Pipsqueek The Giant Killer?

[Anonymous]

Eric, I think that you are going to have to find a way to duplicate the highly mineralized soil conditions of the gold fields in Australia and the American South West, in order for you to test and adjust your gold nugget detector, in England! An adjustable ground balance is also a must!
Once the chaps in the gold fields begin finding nuggets as frequently as they do with the SDs and GPs, then your detector will take off in sales! Untill that time, it's all just talk!
I, and I am sure many others, would dearly love to own a light weight detector that would do as well as the Minelab nugget shooters. On the other hand Eric, the sales market for a coin and jewelry machine are probably better than that for a gold nugget detector, and you wouldn't have to bother with those difficult soil adjustment, or worry about making it compatible with the Minelab type of search coils!
Best of luck Eric!
Potholes Bob

 

[Anonymous]

Potholes Bob
No disrespect here, but there’s something I don’t understand, it’s either me reading this wrong or you have been misinformed, and believing something that isn’t. <img src="/metal/html/shrug.gif" border=0 width=37 height=15 alt=":shrug">
As the sole N. America importer of Eric Foster detector’s I, nor Eric, have ever suggested that any of the models that we are offering for sale are a meant to do duty as a stand alone nugget hunter here in the US. <STRONG>No intention was ever made as to it’s ability compete against or replace any of the Minelab SD’s and GP detector’s. </STRONG>
The Goldquest SS was designed to be a gold jewelry hunter, and it’s by far the best one out there. As a side benefit we discovered by chance that it didn’t do so bad in certain ground conditions in the South West. The ground signal didn’t bother it like it does on most PI detectors, and the hot rocks didn’t bother it much either. With this said, they were some that owned earlier Goldquest that took them out to the gold fields to try them out.
Now for the same reason that you nugget hunters require widescan (DD) coils, so do a lot of jewelry hunters. We have had a lot of request to offer a DD coil with the Goldquest, and it wasn’t a need to make it compatible with Minelab coils. Minelab coils just happen to work on Goldquest detector’s with a plug change, ( <EM>As on all PI detector’s designed to run on Mono coils, the need to separate the transmit from the receiver circuit to use a DD coil was present on earlier Goldquest. We made available to Goldquest customers the information on how to do this simple change </EM>). So with that, it was a no brainier to suggest the use of already available, popular coils for the Minelab PI series of detector’s.
Now just contrary to popular belief, they are other places out there besides the nugget fields, that require a PI detector to have multiple stages of ground filters to improve on performance when needed. Because of this need, Eric designed in to the Goldquest SS V.2 a second stage ground filter that is user selected as needed.
These incorporated changes improved performance of the Goldquest for any users. So the same performance increase that a gold jewelry hunter can take advantage of with the Goldquest, so can the same user do if he’s inclined to use the same unit nugget hunting.
If your happy with your present detector, so be it. Use it, and enjoy, I hope your finds are many. Different strokes for different folks. <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">
Here is a few of the nuggets I have found with the Pip Squeak unit. They were connected to little white gold rings before I popped them out, and mounted them into my size 16 ring. I think it paid for one of the big detector’s <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">
Have a nice day
Mr. Bill
A stocking Minelab dealer, also.

 

[Anonymous]

Bill, from replys to my posts, I was under the impression that some folks were using the Gold Quest as a nugget hunter. It seems to be an advanced P.I detector that only needs an adjustable ground balance control and compatability with existing Minelab and aftermarket search coils to make it a good nugget hunter.From reading Eric Foster's posts, I believe that he is on the right track to getting around the power problem. He seems to be saying that there are other ways to acomplish the task of making his lower powered detector competitive with the Minelab SDs and GPs. Obviously, Eric will have to modify the current Gold Search somewhat, but if anyone is up to this task I believe that Eric Foster can acomplish it, if he chooses to do so! Whether or not this is a viable business venture would take a study of the existing market for a mid priced prospecting detector, and I am sure that you and Eric are up to that task also!
Best regards!
"Potholes" Bob Martinez

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bob,
I am sorry if you have gotten the wrong impression about Eric's GQ. As Eric and Bill have stated, Eric's GQ machine is specifically designed for beach hunting and he has never advocated it as a gold nugget hunting machine.
I am the one who has made changes to mine so it can be used for nugget hunting, not Eric. I am the one who tried the ML compatible coils and posted the info that they will work on the GQ. Actually, I tried them because of a post by another nugget hunter that asked if the coils could be used.
The main reason I elected to try to find a ligher machine was because my father can't lug one of the SD's around any more. Personally, I simply prefer not to. At age 77 and with a bad back, my dad is lucky to get out and hunt, let alone carry his SD around. Now, as long as he can go and wants to, I will do my best to go with him. In the meantime, I will continue to try to make his machine ligher by trimming weight off the coil and off the batteries.
As for me, I simply do not like the weight of the SD's and am willing to use something lighter even if it means missing a few nuggets. I did that before I got my GQ and now, I will work on my GQ to make it better.
I hunt gold nuggets for fun and being uncomfortable for hours on end while hunting isn't fun for me. I don't like the harness, the extra weight, and the time to get all dressed up just to beat myself to death walking up and down hills, digging holes. I am happy to use something much lighter. It takes me longer to put my tool belt and pouch on than it does to get my machine ready to go.
Now Bob, you state that a ground balance is a necessity if the detector is to be used in the highly mineralized gold field here in the west. Well, I have used my GQ clone without ground balance and I can comfortably hunt many places with little or no problems as long as I use a DD coil. In some places I can use a mono coil also with few problems. Other areas do require I raise the coil a little or hunt a little slower or I will experience ground signals. Is my PI going to be as smooth as one with a ground balance control? Nope, but that is a tradeoff that comes with using a ligher machine.
Actually, I have built a ground balance into my GQ clone and find it helps in a few places but I have hunted most of those places with it turned off also. The reason I turn it off is simply because, so far, any ground balance design I have seen and used, adversly effects the sensitivity of the detector. So, I try to minimize its use or set it at a very low amount.
Is my light weight PI going to find everything the big boys find? Most likely it will not, but personally, I don't care. At the end of the day, I don't feel like I have been beat up or or feel like a mule just released from my harness.
BTW, I have never said my GQ is the giant killer. I have said that now I can detect some of the smaller or strange nuggets, those that are invisible to the ML's. The design of the GQ is such that a shorter delay is possible so I took advantage of it.
I have no doubt that my GQ will not work well in many places in Australia. Their ground conditions are much more severe than ours. However, I also feel that there might be some places where it might work, especially if a DD coil is used, but that is just a guess on my part since I have not been there. I am hoping someone over there tries it.
I hope this clears things up.
Reg

 

[Anonymous]

Reg. thank you for that information, I guess that it was your posts that I remembered! I just turned 68 , and at 5Ft 5" I sure would prefer a lighter PI Det. than the GPX! Oh well, so much for that idea! <img src="/metal/html/lol.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt=":lol">
Cheers!
Bob <img src="/metal/html/wink.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sure you would discover that the new Goldquest SS V.2 would surprise you.
It's ability to hunt in nasty ground on the nugget fields has been improved considerably.
With the new circuit changes with additional filter, and using a DD coil, I wouldn't be surprised at all if you could hunt with it in most places.
It's a trade off if one should run with a auto ground balance circuit. Use the auto ground balance, and cut down on your sensitivity toward small nuggets, or run with out it, and gain good sensitivity on small nuggets but put up with some ground noise. <img src="/metal/html/shrug.gif" border=0 width=37 height=15 alt=":shrug">
Due to the overwhelming weight difference between the two, up against the small anoyance from some ground matrix. I would take the lightness any time.
If your looking for a lighweight super sensitive nugget hunter, the Goldquest SS V.2 is the way to go.
Mr. Bill

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bob,
I wasn't going to Post anything under this series of posts as everything has been pretty well covered except for one thing. Now I don't hunt with a PI though I follow everything about them closely as I know I will eventually be getting one again. I have used PI's in the past and have uses both the SD2200D and the original GQSS. The one thing that has not been talked about much is that the SD's, and GP's are not designed for finding the same sized gold as the GQSS. There is an overlap but the GQSS will see small gold nuggets that the SD and GP can not and the SD and GP's will see large gold nuggets at depths beyond that of the GQSS. And if you want to find the really tiny gold you will need a VLF such as the Fisher GB2 which can get you down to flake sized gold. The GQSS due to it's short pulse delay and other optimizations will get down to about 0.5 grams. I don't know what the smallest nugget a SD or GP can see is but I would think it's probably around 4 or 5 grams(correct me if I am wrong on the that one). So there really is no one nugget detector that can do it all. You need to use the best detector for the job and for the area that you are hunting. Just my take on it!!!
HH
Beachcomber

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Beachcomber,
Smallest piece I ever found with my SD2200 was 2 grains (a little over 1/10 of a gram). My GPX gets about the same, maybe a tad smaller but hits those small nuggets much deeper and harder. Hope this helps. RD

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Bill and Beachcomber! That new GQSS V sounds very interesting, and I sure will keep a watch for them! I was a desert drywasher for almost twenty years, and I put that on the back burner for the challenge of finding bigger pieces of gold by metal detecting. In areas where fine veined speciman gold is known to hide, I have my XT17000 and GB1 with a 4x6 coil. The VLFs certainly have their place, and I am presently looking hard at the White's MXT as I want to also be able to coin shoot with a discriminating detector!
Cheers!
Potholes Bob

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Beachcomber,
Detection of gold nuggets, and rings, depends very much on their composition. If just a small percentage of copper or silver is alloyed with the gold, then the signal decay gets much faster, with the result that a seemingly large target gives a small response. Or conversly a small target can give a good response. This principle applies to all PI detectors.
I have tested nuggets down to 0.4gm weight with the GQ SS and can detect them at 2 - 3in. However, a smaller nugget of purer gold could no doubt be detected at similar ranges.
Again, it must be pointed out that the sensitivity of the GQ SS was set to be the best compromise when detecting on a conductive salt water beach.
Eric.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi RD,
My 0.1gm nuggets do not respond on a SD2100, or SD2200, but then, as I pointed out in the reply to Beachcomber, the composition of the nugget does have quite a dramatic effect. Even 5% of a different metal can render a nugget undetectable unless you increase the size or weight. Also the physical shape, and whether the gold is solid, spongey, or a clump of smaller particles, all have a great effect on detection.
Same with rings. A broken or cracked ring can give little signal, even though it is of good quality gold, because the eddy current path is interrupted.
Eric.

 

[Anonymous]

That is very impressive. I really didn't think the SD's could see anything that small. As Eric pointed out it also depends on what the gold is alloyed with as well as the type of gold. Gold in jewlery is almost always alloyed with other metals and therefore has a much lower conductivity than that pure gold which causes a much faster decay of the eddy currents set up by a PI. So a PI like the Goldquest SS that can see a piece of gold jewelry weighing in at 0.5 grams would probably be able to see an even lighter weight pure gold nugget. JMHO
HH
Beachcomber

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Eric
I did noticed a difference on the sounds using Reg's
coil I can sure tell the gold from the iron now. I have tested on the hot rocks in this area and I picked the gold right out, very stable and much smoother than the mono coil.The machine does love gold for sure.I guess it all depends on one area <img src="/metal/html/smile.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt="">