Rob Allison

Hey Steve and All, I'm completely opposite, I would take a 4500 any day over a 4800 here in the Southwest US. There are benefits of having Enhance and Sen/Smooth in heavy ironstones and basalts. I also like using the "Boost" feature on shallow bedrock to really make the small nuggets sing out twice as loud. The 4800 has been a very slow seller, reason they are bundling the Eureka Gold with it. If it's not about money and trying to re-sale a VLF bundled with your detector, I would take the Minelab GPX 4500 with extra 15x12 coil for $2699.00. Just my thoughts.

Hey Steve, I haven't used the Razorback GPZ coil covers, but sell both Miner John's heavy duty cover and the stock white GPZ cover. We also have the stock, replacement GPZ covers in stock, which can be seen here - http://www.robsdetectors.com/gpz-7000-replacement-stock-cover The price difference from the Minelab stock coil cover vs. Miner John's heavy duty is only a few bucks. Some like the heavy duty one, some like the more flexible Minelab replacement one. Hope this helps a bit.

Hey Guys, As for the GPZ Batteries, we do have the standard size in stock, along with the smaller CTX battery that works fine. We haven't placed them on our site yet, but have them in stock if anyone is interested in the standard, replacment sized GPZ battery. I did hear the larger 13ah battery is on hold. Don't know anymore solid details beyond that.

Hey Babeinthewoods, I will let Steve give you the best advice as he probably has the most experience here in Alaska metal detecting with a PI. Here are some of my thoughts on places I visit in Alaska. Many of the "pay-to-mine" locations are based on old bucket/dragline dredge operations. You're working a lot of oversized tailings from material that went through the sluices to oversized cobbles that got screened off. In some of these locations there are "Volcanics" rocks that can cause hell on even a good PI. In these locations I preferred using a DD or DD Pro to help eliminate or null out some of these volcanic hot rocks. Other places might just have hot ground mineralization or hot bedrock like Serpentine. The DD's also allow you to have some "discrimination" in very trashy areas like these piles. Keep in mind all the rubbish got tossed in them, nails, wire, bolts and .... If the ground mineralization is low to moderate and has minimal trash, you might benefit from a Monoloop. A Mono will give you better pinpointing, more depth and sensitivity overall. I would also always recommend taking two items for backup. This would include headphones, power cords, batteries, handle and searchcoils. If you break an important part of your detector in the bush, you might be out for the entire trip. Many even take a backup detector like a smaller VLF. Just some thoughts before heading to Alaska. Wishing you much success!!

Hey Jasong, I tested one of the first Coiltek Elite's here in the US with my GPX 5000 and was impressed over prior coils on the market. It was a huge improvement. Once they actually hit the market, there was a small rush for them. Most of my customers have had good success, but most are not posting. I'm sure it's new, most want to get back over spots before others, along with the heat keeping some from the field right now. I wouldn't give up my GPZ 7000 for a GPX 5000 and Coiltek Elite, but if you're someone looking to get more depth/sensitivity and own a Minelab SD, GP or GPX (especially on specimen gold) a Coiltek Elite Searchcoil might be the ticket. Nugget Finder should be releasing their version soon.

Hey 1515Art and others, Thanks for posting that, as you're one of many thousands that really pay attention to what the experts say (J. Porter). I guess this is what I really meant from the beginning, JP might not know how many people really follow his postings, articles and watch the DVD's. I think it's awesome as we need more guys like this out there. Reno Chris - Great picture of you guys. I was fortunate enough to meet JP in person many years ago when we came out for one of the AZO Outings at Rich Hill. No question he has a great sense of humor and an enjoyable person to be around.

Hey JP, Sorry if it came across that way, that wasn't my intention by any means. Your articles, videos and such are seen by thousands of prospectors and metal detectorist around the Globe, many take what you say as "Gospel." This is great to have such an influence on people and their success JP. Thanks for always writing great articles and providing us with outstanding DVD's. Hope to see a DVD from you on the GPZ 7000 soon. Your friend, Rob Allison

Hey JP, Don't get your blood pressure up over what I wrote, it wasn't directed to anyone in particular. That being said, I'm not sure you understand the frustration from customers when someone writes about a product(s) that could play an important role in properly ground balancing their $10,000 detector. Once the articles (your's wasn't the only one) hit the forums and such, there was a mad rush for customers to get these items. I was lucky enough to realize their was going to be a demand for the Ferrite Rings and rushed to get an early order of them along with a few other dealers. We were able to supply our customers early enough to eliminate some of the headaches. Whether the "rings" play that important of a role in the US or on lesser mineralized soil conditions, it's more psychological. Some customer may believe their unit will not ground balance properly without the ring. I'm just "feeling" for the guys that are still searching for one.

Hey Fred, I actually got in touch with a few of my contacts at Minelab and the Ferrite Tubes are in fact still on backorder. They are doing their best to get them in stock and out to customers and dealers that have requested them. If for some reason I would happen to get another stock of them before you get yours, I will send you one. Rob Allison Rob's Detector Sales

Great hunting Road Dog! Wishing you much more.

Hey Scott, That sucks. I was able to get all my customers that requested them one, but I got in early on the Ferrite Rings when I heard about them. I'm not real sure why Minelab or people closely affiliated with Minelab would write articles and such on them if they are not available in stock to supply each sale. You know it's going to cause a rush to get the "rings," and if they are not available why release the articles .....

Hey Chris, Good hit with the SDC. I think I'm going to sell mine though, I'm finding gold just as small and double the depth of the SDC 2300. I love the fact the SDC can fold up and pack into places easy, but it's hard to beat the new GPZ 7000 outside the price.

Hello Mn90403, I haven't personally taken the GPZ 7000 on a plane, but have taken just about everyone other PI on a plane in the past (mostly to AK). I never had any issues, always backed the bulk of the detector and coils in the luggage, but kept the control boxes on the carry on with me. One time they stopped me on the way back and swabbed the GPX unit. I almost missed the plane over this, so I recommend taking a brochure of the unit if you have one. This might speed up the process, even though they have seen a million detectors.

Hey Steve, Good Post. I have been using the battery shown here at my store - http://www.robsdetectors.com/gpz-replacement-72v-44-ah-battery It works with the GPZ 7000 fine and I purchased all they had in stock about a month ago figuring customers would be searching for them at some point. I still have some in stock, but sold majority of them. It will last right at 4 hours. I personally have two of these smaller CTX batteries and the stock, full sized 72Wh one. Allows me to hunt an entire weekends, or at least charge one battery while searching. Rob Allison

Hello All, Here is another short video I filmed of a nugget I found at depth with the GPZ 7000. Makes me wonder how deep one would dig a multi-ouncer with the amazing metal detector. Thanks for watching. Rob Allison Rob's Detector Sales

Hello All, Here is another short video of a very small gold nugget I found at depth with the new Minelab GPZ 7000 metal detector. It's amazing on the depth this unit is getting. Hope you enjoyed. Rob Allison Rob's Detector Sales

Hello All, Here are a couple of GPZ 7000 video on small gold with the GPZ 7000. Hope you enjoy. Subscribe to our Youtube Channel "Nuggethunting" to see more. Thanks! Rob Allison Rob's Detector Sales

Hey Lunk, Congrats on the finds. Sure wish I could be there with you guys. Some day I hope to retire and get to play.

Hey Guys, I can't get in on the technical part of it, just the fact the GPZ 7000 will sound off hard on cactus roots (especially Prickly Pear). I just dug a charcoal spot today with the GPZ, after it broke up the area the signal was gone. I have tried several settings, even "Severe" Ground Setting and it still sounds off. Sucks, I have found some nice gold at the base of Prickly Pear Cactus as they spread out and cause a barrier on hillsides and slopes.

Hey Russ, Congrats on your finds. That is 38 more nuggets than you had before, even though many will say it was a 10K investment to find a few more bits of gold. I'm not that much further above you on gold weight in 4 trips. First trip was 8 nuggets for around 4 Dwt's. Second trip on a few dinks, third trip was 8.1 Dwts (includes the 1/3 ouncer) and today 2 pieces for about a Dwt's. I'm close to 3/4's of an ounce, but far from paying from the unit. My right arm is getting a great workout and I'm a bit fired up again about nuggetshooting with something new.

Hey Guys, Thanks for the comments. When I first heard the target, it was really faint, but did't want to start the video process until I had a better signal or confirmation it was a true signal. About an hour prior, I had a similar type target, set up the video and dug the target down about a foot. Due to the target location & signal response I felt this was a good target and not going to be rubbish. No question, the GPZ 7000 is going deeper, but I'm still learning when I should be in certain settings. The ground will really determine what settings you can run. I tried several suggestions originally on the forums, they all were a no-go. Way too much mineralization in the ground to run those settings. All I can say is experiment, no different than prior PI's such as the GPX series. If I find a few ounces of missed, deeper gold per year, it will only take me 5 years to pay for it. I guess that is better than most auto loans ... Good luck out there.

Software issue .....

Hello All, Here is a video of myself digging a nice 1/3 ounce gold nugget at depth with the new GPZ 7000. I was using "High Yield" and "Difficult" with a Sensitivity of 10. The ground was very mineralized, making it too hard to hunt in Normal or raising the Sensitivity much. Approx. nugget depth was 16-18 inches and it was a faint whisper when I first heard it. Hope you enjoyed. Rob Allison Rob's Detector Sales

Hello All, Just a FYI, make sure you understand the settings and what is working best. I just realized the first day out, even though I found 8 nuggets, I was running settings that were no better than the GPX 5000 after some further testing. What I would consider a large nugget, the GPZ considers it a "small" nugget, which is best for High Yield over General. I also realized "Difficult" soil really makes the unit purr, but takes a lot of performance away on the ground I was hunting. I was trying to find a happy medium from a noisy Normal to a Difficult soil setting with a higher gain. Experiment is the key. What I originally thought was good, wasnt .....

Hey Guys, Alan in Australia was making me the SDC covers, which were high quality. He is also making some GPZ covers, but did let me know he would not be making them for the US market at this time due to time involved. I'm sure he wants to prospect a bit with the new detector rather than sitting around making covers for a small profit. I appreciate him letting me know, so that is the latest on the GPZ control box covers. I purchased a nice cover for the GPZ screen on Ebay and received it within a few days. I tried using a CTX one, but ended up cutting a good portion of it out and it didn't fit right and allow you to push all the buttons on the screen.