GotAU?

Did you get a chance to compare a Target sound between your sister’s 6000 and yours? That would’ve been interesting. Nice looking gold there I like the color tint of it.

A nice batch of rocks! Do you have a mineral light? Those would be interesting to see under one!

Stone mortars and pestles were an amazing invention discovered independently all over the world by many peoples, but the user’s teeth didn’t last long after being ground flat by eating gritty food from the powdered rock they were eating along with their food.

Hello Alejandro and welcome! Wow, it sounds like you had quite a time detecting in Greece, all of us would love to have had an opportunity like that! I am in California, so we have numerous places to prospect on public lands with many gold bearing areas as well. Yours is an interesting question; you are in a historic district living in Washington DC, which I would think provides a lot of opportunities to do relic and coin hunting, but gold is another matter altogether. As you know, there are some places in Virginia that were historically mined for gold, and out of curiosity I found this article online that might be of help: https://www.goldfeverprospecting.com/vigoprandpai.html#:~:text=The only known gold producing,and into the State Forest Places to go on the state forest in the article seem varied, and I would think that you would be most successful trying areas shown on the map. You should also look up some local mining clubs that have their own claims like GPAA, as a member you are allowed to prospect on their claims and will also have the opportunity to meet people that know the local area very well. Well, good luck out there and keep us posted! -Anthony

The smaller 9” Goldhawk is a great recommendation. I feel the other way around about the stock coils though, the 11” mono is a great coil and the 14” DD is a huge benefit because it’s the only possible way to detect with the 6000 near powerlines. I have a 17” mono that I have not used yet and it would be the first to go if I sold one of my stock 6000 coils.

Hey Chris, so I’m not really an expert at this but I can say through personal experience of having both of those coils for my 6000 that they both can equally find the same sized tiny bits of lead at depth and I am talking small! The larger Xceed is a bit more depth sensitive and I found my first nugget with it. I do prefer the smaller Goldhawk in more rocky and brushy terrain, but the Xceed is my favorite in open terrain. Goldhawks also have harder plastic coverings than the Xceeds, which I guess make them a bit more durable for scraping ground and bumping rocks if you aren’t using tape on the edges. I think you will do well with either coil. As for comparing the two models, comparing the larger 14 x 9 Goldhawk to the 12 x 7 Xceed may be more equal. I did try the 14 x 9, but then sold it after getting the Xceed. It just felt heavy and clunkier with its denser plastic and thicker coil size. I am definitely keeping both my smaller goldhawk and my Xceed though. But honestly, if you are saving money and can get either one for a lower price, that would be my main deciding factor because they are both good coils. Each one also has its benefits depending on where you prospect.

I wouldn’t stop looking out for them, even if the weather is cold. I’ve seen one slithering over a snow bank once in springtime up in the mountains, it wasn’t a warm day either. Pooh guy, probably got kicked out by his significant others… And has anyone ever seen sidewinders sticking their heads out of their burrows early in the morning just after sunrise? One place we were hiking through had a bunch of them doing it. They’re pretty common in the sandy parts of the deserts here in Southern California.

Gerry of Gerry’s Detecting offer for that 11” GP DD coil is a great deal. That coil will work well on your 4500.

Gerry, I wouldn’t call it disappointment! 😉 Awesomely good hunting!

Thank you for the input! You’re right, I’m going to ask for a refund guarantee on it first in case it doesn’t work. Won’t mess with it otherwise. One scenario - and we’ve all done something close to it I bet, is propping a spade blade in the ground while digging a target - I could see being tired and doing it too close to the detector! 🫢But the seller says it was a dog issue and the cut does look chewed. 😑 I just have to be sure there’s enough length left over- not going to do a double splice to put in more cable!

Thanks, I guess it will be a good purchase then. Appreciate it.

Hi, I’ve been looking for a used 11 inch equinox coil and saw a significantly less expensive one on sale that is in almost new condition except that the cable was accidentally cut in half. I considered getting it as I can repair it properly because I used to repair underwater velocity meter and transducer cables at work. My question is do Equinox coils also contain an internal chip? If so, should I be concerned about it if the detector and coil were not energized when the cable was cut? Or any other possible issues doing this type of repair? I’m pretty competent about doing the cable repair itself, including properly replacing the shielding and making it waterproof. My main concern is what could’ve happened inside the coil. Thanks!

I call fake David, your hands are too pretty after doing all that beautiful knapping! 😉 Both my wife and I like play knapping a little bit, I usually need band aids afterwards quite often! We do like collecting materials for it ourselves from various locations, usually including jasper and chert along with obsidian. You have some beautiful obsidian and what look like chert pieces there too. Have you ever tried working with Quartz or even Basalt? I guess it has to be heat treated also to get it to be more easily worked- that would be a challenge!

Be careful with any of your graphite rods also, especially in a thunderstorm!

Wow Mitchel, you find all sorts of good shiny stuff. So that gold crown just may be your lucky gold magnet making you a living gold spear. Better have him put it back just in case!