Gold - Glad I waited for F75

[steve herschbach]

Hi,

Alaska has places with lots of gold, and LOTS of iron trash, Ganes Creek being the most famous. A certain unit Dave Johnson had a hand in, the White's MXT, has been extremely successful at Ganes Creek. Excellent ground handling, great gold sensitivity, and superb discrimination.

When the T2 came out I wondered if it might also be a great Ganes Creek unit, but I took a pass and waited for the F75. And now this from NASA Tom:

* F-75 has up to 300% greater sensitivity to small gold (vs. T-2).

* F-75 has tremendous gain on small gold when Disc is reduced to '0'.

I am so glad I waited! What you need at Ganes is a machine that is light and well balanced so you can swing it 14 hours a day. A little larger than normal coil is good, for better ground coverage, but not so large as to throw out the balance and strain the arm. The machine needs to have a quick response time for a little faster swinging than normal. This all plays into my basic Ganes strategy of simply covering as much ground as possible to increase my odds of getting over a nugget.

And of course the machine needs to be hot on gold and have great iron id to eliminate wasting time and energy digging a ton of trash.

Sounds like I just described the F75!

Steve Herschbach

 

[AndyNM]

....but i wonder how the T2 user feel about that much better Fisher F75 ? Should be hard for the dealer to sell the old T2 stock now.....

Andy,NM

 

[Bobbylikesgold]

Hi Steve,

What I would like to know is, will the F75 be better on gold for depth then the other big name multi purpose units .

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Regards
Bobby.

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Bobby,

I have been using Minelab GP series machines for depth. They easily blow away multi-purpose units in that regard.

But at a place like Ganes the big Minelab guns have been less successful than units like the MXT and Gold Bug 2. There are some that would consider me one of the more successful nugget hunters in Alaska, and my strategy at a place like Ganes focuses far more on ground coverage than depth.

Let's say a given nugget can be hit at 12" with your detector, and only 10" with mine. What I do is try and cover way more ground than you. A couple inches of extra depth has got nothing over just plain going over more ground than the next guy. So at a place like Ganes I do favor light and speedy over depth. An Explorer is an example of a machine that weighs too much and must be swung too slow to make a good machine for my type of hunting.

But different strokes for different folks. I'm not saying my way is the only way or even the best way. It is just what works for me. And it appears to me the F75 will suit my style well.

I expect depth with the F75 to be on par with other top end units. Better in some places, and worse in others. VLF is tapped out for depth. I look to PI units for advancements in that regard.

Steve Herschbach

 

[bleeohio]

with the xterras. You couldn't give a 50 away after the 70 came out....

 

[Bobbylikesgold]

Yes Steve I do see your point about the minelabs PIs, Use a older SD myself , great for deeper ground but sometimes can't see what an 15 year old Whites GM2 can.

Got a feeling the F75 may surprise us on the depth question.

Many will be waiting for your opinion when you try it out !

Lets hope its something special on gold.

Bobby.

 

[Bill Ladd]

In limited time, I find it deeper than the T2 which was very hot/deep in it's own right.....

 

[Mr.Bill]

Hi Steve

I did a little testing with the small gold nuggets you had sent me a while back. A 3 grain, and a 5 grain. Grain, not grams.

In motion all metal mode It hit's at a solid 4" on the 3 grain, and 6"+ on the 5 grain.

In non motion all metal, although a bit unstable, increased the depth a good 1.5" on both nuggets.

In "0" discriminate mode there was a slight drop off from the 4" and 6" range.

If it handle the tough ground, it should be a winner for you.

 

[MattR]

Steve, to have lost almost 12 months of opportunistic usage of the T2 in whatever situation, is not good.

You cannot buy back time.​

I reckon that your finds would have easily accounted for the depreciation on a T2.
That is if you ever chose to sell it!

The T2 will be a 'must' back-up machine for guys following your gold trekking exploits.

Steve, can you give me a clue to typical gold nugget weight-dimensions?

I'm reading some of the F75 commentaries on tiny gold fragments, with cautious reserve.

I am a staunch supporter of 'in-air' data.

With that, and an understanding of soil matters, one can appreciate the likely losses to be expected if consideration is given also to ALL other factors.

I'd love to hear your account of a typical nugget searching exploit.
I'm not really interested in what was found, but rather the whole event......MattR.UK.

 

[Mr.Bill]

Matt

The nugget test I did with the F75, was with in the ground targets. I have the nuggets mounted on 12" wooden paint stirring sticks. I just buried them deeper.

Granted, it's in disturbed soil, as I just planted them, and the soil here is not the same as where Steve will be.

If you get a chance, test your T-2 with nuggets, you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

 

[Bill Ladd]

test it with one of your minature Celtic gold pieces....
it should be great on those I would think....
HH,
Bill

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Matt,

I did not lose any time. I have been detecting for 35 years, and currently have about a dozen detectors. I own or have owned most of the machines Dave Johnson had a hand in.

I'm not putting the T2 down. I'm expressing that I think the F75 sounds like the better unit for me, that's all.

I hunt gold weighing in 10ths of grains (480 grains per ounce) on up to multi-ounce chunks under widely varying conditions. My nugget detecting units for this summer will mainly be the Minelab GPX-4000 and SD2200v2, Fisher Gold Bug 2, and White's MXT. The F75 looks to fill the same role as my MXT. I have no expectation that the F75 will hit smaller gold than my Gold Bug 2, or that it will hit gold deeper than my GPX-4000/SD2200v2 combo. But it may be just the ticket for trashy areas.

If you do want to see what nugget hunting is all about then check out my online Journal at http://www.akmining.com/mine/steve.htm I chronicle a lot of my hunts from beginning to end along with photos.

Nugget detecting and looking for gold coins in the UK share certain issues. My friend seeker has been over your way a few times and done well. I'd like to make the trip someday myself.

Happy Huntng,

Steve Herschbach

 

[MahatMacoat]

n/t

 

[MattR]

Thanks Steve...I'm off to view........!

 

[Neil]

n/t

 

[Bill Ladd]

The ID Edge is light...weightwise, but the weight is not distributed as perfect as the F75. Even "light" units get built top heavy/coil heavy. You seriously have to hold an F75 to believe it....

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Neil,

The F75 is 3.5 lbs. with batteries. The key is the balance, however. White's units are heavier than most but have perfect balance due to the control box being under the arm. This results is less strain on your arm than machines weighing less that have top mounted control boxes. The F75 is medium weight but feels lighter than it is due to the balance.

If you want to test a machine for balance, just try to balance the control handle across your finger. You can literally hold a machine with good balance up with one finger. Most units are nose heavy however and will fall off. It does not seem like much but the effort involved in holding up a nose heavy unit results in far more strain than holding a unit of similar weight that is balanced correctly.

Steve Herschbach

 

[Neil]

n/t