Steve's Gold Nugget Detector Guide Update

[phrunt]

5 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

Speaking of coil knock sensitivity, I only know one detector that is even worse at it: Manticore

GC

Probably your difficult ground and the ground balance, I get only mild knock sensitivity with mine yet I get it quite bad with the GM and the Equinox to a lesser degree than the GM.  Even in my milder ground its critical to keep the GM well ground balanced or the knock sensitvity is worse.

[Steve Herschbach]

Yeah, little know fact coil knock is related not just to sensitivity, but the ground balance setting. Even suppressed background EMI plays into it, which would give the Manticore more issues than a Monster, the Manticore being a multi.

[Gold Catcher]

Could be. But for me in Goldfield mode /Prospecting theme and Sensitivity >20 the coil is beyond sensitive. Each time I put the coil on the ground for recovery scooping it screams like crazy, and any slightest knock will make it sound off. Perhaps it's just my machine though, but it sucks.

GC

[Gold Catcher]

1 minute ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Yeah, little know fact coil knock is related not just to sensitivity, but the ground balance setting. Even suppressed background EMI plays into it, which would give the Manticore more issues than a Minter, the Manticore being a multi.

Good to know that it could play a role. Even though I GB quite frequently and use auto track.

[Steve Herschbach]

Or you have a bad coil. Been known to happen with Minelab as of late, and due to the higher voltage to the coil tolerances are way higher for Manticore coils than with Equinox coils.

[Gold Catcher]

Thanks Steve. Will wait for the M8 to see if it would make any difference. If there would just be any hope that 2024 would mark the year of the M8 arrival, beyond just a few dozen shipped...

[abenson]

6 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

Could be. But for me in Goldfield mode /Prospecting theme and Sensitivity >20 the coil is beyond sensitive. Each time I put the coil on the ground for recovery scooping it screams like crazy, and any slightest knock will make it sound off. Perhaps it's just my machine though, but it sucks.

GC

I have the same issue. Garry claims it's a loosely wrapped coil cable that causes that. I can't say one way or the other because I haven't been back out looking for gold with the Manticore since October. But yea it's an issue. That's with the M8

[Steve Herschbach]

5 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

Good to know that it could play a role. Even though I GB quite frequently and use auto track.

Not saying your ground balance is off. It may be spot on. But where it is at is different than where Simon is, or where I am, and where it is changes the susceptibility to knock. Do an air test, crank the sensitivity, and tap the coil with a wood block. Try setting the ground balance at each extreme and in the middle, and see if there is any difference.

[Gold Catcher]

1 minute ago, abenson said:

I have the same issue. Garry claims it's a loosely wrapped coil cable that causes that. I can't say one way or the other because I haven't been back out looking for gold with the Manticore since October. But yea it's an issue. 

Thanks. And for me it is not the loose cable for sure.

GC

[Steve Herschbach]

48 minutes ago, abenson said:

I have the same issue. Garry claims it's a loosely wrapped coil cable that causes that. I can't say one way or the other because I haven't been back out looking for gold with the Manticore since October. But yea it's an issue. That's with the M8

Interesting. Let’s meet for a little Manticore and 24K comparison in that regard. One thing I like about the 24K 6” concentric it is very knock resistant and makes for a good scrubber coil, something I could not do with the Monster. I’ll have to talk about that in my new review as the 24K and Gold Bug 2 are standout machines for coil knock resistance, and that one fact has lead me to favor those two models over the other VLFs. Monster was the worst, and my Gold Kruzer was also very susceptible, but it was a prototype, so I can’t speak to the newer ones. But it was why I ditched the Kruzer and ultimately why I ditched the Monster. When chasing the tiny bits I not only scrub but use the coil as a rake. My Equinox 6” does well in that regard also, does not quite match the Bug 2 or 24K on the tiniest bits, yet it’s very close. Amazingly so for a detector when nugget hunting was last on the engineers list of importance.