Thanking about upgrading to a Gold bug 2

[Shoesnsocks]

Right now I have an AT Gold. I've found a few small shallow pieces with it, but the more I learn about detecting from reading and watching videos, the more I've been thinking I should've gotten a detector with a higher frequency. The local prospecting shop owner even told me I should be using a machine in at least the 40 khz range.

I'm thinking about getting a gold bug 2, because the price isn't too bad, and it sounds like it's unrivaled in it's ability to get the small pieces.

My main concern is mineralization and hot rocks. Most of the areas I've been going to are pretty hot. I'm able to work around them by either just ignoring sounds that I think are hot rocks, or by turning on iron disc with it turned way down to cancel out a lot of the noise. I know I'm losing some sensitivity by doing this though.

I'm wondering if the gold bug 2 is going to make this ground even harder if not impossible to search. It's just what I've got here locally.

The other issue is poison oak. I hunt at a small creek near my house that has tons of it. I have a system down with cleaning off after hunting to avoid getting a bad rash, but since the At gold is water proof, I don't really have to worry about it when cleaning it. Would I still be able to clean off the Gold bug 2? Does anyone have any experience cleaning poison oak off a detector that is not waterproof?

 

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[signal_line]

Seems like a damp soapy cloth would help.

You might want to look at an XP ORX.

 

[AllenJ]

My son uses a GBII and we do most of our prospecting in Butte and Plumas Counties, so similar ground to you. Once he learned his detector, he is very happy with it and is able to determine hot/cold rocks and bad ground without digging most of the time. The downside of that detector is at that kHz it is very sensitive to mineralization and there is a learning curve to using it, the upside is it'll see gold so small you'll have a hard time believing it!

 

[Terry Soloman]

Minelab Goldmonster 1000 is the way to go. GBII is heavy, hard to learn, and keep balanced compared to the GM1000.

 

[Lanny in AB]

As Terry says, the Minelab Goldmonster has an incredibly easy learning curve, and it will find tiny gold as well. The unit is waterproof to the control box, and it is weather resistant, so I don't think wiping it down would be an issue. Nice and light as well, so you can swing it all day, plus comes with two coils, a small sniper and a larger elliptical. Plus it has a great rechargeable battery and the option to use regular batteries as well.

My wife found two nuggets with it the first trip out, having never used it before--we were sniffing around some old, abandoned workings. The machine locks on and the bars on the digital graph jump to the right, letting you know the target is conductive. If the bars jump to the left constantly, likely iron, but dig it all to be sure.

It's a very simple machine, but one that finds tiny gold. Did I mention it has it's own brain in the form of a microprocessor? That way it can track the mineralization for you to handle the ground while you focus on finding the gold.

It's up to you, and if you'd love to get a GB II, go for it, a great machine as well, but analog tech which requires more learning and focus to keep it tuned and hunting properly.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[hound]

Goldmonster is great. The XP ORX with the HF Elliptical is also pretty amazing, or just use that coil with a Deus.

 

[hound]

Did I mention it has it's own brain in the form of a microprocessor? That way it can track the mineralization for you to handle the ground while you focus on finding the gold.
Lanny

That's simply a statement by their marketing team that's technically incorrect. It has a microcontroller as a brain, and so does every other modern digital based detector. The 24 bits is likely 24 bits of analog resolution for signal input from the coil. They're going to use a mainstream part for availability and price. Those tend to come in 8,16,or 32 bit varieties. I'm going to guess that they're using a 32bit ARM core to handle 24 bits of analog input from the ADC. Possibly NXP's line that has 24bit ADCs.

That aside the Goldmonster is good because its optimized for a specific target. It doesn't have to worry about loads of different coins, silver, and other things. It has also been developed on the hot ground in Australia so if it can handle that most hot ground it sees elsewhere will be easy.

 

[Lanny in AB]

That's simply a statement by their marketing team that's technically incorrect. It has a microcontroller as a brain, and so does every other modern digital based detector. The 24 bits is likely 24 bits of analog resolution for signal input from the coil. They're going to use a mainstream part for availability and price. Those tend to come in 8,16,or 32 bit varieties. I'm going to guess that they're using a 32bit ARM core to handle 24 bits of analog input from the ADC. Possibly NXP's line that has 24bit ADCs.

That aside the Goldmonster is good because its optimized for a specific target. It doesn't have to worry about loads of different coins, silver, and other things. It has also been developed on the hot ground in Australia so if it can handle that most hot ground it sees elsewhere will be easy.

Nice explanation that strips away the tech marketing, thanks. Now I have something new to think about.

I provided the info. about the processor so he'd know there was far less for him to think about (machine does it automatically) when handling ground mineralization.

All the best, and thanks for the specifics in your clarification,

Lanny

 

[leadnugget]

Steve Herschbach has a very good write up on his forum, Gold Bug Or Gold Monster?
from October 20, 2017. i dont know if i can post links here or not. i would recommend reading that.
i like and respect Terry Soloman and i don't want to disagree with him but the gold monster 1000 is 2.94 lbs, excluding battery.
gold bug 2 is 2.9 pounds. and you can hip or chest mount the gb2 making it half that.
either way i dont think you can go wrong with either one.

 

[jmc24]

Steve Herschbach's main VLF gold prospecting detector is the Equinox 800. He has repeatedly said what I also have found out which is I have yet to find a highly mineralized gold prospecting site that the Equinox 800 could not handle. The Goldmonster 1000 and the Deus/Orx have struggled a bit at some of these same sites but I could still use them effectively. Several other very famous brands including the original poster's AT Gold and the one he is thinking of buying could not handle several of these sites, period. Another gold prospecting specific detector that has done well at most of these sites is the Nokta Makro Gold Kruzer. The original Makro Gold Racer did not do as well.

 

[leadnugget]

from watching videos and reading around the web the Equinox 800 looks very interesting.
i like the idea of the vdi. might give the gm1000 a run for the money.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Have you watched any of Bill Southern's videos on using the Equinox 800 vs. the Goldmonster for hunting gold in the desert?

You might want to give those a look. Once again, the Goldmonster has a seriously lower learning curve than the Nox (I own and use them both), but it's going to come down to your choice on what you actually intend on using it for, as well as what you've decided your real needs are.

All the best with your choice,

Lanny

 

[Goldwasher]

I used a goldmonster on our claim someone had with them.

medium hot to hot ground.

I found it to be very noisy. Was not really impressed. Honestly MY GB2 was more stable on the same ground.

I wouldn't even bother with an AT Gold there unless I was relichunting.

 

[jmc24]

Depending on how much the mineralization changes, the Gold Monster 1000 and many gold prospecting specific detectors can be noisy when they are being run too hot or need to be ground balanced. That is one reason I moved on from the GM 1000. The early version just took too long to auto ground balance in my hunting areas. I would end up pumping the coil after every target for about 30 seconds or so sometimes. The newer versions of the GM 1000 have the ability to do a quicker ground grab like the SDC 2300. So the newer ones will quiet down a lot faster if they aren't run too hot.

 

[Shoesnsocks]

I ended up going with the GM1000. I really like that it is weather proof, and nice and easy to use. I found a picker flake within the first couple hours of using it at an old placer pit near my house, and even though the piece was very small, it gave me a strong signal on the non ferous side. It picks up small pieces of lead with a strong signal that my AT Gold only gives me the slightest, almost invisible signal on. I even found a piece of lead the other day out there that was just a fraction of the size of small bird shot.

I also am totally o.k. with it not having a threshold as well. I detect by myself a lot, and I like to be able to listen to my surroundings since I live in mountain lion and rattlesnake country. I've found ground that it doesn't work on, but the pit that I've been detecting at is very workable if you switch it in and out of iron disc mode accordingly. I still get false signals, but as in this particular area I've been able to tell pretty well when it's probably just a hot rock. Even the smallest pieces of lead I've found have always given me a very reliable response. The hot rocks will usually only sound half the time.

I will keep the AT Gold for now because I like being able to go in the water with it, but I would have to say that the difference in sensitivity is amazing!

I plan on taking it down to the desert with me this winter, and we'll see how well it does there. Thanks everyone for helping me with my decision.

 

[Gravelwasher]

Really its all about using it and spending more time in the field. Best of luck and be confident in your machine it will get the job done!! More nuggets than bottle caps to you))

 

[Lanny in AB]

Congratulations on your purchase as well as on our recent find.

All the best,

Lanny