Whites TDI Pro, let the testing begin.

[Goldfield Joe]

Hi Reg, great information, thanks very much. I just started detecting a month ago so I am on a steep learning curve. Flicking into Low is very handy in junky areas, especially with how heavily the ground is mineralized around here.

I am finding that even in Low a large iron target will give off a sound like a short "blip".
I dug a water tap at 12" yesterday and experimented with the conductivity switch before digging it.
Even though I was fairly sure it might be iron, the advice my dealer gave me was dig everything!

I am also finding that it is possible to guess more accurately the sounds of a Low target and what it may be. For instance, a bullet shell has a sharper tone, a small piece of rusty tin or a boot tack can be on the sharper, high pitched side, and a bullet being lead has a softer tone more like that of a small nugget. I guess this is all part of the fun of learning the machine and becoming better at using it. Thanks again, Joe.

 

[Reg]

Oops, I screwed up when I mentioned basalt generates a low tone. That is incorrect. Basalt will generate a high tone when the GB is set to normal. Ususally, the signal is quite large or broad but it is still a high tone.

On very weak signals, when in doubt as to whether a target is creating a high or low tone, simply turn select the single tone mode and see which signal is present.

Again, I apologize for the error.

Reg

 

[Rusty71]

Hi Everyone

It's great to see more info coming out on the TDI PRO OZ Series. I am only new to prospecting and was starting to think I had made the wrong choice with the TDI.

After being out 2 times for a total of about 2.5 weeks we have found 3 small piece of gold (0.3g, 0.6g and 0.31g)which is great but after going out with a couple we met who seem to find a piece every time out with there GPX 5000s I was thinking I may have to save up for another detector.

I am not expecting the performance of a GPX but I have been having trouble with GB etc but after reading the info coming out now in the forums I am more confident that I just need to learn how to use the TDI better and have picked up a few things to try from the members here.

Thanks to everyone for the info and please keep it coming.

I am off on another trip detecting soon so I will post how I go when I get back.

Cheers

Rusty

 

[joao garimpeiro]

Can't wait to see the results. Send us a pic of the unit all set up.
Jack

I echo his words, Jaros.
This forum is fantastic, has everything a prospector needs !!

 

[Ridge Runner]

Hi Everyone

It's great to see more info coming out on the TDI PRO OZ Series. I am only new to prospecting and was starting to think I had made the wrong choice with the TDI.

After being out 2 times for a total of about 2.5 weeks we have found 3 small piece of gold (0.3g, 0.6g and 0.31g)which is great but after going out with a couple we met who seem to find a piece every time out with there GPX 5000s I was thinking I may have to save up for another detector.

I am not expecting the performance of a GPX but I have been having trouble with GB etc but after reading the info coming out now in the forums I am more confident that I just need to learn how to use the TDI better and have picked up a few things to try from the members here.

Thanks to everyone for the info and please keep it coming.

I am off on another trip detecting soon so I will post how I go when I get back.

Cheers

Rusty

Rusty, you can find Gold with just about any detector, You don't need another detector, You Need to put the Coil Over the Gold, Take it out in the Garden and practice Ground Balancing,

That Machine is the only one that can hold its own with the 5000 and if you buy that then you have twice the disappointment, Learn the machine Give it a chance, I have the TDI SL and where I am Whites run rings around ML machines Due to the Iron infestation,

GB the Machine and put the Coil over the Gold, And that's all it Takes, My Son whooped me with a $160,00 Machine and mine cost $1000.00. So Forget spending big Bucks, the machine has nothing to do with it, OK

Good Luck

 

[Reg]

Rusty,

The TDI is exactly the same detector as the TDI pro except for a few minor mods. The Pro has an added vernier GB control, an external volume control, and a minor change in the filtering so it can find smaller gold a little easier. The TDI has a volume control but it is inside the housing. A TDI usually comes with a dual field coil and the OZ Pro comes with a mono coil.

So, basically there is no additional magic in the Pro. Instead, when hunting with a regular TDI and looking for real small gold, you should sweep the coil a little slower for the best results.

Reg

 

[Rusty71]

HI Reg,

My apologies, that will teach me for posting while on night shift. I have abbreviated and actually have a TDI Pro Oz series and didn't even think about TDI being its own model!!!

Cheers
Rusty

 

[Reg]

Hi Rusty,

No need to apologize Rusty. In fact I need to apologize to you and should have realized a novice would buy what is available and that would be the TDI Pro.

The fact you are a novice and already finding gold is great!!!! Keep up the good work.

To find small gold (less than 7 grams or so) like you have found, I do recommend you use the low conductor mode to reduce noise. This mode will help a little with the warble.

Good luck and have fun.

Reg

 

[Rusty71]

Hi Reg

I have only ever used "all" and have been struggling with keeping the warble steady. I will definitely try the low next week when I go detecting to see the difference.

Thanks
Rusty

 

[WalnLiz]

Just a bit of a hint Rusty regarding the threshold stability and resulting warble effects. Liz and I run the TDI with the threshold "just off" audible and this completely gets rid of the warble and lets you concentrate on "positive" signals only. Our tests have shown that the amount of depth you lose by doing this is so insignificant that 99% of the nuggets you run over will still register.

The big plus is your concentration remains on full alert "all" the time, as listening to a warbly threshold diminishes concentration by the fact a lot of ground noise and false signals will also be heard. Running in "Low" will certainly stabilize the threshold but be aware that only small nuggets will be heard in "Low", and if you run the coil over a one ounce nugget you will more than likely miss it. This will not happen in "All"

My suggestion is stay in "All conductivity" and turn the threshold down till you hardly hear a spike. This will give you near max depth on All nugget sizes and a "Positive Response" each time you run over a target. Liz runs on this and finds dozens of nuggets in the hot WA grounds.

The TDI will not be as good as the gpx5000, and you would not expect that being 1/3 the price, but let me assure you the TDI once you learn how to use it will become very consistent for you on gold if you swing the coil over a nugget.

Cheers Wal.

 

[Rusty71]

Hi Wal

I am currently up in the Leonora area and found today being warm and not ideal detecting weather I couldn't get a good ground balance in all.I got good GB in low or in high but they were just enough different to make "all" noisy.

Would you be able to give a rough setting for PWR/GAIN, threshold etc that you usually set the detector at so I can see if I am somewhere close to where I need to be.

I was quite happy with the detector in low today and the area I am in has been detected a lot so I think I was ok but would like to try and keep it set in "all" if possible.

I also found when set with the threshold silent it would not pick up my .31g test piece so any suggestion will be apprietiated.

I am currently using a 14 x 9 nugget finder coil.

Thanks
Rusty

 

[Nugget]

I run the threshold auditable to the point of a smooth hum (no spikes), and the volume set on max using the internal speaker. You'll hear more ground noise, but running a higher threshold I was able to detect a button at around 9-10 inches in "All" mode.

In my testing I also found dialing the threshold back sacrifices a little sensitivity and depth on the small stuff.

 

[WalnLiz]

G'day Rusty,

Sorry to take a few days to get back to you, but I've been tied up with the NSW Gem and Mineral expo in Goulbourn and just got back home.

We run the TDI with gain on 10. Pulse delay on 10 for small gold and max 25 for large nuggets. We keep the frequency at centre, and run predominantly in "All" target conductivity. We initially ground balance in "Low" conductivity and once balanced switch to "All". Once switched to "All" we re-balance using the fine tune only and find it rarely requires more than a small tweak to get perfect balance.

I am extremely surprised that you can not pick up a .3gram nugget with threshold turned to slightly off or barely audible. We have no problem picking up a .1 gram piece at close to10cm with both a 8x6"Sadie and 11" commander mono coil. Are you running Mono or DD coils...???

A 0.5gram should be easily detected at 16-18 cm with a 3gram piece at close to 28-30cm.

If I may, I'd like to just pass on some advice that I've picked up over many, many years at this detecting game when it comes to chasing nuggets with consistancy. There's a lot of people out there who think that by putting emphasis on "Depth" that they will pick up more nuggets than their companion. This is a totally "false" assumption.

They run their detectors tuned for "max depth" and this unfortunately comes at the expense of maximum noise, no matter whether its a GPX, an ATX or a TDI. Depth is only one "small" part of the equation for "consistent" results.

By far the most important factor for consistency, is being able to run the machine at its "quietest" ability while maintaining up to 90% of its depth capability. Running a noisy machine at max depth on the gold fields will see you "miss" many more nuggets than running a quiet machine with slightly less depth at its disposal.

By de-tuning the threshold only, and not the rest of the machine, on a TDI you will lose no more than 10% on depth, and be running the machine to the point of hearing every target clearly and not confusing repeated ground noise with possible small targets. You may miss the "Odd Deeper" target, (which equates to the 10%), but you will retrieve many more of the other 90% with the quieter setting.

The TDI is a more powerful machine than most give it credit for. Sacrifice some depth, as it has plenty in reserve, and fill that jar with nuggets quicker. Same principal goes for the GPX and ATX as well. "Depth isn't everything". A quiet machine will "Always" triumph in numbers and consistency, and at the end of the day...."numbers" is all that matters..... This is all of course, my own personal opinion.

Cheers Wal.

 

[Goldfield Joe]

Thanks for that information Wal. I am going to balance my TDI Pro Oz the same way you do and see how things go.
I have been running in Low lately because in my area and surrounds, it can be a real bitch to balance because of the heavily mineralised ground.
I would much prefer to run in all and I am sure your technique will help. Cheers.

 

[Rusty71]

Hi Wal

No problems with the response time. We all lead busy lives hope you had a good time at the Gem and Mineral expo.

I think my main problems at the moment are 1) the weather has been quite hot causing the machine to be unstable and 2) the area I've been detecting is quite mineralized and changes quite a lot.

On Saturday I had trouble keeping the ground balance stable but the same spot today which was about 12 deg cooler was a lot easier until later on when things warmed up. After that I had to ground balance every couple of meters.

The 2 coils I am using are a 14x9 nugget finder mono and a 6in coiltech mono.
Both struggled to pick up the .31g in a prescription container at about 5cm but the 14x9 did do better. I think the heat and mineralization may be slowing me down but I will play around with the settings you suggested on my last day tomorrow but it is getting hot again as well.

Thanks for the info.
Cheers
Rusty

 

[WalnLiz]

Heat out that way will kill all machines Rusty....including my GPX5000. The 6" coiltech should pick it up easier than the 14X9, but in saying that I haven't used a small coiltech and only run NF and minelab coils. That .3 (is it very thin, or chunky ?), should be picked up at 5cm even with the threshold barely audible or off. Try taking the nugget out of the container and burying it 5cm packing the ground down firmly on top of it. Should pick it up easier than air swing within the container.

Cheers Wal.

 

[Rusty71]

The couple I have been detecting with have been detecting for something like 30 years but only use minelab so don't like to comment on settings on other machines. Is it correct that the speed setting on a gpx 5000 is the same as pulse delay on the Tdi pro. I adjusted the pulse delay from 10 to 15 yesterday for the first time(wasn't sure the effect it would have) and the gb was a lot better in the heat.

I didn't find any nuggets this time out but was finding staples, tacks, bullets etc so I think I just wasn't lucky enough to walk over a nugget.

I did bury the test piece but didn't take it out of the container. Will the air in the container make it harder to pick up?

Cheers
Rusty

 

[Ridge Runner]

You should leave the delay set to 10us for gold, by moving it up to 15 will knock out nails and move the ground balance point along with making it lean towards more conductive items IE Coins etc, but if you are in the bush its best left to 10us.

 

[Roscoe]

Rusty71, The air in the container will indeed make it harder to pick up. So does the dirt that you have removed from the ground, that dirt is now not as compressed and has air pockets all through it. The best test for getting as close to real simulation of nuggets in the ground is to find a trench and bore very small holes into its side and detect from above. Some people have test gardens that have had targets laying in them for years just to get a halo effect similar to normal targets that have been a long time in the ground.

 

[Ridge Runner]

That's right Roscoe, When I bury a test piece I usually soak the area after I have filled in the hole because it fills in the Air Gaps and makes the ground into one Lump again,

hope this helps,