Erik Oostra

I wouldn't up the ante too much too soon.. KISS for now (keep it simple stupid).. As has been suggested, take a good look around first.. Where would you bury gold bars? Are there any obvious markers like trees or stones? If the whole lot has been covered with topsoil it's still best to start with a metal detector first before bringing out the big guns, like sonar etc.. As mentioned above, I'd also recommend you get a hold of a GPX 4500 / 5000 with as large a coil as possible.. Then grid the whole show.. Take your time walking the grid and dig everything.. It'll take some doing but by the sounds of the tale so far it's well worth having a go.. I wish I was hunting for gold bars, it'd beat digging never-ending crap for very elusive gold rings.. 😗

My hunch is that he ended up at a place called XBase, a backpacker 'resort and bar' which often hosts live bands.. They had a DOOF DOOF party there on Friday night.. Maybe he had insider knowledge about all the revellers who drop their coins or lose their jewellery on the beach in front of the place.. I'll have a looksee early Monday morning to see if he missed anything.. 🙂

I've used a small button shaped audio exciter attached to the speakers on my mobile phone.. The aim was to be able to hear the phone better with my hearing aids.. It worked really well but it kept falling off in my pocket and eventually I lost it.. But I can see them working well attached to the front of the control box on detectors.. If anything, these tiny little things could give detectorists of all stripes another edge..

I know we've got an understanding Geoff, and that you've kept your side of the gentlemen agreement by not hunting at Alma Bay, but I've gotta fess up that I've dug a few silvers at your bay.. Sorry mate, just couldn't help myself.. I also dug some old gold jewellery along there.. Worst of all, being the generous soul that I am, I've also told all my mates about how great your bay is.. 😬 But, but, but.. I'm leaving plenty of good stuff in the ground just for you.. Some spots I only share with the living legends of the detectorist world, amongst whom you've earned a top place at the table.. So, if you ever come back to the island like some modern-day John Frum, I'll take you for a looksee at where the really good cargo is buried.. I hope that makes up for my betrayal.. I know it was a grubby dog act.. 😮

If you ever met her, you'd find she's pretty well the opposite.. Her comment was a joke as she's always having a laugh at my obsession with metal detecting, especially about the detectors, coils and scuba gear in my living room and kitchen.. Like many other 'normal' people she's clearheaded enough to realize that most of my 'amazing' finds are really just junk.. She's one of the few people who travel from the mainland to the island for work (normally it's the other way around).. She noticed a dude with a metal detector and worked up the courage to take a few pictures to send to me as another sarcastic poke at my fanaticism.. It worked as far as me keeping a lookout this morning for any obvious signs of digging at my most productive bays.. There were none, or any sight of him.. I'm hoping he was just a poacher trying his luck.. God bless his tender detectorist heart.. 🤎

Not sure about you but I like to keep a close eye on my competitors.. This herd includes islanders as well as folk from the mainland, including people from a Townsville metal detecting group of which I'm a member.. My main competitor on the island lives in the back of this van and often beats me on early morning coins hunts (with his X-Terra 705), whilst detectorists from my club will let me know when they're on the island and I'll help them out with the latest info on the best places to hunt.. I never sandbag anyone as the beaches are public, it works both ways as mainland folk also show me their favourite spots.. But today a new hunter landed on the island, someone who looks suspiciously like a poacher.. Now I know you're thinking 'pot, kettle, black' but this dude scares me.. The photos were taken by a friend coming off the early morning ferry, she's a bit of a secret squirrel and send them with a message saying 'Beware!'.. She followed him to see who would pick him up outside the terminal but he hopped on a bus.. He looks like he's on a serious mission, if I bump into him tomorrow morning I'll sound him out a bit better.. At least from behind he looks like an approachable sort of fella..

Another good point Hombre91.. That's something I don't need to google as I experience it when detecting in loud surf or on windy beaches.. It's much better to have the sound from the speakers coming at you rather than moving away.. Maybe because I need hearing aids the idea of forward facing speakers has become a bit of a fixation, but so far I've heard no convincing explanation of why they need to face backward.. Imagine the speakers in your phone facing away from your ear, makes no sense to me..

Good point Hombre91, I've also wondered why the speakers on modern detectors don't face forward.. I mainly hunt on beaches and in waist-deep water.. I normally don't wear headphones and rely on speakers and target ID.. I don't like wearing headphones (not even wireless ones) or being tethered to my detector.. But if I'm on a really windy beach or the speakers keep getting flooded by rouge waves, I'll use headphones with a waterproof connection to the control box or otherwise a WM08 module.. The second option keeps you untethered.. I do have wireless headphones for both the Equinox 800 and the Deus II but I'm not a great fan of either, especially the awful behind the head horror-shows that XP came up with.. I guess I'm a bit old-school in my distrust of wireless technology, especially for detectors used in the sea.. On the beach, I dream about forward facing speakers and vibrating handles.. We're nearly there with vibrating handles becoming normal as just another feature, all we need now are loud 'in-your-face' speakers.. 🙂

That'll be a huge IF Chase.. I won't be taking the plunge early with this one.. I'm quite happy to see what field testers have to say first about how it performs on beaches, silver coins and small gold.. Once bitten, twice shy as far as I'm concerned with being an early adapter.. I'm merrily following the bandwagon along to see where it leads me.. I reckon it'll be good, but then that's what I said about the D2.. 🙂

I guess these headphones are semi-wireless as they also have a waterproof connection with the Equinox's WM08 module.. At least I won't be tethered to the detector..

I'm sure the boss would allow you another $99 if she saw this amazing offer.. In Australia this sort of bundle is hard to come by.. https://www.seriousdetecting.com/product/minelab-equinox-600-metal-detector-bundle-with-digging-tool-carry-bag-and-more/ I'm sure if you shop around you'll even find one that chucks in a pinpointer..

Couldn't agree more.. I started with a Chinese Gold Bug then upgraded to a second-hand Equinox 600.. It's still my main detector for coins and rings.. I've owned a few other detectors since then but on my local beaches it's still outperforming all of them! 😁 According to other members here, it's also great in fields and parks..

I once spotted a silver ring underwater in a crevasse between two rocks.. I ended up swimming back to the beach and going home to fetch a long piece of wire.. It took about half an hour (and half a tank of air) to finally hook it out..

With my $200 win on a 'scratchy card' which I received as a reward for recovering a ring, I've bought myself a new set of headphones for the Equinox.. They caught my attention because of the curly cord and the waterproof connection to the control box.. They'll make a big difference when detecting in the surf or preventing rouge waves from flooding the connection when I put the detector down on the beach.. Compared to similar headphones they're also a bargain, costing just $59 (Ozzy dollars).. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/384118312800

As you and Rvpopeye mention above the long arm of Karma really is involved in the detecting game.. When I returned the lady's ring by post I included my address on the back of the envelope.. Since I didn't want any reward she send me five 'scatchy games' where you scratch of various boxes on a card to reveal a price.. I've never played these games before as I think they're a waste of hard earned cash but it turns out I've won $200.. In this case Karma wasn't a bitch.. 😁

My extremely disappointing Deus II has already been dumped in favour of the PulseDive as my scuba detector.. Because of it's range of coils (including the Coiltek coils) the Equinox won't just be a backup to the Manticore, instead it'll nicely complement what I've already got to cover all my detecting needs.. For me, that's well worth waiting for.. I've tried raising the funds to buy a Manticore by selling the Deus II.. Only one punter has shown any interest so far but the wobbly shaft put him off.. It also didn't help that the control box came off while he was testing it.. As the headphones are still out of action he thought that using the bone-phones as a substitute was a joke.. Although he was polite about my sales attempt, the look on his face said that he felt he was being conned.. I had to agree with him that the Equinox 800 at less than half the price is just as good (if not better) than the Deus II for beach detecting..

A huge effort, thanks Geoff.. It's very interesting to read about these coins and where they were used.. I guess it's not too weird this coin ending up on Magnetic Island, just like modern tourists lose their coins so would the 'old-timer' tourists..

Just from what I've seen so far I'm also ready to leap on the Manticore bandwagon.. Even a slight improvement on the Equinox is a very good thing, an Equinox/CTX crossbred is even better.. I get excited about the little things that the Manticore offers like the vibrating handle or the large coil (something that XP has never delivered on - it's large coil still remains a catalogue show pony), these in themself will make a big difference to me.. This is not to mention the X-Y graphic on the screen together with the target ID, what a great innovation to what has come before.. As to waiting for the Manticore to finally be released, I'll bet that it won't be a disappointment like the Dues II was for me.. I think that despite it's heavy price tag the Manticore will turn out to be one of those detectors that'll pay for itself in no time..

G'day Geoff.. Do you know what they mean by 'East Africa'? Is it just modern day Kenya or does it also include Uganda and Tanzania?

This morning I found a really unusual coin along a dry creek at Picnic Bay, it's a 1950 East Africa shilling.. I often find foreign coins, usually Asian, Kiwi, Yankee or Pommy, but nothing like this one.. I must admit that I did a couple of back-flips when I saw what it was (not really, I'm far too old but I did do a little happy dance).. Once again it's got my mind boggling how these coins end up on an island in North Queensland.. It's not old in any sense of the word but it does date from a period of African colonization.. It rang in at 13/14 on the Equinox (guess it's not silver like Ozzy shillings).. I nearly rejected it as just another bloody bottle top.. Goes to show that it does really pay to dig everything, especially in low trash areas such as beaches and their hinterlands..

I hear what you're saying Hardtimehermit but when I refuse their offerings I also explain that I'm not in it for the money.. For some people this is a very hard thing to wrap their head around.. But when they do, they all see it for what it is: just a bloke enjoying what he's doing, who's having a go for the sheer fun of it.. Taking money out of the equation makes the whole deal more about the experience.. If the owners are still on the beach where they lost their ring, I'll bring along a few spare detectors.. I set them up and we all have a go.. I never really worry about how much people offer to recover their rings, jewellery, phones or keys.. Even when they don't offer anything at all, I'll still have a go at finding their valuables.. Sometimes it's obvious that the poor bugger can't afford much anyway but it's always the shouts of joy and relief that makes it worthwhile for me.. Plus I don't have to travel far to get to any of the popular bays, 10 minutes is the furthest.. I flat out refuse all jobs where people are too vague with their descriptions of where they lost their valuables.. "Somewhere on the island" or "I lost it 9 months ago" get a polite refusal.. Sometimes I find their things anyway and post them on my Facebook page.. If the punter sees it there then good luck to them.. Likewise I rarely keep anything I find, whoever finds something in my 'junk box' that they like can keep it.. I'd rather someone enjoys the thing than it sitting in a box..

The best thing about this week's ring recoveries was that these people knew exactly where they dropped their rings.. The lady left hers in a hat underneath a tree alongside the beach when she went for a swim.. when she came back she put her hat back on and forgot the ring was in it.. She thought it had flicked out near the tree somewhere.. The gentleman's ring was a bit more tricky.. But he knew it was 'where the 3 little buoys on the shark net line up with the surf life saving flag on the beach'.. He'd felt the ring slip off his finger and straight away lined up where he was.. He and his kids had been duck-diving for about an hour trying to find it without any luck.. I've told both the kayak-hire dude and the surf life saving people how to get a hold of me through my Facebook page in case someone loses their ring.. The lady asked the kayak dude whilst the gentleman asked the life saving girl.. This awesome business strategy seems to be working.. Not yet ready to turn this sideshow into anything huge, but it's always good to help people get their rings back.. With most of the rings I've recovered so far, the owners have offered me what they thought my effort was worth.. I've never had to charge them for anything up front.. Their offers can be anything from a case of beer to a couple of hundred dollars.. I'm constantly surprised at how much rings mean to people.. and how much people are willing to offer to get their rings back.. All of this business interaction is without any hard feelings between client or salesman.. Both parties know that if I don't get their ring back then at least I gave it a go.. I've had people offer me just as much for having a go as actually finding their ring.. Either way its always done in a spirt of goodwill or having a laugh.. Can't get better than that.. 😁

She told me she bought the ring for herself when she beat cancer 6 years ago.. I've just heard back from her and I'm sending it by post to her house on the mainland.. I told her not to worry about a reward as I'm happy she got her ring back.. She said that was ridiculous and will send me a reward anyway.. Happy days!

That's two successful ring recoveries in a week.. If this keeps up I'll be able to retire a wealthy man.. It was another very easy recovery.. The lady who owns this ring send me a photo of the tree she was sitting under when she lost it.. Took about 2 minutes to find it.. If only all recovery jobs were this easy.. I've just send her a message to say I've found it but it's still early in the morning here (6:30) so no reply yet.. She told me this ring had a lot of sentimental value and there would be a reward if I found it.. I'll keep you posted..