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So Many Good Choices...


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F19
Nokta gold
SDC 2300
ATX
Macro Racer/Gold

Whites TDI SL
CTX 3030
GPX5000
And the 7000, of course...

Just trying to narrow down the next purchase....

Hunting NorCal mainly.... Hiking up and down very steep wooded canyons...

So weight is a big, big factor!

I was in a place last week that was so steep I had to put the 2300 in my pack and literally crawl out on all fours!
Beautiful in the bottom, but looked like Hades going up the sides...lol..
Gotta lose 50 lbs now! :-)

The ground sticks to my magnet like crazy.
Red dirt, lots of buck shot size gravels,
Didn't bother my 2300 tho...

Saw a mistake by using the hockey puck coil on the ATGold underwater...bzzzzzt..
It is not an underwater coil !!!
100.00 shot...Did find one bullet before it fried tho....lol

So what so you think I should be using...this is definitely billy goat country...

But one more parameter..
When I come out of the canyons there is lots of ground to cover in burnt forests where I need a larger coil...

I think I know my answer..And it is not altogether one of my choices above.... I think you know what it is Steve.... Grinning..

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The 7000 in spite of the weight. It is deadly on the little stuff and punches deep with the DoD 14 inch - the 20 inch should be something to behold.

I was worried about the weight but after a week of swinging it is fine. I picked up the 5000 for a swing to check some targets - it was like a feather with the 17 inch mono ....

If there is a lot of salty ground I would possibly reconsider - we found the 7000 was very unhappy in salty mineralized ground.

Good luck

Cheers

BB

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Bada Bing, did you try JP's suggestion here:

Sounds like there is a fair component of salt in your ground down that way, to get less salt signal try the General Xtra Deep/Difficult mode and increase the Gain/Sensitivity to compensate for signal response reduction. Best way to determine Salt is to lift the coil above knee height, if there's a strong signal as you bring the coil away up to knee height and above then salt is present.

JP

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Ah Ha what a quandary, and another way to look at things, lovely to have all those choices, even perhaps there`s an answer to the GPZ on the way. Seems by the heavy radio advertising we are getting up here in NQ OZ, and I assume elsewhere there is an imbalance, the GPZ market is maybe saturated.

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The GPX fits perfectly into a book pack. Thats what I do for hiking into steep areas, I also carry a bucket with hammer and chisel and some sniping gear. The bucket is a little heavy at times but its worth it on tougher nuggets that are embedded in the bedrock. 

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Funny you mention that Paul. I am frequenting some steep terrain myself. I told myself I needed to keep my SDC 2300 for that type terrain, and I have.

The problem is I am a power junkie. As I find myself contemplating my next foray into a really rough area, I find myself thinking I should just use my larger backpack and take the GPZ on in. I do not really need to be packing more stuff, but once I am detecting I do like having what I think is the most powerful unit possible in my hands.

This stuff ends up sorting itself out naturally for me. The day will come that I need to pack my bags, and I will have to make the choice. I suspect the SDC is not going to get much use going forward except in very rare situations. If at all. I keep wondering if I should just go ahead and sell it, but keep telling myself to slow up and not rush it, let it sort out. I can be pretty impulsive at times and have to reign it in.

My issue with big coils is more centered on northern Nevada. Lot of big country there that needs covering, and even the GPZ 14 coil starts looking small for some of those locations. Normally the GPX 5000 and big coil would be the perfect solution, and I thought hard about keeping mine for that specific use. However, I also have a Garrett ATX that I consider one of my real core units that I have to keep. Mainly for beach detecting, but it is a good nugget hunter also. The ATX will balance out hot rocks that even the Minelabs struggle with. Rather than keep the GPX just for those rare times I want to swing a larger coil, I just let it go and got the 20" x 15" mono for the ATX.

Then what about those super trashy locations?

No real magic solution for this stuff, but like you started out with noting, just lots of choices. The problem for me is trying to keep the choices weeded down. All I know is right now I am committing to maximizing hours on the GPZ and most everything else is going to get a rest.

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I'm liking the Z for a lot of situations, but I'm with Klunker, personally I'd use something else in real steep canyon country or land with rapidly varying gradients. I'll reevaluate that after a smaller coil comes out.

 

For exploration, general prospecting and patch hunting I'm still leaning towards my 45 since the coils are way lighter and much larger selection. When I'm in really mountainous terrain I'll probably still do just what I did last year, swing the 45 with a couple ellipticals and pack a GB2 until I find a really nice patch with deeper ground and then hit it with the Z.

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Bada Bing, did you try JP's suggestion here:

Sounds like there is a fair component of salt in your ground down that way, to get less salt signal try the General Xtra Deep/Difficult mode and increase the Gain/Sensitivity to compensate for signal response reduction. Best way to determine Salt is to lift the coil above knee height, if there's a strong signal as you bring the coil away up to knee height and above then salt is present.

JP

Lunk - we tried everything in every setting. Spent hours fiddling. There was a lot of residual moisture in the ground. We just had a cyclone through the area which with the 5000 gives better penetration. We will go back when it has dried out fully and retest.

Cheers

BB

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That's a bummer, B.B. Those Zed nuggets will be waiting for you...something to look forward to...best of luck!

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