Field test: Fisher Gemini-3 two box

It was a beautiful day here in Mass, clear skies, around 55. I took my new Gemini-3 to the seashore for my first practice/test. I'm sure most of you know, a two box has two applications: Finding treasure caches, and non-treasure applications, such as finding pipes, etc. The excellent user manual covers both apps. The build quality is excellent, seems to be quite a rugged piece of equipment. It comes with batteries, 16 of them. According to the manual, expect around 50 hours of service from alkaline batteries. The unit has two boxes, a reciever and a transmitter. Both boxes have an analog meter, the transmitter has a battery level meter, and the reciever has a signal/battery meter.
It also comes with 3 sections of aluminum handle, which screws together. It took me a while to figure out which section went with which section, but I eventually firgured it out. Only later did I notice that each end of a section has a small number 1 or 2 that matches up with another small number of the same number. (The manual makes no mention of this). It happened that I arrived at the seashore at VERY low tide, as the moon was almost new. The manual states that wet salt sand may render the Gemini-3 useless, so I chose to test farther up the beach, where the sand (mostly rocks) was somewhat dry, at least on top. I brought along a small steel crowbar, approx 1/2" x 16", and also brought one of those new all steel hammer/chisel tools, also about 16" long, The beach was super rocky at this location, with hard packed rocks between the size of a baseball to a grapefruit. I dug down about 16", the soil, or what soil there was, was moist with sea salt water, but not soakiing like down at the surf line. At 16" I hit salt water. I tossed the irons in, and filled in the hole. Now it was time to tune the machine. I was able to tune the machine, even in this highly mineralized sea saltwater environment. This machine is so sensitive and powerful, really almost too powerful. There was a steel chain link fence up on the bluff, about 40 yards away. The Gemini-3 was screaming. I had to go back down the beach, I couldn't get within 50 yards of that fence! Where the manual states to make sure that there is no iron around your locale, such as cars, etc, they mean like a 1/8th of mile away. Once I got away from the fence, tuning was easy. This unit has a speaker and a standard phone jack. The batteries last a lot longer if you use earphones, the manual states. I started out using the speaker. The speaker is so loud that it is obnoxious. And there is no volume control. Lowering the sensitivity will not lower the volume either. It is basically a volume on/volume off situation, even though the manual states that this unit has a variable volume. What they mean by this is that the volume will vary depending on how close to the target you get. The volume was so loud that dogs were barking away about 70 yards from where I was working. I brought along some earphones, so I thought I would use them as not to disturb the peace. OMG, those earphones about blew my ears out! You will definitely need earphones with a volume control adjustment. (Radio Shack sells the Panasonic RP-HC101's for about $50.) You can bet I will bring those with me next time. The detector is so powerful it found my target with ease. When using one of these machines, dig where the volume/meter first comes on. The volume/meter stayed on for about 5 yards after passing the target. The meter measures between 0 and 100 Vm. The meter maxed out at 40 Vm on my target. I estimate that the detector could have found my target at 4 feet, easy. Which brings us to another important consideration: This machine is so powerful that you will have to make a determination at what point you will stop digging. In the ground I was working on, for example, I wouldn't dig more than 2 feet on any target. But if you are lucky enough to have nice soft beach sand to work in, you might decide to stop digging at 6 or 7 feet. Any deeper than this would put one in jepardy of caveins. Just to give you an example of what you might expect, the manual states that buried automobiles can be detected at a depth of 20 feet or more. If you don't establish a cut off point for digging,God help you if you come across a buried auto or refrigerator. We won't be seeing you for about a week! btw, shoveling is super super good exercise for the abs,so dig away, my friends. To sum it up, this is a super powerful machine that is probably only good for the beach, unless you bring a backhoe with you. I will be using it on the beaches where the coast is clear, so I am OK with this. The Gemini-3 is easy and fun to use. Excellent value for the money. You will be confident that if there is any metal anywhere, you will detect it easy. You don't have to walk slow when using it, either. Normal walking pace is fine. Oh, I forgot to mention, it comes with an adjustable strap also, so that the machine can be used lower to the ground, by holding the strap rather than the bar. Sorry I don't have more exact numbers to share with you, but I'm not going to test how deep it detects a refrigerator. I'll leave that for you. Keep diggin......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2011 12:03PM by Kevin.

That's hilarious that is. I can see your yard after a while looking like Sanfords Place. Wife will be happy too......with all the new muscles and all
Keep us updated Kevin.

That's an interesting piece to share............as many folks are interested in the whats/hows/wheres of 2-box units. Thank You.

Sounds like a trip man. One question though, does it come with a back hoe or do you have to purchase one separately? I'm sure Kellyco has one of those package deals. Maybe they have one with an excavator included

You're a better man than I. Ain't digging 6 or 7 feet in turf OR sand



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/18/2011 01:38AM by njnydigger.

Thank you for the interesting report.....That's the best laugh I've had in some time. I bet that you couldn't operate that unit if you had a steel pin in your body from surgery. I think you should volunteer to check TSA agents for guns from across the highway......

You guys are too funny. You are welcome for the report. I didn't know that some folks were interested in learning about the two box. Once I get more experience, I'll provide an update.

And to think it's OLD technology that is performing this well. NEVER assume "newer is better". (Motto: Try ... before you buy).

Can I ask this? What are you expecting to find on beaches with a two box? What does the manual say is the smallest size metal you can detect with it? I could think of a couple old hydraulic pits Id like to take it to as well as a back hoe. And maybe a gold field or two in Australia.
HH
Godigit

Hi godigit1. Can I ask you this? What do you think one might find on the coast with a two box? I think you can download the manual off the Fisher website. Yes, it does make reference to the size of the target. It says that the detector will not detect small items such as coins. Hydraulic pits? I don't even know what those are. And what do you think you might find of worth there? Sorry, a twobox will not find placer gold or gold nuggets. The twobox is for big game.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2011 02:38AM by Kevin.

Kevin Sorry you took offense to my question. I think one might find a sunken ship or Blackbeards treasure Fire pits full of aluminum cans. HAHA. It was A honest question as to what you were looking for. A hydraulic pit is a type of gold mine I know of one where historically 20 + pound nuggets were found. Just recently a 7 pound nugget was found close by that went for $400,000 . And have you read about the recent 51 pound nugget pulled from the outback. Thats what I call big game.
Good luck whatever your looking for.

Page 17 locating placer deposits.

Hi Godigit1. Right you are! No, I was not aware of those Hydrolic pits. Yes, that is what I call big game also. Thanks for the wellwishes. You too.