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michaelgolden

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  1. Very Interesting thread to say the least!! Although some people may find it quite boring, but they have never had the issues I've had identifying gold!

    Here in Minnesota the rivers are full of electrum grade gold. For those unfamiliar with the term "electrum" gold  It's gold that has a high percentage of silver in it. Some of the old timers used to call electrum gold  'Green Gold' BTW.

    Usually gold that has over 30 percent silver is considered electrum gold. Most of the gold flake found in the Mn rivers is 40 to 80 percent silver, making it a greenish white color. Far from the nice yellowish color of gold found in rivers out west. For years I could not figure out if this greenish metal flake I found in the bottoms of my gold pans was actually gold (It acted like gold in my gold pan but it's appearance threw me off ..) till I had a few grams of this 'gold' assayed. That's when I found out the truth.. Gold can have a wide variety  of colors. I have  found gold in New Mexico that looked like rose gold as it had a far amount of copper in it, and was quite beautiful to say the least. I have found gold in the black hills that has greenish and  reddish  streaks running thru it. The greenish streaks representing silver and the  reddish streaks representing copper! And again very beautiful in appearance.  Best, Michael

    1920px-Ag-Au-Cu-colours-english.svg.png

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  2. Steve, I could not agree with you more... I have learned not to take life for granted too.... After losing a few very close friends and my folks over a period of few years.... Life is precious.... Every day is gift from God, Even the bad days!!!!!  I wish you all a VERY HAPPY AND GRATEFUL THANKSGIVING!!!!!

    Michael 

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  3. I have been very impressed with the simplex+ If the legend is comparable to the simplex+ I an definitely  a buyer.  I have put my simplex+ thru the mill over last year and it has come thru with flying colors. I have the 6x9 in coil for the simplex and the build quality is excellent. The simplex's operating system is a well designed and with the exception of a few quirks is a pleasure to use. I look forward to trying out the legend.

    And now We finally have a alternative to the Noxs, which I, unlike many who post here was not that impressed with it after using and hearing about the Nox's issues.   The legend 's very affordable price also makes it A very attractive alternative to the Nox, which I think is  over priced for what you get in my opinion  M

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  4. Great Finds! I'm Jealous! 

    I have had really good luck with my Fisher F-19 using the discrimination mode searching in trashy areas. I can disc out most of the iron leaving only higher tones, especially using the 10x6in. football shape  coil that came with it That coil really works well picking thru trash. The only  draw back with that coil is your depth is about 10in  on most items, so no depth monster but the set up works well where other units struggle!!! M

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  5. I used a TDI for park hunting for a year in the turfed parks around Duluth, Mn. and It was a exercise in frustration. Sure you could Disc out a lot of the iron targets and even some of the junky aluminium targets by judging the tones etc. .. but high conductors like coins you were in the dark. Without the ability to ID various coins such as a zinc  VS a copper penny or dime like I can on my VLF Machines you ended up digging them all!  ( I don't bother digging zinc pennies for various reasons)  Zinc and  copper pennies and clad dimes all read as high conductors on my TDI  as they are all very close  conductivity wise.  I can't imagine that any other PI machines would be any better at discrimination from what I have read...

    Michael

  6. Being the detector isn't waterproof so won't be used in the water near as much which stresses the ears and most people with a Vanquish end up with a v10 coil which is quite small I doubt it'll have the ear breaking problems as bad.  Also being entry level I'd expect a lot more weekend warriors will own it using it a lot less than the Nox and CTX owners which should mean less breakage, just an assumption there.  I think the Vanquish should be quite safe from the problem.

     

     

    Thanks for the advice,   phrunt, I will certainly take it into consideration when and if I purchase the 540, Best, Michael

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  7. Seems the CTX 3030's coils have the same problem the NOX's coils have..... I was not aware of this issue....

    I was considering buying the vanquish 540 but I wonder if it has the same  issue with the coils ears???? Time will tell....  Good luck repairing your coil...  P.S. For such expensive gear you would expect better quality and not have to deal with such  issues.... I have never had any issues with my much cheaper fisher coils...... Good Luck! Michael

    On 9/12/2021 at 8:37 PM, mh9162013 said:

    Wait, whuddid I miss?

     

    On 1/20/2021 at 5:14 PM, EL NINO77 said:

    Will Coiltek produce new coils for Equinox?

     

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  8. I couldn't agree with Steve more! For $254.95, The Simplex is the best deal around. There is nothing that can touch it. I get really good depth with it. slightly better then any of my fishers, but the difference is minor, Where the Simplex lacks and this is with the 11' coil is in discrimination in trashy areas. Like all the round 11' in coils I have used, (That goes for the large round Nox coils too.) when I work trashy areas they miss stuff that my Fisher F19 finds with its 10x9 in. Football coil.  One of my tests for new detectors after a break in period  is to use them to search a small area like a section of curb in a big city like Minneapolis or Duluth with lots of trash pull tabs iron etc... Then go over the area afterwards with Fisher F19 to see what the new detector missed.  In every case the fisher found stuff the new detectors missed. The simplex with those 15'/13' huge coils would surely be depth monster, but I really wonder about discrimination issues.. . Never the less it is nice to see Non-OEM coils for the simplex. To bad they are not available for the Noxs.

    Best, Michael

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  9. You hit it on the head GB _Amateur! Yep, Been pretty busy getting the homestead ready for the long Mn winter. and I am also planning some long  detecting and prospecting trips this winter to AZ and California where unlike here you can find unfrozen ground!  😁😁😁

    Joe D.  I might be pushing the definition of fine gold a little far with that photo...Some of that gold is larger then 1/4 in. screen or bigger then 1/4 in. in size and might be considered to be small nuggets.   but most is less than 1/16 in. screen.  The weight of that pile of gold is about 6 grams. Best, Michael

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  10. Thanks for the hearty welcome everyone! Sorry to take so long to get back to your responses but with winter coming soon in the northland I have been quite busy. In regards to the question about which metal detectors I use.... I am a  big fan of fisher and nokta makro. My favorites right now are the Fisher F-19 and the Nokta Simplex plus. Found a lot of gold with the Fisher last winter and spring in California and Arizona. Mostly small gold but a lot of it! Love the iron bias controls on the fisher. I use the simplex mainly for water hunting as its waterproof but I have found that with the 6x9 in coil it is much more sensitive and can be used for gold prospecting too. The fisher is excellent for relic hunting too with the 6x10 in coil and using it in discrimination mode I can can hunt trashy areas with lots iron and junk aluminium and not get frustrated and still find the goods. I have prospect and metal detected in many of the states out west and had pretty good luck over the years. I tend to concentrate on fine gold as opposed to course gold or larger gold nuggets as in lot of the areas I have prospected the course gold has been cleaned out but not too many prospectors bother with fine gold deposits.  In Northern Minnesota where I reside there are  a lot rivers  where you can find quartz with gold flake that were left from glaciers  during the last ice age. Below are a few pictures of gold and relics I found this year.

    Best, Michael

     

    20211005_212828.jpg

    20210808_143908.jpg

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  11. Hi Everyone, 

    I have been reading posts on these forums for quite awhile without posting, while looking for info on gold prospecting and metal detecting in general. This website has been a great resource even for a experienced prospector and detectorist like myself. I am looking forward future exchanges with all of the very interesting folks that contribute here.

    Best,

    Michael

     

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  12. Hi Jeff, Thanks for the reply and interest in my post.  The settings on the f44 for the coin nail test were 16 on the sensitivity  and all metal mode. After hearing your results jeff, I am going to do a retest of the coin nail test. But it might be a while as I lent my f44 to a friend today.  Why did I buy the 600 instead of the 800? Some people asked. Simple answer - Because I got a great deal on the 600 even though I had read that the 800 was better machine.  Why did I buy a eqinox machine at all especially if I was happy with my fishers whites and garretts?  The answer is Because as I said before is that I have used machines from almost every manufacturer except minelabs and I saw the eqinox  as a good machine to try out the current best that minelabs has to offer. I wanted to find out if there was any truth to all the minelabs hype I had been reading on the internet. The answer to that question is mostly no.  And that's where I am coming from.  The eqinox has its strengths and weaknesses like all the other machines I have tested. It certainty is not the holy Grail  -do all- of metal detectors that some making it out to be.  I would take the f44 or my land ranger pro over it any day for relic and coin hunting, and my White TDI with certain coils blows it out out of the water for gold prospecting.  The only area where I.found the 600 to really excell was as a VLF salt water beach  machine. The discrimination was nice to have as I have used many PI machines with no discrimination. The PI machines still had much better depth then the 600 although. All the best, Michael

  13. Yes I most certainly agree. This is much better forum in that regard. The last thing I want to do is offend a lot of the equinox users. On the gold test The F70 was set on auto tune or all metal. Sensitivity was set to 85 Threshold was set at 1. 

    I also tested the 600 set at 5 hz against the f44 and the f44 was much better then the 600 regardless of the setting on the 600 at 5 hz. For testing on the gold nugget and other items.

    Yes, the equinox 600 is water proof but I don't go diving with my fishers. The f44 is splash proof and with a rain cover on it I have submerged it briefly without any problem and I have done a lot of water hunting with it.

    I don't used f70 on the beach. I use the f70 along with Whites Tdl for nugget hunting and gold prospecting.  

    Other comparison tests I did were trash separation tests with a 1959 penny, a nickel and 3 in nail. All targets were put a few inches from each other. This test I did with the f44 and on the 600 in Park 1 and 2. The  600 was set at the factory default settings with the iron discrimination off. The 600 did not do well in the park 1 setting. Missing the penny all the time and rarely picking up the nickel But did do better in the park 2 setting  The 44 did a  better job of picking up all three overall. The 600 was set to factory defaults with iron discrimination off on that test.

    Some have ask why I make a issue out of the fact that the 600 does not have a all metal mode. Well here are the reasons - When I pay $650.00 for a machine I expect it to have that option on it -period. Their is no excuse why it does not. Many serious experienced detectorists use nothing but all metal mode for all the advantages it has over program modes  I wonder why I didn't notice this omission earlier but I thought park 2 with the iron discrimination off was the all metal mode till I did some research recently. 

    Personally  I would rather use  3 machines which are best for each type hunting that I do then use one machine that by my estimation does a OK job but not a great job. I tried the  600 on the chance that some of the things I read might be true but with the exception of its performance on the beaches of the Florida keys I was not impressed. The f44 is a better relic hunter and better in trashy areas. the f70 is more sensitive to gold nuggets and not just gold nuggets but gold ore too and it does not even come close to the Whites tdl on gold in general.

    Yes, The fishers in general have a problem with falsing, but I have learned to deal with that issue. I figure that the fishers programming which is designed to make the machines as sensitive as possible leads to that problem. 

    I hate to say it but someone was using the their Fisher F19 as a substitute in comparing my f44 to the 600. The f44 and f22 are two different machines. Yes they have similarities but a lot of differences. And I run my F44 differently. 

    The 600 is my first mine labs machine but certainly not my last. I have my eyes on a gpx 4500. I must say that This machine has very good build quality. Certainly better then the fishers, but you do pay for it.  The coil wobble issue is certainly a design flaw that needs to be corrected. Also the arm brace is too wide, which unless you use a strap, which I don't like using,  leads to control issues. And finally,  Mine lab's use of non swapable battery is a issue. Sure you can strap a power pack to your machine but that leads to a lot of other issues. Like not being able to submerge your machine till its charged. I am so use to being able to just swap in a new battery with my other machines, its kinda of pain to have to keep an eye on the battery icon and then having to remember to recharge the machine every night. 

    A lot of you refer to the nox 800. I did not test the 800. It sounds like a superior machine to the 600 especially when it comes to gold. 

    The bottom line is- as Steve H has said in the past - no single machine- be it PI or VLF will work the best in every situatio-. Minelabs attempts at creating such a machine are laudable, but past history has shown other wise. Regardless, I wish them success in the future. 

    If nothing else the 600 does excel as a saltwater beach machine and I may kept it just for that purpose, that if I don't buy another PI machine

    I have used my machines for gold prospecting and nugget hunting in Arizona, New Mexico, the black hills and copper nugget hunting in northern Michigan. Gold prospecting in Canada, Relic hunting in many old ghost towns out west and beach hunting in the florida keys . Oh, and coin jewelry shooting in many parks and beaches across the midwest. 

     I have owned or do own all of the following machines. - Garrett AT pro/gold.  Garrett 250,  Whites Tdl , Fisher gold bug pro, Fisher F70, F44 bounty hunter discovery 3300, Bounty hunter land ranger pro  Tasoro Vaquero. All the best, Michael M 

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  14. Hi. Gang, It looks like I created quite Firestorm.  If I knew I was posting in the equinox fan club forum, out of respect for all of your opinions I would have refrained from posting most of my comments. That said. I stand behind all my statements. In the future I will reply to most of your comments but now  I must eat dinner.  BTW I did the gold test with 2 gram 22k gold nugget 2 ways  as a air test and by burying the nugget in medium mineralized  soil at 6 ins. The F70 did a better job of detecting both times The test was done in Park 2, Field 2, at 15hz and beach 2 at multi Yes, the 600 did a fair job but the F70 was better. 

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  15. Hi Everyone. I am new to this forum but have been gold prospecting and metal detecting for many years. I have used machines from just about every major maker of metal detectors with except XP.  I recent bought a Equinox 600 and have been testing it out.  I have been making a lot of test comparisons with my fishers etc. And I realized today that the 600 does not have a true all metal mode like my fishers. Closest setting is Park 2' with iron detect turned on, but thats it.  The 600 is not as sensitive as my F70 on small gold either when using the 15 hz setting.  It says in the manual that single freqencies (machines)  may have an advantage over multi freqs in certain situations. That fact really Shocked me. What's the point of using a multi freq machine if it is not superior in all situations?  I tested the 600 against my Fisher F44 and F70 using the standard 11 in Dd coils on the fishers and the standard 11 in dd on the equinox 600.  The fishers out performed the 600 in just about every test. The one exception was on wet sand saltwater beaches, The 600 was slightly better there using beach 2, but that's it! The F44 with sensitivity turned down was almost as good. The F44 is lighter by a half pound, which matters a lot in all day hunts  And finally it may be my familiarity with Fisher products but the fishers handle much better then the minelab 600 (coil wabble)  That said, The minelab is not a bad machine but I'll take the fishers over it any day. 

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