Got My Garrett Infinium LS Finally


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well, i finally got the garrett infinium LS i been wanting. found it online damn near NIB for half of what it costs new, and the guy was not to far from me, so we met face to face......came with all the factory goodies as factory shipped, and the full 2 year warranty on top of that. i called garrett to register the warranty ( he hadnt sent in the card) and the lady told me that he didnt have the machine long at all, so she just started the gaurantee over from the beginning...how can a guy beat that?

now i cant wait to get it out and give it a shot in my patches and see how she works..ive heard nothing but goood things about it.

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Hi,

Yup, I've used them a lot. They are no Minelab, but the Infinium has found between 4 and 5 pounds of gold at my Moore Creek mine. If you compare an SD2100 with the stock coil to the Infinium with a stock coil you will not see much difference. But the Infinium has no coil larger than the stock coil and so for big nuggets deep the SD easily pulls ahead just by going to a larger coil.

Put your Infinium in the right place, and it will find gold. Here is 4.11 oz of specimens I found with mine at Moore Creek -

steveinf2.jpg

Steve Herschbach

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good looking stuff....

i got the infinium for sniping underwater cracks this spring and summer. generally for gold i use my 3500, but they dnt do to well underwater...LOL......

have you used the variety of garrett coils ?

if so, which do you recommend for general gold prospecting?i was thinking about picking up all 4 coils, but id hate to buy all 4 and then only use 1 or two of them

i wonder if anyones planning any accessory coils for it?

i think i pretty much got all my baes covered now . i have my GP3500 , my new infinium for underwater and beach work, and also as a backup for my GP, an xterra 70 for the wife to use and a whites XLT for coins and relics, and a truckload of extras like coils, batteries,ect,ect........

i read a little about your moore creek trip. maybe ill get together with you for next year and book a slot sometime after the first of the year......

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Hi nuggetdigger,

The coil that comes wth the Infinium works well but is heavy for being epoxy filled. If you have mild ground the 14" mono coil will give you a bit more depth and is lighter. For bad ground use the stock coil.

My favorite alternative coil is the 10" x 5" DD coil. If you hipmount the unit it is like swinging a Gold Bug. Super light and a good coil for places where the bigger coil won't go.

When using the Infinium as a surf detector I preferred the round 8" mono coil as it is easier to handle in the water and much easier to pinpoint with then the stock coil.

An Australian outfit called Westcoil made a couple coils for the Infinium but a large coil is still lacking and always may be. The Infinum is a better machine than it gets credits for, but the lack of coils has really held it back. That, and they should have made two models, one for water, and one dry land. I'd like to have seen a dry land Infinium with the 10" x 5" coil as stock for a list price of $999. I was going to make one myself but decided to wait and see what White's has to offer first.

I've got an X-Terra 70 also. Super all around unit!

Steve Herschbach

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yea i was really suprised with the xterra 70. the elliptical 18.5khtz coil is absolutely great. i took the stock coil of, put the other one on and never looked back. great machine. for coins though, i still love my XLT. ive been running an XLT for coins and relics ( and have used it on occasion for gold and it worked quite well believe it or not with the stock coil and the prospecting mode for smaller gold, which suprised me) since they hit the markey years ago, and before that it was the eagle if i remember correctly. same thing with the goldmaster.my first golld machine was an old blue box goldmaster, and ive owned every one since. i sold my last goldmaster a long time ago........i saw that outfit your talking about that makes the infinium coils. they have a forums online. i think the infinium would really shine with a god line of coils for it....

i was thinking the same thing coilwise on that 8" . sure would be alot easier to maneuver underwater, and more sensitive to smaller gold. im in northern california, up here in shasta county, about 75 miles above redding.the grounds pretty hot.

im always looking for guys to hunt with in the redding/shasta area if any of you guys want to get together and swing a coil....

anyway, if you get a chance, maybe email me some info on your trip and prices,etc.......

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Hello Nuggetdigger,

Depending how deep you wanted to submerge your metal detector, you might have considered a Coiltek Waterproof Searchcoil for underwater sniping. Many are using their SD's, GP's and now GPX-4000 with waterproof searchcoils to snipe shallower bedrock areas for gold nuggets.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Rob Allison

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Steve - few question here…

What’s the deepest you are finding those nuggets (specimens)?

Are those nuggets from virgin ground?

Also, did the high-low tones from the Infinium sound similar (other than strength) between the different nuggets?

Nuggetdigger- What size nuggets are you finding up there in NorCal?

I have yet to take my Infinium out for gold, but I’m looking forward to it. Still kinda learning the thing on the SoCal beaches.

Thanks,

Dan

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nuggetfinder,

You can find all the info on Moore Creek at www.moorecreek.com. Just go there and click on "pay-to-mine".

huntfish,

I'm not sure what you mean by "virgin". Moore Creek is tailing piles so is not virgin. But virtually every nugget I find there is in "virgin" ground as in I'm the first guy with a coil over the nugget so from a detecting point of view you might call it virgin ground. Some nuggets are deep, and some big ones are practically on the surface. Most the nuggets I dug with the Infinium were less than a foot deep. I think the deepest was maybe 14" but I do not worry too much about stuff like that. In fact, the holes I dig are often deeper than where the nuggets were. I tend to just blast a hole then check the pile. It either beeps, or I dig some more. So heck if I know most of the time exactly how deep a nugget was either than "that was shallow" or "that was deep". I'm sure there are times I've missed a nugget, dug way past it, and then had it come out of the side of the hole as I widen it. I think this happens more often then people admit or even are aware of, leading to some pretty good tales of super deep nuggets.

The tones on the Infinium are analogous to those on the Minelabs. Hi-lo means most gold and all sorts of wire, small nails, or flakes of steel. Lo-hi means huge nugget or most big iron and steel.

I much prefer the Minelab units myself, but for a guy on an extreme budget the Infinium is better than nothing. Used units run $500-$700. For anyone actually wanting to get in the water with the unit there is no alternative as it is the only submersible ground balancing PI unit currently available.

Steve Herschbach

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Hello Guys,

Nuggetfinder - If you haven't been to Moore Creek, you're missing out. I've been there twice, should have been three times, but had to stick around home that year. The Alaskan Outback is awesome! I'm heading back this year with a good group of hunters. I'm sure some very nice gold will be found. I have yet to find a "one-ouncer" up there, but hoping it will be this year.

I have to agree with Steve on depths. I see a lot of exhagerated claims on the forums. A matter of fact, I seen on another forum where a member claims he found a 1 Dwt nugget at 16-inches. I've dug 4-5 Dwter's at that depth, but never in the last 15 years a Dwter at that depth. Many tend to dig pass the target, sometimes double the depth and then the nugget falls down into the bottom. :huh:

I've heard the Infinium's are awesome on the beaches also. I would think it would be a great choice for anyone wanting to recover treasures from under the water.

Take care,

Rob Allison

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Hello Huntfish,

There has been several nice nuggets found in virgin ground, outside the tailing piles. One of the first ones was "Seeker's" 3+ ounce beauty! I know the year I was there several guys found 1-3 Dwt solid gold nuggets in a virgin bank where most of the highbanking was being done.

There's miles of virgin ground, but most of the nuggets might be too deep and out of range for even the Minelab PI's. I'm sure Steve H. can give you better info though.

Take care,

Rob Allison

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Hello Nuggetdigger,

Depending how deep you wanted to submerge your metal detector, you might have considered a Coiltek Waterproof Searchcoil for underwater sniping. Many are using their SD's, GP's and now GPX-4000 with waterproof searchcoils to snipe shallower bedrock areas for gold nuggets.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Rob Allison

Rob

i wish i could do that, but ill be in water anywere from 3 to 15 feet or so. i thought about using one of the waterproof coils for shallower water sniping, but to be honest with you, id be afraid id drop my whole unit right int he drink!...lol

Nuggetdigger- What size nuggets are you finding up there in NorCal?

I have yet to take my Infinium out for gold, but I’m looking forward to it. Still kinda learning the thing on the SoCal beaches.

Thanks,

Dan

i havent gotten a chance to use the Infinium LS for gold yet, but i have found lots of nuggets with my GP detectors (using a GP3500 now as my main unit). ive found solids that range from a few grains to about

2 1/2oz+ , and quartz/gold speci's from 3-4dwt up to 1/2lb or so ( i own a 40 acre patented claim in el dorado county that has a free milling gold/quartz vein on it. very nice specimen and cabable pieces come off of it often). i have read though that the infinium is supposed to be pretty sensitive to small gold.

havent done a whole lot of gold detecting since i moved up above redding,california ( but i am in a couple of outstanding old virgin coin and relic sites, one has ben there since the late 1800's, one since about 1915 and the other since about 1911) , but im sure eventually ill find someone in the area that would like to go do some detecting. im planning on spending quite a bit of time in nevada and arizona this summer.

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Hey Rob

Yeah, I thought they were getting a few outside the tailings with the Minelabs… was just curious how the Infinium was doing in that same area??? With all those tailings though, not sure I’d venture to far off.

Nuggetdigger - I hear ya… I doubt I’d start playing around with a Infinium if I was finding gold with a 3500 or 4000.

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yea, i didnt get the infinium as a main gold machine, i got it specifically for sniping bedrock in the deeper waters in some of the areas i work, and maybe as a backup for my GP if needed. i really cant wait though to fet it out in the field and play with it a little. right now our average high temp is about $20 degrees up where im at, and the ground is frozen solid....lol

i do have a few spots down by redding i work from time to time, but havent gotten down recently. if we can get some halfway decent weather here in the next weekend or two, ill probably head down and work a bit.

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Hi,

There have been a couple big nuggets plus lots of small ones found in virgin ground at Moore Creek - sort of. Seeker got his 3.5 oz nugget and last summer Paul got a 6.6 oz nugget from the same location. And that is the highbanker site just above camp. The sort of comes in that Seeker got his in a place where the topsoil had been bladed off in the past. And Paul got his immediately up the channel after I scraped the tundra off the top.

In general, true virgin ground at Moore Creek is too deep to detect. But it is not impossible a person might get a big nugget through the moss, peat, and topsoil in those few areas where bedrock is immediately beneath. Plenty have tried but so far no finds. If time were endless I'd spend lots of it in the high hill scanning the hilltop areas. But free time is at a premium these days.

Steve Herschbach

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I bought one of the first Infiniums sold by Steve Herschbach... In his last

post he is absolutely "dead on" regarding the depth and the smallest size of

of the gold that may be found... However, like Sandtrap I have a hearing

loss and miss the smaller signals... but the Infinium sounds off loud and

clear.

Western & Eastern Treasures will likely(?) have (but nothing in stone), an

article... "Bellas Birthday Nugget" ... in the 2008 Silver & Gold annual which

will not hit the newsstands until about late May/early June... It was found

at "Lunker Hill" in northern Nevada with the Infinium... If "Sandtrap" reads

this he was there with when it was found and took several photos.

Also, Lost Treasure will have(?) an article regarding "Lunker Hill" which should

appear within the next several months. There will be some nice photos of

the gold that James "Oakie Jim" Malone, Smokey and George found... I'm sure

some of the members remember Mr. Malone as he was known in Arizona.

Many of you have been to "Lunker Hill" and found gold... The article may be

for you a "trip down memory lane."

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I bought one of the first Infiniums sold by Steve Herschbach... In his last

post he is absolutely "dead on" regarding the depth and the smallest size of

of the gold that may be found... However, like Sandtrap I have a hearing

loss and miss the smaller signals... but the Infinium sounds off loud and

clear.

Western & Eastern Treasures will likely(?) have (but nothing in stone), an

article... "Bellas Birthday Nugget" ... in the 2008 Silver & Gold annual which

will not hit the newsstands until about late May/early June... It was found

at "Lunker Hill" in northern Nevada with the Infinium... If "Sandtrap" reads

this he was there with when it was found and took several photos.

Also, Lost Treasure will have(?) an article regarding "Lunker Hill" which should

appear within the next several months. There will be some nice photos of

the gold that James "Oakie Jim" Malone, Smokey and George found... I'm sure

some of the members remember Mr. Malone as he was known in Arizona.

Many of you have been to "Lunker Hill" and found gold... The article may be

for you a "trip down memory lane."

lunker hill

is that at rye patch>?

im planning on taking a 3-4 day trip to nevada to do some detecting this spring...im only about 4 hours from rye patch....anyone want to go along?

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...The sort of comes in that Seeker got his in a place where the topsoil had been bladed off in the past. And Paul got his immediately up the channel after I scraped the tundra off the top.

In general, true virgin ground at Moore Creek is too deep to detect. But it is not impossible a person might get a big nugget through the moss, peat, and topsoil in those few areas where bedrock is immediately beneath. Plenty have tried but so far no finds.

Thanks Steve... this gives me a little insight on that place. I had the idea the ground around Moore creek was a bit more open. I didn't realize the area around Moore creek had that much ground cover (tundra).

I've been on tundra in Nome, that stuff is not easy to get through.

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I just got back from a trip to Barbados, where I used my Infinium both for relic hunting and on the beach. The whole island is just coral stone (no volcanic sand), so it was quiet as a whisper until it hit a target. Thus the 14'' mono was the way to go.

I have had tons of experience using SD's and a GP on beaches and found the Infinium to go at least as deep. And the discrim on the Infinium can be somewhat helpful if you take the time to "learn" it.

The real advantage is of course the waterproofing that allowed me to detect in the water and right through a rainstorm.

I have not used the Infinum in the goldfields yet, but it is certainly the finest relic/diving detector on the market. I am eager to see how the rumored White's PI can improve on it. True iron rejection would be the dream!

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To belatedly answer "Nuggetdiggers" question regarding "Ryepatch."

Actually... there exists some confusion regarding this area... The

placer area known as "ryepatch" is westerly of Ryepatch dam. It

may(?) technically be known as "Majuba Placers."

The true Ryepatch mining district is not the placer area commonly

known as "ryepatch." This mixup in names ocurred beginning in the

early 1980's and extending into the late 1990's when the serious

"snowbirds" made their rounds from MiddleCamp (near Quartzsite)

then to Osdick (near Red Mtn CA) thence to Ryepatch (westerly of

the dam)... then to La Porte (Calif).

Then... the "cat got outa the bag" and areas known as "Tungsten"

"Keystone", "Bikini Tree", "Blue Mountain", and "Mill City" in parts

of what is now (both) Humboldt and Pershing Counties in northern

Nevada became familiar "buzz-words". All are just parts of the

original broad "(old) Central Mining District." The (old) Central Mining

District was re-organized as the New Central Mining District when

Pershing county was organized . Thus... What is known as "Lunker Hill"

is within Pershing County.

All of this can be confusing... I try to explain this in the "abstract" of

my article ("Oakie Jims" "Lunker Hill" Nevada Mining Operation) which

will appear in the March 2008 issue of Lost Treasure Magazine which will

hit the newsstands in late January...

Not to be "pushy" or worse... a "know-it-all".... which I'm not.... I like to

write about the past... to know of the past can be part of success in the

present... and a key to success in the future....

My Best to All who are reading this thread... I still use my Infinium(s) as all

machines...PI-types and VLF-types can excel in special circumstances...

such as using just one of the different golf clubs that are carried in a golf bag...

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