Anyone else go to the show?
Any new products?
Cool stuff you saw?
learn anything?
Win anything?
Like it, love it, so so?
Yep
Yep
Yep
Yep
Nope.
Picked up 50lbs of 1 1/2" CRS at industrial steel so I started the day tickled pink. Also grabbed some Mic6, may just have to make something. Drive to Mesa wasn't far from there and when I got there, before lunch, people were already heading out to their car. Wasn't sure (till later) if that was just to not have to carry stuff, or because of the size.
I had read online that if you registered at the GPAA.com, you got a free pan. Well, I was pissed that I couldn't actually set up a log in to be able to register and was even trying again in line. But at the door, they hand you a bag with a pan and magazine so that washed that disappointment right out the window. Does that count as winning something?
I headed right. Now if you know anything about queuing and disneyland, you'll learn all those tricks. But I went right anyway. White I think was first. Several detector booths against that wall. Since I haven't been researching detectors, I didn't pay much attention. I did see a new detector from Garret that looked like it could be strapped to the side of a HMMVE. Talked to a buddy at work today and it said it weighs a lot and $2500. I figure I'll hit the detector forum and get recommendations before I dive into that pool.. ORy crap!
The folks with the new wishing well sluice with their magic boil hole riffles were against that wall with a highbanker demo running and a touche feele sample so you could see the machining of the 6061. I still think you could make a sandwich with pre-punch sheet where the top sheet's holes are smaller diameter to hold the gold. Interesting to see it run.
Next was a club from up north. They were pushing raffle tickets which became quite the turnoff in this place. Along the same row there was a guy hocking pots and pans. I've seen that sort of thing at the homeshow, not the gun shows and I certainly wasn't expecting it at this show.
Oh I forgot there was an Alaskan veterans expedition along this wall and their sign was hand written on cardboard so I wasn't sure what to think about it. Also there was a vendor with some sluices, pans, I think pay dirt and raffling nuggets.
At the back I turned and there was quite the sluice sales and a huge pile of classifiers. Behind that guy was a small booth with 'the cheap stuff'. Prospecting items mini, folding shovels, cheap pan, flashlights other camp stuff that you would get wholesale from china. The back wall had a GPAA booth where Tom Massie was meet&greeting a bit later on. Then I hear a voice, and YOU KNOW that voice.
Yep, Fred and Dustin. I was surprised at how old Dustin is. There was something about his eyes that said he's has seen a lot. They were talking to ogling fans so I walked around and looked at the reverse helix trommels there were selling. I couldn't quite tell what the outer drum was made of, some sort of plastic. Mostly the standard features you'd see on a commercial trommel and seemingly well built. I thought I heard dustin say 'well, he's from Glendale', I'm not sure if he was referring to fred or one of the other crew. I forget the gal's name, but her face is on a beginner's set box like todd is on garret's. I later ran into dustin as he walked the show. I asked if he was bored of these and he said it's the first he's been to which shocked me. Thinking about it I guess it makes sense. He was looking like he wanted to wander off and I wasn't into fandom and really couldn't think of anything else to ask him so that was pretty much it.
In the back corner was the Miner's something where treasurenet was going to meet at 1. This was the only booth with 'young ladies' and as people swarmed them, I got around to check out the goods,. er, so to speak. They had a lot stuffed in that back area, many used items. Nothing really caught my eye.
I'm getting fuzzy on which way I went next but the other gold magazine (used to be california something) was along that wall with a table full of free magzines, the one food sales and early on Tom was there taking pictures with fans. Later I saw him outside the lecture hall and a family had just gotten pictures taken when one of the little kids, maybe 5 or 6 turned around and ran up to him and gave him a hug. It was pretty cool and he seemed real & genuine. You never know when they're just a face on tv, you know?
Behind Freds trommels was GPAA phoenix chapter. They had a panning class and a raffle. They didn't have much posted by way of their club and their handout was a newsletter which didn't offer much either. They were selling the standard stuff you could get from the GPAA (basic
Tom & Perry's cleanup kit type of stuff). I don't know, I was a little put off.
A&B was in the middle there somewhere. He commented that he only got 3 spots this time instead of 6 because the show hadn't done much advertising. I asked if there was anything left in the store and he said oh yeah. There was. I don't recall if that's where I saw the new garret detector, I think it was at several booths. They had all the standard prospecting and as I was standing there sold their last falcon.
Someone had a foldup, self contained highbanker. I stared at it for quite a while. Found the handouts, Keene Mini Power Sluice
It seemed to me like the water bag would get ripped or holed, but who knows.
Several places also had keene's new classier system
Which has a #2, 4 & 12 and the screens pop in. A&B's show price was $50, with a reg price of $60. Worth it? Maybe to some. At A&Bs store, they had this
Which is $60 on Keene's site. The pan, classifier and a collection bottle (only 1 screen as far as I can tell). It looks massive and bulky to me. Neat thing about that pan/lid, see the handle looking thingy? It's actually an opening to fit into the bottle so you can rinse the pan right into the bottle.
Oh this flier also has the detector I saw, Garrett ATX $2120.75. Glad I'm sitting down. Crap, I just noticed a minelab GPX-5000 on here for $5800 Guuuuuuuuuuuuulp.
Oh, the magic sluice is "Gold Well" outta Wickenburg just up the street a bit.
hmresearch.net is their web. I overheard the price, I don't recall exactly and it isn't on this flier. I think he was north of $1200 for the power sluice being demo'd but don't quote me on that.
Somewhere in the middle was another nugget raffle going on at a nugget booth. Maybe the noise or maybe I was tired but it was really on my nerves at that point.
The folks with the folding sluice were there. er Royal? They had stands and pumps and sluices pans and screens. Same area had the trinity pan. He gave a quick demo and usually sold one. I talked to a guy at work and he said they sort of roped him into a demo and afterwards they asked if he wanted one and he said no, they were crap in our clay and pebbles get stuck in the pan's riffles.
Up towards the door was 'the gold lady' with another ton of stuff in a small booth. At this point though, I wasn't seeing much new stuff and thinking about prices I'd seen before and what I might be getting. Then I saw she had a LeTrap so I checked it out. When I picked it up, it wobbled like picking up a 20g sheet of steel. Sure it's light, but the boss I got for the same price doesn't flex when I pick it up by the corner. Since it was more than I've seen it on the net, I left it there. Plus I thought A&B might have one and I'd be supporting the local guys (no idea where she's outa). Oh she also had that new Garrett.
GPAA also had their booth, that was right as you walked in and behind the gold lady a bunch of panning sessions going on.
Then up front, if I had only gone left first, was a crapton of refining equipment. I was in heaven. Crushers, cubicles, molds, furnaces, fluxes oh my! I should have gotten a cruicble or 2 but wasn't sure the opening of my furnace. Built it from a waterheater tank.
Behind the curtain was classrooms for the gold wheel (I think that was the brand) and the gold cube
Where I got to watch as people ran material in both. They closed off the gold wheel side at times, not sure what was up with that.
I'm sure I missed stuff in the show because someone else had the gold cube and there were several other vendors I remember seeing, but can't remember what they were selling. Oh, there was one, only one jerky both.
The lecture turned out to be a treat. 1pm was the finding gold in the desert. I got there late and it was packed. People standing along walls, along the back and out the doors packed. So I watched from outside the door (guy in red dragon shirt if you were by the far door). It was great. He was talking rattle snakes when I walked up and ended up talking about using his detector on his drywash tailings and finding nuggets. Then he looked to the left... looked to the right... and a light when on noticing all those other tailings piles. Let someone else dig for you and grab what they miss.
I stayed for the plaster gold lecture, staying to get a seat and missing lunch, and sorry to say it was a bit of a let down. Part of the disappointment is I knew the basics and a lot of that got repeated several times. I guess I thought there was going to be more meat to the lecture. And then there wasn't really any time for Q&A before Tom came in to talk Alaska. I didn't stay for that because I'm sure it's something in the future, but I'm not sure that's going to be the excursion.
I did one last swing before leaving and after hearing the 'follow the drywasher' spiel, I was really hesitant to think about gear.
So I hit A&B. They had a rookie minding the store. He was talking to someone who had several refined gold samples on him. Some very nice looking buttons, a mini-bar, and a baggie of bbs. They had a mini-shaker table so I stared at that for a while. Older gentalman came in later and was asking very basic "what is that, what does that do" questions and the store guy didn't know. So I'm all like "oh that's a shaker table, it... blah blah blah" Also talked about sluices, dredges and powersluice. Hell, I learned it all from you guys! Then I asked if he had been to the gold show thinking he came to the store after like I did but he hadn't so the store guy gave him the info.
I also managed to leave there without spending anything.
I'll be there Sat. afternoon and may be Sunday also. My son has his first soccer practice in the am then its over to the show. I don't know who is more bummed about it being on the same day him or me. At 7yrs old he knows more about prospecting than soccer. I'll be the antithesis of AzViper- Ive got a Orthopedic boot on my right foot from dropping a propane tank on my toes before Christmas. So I won't be to hard to spot. To make it a little easier I'll probably be wearing a green T-shirt with a Blonde Gold Panner on the back 
Stop me and lets chat, always up for talking prospecting.
