Makro Gold Racer +/- Rocks in VIC goldfields ?

[Mick64]

When ever I find ground like that I ground balance the hot rocks out, You might want to try that, Or take a Ground reading on the meter and then take a reading of the rocks and then set your Ground balance somewhere between the two so the variation is not so different and you targets will be more pronounced,

hope that helps,

John.

Thank you John it does help,
I tried to auto GB on some rocks, but being so small it was hard to GB on them so I just selected ground around them, I didn't think about a manual GB. So with a manual GB can I keep adjusting until the "woo woo" has just slightly disappeared?, would this effect the depth of targets at all?

Mick

Well I can turn on my MXT and the GB will Auto set to 50 and I can lock it there or I can do the same and set it to 83 or just plain Auto GB, but heres what I noticed, at the standard set mode @50 Hot rocks howl like crazy but if I do it at 83 then the hot rocks are not so bad but if I ground balance them they come up at about 84 to 87 and they are gone, But the reason for me saying about those factory pre sets is because if you set yours up the same you will see the changes and there is one thing I have noticed and that is the Higher the GB setting The more sensitive the machine will be, "which" is why when you are in hot ground and the GB is way up high you can hear the ground noise.

To test this out, Set your GB halfway, (normal ground readings) and stick a tiny target to a ruler and set your gain as high as possible and wave the target in front of the Coil moving it further and further away until it stops upsetting the threshold and then set it to 83 and do the same and you will see that the signal is a lot stronger.

Test ONE, grab a Fridge Magnet and set the machines GB to 50 and wave the magnet in front of the coil and hear the way it sounds in different modes,

Then do the same with the GB set to 83,

Then Actually Ground Balance out the magnet with the machine laying on the ground Now stick a Tiny Piece of lead to the magnet, and when I say Tiny say something weighing around 0.05 grams or a 1/4 the size of a Match head and wave that in front of the Coil and you will see that the machine will still pick out the piece of Lead,

Fridge magnets are perfect for doing Hot Rock tests because they GB about the same and they have about the same amount of Iron in them and by messing with the GB you can work out the best GB setting to use when your out in the field.

A Hot rock only makes a sound because it has a different GB reading than the Ground it is on, This is not perfect but it will give you a better understanding on how to set up the GB of your machine. If the rocks are big enough GB on them If not then raise or lower your GB to suit, But running the GB Higher will make the machine more sensitive to tiny targets. Where this all goes Pear shaped is when you have Hot and Cold Rocks in the same place.

Hope this helps,

John.

PS, If you can find one of them hot rocks out in the field and they are too small to GB on then pick it up and lay the machine down with the coil at 90* to the ground and GB the rock while it is in your hand. Ok

Thanks again John and some very helpful information, I'll give that a go tomorrow and see what I come up with. Appreciate your help

Mick

 

[Mick64]

Hi Pete, not sure were you're located but if I do get a free weekend it would be good to get a couple of Gold Racers out in the field and give it a go, like you said we would eventually work it.

Mick

 

[Ridge Runner]

They will put out an unmissable positive signal even when the hot ground is warbling away.You will find gold for sure.I also have a whites tdi modified,nearly always leave it at home now.

Yeah, I think the Standard coils for the TDI SL are blind as a Bat on Targets smaller than 0.12/0.15 unless they are flat, that is a pet hate of mine with that machine. Although mine is not modified,

John.

 

[ProspectorPete]

Hi Mick, I'm in S/E suburbs Melb but happy to travel anywhere in Vic triangle for a trip, I think having a couple of Gold Racers together comparing settings on the same ground would really fast track our learning and hopefully get a few nice finds at the same time.
Happy to take you to the location I went to or if you have somewhere in mind, I'd be good to get away in 3-5 weeks time for a 2-3 day trip Friday-Sunday and can catch up for a day or so if the timing suits.
Keep it in mind and I'll let you know my movements a little closer mate.

Pete.

 

[Mick64]

Hi Mick, I'm in S/E suburbs Melb but happy to travel anywhere in Vic triangle for a trip, I think having a couple of Gold Racers together comparing settings on the same ground would really fast track our learning and hopefully get a few nice finds at the same time.
Happy to take you to the location I went to or if you have somewhere in mind, I'd be good to get away in 3-5 weeks time for a 2-3 day trip Friday-Sunday and can catch up for a day or so if the timing suits.
Keep it in mind and I'll let you know my movements a little closer mate.

Pete.

Sounds Good Pete at this stage I can't do 12-13 Nov and 10,11,17,18 Dec. Anyway check your weekends out and PM me some dates and we can catch up in the triangle

Mick

 

[ProspectorPete]

Sounds good Mick, will do.

 

[oldtimerROB]

Hi Heatho, went to Havelock for 3 days in early June and had mozzies on my detecting hand where I could not brush them off as I walk with a stick.I wore thick explorer socks and thick track pants and that protected me.I don,t use aerosols. Next time went out with good quality rubber gloves used for dishwashing but in late June there were few around.However mild conditions and rain may bring them out so always be prepared.I suppose we can blame it on global warming as 35 years ago I never encountered these diseases so far south in Central Victoria whilst detecting in winter.

 

[oldtimerROB]

HI Mick,nice to read your comments and interesting information about the settings on your Gold Racer.The very high frequency on the Gold Racer may cause your problems with woo woo,but I am not an expert. I have been using the new Impact in 14 and 20 khz and I found it is very stable on goldfields.My main concern is that the isat is turned up to 6 in the GEN or all metal mode as the default setting and this may limit the depth capabilities considerably.In GEN mode you can turn up the disc. setting to 01 or 02 and hear the low tones for hot rocks and iron although iron objects were very rare but bits of tin cans gave a high tone. So far not all that impressed by the other 11 modes until some expert can give me detailed information on their use and optimal settings in goldfields bearing in mind this is a coin hunting machine primarily intended for use in parks or the beach and with the subsequent settings.In the disc. modes I was digging up too many false signals probably caused by small hot spots.Although deep mode is unsuitable in high mineralisation as stated in the manual I found it gave a stronger signal on a small sample of gold I threw on the ground at Dunolly than the other disc. modes and it was stable when hunting.Just about nearly all the signals were faint signals with no ID except for the bits of tin cans and I am really looking forward to getting a solid hit on gold with ID around 40-50.For units costing around the 1 K mark Makro and Nokta provide excellent and affordable detectors for the hobbyist worldwide.I expect there is more demand there and bigger profits to be made than catering to the fewer professional gold prospectors.Incidentally Nenad made a video on youtube using a Racer looking for small nuggets and sounded like he was in all metal with threshold.I think he prefers all metal mode with VLF,s.Looking at a USA forum they all advise using all metal with minimal discrimination setting on goldfields.Also no shame about getting woo woo as I heard a PI near me sounding off all the time sending the guy crackers.It was at the head of a gully with lots of hot spots about 2 feet wide but few hot rocks.

 

[Mick64]

Hi Old timer,
Good to read your post. Since my last post I have now moved on to the SDC 2300, but only recently when out on the gold field I was thinking it would be good to have the Gold racer again, the only reason would be to know what I'm about to dig. Being so sensitive to gold I'm sure it could tell me whether it was gold or it's lead by using the discrimination mode.
I usually rake and mark my targets I get with the SDC before digging, this way if I had another VLF like the gold racer, I would go back over the targets before digging and see what it tells me.

Anyway keep persevering as you will find that elusive nugget

Mick

 

[PhaseTech]

Thanks for your feedback oldtimerRob.

Yes, lower frequencies do help with hotter soils, that is why I often recommend the Racer 2 (14kHz) over the Gold Racer to certain people, depending on their requirements. The Impact is definitely the best of the bunch for the more.mineralised soils. In 20 kHz it is very stable, more so than the 19kHz Fors Gold+, but in milder soils the Gold+ barks nicely on a borderline target, whereas the Impact response is a little more mellow so headphones are definitely recommended. All detectors have their subtle differences.

Yes the Gold Racer in all-metal threshold is the way to go for sure. I generally hunt by audio and can pick most hotrocks by the sound they make. If I'm unsure then I'll just dig it, and if it does appear to be a hot rock, I'll still take these iffy ones home and dolly them up. As with all target ID machines, there is a tendancy for users to use the info on the screen to talk themselves out of digging up a target. When it comes to gold detecting, it should be the opposite, dig everything unless the detector and you feel 100% sure of the target - and even then you'll never know what is underneath unless you dig it out and recheck the hole.

The Disc 1 silent Discrim mode definitely has it's place as the silent threshold filters out a lot of the random falsing you might hear in all-metal. This will allow a higher sensitivity to be used. Just be careful with target signals that may be a little choppy. This could be a target buried a little too deep, so in this instance I'll temporarily flick into all-metal or even Disc 2 to check, or if there's a bit of surface clutter scrape this with my shoe and recheck. With a VLF even getting your coils a couple cm closer to the target can make a difference.

Cheers, Nenad

 

[oldtimerROB]

Thanks for your imput Nenad.I really like the Impact from its looks and solid feel, and its good stability on the goldfields.I haven't spent enough time with it to find gold due to the cold nights which makes camping out unsuitable.When I first tried the unit I made the initial mistake of watching too many videos from Europe and cranking the gain up to 85,especially in D.2 and D.3 and was digging false signals but still some buttons and lead sheet.On the second time out I was using GEN mode with default settings and 20 Khz. Third time out I was using the same but disc. set to 01.That way I could get a low tone for hot rocks and iron and not have to dig up all the signals.I do though still dig up half the signals although they are faint without ID just to make sure I am on the right track and because I am still in the learning phase.Last time brought home a hot rock which felt very heavy for a hot rock.I went out checking the goldfields around Smythesdale and Scarsdale but the tracks were all waterlogged and the areas covered with dense growth or pine plantations which make the old diggings unrecognisable.

 

[PhaseTech]

I like working in the pines, as when they grow they bring the wash up to the surface. Especially after a bit of rain washes the top soil away, look at the base of the pines and you can see what type of ground is in the area. Have pulled quite a few good nuggets right on the base of old pine trees over the years.

 

[oldtimerROB]

I did notice clean gravel at the base of pines but the penny did not drop.Good one Nenad.There are 4 gold bearing gullies 5 minutes drive from my house in the pineies.

 

[Makronewbie]

Hi propspectorpete i have had the gold racer for about few momths still no nuggets or any gold infact. I have found lead shots, bullets, coins, chunks lead .. im about try those setting in video above. Been using disc mode 1 gridding then going over disc 2. Pete if ur still keen in heading out golden triangle id be willing meet up with you mate. This fn detector omg when i going find gold omg. Im in goldfeilds of nsw now . So if i fond something i will post a picture . .. :beer: