newbi with fishers new gold bug

Hey Lanny,
Thanks for the info on the goldbugII, I was thinking alot about going with it from what Terry and others were saying about it, and you chimeing in about it, my concern with it is that it dosen't have the auto ground balance that a newbi like me may have trouble with, and will the high freq miss deeper gold. THe gold where I hunt tends to be smaller but I'm the type of person thats willing to go any where to hunt, do you think the learning curve of the gold bugII is worth it,It amazes me that the gold bug II beats out your 5000 that is sure convincing. Thanks for the input, its much needed .Toddles
PS is the gold bug II 6.5 coil smaller than the 5.5x10 coil of the eureka gold?
 

The 5000 is a different machine for a much broader application than the Bug II; because it is a pulse machine, it will hunt ground the Goldbug can't operate in. I find gold where people with the Goldbugs can't. But, if you're in an area of small gold, it wouldn't do to buy a 5000--you need to be in an area that justifies the purchase.

As far as learning ground balancing, read, observe, and learn. Once you learn how to ground balance a machine, it's not that difficult to continue doing so. Get on a Goldbug thread and ask questions, watch videos, read up on it. Lots of people have learned how, and they were rookies too. If you've got your heart set on auto-ground balance, then that's probably the way you need to go. I'm just saying that you don't need to not buy a proven gold machine because it has manual ground balance.

As far as deep detecting or shallow detecting go, they've both got their tradeoffs. I've dug a lot of deep holes, and I've found a lot of gold very near the surface. Study the history of the goldfields you plan on detecting and find out how the gold is deposited (is the majority of it shallow or deep?). Find out how extreme the ground mineralization is, etc.

When you decide on your machine, let us know.

All the best,

Lanny
 

Toddles,
What a day spent out in the sunshine with you though it was in your driveway under my Bronco pulling the tank down to replace the fuel pump. You really out did your "good thing for the day" quota and thank you so much for the help.

The Gold Bug ll will be a great machine for you. Hope you and Mama get out to lots of places with it!

Your "dip box" looks great, well done and now all you need is the carpet for it. If you did not purchase it yourself then you should have found some at your front door along with a small section of the grooved rubber mat. Both of these came from Orchard supply in Watsonville, the one so very close to Highway 1. Good Luck!

What a wonderful day................63bkpkr
 

Hey 63bkpkr,

I want to thank you for allowing me to serve my fellow man, if you're ever in need, NEVER hesitate to ask, my friend.
You really shoud'nt bought that carpet brother, but it is perfect. Thanks again. I can't wait to use my newfangled high banker/sluice box I made, hope it works? never seen anything like it. You let the cat out of the bag, last night I purchased the Gold Bug II from kellyco I should see it in the mail next sat. I so can't wait, I've got the fever, I've taken Lanny's advise and already read the instruction manual once and I'm getting ready to read it again. Thanks to all again I'll keep you in touch with my gold finds happy hunting.
Toddles1
 

toddles1 said:
Hey Lanny,
Thanks for the info on the goldbugII, I was thinking alot about going with it from what Terry and others were saying about it, and you chimeing in about it, my concern with it is that it dosen't have the auto ground balance that a newbi like me may have trouble with, and will the high freq miss deeper gold. THe gold where I hunt tends to be smaller but I'm the type of person thats willing to go any where to hunt, do you think the learning curve of the gold bugII is worth it,It amazes me that the gold bug II beats out your 5000 that is sure convincing. Thanks for the input, its much needed .Toddles
PS is the gold bug II 6.5 coil smaller than the 5.5x10 coil of the eureka gold?
Toddles, Even Whites says in their manual for the GMT (page 17) is that to get the really small gold, turn off the auto balance. TTC
 

toddles1 said:
Hey 63bkpkr,

I want to thank you for allowing me to serve my fellow man, if you're ever in need, NEVER hesitate to ask, my friend.
You really shoud'nt bought that carpet brother, but it is perfect. Thanks again. I can't wait to use my newfangled high banker/sluice box I made, hope it works? never seen anything like it. You let the cat out of the bag, last night I purchased the Gold Bug II from kellyco I should see it in the mail next sat. I so can't wait, I've got the fever, I've taken Lanny's advise and already read the instruction manual once and I'm getting ready to read it again. Thanks to all again I'll keep you in touch with my gold finds happy hunting.
Toddles1

Read it until you (please excuse the cliché) know it like the back of your hand--then read it some more . . ., then get on a Goldbug forum (where the specialized pros hang out) and ask lots of learning-driven questions.

All the best,

Lanny
 

Hey all
I took lanny's, terry's,bkpr63, and many others advise, I decided to go with the gold bugII' it showed up last weekend ,I had already read the manuel three times, watched countless utube videos, including one put out by terry,very helpful by the way,before it even arrived, doing those things sure made it easy to start using, I'm taking it out almost every night and running it around the yard, the manual ground balance is actually pretty easy to get used too, just working around the yard with it I'm seeing how often ground balancing is needed, without this forum it would of taking me forever to figure that out, thanks again guys.

The bug sure is sensitive, I,ve found aluminum foil1/2 the size of a piece of rice, #6 bird shot i threw in the weeds, 22 shells ,and it can find my piece of gold smaller than the #6 birdshot I glued to a poker chip 2'' under the ground. Impressive, That audio boost switch sure is nice If the weather holds out I'm going to try it out in the mountians this weekend, can't wait, I'll let you know how it goes.

By the way I bought the 6.5" and the 10'' coil. I think that small coil will work well where I go
Thanks Toddles
 

You did GOOD! One more suggestion... RECORD your hours and use. You will learn from your own notes! You will see the learning curve go up because you will have the results in black and white. 'nough said. Tnx. TTC
 

hey all

I didn't get to go into the mountians as planned to check out my new gold bug II, weather didn't hold out, but I took it to the beach with the 10" coil and I was pretty impressed with its abilities, I had to increase the mineralization switch and lower the sensitivity a bit to keep the chatter down ,found lots of foil, fairly deep, I was amazed how deep,and how small of pieces :( , found some brass, best of all some change, CAA CHING , I'm on my way to my return on investment LOL, this trip might have been quite different without the advise of you good people in this forum, I found myself constantly ground balancing, but what a difference it makes, I have really come to like the ease and fine tunning this machine has, I can't wait to hit the gold areas with it, my fever is running pretty high at the moment, only cure is that pure mountian air. I'll keep practicing, need all the help I can get, good luck to you all, and good hunting.
Toddles1
 

VLFs don't handle saltwater very well. Salt beaches are the domain of the PI machines.... but that is another story! TTC
 

Glad you found some metal items, and glad you're getting a handle on your ground balance. As Terry said, if you were on a beach by the ocean, salt mineralization (conductivity) is a problem (were you by the ocean, or was it a fresh water beach?). Regardless, congratulations on getting your coil over some metallic objects, and congratulations on getting your machine out, and on taking what you've learned so far out in the field with you. It sounds like you're dedicated and that will take you a long way as you continue to study, learn, and apply that learning.

All the best,

Lanny
 

I was about 75 yards from the ocean its self , I'd been detecting in the back yard almost every day, got real used to the settings, man when I hit the beach totally different story, the salt in the sand sure reacted crazy, sure glad I did my research and reading I would have been clueless to what settings I needed, the practice I've been putting in made a big difference. The beach trip made me want to hit the mountians even more, that feeling I got when I found my first coin, what a rush, and that was just a nickle :D I only can imagine the zip over a piece of gold :laughing7: I know its not going to be easy but thats why I like prospecting, THE POSSIBILITIES!!! and metal detecting is adding a whole new weapon to the gold hunting game for me, Can't wait to put it to work, I'm going to need alot of help along the way
Toddles
 

If you've ever been fishing and landed a monster fish, mountain climbing and crested a breath-taking summit, cavern diving and made the deepest descent ever, you'll be able to relate to what it feels like to get your coil over that first nugget--it's a lifetime first you'll never forget.

Glad you were able to get a handle on the salt conductivity--it's a different animal, and I'm glad you're rarin' to get after the gold.

The knowledge you've gained and the practice you're garnering will go a long way toward you reaching that benchmark goal--finding your first nugget.

All the best,

Lanny
 

We are ready to help at any time. That is how we ALL started. I started detecting over 40 years ago. Only the rocking chair will stop me!n Go get your share! TTC
 

Hey Guys

Thanks for the advise and words of encouragement, I can't believe the knowledge that is gained on this forum, If I knew about this Years ago when I was introduced to gold panning my gold bootie would probably be much larger than it is now, then again I might have been divorced :D, not really, my dear wife enjoys gold hunting as much as I do, she was the one that encouraged me to buy the gold bug II, I sure can't beat that, well gotta go my metal detector callin time to practice good luck good hunting
Toddles
 

Toddles,
So you went out to the beach and found a coin, Good for you! Practice, practice & practice even when you know the machine well! This is my second full day back in Walnut Creek, what a change from Cruz.

Some of my prospecting supplies have come in but not all of them. I will be busy for about a week taking care of other things and then I will get to making the high banker setup. I found my "Keene Tanaka" 2.5hp motor with the P90 pump on it in my storage locker, only took me and hour of digging and found it up high where I'd thought it most likely would be. When I pulled it out of the box I noticed the spark plug hole had tape over it indicating I'd been a good boy and squirted some oil into the hole before mothballing the unit some 19 years ago, yup bought it in August 1992 used it three times. When I pulled the startrer rope, still no plug in the hole, the motor spun like a fine swiss watch, looks like I'm in business!

All the best to you my friend.............63bkpkr
 

Hey amigo,

You know you're making me jealous bout heading into the woods, I wish you all the best, sounds like a great adventure,
I'm trying to get as much practice as possible with my detector, it seems to be paying off, my comfort level is growing each day, can't wait to hit the gold hills, soon, very soon but until then, practice, practice, practice,good luck my friend good hunting, Toddles
 

Toddles 1,
Well my trip into the woods will not happen for awhile now! A little over a week ago the cfs on the river I frequent was at 200, yesterday afternoon it was at 4,500, this morning it was approaching 10,000 and right now as I word process it approaches 20,000 cubic feet per second. My Oh My!! Ok so we have a late winter again but the temperatures are quite changeable so goodness only knows what will take place in the next two weeks. Then two days ago I had a job interview, yahoo, and though I did not feel good coming away from it and still question it they will let my know by Wed of this coming week if I am their choice. Then stuff happening at Hefty's claim has put the brakes on there for a while so trip thoughts are totally blown out of the literal water. Can you allow your mind to consider a super amount of water coming out of the sky and cfs values jumping skyward as to what that means to hillsides and gullies? But man there is no going out there till these winter/spring storm flair ups subside as it is just too Dangerous!

I think I will just do some knitting.............63bkpkr

Addendum: Saturday, the water stopped just short of 20,000 cfs but shucks, that is still a whole bunch of water rushing down the hillsides into the river!
 

Herb, Just add a mask, snorkle, and wetsuit to your gear. Can't be more than say......hmmm...... 12 more pounds to carry in. What's a pound or two to the 63bckpkr? Ha! Stay thirsty, my friend! TTC
 

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