Gold Catcher

The question to me is what this detector will bring to the table. For 6000 and 7000 owners (like me) what has this detector to offer that I not already have? GC

Sorry to hear JP, I hope your recovery will continue steadily. Yes, unfortunately too many people are in need of a good ground balancing, along with some education. Preferably in semi-auto so they won't drift over time.😉 GC

Spot on. The traditional motherload belt is virtually off limits for prospecting due to high urbanization, state and private land ownership, tons of regulations and a miner hostile crowd. In addition, there is a huge amount of claims in those areas that are still open for prospecting. The higher Sierras, i.e. Plumas national forest, still has options for prospecting and there are certainly others as well, but you need to know exactly where to look, and it often requires hiking into steep canyons and difficult terrain and driving on suicidal roads. And yes in winter most of these areas are not accessible. I would probably choose the Mojave desert in the Randsburg mining district. During the summer heat you could then consider the nearby San Bernardino mountains and also Big Bear. So, I would choose So Cal, also due to it's vicinity to AZ for the non-summer months. This area also is not crowded at all. The entire stretch along the I-10 east towards the AZ border also has rich and vast gold fields, including the remote Chuckwalla Mountains, which are practically completed deserted (and forgotten about by most-not me though 🤠). Also, the Dale mining district and the Pinto mountains are right there as well (only July - Sept the heat is really bad). GC

Thanks, Rob, my to-go settings as well unless the grounds require otherwise (like described above). I wonder if you would have picked it up with the 6000. GC

Congrats, Rob! What an awesome find. What settings are you usually using for the grounds where you hunt? I more and more use the GPZ in general/difficult (with NF12 coil) and I have to say I really like these settings, in particular for the hot rock infested grounds that I usually encounter. It even works for the notoriously difficult ultramafic serpentine schist (Motherlode), with reasonably good remaining sensitivity for shallow gold as well. No other detector works in this particular ground btw, including the 6000 which is completely useless doesn't matter what settings. The 6000 just keeps howling even at lowest gain when the coil moves over the schist due to complete saturation and overload (14DD makes no difference neither with EMI nor with salt cancel mode). In contrast, the GPZ in general/diff runs completely smooth, even when run with gain 15 and smoothing off. Just curious what your to-go settings are for the 7000 in AZ. I know you guys can have some really nasty hot ground too. Best, GC

An interesting aspect of alluvial fans is the often observed "reverse grading". This means that the heavier rocks (and gold) can often be found on the surface of the debris flow, not at the bottom like in water-only flows, such as rivers. This has to do with the density and strength of the flow material (matrix) which creates pressure gradients by which larger (and heavier) material are moved upwards, not downwards. This is why you don't have to look for bedrock in alluvial fans (good luck...), instead the heavy materials (including coarse gold) can be on the surface and within detector reach.🤠🤑 GC "Reverse grading often forms due to sieving and density differentials during transport, which forces large clasts to the top" https://sites.google.com/site/wvugeol616advancedsed/home/alluvial-fans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graded_bedding

That's why I haven't thus far come across a "professional" detectorist here in the US who is not living full time in a tent.....unless of course you have some sort of other income, like being a detector dealer. GC

Thanks for posting. Looks like he run with 4 clicks gain. Although the button was rather large 18 inch of depth with 4 clicks is still pretty good. That combined with the higher stability and the elliptical shape makes this coil a really interesting option, also because you can get it better in deeper holes. I wonder if NF coils generally are quieter. The NF-Zsearch is also much more stable than the 14 stock. GC

I really think the global supply chain crunch, due to Covid and other related factors, is to blame. All sectors are impacted, just look at the car industry. The question is just to what extend companies, especially those with high reputation, are willing to take a gamble and risk their good name by implementing lower end backup strategies.

Fair deal!!😁

If technical issues with the 6k would indeed be a systemic and wide spread problem (note the word if) then I don't see how they could possibly release any more detector models anytime soon. Obviously, some major issues in quality control and manufacturing would need to be addressed first. Mine has no issue thus far however, but I surely acknowledge all the problems reported here. This brings back the king question to my mind.... GC

Oh no.....

Thanks, Norvic. You amaze me. And you really want to get rid of it? I always get so attached to my good old detectors with all the memories I have with them. And in your case, this would be especially emotional to part from such a beauty 🙂 GC

Very cool! I would keep it! ML should learn from you. I have hopes for a more modern SDC coming out sometime in the near future GC

Super modded lightweight SDC? mmmmm...this sounds interesting. How did you manage? The regular SDC is so clunky. But yeah, the MPF timings can come in really handy. You guys are so blessed with your mild soils over there! I have grounds here where the SDC is the only detector that is working on shallow fast gold. GC

And there is of course the easy way: if you can scrape the target off with your boots don't even bother. Simple but effective in many grounds. Relieves about 50% of the frustration. GC

The alternative would be to change the detector settings such that surface targets become less visible, and dig all the rest. Like an inverse 6000 so to speak. This would probably increase the gold/trash ratio quite significantly for areas that have a lot of surface trash (which doesn't). The settings that JR described for the 7000 seem to fit that purpose. GC

Thanks, Chet. This is the most comprehensive and best description I have seen on ZVT. I will have a few dozen reads of it to try to fully understand it 😆🙃 GC

I often think the same. Amazing what the old-timers have accomplished without any advanced machinery and in often brutal conditions. Whenever I see those hand stacked large boulder piles along the river canyons in gold country I feel embarrassed when complaining about the weight of the 7000....But I wonder if they were just in general more enduring people with more physical strength, and most of all with more will-power and determination. GC

Nice set up, Norvic! I thought of doing something similar but I am worried that if I take a dive during hiking the detector might get a brutal beating. Where I hike at times dives are not uncommon 🤪 GC

Could not agree more! Just the weight sucks.

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.minelab.com/__files/f/254716/KBA%2024-1%20Basics%20of%20the%20GPZ%207000%20Technology%20Zero%20Voltage%20Transmission%20(ZVT).pdf Sorry, long URL....

"A more complete definition actually would be Zero Reactive Voltage Transmission. The transmit coil Reactive Voltage refers to voltage associated with the transmit coil winding that is proportional to changes in the transmitted magnetic field. Signals detected directly from the transmit coil are given the same name ‘reactive‘ because they are directly proportional to the transmit coil reactive voltage. The ZVT transmitted field is designed to be as constant (unchanging) as possible during the receive periods; this means that the transmit coil’s reactive voltage must be zero during these constant field periods, and thus too is a receive signal directly from the transmit coil’s field. Hence Zero Reactive Voltage Transmission (ZVT) refers to this ultra‑stable transmitted magnetic field period during which receiving occurs."

That would certainly be a good strategy. The question is just how good a detector really could be at this price range and whether it would truly be competitive in the gold fields. It is already so hard to find decent gold here in the US, despite using rather expensive high tech machines and despite having many years of experience. So, I am not sure if a lower end tech package in the hands of mostly less experienced operators, who quickly want to find gold, would pay off. Now, for coin and relic hunting this is a different story and lower-end detectors are certainly available in good variety. But for gold prospecting in particular we need high tech improvements that will (unfortunately) have their price. And we also need those Gerrys, Robs and JPs of this world who provide field training to make this investment worthwhile (and to really give newcomers a chance to actually find gold!). I totally understand why many dealers make such a strong sales pitch for the 6000, because it will produce gold quicker for the newcomer (hence positive feedback) than the 7000 which is much harder to learn. This will result in much better sale figures which of course is in every dealers interest. But technology wise ZVT has a bright future (perhaps the brightest?), the question is just at what price. As stated before, competition would really come in handy for better pricing/product quality. So, perhaps this could make the entire gold detecting market look more promising. However, I suspect the GPZ successor will more likely be a GPZ 12000 than a GPZ 8000 (let alone a GPZ 2500......).😔 GC

Beautiful pictures! Does the snow ever melt? GC