Leaderboard

Spent three hours at an 1875 property in eastern Mass. Apparently virgin ground. I, (well, "we", as the home owner was with me every step of the way 🙂) found eight silvers, two buffalo nickels, 19 wheats '36 – '57, and assorted odds and ends. I'll be heading back there soon.

I've spend the morning having a looksee under the Picnic Bay jetty.. There was crap everywhere and I ended up cherry picking for dollar coins and 50 cents.. I ended up with a grand total of $23.. I was surprised to find 2 old pennies and 1 half penny.. Most of the coins were at the beginning of the jetty, a favourite spot for tourists to have sex on the beach.. I must admit that I've also made good use of this spot as a young dive instructor with one of my students many moons ago.. 😁 I've been wanting to have a better looksee since cyclone Yasi tore down the jetty.. A mate and I got the diving job to recover the posts and decking to rebuild it.. Many fond memories and new experiences today..

Sure wish American coins were more valuable! 😀 Beautiful place, causes one to ponder if you found any of your own money... 🤔 🤣

I was recently invited to detect at a 1903 house in eastern Massachusetts. The detectable area of the yard was the size of a dish towel and yielded only one find. Thankfully, it was a good one! The coin is an 1806/07 George III half penny.

And everyone that’s used my machine immediately bought one. The coils are not knock sensitive, period. There is something wrong with the detector.

Early in the 80s too JR. Below is another reason the 6000 is King to this old fart, you need lightweight, compact gear to get into the billy goat country I prospect, you make tracks every Tom, Dick & Harry will follow, tis shanks`s pony all the way. Come on Phrunt forget choppers the old fellas didnt have them, get out of your comfort zone and live butterfly. 😉

I did wonder why one of the dollar coins looked so familiar, I'm pretty sure it had the Queen on one side.. 😁

The marketing for the 6000 makes dealer training seem not necessary, easy experts so I can see why some buyers may not feel it necessary to take classes. I think it's a shame big box stores are taking sales away from the personal service of a dealer. In NZ there is still lots of gold to be found, a coil is very small compared to the gold bearing ground as so few using them to begin with, the problem is you can't get to it, it's too inaccessible, it's not like Australia where people park up there with a caravan and start detecting. The best ground needs a helicopter to get to it, the old timers got there and worked it well but much is untouched. My dealer mate takes beginners on heli gold tours and the last one stumbled on a 16 gram nugget with his 6000, small for Australia I see people all the time show finds bigger but a good size for here. It keeps the hope alive ill have my turn. I'm looking down on the gold bearing valleys right now wishing I could get in there. This is why for me the 6000 has potential, a light portable detector that fits in a backpack easily is beneficial, getting it into the places is the hard bit. A lot of old timer mining out there, just no easy way to get there. I have found some gold down there, just wish I could get further in.

GPZ 7000 ZVT The GPZ 7000 Zero Voltage Transmission (ZVT) technology provides a stable processing period throughout the entire receive period. It also provides a stable magnetic field that reduces the amount of undesirable soil that is detected. This along with better signal processing provides improved detection of small nuggets and larger deeper nuggets. Bipolar (positive and negative) pulses can be generated in standard Pulse Induction detectors. But between pulses the transmit energy starts at zero voltage and builds until it peaks and discharges energy then it must start at zero again in the opposite polarity. This creates current and voltage variations on the power wiring that can adversely affect the receiver and processing circuits. Thus is not as stable as the GPZ 7000. In the attached oscilloscope GPZ 7000 Transmit Waveform displays; the zero volt level is across the vertical center of the display. Both the positive and negative excursions of the waveform pass up and down through the zero voltage level rapidly. In a standard Pulse Induction detector the waveform would stop at zero volts for a short period while the receiver timings and processing completed then start recharging the transmit coil for the next cycle. In the GPZ 7000 the receiver coil timings and signal processing does not require the transmit function to return to zero volts to recharge for a new transmit cycle. In the time stretched displays; the squidgy somewhat sine shaped forms at the top and bottom is time periods where the receiver timings and signal processing can be applied to the receiver coil signals to determine if a target is present. Note; only the Transmit waveform is shown in these displays. The receiver displays are a distorted mess of EMI and ground noise. That is where good engineers really excel in signal processing to extract target information that best fits the Time Constant curves that are displayed in a previous posting. In my opinion reference to the Bipolar power and high voltage pulse with coinciding receive operation as being similar to a VLF detector is not false but somewhat of a stretch. But maybe a good sales pitch. Have a good day, Chet

To put it simply, a PI detector can use a Mono coil, because there is a pause between transmit and receive cycles. So the same winding can be used for both. ZVT cannot use a mono coil, so it isn't a Pulse Induction machine in the true sense. I have always explained the GPZ as taking the best characteristics from VLF and PI and meeting somewhere in the middle. I still love the GPZ, its performance, ground balance, audio, robustness etc etc.

You know, I've certainly had my share of gawkers and hoverers, but I didn't mind this gentleman at all. He was in his eighties, sharp as a tack, and very interested without being annoying in the least. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and learned a thing or two along the way!

Are you saying I`m soft???? As long as i`ve got the Expresso machine and genny to run it I`m sweet😉

Nice finds! Owner is probably hitting the "buy it now" button on a go-find😄

Sounds like you've got a bad coil strick as mine are not bump sensitive in any way, neither was JW's coil right up until it died, fortunately the aftermarket ones will be out soon and should be better build quality, they're hand made too so at least it means they're tested before leaving the factory, Be sure to add yours to the poll when you know if its a lemon or not 🙂 I'm starting with the NF 12x7" and if I like it I'll get the 8.5x6" too. I didn't want to start with the smallest as I'm satisfied with the sizes of small gold the 11" finds, I just want some more depth on it and if a smaller coil provides more depth on small gold I'll be happy, it should do, it's how it normally works for me. In the World in which we live now you don't need a King and a Queen, two Kings is very acceptable these days so who knows, maybe once I get some more coils the 6000 might move up the ranks for me too. Novic, I am just not the kinda guy to make it into the back country like that on foot, I would need to hike for weeks to get in there, and climb over many mountains on my way, these are not the little humps in the ground you Aussies call mountains 🙂 I really am amazed at the work the old timers have done here, and the distances and ground they covered to do so, it's truly amazing what they did. I guess they just kept walking and climbing to get to new places and followed the gold, I couldn't survive if I was doing what they did.

You can also try powdered cayenne pepper! Pretty cheap for a large container, won't hurt the grass, or animals! But it is an irritant, and should deter animals from the spots! Water your plug, then sprinkle! Will last until a rain or sprinkler washing!👍👍

I am experiencing the same annoying behavior too. It is great to be a more silent detector user in public areas but the inconsistent pairing and Mi-6 inconsistent sensitivity levels after pairing should not be happening with a detector at this price level.

I do recall that most coins in areas that were not heavily used were silver, it took years for clad to be dominate, and so looking back those were the glory days, and I just didn't know it. There were many a time I stopped at a Highway Rest Stop, and if few people were around to stretch my legs I would pull out my detector, and it was not unusual to get 5 to as much as $20 in silver in under 30 minutes. It at least paid for the C batteries.

If ML did this, they would make a ton of money…and a bunch of us would jump off the incremental- train. Come on MineLab, do it!

Beautiful pictures! Does the snow ever melt? GC

April 18 1937 Part One We are continuing to get wild hooligans from town who want to come out here to the mine and either meet us or work with us. Last night I heard Ben and Sarge holler out at someone who was trudging up the side of the creek toward our camp. The crew came over and had a look at what the hollering was about. I nearly laughed but held it back. Sarge was not so kind and began to laugh and hoot. There in front of us stood an old guy dressed like a cowboy from back in the 1800’s. He wore a large cowboy hat that nearly covered his face and also some old jeans and fur leggings. He had on boots with spurs as well as two six shooters in a holster. He was smoking a home rolled cigarette and gave us all an evil stare. I walked over to him and asked what he was up to. He said his name was Slim Saunders and he was from a ranch just outside of town. I reckoned him to be about 60 in years or maybe a bit more. He told us he had done everything from ranching to mining to logging and even bounty hunting in his day. I started to like him. John asked him what we could do for him. He said he had heard quite a bit about us in town. Some of the groups that hung around in the tavern said we were the mining crew from hell and we took names and kicked ass. He said he was looking for work and wanted to join up with us. I asked him what kind of job he was looking for. He said he was a scratch shot with his 45’s and could work as security. He said he could also handle a rifle with the best of them. Before I could say anything he pointed to a limb on a pine tree about 100 feet away. He said to look toward the end of the limb and there was a small branch starting off to the right with a pine cone hanging on. I said that I saw it. He slapped leather with both hands and quick drawing his Colts and fired off a round from each gun. The pine cone flew off the limb. Then he twirled the pistols and put them back in their holsters as slick as grease. Then he told Will to set out two empty tin cans about 100 feet away. Will set them up on a rock and came back over. Slim said to watch and he pulled his right hand quickly and shot as the gun cleared leather. One of the cans flew off the rock. Before the sound of the shot died he pulled his left hand with the Colt and did the same thing. The can flew off the rock just like the first one. He twirled them back into the holster as slick as could be. I asked him what kind of pay he wanted. He said just his grub and whiskey, a dollar, and a little taste of gold from time to time. I told him to hold on while I talked with my crew. Everyone liked Slim. We decided to give him a go. I went over and asked him when he wanted to start. He just looked at me and said “Well, I’m here aint I ?” and that was that. Then he asked if we had any whiskey. I handed him a new bottle and we all sat around the fire as darkness fell. Slim took a couple of pulls from the bottle and began to tell us his story. TO BE CONTINUED ...............

Even thirty years ago, I couldn't find that much silver in one hunt!!!!! GaryC/Oregon Coast

You probably know this but i had to look that token up. Gilchrist's was considered one of the big three stores (along with Filene's and Jordan Marsh) that dominated Boston's shopping district for so long. Gilchrist's opened in 1842, one year after Jordan Marsh in downtown Boston. Gilchrist's was not considered as high-end as its neighbors, but did just as well.

Steve a lot of knock sensitivity is actually caused by the cable being wound too tight and it being tugged/twisted by shaft flex stiction. The coil is crashed into an obstacle which the flexes the shaft which then puts a twisting effect onto the cable which then causes noise. Especially noticeable in warmer weather. Note: This is assuming there is no actual fault with the coil, I had a coil last week from the first releases batch that has gone bad, it would purr along fine then if you clipped something directly under the coil it would go mental, it is being replaced under warranty and while my customer waits for the new coil to arrive they are using my coil, lets see an online box shifter offer that sort of service!!😳 JP

Yep, we have become a bunch of softies, they'd have a good chuckle at the things we complain about. Oh you have to carry 3kg, you poor little thing. 😅

I often think the same. Amazing what the old-timers have accomplished without any advanced machinery and in often brutal conditions. Whenever I see those hand stacked large boulder piles along the river canyons in gold country I feel embarrassed when complaining about the weight of the 7000....But I wonder if they were just in general more enduring people with more physical strength, and most of all with more will-power and determination. GC

I was on tour with my rock show. Break time now.

Yes the same.

That’s what I’m thinking...I have found gold with it but it needs to be looked at. Thanks Steve strick

Thanks for the offer Gerry.. I loaned this machine out for several months 3-4 serious prospectors had the chance to play with it none of them really liked it....Thinking of just sending it to Minelab for evaluation...I only get out a few times a year to the gold country...So lack of user time to find faults is on me...yes the coil cord is plugged in solid...first thing I made sure of...I’ll pm or call you if I need to. strick

NE: Saw a lovely 4.5 oz deep colour on the X Coils FB page today found with a 22"CC but not mine unfortunately 😢

Beautiful hunt and you came away with some of the change you dropped so many years ago. So glad you remembered the general area during one you of your drunken sex parties. I have problems remembering where I laid my car keys on a Saturday morning sometimes. Great videos and great hunting, good luck on your next outing.

Nice hunting with a lot of great finds! Good luck on your next visit, and in dry weather always water your plugs so the grass don't die.

Yes, it's hot and dry in summer so the snow melts off those smaller mountains in the photos there, the bigger ones further in keep it. I bought the 6000 for the purpose of backpacking, the GPZ isn't ideal for that as it just doesn't shrink down enough and its hanging out the top of my backpack, the 6000 is ideal that it shrinks down small and quickly. To fit the GPZ in I really need to pull it all apart. I don't see either detector as being "King", they each have their benefits although I do prefer the 7000, perhaps the GPZ 8000 when and if it comes out will be king as it might combine the best of both detectors and offer a coil selection like the GPZ has available from the aftermarket. As people say already the 7000 with the aftermarket coils already fells like an 8000, only an 8000 very few people have.

More than 30 years ago I hit a paddock next to a catholic nunnery where an old school was nearby was closed and removed about 1930. It was a sliver mine for silver coins, all were pre 1922 but there was dozens of them most in good condition. Not all spots done 30+ years ago was as good. I was hoping for a 1923 threepence but to no avail.

I've watered the hole before in dry ground. It helped on sod recovery a lot. I've also had things come in and dig the hole open like you. All I could do was refill the holes. I don't know if there is anything you can do about that. Maybe the water would help hold the sod in tighter.

That's what I heard elsewhere, too. Not sure what else to do. I'll head over there tomorrow with a watering can and some grass seed. It'd be a real shame if some random skunk deep-sixed this permission for me.

I agree it's probably closer to PI than VLF. But I really think it's sort of a hybrid. A PI basically works by doing a pulse, then being quiet (at 0 volts) and listening during a sample period. Then just repeats this pulse - sample period over and over. But really it's still a cyclic square wave maybe with variable duty cycle, it's just the lower cycle ends up at zero volts, but it's still basically a square wave with a 0v (aka ground) reference and no negative reference. Like this: Whereas ZVT I believe is somewhat of a misnomer. I don't think there is any "zero volt transmission", in fact it's kind of a non-sensical term because transmission implies voltage - an electric field cannot exist without some voltage to begin with, that's literally the defintion of the electric field - volts/distance. Every changing magnetic field has an electric field associated with it, and vice versa. I think what ZVT does is use a PI-like TX wave, but changes the voltage reference so that each part of the wave has both a positive and negative component. And then, the sample occurs when the magnetic field switches polarity due to the voltage switching polarity. So, in the white circled areas here: That's the best I can make out of it from their weird patent language. If this is somewhat along the lines of what ZVT is then it's basically a hybrid between PI and VLF. It samples somewhat like a PI (aka, decay time (time domain) not phase offset (frequency domain)) but uses a continuous wave. And it also means you can take the benefits from both (ground immunity and discrimination) selectively by sampling like a PI once cycle and like a VLF the next cycle. Or actually, you could probably sample both ways simultaneously if this is really the way it works. I'm curious if Carl or Chet or someone can comment further, I'm sure they've looked at the TX waveform on an actual scope. I could be misunderstanding something, the language is so weird and hard to decipher. That's a simplification, an actual wave could have variable duty cycles or anything else and needn't be a perfect square wave either. For instance, something like this is still a continuous wave, but it'll sound like a "pulse" on a radio for instance. This duty cycle and pulse spacing likely what comprises the "timings" like Normal/Difficult, etc.

Last comment: Is ZVT a PI-evolved technology check-list. ZVT: Time domain (PI) CHECK ZVT: Sub KHZ Frequency (PI) CHECK ZVT: GP & GPX type audio with obvious MPS (PI) CHECK ZVT: Explained by the designer as BiPolar PI in essence CHECK Even Minelab's own published graph (as shown by Phrunt) shows it runs in time domain with BiPolar PI tech. CHECK Has this tech been expanded, evolved and altered to make it the best gold prospecting detection technology EVER??? CHECK. Hands down it will become the new benchmark in gold prospecting detection technology and one which will offer ML a heap of future expansion into the future. Geosense will surely be added to the new GPZ's at some point, Im certain.

Thanks Eric would be good to be young again lol. Love seeing your videos of Magnetic Island, I did visit once when I was much younger it is such a beautiful place.

My MI-6 connects almost every time if It’s held close to the RC in the D2. If it doesn’t connect, a re-tune press of the button usually makes it connect. Annoying, not at all like my carrot with Z-Lynk. My son has a D2 and an MI-6 and has the same connection problem you are experiencing. Maybe a defective MI-6? Maybe it’s time to contact your seller, or XP for warranty repair. HH.

Maybe someone just decided to throw half dollars on the beach after watching you guys dig junk for hours on end 😄 They do that here in New England but use zincolns instead of halves. 🙄 Could also be some kid that brought them to the beach from home.

You'll be impressed. You may not take it off. 👍

Wow! Why is the area so small? That is both an odd and rare find. 👍 Good call! 🙂

If it doesn't work for gold, as heavy as it is, I will have to rebrand it as a Osmium Isolator Scoop. Doc

Switched gears again! Found a barely used 5x10 coiltek online and bought it. Wont see it for a few days.

I sure was not looking to bum anyone out! For me it's just a simple recognition of reality here in the U.S., and there was no intent on my part to imply the same of Australia, or anywhere else for that matter. For me, everything has a season, and I am not one to grasp after things when it is their time has passed. I've many interests beyond metal detecting or gold prospecting, and if I quit both tomorrow it would not trouble me unduly. But that's just me. There will always be gold for those with the intelligence and willpower needed to seek out the overlooked areas that still exist. And they do still exist - the dream is alive for those who want to pursue it. It's just harder now than it used to be, and I very much admit I'm spoiled by better days gone by. I was commenting to Condor recently how people would pay happily pay big bucks, and spend entire vacations, to find the amount of gold we find in a single day... but we whine that it's not enough, not like the good old days. Waa, waa, waa - old cry babies!

I’ve tried to encourage my sons to become more involved in the business but alas my hunger for sales is waining faster than their interests in making money. It’s hard to explain but young people should be given their head to explore ideas and make mistakes so going into a family business where their passion doesn’t currently lie is not a good idea at a young age. Both my lads have worked in the business in junior roles (one is as we speak). One day they will be become money orientated and then its a matter of working hard and getting ahead in whatever field provides that opportunity and as such our shop would be an ideal opportunity for them to get ahead through the injection of youthful enthusiasm. If all that was in alignment right at this moment in time I would have no hesitation in allowing/passing over the reigns as the market is growing but it now requires progression and Social Media skills (something all young people possess in spades in this day and age). I feel the key to growing a metal detector business, with gold finds waining, is to increase customer skills through inclusion and training, there is still plenty of gold to be had but it requires more refinement in skill set that is harder to obtain coming in inexperienced. So yes I see a good living selling metal detectors going forward for at least the next 10 years and beyond so long as dealerships are progressive and provide/offer an inclusive approach that more fully nurtures a customers learning curve. Dealers in years gone by have been extremely fortunate to have Minelab constantly releasing innovative metal detectors that sell themselves, personally I feel the days of box shifting are well and truely coming to a close. JP

That's a good outing! I can only imagine the fun you had as he watched. I've had kids at the beach right on top of my every swing, it was fun for a few minutes.. After about 15 minutes it gets a little annoying.

The 22" CC with some of its deep prey (8 ozs) 😉 Best deep gold setting used (found by testing on undisturbed gold in situ) Xtra Deep/normal/full gain/very low threshold/smoothing off. This setting eliminates all targets under a gram or so, so useless for chasing flyshite but perfect for eliminating surface shot. However it can clearly hear very deep .22 calibre bullets (and gold of that size) better than most other settings. It is also an EMI stable setting even under power lines:

Thanks, Chet. This is the most comprehensive and best description I have seen on ZVT. I will have a few dozen reads of it to try to fully understand it 😆🙃 GC