flakmagnet

Hi Fred, I agree and etrex is all you need, they are very good units. 

I am pushing 'way past the ages mentioned here.

I don't think anyone should let their age stop them from learning and using a gps. 

It will certainly make their detecting experience easier and it's not hard to learn.

I agree with those who say it is important to mark your vehicle if you are in a new area.

People who don't  do that many times wind up doing a ton of unnecessary hiking.

Again, this is a simple thing to do with a gps and once you do it you will see what a luxury it is

not to have to worry about how to get back to base.

fwiw

rumblefish, good points. 

We used to  watch the rivers during the spring flooding or during big storm runoff,

something that doesn't happen much these days I know,

and watch how the river behaved when the high water was moving lots of material.

I have actually seen boulders as big as VW's being rolled around like so many bowling balls

and sparking under the water.

A river at flood stage shows you a lot about where you might want to hunt after the water goes down.

Definitely different than hunting deserts.

Hi Lucky I know all about having kids in college.

It's an eye-opener.

Keep up the good finds and tuition will take care of itself.

best wishes and good hunting…

Fred I was teasing.

I also agree with what you are saying.

My hearing is not good. It takes a very precise adjustment on the audio tones

to get just the right frequency to take best advantage of the limited hearing range I have left.

When the detector is tuned well and the tones are right,

I agree it is like audio 'tunnel vision.'

Hope to perhaps run into you this summer

best…

Nice to see another HipStick convert.

It is one of the best possible add-on's for a detector. 

When you see a video like this it makes you forget all the years he has probably been doing this

and how many days he has had where nothing remotely like those chunks showed up in his scoop.

I was cracking up at how casual he was.

He made it look like just another day at the office.

Truly living the dream.

I stumbled across this today.

What fun to look over this fellows shoulder.

Hope he does not mind my sharing it with you.

Fred, what?

I still have the image of a harlequin opal (that is what this fellow called it), that had been mined in N. NV.

It was without a doubt the most beautiful gemstone I had ever seen.

I did not have enough money to buy it and I still regret it to this day.

I saw it it 1977.

Maybe someday…

Steve is it true one of those little ferrite gizmo's is included with the 7000

or is it an additional item that needs to be ordered. I have read posts that

seem to imply one is included.

thanks…

(noted and bookmarked, thanks)…

Scott, great good luck. I have always wanted to hunt for opals.

Have fun.

Yup the Ruby Mine has produced specimens on that order for over a century. 

An amazing piece for sure.

These threads are a real online schoolroom.

Very appreciative of the member input and also the willingness to add clarifications

where they are needed. There is so much new information flying around about

the 7000 that it is easy to misread what is being talked about (at least by me),

so the time taken to add clarifications is most appreciated.

Great post Steve

The importance of a slow swing with the coil an inch or so off the ground will definitely seem counterintuitive for people who are adept at PI's. 

The information in your post combined with the post put up by cobil referencing JP's post in a related thread (see below), is a hugely worthy read for those of us trying to come to grips with the subtleties of the 7000.

http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/969-gpz-7000-tip-from-jp-on-ground-noise-problems/

Hi Davsgold, 

Have been following the evolution of this way of using the bungie to balance out the 7000 on one of the OZ forums.

I actually was able to try it out today in the Minelab USA showroom here in Chicago.

As it happened, one of the GPZ's upper case designers was there.

He brought out his 7000, put on his vest, wrapped the bungie

the way it is in your picture and was flat-out amazed.

He couldn't believe the difference in the balance.

I am sure the HipStick will work as well with this way of balancing as well.

I asked him is the upper case was strong enough to handle the additional stresses

of the bungie wrapped like this and he unequivocally said, yes.

Thanks for posting the pics over here too,

it will be Interesting to see what others think. 

These are some of the most interesting and personable detecting videos I have ever seen.

I know the extra time and thought it takes to go about putting one of these tales together

and am most appreciative of the effort. You guys clearly understand the whole

process of researching and searching an area and you know your machine as well.

It is always fun and instructive to see someone who is good at what they do.

Thank you!

A HipStick full-time, no matter what size coil.

Tendonitis and the other over-use related issues are simply not worth it.

If working on a slope, it is a fairly easy matter to adjust the bungie

it seems many people just don't want to make the effort.

Agreed it may take a few times to learn to adjust it with a minimum of effort

but the consequences of not thinking about taking care of your shoulder and back and arms

is painful downtime in the short run and the potential for lasting damage.

After learning to use a HipStick it has become second nature and I will never detect without one.

Wondering why he made the coil covers in black which would seem to absorb more heat etc.

I would prefer a white coil cover.

That being said he has made quality products in the past and I would not hesitate to buy one.

Now I just have to get a GPZ to go with it…

Nordic that is an astoundingly cool specimen and the story is probably

hair-raisingly familiar to many off roaders. Thanks for sharing…

Maybe Steve or JP has some insight on whether MineLab reads forum input.

There have been some astute suggestions that seem to deserve consideration.

There are threads going on this and one other US gold forum,

both of them contain helpful, non-confrontational suggestions

written by people who are interested in making the 7000 a better detector.

Nice one!

Steve

I'm sure you will agree, JP has certainly earned his way to being the first bloke on the ground with 

new technology. You too…

Hi Goldhound,

You mentioned a detail that I left out - I usually ran my detector a little "ratty."

The null response you mention was another and different indicator of a possible signal as well.

The other aspect that I forgot to mention was that

I was running the detector in either Normal or Fine Gold Timings.

Col,

My hearing is also not great. I found that messing with the threshold

in conjunction with using a B&Z booster and taking care that the Audio Tones were optimum, really helped.

Hello Col Douglas,

To myself, I characterized this faint 'chirp' sound as an anomaly.

It was rarely repeatable, which is why it took me quite a while to realize it might be indicating something.

Also I did not hear it in every area I detected.

The places I do remember hearing it were very highly mineralized. 

As I said, it was not repeatable, but after a boot scrape or two, it would become a signal.

Lastly, it did not happen often - maybe once or twice over a two day period and I hunt long days.

I was so surprised by this little discovery that I mentioned it to a couple of knowledgeable acquaintances early on when the 5000 came out (and I was lucky enough to be able to afford one).

One of the guys I talked to knew about it too and actually suggested that I not to say anything about it because it could give whoever caught on to it "an edge."

But sharing stuff like this is what makes it a great hobby so didn't really pay attention to that part.

And it was a good reminder that I will probably never learn enough

to be able to repay the kindnesses of the generous and intelligent people

who have helped me learn this hobby.

I am hoping there may be some other folks out there who will be able to amplify on

this. I know for sure I am not the only person who got on to this 5k quirk.

fwiw