Steve Herschbach

Hi Trent, You are not alone in your interest in hardrock on this forum. Chris Ralph and I both own hardrock claims though in both cases ours are leased out to bigger companies. This year I will be looking for the same small deposits you are working. Thanks for the kind comment, and welcome to the forum!

Would love to see more river talk here. So far I have made most of the dredging posts. http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/forum/13-gold-dredging-highbanking-sniping/ They only happen if somebody posts them so fire away!

Everyone goes gaga over big nuggets but I would really rather just find lots and lots of nice fat nuggets like those!

Well, the machine is new and though I have more time on it than most (not all) I am hesitant to say I know for sure what works best where and why. The reality is the GPZ is quite simple so I do not expect there will be too many secrets to learn. The only really big tip I have right at this moment is to repeat what JP has said. Even though the GPZ acts deceptively like the previous PI models it is entirely different and anything you thought you knew is best forgot. Treat it like what it is - new machine working a new way. My recommendation so far for the U.S. normally mild compared to Oz conditions is always use High Yield. Use Normal Ground if you can, Difficult Ground only if you have to, and leave Smoothing Off. Sensitivity as high as is stable. That said, there IS NO MAGIC SETTING for all locations. If there were, the settings would not be needed or included. The GPZ would just have a power switch. As has been said, early days. One thing I promise anyway - I have no problem sharing good settings. Anyone who is here to take and not share needs to leave.

Hi jasong, No everyone has concerns about the "secret locations" issue. I don't. I hope the few that do will not cause people like you to not work to help those who just want to use the tools. Hey, I spent a month a Jack Wade Creek detecting last summer. Been to Rye Patch, Gold Basin, LSD, etc. There, saved some hackers some effort. Some of us have really valuable data to protect. Good, do that. But let's not rain on the rest of us who are not exactly in the same boat. Hope you reconsider jasong.

Well, I was just passing on something I saw posted in CTX land. Do remember CTX accessories exist and may work on GPZ. As an old Alaskan most of my ideas involve old cardboard and duct tape!

JP is very, very busy guys. Do not expect answers on every thread in record times or even at all depending on where he is. I do think we get priority here though when he does have time. And yes, Minelab is listening. Because we offer good suggestions on this forum instead of complaints. Funny how that works!

Hi Barry, The GPZ tracks etc. end up displayed on the Google map info in XChange. I do not believe that the updates occur automatically as you have to do something in XChange to make them happen. They are offered but you have to initiate. At least that is how I remember CTX update happening. Same with GPZ downloads to XChange - you have to use copy function. Basically XChange lets you look at what is on GPZ, erase it if you wish, or save it to your PC. You can edit names and description details. All detector settings are saved along with each Findpoint which is good for learning what worked at the time.

May have to email the file. I can't now but will next week if you still do not have one Barry. I fully understand why people may not want to use the built in capability of the GPZ. However, what I want to do is explore and expand options for those who do. I appreciate the offer Barry. Being able to move data direct from the GPZ to other systems may help alleviate at least a few of the concerns by cutting the XChange 2 software out of the loop.

Hello Adam, welcome to the forum. Great first post - thanks!

This version for the CTX 3030 May work. The back of any nay need to be cut out as the back of GPZ pod portrudes out more. http://m.ebay.com/itm/121057978623?

Argyle, I am feeding your comments to Nokta. Thanks!

Just a reminder - fill those holes! Yeah, I know, they will fill in eventually, and kids dig holes, etc. But they are not banning kids from beaches, they are banning metal detectorists for hole digging, so keep that in mind. Thanks!

I saw the MLX file - thanks! I will be working on this for a future article so I really appreciate the tip.

SD2100, SD2200, GP Extreme, GP 3000, and GP 3500 all had same dome top sealed lead acid battery. The SD 2000 did not have the dome top but used a simple lead wire. All GPX us the newer Li-Ion battery design.

I would certainly appreciate it - other people creating content is half my battle.

The control box slides off the rod assembly Tom. Do not drill anything.

Hello Norvic, I am pretty much a GPS novice but learning fast. Never really needed it in Alaska since the areas hunted are small in size. Started with a Garmin handheld and Basecamp last summer plus my iPhone and MotionX app. The XChange 2 software needs an export function. I have delved into the file structure but not found anything I can grab. We may need somebody to hack that ability. For me so far the main use has simply been to use the built in GPS and on screen trail/track to insure I get as close to 100% ground coverage for the area I am currently hunting. Chaining does not work in the mountains, brush, gullies, and trees, and having it on screen in my fact without having to watch a separate GPS is helpful. But for actual use with other software I am still using the Garmin to track and save location information. So far as I can see at this time XChange mainly needs an import/export function

It really boils down to a time thing. If I have limited time and I want to find gold, I go where it has already been found. Old patch or old mine workings. But to make the big score you need time and patience to hunt for that undiscovered patch. The JP method is hunt old patches just enough to cover expenses, and spend all other time hunting new ground. That is the method I plan on using going forward now that I have more time. In the past my time was more limited so I stuck to proven locations. The only basic requirement is that the geology needs to be favorable.

I think the originals were VLF but that they now also make a PI version.

A short handle garden hoe has worked well for me on the beach. Good luck on your hunt!

In the US we respect success but that is not the case in some quarters in Oz. Made no sense to me until I found out about Tall Poppy Syndrome http://www.businesspsych.org/articles/244.html Lee, I find the GPZ to be tolerant of a fast sweep speed but best at a moderate "normal" sweep speed. I keep trying to slow myself down though and hunt slower yet. What is best for the machine and my attention are two different things perhaps. I pay attention best going slow.

No problem Ray but let's go light on this stuff. It is one side, there may be another, and this is not the place for a trial. It illustrates the issue at hand but let's leave it at that. Thanks. Now let's get back to digging gold and legal relics!

If you like these gold specimen pictures check out more at Northern Nevada Gold http://northernnevadagold.com/en/specimen-gold/specimen-gold-biggest-first

Nice Lunk, thanks for posting! Oddly enough, the GPZ seems to work. Who would have thunk?