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Ferrite Ring 8 Years Later


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I don’t have my GPZ anymore, but one of my last discussion on it was about the ferrite ring. The first shipments didn’t have one it was a later add on I thought more for some X factor that was an issue in the heavily mineralized soils in Australia. The 7000 was at times pretty unstable depending on conditions and the rings were shipped everywhere. It became a ceremony starting up the GPZ you’d do your act of contrition throw down the ring for a donation to appease the Devine spirit of the holy patch and spend the day praying for gold.

minelab later anointed us with an offering our first communion a spiritual update version XX and all was good in the kingdom of the fields, did we in the western kingdom need to continue the ceremony of the ring… or was it a habit that brought spiritual peace, for we had already reached salvation?

out of curiosity having committed first the sin of breaking my ring and then an almost unforgivable act of forgetfulness the omission abandonment the ring never to be seen again.

who among us, cast the first stone discarding the past traditions of our faith and ditched the ring and why, conversely for those finding comfort in the old traditions why, does it still bring you closer to the enlightenment we seek.

seriously, here in the milder soils of the untied states, does it help or do we use it because minelab gave it to us and it might make a difference, after losing my second ring I guess I lost faith and moved on not noticing a difference in the obstacles of my journey.

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Hey Art,

   Here are my thoughts, at least here in Arizona.  When the Minelab GPZ 7000 originally came out, with the first firmware update, there was no Ferrite ring included with the detector, nor was it available.  It wasn't until a year or so later, the Ferrite ring was included in the detector and the firmware was updated (new purchases or available to download).  

For 2 years solid, I found some of my best gold with the GPZ 7000 and never used a Ferrite ring.  I would just do the normal balance in the "Auto" mode and start hunting.  I actually found in my opinion some of my smallest gold and largest with the original firmware and felt later one after the additional firmware updates I was finding smaller and not as deep.  This might just by in my mind, but I remember finding smaller gold with the stock 14x13 back then.  

I have used the Ferrite ring over the years and do carry one with me for the most part, but haven't really seen a huge difference using it vs. not using it.  

Now when it comes to Ferrite rings, they say the color ID's  the Ferrite ring.  However, some have claimed Doc's don't do the same as the Minelab one and I haven't found any truth to this.  I have even brought this to Doc's attention years ago, but I still have customers that claim the Minelab one works better than any aftermarket one.  

Just some thoughts on this.

Rob

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3 minutes ago, Rob Allison said:

Hey Art,

   Here are my thoughts, at least here in Arizona.  When the Minelab GPZ 7000 originally came out, with the first firmware update, there was no Ferrite ring included with the detector, nor was it available.  It wasn't until a year or so later, the Ferrite ring was included in the detector and the firmware was updated (new purchases or available to download).  

For 2 years solid, I found some of my best gold with the GPZ 7000 and never used a Ferrite ring.  I would just do the normal balance in the "Auto" mode and start hunting.  I actually found in my opinion some of my smallest gold and largest with the original firmware and felt later one after the additional firmware updates I was smaller smaller and not as deep.  This might just by in my mind, but I remember finding smaller gold with the stock 14x13 back then.  

I have used the Ferrite ring over the years and do carry one with me for the most part, but haven't really seen a huge difference using it vs. not using it.  

Now when it comes to Ferrite rings, they say the color ID's  the Ferrite ring.  However, some have claimed Doc's don't do the same as the Minelab one and I haven't found any truth to this.  I have even brought this to Doc's attention years ago, but I still have customers that claim the Minelab one works better than any aftermarket one.  

Just some thoughts on this.

Rob

Rob, thanks I felt the same about it as you and really appreciate your opinion the subject came up and I wonder what other opinions were, some of this because of the nature of what we do it feels like just being a good citizen and having good karma on they way to the gold fields can improve your luck. Having a good attitude makes a difference too.

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  I'll give you folks my method of ground balancing with the ferrite. It works well for me but maybe not for everyone. Start by setting the ferrite ring on the ground where you are certain there are no targets. Stand the ferrite on edge and orient it North and South  (Australians and New Zelanders may have to orient it South to North). Step away from the ferrite a few feet and ground balance the detector. Now your ready to go find gold! Don't forget to pick up your ferrite ring at the end of the day. I would love to have anyone come here and demonstrate that ground balancing with the ferrite ring in this area makes any significant improvement.

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25 minutes ago, klunker said:

  I'll give you folks my method of ground balancing with the ferrite. It works well for me but maybe not for everyone. Start by setting the ferrite ring on the ground where you are certain there are no targets. Stand the ferrite on edge and orient it North and South  (Australians and New Zelanders may have to orient it South to North). Step away from the ferrite a few feet and ground balance the detector. Now your ready to go find gold! Don't forget to pick up your ferrite ring at the end of the day. I would love to have anyone come here and demonstrate that ground balancing with the ferrite ring in this area makes any significant improvement.

I couldn’t agree more… so, I’ll just say, yep.

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3 minutes ago, 1515Art said:

I couldn’t agree more… so, I’ll just say, yep.

How'd you like it?

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2 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

How'd you like it?

The 7000, I though I’d never sell it, fantastic detector. For me it was a choice between ergonomics having both the gpz7000 and the gpx6000 both great detectors I was using the 6000 most of the time and when I’d grab the 7000 it wasn’t bringing a lot of difference. This release of the Axiom brings a couple things that I always wanted a more steady threshold and iron check, will the Axiom hit deeper than the 7000 I don’t care, but probably not. It seems all detectors have certain targets they struggle with and my aim is to play on the strength of the Axiom and those of the 6000 and cover the same ground in a different ear. The 6000 and 7000 both hit targets in similar ways, different but similar…the Axiom by all early reports by those I have no reason to doubt brings a different tool to the game, not necessarily better just different.

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14 hours ago, Rob Allison said:

Now when it comes to Ferrite rings, they say the color ID's  the Ferrite ring.  However, some have claimed Doc's don't do the same as the Minelab one and I haven't found any truth to this.  I have even brought this to Doc's attention years ago, but I still have customers that claim the Minelab one works better than any aftermarket one.  

Just some thoughts on this.

Rob

I bought one from either you or Doc (it was off ebay, can't remember who sold it now) and it absolutely was not a real ferrite ring or equivalent to the Minelab one. Just an FYI. It was highly magnetic, same as pure iron, and contained a high amount of actual iron. It was quite a lot more dense than the ML ferrite too.

Also, I sanded the paint off the bottom of the ML and that ferrite ring, and that one I bought was silvery/metallic (not ferrite) and the ML ferrite was powdery black (as a ferrite should be).

No big deal, I never saw any difference with the real ML ferrite ring. But whatever that one I bought was, absolutely was not equivalent to the ML ferrite and nothing I could do could balance it out due to the high amount of pure iron content in it. 

Pure iron is not ferrite. Ferromagnetic vs ferrimagnetic.

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I find the ferrite ring useful in particular for semi auto GB to avoid X drift. Locking the X without ferrite is not ideal in my experience. Ferrite has made a good difference for me in the past. They just brake easily when throwing on the ground, broke several that way. Also, i reduce gain to about 6 to 8 when GB over the ferrite, otherwise it often won't get completely silent. Auto GB leads to drift over time, even with ferrite, that's why I always prefer semi auto.

GC

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I never seen a need for the ferrite but at the same time the sites I usually hunt with the 7 are in NV and just not that bad of ground.  Heck, even when I went to AZ, the sites I used the 7 was no issues.  I quit carrying it on me after a while.  I do think there are sites that it could help though.  After all, why did they decide to send it?  Maybe for the same reason the cross bar on the harness?  Just wasting space in the box?  I realize a few folks do use the chest cross bar, but I don't care for it.  Actually, I don't even use the harness with the rods, as I feel they are a pain in the arse.

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