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The moment of truth!
But not so fast . . . take your time. You may have pinpointed a target,
but that does not mean you can reach down and pick up a nugget. Even
if it is lying on top of the ground, you are going to have to determine
which of those pebbles really is a gold nugget. And if you have to dig
for it, you will have to determine which handful of dirt is pay dirt. But
the worst part is that most of your targets will not be gold. They will be
nails, bullets, junk, hot rocks, etc. The only way to be absolutely sure
is to dig them up.
1.
Your objective is to recover your target neatly and quickly,
leaving virtually no trace of your excavation. Repeat: No trace of
your excavation. If you leave the area looking like a battlefield,
blame only yourself if it has been declared off limits to metal
detectors when you return.
2.
Your digging tool should be selected for the type of soil you
are in. Most nuggets are found in hard, dry, rocky ground, so
a small pick axe is first choice for most electronic prospectors.
Always carry a small magnet to determine if your target is just
a nail or some other ferrous object. A ferrous object will stick to
the magnet, whereas a gold nugget will not.
3.
Once your target has been pinpointed by crisscrossing the
target area with your searchcoil, lay your GoldBug2 so that the
searchcoil is within easy reach but not close enough to detect
your digging tool as you dig.
4.
If the target sounds large (a loud, sharp sound), grab a handful
of dirt that you suspect holds the target and pass your hand
in front of the searchcoil. If you do not hear a signal, discard
the dirt and pick up another, repeating the process until you
hear a signal. If the target is large, you can probably find it by
searching your hand.
TARGET RECOVERY
1
. Set your controls as follows:
SENS:
10
VOLUME:
CLICK ON
MODE:
NORMAL
GROUND REJECT:
75.0
MINERALIZATION:
LOW
NOTE: You will probably find that most of your searching will be done
with MODE = Normal, MINERALIZATION = Low and SENS < 10. If you
are working in unfamiliar ground, however, we recommend that you try
starting at the maximum sensitivity and LOW MINERALIZATION settings.
2
.
Hold the searchcoil waist high, away from any nearby metal.
3
.
Turn the VOLUME control to 10. A short, loud squawk is normal
at turn-on, so if you are wearing headphones, start the volume
at 0 and let the audio settle down before you increase it to a
level that is comfortable when the coil is passed over a large or
shallow target.
NOTE: If your headset has volume controls, set the volume on
your GoldBug2 to “10” and your headset volume to zero. Then
adjust your headset volume controls to a comfortable level when
the coil is passed over a large or shallow target.
4
.
With the searchcoil still in the air, rotate
the THRESHOLD control until you hear a
very faint, continuous signal. You want to
always hear this faint background hum,
the “threshold tone” to maximize the audio
performance and your ability to hear the
signal from all gold nuggets.
POWER-ON PROCEDURE
Figure 8A.
Figure 8B.
