Jonathan Porter

I think there will be a lot of interested persons in your coil, we’ve been getting dozens of enquiries every week since New Years.

Interesting 🤔, your experiences are completely at odds with my own and many others.😉 Thanks for your feedback MC30, it’s the first negative I’ve seen so far but not surprising, there is never a perfect detector/coil combination in all ground types, I’ve seen many disgruntled GPZ users sell up and revert back to GPX 5000’s yet we all know what a GPZ in the right hands can really do.😇😅

That is an amazing piece of gold, I’ve seen similar looking stuff here in Australia from Georgetown up in North Queensland, but nothing as impressive as that, not by a long shot!!! One of a kind for sure and fantastic we got to share the experience thanks to having the camera rolling. I was amazed how bright and clean it came up just with a bit of water splashed around. JP

So many suppositions. What is clear is the lead and plug and play nature of the NF ZSearch, that fact alone speaks volumes regardless of any official announcement. We finally have a sanctioned, tacit or otherwise, coil choice that will grow. Fact: The ZSearch coils have to go through an approval process to access the leads. Fact: I was using prototype NF GPZ coils a long time ago (over 5 years ago with an adapter) well before Xcoils were even known. Fact: Anyone can buy an X coil, no one is stopping you. I have a number of them myself. The subject of X coils has been done to death and I for one do not want to risk this most excellent forum or my close friendship with SteveH by constantly being dragged into emotive discussions on the subject. It is what it is, for piece of mind go plug and play, if your adventurous then go grab an X coil and find a good technician...... JP

Getting back to the NF coil subject I wonder if Rob can let us know how he found the EMI with the Zsearch. I’ve been able to work much closer to power lines here in Australia I presume because of the smaller windings. Even when thunderstorms have been about the coil is much quieter Sferic wise.

There are MTR units out there, and I’d say these guys have got their hands on one. That market being ML’s biggest market suggests there is more flexibility in information releases or they have less control due to the nature of the area and where the dealers are located and lastly COVID!! Either way it SH*#s me to tears, but like Steve said this type of dissemination goes viral really quickly and for near zero costs.

If your detector blows because an adapter has been badly made that is not covered by any warranty, I have not heard to date of any actual X coils blowing machines but it now seems plenty have been blown with poorly made adapters. There is always a risk of an adapter failing due to repetitive strain when shortening and lengthening the shaft, the ML over-mold is pretty robust but the GPX 5000 coil lead ends less so (they are designed for a loose wrapped around the shaft type connections and tend to have movement in the connector when too tight, causing noise, this is why ML went to a better connector design on the GPZ). If a correctly made adapter fails that does not necessarily mean the detector will blow as the two power wires also need to short out (current carrying wires). I’ve not heard of any adapters working then failing then blowing a machine, but it now seems there are more blown machines out there than I knew about. In simple terms, using an X coil will not void warranty, if your detector fails through normal use and the X coil was not the reason (ML can test for this) then your warranty is still intact. If the adapter is faulty and blows the machine then you have no warranty (ML can also check for this). I know on one units that blew they sold the user a new PCB (expensive) but this policy might have changed and things might now fall under their NO service modification policy and return to sender.

The very fact NF have the lead strongly suggests a full endorsement. ML are a big corporation and things happen very slowly in BIG corporations.

I don’t know why ML are making Australian dealers go through the rigmarole of all the stupid restricted release teaser BS when information like this video is out there anyway!!! It’s like holding a pencil up to your eye and saying “I can’t see you, therefore you can’t see me” !!! 🤪

Information is starting to filter through the dealer network here in Australia now. Exciting times, its been a while since we had a new gold machine. 😇

From memory around 100grams difference in weight. The solid one is more popular here in our neck of the woods because it glides smoothly along the ground.

We are wet, wet, wet here, the ground is sodden right the way through so everything is sticky, both the ground and the air, the atmosphere is all over the place because of all the unstable monsoon weather right across the State (just had our first cyclone for the season). Not a good time to be too serious about detecting but I’ve desperately been needing a gold fix. Enter the little NF Zsearch, its the perfect coil for these conditions, I was amazed how quiet it ran in the salty areas even the bad ones that I generally avoid after rain. EMI is also way down compared to other coils so this has also helped at a time when I would usually not bother (OK yes I would, I’m a detecting tragic but it wouldn’t be pleasant 😅 ). First cab off the rank I spied during digging it up just sitting there in the damp clays, a nice plucky little 3/4 gram bit that made a satisfying clunk as I put it in my gold container. These little guys add up. Next one was close by and gave a nice clear hit, actually I got a little bit excited because it low/high’d on me which got me thinking it was a bit bigger than it actually was. I am still learning the channel flipping cross over points of nuggets with this little NF coil, seems it channel flips quite readily on sub gram chunky stuff. That was the end of the session for that day, it took a while to get the sticky red clay washed off my hands and gear.🤐 I got out a few mores times over subsequent days pinging little bits in old favourite spots enjoying the quiet sensitivity of this new little coil. One thing I have noticed though is my swing speed has sped right up because of the lighter weight, something for users to be aware of as that really does the kill depth on larger gold. The smaller coil can be swung faster but you will not see its full depth potential doing that. Nice little Low/High trickster My tally since New Years, not a lot but you got to start somewhere, I’m happy to start the season off slow and leave some in the tank for when the weather is nicer.

Every year I find myself buzzing around trying to finish off the year on a high, to lift the gold tally as high as possible before it it gets counted off for the year. This year I came in really strong and had some good finds throughout December. But now its a new year so the tally is at zero again and I need to start anew. Coincidentally the rain started Christmas Day and has continued right on into the new year, so now even the way I detect has changed. Everything is greening up so visually things are looking completely different compared to the drought and of course the ground now sounds completely different due to the moisture. What better way to get the year rolling and the gold tally started again than to grab the little Nugget Finder Zsearch R12 and go target some guaranteed gold on old patches. I was in a lazy mood and only wanted to wander about for a few hours so I went to an old favourite not far from home. The ground I work in Clermont is High X and conductive, conductive ground is a little different to salt signal, it is a salt like signal that is affected by moisture but is heralded like a blended extremely variable ground signal. Generally bad Salt signal is a waa waa like sound that is very broad and speed effected whereas conductive ground is over tighter sections with variable elevated ground noise like responses liberally scattered about. This is why our gold fields become noisy after rain and you find yourself investigating a lot of broad ground noises that were not evident during the dry periods. Conductive signal really messes with the Auto-G of Semi-Auto and can become a handful at times with the constant need to pump the coil to bring the GB back to accuracy. So the little NF Zsearch makes sense, the smaller the coil the less conductive/salt gets into the signal train. Smaller coils ignore salt signal way better and is one of the reasons why the SDC 2300 is so good in salty ground. Generally smaller coils tend to Saturate more readily but the Zsearch is extremely good in this regard (even better than the GPZ14) so thats an advantage, lastly this time of year EMI is a major issue as our Monsoon is in full swing in the north so Atmospherics are extremely problematic, the new Zsearch is amazingly quiet EMI wise. In the 2 hours I detected I ignored the bulk of surface sounding signals (even the nice rounded sounding ones as they are more likely to be shotgun pellets), like I said I was in a lazy mood so only wanted to investigate the ‘higher likelihood of being gold’ targets. With the little Zsearch I listen for the broad subtle channel flippers, these are the little buried nuggets that blend High/Low with Low/High, they are just about guaranteed to be a nugget when using Difficult. A fun session but not a lot of weight, however I got the tally for 2021 started and my puppy got a lovely walkies for New Years day.... till next time JP. PS I’ve put this in the NF Zsearch thread as it’s relevant for those seeking information on the subject Settings used: Coil used: NF Zsearch Proto in 13” housing no stickers Gold mode: HY Ground Type: Diff Thresh: 26 Thres Pitch: 40 Audio Smth: OFF Sens: 15 Grnd Bal: Semi-Auto

Ok time to put up the weight I think. 😎Thanks everyone for their input.

Interesting 🤔

I’d knap some quartz out of the bottom and in a clean Dolly and pan see if it is carrying fine gold, then if it does dig 6 inches or so and repeat.

96% to 97% pure

So what did you come up with using your calculator Dave?

Dolly pot and an oxy torch. 😇🤣

That sounds better than 2 ounces Madtuna, nice find especially in this heat. 🤑😎🥳

I have an extremely simple equation but it’s only really accurate on pure quartz only specimen gold. Weight in water x 3.1 Weight in air x 1.9 Weight in Water minus Weight in Air = approx gold content So WIA 125 grams x 1.9 = 237.5 WIW 100.5 grams x 3.1 = 310.93 310.93 - 237.5 = 73.43 grams approx

Mind sharing your equation? I’ll hold off on giving the result to give others a chance to have a go. Edit: Got your PM thanks.

I’ve been powering on with my detecting leading up to Christmas because I knew it was going to rain, the rain is welcome because we are in drought and because it will cool things off, but it also brings the humidity and the grass, both big time negatives. But worse the moisture also brings false signals and threshold variableness, so listening for those edge of detection targets go out the window big time IN THE AREAS I detect. I shout this and make it bold because not all nuggety gold fields are like this, it depends on the saturation and conductivity levels relative to the mineralisation. Conductive ground is a little different to salt or alkali ground, salt signals are uncomplicated and are directly dependant on the speed of the sweep (Motion), salt can be in areas that are quiet low in mineralisation whereas conductive ground tends to be in the more variable mineralised areas. In my ground here in Clermont the salt signal is less dominant and the conductive signal more dominant. Conductive signals have a varying effect on auto GB systems, but in essence they drag the G balance away from optimum, often causing a target like signal that is then not present on the 2nd pass of the coil. A good operator works this out quickly and pumps the coil often (controlled movements) to bring the GB back to accuracy as sweeping will only give an averaging of the ground signal. Salt and Conductive signals are directly proportional to the amount of moisture present, so the drier the ground the better the result for detecting purposes. In dry conditions the auto GB tends to remain reasonably constant with little variation whereas when moisture laden the GB will be all over the place as the tracker tries to keep up with the movement of the coil. In these types of ground a tracking X is also fraught with peril as the poor X tracker gets confused by the salt and conductive signals and ends up completely out of balance relative to the temperature of the electronics, in this scenario things can get even worse because the G balance then tries to compensate for the bad X, fatally pushing each other further and further away from optimal, hence why I always advocate using Semi-Auto and not Auto!! Now that we have had rain I will put my larger coils away for a while and enjoy the benefits of the new smaller NF coil, smaller coils react less to salt/conductive and saturation and also run quieter when EMI is around, perfect for hot, damp, sticky, thundery summer time conditions, it is so nice to now have this choice in the warmer wetter months.😇 Being a DOD the reactive damp conductive hot spot signals will be less invasive, so chasing those false target like signals after rain will be less of a problem. Just prior to Christmas I had a couple of trainings sessions for new customers, being summer the training usually starts early in the morning to avoid the heat. Because of this if I want to go detecting after the session I’m starting when the heat has built up which negates the incentive to go for long walks. I don’t mind starting off in the cool of the day and slowly ramp up to uncomfortableness but starting off uncomfortable is a big YUK from me. 🤒 One morning a week or so before Xmas was just like this, early start, two 1/2 hours of training then what do I do with the rest of my day? I know I’ll go hit some deep ground and spend a few hours going slow till its too hot in the hopes of a deep one, if I don’t find anything no harm no foul... simples. 🥴 This type of detecting is fun but takes patience and a willingness to go without, there are usually no targets or one good one but more often than not nothing. I love it because its challenging and can be rewarding as you really need to get in tune with your detector. I had two hours to strut my stuff with an extra hour if things started to sparkle. Low and slow is the order of the day, a wide swing but not too wide with a good range of motion relative to the depth of the ground. I like to target ground that is in excess of 14 inches depth because anything shallower the gold has been taken already by less experienced operators. EMI was a little problematic and also the bush flies were annoying (a sure sign rain was on the way). I ended up doing a fair few mornings like this and enjoyed the removal of the need to find something, its very liberating when your expectations are low. There was no need to find anything because that’s the nature of this type of detecting, its either something good or nothing at all. This particular morning I didn’t hit the ground for my ‘alone time’ until well after 9 so things were getting juicy heat wise. However my head was in the right place and things were uncomplicated, I let all the cares of 2020 slip away into the soft background hum of my GPZ, focusing on controlled breathing and the smooth rhythm of motion. I do not commit to digging anything for at least 45 minutes to avoid elevating my heart rate which impacts on my hearing, I am mentally mapping every repeatable ground variation as I work an area no more than 100 square meters. Finally after an hour everything came into place and I received a repeatable unmistakable response beside an ant bed, going through the three Gold Type modes confirmed the signal was still there in varying degrees, with Extra Deep being the worst for signal response suggesting the target was less than say 5 ounces. Although it was quite a good signal in High Yield the go to Gold Mode was actually General with a good solid hit over the full range of motion. So now I had a clue as to the size and depth relative to the conductivity of the target. This area has produce a few specimens for me over the years and typically specimens sound off better in High Yield unless they have a decent amount of gold enclosed, this realisation got the hair going up on the back of my neck in spite of the sweat doing its utmost to glue it down. Could it be a good sized solid nugget?😬 I looked at my watch and realised my time till the heat got too intense was not far off, so it was time to commit to digging and and subsequent elevated heart rate, if it turned out to be ground noise the session was not far from over anyway. The ground was like concrete, and I was only able to remove 6 or so inches before the hard packed clays and wash caused sparks to fly, another positive to suggest the ground was virgin but also meant hard work to recover my hopefully golden prize. Because I’d planned the session I had my shovel and crow bar in the back of my vehicle but before I went and got them I checked the signal again in all Gold Modes and was convinced by the overall improvement there was a decent signal extremely deep under my coil. General/Difficult was still king so that delicious tingling feeling at the nape of my neck was still vying with the stream of sweat!! An hour later lots of sweat and blisters had me down 20+ inches and finding the need for my pinpointer, the signal was booming in on the GPZ so I knew I was centred in the hole. I was now into green puggy clays with chunks of quartz and ironstone locked in, there was no way this was anything but gold. It took a fair bit of crowbar work to finally get the pinpointer within range, turning myself inside out trying to reach into the hole was hard work in the heat but finally I got the pinpointer to lock onto the signal. More controlled bar work had a screaming target about the size of a hockey puck dead centre in the hole, one more mighty blow to one side and a levering of the bar dislodged a clump of clay with a solid object wedged tight within its grasp. 26 to 28 measured inches (its hard to fully ascertain the full actual original detected height based on surface debris ect) and I had in my hand a heavy clump off clay with something enclosed. The pictures tell the rest of the story. 😎🥳 Out of interest for those forum members who like to dabble in specific gravity tests ect: Weight in air: 125.8 grams Weight in water: 100.3 grams Once a few people have had a crack at the gold content I’ll post up the pic of the recovered melted gold button on the scales. No guesses please, only post up results from using a proper SG equation. JP

I’ve been getting out as much as possible during December before the expected monsoon this year pushes down into where we live, it has finally arrived and we are now pleasantly cool but everything is now rain soaked with constant drizzle. Good for the poor farmers who have been drought ridden but not good for us detectorists thanks to more ground signal and grass growth. It was fun while it lasted and now I have to go about my work with a whole new approach.🥴 I’ve had some good successes this year with some brilliant detecting moments coming along with the hard work and heat. Early starts and detecting till its too hot has been the norm then kicking back to recover in the aircon as a reward, it’s surprising how many hours of quality detecting time I’ve been able to squeeze into this build up to the wet. What was even more surprising was the decent finds I got along the way in well worked areas. 😎 One session was no exception but took a few attempts before I got my coil over a decent piece, first location was a frizzer with the ground I targeted not having enough depth for my liking. I tend to concentrate on ground that is in excess of 12 inches going into deeper ground, this is where my skill set shines and where I have the most success unless I’m patch hunting. The only time this changes is if I put on a smaller coil and even then I’m targeting the deeper ground relative to coil performance. I am always listening for edge of detection target signals. Second location was also a frizzer but it was a good opportunity to wave my coil over a friends test patch nearby to confirm my settings choice and detector behaviour. By this time it was well past 10 am and I was still gold-less, being totally wet through from the humidity didn’t help my enthusiasm to not just down tools and go home but instead relocate, so I sat in the aircon of my 4x4 for 15 minutes and cooled off somewhat while eating a banana 🍌. As a spur of the moment I decided to go to a spot on the way home that has been thrashed to death by many many people over the past 20 years, it’s right beside the track in a well known area and is riddled with dig holes one upon the other. I cringed as I put my backpack back on, it feels horrible putting a pack on over the top of a wet soppy shirt, everything sticks to you and feels extremely uncomfortable. Nevertheless I forced myself to do it and committed to at least an hour of detecting going over the deeper sections methodically before calling it quits. I’m glad I did. 😝 15 minutes of getting my ear into the local conditions and I heard my first faint Low/High signal of the day, 8 inches of soil removal brightened the signal into positivity along with the smile on my face. Next was flurried sweaty digging until close on the 18 inch mark out popped this iron stained 9 gram chunkster. 😊 The next signal was really broad and channel flipped ever so slightly, (High/Low-Low/High) a sure sign of a deep ‘real’ target at max detection range. 😎 This 10 gram nugget was really clean compared to the first one which is interesting considering they were only 15 feet apart. By this time I was physically spent with another deep hole in high temps so it was time to call it a day. Considering I had moved location 3 times and messed around a lot it was an extremely good outcome and a highlight to the detecting year due to the thrashed nature of the patch. It was also good to ping a little picker at good depth along the way just to keep the ego in check. 😇🤣 Total for the session

Thunderstorms and unstable weather have been an issue atmospherically for the past few months, but the ground has been bone dry which is good in the more conductive ground types around Clermont. I always try to hit the ground early while the atmosphere is at its most stable, the GPZ is very good for Sferic type noise so is pretty quiet until things really start to heat up. In conductive variable ground the signal increases with the moisture, so what was a faint murmur when dry and easily managed by the Semi-Auto G balance become more defined and positive when wet or damp, making it hard to listen for edge of detection signal responses. JP