mn90403

It is not what you think. MAN = Maximum Amount of Nothing This is a tough year. I think the worst I have ever had on the beaches. I went out today on Zuma Beach (another Big Beach) and I got a Maximum Amount of Nothing (MAN)! It took me about an hour and I only started digging one target at 12 inches. I took a couple of scoops and it went total iron and I stopped and soon I left the beach. It is there (good targets) or it is not. If it is not then time to leave. Mitchel

Now we're talking small, deep gold! (Oh, not really talking, errr, showing ... demonstrating ... )

I was thinking a Sunbaker for an example of the Equinox power ... and depth?

I like the picture of the booster! I wear mine on the back of my cap.

Cabo Chris, I used the Explorer SE Pro for a couple of years before I got a 3030. There were always some things it could do better but most of it was about the same. The main thing it did better was ignore a certain spot I have that gives the 3030 fits for EMR. I can't use the 3030 in that 100 yard stretch. I didn't like the screen as much as the 3030 and I didn't like that it was not water resistant (the reason why it would cost me $500 to fix) so on to the Equinox! (I might buy another SE Pro after the Equinox is out and everyone is selling it.) I've found lots of stuff on the beaches with both. It will take a few years for the Equinox to catch up if it ever will. Mitchel

I know a dealer who I gave a verbal order to months ago. I went on to Bill's website a month ago and they were taking deposits. He told me I didn't need to pre-order as I would be one of the first but I gave him my deposit anyway. Will any of that help me get an Equinox sooner? I don't know. I just know I need a replacement for my SE Pro. It will be good to get in a pre-order with a dealer because it is said that the pre-orders will be filled first. Who knows what that means. By some accounts this detector has a 'pent up' demand that will take it much longer than the time needed for the 7000. If they have made it simple and things are ready to go in Malaysia (or where ever) then world logistics will be at play delivering an adequate number to each continent. Mitchel

Search 'Brush Pants' and see if you like those. You can put them on over the top of shorts! Here is one of many: (for you Norvic) https://www.duluthtrading.com/store/product/mens-fire-hose-briar-pants-20201.aspx

Paul, You don't really turn off the numbers on the 3030. You just make them smaller or larger. Let's get together one day. Mitchel

Paul, If you want to 'cheat' with the 3030 just turn the numbers off. Look at the screen and switch to the slotted (good stuff only) giving you a sound. The other areas will be grayed out. Only dig what you can hear and see in the clear area.. It is very accurate. You will find all your coins and most of the jewelry. It will save your energy so you will be still out there finding the good stuff and later once you get the hang of it then you can dig the iffy targets. Down at the bottom is all the trashy iron. Up on the top left are the bottle caps. Gold rings are in the middle and to the left. (Who needs numbers when you have a chart/graph?) Mitchel

I wondered if you pulled the trigger on that deal! Well, the same beaches you are on now would have had 5x that much a couple of summers ago. Good to know you are near. Mitchel

Call them. They have good phone support. Mitchel

I had two pairs returned to me and I think I like having the old ones back after repair better than new ones. You just have a good feeling about them when you have found many nuggets and coins. I'm glad it worked out for you Chris. Mitchel

Tumble, roll, slide, smash, ankle busting, etc, etc ... Good GOD (gold) Steve! Be careful. Mitchel

This nugget is said to be the world's largest crystalline nugget. http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/sierra_lodestar/article_ca273814-da1c-11e7-b866-b37713f31b00.html

Just reading this thread/sub-forum for the first time ... Steve, You are a teacher. You teach us and you teach Minelab. Who else is there to teach? My kid? He is on the way and I hope you teach him too! Mitchel

Jin, You are a young man. Don't be scared by trash. The man I know who finds more than all of the rest of us combined month after month after month has a Surfmaster PI. Sure he has a big pile of trash at the end of the year also but he is greatly rewarded. He goes to the deep 'holes' in the surf beaches and doesn't wait for the wave energy to bring it back to the shore. You will have fun. Once you find a patch treat it just like gold. As Steve has said the beaches are just like a big pan. Once it is shaken around for a few years/months/weeks the fines and the heavies sort themselves out. Look for the lead fishing weights! Look online for a video about the beach you are going to and see what they have found. Mitchel

Jin, I've posted elsewhere about beaches and energy. When there is no energy the valuable objects are not moved into the tidal areas on my beaches here in Southern California. When we had the El Nino a couple of years ago there were many areas with lots of rings and valuables that were washed up because of the short interval waves for many weeks. What if you had a lake or ocean level for a few hundred thousand years doing the same thing with natural gold and then that sea dropped away. You could have both deep gold that stopped at the shoreline and you could have other gold pay streaks that were brought back up by the energy in the waves at the time. We have been told that one area where we hunt in Rye Patch, Nevada had an ancient lake and that shoreline held enough gold for us to target it as a pattern. It has been hunted extensively below the source gold at the ancient lake level at that elevation and I think the pattern produced. Mitchel

Jin, I bought a 5000 in 2010 and used it on the beach for nearly two years. It found everything ... well ... not really ... I've got a story about a diamond on a very thin chain I found by accident. I heard another target and found the chain! Don't use a big coil. It will just see too many targets. You have enough timings on the 4500 to find a place for it to be quiet. If you have a beach with a substantial tide then hunt the wet sand on the low tide. There is no real reason to get the coil or the unit wet. One thing you can do to protect it is to put it in a plastic bag. You can still adjust it. You just have to get your headphone cord out of it. I think you will have fun digging everything. It is a good way to learn a beach. You want to know what trash to look for that holds the rings and jewelry. You'll learn the coin sounds. Dig, dig, dig ... it will go deeper than anyone else on the beach. You'll find some good things. Mitchel

goldrat, Good suggestion about being new to a forum. You have to also understand there are many on a forum who don't want to say much or be 'known' as the same guy/gal on the other forums so Steve has to balance things too. I'd say whoever gave you a lesson and made the CTX 'too complicated' did you a dis-service. This is a very good detector that I use very often and I don't complicate. I let it do the work. Turn it on. Select the mode. Ground balance it and away you go. In my case I have it set for the beach, highest sensitivity, low trash and each time I turn it on that is where it starts and stays for hours. I don't do anything but look at the objects on the screen to see if I want to dig them or not. If you don't need that type of detector then I would sell it. (I hope you don't take a big hit.) Mitchel

Well done Walker! I hope you get to keep this one. Mitchel

Steve, You could have Minelab send mine early and I'll tell you what it is like on the Southern California Beaches. Just let Bill know my order is filled. I'm going out in about an hour so if I had one I could give a report. Mitchel

Yes, it is Blake! Can I still change it? Changed, thanks Lunk.

Now that we know you are in Quartzsite we'll be able to have a better idea of your gold problem also. There are many patches and many on this forum that have been going there for many years. Make sure you go see Blake at Miner's Depot and join the Quartzsite Metal Detecting Club. Their 'season' has just started and you will get lots of information from them at the claims and at the coin hunts. It is truly one of the best clubs in the world. Mitchel

Bill, Well done! (I bet you couldn't believe your luck!) You have about the right amount of time per day in I'd say. It lets you enjoy the activity and still be focused. Now you can hear the gold. How deep were the nuggets and were they near each other? Patches will come your way. Gold has a source and when you find some go in circles around where you found it. You are mapping out a path on how it got there. You can see the gullies and follow them. It is harder to follow hillsides or ridges but they all can hold gold. Mitchel

Very nice nugget. Mitchel