Razorback coil, finally got it.

Nice little test nuggets, they always look bigger in pics. I guess its just a matter of hopefully swinging over a nugget to get a true idea of the capability of the detector. Thats why I'm trying to get an idea of what others have found & depth etc, I've been too many good area's & found lead & scrap but just no nuggets, so if I can learn as much as possible & get a really good idea on how things are working then hopefully it will help.
My tuning is getting better though thanks to all the help from this forum & I decided to buy a rake today so I can rake an area & go over it properly, that will also help me from wondering around instead of concentrating on a set spot.

If you are still picking out casings and lead at a good 8" or so, it's only a matter of time before one of those targets translates to a gold target. I guess it is just a matter of how good your patience is on the junk to gold ratio, often heavily weighted towards the junk side of things.

What I like to see when people post gold finds, is the amount of dud targets it took to find that particular nugget. It really does give a more realistic idea of what you are up against. At least you have the conductivity switch availalbe to offer some discrimination capability.

Them brass bullet casing scream, even when 8+ inches deep, sometimes I think "should I dig it" but then think, well if I don't then I could be missing something good. Normally when I go out its only for a few hours as the back & feet/ankles start causing more grief then, but I might try getting out as early as I can & having a break each hour or so then I should be able to be out there longer & therefor find more "stuff".
Will be interesting to see how much of a difference raking makes.

It does make a difference on ground with a lot of organic cover and for raking down spoil piles. Last two trips I went on, just about everyone had a rake, especially the SDC operators chasing small tidbits in shallow drainage.

Yeah I had read about people raking ground to get better depth & to keep the coil as low as possible so thought its worth a try. It will also make it easy to work a small area or gutter etc & keep track of where I've been, can rake a small spot, detect, then rake a bit more.
Would be great if there were some other Whites users around here though, specially SL or SPP users as they are pretty much the same machine.

Ozziii, when I get a chance to get over to the GT, I will look you up for a meet somewhere. I think you're around Bendigo area? After reading a few of your posts I reckon we're on a similar learning curve with our SPP's. I made an extendable handle for a rake head that I cut a couple of tines off either end. I can hook it with my pick on my belt holder; works well.
I see also that you're after more voltage from the AA battery pack. Found these 1.6 volt NiZn rechargeables on the net from pkcellshop.com They read 1.8 volts after charging, which equates to 14.4 v from the pack. Thing is though they don't give as long a run time as Nenad's 1.2v 2900 mah batteries. I only seem to get 2-3 hrs out of them. Good thing is though a pack of 4 PLUS charger is around $15 aus. from their online store.
Cheers Adrian.

ozziii said:

Yeah I'm hoping 6-8 inches with the RB coil if I have the tuning done properly, it should do it considering the 12" mono from whites got it close to 6", & that was with the rechargeable pack too, so lower voltage, now I'm using the RB coil I have just been using duracell alkalines for the extra voltage as it makes a difference from what I've read & been told.
I've found .22 bullets at 10+ inches with both coils, rusty metal/tin as well, but even the smaller bits of lead seem to give a better signal than this nugget. I might have to cut up some .22 bullets to test, I weighed one not long back & it was around 1.8 grams so I might cut a few to different sizes for testing & might make one a similar size & shape as the nugget as well.
This hole was for a .22 bullet using the RB coil, duracell batteries & low conductivity, about 100metre's to the left were power lines & there were houses not far away as well. So it does ok on lead, just hope its the same for gold. The black grip on the pick handle is 5 inches long.
http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii524/ozziii4/Detecting%20Stuff/12241366_10208142953994369_2722613537634437633_n_zpss425gjbm.jpg

Click to expand...

Looking at that picture If that handle is 5 inches I'd say that was down about 13 inches or more, ??

John

Ridge Runner said:

ozziii said:

Yeah I'm hoping 6-8 inches with the RB coil if I have the tuning done properly, it should do it considering the 12" mono from whites got it close to 6", & that was with the rechargeable pack too, so lower voltage, now I'm using the RB coil I have just been using duracell alkalines for the extra voltage as it makes a difference from what I've read & been told.
I've found .22 bullets at 10+ inches with both coils, rusty metal/tin as well, but even the smaller bits of lead seem to give a better signal than this nugget. I might have to cut up some .22 bullets to test, I weighed one not long back & it was around 1.8 grams so I might cut a few to different sizes for testing & might make one a similar size & shape as the nugget as well.
This hole was for a .22 bullet using the RB coil, duracell batteries & low conductivity, about 100metre's to the left were power lines & there were houses not far away as well. So it does ok on lead, just hope its the same for gold. The black grip on the pick handle is 5 inches long.
http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii524/ozziii4/Detecting%20Stuff/12241366_10208142953994369_2722613537634437633_n_zpss425gjbm.jpg

Click to expand...

Looking at that picture If that handle is 5 inches I'd say that was down about 13 inches or more, ??

John

Click to expand...

Yeah would probably be close John, pick is leaning on an angle though but yeah alteast 12 inches, I need a bigger pick though, its a pita digging deeper holes with this one.

ozziii said:

Ridge Runner said:

ozziii said:

Yeah I'm hoping 6-8 inches with the RB coil if I have the tuning done properly, it should do it considering the 12" mono from whites got it close to 6", & that was with the rechargeable pack too, so lower voltage, now I'm using the RB coil I have just been using duracell alkalines for the extra voltage as it makes a difference from what I've read & been told.
I've found .22 bullets at 10+ inches with both coils, rusty metal/tin as well, but even the smaller bits of lead seem to give a better signal than this nugget. I might have to cut up some .22 bullets to test, I weighed one not long back & it was around 1.8 grams so I might cut a few to different sizes for testing & might make one a similar size & shape as the nugget as well.
This hole was for a .22 bullet using the RB coil, duracell batteries & low conductivity, about 100metre's to the left were power lines & there were houses not far away as well. So it does ok on lead, just hope its the same for gold. The black grip on the pick handle is 5 inches long.
http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii524/ozziii4/Detecting%20Stuff/12241366_10208142953994369_2722613537634437633_n_zpss425gjbm.jpg

Click to expand...

Looking at that picture If that handle is 5 inches I'd say that was down about 13 inches or more, ??

John

Click to expand...

Yeah would probably be close John, pick is leaning on an angle though but yeah alteast 12 inches, I need a bigger pick though, its a pita digging deeper holes with this one.

Click to expand...

Maybe Father Christmas might bring you one if you drop enough hints,lol

john

OzzieAu said:

Ozziii, when I get a chance to get over to the GT, I will look you up for a meet somewhere. I think you're around Bendigo area? After reading a few of your posts I reckon we're on a similar learning curve with our SPP's. I made an extendable handle for a rake head that I cut a couple of tines off either end. I can hook it with my pick on my belt holder; works well.
I see also that you're after more voltage from the AA battery pack. Found these 1.6 volt NiZn rechargeables on the net from pkcellshop.com They read 1.8 volts after charging, which equates to 14.4 v from the pack. Thing is though they don't give as long a run time as Nenad's 1.2v 2900 mah batteries. I only seem to get 2-3 hrs out of them. Good thing is though a pack of 4 PLUS charger is around $15 aus. from their online store.
Cheers Adrian.

Click to expand...

I'm at Ballarat Adrian, & yeah if you head over this way then it would be good to catch up for a swing.
I have seen them batteries, & like you said, I heard they don't last very long, although with 2 or 3 sets that would still allow for 6+ hours of detecting. A place I get wires/plugs & batteries for my RC nitro cars has them, only 1500Mah though, but thats most likely an accurate rating, alot of battery suppliers like to over rate their batteries a fair bit.

I would still like to modify a battery box when I can, make it fit some lithium ion cells, like the "18650" batteries from computer battery packs, they are 3.7v, fully charged can go up to 4.2, but can limit total voltage to under 4v per cell.
One day I will try it, Duracell AA's are doing ok for now but they only last a few hours as well, & I tried a set of energizer lithium's & while they are good with a higher voltage, they only lasted a similar amount of time too 2 sets of Duracells.
The rake handle idea is alright, might have to look for a pool cleaning net or something with extendable pole for mine.

Ridge Runner said:

ozziii said:

Ridge Runner said:

ozziii said:

Yeah I'm hoping 6-8 inches with the RB coil if I have the tuning done properly, it should do it considering the 12" mono from whites got it close to 6", & that was with the rechargeable pack too, so lower voltage, now I'm using the RB coil I have just been using duracell alkalines for the extra voltage as it makes a difference from what I've read & been told.
I've found .22 bullets at 10+ inches with both coils, rusty metal/tin as well, but even the smaller bits of lead seem to give a better signal than this nugget. I might have to cut up some .22 bullets to test, I weighed one not long back & it was around 1.8 grams so I might cut a few to different sizes for testing & might make one a similar size & shape as the nugget as well.
This hole was for a .22 bullet using the RB coil, duracell batteries & low conductivity, about 100metre's to the left were power lines & there were houses not far away as well. So it does ok on lead, just hope its the same for gold. The black grip on the pick handle is 5 inches long.
http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii524/ozziii4/Detecting%20Stuff/12241366_10208142953994369_2722613537634437633_n_zpss425gjbm.jpg

Click to expand...

Looking at that picture If that handle is 5 inches I'd say that was down about 13 inches or more, ??

John

Click to expand...

Yeah would probably be close John, pick is leaning on an angle though but yeah alteast 12 inches, I need a bigger pick though, its a pita digging deeper holes with this one.

Click to expand...

Maybe Father Christmas might bring you one if you drop enough hints,lol

john

Click to expand...

Haha, nah no father christmas for me, I'll look into getting one after the new year though, there's a few people around that make some good ones & they are normally cheaper than the shop prices.

Went out today with all intentions of testing the razorback. Conditions were really wet and difficult. Very hard, lot of false readings. Once I got a great signal, a split second before a bright flash of lightning. Setting the frequency was really hard, matched what sounded the same to me, then ground balance seemed really easy, had to set threshold just below earshot. Had a fair bit of noise, every tuft of grass I hit with the coil resulted in an zip, every time I touched the ground I got a zip, I ran over a beer can, and got what seemed to be a deleyed zip, this happend every time I came accross a can. Last time I went near a can, I got a real loud and long zip before I had to move the coil away.....this time, just a deleyed single zip.....?

Found a bullet, projectile and a small shotgun pellet, iron not lead......no gold again, too hard, wait till next dry season now. q

OzzieAu said:

ozziii, I tested them in the ground at our "famous" Jupiter Creek diggings which has patchy mineralisation and not much yellow.
I've got the con. switch fitted as well as the upgraded motherboard, with a resistor (C42 I think?) bridged. This was a mod which a former PA member and Whites expert recommended for maximum depth potential. I won't know for sure how well this mod works till I walk over some colour over your way.
Other Whites users on here will know the expert I'm talking about (Luke), no longer on the forum.
Adrian.

Click to expand...

C42 is a capacitor, not a resistor. As far can remember, After the mods to stop hiccups were done it was found that the SPP squeal for short time after being switched on. To stop squelling Reg recommended to short C42. Squealing has stopped but unintended consequences was increase in gain and sensitivity to small gold. And also increase in sensitivity to the noise.. Also I'm not sure if the mods were tested with every coil combination.
From my patchy memory, setting the gain on 8 or bit less on modified SPP is about same as having the gain on Max on original SPP. Your problem with noise and lack of depth is most likely due to too much gain.
I had removed C42 mod from my detector.
Karl

Karl, I did the short on C42 on my SPP myself, easy enough but my machine still squeals a bit on start up, no big deal. I just turn on with coil on ground and it settles real quick. Luke didn't mention about the stability and gain as you have described, just that I could expect better depth on small stuff, not sure if this is correct as I have not had any luck on gold yet. Do you think unshorting C42 would restore better all round depth/performance?
Regards Adrian.

No, leave it as it is but use full gain only in ideal conditions. It is most common mistake, full gain in hope to get best depth.
Karl

I tried a 9x14 NF Advantage a while back, got a long loud tone for around 10-15 seconds before it went to the normal humming tone, there's something mentioned in the user instructions about it. That was before I fitted the con switch & the only other coil I've put on it since then is the RB, no long start up tone with that though, so think its because the RB is made for the Whites.
When I switch it on I just get the normal tone, no squealing or nothing, its been like that from new. I know it was one of the newer versions with hiccup mod etc done from factory, but not sure what the go is with this C42 mod, was that something they done from factory with the newer detectors.

davent said:

Went out today with all intentions of testing the razorback. Conditions were really wet and difficult. Very hard, lot of false readings. Once I got a great signal, a split second before a bright flash of lightning. Setting the frequency was really hard, matched what sounded the same to me, then ground balance seemed really easy, had to set threshold just below earshot. Had a fair bit of noise, every tuft of grass I hit with the coil resulted in an zip, every time I touched the ground I got a zip, I ran over a beer can, and got what seemed to be a deleyed zip, this happend every time I came accross a can. Last time I went near a can, I got a real loud and long zip before I had to move the coil away.....this time, just a deleyed single zip.....?

Found a bullet, projectile and a small shotgun pellet, iron not lead......no gold again, too hard, wait till next dry season now. q

Click to expand...

Not the best day for detecting up your way by the sounds of it Adrian, not sure if I'd want to be out there with the lightning around, would sure cause a bit of EMI one would think.
Bit hot down this way to go out, mid 30's yesterday, 39 today & meant to be 39 tomorrow (Sat) but will probably be 40+, Sunday is meant to start cooling down a bit so hopefully will be alright to get out for a few hours though.
Hope you get a few more decent days up there so you can get out a bit more.

Take it easy.
Paul.

thanks Paul, I'm Dave btw.
Sounds like you should be out panning, mixed in with the detecting, that way you could dive in to cool off.......lord knows Ive been tempted up here, but with the snapping handbags around, not a good idea....

davent said:

thanks Paul, I'm Dave btw.
Sounds like you should be out panning, mixed in with the detecting, that way you could dive in to cool off.......lord knows Ive been tempted up here, but with the snapping handbags around, not a good idea....

Click to expand...

Haha, not sure why I wrote the wrong name there, must be the heat.
Yeah got a couple of pans, just need to find a good place with some water. Went to a spot not long back but got nothing, although I'm only just starting with the panning & the creek may have been a bit far from goldfields, not sure how far gold travels in a stream, might just have to dig deeper as I think there was a lead near by.

ozziii said:

I tried a 9x14 NF Advantage a while back, got a long loud tone for around 10-15 seconds before it went to the normal humming tone, there's something mentioned in the user instructions about it. That was before I fitted the con switch & the only other coil I've put on it since then is the RB, no long start up tone with that though, so think its because the RB is made for the Whites.
When I switch it on I just get the normal tone, no squealing or nothing, its been like that from new. I know it was one of the newer versions with hiccup mod etc done from factory, but not sure what the go is with this C42 mod, was that something they done from factory with the newer detectors.

Click to expand...

ozziii, don't worry about C42, your latest upgrade SPP is cured of all the earlier issues, plus you have the con switch, all good,
Adrian.