GPZ 7000 Software Update - Official Release Information

[AUddicted]

Excellent question I have wondered about myself. The GPZ is new technology and no doubt more complicated than I appreciate. I am pretty sure if it was easy we would not even be talking about it. Truth is I have no idea I just go out and put the hours on the machine. My own GPZ is running just fine for me. All I could seriously wish for was for it to weigh less. A long day swinging that thing is a workout.

[AUddicted]

I think that's the first time you've complained about the weight.

I just think it takes that much copper to have that much sensitivity. So we have to just suck it up. Too bad aluminum wire isn't as effective/ conductive.

And what about those who are wishing for larger coils from Minelab.

[Steve Herschbach]

I thought the White's TDI at 5.6 lbs was too heavy. I thought the Garrett ATX at 6.9 lbs was insane. The GPZ at 7.2 lbs is getting laughable. What next, a 10 lb detector?

It is what it is mainly due to the unique coil design and battery power needed to run it all day long. I am not the guy waiting for a larger coil. I want a smaller coil which when paired with the CTX battery may knock over a pound off the weight.

I walked miles on steep hillsides all day before making that post and no support system works as well in steep terrain as in the flats. I am up for it but there is no doubt the weight is an impediment for some people. It is not a complaint so much as a wish but short of a smaller coil I am not expecting much progress. And I am not holding my breath waiting for that coil.

Now back to swinging the GPZ!

[Steve Herschbach]

You know, now I think maybe the machine is a bit better behaved in alkali ground. More study needed......

[mn90403]

Is the ferrite ring going to make me miss meteorites?  

[mn90403]

Steve said:

 

I walked miles on steep hillsides all day before making that post and no support system works as well in steep terrain as in the flats.

 

I say:

 

The bungee that came with the 7000 has an adjustable clip so that when I use it with the hipstick in less than a second I can adjust it for up-slope or down=slope and avoid elbow pains.

 

​I use this same bungee on the beach where there are sometimes cuts that require me to shorten or lengthen the cord.  It's the best I've found.  One hand, two fingers and voila!  Weightless 

[flakmagnet]

Hi Steve,

 

I recently logged my first hours behind a GPZ and like almost everyone, agree about the weight.

A Hipstick did help a lot. The quick adjust clip is an improvement for quick height changes.

And as has been mentioned before, changing (shortening), the arc of the swing

and walking slower helped mitigate the weight a touch.

But 7+ pounds over the course of a day is a challenge. 

[Norvic]

_{Well I believe the update for the 7000 is a positive gain, I went back to fairly large patch found with the 7000 from earlier in the year, small gold 2.45 grams largest but hundreds of sub grammers originally, at more depth I picked up one more piece over a gram and many sub grammers all at depth on the main run. Using it on difficult with sens cranked right up I could handle the threshold at 25, most signals were definites that I believe I would have got before if there was not a gain. Saying that it could be I concentrated more because of the sort of "new machine effect", but I don`t believe so. It is not a "OOH AH" sort of gain, not 40% or better but a gain in my take.}

 

_{Re. The ferrite, as before makes no difference in my country, does not give a peep at all, even on first sweep, I have not quick tracked my machine for months believe it is not necessary. The auto tracking will handle the changes providing you take it slow.}

[benzyoc]

This update scares me. I have a few questions if anyone can help.

Does this ferrite bead just dumb down the machine sensitivity so it runs quieter?

Is minelab just over ground balancing the machine to make it run smooth? Kinda like ground balancing on a nugget, you just track it out.

Has there been any testing on actual sensitivity vs the old version?

My concern is that minelab has made the machine less sensitive to make it more stable. The noise doesn't bother me one bit. I have no problem picking out the super faint targets through the ground noise. I read about people doing crazy things like not running threshold and such to make the machine stable.

The 40% claim I fell is correct. But there is a lot that goes into it. Its all about listening to what the detector is telling you.

[Steve Herschbach]

If it is not broke don't fix it. However, the update is reversible. Test whatever targets you like, do the update, test them again. If not happy, roll back to the original software version.