Just currious has anyone air tested there machine on a vile of gold flake?

[vaquero44]

I don't know if its good or bad but have been testing my vista gold and i can get 3" away from coil on gold flake in a vile just wondering is this good or bad also tried a whites V3i and my rg1000 you almost had to touch the coils on other 2 just currious what the at gold and fisher gold bug and g-2 are getting and others?

 

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[shepcal]

I've never done it, not looking for lost vials of gold ;-) . Although, there is a quantity of gold, there is no solid mass. From what I've read, I use a Minelab PI predominately and there are sponge gold nuggets out there that a Minelab won't pick up, but a Goldmaster will. Hear there are detectors that won't pick up a gold chain either (no mass), but don't look for chains either.
If it picks up a 1/2 gram nugget or bird shot, I wouldn't worry, but just my .02 worth

Shep

 

[vaquero44]

hey Shep thanks for your input, just really starting to get into gold prospecting and trying to get an idea on how small gold detectors will pick up?

 

[Hoser John]

Air tests are worthless as all/any detector can find gold in the air,just never found any gold in the air thats all. A detectors ability to groundbalance and tune out electrical interference is the true gage of any units worth. Take a 1/10 dwt nugget in a bag of black sand to the store and try again for true infield results--and yes I know no plastic in the boonies and doubt if store owner will let ya plop it on down on his floor,a lil'tub to contail it all works good also--John

 

[2cmorau]

rather spend my day on my knees picking grains, then hopeful on my feet looking for a penny.
take a 1 dwt and lay it flat wooooooo hooooo find it just fine
now lay it on edge oooh ouh
don't take my word for it use lead or even a nickle
plkace flat and then on edge see what happens

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hoser has given you some good advice. I've air tested flakes in vials, and yes, the machine will pick them up. But, when you're in the gold fields, the ground mineralization (the black sand Hoser's talking about will replicate those ground conditions to some extent) and the interference will weed out the good detectors from the weak ones that appear strong in the store "detecting gold in the air".

Buy a great gold detector and you'll never be sorry--they're proven and made to find gold in extreme conditions--stay away from the wannabe's. If the ground is super-hot and extreme--I'd recommend you go PI. If very mild to hot, the Bug 2 is an amazing little VLF. I snagged a nice fat nugget this summer, and some smaller companions, in ground that was too hot for the VLF's, but my PI found it just fine. However, a lot of gold has come out of that area from nugget shooters that use VLF's, as the majority of the ground is mild to hot.

The nice thing about a top-end VLF is that you'll pay far, far less than for a top-end PI, and have tons of fun along the way and learn tons about nugget shooting as well. Save the big bucks for when you've learned the craft well and you've got some super-hot gold-bearing ground that overloads your VLF--then make your decision.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[vaquero44]

Hey lanny i thank you for the great info this new vista gold is pretty neat and i just would like to get my hands on some black sand to try and see how it stabilze i know air testing is just that but to me i would think it would give you some inclination on how at least your machines sensitivity is?

 

[Lanny in AB]

You can order black sand and gold off of ebay--check out the seller's rating and give it a try. Some great online sellers as well.

Air testing will give you an idea of the sensitivity, but only in the air. The black sand/extreme ground conditions and electronic interference will severely diminish your machine's ability to see the gold. That's why others have told you that air testing only tells you how well your machine will find gold in the air--not in real gold-field conditions. Hoser's suggestion to get some black sand will let you have some kind of a pseudo experience with your detector to see how well it will "see" the gold when it's not in the air--this includes the sensitivity (how well it will see the gold in mineralization).

All the best,

Lanny

 

[vaquero44]

Hey thanks alot Lanny i've been looking to get some black sand and wasn't sure where to get it and this will tell for sure, mat you find lots of gold my friend

 

[Lanny in AB]

No problem Vaquero--I hope you find lots of gold as well.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Gramps43]

Hey Shep I like your beard, I've been working on mine now for a while got about 2" right now. The wife don't like it says she doesn't like kissing a hairy face, so I reckon we're at a standoff, she won't boogie no more and T ain't gona shave.

Gramps