Salt Lakes

Hi Everyone
I have never detected on salt lakes before,but it looks like next year i might have a go for 10days.
I was wondering if anyone had used a 4500 on salt lakes and if you used a salt coil or will a DD do the job???

Cheers Jon

Hi Jon,
to get the best possible sensitivity and depth out of your 4500 on a salt lake you will need a salt coil. Without a salty, or anti interference coil as they are somtimes called you will find the 4500 very noisy and lack depth and sensitivity.

You can use the DD supplied and it will find gold but it will be very noisy.

The salty is pretty quiet and has the sensitivity and depth of a mono coil.

Cheers, Jim

Switch the 4500 to Cancel mode with a DD coil attached, invert the Response, select Normal timings and away you go. The 11" DD is surprising sensitive on the small shallow gold even on the edges of salt lakes. If Mineralisation is also present (in salty ground away from the lakes such as at Lake Goongarrie) then you can also use the Enhance timings in Fixed Ground balance.

Hope this helps,

JP

Gday JP
I've done a bit around the lakes near Meekatharra with a small amount of success but I've never tried the settings you've described. I'll give them a go next time I'm up there but I'm curious as to the reasoning behind inverting the response. Can you give an explanation please Jonathan.
cheers
Brett

Hi Granite2 & JP
Thank you for your response.

Granite
I might be able to borrow a salt coil,if so can you help me with some settings for the 4500.

JP
I will also try the settings you have suggested but i am also curious as to why you invert the signal.

Cheers Jon.

When you choose Cancel mode with a DD coil attached the coil behaves like a pseudo Monoloop but out of phase which means the response will be inverted (low/high for small targets instead of High/low etc), it is the out of Phase aspect of the mode that deals with the conductive component of the ground (salt), inverting the response corrects this. A DD coil in Cancel mode will provide similar depth the a Figure 8 or AI coil.

JP

Thanks JP
Brett

Hi JP
Does those setting stand for the 4000 as well

thanks Mono

Hi Jon, use your factory pre-set settings but be sure to select the DD settings. As JP said the depth will be similar as to when using a standard DD coil. The big difference is that the salty will be quieter and enable you to hear smaller and deeper signals.

Cheers, Jim

Hi Everyone
Thankyou all for your input,it has been very helpfull.
I will print it out and let you all know how i went,but it wont be until next year.

Hi Mono and Nan,are ya there yet ???
I will be in Kal on Nov 8 at the go cart track.

Cheers Jon.

Realise this is an older post but was wondering whether you still need to use a salt coil on the new GPX5000 as it has "salt settings" built into the machine. If not then can a mono be used or does it have to be the DD.
'Thanks

Treat the 5000 the same as the settings that have been suggested for the 4500 in the above posts by Jonathan Porter for salt ground/salt lakes.

The setting on the 5000 is "salt gold" and on the 4500 it is called "salt course"

Or just try the "salt gold" setting with a DD coil and see how you go.

cheers dave