fredmason

yeah, that was the best dirt road we ever were on...fortunately because my teeth were getting rattled loose!!!! fred

corrugated is Australia for washboard roads... millions of miles of them. At least that is how it seemed travelling from Western Australia to Ayres Rock...several hundred miles...no traffic...don't break down! This part had just been graded fred

Scott; here are my observations from three trips to Oz. Almost everyone has solar and generators. Their refrigs and freezers are generally 12v. They either camp near a fresh water supply or haul water in tanks or bottles. Solar showers or dipping water from the stream...or not. depending on the crew, food can be very basic or the full spread...(see solar refrig and freezers) Most serious gold hunting is done in the cooler parts of the year-fall and winter in WA or the NT. Clothing must suit very cold nights and very warm days, sometimes rain and snow... Toilets can be the ever popular hole in the ground or something more civilized... Travelling the Outback is a great adventure...I loved it! fred

Nice gold Chris...no doubt that window screen would drive a you batty with a gpz... fred

Paul, sounds like you have selected one of the coin modes than notches out pulltabs and most aluminum...read than manual again...I found it a bit confusing with the xterra70. The 705 has more options and is overall "better". I doubt you will find much gold notching out tabs...hopefully I am wrong. BTW the readouts will vary with the orientation of the target...take a gold ring and lay it flat then lay it perpendicular and see the difference... good luck fred

you should throw those dinks back and let them grow up...NOT! very nice fred

Merv; back in 2005 when Steve opened up Moore Creek to pay-to-mine I decided to get back into nugget hunting. I had sold my gp extreme and did not have a nugget hunting detector. At that time Eric Foster was developing his Gold scan 5...knowing his reputation and wanting to be cutting-edge I bought one of the first to hit this country. For a number of reasons that was a poor choice...I made a huge mistake and paid dearly for that decision. So, yes, I will admit I was very sorry. But, also, I learned a lot about me and detectors. I got an education albeit for a lot more than a little money. Fred

man, you do get around!!! nice pic's fred

I agree that a coil made specifically for a given machine is usually best. Same with size...the manufacturer generally knows what their machine can tolerate well... good luck fred

Matt; if Reg is around he could best answer your question...i had the GS5 which was the TDI's daddy...and I am certainly not an expert. fred

nice Mitchel; is that a gold bracelet? 12 rings, how many are gold? When is Alaska happening? say hey to Lu for me fred

just to clarify...all coils made for a Minelab Pi are interchangable...however, each Pi had coils that were made for it. The commander coils are no doubt the best for 3500 to 5000's. Also, any coil made for a Minelab Pi can be used with a TDI...you just have to find the correct settings. fred

take a whet stone and grind down an edge...if you see specks of nickel/iron it is a chrondrite... fred

for marking your car or find locations all you need is the basic Garmin etrex...so simple even I can use it... I carry a very small camera, the etrex is small and they are both off until I need them... fred

Nice gold. A few more pieces and you can make that clock run... I love detecting old sites before the days of aluminum tabs and screw caps... Any non ferrous signal is worth investigating... fred

gosh, my hair was mostly still brown and I still feel the pain of that gs5...Not being the forgetful type I still wish I had taken your advice...too late! I have it in a word document-I think...it would be easy for me to be mistaken...not being very smart and all... fred

Steve, thanks, I had a great time keeping the coffee pot going every morning while you cooked breakfast...I still hear that lonely wolf howling in the early morning...can still see the otters playing along the misty creek. You had the article in your Moore Creek site...I suppose it is gone with new owners...oh well. I have the article but have no clue how to put it here, on your forum. fred

Hey, Steve; good article! http://www.icmj.com/article-notloggedin.php?id=3263 The article took me back to 2005 and Moore Creek. You ran an excellent camp! I don't know if you can link to the article I wrote about my trip there but someone may find it of interest... I found a few moore creek photos of my first speci, finishing the celebration and camp... thanks for the memories fred

One thing I like about this forum is the civil discussions herein. This is possible because Steve requires mutual respect for all opinions...we don't have to agree just be tolerant. respect! fred

No Noric, I am likely the source of the confusion-just ask my wife or loving offspring... however, in the beginning, I did ask if my assumptions and math were correct... You and Chris are excellent tutors...I thank all who have endeavored to enlighten me. fred

well, That is a good tip...I have noticed that the charger and battery get fairly warm. I spoke to my dealer about my alternator and did a little reading. I have a155 amp alternator. When the engine is running it produces about 15 volts. However, the charging rate varies with the rpm and the load...in other words no one can tell me exactly how long and at what rpm it would take to replace those 10 amps used to recharge the gpz battery. Their best guess was " not very long while driving" and maybe 15-20 minutes at idle... so, to be safe I will use my deep-cycle trailer battery and only use the truck when I am driving around... fred

very pretty... fred

You may find that the tip of the dd-elyp is a good guide...when you get a signal just approach the target slowly, when you start getting a signal the target should be just in front of the tip of the coil...it does take practice... fred

legalize drugs and eliminate the profit motive....all these antidrug laws do is keep the profits high. That fool Nixon started a stupid War on Drugs that has done nothing except cause death and ruin...stupid, stupid, stupid! fred

Mitchel; I should have been more informative...I plug the headphones into the module. The surf noise is way to intrusive to not use headphones...in the desert I vary but like the dual external speakers with Jonathan Porter's enhancer best... fred