Erik Oostra

"Lawyers for four men, who admitted stealing "gold dust" during a midnight raid at a mine site in Western Australia's Goldfields, have described their clients' bungled heist as an "unsophisticated attempt" and a "stupid idea". https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-26/four-men-fined-over-theft-of-gold-dust-from-kalgoorlie-mine-site/102525570

That's a very good idea Jeff, I might have to nick it.. Being hard of hearing, I'll use any info I can get to identify iffy targets, even if it's just splotches or dots on a screen.. If used together with other info like target sound, target ID numbers, ferrous/non-ferrous ID, depth of target per gauge and past experience, you'll get a good idea of what it is.. If not, dig it and find out.. Tuck away what you've learned and use the info for the next iffy target.. 🙂 As you noted, going hunting is a better way to learn about a detector than bitching about it online..

Here's another article (2015): 'Townsville is shark capital of Queensland' .. It also mentions Alma Bay on Magnetic Island, my home bay.. Keep in mind this is only the number of sharks caught on drumlines along beaches.. https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/townsville/townsville-is-shark-capital-of-queensland/news-story/8d4d68e9228fc4a01388f59b4ebf8c23?fbclid=IwAR1Bg6H8KqiFThvgUd0wVYUkqSXBZobA9drkGqPq0eKHPpiOxcK7eC3VK60

The news article just reminded me of what you said about watching out for crocks.. 🙂 They turn up along the Townsville coast more often than the island, but the ones on the island tend to stick around for a while.. Parks moved a large male from Horseshoe Bay and released it about 200 kms down the coast, within 3 days it was back again.. I never saw it when detecting along that beach, but I'll bet it saw me.. One side of the bay is perfect crock country with mangroves and a tidal creek.. Another one to watch when scuba detecting is tiger and bull sharks, they scare the daylights out of me.. Because of the mangroves and dredging to keep Townsville Port open the water around the island is usually very murky.. A long time ago I worked here as a scuba instructor and always cringed at how little people could see when learning to dive, not even their hands in front of their face.. The opposite of what they thought a tropical sea would look like.. These days I scuba detect when the visibility is good enough to see them coming, at least to give myself half a chance.. That's how my thinking goes.. 😁 I suppose that no matter where you detect there's always some beast wanting to eat you, including ticks and mozzies..

In the news this morning: ‘It’s bloody dangerous’: north Queenslanders grow salty over rapidly increasing crocodile population.. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/16/north-queenslanders-grow-salty-over-rapidly-increasing-crocodile-population

I looked up the ring's number and it turns out to be white gold.. It was made by a jeweller in Tasmania..

Got a great run happening this week with a ring every day so far.. The first one was a call-out from a footy player who lost his ring on the oval.. Got a $50 reward for finding it, took about an hour.. Ever try gridding a football oval? It takes a long time to cover.. The other two rings were at a spot where a huge load of sand had been washed away during a very high tide.. They must have been too deep to pick up before but here they were in the top layer of the washout.. I'm getting better at spotting likely locations, it's no longer the hit and miss affair it was years ago.. I'm slowly developing a 'Geosense' as to where rings are likely to be deposited along different parts of a beach.. It's no longer all about luck, experience is starting to play a bigger role..

I read somewhere that once one AI machine figures out a problem, all the others within its network instantly learn the same thing.. Like neural networks in our brains, learning and remembering.. This might not sound like a big deal but imagine a future where all metal detectors on the planet are linked by AI.. Every one of them constantly comparing and analysing each find, learning all the time.. Creating an unbelievably massive knowledge base.. If your detector instantly learned from all other detectors on the planet, then we'd quickly become obsolete.. An AI detector will know way more about a potential target than we ever could.. All we'd be good for is digging, once the detector gives us the go ahead.. It'd probably end up digging for us as well with some robotic probe, telling us to get out the way we're doing it all wrong.. ☹️

I just asked ChatGPT to write haikus about Artificial Intelligence dominating the world and wiping out humanity.. To keep on topic, I've also included an AI haiku about metal detectorists ruling the world..

Today's headline: Amateur astronomers map meteor fall site in Gulf Country, hunt for asteroid pieces continues.. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-26/queensland-meteorite-search-area-mapped/102387230 I didn't know this: In Queensland, you cannot collect or remove a meteorite on state land without approval from the relevant agency. However, on private property, any meteor fragments belong to the landholder.

A good start to the week with a few bits of gold at my usual hunting grounds and an old Queensland Boy Scouts button along Endeavour Creek.. This is my first old looking button.. I know it doesn't compare to a Civil War or Gallipoli button but no one can accuse it of being a modern marvel.. I did first think it was military but then recognized the Boy Scout symbol.. This find was the result of following an impulse to have a looksee in a grassy patch amongst the foreshore scrub.. I also found another silver florin (1943) and two pennies in the same spot..

That's good to know in deciding on the Nox 900.. How is the transmitter mounted on the detector? I can find plenty of pictures of it but none show where it sits.. Is it on the shaft somehow or on the back of the control box? Yes that's right.. I've found that as a speaker or with headphones this amp really amplifies the fainter sounds of small deep targets.. The tone adjustment also works well and is great for people who are hard of hearing or tone deaf..

I forgot to mention it, yes it also has it's own headphone jack.. I'm still hesitating about upgrading to a Nox 900, mainly because you can't use a WM08 with it.. Would the Quest Wirefree Mate work with a Nox 800? If it did the detector would have two good mates, the Treasure Mate and the Wirefree Mate.. 🙂

Geoff custom makes audio amps and boosters to order.. When I told him it was for a VLF detector he offered to put a 3.5mm jack on it.. I told him I'd already bought the 1/4'' adapter cable which was very long so he made the lead on the amp shorter.. He was very helpful and I'm sure if I'd send him an Equinox screw-in jack he'd attach one.. The tone dial works really well, ranging from the zippy sound of a Deus to closely matching the Equinox tones.. It's also very loud and good at picking out faint deep targets..

I've been trying out the Treasure Mate v3.2 with my WM08 using the Equinox 1/4'' adapter cable.. It works great! I've been after an audio amplifier with an adjustable tone dial for a while now and recently came across a bloke in the Northern Territory who makes boosters and audio amps for PI detectors.. He trades as VKTEK Solutions.. https://www.vkteksolutions.com/ He also exports to the USA.. The audio amp comes in very handy when exploring more remote places away from the public or when headphones are too hot to wear.. This version of the Treasure Mate recharges with an USB cable (included).. Sorry about the lousy video but it'll give you an idea of how the whole thing fits together..

I had someone from my detecting club question an old Chinese coin I found on Magnetic Island which pre-dated the arrival of Europeans.. I didn't really know how to respond as it seemed that he was saying I had faked the find.. Thankfully another member pointed out that Chinese fleets had been active along this coast for many years before Europeans arrived.. I don't usually need anyone to stand up for me but on this occasion I was stumped for words by the idea that anyone would bother to fake such a thing.. I can't see how faking the find of a worthless old coin can make anyone feel better about themselves, even if they get the admiration that they crave.. I could simply put it down to jealousy because I'm lucky enough to live on an island where there's still plenty of places which have never been searched, but it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.. It's always a horrible feeling being accused of something you didn't do.. It did make me wonder if the dude making the accusation had a guilty conscience.. Perhaps people see my posts and think that every time I go out I find something amazing, but they don't realize that most days I don't find anything at all.. Maybe I should also post pictures of all the crap I find? I must admit that for a while I used to hesitate before showing my finds to the folk at the club, wondering if I'd be accused of faking again.. But now I don't really care anymore about what others think, I know I found all those things in my finds boxes and that's good enough for me..

Yeah most mornings bare foot is the way to go on the beach.. Thongs/flip-flops come in handy along creeks.. I've also got scuba booties and steel-cap work boots in the back of my 4X4 somewhere.. Like detectors, tools for the job.. I wore my thongs/flip-flops this morning when I found some more oldish coins (1938 - 1943) in the creek below the sand dune in the picture above.. They're in much better nick than their saltwater cousins.. I had to knock-off early because the detector ran out of juice..

I must point out that this is the only spot on the island the D2 does this.. I've used it around a huge telecommunications tower which drove the Nox crazy but not the D2.. Maybe the hostel's got an extra large WIFI transmitter to beam down to their private beach? It's weird that it only happens here but I know for sure that when their WIFI is turned off both the Nox and D2 behave themselves..

I reckon you're spot on Dogodog with the issue being WIFI related.. Both my Nox and D2 go mental on a beach near a backpacker hostel when their WIFI is on.. There's also a powerline with a box nearby which never causes any interference..

I borrow a tinny every now and then to get to spots where weekend boaties go to shore for picnics.. Yesterday I was at Youngs Bay, got stuck in the mud at low tide but did find an old picnic spot where I scored a 1928 florin and a few pennies.. I'm the only detectorist left on the island, the other boys gave up because they weren't finding anything.. They blame me for getting up early everyday and hogging the place.. 😄 And yeah mate, I'm keeping a very close eye on your beach.. I follow the creeks which flow into the 'lagoon' looking for those sort of spots.. During the wet season when creeks are flowing there's always people popping up in the most unlikely places.. There's some great secluded swimming holes on the island where I often find bits of jewellery and coins.. Detecting around creeks and swimming holes always make a nice change from saltwater/beach hunting..

All Yanks: Thongs = Flip-flops..

Haha.. Mate, it's bloody hard going along the top of the creek bank, and there's a waist-deep crossing to get over to this side.. And no end of crocks to worry about.. 😁 I even had to wear thongs.. X marks the spot..

What made this unlikely spot a bit more likely than the hundreds like it was an old fence post in a cleared area.. This is on the ocean-side of the lagoon at Horseshoe Bay.. It's a bit of a bush bash getting there but as part of my new mindset: 'You never know until you give it a go' I thought I'd better put my money where my mouth was.. Anyway, the new mindset worked again with a penny, half-penny and six pence (1942-1946) as well as a few 1 and 2 cent pieces and the compulsory bullets.. But what made the new mindset really worthwhile was a little gold ring (22 carat) which rang up as a solid 11 on the Foxy Noxy.. I was hoping for some old silver coins but didn't expect a gold ring..

Yes, the owner told me that she had a quote for $1200 to get it replaced.. She got a great deal but then again so did I with $50 for a 10 minute hunt.. She did have to come back to the island to pick it up..

Yes, I was scuba detecting.. 😄 I got lost underwater (again) and came up to have a look where I was.. My breath holding ability sucks.. ☹️