Randy Lunn

So that's what a barramundi looks like. They have been popping up on restaurant menus recently in California, and they taste great. Nice catch!

Well done Minelab! Thank you from all of us! OK Paul ....... let's see some gold!

Thank you Tom. What a fun adventure!

Rick, I do hope we link up soon. You bring a special energy to the sport.

Two recommendations for Minelab: After the registration process send a confirmation email to the owner. Also, if you have two or more products to register the website makes you fill out the entire name and address form each time. Please allow for multiple registrations.

Well done Mitchel! Great surf and turf.

Rick, what a great weekend adventure. Congratulations to you, Rudy and team.

I think Chris nailed it. Here is a picture of corundum from Brazil. As he pointed out the specific gravity of corundum is 4 and is easy to check. Weigh your specimen twice. First all alone. Second put a glass of water on a scale. Then dangle the specimen tied to a thread in the water. The increase in the weight of the glass of water is the weight of the water displaced by the specimen. The ratio of the two weights will give you the specific gravity. Let us know how it comes out.

Hey Paul, enjoy your extra time in civilization. Try a Morton Bay bug. They are a cross between a Lobster and a King Crab.

Wow Peg, with a haul like that you might make Lucky Lundy jealous. You've got game!

Well done Fred! A combo day must be a super feeling.

Lucky, nice finds and great tips. Thanks

What a day! Well done Dave!

Fred, thanks for the heads up on the small irons. The chondrites are certainly easier to identify with a loupe. I will be careful not to toss out any small irons.

Inspired by all the great posts on this forum I made my first trip dedicated to find meteorites. I spent the last three days in Franconia exploring the Yucca Dense Collection Area. I searched only the north side of the RR tracks. I spent one day each at the lower, middle and upper portions. Wow, this is not easy pickin's. I did find all the trash items advertised in other posts including seven 50 caliber bullets, a dozen small pieces of thin wire, lead fragments, etc. The geology and mix of rocks and minerals would make a great study. I found five tiny meteorites that only totaled 3 grams, but I am thrilled I did not get skunked.

Where it really counts I have had fabulous service from Minelab and Fisher. When my GPZ froze up I had three days of technical support to try to solve the download software issue. It could not be solved, and they immediately sent me a new machine. First class in all respects. Last month the discrimination toggle switch on my GB2 stopped working. I called, and the it was fixed under warranty in a week (thank you Felix!). When it comes to marketing, the marketing guys (not necessarily the engineers) can play some really nasty games like pre-announce a product to freeze the market and get pre-orders. This is how Intel won the microprocessor wars against Motorola even though Intel was late to market. However, sometimes delays happen because of manufacturing issues such as design tweaks or parts availability. Better late than wrong. There is no excuse for lack of communication. Hey Hawkeye - I love the Dilbert cartoon.

Excellent operating overview Lunk. You have given us some critical insights and valuable tips on how to better use the GM 1000. And your pictures are great too!

Mitchel, I could not stand it any more. After watching the Meteorite Men - Mohave Desert and reading about Lunk's recent finds, I drove to Lake Havasu tonight and will search the Franconia area (i.e. Yucca Dense Collection Area) for a few days. You, Steve H., Lunk and Fred have inspired me. Thank you guys!

I am going to use the 1000 to take a break from the GPZ 19" coil, poke around dense brush/rocky areas, detect in damp soil and detect after dinner on camping trips.

Hi Steve, This is an amazing thread. As a relatively new member to the forum I am constantly cruising old posts to learn. Thank you for this incredible forum and sharing your vast knowledge and experience. Randy

Well done Chris! Those are real beauties.

I would like to see the GPX and GPZ added to the large-to-small nugget response chart. The chart with different coils would be interesting too.

Just an amazing find! A beautiful and very rare coin.

My first metal detector was a Heathkit that my brother and I built in the 1960's. We used a soldering iron to assemble the circuit board and wrapped the wire for the two "tuned" coils that were electronically balanced by a Wheatstone bridge type circuit. Silver coins were easy to find at the beach. This was when a pack of baseball cards cost 5 cents. I also found a diamond ring and was able to return it to the lady who lost it by posting a notice at the beach.

Jen, thank you for bringing up the 19" false signal issue. I was beginning to think I would just have to live with it. I got my 19" from Rob in February on my way to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. I'll give him a call and order one of the new solid covers.