Northeast

Yep, it would be ‘interesting’ but I’m not sure that it would be any great advantage (or disadvantage) than your 4500 in actually finding gold. Can run all the same mono coils but the 4500 gives you a bit more flexibility with the DD’s. The advantage is the lighter weight, lower price point, updatable software, good battery set up, etc, etc.

That name was mentioned on the Australian PA forum. Perhaps there are 2 detectors? The counter mine and a different public offering. We’ll know sometime in the next 6 months ?

Hi Phrunt, Rather than re-write a lot of stuff I'll just provide the link to here https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=29720 It is a bit lengthy but hopefully tell you things you want to know. Having never had a non auto-tracking PI and none of the machines I've had have the same controls/menus/options as the QED it has been a bit of a learning curve but probably no more so than if I had picked up a GPX for the first time. Never having had a GPX has probably been a bonus in that I am not trying to run the QED like a GPX but it does make it difficult to provide a comparison for people like yourself. A GPX is probably what it is most comparable to? But which model I have no idea. Anyway, have a read of the link if you like and any other questions just ask ? Oh, I do wonder if the 'insanely mild' ground conditions of NZ coupled with your smaller sized gold would be a really interesting combination with the "Mode" setting of the QED. A low Mode coupled with a smaller 9" spiral wound coil would probably be a great little combo.

PA forum suggests it might be called Minelab Vanquish and some sort of new PI tech. I dare say no one knows until it’s announced. Steve H may get his lightweight, under 2k PI after all! ?

My how things have changed for me over the past 8 or so months ? It's funny how one can go back and read things in a different light. I dare say I didn't take much notice of this sentence back when you wrote it JR - it resonates a lot more with me now ?

Niiiiiiiiiiiice!!

Or you could look through these pages https://www.detectorprospector.com/metal-detector-database/ and simply look at the weights under the main heading and then look at the lightest ones. Sorry that I'm not recommending anything for you, just giving you more work ?

I'm certainly not the guy to be answering your question with my limited range of detector usage. But I will ask a question ? Does your Nox have the 11" or 6" coil on it? I haven't used a 6" on mine but I imagine it makes it as light as fly poop. Going from a Detech 11" coil on a PI down to an 8" Sadie made the detector I use particularly lighter. Possibly help him to seperate the signals too? Just a thought ?

Cracker-lacka ding-dong. That is a beauty!! Congrats ?

I always assumed that was the case but have never seen it written. Good tip. ???

Different areas have different rules. If you check online on Earth Resources (where you get your miners right) it will provide a display of State and National Parks you can detect in and the Prospecting Maps of those parks. The web links to those parks will also provide details on designated areas where you can camp, fire guidelines, any fees payable, etc. It is important we all ‘play by the rules’ as every misdemeanor is another reason to lock prospectors out of these areas. State Forests are different again and the rules are much more relaxed. In general you can camp and detect anywhere. Normal camp fire rules apply regards having a 3 metre clear area, making sure it is out, etc. Historic areas, conservation reserves, etc are all a bit different again and some you can detect and some you can’t. Best to research each one individually. Hope that helps. Didn't realize you were from Aus. Good to have another comrade on here ? The 5000 will be pretty helpful in the GT too.

When you realised this, did you say..."Bingo!!" ? Welcome to the forum and hope you get lots of enjoyment out of your Monster. Plenty of good reading to wade through and you will be hard pressed to get a better audience to answer any questions you may have. Enjoy ?

I have checked in on this thread whilst at work today and had time to ponder. It's been a hard day ? There is a possibility that all the gold is gone. It was only shallow and the GPX got it all. But based on Steve H, JP, KiwiJW and heaps of others writing over time how the GPZ re-ignited patches that they felt were dead and buried - it seems unlikely that your little patch has flat-lined just yet. This quote intrigues me. These bits are supposed to be the domain of the Z (or an SDC)! These are the same bits that the GPX series supposedly struggle on. So that just brings me back to the feeling that something is not right with the settings or some part of the set-up. If heading back to this same spot I would use: Ground Mode - Normal (as long as it is usable). Gold Mode - High Yield. Threshold - 27 ish. Sensitivity - only take it to a point where it is just starting to get unstable and then go back 1 setting. I do understand that running hotter can also be advantageous and Steve H has outlined his insanely hot settings and Kiwi gets away with them too (and I've used these to clean out patches of tiny bits). But just to start, this is where I would go and allow myself to listen for the tiniest change to that flat line threshold - rather than trying to listen for the 1 dollar coin in a tumble dryer full of 5 cent pieces ? Volume - about 8. Volume Limit - about 10. Audio Smoothing - Off. Ground Balance - Semi - auto. I know you also mentioned here and in your email that you tried Extra Deep. From the GPZ manual - Extra Deep This setting is specifically designed for searching for deeply buried nuggets. Large, deep nuggets (typically ≥ 50 grams) produce complex and subtle audio responses, so this setting should only be used by skilled operators. Shallow targets may be missed with this setting when compared to the ‘High Yield’ or ‘General’ settings. This setting is not recommended for general use. The bold bits make me think 3 things. You mentioned that you reckon the run of gold is shallow. So maybe not the best mode. A good mode for nuggets bigger than 50 grams (wouldn't that be sweet!). Has this patch produced anything near that range or bigger? Complex and subtle audio responses - may be getting masked by the hot settings background noise? Lastly, I would take the SP01 out of the equation for a bit. This is in no way a slight at Pat or Nenad. Regardless of brand I would suggest the same thing. It is a matter of eliminating possibilities where something might be falling down. Maybe the filter choice is not right, maybe the SP01 is faulty, maybe the WM12 is faulty, maybe there are battery issues, connections, etc. I would just go back to the basic set-up and see what happens. Boosters can be great but the basic Z and WM12 combo works pretty well too. Most importantly, don't give up on the GPZ yet. It may be an ergonomic nightmare, have limited coil choice and be the price of a small car but it is an awesome gold finding machine and if I knew I had the time and the disposable cash I would have mine back in a heartbeat ? I hope something in all that dribble helps you to find the yellow stuff ?

I was never a ‘scrubber’ with the Z but certainly ran it occasionally touching or just above the ground. You mentioned that the GPX got lots of hot rocks and the Z got none. In Normal mode I found the Z was a hot rock (and hot ground) magnet in my part of the world and in the GT. The fact you got none makes me wonder what other setting on the Z is dulling it’s performance so much that it is knocking out hot rocks. And could that same setting be knocking out gold?

Hang on, what? We don't have an accent??? ??

They are what Reg is suggesting and similar to the Redbacks that I wear. A few of the PA chaps suggested the lace up 45-645’s that are in the Olivers link above ?

Have a quiz at the thread here Phrunt. Apparently the 45-645's are pretty good. Stockists in NZ ? https://www.oliver.com.au/ranges/at-45-series https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=19333

Very funny klunker ? Bit of light reading here might get you onto something worthwhile. I know I have also seen a few of these threads on Prospecting Australia forum and the Olivers boots got lots of recommendations (Australian boots). I had some Keen's that were very comfy and water proof but the soft sole on them fell apart pretty quick with the old 'boot scrape' action that detectorists tend to do. Currently I just wear Redback elastic sided boots. Blundstones are similar. I'm sure there would be an American version.

Initially I always swung it with just with the swing arm and no support. Then tried a Hip Stick and didn't think there was much difference...until I went back to no Hip Stick - it was suddenly 3 kilos heavier than it ever was!! ? I eventually settled on the bungee attached to the camel back and that was perfect. And the swing arm - that thing is a real winner for balance and control. High Yield/Difficult - I never had confidence in it. If you can get away with Normal where you are then High Yield/Normal would be beaut. Get used to deep targets - hopefully sooner or later 1 or 2 of them are nice bits of yella ?

Jin got a Z!! Nice one ?

4X4 thongs - sweet ?

Great thread Mitchell. Well the Z is gone but I still remember the settings ? The changes I made were very much due to JP's information he posted on here. I genuinely credit JP with my 3 largest pieces of gold - 6gm, 9 gm and 11 gm pieces. Not monsters but they made me happy. Why do I credit him with that? Because he suggested Difficult/General for the medium sized bits at a bit of depth. I'd not felt comfortable with Difficult/High Yield as it just seemed to lose sensitivity. There were small pieces that just didn't make any noise in Diff/HY and I tried to stay in Normal/HY but that is hard in my ground with hot ground and hot rocks. So when he suggested Difficult/General I gave it a go over a little spot a mate and I had found a couple of real tiddlers and we had gone over it pretty well. But, it was also a spot that I knew had seen multiple over ounce pieces found - including a 6 ounce piece. Difficult/General turned up the 11 grammer first. I was playing with targets before I dug them with Difficult/High Yield - not a peep out of this one. Or the 6 gram. ? Long story short, I continued to use the Difficult/General combo. Found that it targeted the larger targets better, gave up very little on the smaller pieces and handled the hot ground/rocks easily. Ground Type - Difficult. Gold Mode - General. Threshold - 27 Volume - 1 (once I had a B&Z booster) Volume Limit - 8 (B&Z booster) Audio smoothing - Off Ground Balance - Semi Auto Sensitivity - as high as possible but with stable threshold That's my basics. However, when cleaning out areas with little bits. High yield and a really high sensitivity would ping the tiny bits. I don't think you could stand the unstable threshold all the time and the noise probable hid some pieces but for the most part the little bits 'lit up'. With these settings I really think the Z was finding bits equally small as the SDC can. Was continually amazed by the small size the Z could hit. Sorry if I've rambled a bit. Might be feeling a bit nostalgic about the Z ?

That will be a good indication Phoenix. If it is 3 days it came from China. If it takes 3 weeks then it was definitely sent from within Australia via Aus Post ?

It's great that you can look back and think that Steve. You probably sleep a little easier than those that may have had their pockets lined or received some sort of incentive to over-portray the powers of a particular machine. As with much of the real world. But there are a still a few places to hangout, learn, enjoy amusing banter and be allowed to ask stupid questions without being berated. It helps when the Rancher is the sheriff, judge, jury and jail warden ?

Just locked in 5 days off from the 24th - 28th of May. Would be great to catch up with you somewhere in there Mitchel. I will not have any real set plans so will follow your trails during your first 2 weeks in Oz and firm something up a little closer to the time. Be great to catch up with Reg, JR, Geofjunk, Jin and others that might be around at that time ?