Erik Oostra

Thanks 2Valen, the gold ring and the one with a stone were found at Alma Bay.. am still not sure about what it is.. don't think it's a diamond because it is set in a sterling silver ring (925).. it turns out the gold ring is the one with diamonds, six tiny ones set in little 'love hearts'.. i didn't see them at first but had a closer look with my reading glasses and there they were! I'd been waiting for an opportunity to search in the surf zone and around the granite boulders that people jump off at high tide.. the sand doesn't slope as steeply into the sea at Alma as it does in other bays and there's a deep gully where the sand meets the sea floor.. when the Equinox arrived it was open season on the wet stuff.. i've been following the low tides around all the island's bays but some are very hard to get to with access roads washed out.. I also found a George VI Australian Sixpence (1952) on a beach which keeps getting washed away in storms.. i think it could have been in amongst the dredged sand from the boat channel into the marina, they're using this sand to constantly rebuild the beach.. the sixpence was hardly recognisable from what it's supposed to look like and has lost its silvery appearance.. still one of my best finds, so far.. if only when i think about the horrors this little sixpence underwent before it joined my collection..

Another ring at Alma Bay! could this be a diamond? didn't have much luck in the stinger nets at low tide.. just a few coins.. seems the jewellery is on those beaches with a bit of surf where people get tossed about, as opposed to those where people just stand around like water buffalo.. this is no hard and fast theory yet, just an observation.. been out with a head torch the last few mornings at 2:30 am, 3:00 am and today at 3:30 am to make the most of the very low tides (full moon)..

This morning's finds on Matey's home turf.. i was almost not going to bother searching at Horseshoe Bay as there was a long line of unfilled holes (Matey's calling card) but then thought it would be a great chance to compare the Equinox 600 against his GoFind 44.. I noticed he sticks to the dry sand so this left the wet stuff for me.. once again i can't believe just how good the Equinox handles the beach (much better than the Chinese GBP).. I found 2 more rings (both silver) and an earring as well as $14.40 worth in coins.. Considering that i'd never managed to find any jewellery before, since i've had the Equinox 600 i'm almost starting to count on finding a piece every time I go out..

Yesterday's finds.. including an Australian 2 cent piece.. i haven't seen one of them for years (they were withdrawn from circulation in 1992)..

The Equinox 600 arrived yesterday.. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE MACHINE.. I took it for a spin at Alma Bay not expecting to find much more as i was pretty certain the Chinese GBP had already cleaned it out.. MORE FOOL ME! Within 15 minutes I'd found my FIRST GOLD RING then a few minutes later another ring followed by a a cross necklace.. as well as a few coins that i'd obviously missed before.. This machine ups the ante big time! Will take it for another outing this afternoon at the site of the old cottage that was destroyed in a cyclone during the early 1950s..

In another forum Steve spotlights the importance of beach-detecting in highly populated areas.. this got me thinking as on the island the crowds are usually pretty dispersed (as the pic above shows).. However 3 other bays have got 'stinger nets' to keep out dangerous jellyfish (and sharks).. on the island i can't think of a more highly concentrated number of coin and jewellery droppers.. The picture below shows the stinger net at Horseshoe Bay.. don't know what time of the day it was taken but when i saw it last it was pretty packed.. the posty hasn't arrived with the Equinox as yet..

'The Dot' along Ned Lee's Creek In my research on Magnetic Island’s gold diggings I found this little gold nugget: “Up in the hills along Ned Lee’s Creek is an abandoned goldmine known as ‘The Dot’. Doctor Sparks, one of Townsville’s earliest medical men, followed up a ‘good tip’ from an informer and invested a lot of money there in hopeful anticipation of making a fortune for himself and his young wife Dorothy. He named the mine after her, but all they got were lumps of quartz. Harry Butler (the Island’s first white settler in 1877-1920s), speaking to Jessie Macqueen about it years later, said “Oh yes, there is gold on the Island, but not there”. In reply to her further eager inquiries he only smiled quizzically. Not for him, anymore gold seekers despoiling his island”. This is from a book called ‘Discovering Magnetic Island: A history and description of Magnetic Island’. By James G. Porter From the lat/long coordinates that Geof provided ‘The Dot’ is not along Ned Lee’s Creek, rather it’s further along the coast towards West Point.. Geof’s info tallies with that old article mentioning gold in quartz veins a ‘stone’s throw from the sea’.. From what I can gather, Butler had his own mines in mind, these are situated along a creek which is now named after him (Butler’s Creek) and at Hawkings Point..

Alma Bay this morning.. although its not the world's most crowded beach, I can't wait for the Equinox 600 to arrive to have a looksee in the sea.. the Chinese GBP has pretty much cleaned up the dry sandy part of the beach (although the whole beach is submerged at high tide).. this is also one of the only main beaches on the island which has not (yet) had its sand replaced after recent storm surges..

Just found this report online.. it's by the US Department of Homeland Security.. Handheld Underwater Metal Detector Assessment Report (2014)

Steve, this could be what is happening here.. earlier in the year we had a cyclone which dropped nearly 3 years worth of rain over 10 days.. a lot of the beaches were stripped of sand during storm surges and most have since been rebuild using dredged sand from a shipping channel.. i've been finding a lot of coins in this new layer of sand.. i have indeed been restricted to the towel line and where water-sport activities take place but maybe the Equinox 600 will find some jewellery in the wash-zone and surf-zone?

Steve, i've been entertaining the same fantasy of spreading my wings a bit and trying to make a go of it on beaches on the mainland, just to see if it is possible to pay for a trip up north.. i go out at least 3 mornings a week and had a lot of luck on the beaches where i am (although its only been coins) as the competition is just one other dude who mainly sticks to his own bay.. but even the beaches where i've had my biggest hauls have now become pretty barren.. i'm planing a trip early next year up the coast to Cairns and hitting the popular backpacker beaches along the way.. there doesn't seem to be too many detector prospectors on these beaches (if any) so living hand-to-mouth on whatever coins i can find could be possible.. On a different tangent, i'm a bit concerned about my inability to find jewellery such as rings, bangles or necklaces etc.. i'm digging up everything else you can think of but never a scrap of jewellery.. i'm raking my brains: could it be that no jewellery has ever been dropped on any of these beaches? am i just useless? maybe my Chinese GBP doesn't like the beach and out of spite refuses to tell me where the rings are hidden? Hopefully the new Equinox 600 will arrive next week and i'll get some answers..

Phrunt, as i mentioned cost is the deciding influence here, for me even this cheapy is expensive.. i totally get what you're saying about real manufacturers who put in the research versus those who steal that knowledge.. it's just plain wrong.. but all that happens in another world, in my parallel universe there's a constant need to balance what i can afford and still getting the job done.. which in this case means another tool as a backup to 'magnet fishing' when things go overboard in very low visibility water (you won't be able to see this detector's clever little flashing light)..

Steve, i'm very tempted now to buy one of these amazing "PI' - iKings just for a comparison to better known brands.. only because i can't help falling in lust with a detector that calls itself an 'iKing'.. if it turns out to be a King then my son won't be getting it for xmas.. and if i do buy it, i'll share my high expectations (and disappointments) on this post..

Sorry Chase and Steve, I didn't mean to insult anyone's intelligence or experience by my constant contradictions in this post.. this is 'mission creep' on my behalf where my imagination of what else this detector could be used for ran away from me.. i apologise to you both for deviating so sharply from my original post, i guess i fell in lust with another cloned detector.. i haven't bought the thing yet (or let my son know that i was thinking about buying it as a xmas present).. i take the advice of everyone who contributes to this forum (where detectors are compared) very seriously, especially Steve's technical advice.. Although i also know that you get what you've payed for, the independent users who posted their videos on youtube certainly seem very happy with their bargains.. i'd never heard of KKmoon as a scuba detector manufacturer until i saw videos demonstrating their product.. now bullshit or not, it does seem to do its job and the videos of its competitors mainly show their 'scuba' detectors being used on beaches or in very shallow water.. maybe it's all a clever Chinese marketing ploy to cash in on better known Western brands, after all i was one of the suckers that got enticed by the 'PI' label.. From now on i'll keep a lid on getting too carried away with my random contradictions, please know that i meant no harm and didn't mean to insult anyone..

Steve, i understand what you're saying regarding saltwater and really appreciate your long experience with all sorts of detectors, but looking for small gold (including gold rings, chains or ear rings) was not why this detector sparked an interest.. rather, it caught my son's attention as a cheap and handy overboard recovery tool.. one that could assist his searches on scuba in extremely low visibility (the fact that it vibrates when it has spotted a metal object was a huge bonus for him).. taking into account that all that he's looking for is metal objects which he and his mates keep dropping overboard (or objects containing metals like spearguns or tools), i suppose his trusty Neodymium recovery magnet would keep doing the job just as well in the meantime..

Phrunt, gotta admit that i do like a flutter every now and then.. but what caught the imagination on this detector was the videos by independent users and not the 'PI' label.. my son had seen the first video on a spear-fishing site and he asked me about it as a handy tool in his overboard recovery arsenal.. one thing let to the next, including an interest in 'magnet fishing'..

Thanks Steve for helping me sort out the differences between scuba detectors (and PI vs kHz).. This detector would be used on scuba rather than 'free diving' to allow more bottom time and minimising the chance of loosing targets by having to constantly go up to catch a breath.. unlike my son my breath holding capacity isn't all that great.. I had to laugh when i revisited the manufacturers' homepage (KKmoon) where the promotional pictures directly contradict what you just said.. If you believe what you see then the 'PI' - IkING has no trouble finding large gold nuggets (even if you have to crawl on your belly to find them).. If i do decide to buy it for my son, finding gold is not the main consideration.. judging by the videos it could be a cheap handy tool for what he has in mind..

It turns out the PI-iKing 750 is rated at 6.8 kHz.. This is according to the manufacturer KKmoon (see details below).. this is different to the 20.28 kHz show by some Chinese sellers on ebay.. maybe the one above is a copy of a copy? the depths it gets according to the specs are not too encouraging but maybe that doesn't matter too much on the seafloor.. in my local areas the seafloor looks much the same as in the first video and that dude is not digging/scraping too deep.. PI-iKing 750 Features:Underwater Metal Detecting - Detect the exact location of buried metal objects.Pulse Induction Technology(PI)- Allow hunting metal in water, on land or in any type of soil, including black sand.Communicate with Vibration & Light - LED light signal indicator and vibration indicate the detection of metal.Stable Detection Depth - Advanced circuitry maintains detection distance throughout the life of the battery.Easy to Use - Tilt to turn on/off and convenient to carry with holster.Target Distancing - As you get closer to the target, the pulse of vibration and light will increase in intensity.Automatic Tuning - The state of the art microprocessor controlled design requires no adjustment of any kind.Fully 98ft Waterproof Design - Special sealed design allows detection in the rain or underwater, perfect for divers!Specifications:Brand Name: KKmoonColor: Yellow + BlackMaterial: ABS PlasticDetection Mode: Pulse Induction (PI)Detect Objects: All Metal(Iron, aluminium ring, small aluminium product, coins, gold, bronze, silver)Alarm Mode: Vibration & White LED LightWater Resistant Level: 30M/98ft WaterproofTuning: Automatic Sensitivity: 25 cents coin: 10mm; one dollar coin: 15mmFrequency: 6.8KHzCurrent: Standby: 8mA, Max.: 20mAOperating Current: 0.03AOperating Voltage: 9VOperating Temperature: -5℃ to +55℃Battery: 1 * 6F22 9V Battery (Not Included)

Wow.. I'm going to buy a PI-iKing for my son's xmas present.. if only so i can borrow a real PI detector.. do you think it could be good on gold considering the 20.28 kHz? am thinking gold prospecting in deep pools in freshwater creeks as well as the ocean..

The PI-iKing seems to be hot on lead sinkers.. another fortune to be made..

Can't believe my luck.. he's also thrown in a set of gold pans and sieves.. didn't know Minelab made them too..

Cost plays a big role here, the IP-iKing is around $120.. the video looks good BUT will this cheap 'knock-off' last as long as other scuba detectors made by better known brands?

How does the PI-iKing compare to other scuba detectors? My son is forever dropping things from his yacht (including keys, phones, tools, fishing rods, spearguns etc).. Although he’s a good scuba diver and spear-fisherman, where his yacht is anchored at the mouth of a tidal river the visibility is always close to zero.. Although he’s had a couple of successful duck-dives, he’s found the best way to recover lost metallic items has been to attach a powerful Neodymium recovery magnet (pulling force of 68 kg) to a rope and trawling it behind his tender.. I must admit his ingenuity surprised me, he definitely doesn’t get that from me (just the butter-fingers).. But however good ‘magnet fishing’ turns out to be, he’d like a cheap waterproof detector to increase his recovery arsenal.. there’s no way that I’ll lend him my Equinox (it hasn’t even arrived yet).. but if he gets a PI-iKing I will borrow it for here on the island (could be just what I’m looking for to search under the jetty at Picnic Bay and shallow wrecks).. This thing is waterproof to -30 metres and runs at 20.28 kHz.. I’m not sure why they call it a Pulse Induction detector? Could that be true? Or do they add ‘PI’ to the label just to entice suckers like me?

Dan, i was called a 'bloody scab' on my local beach.. is that the same as a 'looter'? as in preying on the misfortunes of others for your own benefit.. i did wonder if the gentleman (yobbo) who said this had lost the family jewels and was taking out his frustration on me.. don't think the golden rule of 'finders keepers' goes down too well with these folks..

The first picture is at the old goldmine site at Hawkings Point.. Geof's awesome info puts it right where the creek flows onto the beach.. had another look this morning but no luck yet.. am sure that'll all change when the Equinox 600 arrives next year.. in the meantime, am keeping an eye out for 'fine gold' in quartz veins which has been reported for this site.. I did find a lead 'nugget' which send my heart racing when i dug it up.. the Chinese GBP indicated that i'd found the largest nugget i'd ever hope to find! the second picture shows a bit better what i mean.. i'm guessing its from a lump of lead thrown into a camp fire..