Bohemia Miner

Was it Rye Patch? You mentioned Winnemucca. I have a claim near Mill City about 25 miles west of there.

I have a Demo model that I was hoping to take to California with me earlier in the year. I was going to hit the Redding area on the way down and the Mojave Desert after the Pomona California GPAA Gold Show. The show got moved to July so the trip got canceled. I don't want to be in either place in July! I'm thinking about reaching out to Ray Mills and seeing if he wants to go on a hunt so I can test it (possibly in January). I almost thought about letting him try it for a while and giving it a review. Next year I will be going to Eastern Oregon and the Mill City Nevada area. That should give it a good run!

I bought one of these for my Simplex (and a different one from him for the Legend as Nokta's weren't out yet). Nokta Makro Simplex + Screen And Touchpad Protector/Cover USA Made | eBay The only drawback is the buttons on both machines are a little stiff (beefy?) so when you try and make adjustments with gloves on, your efforts can be hampered a bit.

This is probably one of the dumbest questions I'll ever ask. Is there any advantage of an old Analog detector like the original Gold Bug over a newer Digital model? Thanks!

If I remember correctly, the first thing a Metal Detector measures is the size of the object. That's why Copper Pennies and Dimes read about the same VDI. The second thing it checks is the conductivity of the metal. That's why Zinc pennies have a different VDI. I've known machines in the past that would call two quarters a half dollar! Most machines are set up to find single objects. After reading Clive's book on the Legend, I realized that the ground and nearby targets can affect the VDI as well.

Well put Steve, from what I understand, White's invented VDI. Now everyone uses it. Minelab's "Gold Chance Indicator" and Nokta's "Ferro Check" probably came from White's "Probability of Iron" feature on the GMT (Bar Graph) and MXT Series (as a numbered percent). I don't know which company came out with Ground Balance and Auto-Tracking first, now it's up for grabs. Not to mention Garrett's Iron Audio which is on both Minelab and Nokta Products. The list goes on and on. Walt

I was actually able to figure it out and test it. The three search modes threw me off a bit. It seemed to only have a threshold in two of them. It's been a while since I've had a machine with a "Retune" button. I read through the manual. I'm not sure who wrote it. It seemed too "reader friendly" to be from an Engineer like Dave Johnson. 😁 I also thought the GB knobs were reversed like on the Goldmaster (Big one = course. Small one = fine.) Nope, Fine one = course and large one = fine. That explains why it changed so much when I turned the small one. It was actually balanced to my yard! One thing that cracked me up was where it says to use your hands to isolate the target, rather than a plastic scoop or cup! I thought about selling it but may just hold on to it for a while. Although, I made a list of all my personal and Dealer Demo units and the total is 18! I’m not bragging. It may be time for some sort of intervention!!! I really do need to thin the herd a bit. Don’t even ask me about my Muzzle Loaders! I was at the Portland, Oregon Gold Show a few years back and a guy was looking for a second Original Gold Bug for his wife. I told him about the new Digital model. He didn’t want that. His buddy had one. He then pulled out a large piece of Magnetite with gold attached. He said his buddy went over it and because it registered as iron on the screen, he passed on by. This fellow came behind him and dug the target. He told me he didn’t want “no screen”! Too bad I didn’t keep his info. I told him Original Bugs were scarce and wished him luck. There’s a barely used one on eBay right now listed for $336. I really wish I could find a smaller coil for it. Mine came with the standard 10” Elliptical. A little 4” X 6” or 3.5” Round would be awesome! When I first started selling Metal detectors in 2005, these were going for $359. The GB2 was $639 and the introductory offer from Fisher was both the 10” and 6” Elliptical coils, plus headphones and a carry bag! I don’t think they should have ever stopped making the 19-kHz model. They could have saved it as an entry-level Gold machine. I think they realized that back in 2009 when they introduced the new Digital model. Well, enough of my ramblings for now. I can’t wait to take it out for a trial run! Walt P.S.: This is the second older Fisher analog model I've acquired. Well, third actually. I've gotten rid of a couple of GB2s in the past. I also have a 1235X which was designed for Competitive Hunts. I use it for just that purpose, planted Hunts!

I won an Original Fisher Gold Bug in a Club raffle last Saturday. I bought $90 worth of tickets at 6 for $5. Although the winner came from a batch from a previous meeting! I could have saved $40. I tested it out and it seems to work fine. I’m more familiar with the GB2. It came with the White’s Koss E-9000 headphones but there’s only sound on one side. I need a set with a compatibility switch to hear in both. Back in the day both Fisher and Garrett were mono (one black stripe on the plug), but the sound came out on both sides. Stereo (two stripes) will only work on one side without the switch. It came with the original box too! Thank you, Steve, for having the Owner’s Manual available for download as well as other Information! Walt

Thanks for the post, Steve. I discovered the Garrett Wireless system a while ago and love it! The only thing lacking is either an external speaker that could be plugged in or better yet, having it built into the receiver. Walt

I'm with you. I love things that are simple and Garrett Metal Detectors are just that! Some of the Competition out there is like navigating through your Smart Phone. They have way more adjustments than I can ever start to understand. Walt

Luckily my stepson the Mechanic had a T-6 Star bit! 8 was the smallest I had. Walt

I finally got my Axiom Demo unit and neither the Charging cord nor the External Battery will plug in. This is due to the fact that the washer used to hold the Rubber Cap is either too big or set too high. (see attached photo). I was able to charge it with my (white) Phone Cord as it's thinner than the rounded (black) Garrett Cord. (see attached photo) I'm going to see if I have a small enough bit to take it out and either readjust it or replace it with a smaller washer. I'd really hate to have to ship it all the way back for something like this. I just wanted to make you all aware of the problem. Walt

I just received this from my Distributor: “Dealers, Nokta is making some major changes to their product lineup. Here are the changes... ANFIBIO MULTI - DISCONTINUED AND NO LONGER AVAILABLE. GOLD KRUZER - WILL BE DISCONTINUED ONCE STOCK IS GONE. IMPACT - DISCONTINUED. IMPACT PRO IS NOT. DEEPHUNTER STANDARD – DISCONTINUED. JEOHUNTER BASIC - DISCONTINUED AND NO LONGER AVAILABLE.” Walt

I put them on and it makes the machine fall over easier so will probably remove them. Walt

I just received an email from my distributor confirming my order. “Should be at the Sparks (Nevada) warehouse soon”. I asked about the accessory coils and they’re not available yet. Thought everyone would like to hear the good news! Walt

No, I was referring to the Gold Finder 2000 when I spoke of wireless. However, I use the Garrett Z-Lynk Transmitter and MS3 headphones with the 24K. 6X faster than Bluetooth! Although, many prefer an external speaker in the desert environment where poisonous snakes live. Walt

Well then, if you're not afraid of the technology, I'd sell the MXT and buy a Legend. You can purchase the detector with two coils for less than the price of the Equinox800 with one. I'd opt for either the factory Neoprene housing cover or the canvas one from Deano on eBay. From my experience, the MXT didn't do well on small gold, even with the smaller coil. I've never been to run one with the sensitivity past 7. Too bad they didn't put a Boost mode on it like they did the GMT! With Whites being out of business, the value of their products seems to have dropped considerably. I'm not sure you're going to get much for it, Bob. Walt

I took a class from Ray Mills in the Redding, California area. He pretty much uses the GM1000 with the 5" coil. He also has a GPX6000 but probably saves that for depth or bad ground. He's a professional Nugget Hunter. He also writes articles for the Mining Journal. Steve H knows him. I had plans early in the year to go to the GPAA Gold Show in Southern California but then they changed the date. I was going to stop in Ray's area as well as Barstow (Coolgardie Area) or Randsburg and test out the GF2000. Since they moved the show to July, I canceled the trip. Right now, I'm swinging the Garrett GM24K. It's only a little higher than the Monster @ 48kHz but has more adjustments. I know high-frequency "Silent Search" detectors like the GM1K, GF2K, and the GB2 (silent in the Disc Mode) can find the small stuff but you just can't beat the extra sensitivity that comes with having a Threshold. I have a friend with the Minelab. We're planning a trip to our claim near Winnemucca, Nevada next year. We'll get a chance to do a comparison then. Walt

To answer your question Bob, while there have been advances in Metal detectors since the MXT was first released, it is a good unit, and many are still in use today. How tech-savvy are you? The Legend is a great machine and has a true prospecting mode that will find the small stuff. It is completely menu driven, like a smartphone. You could replace your current detector with it if that’s what you wanted. Although, with knobs and switches, the MXT is easy to use. The only complaint I’ve ever heard was that due to its 14 kHz frequency, it does poorly on finding deep copper and silver coins. A Multi-frequency detector would help with that. If you like the way it works, you might want to keep it and buy a dedicated Gold machine like the Garrett (formerly White’s) Goldmaster 24K. Although it’s also menu driven, the adjustments are easy to make. It’s going for about $680 US. The simplest Gold Detectors are the Minelab Gold Monster 1000 at 45 kHz and the Nokta Gold Finder 2000 @ 61kHz (only 10 less than the GB2). In the US the Minelab detector can be had for $899 and the Nokta for just under $722. Both come with two coils but the GF2K has an external wireless speaker you can use as a stand-alone or you can plug headphones into if you like. It also works with their Green Wireless Headphones (not included). I hope this is helpful. Good Luck! Walt

I use these on all my detectors, Garrett or otherwise. Garrett MS-3 Z-Lynk Wireless Kit | Garrett Metal Detectors Walt

They were included with just about every "Black Boxed" Whites detector unless it came with the metal stand instead. Some actually had white squares painted on the bottom to show you where to put them. Walt

Unlike the Garrett Detectors, the White's Cam Locks are not supposed to be completely disassembled unless for cleaning, repair, or replacement. You simply twist them, press the buttons, and pull the rods out! Walt

I have not had to use their warranty service, yet. However, I sent an older (2004) Sea Hunter Mark II in. They almost completely rebuilt it (including new decals) and shipped it back for less than $90! What a great company to deal with. I'm becoming more of a Garrett Fan, every day! Walt

I use the Garrett Z-Lynk wireless system. The Transmitter plugs into the headphone jack. There's a wearable receiver available to plug headphones and earbuds in to or you can use the MS-3 Zylink Headphones and just the transmitter. Z-Lynk is 6X faster than Bluetooth! Walt https://garrett.com/accessories/zlynk

I thought mine were on their way! I put in an order with my Distributor on Friday. Less than 30 minutes later I received a notice of a package coming my way. Too soon for my order but they actually pulled, packed, and labeled it in 26 minutes! Hopefully soon! December sounds good. Can hardly wait! Walt