Nedkelly

Yea, I'd like to hit their leases and at least get my money back that I paid for the detector. 😆

I just want to cross them off my bucket list. Bit of a holiday really. I bought a modded SD2200 for $1700 off a full-time prospector from WA and he said to make sure I catch up with him when I go there. Between him and his mate they have leases all over the place and I'm welcome to detect on them, so that makes things a lot easier. He doesn't like detecting, they just rework all the old tailings, ect. I'm about to chase a few big'uns myself. Hit all the old patches with extra large coils. Most of the surface rubbish is now gone so I'll grid the deeper ground low slow and in multiple directions investigating even the slightest murmur. Just gotta keep reminding myself to be patient. Could be a long time between drinks. Hopefully I'll have to go to the car for the crowbar and shovel. Haven't used them in a while so their a bit rusty. Probably have the small coiltek coil on the 6000 handy as well to use as a pinpointer. I got it all worked out, bet it doesn't go to plan though. LOL 🤣

Good stuff 👍. I'm glad you persevered with the 5000. They can be a bitch to learn to operate correctly, especially when you don't have anyone to teach you. JP 's dvd really helped me sort it out. One of the reasons I don't use mine any more is I was spending to much time testing different combinations of settings on undug targets and not digging. Always in the back of my mind was am I in the right gear, is there another gear or two I can use. Looks like you have mastered it now, excellent work.

I've noticed my gold finds are changing as the detectors evolve. Back in 1996 I think, the year the SD 2000 was released I started detecting for gold. It was all solid chunky pieces then. It took me years to find my first specimen piece, only thumbnail size but I was over the moon. As the detectors progressed my finds started getting smaller but more of them. For years I couldn't better the 39 gram solid nugget found very deep with a SD 2200. After an extreme, then a GP3000, I bought a GPX 5000 and it was game on. Probably found more gold with it than all others combined. I finally got a deep 78 gram solid piece with the 5000 and 18" nuggetfinder advantage coil , and it's still my best nugget to date. Here in central west NSW larger pieces are rather scarce, for me anyway. I get to the golden triangle in Victoria and tibooburra now and again but haven't been to QLD or WA yet. Now that I'm swinging a GPX 6000 and recently a GPZ 7000 the golds getting smaller, and lighter. Mainly porous spongy gold and lots of species. My mate hates me whinging about the species because of the work getting the gold out. He reckons he would take them any day. I only do it to annoy him LOL. I'm sure there's a decent nugget with my name on it, I just haven't found it yet. Some of the GPX 5000 gold and some GPX 6000 finds and the GPZ 7000 5 OZ of the processed species And another 3.5 OZ ready to sell.

I've lost count of the number of people who have approached me looking for advice on buying a gold detector. They seem to think they only signal on gold . I tell them that gold detectors are just a metal detector designed to find gold in the highly mineralised goldfields and that they still pick up all metals. The look on their face says it all. They think I'm pulling their leg. I wish that was the case though, save digging a lot of rubbish.

Yes the bigger chunker pieces usually are the first to go. I seem to finding lots of light porous type bits and species lately. I'm sure there's still some solid nuggets down deeper, just out of range. Might need a grader or dozer to take a skim or two off to reach them though LOL.

Yea I agree phrunt. After going over numerous patches for years with various detectors, settings and coils up to and including the gpx 5000 I finally decided that they where finished. But after hitting them with the gpz 7000 and gpx 6000 with various coils only to find out they weren't finished. You just don't know what you're missing.

Yes it is a shame, they definitely make superior coils and I don't mind paying a bit extra for them.

When the 25"ddx coil finally got released for the gpx detector they kept saying more sizes coming but that never happened. I was really looking forward to a 18"ddx coil or similar to compliment the 18" advantage mono in the hot ground I detect. Gave up on the 16"x10" exceed being released after paying for it and waiting over 12 months only to have 2 more price increases so I end up getting a refund. I'll see what happens next year, not holding my breath though.

Forgot to mention that years ago I read somewhere to wash the coils and covers with a little bit of dishwashing liquid and water to reduce static electricity. Not sure if that helps either but keeps them looking like new. After rinsing with clean water I then let them air dry before reassembly. I don't dry with a cloth as I think rubbing the plastic with a dry cloth would only create more static electricity. Again only speculation on my part.

I do a similar thing with all my coils as well. Double sided tape, which has a very thin layer of foam with sticky stuff either side. I make a large X inside the coil covers then peel the backing off and fit to the coil. Followed by electrical tape around the coil edge to seal from dust and moisture. Makes a big difference. Fairly easy to remove the double sided tape with a bit of scraping with a small blunt paint scraper when I take cover off for a clean and service. Started doing this on my 14" coiltek elite when it became noisy, almost threw it in the bin thought it was stuffed. It became very touch sensitive, not bump sensitive, making noises just by brushing against grass ect. I put it down to static electricity from the plastics rubbing together. Whether that was the cause or not I don't know, but definitely made a big difference. They seem to run way smoother and quieter. Might all be in my head, but as we all know confidence is the key to successful prospecting.

Almost forgot, I installed a quick track button setup, same as the 5000 to the SD 2200. Big difference, saves the back with the bigger coils when ground balancing.

A few years ago I bought a woody modified SD 2200. Serial# in the 45000's which are supposed to be the good ones. I've never modified a detector, so thought I'd buy it to see what, or if any difference the mods made. It has 3 mods I think, a variable gain that is great, I can adjust it to get the detector running as smooth or rough as I want. A 3 position switch for different pulse rates ,shallow or medium or deep. I use deep but you must turn on the detector in the shallow position, then when it warms up do the emi tune and change to the deep position. The option of using the 2200 in the single channel is great. And I use deep audio. The other 3 position switch is a type of ground smoothing I think, not sure but I can only run in the 3rd position with the settings I use. A coiltek regulated battery system, sp-o1 signal enhancer which is a must with the 2200 as anyone that's used a 2200 will know. Combined with a coiltek 18"dd pro coil or the nuggetfinder 25" ddx coil and its unbeatable for depth on larger targets. I've also got a gpz 7000 , gpx 6000 , gpx 5000 and various coils, but the 2200 has an edge on them all for depth on the say half to 1oz plus size nuggets. The 5000 with 25" ddx in normal gives it a run for its money, but the 2200 is king. Was thinking of selling the 5000 to a mate , but now I'm seriously considering getting it modified as well.

Yea same ,end up getting a cigarette charging plug after forgetting about the detector battery hooked up to the car battery and driving off a few times. Luckily it fell between battery and firewall and no damage done. Hate to think what would've happened if the battery or lead hit the fan or the belts or dropped straight through and dragged along the road by the lead.

Yes, I don't get a full day either. I have found the battery indicator at the top of the screen is only a rough guide at best. I now swap battery's halfway through the day when I go back to the car for lunch and a break, and put it on the charger straight away because they take so bloody long to charge, otherwise if I charge at night I have to get up during the night to change battery's. Backlight always off.

Yes fantastic service by Bendigo Miners Den alright simon. I rang about a month ago and was lucky to speak to the technician and he explained the process and said that he only works Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and that it would take about 20 to 30 minutes while you wait . He told me to check a few days before to be sure. I rang last Wednesday to check I'd be right for Friday, he said all good he was there all day and he knew I was heading down from NSW. Arrived at the shop just after lunch, after an 8 hour drive only to be told he went home sick with pneumonia. The shop rang him and he was back there in about 10 minutes. They said I could hang around the shop or go next door and have a beer while I wait and they will ring when it's done. I went with the beer option. About 20 minutes later it was ready and he was heading back home to bed. I can't thank them enough, especially the technician. That's what I call service , excellent 👌

Yes good now, how I expected a new model $8000 detector to perform. Just gotta go over my gold spots again with the after market coils . I might be able to hear the deep faint signals now.

Finally got the emi fix done on my 6000. 20 minute wait at miners den Bendigo. I just couldn't bring myself to post it to minelab, 14 day turnaround they said over the phone when I rang to see whether it was needed. I can say that I'm pleasantly surprised by the fix. First 2 hours of testing after the fix running with speaker only no more crazy emi problems, especially when I put it on the ground to recover a target . Next 2 hours with headphones, and no problems. Very happy with the fix.🙂

Miners Den website is now saying preorders closed due to overwhelming demand. How many other people's money are they holding? 100 ? Possibly a lot more . They have quite a few stores around the country. Crazy? Not really, golddigger dave would be sitting back laughing , collecting interest on our money. $750 per person x 12 months . Easy money. 🤑 That's only the 16x10, I think there would be a lot higher demand for the 2 smaller exceed coils .

I've noticed Miners Den are not taking preorders any more. But there are still shops doing it.

Yes , Miners Den . Hope your right and they do get priority because I don't think I can hold my breath much longer. Sometimes I think I've been scammed, no updates or communication at all.

Good question, I'm still patiently waiting for the 16x10 exceed that I paid for almost 12 months ago . 🤭

Thanks Norvic , yep I'm over laying in bed unable to sleep at night thinking about it. I'll just have fun and enjoy. Your right , you need a open mind for gold prospecting otherwise it can mean missed gold. Gold is where you find it. Where she be there she be .🍀

Yes true , fair way to any water source. Track maybe? The reef mines aren't all that big or deep , just 1 or 2 mounds of dirt and rock and a shallow hole or 2. Maybe up to 15 or 20 feet deep and wide , more like small open cut mines. Hard to say as they have partly filled back in over the years . I don't think you would see much in a photo as the whole area is covered in waist high dead grass.

I have a few theories why the left hand edges have gold and not the right. 1 - The surfaced area was very rich and the original diggers found less and less gold the further they dug to the left hand side so they abandoned it . Probably. 2 - They started digging on the right hand side for whatever reason. Working right to left across the run of gold , throwing the overburden behind them on the already dug ground . So there could be gold on the right edge covered by overburden that's out of range of my detector. Possibly. 3 - Pure coincidence and the pattern that is emerging is all in my head. Good chance. But I'll always be giving the left hand edge of similar sites a lot more attention. 4 - Most of the diggers were right handed. Unlikely. I think the diggings have been worked twice , 1870's and 1930's going by the dates of coins found . Anyway it was good of them to leave some for me.