AU_Solitude

I don't know how large your fire pit is, but something sounds fishy...it should be wailing long before that. My initial thought would be some wacky settings but if the problem truly "comes and goes," like you say, factory reset isn't doing anything, it probably needs to be sent in. Maybe it took one too many knocks and got rattled. Good luck!?

Rick, I have played with the VMH3CS extensively as well, and for a non-motion metal detector they pack some serious punch, even with the factory small coil. I would argue they hit even deeper than a white's TDI on coin size targets. They are definitely not a machine for the gold fields. Although they can handle difficult ground mineralization, exceptionally well, in my view the sensitivity just isn't there at depth for small gold. (The tool can be used for the job, but it definitely isn't the BEST tool.) If all an individual is after is larger than gram gold, and/or coins and relics, they are fantastic little machine - as are most of the units that Vallon has produced. The mosquito-esque piezo will wear on you after a while!

It's just lead. I was going to suggest essentially what you've already done, lead has a low melting point, put a match to it, a lighter, it will quickly become apparent what it is.

Looks awesome, Jim! That had to be quite the undertaking - do you have photo's of a prototype? Do you have plans to take this to market?

One of the beautiful things about gold is that even if tomorrow massive placer gold deposits were discovered on Mars, the closest and most readily accessible celestial body, the cost of actually going there to retrieve the metal, then bringing it back, would far exceed the value of the metal itself. Even if recovery was simply picking it up from the surface. Moving things into, and out of space, isn't cheap. Gold prices are in no immediate danger from off earth mining - not in our lifetimes!

This is sad news. This magazine was a major influence in my start of detecting as a kid.

This shouldn't be too long from now. I speculate we will see $2000 an ounce gold by 2020. We should be entering a period of economic recession, as we're long overdue, the market seems like it's just figuring this out over the last month. A lot of deep pockets will be moving equity into gold, or gold based ETFs as a security vehicle to carry them through.

Great pulse induction detector that gets a really bad rep some of the time because of it's weight. The detector itself is cumbersome. It feels much more bulky, when folded, and when in operation than the SDC or other mine detecting platforms - which is what the housing is based on, the Garrett Recon. I love being able to stuff the SDC in a backpack and barely feel it while hiking, you CAN stuff the ATX in a bag, but you are going to be poked and prodded because of its awkward collapsed shape that doesn't fit well in smaller backpacks (think greater than 35L or 21" plus main compartment depth.) The first generation of coils were quick to wear, and there is still issues with pinch points when collapsing the shaft in the body of the detector. I put its detection abilities in the middle ground between the SDC on small gold, and the GPX 4500 on deeper gold. Replacement or additional coils are prohibitively expensive for most, and do not offer any real additional performance when compared to the stock DD coils. The only aftermarket coil that seems worthwhile is the 8", and it's not for increased performance as much as it is maneuverability in tighter areas. I am finding the iron grunt future saves me considerable time when working hot hydraulic areas littered with can slaw and square nails. The detector makes a pretty recognizable double bleep over square nails, when on their sides, in which case using the iron ID often isn't necessary. I love compact detectors, this ones biggest weak point is it's heft. It's a solid performer for those who have no problem throwing the weight around.

What Lunk said. Has found me more gold than all other detectors combined.

Fantastic piece! Almost big enough to be called a PB&J.

Thanks for posting those FlakMagnet, I love seeing large Sierra gold. That's a beautiful piece!

http://www.euronews.com/2018/09/09/hundreds-of-roman-gold-coins-discovered-in-italian-theatre

Absolutely incredible. Thanks for linking this!

Do you have pictures of said nugget?

Thanks for the input. Going to have to weed the trash out piece at a time with the SDC. As to the above suggestions of the electromagnets, sweepers and such, not even close to being practical in the areas I prospect. Only access is by foot. I spend time shaving ounces of weight off my backpack with most of my packs weight being water.

I am currently working a smaller hydraulic pit in the sierras that was washed down to bedrock in most places, the bedrock is serpentine but there is also a great deal of ironstone river rock laying around, the ground is incredibly hot. There are areas the SDC struggles with here. It's no surprise, but there is the usual plethora of iron trash associated with these sites - nails, tin, cans and iron scrap galore. I have been able to pull a few pieces of gold out with the SDC, and I know there is more there, but the SDC is constantly overloading on the scrap iron. VLF's struggle with the ground and have to be fully castrated to the point of being essentially useless to even come close to the serpentine. How would you go about detecting such an area? Is my only option to vacate the area of all iron one piece at a time with the PI? All input appreciated.

Very nice! Keep the photo's and stories coming. The heat and smoke have been keeping me out of the hills here in CA so it's always nice to be able to live vicariously.

Really a unique piece with the quartz crystallization and iron staining - can almost imagine it in-situ. Keep the photo's coming! ?

Nothing to do with detecting for gold, however everyone should read "Bacon and beans from a gold pan." It's a classic.

That's a great ratio; I'm at about 50-1 I would say in the few productive spots I have. Love the suddle "eee-yoooe," of those very small pieces with the SDC.

A large range, but still simply amazing being in the billions...Pretty cool that they say most of the gold was mined in Peru as well. It would be quite an undertaking at those depths - I don't know much about Columbia, but it is going to take a significant investment on their part as tech is going to play heavy into this retrieval given the depth; you're talking millions upon millions of dollars, and since it's the Colombian government, most likely they will want to put this in a museum of some sort, not cash it all out...who knows. That said, there are always those rogues with money and resources and once something like this is in the wind I am sure you'll have a few people trying to see what they can do to get a slice of the pie.

https://www.livescience.com/62638-san-jose-shipwreck-cannons.html Pretty amazing - the article is worth a read if you love anything to do with treasure hunting. It's great how over the last few decades underwater ROV's are putting these treasures/history back in reach.

https://www.americanminingrights.com/dredging-in-california-next-year/ Whether there is any truth to this, or it is stonewalled by legislation remains to be seen. Interesting though.

Better than the skunk, but not by much of a margin. Worked an old tertiary river bench for a few hours and managed to pull these two pieces from behind a protruding knob of bedrock. Both were only between 1-2 inches deep in compacted gravels. I continued to work that immediate vicinity with no success; they didn't have any other friends, at least not that the SDC could find. Combined weight is 0.17 grams.

Great looking pieces! That looks far over 1.7 grams, although I guess your scale could be smaller than mine and skew perspective. ?