Advice Please!!

[ironrock]

Directed at all you experienced operators, some honest answers please.Do you think it`s possible at this point in time to make a living detecting in the vic goldfields using an SD2200D. I know first hand these machines are very deep seekers, but as the larger gold is getting scarce, it is imperative to find the tiddlers, and i know this is a much harder job for the SD. What is the smallest coil the SD can handle to find those tiddlers?

Has anyone had experience using solar chargers for the SD batteries? I was thinking it might be better to purchase 4-5 batteries and then book a motel room for one night of the week to recharge the batteries and then myself!

Can anyone tell me about waanyarra camping grounds, any facilities , does it cost anything, and would you be kind enough to show me on a screenshot of google earth exactly where these grounds are situated?Is camping allowed anywhere on crown land, if not, why not?

Lookin forward to your replies guys!! :8

 

[jethro]

It all depends on what you class as a livng wage. I had an SD2200 yrs ago and while it was a great machine in quiet ground with a mono coil it was more suited to a big dd coil in the noisy mineralized ground. I found the best coil for Vic soil conditions was a 15 inch nugget finder dd. that I borrowed of a mate for a couple of days. It was definetly more sensitive and quieter than the coiltek 14 dd.

 

[Guest]

Go out and try it first, say for a week or two and see if you can handle the good days and the bad days. You will soon learn first hand of your experience whether you want to pursue this hard yakka.

 

[Reeks]

I use an sd and have found gold down to 0.24g with the coiltek 14" round DD Pro Elite, and can pick up shot pellets (not the tiny sdc size) at shallow depths.
Dug a lead harmonica reed last trip that was a clear signal and came out at a measured 22"
I have a 8" mono coil but It's too unstable and sensative to hot rocks in the areas I've had it on.

A good solar panel should keep a decent battery topped up that you can run your fridge and charge your sd batteries with.
The sd's need a booster to hear the faint signals.
Picked up a 2.7g at 11"+ leaf litter recently that would of been still in the ground if I wasn't using a booster.

I like my old detector, It's my first detector for gold and I feel confident it's not too far behind the later models.
Time behind the coil, learning the "burps and farts" (as loamer says) is where you will need to start.
I'm still learning things about my machine on every trip.

I considered an upgrade to the 4500 when they were on sale recently, but I'm happy with the sd for the amount of time I head out west.
Reeko

 

[ILikeGold]

Honest reply from someone who has been prospecting full time for many years is your wasting your time. I only know a few full timers in Vic, and they all struggle to make a living. Using a 20 year old detector and having little experience ( just guessing that from your posts) your chances are very slim.

 

[ironrock]

Thanks reeks for that info, Uncle Bob, was out about 2 months ago for 3 days and i managed to find a large speci but with not a lot of gold content, maybe 2-3 grams? I used to be a super gun fruit picker best i ever did was $320.00 in 6 hours and that was almost 20 years ago, so if anyone knows something about hard yakka, well; you get the drift!!

My problem is i despise authority (hate being told what to do) i want freedom, glorious freedom, i have no baggage except a couple of beautiful dogs which will have to stay with family, damn will i miss them, but in this life we just cant get everything we want, unless your a gazillionaire.

 

[SC75]

Ironrock if your super keen going out full time prospecting, VIC not the place to do it. I think you should pack your bags and try Palmer river Queensland.
I have a good friend that runs a trout boat in Cooktown and his close mate quit the fishing industry 8 years ago and went full time prospecting in the Palmer.
This year so far he has found over 2 kilos of gold but before you get excited just check out the Palmer on google earth its a barren place, nothing out there except for a lot of gold and im pretty sure its one of the most purest gold on the planet, its just hard to live out there, you will be do it like the old timers did in the mid 1800s.

 

[old hand]

to be honest you need to be finding gold every day bread and butter gold and I think that with a 2200 you will be struggling not to say you will not find gold with it .Every time I go past the camp ground at Waanyarra there are campers there ,a 12v battery and small solar panel would be the way to go to keep your battery charged. A sdc may be the way to go but I think the better way is a 4500 or 5000 because of the range of coil choices regards john

 

[WalnLiz]

Making a living full time in Vic with a 2200 as a recreational prospector without access to leases and scraping machinery, is in my opinion, all but impossible these days. Had you asked that question 20 years ago the answer would be completely different. We personally make a reasonable income from detecting, but in my opinion you need to concentrate your efforts in a place that doesn't hinder operators, and the only place left in Oz for that is WA.

Some talk about the Palmer etc....but unless you're in the know with the lease holders up in that neck of the woods your pickings, although pretty to look at, won't sustain a a full time job.

If you're serious about detecting as a "trade", then like all tradesmen, you firstly need to arm yourself with the tools that will give you the most success. The minimum in detecting tools is, in my opinion, a 4500, not an SD or even an SDC. Once you spend a few months at a time on the gold fields you will soon come to notice who has the larger parcels of gold in their possession. They all have a common denominator, and that is the best technology in their machines, and an understanding of the best places to swing that technology.

Experience will soon be gained after a substantial time on the fields, so if you're expecting a reasonable income from the beginning you may have some disappointment....however if you're prepared to do the apprenticeship, the rewards will eventually also increase once you qualify in your trade.

Best of luck with it.

Wal.

 

[AtomRat]

Making a living full time in Vic with a 2200 as a recreational prospector without access to leases and scraping machinery, is in my opinion, all but impossible these days. Had you asked that question 20 years ago the answer would be completely different. We personally make a reasonable income from detecting, but in my opinion you need to concentrate your efforts in a place that doesn't hinder operators, and the only place left in Oz for that is WA.

Some talk about the Palmer etc....but unless you're in the know with the lease holders up in that neck of the woods your pickings, although pretty to look at, won't sustain a a full time job.

If you're serious about detecting as a "trade", then like all tradesmen, you firstly need to arm yourself with the tools that will give you the most success. The minimum in detecting tools is, in my opinion, a 4500, not an SD or even an SDC. Once you spend a few months at a time on the gold fields you will soon come to notice who has the larger parcels of gold in their possession. They all have a common denominator, and that is the best technology in their machines, and an understanding of the best places to swing that technology.

Experience will soon be gained after a substantial time on the fields, so if you're expecting a reasonable income from the beginning you may have some disappointment....however if you're prepared to do the apprenticeship, the rewards will eventually also increase once you qualify in your trade.

Best of luck with it.

Wal.

Great post Wal

ironrock - you personally need to try and test what you want to run and see what's best for you mate and the area. There is no specific way to answer a question like that. If there were, we wouldn't be here. Hard work and chance, best of luck with finding some chunks

 

[Karen]

If I was in your shoes Ironrock I'd head down to Shepparton, do a bit of fruit picking to support you for part of the week and hire a few different detectors down in Dunolly

from the Gold Search detecting shop a couple days a week and try them out in the Golden Triangle. It's a two and a half hour drive one way but it would be worth that little bit of experience.

Plus you would also have a better idea of which detector you liked using and the expertise from the guys who run the shop to give you some tips and guidance.

Best of luck with your decisions,

Karen

 

[ironrock]

I appreciate all your advice guys. I will take it on board and have a good think about it. It`s probably all wishful thinking at the moment as my future health is not looking to promising, waiting to have more tests done, possible i have some rare lung disease (Interstitial lung disease to be exact) which might explain why i struggle when i exert myself. Anyway thanks again and keep on swinging!!!

 

[Guest]

Hi ironrock. The Explore Australia website has reasonably good info on free campsites and pet-friendliness. The only site I use for gold locating is Australianminesatlas. Then cross-reference with google sat. I have no probs finding stuff this way, but others might.
Sorry 'bout your health mate. Last time I had chest x-rays (broken ribs, again) the doc said I had bad scarring- silicosis from stock-work. I was a smoker for 36 years, and he informed me that despite the negatives of smoking, if I had been a non-smoker, I would not have expectorated most of the dust, and would have been on oxygen by now. So it was the lesser of two evils.
I'm still addicted to nicotine, but I use e-cigs. Now the guvment is trying to scam to tax-the-guts out of them, to perpetuate the murder and profit of tobacco........Always the poor and the bushies.... A mates mum was 85 and a smoker. Fit as a fiddle. The doctor talked her into giving up. She had a pre-existing lung virus that was being held at bay by the durries. When she gave up she died within 2 weeks. Bloody do-gooders.

 

[ironrock]

G`day Tim, I feel like i`m going down hill pretty fast, i`ve been crook as hell these last 10 days or so, the doctor gave me 2 runs of antibiotics but it did`nt achieve ****, if anything i feel worse. Tomorrow i`m going to have a spirometry test done, if that dose`nt show anything then it`s off to see a specialist. I filmed myself the other night coughing,so i can show the doctor as i got the impression he thinks there`s nothing serious or he thinks i`m bullcrapping. That night i coughed chronically on and off for about 3 hours and i thought my lungs were about to burst, (if these doctors dont friggin find what`s going on with me soon, i do not know what i`m going to do) and as for smoking i absolutely loved it, whether i`m in the situation i`m in because of it , or because of the work i used to do, that`s probably something i`ll never find out, but i do know on my mothers side, there is serious lung problem history with at least one relative that i know of, so i could have been predisposed to getting it anyway, smoker or not?

 

[Guest]

Oh *****, sorry rock-man. Keep riding the doctors mate. I found out this morning an old mate passed away friday night-they only found him last night slumped over his dinner. He's been hobbling around for months-thought it was his back or a nerve, Doctors found nothing, but had him booked in for a brain scan today.. Too late.
I'm full-time carer for my Mum- Stage 4 bowel cancer. Dad had a stroke 5 years ago and I gave him a hand for a while, but he came good.
Chin up mate, I know it's hard. Be brave for the rest of your family if you can.
Reminds me I need to make a will. Gonna donate my broken and plated body to science, as long as they agree to shrink my head and give it to my daughter. THAT will be a better talking point for the mantlepiece than an urn full of ashes.
I hope you get out for a scout around soon mate. This Croweater used to rubbish the Vics, but their the only go-aheads now. Bloody beautiful all those forests and reserves over their. We here are locked out of crown land and denied ownership of our finds.

All the best mate, keep us informed if you're able. I'm sure I'm not the only one here thinking of you..