nuggethunting

Hello Mike C., You have me confused or something. I never charged over $275 for the 7800mah system, but if you include sales tax since you're an Arizona resident and shipping the total would be over $300. Hope this helps, Rob Allison

Hello Dredger, Congrats on your 100th nugget! Finding a 100 nuggets might sound easy, but it's not. It's hard enough to find that first one. Over the years I've found a couple of places that have produced over a 100 nuggets, but most patches are small. Before you know it you will have 200, then 300 then 500 gold nuggets in your collection. The nuggets you found have good character to them. Keep up the great work, Rob Allison

Hello All, I know over the years being a dealer people might find me arrogant, or maybe promote Minelab a bit too much. Although, what you might not know is the fact I want to use a detector that is "best for me." This means something that has the best mineral immunity and depth superior to all other detectors in this class. Don't get me wrong, I was a multi-line dealer and sold other manufactures in the past. I've spent years with the VLF metal detectors and found gold with a bunch of them. I still think the Fisher Goldbug 2 is the best mine dump and specimen detector due to the high 71kHz freq. If I was only looking for shallow nuggets, or small nuggets near the surface I wouldn't probably invest in a $2,000 - $4,000 metal detector. However, in the Western US the mineralization can range from mild to extreme and the depth of the alluvial gravels can range from a few inches to many feet in depth. Due to years of erosion and the high specific gravity of gold, many of these nuggets are now at depth. The easy pickens have been picked up from earlier generations of detectorists. Most of the gold nuggets I'm looking for today are in old areas where I need maximum depth and superior mineral immunity. The Minelab PI's fit right into this spot for me. Many of my best gold nuggets have been found at the depth of 1.5 - 2.5 feet deep. I found these with the Minelab SD/GP series and larger searchcoils. Most of these nuggets just generated a slight signal or break in the threshold. There is no way, shape or form I would have found these nuggets with anything besides a Minelab Pulse Induction (PI) metal detector. By any means, this post is not directed to knock any manufacture or brand of detector outside of the Minelab line. All detectors will find gold, just have different limitations. When I attend these gold outings and see people in the field detecting anymore, I rarely see anything besides a Minelab PI. Is it hard for some to face the fact that most are now using Minelab PI's to find gold nuggets? When you visit the bulk of the Internet Gold Forums (US and Australia), why don't you hear much about other detectors? In the last six months working the 24K Gold Hunters Club at Rich Hill I've only seen three detectors that were not Minelab PI's. At the last AZO Outing I didn't see anything but Minelab PI's and there must have been 200+ people. Is it hard to come to reality since Minelab is not an American Manufacture? I'm going to use what performs the best for me and that is the Minelab PI's. I've personally paid for all the Minelab PI's over the years with gold nuggets. The bulk of them being at depths I wouldn't have achieved with other metal detectors. I guess there is a difference of arrogance and facts. Would like to hear what others have to say. Rob Allison

Hello Doug, Thanks for all the updates on the Pulse Devil. Reg Sniff is a good friend, so will be interesting to see how the Pulse Devil will perform on mineralized ground conditions here in the Western US. Any reports on how this unit will compare to a SD or GP series when it comes to sensitivity or depth? From what I have seen the Pulse Devil is going to discriminate to true detection depth? Is this correct? I've been spoiled using the Minelab PI's for the last 10 years. Just hard for me to use anything besides Minelab due to their superior gold nugget hunting detectors. Would love to see a good discriminator, but would hate to sacrifice all the mineral immunity and depth for better discrimination. Thanks for all the reports so far. Rob Allison

Hello Lemons, Thanks for the update on the Finders forum. Figured the forum would probably crash since Finders was going out of business. What ever happened to the "Titan" project that was promised by Ken Roberts? Finders has a good forum, too bad it went down. Rob Allison

Hello Hammer, I actually didn't find the Octave Token, but was able to trade a Coiltek coil for the token. A good friend found the token many years ago around the Rich Hill area. This person has a book titled "Arizona Token and Scrip" which has the approx. value of Arizona Tokens. The book was printed in 1990 and showed the value of this token at $400. With more tokens found since them I would assume the price has went down some. I heard there were a couple of newer additions of this token book. This finder also has the 6 or 8 sided Octave token that was also found in the same area. This token was valued at $500 at the time of the book printing in 1990. I'm hoping to get this token also in the near future. I did find all the gold nuggets, just not much luck with coins or tokens. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello All, I know some of the Aussie's are using the "YouTube.com" website for uploading videos. I have some great video's, but curious if I can just upload them to this site and then play them? I'm not real savy when it comes to uploading videos and then placing the URL on the forum for people to view. I have an older Cannon Powershot Digital Camera and would like to upload some videos. Any help would be appreciated. Rob Allison

Hey Guys, You really can't beat the Coiltek Pocket Rocket System. Yes, the Li-Ion batteries do take anywhere from 4-6 hours to fully charge. However, you do get two batteries, so you can use one and charge the other. I recommend having three batteries, two with you at all times and another charging. Replacement 7800mah batteries are $40 and well worth it. I took five of them to Alaska and carried three on me at all times and didn't even know they were in the backpack due to their weight! The Minelab Li-Ion battery does charge much quicker. However, it's four times the size and cant be mounted to the detector control box like the Pocket Rocket system. Mike - Just for your knowledge, the original Minelab price on the Li-Ion battery was well over $300. Dealers and customers started to complain and Minelab adjusted the price lower. Don't worry, I'm the last person to ripe you off Mike. Wes - I wouldn't try to use the GPX-4000 battery on anything but the GPX-4000. The voltage output is much higher and could potentially damage prior units. This would also void any warranty. I think the Coiltek Pocket Rocket is still a much better deal and cheaper. Talk with you all later, Rob Allison

Hello Jim, We are all going to miss you. You're a very special friend and you will be missed while you're gone. I'm sure your Cattle are waiting for you, but the gold nuggets will be calling when you're back home! The 24K Gold Hunters Club couldn't have gotten a better Security Guard than you. All of us will be awaiting your arrival back at the end of the year. I will keep those Rich Hill nuggets running in the meantime. Drive safe, see you next season. Rob Allison

Hello All, Here is a Octave, Arizona Token I have and a couple of small, new Rich Hill gold nuggets. The first two pictures are the token and new nuggets, the third picture is some of the gold I have found off the 24K Gold Hunters Club in the last 3-4 months. This token was valued at $400 back in 1990 from what a Arizona Token Book stated. I'm sure now it's worth less since more have probably been found. There is another 6 or 8 sided Octave Token I'm getting from a friend here soon. It was valued at $500. Wish I had more goodies to post, just been working too much to play. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello IronMike, Great finds! Forum seems a bit slow, most are not finding gold or holding out on us. I haven't been out hunting much. What detector were you using? I do have a Octave Token that I need to post. The book Titled "Arizona Token and Scrip" said it was valued at $400. However, that book was written in 1990, so I'm sure many more have been found and the value has dropped. Talk with you soon, Rob Allison

Hello Grubstake, I believe that storm is heading our way (Arizona bound). They stated it was moving quickly and show only last 12-15 hours. Pretty much move through the entire State in a day. Wishing you the best of health. Rob Allison

Hello Guys, Just have a few minutes to jump in here. If I remember correctly (need to take another look), the default settings for DEEP gold had a gain around 8-9. I know if you run your Audio in Deep, the GPX-4000 in the Deep setting and with a high Gain 13-15, the machine gets very noisy! The settings I really like cause its extremely quiet is - Sensitive/Smooth, Quiet Audio and a High Gain (12-13). Found a lot of small deep nuggets and fair sized nuggets at depth. I'm sure with all settings you're loosing something somewhere, but I like the settings above. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello All, A bunch of new accessories for the Minelab GPX-4000 have arrived! (1) DeTacc Signal amplifiers, with or without speaker. (2) COILTEK external amplified speakers. (3) COILTEK heavy duty power cords for the 4000. (4) Pocket Rocket ... Lithium Ion battery systems for the 4000. Still only $275 includes 2 batteries. (5) ALSO gender bender plugs to take your existing four pin Detacc Signal enhancer and easily convert it for use with your new 4000 detector and power cord. Takes 5 seconds and you are up and running a amplified GP4000 for only $22. Call (623) 362-1459 to order. Questions, email me at - auplacers@yahoo.com Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Grubstake, I feel the same, if I go I want it to be out in GOD's country! I'm wishing you a speedy recovery, health and wellness my friend. Go find a nice one this weekend. Rob Allison

Hello Guys, It's still the original Orange, Solid 14-inch Round Mono. There hasn't been any changes in the design. There has been more 14-inch Round Coiltek Searchcoils sold than any other Minelab aftermarket searchcoil, so there is no reason to change this design. This coil has been on backorder for a good month due to the demand. The 14-inch Coiltek Round is $299.00. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Grubstake, My friend, I'm getting concerned about this. You need to take it easy and stop worrying about getting other people over gold. We all know you're a great hearted person, but you need to take it easy. We all would hate to see something serious happen to you. Did the Doctor(s) give you any idea why this happened? I know you have had trouble in the past with your heart. Wishing you a speedy recovery my friend. Get some rest, that big nugget is still on your patch and you will need to be full strenght to carry that sucker out of there. Talk with you soon, Rob Allison

Hello All, Just got a confirmation that the Coiltek "Skippy" 14-inch Round Mono Searchcoils will be here within a week. I have like 6 pre-sold already, so if you're waiting for one please contact me ASAP. Many have been waiting for these searchcoils to arrive. There's no doubt its one of the best all-around prospecting searchcoils available. For all the people that had to wait for one I'm tossing in a FREE Kangaroo Nugget Pouch! If you would like one of these coils, please contact me at this email address - auplacers@yahoo.com , or Private Message me through this forum or call - 623-362-1459. If you don't get someone on the phone, please leave a detailed message and I will get back with you the same evening. Thanks, Rob Allison

Hello Reg, I have to say I haven't found the same results as some of the Aussie's have in the "Smooth" mode. When I first started reading those posts I was a bit concerned and started my own tests here in Arizona. I have yet to find a nugget I can't find at any depth within detector range. I have tried nuggets of different shapes, sizes and character and have hit them all. I'm wondering if the soil conditions in Australia might play a role in "not finding certain nuggets?" I've talked with several guys that are very successful here in Arizona with the Minelab GPX-4000 and they also agree they haven't seen any "blind spots." However, I have read all the posts that claim there is one. When it comes to very porous nuggets, I do believe the Minelab struggle on them. My guess is the fact the PI like more solid massive type nuggets. The Minelab PI's really like the sluggy and flat type gold. Talk with you soon, Rob Allison

Hello Terry, I have to tone down what I say about the GPX-4000. I guess I promote it too much and people don't like it. I find it to be the best hand-held metal detector for gold nuggets hands down. Use what works best for you, but I won't be using anything less than the GPX-4000 for now. Would love to see an American PI detector, but until then I will continue to use Minelab. Minelab Metal Detectors have allowed me to find several hundred ounces of placer gold nuggets over the last 10 years as a weekend warrior. I wouldn't have found the same amount of gold with any other detector. Thanks for your business and friendship. More nuggets are in your near future. Rob Allison

Hello All, Well there is no reason for some to get touchy. I know some "Paid" Members were upset since they paid $350 to hunt the pushes and pretty much got ran off of push 2 by a crowd of "Non-Members." I know the filming was a great thing for the club, but a lot of promised never got met. Many of the club members thought they would get some picture time, but come to find out it was only a few selected from the GPAA/LDMA. The reason they contacted me was the fact they know I'm very close with Elly and all the Board Members of the 24K club. It's my responsibility as a club board member to find solutions. As for the clown, I won't even comment! I've done a lot for this club since it started. I hope it continues to be one of the best clubs in Arizona. Take care, Rob Allison

Hello Paseclipse, I will keep my ear open for anyone trying to peddle these items. I would also contact Fisher and let them know about the detector and the serial numbers in case someone tries to send them in for warranty work in the future. I hate to hear about theft! Rob Allison

Hello Grubstake, Shep called me and wanted to order some stuff. I still need to call him back. He wanted a pick, a couple of Kangaroo pouches and a scoop. It's too late to call him now, so if you talk with him before I do, let him know I received his message. Talk with you later, Rob Allison

Hello Terry, You are very correct, if you can find the small ones the big ones will be found easily. However, keep in mind, a small or large nugget at depth will just be a slight whisper sound. For the most part on the pushes, the nuggets will be pretty much near the surface. Was that your first nugget? Rob Allison

Hey Terry, Good to hear you got a nugget! Congrats!!! Any size to the gold nugget you found? Regarldess, a nugget is a nugget, and I'll take all the smaller ones I can find. Take care, Rob Allison