White's Christmas - Matrix M6 in Hawaii

[steve herschbach]

Hi,

Alaskans love Hawaii. At least, my wife and I sure do. Winters in Alaska can be long, and my wife gets to missing sunny weather. I miss metal detecting for half the year! So a mid-winter break in the beautiful islands of Hawaii is a much welcome respite from the cold weather.

I

 

[robocoin]

Thanks for the great report. Sounded like you had a great trip. I normally use the 7 tones. Great for coin shooting in parks. The single tone is like using an Mxt. HH

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi,

After I wrote this report up I thought a bit about the M6 and how it fits in with the White's lineup. I think White's missed a bet by not shifting the M6 just a hair off-frequency from the MXT so as to keep the two units from cross-talking. I suspect lots of MXT owners might like the M6 as a second unit, and so that would have been a nice touch.

In Alaska we get lots of questions about nugget detecting. Here is what I posted on the Alaska Gold Forum regarding the M6:

"A question many Alaskans will ask is "how will the M6 do on gold nuggets"? This is a reasonable question since the M6 is based on the White's MXT, which has found many pounds of gold in Alaska. Just as the MXT is based on White's premier nugget detector, the GMT.

Here is a rough guide (my opinions only) on how to look at the White's selection as relating to nugget detecting -

1. White's GMT - 100% nugget detector, with only the rarest of applications for other types of detecting. For someone that wants to use the detector for nothing more than prospecting. Best sensitivity to small gold nuggets.

2. White's MXT - 60% coin, relic, and jewelry detector and 40% nugget detector. For the person who will mostly be looking for coins, relics, jewelry, etc. but who also will spend quite a bit of time using the detector to look for gold nuggets. Sacrifices some small gold sensitivity compared to the GMT in order to be a better all-around unit. That said, some people in Alaska are using the MXT solely for prospecting. ut it is not as sensitive to small gold as the GMT and so the GMT is a better choice for creeks south of Anchorage.

3. White's Matrix M6 - 90% coin and jewelry detector, 10% nugget detector. For a person who wants a simple to operate yet powerful machine for in-town detecting yet who might venture out every once in awhile to look for gold nuggets. Sacrifices threshold based all-metal modes in favor of quieter operation and so loses a small edge compared to the MXT for nugget detecting. But still a better nugget detector than the vast majority of the general purpose detectors on the market."

I might add to this by noting the DFX as being 98% general purpose and 2% nugget machine. It has the capability in theory, but is too cryptic in operation for most to access what nugget hunting potential is has. But I'm sure a nugget or two has been found with the DFX somewhere.

Steve Herschbach
Steve's Mining Journal

 

[Digger]

Sounds like you had a great trip to Hawaii. If you were to make that trip again next week, which 2 detectors would you take along? HH Randy

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Randy,

Good question. For water hunting I'd probably still go Surf PI Pro.

For on the beach in the past I have usually used whatever water machine I was using, and so the Surf would do the trick. This was the first time I figured on chasing targets smaller than the Surf can hit up on the beach, and I was originally thinking of using my Fisher Gold Bug 2. Then the M6 showed up and it was a chance to try it instead. But I'd still like to try the Gold Bug 2. Funny thing is I do enjoy using my nugget scoop and digging the tiny aluminum stuff. it is just a way to spend time on the beach and be doing something. Finds are almost a bonus.

I used the X-Terra 50 in Cabo, and it also did well. Hawaii is a different set of conditions, and so I am hesitant to make direct comparisons between the two units for beach hunting. But if I had to take one over the other to go hunt a saltwater beach tomorrow I'd use the M6 instead of the X-Terra. It has the DD coils, and the "Beach" mode, and the automatic ground tracking with "fixed" setting that all in all seem to give it an edge as a beach hunter. And for dig it all stuff the single tone mode is nice.

Really, a person should use a machine multi-frequency unit like the Sovereign or Fisher CZs or DFX on the beach, but I find stuff no matter what I use and so it is as much a chance to have fun and try different things than anything else.

I'd like to try my Minelab GP 3500 on the beach but I think digging tiny targets at shallow depths would prove to be more fun than digging coins and tabs 18" deep!

Steve Herschbach

 

[El]

Thanks for the report Steve and thanks for the reply to my email. Let us know when you test the Edge,and keep calling it as you see it.

El