The Eureka Gold is Minelab’s flagship VLF gold detector, which has been overshadowed somewhat by the GPX series, but it has quietly gone about its business for years now, and has built up an excellent reputation. It is a popular model for a number of reasons: lightweight, economical, hip-mount capability, high sensitivity, good iron reject, long life NiMH pack included, fast Auto ground balance, 3 switchable frequencies, but most of all, it just works!
For users that already have a Eureka Gold, or those in the process of buying one, here are a few tips to help you get the best out of this little gold machine:
SWEEP SPEED – Everyone has heard the virtues of low and slow, and this is still the case with the Eureka Gold, however, unlike MPS machines, VLF’s have their Transmit and Receive circuits on at the same time, so do not need an ultra slow sweep. In a lot of cases a medium sweep speed will often provide a sharper response. What is important is a consistent height above the ground.
GROUND BALANCE – Ground Balance is quite critical for maximum performance on most detectors, but on a high sensitivity gold detector being used in mineralized soils, the ground balance is extremely critical. Luckily, ground balancing the Eureka is extremely simple, simply switch the Ground Balance switch into Slow Track, raise and lower the coil between 1cm and 10cm above the ground until there is no variation in the threshold, and away you go! If there are rocks, or other obstacles, and you will actually be sweeping the coil 4cm above the ground, then when ground balancing lower the coil to 4cm to the ground instead of 1cm. In highly variable soils, use Fast Track.
SENSITIVITY – The key to the Sensitivity is to set it to the maximum stable setting. I prefer a very slight variation in the Threshold, as that tells me that the Sensitivity setting is set correctly. If it gets too noisy, then simply back the Sensitivity off, and if the Threshold goes really stable, you can turn the Sensitivity up a notch. The important point here is to be aware of the Sensitivity setting and make small adjustments when necessary to maintain maximum performance.
WHERE TO LOOK – This is perhaps the most important aspect to being successful with the Eureka Gold. As good as any detector is, there has to be gold big enough and shallow enough for the detector to signal a response. So do your research on old gold areas, and find locations where nuggety gold was common, and also where the gold occurred at a shallow depth. If the gold was found in old river beds 10m below the surface, then you probably shouldn’t stray too far away from the old mullock heaps. Surfaced areas, exposed bedrock, and shallow diggings are all prospective areas that will still give up gold to the persistent, careful detectorist.
If you want to know more about the Eureka Gold, watch the video below.
Nenad Lonic
of 1
Comments