nuggethunting

Hey Grandpa, One beautiful gold nugget you found there. Thanks for sharing it with us. Hope you find many more! Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Mike, Yep, I know exactly what you mean. There were a bunch of spots where I couldn't detect with a monoloop coil. That is one of the major advantages of the GPX-4500 in the "Enhance" timing mode. I'm able to go back to all those spots where the GPX-4000 made noise and hunt it with the Enhance timing on the GPX-4500. In about half of the spots I missed smaller gold at depth due to the moaning and groaning of the ground. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Mike, How would you compare the two against each other (SD2000 modded vs. GPX-4000)? I never used the modded SD2000, just had a few friends that had them modded like yourself. If I remember correctly, the SD's and GP's had much more trouble with EMI and didn't have any type of manual tune to even help. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Jon, Welcome to the forums. Would love to hear some of your outback stories and see the gold! Heck, if you're a friend of Jackhammer & Doc, you will fit in well here. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Mike, I believe I remember that time. We were over near the Octave Mine, right? I do remember you finding a couple of small ones and Bill and I got the skunkaroo. I was amazed on the small gold you were able to find with the SD2000 mod. Was that one of the Finders mod for your SD2000? I know that was a long time ago. I never said mods are a waist, but I don't think they are going to give you the same potential as a GPX-4500 either. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Russ, That is funny. On another note, why don't you tell everyone about that time we were testing the Infinium down in Greaterville! Remember that great "Reverse Discrimation" it had ..... Hey, I'm just going off what the dealers were saying about it before it every hit the market. I remember one dealer in New Mexico claiming it was going to outshoot the latest and great Minelab during that time. Heck, whatever happened to that dealer .... I think he moved out of the country after those claims. I wish I could tell you more ... Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Joe, I've seen several modded SD2000's, they were much more sensitive to small gold nuggets than stock SD2000's. With the stock SD2000 with a small mono coil I would be luck to find a 4-5 grain nugget on the surface. The modded ones I seen could find gold much smaller. The SD2100's I've seen were modded, others had the Ismael battery systems. Both ones seemed to be much more better on smaller and deeper gold. Ismael does some good mods if anyone is interested. I also seen a GP series modded. I didn't get to play with it much, but the owner said it was just as good or better than a GPX-4000 at that time. As far as mods, the only person I trust doing Minelab mods is Ismael. Seen enough of his mods on other Minelab detectors and all the users were very happy. Can't vouch for the other mods, they might be just as good. Hope this helps, Rob Allison

Hey Sean, I would try to find a used Minelab such as a used SD2100 or GP series metal detector. Many of the used SD2100's can range from $800 - $1,200 for the original version. Some of the newer V2 version can run a few hundred dollars more. I've seen GP series detectors as low as $1,600 over the years. Most of the GP series will probably range from $1,500 - $2,500 depending on model, condition and extra accessories. I've personally never had any of my Minelab PI detectors modded, but I have seen modded units in action. I can't say modded unit will be better than the most current model, I find that hard to believe. Adam - I have to agree with you. I done very well with the GP Extreme for the couple of years I used one. I found many pounds of gold with it and some of my biggest overall finds to date. I believe a lot of the reasons were due to the fact it was the first GP series after the SD's. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Bunk - Congrats on your big nugget! Good to hear you're still around. Dwt - Very nice nugget. Was it found with the SD2000 or SD2100? Looks like your using one of Ismael's mods, correct? Heard Izzy is out in the field prospecting right now. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello All, Chris wanted me to let everyone know that Alyssa had their Baby Girl this morning. Mom, Dad and Baby are all doing well. Chris was concerned about phone calls to the business and will probably be unavailable for the next few days while Alyssa recovers. I will let Chris and Alyssa give the details on the Baby when they arrive home. Congrats!!! Rob & Dawn Allison

Hey Lon, It's very hard to keep a thread like this on track, since you have other guys that have to talk about what they are selling. The thread started off fine and informative until a certain part. From there it was highjacked! Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Grubstake - Yep, I agree with you on the VLF's. I found hundreds of nuggets, most of them small with the VLF's. My biggest was around 1/2 ounce and it was practically laying on the surface within an old ancient river channel. There are pro's to having a high freq. VLF in your arsensal. I have the Eureka Gold at the current time as my VLF gold nugget detector. I prefer the Eureka or GB2 for mine dump hunting. However, after using a Minelab PI you become spoiled. NVChris - I have to agree with you on nothing coming close. The GPX-4500 is an amazing detector. You can set the GPX-4500 to target different types of gold. If you're searching for very small gold you can use a certain timing and setting combinations to find the smallest pieces of gold. If you're looking for very deep gold you can use certain timings (such as Normal) along with Audio, Swing Speed and Volume settings to maximize depth! I couldn't tell you how many setting combinations there are on the GPX-4500. Despite what the "Minelab Hater" has to say on another forum, I have used and tested the other PI's against the Minelab's. Personally, I think they are great entry level PI's, but I would take a used SD or GP over any of them anyday. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Over the years I've gotten a number of phone calls, emails and PM through the forum asking this question. They always want to know what detectors will find the most gold. That's a hard questions to answer, but what I tell them is to research what most are using successfully at this time (present day). The answer is pretty obvious if you search on the forums and visit most of the major goldfields throughout the US and Australia. I have tested many of the PI's side by side and found the Minelab PI's to be superior on the places I hunt and the type of gold I'm targeting. I'm not looking for nuggets under a grain in size or small, invisible gold nuggets that have no weight or mass to them. I believe there is no one metal detector, PI or VLF that will find every piece of gold. However, you have to decide what you need by researching the type of gold in the area, mineralization and depths of the potential gold. I firmly believe for the type of gold I hunt, I'm getting over 90%, if not better of the gold nuggets I pass over. I know for a fact if I was using another PI or VLF I would not be able to achieve this type of percentage. With the Minelab PI's (In my opinion), you have the best mineral immunity, depth and options (aftermarket accessories such as coils, mods, amps, speakers, headphones ... and more). Would love to hear about your thoughts or comments about this. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Fearless, Welcome to the forums! Would love to hear about some of your Nevada nugget hunting stories. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, You might have seen this report on another forum, but here it is again - This letter was sent to all Authorized Minelab Dealers If you're looking for parts for your Minelab metal detector, give me a call. I normally have extra parts for most of the Minelab's, if not, I can locate them most of the time. Minelab has listed me as one of only a few dealers that stocks all detectors and carry's second hand detectors. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Jen, That is a very nice find. I'm sure there are several of those out there in BC waiting for you. It's a great feeling when you find one. I was laying on my chest and pulling one out with my finger tips .... oh what a feeling! Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Sean, Welcome to the forums. Great batch of gold you found there. Hope to see you posting more in the near future. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Pat, I sell a lot of straight shafts and Gold Buttons for guys wanting to do the same thing. Switching to a straight shaft is a piece of cake, but the Gold Button will take a little bit of time. The Gold Buton directions are very detailed, so you should be able to do it pretty easily if you take your time. As Don mentioned, he makes the Super Shaft that I also carry. Can remember how much longer it is over the standard Minelab one though. Don ...? Hope this helps, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, I will try to put this thread back on track. I found my biggest gold with the Minelab GP Extreme. I found hundreds of nuggets with each model of the Minelab's starting with the American Gold Striker, XT17000 and all the way through the PI series from the SD2000 to current GPX-4500. I've used them all for at least two years, or until the newer model was released. Kilo's of gold, thousands of nuggets, proof of all my finds and thousands of hours of hard work, research and money spent! I've walked the walk, done better than some, worse than others. Would love to hear about your stories, finds and what detector you used (and why?). Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Guys, Sawmill - I've heard stories like this, so it kept me from sending my GPX-4500 for a long time. I finally broke down and shipped it off last week. Minelab Repair Center stated I needed the upgrade. Lon - Yep, shipped it in for the upgrade. Hope it comes back working well. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Goldstudmuffin and all, Russ - I know Woody is a member of this forum. He might not post since I deleted one of his recent posts trying to promote one of his battery mods. It was posted on my Pocket Rocket thread. I have no problems with others making stuff similar, but there are other ways to promote your products besides trying to high-jack a thread. I've heard pro's/con's about Woody's mods. I'm sure it's like Minelab Repair thing, people are looking for miracles. They are hoping Woody can take an older detector and make it outperform the latest and greatest. Sounds like Woody and some of those others guys are very knowledgeable when it comes to mods, repairs and general knowledge on how they work. On another note, I find this sentence interesting since you stated you didn't find any nuggets when I loaned you the Coiltek 24-inch round. I never expected anything, if you found something or not. I loaned you that coil as a friend and was hoping you would find something. If you did, you would probably purchase one, so it's a win-win for both. monthsI loaned another coil out and it just returned damaged and tapped up per what my wife stated. I'm not jumping the gun, just saying .... AZNuggetBob & Montana - Great information you guys are posting. Heck, everything is posting great information. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Grubstake, Well, I respect any person that has served this great country, worked as hard as you have and still willing to go out of your way to help others. This is exactly what you have done. When Dennis and I were in Mariposa at your house, it was one of the greatest feeling I had. I just watched you as you talked about the history and gold around the area. I not only seen the passion and honestly in your eyes, but felt it. Grubstake, you might never be rewarded here on Earth, but I can tell you for a fact, the Good Lord has a long lists of things you have done that has makes Him happy! Wishing you the best of health and wellness my friend. Hoping to get back up there next year. Rob Allison

Hello All, A couple of days ago Minelab USA, Inc. called and talked to me about the forum post. They are currently working on the issue with the repairs. They stated by no means did they want the customers to think they are trying to turn their back on them. However, at the same time, there are some other issues. When Minelab does repairs, they want to make sure the repairs are under warranty. At the same time, it's hard to do this. The Minelab Service and Repair Center has had a bunch of people trying to take advantage of them. For example - Someone sends in their detector for repairs. They have it repaired and Minelab sends it back. The customer receives the unit, and then calls back and states it's not working as it was prior. They send it back, Minelab checks it out and sends it back in operating order per the specs. The customer gets it back and they states it's worse then ever. As you see, Minelab can never make it right and the customer demands a new detector. Some customers have had problems with older detectors such as the SD's, but demand new GPX models for their time. There are a bunch of customers that have tried to abuse the policy with Minelab. They continue to make it hard on the repair center hoping to get new detectors out of them. Minelab did state that some of the older components are very hard to get a hold of, even if they can anymore. They have make it clear they are working on some type of solution to make it right. They don't want to turn their backs on any customers in the past, present or future. The minute I find out more, I will let you all know. This is good news. Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Talking about knowing what targets you're digging, I think it comes with experience. The #1 target that fools me the most is a deep, faint boot tack. For some reason these damn things sound just like a deep gold nugget. Lead really don't fool me much, but I think the main reason is target location. If you have dug enough gold nuggets, you get a good feel on a target by not only the sound, but more so the location of the target. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, I got out in the field for day and there are 2 more complete pages ... Goldstudmuffin - Yes, I have found probably 4-5 big gold nuggets I missed in old patches. Two of my first ones I found were in an old patch at Rich Hill. I hunted this patch probably a 100 times, but never with a coil over 14-inches round. The old Coiltek 14-inch Mono Round was one of my favorite patch hunting coils and I used it on the SD2000, SD2100 and for a short time on the SD2200d. I found a couple of pounds in this one patch, biggest nugget was 1.2 ounces solid with the SD2100 right when it was released. I didn't find much of anything with the SD2200d in this patch behind the SD2100. When the GP Extreme was first introduced, Minelab claimed it would go 55% deeper on smaller gold and 18% deeper on bigger gold over the SD series. Well, this patch I'm telling you about was the first place I visited. I used all the same accessories and coils to keep the test the same, only difference was detectors. Within 2-3 hours of crawling across this patch, I found 7 Dwt plus nuggets at depth. Right away I knew Minelab's claims were spot on with smaller gold at depth. I was really impressed. I just knew there had to be a bigger nugget though, so I continued to crawl across this patch and scanned around the edges of a larger boulder. I knew this spot before, because I actually scratched on it, but never got a signal. This time I was getting a faint whisper, so I was mind-boggled. I dug down a few more inches and the target got more defined. Low and behold the target was a 17 Dwter down about 14-inches if I remember correctly. Below that target I re-scanned and heard another target, it was 1.4 ounces! I hit several other patches within the next month and found a handful of Dwt plus nuggets, but no more biggies for some time. I found a couple of other nice ones in the Quartzsite region during that time, one beauty that was 1.83 ounces. AZNuggetBob - I'm getting rusty now. Spending too much time watching others detect if you know what I mean. Take care, Rob Allison