rocks? -Tom

You make it look so easy? And that area is not even very rocky? Are they just whisper signals or solid beeps? -Tom

This place in Arizona had Ol Yeller drywasher for $176 but out of stock right now: http://www.bunksarizonaprospecting.com/OlYeller.html At the bottom of the webpage they give an email address for Frank Camp and Ol Yeller drywashers

I dunno,I always heard there were guerrillas over there with machine guns that like to kidnap people? Maybe I shouldn't believe what I read in the news? Never heard of any gold nuggets there, just Japanese/Yamashita WW2 gold stories.

Brogan, I was flying thru this thread since I don't own a ZED until I saw your post on the Private property chip for a Garmin GPS? Can you tell us more or send me a PM about it? Which Garmins will it work for ? Will it work on a home PC too? Which Garmins have this tracking feature? I thought they only had waypoints to mark? I am kind of a greenhorn on GPS features so bear with me. Where does one see/buy these chips in person? Thanks. -Tom V.

My last name is a Dutch one by the way, Van xxx , but so far I ain't lost yet, even ordered me a refurb Garmin GPS with voice command for my car for this trip and a Garmin Forerunner wrist mounted GPS for the woods and I've got a backup whistle. -T

Thanks guys, I would post a pic of the spot I have in mind but better wait till after vacation, don't want some local to see it and get the jump on me possibly, after all these forums are not private. I will go to Menards tomorrow and get some smaller cold chisels to help with crack/seam busting and an extra pair of safety glasses and leather gloves. Ps, I still have a prospecting accident reminder in my one finger from 40 years ago from a gold trip in Arizona. I was using my geologist hammer and chipping an arrow on a large boulder at a fork in a no name desert wash to mark where the copper prospect was where I had got some green copper mineral specimens. Next thing ya know, a geyser of red blood a foot long shoots out from my right hand. A flying rock chip had nailed my right index finger just below the nail by the 1st knuckle.Took me 1/2 hour of pressure to stop the bleeding. still have a black spot 1/4 inch diameter right there where the rock broke apart under my skin. The doctor said it was all fragments and he couldn't get it out. Wonder why it bled like a fire hose instead of just oozing out? -T