flakmagnet

Once again JP you have nailed it. I forgot to mention that nowadays I rarely wear my hearing aids when detecting because, as you mentioned, I want to hear only the threshold, not all the other attendant sounds around me. But, if I do choose to wear them, they work well. It's just a different experience so to speak.

Doing what you do so well; finding gold. It's always fun to see what you find and I am really interested when you talk about detecting. You have an approach that few people have and are able to communicate in a way that is practicable and understandable. It takes time to share experience and you are one of the many people in this forum that make the effort. Thanks...

truer words were never spoken...

I have to say I have no issues at all with the 2.0 upgrade. I have been hunting on beaches that have tons of black sand in layers. With the original 800 it used to really react to those layers..with the 2.0 upgrade it has been my experience that the iron interference has been cut down by a noticeable degree. I have not done much hunting yet on 'solid ground' so can't comment on how the upgrade works in those circumstances.

The only vision I have is of a 7000-type detector that is (MUCH), lighter with a selection of coils. If that does not happen then I will remain happy with my overweight and hamstrung GPZ.

Mitchel, it sounds like fun (once you had your headphones), and you really have developed what looks like a great beach hunting technique. I too have been down to "our beaches" although for much shorter periods of time and after only using the 7000 over the last few months, I was blown away by how sensitive the 800 is at the beach. Continued good luck, maybe I'll run into you one of these days.

Hi Andyy, but aren't we lucky that we have mates who understand that we love the search? I have only gotten my wife to come with me metal detecting once over the course of 28 years. That's all she needed to know it was not for her but - and this is the lucky part - she fully supports my going out and completely understands why I love it so much. Now, some of that may derive from the fact that I have found multiple diamond rings at the beach during the stormy months, but kidding aside, she gets it and always cheers me on. Have wonderful Holidays!

My wife is the same way. She has an eagle eye and has spotted more cash and coins on daily walks than I would have ever thought possible except that I have witnessed it.

I wear hearing aids. If your friend can afford something like a SteelPhase or a B&Z amplifier he should be able to tune his 5000 to where he will be able to: A. hear it without his hearing aids using external speakers or headphones, B. keep his hearing aids on and use external speakers or headphones (that have a roomy enough ear cup). Amplifiers are a wonderful add-on for the hearing impaired. Best of luck!

Hi Mitchel, I just imagine my kids when they were little, running around the beach with no thought to where they were going…why should they, they were kids. I always do my best to fill my holes. Someone else's kids may be playing nearby.

I love this...

I have had only good encounters beach detecting. Of course in the LA area there are a lot of people waving detectors (trust me when I say there are some amazing detecting techniques exhibited). Happily I have never been bothered by anyone in the desert although I did walk over a ridge top one morning just as four guys across the little valley below me opened up with AR's. I had ricochet's singing all around me until my yelling and waving the detector got their attention. You just never know.

I have a digital scale that is 14 years old, it works great. Happily I'm not weighing grains that could have a round explode in my face. I only want a scale that puts me in the ball park. I don't really mind if my flake is a .01 or a .02 of a gram. If I'm selling gold, the buyer will be weighing whatever amount I am selling.

Had a friend raise an interesting theory; why didn't ML come up with x-type coils for the 7000 and instead is letting NuggetFinder come up with them? They thought it pretty much confirmed that it means ML is readying a new version/upgraded GPZ-type machine, lighter weight, better ergonomics, up-to-date electronics etc. There certainly is no reason to think this weightlifters detector will remain the way it is when, as Steve and others have been saying, there are lighter, more compact, real world usable detectors out there now (QED for one). Thoughts?

Billdean, re: using a hipstick with a minelab harness. Yes!

This is potentially very good news for the hundreds of us who have been awaiting ML's answer to the lack of different coils for our very substantial GPZ investment. In my opinion, Nugget Finder coils have never disappointed. Now for details...

What was the added weight to the coil?

Thank you Lunk.

Impressive detecting, you always give us something to emulate. Uh…new modified settings? Are they shareable?

Thank you for the through and honest review, that in itself is rare. The Australian pick you may be thinking of was called the Super- sede and sadly they are not being made any more. If they were that would be my new wanna try. The best-made, toughest pick I have ever owned is the Hermit Pick made originally by Joe (joeforthegold), and later taken over by Bunk. It has never failed me in almost two decades of punishing use. This pick that you have reviewed does not make me want to change. (no disrespect meant at all DOC)

Hi Beau, just wanted to add that in a large percentage of tuning instances, if you go over gold the detector is going to react…obviously I don't mean while it's dumbed down etc., but it looks like you are spending enough time with the GPZ that you are getting close to settings that work. Those pieces are proof. Patience, good coil control and discipline with the way you cover your ground will always add benefits. Continued good learning and good luck.

The vistas, the silence, the wildlife and the atmosphere make Northern Nevada one of the best places to hunt. There are few places that rival it. Yes the gold is getting scarce but like Lucky says nobody gets it all, there's always that next hillside. From Southern California where, in the spots nearby, 'pounded' takes on a whole new meaning, N. Nevada still looks pretty promising.

What Fred said. Think if they were dry washing piles were might be more piles of smaller tailings…but only guessing.

Thank you Chet. That's what I will do, although it is strangely difficult to find mild ground where I detect. Makes me miss Rye Patch even more than usual. Thank you again...

Has anyone else had this happen? I was using the same settings I use in this area I go to. My tuning process was the same, but the last time I tuned, the ferrite wouldn't balance out. The detector still worked great but I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't balance the ferrite out. Should I have done a factory reset or something and just put in all the settings again? Suggestions? Thanks.