PhaseTech

Yep, it's amazing how things change in a short time. Here in Australia about 5-6 years ago, there was quite a few dealers starting to stock Teknetics machines. Today, Fisher and Teknetics are pretty much dead here. I think Minelab's lower priced offerings and Nokta Makro's expanding presence squashed them. There is only one official shop selling Fisher here, but there are 4 or 5 stocking Quest gear. I think the worrying thing is if you go to: http://www.fisherlab.com/hobby/ the copyright at the bottom of the page is dated 2009, and the NEW item is the 2016 Interactive Catalog 🤔

Possibly the switch is just faulty. When you push forward it will say Ground Balance on the display with the ground balance number underneath.

Does it go to pin-point mode when squeezing the trigger? When you push the switch forward, does Ground Balance come up on the screen?

Did you try the Anfibio with its stock 11" coil?

Would really depend on the trash density at the site. If it's fairly clean, I'd definitely recommend Field mode. If there is quite a bit of trash, then Park 1 will be the go. If it's super clean, but highly mineralised, then All-Metal, but you need to sweep very slow and listen for the faint (but repeatable) threshold variations. Field is actually the recommended mode for relics, so is usually the best option.

Has anyone tried PVC tube/pipe as a handle?

But how many buy at a Bass Pro shop, and then haven't got a clue where to go, how to use it, and don't have the right tools to recover targets. Machine goes in the cupboard. Mom and pop sell 20 a year, but those people are successful, buy other accessories, a second detector, and become long term customers. Also, are people buying from the big chain stores because it is convenient or they have a flash sale... people that normally would have bought from the mom and pop store?? I don't know, but something to think about

First of all, the sP01 for the GPZ is already wireless, you just plug it into the WM12 😉 Volume Limit is very simple, it's as others have stated already, just clips the loud part of the signal. The lower the Volume Limit setting, the earlier the clipping takes place. Faint signals are not affected until you start to get as low and 4 or 3, but it's been a while since I've gone that low. I would actually love if it functioned like a compressor/limiter as used in music production studios! Volume is a confusing one, as I have always believed it is just a carry over of the Target Volume control from the GPX's. Where as you turn it up, target signals (and any false signals being generated) are amplified. Threshold is also affected, but to a much lesser degree. Funnily enough though, the description in the GPZ manual seems to mirror the Volume Gain setting on the CTX3030. Straight from the GPZ manual: With a setting of 1, weak target signals will sound quiet, medium target signals will sound mid-range and strong target signals will sound loud. There will be greater differentiation between target signal strengths; however, weak signals will be harder to hear. With a setting of 20, all target signals will be amplified to a loud audio response. At this setting there may be less differentiation between medium and strong signals, but weak target signals will be easier to hear. Regardless of any of this, I find that Volume any lower than 8, and signals can easily be missed. Once you get it above 11, the machine becomes a little touchy, although other settings also come into play. My Volume is usually on 10, but can vary 9-11 depending on conditions. I find that is the sweet range. I am running headphones and sP01 95% of the time.

And here's a few quick tips I wrote back in May 2015. After many more years swinging the GPZ, I still stand by each one. 1. Use a very slow sweep speed - but you don't have to overlap as much as when using a mono 2. Keep the coil just off the ground, light occasional skimming is fine 3. Sensitivity is critical, but often less is more 4. Go easy on your target Volume. 10 is plenty if using headphones. 5. Spend the time to set the optimum Tone to suit your hearing 6. Mellow, repeatable broad signals are usually NOT ground noise 7. Learn to trust the Tracking, it'll save you digging lots of ground noises Full thread is here, with lots of excellent info and discussion: https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11703

I cover a few different combos of Audio Smoothing and Threshold in this video. Volume Limit I pretty much leave on 8 and never touch it. If I'm in a thick trash area and getting consistent loud blasts, I turn my enhancer down a touch and drop the Volume Limit to 7. If Minelab ever did another software update to the GPZ, then my No. 1 wish would be to just bring back the Stabilizer 1-20, and add threshold 26.5, but then I'm just one of those guys who loves analogue pots. The immediacy and fine tuning ability of them.

Yes, dry sand, no problem, pretty good depth too! Wet sand, have to manually GB towards zero, then works well. Disc 1 is the go. If you want to submerge the coil under water, the small GR19 7" elliptical is the best. Personally I wouldn't take it anywhere near the water due to the control box not being waterproof.

Our ocean waters are really warm right now, perfect for some water hunting 😉

Dilek Vids on Findmall

The Q60 is waterproof, as is the Q30. These are the latest offerings. The original line up was Q20, Q40 and Quest Pro, but only the Quest Pro was waterproof. The Quest 20 and Q40 were very low price, but very nice quality, and had very sturdy collapsible shafts. I think this set the bar high for the Simplex wishlist. The Q20 an Q40 have sort of been replaced by the X series units, X5 and X10, but I prefer the shaft set-up on the Q40. I think too many different models becomes a nightmare for inventory and customer selection, so I am currently only stocking the X5 and Q30 as I think they offer the best features for the dollars. I've been selling the Quest wireless gear since the beginning, and they have made a number of improvements to them over the years. They have been very good at taking feedback on board and making improvements. The latest ones have a much stronger USB socket that is internally supported, and I'm seeing very few failures. Yes, these came way before the Z-Lynk, and here in Australia the Quest system is still about $100 cheaper.

Looks like an Anfibio Equinox hybrid. Would love to have a play with one.

All the high end Minelabs for gold, as well as CTX3030, Equinox 800, Impact, Anfibio, Gold Kruzer, and even a little playing with the Quest30.

Just out of interest, how much does a Vanquish 440 cost in the US?

So nearly 4 years on, what's everyone's thoughts? If you look at what "normal" aftermarket Mono's are left on the market, I think there lies the answer. Coiltek 22" Goldstalker NuggetFinder 8x6" Sadie Detech 15x10" (they have a couple others you can order but this is the biggest seller) All the rest are Elite, Evolution and Detech Ultra/Super Deep. I think there is an element of panic buying, or buying what's new or cool, or the training guy uses that brand and he finds gold so I'll buy the same etc etc. but long term what sells is what works, and that is what stays on the market. Things that aren't selling get discontinued. So the fact that flat/spiral wound coils outnumber bundle wound options probably 5:1 I think tells you they are a definite improvement. But if you want to see proof of them outperforming bundle wound coils, even in highly mineralised WA dirt, here's a good video. Kind of shows why you couldn't give away a 17x11 Advantage coil when the 17x13 Evo came out.

Some great reminders there JP. The only part that confuses me is where you talk about noise floor. The way I visualise it, when Stabilizer is lowered, you are lowering the Noise Floor (not raising it). This is why it is much harder for very faint signals to burst through the threshold or point of audible target signal. When you increase the Stabilizer (higher numbers) you are raising the Noise Floor. So with Smoothing OFF (or stabilizer 20) the noise floor is actually higher than the threshold level, and it's raising the noise floor so high that it actually creates its own threshold. This is why when you switch smoothing Off, you can actually drop the threshold down a few numbers and still hear a constant hum. For what it's worth, as I am usually detecting much closer to suburbia than JP, I have a lot of EMI. Combine this with the extra bit of EMI you get in High Yield, and I just can't use Smoothing Off most of the time. When I was detecting out the back of Bendigo, with really hot ground, I was in General, and with the Sensitivity on 6. I was also using the WM12 (instead of my normal headphones), and in this instance Smoothing Off was the go. Many times (I have lost count now), I am using my normal settings of HY/Difficult/Sens 7-11/Smoothing Low/Threshold 27 (using headphones) and I get a faint but repeatable signal, and before disturbing the ground I play with settings. I go to High Smoothing and the signal is still there, but now it sounds more like a sharp blip, as the start and tail of the signal are now chopped. When I go to Smoothing Off, the signal is still there, but the increase in all other noises drowns out the target signal - there are just too many signals happening in my headphones for my brain to decipher. Back to Low and all is well. So as JP says that being in Normal or Difficult also changes things, but your Sensitivity level, HY or General, Volume settings, headphones or WM12 or speaker/booster combo......ALL will change what your optimum settings will be. And if I had one wish for the next GPZ7000 software update, I would like a threshold setting of 26.5 😊

That's a good point. I actually wonder how many detectors you can fit into a container? I can't be bothered doing the maths. So, maybe a really really big container 😁

Well it's 2021 and your challenge is still open. I see you were willing to revise it, and have upped the price to sub $3000. Well that might be more achievable, and companies may be more willing to make the investment. Here in Australia, the SDC2300 is now $4499 retail. When the Whites SPP came out they sold really well as they were under $2000. The popularity of Gold Detecting seems stronger than ever, and I think a well balanced PI machine at around $3200 would be a hot seller, but it would have to be a good performer. The three most likely to come out with a unit that may fit the bill is: Fisher - you have covered this Steve, they have pretty much confirmed a gold version of the ImpulseAQ. I guess unless they hit some serious snags in ground balance or something else, then it is only a matter of time. Garrett - they certainly can build whatever they want really, with many mechanical platform options and now with the added Whites arsenal at their disposal. Definitely a possibility for a Frankenstein gold machine. The only question is do they want to? I guess that all depends on how much of a success the APEX release was/is? If it was a flop (I have no idea), then they may not be full of confidence. Nokta Makro - well they have a very good track record of...when they say something, it pretty well comes to fruition. They said they will bring out a PI machine, but yes I think the MSF unit is the priority atm. What I'd like to see from Nokta Makro is a PI beach unit. That is easier to achieve, and they already have good basic PI circuits; the 8" coil on the PulseDive pin-pointer is almost like a normal detector, especially in wet sand. That would certainly fill a void in their product line-up. Then......PI Gold Finder, or Gold Kruzer PI??? Or maybe the Fors Gold Pulse. In the meantime, Minelab are sure to sell a container load of GPX6000's regardless of the price.

Yes, that was a good thread. Lots of good points made.

How do others compete? If you mean other brands, well I'm still waiting for any other company to beat even a GP extreme for depth in mineralised ground. Ah, maybe make it a bit easier. How about the tired old SD2100. That should be an easier challenge. 5 gram nugget in mineralised ground, 14 or 15" round mono coil on the SD2100. Can any other non-Minelab detector match it?? Surely another company has been able to match a machine that came out in 1996!?? I highly doubt it.... but there's the challenge. Could be a very interesting experiment.

Gold Monster and SDC2300 have both seen price increases here in Australia. No word on Equinox at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did go up in the near future.

The open sections of the spoked version is very minimal, and with the curved edges of the coil, getting sticks etc snagged up is hardly an issue. I had a spoked, then went with a solid, then went back to a spoked. My current spoked came from a customer who traded it on a 19" evo as he wanted more depth. After testing it I kept it for myself. Just mated up to the old 4500 perfectly.