Lunk

Thanks guys.

Mitchel: PM sent.

Hey everybody,

With summer officially over here in Idaho, it will be time for me to start heading south towards the desert southwest, hitting my favorite gold fields along the way. Between 70-hour work weeks and area closures due to forest fires during the past few months, I was able to hit the local nugget patches with the GPZ 7000 only a handful of times...far less than I usually do...but the new ZVT technology of the Zed more than made up for it. I have literally scoured these old patches for years with VLF gold machines as well as most every model of Minelab PI units, from the old SD 2100 on through to the GPX 5000; it was a rare event to find a buried crack or crevice in the bedrock that contained a few small nuggets, however with the Zed it has been a common occurence with half a dozen to 2 dozen nugget pockets being unearthed. I was lucky to find three nuggets in a day with the GPX 5000, but have been averaging a dozen with the 7000 - in all, 98 pieces of gold with a total weight of over 25 grams - not a bonanza by any means, but it's a real eye opener as to how much gold the new zero voltage transmission technology can pick up in an area that has been virtually cleaned out with previous technologies. Looking forward to more fun in the sun this winter...hope to see you in the gold fields and good luck out there!

Good post Condor, and nice nugget. Althogh the Difficult Ground Type does attenuate signal, it still out performs the Fine Gold timing of the GPX 5000. Don't be afraid to try the Severe Ground Type if the ground is really bad; I've been able to find nuggets in ground that was previously unhuntable even with the GPX 5000.

You totally earned that one, Condor!

Excellent swinging, Condor!

Wtg everyone!

Good post Condor, very Zeducational!

Beauties, Scott!

Nice finds guys.

Most nuggets with the Zed and SDC 2300, and a few with the GPX 5000, ATX and Xterra 705.

Wowza...good on ya Strick!

Steve, it's an informative thread and so far it seems that all of the methods of dealing with hot ground that have been mentioned are fairly similar.

Great post Steve, that really makes the Gold Modes undersandable and explains the different types of ground that each mode should be used in. However, some may be confused wondering what, then, do the Ground Types of the GPZ 7000 accomplish? I've found that the Gold Modes act as a sort of "fine tune " for each Ground Type; for example, when I'm hunting in the Normal Ground Type and High Yield Gold Mode and the ground is too hot for this combination, instead of simply going into the Difficult Ground Type I will first try General Gold Mode and if the ground is still too hot, Extra Deep. Extensive testing on undisturbed targets in a variety of ground types has revealed that more sensitivity is retained by this fine tuning method than by just choosing the Difficult Ground Type right off the bat.

Awesome finds Chris, congrats!

That's what Zed dreams are made of! Persistence pays...well done Strick. As you found out first hand, the 7000 has incredible performance, especially when it is adjusted properly to suit the ground conditions one is searching. Congrats on a rare and well deserved find!

I don't know any details; perhaps Gerry will join the thread and enlighten us soon.

Why does it look like a sponge?

I'm guessing that half of the specie was treated with HF.

Nice and yellow...wtg!

Gigantor nugget...check it!

Epic dig Lucky, way to go!

Great review Ron.

WTG Lucky!

I figured you would have it out in no time up there in Idaho.

Great to know your summer will be welcoming more gold from the same old spots.

The GPZ-7000 can do some amazing things and you know how to make it sing.

My customers wanted to thank you, Ron, Scott, Mark for the outstanding training at Rye Patch.

I'll do another 3 day class end of May.

Thanks guys...

Gerry, it's always a pleasure training your customers; wish I could be there in May.

WTG Dean!

Once upon a time while detecting in Arizona, a target that I thought was just another one of the many magnetite "ironstone" hot rocks littering the area jumped onto the super-magnet on my pick. But as I plucked it off of the magnet and prepared to fling it into the nearest bush, I noticed that it was unusually heavy for it's size; rubbing the dirt off of the nickel-sized stone revealed a band of gold running through it.