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Hey guys i just bought a Gold bug and i would like to know some tips. And would also like to know how to ground balance it. If anyone has any tips please let me know
Starting tips for the gold bug
- Thread starter Flash_crusoe1
- Start date
Help Support Prospecting Australia:
Well done on getting a detector, hope it serves you well. I don't know anything about the Goldbug but I'm sure there are members experienced in it's operation.
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Heatho said:
i've heard know complaints about the gold bug. so i hope its as good as its sounds.
Well done Flash ,
Ground balancing is a bit long winded explaining here but ill find a youtube clip that demonstrates it.
Best tip for the gold bug is backing of the sensitivity a bit if starts to sound a bit erractic with ground noise , something like 8 still provides good deepth. Also I personally find winding up the threshold a bit gave me a clearer tone , and I could here the faint signals better than when the threshold was low and scratchy.
Gaz
Ill post some links later.
Ground balancing is a bit long winded explaining here but ill find a youtube clip that demonstrates it.
Best tip for the gold bug is backing of the sensitivity a bit if starts to sound a bit erractic with ground noise , something like 8 still provides good deepth. Also I personally find winding up the threshold a bit gave me a clearer tone , and I could here the faint signals better than when the threshold was low and scratchy.
Gaz
Ill post some links later.
This is about setting up the Goldbug 2 but balancing and most settings are the same for your machine.
Watch "Fisher Gold Bug 2 Quick Start Instructions" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/KXLxtAHARYc
Watch "Fisher Gold Bug 2 Quick Start Instructions" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/KXLxtAHARYc
Congrats Flash. Good hunting mate. 
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GaryO said:
Thanks on your help
What coil did your goldbug come with Flash ?
Another tip , once u have mastered ground balancing , get into a habit of checking it often as its not just a do once thing when you turn on your machine . The ground can change within a few metres so to hear any faint signals u have to learn to constantly check
Hope u have a lot of fun with it and dont give up if it takes a while to find gold
Another tip , once u have mastered ground balancing , get into a habit of checking it often as its not just a do once thing when you turn on your machine . The ground can change within a few metres so to hear any faint signals u have to learn to constantly check
Hope u have a lot of fun with it and dont give up if it takes a while to find gold
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GaryO said:What coil did your goldbug come with Flash ?
Another tip , once u have mastered ground balancing , get into a habit of checking it often as its not just a do once thing when you turn on your machine . The ground can change within a few metres so to hear any faint signals u have to learn to constantly check
Hope u have a lot of fun with it and dont give up if it takes a while to find gold
These are the coils but I don't know the specific names for them
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6.5 and 10 inch eliptical coils . The small coil is very handy on small stuff and in and around shrubs and boulders etc. It is waterproof ( well still should be ) so u can use it for checking crevices in creekbeds as well .
Gaz
.Gaz
Flash_crusoe1 said:
The cable on that large coil looks very dodgy. There's probably a split or an amateur splicing job under the grey insulating tape section and the cable itself doen't even appear to be coax and looks totally different to the black cable on the small coil.
If it doesn't work properly, I suggest you contact site sponsor and member AngerManagement about getting it professionally repaired:
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/profile.php?id=3760
I have an idea my old goldbug had a cable like that as well.. but my 6 didnt . Perhaps the earlier models used that type and changed in later years. Still as u said it doesnt look a great job , hopefully it works ok.
Flash I wouldnt try the bigger coil in water and make sure u secure the cable to the stem firmly , a tug on the that cable from a branch or something might re break that repair.
Gaz
Flash I wouldnt try the bigger coil in water and make sure u secure the cable to the stem firmly , a tug on the that cable from a branch or something might re break that repair.
Gaz
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Thanks for the tips GAZ
GaryO said:
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If your new machine is The Gold Bug II then both of those Coils are Concentrics which helps the GB II so hot on Small Gold,
Good Luck with your new Machine.
John
Good Luck with your new Machine.
John
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Hi All,
I recently purchased a Gold Bug 2 and just more recently took it out to Georgetown to detect with. I was very much looking forward to this trip - 5 straight days of detecting. I found nothing but hotrocks and junk. Mostly HOTROCKS. I realize there's a discrimination feature but it's a big vague. I find that it can't discriminate between iron hotrocks/ironstone unless it's a strong signal; which by the time you've spent so much time narrowing down - to make the signal strong it's only a big disappointment!
My understanding is that it stays quiet when you hit discriminate. But it does that with just about most things it detects! It remains quiet when you hit the discriminate switch with just about any other type of metals I find...
Can anyone clearly explain to me how the discriminate switch works - most simply? Because unequivocally most of what I found were simply HOTROCKS. My brother had an SDC2300 and he found GOLD! At least 4-6 grams. All I found was hotrocks. Nothing but lots of hot rocks (and trash.)
I've read a lot of good things about this GoldBug2 and a Yank fella by the name of Steve herschbach on the internet which I based a lot of my decision to get one on swears by this so called "Fisher Gold Bug2". It's his "go to detector to always fall back on when I simply want to find gold" as he simply puts it! I did a lot of research and without paying a further 4 grand plus to get a PI this Gold Bug 2 was a good alternative based also on a lot of other expert impartial opinions as well. It runs the highest frequency and as a result is the most sensitive detector but needs a lot of ground balancing on the fly - but that was the least of my worries. All I've found is HOT ROCKS. Sensitive it is - you can feel it's high sensitivity - but either I'm doing something wrong or it's discriminate feature is a very lacking....
I can't help but feel quite despondent with my decision to purchase this detector. Disappointed is a word that comes to mind; particularly when all you find is junk and predominantly = "hot rocks".
The Garrett AT Gold apparently has a very good discriminate feature which really does sort out hot rocks quite early on so I'm told... If anyone can simply point me in the right direction in avoiding detecting "hot rocks" with this device or how to use the "discriminate" feature properly I'd be much obliged. It's something I simply need to overcome.
Cheers
Chris
I recently purchased a Gold Bug 2 and just more recently took it out to Georgetown to detect with. I was very much looking forward to this trip - 5 straight days of detecting. I found nothing but hotrocks and junk. Mostly HOTROCKS. I realize there's a discrimination feature but it's a big vague. I find that it can't discriminate between iron hotrocks/ironstone unless it's a strong signal; which by the time you've spent so much time narrowing down - to make the signal strong it's only a big disappointment!
My understanding is that it stays quiet when you hit discriminate. But it does that with just about most things it detects! It remains quiet when you hit the discriminate switch with just about any other type of metals I find...
Can anyone clearly explain to me how the discriminate switch works - most simply? Because unequivocally most of what I found were simply HOTROCKS. My brother had an SDC2300 and he found GOLD! At least 4-6 grams. All I found was hotrocks. Nothing but lots of hot rocks (and trash.)
I've read a lot of good things about this GoldBug2 and a Yank fella by the name of Steve herschbach on the internet which I based a lot of my decision to get one on swears by this so called "Fisher Gold Bug2". It's his "go to detector to always fall back on when I simply want to find gold" as he simply puts it! I did a lot of research and without paying a further 4 grand plus to get a PI this Gold Bug 2 was a good alternative based also on a lot of other expert impartial opinions as well. It runs the highest frequency and as a result is the most sensitive detector but needs a lot of ground balancing on the fly - but that was the least of my worries. All I've found is HOT ROCKS. Sensitive it is - you can feel it's high sensitivity - but either I'm doing something wrong or it's discriminate feature is a very lacking....
I can't help but feel quite despondent with my decision to purchase this detector. Disappointed is a word that comes to mind; particularly when all you find is junk and predominantly = "hot rocks".
The Garrett AT Gold apparently has a very good discriminate feature which really does sort out hot rocks quite early on so I'm told... If anyone can simply point me in the right direction in avoiding detecting "hot rocks" with this device or how to use the "discriminate" feature properly I'd be much obliged. It's something I simply need to overcome.
Cheers
Chris
Goldpick
Chris Johnson
Since no one has answered this as yet, I'll try to give it a go. The Goldbug 2 is a very good detector for its intended purpose, and that is to find extremely small gold, though on relatively ground with relatively low mineralisation, and without an abundance of hot rocks. Doesn't really matter which vlf you go for, they all love hot rocks, probably more so on an ultra high frequency detector. It's really is a case of spending some time to getting used to the audio response from such rocks compared to non-ferrous targets, as they do have subtle differences. If there are simply too many hot rocks, you may have to target a more suitable location to save frustration.
Despite Steve's love of The Goldbug2, you do have to realise that he personally uses his in a completely different setting than from what we experience here in Oz. Personally I have only ever seen the GB2 in action on areas where it really excels, and that is on old spoil piles, pipe clays and quartz for specimens. In those settings it does pick up pin head sized pieces, though you do get the odd small hot rock to deal with, even in the pipe clays. As for the iron discrimination on the GB2, Fisher don't recommend to use it full time whilst detecting, as it will take out some small gold in the process.
Here's a link with Steve explaining how to deal with hot rocks, though as he mentions, some areas will be near on impossible to detect:
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?80,1806701
My G2 (Goldbug Pro) has the same issue on hot rocks, and I think you will find it will be no different for the AT Gold. When I had my older Whites Goldmaster 3 (50kHz), you could lift the coil off some hot rocks, and the signal would degrade pretty quickly, whereas non-ferrous targets would still be heard, or degrade at a lesser rate. The worst hot rocks are those small black magnetic ones, they have a nice zip-zip sound just like a gold target, and are very difficult to deal with if the ground is full of them. You can also try to ground balance out some hot rocks, though it is not a very practical solution when you have an area totally covered with them, most probably better off with a PI detector in such areas.
Despite Steve's love of The Goldbug2, you do have to realise that he personally uses his in a completely different setting than from what we experience here in Oz. Personally I have only ever seen the GB2 in action on areas where it really excels, and that is on old spoil piles, pipe clays and quartz for specimens. In those settings it does pick up pin head sized pieces, though you do get the odd small hot rock to deal with, even in the pipe clays. As for the iron discrimination on the GB2, Fisher don't recommend to use it full time whilst detecting, as it will take out some small gold in the process.
Here's a link with Steve explaining how to deal with hot rocks, though as he mentions, some areas will be near on impossible to detect:
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?80,1806701
My G2 (Goldbug Pro) has the same issue on hot rocks, and I think you will find it will be no different for the AT Gold. When I had my older Whites Goldmaster 3 (50kHz), you could lift the coil off some hot rocks, and the signal would degrade pretty quickly, whereas non-ferrous targets would still be heard, or degrade at a lesser rate. The worst hot rocks are those small black magnetic ones, they have a nice zip-zip sound just like a gold target, and are very difficult to deal with if the ground is full of them. You can also try to ground balance out some hot rocks, though it is not a very practical solution when you have an area totally covered with them, most probably better off with a PI detector in such areas.
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Thanks Goldpick,
What you say makes sense. Old tailings or areas' where ferrous or hot rocks are not prevalent and speckies. I was aware not to use the discrimination full time; I was only trying to literally discriminate whenever I got a signal but found it wasn't very helpful. I did have a sample nugget to test the sound occasionally to compare with hot rocks. Was just frustrating in the heat when all signals turned out to be predominantly hot rocks - most stuck to the magnet whilst others didn't after recovering them... I do tend to agree somewhat with what you say, there likely are some areas' that are off limits to the GB2.
I didn't want to lower the sensitivity too much but I did switch to normal or high mineralization to see if it would help. I also found switching it to audio boost mode picked 'em out even more....
The link was helpful; thanks for that. They're right though - I think the AT Gold discriminate feature works much better than the GB2 (being almost 20 years newer helps I guess.) I may also try to ground balance on a bunch of hot rocks with the GB2 and then test it on my sample nugget to see if it will still pick it up. Also drop sensitivity (which I am most reluctant to do....) I've a few things to work on in order to make it more manageable...Thanks.
Tell you what though; I am totally impressed with my brother's new SDC2300. He made it look easy and that was his first use with it; he found several nuggets in two days - adding up to about 5 grams or more. I think it is very very user friendly. I may have to consider one when the piggy bank gets fatter...
Thanks a bunch Goldpick; appreciate your reply, any more tips from GB2 owners are most welcome though; I'm always most willing to learn (the secret to a rich fulfilled life; learning...)
Cheers
Chris
What you say makes sense. Old tailings or areas' where ferrous or hot rocks are not prevalent and speckies. I was aware not to use the discrimination full time; I was only trying to literally discriminate whenever I got a signal but found it wasn't very helpful. I did have a sample nugget to test the sound occasionally to compare with hot rocks. Was just frustrating in the heat when all signals turned out to be predominantly hot rocks - most stuck to the magnet whilst others didn't after recovering them... I do tend to agree somewhat with what you say, there likely are some areas' that are off limits to the GB2.
I didn't want to lower the sensitivity too much but I did switch to normal or high mineralization to see if it would help. I also found switching it to audio boost mode picked 'em out even more....
The link was helpful; thanks for that. They're right though - I think the AT Gold discriminate feature works much better than the GB2 (being almost 20 years newer helps I guess.) I may also try to ground balance on a bunch of hot rocks with the GB2 and then test it on my sample nugget to see if it will still pick it up. Also drop sensitivity (which I am most reluctant to do....) I've a few things to work on in order to make it more manageable...Thanks.
Tell you what though; I am totally impressed with my brother's new SDC2300. He made it look easy and that was his first use with it; he found several nuggets in two days - adding up to about 5 grams or more. I think it is very very user friendly. I may have to consider one when the piggy bank gets fatter...
Thanks a bunch Goldpick; appreciate your reply, any more tips from GB2 owners are most welcome though; I'm always most willing to learn (the secret to a rich fulfilled life; learning...)
Cheers
Chris
Goldpick
Chris Johnson
The SDC really has made a lot of the high frequency vlf's used in the past for small gold redundant (aside from affordability). Traditionally those VLF's have a fair learning curve and are not always the easiest machines to use, especially for newcomers to the hobby. That's one of the main reason why the SDC has been so popular, basic controls & ease of use for inexperienced operators, and was advertised as such during the initial launch.
The SDC has definitely killed many of the advantages of a good high sensitivity VLF, but a good VLF still has it's place in the following areas:
1. Near high voltage power lines or electric fences.
2. Very mild ground
3. High trash areas
4. If you want to try some coin detecting with your only detector
5. light weight
6. And as Goldpick mentioned, price
1. Near high voltage power lines or electric fences.
2. Very mild ground
3. High trash areas
4. If you want to try some coin detecting with your only detector
5. light weight
6. And as Goldpick mentioned, price
