My FBS Etrac or my Xtera at 18.75 kHz for gold nuggets?

[thedeserttortoise]

Can anyone recommend which machine would serve me better for hunting gold nuggets exclusively? Is the FBS technology superior to the single frequency for detecting nuggets? I notice on a few dealer sites that they recommend the GPX machines first, the Eureka second, and the Xterra 70 last. They don't mention the FBS machines at all. Its funny as I have been digging up 22 cal bullets in the desert here at depths of about 6 to 8 inches with my Etrac. That's an awfully small piece of lead. I do have a full assortment of coils for both. I should be receiving my 15 inch WOT for the Etrac any day now. I would also like to search for meteorites at the same time.

 

[Jeb NWR]

I use as well as my E trac,..............The Fisher F75. ........Great for finding tiny Gold.

 

[jimpugh]

i doubt any one will have the nads to give it a good go in the field .....setup is crucial but i have tested a lot of machines on my samples of nugget gold and the 1/4 corn flake gold and it hit em better than any combo machine i have seen especially a multi frequency unit ......maybe some one in the out back will give it a try and hang with it long enough to see what the ole girl can really do....
Happy Trails
jim pugh

 

[David]

Yes BBS(Sovereign) and FBS(Explorer and E-Trac) will find gold in the goldfields but Minelab does not recommend them for prospecting for gold(look on their web site and they are not listed on there under the heading of Gold Detectors(even though the Sovereign GT in Auto Trac in All Metal works very good on the goldfields soils) because THEY WILL NOT FIND SMALL MICRON GOLD like 1/10 of a gram or so, only for bigger sized nuggets, so they are not listed as goldfield detectors. If you want to find about 1/2 gram or larger they will work fine.
http://www.minelab.com/consumer/page.php?section=126


Quote, "If you don

 

[David]

thedeserttortoise, I am curious, why did you decide to buy a 15 inch WOT instead of a 12"x15" or 15"x18" SEF coil for your E-Trac ?? Thanks!

 

[thedeserttortoise]

thedeserttortoise, I am curious, why did you decide to buy a 15 inch WOT instead of a 12"x15" or 15"x18" SEF coil for your E-Trac ?? Thanks!

Got a good deal on it on Ebay. I've read a few reviews and it sounded like a good coil to have. I think I paid just under a $100 for it. I'm still waiting for it to try out. Should be here any day now. I really appreciate all the help everyone has given on nugget finding with either of my two machines. Thank you David and Jimpugh for taking the time to help me out on this subject. I live real close to the old tailings area of the Hillsbourough mining area here in New Mexico. Being this close and having the metal detectors is giving me a bit of that old gold fever.... I've been hitting it a couple of times already and trying both detectors. Nothing yet. It sounds as though the Xtera might be the first choice between the two for the smaller nuggets. I've heard that a mining company had classified to under a 1/4 or 3/16 on this site. The people prospecting there claim only "fine" is left. I'll be off again in the next few to see. I read two gold/metal detecting books by an author named Straight I beleive out of Arizona with lots of good geology info. I think I have to change the elevation of where I've been hunting and get a bit higher up the slope. I'll report back if I find anything.

 

[cosmic hillbilly]

Thank you Jack, I really appreciate your information. I recently purchased a xterra-70 and hope to find some gold in shallow placer tailings. By the way, I purchased your DVD's, they sure are informative!

Thanks!
Swayne