Intro - Vic Prospector

Quick intro! Got a secondhand 5000 a little while ago with a good assortment of coils. Had a few days out with it around Vic (Chewton, Talbot, St.Arnaud, Stuart Mill), and a few hours way up a Tibooburra (was away with the family) where I picked up my first bit (all of 0.2g!) a few weeks ago. Apart from the usual rubbish, have picked up lots of small lead (0.22s, right down to shotgun pellets), so seem to have got the detector at least partly worked out! Hopefully it's just that I need to walk over the gold now! Planning to head out into central Vic at least a day a month, perhaps two or three even, mostly during the week.

I'm working on collating some of the numerous online resources together in a more usable format which I will hopefully be able to make some of public. Also working on a wireless setup for the 5000 using odds and ends. I have a background in IT/web/electronics. The first version of the wireless setup works, and was made completely from spare parts/junk I had lying around (though I did sacrifice a spare battery lead), but the audio could do with some further refinement. Will post something on this after the next iteration if there is interest.

Hi djon
Welome to the forum,looks like your looking in the right places good luck with your search let us know how you go.If you have a small coil like a 8"mono or Sadie gold can be found in most old timers workings on any of the gold maps.
For areas where prospecting is permitted go to this page and scroll down to the maps highlighted in blue
http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/visit/popular-activities/fossicking.

Thanks for the info Deutran!

So the one bit I did find with a Coiltek 10x5" Mono Joey on the very well known Fly Speck Hill at Tibooburra. That rather small, and well defined spot has apparently been flogged very hard for 40 odd years I believe, so was good to still be able to find something there, even though it has been so well hammered, perhaps one of the most detected spots around.

I have quite a few coils to work with, so it can be a bit daunting to choose the right one for a situation (on top of having to navigate the many settings of the 5000!) :

- 10x5" Coiltek Mono Joey
- 8" Minelab Commander mono
- 11" Minelab Commander mono
- 10x5" Minelab Commander DD
- 11" Minelab Commander DD
- 12" Nugget Finder Advantage Round Mono
- 16" Nugget Finder Advantage Round Mono

So far I have only used the 10x5", 8" and 12" monos in the field. I am a bit torn as to what to use (the 12" seems a nice compromise), but perhaps I am best to stick with the 10x5" Joey and focus on smaller gold in known areas for now, and work 'out' from there.

Oh Deutran I just noticed you are from St.Arnaud!

I grew up there (well on farm just out of town), and still head back that way regularly (still have family there), so if you're interested, will let you know when I'm next up, and would be great to go for a swing. (I don't have PM privileges yet, but feel free to ping me there).

Hi djon
We often frequent Stuart mill so let me know if your up this way.We both use 5000's.
I recommend the 8"mono in Fine gold for you as its been our most productive coil to date.I've used the Joey and its an excellent coil but the 8" give a little more depth on the slightly bigger nuggets and a bit less shot.The 12"NFA is a specialised coil and a bit heavy for general use.The moulding of the 12" is a bit different from the other NFA coils.As you become more familiar with the detector and ground types you can branch out with the coils.
Steve

Thanks Steve,

Will certainly let you know when I'm next up that way. I've done a lot of exploring over the years (and some detecting more recently) around St.Arnaud, and from St. Arnaud down Center road, around Rostron Rd, and further down Center road to Stuart Mill, and in the back way to Teddington. Some rough roads there, and I know some areas are off limits for prospecting (like closer to Teddington), but it seems like there is still a lot of country there to explore that perhaps hasn't been worked as hard as some places.

The NFA 12" I have is spoked, but has a custom skid plate glued to the bottom (forget the name of the material used). So it isn't as heavy as the solid version at least, and while I haven't found it tiresome, I probably have only used it for a few hours at a stretch. Seems like though either way I'm best to go with the 8" for now



JB

A little update on progress of a newbie. Spent the day near Chewton on Sunday, and after what seemed like a never ending run of rust and lead, finally late in the day hit some yellow (0.56g) with the 8" Commander mono on mullock heap:



A reasonably good size (I think?) for a mullock heap, perhaps partly because it seemed to be an area that hadn't been visited too much in the modern era, and it was in a difficult under tree/branch spot. Means I probably still need to slow down and focus more, as I would have expected to have found some smaller ones...

Also gave my DIY wireless setup on the 5000 it's first real use. DIY battery pack from some old 18650 laptop batteries, a butchered $10 bluetooth transmitter from ebay, and some bluetooth headphones. It worked really well. Not being tethered to the machine was really nice, particularly when moving around a hole you were working on, and in steeper areas. Also made it nice and quick and easy to jump out and try and area without having to get fully 'harnessed up'. The old batteries were clearly just that though! I was only getting about 2 hours out of them, even though the capacity of them was equivalent to about half the genuine battery. Thankfully though I had 4 sets of spares, and it was a good interval to take a break and/or move on. The weight wasn't an issue, so may double up on them for next time to give the machine a bit more stamina. While there was a little bit of 'new' noise in the headphones due to the bluetooth transmitter, it was very quiet and completely different to the detector sound, so I found the ability to hear just as good as with standard wired headphones.

Hopefully will get out further north for a few days in the GT in the coming weeks.

JB.

Gold is getting harder to find, no matter where we go these days JB. So any form of colour found, can only be seen as good colour. Welcome to the forum.

Cheers Kon.

Well done Djon a nice nugget and thanks for posting.

OK, so I've been a little quiet of late with getting out there, one full day of nothing up near Chewton, and another few hours over the last weekend resulting in perhaps about the smallest bit I'm going to find.

I was up at St.Arnaud for the long weekend, but didn't have much time to get out (next time we shall have to meet up @deutran!), but I did manage to score my first 'home town' gold which I was happy with, and it was from the 'scraps' of someone else's hole. It is actually quite thin, so even though it looks of 'detectable' size, even close to the 8" commander coil only gave a moderate signal. I nearly gave up on it, so as they say, you should always visual, it was afterall still a few $ worth of gold (and worth a whole lot more to me)!

So 3 small bits now and counting, but am now itching to break out from the just going over old workings and try to find some in its 'natural' setting...

Other commitments have meant I have continued to be relatively quiet over the last few months, but have managed to sneak the (very) odd hour or day in detecting. I have now brought the total up to 6 finds, including 2 on the last time I was out for just 2 hours. However they are all very small, the most recent 2 being either side of 0.1g. The 8" Commander mono can certainly find those small ones.  Anyway, hopefully on the next outing I can hit the 1g in one find with 'a pineapple' (or two!), baby steps

Anyway, suppose given time spent, and fact I am still getting to know the detector, this isn't too bad. Certainly feel after last outing I have a better understanding of it.

The 'haul' so far (0.05 to 0.55g in weights) :

Good job on those Djon.