nero_design
New member
Okay, I did it. Today, after reading the posts here on the forum and contemplating the suggestions and advice given, I went out and picked up the DD 6" HF coil for the X-Terra 70 as well as one of those wacky new gold pans everyone is talking about.
First thing I have to report is what other owners have noticed - that the new 6" coil is incredibly sensitive... I almost expected a larger coil to be more sensitive but this little coil is designed for the tighter places in a creek or stream. My biggest problem was finding a small enough nugget to test it with... and this is about the smallest I had... just 0.02 gram in weight.
To show you just how small a target this is, I've photographed this mini 'nugget' both on the scales to confirm weight and then next to a 2 gram nugget to show the scale difference. The camera makes them look a lot bigger but next to the two grammer, this tiny little 0.02 gram 'micro-nugget' gave me a far clearer signal than I expected. I expect this 6" coil should allow me to find quarter-gram nuggets or larger wedged under light gravel, in cracks in the bedrock or under stones.
As noted by others, Prospector Mode is much more sensitive to the presence of nuggets than Relic/Coin-Mode when using this coil. The mini nugget triggered a 4 & 6 on the Target ID with Stabilizer ON. I was also able to pick up on some fine gold particles in a sample I have which were probably .1 of a gram. But that sort of thing I can find panning. I was impressed that it was able to detect a 0.02g nugget - or should that be micro-nugget? It's a fairly clear signal and even the targeting mode can pinpoint it. Bear in mind that these were 'air-tests'... but I'm willing to bet that in a shallow creek, this coil gives me a great opportunity to find small gold (or larger) which would have eluded detectorists in similar locations using traditional techniques with typical unsealed ground coils.
I also obtained a $30 stainless steel Yabbie (bait) pump and bought some PVC plumbing accessories from the hardware store to make a gold sucker or 'crevice sucker' out of it. I made two different tube endings for it to allow me to suck up coarse gravel as well as get into tighter cracks and crevices. I tried scraping the cracks with my knife but couldn't get the particles to land in my pan. I even tried my spoon with not much luck. I wished I'd bought something like the Bait Pump with me at the time.
I'll leave for a field test in about two days when my friend gets free time. The creek I'll be prospecting in showed me a half dozen strong particles of fine gold in just one pan last week before I had to leave. I'll spend a day following the creek and sampling the bedrock where possible. I'll get a chance to test this unusual looking gold pan too... now that alone should be interesting They're on eBay now ('Gold Rush Pro Series Pan') for around $20 at the moment as well. But why did they have to make it bright Blue? I thought Black & Green were better for identifying gold particles.
