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Hey guys, do the ground balance numbers indicate mineralization? And if so how do the numbers correlate.

I've been trying to make a PI detector as a learning exercise in another forum(Geotech). Asked the question below but haven't got a reply. Maybe someone here could answer the question. Nugget sizing info: We are often asked how many pieces per gram or ounce. It is very hard to predict how many pieces there are per gram or ounce as the # of nuggets by weight varies quite a bit per batch. But in general you can expect around 1-2 pieces of gold for 4 mesh, 2-4 pieces of 6 mesh per gram, 7-12 pieces of 8 mesh per gram and around 15-20 per gram for 10 mesh. You can expect many more pieces for smaller 12 (around 20-25), 14-16 (around 30-50 or more) pieces and hundreds for fine gold. Every batch is very different and each piece of gold is natural and of course therefore unique. Some may be flat and light or rounded and very dense (heavy). How small a nugget can a good PI detect? What mesh size would make good test targets for smaller nuggets? 8 mesh, 10 mesh, both or other? Any guess on typical TC for 8 or 10 mesh nuggets?

I myself like the looks of screen of my MX Sport but not the weight. It would be great for it to trim some fat off of it. Out of all the ID numbers it has to offer I’d like to be able to notch out one at a time. We all know that different frequencies is better than others depending on what you’re detecting. If I can I’d like it to be multi frequency where I can run in all and single one if I do wish. What I want is a detector that it will do the major part of my detecting. My thing I’m a coin hunter first be it on a beach are around some old homestead . I’ve never been a relic hunter but it would have to offer the same for that person too . I love nugget hunting but it’s just not a lot of gold in Texas but it would be great to have some high frequencies to nugget hunt. I don’t see the need that I should have to buy another detector for what little I do get to nugget hunt. We all different and our wants runs different too.I know too it’s other detectors offer the things I’m wanting from White’s right now but I’d like to see America made on the side. Chuck

Detecting heavy metal.

Today I tried something different, trying to cherry pick only deep high tones. Had the 6 inch coil on my 800, very trashy small 100+ year old park. Set it on Park 1, noise cancel, manual GB, 5 tones with the first 3 segments set to 0 volume 1 tone the last 2 were both set to max volume and tone, set the recovery speed at 5 and 0 iron bias. My question to those that know is, am I losing depth with this kind of setting? It seemed to work well, I have been trying to figure out how to park hunt deep silver,.All the pieces in the image were only giving tone, no numbers and were all carrot deep. Suggestions?

For some reason I have never turned on my machines in the house, i always go out in the field, or for VLFs the yard, and turned on there to learn. I was curious if you turned on your machines like the Zed, PIs and VLFs inside, would it hurt the electroincs? Especially if its constanly overloading or going off on all the crazy EMI. I just want to turn on to play with the settings and practice more with the buttons, etc.. Not actually detect. Funny been detecting now for 5 years and never bothered to ask or try

For me to want wireless coils the cost needs to come down lots . If I can keep buying wired coils for about a third of the cost of wireless ones that alone is enough as far as I’m concerned. Wireless headphones is something I don’t leave home without it and it’s something all can afford. Chuck

Not saying all but most comparison is between the Equinox and whatever they want to show off. I’ve seen this video between the Equinox and the New Anfibio before. The funny thing is he put the Anfibio in deep mode to do the testing . Is someone telling me I got to put the Anfibio in this mode to get the most depth. My thinking is when I turn a detector on and set the sensitivity as high as I can get it to run that’s as deep it’s going. I guess with it I hunt this field with the regular settings then go back and hunt it in the deep mode. I say Bull Sh-t ! Have you notice that most never say what the ID is showing. I’d like to see and I’m sure some are out there testing against their own detectors. I guess over in the U.K. maybe you want to hear a fair to good tone at fifteen inches. Just maybe the ID is not important to you but to me it is . Give me a detector that shows a good ID at 6 to 10” and that’s all I’ll ask for . If beyond that it don’t give me a ID then it’s up to me to dig are not. I did like the tone when it detected something . On hearing some others it was like scratching on a black board . So many times the person doing the testing never had a Equinox in their hands before. I could take and nail a coffee can lid on to a broom handle to make the other something less if the need be . Chuck PS Why don’t you just let your detector stand on it’s own.

It is so many single frequency detectors out there and yes some do have more you can access. It really don’t make any difference it’s still one frequency at a time. What I can’t understand is more are being made and if not on the market already like we’ve seen this year . It will be another nugget and coin detector should be out by the end of November. Oh it’s telling how many frequency you can hunt in but still one at a time. I know I sound like a broken record saying one at a time but that’s the truth of the matter. When Minelab came out with the Equinox they raised the bar at a higher level that others have yet to reach . This is what all of the other detector companies have to strive for . If they can just equal the Equinox will keep them in the running. I don’t see Minelab just sitting back without looking at the Equinox saying how can we make it better. I myself is swinging a single frequency detector and I do like it . I’m not saying they don’t have a place in the detector market but over time will be less and less . I’ve owned a Equinox 800 and I loved it but had it with the wait on a small coil so I sold it. If some others don’t come out with something to equal it in early 2019 I’ll get me another Nox . Chuck

Found some clubmates discussing who (and when) invented the first pinpointer. Google just found some hints. Feel free to discuss...

We see new detectors on the market that offer to run in one frequency at a time. They have several to offer like the new XP ORX. In my opinion I think they can come back at a later day and have a update that could give you a multi frequency to run at one time like the Nox. Back in time it was turn on and go but as we all know today that don’t hold true anymore. That detector has a brain that we can access and I say if I set it up before for a change then I can come later to make that change. I want your opinion so lay it on me . Chuck

I myself haven’t had the opportunity to truly answer this question but maybe some of you can . Chuck

The big thing one detector company open up in 2018 is a milt frequency. You can pick one at a time are all numbers at one time. I believe that all other detector companies has to make this their goal too . I know this is putting the cart before the horse but what frequency numbers do you want to see in the new White’s in 2019 ? I myself want it more for coin hunting. I still would like to see some high numbers. I want it for small gold if I find myself on a beach are in the gold fields . Yes I do want to pick what I want to hunt in be one are all . I hope someone from White’s will chime in just to say they haven’t forgot about us faithful ones . Chuck

While experimenting with my Gold Racer, I think I saw more stable VIDs by raising the coil and scanning perpendicular to magnetic north. There seemed to be a height that was most stable, and scanning perpendicular to magnetic north tended to eliminate oscillation between very low and very high values. It wasn't perfect, but it was suggestive. I'm wondering if anyone else has anything to offer about this.

I wonder if Minelab will build a dedicated nugget detector in the style of the equinox, but with gpz type technology. This seems to be the way the CZX by Fisher is headed. I think the Equinox will open up many more machines in the same style eventually. I would hope for concentric and dd coils and more power in a lightweight dedicated nugget hunting package.

A nice summary quote from Tom Dankowski about why Simultaneous Multi Frequency (SMF) is worth consideration over single frequency options... “SMF's punch through bad dirt better. Hold on to accurate ID's at depth....and in bad dirt....better. Handle EMI better. Genuinely handle wet-salt better..... to include more accurate ID at depth.,.,.,.,.,.,.,., and a host of other rationale/justifications.” Fisher Intelligence (5th Edition) by Thomas J. Dankowski

any thoughts on the use of a geiger counter instead of a metal detector for prospecting ....U , TH , TE , IN , RB , RE , PT

Apparently there's a hidden analysis screen in the FBS machines that lead one to a spectrograph of sorts. Much like the V3i which has features hidden away from the end user, supposedly the analysis screen can be accessed via a button sequence that is yet to be discovered. http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?p=1912446 If you read through the thread, I'm iDetectorX in the last post. If this is a spectrograph it does tend to confirm what Geotech has been telling us all along, that FBS is actually a 2 frequency system in terms of what is actually demodulated and processed, which would be a better explanation in my view as to why it never made it to the end user. In any event, I think it would be an interesting challenge to try to access these hidden item. I'm actually in the process now of doing some experiments with 2 V3s and a V3i, but FBS machines interest me as well. ....ah, forbidden fruit.

can anyone give me a idea on what ratio or scale there is between different metals and depth with the same detector ....say made out of 6 different metals ... US nickel size coins .... silver , gold , alum , nickel , platinum ,steel and stainless steel ......

Hi, I am looking to purchase a gold finding metal detector that can handle mineralized soil well, but also locates smaller gold. I live in southern Nevada and it seems that the more I read, the more confused I am getting. I guess I'm looking for a detector that does well with tiny and larger gold. I had the Gold Bug 2 for a while and it was way too sensitive for me and not rain-proof. The Makro Gold Kruzer, The Gold Monster and others on that level are all within my price range, so I am having trouble making a decision. I understand that the right detector for someone may not be the right detector for someone else, but I do believe the right input is valuable. I haven't seen any head to head videos using the Gold Kruzer yet (still too new) but it looks promising so far. The reviews of these detectors are great, but nothing beats real world testing under various conditions and soil types. I am not one for air testing due to it's controlled nature, so the confusion grows. I know many of these detectors can locate tiny gold due to their higher kHz, but there is a trade off. I appreciate any suggestions. Thank you, Mike

First Texas (Bounty Hunter, Fisher, Teknetics) - last new models Fisher F75+ and Teknetics T2+. Next up a new pulse induction (PI) beach detector. A new digital multifrequency to replace the Fisher CZ3D is long overdue but at this rate we will be lucky to just see the PI before the end of the year. Garrett - last new model the AT Max. Hard to believe the flagship GTI 2500 has been around since 1999 with no updates. Garrett so far has shown no interest in multifrequency. The most I was hoping for was a lightweight dry land version of the ATX, but so far no sign of that happening either. I doubt we will see anything else from Garrett this year but they could surprise. Makro - last new models the Multi Kruzer and Gold Kruzer. Makro has mastered single frequency so everyone would like to see what they can do with multifrequency or pulse induction. I expect Makro is done with new models for the year. Minelab - last new models Equinox 600 and 800. I have no idea what’s up next for detectors but I sure would like to see that small coil for my GPZ 7000. I really don’t expect anything new for the rest of the year besides Equinox accessories. Nokta - sister company to Makro. Last new detector the Nokta Impact. Up next the Nokta Anfibio. Tesoro - Who? What? White’s - last new models the MX7 and TDI SL Special Edition plus the just announced Goldmaster 24K. Hopefully that new tech will eventually see the light. Right now just getting the 24K out the door is job one. XP - last new products the HF coils for the Deus, with X35 coils and XP Orx due by end of year.

High Frequency Gold Nugget Detector Roundup Our cup runneth over! Just a few years ago the market for "over 30 kHz nugget detectors" was quite limited. For a long time there were only a few options: Fisher Gold Bug 2 (71 kHz) $764 with one coil Minelab Eureka Gold (6.4, 20, & 60 kHz) Discontinued $1049 when new with one coil White's GMZ (50 kHz) Discontinued $499 when new with one coil White's GMT (48 khz) $729 with one coil Things were that way for over a decade. Then in 2015 Makro introduced the Gold Racer (56 kHz) $599 with one coil. Sister company Nokta released the AU Gold Finder (56 kHz) $799 with two coils Then in 2017 we see the Minelab Gold Monster 1000 (45 khz) at $799 with two coils. And although not a dedicated nugget detector, the Deus high frequency coil options (up to 80 kHz) were also released, $1520 for complete detector with one HF coil. Now in 2018 we get another general purpose machine, the Equinox 800, that can hit 40 khz, $899 with one coil. And just announced... the Makro Gold Kruzer (61 kHz) $749 with two coils and the White's Goldmaster 24K (48 khz) $729 with one coil These last two announcements have made barely a ripple in the prospecting world, or at least going by other forums that seems to be the case. There are various reason for that (forums not being prospecting oriented or being Minelab centric) but still the lack of buzz is interesting. I do believe people are both burned out by all the new introductions and that the market is saturated with high frequency models. Leaving out the general purpose machines to sum up the current options it looks like the current "sweet spot" for pricing is a high frequency model at $749 with two coils. The Gold Bug 2 saw a price reduction to $699. Makro Gold Racer 56 kHz - $599 one coil Fisher Gold Bug 2 71 kHz - $699 one coil White's Goldmaster 24K 48 kHz - $729 one coil White's GMT 48 khz - $729 one coil Makro Gold Kruzer 61 kHz - $749 two coils Minelab Gold Monster 1000 45 kHz - $799 two coils Nokta AU Gold Finder 56 kHz - $799 two coils Added 1/2019 XP ORX up to 81 kHz - $899 one coil High frequency nugget detectors compared White's Goldmaster 24K, Minelab Equinox 800, Gold Monster 1000, Makro Gold Kruzer Minelab Gold Monster, Fisher Gold Bug 2, Makro Gold Racer, Nokta Impact

Here's another, a second interesting product I've run into recently. This one has a bit of a giggle factor for me, but I could be wrong. See what you think.

Someone has X-rayed a equinox coil. Pretty good sized circuit board inside! https://md-hunter.com/minelab-equinox-coil-x-ray-is-it-really-the-half-of-machine/

Would love to get your opinions and feedback on this machine coming to market supposedly soon, and supposedly uses a BT connection from your phone or smart device to control the coil. Similar to Deus, but using a phone or iPod touch etc. as the controller. Believe it's single frequency. Here's a video demo. I've long liked the idea of a setup like this but I thought there were good reasons the major players have not created a machine utilizing a phone or iPod touch this way, so I'm skeptical.