Can someone put this in perspective for me?

[Pogo]

I do a fair bit of trout fishing and have done since I was about 15, ( which was a long time ago) last couple of years have started prospecting.

My take on both now is that if I was to sit myself down in the middle of a stream and just sit there with a smile on my face, listening to the bush and the river, some one would ring the local authorities and report a drunk/drugged/mentally unstable individual behaving in a dangerous manner who should be investigated/incarcerated/committed.

However if I sit in a stream with a smile on my face holding my fly rod or a gold pan, I am clearly a dedicated enthusiast who is enjoying his hobby.

 

[Deepseeker]

Was something along the lines of making a small fortune from prospecting by starting out with a large one.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[shakergt]

Research research research works for me. Been out 3 times and the first two times found gold. The third time I was not surprised to find nothing as I was not there long. Maybe half an hour at the max and I had not done the research like I normally do. Also with the amount of growth in the area it was very hard going.

 

[Guest]

I hear that lots of members don't find any gold for months if not years. i have a friend who spent $10,000 on a minelab a couple of years ago and has 2 small nuggets to show for it.
i am retired with a small van i have access to a couple of properties in the pretty gully, and the ewingar forest area (NSW) I will probably purchase a minelab 1000 gold detector and suitable alluvial mining equipment. i am reading as much as i can and i am in no hurry or wanting to get rich. I have money and I have found gold before in Qld
I have just read jack lange's book (gold hunting adventures and tips) but understand that his book relates to a lifetimes work.
I would like to take fossiking seriously however i want to have a realistic attitude to what i am taking on.
comments please from first hand experience

G'day

This game is like any other pastime you get out of it what you put in to it, finding gold is relevant to the time you spend on the ground whether it be with a metal detector or with a pan, so it will depend on your level of commitment, having a suitable detector will make all the difference to your finds, some detectors are not as capable as others and you will struggle to find any gold, the first mistake many new people make and I hear it all the time is they buy a cheap detector thinking it will do the job and get disillusioned with it all rather quickly, this is a waste of your time and your money, by the same token having the latest and greatest will also be a waste of money if you don't put in the time to firstly learn how to use it and then put in the time on the ground, plus you will run the risk of losing some big dollars if you give the game away and want to sell it.

One of the most popular detectors and one that is very capable is the minelab Sdc 2300, it is also one of the few detectors that holds it value well, its far superior to the Minelab Goldmonster, its very easy to use and folds up for storage so ideal for the van life, once you get the hang of it and if there's some gold around you will have a very good chance of finding it, finding consistent gold will keep you more interested in the hobby as well even if its only small stuff.

cheers

stayyerAU

 

[user 4386]

For someone who knows what they are doing and who works full time at it, it will take a few months of full-time work to pay back (barring exceptionally good luck). To most it is a fun hobby. It will beat Newstart once the payback period is over - but of course everyone wants to find their Welcome Stranger. And few can keep it up full-time, day after day, week after week, month after month...

 

[madtuna]

Bugger the fresh air, scenery and keeping fit...purely in it for the money

 

[madtuna]

Bugger the fresh air, scenery and keeping fit...purely in it for the money

 

[user 4386]

Bugger the fresh air, scenery and keeping fit...purely in it for the money

Then you will know how much yakka is involved to make a living, much less get rich. But hundreds do....

 

[Outback]

If your in it for the hobby just keep doing what most still do & have done before ~~ wave your coil over same ground that's been flogged now over the last 40 years , pan the same dirt that's been panned by thousands before .

But have fun !

:lol:

 

[Chewy]

Took me about a year and half to find my 1st bits. I've been lucky enough to find at least 1 tiddler or more usually since then, except for 2 times. I struck out a few weeks ago, that made twice I've had to drive home without a rattle in the jar. Thats pretty bloody good I reckon. It's funny how the tiniest bit of gold makes it all ok. :lol: I know a bloke who became a millionaire prospecting, but he was a billionaire before. :lol:

 

[madtuna]

Bugger the fresh air, scenery and keeping fit...purely in it for the money

Then you will know how much yakka is involved to make a living, much less get rich. But hundreds do....

Yep intimately.
If you want to get rich...get a job. If you want a lifestyle...become a prospector.
For the most part, gone are the days where you could reliably get multiple ounces in a week with just a detector, Now you aim for an ounce a week and just hope you're lucky enough to better that. Now you have to work smarter and use machinery where possible and legal.

It's not just the hard yakka it's the mental or emotional side of prospecting that brings a lot of people unstuck. The occasional elation is far outweighed by the numerous disappointments.
The sometimes weeks or months on end without seeing another human except maybe at a distance in a vehicle.

This might sound a bit weird, but a few years ago I almost forgot how to speak. People would ring on the phone and some would even hang up thinking the line was faulty. They'd be going "are you there? are you there?" I'd be answering also thinking the line was faulty.
It was that little internal voice you have like when you type or read a book that was answering, I just forgot to vocalize it.

The mind can do funny things when you've been by yourself for a while. For example, I once swore my cat Mr Piddles had a set on me and was trying to suffocate me in my sleep. It wasn't till Rockhunter62 pointed out I didn't have a cat that I realized it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

 

[Reg Wilson]

Never mind, I guess the odd lost backpacker brings a little interesting interlude out there at Wolf Creek. Not to mention a change in diet from camel and horse.

 

[Digger58]

Yes, the fishing analogy, my next door neighbor who thought I was mad getting Minelab equipment.
$55k boat, rego, insurance, fuel, bait, goes out maybe 8 times over summer and is ecstatic when he bags a snapper or 2.

Another M8 a $40k annual subscription to a golf club, and still has to pay green fees.

I know where I'd rather be.

Hi Redfin, I can't get that figure out of my head, is it $40k, really? Almost $800 per week?

:Y:

 

[Redfin]

Sure is, but he gets his own car space. Same bloke has a superbox at Marvel Stadium. Not sure what that's worth but would have to be $50k plus.
Great day at the football, park downstairs then elevator to the box. :beer:

 

[Rockhunter62]

Sure is, but he gets his own car space. Same bloke has a superbox at Marvel Stadium. Not sure what that's worth but would have to be $50k plus.
Great day at the football, park downstairs then elevator to the box. :beer:

Yeh I can relate to that. I have my own car space. My own vista, no long ques to the beer fridge, not normally many people in sight and definitely no prima donna footballers around. Great sunsets and get to listen to the natural silence of the outback and if you are really lucky you get to meet down to earth people who also enjoy the outback. :Y: :beer:

And if you are really lucky you might get a bonus with finding a bit a gold so you can tell stories to your friends around the campfire.

We have a Gold Monster 1000, an SDC 2300 and the GPZ 7000 and they have all paid for themselves over the last 3 years. Do the research, the time on the ground and do the right thing regarding your legal rights and enjoy your hobby. You don't have to have the best detector to find gold, just the research and the luck to walk over 'the' nugget.

Cheers

Doug

 

[Bush]

Hi~ P/A members,
`i` have been scouting around in the Posts but cannot locate any info on Detectors working in conjunction together.
Thought this maybe the appropriate Post to ask.
Just wondering how close could a GPX 4500 or 5000 work in close proximity together without interference from each other ?
Also how close could a SDC2300 work to a GPX4500 ?

Has anyone had any experience with the questions above ?
Regards.

 

[RM Outback]

From my experience the GPX /GPX is about 30 metres, pretty sure the manual suggests 50. With a 2300 and GPX around the same distance possibly down to 20 metres. I've never stepped in out just a guesstimate as for a 7000 / 2300 I haven't got around to it, I'm hoping to have some time this weekend if I do I'll suss it out and let you know how all of them perform.

 

[Rockhunter62]

Hi~ P/A members,
`i` have been scouting around in the Posts but cannot locate any info on Detectors working in conjunction together.
Thought this maybe the appropriate Post to ask.
Just wondering how close could a GPX 4500 or 5000 work in close proximity together without interference from each other ?
Also how close could a SDC2300 work to a GPX4500 ?

Has anyone had any experience with the questions above ?
Regards.

Hi Bush,

We have the SDC & GPZ and if you start them up next to each other we can work to within 5 - 10 mtrs of each other. I think they look at each others interference then picks an applicable noise cancelling channel to use. The experts here should be able to correct me if I'm wrong.

Cheers

Doug

 

[Ded Driver]

seen this issue come up a couple of times on YouTube videos, where 2 GPX's dont like being anywhere near each other ... greater than 30m is better.
Could probably also be partly solved with a method as Rockhunter just described above, to get them to tune out each other... maybe/maybe not
Ive never tried getting closer then 30-40m anyway ... oiiii get outa my ground layful: