How good is the gold bug 1? Compared to gold bug 2?

[goldtimer]

Hi All,
I'd just like to know how much of a difference in performance there is between the gold bug 1 and the gold bug 2. Is it worth buying a second had gold bug 1?
Thanks in advance
GT.

 

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[kiwi jw]

G'day GT, Mate I dont think I would bother with a gold bug when you have a GP 4000. Ok the bug may find some very tiny gold but it will also find every shot gun pellet (maybe your 4000 does as well) from the rabbit shooters as well. That will drive you nuts in central otago I got myself a Whites Goldmaster, was a toss up between that & a bug, went to Ophire with it & I actualy got sick & tired of digging targets I couldnt even see & find. Ended up chucking the handfuls of dirt with the target in it into a bucket. When the bucket was full I took it down to a pool of water & panned it out. Quess what. Not one piece of gold but a handfull of bloody pellets. The time wasted in digging these targets & going off panning the results did my head in. I have tried the Goldmaster at a few other other spots with the same result. I now just stick with my GP 3000. It finds a few pellets but not so many. I quite like that fact. It also gets some pretty tiny gold. .06 of a gram is the smallest. A pellet weighs .2 of a gram.
I have come to the conclusion now, as Wildcat mentiond as well, why bother wasting all that time finding & diggin such small gold when that time out in the field is better spent finding & digging bigger gold at new locations. Better to find & dig a 1 gram piece than spending all day finding & digging 10 .1 gram bits. The old numbers game thing.
I never thought I would find myself saying that as I am a fan of finding & digging all gold as it all adds up, no matter how small. But I now see the sense in what I have just mentiond.
Naturally at a new spot you usually find the bigger gold sooner rather than later & the smaller stuff will follow later. I start with a bigger coil, usually the 24" X 12" mono, & then go to the the smaller coils to get the rats & mice. I find the 10" X 5" mono coil a great coil. It gets the 2, 3, 4 ,5 gram bits easily at goodish depth & deadly when you really focus, concerntrate & ground balance your mind on the sub gram bits in shallowish bed rock ground.
I have just got a 6" mono & used it a couple of times. It has found a few bits in ground I have been over with the 10" X 5". .1 bits. I have also used the 8" mono but I find it hard to bet the 10" X 5" coil. It is great for getting in to tight spaces & dragging through crevices etc. It just keeps proving itself to me time & time again. I love it.
Went for a detect this morning. The forecast was for snow to 300 meters. I got in about 1.5 hours at a new spot. It didnt look to be old sluiced ground but driving past it looked to have some bedrock & it was just down the road from an old sluiced area. So I gave it a go. It started raining so I called it quits but I found a .4 gram piece that I really thought wasnt going to be a bit of gold as It wasnt on bedrock but in the loose material beside a large slab of schist. Got heaps of lead bullet heads. Dont you hate those Got home & it is now snowing. BUGGER.
How are you placed for a detect at Ophir next weekend??

Happy hunting

JW

 

[aloysius]

Seen that one on Trademe huh? lol.

 

[kiwi jw]

That one.... what??

JW

 

[Wildcat]

Hey Aloysius. Goldtimer is in New Zealand so I don't think he will be watching your Trade me sites. How is that Golden King going? Howdy JW. I agree with your comment re the Gold bug. I don't think Goldtimer would find any advantages over the 4000 except the light weight for poking around. I found mine every bit equal when it came to tiny bits especially with the joey coil.

The Cat

 

[Hoser John]

I much prefer the Gold bug 2 for the gb capabilities and sensitivity and yes doesn't weigh squat and good to go for many hours--John

 

[AUDuke]

GT; In response to your ? . The GBII is more sensitive to very small AU but has a little less depth because of the higher freq.. The original GB goes a Little deeper but lacks the discriminator circut. For prospecting I prefer the original, for checking mine tailing's the GBII is better since it is more sensitive and has a iron discriminator. Sometimes the extra sensitivity can be a liability. JMO Duke

 

[aloysius]

Sorry JW, I should have been a little clearer. I'm in Dunedin, New Zealand and a Gold Bug had not long come up on Trade Me, hence I assumed that Goldtimer had seen it and was seeking advice in case he wanted to bid. Perhaps was just coincidence; however, I was mildly interested myself, as it's such a lightweight yet good unit and it may have been good for a grandson (when he gets a bit older!) As it happens, I didn't bid. It went for NZ$416.00, which I thought wasn't too bad for such a unit.
Cheers,
Rick.

 

[Wildcat]

Sorry Aloysius, I was getting you confused with AIORIA, another member
The Cat

 

[kiwi jw]

Hi Rick, Gosh.....I missed that one. Dont think I would change from my minelab though. I know it too well now & feel real comfy with it & it suits the ground I work. .06 of a gram is getting pretty small in my gold language. I guess a person that is in tune with their detector makes for a deadly combination no matter what they are swining. I am with you on this one Wildcat. I am not bagging the gold bug.....far from it....I just dont really want to be finding that tiny a gold to be honest. I would rather be finding .5 grams & up. But if tiny gold is all that is on offer then one needs to make the choice to hunt for it or move on to a new spot that may harbour something bigger where one find could equal or eclipse a whole days finds of tiny tiny gold.
Hows your detecting been going. Been getting out much?

Regards

JW

 

[AUDuke]

Hi Rick, Gosh.....I missed that one. Dont think I would change from my minelab though. I know it too well now & feel real comfy with it & it suits the ground I work. .06 of a gram is getting pretty small in my gold language. I guess a person that is in tune with their detector makes for a deadly combination no matter what they are swining. I am with you on this one Wildcat. I am not bagging the gold bug.....far from it....I just dont really want to be finding that tiny a gold to be honest. I would rather be finding .5 grams & up. But if tiny gold is all that is on offer then one needs to make the choice to hunt for it or move on to a new spot that may harbour something bigger where one find could equal or eclipse a whole days finds of tiny tiny gold.
Hows your detecting been going. Been getting out much?

Regards

JW

Is this the explanation of the difference between a GB and a GBII ?
/

 

[Wildcat]

AUDuke Gold bug 1 had a lower frequency and could penetrate the ground better than a GB2. I had a GB2 and it was dynamite on small stuff but I could get no depth in hot ground. Maybe GB3 meets all these criterion?

The Cat

 

[goldtimer]

Thanks for the info everyone. Sounds as thought I'd get annoyed with a Gold bug pretty quick after starting with a 4000. How would the gold bugs handle powerlines compared to a ML PI?
Yeah I did see that one on trademe - it would probably have been an OK unit for someone starting out.
Cheers
GT

 

[Retyred]

I've used both the GB & GB2. I reckon the GB2 is a more versatile machine and certainly have had no trouble using it around Central Otago. My mate and I must have recovered pounds of gold over the last few years both using GB's. The Whites GMT is another good detector- most probably better than the GB from what I've seen - might consider a GMT this year.

But then, what does an old coodger like me know!!

 

[Wildcat]

My GB2 worked well in NZ as there is nowhere near the mineralization as where I live in Aussie. A friend wanted mine so I sold it to him and I don't think he ever has used it. ?? !! I didn't ever have a problem with interference due to the high frequency. My 3000 and 4000 could not be used near power lines, electric fences, and, if there was a thunderstorm within 50klm, I just had to go home. Sadly we get a lot of thunderstorms around here in the spring / summer.

The Cat

 

[kiwi jw]

Hi there AUDuke, No my comment didnt answer Goldtimers Question but I knew others would do a grand job of doing just that, & they have. You as well. I dont see why what I said should have ruffled your feathers. I am sure Goldtimer is a big boy & can see the reasons & sense it what I said. Goldtimer & I are looking at detecting at a spot together over the weekend & if I had the choice of using a gold bug or the GPX 4000 I know which one I would choose, & I think you do to.

JW

 

[AUDuke]

Hi there AUDuke, No my comment didnt answer Goldtimers Question but I knew others would do a grand job of doing just that, & they have. You as well. I dont see why what I said should have ruffled your feathers. I am sure Goldtimer is a big boy & can see the reasons & sense it what I said. Goldtimer & I are looking at detecting at a spot together over the weekend & if I had the choice of using a gold bug or the GPX 4000 I know which one I would choose, & I think you do to.

JW

I was just trying to answer the question, not expound on the advantage's of the ML PI over the Gold Bug.

 

[Wildcat]

How good is the gold bug 1? Compared to gold bug 2? Try the GB3

Hi GT and all.
This site has a bloke that got a GB3 and is rapt with it. There is a little doubt about its' authenticity if you read the threads. The GB3 is 19khz frequency while the GB2 is 71khz. (too high for my liking) It seems the GB3 may be a more reasonable price too.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=41679

The Cat

 

[goldtimer]

Thanks for the info guys. much appreciated
Cheers