NEW TO METAL DETECTING...PLEASE HELP!

[mattisdell1983]

Hey guys I have a question, my wife just bought me the garrett master hunter cx 3 brand new for its age(still in box) and I really want to detect gold with it but the settings on the users manual are not very clear and there isnt a whole lot of info on it even though a lot of people are using this machine and it seems to still be very popular. Does anyone know what the best settings are for detecting gold on this unit? I even had a small gold nugget on the ground (1/4" x 1/4" ) and it didnt even beep like there was anything there... Please help! thanks in advance, matt

 

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[Terry Soloman]

You want to be in All Metal Mode, with medium sensitivity. http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby-manuals/Grand-Master-Hunter-CX-lll.pdf

 

[Lanny in AB]

You want to be in All Metal Mode, with medium sensitivity. http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby-manuals/Grand-Master-Hunter-CX-lll.pdf

Nicely done Terry.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[mattisdell1983]

hey thanks for the reply, Yeah I have all the info on the detector but it doesnt mean a whole lot to me because im so new to it lol. That and it doesnt really tell you how to set the thing up for finding gold. I do have one more question though. There are a whole lot of other options on this detector like: Ground balancing, depth, frequency, boost, threshold, etc... do I need to set anything else other than the 2 you listed before? thanks again, matt

p.s., When i put the detector on the setings you provided and put some gold in front of it (1/4" x 1/4"), it still did not detect it. Confused. thanks again

 

[Terry Soloman]

Sorry Mattisdell, but I have NO experience with your machine. Yes, you need to Ground Balance the machine, and it may not be capable of finding sub-gram gold - I just don't know. Honestly, I don't know any gold hunters that use your machine for nugget hunting.

 

[trinityau]

Hello Mattisdell, Terry has given you the best info you can get. The manual tells you exactly how to set it up. You need to be outside in the woods, desert where ever you are and away from any power lines. Standing in the street between power lines will not work. You have to get away from everything.

Turn your unit on and go by the setup instructions in the manual. The threshold should be set so you can just barely hear it with or without headphones. Follow the step by step instructions and ground balance. Once you have the unit ground balanced then go down the PDF and look for electronic nugget detecting. It will tell you to switch to ALL METAL MODE as Terry told you. It will also tell you go to the BOOST MODE as Terry told you. Continue to read and after making those changes if you are properly ground balanced the unit should work. I would use a sample of gold that is at least a gram. You should get a signal. I have never air tested a Garrett but they are about the same. By the way I do not have any faith in air tests at all on any unit.

This should all be done with a 8.5 inch coil that Garrett reccomends for prospecting with this unit. This unit is primarily a coin machine. It will work on gold if you have a location that has gold nuggets laying near the surface in mineralised soil that weigh around a gram or more. By the way I am looking for spots like that, LOL. It may be able to be tweeked by someone familiar with the unit to do better but I would not count on it. Gold units are made to handle more hot ground than coinshooters are.

I do not know where you live or detect but if you are after gold nuggets then I would advise getting a unit that is dedicated to finding gold. I will not say that you are wasting your time but another unit would be better suited for the job. If you are intent on prospecting then I would go to the coinshooting forum here on TNET and look for a trade or sell the Garrett and get a gold unit. TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS