PhaseTech

I've found the deeper targets are barely a pull in the threshold, and some of the responses are quite wide, so you need to do a slow wide sweep of the coil in order to hear the full rise and fall (or the opposite) of the signal. With a short narrow sweep, the target can be invisible.

I've dug several bits of larger lead at about 10-11 inches. On the beach in Salt 2 I've dug aussie $1 coins at 12 inches. This bigger bit went 3.57g and was about 10 inches.

Here's what I previously had to say about the Impact: I'll hopefully get some more field time on it soon - I haven't been out much (freezing cold and raining here lately).

Thanks for posting that photo Steve, I feel a lot better now. I spot a SD2000, SD2100 and a Sovereign with the rare 11" Coinsearch coil! I'd sell the rest Oh maybe keep the Tejon too

Steve, what did you do regards ground balance? Did you ground balance off to one side of your target pad then run in fixed? Did you try tracking on any of the units to compare with the monster? On seeing your targets laid out like that, the first thing that crossed my mind would be to cover it with some particle board, and then put other users to the test where they can mark on the board what they think is a good target vs bad target. That would be a very good way of learning ones detector of choice.

A modern day Sovereign, that would survive a freak wave or me toppling over is what I'd love. A bit more sensitive to small gold wouldn't go astray but now I'm just dreaming.

Thanks Strick! I've pulled over half an ounce from that spot. Here is what most of it looks like when it comes out of the ground. And the other image is what is looks like after an acid bath. I'm finding the GPX really struggles to see a lot of this gold at any depth, and the SDC just doesn't have the punch on a lot of it.

Hi all, Got a new video up recently, but I say (old) as the footage was taken just before Christmas!

Good stuff mate! Big coil = big gold, simple formula. Good to hear those Gogs are working for you. You using an older or re-issue 4500?

Hi Steve, D&P-OR and all, I have used both and they are both good, but different. The GM being a silent search has both its advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantage is to guys like me who have had a lot of experience with VLF gold machines over the years and all of them have had a threshold! Take that familiar hum away and I just get an uneasy feeling. The advantage of the silent threshold is that you can generally run the machine a little hotter than you normally would, due to low/marginal chatter occurring below the audible level. Also, when you hear a beep, and it repeats, you dig - there is no trying to decipher what to dig among threshold clatter. The fact that the Monster also has auto sensitivity means that a new user can switch on and start detecting with minimum fuss and minimum learning curve. The main thing to learn is where to swing the thing, but watch Chris Ralph's videos and that is covered pretty well! Ground handling of hot ground, and general performance really comes down to your Sensitivity setting. You can pretty much run both units as smooth or erratic as you want, and your sensitivity setting will dictate performance. The difference here is that the Gold Racer has 100 steps of adjustment, whereas the Monster has 10 steps. So the GM is a little more immediate, e.g. if you are using Sens 7 and the monster is playing up a little, you can drop it to Sens 6 and the noise will be gone. In this same scenario on the GR, you may need to drop the Sensitivity by 5 or 6 numbers, and possibly reset your iSat setting as well. So the GR isn't as immediate, but allows for finer tuning. So it really all comes down to the individual, their needs, and their expectations. I sell both, so I'm not biased in any way. When I get an inquiry about what detector they should buy, I probably go back to the customer with more questions than they asked me, to get a better idea of where and how they intend to use it, their experience level, experience with other detectors etc. Their answers will tell me which of the two units would be the better option, and perhaps another machine like a 705, Impact, or AU Gold Finder may be more suitable. But back to the GM Vs GR topic, here are a few differences that may be of interest: Speaker placement - GM wins here. It is on the back of the display and is nice and loud. GR is on the bottom box under the armrest, so okay if coin/relic hunting on grass, but in the goldfield you really want to have the neoprene cover on. Wireless - GR has wireless capability built in so wins here. For the GM, you can buy a Deteknix WireFree system with 3.5mm plug. Balance - Again GR wins here as it has the batteries under the armrest, but the GM with the supplied lithium pack is very light, and balance is better than you'd expect - even better if you use a GPX upper shaft and standard Minelab lower stem. Coil options - at this point the GR wins hands down in coil options. 5" round, 7.5x4" elliptical, 10x5" elliptical DD and Concentric, and 15.5x13" semi-elliptical. The GM only has the supplied two coils. Sensitivity - this is a tough one, but in hot changeable soils the Auto Sensitivity on the GM should be seen as an advantage, especially to inexperienced users. If using the GM in Auto I like to pump the coil up and down and sweep the coil side to side just to give it a change to set itself correctly. Not sure if this is necessary or not, but is a bit of a ritual for me whenever using any units with Auto functions, as you don't know what the last state of the unit was when you switch on. Build/robustness - this is a win for the GM. Both units have waterproof coils, but the GM control box is a little more rugged, and rated as being rain proof. Discrimination - the GM discrimination is really a ferrous/non-ferrous probability scale, and the only adjustment you have is to audibly ignore high iron probability targets. The Gold Racer has two discrimination modes (Fast & Boost), with the discrimination adjustable, and with a Target ID makes the GR the easy winner in this category. Audio - I like the audio in both the all-metal modes, and it would come down to personal preference. The GR does have an option of low or high tone whereas the GM tone is fixed, but is a nice choice that should suit most users, (same as the Nokta AU Finder). Hope that helps. Cheers

Perfect for sweeping out all those little crevices in the bedrock

Thanks mate!

And can't recall if I've posted this one up previously or not??

New video on the 11" Ultra

You can also get the 3.5mm transmitter with the full size Pro headphones.

Look forward to your results Alex. Love seeing gold from different areas. Re headphones, the Deteknix wireless with 3.5mm plug on the transmitter are a perfect fit for the GM1000.

Thanks Steve, Just a couple of points worth noting. The "26" series solid coil is listed as 10.5" long, so the new "24" series at 9.5" long is a little more semi-elliptical. The 10.5x5" solid coils for the Gold Racer and Fors Gold+ remain unchanged, as solid coils are generally preferred for goldfield use. Actually the RC26 solid is a excellent match up with the Racer 2 for prospecting duties, or for generally working rocky terrain, so any Racer users should snap up a coil before they are all gone. Cheers

That's awesome! The Binaural test freaked me out, I thought someone was banging on my window!

Sorry about the title, I couldn't help myself with all the monster talk . This video is a bit of detector vs big coil comparison on a decent sized bit of trash (unfortunately).

Hi Ricardo, I have used the Impact in the goldfields and it is well up to the task. The all-metal mode is really nice, and has everything you'd expect a good nugget shooter to have, but it has even more: A true motion all-metal mode A very fine adjustable threshold Volume control 100 step tone adjustment! iSat control Very good target definition, even on faint signals Target ID readout in all-metal (use it if you want, ignore it if you don't trust it) Auto GB (grab), manual GB and tracking - run it how you want Lots of coil options I have tested it with the IM19 7" elliptical coil, vs the Gold Racer with it's 7" elliptical, and the Impact is no slouch and is only a whisker behind the Gold Racer. Even with the stock coil, it picks up my American Certified Bullion One Grain 24K Gold at 3 inches. And as an added bonus, the Impact (together with the Racer 2) is one of the best VLFs I've used on beaches. The 705 is also quite capable with the right setting tweaks and 10.5" round HF coil. Hope that helps. Cheers

Awesome find. Nice reward for getting out of the swag nice and early

I always balance using the ferrite. During a training session where I buried a nugget for the trainee to test on, I was demonstrating the two methods of ground balance. We did a ferrite assisted ground balance on my machine and the signal on the test target was clear and consistent. We then did a walk and swing ground balance on the trainees unit and approached the target, and the signal was barely there and on repeated swings would easily be dismissed as a ground noise. We then did a Ferrite assisted ground balance on the trainees 7000 and the signal was nice and clear. Regardless of what has been written on the topic, that demonstration was enough proof to my trainee and also to myself, to always use the Ferrite.

Haven't put them side-by-side yet.

Frequency is just one aspect. Ground balance, and more importantly Audio and threshold stability are what propels or sinks any potential gold machine. Can't speak of the G2 or F19 as I haven't used either, but the Impact has excellent audio, and the iSat adjustment is very effective. It also has a very adjustable audio tone in the all-metal mode.

Great thread and couldn't agree more Steve. If anyone can do it, it is Minelab. Why? They already have the technology to place themselves anywhere on your number list. They also have a big Engineering team. Pretty much throw the Gold monster and the SDC into a pot, stir it around and pull out some sort of hybrid. Yes agree with your comment about the TDI, in mild ground any decent VLF will ping small gold better, and will even keep up with it depth wise when bigger coils and lower frequencies are used. That is the beauty of the GPX series in particular, optional timings and various adjustments like Rx Gain, Audio Type and optional Timings means that they can be optimised regardless of ground type. With a small mono coil they are so sensitive they will pick up smaller gold then a lot of VLF's except for dedicated very high freq machines. You forgot to add the Gold Racer into your Very Light section It is also the best balanced machine due to having the battery compartment under the armrest.