Last Post 24 Nov 2016 12:07 PM by  Shane Edwards
Pulse induction vs VLF for nugget hunting
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Tim Leibel
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19 Nov 2015 06:19 PM
    So I have been watching a lot of videos on nugget shooting lately, and everyone is using a PI machine. Will a VLF actually find nuggets in places like
    Rye Patch, Rich Hill or Soldier Boy? What has been your experience?
    Leo Lorenz
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    19 Nov 2015 06:31 PM
    Tim I dont know about Rye Patch which doesn't seem very mineralized but I was using my Gold Bug Pro there recently in Poker Brown Wash and had to quit using it. The thing just kept going off on rock and even full pieces of black obsidian...I could not figure that out. Dont know if others use the VLF in these areas.
    JIM SHANNON
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    23 Nov 2015 10:49 PM

    I have used a VLF,

    The Garrett AT Gold in the Rich Hill area and did not have a problem with mineralization,

    and yes a VLF will find gold there.

    Dennis Notson
    Greenhorn
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    23 Nov 2015 11:34 PM
    The quick answer is certainly. A proper VLF can find gold in all those places. They will be noisier, chatter a bit more. The major differences between the two types of units are that a PI will handle the mineralization better and therefore usually find deeper targets. With either type of unit it is up to the operator to learn all the nuances of the particular unit to get the most successful experience. Dennis
    Chris Cartwright
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    06 Dec 2015 02:28 PM
    I'd use a VLF anywhere there's exposed bedrock to be found. You have to realize the depth you can expect to get out of a VLF is probably only a few inches. Bedrock will not be as mineralized either and you can use a VLF to hunt for little dinks that got stuck in the cracks.
    Any other conditions such as clay or deep soil i.e. a "nugget patch" you'll want to use a PI machine. That will go deeper and handle the hot mineralization better.
    Leo Lorenz
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    06 Dec 2015 02:51 PM
    Good example Chris. I will have to keep that in mind. When I use my GB pro at Rye Patch too noisy, but I bet it would work great in CA riverbanks bedrock.
    SHELDON SWEAT
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    02 Jan 2016 03:24 AM
    I actually found a 2-3 grain nug on Double JJ a few months back with my Fisher F75 ltd vlf @ 13khz I have also found tons of birdshot in morristown claims with various machines and that soil is pretty hot
    MICHAEL FURNESS
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    04 Jan 2016 08:21 AM
    Problem I find with most people operating a VLF machine in hot ground is that they try to use way too much sensitivity or RX gain if you will. Running a little less sensitivity will calm the threshold a bit and allow you to hear the small nuggets that are missed at the higher and noisier setting. Yes ... you will potentially lose a little depth but if you can now hear those smaller nuggets you haven't been able to hear through all the chatter that to me is a good trade-off. Of course if you are in deep ground the PI is the right tool. There is a time and place for both machines. If you are going to be serious and active in this pursuit you will need one of each.

    Mike
    Shane Edwards
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    08 Nov 2016 12:15 PM
    Candidly I have wondered why anyone would "EVER" use any VLF if they have a PI when Nugget Shooting - Except to better ID Targets meaning discriminate instead of digging everything.

    I will be going on my very first Nugget Shooting adventure in the Gold Basin Arizona area for a few days around Thanksgiving. So I am eager to see what ends up being my machine of choice, but as long as I am not encountering a ton of trash, which I am not expecting to... I imagine I will be running my Garrett ATX the whole time and my only dilemma in options will be which of the 3 coils I prefer between the 8" Monocoil, the 12" DD or the 20" Monocoil. My VLFs that I will be taking are a Teknetics T2 SE which I am taking the 5" DD, Nel 9" Sharpshooter, Standard 11" Elliptical, 15" Teknetics DD and a Nel 13" Tornado as well as I will be taking my Garrett AT Gold with the stock 8" DD.

    I will be taking aling my VLFs more than anything for Meteorites, being lighter and perhaps more efficient for surface hunting but I may find the 12" DD or the 20" Monocoil slightly raised off the ground might be more effective for this as well. I am excited in learning first hand which is best for these scenarios.

    Before I go, my only first hand knowledge will be air testing on a .3 gram Gold Nugget and a 2" 5.6 gram Gold Basin Meteorite to get a feel for which set-up can most likely give me the best depth or reaction to Nuggets or Meteorites, my desired targets. I suspect the PI with any of the coils will perform better over any of my VLF set-ups in the air tests and most likely conclude that unless I am needing to better discriminate among lots of trash, my PI will be my go to machine once there.
    Leo Lorenz
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    08 Nov 2016 03:45 PM
    Its like anything else....there are certain tools work better in different condition, than others. When there is predominately shallow tiny gold, a VLF works great and a large coil PI may pass over it. Those larger coils will cover more ground faster, but miss the small gold.  When gold hunting...there should be no discrimination, dig every target......
    Shane Edwards
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    08 Nov 2016 04:04 PM
    I am of course speaking strictly Nugget Shooting of course. So your statement echoes what I have always heard, so I am eager to see it for myself, but my preliminary tests of a .3 gram Gold Nugget which is very small drops off of detection in all metal mode at 5" on my Garrett AT Gold with the 8" DD and my Garrett ATX picks that same small Nugget up at 7" using my 12" DD. So perhaps my definition of small is different than what everyone means LOL... These were air tests with settings on both machines cranked up. Hardly scientific and certainly not the same in ground but I would think in the ground I will be hunting in, the advantages of the PI will only increase. I will figure it out in less than 2 weeks. I cannot wait!
    Leo Lorenz
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    09 Nov 2016 10:20 AM
    It is confusing sometimes what to think with these machines. I have a 4 gram test piece of gold and I was using my TDI Pro (PI) with a 4x7 Miner john coil and it seemed like it would not sense the gold as well as my GB Pro would do. At certain distance and sensitivity settings....Mine were testing with air but its enough to make be doubt what i could find
    Bob Clark
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    09 Nov 2016 11:32 AM
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvF78MPB1nQ
    Shane Edwards
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    09 Nov 2016 12:01 PM
    Bob:

    I only had time to watch up through the ML GPX 5000 air test. And I noticed on the subgram nugget the AT Gold detected it better but supposedly one of the ATX advantages over the GPX 5000 is it can compete in depth on large targets at the same time is superior on subgram targets... My test kinda validates it.
    Shane Edwards
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    09 Nov 2016 01:48 PM
    LOL, So I went back to finish it and the results of the ATX aren't even close to my experience. I actually currently own and hunt with 3 of those detectors and on my .3 gram gold nugget using optimal settings the T2 SE drops off at 4" the AT Gold at 5" and the ATX at 7"... So not sure how he was running the settings on the ATX but definitely not my experience.
    bob alexander
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    23 Nov 2016 04:28 PM
    I got The Garrett AT Gold - no problem and it handles everything you can throw at it
    Shane Edwards
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    24 Nov 2016 12:07 PM
    I also have the Garrett AT Gold and although I took it with me to the Gold Basin I had no time to even try it. I actually only got to use my ATX with both the standard 12" DD and the 8" Monocoil. I didn't even get to use my 20" Deepseeker Monocoil LOL... Something I learned with the ATX though is that it's better to use the full coil cover than the skeleton coil cover as it bumbs and gets caught up less as well as it's more stable with less brush, sticks, weeds and cactus causing falsing when the sensativity is cranked up... This is probably why Garrett is going to a solid coil for the ATX. I wasn't overly concerned about trying out the AT Gold in a Gold Fields as I regularly hunt in the desert anyways and already have seen how stable it performs over high mineralized ground. The AT Gold is good over bedrock, shale, intrusions, caliche or anywhere there isn't too much overburden. It will be effective on subgram nuggets to .3 grams within 4" in most ground conditions.
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