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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/23/2015 in all areas

  1. Well, As a 40+ year professional placer miner I have a few things to add to this discussion. Land status in Western states and mining districts can be very complex ! As a Federal claim holder I am fully aware of my 'rights'. In 1955 the Surface Resources Act was passed. This act introduced the concept of "multiple use" and stripped away valuable surface rights on Federal mining claims staked after '55. Pre- 1955 claims still retain those rights, including the right to deny access (with exceptions). Also, there is a very good reason why folks will hold on to a large number of claims. I don't particularly like paying $6,000 a year in Maintenance Fees or State claim rental but as a professional miner I know the value in doing so for the long run. It's the cost of business for future production. You don't just go out and stake a new "rich" claim when you worked out the old one. Not ever claim holder is a recreational metal detectorist. I don't enjoy reading statements like the quote above. Miners are getting hammered enough by Government agencies and "green" thinking for-a-cause people. We certainly do not need fellow miners further eroding the few 'rights' we are managing to keep a grasp on.
    6 points
  2. went up to the sierras for a few day of hunting to test out the zed after installing the new software update and getting my yellow ferrite. my take, the update made a noticeable difference in the behavior of the GPZ, in basic settings it was much more stable and slightly more sensitive, so much so that I was choosing to run zed a little bit hotter. the ground chatter was readable in a way thats hard to explain and tiny targets were popping, although some subtle signals may have been masked. still i was recovering some of the tinniest pieces of trash and bird shot yet and recovered a .38 gram piece down about 3 or 4 inches, that gave a clear signal after a little boot scrape from a very very pounded patch. i almost had one little mishap while i was wandering through the forrest, as i was walking along stepping over dead wood and rocks it became apparent my pick was not banging on my leg. somehow it came unstuck from my holder and i didn't notice it falling off... so, s**t... i have no idea when or where it went and I've walked quite a ways since my last dig. luckily my ZED gps trails were on and after about an hour of walking with the gpz backwards and upside-down i was able to retrace my steps and with one last effort before daylight fell, found myself looking down to see my pick at my feet, I'm gonna paint the handle orange so its easier to find next time.
    2 points
  3. KK, if you need help with the download or using the gps?? I'll be glad to assist you! I record and mark every piece of gold I find. I'm up to 2 now. I can see a pattern developing.
    2 points
  4. DANG IT 1515 ART!! I have been avoiding using the GPS saying it was an uneccesary waste of time and added cost to an already over priced detector and was able to create about a thousand other reasons why the GPS was silly. BOY YOU SURE RUINED MY FUN. Now I have to admitt that I'm just technolgically dissadvantaged mentally.
    2 points
  5. Great thread beardog ! My wife and I spent 3 weeks hiking/rockhounding around AZ a couple years ago. This was the first time I had been out of Alaska in 50 years. It was incredible! The hiking and exposed surface were so unreal that I kept thinking "is this heaven" ? It really was, as you say, an Alice in Wonderland experience. Love that area !
    1 point
  6. Hahaha Scott! Just wait till you hit 3 and your all triangulated!
    1 point
  7. My first thought was to fashion a little spandex loop on the side of your hat that you could tuck it into. Kind of like a pencil behind your ear. You might look silly but that would get it 5-6 feet away from the coil.
    1 point
  8. I'm jealous. I was busy doing a heart-lung transplant and some incidental brain surgury- on one of the excavators. I haven't done the upgrade on the Z but McQ has so we'll get out together soon and that will give us all a good comparison.
    1 point
  9. Nice one 1515Art. Been there done that - I've got reflective tape on the handle....... Early days on the update. Got out yesterday - weather is hot here now (100+ F) so the ground is literally hot. I'm sure this is why I didn't notice the zed in general use being quieter. I expect that given the heat. I was in Mt Magnet at an old patch where the ground is pretty hot (in a mineral sense). I got a nice little 1.3 grammer down about a foot. What I can say is that signal was definite, so much so I said straight away "that's gold, 100% sure". I got a tiny 0.2 grammer as well but the deeper bigger one was a stand out signal (more so than normal imho). I was in normal/general sensitivity on 6, manual tracking. Cheers BB
    1 point
  10. Good story and a nice little nugget.
    1 point
  11. I agree about painting the pick handle. They make some great florescent paints, I striped the handle with yellow and red and have been saved twice by the bright coloring when, in my hunting "zone," I walked away from my pick.
    1 point
  12. Just my take on the 7000s GB, have found unless you leave it in auto retrieving a largish target it will retain its tracking for current ground. Just don`t wave it over a large signal in auto GB or you`ll knock it out of whack. (as any detector) or start it up near your vehicle. As I`ve said before I don`t find it necessary to use the quick track button much at all. But the country I hunt in has very few ferrous objects and that may be why I do not find it necessary to quick track. I believe too much "halabaloo" has been made over GBing the 7000, thus introducing a lot of confusion, it is the easiest of gold detectors I`ve used straight out of its box, I have just finished a magic first season with it. My humble take of cos. Since my first post on the software upgrade, further field work (digging up nuggets) has convinced me beyond doubt the upgrade is not a "dumbing down" to make it more stable, it is a positive upgrade that does precisely what ML states it does. It just makes those signals come in more clearly.
    1 point
  13. Its Nevada, come on, everything is legal, haha
    1 point
  14. Not too long ago I posted about converting a Tesoro Silver uMax into a pinpointer at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/980-tesoro-silver-umax-pinpointer-conversion/. I finally sold the Silver uMax, but I kept the shortened rod and put the slip mount for a Gold Bug 2 on it. This way I could convert my Gold Bug 2 into a similar setup which I still have today. I put it together this morning just to show it to you! It is a bit unwieldy with all the extra cable but it actually works just fine. The bent coat hanger is just a hook for hanging it off my belt. The entire unit is 16" long.
    1 point
  15. Hi all, sorry for not being around 2015 had been a year full of turmoil. On the subject of the Ferrite let me just say that from my professional user point of view it is a necessity FULL STOP. The GPZ 7000 will benefit from its use in all environments even those areas that are super quiet. In ground that does not have much Ferrite component you will not hear the signals associated with it because they're not present, however in the tests I've conducted here in Australia in quiet soils using High Yield Normal with elevated sensitivity comparing Ferrite excitation and no Ferrite excitation the differences are significant. Steve and Chris will remember the location in WA were we filmed the Green schists footage, Steve got into some nice color at the head of the gully, I had a ball in there this year testing the new Ground Balance with the "Zed" pulling 1/2 ounce initially without the Ferrite then 20 grams more using the Ferrite. My advice is to always use the Ferrite for maximum performance especially in the deeper soils. JP
    1 point
  16. 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.
    1 point
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