Condor

Downright chilly in the mornings, but those pits heat up quick if there's no cloud cover. The guy I was with dug over 100 nails but was rewarded for his effort with a sweet 1/4 oz nugget.

I did a little nugget hunting in a California Gold Country hydraulic pit using the D2 with the latest update .7 and the 9" coil. As most nugget hunters know, hydraulic pits are a bugger to hunt, square nails and ferrous trash enough to drive you insane. I found a decent little spot of packed soil on top of the old cobbles. Probably a sluice cleanout spot or maybe the old timers were shoveling out a sluice raceway. Still littered with pieces of wire from steel cables and miscellaneous ferrous trash, but workable. The D2 update added a notch feature to the Goldfield and Relic programs. That feature allows you to notch out the ground which vastly improved the coil bump sensitivity. I notched 00 to 10 which also took out a majority of hotrocks. The hotrocks played havoc with my GPX6000, so I opted to stay with the D2. The smallest of nuggets I found had a TID in the high 20's, the bigger ones 30 to 40 range. 22 bullets TID in 50s. I had occasion to test swing over someone else's .26 oz nugget found that same day. That TID came in the US nickel range, mid 60's. I would have liked a 2nd notch to handle another type of hotrock that had a TID of 79. Well beyond gold nugget range yet still registering non-ferrous. Not sure what they were, but they were numerous and added a distracting high tone. I have used the NOX 800 with the Coiltek 5x9 coil for similar kind of nugget hunting. I think the NOX would still have an edge in these conditions, but I was impressed with how well behaved the D2 was with the new update. I recovered nuggets so small they will not register on my cheapo scale. If Deus builds their elliptical coil for the D2, it will be a very competitive VLF nugget detector. Even though I have the NOX, I prefer the D2 maybe because its new to me and has a lot of features I can fiddle with. Photos to follow.

Hey Paul, You're not detecting behind Krissy, Outback Gold Fever, are you? That backhoe she's working with looks vaguely familiar.

1 full detecting season.

When I was detecting winters in AZ I was going through 2 pairs of Keene mid top boots every season. I'll turn 68 on Fri, so I can probably make 1 pair last a full season these days, but the Keene's were very susceptible to Cholla cactus through the soles. Last year I picked up a pair of Salewa Approach boots in the mid top style. They're not completely metal free, the top 2 lacing posts are metal. These have been the best and most comfortable boots I've owned. Not cheap by any means, but they have served me well. They have a pretty stiff mid sole and take a little breaking in, but I'll be sticking to this brand from here on out. For light detecting I still use the Keene's, but when I need to cover some rough ground the Salewa's are my go to boot. I put them through full season with a lot of boot scrapes down in Baja and no sign of coming apart.

I was back out there in the same spot last week. There are several spots with really bad ground noise, the 6k was moaning and groaning through them especially an old push down to red clay. I fired up the dinosaur 7000 with 15x10 Xcoil and ran it in Difficult to see if I could scare up something beyond detection depth of the 6k. Going through the red clay I got a pretty good target signal. I wasn't convinced it wasn't just hot ground as I dug up wet red clay. Down about 8 inches the target popped out of the ground. In retrospect I wish I had checked it with the 6k, but I was almost sure I was chasing hot ground. I'm pretty sure we all had detected that push the week before since it was about 20ft from where we parked. The 7k running in Difficult quieted the ground considerably and proved it can hold its own, if it wasn't so darn heavy. I'm spoiled by the 6k weight and maneuverability.

A good time for all despite the ever present Nevada desert winds. Andy has the patience to hunt the trash zones and squeeze out the golden stuff. I lose my enthusiasm after a couple dozen pieces of wire and steel shards so I tend to hunt the more virgin spots. The difference shows, Andy pulled 13 nuggets and I pulled 3. Still a satisfying weekend, fresh air, lots of walking and good company.

We met up with Andy and detected a place with lots of alkali salts. Pockets where standing water had been were particularly noisy even to the GPX 6000. I played with Andy's loaner Deus II with 9" coil for about an hour. The Goldfield program really suffered under those conditions becoming very bump sensitive to even grass stubble. The salt pockets were showing a TID in the 20's, 23 being the most common. I switched over to the pre-set Sensitive program which I think has a notch that covered the constant tones from the salts. I experimented with my .3 gram test nugget and it worked fine, no bump sensitivity and very little noise from the salts. I doubt depth would be beyond a couple inches, but it would be workable in a pinch. The closest I came to finding gold was a small sliver of lead that showed a TID of 31. I really didn't do the machine justice without experimenting with other programs and settings, perhaps even the Beach Sensitive program might have tamed the N NV salts. Andy was kicking my butt finding gold nuggets in the worst of trash, so I went back to the 6000 to try and catch up. I frankly like the D2 and will look forward to more testing once I can get a 9" coil to replace the stock 11" on my machine.

Jasong, Thanks for the legal info, I will delve into that myself. I am a retired federal prison sentence salesman (federal investigator) so I am accustomed to the intricacies of law and legal precedent.

I have debated writing this but some things need to be aired. I don't intend to trespass on our forum rules of ad hominem attacks, so I'll be vague (barely). Last week I did a solo run to Rye Patch, intending to stay 3 days. For 2 days I hadn't seen a soul except far off dust trails. On the 3rd morning I saw a dark colored truck due west of section 19 so I thought I would go and visit and see if it was anyone I know. I found 2 guys with bright colored LSU shirts and a truck bearing Louisiana plates. The were struggling to assemble a brand new XP Deus I with a High Frequency coil. We got to talking while I took over the assembly of the Deus, and they told me they had purchased 2 gold claims in the area. After I got the detector up and running we chatted awhile longer and it was clear they were out of their element. Very amiable fellows and we continued talking about detecting and the likelihood of finding gold. I told them while the Deus 1 is a capable detector, it would not be a first choice for detecting Rye Patch. It seems that in their haste they had gone to their local detector dealer in LA and told him they needed a gold detector. He had 1 detector left in his shop, that being a Deus 1. He demonstrated the detector in his front yard over a man's gold ring. The detector clearly detected a gold ring and they bought it full retail with a High Frequency round coil and a pinpointer. In all fairness, the dealer in a southern state knows little to nothing about detecting gold nuggets in the west. Plus, that's the only detector he had available and they were in a hurry. So, we talked awhile longer and after a little private consultation they offered me the opportunity to detect their claim with them. We agreed to a 50/50 split and off we went following GPS coordinates due west and straight uphill. After a time I asked them if this claim had produced any gold, not having seen any evidence of workings, dig holes or old timers camps. They told me that according to the seller they could expect to find an ounce a week and that it was not uncommon to find an oz a day. I shook my head an told them I don't think so, since this was way outside the known gold producing zone. Nevertheless, I detected about a mile in a horseshoe loop back to our starting point. Not one single target, no trash, no bullets and no evidence of workings. I had a pretty good idea that they had been sold on a dream but they were such nice and decent guys I wanted to help. I called home in Fernley NV and had my girlfriend gather up my GPZ 7000 and Equinox 800 and meet me in Lovelock. The next day I met with my new Cajun friends and they still had not met with their seller so I told me let's go detect using my true gold detectors. I gave them some quick lessons and followed along while they detected and dug trash targets. I detected a few promising signals with the 6000 and had them come and listen with the other detectors. Unfortunately, none of my promising targets were gold, but they had a chance to learn about the whisper targets, and try understand the loud booming targets were likely trash. They offered to pay me for my time and use of detectors and I countered they could pay for my girlfriend's gas for delivering the detectors, but that I was happy to spend time with them detecting. Mind you, I'm no Albert Sweitzer, but I just felt bad that these guys had been abused trying to join and learn my favorite hobby. By day 6 of my 3 day trip I needed to get home for some appointments. They had finally met with their seller and learned that the area we explored was not in fact their claim. He showed them the claim (from the description worse) although he didn't show them where the gold was, but they enjoyed some sightseeing of Majuba. I remained dubious, but they had renewed faith and I had to leave. They detected their new claim (with my detectors) the next morning and found a bullet, and some aluminum targets. Nothing promising. I called Lucky Lundy and explained this dilemma of some nice guys getting some bad information. He was otherwise committed and couldn't help, but made some calls and found another fellow prospector who needed a good excuse to get out for a day of prospecting and agreed to meet my Cajun friends. He helped them as much as he could, no one found any gold. All I can say is we gave it a game effort, or an honest effort as it were. They are on their way back to Louisiana having learned the promise of riches in gold claims out west can be alluring but success is fleeting. $12k may not be a lot to most folks, but it sure is to me. I understand that in the business of selling used cars and gold claims a little puffery is to be tolerated. I think this went way beyond puffery, I saw the text exchanges. To add insult to injury, the seller offered to sell them a 3rd claim with a deposit due immediately. I am personally embarrassed and pissed that this still goes on. These guys were really nice people and honest to a fault. I know, they should have done more research and been more skeptical of the claims made. They never heard of this forum, but had they inquired here, our people could have cautioned them. All I can say is thank god they hadn't heard of Long Range Locators, or whatever they're called these days. Perhaps the seller came in and tell his version of events. Unlikely.

As always, Rye Patch is tough sledding. I eked out enough with the 6000 to buy about half tank of diesel. Today's price at Rye Patch $5.19. I don't know why the photos are always inverted here and I'm not savy enough to fix them. Oh well turn your head sideways, enjoy.

I took about a half hour with the D2 on visible schist bedrock that was loaded with trash and steel bits from the original blade that pushed this gully. I tested the D2 with a .3 gram nugget. It hit 33 to 36 TID in the Goldfield program. The machine ran quiet and separated the trash from nonferrous quite well with the 11" coil. It locked on 2 small lead fragments that ID'd at 40. Close enough that that I was pretty confident if any half grammars were present it would have sniffed them out. Naturally, it would not be my go to gold detector, especially in this configuration with the 11" coil. But, I was impressed with its ability to run in heavy ferrous trash and convincingly hit on the nonferrous lead.

I know the area, find Bill Southern out there, he can help you with anything you need.

If you are in the US, I wouldn't worry about it. I haven't used mine in years.

Minelab can fix it, but it will cost you plenty. The original quote in Au dollars was $2800 from 3 years ago. Here in the US it was over $4k and a 1 year guarantee. You're going to need a few more of those big nuggets, I feel your pain, been there done that.

This issue has been covered to death on this forum and others. It resulted in some hard feelings and personal insults. The problem is your patch lead. From experience it's a loose wire at the solder joint. The blue wire is very thin and too much heat crystallizes the wire and it breaks. The Minelab wires have a varnish coat that tends to repel the solder, you really have to work at removing the varnish before you solder. Contact Phrunt from this forum, he can put you in the right direction.

Part II Wed we got up early and worked our way up our new trail, this time with marking paint to mark not only the route, but at times the exact location for wheel placement. Off by a few inches in some spots would come a nasty and expensive surprise. The RZR is slung pretty low and we bottomed out in a number of places, but the low center of gravity kept us gripped to the bedrock at some impressive angles. We got to within a 1/4 mile of our intended start spot and clambered up the sidewall to an old Desert Bighorn Sheep trail. We got over to a new wash that contained numerous old drywash zones. Unfortunately, there was plenty of evidence that someone had been ahead of us by a couple months. Lots of dig holes. The Miramar Placers are no big secret among people that prospect Baja, but some of the locations are not obvious without exploration. I went back to an exposed bedrock area that I had detected on our last trip in 2019. I had previously spent about 3 hrs on this spot about the size of a basketball court in 2019. I dug a number of nuggets, many in the half gram range back then with the GPZ. The GPX6000 made the spot come alive again. I dug 15 nuggets in about 2 hours, all micro nuggets, some right between my previous dig holes. The 6000 made the alkali encrusted bedrock more tame, and the micro nuggets were clear and distinct with the absolute minimum Sens. My detecting partner is still dragging the dinosaur 7000 and watched in wonder. Total weight day 1 of detecting was 2.6 grams, as I said, all micro nuggets. My partner managed to scare up one nugget .33 gram. Thursday, day 2 of detecting my partner was discouraged by all the dig holes and decided not to make to long trek on the sheep trail. I packed the 6000 into my hunting style fanny pack and made the hike up and over the ridge. I decided to do what the 6000 does best, hunt the old shallow decomposed bedrock for the squeakers that everyone else had passed by. I put in a pretty long day and burned a lot of shoe leather but I found gold in nearly every spot that showed bedrock. Squeakers for sure, but it sure beats the skunk. I ended up with 10 for the day, some with a little more weight, but certainly nothing up to half gram. On my way back to camp I came across this nice full curl ram on a small ridge next to our trail. I was within 25 yards and he was obviously cautious but did not spook. I watched for a while and found he was preoccupied with 2 coyotes harassing him. The ram was using the bluff between him and me to protect his backside and facing the coyotes head on. Anytime he turned away, one of the coyotes would creep up on him and the other make a faint charge. The ram seemed healthy enough, but you never know, maybe it was his time. Baja is a harsh environment, everything is fighting for survival. We decided to call it a trip on Fri morning and head back to AZ. We got to the border at 11:30 am, and spent 2.5 hours in line to cross. What an ordeal sitting in that endless line of cars, having to try and ignore a steady stream of infirmed, crippled and poor beggars on the street. Baja is hard on all Gods creatures.

Baja terrain can be tough to navigate.

Part 1 Spoiler Alert: Not my personal misadventure this time. The Covid kept us out of prospecting spots in Baja for over a year now, but we were finally able to give it a go this past week. Drove down on Monday, smooth sailing through the port at Algodones, although we did have to buy a $35.00 tourist visa. They stamped our passports and everything, so it's probably legit. Baja 5 highway is in great shape especially down past San Felipe where is was always under construction from washouts. We made it to Miramar and 4 wheeled it down the main wash out of sight from prying eyes. This year we took my Polaris RZR for its maiden trip in rough Baja terrain. All our trail building in the past was designed for 2 wheeled motor bikes, so we had to make some improvements for the RZR 60" width to get up the wash to the placer zone. We toted rocks and built ramps to get up on some of the steeper sections and tested our improvements. Scary, but passable. In one section I had Dennis hanging off the passenger door frame to counter-balance the rig from sliding off into a deep hole. Pictures will follow. We got back to our camp and settled down for some cold ones when we noticed a hiker coming down the wash we had just driven. A fellow prospector with true pioneer blood. He had hiked a roundtrip of no less than 15 miles over a span of 4 days with only 2 gallons of water. He carried an SDC 2300 and a Equinox 800 in a pack that weighed at least 65 lbs. In desperation he had tried to filter water from a spring far up the canyon, but found it full of alkaline. He pulled up a chair and downed his fill of fresh water and started in on a couple cold beers with us. As we talked about his experience he asked "hey, is one of you the Condor", I read your posts, especially the ones about Baja. We swapped prospector stories till after 8pm when he said he needed to get going. His vehicle was parked another couple miles downstream in a hidden gulch. I convinced him to let me drive him down in the RZR and got a chance to use the myriad LED light bars on my rig to light the way. We found the road he had driven even though he had broomed off his tire tracks. Well, we got to his parking spot to find nothing but emptiness. We knew it was the right place because the thief had thrown out the hiker's trash and a gallon of water. That made for a long night back at our camp, where we drank and cursed the dirty dogs until after midnight. The next morning we drove back down for a view in the daylight. The only track was a motorbike track, with one knobby front tire and a nearly slick rear tire. No tracks or footwear impressions to speak of. I think the sly dogs had used the hiker's own broom to brush out their own tracks where they would have broken into the car, reconnected the battery cables and hotwired the ignition. We did a full circle around the area, there are no inhabitants for over 10 rough miles. The road itself is not suitable for travel for anything but offroad capable vehicles and its just not a stretch of any interest expect for prospectors who know the placer history. An unlucky day for sure. Anyway, the hiker did have a satellite phone and was able to call for a ride. We futzed around with him most of the day till his ride could get there, so no detecting to speak of that day. Part II to follow with 2 full days of detecting.

I had a go with it a few weeks ago at Rye Patch and Sawtooth, Nevada. The Sawtooth area has some pretty hot ground so instead of turning down the Sens (which in retrospect would be the smart thing) I turned the Sp01 to position 3, which tends to mute the tones a bit. It made the hot ground a little less chattery and I did manage to find 1 small sub, sub gram scrap of gold. Since then, I ran the 6000 with the 17" coil in some relatively mild ground, but with a lot of atmospheric EMI from an overhead storm. I did not use the the Sp01, but ran earbuds directly connected to the machine and turned the Sens down to 4 to mellow out the EMI spikes. I was astounded at the tiny, tiny gold I found. Individual pieces won't register on my cheapo scale they are so small. The lesson for me is I don't have to run Steve's Incredibly Hot settings to find small gold with this machine. I just purchased the Aventree AS70 to make a wireless connection to the Sp01. I'll run my favorite earbuds from the Sp01 and based on my last experience, turn down the Sens a notch or 2. I used the Sp01 with the 7000 a lot and I felt that by lowering the machine volume then compensating with the volume on the Sp01 it improved faint tones. I hope to get out next week and give this setup a trial run again on the 6000.

Damn Rob, I wish you had let us know. I ended up going out of our circle of dealers because of an internet ad that showed them in stock on the east coast. Oops, sorry man. because I thought the coils were

I need a bigger truck to carry all this stuff. GPZ + 4 coils, GPX+3 coils, NOX + 2 coils. I'm detector rich and cash poor.

Hey Paul, Maybe one of those VA psychiatric wards would be of some benefit to you. Old home week for you and the boys.

I just talked to the guy at Colonial Detectors back east. His distributor sent him a message that the 17" coils had arrived and were shipping this week. I'm not sure how that affects all the dealers, but at least he had some. Minelab GPX17 17″ Mono Coil part # 3011-0427 US$369.00