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Date Posted: 18:52:21 04/16/02 Tue
Author: jim straight
Subject: Re: Gold Bug R.I.P.
In reply to: Steve Herschbach 's message, "Gold Bug R.I.P." on 14:04:14 04/16/02 Tue

Hello Steve

It was just like yesterday that the old Gold Bug was introduced at the Riverside GPAA gold show, March 1987. We all looked at it; the weird looking coil and the small top-mounted box and wondered how it would perform.

Irwin Lee, then the Fisher representative, took one up to the El Paso range and came back with enough gold to write the word G O L D B U G in a glass case at the following GPAA event at the LDMA's Dusenburg show.

My late brother, Tom, was a dealer at this time in Sierra Vista, AZ, and sold the Gold Bug in quantity; this was back before the distributorships and, at this time, he dealt direct with both Fisher and also Compass factory; however White's had already set up their distributor/dealer program with the late Hank West then the Arizona distributor.

Getting back to the Gold Bug: I first went in partnership 50/50 on the purchase of a Gold Bug with both the 10 and 14-inch coil. My partner was Jack Leuf and the Gold Bug worked much better for Jack than me. At this time Dome Rock in Quartzsite--- section 33--- was a BLM claim (Jim Ross's claim) and still "hot" as also at this time (late 1980's) were the Lost/Gold Basin areas.

Jack bought out my half-interest in "our" Gold Bug and I bought a used Gold Bug from one of my brothers customers. I still have it with the 6.5 and 14-inch accessory coils

Jack switched to the early Goldmaster II when it came out; but by that time his Gold Bug was well used up. (Jack and I happened to be at Quartzsite when the late Fred Fish was testing a prototype GM II; also we just happened to later be at the area that is known as "Ryepatch" when the GM II was being tested.)

Currently, with the Gold Bug no longer manufactured, the Garrett Gold Stinger is now the earliest machine still in production.

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