mn90403

I wondered about that Cherry Coke can!

Excellent! That is a pretty plate. WTG I'm sure you are already started for this year. Mitchel

Everything changed in California and THE WEST. Every year there is a different version of the same story. It was not the first gold discovered in the west but it is the discovery credited with starting The Gold Rush which did change everything. https://www.fairfieldsuntimes.com/opinion/great-american-stories-the-original-49ers/article_bd9b9762-eb2c-5c8a-9c86-0b40fab7794b.html

Ahhhh ... I'm sure you put a different name on it just to disguise it! haha WTG

How much 'more' will one of these detectors find than another? For those of you with test gardens I guess you can tell the difference. Thank you for your tests. When my beaches are producing (which has not been much lately) it is more important when and where you hunt than what detector you have at the time. I wait for wave energy to move things up on the shore or make cuts. Most of the good stuff is less than 15 inches deep. I occasionally find 20 inch cans and other stuff but the sand and waves defeat me on that before I can get it out. My rings and jewelry beaches produce quite well with the 15 inch coil it seems. Will one of these other detectors find stuff my Equinox will just not see? If I have a DII and an MDT and an Eq/15 which one do you use on the beach first and which one last? (I think I could not adjust to the MDT sound.)

Klunker, You live in a part of California (don't we all) where you are supposed to have a mask on if you are outdoors (and indoors too)! Just be a good guy and wear it ALL the time so that cold wind blowing down here from the North will be filtered. Mitchel PS You can't wear the mask over a Grocho or a mustache/beard as it doesn't fit.

When I took the class I remember Gerry looking at all of the detectors everyone had and he said we'll test with all of the detectors Except a VLF. He said that all of his gold on the table would be seen by a VLF. Gerry, did I remember correctly?

Well done. I've used a 5000 in the El Pasos, a 7000 and my 800. I've used the 800 the least but mostly with the 6 inch and all with limited success. I've known others who have found and worked patches with GBs and Monsters. On that piece that you show, what were the Nox Numbers? If Pat doesn't meet up with you and his 5000 I could meet you there sometime. Mitchel

This rings very true to someone like me who is now 'following the heard' to old pounded spots. As a matter of fact this was being said about 10 years ago on many of the patches I was using my first gold detector on which was the 5000. Back then I was unprepared for that reality and I thought I could overcome the odds of finding big gold by walking farther and detecting more. Just before I started this gold prospecting phase of my life I had been a marathon runner and I've run 21 marathons and many, many miles in hills that don't have a speck of gold. I read you had to extend a known area and that is what I tried to do. Between not knowing where to look and going too fast it took me over a year to find my first nugget. I've found a few pieces of nice gold with my method but now I'm in a quandry. Now I'm in the situation JP describes of having limited time and limited goldfields and getting home with only 'good views of the deserts' and no gold. haha Pulling the trigger on a 6000 for those infrequent trips could easily be done but for some reason I just can't give up the 'hope' of bigger gold if I just go to places where a 7000 or an Equinox has not been before.

I had one of the first 800s in the USA. It worked fine for something less than a year and then one day I turned it off and I felt something 'give.' When I went detecting the next time I could not get it back on. You could tell the switch was 'floating' under the on/off button. I sent the 'computer portion' of the detector in to Minelab USA and they replaced it. I was told that the switch had broken off the board. It was not my fault and it has not happened since but I don't press the on/off button very hard any more. You never know and when they give you a new replacement they don't extend the warranty. Mitchel

Thanks Jim, I'll never forget the day you and I spent out there. Mitchel

Africa: Nigeria Someone got a lot of nuggets and large ones out of a pit there! https://punchng.com/miners-versus-soldiers-gun-battle-and-matters-arising/

I had to get my Mojave 'fix' in yesterday out at a club claim. I didn't let not finding any gold make me feel too bad. It was a perfect day for the temperature, sun and no wind. There is a club outing next weekend at The Dale which is where I found my first nugget. These are pictures from yesterday. I was there for sunrise.

Mine was the first one also and the screw wore through the nylon strapping. I guess now I could have fixed it by getting some new nylon strapping but when I ordered a new one I got the solid fitting like you see in version 2.

I've experienced lost friendships for things unrelated to gold! 🙃 It hurts but sometimes you can't fix it.