Gear Review: Baofeng Handheld Radio

PlacerGold Equipment May 12, 2015baofeng, communication, gold mining equipment, placer, radio, vancouver 5 Comments

Communication is essential for any placer gold operation to be successful. It is also important for safety, in the event of an emergency communication can make the difference between life and death.

When out prospecting you are usually away from cell service. So you need another way to communicate. For person to person communication you can’t beat a handheld radio. Even if you are within cell range radios are more convenient because of their field ruggedness and long battery life.

The Baofeng UV-5R is an entry level dual band ham radio manufactured in China. You can buy these radios for under $30 on Amazon.com! In larger commercial operations, and even smaller ones, companies will use much more expensive radios such as the Kenwood TK-3402. Those radio retail over $300 and have way less features. Also to program a Kenwood radio you usually have to take it to a dealer. You can program them yourself with the right cable and software but almost everyone brings them to a dealer.

The Baofeng is a hidden gem. After years of using much more expensive radios I had low expectations for a sub $30 Chinese unit. I was blown away when I got these radios. The biggest advantage that the Baofeng has is the ability to program radio frequencies on the fly. When you roll up to a BC forest service road or active logging road they have the frequency posted at the start and you are supposed to call out the kilometers as you travel up the road. The reason you want to do this is because there are large logging trucks and other equipment working up there. When you are able to communicate with them you can prevent getting hit or trapped on a tight road with a logging truck.

You’ll wonder why other radios don’t allow field programming. That is because you legally require a licence to transmit on many channels. You could get in a lot of trouble with the Baofeng radio because you can program any channel that you want. It is easy to listen in on police or ambulance channels. I do listen to the police and other people some times for entertainment. You can also transmit which is illegal. That being said in the event of an emergency it would be worthwhile to contact help directly.

The range on these radios is also impressive. They transmit at 4 watts, compared to the 5 watts of the commercial grade Kenwoods. I’ve tested the range on the Baofeng radios at over 10km, they could potentially go further with good line of sight. There is a dual watch feature which allows you to monitor two channels at the same time. When you hit the PTT button it will transmit on the last channel that had activity. There is a scan feature on the radio but it is very slow.

The stock battery will last up to 20 hours. That is pretty decent, I wouldn’t expect any other radio to last longer. I bought spare batteries for mine, they are also available for a reasonable price. They are available for about $6.00 each at amazon. The UV-5R features VOX capability which is usually only available on much more expensive radios. VOX gives it the ability to trigger the PTT by your voice, basically hand free operation.

The Baofeng can easily be programmed to work with repeaters, such as the BC Forestry repeaters. This feature adds to the versatility of this radio as an emergency communication device. Programming on the handheld can be a little confusing although entirely possible. I recommend using a PC and some free software. There is a great program called CHIRP that makes programming these radios as easy as filling out a spreadsheet. You can download CHIRP for free here. There is also a great manual put together by the Chinese radio project.

The UV-5R has memory for up to 128 channels. It also has FM radio capability meaning you can listen to terrestrial FM radio stations. There is a bright LED light included as well which is a nice feature. The small form factor is kind of nice, I often forget I have it on me. It has a belt clip but can fit nicely in a pocket as well.

In the box is the radio itself, the AC drop charger, the antenna, battery, belt clip, headset (works with VOX) and an english manual.

The Baofeng UV-5R is available on Amazon.com for an amazing price.

Baofeng UV-5R ($27.63)

I’d also recommend:

Baofeng USB Cable ($5.99)

Extra Battery ($5.89)

Update:

Baofeng has released a new version of this radio with 8 watts of transmit power. That gives it much more range than most commercial handheld radios such as the Kenwood TK series which operate at 5W and sell for over $300.

BaoFeng BF-F8HP ($62.89)

Where does placer gold come from?

PlacerGold Science May 9, 2015gold, gold mining equipment, gold pan, lode gold, placer, solar system, supernova 0 Comment

If you are trying to find gold it helps to know where it came from.

To start with there is only one kind of gold. Placer gold and lode gold both come from the same place and are made of the same stuff. Gold is not actually formed on earth it was formed millions of years ago in distant stars. In large stars, much larger than our sun elements are combined together in their cores through the process of nuclear fusion. Our sun like all stars runs on fusion too but it does not have enough mass to produce atoms larger than carbon or oxygen. Larger stars can generate the gravitational force and heat in their cores necessary to produce elements as heavy as iron. To create things like gold even more energy is required and that takes place in a supernova.

When a large star runs out of light matter the fusion reaction is no longer sustainable and the star begins to collapse on itself very rapidly. The supernova collapse takes place in a matter of seconds. While the star is collapsing it produces heat very rapidly and explodes in what is essentially a humongous nuclear bomb. Supernova events are so bright and powerful that they are brighter than then entire galaxy that hosts the star. This nuclear explosion allows for higher energy fusion reactions that can produce heavy elements like gold. The explosion also scatters the newly created material over great distances.

So how did the star dust make it into the mountains and rivers on earth? When our solar system began approximately 4.6 billion years ago it was a cloud of dust and gas called a nebula. This nebula was composed of the remains from older stars that had spread their guts around the universe in supernova explosions. The molecules of the nebula naturally pulled on each other by the force of gravity growing more and more dense. As the nebula was collapsing in on itself it also started to spin faster and faster. The condensing and spinning action formed the nebula into a disk, much like you spin dough into a pizza. In the center where the force of gravity is the strongest a new star was created, our sun. The swirling mass around the sun clumped together into the planets, moons, asteroid and comets that we see today.

The early solar system was different that it is today. The big planets did not form all at once, it was a gradual process. Small plantoids formed first and crashed and coalesced into each other to form larger planets. In theory the distribution of gold was basically even in all the rocky material that made up the early solar system. In the early earth, while it was still completely molten the heavy material (such as iron and precious metals like gold) all sunk to the center of the planet to form the core. The process is similar to the way that dense material sinks to the bottom of your gold pan. If you could mine the core you would be very rich but it would be very difficult with current gold mining equipment. Current scientific theories estimate that there is enough gold in the core to cover the surface of the earth with a 4 meter thick layer of pure gold.

We can only reach gold that is trapped in the crust of the earth. The precious metals in the crust were put there by meteor bombardments that took place after the crust had formed. As these meteorites crashed into the surface of the earth they disintegrated and mixed their material into the upper mantle. The meteorite guts had the effect of enriching the amount of precious metals in the crust.

So we know where gold came from and how it was formed. Stay tuned for a future post to learn how the gold formed into deposits in the mountains and streams that we mine.

Check out Part 2 & 3 here:

Where Does Placer Gold Come From? – Part 2 Deposits

Where Does Placer Gold Come From? – Part 3 Placer

Southern Cariboo Prospecting Trip

PlacerGold Trip Reports May 7, 2015ghost town, gold mining, gold pan, gold panning, Lillooet, placer claim 4 Comments

Here is another trip report from March. This trip was to a claim in the Cariboo region.

The claim is located approximately 30km to the North of the town of Lillooet on the Fraser River. Access to the claim was gained via Highway 1 from the lower mainland to Lillooet, then 4×4 roads to the claim. We took the West Pavillion FSR and turned onto an un-named dirt road towards the claim. The driving distance from Abbotsford is approximately 316km and took about 5.5 hours to drive. The map below shows the route taken.

Upon arrival to the claim we spotted some old buildings and decided to check them out. It turned out to be a really cool ghost town. There were several shacks that are still standing and a very well preserved church. I haven’t been able to find out any information on the ghost town. It is really one of the best preserved ghost towns that I have seen.

The trip was off to a great start. After checking out the ghost town we tried to find a suitable route down to the river. The sides of the river in this part of the valley are very steep. We tried out a route and it ended up being a little too steep, we were able to make it but it wasn’t easy.

The next morning after looking over the topo maps and weighing our experience from the previous day we decided to take an old creek bed down to the river. The creek bed was not a direct route but it is much easier walking and a fairly consistent grade. We arrived at the beach and began scouting sample locations and started digging.

We managed to get four samples this time. As usual we used a measured volume of material, screened on site and hand panned down to a manageable amount. The gold values were not super exciting from this round but there was gold in each sample. I saw some small flakes in the gold pan in a couple spots.

Across the river on a different claim we spotted some old mining equipment. It looks like an old trommel with a hopper and possibly some jigs. That property was a past producer but it looks like it hasn’t been worked in some time. After three days the trip was over and we headed back to civilization. To top off the trip we spotted some mountain sheep on the side of the highway.

Propsecting Tools: The Gold Pan

PlacerGold Equipment May 6, 2015gold mining, gold mining equipment, gold pan, gold panning, pyramid pan, vancouver 2 Comments

There is a whole world of tools to assist in gold prospecting out there. Every day you hear of a new innovative product that will do all the work for you and leave you with clean gold while you sit in your lawn chair and drink beer. Some of these claims are true, most are partially true or only work under ideal conditions.

There are concentrator jigs, highbanker sluices, magnetic machines, trommels of all shapes and sizes, rockers, dredges, blue bowls, miller tables and anything else you can imagine.

The quintessential tool for any prospector is and always has been the gold pan. It is the go to tool in the prospector’s tool kit. The concept is quite simple, you shovel gold bearing gravel into the pan, agitate it and allow the more dense material to reach the bottom. You then remove the lighter material from the upper layer and re-agitate. After repeating the motion several times you are left with only the dense material including gold. Everyone has their own little tricks for panning, including myself, but it all boils down to the same thing.

Gold pans have not changed dramatically over time, historically they used a metal, shallow smooth pan. Much like the one in the photo below. That’s me in the photo, I was on an exploration trip in the Yukon and found that pan in an old cabin. It was old and rusty but still worked.

Today there are many styles of pans available with different kinds of riffles and shapes. There are square pans, pyramid pans (which I’ll cover in a future post), and round pans. Also they come in different sizes from 6″ to 30″. Essentially the larger the pan, the more material you can run.

Realistically a pan is not a production gold separator by today’s standards. You will really use a pan to test areas to see if and how much gold is present. So a gigantic one doesn’t make a lot of sense. I use 14″ pans in the field for testing, they allow a reasonable amount of material to get an idea of the potential grade. I also have some smaller pans around 8″ diameter. They are great for the concentrating process after you have collected your samples.

I prefer the green plastic pans made by Garrett. The plastic gets roughed up over time and works to keep gold in the pan. Also they have very effective riffles and a smooth side for finer panning. The green color shows the gold really well. Black works OK but in my opinion green is the best for spotting small gold.

I don’t like metal pans for a couple reasons, they are heavier which matters to me because I go to a lot of rugged areas that require hiking in. They have less aggressive riffles. Metal pans are also susceptible to rust and they require that the oils left over from manufacturing be burned off prior to use.

As a beginner or experienced gold panner I recommend plastic pans. Check out the links below to get some for yourself.

Garrett 14″ Gold Pan ($10.60)

I have three of these pans and they work great. The big riffles make it easy to move lots of material. The gravity trap in the bottom holds fine gold very well. They are tough! I have fallen on them and dropped them down rock faces and they do not crack. Also the green color makes gold extra visible.

VAS 8″ Gold Pan ($5.79)

I have a couple of these smaller pans that I use for cleaning up samples and panning small amounts of material. This is a versatile pan, the large riffles work well when you have the pan full. I use the smaller riffles most of the time for fine panning. This pan also has a trap in the bottom like the Garrett and a similar green color.

Lytton Prospecting Trip

PlacerGold Trip Reports May 6, 2015gold mining, gold panning, Lytton, placer claim, pyramid pan 1 Comment

In March I took a trip to my new placer claim near Lytton, BC.

The claim is located approximately 30km to the North of the town of Lytton on the Fraser River.
Access to the claim was gained via Highway 1 from the lower mainland to Lytton, the ferry is taken to the West side of the river and then 4×4 roads to the claim. We took Spencer Road North which is a dirt road. The driving distance from Abbotsford is approximately 230km and took about 4 hours to drive. The map below shows the route taken.

This was my first time taking the ferry across the Fraser river. It is the weirdest ferry I’ve ever been on. The ferry is connected to large cables that are anchored on each side of the river. It travels along the cable as it goes across. Ther ferry is held up by what looks like two canoes. Once it starts moving it immediately drifts in line with the current, it is a bit of an unnerving feeling being such a small ferry.

Once past the ferry you are on to Spencer Road West which eventually become the Texas Creek FSR. The claim is about 30km up this road. The road is in decent shape but you don’t want to slide off. Check out these photos.

Once at the claim I was excited to find a way down to the beach to take some samples. First I had to set up my camp, I chose a location near the road for easy packing of gear.

While finding a way down I came across what looked like an ancient river channel. There is evidence that a creek may run through here seasonally but not this year since it was such a dry winter. The hike wasn’t too bad getting down there. Once at the beach I found a spot to start digging for my first sample.

I managed to get four samples over the two days that I was at the claim. Each sample consisted of a measured volume of material concentrated on site by gold panning by hand. I use a special pyramid pan to concentrate on site, more on that in a future post. I then concentrate the sample individually at home.

It was a good trip. There was gold in all my samples and I’ll definitely be going back to this claim. I’d like to investigate that possible channel as well.

New Blog

PlacerGold Uncategorized May 1, 2015aerial imagrey, Claims For Sale, drone, gold mining, gold mining equipment, gold panning, Vancouver drone 0 Comment

Hi this is my new blog. All about gold panning and exploration. I am an explorationist, that means that I explore for valuable minerals. I have worked in remote areas of North America, ranging from the Canadian Arctic, to Coastal British Columbia to the Central United States. I have worked for mineral and oil companies and searching for large deposits and for myself and others in search of smaller pay streaks.

This blog will be filed with exploration trip reports, information on gold mining equipment, and discussion about exploration topics and events.

There will also be a section for gold claims for sale. I have several gold claims throughout BC. A zoomable map will also be available on the Claims Page.

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