Lunk

As one lost in the desert wilds with sanity now just a fading shadow in the growing blaze of gold fever known as dragon sickness in days of old, I set out today wielding my weapon of choice, the mighty Zed, in the quest for my 100th Quartzsite nugget...

Great way to ring in the new year...good on ya guys!

Yes, you are a hero Rick, albeit a modest one; risking your life to save another is pretty much the definition of the word. Super job you guys!

Now that's what I call real nugget hunting, from research and overcoming obstacles to coils on the ground and hard won gold in the hand...it doesn't get any better than that...way to go guys!

Find of a lifetime Gerry, congrats!

Sweet finds!

Not trying to steal your thunder AUddicted, but I just had to laugh when the very first target I dug today was the tip of an old timer's pick; it worked for me too, as it led to a few yellow targets.

Spectacular find, wtg!

Crikey!

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!

Nice work Lunk.  Just curious, did you have to modify your audio settings any for the Quartzsite ground from those you presented after working N. Nevada?

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

Hey Lunk,

Ya we are probably ZEDI Apprentices compared to JP. JP had shared some great knowledge about the GPZ since the introduction of the unit.

How long are you staying around Quartzsite? I still remember our last hunt with the SDC out that direction. We did quite the clean up on smaller gold over some hammered patches.

Hopefully we can meet up again for a camp over soon.

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!

Hey Lunk (good buddie),

 

   Congrats on your recent success with the ZED (or Minelab Jedi Detector) 

 

It wouldn't matter where you went, the nuggets would pop up.  You're dedication and time in the field contributes to your success.  Your willing to help others has also inspired many that gold nuggets are still out there to be found.  

 

Wishing you many more handfuls of nuggets and Happy Holidays! 

 

Your friend and "Zedi" Knight,

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!