GB_Amateur

The Teknetics Patriot (same as Fisher F70) is still on the market at $400, its introductory price for almost two years now. This is an excellent coin and relic detector that has an all metal mode so can find natural gold (not the smallest gold since it operates at 13 kHz). It comes with the F70/F75's top coil -- the 7" X 11" DD. For those who have a budget that maxes out below $500, IMO it's got to be in the running if not the best choice. It has the best ergonomics in the business which should be a factor, particularly for the older detectorists among us. (I have an F75 -- its sister detector.)

Is this the White's Super Pulse 350?

Yeh, it's kinda surprising Minelab made the screen protector with its button hints cover the detector logo. Once you've had enough experience stepping through the menu (and recognizing the menu item pictograms) you can replace the screen protector with one that doesn't have the menu labels. I did just that, actually using laptop/tablet screen protector which has a more diffuse finish and thus less reflection than the supplied ones. Still nice of them to include those, though.

Got a tip from a friend on some BLM land that has produced gold in the past. I spent 4 1/2 days (30 hours of detecting) while camping out there. Weather was quite good -- only rained intermittantly for part of one day; typical temps were 70's F daytime and 40's F nighttime. Got lucky to have had recent rains which brought out the flowers: I always try and learn as much as I can while MD'ing, regardless of the site/location and intended finds. I was hunting with the Minelab Equinox 800 with 6 inch coil in Gold 1 mode, White's Prostar headphones coupled to the WM08 wireless receiver. It was nice to get away from the EMI I typically deal with at home (coin hunting). However, the hot rocks more than made up for that! At the start of each day I adjusted my settings, taking advantage of what I had used previously but also trying to keep an open mind as to what would run the quietest. Over the 4+ days I tried gains (sensitivites) between 16 and 23, ran all metal or disked out just {-9,-8, -7}, notched in only {-2,-1,0,1,2}, tried all recovery speeds in {4,5,6,7}. I Ground Grabbed most of the time but did try tracking, which didn't seem to make any improvement at this particular site. The ground phase was locally pretty stable, only varying by about 1 or 2 typically. Regardless of settings there was always at least of bit of noise from hot rocks to put up with. Surprisingly sometimes the hot rocks ID'ed at 12. As if the Equinox needed one more object to read that value.... The biggest false signal I had to deal with was wet ground. This wasn't surface moisture but rather at about 2 inches and deeper. The ID's read right in the small gold range {+1,+2} and sounded pretty clean, although they weren't quite a sharp as the real thing. However, for me anyway, close enough to not ignore. Pictured below is my 'haul'. I actually found one more piece but lost it somehow in the process of putting it into the collection bottle. One more lesson learned. Bottom line is that I quadrupled my lifetime count but still haven't made it to my first gram. All read +1 TID and all were within 2 inches of the surface. One was in the grass, lying on the surface of the ground. I'm certainly appreciative of the lead I got to this location. Wish I didn't live 2400 miles away from it.

I second that sentiment -- a great series of posts by multiple wise and experienced prospectors. I've bookmarked these for future reviews.

It would take me a couple dozen hunts to dig that many pulltabs from my parks! I hope they are quick to recover. As usual it pains me to see that gray patina on your silver coins, but the IH, OTOH, looks better than my 'dry land' dug ones. Wish it were a '77 or late 60's.

Has anyone tried an X-coil on a White's TDI?

Is that grains or grams?

Maybe in a few centuries, but you're safe until then. 😄 Thanks for posting your settings, too. Is that larger button silver? Very nice looking after you cleaned it.

From the video it looks like they just abandoned the place with all parts and equipment sitting there as if the Andromeda Strain had moved through. I would think there will be an auction of the contents with proceeds going to creditors. Someone is going to get a bargain on the parts, but turning that into a repair business is unlikely to be much of a money maker unless they already are doing such.

How deep was it?

Welcome, 31-c! Much of metal detecting is making good judgements based upon what is known and what can be reasonably determined. In regards to where you can search, one approach is to assume you need permission anywhere you hunt and then contact officials for permission. I don't like this option for the simple reason that on public property, caretakers often don't know and possilbly will take the safe route of answering 'no'. Always ask permission on private property. What I do is web searching. For example, most city parks have websites. If they don't say anything about metal detecting then (IMO) it is safe to assume it is OK. Similarly with public schools. Only on one occasion have I been approached (by school security guards) and although they said we couldn't hunt, they were very unantagonistic and even polite. We just said "OK, we though ti was allowed..." and then departed without issue. On dozens of occasions I've been seen by officials and they either ignore me or smile and greet in a friendy manner. National Parks are off limits. State Parks and State Forests vary by state (and even park). Look at theiry websites. BLM land and National Forests are under the 1979 Antiquities Act. My simple interpretation of that is that keeping coin finds is OK, regardless of age, but relics over 100 years old need to be left where found. This is a non-lawyer view. Others have different approaches and they should reply, too. If you happen to have a local metal detecting club, join and get advice from experienced members. Also learn respectful recovery techniques. If a passersby notices you are carefully restoring the sod/soil/ground to its original conditions s/he will be relieved and unoffended. The main thing is to be polite and respectful if someone in authority approaches you. Even if you are in violation, most will give you a 'pass' as long as you heed that advice. If you get testy, all bets are off. Good fortune in your future hunting, and please post photos of your finds.

I'd say! I did notice a faint -S mintmark on the reverse. About 1 million minted but the condition makes this one worth in the hundreds of dollars. Well done (again), Norm! Way to challenge that "hunted out" qualification we hear so often.

Interesting. Looks like a substitute for a standard six-sided die. The lettering is quite primitive and it has nice patina. I'm wondering if it is a one-of-a-kind artisan made piece for some kind of game set. Do you know the metallic composition? Magnetic? What TID did it ring up at?

Yes, yes, yes. This is not merely an issue with the Minelab Equinox but many other detectors. Fisher did this years ago with some of their detectors (but not all). This idea that you need a flaky(!) adapter to be able to use 1/4 inch plug headphones with the latest detectors is total &#*)$@) !!!! Ditto the idea that Wifi, Wistream, etc. are the rage and "who needs old technology?" My first, second, third, and fourth best options for my Eqx 800 are all 3rd party headphones and 3 out of 4 have 1/4 inch plugs. Metal detector companies are great at building metal detectors, but to take the attitude that "one size fits all" in regards to headphones? I do give Minelab credit for giving us the WM08 option, though. That is my exclusive path these days. Anyone want to trade their WM08 for my ML80's?? 😁 On another topic that fits this thread: is there a reason we can't have multiple saved (profile) options? Isn't this just done with RAM? (stepping down from my soapbox now....)