Randy Lunn

Steve, We had a few beautiful sunny days in the high 60's and low 70's mixed with a few rainy days with highs in the low 50's. It is magnificent rolling tundra country with some steep valleys just perfect for gold hunting. The fishing was incredible with Dolly Varden Trout, Arctic Char, Grayling and Pike. I had never had Pike before ...... light, flaky and yummy. The musk ox have it great in the summer. They hang out all day grazing and occasionally playing in the residual patches of snow. I will be back. Fred, I am beginning to love iron but mostly the old mining artifacts: broken shovels, picks, chisels, ore cart parts, rails, spikes, etc.

Just back from the Nome, Alaska area. Hard work (low and slow - listen carefully - focus) and little luck yielded a nice range of specimen nuggets. The were a few areas with hot rocks but most spots had acceptable slightly-mineralized soil conditions for my GPZ and GB2. It did seem I dug a lot of rusty 3-4" nails in the 24-36" range but only one nugget this deep. Does the GPZ and other detectors pick up rusty nails deeper than nuggets? Is there something about their shape and electrical/magnetic properties that make them easier targets?

I love the General and subscribed to his You Tube channel. He inspires me with his energy and passion. Best happy dance routines since Walter Huston.

Well done Rick! This is one of the coolest and showiest specimens I have ever seen.

Looking wonderful Bob. Follow that seam! This is going to be a fun story to follow. Good Luck!

In the recent Minelab video: "Meet The Metal Detectives - Inside Engineering at Minelab Electronics", this coil design is on a CAD machine is the start of the video. Two Minelab testers (at the 2:30 point in the video) are shown using these coils. You have to stop the video to see them. The real issue is pricing.

Note: One reply stated that this picture was a GPX 5000 18" coil. I do not think so. The GPX has an external cord and these pictures clearly show an internal cord. The GPX is also a Mono-coil machine. This coil is clearly a GPZ Super-D coil design. It would be a lot of work to produce a fake coil as a joke. Looks like the real deal to me.

Here is what is posted MD-Hunter blog: Minelab GPZ 19. NEW 2016 (price $1,500?) At the beginning of 2016, the info about Minelab’s new coil appeared at the Las Vegas Gold & Treasure Show. Here are the first photos and… contemplated price of the novelty: $1,500. Can it really be true? The new Minelab GPZ 19 coil. Greater detection depth. Large ground coverage. Less ground noise. Waterproof (submersible up to 1 meter). Coil type: SD (Super-D). Size: 19 inches. Designed for a Minelab GPZ 7000 metal detector.

Thank you Roustabout!

Hi Lucky, Good to see you in Rye Patch a few weeks ago. Many thanks again for all the tips and and help. I ended with six small but beautiful nuggets. Chuck and I saw two gopher snakes but glad we did not encounter any buzz tails. What an amazing outing you and Robin just had. Great nugget collection! I agree with you on the joy of many small nuggets ... and I like doing my happy dance ;-) Keep swinging! It is always great when you share your finds. Thx Randy

With the new 19" coil it will be interesting to see the trade-off between small gold sensitivity and depth. The new ZVT (Zero Voltage Transmission) technology does not seem to as sensitive to the traditional trade-offs. Understanding the shape of the larger coil's "sweet spot" will be interesting too. Will power consumption be the same? Where will the trade-offs be?????

Well done Lunk! A nice scoop of birthday nuggets. And Happy 300th! Quartzsite can be a harsh mistress but she was a sweetie for you today.

I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and used my 12v charger for my GPZ battery last weekend in Quartzsite with no problem. I will keep an eye on it. Thanks for the heads up Fred.

To be an early adopter you have to enjoy the new product process. All new products have their bugs and edge-cases that make version V1.0 an adventure. The critical test is whether the company will stand behind its products and support its early customers. Minelab has been good to me and I have seen good support from most of the majors. I do however get annoyed with companies over-hyping their new products. That's why I really like this forum where the balanced truth comes out.

It makes me chuckle to think I can not legally find a coin I lost as a teenager.

Well done Lunk! Congratulations. I have been to Quartzsite a few times this winter with modest success, just a few small specimen pieces. Your results are inspirational.

Chris, since it was a software issue I worked on the problem with the technical team by email and over the phone. The machine did not have to be sent back for an initial evaluation. The machine was declared dead and could not be remotely accessed to reinstall the software. This type of problem is extrememly rare and may never happen again. To repair the unit it would have to be cracked open, the software wiped and possibly have the memory chips/boards replaced depending on what type of chips were used and what software was effected. The lockup may have also involved a hardware failure. Replacing the unit may have been cost effective but was also a strong show of customer support. I was treated very well and greatly respect the entire Minelab team and distribution channel.

I had a software download issue in October when the GPZ update came out. During the download I somehow ended up with corrupted software. This is very unusual and could not be recreated by the Minelab technical team or the Kellyco repair expert. They responded the same day I reported the problem and worked with me for several days. They immediately sent me a new machine. I was very pleased with their responsiveness and high quality of there efforts. I did miss a few days detecting in Rye Patch with the GPZ but my buddy Chuck shared his SDC 2300 and Goldbug2 with me. I found one nugget with the 2300 so the trip was a success.