SunriseBoy said:
Clermont is quite mineralised. You'd probably find that the 11" ( being less sensitive) would be the pick of the coils up there.
Minelab Eureka gold tips, settings, questions
Help Support Prospecting Australia:
Clermont is quite mineralised. You'd probably find that the 11" ( being less sensitive) would be the pick of the coils up there.
Pawny, the stock coil does just fine. I'd learn the unit with that until you get familiar with it.
Regarding training, ring a few NSW dealers and see if any of them offer that with purchase. I do 1 on 1 training, but I'm here in Adelaide.
Regarding training, ring a few NSW dealers and see if any of them offer that with purchase. I do 1 on 1 training, but I'm here in Adelaide.
G
Guest
Will someone tell me how long it takes for the battery to charge on the EG? I used it for about half an hour yesterday and it started to make a lot of very funny, repetitive noises.
The instruction manual says 12-14 hours to fully recharge the NiMH battery pack from dead flat. Then it should last 15 - 20 hours detecting. I used to keep a log of hours spent detecting and found this claim to be accurate as the battery usually went flat after 18-20 hours work. I would recharge it overnight say 8 to 10 hours and I would then get another 18 to 20 hours work from the battery. I do not store the battery in the machine while not in use as I think this will deplete the charge. I got a bit slack with the log and had the battery go flat twice while out detecting and sadly had to return home early. I now have a spare power pack charged and ready to go that way I just swap over to the new pack and continue detecting and I don't have to keep a log of hours spent detecting. I just have to remember to recharge the flat pack when I get home. I got the spare pack for another reason also. I think rechargeable systems have a limited lifespan and I think it is linked to the number of recharges that you do. So the two power packs allow me to get full use from each recharge and I don't have to un-necessarily top the battery up each time I go out to avoid a flat power pack in the field.
Your power pack is not dead flat just too low to effectively run your machine so an overnight charge of say 8-10 hours should be enough. Keep a log of the time as I did and you should avoid a flat battery in the field. If you get into the detecting in a serious way you may consider buying a second power pack.
Cheers Bob.
Your power pack is not dead flat just too low to effectively run your machine so an overnight charge of say 8-10 hours should be enough. Keep a log of the time as I did and you should avoid a flat battery in the field. If you get into the detecting in a serious way you may consider buying a second power pack.
Cheers Bob.
G
Guest
Great advice Bob. Thanks for that.
G
Guest
Hell, I hope Bob starts finding a bit of colour! It'll put me out of my misery waiting for some results and help him pay a bit of his fuel bill.
SunriseBoy
To find it you have to go looking. Unfortunately I have not been out for a month or so due to a severe lack of free time. This is not a good thing as I think the more detecting you do the better you get. I find if I can get out once a week on a regular basis by about the third week I seem to have the detector running well straight up and I find more of the small quiet targets. I then usually feel satisfied that I have put in an effective day. After a break it takes a session or two to get the swing, threshold and sensitivity working at their best combination to identify the quieter targets. You also need to adjust to the effects of mineralisation and hot rocks. Hopefully I will be able to clear the jobs list and get out soon. Don't worry, if I have some success you'll hear about it. Any helpful hints that I discover I will also post.
I hope the info I gave is giving you good run time from each battery charge. I'm no expert I have just recorded my experiences here in the hope that it will help others, because when I first started and it still seems to be the case, all the talk and help was about P.I. machines. Even though I have not found gold with the detector I enjoy going out and I am lucky in that I do not have to travel far. I always think that If I do not find gold on this trip then maybe I will on the next one. Even though I haven't been out for a month or so I am still researching, planning and plotting GPS co-ordinates for the next outing, then as soon as I have a free day I can just load up the car and go. I remain optimistic about my chances of finding some gold and hopefully the next trip will be the one.
Cheers Bob
To find it you have to go looking. Unfortunately I have not been out for a month or so due to a severe lack of free time. This is not a good thing as I think the more detecting you do the better you get. I find if I can get out once a week on a regular basis by about the third week I seem to have the detector running well straight up and I find more of the small quiet targets. I then usually feel satisfied that I have put in an effective day. After a break it takes a session or two to get the swing, threshold and sensitivity working at their best combination to identify the quieter targets. You also need to adjust to the effects of mineralisation and hot rocks. Hopefully I will be able to clear the jobs list and get out soon. Don't worry, if I have some success you'll hear about it. Any helpful hints that I discover I will also post.
I hope the info I gave is giving you good run time from each battery charge. I'm no expert I have just recorded my experiences here in the hope that it will help others, because when I first started and it still seems to be the case, all the talk and help was about P.I. machines. Even though I have not found gold with the detector I enjoy going out and I am lucky in that I do not have to travel far. I always think that If I do not find gold on this trip then maybe I will on the next one. Even though I haven't been out for a month or so I am still researching, planning and plotting GPS co-ordinates for the next outing, then as soon as I have a free day I can just load up the car and go. I remain optimistic about my chances of finding some gold and hopefully the next trip will be the one.
Cheers Bob
G
Guest
Thanks for the kind words Bob. That Steve H. guy has got such a great site going here and it attracts all the characters who want to see others get on their way OK. But I think he needs a holiday; he's starting to suffer from "review burn-out".
It's interesting you say how if you can get out regularly once a week or so, you start to appear to get into a bit of a rhythm. Well, I dowse and do map location for gold. And I find when I'm doing it regularly, and for me that's six days a week; I find that I begin to tune in quickly and more effectively. And I'd encourage all the detectors to learn about the principles of Radiesthesia and Radionics because metal detecting is the same deal. The operator really is the main game. The machine is only a compass or dowsing rod or pendulum. And that is evidenced by the fact that some guys using, for example, an el cheapo detector their wife found in a garage sale for $30 find quite a nice few nuggets from time to time and outdoing others who've gone and spent anywhere between 2 and 3K for particular devices. If you start a bit of map location/dowsing work you'll get your machine to work a whole lot better. There's a real subconscious connection to be made there, irrespective of what the nay-sayers might like to say.
It is my observation that the operator is what does the job. The type of machine is very incidental. When people 'tune in' to what's actually going on within themselves that's when they will start to hit pay dirt.
And please find a couple of nuggets...it's driving me nuts to hear when you get home there's no colour to be spoken of.
Anyway Bob, good hunting. And don't drink too much. Come to think of it, don't drink too little.
Best regards....Robin
It's interesting you say how if you can get out regularly once a week or so, you start to appear to get into a bit of a rhythm. Well, I dowse and do map location for gold. And I find when I'm doing it regularly, and for me that's six days a week; I find that I begin to tune in quickly and more effectively. And I'd encourage all the detectors to learn about the principles of Radiesthesia and Radionics because metal detecting is the same deal. The operator really is the main game. The machine is only a compass or dowsing rod or pendulum. And that is evidenced by the fact that some guys using, for example, an el cheapo detector their wife found in a garage sale for $30 find quite a nice few nuggets from time to time and outdoing others who've gone and spent anywhere between 2 and 3K for particular devices. If you start a bit of map location/dowsing work you'll get your machine to work a whole lot better. There's a real subconscious connection to be made there, irrespective of what the nay-sayers might like to say.
It is my observation that the operator is what does the job. The type of machine is very incidental. When people 'tune in' to what's actually going on within themselves that's when they will start to hit pay dirt.
And please find a couple of nuggets...it's driving me nuts to hear when you get home there's no colour to be spoken of.
Anyway Bob, good hunting. And don't drink too much. Come to think of it, don't drink too little.
Best regards....Robin
i live in an area that is full of quartz veins ..i am thinking of buying a gold bug 2 to wave it over the veins ....millions of them around tho i would say 99.999 percent are baren
but with the aussie dollar as it is i am thinking of buying the six inch coiltek coil for my xt1800 ---(much the same as the eureka - same three frequencies)
question.....whatt experience have others had with the six inch coil on the high frequency ...what size gold has it picked up for you
but with the aussie dollar as it is i am thinking of buying the six inch coiltek coil for my xt1800 ---(much the same as the eureka - same three frequencies)
question.....whatt experience have others had with the six inch coil on the high frequency ...what size gold has it picked up for you
In my opinion a gold VLF is best used as a tool for three different scenarios:
1. Trashy areas
2. Bedrock sniping
3. On reefy/porous gold
The problem is, no single VLF will excel at all those tasks.
The X-terra 70/705 and MXT would be the most versatile all-rounders but both have an Achilles heel when it comes to satisfying scenario 3. An operating freq under 20 khz is not going to be any better on specimen or porous gold than a good modern PI is (especially the SDC). Maybe in non-mineralised soils where you can really crank up the Sensitivity the 15-20 kHz VLF's can still do okay, but I'd put my money on a Goldmaster's 50 kHz or Eureka's 60 kHz any day of the week.
But to try and answer your question Steve, I think a VLF may work okay, but it is just too limiting. Even in spots where they may appear to be working okay they are not punching into the ground. For your budget I'd say snap up a SD2100 (preferably an "e" or V2 version as they are newer). Put on a good set of headphones and a 10x5" mono and you will be running smoother and deeper than most VLF's and will still get very good sensitivity.
If your budget can extend to a GP extreme, than even better. But if you'd rather buy new, the only PI in that price range is the Whites SPP. I haven't used one so can't comment on how it will perform.
1. Trashy areas
2. Bedrock sniping
3. On reefy/porous gold
The problem is, no single VLF will excel at all those tasks.
The X-terra 70/705 and MXT would be the most versatile all-rounders but both have an Achilles heel when it comes to satisfying scenario 3. An operating freq under 20 khz is not going to be any better on specimen or porous gold than a good modern PI is (especially the SDC). Maybe in non-mineralised soils where you can really crank up the Sensitivity the 15-20 kHz VLF's can still do okay, but I'd put my money on a Goldmaster's 50 kHz or Eureka's 60 kHz any day of the week.
But to try and answer your question Steve, I think a VLF may work okay, but it is just too limiting. Even in spots where they may appear to be working okay they are not punching into the ground. For your budget I'd say snap up a SD2100 (preferably an "e" or V2 version as they are newer). Put on a good set of headphones and a 10x5" mono and you will be running smoother and deeper than most VLF's and will still get very good sensitivity.
If your budget can extend to a GP extreme, than even better. But if you'd rather buy new, the only PI in that price range is the Whites SPP. I haven't used one so can't comment on how it will perform.
mickance said:
The 6" coiltek is great in the 60 kHz of the Eureka and 18000. In Boost it will give the Gold Bug 2 a run for it's money, but will run a lot smoother. If you're scanning quartz veins, 60 kHz, Boost and 6" coil will be a hot combo.
I haven't used mine at all since getting the SDC2300, but I've done some tests with it and runs stable and has a very sharp response. Only loses about half a cm of depth compared to the stock 10x5" coil on larger gold.
mickance said:
Which model XT18000 do you have Mick, early or late?
The early models have a blank face tone dial and shut/down -blank out over severe ironstone outcrop and large targets , they are more sensitive in 60khz and 20khz than the late models,,, .....The late model XT18000's have the white stripe on the face of the tone dial, and have improved digital componartry in them thanks to an American Minelab hired to improve them. The late models do not overload and have less sensitivity in them than early models in the 2 higher frequencies, and a much lower audio and have to run with an Amp .... But they have a beautiful 6.4khz when matched with a 14.5 inch WOT coil and will rock and roll in hot ground and hit every target an SD 2200d will, at any depth.
I only ask because if it's an early model with high audio, the little 6" coiltek will be a perfect match in high 60khz. But I wouldn't waste the money should you have a late model, it won't improve sensitivity in the two higher freq's on it.
I have a late model 18000. In mineralisation the stability of it leaves my Goldstriker to shame. However in quieter ground the Goldstriker's audio is superior. You ever used the Goldstriker Argyle?
Yeah a few of them Nenad,, they weren't a big seller here due to the twin freq xt17000's, and were more directed to the American market at the time, ( they got better coil choices with them too) and plenty of closet sitting Goldstrikers came on the market pretty quick. My first was new, but like you say... they couldn't cruise on heavy ground at all... but must have had a more sensitive processor correlation than the 17000 because the 32khz on the Goldstriker was heaps more sensitive on the mullock than the 32 khz on the 17000.
Could've been a slower tracking speed or slower retune speed, but it was/is also the modulated audio that makes the tiny bits stand out more on the Goldstriker. Perfect for mild ground. For hotter ground I have other tools 
i am unsure as i lost the tone dial ..when i pulled it apart to put a dodgey battery setup that works fine ...i just went to jayco and boufgt an everyday aa battery holder for about 2 dollars instead of genuine item ...i just tape it to the control box ...ugly but works great
70617 is the serial number on it ...i bought it from the usa when the aussie dollar was strong
only issue is i dont think my ferrous metal switch works but no drama all metal is ok
cheers
70617 is the serial number on it ...i bought it from the usa when the aussie dollar was strong
only issue is i dont think my ferrous metal switch works but no drama all metal is ok
cheers
PhaseTech said:Could've been a slower tracking speed or slower retune speed, but it was/is also the modulated audio that makes the tiny bits stand out more on the Goldstriker. Perfect for mild ground. For hotter ground I have other tools
Yep, definitely a slightly different audio.
As you know, Audio has always been Minelab's strongpoint with their entire VLF range, PI range too.
No coincidence that Bruce Candy's best love was Amplification with Suppressed Audio. Even on very Low Audio units like the Late Model XT18000 and SD 2200d, when amplification was bought into play (aftermarket) you could sense the Internal Suppression doing it's job within the Threshold.
Not many people seem to know that it was the Dual freq 8khz and 19.5khz Eureka Ace (I call them Dual Aces because it rolls off the tongue better) that really kick started both the VLF and PI range, and allowed us to work at depth over the fair dinkum Hot Ground.
There's a very good reason Bruce had his picture taken with one,,, he was Damn proud of it!
Whenever I have a Minelab unit in my ears Nenad, 5000, SDC, 3000, GT/FT, XT 18000 ect.... I always hear a Dual Ace. Exactly the same sound..... He even knew where to set the Tone of the Threshold on those early Ace units for perfect at-depth signal responses! How's that for craftsmanship.
The only unit ever made that you could ride the manual ground balance on the fly without interference to other components, to act like ground tracking,,, only with more precision than auto tracking and before it was invented/introduced.
You'd get a big surprise running one of the Ace's with the 6" or 8" coil in 8khz head to head with your SDC on hot ground.
I'll talk you out of those Boost/Fine/Enhance settings someday Nenad, and have a friendly discussion regarding the Golden Hawk too.
Minelab never put on a true high level sensitivity/gain control on the VLF range, only the silly Signal Boost setting. They knew the highest level of Sensitivity needed to keep the units stable and ran with it.
Now we are seeing, in the past couple of years, high gain mid freq European and Amercan units that will blow away our VLF's and PI's on the mullock for depth on small to mid nuggets and specimen gold,,, and I dont mean porous gold ( Ive never hit or seen gold in porous form, there's not much of it, and what most are calling porous is really only rough or a fine reef gold/ironstone mix).
I've tested/used/general detected with nearly every one of these and Wow... deadly on mullock ! Hitting with hard hits at twice the depth.... But bloody useless on real ground, and I mean useless as the coils cannot be placed within 8" of the ground.
Except for two units, an EDS and an F19...which can utilized to work ground, not as easily or well as a minelab vlf, but passable. The little specie in the pic, the EDS hit with a scream on medium ground, the SDC murmured.
But the SDC worked this ground so well that it would have hit it much much deeper, it was one of those SDC "I'm hittin it and I could hit it deeper pal" type signal with it.
Have a good one...
mickance said:
Hi Mick.
You'll know if you have a true late model 18000,,,, if you run the coil down the side of a car, it won't blank out and shut down, and will recover almost instantly when you drop off the end.
But don't worry if it's an early un-improved unit as they are more sensitive in 20 and especially in 60khz, and nice high audio.
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