mn90403

Paul is his own 'high pressure' system so he should be fine.

As much as I like Minelab ... they like to sell things separately. I had to pay over $100 for that adapter for the 2300. If they include one with this system then it will be pricier ... how much? I already bought a wireless for my 2300, so now a new one ... and the new coil ... they want all my money! Sell me some Australian maps to the gold so I can pay for it all.

I have worn out a couple of the black pointers and now the carrot has crapped out. They seem to lose their settings and you can't turn them off properly and then when you get them on they just keep buzzing. I like them when they work. The Minelab pointer is too weak. What do I get next? Can I send it back for some credit?

Nenad explains all about coils for Minelabs past and present. He does a great job of explaining the configuration, size, shape, design and construction of various coils. He has been using the GPZ 19 so you can find some of his impressions there. Good job Nenad. Mitchel

Redundant ... please delete.

Do you have a 'maintenance' program on your computer? De-frag, driver update, scan disk or anything like that? Run those and then reinstall. If it worked before it should work now.

Good looking gold! So Fred ... where to?

This thread helped me out at the old Barstow Patch on Wednesday. I used my hot, low smoothing setting to find all the little ones you see in the case. I had 8 from gridding by 2 PM but then I stopped because I was bored and they 'stopped' for a time. Now time to stretch my wings. I went to an area where deeper nuggets had been found. I went back over ground I had worked before and next to an old dig hole I got a signal. I dug deeper than ever for this patch and at 12 inches I got the cause of the signal. It is the nugget in the center which is 2.6g! Thanks thread participants. Total weight is 4.4g for the day.

Fred, If you want a laptop they have 'operating systems' like DOS (old), Vista (old), Windows 7 (old), MacOS Sierra (Apple Only) and Windows 10 which is current and compatible with all Microsoft products. Once again you start these computers with an Operating System and then you load programs that are compatible with that operating system. You can't go to an Apple Store and get them to work on a Windows computer. That is a big difference if you want to walk in and get help from Apple which is GREAT! I have heard that if you buy from Staples or Best Buy you can get a service warranty where they will help you for the life of the computer. That is more service than you would get from Costco. Pads, iPads, Chromebooks and Kindle like computers have software that gets you on the internet and then you add applications. Some of these programs work when you don't have internet but most of them are designed with an internet connection in mind. They have few wires and if you want to print something that is wireless too. (You might have to buy a new printer.) Google has all of the programs (word processing, mail, draw, photo, backup, spreadsheet, etc.) that most people need for free (not Windows Office) if you sign up for their account which we all do to get Google Earth. When you use Google Earth it helps to have a bigger monitor so get one of those too. Now you are set. Big screen, little screen (both can be on at the same time), printer and word processing software/email programs. You'll have a couple of USBs to upload your pictures and videos and Minelab findpoints and you send it all off to ICMJ for your next story. If you really need photoshop or desktop publishing or a way to video chat then the Kia Soul SUV type of computer needs to be reconsidered. You would then need a Suburban, Expedition or Rock Crawler. The same basic question is always asked before you buy a computer ... what do you want to use if for most? (Not what have you been doing with the old one or what have you been missing ... what would your dream screen and keyboard let you see and do?) After you know what you want it is easy to find the hardware. Mitchel

I want pictures of these vehicles ...

Steve, You really know how to make a guy feel good but isn't it time you showed him the big nugget you found there? Sorry beatup ... I couldn't resist. Mitchel

I include a chrome book as a pad. No operating system knowledge required.

Steve, Good gold. It was a little cooler up this way yesterday. It was 48 in the morning and only got into the high 70's around Barstow. There was a little breeze so it was a perfect day to detect from 7-5 with only a break for a couple of drinks. (4.3g) I will have to send my 7000 off soon because there is a line developing in the screen but it still works. My hipstick bungee is wrapped under my screen on both my 3030 (17" coil) and the 7000. The balance is very good with the old 5000 soft cloth support belt/pack. It lets me hunt for hours if I am going low and slow or walking fast looking for the biguns. Mitchel

Fred, You would be smart to get some type of backup if this computer is dying or not. A simple consideration would be some sort of pad. A pad computer doesn't work like the old computers where you need to know the 'windows' software that runs it. A pad is more like a phone where everything is a app (application) that you just use. Your email becomes an app, your yahoo becomes an app, your weather stations online become apps, your maps become apps, etc. There are lots of apps for miners and anything you want just like your phone. You will feel much smarter with a pad. Mitchel

How does it run Norvic?

Norvic, I do like going up on sensitivity and down on threshold but I haven't been to 0 in awhile. I can go silent about 19-20 and it seems 'low enough' for most situations but I will try the full Bogenes. Fred, I do have Lunk's settings and mine are a bit of a variation on it most of the time. Yesterday we hunted gold in a new spot but didn't get any and Lu wanted a meteorite so she got two with the 2300 and I got 4/15.6g with the 7000. I walked fast at first and didn't hear them so then I had to patch/grid detect to let the 7000 'catch up' to the low metal chondrites. They were heard best on max. Mitchel

I'm in Gold Basin with my Zed on a patch of little ones. My first one today was Road Kill (one of Fred's favorite places to look) and it was just a little break but when you know it ... it is golden. Thinking it through on this thread has helped. My concentration is better ... I just wish the gold was bigger. (4/1.7g) It is like many other places and has been worked before a few times so I'm getting crumbs. I haven't found any meteorites. The settings can vary but one of them could be Steve's hot settings with low smoothing (a few hot rocks) or high smoothing (very few hot rocks). You can also move to difficult from normal but the targets seem to sound similar. The default settings have a great, steady threshold. I'm going to work the patch a bit tomorrow with some different settings and see if I can hear any deeper than 6 inches. Mitchel

Fred: You missed it. On October 3rd a 2.03 carat white diamond was found at the park! http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/media/news-releases.aspx?id=2637 You didn't get the big one. (Neither did I.) Mitchel

Steve, Thanks for making this a separate thread but there is a problem ... It just gives Paul another place to give Norvic s-h-_-_! Shame on you Paul. Mitchel

Tortuga: The second deep target tone I get from the GPZ which I love is an odd warble or chatter. It's been a few months since I've dug anything deep from this response but I've found gold this way. It's just an odd repeatable sort of crackle tone I get sometimes. It only gets my attention cuz it's repeatable. Then I'll usually scrape about an inch off the top and get a faint, repeatable metal target tone so I know it's something I should dig. THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE EXPERIENCED! This is where the 'art' meets the 'science' at the limits of coil response which means that sometimes I'm surprised when it stays and gets louder. Thanks for the description. Mitchel

Hound, When you show gold like that ... Paul is ready for the cliffs now!

I am challenged by the 'depth sounds' of the GPZ. When testing recently it is clear to me that I have to 'tune in' to a different expectation of the sound of a deep target. I've found small (.2g+) and very small (less than .1g) targets up to 6 inches and this is the majority of targets and nuggets in the area where I hunt. I've only dug a couple of targets over 8 inches. Recently up in Rye Patch someone using a GPZ dug a 1/4oz nugget at 16 inches and a friend of mine dug a 6.8g nugget at 18" in Southern California. We know if you get over 5" you have a 95% chance of it being gold so I'll dig a deep target if I can hear it. Is it just 'anything' repeatable and when you dig it gets louder or is there a better deep indicator? Mitchel

Fred, Lu and I have been there for a couple of days on our way back from Florida trip a couple of years ago. It is best there after it rains and we weren't so lucky. That is a nice facility and you are right lots of people get lucky. There is a newsletter that tells you about the finds of the month and other activities. One link is here: http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/media/news-releases.aspx?id=2631 I'll go back one day and stay closer to the park. We had to stay several miles away as motel rooms can be scarce. Mitchel

Norvic, Forget about the dog and KL. Make sure Paul is tied up! If he is ... call me and I'll be right up there. (That's some nice gold.) Mitchel

Follow the San Andreas Fault. There is gold near it in many places. There are also more faults than this and as Chris said the weather moves it. Mitchel