Jonathan Porters First Major Commentary on the Minelab GPZ 7000

[Steve Herschbach]

Here it is, good stuff as always http://www.minelab.com/aus/treasure-talk/introducing-the-gpz-7000

The only major note I will add is that the High Yield/Normal ground combination can be even more effective in our low mineral ground conditions in the US than the High Yield/Difficult ground combination that JP recommends for most Australian ground. Not all ground here tolerates it but where it works it really works.

[vanursepaul]

Nice write up.

[Steve Herschbach]

One of the nice things about the GPZ 7000 is how simple it can be. Last settings are saved on power down. However, to get going fresh just choose the option to reset everything to factory default on power up. It fire up in the High Yield/Difficult ground combo which is the best default choice. However, if you think you have milder ground give the High Yield/Normal ground combo a go first. If you get too much ground noise go back to Difficult but in milder ground Normal will give better performance on small gold.

[c47gold]

Hi Steve. I just joined your forum after a month or so of reading your very informative guides on gold detectors and metal detecting for gold. I live in the Northeast and have concentrated my detecting on civil war sites with my Safari and my White's V3 and hunting lakes and in the ocean with my Excalibur over the years. I am interesting in trying gold detecting out your way and am thinking about getting the SDC 2300. The lightweight, portable size is appealing, but I wish it was better at detecting larger nuggets at depth.

 This new GPZ 7000 sounds like a big breakthrough for how it can detect small to large nuggets at great depth, although it is pretty heavy, and the price tag is out of this world! 

 

Do you think that the GPZ 7000 might represent a challenge to Garrett or Fisher or some other competitor to come up with something similar in it's ability to find both the small nuggets as well as the large but at a more reasonable price? And technologically speaking, if a detector like the SDC 2300 could change coils, would that be enough, with a larger coil to get at those larger nuggets? It seems that the Garrett ATX, even with a choice of a large coil or smaller 8" coil still seems to be better at smaller gold, right?

[Steve Herschbach]

Sadly, the competition is still struggling to catch up to the GPX 5000 and this just puts them farther behind. I have thought the ATX in a package designed specifically for prospecting and with better coils would have and still could give the GPX detectors a run for the money.

A repackaged SDC with larger coil options would be welcome but would still not be a GPZ. The SDC and GPZ are both better on small gold than the ATX. That said I think the ATX is currently the bang-for-buck PI detector and if it was all I had I would still do well. Value is a very subjective thing though. My Take On The GPZ 7000 explains my reasoning but others have to make their own decisions based on their budget and probable time spent in the field.

See also Garrett ATX vs Minelab GPX 5000

I have sold my GPX 5000 and all accessories and having the ATX actually made that decision easier. The 20" x 15" mono coil on the ATX can help me in cases where I want ground coverage which at this point was about the only reason I had to hang onto the GPX.

[vanursepaul]

The 8 inch on the sdc left me feeling a little overwhelmed today when I went to an area of about 1000 acres...

So I did it like they say you eat an elephant....one bite at a time...going back tomorrow for another helping!!!

[c47gold]

Hi Steve. I read your comparison of the Garrett ATX vs. the Minelab GPX 5000 and your take on the GPZ 7000. I have concluded that the new GPZ 7000 is definitely the best detector on the market for gold and if I was going at it full time, I wouldn't do without it. But since I am just another hobbyist, I will go for the less expensive, next best option, which seems to be the ATX. It is not so well designed as the SDC, or as good at detecting the smaller gold. It has it's drawbacks in the field, as you pointed out, and it can't detect the larger gold as well as the GPX 5000. I like Minelab detectors, but the ATX seems to be the best all around gold detector after the GPZ. It apparently has a decent range for detecting small to larger nuggets, and it's waterproof, so I can use it in the ocean and lakes for jewelry, and save some money too. I wish the SDC had a better range, because it looks so cool and compact and easy to use. But the ATX costs less and I hope it will do a better all around job.

Thanks for your clear analysis of these machines.

[Steve Herschbach]

If I could own one and only one detector to prospect for gold and the only choices I had were the ATX and SDC 2300 I would have to go with the ATX personally. It has its issues but at the end of the day it has three coil options. I really like my SDC 2300 but that hard wired 8" coil really limits its viability when it comes to owning one and only one detector.

The SDC in the Eureka Gold box with optional coils would be a game changer. As would a 4 lb ATX under $2000.

[cobill]

Once again Steve does an outstanding job explaining all the details on a new detector! Looking forward to more field tests and results from areas pounded by other detectors. Convinced me to sell my GPX-5000 and order a GPZ-7000.

 

Bill