mn90403

Steve posted it!

I saw a posting of two different detectors a 600 and an 800 with the price being $649 and $899. The second one has 4 modes including gold.

The Minelab site or YouTube for me. Google tracking is enough without a social tracking on Facebook.

Norm, There is never enough gold in a patch for several GPZs. You are good at solo hunting. Don't share your patches! Mitchel

Sep 2017 News from the UCLA Meteorite Gallery One of a series of monthly letters sent to visitors to the UCLA Meteorite Gallery and to others who requested to be on the mailing list. The Meteorite Gallery (Geology room 3697) is open with a docent present every Sunday from 1 until 4 with the exception of the last two Sundays in the calendar year. And it is open every work day from 9 until 4 but without a docent. It is not open Saturdays. We remind you that our website address is:http://www.meteorites.ucla.edu/. There you can find a map of our corner of the UCLA campus and instructions for parking in structure 2. At 2:30 on Sunday September 17 the speaker at our Gallery Event is Professor David Jewitt. His topic is "From the Edge of the Solar System". Dave Jewitt is well known for his discovery of the Kuiper-Belt objects. He has been awarded the prestigious Kavli and Shaw Prizes and numerous other awards. For more information visit:http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jewitt/David_Jewitt.html. Summary: We have discovered that a new comet, C/2017 K2, is active at record distance from the Sun. The comet was discovered at 16 AU, beyond the orbit of Saturn, and was later found on images when it was at 24 AU. It appears to be making its debut in the planetary region, following 4.5 billion years in the frigid Oort cloud. He will discuss the new object and describe what we know about the outer realms of the solar system. The lecture is in Geology 3656, just 40 yards west of the UCLA Meteorite Gallery. Our next Gallery Lecture will occur on Sunday October 22. The speaker is Mark Fries, a scientist at the NASA Johnson Spacecraft Center in Houston. The title of his talk is: "How to find meteorites with weather-radar observations of fireballs: Opportunities for "citizen science" in the US and worldwide". The US maintains a nationwide network of Doppler weather radars, and it is possible to find meteorite falls using their freely-available radar imagery. This talk will describe what a meteorite fall is, how frequently they occur (Spoiler: About once per year in the US!), and instructions so that anyone with internet access can find them.

WTG. Much better than I did in 2 days of detecting around there! Mitchel

JW, I think that the fringe area on the 14 coil is huge. The centering of a small target on the center of the coil or the edge is indeed a challenge. You know a target is there but how do you get it in the scoop? I'm left sometimes thinking the target is not there any more but I keep moving the pile until it comes back! It is really a shock sometimes how far the final scoop (with the target in it) is from where I think it should be. Sometimes it gets tracked out before I find it. (Then I am sometimes really, really shocked at how small the target is!) I've used the 14 far more than the 19 but I have recovered small targets with it. My impression is that the coil windings are so far apart that when the received signal gets under the center of the coil it 'triangulates' very quickly and I see it directly under the center of the large coil. This is a bit different than a 19" round Nugget Finder coil that I have for my 5000. I can remember pinpointing with the outside of the coil (the edge) quite easily but it would also center pinpoint for me. Mitchel

I went out for a couple of days to Gold Basin seeking gold. It was not to be so when in Gold Basin you seek out some meteorites. This trip it was difficult. Nothing until the final couple of hours on Saturday night. All of my previous locations didn't produce this trip so I went to nearby locations. The larger 37g meteorite was found in an area without many dig holes. It is hard to find a location in Gold Basin without any did holes! After moving on from that location I went to an area where I could see some very old dig holes. They were deep and big and not filled but weathered down. It was time to slow down. I checked around the dig holes and voila ... a hit about 8 inches from a previous dig. Time to scrape and dig and there is a stick to rock on the magnet. (Was it part of the previous dig hole and meteorite?) Don't leave your hole in Gold Basin. Check it again. When this was done there was still a target. Upon recovery it was a broken off piece of the meteorite that was dug. They fit. Total meteorite weight is 54g.

I have pinpointed some very small nuggets with the 19 easier than with the 14! I keep pushing piles around with my feet, scoop and hands with the 14 if it is small. Mitchel

Steve, What version of 5.11 did you have? Zappos have lots of them listed but without knowing a model and having previously had that shoe I probably wouldn't order through them on this order. http://www.zappos.com/men-boots/CK_XARCz1wE6AroLwAEC4gIEAQIYBw.zso Mitchel

How did this boot treat you so far?

I have a Targhee update. Those boots that I bought were better for a while. Then I started having a problem with the 'fit' and my toes were getting cramped so REI took them back. I went and got the Targhee III and was fitted by one of the guys there and he had me get a half size smaller so my foot did not move. They felt good and I could walk down their rock climbing area easily. When I used them the first time they seemed good but then I put on the 19" coil and a problem developed. All the other Targhees were metal free but this model has added a top eye for the last loop and it is made of metal. I took them back. Another problem I discovered with this type of boot is that it catches desert brush and rocks. This past weekend I went back to my old high-top boot and rediscovered how good it is to keep pieces of brush away from my socks. NO low top boots for me for prospecting so now I'm back to look for a boot.

Don't give up the hunt for a partner but don't drop your plans either. Time will be your ally and foe. The time you spend will reward you but will your partner have the same drive and schedule of time? What if he hunts on a trip more than you or vice versa? If you find someone who can go where you go or you go where they go try a trip. It is nice to have a companion sometimes to share finds. If one trip works, try another. Then think about a partnership on your best or new prospects. Mitchel

Paul, Don't lay it off on Chris. You are the one who said it as far as I'm concerned. I don't know YOUR source. haha Mitchel

I'm going to stretch the topic just a little bit and tell you that you don't always need to use a metal detector to find meteorites! This meteorite was found with my eyes and a magnet on Coyote Dry Lake. It weighs 13g and is only my second find there. The metal detector was in the car. We don't normally use them on a dry lake but sometimes you can. We used the GB Pro one time on a dry lake bed in Nevada to test meteor wrongs vs meteor rights. Let's say we only tested targets we saw and didn't swing randomly. Not all lake or meteorite areas are suitable for metal detectors. Holbrook in northern Arizona is an example that comes to mind. If you don't see it then you aren't going to find it. The ground is too mineralized for a detector to work. Mitchel

I have checked with Arkansas and you can't use a metal detector at Crater of Diamonds. You can use a metal detector on some of their 'beaches' listed here: Metal Detecting is allowed only on Arkansas State Park public beaches from Labor Day through the weekend preceding Memorial Day Sunday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the following parks: Crowley’s Ridge 870-285-2201 Daisy 870-398-4487 DeGray Lake Resort 501-865-2801 Lake Catherine 501-844-4176 Lake Charles 870-878-6895 Lake Dardanelle 479-967-5516 Lake Ouachita 501-767-9366 Village Creek 870-238-9406 Woolly Hollow 501-679-2098

I would trust the numbers and keep it as it is because that must be a pretty good find locally, right? Mitchel

We can hunt in beach state parks in California. I think you can metal detect beach state parks in Florida and the east coast. I think you need a permit in New York City and some other city beaches. Mitchel

I think they would let you use a metal detector there. Hard to find a diamond with one! Hummmmm ... just remembered they were planting some jewelry so maybe they have changed the rules since we were there.

Try a week of looking for diamonds in Arkansas. http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/media/news-releases.aspx?id=2696 You can park your rig there and give the ATVs a rest. Mitchel

Here is a program I was never aware of until I got this email. https://www.doi.gov/blog/volunteer-national-public-lands-day

I haven't been able to get any nuggets in the last couple of weeks but I did get a couple of nice rings. The little ring is 14k with little diamonds in a heart shape. The yellow ring is a large topaz cocktail ring. It is 14k yellow and white gold with diamonds. The total weight is 10g. Mitchel

Very well done. Your chevron is quite a prize along with all the others. I spent a day at Rye Patch on Tuesday and have nothing to show for it. I left about 4 PM but I had spent the night there near the burn barrel when I got there about 2 AM from Wyoming and the total eclipse there. Mitchel

I did this with GPX coils and bought extra shafts so that I did not have to zip tie on two or three coils. I have more coils than shafts so some of them I would Velcro instead of zip tie. I've also secured the wire just before it goes into the battery to prevent movement. That seems to be a 'known' issue with a loose coil wire. Have the issues ever been more than that on the Monster? (I still don't own a Monster but I've used one.) Mitchel

I've evaluated the situation. We have seen nearly the last of Nurse Paul. He won't be hunting much up this way any more. It won't be worth his TIME or energy. Nothing will provide him with the excitement. He'll start saving for next year to go back to his nuggie busters. Mitchel