Gamma 6000 for Gold Prospecting !

[ToddB64]

Greetings everyone !

The end-flap on the box of my Gamma 6000 says " Treasure Hunting, Relic Hunting, Coin Shooting, Cache Hunting, Gold Prospecting and More ! "

I would like to focus on Gold Prospecting and ask viewers to post any experiences, pro or con, you might have had when using the Gamma to prospect for Gold.

This probably goes without saying, but In all fairness to the Gamma, I have to include the proviso that you were hunting an area where gold had been found in the past and the odds were very high that you would scan the coil over gold bearing ground eventually during the course of your hunt.

Thanks for sharing your experiences on the above.

ToddB64

 

[Dave J.]

Todd, you'll be needing this: http://www.tekneticst2.com/tekfiles/Dave%27sGoldbook-reders.pdf

The Gamma is a general purpose machine which among its other uses is suitable for casual gold prospecting. (In that respect it's fairly similar to the better known Omega). However when it comes to gold prospecting it isn't quite in the same league as a machine designed specifically for gold prospecting such as the Tek G2.


--Dave J.

 

[ToddB64]

Todd, you'll be needing this: http://www.tekneticst2.com/tekfiles/Dave%27sGoldbook-reders.pdf

The Gamma is a general purpose machine which among its other uses is suitable for casual gold prospecting. (In that respect it's fairly similar to the better known Omega). However when it comes to gold prospecting it isn't quite in the same league as a machine designed specifically for gold prospecting such as the Tek G2.


--Dave J.

Hi Dave !

Thanks for the info.

I got a copy of your GOLD PROSPECTING WITH A VLF METAL DETECTOR booklet from Mike Scott at mscott@frsttx.com on Dec. 19, 2011 and promptly read it twice ! You did an excellent job on this Dave and I am currently in the process of re-reading it again.

I was aware of the point you made in the second paragraph above, as far as the modest capability of general purpose VLF machines for finding gold vs machines designed specifically for gold prospecting.

Having read your background in metal detecting design, I was impressed and wanted to buy a Dave Johnson designed metal detector with state-of-the-art circuitry and visual display screen. I reviewed the comparison charts at the back of The Treasure Hunter's Handbook, by Andy Sabisch and considering how much I could spend, had chosen the Delta 4000. However, before I made the purchase, my brother-in-law called and offered to buy me a new metal detector as a Christmas gift, and said I could choose whatever I wanted ! Well, I was shocked to say the least and it goes without saying he's a super guy !

Continuing with the above, I didn't want to take advantage of his generosity, so didn't pick the T

 

[Ed in SoDak]

Find a bit of lead ti use fir testing. Better yet, buy a small gold nugget, as that way you get a visual ID of one as well as how your detector responds. I've had decent success with reading a 1.8 grain test nugget with several Tek machines, though I haven't tried the 6000, I'd think it should be able to detect such a nugget if close to the coil. In practice, you'll need to be aware of the small and short-signal response compared to the typical iron junk you'll find.

Since at first you won't really know what to expect, some sort of test sample can be a big help for getting set up and comparing responses.

-Ed

 

[Monte]

can certainly be used for gold nugget hunting, just as the near twin model, the Omega. The Omega is what I use and I have worked it in some known nugget country. Both work at 7.8 kHz which some say is too low a frequency. Well, maybe, but just because the 19 kHz G2 and Gold Bug Pro are better suited for gold nugget hunting doesn't mean the Gamma and Omega can't pull their weight. Oh, I have my G2 with both 5" DD and 5X10 DD coils either mounted or at-the-ready to swap afield (meaning they are on their own lower rod). The 5" DD usually stays on due the densely trashed sites where I might grab the G2 first.

I usually use a different Dave Johnson designed model for my general gold nugget hunting duty, but in the past almost 3 years it was my Omega (I got it in March of 2010) that I grabbed as a 'back-up' or just because it was handy with the 5" DD coil and the terrain I was hunting. I haven't had a chance to use it with the 5X10 DD, but I have with the round 8" Concentric coil and it did OK. I have used a lot of different detectors through the years for nugget hunting, some with Concentric coils and some with a round or elliptical Double-D coil.

I was working for a different manufacturer when Dave's first, 'original' Gold Bug was introduced and the president of that company acquired one and asked me to use it with an assortment of other models on the market that manufacturers suggested as gold nugget hunting detectors, as well as a prototype they were working on. Since that time, I noted that most nugget-shooters came equipped with DD coils, but not all. Also, I deliberately chose a Concentric coil for several models for some side-by-side results.

True, the Omega and Gamma were not yet out and among the choices as it was twenty-some years ago, but I discovered several things through the years. I hunted gold nuggets in Oregon, Nevada, California and Arizona. I usually had at least 3 and sometimes as many as 7 detectors with me to do some side-by-side comparisons. I worked creek sides, dry beds, and mostly hillsides. Some of the locations we in, or close to, old mining camps and I chose a Concentric coil because I was also going to use the Discriminate mode to search for old coins, trade tokens and other smaller relics were there as a lot of nails and other iron-based trash.

I have found gold nuggets with models operating at 6.59 kHz, 7.8 kHz, 8.1 kHz, 10 kHz, 12 kHz, 13 kHz,

 

[ToddB64]

Find a bit of lead ti use fir testing. Better yet, buy a small gold nugget, as that way you get a visual ID of one as well as how your detector responds. I've had decent success with reading a 1.8 grain test nugget with several Tek machines, though I haven't tried the 6000, I'd think it should be able to detect such a nugget if close to the coil. In practice, you'll need to be aware of the small and short-signal response compared to the typical iron junk you'll find.

Since at first you won't really know what to expect, some sort of test sample can be a big help for getting set up and comparing responses.

-Ed

Hi Ed !

Thanks for your reply and the information.

What average size would a 1.8 grain test nugget be ? (either the mesh-size or decimal inches.)

Thanks,

Todd

 

[Ed in SoDak]

It ain't but a tiny thing. It could be called a picker because you can snag it without using tweezers, but it's small. Maybe 3/16 by 1/8 inch. As such, the detected response is short and not strong. Most any junk target would be a much louder and broader signal, especially with the coil raised up to see how far away the response continued. A small nugget like this will fade out right away. While hunting, it would be easy to ignore, maybe that's why I don't seem to find 'em and thus needed to buy one to have a sample on hand, lol! In a way, my point was to get such a sample or a lead bit to simulate the typical size of the gold that's normally found in your search area. A larger nugget would of course have a bigger signal to match, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say the big ones are more rare.

Flake gold is essentially undetectable unless concentrated in a deposit or stream. But a 1.8 grainer is large enough to detect and see, yet small enough to be a challenge for many machines. Actual gold value, maybe five bucks give or take.

-Ed

 

[ToddB64]

Hi Monte !

[Quote:] Sorry to babble but you have a detector that can still hold its own in many applications. [/Quote]

Monte, I love it when you "babble" ........we all learn more that way !

Sorry to be so late responding to your subject post on January 07, 2013 03:14AM. Reason being, I wanted to buy a few small pieces of gold to plant in my Test Garden for practice before prospecting some creeks this summer with my new Gamma. I've been trying to develop a mathematical formula that will render the average size of small pieces of natural "raw" unrefined gold, so I can decide on the "best bang for my buck". I wanted to include my formula in this reply so others might use it, but it's not finished yet. So decided I better go ahead and say [size=small]THANK YOU ! [/size] for your post !

[size=small]GOLD FEVER PROSPECTING[/size].com has a great website and from what I read there, they seem to be honest. It does appear it's going to be a bit pricey though, as they have a minimum weight of one gram of gold per order and since I would like to have at least 3 placer nuggets, I would have to order a gram of #6 mesh and that would give me 2-4 pieces according to the How to Buy Gold Nuggets page on their website. At today's gold spot price of $1666.30/oz USD at Kitco, it's going to cost me $58.78 for one Troy gram, plus S&H. I calculated this as follows: 1 troy oz. = 28.350 grams, so $1666.30/ 28.350 = $58.78.

Do you know how I could acquire the gold needed any cheaper ?

Thanks !

ToddB64

 

[ToddB64]

Monte,

I made an error in my previous post to you. It had to do with the divisor I used to calculate what I would have to pay for a gram of gold. Here's the corrected sentence below and of course the spot price has changed by now.

"At today's gold spot price of $1666.30/oz USD at Kitco, it's going to cost me $53.57 for one Troy gram, plus S&H. I calculated this as follows: 1 troy oz. = 31.1034 grams, so $1666.30/ 31.1034 = $53.57.

Sorry for the mistake. :sad:

ToddB64