nuggethunting

Hello Doc, Please let the member know I might have deleted their request for a validation due to an email or username that looked like a SPAMMER. I highly suggest that you use a first name, or some type of username that might be related to gold prospecting, mining ... or such. If the username or email looks strange, I just delete the validation request. Hope this helps, Rob Allison

Hey Grubstake, Well I wish I lived in Mariposa. I would let you use my GPX-4500. Don't worry buddy, we will figure something out for you when the weather turns around. Most importantly take care of you and your families health and well-being for the time, we will figure something out for you. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Nero, No, sure wish I had a round to test. When Trev from Coiltek came down we done some hunting together. Trev left me and a few others the Coiltek Goldstalker Elliptical 18.5-inch DD. It's very stable on very hot ground. Heck, Trev found a very nice ounce plus nugget in a heavily mineralized iron coated wash. Let me know how the new rounds work out for you in OZ, if you would. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey AZNuggetBob, Well I've been around the block, or the Hill one too many times! Come on, I know you can name a few more. I really enjoy these type of posts. Really brings out a lot of information and thought. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Goldstudmuffin, This has always been an interesting subject. For me I think it has been just the opposite, but I'm also here in the US, not Australia. I believe I only found 3-4 ounce plus gold nuggets with the SD's, but several dozen starting with the GP Extreme. I actually found larger gold nuggets over an ounce in size, also one of my largest solid ones (9 + ounces) with the GP Extreme. I was real amazed on what I left behind, especially at Rich Hill with the SD2100 and SD2200. There has always been a debate about the SD vs. the GP/GPX series when it comes to outright depth. There is no question that the GP & GPX series find small gold and small gold at depth over the SD series (nuggets under 1/4 ounce). Russ, could you have found those nuggets due to the fact you hunted the area first with the SD's and then might have not been at borderline depths? For example, if you hunted an area many times over and you found several ounce plus nuggets only 8-12 inches deep, is that fair to say you found more than you would with the GP or GPX? This same principle would apply for me and others that have hunted areas with the GP and GPX series, but never hunted them with the SD's (newer locations). There are a lot of variables involved when it comes to depth. Some of them just off the top of my head would be - Detector, Detector Settings, Detector Battery Strength, Personal Hearing, Headphones, Signal Enhancer used or not, Coil Swing Speed, Coil Swing Height, Coil Size, Coil Configuration, Mineralization, EMI Present?, Windy or Noisy Day, Purity of Gold, Impurities in the Gold, Specimen or Solid Nugget, Flat or Dense Nugget, ect ..... Many more variables could be involved. One of my old saying is "If you don't hear it, you never knew it was there!" You can worry yourself to no sleep wondering if you missed a big nugget at depth and you never heard it. Be interesting to see what others have to say. Mike C. - I think you're right on target with what you mentioned. Nero - The Coiltek Goldstalker DD's are awesome! Been field testing one for some time now. Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Thanks for the comments. Mike C - We do have one of those, but these are not from that deal. Matt - Ya, that 14-inch Goldstalker is a killer coil. The total weight on this group is 1/2 ounce. Uncle Ron - Yes, this is a Mountain area. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Here are a few more gold nuggets I've found over the last week or so. It's been so freaking hot and humid out there lately. All of these gold nuggets were found with the Minelab GPX-4500 metal detector and Coiltek Goldstalker 14-inch Lightweight Elliptical Searchcoil. These nuggets were found anywhere from a couple of inches down to 10 inches or so. It looks easy when someone posts a bunch of gold nuggets, but I don't want to make it sound easy. For the most part you really have to understand your detector, spend many hours searching and hope you're also blessed with a little bit of luck. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Steve, Sounds like the first couple of weeks have been a blast. Wow ... that 32.2 ouncer that Ken P. found was awesome! Just makes you wonder if there are any other big monster nuggets out there hiding that haven't been detected yet. Wishing the rest of the guys the best of luck up there. Keep us updated if you would. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Alton, Yes, they do make them, but I haven't seen one in years. I had a nozzle reducer from 5-inch to 4-inch on an older Gold King dredge I used to use in the Bradshaw's. I found one on Ebay that looks similar if you click on this link - Ebay Nozzle Reducer for Dredge Mine was very similar to this one. Hope this helps, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, Most customers were sending them back to Minelab in Australia, but there was also a small TV repair place in Tempe, Arizona that also done some repairs on older Minelab's (mostly VLF's). I'm sure if Minelab don't change their mind, someone out there will pick it up. With the amount of used Minelab's out there (1,000's of them), someone might be able to make a nice side business repairing them. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Forester, Welcome to my Nuggethunting.com Forums. I'm sure you will find some great information and friends here. Hope to see you posting in the near future. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Gary and All, I know many are disappointed about the whole Service deal on Minelab metal detectors. I found it quite shocking myself, but I'm not running their business. I'm hoping that Minelab USA and Australia will view some of these posts and get a better idea on how many customers have older Minelab metal detectors. If they find out that hundreds, maybe thousands of customers that have older Minelab won't consider a new one over this deal, it might just open their eyes! It's not my business to get involved; I'm just trying to be a very honest dealer passing on information that could be valuable to you. I just don't want people to ship off their units that might cost a good amount of money to insure and ship them and find out Minelab will not be able to service them anymore and you wasted money in the effort (please understand what I'm getting at). On another note, I think Minelab/Codan is making a killing right now. I had a conversation with Minelab USA, Inc. yesterday morning and they have over 100 Minelab GPX-4500's on backorder and more dealers calling about them. They could very easily have 150+ on backorder before the next shipment arrives from Minelab in Australia. Just think about the numbers, 150 units x $4,500 each, that is $675,000!!! Nearly a million dollars in backorders, so I seriously doubt they are hurting. You want more facts; they have close to that number of SD2200v2's on backorder. I will let you do the math. I think Minelab is in the driver’s seat and have been for at least 10 years. They are the one looking out the back window trying to see whose coming, but have always seemed to see a long road during a clear day with no one in sight. (Just my humble opinions) Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Guys, I've always tried to be very upfront and honest and this is the reason I posted this thread when I received the letter from Minelab USA. I'm still a bit confused myself why they would discontinue service on older Minelab metal detectors when they charged for the parts and labor. If I find out more about this, I will let everyone know. For the time being, this thread is now becoming a place for outsiders to promote their detectors, or should I say detectors we will never see! I'm still waiting on that Titan, the owner promised I would see it .... Oh, that was about 4 years ago now. P.S. The Service Department stated they are still doing service repairs on the Minelab SD2100 and SD2200v2 models. Hope you all understand. Rob Allison

Hello Guys, I talked with Minelab today and they stated they have received hundreds of call on this issue. They stated to me that Ireland and Australia don't stock the older electronic components, so they decided to stop servicing the older detectors. They did state that the newer v2 versions of the SD's are using much newer components than older versions of these units. I do know that the newer v2 models are much more stable then the older original models. Wish I knew more .... Rob Allison

Hello Ed, You're very welcome! Thanks for all your continued business. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey ClaimJumper, LOL .... You must of talked with Doug in Australia. Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, The SD version 2's are not on the list, so they will still be serviced if needed. I think this post might bring some light to Minelab USA. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Guys, I was a bit shocked when I seen the bulletin myself. I think it's more of them getting the parts, but I will see what I can find out. I would agree, the resale value of these detectors just went down the drain since Minelab will not repair them! It looks like all the metal detectors on the list are at least 5+ years old. If I find anything new out about this I will post it here. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello All, Just wanted to let you all know Minelab has been making some changes here recently. Minelab USA, Inc. is committed to providing excellent support to the customers and dealers like most of you know. However, due to unavailability of service parts, Minelab will no longer be supporting repairs on the following machines: Goldseeker 15000 Sovereign Musketter Musketter XS GT16000 Excalibur - NY & BK w/Sword Sovereign XS SD2100e Eureka Ace Dual Sterling SD2000 Explorer S FT16000 XT17000 SD2100 Relic Hawk Eldorado MK2 Gold Striker XT18000 Golden Hawk Minelab will no longer perform after market mods to detectors or the following work - Changes to electronic circuits except under warranty as authorized by a Minelab Technician. Changes to electronic circuits except as directed by Minelab Corporate Engineering Connection, disconnection, adjustments, etc. of non-Minelab accessories Fitment of non-Minelab coils (after market coils) Just wanted to update you all. Rob Allison

Hey Montana, Great looking nuggets with good character. Chris came out and met up with me this weekend. We found about a dozen nugget total, but nothing to write home about. Most of them were pretty small in size. Wishing you much more luck at the new location. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, Just wanted to let you all know that a 32.2 ounce solid gold nugget was found this week at Moore Creek. The finder is Ken P. from Arizona/Anchorage. I believe he found it Wednesday from what I was told and it was about 300 feet from camp. Steve H. mentioned the nugget was practically solid with only a small bit of quartz attached. Steve also mentioned it was one of the best gold nugget he has ever seen. Congrats to Ken P., it couldn't have happened to a better guy. Hope to see pictures soon.\ Take care, Rob Allison

Hey Al, I forgot that your Minelab was acting up. Did you send it in to Minelab USA? I still haven't sent mine in, but probably should. Yep, my friends are moving car sized boulders with larger winches and even floating some of them down the River when they can. Last year they hit a nice bedrock pocket with some very larger gold nuggets. I really wanted to make it over there this year. Makes me wonder what type of gold is laying around on the high benches .... Dudley, part owner of the Moore Creek Mine sent me another email today. He said they found around 24 ounces the first week, biggest nugget was almost 5 ounces. I heard they had a couple of hot days, but overall the weather was good. Gaine mentioned the bugs were bad, which is typical if you get a couple of warm days with Sun. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Kid, Congrats on the new finds. Was curious what happened to you .... Hope you find a nice pocket they tossed out. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hey Gary, We sure miss you on the forums. I know you have a lot going on right now, but keep us updated from time to time if you would. P.S. Hope you're able to get out and do some nuggetshooting soon. Talk with you later buddy, Rob Allison

Hey Al, Wow ... Congrats on the new finds in Oregon. Did you find them with the Goldbug or the Minelab? Sounds like a very good dredging area if you were pulling larger nuggets out like that. A good friend of mine has a bunch of claims on the Feather River and is there right now dredging for about 6 weeks. He has a 6 & 10-inch dredge. They have found some monster nuggets on the bottom of the River, but requires a lot of rock moving. I was going to spend a week with him this year, but I was limited on time after the new Baby. I'm hoping to spend a couple of weeks next year dredging with him. Thanks for sharing your finds. Hope you find a bunch more. P.S. Stay in Oregon for awhile, it's damn hot here in Arizona now! Rob Allison