flakmagnet

Or as an old-timer I knew once said; "...but that's fine gold, who wants fine gold?"

Now that last story Reg I totally believe. Best...

Reg, you are highly respected so it is with respect I put this out to you. Do you seriously think Minelab is secretly monitoring the gps built into the 7000? Do you believe the "there are those that believe the gps is monitored" that you refer to?

Hi Wes, Yes I agree the 49'ers were beyond industrious. As you know just to drive along sections of rivers like the Yuba where they flumed long sections of it, took every rock out and stacked them beside on the banks so they could break open the cracks on the bottom, is eye-opening. It is hard to comprehend some of the work gold hunters everywhere put in.

Maybe it is my background of gold detecting, but I am used to listening to and digging signals that turn out to be iron or iron stone etc. So, I keep my iron bias low on the Equinox, swing slowly and dig almost everything. It works just fine with the GPZ and the EQ. I do not mean to say I would do this in the kind of iron infested site some of you guys mention. It sounds like that does take another approach. fwiw.

That Alaskan flume building is crazy. I thought the ditches they built in the Sierra's for doing the same thing were pretty incredible...I take it back.

Nice hunting.

A beautiful chronicle, thanks again.

Hi Andy, You have plenty of credibility left. The variety of replies is interesting and encouraging as you mentioned. Your comments on the law of attraction are interesting. I am not sure where intuition fits into that but am a big believer in following your hunches - and being relaxed is a large component of that. I wish I could think of a good example from personal experience but you know what I mean. The Simulation Hypothesis you mentioned puts up a lot to get your head around...I don't have an opinion on it right now haha.

You obviously are not a gold prospector. (Not a failing at all mind you) We have a saying that if you don't find any gold you "got the skunk." So for me - aside from Chuck's perfect "a good day starts when you get out of bed." - a good day is when you don't have the skunk visiting you. A good day is when you find some pieces that would not be called flakes or specks, and a great day is almost anything more that. I have had two outstanding days and perhaps that's for another time. One short saying I have: starting the hunt is the best part of the day because anything is possible. In the UK you folks seem to have days that I cannot even comprehend. Such beautiful coins and artifacts that they almost defy description. You probably know, but in case you don't, you are in an amazing location that most of us can only dream about. best...

I agree with Steve and Chase. I trust the 11" coil because of what I have already found with it and the depth it gets. A little coil like that would make me impatient on a beach, so much sand to cover, such a tiny coil to do it right...

Don't know if I could handle a lightweight 7000 coil. I'd probably fall over on my back. It'll be fun to see how these coils progress.

Mitchel, One of the most amazing experiences of my life...and I am lucky enough to have had more than my share...was when I made the decision to get hearing aids. End of story.

AU_Solitude, Why yes, I do have pictures of said nugget. It was a moment I never thought would come so when it did, I made sure to document it so that later in life when I thought it was a dream, I would have proof. No one would say this is a pretty nugget but beauty is in the eyes of the finder, right? Thanks for asking...

sigh... I would love to see W. Australia...and yes Fred, Pilabra sounds pretty cool.

Not many people who prospect, chronicle their adventures or have photo's to accompany the words. Your recollections reinforce an important component to the lure of hunting for gold. It takes time, curiosity, ingenuity and above all, patience. There are a lot of accomplished gold hunters looking over your shoulder as you take the time to share your experiences with us. I am sure we are all reliving some of our own dreams through your writing. Thanks.

Hi Mitchel, that's an interesting post and I had to think about it. With the Equinox I listen to the target sounds...there is such a cool tonal language with that detector. (I also hunt the beaches in the SM area). When I'm out with the 7000 I listen to everything. The mix of the ground and the target signal-ish sounds takes a different level of concentration as you have mentioned - I have to concentrate harder. I would call that the "hearing" aspect of my hunting. I actually prefer the more complex kind of detecting but probably that's because I love desert/mountain hunting best. Wishing you luck.

Yup I have a Dino cover and it's just right. I also popped on some self-adhesive clear pads over where the buttons are, it's easier to find them with gloves on etc. The picture is a different cover that wasn't quite as good as the Dino, but it shows the button pads.

A very nice case.

Steve said: "...Odd to think that many of us dream of nothing more than finding a large nugget, but then ignore the kind of sound a monster nugget would make..." For me that is the quote of the year. Happily (for once), I did not ignore the booming target that produced my biggest find; a 1.9 ouncer up in the Sierra's.

I also hunt So. Cal. parks and beaches - as I am sure you know, you have to just be willing to be super patient, listen to the tones - the language of the Equinox - and take your time. If I don't feel as though my patience and focus is there, I don't go. The other thing I have been amazed at is it's good to go over areas from different directions, maybe one direction one time and another direction another time - targets continue to show up. I usually use Park 1 or Field 2. In any case good luck.

First one - 1978 I think - was a Compass. Don't remember the details. Then a Garrett Master Hunter which I had for years and years. A great beach machine.

Chase, thanks for pointing out that you need to shift to 5 tones in programs that default to 50 tones, if you are going to use Dirtfishing's video which imho is one of the clearest and most easily implimented ways of learning the Equinox.

I love it's versatility. I can have the detector in the vehicle and not worry about where I decide to detect That's quite a luxury. Multi-frequency is amazing. The Eq. has its own tonal language - it's a fun machine to learn and to run. I do not like the handgrip, it's too big around (you can always make it bigger if it's too small but not the other way around), and the shaft wobbles even though it does not really affect my hunting.

I think I read somewhere that it looks like Oct/Nov. but can't back it up with any hard info.