araratgold

RR, I won't use anything less than a PI here in Oz for serious prospecting. The noisy ground and hot rocks will drive you mad with a VLF ! The ZED is my weapon of choice, but I also have a new 4500 with an arsenal of coils as backup. You can pick up GPX 4000's for a song, this is what I would consider to be the minimum these days, especially if you are detecting in well done areas. Back in the 80's to early 90's when big slugs were lying around in virgin fields the VLF's did well. Not now, as they only get the tiny crumbs that PI's have left behind here in Oz. Good luck with it all, Cheers, Rick

Nice JP, and it's great that your lads come out with you. Father and son time is precious ! Cheers, Rick

Minelab dealer !

Yes PG, no question the EVO coils are better. Don't get me wrong, the commander coils are good, but heavy for their size ! The EVO coils are lighter, punch deeper, and seem to handle EMI much better than anything else on the market, with perhaps the exception of the Coiltek Elite coils. Rick

PG-Prospecting, There is no question that the ZED is heavier than any other detector, but it is manageable. From all the testing I have done with my 4500 with EVO coil vs the GPZ, the 4500 is only marginally behind in most cases. ( I have both machines ). Where the ZED shines is on porous / reef gold and gold that is standing on edge. Is the price difference worth it : For me yes as I spend huge hours each year prospecting and my ZED has paid for itself at least 20 times over. For the average bloke the 4500 with an EVO coil will do most things the ZED can do, for less than half the price, and with less weight ! The 4500 is also more versatile with its many coil combinations ( DD, mono, AI ) and ability, for example, to run a DD in cancel under or near powerlines, or an AI beside an electric fence. PS : I am in Victoria, Australia, so don't know your specific region. YouTube channel : https://www.youtube.com/user/AraratGold Rick

I've just bought a Phantom 4 Pro Plus, to use as Pat has, for an aid to raw prospecting. It will be especially handy for my annual trip to Western Australia, as I will be raw prospecting at the outer edges of known goldfields. Check out this clip I did today, it's maiden flight. Unbelievably clear and stable 4K footage, and what a blast flying it ! Had a minor heart failure when I got out over the ocean, but composed myself enough to bring it home, then manual landed it ! Later I got my head around the auto takeoff and return to home feature. Cheers, Rick

Gidday Guys, My name is Rick and that is my video. I was hunting in normal ground mode, high yield, no smoothing, sensitivity at 17, auto tracking I always try to run normal because it punches so much deeper than difficult and gives brighter responses ! You do get ground noise ( groans ), but the targets still come over the top of the groans. The area I was prospecting ranges from noisy to very noisy, ( broken down ironstone ) and very variable, but the big ZED coil seems to handle the ground better than the 14 inch coil. I will often cross check iffy targets using difficult, because if it is ground noise the target will usually disappear after a few passes. And yes, kiwijw, that's what I was demonstrating. I have yet to track out even a faint legitimate target. Hope this answers your questions ! Cheers, Rick