Exterra 70 micro gold

[Neilo]

I went out today over some diggings which have mild mineralisation and I was able to find 3 small nuggets total weight 0.2 grms one piece in particular was so tiny it was only half the size of a pinhead. I was using the Machine at maximum sensitivity.Maximum volume, Threshold down to 2, running in tracking. I was using Killer Bee headphones with the volume turned down. The secret is to swing very slowly and maintain consistant coil height above the ground. Listen out for small signals which are there consistantly on both left and right swings. I found that having the Threshold set to setting 2 the machine was much more sensitive. The Killer Bee headphones are more responsive and Ideal in this situation plus they also have a sound limiting feature which stops you getting you ears damaged on loud signals. Seeya Neilo

 

[Beale]

Good work! Gold is gold! Beale.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Which coil were you using?

 

[Crocket]

I am impressed...WTG

 

[cymro]

Very impressive, thank you for the informative post I will try a lower threshold up to now I have never got below 4. I'm guessing you were using the elliptical HF coil?

cheers
Dave

 

[Neilo]

Hi I was using the little 6 inch round dd hf coil, I was impressed, I picked the largest nugget 0.1 grms at about 6inch deep the others were with an inch of the surface. seeya neilo

 

[Terra1959]

Neil,

good one
i didnt think you used an xt70 anymore once you got the trac
nicely done, micro or not- its enough to put a smile on ya dial.
thanks for the settings info.

t59

 

[cymro]

Hi I was using the little 6 inch round dd hf coil, I was impressed, I picked the largest nugget 0.1 grms at about 6inch deep the others were with an inch of the surface. seeya neilo

Thanks for the information I do have the 6in HF coil and will give that a spin, on some ground that I have bee prospecting, with ought any success so far.
cheers

Dave

 

[Neilo]

Yes I do have an Etrac, I mainly kept the Exterra for my wife to use when coin hunting. But now I can see myself using it much more often when looking for small gold over old diggings. Its interesting to note. The area where I found this tiny gold I had also just gone over an hour before very thoroughly with my GP3500 with a little 6inch Coiltek coil and had missed them, yet they came through clearly with the Exterra. seeya neilo

 

[David]

That is very interesting info Neilo and thanks you for sharing. I gather you were obviously in Prospecting Mode of course, maybe with the AM (All Metal) setting.

I also went over a spot with some mild mineralization lately with Koss UR-30 headphones(I do not have Killer B's but I DO want some) on my X-70 & 5x10" HF DD(I do not have the 6" HF DD). I then used my GP-3000 & Nugget Finder 5x10" Mono(I do not have the CoilTek GoldStalker 6" Mono). No gold with either machine in that spot. A VLF will inheritly pick smaller micro gold(and finer gold specimens) than a PI machine by nature.

I also know from a previous report by someone else that the X-70(5) is an underrated machine and will find smaller gold than people realize, rivalling the GMT and Gold Bug-2 for micro gold.=>: Neilo wrote, "I went out today over some diggings which have mild mineralisation and I was able to find 3 small nuggets total weight 0.2 grms one piece in particular was so tiny it was only half the size of a pinhead." and "I was using the little 6 inch round dd hf coil, I was impressed, I picked the largest nugget 0.1 grms at about 6 inch deep the others were with an inch of the surface."

BUT as you know mild mineralization(and very few hot rocks) is the key because high mineralization(and lots of hot rocks) is the downfall(nemesis) of VLF machines while hunting for natural gold, as PI machines work much better in this very bad mineral ground.

I will have to try your settings.=> "Maximum Sensitivity, Maximum Volume, Threshold down to 2, running in Tracking. The secret is to swing very slowly and maintain consistant coil height above the ground. Listen out for small signals which are there consistantly on both left and right swings."


Neilo, do you find the Sound Limiting feature on the headphones negatively effects the finding of micro gold?? (I say this because headphone manufacturers advertise that their headphones without a Sound Limiter(wide open sound) is best for nugget hunting, so I was just wondering?)

Yes I do know that Sound Limiting is sure nice to stop loud blasts on the ears!

 

[Neilo]

I havent noticed any reduction in performance of signals with the safety sound limiting on the Killer Bees activated. By turning the volume down on the headphones themselves with the volume on the detector at maximum it becomes easier to pick true signals from ground noises which are more plentiful when the machine is run at high sensitivity settings. I also recommend using a small test nugget buried about an inch under the surface to set your machine up. I use a small 0.1grm nugget and every hour or so I will use it to check my settings. It is surprising how different mineralisation can affect the performance of the machine. Some times a slight change of threshold can also help highlight faint signals. Setting the tone is also important, this should be adjusted to the point to suit your ears so that signals are more easily identified. If set too high or low it is easy to miss faint signals. Hope this helps seeya Neilo

 

[TURNMASTER]

Thanks for the input Neilo. Your explaination sugests that we are not looking for just a break in the Threshold but an actual signal. Others have posted that you may be just looking for a break in the threshold. I guess I had better go find fome gold to test new knowledge on.

Jeff