Gold Catcher

Size does not matter to me and success can mean many things. To me, success is having a great time with a hobby that I love while being surrounded by the beauty of nature (desert or mountains). Gold is a reward that is not absolutely needed for success the way I define it, although with the 6000 this reward is more frequent (and at times more plentiful) than with any other detector I have ever owned. But I happen to believe that most of all it is the location that matters. No detector will create gold where none is and you simply need to know exactly where to look. If you are on a rich gold field, perhaps on a private claim from a friend, then the choice of detector is somewhat less important as long as you have a decent detector and gold is under your coil. PS: The 6000/17 is my favored combination in the desert, with Auto+/Normal/Threshold on. Dave, I was at Bonanza Gulch last weekend and had a blast. Mostly lead with some gold, but I could not believe how much I found in what is known to be a "to death pounded area"

Great pics, thanks for sharing. Beautiful!

The MPF timings for the SDC, in particular the receive processing, minimizes mineralized soil signals and can help greatly with hotrocks. The 6000 can be quite sensitive to hot rocks and the SDC has an edge IMO in extreme conditions. But overall the SDC is no match to the 6000. However, I still use it from time to time, especially when I go hiking. In highly mineralized soil with fast-timing shallow gold close over bedrock the SDC is hard to beat. It was designed for these conditions.

Just watch for that gold fever inside of you. It is not always your friend and can overcome you. From the same book:

I think training by Chris Ralph about the strategy of gold prospecting and what to look for would be a lot more productive for most GC

Same here my friend, I am absolutely in love with the 17. But then I love the 14 and 11 as well. At times, I have a hard time choosing which one to mount as some terrain could use all three. And with all my previous praise of the NF-Zsearch I have to admit that I haven't used it much lately. The 6000 is just a bomb! GC

IMHO, the NF-Zsearch coil is a quantum leap away from the 14 stock. It is not only smaller and hence more amenable for both open field as well as difficult terrain applications, it also weighs less, handles better, is much more sensitive to fast timing gold but without loosing depth at all. Ever since I mounted it I never took it off. Yes, it's a steep price tag but it elevates the Z where it has not been before (not to mention the X-coils which certainly have had a huge impact as well). As for the 6000, I don't see how new coils would outperform the existing 6000 stock coils, like what happened to the Z with the X-coils and NF-Zsearch. New 6000 coils will add more size options and perhaps add some nuances for certain applications, but the current 6000 coils are so great and so perfectly synchronized with the detector that I have a hard time believing that any new coil would add a significant performance advantage. GC

Size does matter.....😜 But aren't we at a better place already? I remember those days trying to poke that Z/14 inch stock coil into small crevices, desperately trying to unleash modern technology into areas where usually only small VLF coils would fit in. Now with the 6000 we already have three great coils and more are coming, hopefully including smaller ones for us California bedrock freaks. Yes, we are at a better place. 😁 GC

Great news!! More coils and without surgery. I would be interested in a 8 inch round and a 5 inch round. Since the 6k is kind of a super GM/SDC hybrid with far superior capabilities, matched coil sizes to both would be great to have for those applications where the GM and the SDC shine. Like for small and "hard to get to" washes and for bedrock screening. And a smaller elliptical, like the 10x5 that is used for the SDC, would be very high on my wish list. GC

When you do a factory reset you have to re-pair your BT headset. Just takes a few sec. but something to remember. GC

I try to keep all metal away from the coil at all times, even when not detecting. When I dig a hole I always place the coil as far away from the hole as possible. There definitely is a drift in GB that gets exacerbated each time the pick, or any metal, comes to close to the coil. The same is true for any metal in boots, although the effect is more subtle. Factory reset is definitely helpful and I do it at least 2-3 x during the day. The quick track only optimizes around a local minimum, but if drifted to far off due to constant vicinity of metal a factory reset is needed. That's where the semi-auto GB of the 7000 with fixed X comes in handy. Regarding EMI, I don't find the speaker to be that unusable. Yes, it does add a bit but given how strong the signal response generally is I can live with the little bit added, most of the times. Having used the SDC for years my ears are already accustomed to the chitter and I can hear through it. Now, if I want to go deeper then for sure I always use the headset. But thus far, I use the 6000 mostly for shallow ground applications, say 1-6 inch depth. And there, the machine screams at you regardless of EMI or not. When I know the gold is deep most of the times then I always use the 7000.

Great write up and congrats to your finds. Now, get the 17 inch coil and you will like the 6k even more!😍

Great job, LL. Which coil did you mostly use at RP? I find the 14 DD to be a blessing there. Finally no more salt howling, especially after rain.

That's right. Lately I keep getting these "Life Alert Emergency Response" ads. You know those from the TV commercial showing seniors who fell down and then speak to the radio: help, I can't get up? Kind of depressing...I wonder though if that service would also work for prospectors who can't get up after I digging a hole. I might be interested...😝

Good advice, Steve. I will get a green one and toss my black net, although I haven't noticed anything unusual with my black one. But then I am also not in Alaska. On a side note, I once had a very unpleasant encounter with what appeared to be African Bees in the Mojave desert. I was detecting next to a mine shaft as all of the sudden a whole swarm of them flew out and were chasing me. Luckily, I was wearing a mosquito net since millions of little gnats were bothering me that day. Otherwise I would have been in real trouble. It must have been really funny from a bystander's vantage point seeing my full speed running away like a rabbit with the GPZ in the hand. But believe me it was not a laughing matter for me....although I would have laughed had I seen it

I actually happen to like the 14DD as well. Great in salt mode and extremely useful for my hunting grounds. But then I love my 17 as well, just as much as the 11. Ok, a small eliptical would be nice in addition, but the existing 3 coils cover most of my needs. Let's see what Coiltek comes up with. However, despite my overwhelming joy with the 6000, in particualr with the 17, my Z-NF comes with me wherever I go 😉

I always have protection with me when I hunt in the middle of nowhere. A little extra weight on the belt but absolutely worthwhile for a bit more peace of mind. Of course I hope I never ever have to use it. But 15 miles away from any civilization in the middle of nowhere and all alone can be spooky at times, especially when you hike back in the dark. All legal of course and with license.

Never think it's just another beer can!

So, I went to one of my favorite spots in Northern NV that I have pounded over and over again over the years with all the detectors I own. I went there not really expecting to get anything, but rather to test the 17 inch and the 14 DD in an area that is very familiar to me. The area is plagued by high salt content and yesterday there was also a strong howling wind that made it almost impossible to detect (not to speak of the dense smoke from the CA wildfires that was lingering in the air and that covered the sun at all times). I could only detect by walking in the direction of the wind, if I would walk sideways or against the wind I could not hear anything, even at full headset volume. I first tried the 17 which I managed to stabilize at 4 clicks/difficult. At times, I was even able to go to Auto/difficult or Auto/normal (always with threshold), but this was only possible in between wind gusts. Let me tell you, this coil is incredible sensitive to shallow targets despite it's large size, almost as sensitive as the 11 inch. I managed to pick up a small flake about 2 inch down that was almost as noticeable as with the 11 inch. Pinpointing is a bit tricky due to the coil size, but totally doable since it is a mono, it just takes a bit practice (highest sensitivity where the ring is). The large coil size may initially suggest that depth is intended, but my first impression is that it rather is an extension of the 11 inch capabilities, just covering a larger surface area. This is great because it allows to sweep open fields with a big coil and covering more ground without loosing sensitivity for shallow fast timing gold. I have only used it once and I don't know about it's capabilities for deeper targets, but I will update once I am more familiar with it. One thing I noticed is that it is is rather bump sensitive. You can use it without bungee for some time, but I opted to use my hipstick/guide arm pretty soon, also for better coil control. I have tried the 14DD only for an hour or so, but my very first impression is that it is an absolute game changer for high salty ground. I ran it in salt cancel mode/4 clicks/normal and probably had the most stable configuration I have ever had in that region. The sensitivity is still remarkably good, with pinpointing possible by using the left side of coil (left D) with good sensitivity around the entire D-edge. For neither coil of the 6000 I noticed a huge difference between normal and difficult timings, but as Steve mentioned this could have to do with the soil here. But for sure changing from normal to difficult is much more impactful when using the 7000. Overall, I continue to be super impressed with the 6000. All three coil options are extremely useful to have and compliment each other. The 6000 is an amazing machine that I recommend to everyone! As a faithful and loyal 7000 owner I carry my GPZ around wherever I go. But I can't help but notice that I haven't used it much lately....

Once the fires are out there will be a lot of ground accessible for detecting that was impassable before. But this will take a while. Will be at RP tomorrow with the 6/17.

NF-Zsearch: $1200

I have'nt heard anyone who actually is using the 6000 say it's not worth the money. That should speak for itself.

I do the same, Rob. It's a good method. I do this often in river canyons. Select a strategic spot, work for 1h or so to remove overburden and then spend alot of time on the selected spot with slow systematic scanning (multiple detectors and coils). At times, I find this method more productive than just wandering around. GC

You could still hope for the "one step away from a million dollars" nugget. It's still possible albeit not extremely likely.... Just don't turn it into a million steps away from a dollar.😉

The built in speaker does a decent job IMHO. Yes, BT is preferred and is quieter, but the EMI caused by the speaker is manageable in most situations. In 100 deg heat I take the bit more EMI over headphones any day, unless I want to wire up with a booster/speaker set which I don't always feel like. For "high precision "detecting I always use the supplied BT headphones, but that's not always needed. The exceptional signal response of the 6000 will make targets stand out much more and noticeable compared to the 7000. Hence, some EMI produced by the speaker will not matter in most cases. I never use headphones for the GM, and with the 6000 being like a "PI-GM" it falls in a similar category, at least for me.