Minelab Gold Monster 1000

[snafu]

I walked into my local BCF yesterday just to fill in some time whilst the bride was doing her 'girly' shopping and I spotted a bloke leaving with a box bearing the Minelab logo.

"Aha," says me "this I must investigate." I didn't know that BCF sold such goodies as I always went straight to the fishing section.

I left the shop 10 minutes later with a GM tucked under my arm and trying desperately to conjure up some sort of believable lie that the bride might accept for me spending a grand on a detector instead of the usual twenty bucks on a fishing lure.

I managed to convince her that the GM is the most sought after super sensitive reasonably priced gold detector in the known universe and I would have been mad not to buy it. Bugger me if she didn't come straight out and say "okay, you've wanted one for a while, now you've got it, so get out there and find gold."

I wonder if I could pull the same stunt with the new Ranger I was looking at last week.

 

[Deepseeker]

Good work snafu. Now hang on to that woman, she's a keeper :Y:

 

[snafu]

Good work snafu. Now hang on to that woman, she's a keeper :Y:

Haha, I'm a bit concerned about her reaction to tell you the truth, she has a master's degree in psychology and I've always had the sneaky suspicion that she only married me so that she could have her own personal 'lab-rat' to experiment on.

This may come back to bite me later down the track. :awful:

 

[Goldfield Joe]

I recently bought a GM and christened it with two pieces on the first outing and then another two a couple of days later.

It is clearly capable of doing exactly what is claimed, finding small gold. As Macca says, in hot ground it is very annoying and noisy but I have noticed something I am curious to see if any other users can confirm...

I plugged in earphones (Sony) for the first time yesterday and the sound difference was amazing. The earbuds seem to filter out a lot of the ground noise that you hear with the standard speaker but targets are still distinctive sounds. It made for a much more comfortable detecting experience.

Has anyone else experienced this at all?

 

[Goldtarget]

GJ,

Not as much with the Monster as the SDC, but yes, quality audio will make a big difference, my guess is the sound registers in a much more specific tone block that is recognised in the bands of ground noise.

Not much difference in quality headphones and music where each instrument can be heard clearly.

Its not just the sound clarity but the reduction of background noise that enhances the output.

 

[Goldfield Joe]

GJ,

Not as much with the Monster as the SDC, but yes, quality audio will make a big difference, my guess is the sound registers in a much more specific tone block that is recognised in the bands of ground noise.

Not much difference in quality headphones and music where each instrument can be heard clearly.

Its not just the sound clarity but the reduction of background noise that enhances the output.

Thanks OldGT, that makes sense. I will definitely use the earphones all the time now, just like with my 4500 they appear to be making all the difference.

 

[Phil8303]

https://youtu.be/4ZJJZkkkQxc
Full manual 10
Full volume
All metal
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...7670/1576890058_20190905_125531-1862x1863.jpg
https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...7670/1576890112_20190905_125612-1643x2921.jpg

Awesome video, mate. Probably a stupid question but I need to ask, is that all hot ground? I've been contemplating one of these for a while but worried it will give me a million false positives, given the hot rocks at the spots I want to go to. Cheers mate.

Phil

 

[Phil8303]

[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/SXa569BBcA8[/video]https://www.prospectingaustralia.co...s/5673/1556417212_img_20190428_110934_582.jpg

That is an awesome video, champ! Thanks for sharing.

Just to clarify, you have your sensitivity on 10 (which is the highest without going on auto, correct?), deep all metal on the settings, volume cranked and when you first turn it on, leave it in the air for 15 seconds to ground it?

I bought myself a GM this morning and played around a little with it for half an hour this arvo. Found a couple of bits of old tin :lol: but I actually thought the noise wasn't that bad, and only dug them up when it was screaming. Do you just ignore the ferrous/non ferrous scale, and dig it as long as it screams on either side?

I just waited for it to scream on deep all metal, manual 10 sensitivity, then flicked it over to gold for a second and still had it screaming, then dug. Like I said, a couple of bits of tin, but hoping to go back out on Sunday if I can.

 

[Phil8303]

I walked into my local BCF yesterday just to fill in some time whilst the bride was doing her 'girly' shopping and I spotted a bloke leaving with a box bearing the Minelab logo.

"Aha," says me "this I must investigate." I didn't know that BCF sold such goodies as I always went straight to the fishing section.

I left the shop 10 minutes later with a GM tucked under my arm and trying desperately to conjure up some sort of believable lie that the bride might accept for me spending a grand on a detector instead of the usual twenty bucks on a fishing lure.

I managed to convince her that the GM is the most sought after super sensitive reasonably priced gold detector in the known universe and I would have been mad not to buy it. Bugger me if she didn't come straight out and say "okay, you've wanted one for a while, now you've got it, so get out there and find gold."

I wonder if I could pull the same stunt with the new Ranger I was looking at last week.

Having bought a GM this morning, I would be keen to see any pics of finds and hear how you go with it Snafu.

 

[Jimmygub]

G'day folks! Just chiming in as another new member of the monster family. Had the machine a little over a week now and my partner and I have had a lot of fun and frustration figuring it out. Taking note of all the amazing info on this thread, we've managed a good 20 or so lead shot or chips, plenty of suspicios hot rocks, a few bits of rusty iron and a few random tin/aluminium bits and 1 teeny piece of gold I'd be happy to see show up in a pan! We go hunting lead now, not gold as it always ends in a good haul :lol:

Been hunting locally, golden triangle. (grateful to live where we do) Playing around old diggings, surfaced areas and what not as well as some unworked ground and I reckon we'll find a bit more if we stick at it. Been told if we're finding lead, we're doing something right!

So far, we seem to have more fun learning the machine, pinging all the trash keeps us busier but I'm always lured to the untouched ground... my gut tells me that's where I should be looking more.. but there's a lit less time between digs. Makes me wonder if the GMs are more suited to the mullock and so on as opposed to searching open ground? Either way, we'll keep trying both. Just interested, do folks tend to just use these more around mullock and so on or are these as all round as I think they might be?

Cheers folks! It's the sort of thing I'd ask around a camp fire but we're missing those round here!

Here's my little first find with the machine and my boy investigating what all the commotion was!

 

[Ded Driver]

The little GM is very good at turning gold into lead & aluminium as the coil passes over it layful:

 

[grubstake]

Been hunting locally, golden triangle. (grateful to live where we do) Playing around old diggings, surfaced areas and what not as well as some unworked ground and I reckon we'll find a bit more if we stick at it. Been told if we're finding lead, we're doing something right!

So far, we seem to have more fun learning the machine, pinging all the trash keeps us busier but I'm always lured to the untouched ground... my gut tells me that's where I should be looking more.. but there's a lit less time between digs. Makes me wonder if the GMs are more suited to the mullock and so on as opposed to searching open ground? Either way, we'll keep trying both. Just interested, do folks tend to just use these more around mullock and so on or are these as all round as I think they might be?

Mate, you're doing well and that's a great little shotty piece to get you started. Sticking close to old workings and surfaced areas is IMHO the best way to get started with a hot (high frequency) VLF detector like the Gold Monster and I see you're using the small coil, which will also be advantageous in such places. I'd recommend you also spend time on the actual surfaced areas themselves, as the oldtimers didn't always do the most thorough job of removing shallow paydirt for washing in a puddler.

Unworked ground is a bit of a different ballgame because nugget depth can be highly variable. Don't neglect it entirely, even with the small coil - sooner or later a nugget with your name on it will come up for air! Low and slow is key to success and the GM will surely teach you patience. Meanwhile, good hunting! :goldnugget:

 

[Jimmygub]

:lol: Funny you say that, the last target I found had me sweating, it was a nice smooth flat alluvial.... lead shot! Covered in yellowy powdery clay just on dark to really get me going... I swore it was gold until I gouged it with my thumb nail! By the power of monster I turn thee to lead O funny though, perhaps the shape of it was what made it sound so "sweet"

 

[Phil8303]

Question for other users of GM 1000; is it just me or does water really throw it out? I kept going over river stones and pebbles yesterday and it was going bonkers, but I did a hard reset because once the coil got wet it was pinging from my hand going in front of it

 

[Jimmygub]

And thanks for the insight there grubstake, much appreciated! I just noticed your post as well! Good bit of confirmation I think we'll stick to the ground the old timers have already dug up for us for now as well as the margins. At least until we learn the machine, I think that'll teach us about the ground in time as well. I can't resist the urge to find a nice patch, but best to learn the machine first. Plenty of surfacing around here so we'll take advantage of the cleared ground. Plenty of time on our hands!

 

[Goldfield Joe]

Jimmy, on Mullocks the GM is very capable. I have only had mine a month and have found all my gold on the mullocks. To be fair I have been deliberately targeting mullocks only. I have had a go on open ground and runs of shallow diggings but the GM appears to shine on Mullocks with white clay. You can really crank the sensitivity. It can be extremely noisy in other settings with river wash and pebbles etc. At least you have found colour and it won't be your last piece by a long shot, happy swinging!

Phil, I reckon it's the stones and pebbles for sure, I have operated my GM over water puddles and no issue.

 

[Jimmygub]

Cheers Joe! Yeah the white mullocks are definitely easier with the monster that's for sure, I think I need to give them more attention although they do seem a bit hard to find near me, being restricted to Avoca area actually haha they're definitely around! But they seem to be the odd few amongst the normal orangey coloured ones. Been "exercising" around a surfaced area today and like you say, the rocks make a lot of noise :8 still, we've managed a couple lead shot and some flaky foil :Y:

 

[Phil8303]

Jimmy, on Mullocks the GM is very capable. I have only had mine a month and have found all my gold on the mullocks. To be fair I have been deliberately targeting mullocks only. I have had a go on open ground and runs of shallow diggings but the GM appears to shine on Mullocks with white clay. You can really crank the sensitivity. It can be extremely noisy in other settings with river wash and pebbles etc. At least you have found colour and it won't be your last piece by a long shot, happy swinging!

Phil, I reckon it's the stones and pebbles for sure, I have operated my GM over water puddles and no issue.

Cheers GJ! You are right, mate. Definitely the stones and pebbles making it freak out. I did the hard reset, flicked it over to gold pinpoint only, but with sensitivity on 10 still (as I'm convinced it is better than any auto setting) and went back over a pile about half a foot under the water. This time, going extremely slowly, it was pinging on one particular rock. Came up with this bit of treasure. The GM is an awesome bit of kit! :Y: :Y:

 

[GoldenMan]

Maccatuna friend, you showed good training, respect for everything!

 

[GoldenMan]

What are the best headphones for the GM1000? Which ones do you use? Thanks in advance.