Tainting the Forum with VLF talk...

[EnigmaticEngineer]

Going detecting in the bradshaw's in the morning with my Minelab Eureka Gold VLF...

I have the stock coil, and a 15inch Coiltek DD...(stock coil being a 10" Eliptical DD)

I do not know which coil I should use....I have not found my first Detected gold yet, but I've dug Plenty of trash, mostly bits of Lead (Very Small bits of lead...) from various depths.

Would I have better luck in the Turkey Creek Area with the smaller eliptical, or the big Coiltek...any particular opinions? I guess more of what I am asking is if the Turkey Creek area is known for dinks, or chunks...and to clarify a bit more, by turkey creek area I mean more towards its start, than its finish...

Thanks in advance.

P.S. This is more of a general question to gage people opinions, I am very comfortable with the detector and its settings/usage, I've just not put it over gold within the depth's I can reliably scan...

[montana]

Enigmatic. The Turkey creek drainage is great country for the Eureka Gold. Although a few whopper nuggets have been found in the area, it is known for the prolific small flat nuggets wedged in the schist bedrock of the small tributaries. I would say the stock coil would be the best choice in those conditions.----Bob

[EnigmaticEngineer]

Enigmatic. The Turkey creek drainage is great country for the Eureka Gold. Although a few whopper nuggets have been found in the area, it is known for the prolific small flat nuggets wedged in the schist bedrock of the small tributaries. I would say the stock coil would be the best choice in those conditions.----Bob

Thanks Much, Exactly the info I needed

Any other opinions?

[nuggethunting]

Hey Nathan,

Like Montana stated, Turkey Creek is a great place to find gold nuggets. Search along the exposed bedrock sections of Turkey, Poland and Black Canyon. Keep in mind, most of these area are under claim if you're not part of a prospecting club such as the Roadrunner's. There are also a bunch of private claims (non-club claims) along the course of these waterways.

The Minelab Eureka Gold will have a good shot at finding the small & larger gold nuggets down in the schist/shale/slate bedrock cracks and crevices. I would use the 60Khz mode when scanning the bedrock for maxium sensitivity to small, flat gold.

Great to see you back on the forums. Was wondering where you went.

Take care,

Rob Allison

[neilo]

Hey Nathan,

Like Montana stated, Turkey Creek is a great place to find gold nuggets. Search along the exposed bedrock sections of Turkey, Poland and Black Canyon. Keep in mind, most of these area are under claim if you're not part of a prospecting club such as the Roadrunner's. There are also a bunch of private claims (non-club claims) along the course of these waterways.

The Minelab Eureka Gold will have a good shot at finding the small & larger gold nuggets down in the schist/shale/slate bedrock cracks and crevices. I would use the 60Khz mode when scanning the bedrock for maxium sensitivity to small, flat gold.

Great to see you back on the forums. Was wondering where you went.

Take care,

Rob Allison

Hi I used to use this detectors predecessor the 18000 it had the 60khz, it was great for finding tiny gold . I was able to get a minelab 6inch coil which was made for this machine. whether it is available now I dont know. Some of the gold I found was so small I needed glasses to see it. I used to use two small plastic shovels to seperate the gold. It was a real challenge coming home some days with 30 pieces of gold total weight less than half a gram. I will put a picture of the gold I found with this machine. 90percent of the gold in the bottle was found with this machine. good luck seeya Neilo

[nvchris]

Hi Enigmatic Engineer,

My humble opinion and a few tip's.

I use one, It's my choice for a gold VLF for many reasons. Deep and smooth. The GB will find the smallest (I'm not counting the Falcon) gold but use it on variable ground and you'll spend more time ground balancing then hunting. The Whites GMT works well and will find gold almost as small as the GB and go deeper. I just think it's chatty.

I'll clear out an area with the big coil then clean it up with the small coil.

If you start finding small gold in gravel get busy with a rake.

The 6" coils for the XT series are a coveted item. They will work on a Eureka.

Try the "boost" setting with tracking set to fixed when recovering tiny targets.

Change to 20 khz when 60 khz becomes chatty at 30% sensitivity.

Use a good set of headphones with a BZ amp (it's self powered).

The sensitivity Control affects the level of sound produced by the detector.

Lowering the sensitivity lowers the volume.

Enjoy today!

nvchris

[neilo]

Hi Enigmatic Engineer,

My humble opinion and a few tip's.

I use one, It's my choice for a gold VLF for many reasons. Deep and smooth. The GB will find the smallest (I'm not counting the Falcon) gold but use it on variable ground and you'll spend more time ground balancing then hunting. The Whites GMT works well and will find gold almost as small as the GB and go deeper. I just think it's chatty.

I'll clear out an area with the big coil then clean it up with the small coil.

If you start finding small gold in gravel get busy with a rake.

The 6" coils for the XT series are a coveted item. They will work on a Eureka.

Try the "boost" setting with tracking set to fixed when recovering tiny targets.

Change to 20 khz when 60 khz becomes chatty at 30% sensitivity.

Use a good set of headphones with a BZ amp (it's self powered).

The sensitivity Control affects the level of sound produced by the detector.

Lowering the sensitivity lowers the volume.

Enjoy today!

nvchris

Hi the ground I was detecting was very mild, most of the gold was in pipe clay heaps, I would rake off an inch then go over it again gradually work my way through it layer by layer. I would scrub the coil across the surface. I did ware through a few skid plates. I was able to run in 60 klz and boost, sensitivity flat out. I did dig a lot of tiny hot rocks as well. Sometimes got deafened by a piece of junk but I survived. good hunting seeya Neilo

[nuggethunting]

Hey Neilo,

I have to agree with you about the Minelab 6-inch DD Round that was once available for the GT-XT series. I had one for my Minelab American Gold Striker and XT17000. I found my first big nugget with it at that time, which was just over 1/3 ounce. The piece was lying pretty much on the surface under a bunch of old tree vegitation that was dead. Here in Arizona the small 6-inch was tough to use once you got off of bedrock conditions. The ground was just too mineralized for a very sensitive little coil. However, I found a bunch of small gold with it and it was a must to have in some spots (especially the Bradshaw Mountains).

I've seen some of these used 6-inch coils for same from time to time on the forums and even Ebay. I'm real surprised Minelab discontinued them. The new Coiltek Goldstalker 6-inch Mono for the Minelab PI's is becoming a huge hit! I can't keep these little buggers in stock. I will order 15 of them at shot and they are gone just as fast as I receive them.

Welcome to the forums Neilo.

Nathan - If you can locate a small 6-inch it might be worth it, but they are very ... very hard to find. These ones that are still out there, for the most part the person probably won't want to sell it. I will also keep my eyes open for you. The stock 10-inch Elliptical DD that comes with the unit will also find very tiny gold nuggets, especially if you can hunt in the 60kHz mode and use "Boost."

Take care,

Rob Allison

[neilo]

Hey Neilo,

I have to agree with you about the Minelab 6-inch DD Round that was once available for the GT-XT series. I had one for my Minelab American Gold Striker and XT17000. I found my first big nugget with it at that time, which was just over 1/3 ounce. The piece was lying pretty much on the surface under a bunch of old tree vegitation that was dead. Here in Arizona the small 6-inch was tough to use once you got off of bedrock conditions. The ground was just too mineralized for a very sensitive little coil. However, I found a bunch of small gold with it and it was a must to have in some spots (especially the Bradshaw Mountains).

I've seen some of these used 6-inch coils for same from time to time on the forums and even Ebay. I'm real surprised Minelab discontinued them. The new Coiltek Goldstalker 6-inch Mono for the Minelab PI's is becoming a huge hit! I can't keep these little buggers in stock. I will order 15 of them at shot and they are gone just as fast as I receive them.

Welcome to the forums Neilo.

Nathan - If you can locate a small 6-inch it might be worth it, but they are very ... very hard to find. These ones that are still out there, for the most part the person probably won't want to sell it. I will also keep my eyes open for you. The stock 10-inch Elliptical DD that comes with the unit will also find very tiny gold nuggets, especially if you can hunt in the 60kHz mode and use "Boost."

Take care,

Rob Allison

Hi Rob yes I have a 6 inch Goldstalker coil they are a great little coil. The area I detect is very overgrown, with a lot of litter and rocks I find these coils are ideal for those conditions. This area really has been flogged by other detectorists over the years, yet I have still been able to get a few bits thanks to these coils. seeya Neilo

[whats4supper]

pipe clay heaps???!! now this may start a new trend of thieves. first the copper thieves, now the clay pipe thieves. just shows one never knows where the nuggets may lie. the experts know nothing! Nuggethunting.com RULES, baby!!!

[neilo]

pipe clay heaps???!! now this may start a new trend of thieves. first the copper thieves, now the clay pipe thieves. just shows one never knows where the nuggets may lie. the experts know nothing! Nuggethunting.com RULES, baby!!!

The old goldfeild where I got the very small gold had hundreds of verticle shafts which went down about 50ft. to a level where the main gold was found, just below a layer of white sandy clay, this clay was dumped in heaps all around the tops of the old shafts. The area is a general fossicking area where you can dig all you like, this white clay was what we used to call pipe clay. Whether it is good for making pipes I doubt it it was more the colour which gave it its name. Some of these heaps I have seen on other diggings are massive

standing 30ft high 100 yds square, just imaging scraping your way down a inch at a time on those. seeya Neilo

[EnigmaticEngineer]

Thanks to all for the responses. I felt I was comfortable with the detector before, I now have new ideas to play with (with my test gold and the real world)

I am a member of two clubs with claims on multiple parts of turkey. While I was out this past weekend it started raining so I put the detector in my Jeep and threw on a poncho and started digging a new hole about 30 feet up on the inside of a long sweeping bend, feeding the material into my sluice (Turkey Creek is running Really nice right now, and probably will for at least another month...) I ended up with approx 1/10th ounce (just under 3 grams) of flat course gold. Even with my beeping cut short, I felt I had a great day.

Rob - I didn't go anywhere The hobby is still strong in my mind and heart, lifes responsibilities stacked up through the holidays as a single father and I haven't even had the time to Think about the Thought of prospecting I would be very interested in one of the 6" coils and I appreciate you keeping your eyes out for one for me.

Neilo - Very beautiful gold...its the small stuff that will leads us to the bigger stuff. Thanks for the info about your experience with the 6".

NVChris - Your advice has been shorthanded onto the back of a business card in my wallet. I will try it all. (Including the 6" coil if I can find one ) Could you tell me what a BZ amp is specifically? I have good headphones but if an audio amp will help, I'm interested in looking into it. I have been ground balancing in Fast Track mode then switching to fixed and beeping around until the soil changes enough to warrent another ground balance. The auto balancing is a very nice feature, but I am nervous about it balancing out small gold quickly. Thanks again.

I should be out in the same general area again this weekend for at least a day, possibly two. Thanks for the advice...let me know if anyone sees one of these 6" XT coils around

Nathan.

[montana]

Nathan . I've never been a big fan of running any detector in auto tracking. I prefer switching to fixed after GB has been achieved and think that you are on the right track doing just that. ---Bob

[nvchris]

Enigmatic Engineer

From the Australian nqminersden

B&Z Neptune Amplifier needs batteries for power. Volume control, plugs into head phone socket, suitable for use with speaker. A good quality external speaker is another option worth considering. You can wear the speaker or mount it to detector.

Sound Enhancers, Boosters are all add -on sound amplifying devices that may help you hear the sounds produced by the metal detector better.

They make the detectors signal louder.

They make all signals louder including unwanted ones.

They add their own noise and distortion to the target signal.

They add extra weight and clutter to your equipment.

They can damage your hearing if used incorrectly.

By all means if your happy with your headphones use them. The BZ is around $100. Another option, a iPod portable speaker. Some are under $20. overstock.com

Lowering the sensitivity lowers the volume on a Eureka so a amp can help

I don't know who sell the B&Z in the states. I got mine used.

nvchris

[EnigmaticEngineer]

Enigmatic Engineer

From the Australian nqminersden

B&Z Neptune Amplifier needs batteries for power. Volume control, plugs into head phone socket, suitable for use with speaker. A good quality external speaker is another option worth considering. You can wear the speaker or mount it to detector.

Sound Enhancers, Boosters are all add -on sound amplifying devices that may help you hear the sounds produced by the metal detector better.

They make the detectors signal louder.

They make all signals louder including unwanted ones.

They add their own noise and distortion to the target signal.

They add extra weight and clutter to your equipment.

They can damage your hearing if used incorrectly.

By all means if your happy with your headphones use them. The BZ is around $100. Another option, a iPod portable speaker. Some are under $20. overstock.com

Lowering the sensitivity lowers the volume on a Eureka so a amp can help

I don't know who sell the B&Z in the states. I got mine used.

nvchris

Excellent. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep my eyes open for one.

Nathan.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Nathan,

If you're looking for a signal enhancer for your Eureka Gold, I have several types including the new GoldScreamer. I believe I also have a few of the Detacc Super Sounds in stock that will work on any VLF metal detector.

Just wanted to toss that out there.

Rob Allison

[EnigmaticEngineer]

Hey Nathan,

If you're looking for a signal enhancer for your Eureka Gold, I have several types including the new GoldScreamer. I believe I also have a few of the Detacc Super Sounds in stock that will work on any VLF metal detector.

Just wanted to toss that out there.

Rob Allison

What are the prices on those? (Any specific benefit to going with any one in particular?)

Thanks