GB_Amateur

Clark, IMO you're approaching this the right way. Nobody here (worth paying any attention to) is going to rip you for posting your results and questions. You are making good decisions and you should keep it up. Reality is that even though rare finds are just that - rare, they do happen and the worst thing anyone can do is assume finds are worthless and throw them in the trash. Please continue to post and ask questions. We all will learn from them.

100% agree. Jbone, you did well in explaining your thought process, which is rare in these kinds of requests. Hidden in there was the feeling that you were wasting your time with one detector if you eventually got another. Not so. It's like driving a car. 90% of what makes one work will make another work. You already know the basics of how to drive an automatic. Stay with that to get you around town, or around the country. Once you've mastered the Anfibio you'll be in much better position to decide whether or not something more is needed/desired.

Maybe we're veering too far off topic (but I guess the Site Admin will decide that 😉 ). IMO, dowsing is dishonest because its followers claim it does something that it doesn't. You link to scientific testing results (thanks for that) which tallied evidence consistent with dowsing being no better than random chance. The onus is on the dowsers to show that it works under scientific scrutiny. Apparently they haven't. Ghosts (as you mention), paranormal activity, astrology and unfortunately a lot of even more widely accepted practices and claims fall in the same boat. If we allow those to go unchecked then they infiltrate policy, as we've seen repeatedly and embarassingly occur in our congresses and parliaments, and it continues into the present. 'Belief' is a word I've tried hard to remove from my vocabulary. Evidence, honestly gathered, scrutinized, and publicized is what matters. It's ok not to know something and particularly to have the courage to say so. But it doesn't give 'believers' a pass into pushing an agenda which has no basis in evidence. (Now please pardon me as I step down from my soapbox and we resume previously scheduled programming.)

I agree. It either says they are dishonest or intentionally ignorant. If you sell a product, you owe it to the customer to know if it's worthwhile or not. Period. BTW, I tried to search for LRL's at Kellyco and didn't find any. Was starting to think they cleaned up their ways. Then I went to Google and found this: https://www.kellycodetectors.com/catalog/okm-bionic-x4-long-range-gold-metal-detector Hey, what's a $13,500 investment when it will find you a fortune?! Dowsing is in the same boat. I've met some nice people who are proponents of that and it pains me. I've never been good at politely and diplomatically making a case against believers.... Here's a good video by Chris Ralph where (IMO) he does a nice job of telling-it-like-it-is while still maintaining some diplomacy:

Wow, that's news to me. Going to have to try that out. Two AA's is so much cheaper I've gone that route since buying mine. They even deliver them with two AA's (and no 9V).

You've come to the right place -- lot's of helpful info. Also check out YouTube videos, particularly those that highlight the Kruzer. Always (whether reading or watching) keep in mind that what others say and do might not be correct, or even if correct in their situation, might not be right for you and the site(s) you hunt. Take all advice as suggestion, not absolute fact. My advice to anyone with a new detector: read the manual. Go out for a hunt (even if just in the backyard) and then read it again. I look forward to sharing with you ideas, photos of finds, etc. Welcome aboard!

All I ask is that you take a photo of your wife's face when she sees you walking in the door with that. (But please mute the mic. This is a G-rated site.)

I doubt it's 100% scripted, but I also doubt even more that it's 100% WYSIWYG. A couple hints: 1) he's not smiling; 2) (apparently) he doesn't say he found these. Anyone who is trusted to hold that much gold can pose for a camera. Are the show's promoters going to play it up? Sure. Is it ethical? Maybe in their world. 'Reality TV' is full of people who rationalize their tactics. There are worse places and people who do a lot more than that. I'd like to say I wouldn't do it if I were in their shoes, but I'm not (and thankful for that).

BTW, you may want to look into the Nokta/Makro Pulsedive pinpointer. It actually is two detectors in one -- a standard gun-barrel style pinointer but also a small coil hand-held detector. It specifically targets underwater detectorists but might be a good addition for dry land gold hunters as well. I've noticed that gold detectorists with large coils (e.g. operating PI's and ZVT's) are often in need of a small detector to lower down in their deep holes to pinpoint small targets. As you can read here, sometimes standard IB/VLF detectors are modified to do just that. Would the pulsedive solve this issue, and for a very reasonable cost dual-function device? There are several posts on this site regarding the Pulsedive. If you just use the built-in search engine and just the word 'Pulsedive' you'll find them.

Goldpick pretty much nailed it. I will add a bit: A pinpointer for small, odd-shaped objects (e.g. native gold) is not necessarily the best pinpointer to use for coins, and vice-versa. I have both the Garrett Carrot and White's Bullseye TRX and they have different characteristics. The tip of the Carrot has higher sensitivity around the edge (about 1 " from tip) than it does for the front of the tip. This is a well known feature. The TRX is more forward sensitive at the tip, but still does have some longitudinal senstivity. In my hunting style I much prefer the forward directional sensitivity of the TRX for coins but the side sensitivity of the Carrot for small, odd-shaped targets. There is a thread here somewhere (wish I were a better at searching this site than I am...) in which Carl Moreland talks about the tip sensitivity of the Fisher F-pulse (Teknetics Tek-point) PI pinpointer. What I gleaned from that is that most pinpointers, including those First Texas PI's, have sensitivity maps more like the Carrot than the TRX. I hope I'm not mis-representing what he said. Here's a thread where the F-pulse is discussed (including a couple comments from Carl) but I don't think it's the one I'm remembering:

We've been down this speculation road before. My suspicion is that Garrett is concentrating on their strong suit -- security/industrial/military. First Texas? It seems something went wrong with their work on the super-CZ (or whatever it was called) that set them back. Now they're after one of the areas that hasn't seen Minelab's crush-hold -- the underwater and beach PI, with plans (hopes?) of riding that into an affordable, lightweight dry land PI. I don't think it's fair to say all these companies have been resting on their laurels. The other thing that, IMO, is misunderstood here is that we, the enthusiasts (fanatics?) of the metal detecting hobby/pasttime are not the majority of detector buyers and owners. Just because we see what detector is best doesn't mean the casual buyer does or will. How many of you have bought a detector at Wal-Mart? Amazon? Christmas is upcoming. I wonder how many gift buyers are thinking "oh, I saw a cool thing at the store which would make a good gift for _____." That buyer doesn't know Minelab from Minecraft.

T2's won't run concentric coils. F75's will, but there aren't many in Fisher's arsenal (tiny 4x6 and midsize 7x10) and I don't think any aftermarket coil manufacturers even deal with concentrics.

That's been done in a way, with camo decorated models. Fisher did it with the F19, for example. And as you hypothesize, the camo models were more expensive ($50?) than the solid color version. Unfortunately they started out with camo only. When I bought my first 21st century detector (Gold Bug Pro) I strongly considered getting an F19, then only available in camo, but just couldn't handle the decoration.

Ditto. Here's what I've used at the end of handles on picks to keep them from slipping out of my hand or just to allow me a lighter grip (and a free-er swing): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014GH8D6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 May be too thick to put on top of already existing detector grip, though.

Great thread you started, Gerry! So much valuable info from so many experienced detectorists. Thanks. But there's an elephant in the room that apparently no one noticed, or noticed but is just too polite to mention. Someone took on Lunk toe-to-toe and beat him! That's a nugget few will ever find. 😁

Welcome! MN in summer and FL in winter. Sounds like you've figured that one out! If you're detecting gets in line you'll be the envy of this site. I look forward to seeing and hearing about your finds.

I can relate, R&B. I too have been too quick to latch onto the settings of others. But I think, in the long run, I learned some valuable lessons. So true. This thread reminds me of a recent post by Mark: As has been said many times, there are three main characteristics of metal detecting: 1) the site, 2) the detectorist, and 3) the detector (in that order). Only when you put all three together can you find the optimal settings. Sometimes I wish this endeavor were easier, but then I realize it wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

That is interesting. I assume you tried a magnet on it. I've never found one of those nor do I expect to. First off they should sound off in the ferrous region on a discriminating detector, and that's if they survive years of corrosive (rust) action. Quite a rare find for a MD, IMO, although not worth the metal it's minted on, unless it has that elusive 1944 date. 😮 😄

Not being a beach hunter myself it's hard for me to recognize which coins are silver and which aren't, other than the design (e.g. Walking Liberties, Standing Liberties, etc. are obviously silver). What is your total silver count in this thread? It's pretty amazing what the heavy surf will expose ('expose' not taken literally, but brought within range of a detector). Do you have a good way to clean up those corroded silver coins (fingers crossed)? Great hunting, and your years of detecting really are paying off. Don't beat yourself up over the small mistakes.

I'm really impressed with your setup, thorough testing, and display of the results. The crossover at 2 grams (all three curves) is interesting to me, although maybe you or others can explain why that happens if in fact it's not some random coincidence. I don't have a GPZ nor expect to ever get one, but I still appreciate what you've done.

I was out hunting today, nearing the end of the session. A young man (mid-20's?) approached and said 'hello' so I pulled off my headphones and returuned the greeting. He stated that thanks to a high school teacher who was a detectorist he was interested in adding the hobby, and asked for some advice on getting started. I inquired about his goals and what he was willing to invest. His response was that he wasn't sure what kind of detecting he would do, but he had about $200 to get started. The answer was easy -- get a Simplex.

Dick, your and Steve's interview has gotten a bit lost with the sub-topic, and that is understandable given its importance. However, I must say that was a great interview. You asked the right questions and Steve gave honest, sincere answers. Thank you both.

Hey, it could be worse. Just ask a polar bear, before it's too late to find one.

This part doesn't surprise me, nor should it anyone who's a regular here. https://www.detectorprospector.com/ and your posts are all about helping others. Thank you for all those (like me) who have learned so much from your efforts. Sounds like that club is going to be getting a lot of new members. 👍

You have me intrigued because I wonder how different detectors calibrate to different targets. Could you be more specific about which 'other TID machine(s)' you're referring to?