GPX 6000 Manual Vs Auto Preference

[phrunt]

Now we just need reliable discrimination, that won't be a hair of an improvement like we often see, that will be a game changer for many.

[dig4gold]

26 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Now we just need reliable discrimination, that won't be a hair of an improvement like we often see, that will be a game changer for many.

Discrimination just means you leave signals in the ground undug believing it is non gold. The only way you are going to know 100% for sure is to dig all signals. That has how it has been for many of us over the years, digging all signals. How many of you have dug an ugly signal "knowing" it was not going to be gold only to be very pleasantly surprised? I bet too many times, & now why you still dig all signals. The other bonus of digging all signals first time around, even if it is junk, is to remove it from the ground. That way when you come back over that ground again with the new kid on the block, maybe for the 2nd or third time or even more, that" junk" target won't be there for you having to deal with it again.

I don't believe it is possible to have a 100% accurate discrimination in a gold detector because of the fact that the gold purity in nature is never the same from location to location. Plus the fact that iron/ironstone in nature is often related to gold, if not even attached to it or coating it. The only way would be for the detector to tell you the total metallic elements & there amounts contained in the item detected. Maybe one day that will be possible.

Like Phrunt said, You will never know what you didn't dig. Personally, I can't live with that. I have to know. Then I can sleep easy knowing I haven't left gold in the ground.

D4G  

[dig4gold]

On 11/25/2023 at 9:34 AM, Jonathan Porter said:

For max depth with  the 6000 you need to run Max manual sensitivity, that is by far the best detecting scenario IF conditions will allow. This is why I like the new Nugget Finder 12x7 Xceed coils, they were designed from the ground up to work in hot variable soils so run very quiet allowing max manual sensitivity. Max manual sensitivity opens up the sensitivity filter to provide max edge of detection response, once again assuming the conditions will allow it. The NF coils have a natural mellowness to them which then flows through to the end user especially in hot ground. The main aim being opening up the sensitivity “Filter” (*for want of a better term) to get max information through to the end user.

In super quiet soils the ground balance has nothing to work against so target sensitivity can actually suffer, suggest operators carry around a mild hot rock and ground balance to that occasionally and see how things go. One of the reasons why I don’t like a full auto GB and prefer to have the ability to FIX the GB. Put the hot rock on a string and throw it down every so often, sweep over it holding the Quik-Trak button in to help keep the GB centred and averaged, give it a try you might get a pleasant surprise.

Hi JP. Long time between drinks. Thought you must have fallen off the planet. Why so long a time for your wise words of wisdom that are always appreciated?

What you said about the 12x7 above. Probably why I prefer the ML 11" in our very mild New Zealand soil conditions. Only using the 12x7 where I can't get the 11" into. I also find the edge sensitivity on the 11" better than on the 12x7. Having you explain the 12x7 being designed from the ground up, was there a pun intended there?, to work in hot variable soils etc. Now makes sense to me & why I found the 11" better in my ground conditions. I like how you make a point about ground conditions, IF conditions allow, & In super quiet soils.... In the past this seemed to go unknown by many as I saw many people reply to posts done by some who ran there detectors in full max gain & hot settings that people were basically calling them liars, & that just isn't possible. It all came down to very mild ground compared to hot mineralised ground.

A mild hot rock on a string.... Thank you for that tip, I will give that a go. Would a ferrite ring do the same? Thanks & welcome back.

D4G 

[Nedkelly]

41 minutes ago, dig4gold said:

Discrimination just means you leave signals in the ground undug believing it is non gold. The only way you are going to know 100% for sure is to dig all signals. That has how it has been for many of us over the years, digging all signals. How many of you have dug an ugly signal "knowing" it was not going to be gold only to be very pleasantly surprised? I bet too many times, & now why you still dig all signals. The other bonus of digging all signals first time around, even if it is junk, is to remove it from the ground. That way when you come back over that ground again with the new kid on the block, maybe for the 2nd or third time or even more, that" junk" target won't be there for you having to deal with it again.

I don't believe it is possible to have a 100% accurate discrimination in a gold detector because of the fact that the gold purity in nature is never the same from location to location. Plus the fact that iron/ironstone in nature is often related to gold, if not even attached to it or coating it. The only way would be for the detector to tell you the total metallic elements & there amounts contained in the item detected. Maybe one day that will be possible.

Like Phrunt said, You will never know what you didn't dig. Personally, I can't live with that. I have to know. Then I can sleep easy knowing I haven't left gold in the ground.

D4G  

I've lost count of the number of people who have approached me looking for advice on buying a gold detector. They seem to think they only signal on gold . I tell them that gold detectors are just a metal detector designed to find gold in the highly mineralised goldfields and that they still pick up all metals. The look on their face says it all. They think I'm pulling their leg. I wish that was the case though, save digging a lot of rubbish. 

[phrunt]

41 minutes ago, dig4gold said:

A mild hot rock on a string.... Thank you for that tip, I will give that a go. Would a ferrite ring do the same? Thanks & welcome back.

I believe you're up north of the South Island? Not sure what your grounds like up that way but if it's anything like here you wouldn't need to lug around a hot rock on a string, you just need to run a VLF over it to see all the hot rocks your GPX 6000 is completely blind to, yes it still picks up plenty but misses a very large percentage of them.  If Geosense, well auto ground tracking is doing its thing its regularly balancing out hot rocks anyway.

A sample video of ground here that is pretty consistent with many locations around where I detect with the VLF showing just how plentiful hot rocks are, fortunately with the GPZ and to a slightly lesser extent the GPX 6000 they're mostly eliminated, in some places, the trusty old GPX 4500/5000 is the best option as even the GPZ still drives me mad.

[Aureous]

Simon, thats some serious VLF hotrock country! Is it any wonder why most newbie Gold Monster owners feel conned when they try it out for the 1st time.....or why they end up in the cupboard gathering dust or on Ebay lol. Your Nox800 at least ID's them well but ya gotta keep your eye on the screen every second. Very tiresome.... Thank Eric and Bruce for useable PI's 😲

[Gold Catcher]

1 hour ago, dig4gold said:

Discrimination just means you leave signals in the ground undug believing it is non gold.

The only "discrimination" I do with a PI (or ZVT) is the boot scratch method. If the target is gone after a boot scrape (or a quick surface scrape with my Hermit pick) I won't go after it. Have I missed a sunbaker or super shallow gold that way, perhaps. But I have saved myself recovering a ton of trash for sure. Other than that, I dig it all (unless I use a VLF).

GC

[Slade]

People are talking auto vs manual without mentioning difficult vs normal

unless I am missing something. 
Also mono vs DD. It’s fine to talk about setting but without that extra information it’s a bit meaningless. I know what setting I run in the different scenarios but it’s not black and white. I find this on YouTube as well when people give out their settings they don’t give the whole picture. 

[Aureous]

11 hours ago, Slade said:

People are talking auto vs manual without mentioning difficult vs normal

unless I am missing something. 
Also mono vs DD. It’s fine to talk about setting but without that extra information it’s a bit meaningless. I know what setting I run in the different scenarios but it’s not black and white. I find this on YouTube as well when people give out their settings they don’t give the whole picture. 

Yeah, 90% of the time, I'm using difficult anyway, along with the majority of Aussie 6000 users in the majority of locations. The change in timings is minimal and depth doesn't appear to be altered but perhaps 5% sensitivity is gained by using normal. Only time normal is used is for extremely low mineralized soils. I only use the DD coil for near powerlines.....ever.

[Jonathan Porter]

On 11/26/2023 at 10:22 PM, Aureous said:

Yeah, 90% of the time, I'm using difficult anyway, along with the majority of Aussie 6000 users in the majority of locations. The change in timings is minimal and depth doesn't appear to be altered but perhaps 5% sensitivity is gained by using normal. Only time normal is used is for extremely low mineralized soils. I only use the DD coil for near powerlines.....ever.

All the small target sensitivity comes from the “Difficult” part of the Normal/Difficult combination of the Normal timings mode. If the target signal sounds louder its because the Normal part of the timing is also seeing the target assuming the ground signal does not drown everything out.