GB_Amateur

Mark, could you go into more detail on this one? I'm curious what I should be listening for, both here (nickel zone) and elsewhere. Also, is this technique depth and trash dependent?

Carl Moreland (one of the major design engineers of the TDI series) has already said here on this site that the current circuitry of the TDI cannot stably support shorter delay's than the lower limit of 10 microseconds. Maybe White's current engineers have reworked the circuitry. We can only hope.

I suspect the www.RNB-innovations.com aftermarket Iithium batteries will work in these. That gives you more battery life (mAh) but about the same voltage. Here I'm assuming the NiMH battery pack for the TDI/SL will be the same one used in this new detector. I think even without the conductivity switch (so presumably locked in 'all' as is the case with the TDI/SPP) you still get some discrimination by listening to the frequency of the tones. It's apparently a bit noiser in 'all' as opposed to 'high' or 'low' switch settings but other than that you let your brain do the discriminating. At least that is my less-than-expert understanding.

Hope you're right since the TDI Pro was taken out of production a year or two ago AND this price is (I think) a couple hundred $ less than what they sold the Pro for. Waterproof on top of it -- there are going to be some happy customers. The weight and hip mount option are consistent with the Pro but I thought that might have just been the result of going waterproof.

Lots of questions to be answered. Apparently it's close to going to market given that it's on White's website with a price (although 'out of stock'...). Is it a waterproofed TDI/SL or even TDI Pro or a new circuit? Six hours on the provided NiMH battery pack sounds a lot like the TDI/SL. I wonder what's going on in a boardroom in El Paso. They may be considering pulling a Minelab (Equinox early announcement to intercept Garrett AT/Max sales) with their expected/hoped for/begged for waterproof PI. I give credit to White's for taking action, particularly the new Goldmaster. I sure hope they are both truly a significant step up performancewise compared to their predecessors.

I didn't see GlazedTofu mention the threshold level. Defaults in all modes on the Eqz 600 (and all but gold modes on the 800) is zero. The 600 does allow tone volume adjustment for the iron zone, just not the conductive zones. Good advice.

Here's the manufacturer's datasheet for Energizer Ultimate Lithiums. Is that what you refer to as 'Ultras' or are we discussing different products? The plot showing the voltage decay profile of "CD/Games" with a performance life of ~13 hours is probably consistent with your 1.5 to 2 days of operation. Their 'digital audio' curve with ~33 hours of life may be the better comparison, but its plateau is also ~1.5 V. http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/l91.pdf

Unfortunately the voltage on those drops from their starting value rather quickly. They're still better than alkaline and NiMH, but as you can see from the plot below (I think the red curve is about right from your lifetime estimate of 1.5 - 2 days) it plateaus around 8x1.5V = 12V. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?368072-Test-Review-of-Energizer-Ultimate-Lithium-AA is the website where I found (via Google images) the plot.

Pretty sure Steve H. has advised on this multiple times. My recollection of his suggestion: Field 2. How many hours of searching without finding gold will she say the same thing?

Yes, that's typical for a standard specular mirror, the kind to see one's reflection. Aluminum is the modern replacement for silver since it is less susceptable to tarnishing. This one doesn't appear to have a specular but rather diffuse (scattering) surface. I wonder if it's some kind of paint which has a lot of ground up metal (aluminum?) rather than an evaporated (modern method) or disolved (old fashioned method) deposition. Mitchell, when you said: did you mean the detector didn't signal on the find after you pulled it out of the sand?

Of these two, the Mojave has the advantage in weight (2.2 lb vs. 3.0 lb). If you got either of the optional coils for the Multi Kruzer, then weight appears to be the only advantage for gold hunting of the two. Frequency (Mojave@12 kHz, MK selectable 19 kHz) is a clear advantage for the MK. The MK's 'gen' mode provides minimally filtered operation which is a near requirement for native gold hunting. Even if you only have the stock 7"x11" DD coil for the MK it should be the preferred choice. Obviously take the Mojave along as a backup. Good attitude. Your first time out (even your first few times out), unless you have a master gold detectorist along as a mentor, will likely be purely learning experiences (that is, without finding gold). I recommend watching the following video (more than once!) to clue you in on how to set up your detector. Native gold compared to coins/relics/jewelry is very different when it comes to setup and approach.

The strength of the coil attachment isn't based solely on the ears, but also the nut&bolt design, the shaft mounting design, and the implementation. IMO, all of these integrated together on the Equinox make the coil attachment the most robust of any of my detectors. Frankly I find it hard to understand how someone broke off an ear if all the parts were properly attached and reasonably tightened. Now if the coil were sitting alone on the ground/floor and someone stepped on it.... Adding anything to strengthen the attachment runs the risk of doing the opposite by overriding the integrity of the design.

It's difficult to rent a vehicle (4wd) which will get you through many of the trails you'll be wanting to travel on. Think of it this way -- the easy places to access are the first ones to get picked clean. That doesn't mean there aren't places to find gold close to the paved and well-maintained non-paved roads, but you need to 'dig deeper' in your search to find them. As Mitchel pointed out, joining the GPAA and accessing their claims saves a lot of research. If you were a seasoned prospector then going on your own (the Land Matters search for unclaimed federal land) would likely be more productive, but you need considerable knowledge/experience AND likely a true 4wd vehicle for that. Considering your cost of travel, etc., joining the GPAA is a bargain. You get two periodicals, a gold panning kit, a catalog of claims (hardcopy and online access). There are a handful of GPAA claims in the Wickenburg area as well as the Prescott area -- more/less on your way from Phoenix to Las Vegas. I've been on several of them myself. A good clearance 2WD (such as a Nissan Rogue which can be easily rented) will allow access to some of those GPAA claims. Don't expect to drive right up onto the claim. But getting within a mile or so is doable. I didn't see when you were planning on being in AZ/NV. If soon you need to be EXTREMELY AWARE of the hot weather. I know it gets hot (and humid) in Florida, but American Southwest is a whole 'nother ballgame.

Welcome. What country are you in? I don't recognize these denominations {5p,5s,10p,10s}. Clearly the size and compositions of those coins is key to answering your questions, and that will be done best by someone who actually has them.

Jim, your photography is only outdone by your writing mastery. Thanks. When you say "Northeast Ontario" do you mean up by Hudson Bay?

Two more pieces of good news: Montana has nuggets, and they haven't all be found. Thanks for enhancing the story with more details. My second guess on the location was California since it's been yielding big nuggets for going on 1 3/4 centuries (and it's dry there, too). GPZ 7000 finds yet another, but I'm thinking at ~4.5 tr.oz. there are many detectors that could have picked up this one. The key is that you (plural) went into an uncomfortable spot and were justly rewarded. Congratulations, and deservedly so.

I assume you refer to this model: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY03CZP/?coliid=IR6R0VV8NPW7C&colid=KT4N3YMOA948&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it This uses Delorme's (proprietary?) communication system. Here is a Delorme's model: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I6EY01C/?coliid=I37BLUV8OMN406&colid=KT4N3YMOA948&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Does anyone know of any advantages of paying the extra $160 to get the Garmin instead of the Delorme?

Well deserved. I hope you put some time in hunting native gold with the Equinox 800. I'm particularly looking forward to your review on its performance in that area of detecting.

Fantastic find! Do you mind saying where (just within a couple hundred miles) you found this. If in the US, just tell us the state. Canada, the province.... At first I thought "gotta be Australia" but the thread title steered me away from that idea. Also, what detector model is that? Settings?

Sonic boom?

Excellent finds! Is the 1965 dime actually silver? Did Canada lag the US a year or two in converting to non-precious metals? That Merc looks like it just came out of the mint. Nice! Ditto on the 1918 quarter; in fact all of the quarters are strong and only likely ciruculated for a short time. Six weeks (you didn't say how many hours) is just getting started with this detector, IMO. I can't wait to see what you find the rest of the summer.

Yes, it's very complicated. But I don't think it's impossible for someone to build a model which handles this, given you know all the variables. Difficult, in most cases, absolutely. Another possibility which we all know about but which can be missed is the search history. The objects nearer to the surface, particularly those which are of high conductivity, are more likely to have been removed by previous detectorists. Recent drops, no, but most of us are looking for old stuff. Here in the US it's been 50 years since valuable coins have been dropped. The chances that no one has searched a public site in the last 50 years is small although non-zero. Private property, however, is a different ballgame. Old property which has been in private hands is our best option if we're looking for old coins, relics, and jewelry.

"Frost heave" -- freezing of ground in cold months, thawing in warm months. Landscaping -- reworking the soil intentionally, particularly bringing in fill. Excavating (very similar to landscaping). Some of the processes you and others (including I) mention can work both ways, that is pushing recoverables deeper or bringing them closer to the surface. Likely it's not a fair game here and we are net losers.

Nice pendant on the chain. Those cufflinks are intriguing. You say they aren't silver. They certainly look clean so either fresh drop or they are made of a metal that is quite resistant to salt water. 316 Stainless steel? Platinum (I hope, I hope)?

? Just another bonus reading this site -- we get to pick up on lots of lingo which isn't typical in areas we live.