DDancer

Came across Stinky, or Stumpy as some say the shingle back :) Another memory. I've seen them in Victoria and WA.

Hehh, I get around the hot vehicle by working in the winter ;) My little jobber works well enough that I keep my meds in the small cool section and freeze the rest. Practical trick in the event of low power is to put two liters of water in and let'm freeze. Not much room in the Troopy I've got so big units are impractical. Everything else for the tucker box has to be able to stay at camp temp. Shade is a good thing too. Going caravan is the way to go but for me its sleeping in the bunk in back or under the stars. Hahh! Here is a little of my set up. Eske. Bed, back, cabinets, tools *more than shown* and packed for a good time. In kinda that order seems I cant organize the files but you get the idea. (high lift jack got moved to the tool compartment but rides on the front)

Got a little Waco eske in my rig. Old but works well enough to keep things cool. Hehh at least till it eats the deep cycle. Be nice if I had the room for a unit like your showing. My Australian mate lost 2 eskes last year, rebuids, and got a big unit like the 78L. Real nice with good room for both frozen and cool storage. Where abouts you plan on hiding this season?

Kinda on your note Steve. Extension leads for coils in PI's can be problematic as they upset the calibration due to length of the overall line : ie coil windings plus lead length. One can see this ratio if you compair say a Joey coil to a 20 inch coil... the leads are much longer on a Joey compaired to a 20 inch. Been done, extension leads, and they work. Problem 2 is flexing of the lead lines. This creates an inherent "jostling" of the lead and flexure also changes internal characteristics of the leads values... this will create faulsing as well as degradation over time. Its one reason why you dont see mods that seperate the box form the stem in PI detectors. Just does not work out well. The leads like a stable platform and you can only get so far away from the coil before it becomes a net zero gain.

Sweet finds for sure regardless of the intent you both made out like bandits... however ditching work~ eh your boss loves you. ;) hehh As to poison Ivy or even oak the dried leaves and stems of winter dormant stuff still carry the oil that will get ya. Just harder to avoid in winter or during a dry season.

That appears to be a bit of simi-massive quartz and chalcedony. The yellowing could be due to iron but its more butter scotch to my view so the yellow could be due to sulfates something else. Its a silicate. All thats yellow is not gold.

Cotton apron coin detecting with trash and keepers, prospecting I wear cargo pants and a pouch or with the Zed a local tree thats been well checked for chucking or dumping my cargo pockets. * or flicking lids, tins and other assorted what not* Cant pack it all. Basically low metal as possible. I collect my finds *ahem* for the local tip... Rule of thumb in the parks ;) I dont show anything that goes in the pouch, or the nugget vial, to the kiddies. At worst the pests get to see the trash. Still have my much repaired Cleavengers pouch from the 1990's for the parks. Out bush I'll look at ya funny and dig in my cargo pocket or blouse; Depends on the lead for the day. Most prospecting trips its the backpack for tools. Dont use a pinpointer but I do carry the occasional pan or hammer.

Just like real estate its all about location, location, location. If your not finding lead your not finding gold is another thought. Depending on how known the location is the amounts and types of trash and gold vary wildly but as califoriniagold pointed out old lead is a pretty solid indicator to how hunted out an area really is. In the US everybody and thier brother for the last few hundred years has shot thier guns off and lead is very prominent. I myself collected a full coffee can of it one year in areas around the south of Tucson AZ with a gold bug. In Victoria, my first trip down under the lead kept comming however iron, tin, was also very prevalent. WA is home to big tin in my opinion but I can say with the Zed this year Lead was a big winner again. So big that my partner and I had days comming back to camp and seeing who could impress the most with thier Zed/lead for the day. There is no good ratio to whit. Only indicators that someone was in the area and if the location is good what they were after. My thoughts.

Those green nets are a pain. They catch the light and fog out your vision badly and if your walking back to camp in the avro they are blinding. Black nets are the better bet but can be a bit more difficult to find. However a net is essential to sanity :) Just like the deserts here in america.. and well anyplace else you camp... shake out your boots if left out doors and well... check your seat in the morning. My partner seemed to attract alot of friends. Even had a red back buddying up with him in his bag one morning *no picks of that but you could hear it*. :) Hahh!

Knee pads. Nuff said. Might look like a dork, and I do, but those and gators I'm Iron man.... now a stick in the ear.... well refer to post on chainsaw armor. ;) You sure the old timer who dropped those balls did'nt just happen to poke himself in the eye like you did your ear and just fling his precious ammuntion and poke? Might just be one big spill... just say'n. Hahh good on ya.

Dont know about that honestly. Dug some pretty deep stuff that required a jackhammer a couple of times. Once you get to a certain depth, at least in many areas of WA, your just SOL without a mate and his little helper. Another thing is that dragging around a big pick is a real bother and a good way to misplace it. I had to buy a smaller pick of my partner because the Zed really liked mine. Heck my partner did much better on the small stuff because, in my opinion, he would leave his pick in an area of exploration or a patch and dress down metal on his person to a minimum. I spent alot of time chasing itty bitties because my glasses would dull the my Zed down during recovery. The manual gb switching trick I read about here while down there helped alot. But damn if the Zed did not sound off like a gong if I had to shake my head to ward off a fly going up my nose.... in my ear... mouth... eye.... oh the joy.

Hehh. Those with medical implants or gold fillings need not apply ;) Coil that big will require a two man team. One stripped to his shorts and the other to carry the pick and water. Looks like I'll have to go with contacts or plastic framed glasses as well. Just a bit of candor. Seriously would like a smaller coil first but ehh when you swing a big one all those little bitties are going to sound like a choir and you'll need a dry blower to pin point them after the backhoe knocks the first 3 feet off. I also predict there will be a surge in sales for small generators and electric jack hammers... better get on gumtree and get me a set.....

I remember a camp fire with Kevin and his wife Bep and he spoke of the find with us. Grants Patch on Paddington's leases back when they let people fossick on them.... That was in 2006 with Jackhammers army :) I still have an autographed book that Bep published with him telling me "Find the Foot." Funny I got that book in Victoria back in 1999 on my first trip down under at a used book store as I was researching. I'll ask my mate if he recalls what detector Kevin used as that was not something that came about that night at the telling. Kevin was detecting at the time and there is a variation on the location known to a few ;) but regardless when he dug down on the target "It just kept getting bigger and bigger." It was on edge or nearly so. He and Bep kept it in a baby's wash basin covered with a towel. Hahh. The man was a detecting fiend for the gold but as good a mate as one could want... unless you were on his patch.

Uhm so I get this sensor and happen to the loo... well kinda like a cell phone I drop it and I get a gold reading does that mean I.... uhh whiz gold? *bad taste sure but hey :)* Being diabetic and having to take blood for sugar levels such a device is not an unforeseen event. There has been a lot, I do mean a lot, of micro measuring advances. I just don't see the use of such an item for prospecting when in the end you still got to dig alot of ore and assay it. Many minerals are trace available, Idahogold's comment reminds me of a few devices that people have made to recover gold from tap water as well as an old saw about a guy in Mexico that could drive gold from common materials.

That is a sweet meteorite!!!! Most I've found are little guys. Whole point of the post is made but then your last comment... well I wont say I'm goading you to go back but. Yeah. ;) Make a plan and do it. Wallet may scream * know every penny I have does... and even better OZ does not use pennies!* but hey the baggage in memories is almost as fun as the doing... and I can tell you some pretty darn miserable times out bush! HAHH!

Gotta put in a thought here. Lets disregard the Zed and any other machine that uses a fixed coil at this time. Its not fair to the topic. I still have my GP3000 and it still works well. Prior to that I had the SD2100e and that just as the SD2200 came out... remember seeing that for the first time with an old bloke and his crew while I was in Victoria. Hehh.... point is I carried over with my coils of that time, the stock 11 DD and a Mono coil tech Joey. When I went to the 3000 I looked hard at what was available and ghosted a fair bit in the forums. I came to the 14 coil tech salt coil and then the 16 DD reversible nugget finder and last a 20 DD nugget finder. I never had any good results with another mono coil, loaners, save for a loan on an 11 mono nugget finder loaned to me by a detecting mate. Face it the GP3000 is a DD machine. I'll still use DD's as I've found them to be very good when worked right. Probalbly not a good Idea now that the 4000 and above were built for Mono's.... again the machine and its uses. Now there was no placebo in it for me. The salt coil was for use in the US due to emi. The reversible 16 was a fun to play with item and I liked the thought of reversing signals however in DD and mono it gave me that added coverage I wanted as well *found a lot of gold with it* and the stock coil 11 DD always payed for itself as well as the Mono Joey. Only the 20 DD never did well but then I did not use it for as long as I'd like and the metal I carry is a bit .... distracting Hehh. Found I did not need the coverage. Now I did look at coils like the platypus and the Commander series when they came out but ehh.... did not fit my needs and I dont like to "feel good" about my stuff. Just want it to work where I'm going to work. These are not New Age coils but they were at the time. And I saw more than a few people accessorizing like, uhm.... never mind, at the time with what I considered bling ;) Just a thought. Maybe things work. Maybe not but its the operator and well... I said it already in the last post.

One thing most of the experienced people I have read on and experienced myself is that different coils are generally for different jobs and terrain types. That thought, in my opinion, pretty much carries in different ways across the spectrum of operators. There is no one cats meow for coils or machine's. Its my opinion that the operator invariably finds the strengths for each combination of coil, detector and terrain. The placebo really only lays in what I consider the "feel good" emotional response for having confidence in a new accessory. I dont figure there will be any true game changers when it comes to coils for any machine. Just improvements, minor and moderate, to the capabilities of the operator and their chosen magic wand.

Hahh :) Dingo seems we both agree the most scenic side of the London Bridge. My first pic in this thread is a panorama of the same spot. Mayhap we were standing in each others boots. However I suspect there are alot of memories from that perspective.

Thanks for that Tortuga. I've not looked into replacing the feet~ minor issue for me. The lock mechanism for the Zed's lower shaft never has worked well for mine. Been more than a few times I've put my boot on the coil and adjusted it back to true~ especially after some pushy bush bashing in low scrub and grass's. Occasionally the shaft will collapse a bit as well when pushing down into brush. Overall I do like the shaft design however and with the coil lead protected as it is my biggest hang up in brush is my pick.

Hehh, that being said I posted a bit about the Zed's car port recharger cable.... the insulation is junk for cold weather.... anyrate What ever happened to that detector coil quiz some time ago... What Coil Size Do You Most Want For The GPZ 7000? That'd be a response I could appreciate among others to see feed back. Not your Job Steve~ theirs. However it would be most unfortunate if people came flocking here to make a gaggle out of things.... sigh. Honestly I just want the best as a consumer. If there is any genuine interest in this forum from manufactures I would be glad to help directly or indirectly. *shrugs* Steve your running a tight crew *figurative* so I do hope your creation here is a driver for the manufactures to take a gage on.

Only two things I've had fault with are the "feet" on the detector housing and the car port cable for the charger. The feet I might get a fix for if I ever dig into it but the charger cable has bad pvc insulation and tends to crack and short at the car port connector strain reliefe.... happened to both my partner and I after a couple of months bush in the winter. Fixed mine with a compatible cord from my Energizer recharger.... partner got hooked up with Matt at Finders Keepers in Kal for a new one. Not bitching. Just that there are ways and ways and warranties are warranties. Mayhap ML will issue fixes at a date. You did good bush mechanics to keep going and for the price I expect ML is keeping tabs on breakdowns to improve future product. But honestly.... catching yourself with the detector? Its not a walking stick. But then I may have broke a few handles myself ;) hehh

Thats a great pic of a Boab tree. I have only seen them in the Kings Park botanical garden. My recall is right they were used as a source of food as well... had another nick name I think it was the mother tree or something like. Lots of spinefix so yeah I got the idea you were way north :) Halls creak is an area I would like to play in as well. Pain to work in though. Snake chaps work great in it and a bit on the fire is a good way to celebrate the 4th :) Lite my partners eyes up when I dropped one on him. HAHH! A few cold mornings and he was kicking them out for his own fun ;) A few more pics~ This unfortunate chair was a my partners. Seems that night we were listening to the wind really come at us from a distance and, well I told him to secure things as we were in for a big blow.... well I got to preping he kept watching and when the wind picked up he got to securing.... forgot the chair :) I hear "Ah Sh*t*" turn around and see said chair now filpped into the fire. Well we resuced it and it continued to serve. Picture one. This is London Bridge in Sandstone WA. There is a placard about it and it was a popular spot in the day. Eroded now but the blokes used to be able to ride a buggy over it. A place worth the visit. Picture 2 Sunrises and sets are important events out bush to me as they can be the most beatific times of day and often set the mood in my opinion. Pics 3-6 There are things to find besides gold. Have not found one yet but Tektites can be found. These little space rocks set the engineers to thinking about our space program and its re-entry vehicles. My mate Pete in 2010 found this exceptional specimen... Pics 7,8 Lots to see. The rock with the hole is something that tells me I'm near Linster... gotta go to the miners mess when there... otherwise just keep your eyes to the sky and ground.... Pics 9-12 Cant forget our numerous friends, the fly's. Their union workers you know... typically come on shift about 7 or 8am and knock off around 4 to 6pm depending on temperatures. Other than that kicking back at the fire after a good day of swinging with your ute in the background ready to take you on the next leg is a wonder I miss but hey... you can really feel free in OZ. I miss it. Final pics. Edit: I forgot the equipment. My partner and I were both Zed's. Big pick is mine... bought a smaller one off him for a gram but thats what we had. Last pic.

Ooohhh didnt find that yellow in the bottle did ya??? Got a friend who'd be livid if ya have. What a haul :)

Thanks Fred. No I'm a US citizen *thats what I tell the BP at the road blocks out El Paso way hehh*. Just now I'm working in North Carollina thinking to get back down to WA again this year. I'd be my first time going two consecutive years. I'll know more as finances come online again as its pretty draining doing 5 and 6 months at a shot. I like the scenery :) Never have seen the huge termite mounds but I like the hat. Hahh! A scene from Sandstone's London bridge, some salt brush in bloom and a morning picture after a rainy couple of days near Leonora.... I'm still resizing stuff and putting together an album of last year. Not the best but I'd had trouble with the past forum loading images.

That is some fine looking area ;) Nice that the wattle was in bloom. Its a great scent when they're all going off around ya. Would you mind if I added a few pics to your memories Fred?