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Erik Oostra
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Posts posted by Erik Oostra
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A recent post offering advice to newbies has inspired me to put in my own two cents worth.. My advice to those wanting to take up metal detecting is: Don’t! You’ll be far better off trying another hobby like banging your head against a brick wall, pulling out your hair in sheer frustration, or crying yourself to sleep at night..
Of course I’m only joking but any newbie has to prepare for the never-ending toil of digging junk, lots of it.. If you can handle this without having a nervous breakdown or flinging your detector out to sea, you’ll be amply rewarded when you finally hear that magic sound telling you there’s buried treasure below your feet.. A hard-won experience like no other! Metal detecting truly is a game where dogged determination and persistence will eventually pay off..
The only problem is that when you finally get to this stage, all you’ll ever think and dream about is metal detecting.. Your marriage will fail and your kids will starve but none of this matters as long as you can get a few more swings in.. In metal detecting there’s no such thing as an unhealthy obsession.. A house filled to the brim with all the latest detectors that you’ll never use is not weird at all.. Just rest assured that there’s many others just like you!
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1 hour ago, Valens Legacy said:
is that the real owner or just another scammer
No, he was the real deal.. he described exactly where he lost it.. it got buried in the sand whilst he and his mates were partying on the island..
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Alma Bay continues to spit out lost property.. Although not as weird as a gold medal for women's cricket, this Iphone was lost on the same beach.. I found it this morning buried in the sand just above the high-tide mark.. It's already been claimed by a mighty happy chappy! At least he was very easy to find.. Always good to spread the joy!
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If the Lightning's simultaneous multi-frequency (SMF) includes higher and lower frequencies than the Equinox 800, I'd definitely be interested.. My wish list would also include a SMF Scuba Unit to complement the PulseDive.. 😁
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Climate change and gold prospecting… Welcome to the Bonanza!
Although many people worry about climate change, it is nothing but great news for gold prospectors.. Climate change will not just open new areas or expose more gold, it will also make prospectors wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.. Those who might doubt my wise words should consider the following facts before shaking their heads..
Fact 1: Climate change will bring more bush fires! We’ve all been secretly pleased when our favourite patch burns to the ground, no more trees or ground cover makes it far easier to swing our coils.. Climate change will up the ante even more, huge areas previously covered by 'green things that get in the way' will now be accessible..
Fact 2: Climate change will bring more droughts! For many gold bearing areas this is great news because it will see a mass-exodus of people who hate prospectors.. No more asking for permission from cranky landowners or government authorities, just vast uninhabited prairies, savanna and pastures waiting to be dug up..
Fact 3: Climate change means it’ll get hotter! Whilst some people bemoan this fact, they forget that night temperatures will get hotter too.. No more cold desert nights! Those places too hot to prospect during the day will see the ever resourceful prospector venture out during balmy nights.. This is no great hardship as hot days will be spent in the air conditioned comfort of your Winnebago, drinking cold beers whilst browsing DetectorProspector..
Fact 4: Climate change will bring more storms and floods! This really is Geology at its best, all this non-stop erosion will make finding gold a breeze.. Areas previously covered by thick layers of rocks and soils will be washed away (like in a giant sluice) leaving behind nuggets the size of boulders.. No more waiting around for millions of years, now you’ll be able to find gold every time it rains!
Fact 5: Climate change will raise sea-levels! Since there’s not much gold to be found on a beach, this only affects beach detectorists and is of no concern to prospectors..
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I haven't found any real difference between the ML 12x15'' coil and the Coiltek 15'' coil.. I was hoping it would punch a bit deeper but I'm not digging any deeper holes than I did with the ML coil.. maybe in perfect laboratory conditions it might be a bit better but in my experience in the field there's no difference.. I'm pissed off at myself I believed the hype and sales pitches surrounding this coil.. it turned into an expensive little exercise which only served to make the salesmen richer.. more fool me..
This is not to say that Coiltek coils are rubbish, far from it.. Most of my coils for my GPX 5000 are made by Coiltek and they've been excellent..
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I've just weighted and measured it before sending it back.. weight: 21.47 grams.. diameter: 4.7 cm.. thickness: 0.5 cm..
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22 minutes ago, kac said:
Cool find. Is it zinc base metal?
Not sure what it is.. it's not very heavy.. how can you work out what base metals are in it?
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I've just had a reply from the college! It turns out the gold medal winner is a lady called Joan.. I'll send it back first thing tomorrow morning.. Heaps of good Karma coming my way! 😁
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5 hours ago, rvpopeye said:
Gold medals are usually not really gold but that one sure looks like it IS ! ??
If only it was gold.. don't think I'd be returning it in a hurry if it was real.. I'd probably melt it down instead.. 😆
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This morning I was surprised to find a gold medal along the beach at Alma Bay on Magnetic Island.. It's a gold medal for women's cricket (that's a weird batting sport here in Oz).. Whoever won it was the 'best on the ground'.. On the reverse is the name of a college in rural Victoria (on the other side of the country).. I suppose neither them or the island were under a Covid lockdown at the time she was here..
To be honest the gold medal is a bit of a consolation price.. I'm not supposed to be on the island but rather in the goldfields with my son.. as I mention in another post I was on my way up there when I broke down.. nursed the 4WD back to the island where I can work on it but will be out of action for a while..
I've contacted the college so I can return it to the rightful winner.. hope I get to meet her! I've never met a gold medal winner before..
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Great post Phrunt, especially the 'start to finish' video.. it's also always nice to see where other people are prospecting.. despite the shotgun pellets you're a lucky man to be where you are..
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10 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:
The detector is a part of this, but not the greatest part. That will probably be vehicle expense.
No kidding.. and that's not counting vehicle breakdowns.. I just managed to limp my 4x4 back home after I broke down heading for the goldfields in North Queensland.. I was planning on a month long prospecting trip with my son, but unfortunately water got into the transfer case after a few too many deep creek crossings (faulty breather).. The expense of fixing this has stopped our little expedition in its tracks.. You'd have to make a very good living out of prospecting to cover unforeseen breakdowns such as this (and also have the basic know-how to fix your vehicle when in remote areas)..
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My renewed effort to 'dig the bloody lot' keeps on yielding jewellery, sadly during the last few weeks it's all been fake bling-bling.. and also bucket load of dollar coins, both $1 and $2.. This is after a Covid lockdown when tourists were allowed back on the island.. it shows how dependent we are on tourists to drop their stuff for our beach hunting..
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1 hour ago, phrunt said:
unfortunately it's a long way to the base so I'm going to have a fair hike in summer to get to the spot.
It'll be the intrigue of the whole thing that'll keep you going.. anyway, you're committed now! maybe the girl just lost her car keys? whatever it turns out to be, keep us posted.. otherwise we'll always be wondering what she dropped.. 😁
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2 hours ago, geof_junk said:
Some other records.
Here's a great article about heat records..
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-09/global-temperature-record-mistake/100244736
The places on the map have verified heat records of 54 degrees Celsius (129.2 Fahrenheit)..
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Here's the follow-up of the BBC story on the South African 'diamond' rush.. unlike the many fools who got suckered in by historical gold rushes, I do feel sorry for these folk.. As a way out of poverty the stakes would have been very high.. now, the future has been dashed..
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20 hours ago, Off Grid said:
But I'll go out on a limb and bet that this stuff turns out to be zeolite or barite
Thanks Off Grid, I was wondering what the geologists on this forum would make of this.. The video's got a few good close-ups of the stone.. Hoping for them it's the real thing, I'll keep my eye on BBC Africa for updates..
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I know it's not a gold rush but it is the next best thing.. this video report caught my interest this morning:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-57483877
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18 hours ago, palzynski said:
Just an optical illusion ?
I hope so Palzynski, since you pointed it out I've had another sleepless night! I'll let you know if one battery is shorter or not when they arrive..
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1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:
shaking my head that you wouldn’t try to contact ML to attempt to at least get a freebie battery
You're absolutely right Chase, guess I took my local ML dealer on his word that to his knowledge no one, not even ML Support (Australia), were selling individual Equinox batteries.. I went to their homepage just to try anyway and got directed back to my local ML dealer for any enquiries regarding parts.. I should have explained this in my original post.. but at that point I thought it hopeless to call ML Support direct to see if I could score a freebie battery..
I also headed the advice of the British man in the Youtube video who tells you not to change the batteries yourself whilst the detector is still under warranty.. Instead he tells you to send it off to your nearest ML service centre/dealer.. Since I was dubious about my second-hand (sigh unseen, bought online, paper-less) detector still being under warranty and because I'd already voided any warranty by changing the batteries myself with another second-hand Nox (which I also pulled apart), I took another route from looking for ML freebies by taking a look on Ebay (which worked beyond hope, scoring two for the price of one).. As you say, it'll be smooth sailing from here.. 😁
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3 hours ago, phrunt said:
Those Ebay batteries look like they were two wire
2 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:then you wouldn’t be sitting here wondering what that yellow wire is all about. SMH
G'day Phrunt and Chase, your responses to my post have really got me thinking (and worried).. but a close up of the Ebay batteries clearly show the yellow wire! another problem solved.. you can stop shaking your head now Chase 😁..
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3 minutes ago, phrunt said:
Those Ebay batteries look like they were two wire
Thanks Phrunt, you're right! I didn't look too closely at the wires, just made sure the numbers on the side of the battery were the same.. could they be knockoffs?
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Great Start To The Week..
in Metal Detecting For Coins & Relics
Posted
I had a bit more luck than normal today, found $46.50 and a little gold ring with what looks like a diamond.. These were found at Horseshoe Bay after the Sunday markets.. On Monday mornings this beach usually yields a few dollars but today it was feeling especially generous.. It seems like they had a competition to see who could drop the most coins..