nuggethunting

Hey Guys, Ya, it picked up more ironstones and such, but the "GG - Ground Grab" balancing really seemed to work well. The unit stayed ground balanced in auto much better than other units I have used. I've used the unit before, but decided to play around with it again and scored this little nugget within no time. It's hard to break away from the Minelab GPX 5000, but sometimes it's nice to play around with something else. Ray - I will look into the 10-inch elliptical coil for the Goldbug Pro. Thanks for the advice. Talk with you guys later, Rob Allison

Hello All, It was brought to my attention this evening while several customers were trying to order online, that my online store - www.robsdetectors.com has some type of Certificate Error. I have contacted my website designer to get this issue resolved ASAP. Until the issue is resolved, I recommend you contact us by phone to make any orders. I'm hoping this issue will be resoved by tomorrow afternoon. Sorry for the inconvenience. As of 8:30am Monday the issue seems to be fixed. If you see any issues, please let me know right away. Thanks! Update - There was still a minor bug, but it has now been fixed 1-25-13 @ 9am Arizona time. The online store now has an updated SSL certificate and secure to use.

Hello All, This weekend while conducting field instructions with new GPX customers, I was able to play around with the Fisher Goldbug Pro for a bit. I dug and kicked a number of volcanics and hot rocks, but was able to get this tiny nugget before I stopped detecting. The nugget is 1 grain in weight (480 grains to an ounce). The small piece sounded off pretty good and was maybe an inch deep. Well, looks like I need a bunch more of these one grainers to make any weight! Happy Goldbug Hunting.

Hello All, This weekend a partner and I conducted field instructions for three new Minelab GPX 5000 customers. Oh, do I have to say the instructions were part of the package or free .... One customer came in from California, one from Idaho and the other is local to the Phoenix area. At the end of the day, 2 out of 3 customers scored their first Arizona gold nugget. Overall the instructions went very well and I believe the customers have a good understanding of their new Minelab metal detector. Here is a group shot of the three happy customers. L to R - Steve from California, Chris and his Father, last Dan from Phoenix. Thanks once again for all your business. Don't hesitate to call or email me anytime you have questions or concerns.

Hey Guys, The nugget was just a few inches deep, but right in an area with a lot of rubbish and can pieces. Anyone would just guess it's another piece of metal or can, but I was wrong. AZNuggetBob - Great nugget. I remember you telling me the story. That would have been one you wouldn't wanted to miss.

Hey Gary, Great to see you back posting again. Those are some good looking nuggets from the Bradshaw Mountain range. Keep up the successful nuggethunting!

Hey Steve, That is always the "magic question" at this point in time when someone purchased a new GPX 5000. I just took a group of customer out this weekend, all purchased GPX 5000's. I'm sure they all through the same, I will purchase now and a new one will come out in a few months. This is what I tell all my customers, which is the best, educated answer I can give them - Minelab typically releases a new PI every 2-3 years. Minelab will also release and field test a new PI in Australia. That being said, the moment someone is field testing in Australia (normally their winter) the word will leak out, making it first to the Australian prospecting forums. Once the word hit there, it's just a matter of time until it gets posted on all the US prospecting forums. This is normally the best indicator that a new unit is 3-6 months away from a release. I have yet to hear or read anything solid about a new detector being tested, so my guess is we won't see anything real soon. Australia's winter is our Summer, so I could see potentially Minelab releasing something around June/July of this year. On another note, rumors are Minelab might be making a PI gold detector that has the look and weight of a CTX. The major concern I see about this is the CTX has had a lot of bugs from what I have read and heard, so it could be a concern to have the newest of a new design. Just my thoughts, maybe I'm way off base or right on track!

Hello All, Tonight I was going through hundreds of old gold pictures I have and found a nugget I found on this date, but 10 years ago! There is a story behind the nugget, but most importantly when I found this nugget the spot price was around $350/ounce. I still own this nugget today and it's worth 5 times it's spot value, if not more due to the size and character. The nugget came in just shy of two ounces, weighing exactly 1.9 troy ounces. Story behind the nugget - It was found with a Minelab GP Extreme & Coiltek 14-inch Mono Round Searchcoil. I walked over this nugget a dozen times due to it sounding like the typical loud trash in the area. It was found in a known placer area with tons of old diggings, but overwhelming trash in spots. One morning I decided to dig it, just to get the trash out of the spot ..... low and behold it was a nice chunk of gold! Dig all targets, not just the ones you think are gold.

Hey Guys, Normally the trend is companies continue to raise prices, but it's just the opposite with Coiltek & Apex this 2013 season. Coiltek has reduced prices on many items and coils drastically. Some coils have dropped as much as $50 or more from the previous years price. The same is with Apex, all their prices on picks have reduced a bit, plus they just introduced a new picked called the "Mink." The Mink is a 12-inch Apex pick with no magnets, but a demand for someone looking for a lighter weight pick. Both companies build top notch products and the reduction in price is a bigger plus to check them out now if you haven't before. All the new prices are now reflected at my online store at - http://www.robsdetectors.com Come over and take a visit, regardless if you purchase something or not. We just like to get opinions on the store and how easy it is to find products. Just an update, Rob Allison

Hey Doc, Great idea. One of my partners mentioned last weekend, wish this pouch was a bit wider. He was having trouble reaching around and putting his scoop back in the pouch. Looking foward to seeing and using the new pouch.

Hey Guys, Thanks for all your great comments. I agree, if you advertise or promise a service with a sale, then you need to stick with it. We have always offered field instructions with detectors purchases and have honored them when the customer was willing to travel to Arizona or at least schedule them if they were local. I'm not going to bang down the customers door. They know at the time of purchase they can schedule them. Many don't need them, many don't take me up on them due to the distance they might have to travel. For someone to say all the dealers are stupid for charging, and we don't, it's just a ploy to get some customers to get free instructions while they push a GPX 5000 or some other detector or accessory down their throat. I wasn't born yesterday, I knew exactly what the motive was when I heard about it. Anyones service is worth something. If you spent every weekend training and doing courses for free, you would get burned out very quickly. Like I mentioned, I haven't had one customer unsatisfied, so it must say something. No one is walking away thinking they got ripped off, so why would another dealer think that? I can only speak for what I do and the service I give, not anyone else out there. Just my thoughts, Rob Allison

Hey McGator, When you can find them that small, you shouldn't worry about missing anything any larger. That is actually a great find and lets you know your tuned to your detector. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Border, You're one nugget finder if there ever was one. Guys like you keep this hobby alive and running. Just goes to show if you hunt hard and do your research, nice nuggets are out there to be found. Wishing you many more my friend.

Hey Tom, Is that a 22R motor? I'll tell you what, I had several Toyota's with the 22R and ran them to hell and back. The last one I had was a 85 (last year of front straight axle) and had over 300K before I sold it. I've had it in places I should have never been, on two wheel ..... well you know all about them!

Hey Tom, Thanks for the kind words. I have to agree with you, if you offer a service then you should be able to charge for it. The flip side, if you offer a service for free after a purchase, you should also stick to that. I spend much more than $30 per outing. On my outings with customers, I'm always bringing extra items like scoops, that I end up giving away. Every scoop is about $6. I've even given out Super Magnets for the guys that didn't have them. I also load my cooler up with ice, water and sodas and some snacks that I offer to the customers. When you realistically sit back and add up all the expenses and wear/tear, I'm looking at $150 per weekend, not including if someone breaks or damages the equipment. Last outing I gave every customer a new style Minelab baseball cap. Have you looked at the price of the new Minelab hats? I'm not getting these for free. I think I go way overboard for all my customers and never had one complain. I've always lived and believed that you should "treat others like you would like to be treated."

Hey Guys, It was freaking freezing this weekend at the Hill. It was down in the low 20's in the early morning. I guess it could have slowed down a few nuggets, at least the heavier ones.

Hello All, Been out in the field this weekend doing my "free" lessons for customers that have purchased from me. Not sure how this all started, but I was directed to another forum where I guess this is a big issue (or something to gossip about). Just to clarify, because I'm not sure who the Arizona dealers are exactly, but we here at Rob's Detector Sales don't charge for instructions for anyone that has purchased from us. We have done this since day one, always been part of our service, free instructions, shipping & insurance and bundle packages! There will always be one guy wanting to take something and run with it, probably not knowing all the information first hand. Rumors are great for dealers wanting to cause wars between them. I do charge now for detecting lessons (beyond customer purchases) due to the demand and customers wanting them. For years I never charged for "non-customer" detector lessons, but the customers themselves would say I'm silly. They said you're spending "all day" with me and not making a nickel. All I can say, is there is a huge demand for customers wanting lessons, some private and have no problem paying. I charge $299 for an entire day of detecting and you can use my detectors (Fisher & Minelab), including the Minelab GPX 5000 and my equipment (coils, picks, scoops, headphones, magnet and more). I have to maintain and repair the equipment being used and some people are much harder on others equipment then their own. For $299 you get a full day of instructions, get to use various top of the line metal detectors and equipment, plus keep all the gold you find from private gold claims. I think this is an awesome opportunity for anyone wanting to know if this is what they want to do as a hobby. Well I know it's an awesome opportunity due to the high demand of customers wanting them and not one has questioned the price. Rob's Detectors Sales has been awarded the last two years "Minelab Customer Care Award," besides maintaining a A+ rating with the BBB. I don't think there is, or ever has been an issue with us and customer service. By the way, how many dealers do you know that have personally delivered metal detectors and gear to customers and showed them that evening how to use them? Ya, didn't think so, but we do it all the time. Personally I just think this is a plow to say, "hey we don't charge for instructions and we can't believe others do, so let me take you out and sell you a detector!" Ok, I shouldn't have gotten on this, but I did. P.S. Would love to hear your comments about this though, good or bad. Your friendly dealer,

Hello All, This weekend I had a customer come all the way from Indiana to get his instructions on his Minelab GPX 5000 he purchased from us. Being from Indiana, I don't think Jerry was ready for a 20 degree Saturday morning! Jerry was pretty pumped to use the Minelab GPX 5000 down here and even scored a nice little nugget during the instructions. Thanks for your business my friend. Dont ask, I think I fell asleep in the picture .... Jerry's first gold nugget with the GPX! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunday a partner and I got to dink around a bit ourselves. We were able to score these 4 nuggets hunting around some old digs. Biggest one was 7+ Dwt's. All found with the Minelab GPX 5000's and 14x9 Nugget Finder Mono's. It's out there .... Rob Allison

Hey Ray, I seen you posted this on another thread - I just wanted to personally thank you for those comments. The online store has been a great addition. I have tried to make it as easy as possible to find stuff on the site by product or manufacture. Majority of the buyers seem to agree, very easy to find stuff and order. We also have one of the top online credit card gateways for any type of fraud. It's amazing in just one year how much fraud was attempted, but none of it was processed. Hope you're outing finding some nice gold. Hope to see you contributing on the this forum more. You have always been a major contributor and a wealth of information for anyone looking to get started in this great hobby of ours. Your friend, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, The pieces were found in the Southwestern desert region. They were not found by me, but rather a friend. My friend found these pieces and then gave me an invite to the area. I found nuggets that I haven't posted yet from this location. The area is still pretty virgin, so we can't say too much right now. They were all within 6 inches, found in and around old workings with the Minelab GPX 5000. Very little ironstone or red dirt, pretty typical looking desert terrain with a few pieces of quartz here and there. Just goes to show if you're looking for only the so-called indicators, then you're walking over, through and around a lot of gold. I convinced my friend to allow me to post these finds on the forum. He's concerned, along with myself that someone might find it before we can return. There has been around 18 ounces of gold found at this location in a few hunts. It's out there .....

Hey Border Boy, Freaking Awesome!! Just goes to show they are still out there and the GPX 5000 with larger coils is doing it. The NF 20-inch Round is one of the most popular large mono coils and I can see why. Thanks for sharing. Hope you find some more by gridding off the nearby area. Keep us posted, Rob Allison

Hey Doc, I received your new chargers and they work great. I love the LCD screen that shows how charged the batteries are, rather than a light that sometimes never turns Green. I had one battery I thought was bad, but after placing it on the new charger I was able to get it to fully charge. I now have them listed on my online store for $45.00 if anyone needs the latest and greatest li-ion charger. Online store - www.robsdetectors.com Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Yep, that coil is a very hot for small gold and working around tight areas. I have one in my collection of searchcoil.

Hello All, Well I figured I could post these pictures now since the area has been hit pretty good. Please don't ask, so I won't have to lie to you All three big ones are 3+ ounces each. I know you want to guess. Yes, they were found with the Minelab GPX 5000 with the NF 14x9 Advantage Solid. All were shallow and around old workings. Good inspiration that they are still out there to be found. I get tired of hearing the old-timers already got it all. Hope you enjoyed. Rob Allison

Hey Robert, Sounds like you were getting EMI from the airplane, which is normal on the PI's. You can manually tune them out for the most part. Once you hear the plane, stop detecting and then go to "manual tune" on the back screen of the GPX 5000. Normally, just turning the dial a few numbers one way or the other will balance out planes. If this don't work, you might want to try the "auto tune" once again. If this don't work, you might have to wait a minute or so for the plane to clear and then the threshold should stabilize. Depending on your timings and settings, the EMI can be worse in some spots. Hope this helps a bit,