blackjack

Yeah It's happened to me, buyer said he wanted to get my email as he was in a remote mining camp with poor phone reception, then he wanted me to send money to his 'Agent'. Since then it's happened a few more times, each time the scammer has asked for my email. So spot on madtuna and notheast great advice. Sounds like he's onto it. It hasn't stopped me buying or selling on Gumtree it's a great resource, just have to be careful.

Yeah Ethan I can't comment on the weight issue for others, only my self. At my age, even my equinox is too heavy to swing for an extended time. I use a harness which is just an 'occy' strap with one end in a hole on the top shaft the other hooked into a small backpack. But even way back when I was young I much preferred a hip mount, I had an excalibur II that was also much better hip mounted. I seems like that may not be an option any more but you can buy a harness. Personally I wouldn't buy a detector based on weight they all get heavy after a while, balance is more important. Just my take on it Ethan. Let me know what you decide and give me your thoughts on what you think of it, when you get out into a gold field.

Okay, that makes sense. An increase in target sensitivity also means more sensitivity to varying ground mineralization, thanks.

Hey DR nice finds, all but one appear waterworn, possibly an ancient river terrace ? I always thought that wet ground was a good thing, but a recent report by a member of a local forum here did have me thinking, when referring to his Equinox 800 he said it runs fine in pipeclay or dry ground, but when the soil is wet or in mineralized ground he had trouble. So the mineralized ground I understand for a VLF but I was puzzled about his statement regarding wet ground, I thought it helped or is it a case of modern VLF's being so sensitive that the wet ground makes them unstable. You did say you were using a P.I. machine so maybe it depends on that, or do you think it applies to both P.I. and VLF.

It's true for me that I now look rather than listen, I think I should go back to basics. After all a 1970's Marantz amp suits me fine and my U.S. made Electro-voice interface 3 speakers sound amazing. When I was running my old Garrett Groundhog I could easily tell the difference between ferrous - non ferrous and a hot rock, just on sound. Steve's duct tape reference did require some pondering, a bit slow at times.

Hey BM yes you do have a point, I also worked in a hardware store in my late teens, while I may of hesitated when someone asked for a can of striped paint, I was pretty green. Sadly hardware stores have become Machardwares over here with mostly junior staff. Make the mistake of asking for advice and they start reading the box.

Just silly Not paying attention, The discussion is not about business making money, of course they should. Not silly, paying attention and evidence that big business may have us where they want us, to be consumers. Obviously I understand that they keep upgrading, that is part of their business plan and making money. It's okay to make better cell phones and detectors and make money from it. But as sevastras pointed out even the U.S. government stepped in to control the amount of times they could change charging ports, can't we expect some standardization. At the very least, even if it's to reduce landfill. So we go full circle back to my opening statement on this topic, which rounds it off nicely for me, others may keep arguing that business can make money, or try to fit a corolla wheel to their land cruiser.

No Ethan, I've never used one, Phrunt recently posted a video of the Garrett Crew doing a test run Tibooboorroo, I think he meant Tibooburra. Also NQExplorers have a couple of videos on youtube. They are being talked about on this forum so you should be able to make up your mind about them. From what I've seen they look good, let me know how you get on.

Hey Smigo as Steve touched on due to their success using minelab equipment many people did or do have some brand loyalty towards Minelab. This may explain why people are looking to the Garrett Axiom to give Minelab a jolt. Minelab have had the market to themselves, this explains, I guess why at times they have treated customer/consumers with a bit of contempt As you point out their handles and shafts at times have been sub standard. I agree with you about the length, I wouldn't want to be any taller than 6'1". You say Minelab don't care and don't listen lets hope a bit of competition changes that.

Perhaps you are right GC, good advice. Don't shoot everyone, I surrender, I'm coming out with my hands up. Cheques in the mail to minelab for a new bottom shaft, I will include a bonus for the CEO, rumors are CEO's are doing it tough. And if I want to get likes rather than contribute, like a bunny I will pop my head up every now and then to trivialize some poor bastards topic. Disappointed but not bothered.

Please people get a grip, I'm not suggesting, companies shouldn't make money just that it shouldn't be their only basis for operating, has every one forgotten the GFC and what caused it, greed. The way things are in the world at the moment we need to have companies behaving ethically not just for profit.

Well I'm not bothered, just disappointed, mostly because as my title hints, that companies are just about making money. Clearly by your comment ' The only reason companies exist is to make money' you disagree. But my point is that as soon as a companies sole reason for being is to make money then they will soon lose their way. Especially when we are seen as consumers instead of customers. To illistrate my point, as I like to do, I've read on this forum that there are some problems with the GPX 6000 and people are unhappy but, minelab are sitting on their hands. Can I suggest that this atittude is motivated by profit and is disappointing. Finally no it doesn't bother me enough to send the company a letter, I just thought it would be interesting topic in the light of what I've mentioned about the 6000. It seems that sevastras has bought up an interesting point, that is waste, and making things obsolete for the sake of sales. I think unintentionally, or not , he is reinforcing my point.

A story that could have come straight from 'Detectorists' now we know where Mackenzie Crook gets his inspiration. I wonder if it came under the U.K's treasures act. Beginners luck, it does remind me of a story in the early 1980's, from Sandstone in W.A. but I will save that for another time.

Hey Tom T when we finally get in the water this year I've got a new nox 800 to checkout crevices that are out of the water or too shallow.

Yes the crevices that are packed tight due to impaction generally have gold. We have also learnt that crevices that run parallel to the flow can be just as good as those that run across. The best crevices however seem to be ones that run across the flow and are at the base of a small ledge. For us bedrock type also seems crucial, Tillite having a rough surface catches more gold than another type of bedrock we encounter that erodes to a smooth surface but still has crevices. Tillite by the way is the source of the gold in our river.

Having more than one coil for my new Equinox 800 I'd like spare lower shaft. I've upgraded from an X-Terra 705, I carry it as a spare detector, so I thought, great I will use the lower shaft from that. Different size of course, it would be reasonable to assume that an X-Terra owner would, when upgrading, be buying a nox. So this situation to me is disappointing, to my mind Minelab have deliberately changed the size of the shaft in order to sell me another shaft. As buyers we we tend to be brand loyal, but increasingly for me that is becoming trite, they clearly don't care about us so why should we remain loyal ? My Equinox is made in Malaysia so Minelab don't even employ Australians to make the Equinox at least. Some may say big deal just buy a new shaft and get on with it. If that's what you think then big business has you exactly where they want you and the future is grim for consumers { remember when we used to be Customers }

Hey Mike, as you point out it is a low impact way to prospect, also very efficient and more effective than panning or sluicing, you can access crevices that are usually out of reach. Easier on your back as well, although dragging the kayak over large boulders to avoid rapids can be exhausting. We did have a couple of flood events last winter and are keen to get back to the area pictured to see if there has been any replenishment. We've had a lot of rain this spring as well and so far the river has had too much flow to work it safely, last season we were able to get in mid November. We are curious about how long it takes to replenish an area, I guess it would vary and we hopefully will have an answer for that section of river soon enough. I would like to hear other peoples experiences on the subject of replenishment, it's something that is interesting when it comes to alluvial gold. And something that detectorists that aren't working a creek wouldn't consider. Thanks for your interest, John.

Hey Ethan, I can relate to what geof_junk is saying, early VLF's weren't any were near as sensitive as the modern generation of VLF's. I've had plenty of experience using VLF's in the 1980's and hot rocks weren't really an issue, but after a recent trip to W.A. and here in Tasmania there are places where my nox 800 was picking up as G_J says 3-4 hot rocks per swing. Most of the time in factory settings the nox will disc. out hot rocks, but when you are in areas with extremely hot rocks, i.e. showing a solid 11-16 signal all you can do is notch discriminate them out. This works very well, but of course you will miss gold in this range. I will stand corrected, but I don't think the GM has notch disc. So if you are going to use a VLF in these areas you need that option. You mentioned you had a 6000 on your last trip, if so then there's you answer. From what I've heard the 6000's are very good on small gold. If for other reasons you need another machine and can't afford a P.I then look for a VLF with notch disc. The Equinox 800 does handle hot ground very well for a VLF, that's the only machine I'm qualified to comment on.

Hey everyone, I have posted these photos on another topic, but I thought I'd start a new topic. Sniping is relatively new to us down her in Tasmania, and for me I've only done two summers so I'm just getting started. As a beginner I thought I'd start the topic and let others give us the benefit of their experience.

If it's been mentioned already sorry, but the best detecting video/ show by far is the british comedy series Detectorists written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, starring him and Toby Jones, both excellent actors. Crook is a detectorist himself and his observations on what we do are both funny and inciteful, well worth watching for anyone on this forum !

First off there is no such thing as a dumb question, And UtahRich mentions audio quality, that's a coincidence because Steve compares tubes and transistors, but not, I think in a negative light just comparing old and new. In fact many audiophiles make a case for tube amplifiers and records. So at times what we think has been superseded, sometimes still has a niche. I was interested to read that some said that the older P.I. machines had advantages over the newer ones. For those that have owned both I would like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks Phrunt It's where I'm heading this winter, just about to book my spot on the ferry to the mainland. I have watched NQExplorers series on Tibooburra using the Axiom. I don't know if this is part of that series, I will have a look at this one.

Thanks, like many on this forum, I suspect, it's the history as well as the gold that makes what we do so interesting. I have alluded to this on another topic on this forum but I will mention it again. My cousin had a professional dry blowing operation at Reedy between Meekatharra and Cue, we used to metal detect his lease. As a young guy metal detecting got a bit tiresome at times but I loved exploring. On one such occasion I was out exploring driving cross country, keep in mind this is flat treeless desert country, when I came across a track. I followed it for miles, in places it was indistinct then it would become obvious again, clearly it was an old track. It ended at an old camp with some of the bush poles that was their shelter still standing. The camps fire place was still there and I found their rubbish place a well, a pile of old colored bottles and rusty cans as well as a single leather boot. The point of this story is the track I followed, it had me puzzled, as well as two ruts to match my vehicle there was a third larger one down the middle, I just didn't work out the obvious. On returning to camp I explained the track to my dad and he smiled and gave me the explanation. My question is how many of you in a dry desert situation have also come across a three rut track.

Unless you want to hang it on the wall, and reminisce about the good old days, as the song says 'these are the good old days', gee I miss Carly Simon and Neil Young and Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd and I wonder what happened to........... ? Oh and Joy Division and...

Wow, I'm only 20 pages in but will read the rest for sure, for me doing the research is part of the thrill of finding gold. I can only imagine the excitement of finding a journal like this, I can relate to this story by GhostMiner, but certainly can't tell one as fascinating as this one is. I got hooked on research in the late 1970's when trying to find the location of a place called Top Camp on the Ashburton River in Western Australia, it was a place known for large nuggets but was only worked for a short time for various reasons, I decided it's where I wanted to go. While it was a known field the records at the mines department didn't give an exact location, the best clue I could find was a creek 25 miles S/W of Prismiod hill which was on the maps. Long story short my dad and I loaded my FB Holden, towed a trailer loaded with two trail bikes and did the 2 day drive up there. we had a choice of three possible creeks and chose the middle one. We chose right, the thrill of being the first prospectors to be there for nearly 100 years was better than the gold we found. I've been hooked on the research side of what we do ever since. For those that are interested the creek is called Fords creek, a tributary of the Ashburton river east of Ashburton downs station. Recently I have found out that Bailey, of Bailey and Ford the discoverers of Coolgardie worked the diggings. I'd love to hear from any one who has been in there as well.