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GPZ Settings Nome Ak Area


dgatleyDP

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I've searched the DP archives, been reading DP forever (it seems), certainly on the GPZ discussions, and have yet to see or hear about this unit's operation/performance/settings in Alaska.

I'm headed to areas North of Nome, AK next year - and just dotting my "eye's" and crossing my "tee's" long before the trip.  Steve has covered Gane's Creek incredibly well, as usually does with a bunch of MD's, but unless I was asleep, he has yet to discuss having taken his ZED up there.  I'm looking for advise (beyond carrying a .44MAG), settings primarily since Alaska is not AZ, nor NV, nor CA.

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Nearly all metal detecting in Alaska is in very trashy tailing piles and ground that is not very mineralized, so a good VLF has historically been the better way to go in Alaska. There would be nothing specific to a GPZ worth noting. You should be able to run one as hot as you want.

Whether a PI or a GPZ my main advice for Alaska is to also have a good VLF along.

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We had a couple of 7000s in Nome last summer when I was just learning it.  I would say that the bigger learning 'curve' was Alaska itself.  We had some tailing piles and a couple of push areas and some tiny bedrock GB2 nuggets.

Swifty got more nuggets (6?) than I did but I got a specimen that was about 12 g (5g gold) which was all that I metal detected in 3 days.  I was using the standard settings but we didn't have a ferrite ring at the time.  

We had a GB Pro with us but it couldn't be tuned to get the bedrock nuggets by people who had their GB2 with them.

If you are not working a push or tailings the tundra was so thick you don't know what you have.

Only Steve knows!

Mitchel

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19 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Nearly all metal detecting in Alaska is in very trashy tailing piles and ground that is not very mineralized, so a good VLF has historically been the better way to go in Alaska. There would be nothing specific to a GPZ worth noting. You should be able to run one as hot as you want.

Whether a PI or a GPZ my main advice for Alaska is to also have a good VLF along.

Thanks to all! I suspected such....

Steve, by "hot as you want", are you suggesting settings such as Lunk has in his recommended settings for the GPZ?  Lunk leans heavily towards hot settings, and has the nuggets to prove it works, but that is in heavily mineralized ground.  

I'm just trying to clarify the term used for "hot". 

Still wondering when ML will release some version of the GPZ that has discrimination ?.  Thanks again!

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Actually Lunk and I are exact opposites in that regard. Lunk settings seek out quiet operation/smooth thresholds that let tiny signals stand out. Just the opposite of my "Insane Settings" where everything is cranked to the max. This makes gold signals stronger but also adds noise that you have to mentally process.

In my case running hot tends to equate with running noisy but what each person considers to be a hot setting varies. Lunk would consider his settings hot in that they give him his best results.

I am a bit odd in that I tend to advocate that people run machines seeking stability and smooth thresholds but then do not do that myself. I am not advocating my settings or way of hunting as being superior. I firmly believe what works for one set of ears and level of expertise is different from what works for another.

 

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1 hour ago, dgatleyDP said:

Still wondering when ML will release some version of the GPZ that has discrimination ?.  Thanks again!

I am guessing not soon. There was a time when new Minelab models hit about every two years but after the GPX 4500 it has been more like every five years.

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dgatelyDP,

I've yet to meet Steve but I've taken some lessons from Lunk.  I'm told that one thing they have in common is that they both don't use headphones.

That being said ... using only the speaker on your remote for the 7000 or the 3030 will let you tolerate different settings than you may be able to with a high volume blasting in your ears.

I use headphones with a volume control and one has noise cancel.  One set has a battery power boost and the other does not.  The signal that I amplify from the detector I use can sometimes accommodate different settings other than just the volumes.

As Steve says, test, test, test so that you can hear anything out of the ordinary.

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DgatleyDP;

i have copied several settings that other people use. I copy and paste other's setting to a folder and then print them and put them in a notebook and then copy the settings into a small note-pad to carry with me. However, I don't think you can ever have a "wrong" setting.

As long as you can hear the signals and are comfortable the GPZ will find the gold-and all the tiny iron in the area!

good luck

fred

 

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I'm sorry, I guess I don't understand why the need to ask for "settings" ??

It almost appears that if you have to ask how to run your detector, you're not learning your detector?

I would say, learn your detector before you take a trip where you would hope to find gold.

Maybe there is a need to know what everyone else uses??  I guess I just don't understand. Are the Minelabs that complicated ?

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Borrowing someones else's settings can be an effective shortcut to some areas.

The Gpz is very simple if one uses the stock settings but we always want just a little bit more...performance, power, wealth...success.

And, not every person wants to spend lots of time experimenting with their detector.

fred

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