Steve Herschbach

Norvic, I do have poor hearing and in fact wear hearing aids at times but not when I am detecting (they freak out) so who knows what other people hear compared to what I am hearing. No doubt some of this is to harsh for others and sounds fine to me? Again, that is why they give us controls to adjust. Even if we were all in the same location we all have personal differences to account for.

Don't say I did not warn you. I don't keep close track of my hours but I know I have well over 500 hours on the GPZ and probably took me 300 hours of listening to the machine to get to where I am now. I have used those settings up in your neck of the woods though so it is not just a northern Nevada thing. If the andesite is not giving you good enough signals this will help!

Some places, especially in Nevada these settings actually run pretty quiet. More than I let on really. Problem is I have nothing even hotter to run now so maybe Minelab needs to put in a special "Insane" setting just for me. It would probably make a person sterile running it but I don't want any more kids anyway.

You must be headed for the foothills. Froze up solid over this way this morning. Good luck!!

Not sure why you posted then went oops and deleted Tom but I restored the link, very interesting.

Oh it is real all right, and spectacular stuff for sure. Africa probably, where else do people hack on fabulously valuable specimens with a hatchet!

https://www.facebook.com/DetectoresDeMetalesMasterDetector/videos/915348648547946/

I have been holding off posting this, as I worry it could get people who do it into trouble, or cause people running the way I do to blame my settings on the GPZ itself. Reality is what it is however and my journey with the GPZ 7000 has taken me to interesting extremes. I decided it is time to just tell you what I have been using for settings and let the cards fall where they may.

My early posts on the Zed all advised taking it easy with the settings early on, especially for beginners. I took my own advice and slowly ramped things up over time. The entire time however I have been going in just the opposite direction from where I headed with the Minelab PI detectors.

The goal with the GPX 5000 and its predecessors was to seek the smoothest, quietest threshold possible. Every advance the units made moved in that direction, until with the GPX we reached the pinnacle of smooth, well behaved performance.

The GPZ 7000 experience for me has been more like a return to my roots running hot VLF detectors. Most common and very sensible advice including that I have offered myself always has been about trying to get the machines to obtain a smooth steady threshold if possible. And good advice it is. The funny thing is, I usually never run my machines like that myself. I crank them up and run them hot and noisy. A novice listening to me run a Gold Bug 2 in bad ground would be baffled by all the sounds the machine is making. To me however after decades of detecting it is all just feedback about what is going on under the coil, with the key thing being that the magic sound of a real target just jumps out at me out of all the ground and hot rock sounds.

The first thing I did with my GPZ 7000 was pay close attention to every tidbit Jonathan Porter would reveal. Two things got my attention. First was his mention of how the Zed has a livelier response to the ground when in operation. The second was his obvious dislike for audio smoothing. The first thing I did was turn audio smoothing off and I have basically never used it.

The second step was in determining that in most ground I worked the Normal ground setting was far more powerful than the default Difficult setting. I used Difficult a bit initially, and fell back to it a few times, but going to Normal was something that happened very early on, and if you look at my earliest posts on the GPZ 7000 I advised people to always at least give Normal a try before going back to Difficult if need be.

High Yield is the default GPZ gold mode and I have always stayed with it. Minelabs unfortunate naming of the gold modes make people think the other modes are deeper but they only are so in a relative sense, relative to the ground you are in and the gold you are hunting. More details on this thread at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/1236-gpz-high-yield-general-or-extra-deep/ High Yield is the high frequency mode on the GPZ with the transmitted field switching pole directions three times faster than in General or Extra Deep. You could say there really are only two modes because General and Extra Deep are just two versions of the same mode. Yes, yes, yes, before people chime in, I am very aware there are times and places for General and even Extra Deep. In fact, I will always downshift to General before I will come off the Normal ground setting. For me default mode is Normal/High Yield and if things get difficult then go to Normal/General. The next shift down would be to Difficult/High Yield and then finally Difficult/General. I doubt I will ever use Extra Deep until a larger coil is on my GPZ. And even then not much.

The last step was the Gain. I ran 12 a long time, then 14. Then two months ago I just jumped to 20.

The GPZ the way I run is almost always making some kind of noise, all of which lumped together is what I use as a threshold sound. I control things mostly through three audio settings. To preserve my sanity I keep settings low. I never use headphones these days unless the wind is really bad, other wise I keep the wireless module on my upper left chest closer to my better ear. One oddity on the GPZ 7000 is that there really is not a basic volume control so you have to fiddle with several settings to get comfortable sound levels.

What they call Volume on the GPZ 7000 should have been called Audio Boost. From the owners manual"

"Volume controls the amplification of a target’s audio response, relative to the target signal strength. This audio setting is most similar to volume adjustments in other devices (e.g. radio or television volume controls). The Volume control has a range from 1 to 20 with a default setting of 8. With a setting of 1, weak target signals will sound quiet, medium target signals will sound mid-range and strong target signals will sound loud. There will be greater differentiation between target signal strengths; however, weak signals will be harder to hear. With a setting of 20, all target signals will be amplified to a loud audio response. At this setting there may be less differentiation between medium and strong signals, but weak target signals will be easier to hear."

That last note might make you think more volume is better - you do not want to miss those weak signals! I tend the other way as I want my targets to exhibit as much audio variation as possible. This is one setting I still need to possibly tweak but for now I seem to have settled into 4 as the one that works best for my ear.

Volume Limit is much more like a regular volume control. I would have put Volume Limit on the main settings page, then relabled Volume as Audio Boost and put it on the secondary page. Future update hint Minelab? Again, from the manual: "The Volume Limit sets the maximum volume for target signals. When detecting, the sound produced by a target can be very loud. Adjust the Volume Limit to ensure that loud targets do not hurt your ears. The Volume Limit has a range of 1-20, with a preset of 12." More like a blast limiter than a volume control but this control is the one you really need to use to control how loud the GPZ is.

I find 12 to be way too high for me, and by coincidence 4 turned out to also work for me there. The final piece of the puzzle is the actual threshold setting. I find 22 works well for me when I am in very quiet locations, and I bump to 25 if there is noise from wind or whatever around me. There are other audio settings but I try to mess with as little as possible to keep changes simple if I do a master reset. On full reset I:

Main Settings (Detect) Page

1. Switch from default Difficult ground setting to Normal
2. Sensitivity from default 9 to 20
3. Volume (Audio Boost) from default 8 to 4

Next Page - Detect Plus

4. Threshold from default 27 to 22-25 depending
5. Volume Limit from default 12 to 4
6. Audio Smoothing Off

Next page - Settings

7. GPS from default off to Enhanced
8. Wireless from default Off to On
9. Connect to WM12 wireless module
10. Finally, go to Map Menu under View and turn View Geotrail from Default off to On

Only after all this is done do I go through the Quick Start frequency scan and ground balance (with ferrite). These settings all will be retained with power off so done once and I am pretty well set. All I do from then on is fire up in morning and do the Quick Start routine, which I will repeat at lunch time or if I move to a new area. The only thing I have to really remind myself to do is when starting each hunt to go to the Create Geodata page to initiate saving my path to memory. If you are reading Minelab, why can't I assign this to the user button? And, if I forget and walk 1/4 mile before before doing it, it sure would be nice to be offered the option to pick up and save that last 1/4 mile, which is clearly there on screen and in memory, instead of losing it. But I digress.......

Again, once all this gets set up it is retained on power off and repower, so for me I fire the GPZ 7000 up, do the Quick Start, go to Create Geodata, and start my hunt. The only setting I mess with may be the threshold, which I use as a sort of final audio sensitivity control.

The secret to all this pretty much boils down to a hundred hours or more of using the GPZ to get used to the audio and the way the machine responds to the ground. In doing so it all becomes about coil control and sweep speed. When I run into ground noise, hot rocks, or other issues like salt ground, the only thing that normally changes is how fast I hunt. Everything quiet I go faster, more sounds I slow down. In salt ground I am moving at a crawl, letting the audio feedback dictate the sweep speed. I set up an artificial threshold of rising high tones and descending low tones by using a carefully controlled slow sweep. Even small nuggets still pop for me in salt ground.

In other ground no matter what else is going on with these settings a nugget just goes "BANG"!!

Chris Ralph and I hunt together a lot. He tried not even the full bore version of this, and immediately went back to his quieter settings. WARNING! I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THESE SETTINGS! All I am doing is telling you what I am doing. I am not saying they are the “best” settings or any such nonsense. They clearly will not work for many people and in many locations etc. etc. whatever. Running too hot can be counter productive. The happiest thing about the GPZ 7000 is in most cases it gets the gold if you get the coil over it using almost any settings. Chris certainly does as well as I using the settings he uses and he is happier for it. There are various “quiet” settings being used by others out there and they are finding lots of gold doing what they do. You do have to put the coil over the nugget first and foremost, and I am not going to be a settings snob and claim I know best for anyone besides myself. I have no doubt someday I will run into ground where I do something completely different. Always remember, there is never one magic setting for all times and places, otherwise all we would need is an on/off knob. Use what works for your ground and your own personal comfort level.

But now at least nobody can say I did not tell you what settings I am using. Last warning though – getting a new GPZ 7000 and doing this would be like buying a new race car having never driven one, then getting in and just flooring it. You are going to crash and burn. If you are new to the GPZ, do please take it easy and give it time. It is one of those machines that really grows on you with time. Anyone giving up on it with under 50-100 hours really has not even tried. Or maybe GPX style hunting is just better for them. Just my opinion. Again, whatever works.

No, in fact I have not seen the episode myself and I am not going to join the GPAA just to watch it. That one we met Kevin at Rye Patch a month ago. There is another one, from when we met Kevin at Gold Basin about a year ago. Never saw it either. Bummer.

Thanks for posting Scott. I pretty much quit Facebook so I would not have seen the picture. And looking there I see that the good news is that some of the Gold Trails episodes are released on YouTube.

 

Im just a cheapskate and want to save ever cent I can in shipping.  

 

Sounds like a good reason to drive down and do some Arizona nugget detecting!

Yeah, 2015 was the year of the GPZ. But it was also the year of the Minelab Go-Find, Teknetics Digitek, Fisher F22, and White's TreasureMaster. Lots of people chasing the low end.

Not much has changed since I last stirred the rumor pot in December at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/478-best-metal-detector-rumors-2015/ with the exception of the Minelab announcements. As expected the top end offerings from First Texas are slipping into 2016 and for me personally are the units I am most curious about. The Makro Gold Racer will still happen before year end I am sure. Garrett and White's are secretive as ever so who knows. And Tesoro I still don't care - looks like Nokta/Makro has supplanted them as the people to look to for bang for the buck.

My CTX went back about a year ago - GPS never worked from the day I got it. I sent the whole thing, had it back in less than ten days. I called prior to sending to confirm what I should do and how long it would take, etc. and I recommend you do the same. They contacted me even they received it and let me know when it was on the way back. Couldn't ask for better service, hope you get the same!

It may just be easier also to use SQLite Databrowser or one of the other couple freeware alternatives I am playing with to write a SQL script to do the same thing but I need to play a bit more with using SQL to generate kml. It looks like those programs can save SQL scripts and if so then they could be shared and run by anyone.

If anyone is following any of this at all please, please use saved copies of mldata and GPZ7000.MLX for any and all experimenting!!! And before anyone asks who does not know what or where those are it is looking more and more like a hacking the GPZ thread is in order.

The GPZ has 32MB to play with I think, but some artificial limits, like 10 tracks/paths. And maybe 1000 find points? More stuff to double check but it is less a memory limit than limits imposed in software. They certainly could have put in more memory, cheap stuff these days, but then again you run into the issue of just how much stuff do you want in that GPZ in case somebody "borrows" it? Probably best to dump every couple days like I do now, even if it could hold more.

You got it Jason, I was thinking just plotting lines in Google earth than using the kml to import the same lines into the GPZ.

I am a computer nerd from when it all started, but I learned long ago investing much effort in learning stuff was lost effort as things change so quickly. So I just figure out what I need to do what I need when I need it, just like you. I use a very obscure and no longer supported program called GDIdb Pro http://www.gdidb.com that can tap into any database and output almost anything. I used it to tap into our in store system for price and inventory information, add details held in an access database, and combine it all into html that automatically loaded every day to create the old online store at AMDS. It built the entire website from scratch each morning and uploaded changed files, so price and inventory information always matched the in store system. It ended up being a very long and very complex script but I had a ball developing get it as it exceeded anything I could buy off the shelf. The main thing about GDIdb Pro is it is dirt cheap, simple, powerful, and very well documented. I own a licensed developer version that lets me create runtime executables but they would be needlessly complex. I was looking at alternatives last night and had pretty much decided Python would be easy enough to learn and use as a mainstream alternative but sheesh, like I need something else to do! I can do what I need to do for just me already - like I say and as you can understand producing something that works for others is definitely more work.

If you are interested the site above allows the shareware version to be downloaded. It has been superseded by modern languages but is ridiculously powerful for such a compact little program.

GDIdb Pro has some native connectivity but for SQLite it uses ODBC. So somebody like Norvic would need a PC. Then they would need to download and install the SQLite ODBC driver from http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/ They would then have to install the GDIdb runtime and execute my script. Like I say, kind of clunky but it would work.

I have been thinking of starting a thread on hacking the GPZ/CTX but I am frankly concerned about somebody not using proper precautions hosing their GPZ so I am not going there yet. I want to see if I can purposefully wipe my GPZ and if it then reboots with all needed files or at least can be restored from a generic backup first. The last thing I want is Minelab getting service calls because people mess up the files. It would not be warranty either so best to be cautious. As usual I am juggling lots of stuff but I am "on it" now so will sort it out quickly.

Just curious Jason, what do you mean by outlines? Property line? Previously recorded tracks or paths can be reloaded up in the GPZ and viewed. It would be fairly easy to import an artificially created path into the GPZ that would represent a property line.

You gotta start somewhere and they did. There is certainly room for improvement and no doubt there will be. But Minelab moves slowly when they move at all so my advice to folks is to not be holding their breath. Remember this is not new, it is a carryover from the CTX 3030 and so when you look at it from that perspective there has been no real attempt made at upgrading the GPS capability for a long time.

There is nothing we can do about the GPZ side of things ourselves but somebody out there could easily develop a replacement for XChange that would work for all CTX and GPZ owners. When you add CTX users there are a lot of people out there who might pay a few bucks for a decent replacement. I am nowhere near being a programmer and I think I could do it if I put in the effort. For a genuine programmer it should be a trivial project.

Where the GPZ shines for me is in being able to track my ground coverage on screen as I go to insure I leave no gaps. I can go back at any time later with old tracks loaded up and simply take up where I left off. Marking nugget finds has also paid off seeing patch patterns develop. It is just far easier to do it with the GPZ than with a separate GPS unit. I did not trust the thing and was using both my Garmin and the GPZ for some time, but now that I have the workflow down I finally gave up on the Garmin.

I am not trying to sell anyone else on this so please understand I fully accept whatever reasons people have for not using it and complaints about all the things it could do but does not. I get it. But for anyone interested I am really, really going to be doing up a set of articles on the finer details very soon. Been on the back burner all summer for obvious reasons.

Yes Chris, onX Hunt is fabulous but to let people know it is a per state subscription service. Well worth it for me and I subscribe for both California and Nevada. The good news is you can try out a fully functional trial version. It is really invaluable in California where there are private property parcels all over the place.

It has the ability to preload and use maps offline but it was not working worth a darn for me until a recent update. Seems happy now.

Hello Dave,

I have pretty well cracked both the GPZ7000 and the XChange databases using the tips I provided at the links above. Both as you note are a SQLite database but in slightly different formats. I am writing a script to export XChange data to Google Earth kml format which is fairly easy, and another to export directly from the GPZ7000 itself. That way data already in XChange can be exported, and, once that is done, data exported directly from the GPZ without even using XChange.

I enjoy scripting, which I used to do a lot, so it is a fun little project. I am considering making the scripts available but what works for me can be pretty basic. Making something that works for others is quite a bit more work though as it requires a lot more polish to make sure others can't screw things up. Lucky for you to have a son to do it for you!

The other nice thing is once in kml format it is easy to convert to use in almost any mapping software. I just bought OziExplorer to experiment with importing into it. Importing into Garmin Basecamp was very easy.

The problem with scripting is it can get addictive. I was fussing with the code last night customizing the find point information in Google Earth to modify the icons and pop up balloons that display the information on nugget depth and weight. I ended staying up way past my bedtime.

I will be writing about using the Zed GPS system a lot in the next month. I am comfortable enough with it now I stopped using my Garmin. I agree - I like the Zed GPS system and having it has become a key part of how I prospect now.

Thanks for the offer John, though I may very well go back to Colchester as I had a great time there. Check out the website at http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk in the finds area for pages and pages and pages of fabulous gold finds in the Colchester area.

Most of the focus there for the guys hunting are the Celtic gold coins but I think some of the medieval hammered gold coins are more impressive.

Lots of absolutely stunning gold finds made in the UK. I tried hard on my last go and saw others find gold but I missed out in that regard. Scored the oldest and best coins and relics of my life though. Can't do 2016 but I am thinking maybe a return trip is in order for 2017.

Its a very good video and of course its more a PR video than anything and it does show you 'the most technologically advanced metal detectors on the market' and no question about it they are in the top tier detector makers,but even Minelab can make 'White Elephants' as well including some of the current Minelab machine they being the 'Go Find' range.

Which still come under the Minelab brand name and not sure if they are made in house or what ever,but the reception for the lower end 'Go Find' range has been a total disaster for them as everytone who has bought them in the UK has offloaded them within a very short time duration at a massive loss.So although the YouTube video tries to portray they are the best they can also produce some sub standard detectors as well.

Please note i am not knocking the Minelab brand but just highlighting a few facts,the GPX is one of my next machines but not for gold nugget hunting but for deeper hoard hunting,as these machines are superb for that.

The problem there is adults using a machine clearly marketed for children. What were they thinking?

Google Maps already had some offline functionality, but it is more limited and top secret. Since the new version is not available on iOS yet here is the old way to do it, which also works on Android http://www.wired.com/2014/02/offline-google-maps/

MotionX will not work on Android (cant figure why some companies support one platform and not the other) but a very good option that works on Android and iOS is Gaia GPS at https://www.gaiagps.com/apps/android/It is actually better than MotionX when it comes to mapping.

An Android only app that is highly regarded is Backcountry Navigator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.crittermap.backcountrynavigator.license&hl=enIt is so highly regarded I got a Nexus just so I could check it out.

I am evaluating all sorts of GPS options in the next couple months (just got OziExplorer) and with winter here now will post about all of them in the upcoming months.

MotionX http://gps.motionx.com/does a great job at producing tracks and saved location information. Better yet, they can easily be exported to Google Maps or Google Earth just by emailing them to yourself. My only complaint is the zoom is limited so you can't get as much detail on screen as I would like.

An excellent topo map application is PDF Maps. Tons of free topo maps and all work offline. https://www.pdf-maps.com/

I think there are many people still interested in the GMT today so my old GMT info is just as valid now as then. There is a very active market for used detectors, and so somebody looking at a used GP 3500 may very well find those old reviews valuable. None of them ever are about the machine being the best thing ever. I have never declared any detector to be "the best" and so they do not have that pedestal to fall from.

One reason I created this website however is that by keeping my content under this roof I can update it as new information becomes available. My nugget detector review listing gets updated constantly.

I do think phone GPS with replace most handheld dedicated units. They are well on the way. With a dedicated unit what you buy is what you get. With the phones there are more apps all the time and a better screen in most cases. Why pack a phone, camera, and GPS when these days a top end phone does it all?

Speaking of which just yesterday I was using the Basecamp software for my Garmin GPS. It has a "view in Google Earth" option. Recently I went to Google Earth Pro instead of Google Earth, and now the Basecamp option does not work any more. I may have to reinstall regular Google Earth to get that functionality back.

All this new mapping tech is one of the best things to happen in prospecting in the last few years.

And by the way Flak, there is only this one active forum for all subjects related to detecting and prospecting. The Archives are closed to active posting. I like that there is only one place to check for new threads.

But I`m not loathe to give ML wraps, and don`t understand why you are. If people don`t believe your reviews or comments that is their problem.

I have always looked askance at those that put too much weight on any one detector or manufacturer. I try very hard to be as even handed as possible and to give all detectors their fair due. Every detector has a place with different people who have different needs and budgets. If not they do not last long on the market. So when a detector and I get along exceedingly well I get cautious because I do not want to be a "GPZ guy" or a "Minelab guy".

My reviews are out there with the main goal being to help people. I generally get my hands on about everything worth having for nugget detecting and I do try and figure out what every detector is best at, and how to get the best out of it. If it helps people, great. If they don't like them or think there is more than it than that, that's fine also. It's not like people have to pay anything for them.

Well John, first off I said passed 10K a long time ago. In suspect you are pretty far in the hole with your detector purchases versus whatever gold nuggets you have ever found. In fact, I bet I have found more gold nuggets metal detecting in the last two weeks than you have in your life. So pardon me if your opinion is not holding much weight with me as of late.