Last Post 05 Jan 2023 12:28 PM by  Sergio Ramirez
metal detectors
 14 Replies
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Sergio Ramirez
New Member
New Member
Posts:61



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04 Sep 2021 04:01 PM
    Hi Kevin,
    or anyone that knows about metal detectors, was thinking of getting one, but which, there are so many types.
    I just started crevicing past months and been doing good with what I have, using my probe & what I learned from Gary"two-toes", figuring which crevice to work.
    Thinking a metal detector would help to work the bedrock crevices & gravel beds, any suggestions as to which I should probably get, budget around $1,500.oo or so, would spend more if worth it. Is the one they give away with lifetime membership any good?
    any advice would be appreciated,

    Thank you all,
    Serg
    Michael Merrell
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:12



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    06 Sep 2021 10:20 PM
    I am a greenhorn my suggestion is look at Chris Ralph book Fists full of Gold gives a really good explanation on metal detectors and there abilities at least in my opinion its at least worth a look at. If you're willing to shell out that much for a metal detector then the 29.95 purchase price on Amazon might be worth it.
    Michael Merrell
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:12



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    06 Sep 2021 10:27 PM
    p.s.
    he does some really good YouTube videos on metal detectors and how to use them how to set them
    PAUL MESHAK
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:11



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    06 Sep 2021 11:40 PM
    Some really good you tubes to watch are :

    Nugget Shooter Journals with Bill Southern

    Jeff Williams

    Chris Ralph

    Gold Fever Adventures

    They were using a few different detectors and I have understood that the gold detectors they were using do a pretty great job, but you need to learn to be patient an d learn how to use them. Low and slow.

    Fisher Gold Bug 2

    Minelab Gold Monster 1000

    Minelab SDC 2300

    These are the three that I am familiar with . The first two being under your budget and the third being double.

    The Gold Bug 2 has a threshold that you need to maintain with ground balancing. Threshold being a mosquito like buzzing that you make stable on the fly by ground balancing manually.

    The Gold Monster runs silent with an auto balancing that you need to maintain when different soils demand it. More user friendly and does a great job as well.

    Those two are vlf machines and are affected by hot rocks , but having the smaller coils are an advantage as you can go between stones and brush more easily that with large coils and can find very small gold as well.

    The SDC 2300 is a PI and is heavier that the first two but isnt affected as much by hot rocks as much and is totally waterproof to ten feet. Being caught a far piece away from the vehichle in a shower or downpour wont be and issue with the 2300. It finds very small gold as well and goes deeper overall than the first two. It also folds down to the size of a moderate cities phonebook.

    That all being said, I bought a GM1000 two years ago and aquired a SDC2300 just recently, used and closer to your budget.

    If you buy new and are in the Wickenburg area , I would suggest getting a detector, if a minelab ,from Bill Southern because you get some training with it. Sure helps the learning curve. Whoever you aquire a detector from , its a big plus to get some training.

    Definetly watch some youtubes from these folks .

    PS fill your holes.

    Paul Meshak

    Hope this helps.




    MATTHEW BULLOCK
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:3



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    07 Sep 2021 11:04 PM
    One of the best sources for detector reviews is Steve Herschbach’s site Detectorprospector.com. Steve reviews from a gold prospector view point.
    John Wyatt
    Greenhorn
    Greenhorn
    Posts:2



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    08 Sep 2021 02:53 PM
    Fisher Gold bug is a great start for 500.00 or a Minelab detector.
    GEROLD PERSONETT
    New Member
    New Member
    Posts:76



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    08 Sep 2021 06:41 PM
    I'm a big fan of the Gold bug2, if you can master the GB2 it will spoil you with lots of small gold. The GB2 is a solid metal detector and for the price it won't let you down. If you do master it it will also help you if and when you try some of the other great metal detectors. Just remember the metal detector you choose is only a small part of finding that gold, patients and being able to stick with it. There's a lot more of the small gold out there to find than the bigger pieces of gold and the GB2 will find the small gold. Good luck and keep us all posted on what you decide to do.
    Sergio Ramirez
    New Member
    New Member
    Posts:61



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    08 Sep 2021 11:06 PM
    Hello all,
    I want to thank all of you for your replies & great and helpful advice, i will look into those vids as suggested. I'm thinking of going with the Minelab Gold Monster 1000, probably the easier one to use as a starter, but as you all suggested the Fisher Gold bug 2 also sounds good too, probably either one of those two for what i'm doing, keeping it simple, since I just started crevicing past 3 months, doing pretty good finding flood gold flakes and finally found my fist little picker with my probe and picking the right crevice to dig out, also using my 1.5 gal. DeWalt battery small vacuum (on the vac nozzle, i use a 3/4" surgical tubing to get into the cracks & this works great), finding a lot of lead & metals. I think with the metal detector, it might go even better, for me the gold has been getting a little bigger & more each time. I'm happy with what I find but it would be nice to find some pickers too, i'm sure it's there somewhere.
    Kevin,
    thanks also for your reply, thought you might be too busy to answer, but a nice surprise. On the CD's I got from GPPA "Alaskan, an unforgettable experience" I think it was you that was talking about metal detectors, helping others with them, you mentioned something about that the cable shouldn't be wrapped around the shaft, that it should be shortened & straight down the shaft, was wondering why all metal detectors have the long cable wound around the shaft like that? Also, some detectors have open coils & some are closed coils, dose it matter either way.

    Anyway, thanks again all,
    Happy diggings,
    Serg
    Sergio Ramirez
    New Member
    New Member
    Posts:61



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    10 Sep 2021 12:57 AM
    Wow Kevin,
    very informative info, I knew you were the right one to talk to. Thanks for all that. There's so much more to metal detecting than I realized. I wish I had more time to get out on the field to learn it all, maybe when i retire. Working my businesses very hard so I can retire, but I get out when i can to my area on the S. Stanislaus river (which is closed right now, because of the fire danger), not much time but I make the best of it.
    So I think I will get the Minelab Gold Monster 1000 so I don't have to think about it too much, but I do like the idea of figuring it out with the Gold Bug 2, we'll see. Should I go to a store where they sell it to buy it or is it Ok to buy it on Amazon? The probes I use right now are The Falcon MD20 & the Minelab pro-find 35-pin pointer, they work pretty good, but it will be nice having the metal detector. Thanks for all the info, you guys are great and do good job at the GPAA, and to all the miners out there. Glad i joined, it's appreciated. Wish I did this a long time ago, but fishing & Softball always got in the way. I hope we have really big storms this winter to stir up all that gold!
    Serg
    Sergio Ramirez
    New Member
    New Member
    Posts:61



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    10 Sep 2021 11:36 PM
    Kevin,
    your right, I thought about that, and I like giving business to people & businesses I like, so I think I will buy from Harrigan from Gold Fever Prospecting, he' a nice guy & has giving me a lot of good info & advice on mining and has listened to me many times, good place to buy your mining products.
    I would like to buy it from Gary "Two Toes" Honan's store, but he's never there answering his phone, probably out making those great informative vids, ha ha!!,
    You say in all your years of mining you have meet plenty of cool miners, I'm sure you probably know Gary & have gone out with him, that would be so cool to do, he's my idol, I have learned so much from his vids, especially crevicing, has a lot of metal detecting vids also, he dose a great job on his vids & is a master at finding good gold. I tried getting him to make me his 18" crevice tool but he says he doesn't make them anymore, takes up too much of his play time. If you have any influence on him tell him I'll pay big bucks for one, love those 12" crevice tools that he makes, but sometimes I need it to be longer. And I see his partner Jeff Smith is a GPAA member, pretty cool stuff, do you do any dig parties in N. California? Would like to meet you some day & meet other miners, but you are probably all over the US/Alasaka.
    sorry to go on like this, but I get really excited about gold mining & learning the process,
    Thanks for all the advice, Go GPAA!!
    Take care, Serg
    Sergio Ramirez
    New Member
    New Member
    Posts:61



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    05 Jan 2023 12:28 PM
    Happy 2023 New Years Kevin, and i want to thank you for all you do for the club, you are the best.
    I have a question about my metal detector, last year I bought the Gold Master 1000 from GPAA and it worked good except towards end of last year, it didn't seem to be working good so I changed to the smaller coil thinking it was the coil, but the last time I used it, it seemed to be sounding off on anything, I even ran my hand over it with out anything in my hand or any metal near it and it went off, I don't use jewelry and don't have any metal in me. Do think something might be wrong with it, I tried adjusting it a few times but there's really not too much to adjust on this detector. What do you think.
    Thank you very much,
    Take care
    Serg


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