Jim McCulloch

Georgia.

Yes GB, it IS good for everyone involved. By expanding the number and scope of Show venues the GPAA reaches out to more old members and many potential new members. As you know, education is a high priority for the GPAA, and the virtually non-stop seminars on a wide range of auriferous topics are of great value to most attendees. By doing the same venues (such as Las Vegas) no more frequently than alternate years, a wider range of venues can be considered. I began attending Shows in 1983, and since 1994, with the release of my first book, I have been a vendor at 138 Shows. I am planning to have booths at Pomona, Phoenix, Sacramento, Concord and Columbus. Members of this Forum are cordially invited to stop by. HH Jim

The issue you describe can happen with any model of detector; usually low quality or low powered batteries are to blame.

I was loaned the prototype GM 4x6 shown in the video. It measures the standard 3.5 x 6.5 inches, but is exactly 1 inch thick, a nice improvement. Sensitivity to tiny subgrain bits of AU is awesome, as would be expected. In Mojave Desert soil 1/10th grainers give clear "dig here" signals," and 1/4 grainers SCREAM. I was informed that the techs in the coil department at WE are still working on even greater performance, hence release dates are not predictable. Even "as is," performance is very impressive. Hope this helps; HH Jim

Oopps. Yes Mitchel is the new dad. But your daughter did you proud at the last Olympics.

Dave, are you a new papa?

If you want to see "sneak previews" of White's new waterproof high-frequency VLF gold detector, the GMX, as well as the long-awaited (but worth it) 4x6 coil for the Goldmaster 24K (and GMX), AND some paltry CA AU, check out Rob Johnson's YouTube channel "Spud Diggers" for the just-released video entitled "We found some gold in California! Also, a sneak peak at the new White's GMX Gold metal detector." HH Jim White's GMX Sport Data & Specifications

Speculation is not verification. Let's wait and see. If we get into the habit of believing every rumor, we'll also have to start worrying about low-flying pigs. Sure, it would be nice if ML would release an improved and lighter version of the Zed for under $3000.00, but don't hold your breath.

Gerry, nice set of new dentures. A bit too big for your mouth, though. And, they need a bit of cleaning, too. Nonetheless, bro, nice AU. HH Jim

For the record, Lunk and I have also pulled some nice AU from this Idaho site.

For those of you who might like to see some actual "live digs" of Idaho gold, check out the YouTube channel "Spud Diggers," and view the video entitled "How to find gold with a Metal Detector - private lesson with the White's Goldmaster 24K." Featuring our esteemed colleague Gerry McMullen, and the irrepressible Rob "Spud Digger" Johnson, be sure to view the video to the end, where Gerry recovers a nice specimen. HH Jim

Gerry and Keith, nice Idaho gold. Thanks for the "eye candy." Makes my dozen ID bits look paltry by comparison.

Larry, two other great local Prospecting Clubs in the CV are Delta Diggers and Central Valley Prospectors. Be sure to attend the GPAA Gold Show in Sacramento March 14 and 15. Hope to see you there. HH Jim

Well done, Keith, thanks for sharing. Awesome specie! Keep up the good work. HH Jim

Mitchell, thanks for sharing such nice pictures. It looks like you found the "pointy finger" nugget. Also, for the uninitiated, the short, stumpy, whitish cactus is known as the Jumping Cholla (choy yah), so-named because some people believe that it jumps at you when you walk by, embedding spine tufts into you. Actually, this is a misconception, the cholla actually flings the spine tufts at you, sometimes firing several in rapid succession. It is an endangered species, due to the fact that it fires more spine tufts than it replaces, and, also due to the fact that it is the favorite food of the Mojave Desert Greater Sidehill Gouger, whose numbers have skyrocketed due to the moratorium on hunting them. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. 😊

On one of the "Gold Trails" episodes, in an auriferous floodplain, Kevin Hoagland used a GMT in the black sand mode to locate and flag several small spots. These spots, totalling several gallons, produced early 2 DWT of fine gold. Similarly, a buddy of mine, doing the same in a Big Bear area wash (Jacoby Canyon) in 45 minutes accumulated 2.5 gallons of 1/8th inch screened dirt, from which over 2 DWT was recovered. It works. But it only works well where surface flooding produces clearly defined paystreaks in auriferous washes. I use a dry wallers trowel to scrape up the thin paystreaks. Hope this helps; HH Jim

Mada, I've never commented on the Orx. Detailed pm sent. HH Jim.

Ger, LOW and SLOW has always worked for me. Good gold for both you and Lunk, well done guys! HH Jim

Mada, scroll up 5 posts to the bottom of Steve's last post, and click on the link "You could ask this Aussie," which will take you to the topic started by Aureous. He offers his opinion on his detector choices. Edit - here it is

Simon, ASAP sell some of your less-used machines, and when your missus goes to Oz have her get you one

Simon, I am using my phone right now, with a reduced size screen, but I believe my larger-screen ID reveals that I'm a metal detector dealer. Primarily for White's, but I am also a sub- dealer for Minelabs and Garrett Distributor. Too bad NZ doesn't have a White's dealer, I know that you would LOVE the 24k if you had one.

Yes, old friend, I will fully acknowledge that I am as competitive as most others regarding total number count at the end of the day. To me, the FIRST nugget of the day is the most important, simply because Little Jimmy ain't going home smelling like skunk!

Mada, you asked some very good questions for a beginner. Let me offer a few thoughts regarding IN-GROUND performance. First off, there is NOT as much performance difference between frequencies as some advertising would imply. A properly tuned GBII (71khz) in MILD ground can find flakes of gold as small as 1/20 grain. But in MODERATE ground you will rarely find anything smaller than 1/10th grain, and then only at seriously reduced depth. My Goldmaster 24k (48 khz) can find 1/15th grainers in moderate ground, and it SCREAMS over 1/10th grainers. When it comes to actually finding gold, to be honest about it, there really is NOT much differance between 1/20th or 1/15th grainers or 1/10th grainers. Furthermore, the White's MXT (14 khz) with the 950 coil can find 1/4 grainers in moderate soil. To recap: 71 khz: 1/20 grain; 48 khz: 1/15th grain; 14 khz: 1/4 grain. It really would be splitting hairs at this point. But, there are other factors which far overshadow operating frequency, and these include the size and type of searchcoil, decibel output of headphones, operator expertise, sweep speed, etc. MY two-machine line-up: Goldmaster 24k and TDI-SL. Hope this helps; HH Jim

Walt, good to hear from you again. Thanks for the purchase, I shipped it via Priority Mail this morning. HH Jim

Steve, really excellent and timely information. About three years ago a local guy telephoned me asking for my best price on a new GMT. When I gave him the price, he got angry. After all, he had been quoted a price which was LESS than HALF of dealer's cost. The only problem was that he had to wait 3 weeks for it to be shipped to him from CHINA. I wonder how that worked out for him...