Steve Herschbach

I charge my GPZ every night so not really an issue for me. Even two days sounds good from that perspective.

Yeah, actually Shelton did have an early MX Sport with the issues. Not everyone is required to be forgiving and put up with problems to the degree you did Chuck. It was a flawed release and this is the price White's pays for that. On the other hand to the best of my knowledge White's ironed out all the issues finally and the MX Sport is now a stable performer at a good price. Sheltons opinion may not reflect the latest release of the machine, but he is certainly entitled to his opinion. My request to all - don't shoot the messenger.

Social media is less about information and more being seen. Hey, look what I had for lunch! Picture of my dog! Found this metal detecting! Forums get that also but for me at least I scout forums for hard core technical information and other things that can help me be successful. I am not convinced that is a young person versus older person thing. Personally I see the social media channels more as entertainment but unless I am missing it I just don't seem to find any real meat that satisfies me on social media. It's like a lake a mile wide and an inch deep. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Glad you got it sorted out Mark though not great that the coils are not spot on. It always makes me wonder how many people are running detectors with substandard coils and don't know it. How many internet arguments over which detector is best are rooted in the same issue?

I would be the first person in the world to say that a good $500 - $700 VLF is all anyone really actually needs. I will never look down on anyone making that choice. I personally don't go that route however. I can tell myself all day long that the F70 is a far more sensible better but for the buck, but in the end I want the F75 with bells and whistles. We all have different perceptions of what represents a best value. I am of the opinion that picking good locations, knowing whatever machine you have well, and putting in the hours is what really matters. Ultimately though my time is more valuable than anything else so spending a little more to have those top end units works for me.

Well I have posted on this forum quite a bit about the F70 with notes as to how it relates to the F75 and will let those past posts speak for themselves. As far as the TNet thread goes my sole purpose in posting the link to it was to illustrate how messed up the whole issue of past versions can get. And therefore my advice when buying a used F75 and less so but also the T2.

Yeah I get to my page also just fine. Go to Your Page Fred and click on the article links. What happens?

To the best of my knowledge all solid black F75 models are the Special Edition (but usually referred to as Limited Edition) model. I am not as well up on the T2 versions. Of note concern would be what software version are you dealing with? There is a can of worms! I think we are at version 9.0/9.1 as of now. We also have a monkey wrench in the form of upgrades done on standard models that can really confuse things. I have to say that I am not shy of buying used detectors and do it a lot. Some models though there are just too many weird changes. And do keep in mind that the First Texas warranty is not transferable. If it was me I would probably get a deal someplace on a new full warranty unit as there were just too many versions and frankly, issues, in the past history of the F75 in particular. T2 not so much but still... be careful. When I get time I am going to research and do a detailed chronology on this subject if somebody else has not already. If anybody finds a link to such a thing please post it. Here is one to show how complicated the issue has become. Fisher F75 vs Teknetics T2

It goes to the very heart of what "induction balance" is all about. The V3i and its related documentation is a virtual class on induction balance technology and how it works. From Spectra V3i Advanced Users Guide by Carl Moreland, page 3-2: "V3i uses induction balanced loops which rely on a “null” between the transmit coil and the receive coil. The quality of the null may determine the point at which the detector overloads, especially when running Tx Boost along with high Rx Gain settings. Null quality varies loop-to-loop, so some loops may overload at lower gain than others." And from Coil Basics by Carl Moreland, page 2: "a second coil can be placed such that it inductively couples with the transmit coil. By careful placement, we can also get the second coil in a “null” of the transmit field, such that there is no coupling. In such a case we say the coils are inductively balanced, and this is where the term “induction balance” (IB) comes from." The V3i pushes coil design hard by running separately at three different frequencies at high TX output. Each frequency must be separately nulled for optimum performance. There are ways to fudge which makes coils appear to work fine but which result in degraded performance. I can slap a 13 kHz F75 coil on my 19 kHz G2 and have it appear to work fine, but the fact is there will probably be ground balance and target VDI issues. It is stuff like this that makes a layman like me question how Garrett can be getting optimum performance with AT coils on detectors running at 13.6, 15, and 18 kHz? Just how far can this be stretched? The X-Terra models show how a detector can sense and compensate for different individual coils tuned for different frequencies. In theory this has a better end resultant than than trying to get one coil to run best at three different frequencies. In Garrett's case the coils are all the same, probably wound for 15 kHz but with loose enough tolerances that 13.6 and 18 kHz are within an allowable range of offset, and with possible electronic compensation going on in the circuitry. Just a guess on my part however it is this sort of fine tuning that does make or break those "edge of performance" differences between VLF detectors these days.

There is certainly variation in older detectors and current analog models. Far less with modern surface mount digital models. Coils however are always an issue, especially older ones, and especially DD coils on very high performance models like the V3i. The higher the frequency, the harder to get it right. The V3i coil has to be nulled at three frequencies and it is usually the 22.5 kHz frequency that fails.

From the Minelab Knowledge Base Article at http://www.minelab.com/__files/f/274444/KBA_26-1%20GPZ%207000%20Tips%20for%20Better%20Ground%20Balance.pdf "A ‘dust iron’ toroid suitable for the HF frequency band (e.g.1–30MHz with an initial permeability of between 6 and 10) has been carefully selected. It is recommended to use this specific Minelab accessory, only. Alternate ferrites may significantly degrade ground balance quality." You can get the ferrite ring at the link provided by Hawkeye above. Timely, as I just had a discussion with Minelab about the difficulty in finding misc parts. Since all GPZ detectors have been supplied with this part as a standard item for some time dealers probably get no demand for them.

I assumed you knew this stuff Mark but I always toss in extra info on threads for those who may not know. White's D2 coils had a high failure rate early on. This link has information on how to test the coils. http://forums.whiteselectronics.com/showthread.php?55295-V-rated-coils-not-common-available Good coils should be able to run RXG=15 with Tx Boost=On without overloading in an air test. If an overload occurs running the V3i separately in each frequency will reveal at which frequencies the coil is failing at (it could be all three).

Air tests can tell you if you have a bad machine/coil. They can tell you the best you can hope for in very low mineral ground. And as the link I provided clearly shows, air tests can offer some real clues as to what modes or settings might be worth exploring in the field. The biggest thing air tests can't tell you is exactly what you have already mentioned johndoe - how well does the detector eliminate ground effects? I have seen one detector air test better than another detector and then have the results flip to the exact opposite in a ground test. There is almost nothing more important than how well a detector eliminates the ground. The worse the ground is that you work in, the more important this is. So while air tests can teach many things one thing they really can't tell you is how the detector performs in bad ground. In fact, some of the machines that air test the best do the worst in the ground!

The ferrite method is to insure the GPZ gets a proper ferrite sample to work with, which it needs to achieve a good ground balance. Most ground has naturally occurring ferrite and in such ground the naturally occurring ferrite does the job. People who normally work in this type of ground use the ferrite ring and see no real improvement, and that is where the confusion starts about the benefits. However, there is ground that lacks enough ferrite to provide that needed reference point, and this is when using the ferrite ring is critical. You could try and guess when those ferrite free ground situations occur, and just use the ferrite ring then, but the fact is you just don't know. Safe answer - use the ferrite ring.

I am going to update this thread/post with links to any reviews of the Deus HF coils I can find as they appear. Remember, the high frequency (HF) coils only work with V4. Andy Sabisch 9" HF Coil Review Condor - First Impressions 9" HF Coil Condor - Second Outing 9" HF Coil Condor - Third Outing 9" HF Coil Aussie Detectorist Gives 9" HF Coil A Go Paul(CA) Tries The 9" HF Coil In Thick Iron Trash Mccrorysjewelry2 Report

Condor is doing a great job reviewing the 9" HF Coil. I am starting another thread collecting all the review links. At this point it is very tempting for me to just get the 9" HF round as currently all I have is the 11" and so that would not be a half bad combo. But then I would still want the elliptical! My main worry now is that there is an issue holding it up, and that makes me leery of getting one ASAP anyway. At least the 9" seems to be a stable release. Whatever, it's just detectors and since we all have detectors already, probably too many, it just is not that big a deal. I will continue to wait for the elliptical.

Welcome to the forum! Older GPZ threads are in the GPZ 7000 Archive More recent threads that have not made it to the archive yet (those posted in the last year) can be found using the GPZ 7000 Tag You can get very specific on finding information on specific subjects by using the Advanced Forum Search For instance here is the result GPZ 7000 Ferrite The modes and tuning methods people use are specific to their locations and hunting habits. Two people each using a GPZ 7000 at the same location may have vastly different ideas about what settings are best and how to set the machine up. Truthfully this subject has been discussed in great detail on the forum so do please avail yourself of the resources above. I unfortunately am on another mission right now so will leave it there and for others to chime in.

One thing that really irritates me on the majority of other forums is the censorship when it comes to linking to other forums. As if people are too stupid to figure out that other forums exist, which is insulting. More to the point it severely limits the ability to give people good information wherever it exists, which is my main goal on this forum. With this in mind I do actually request that if forum members see anything anywhere that may be of genuine interest to other forum members then please post about it and link to it. Do not copy from other websites and post here unless you are pretty sure that is ok. When in doubt I post a good excerpt and then reference the complete original, as is customary on the internet with news sites. The only real limitation is please stay on topic. Anyway, if you see a thread on another forum (or anywhere else for that matter) and think it is of exceptionally high quality as far as hard information goes then please let me and everyone else know. Thanks! P.S. Do remember that some forums cannot be seen unless a person is a member. No problem linking to them but you probably should do your best to describe what you are linking to and if it really is good enough for people to have to join to see it.

I am watching my author's page where currently every article link goes to the exact same article by somebody else! I guess when that gets fixed it will be a good sign. They are aware of the issue.

I have a theory - that is all it is. When chasing gold nuggets it is common for gold in mineralized ground to read ferrous. Many nugget detectors that feature ferrous disc either have it preset at a very conservative level or allow you to adjust it to be conservative. All this really means is you dig more ferrous to miss less gold. Or a detector can be set so the operator digs less junk, but then they miss some good targets. There is no magic solution here because the gold and ferrous ranges overlap. That's just the way it is. So all you can do is decide where you want to draw the line on a sliding scale. The Minelab X-Terra 705 Iron Mask function illustrates this very well: I am just guessing that 3.2 is aimed more at "normal" users. V4 was obviously designed to enhance the gold capability of the Deus. One big factor was expanding the ferrous range lower because previously anything that fell in that very low ferrous range could not be detected by 3.2 no matter what you did. There may be other changes that make V4 less prone to missing gold but more prone to identifying ferrous targets as non-ferrous. This may require different thinking as far as how disc settings are applied in V4. Gary Blackwell of XP has claimed in a recently posted XP instructional video about V4 software that older version 2 and 3.2 software "filters" were built into the Deep and Hot preset programs, respectively. Unfortunately he does not explain what that really means. However, person might start with the Hot program which supposedly employs 3.2 filtering and modify it to resemble whatever program you normally use and see how it compares on ferrous targets by flipping between the two.

Some comprehensive air tests of the V3i with D2 coil and 4" x 6" Shooter coil at different frequencies at Link deleted since Findmall Forum update broke all old links

And of course that could mean by July 31. Which could turn into August....

I've tried a few oddball things. The Gold Monster 1000 is a dedicated designed from the ground up gold prospecting machine. It can of course be pressed into service for other uses but like other ultrahot detectors it can actually be too sensitive to tiny items. That can be useful for hunting tot lots or a beach for micro jewelry but it does also mean every tiny bit of aluminum foil sings off loud and clear. If a person owned one and wanted to give it a go for other uses, no harm done, but in my opinion very few people would want to buy a Gold Monster 1000 for anything other than gold prospecting.

Just the typical trade off seen with any similar machines. The small coil "sees" less ground and so can be run at a slightly higher sensitivity level in bad ground, and with a more concentrated magnetic field. This in turn results in a bit hotter response to small gold than with the larger coil, but the difference is small. The large coil on the other hand does produce a larger magnetic field and so will reach a deeper on larger nuggets. Big coils not only "see" more ground but they see the unwanted targets in the ground that can confuse the detector, like trash items or hot rocks. By "seeing" a smaller volume small coils are less likely to see multiple targets at once, resulting in cleaner signals, plus better discrimination results when discrimination is employed. Obviously the big coil covers twice the ground while the smaller coil gets into tighter locations. Which you want to use just depends on the job at hand and since both come with the detector there is no need to force the choice. Rough rules of thumb - smaller gold or smaller areas to cover equals smaller coils. Larger gold, larger areas to cover equals larger coils.

There is little doubt you are correct about this Jason - the way you initially connect with the younger crowd is via social media. Forums I think tend to be for people who are already at it and looking for more and deeper information. Youtube videos if done right can be incredibly informative. The main problem from the business perspective is there are no simple answers these days. The media landscape has fractured to an amazing degree. Back in the day all you needed was a yellow page ad and maybe some newspaper or magazine ads. Radio was a step up, and TV too expensive for most. Now there are countless ways to reach people, who at the same time are more savvy at avoiding advertising. My wife and I prerecord anything on the tube that might have ads and just blast through them. On my truck radio when an ad comes on I just switch stations. For people like me - you can't reach me. I have to seek you out. And if I am looking to find out about something I know little about, I am probably going to Google it and follow the links. Too a large degree as far as I am concerned if I can't find your company or product on Google, you don't exist. Tough times for companies and all they can do is pursue every avenue they have the time and money to pursue as best they can. If I had advice for any company it would be to be sure their websites have all the information on their products any person would ever want to find and answer every email same day or next day at latest.