mn90403

I've posted Jeff's information before. The job he did for me (his first one on an X-coil) let me know I could take that adapter anywhere without failure just like the guy doing them in Australia now. I only have one X-coil so I'm not doing any changing of coils (and very little prospecting). If I get a concentric I'll have to be careful each time and not be in a hurry knowing that a speed change is not necessary. The guy who really knows soldering is Chet. In addition he decided to splice his cable closer to the coil and it reduces strain when changing coils. If those wires ever break for him you have more wire to play with for a repair. Simon likes it there and doesn't have any feedback.

Nice gold Rob. You are still looking in the right places to find gold like that with any detector.

I went back to the same area yesterday with my Nox/15 on Park 1/23 and got more 'stuff' and one little charm. The charm is for the old fashioned charm bracelets and it says Salt Fork Lodge. I looked it up online and it looks to be an interesting place. Has anyone stayed there? It looks like it should be detected!

Many, many pounds of gold have been found before the 6000 has come out and many, many tons of gold have been found before any detector came out. We can still have fun with what we've got.

I turn up my iron volume from the preset of 5 up to 10 and I dig everything. I'm also in 'All Metal' and I relish any target from 1 to 11. I even like the nickels (13) but anything below 19 is pretty good except the pull tabs around 14. My negative numbers will also come up for some good finds too.

What could (or did) anyone find around the Cliff House and the Bath Houses in San Francisco?

It is just a pot metal. There is evidence it had a paint coating. The around the neck idea is a good one but 23 grams is a bit heavy.

Now, looking at this key find it is not really that old. Perhaps it was a drop as someone was going from one place to another or they had an 'old sand' blanket party. haha

Parking lots, roads and houses are older here because we are so sanded in the tide beaches never have anything but recent clad.

Ah ... you put me on to a link where there is a picture and it says: Coraline Skeleton Key Movie Prop Book Button Shaped Door Cosplay Gift

We can call it a button key! It reminded me of a button also but I think the feel of it means it was turning a heavy latch associated with a wooden door or gate. But as I say, this is my first. I have no idea how to age it but it was on an old part of the beach I was on so it could be up to 100 years old.

I find lots of keys at the beach. I have jars and cups filled with them but I've never found one of these. I don't think they are that unique. Perhaps it was just an old style gate key but could it have been a really old padlock key? I can't find any markings on it. All of the other coins were clad with no wheaties. The closest was a 59 lincoln. The ring is unmarked and light. I wonder what the guys and gals waiting on their 6000s are finding? haha

More on what Norvic said. https://www.livescience.com/hidden-continent-new-subduction-zone.html?utm_source=notification

Steve has a number of free books. Here is another one. https://books.google.ca/books?id=ZSHSBwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA176&ots=b8x_cI-OoK&dq=Auriferous skarn&pg=PA176#v=onepage&q=Auriferous skarn&f=false

We know this but yet we spend 80+% of our time on detector techniques!

This search produced an interesting site! It brings a few things together for when I am out in the field. https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/classification-of-gold-deposits-auriferous

The truth of the matter is that I know more correct places to look for gold on a beach than I do in the desert! Part of that are the difficulties of extraction from the desert vs a beach. My imagination for gold in the desert is limited. When you know sources of gold and then imagine weathering patterns (alluvial flows, glaciers, reefs, pay layers, etc.) then you don't waste time in new rock and you go for the old rock where gold is being held. Most areas have pay layers and most of those are out of the reach of detectors. Placers are a good thing to find! haha Now it would be a good discussion to have about the types of gold. Those definitions give clues about where to find it and the coverage needed.

I had to go back and search all of Doc's content. I thought the name of it was 'Gold is Not where you find it' but the search engine didn't pop it up for me. I've had training from Doc and this approach of his is excellent.

In the previous discussion about random sampling it is really not quite 'random' in a geological sense. If you were to take the proper maps and find gold on particular structures like gullies or reefs in an area then you concentrate on those areas without being totally random. When I went to the Australian Golden Triangle for instance metal detectorists would prefer to detect a shedding reef. How do you find the reef? Research and then focused coverage. Not all selected sampling areas would include a reef structure so maybe you should only go where they exist? When in Arizona the primary focus is on washes but you can't hunt them in a 'scientific' grid pattern as suggested. Everything is modified by topography. Experienced detectorists will try the bottom of a wash first but at this late stage of metal detecting it is often times futile. What do you do then if nothing is at the bottom? You try the top. Well that has been hit also so ... a pattern is to also go to a wash measure up two detector swings above the bottom and detect that line. I have seen that pattern used for great effectiveness in Gold Basin. This brings up another 'coverage idea' about missing clues. What if you go to a geologically great looking area or past claim and you look for 'evidence' of gold and you can't find it. If you see lots of dig holes then there is a chance it had been there but what if the detectorist before you left no trace? Some people say 'gold is where you find it.' Well ... that is true. But, gold has a 'story' also. How did it get to where it was found. Doc has a great thread/story/discussion on this as well as all successful pre-detector prospectors. I say gold is where you look for it and the most successful are those that look for it more right places than wrong. You can waste a lifetime looking in the wrong places too. No amount of gridding will find a patch. These are the ramblings of a detectorist with moderate success but certainly not great success. Take them with a grain of salt. I'm guilty of not doing enough research. Mitchel

I just read this article about 'coverage' which doesn't include a detector but yet a hoard was discovered by random but as the archaeologists now say it has established a new possible pattern. Basically ... you don't know until you know. https://www.livescience.com/bronze-age-hoard-sweden.html?utm_source=notification

Aptx touts Minelab 6000! https://www.aptx.com/products/minelab-gpx-6000

Here is a thread I started about the 800 but it includes a lot of 'ground coverage' discussion.

I didn't think it could be such ... just wondered.

Every day on the wet sand beach is like a new day because things move (in, out and sideways). I can look at my 3030 Find Points and see a pattern and that makes me slow down but with the 800 I 'kinda remember' and just hit the area. When you use a ZigZag method to find a patch that is exactly what it looks like because sometimes you can't hit it all as they say. You look for the most targets for the allotted time you have. I'll walk to my producing areas and go back and grid those with promise. Sometimes targets will be dense which includes trash and rocks or coins ... it just triggers your hunt pattern. Dry sand areas of a beach also move because of the raking machines but some areas are not raked as much as others. Some areas near vegetation and structures need special attention. I know there are sometimes holes in my swing pattern. As Raphis said slow is best. As you speed up areas are completely missed and as fast as the 800 is it still can't process good targets at depth at a brisk pace. Then there are the days when you are just 'drawn' to a great find and you don't know why. Mitchel

Steve, I should have added this to this thread.