What Nugget Hunting MD Do You Use?

[Functional]

This post is for all those who want to get into nugget hunting and all those who tried but failed, because they didn't have the right metal detector.

Please state the following for each of the nugget hunting metal detectors you use:

1) The brand, model and coil size of the metal detector you use.

2) State the type of metal detector you use, (ie: BFO, PI, Two Box, VHF, etc).

3) Describe the locations where your metal detector has actually located; silver, platinum, or gold nuggets. (Useful information, would include things such as; unusually high amounts of black sand, use in salt water, high amunts of trash, etc.)

4) State the depth and type of metal located.

5) Describe nuggets you found by the; size, shape, color, alloy, crystal structure, etc.

6) If not a "state secret" provide as much geographical and location information as you feel comfortable with. (ie; Indicate the types of locations you nugget hunted with your MD and how it performed in those different environments.)


Thank you!

F.

 

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[Grubstake]

Yeh sure, good luck getting that stuff, you may as well be asking for SS#'s and the name of there first born child. Minelab Detectors find the gold, you'll have to find everthing else your self through trial and error, like everyone else. Grubstake

 

[Ant]

You might want to edit out the #2) question because you can figure that out by your #1) question.

HH

 

[Functional]

You might want to edit out the #2) question because you can figure that out by your #1) question.

HH

Not everyone understands MD-geek-speak. I've only been coing here a few months or so and even though I've used MD's off and on for several years, nobody ever bothered to explain the assortment of terms and acronyms relating to MD's. Any tenderfeet that stumble in are unlikely to know a PI MD from a VLF and some haven't even owned an MD apart from the Radio Shack Micronta, or some plastic stick with electronics in it, they got for subscribing to National Geographic.

I know some of this information, (perhaps most of it), isn't of much use to those who only use an MD for coin shooting and relic hunting, (can't get enough of those old horseshoe's). But, for those who may have been involved in prospecting, or simply prefer to hunt in highly mineralized soil conditions, knowing the difference might save them alot of time and money.

F.

 

[bakergeol]

It is best you concentrate on your area you plan on detecting and ask advise from beepers who detect in those areas. There are nugget forums out there that may be a bit more helpfull.

Yeah we guessed you were a newbie when you mentioned BFOs(haven't been used since the 70s) and 2 box (used for large objects)- neither used for gold beeping. Just concentrate on VLFs some of which were designed for gold beeping ( e.g. Gold Bug 2 , GMT) and others for a dual role, (e.g. MXT,LST, Terra X-70, perhaps F75). PIs = Minelab.



Good luck

 

[Functional]

It is best you concentrate on your area you plan on detecting and ask advise from beepers who detect in those areas. There are nugget forums out there that may be a bit more helpfull.

I already do ask for information in other forums, but I wasn't asking about this information just for myself. Some people on here have been very helpful already with the other interests I have, but often as not, I manage to hunt down the information I need on the web and post it in these forums to help other people.

Yeah we guessed you were a newbie when you mentioned BFOs(haven't been used since the 70s) and 2 box (used for large objects)- neither used for gold beeping. Just concentrate on VLFs some of which were designed for gold beeping ( e.g. Gold Bug 2 , GMT) and others for a dual role, (e.g. MXT,LST, Terra X-70, perhaps F75). PIs = Minelab.

Good luck

I'm not sure what being a newbie has to do with anything, since my questions were an effort to gather information into a single thread and save new people having to hunt through hundreds of posts, in order to figure out what MD they should be using for nugget hunting. Unlike those who only use they're MD's for hunting for coins and relics, this is more of a specialized area requiring equipment specifically suited to the task of finding nuggets. And while I lack such equipment at this time, this has less to do with a lack of knowledge of what equipment to buy for myself, than it has to do with my particular circumstances and needs.

Personally, I'm looking at a few options, one of which includes a discriminating PI MD. Regarding the two boxes, I think the jury is still out on they're potential use in nugget hunting. I'm not up on the latest in that technology, but I think theres room for advancements that would allow a TM 808, (or the other manufacturers versions), to use different configurations to achieve lesser depth but with a wider coverage area using a different antenna array. I'll continue to follow the posts in GeoTech and search using alternative search engines to see whats new in that area.

F.

 

[Willy]

Actually, for nugget hunting, specialized detectors aren't necessary, just certain functions (AM mode, GB). True, there are dedicated nugget machines, but they are often outperformed by the less specialized detectors. As for the 2 box setups, I don't believe that they can be GB'ed and I have read that they really suffer in highly mineralized ground.. which is generally where gold is found. Also, using a 2 box is more a 2 person job 'cause it will sound off on your shovel and any larger metal you're carrying that moves in relation to the detector. ..Willy.

 

[Functional]

Actually, for nugget hunting, specialized detectors aren't necessary, just certain functions (AM mode, GB). True, there are dedicated nugget machines, but they are often outperformed by the less specialized detectors. As for the 2 box setups, I don't believe that they can be GB'ed and I have read that they really suffer in highly mineralized ground.. which is generally where gold is found.

I heard they have some negative qualities, but as with any MD, technology marches on. I'm actually expecting they'll come out with a "best of both worlds" version. A discriminating PI two box. Who really knows. They may skip over to something like microwave, or millimeter wave / x-ray / ultrasound / etc. Something that will tell you what you've found, how deep it is and how many beer you have to buy your buddy to get him to do the digging.

Also, using a 2 box is more a 2 person job 'cause it will sound off on your shovel and any larger metal you're carrying that moves in relation to the detector. ..Willy.

Guess I'll have to find a new girlfriend and get her into nugget hunting. Here I've been spending all my time concentrating on finding one with a good credit rating.

F.

 

[Willy]

Find a rich old biddy with a bad ticker. When she bites the biscuit after a bunch of recreational 'exercise', you've got a pile of money and tons of sweet young thangs just an itchin to help you out. Anyone remember Martha Rae (denture wearer) ? ..Willy aka. the New Age Golddigger.. two can play THAT game.

 

[Functional]

Find a rich old biddy with a bad ticker. When she bites the biscuit after a bunch of recreational 'exercise', you've got a pile of money and tons of sweet young thangs just an itchin to help you out. Anyone remember Martha rae (denture wearer) ? ..Willy aka. the New Age Golddigger.. two can play THAT game.

The thought of those gums is going to keep me up tonight and I don't mean in a good way.

I think I'll stick to the bikini clad vixens that come to this little tourist trap in summer. Or maybe one of those fruit pickers, gotta love them French girl's from Quebec. They travel most of the way across the country, with little thought of where they'll be sleeping when they get here.

F.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI On the two box , don't downplay them too much. 'the original 2 box with "ground balance" was the 3-d, Due to personal problems it was put on the shelf for a while, but not before they had developed a 1" coil for it which gave the equivalent of a normal 7" coil on the conventional detector. It simply replaced the two detachable coils with a wire connection to both former connections. It worked very nicely.

When the detector was reactivated it was leased to White, but with auto tuning and preset internal balance. It did not feature the detachable 1' coil, probably to eliminate interference in sales of the more expensive conventional machines.

Later more squabbles caused the original owner to withdraw his data from White and to set up a new company, Discovery. The discovery 900 machine is almost equal to the original 3-D and far superior to the present White 808, a quite efficient machine in it's own right, which was an attempt to fill in the gap.

I have made a substitute 3/4" coil (Garrett probe for the Master Hunter series) and adapted it to my White 800. I still have my original 3-d, but it suffered a mule stomp and needs parts, the transmitter located in the trans coil. I am not sure if the extra parts from my white 800 will/can be adapted, just to lazy so far since it works nicely as it is..

I may be a bit off on some of my company facts, but this is what I have been able to find out and from personal experience.

They are excellent machines. If you can find some one that can adapt or can convince the companies to bring out the small coils again, they would be all around machines for nugget, cache and basic metal hunting. No, so far they will not discriminate/ ID among the metals other than ferrous or nonferrous, but they do an excellent job of cancelling ground matrix/ interference.

Don Jose de La Mancha > Tropical Tramp

 

[Functional]

Nice to hear some history on the two box, Real de Tayopa.

Until a few months ago I had seen all sorts of MD's, but never a two box and while they likely have different circuitry, it seemed like they were all pretty much alike in design on the outside.

I think if I had that Discovery 900, I'd disassemble it and shoot lots of pictures of both sides of the circuit boards, to post in the GeoTech forums.

F.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI Functional, the two box machines that I am referring to are essentially the same basic circuits as the present normal coin etc. detectors. The exception is the Fisher M-scope, it is strictly a tr machine and cannot neutralize ground mineralization..

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Functional]

HI Functional, the two box machines that I am referring to are essentially the same basic circuits as the present normal coin etc. detectors. The exception is the Fisher M-scope, it is strictly a tr machine and cannot neutralize ground mineralization..

Don Jose de La Mancha

Ground mineralization seems to be the biggest problem here in British Columbia. There aren't many areas that don't have black sand (iron) and thats where the gold is. For the time being, I'm looking at putting together a PI MD and hopefully, (if all goes well), I'll add on a discrimination that someone on the GeoTech forums has designed.

I would like to experiment with the two box units and maybe multiple coil PI MD's. If I could end up with a MD that could penetrate down to about 2' and have a surface coverage area at least as wide as a normal MD, then I'd be happy. Not that I want to dig that deep unless theres something really good down there.

F.