Lunk

Good detecting detective work!

Great topic, Nenad. The machine that instantly entered my mind is one that you already mentioned, the Tesoro Diablo uMax. The reasons why it should be reintroduced is it is every bit as sensitive as the Fisher Gold Bug 2, has a smoother threshold and the hot rock button saves so much time. New features I would like to see are a fully updated digital version (get rid of the analog knobs and swtches) complete with lcd display, discrimination with numerical target i.d., etc.

For a mere $50 bill at Wal-Mart, the Interceptor work boot is comfortable, durable, waterproof and completely metal free. On board GPZ GPS and smart phone with Back Country Topo app.

Merry Christmas all!

Hi Mitchel, The ground balance software update fixed the issue of throwing the ground balance out in a scenario such as you described: http://www.minelab.com/usa/treasure-talk/gpz-7000-ground-tracking-software-update If however you are still concerned about throwing the ground balance out, once you get a target response just pump the coil up and down away from the target zone to make sure the ground balance is in. Then select "manual ground balance mode" which fixes the ground balance. Then after recovering your target (hopefully a gold nugget) select "auto ground balance" and resume searching. It saves time if you assign the ground balance mode to the user button.

Nice!

Excellent. WTG!

Sweet looking yellow!

Hawkeye, my audio settings on the Zed remain unchanged, however I'm running High Yield Gold Mode, Normal Ground Type and Sensitivity at 12.

Sounds good Rob; I'll be in the area until at least mid March. We did have a blast with those SDC's and I've been wanting to take the Zed to the same locale...let me know when you're ready.I've benefited greatly in the past from JP's instructional DVD's, and was disappointed to learn he won't be making one on the GPZ 7000 because of piracy issues. But between his Minelab blogs, Facebook page and forum posts, he is still making his wisdom available to the masses...thanks JP!

Dammit Jim, I'm a prospector, not a nuclear physicist!

Thanks for the kind words Rob, and they apply equally well to you, too; I've enjoyed the video posts of your nugget digs with the Zed. I've also learned alot from our Zedi Master, Jonathan Porter. The GPZ 7000 continues to amaze me every time I use it. Give me a holler if you're going to be in the Quartzsite area and we will go for a hunt. Happy Holidays to you and yours, my friend, and may the gold be with you!

Thanks everyone! Tortuga, I'm not planning on visiting Greaterville, although I've heard that the area has "sponge" type gold that doesn't respond too well to PI machines and should really light up with the Zed.

Greetings from the sun soaked sands of the desert southwest. The weather has been perfect the last few weeks here in the Quartzsite regional placer area of Arizona, and so far my trusty GPZ 7000 has recovered over 60 nuggets from some of the old patches, with a total weight of one troy ounce. With lots more winter prospecting season left, it's time to hit the rugged Arizona outback in search of new nugget patches. Good luck out there!

Thanks for the info, Steve, but your photo background gives me the chills...brrr!⛄

Congrats JP!

They don't call it the elusive yellow metal for nothing...wtg Rick!

Good eye, Lucky!

Congrats Paul, and wtg Steve for the feel good post of the year!

A good lesson indeed, and the best way to learn...by trying different settings on an undisturbed target...as you did. Even a mellow signal is far more distinct and easy to hear when the ground response is compensated for, than a sharp signal that is lost in the cacophony of ground noise produced by running hotter settings.

Sweet nugget, Paul. I'm glad those settings worked for you in the damp salt environment. Was it a fairly obvious target response when you first hit it?

Always #2, and external speaker unless the environment is extremely noisy...next to a traffic laden freeway, for example...in which case I will resort to headphones.

Great post, JP! I also discovered the benefits of exploiting the interplay of the Zed's audio functions early on to produce the most distinct (not loudest) target response relative to ground response; coincidentally, JP's modified audio settings are nearly identical to my go-to settings, as detailed here: http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/830-lunks-zed-settings/

WTG guys, there's lots of GPZ nuggets left in these old patches for the skilled operator.

Will do, Steve. Now that's an impressive photo!