If you had to pick one detector and coil combination purely for large deep gold nuggets (multi oz) in high mineral soil, what would you pick and why? If the detector you select has timings then what timing and why you selected that setup?
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Best detector for large deep Gold nuggets
- Thread starter Roscoe
- Start date
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condor22
Mike
GPX5000, 18x12 Mono, in Fine Gold.
Best detector, best setting for high min, Australian designed for Australia in Australia.
Coil wise, biggest I have equates to 14+ dia round.
Most ground in Vic is too overgrown for anything bigger. I generally use the 12x7 Nugget Finder or the 11" Commander. Rarely use the bigger one unless in a burnt area.
Best detector, best setting for high min, Australian designed for Australia in Australia.
Coil wise, biggest I have equates to 14+ dia round.
Most ground in Vic is too overgrown for anything bigger. I generally use the 12x7 Nugget Finder or the 11" Commander. Rarely use the bigger one unless in a burnt area.
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Coiltek 24" DD coil mated to a GPx4500. Settings vary depending on mineralization but being of DD configuration I'm able to run it surprisingly quiet on extremely hot ground which would send a large mono coil into a warbling paradox. The downside is it's extremely heavy and to find gold that the smaller,lighter 18" coils won't reach it must be of considerable size, that is, more than a couple ounces. The extreme rarity of nuggets large enough to warrant the use of this coil means I don't really use it too often. Want to dig horseshoes from 12 feet down. Give it a crack :lol:
G'day Roscoe
Great thread mate and I will watch with interest as the members come forward
with suggestions . I met up with OzzyAu this morning at Jupiter Creek for an early walk
and asked him the exact same question ! I am looking for a machine to compliment my
SDC , a deep puncher with a big coil for a future WA trip.
Had been thinking of a second hand GP 3500 , OzzyAu mentioned a mate of his that
has one of the old Minelab mine detecting machines modified to spec 3 with a 24 " coil
I think which hits relly deep.
Perhaps Condor is on the money but for me I would find it hard to shell out another 4k .
Cheers mate
Great thread mate and I will watch with interest as the members come forward
with suggestions . I met up with OzzyAu this morning at Jupiter Creek for an early walk
and asked him the exact same question ! I am looking for a machine to compliment my
SDC , a deep puncher with a big coil for a future WA trip.
Had been thinking of a second hand GP 3500 , OzzyAu mentioned a mate of his that
has one of the old Minelab mine detecting machines modified to spec 3 with a 24 " coil
I think which hits relly deep.
Perhaps Condor is on the money but for me I would find it hard to shell out another 4k .
Cheers mate
Whites TDI Pro Oz series (designed for Australia with the GT in mind) with a Nugget Finder 17'' x 11'' Advantage Mono - Elliptical (Solid).....best set up hands down!
WalnLiz
In remembrance, April 2024
Gpx5000....search mode General or Deep depending on soil type....Timings Normal or Special - Sensitive extra, again depending on location....14" or 16" round NF coil in the Summer, and 18" or max 20" NF round in the colder winter months. Heat can play a big part in the coil size as smooth thresh holds with a big coil and a hot day don't go well together.
Played around with a 24" NF for a while but weight and instability on hot days, reduces the hours of "effective" swinging to a minimum. Coil time on the ground is what gets the bigger nuggets more consistently, and swinging bigger than 20", with a quiet threshold, doesn't happen very often....at least not where I swing. :/
Played around with a 24" NF for a while but weight and instability on hot days, reduces the hours of "effective" swinging to a minimum. Coil time on the ground is what gets the bigger nuggets more consistently, and swinging bigger than 20", with a quiet threshold, doesn't happen very often....at least not where I swing. :/
PC 1000 & 250 yard p/h trommel...............whoops, sorry, wrong thread :8
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2100 with a Kevlar 18 mono
dwt said:
Lol...Komatsu snot.
Every digger op knows you cant beat Hitachi.
Know what you mean though mate.....sort of like a thread asking which hand is better for wanking?
Cheers
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Hi all,
The wife and I use a 3500 with a 16" Coiltek mono coil, settings are Deep, Sensitive with Tracking on in Medium speed The 3500 is really easy to operate, a quick GB if the threshold gets ratty and away you go. Other than that its a set and forget machine that's good for patch hunting and will find gold
We also have a Whites SPP with a 12' NF mono (round) coil its unproven as yet but in backyard tests seems capable of picking up a .5 tester. The plan is that this will be our clean up machine after the 3500 has been through
Jim & Kerrie
The wife and I use a 3500 with a 16" Coiltek mono coil, settings are Deep, Sensitive with Tracking on in Medium speed
The 3500 is really easy to operate, a quick GB if the threshold gets ratty and away you go. Other than that its a set and forget machine that's good for patch hunting and will find gold We also have a Whites SPP with a 12' NF mono (round) coil its unproven as yet but in backyard tests seems capable of picking up a .5 tester. The plan is that this will be our clean up machine after the 3500 has been through
Jim & Kerrie
I use a Si Roberts "treasure commander from ground efx 16"coil.
My mate gave it to me and strangly enough it works... even fine gold . Ive been told there crap but it picks up gympie gold . Dont have manual and it doesnt have a gold setting either lol weighs like 1kg n bit. Anyone have any info on this it flashes to iron then quartz real fast when i do find gold....?
My mate gave it to me and strangly enough it works... even fine gold . Ive been told there crap but it picks up gympie gold . Dont have manual and it doesnt have a gold setting either lol weighs like 1kg n bit. Anyone have any info on this it flashes to iron then quartz real fast when i do find gold....?
Thanks for sharing your deep gold setups and thoughts on the subject. In the New Year i would like to concentrate on areas that have produced large lumps. I can see the terrain in the area is going to have a big bearing on what coil sizes i take and better to detect as Wal said in the cooler months of the year. I will search in these areas where the deeper ground is, this may hold some big lumps which are out of reach to people operating smaller coils.
The other thing is i wouldn't know a deep gold signal if i fell over it. From what i have read it can sound like ground noise?
As far as detectors go i haven't got the brass for a GPX, but i could afford a GP3500 and i have been offered a SD2200v2 that's in very good condition.
The other thing is i wouldn't know a deep gold signal if i fell over it. From what i have read it can sound like ground noise?
As far as detectors go i haven't got the brass for a GPX, but i could afford a GP3500 and i have been offered a SD2200v2 that's in very good condition.
A 4500 or 5000 with an 18 round mono and appropriate settings is my combination of choice. Running is sensitive extra and deep settings if possible and swinging slow. I like the 18 round as it is often the best for depth without being swamped by ground noise.
The real question of how to get deep gold is more to do with putting in the hours with a bigger coil (its hard to swing the bigger coil for hours) and detecting in ground with the right ground depth that others have passed over with smaller coils below reefs and leads etc. Having a good over the shoulder Bungy cord mount that mounts off your harness and puts he coil weight on your well padded harness at your hips is the go.
Cheers RDD
The real question of how to get deep gold is more to do with putting in the hours with a bigger coil (its hard to swing the bigger coil for hours) and detecting in ground with the right ground depth that others have passed over with smaller coils below reefs and leads etc. Having a good over the shoulder Bungy cord mount that mounts off your harness and puts he coil weight on your well padded harness at your hips is the go.
Cheers RDD
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Ok some wisdom from JP for detecting the deep with a DD[ a cut/paste]
Here are his suggested settings for a GPX 5000 (or 4500) for use in deep highly mineralised soils using Normal or even Sharp timings, using a B&Z Booster and dual speaker system wired in series.
Front end cap:
Search Mode: General
Soil Timings: Normal/Special
Coil/Rx: DD
Ground Balance: Tracking/Fixed
Menu Settings:
Main Menu:
Backlight: 0
Battery Test:
Volume Limit: 8
GB Type:Gen
Special: Sharp
Manual Tune: 128 (wherever threshold is stable)
General Menu:
Motion: Slow or Very Slow
RX Gain: 11
Audio: Normal
Tone: 60
Stabilizer: 20
Signal: 19
Target Volume: 8
Response: Normal
Tracking: Medium
Iron Reject: Off
OK now for coils, this is where you need a Hipstick or a PRO-Swing 45 because DD coils are heavy and for this application you need the biggest one you can swing, my preferred coil for this type of detecting is a Coiltek 24" monster DD, I've found slugs up to 21 ounces at depth using this method so be rest assured it works! In a pinch the Minelab 18" Commander DD is a good option or if you can find one a Nugget Finder 20" DD but their rare as hens teeth these days (I have one stashed away here somewhere ).
You will notice in the settings I've chosen Normal over Deep in the Audio filtering, there is good reasoning for this, the gains made on large deep targets using Deep audio is negated by the Stabilizer, the Stabilizer will provide far and away more info than Deep could ever do, if you try to combine the two you will drive yourself nuts with the signal response, so keep it clean and simple and use Normal audio. In a pinch you can opt for Quiet mode but it does take a lot of information out of the signal train so be prepared to learn that methodology too.
Now your probably wondering about EMI? EMI is less problematic when using a Normal type timing compared to Enhance or Fine gold, the Smooth class of timings use a lot more inbuilt Gain compared to Normal timings and as such tend to be more problematic in noisy areas, to convince yourself of this detect for an hour using Normal then swap to Fine Gold and listen carefully to the threshold, you will notice a gritty wavery instability to the threshold, after an hour your brain will filter that noise out so you don't even notice it anymore, it is this trickery I want you to tap into in getting your brain trained for the extra information provided by the elevated Stabilizer settings.
The Stabilizer is a control that lowers and raises the threshold floor filtering, lower numbers raise the floor allowing less information through thereby presenting a smoother sounding threshold to the human ear, however you are also removing good information, higher numbers lower the floor allowing more info in but also making the detector sound jittery. If you run it flat out for a long period of time your brain will start to become conditioned to the noise so that when you back off to a lower number the threshold will start to sound stable again but you will now be able to run a much higher number than you would have been able to previously, your aim is to run the Stabilizer around the 17 to 18 mark.
Once you've conditioned your brain you can then start to experiment with Gain, I would rather see a lower than FP (11) Gain setting than back off on the Stabilizer numbers, however none of this is set in stone and your particular detecting environment and personal experience will dictate your final choice.
For those using old technology like the SD2200d set it to CH2 and Deep run at least an 18dd,Get a booster for it and set threshold paper thin.Less racket and far more effective on triangle dirt
JP
Here are his suggested settings for a GPX 5000 (or 4500) for use in deep highly mineralised soils using Normal or even Sharp timings, using a B&Z Booster and dual speaker system wired in series.
Front end cap:
Search Mode: General
Soil Timings: Normal/Special
Coil/Rx: DD
Ground Balance: Tracking/Fixed
Menu Settings:
Main Menu:
Backlight: 0
Battery Test:
Volume Limit: 8
GB Type:Gen
Special: Sharp
Manual Tune: 128 (wherever threshold is stable)
General Menu:
Motion: Slow or Very Slow
RX Gain: 11
Audio: Normal
Tone: 60
Stabilizer: 20
Signal: 19
Target Volume: 8
Response: Normal
Tracking: Medium
Iron Reject: Off
OK now for coils, this is where you need a Hipstick or a PRO-Swing 45 because DD coils are heavy and for this application you need the biggest one you can swing, my preferred coil for this type of detecting is a Coiltek 24" monster DD, I've found slugs up to 21 ounces at depth using this method so be rest assured it works! In a pinch the Minelab 18" Commander DD is a good option or if you can find one a Nugget Finder 20" DD but their rare as hens teeth these days (I have one stashed away here somewhere
).You will notice in the settings I've chosen Normal over Deep in the Audio filtering, there is good reasoning for this, the gains made on large deep targets using Deep audio is negated by the Stabilizer, the Stabilizer will provide far and away more info than Deep could ever do, if you try to combine the two you will drive yourself nuts with the signal response, so keep it clean and simple and use Normal audio. In a pinch you can opt for Quiet mode but it does take a lot of information out of the signal train so be prepared to learn that methodology too.
Now your probably wondering about EMI? EMI is less problematic when using a Normal type timing compared to Enhance or Fine gold, the Smooth class of timings use a lot more inbuilt Gain compared to Normal timings and as such tend to be more problematic in noisy areas, to convince yourself of this detect for an hour using Normal then swap to Fine Gold and listen carefully to the threshold, you will notice a gritty wavery instability to the threshold, after an hour your brain will filter that noise out so you don't even notice it anymore, it is this trickery I want you to tap into in getting your brain trained for the extra information provided by the elevated Stabilizer settings.
The Stabilizer is a control that lowers and raises the threshold floor filtering, lower numbers raise the floor allowing less information through thereby presenting a smoother sounding threshold to the human ear, however you are also removing good information, higher numbers lower the floor allowing more info in but also making the detector sound jittery. If you run it flat out for a long period of time your brain will start to become conditioned to the noise so that when you back off to a lower number the threshold will start to sound stable again but you will now be able to run a much higher number than you would have been able to previously, your aim is to run the Stabilizer around the 17 to 18 mark.
Once you've conditioned your brain you can then start to experiment with Gain, I would rather see a lower than FP (11) Gain setting than back off on the Stabilizer numbers, however none of this is set in stone and your particular detecting environment and personal experience will dictate your final choice.
For those using old technology like the SD2200d set it to CH2 and Deep run at least an 18dd,Get a booster for it and set threshold paper thin.Less racket and far more effective on triangle dirt
JP
Most dont realize that soil and ground conditions denote depth and settings......you could have a bloody 60" coil, it wont matter.
Ground conditions vary denoting different settings for whatever rig your using.
The Minelab boys like to think they have it sussed, one setting for all conditions.....but I beg to differ!
Minersden have brainwashed them, plus the fact that they need to justify such an expensive purchase.
More money spent, must give us a better chance yes?.......we have more settings to bugger around with, it must be better?
The truth......It confuses most to the point where they are helpless, what do i do?....can someone help me?
What are the best settings?.....what ground am i in?, will it change when i move 20 feet over?
You bet it will.
Ground conditions vary denoting different settings for whatever rig your using.
The Minelab boys like to think they have it sussed, one setting for all conditions.....but I beg to differ!
Minersden have brainwashed them, plus the fact that they need to justify such an expensive purchase.
More money spent, must give us a better chance yes?.......we have more settings to bugger around with, it must be better?
The truth......It confuses most to the point where they are helpless, what do i do?....can someone help me?
What are the best settings?.....what ground am i in?, will it change when i move 20 feet over?
You bet it will.
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That's excellent info Redfin and good point on ground conditions Metamorphic. I spend more time focusing on getting good at finding new ground. That way detector settings are less of a big deal. Walk over a patch nobody's moved a coil over and it'll be hard not to find gold unless your detector is switched off.. I'll leave playing the clean up game over thrashed ground in the hope I can pick up a missed murmur to the tech heads.
