Minelab GPZ 7000 Depth Tests And Charts - Looking Back

[Norvic]

Yeah, in my country the Z has come up with the goods from day one over the 5000 with the coils of the day, I ordered mine before the glossy marketing simply because it was new tech, and ML has always come up with the goods, the Z has shown it is up with that marketing now I`ve read it. Looking back for me ML has not mislead, and in some targets it has surpassed the gloss and achieved better than the up to 40%. Certainly it is much easier to use than the 5000 which I only used for 2 very productive seasons. But it doesn`t make gold

 

But this naturally is my take. My 5000 is not for sale but the Z with its coil replaces it with as Steve has commented, it is a one coil/detector solution, go over the ground once and move on. Love it, especially the no wires.

[Steve Herschbach]

 

"There is nothing in these examples that attempts to define how common the various results might be, and it is likely that in some places there is little or no advantage with a GPZ versus a GPX with the proper coil/timing combo. So I get it that there are people out there that are not seeing a dramatic difference where they are at and are somehow concluding therefore that the advertising was misleading. Again however, it is people simply refusing to read and understand what is being presented in its totality."

 

Steve I think you have a good forum here and I realize that I am now probably about to be booted off it.

Clearly I am one of the people "refusing to read and understand what is being presented in its totality". I`m not sure I even understand what that means.

I like the 7000 and intend to keep it but in 10 months of detecting almost daily in the goldfields of Victoria I am yet to to see my detector come close to attaining the claims made by Minelab in their advertising.

 I read the large print about the huge increases in depth and then I`m supposed to read the small print and decide before I buy the detector that the claims do not apply to where I live and detect.

I was mislead by Minelab advertising.

 

I hope you all had a good Christmas in the States and very sorry to read about the tornadoes that are hammering some areas at the moment

cheers dave

 

 

Why would I boot you? I only ask that people be honest and respectful and you are being both. Hopefully my post was not seen as disrespectful to you or others because it could come across that way, and that was not my intent.

 

It is rather obvious many people are seeing the increases in performance and some are not. That is what "up to" means. It does not mean absolute under all conditions everywhere. It means some places yes and some places no, and to varying degrees. It sounds like you wanted and expected 40% across the board, but nobody including Minelab ever said that was what you would get.

 

Yes, I advise reading the small print, and better yet waiting 6 months or a year before buying any new model detector. Let other people sort it out then decide whether to lay out the bucks.

 

Oh well, it is what it is, and pretty much water under the bridge at this point. Some are happy, some are not, and others in between. As you noted, most people in the world have far more serious issues to deal with. Happy New Year to you Dave!

[Jay Gold]

Thanks Steve, I'm a long time reader and first time poster. Insightful and educated posts like the ones you made above and those of other members here make this a great forum.

This statement sums up the Zed perfectly:

"I want one detector with one coil that has my best chance on a single pass over the ground of getting a positive response on the widest range of possible gold targets in the ground. I do not want to go over and over the same ground with multiple coils and multiple timings trying for a best result. I want the best possible shot on the first go and as of this moment I still believe the GPZ 7000 is giving me that best across the board performance on a gold nugget of any size or composition."

I hope that didn't infringe copyright laws haha...

I'm of the same opinion which is why my SDC is gathering dust in my garage.

Cheers. JG

[Rob Allison]

Hey Steve and all,

 

  I will chime in with what I have experienced with the three Minelab units over the years (GPZ 7000, GPX 5000 and SDC 2300).  I used the GPX 5000 for well over 3 solid years here in the Southwestern US.  I've had great success with the unit.  To date, I would say it was the best Pulse Induction metal detector on the market all around for small, medium and larger gold.  

 

Then the SDC 2300 got released.  I figured it will have limitations due to the coil size, but with the new fast timing they claimed it would find much smaller gold than the GPX and even stuff that is larger, but more porous.  Well after about 300 small nuggets missed by the GPX 5000, I knew this unit was a winner.  I never used it to chase large gold at depth, but more as a lightweight, exploratory unit.  Hike in long distances, pull out the unit, start prospecting.  If I found something that warranted a return, I would bring back a PI that would punch deeper.  Overall, the SDC in my opinion, was and is a winner.  

 

Then shortly came the release of the GPZ 7000.  Ok, a $10,000 MAP priced detector, I think it hit most off guard!  With the rumors floating around from Australia on this unit, I think most expected a $6000-$8000 MAP priced unit.  The high price tag surely keeps a lot of guys out of this market, so one reason the bashing.  It's human nature when you can't have something to say it's an overpriced, over rated product.  Hey, I get it ..... but I bought one anyways.  

 

It's wasn't more than 3-4 hunts until I felt I understood the unit well enough and found enough small gold at depth the SDC missed. I placed both the SDC 2300 and the GPX 5000 up for sale.  I felt the GPZ 7000 had better mineral immunity, much better depth, better sensitivity overall on small and porous gold, there was no reason to have 3 units when one did them all combined.  

 

I have found nuggets under a grain in size with the GPZ at the surface, Gram sized pieces at a foot depth (many witnessed finds) and some larger 1/3 to 1/2 ounce pieces at even great depths, missed in old patches.  

 

They all are great units, but I found the GPZ 7000 was worth the $10,000 and managed to recoup a bit of that cost selling the SDC and GPX.  

 

Just my thoughts.  

[Jonathan Porter]

When I first started testing the prototype GPZ 7000s I and also Minelab had no idea of what it was going to actually do in the field. We all knew the technology was punching in deep but it really was an open book on how it would actually stack up on proven ground, especially ground that had seen the attention of a lot of different detectors with a plethora of different coil sizes and shapes for over 20 years now!

The first thing I discovered with the GPZ was even though we knew it was getting better depth than anything that had ever come before, the gold had to actually be there for the detector to be able to provide a depth advantage!!! No one actually knows how much gold is still laying in the ground and to honest I don't want to know, part of the thrill and romance of detecting is being surprised when a nugget pops out when you least expect it and then the potential that nugget implies to what else might be lurking under the ground.

For me the GPZ has been a constant string of pleasant surprises as nugget after nugget has come out of favourite proven areas, far too many to be just mere pimped up suggestions of anecdotal evidence. Don't get me wrong I truly want to believe the GPZ is BETTER than anything that has ever come before, that's why we have all bought into the GPZ isn't it? Because that's the ever hopeful prospector in us!

In my not too short amount of time spent with the GPZ, including detecting in Victoria which has some of the most swung over ground in the world, I still clearly see daily evidence that the GPZ is outclassing everything else I'd ever used before. Sometimes its on par with the 5K, but I love the wireless cordless freedom of the Zed, sometimes its slightly better than the 5K but not by much and in some cases it definitely makes more ground noise than the 5K especially if salt is present, but the thing is at present if I want to compare the 5 K to the Zed I have to be constantly swapping coils all the time. For starters I never use a coil less than 11" on the 5K, NEVER! So that means I NEVER get the tiny stuff the "Sady brigade" or 8" round guys get. Also on the 5K I almost always use coils around the 18" mark which means I suffer from an insane amount of EMI and Sferic noise, so quite often have to down tools and give it a miss in the summer months, not so with the GPZ!

With the GPZ 7000 I'm finding gold I would normally get with the 5K using an 11" coil, I am also finding gold I would not have got because I refuse to go smaller on the 5k, at the same time I'm finding gold that the 5K won't even go near in the sub 8 gram mark (or the SDC for that matter) because the High Yield/Difficult mode is simply amazing on those gold sizes. Then finally I'm matching and in a lot of cases surpassing the 5K with an 18" or 20" mono attached, this is all with the ONE COIL SIZE!

That's why I use the GPZ, I get incredible sensitivity to small gold which is my bread and butter or the indicator that leads to a patch, I also get brilliant depth on the money makers which is the multi gram stuff and finally if there is a 2+ ounce slug at 2+ feet I'm going to slam it just as well if not better than I ever did with my 5K with half the interference and sferic noise without ever once having to change coils.

I love the GPZ 7000, its simple to use, its adjustable, its cable free and it just purrs along when you know how best to drive it. My only hate is the weight, 1 kilo lighter would be so much better!

JP

[AUddicted]

My only hate is the weight, 1 kilo lighter would be so much better!

 

JP

 

But, would you be willing to add even more weight (ie: a larger coil) for increased performance?

 

 I know I would... I'm willing to suffer for the thrill of more, smaller and/ or deeper gold.

[cobill]

I agree with JP on how great the GPZ is compared to the numerous choices required to maximize GPX 5000 performance!

 

My only request is a smaller coil for the numerous tight search areas that are covered with boulders and heavy brush...the GPZ coil is too big for those areas.  So ML or CT or NF, if your reading this, give us a couple of coil choices for the amazing GPZ and we'll all be happy! 

  =

 

Happy New Year,

 

Bill

[Steve Herschbach]

But, would you be willing to add even more weight (ie: a larger coil) for increased performance?

 

 I know I would... I'm willing to suffer for the thrill of more, smaller and/ or deeper gold.

Early on in discussions with Minelab about the weight of the GPZ I complained mightily. I figure we have to keep beating that ergonomics drum no matter what. But when it got down to it I told them that they could put small spikes inside the armrest. I would be in constant pain and bleeding all over the place, but if it meant getting better performance I would do it. I think that pretty much sums up the situation for a lot of us, and the people who truly are wanting those big nuggets down deeper (if they exist) are really wanting that larger coil, no matter what it adds in weight.

I admit personally to more wanting the smaller coil for working in and around sagebrush and large rocks. Being able to get GPZ power into locations where only less powerful machines with smaller coils have gone before would likely get me more gold than a larger coil. I do still think the SDC has the tiniest of edges still for both small gold plus easier pinpointing, both together making it attractive still compared to a GPZ. Both are directly related to the smaller coil on the SDC. I believe a smaller coil on the GPZ would not only equal but exceed the SDC for sheer tiny gold sensitivity.

But I am willing to give the Aussies their due and acknowledge their need for a large coil probably exceeds my need for a small coil so it is ok with me if they get their wish first.

[Norvic]

This Ozie is all for a smaller coil, and I believe that if a vote was held in OZ it`d be for a smaller coil first. However I`d go for the smaller coil only if there was a substantial weight reduction, which from my understanding cannot be achieved as yet.  The 14" is a sweet general purpose size but a wee too large for searching in rocky creeks. I know the 14" will get a 2 ouncer at 3 foot clearly, how deep would a 20" coil get it?

 

Crikey, ML show some compassion for us loyal old codgers.