7000 Software Update Hunt

[mn90403]

Two nights ago I went out to our 'local' patch about 3 hours from Santa Monica to test the new software upgrade.  I was anxious to see if this update would remove one of our biggest problems which is a very magnetic and loud hot rock that we just call an ironstone.

Our search area is a several square mile patch of desert that is now between 105-115 every day.  In years past this area had been dry washed extensively and it had also been an area used for WWII training with fighter planes.  The ground is relatively mild but there is a fair amount of iron that sticks to our magnets but the amount of fine gold is quite low.  Most dry washing was for nuggets it seems.  Our attempts at fine gold recovery has been minimal.

We detect this ground now because some of the areas have been pushed and worked in the past 10-15 years with VLFs and other Minelabs including the 5000s.  Last summer we discovered that we could grid certain areas and recover nuggets with our 2300s and 7000s.  We had a lot of fun through the summer and fall working the area with three of us getting an ounce to two ounce each.  The largest nugget we found with the GPZ was 6 grams and dozens in the 1-2 gram size and hundreds under a gram.

That's the background ... this was the test.

I showed up to a nearly full moon about 1 AM with a temperature of about 75.  Skies were mostly clear, no wind and it was fabulous.  I started up the GPZ with the 14 inch coil and my wireless WM12 with headphones.  The update was installed so I let it go through the startup.  It still installs to high yield, difficult and audio smoothing low and no locate patch.  I used the ferrite ring and I laid my two test nuggets on targetless ground for testing.  One is about 4 grains and the other one is about double that.

The test targets were easy to identify on the surface.  The threshold was smooth with the sensitivity at 9.  It was time to use the new Locate Patch and normal.  I turned this on and then went to re-tune by keeping current settings.  I redid the ferrite ring and swung on the test nuggets again and knew it was working.  Still smooth and time to go into the field.

One last test.  I tested swing speed.  It said with this new software you could swing faster.  I tried that.  I was surprised to find that at a moderate swing speed (a speed that I would use at the beach) my test nuggets became invisible on the ground.  They tracked out!  I had to slow down to hear these small nuggets.

Now I headed out into the field.  I went over ground we had hunted several times in the past.  The ground was quieter as I was not hearing the ironstones that we would in the past.  I know this because many of the ironstones we had dug before were laying beside a filled in hole and I could test the response.  I stayed in this area for about 2 hours going to areas I had found nuggets up to 2 grams but did not find any new ones.  It was time to go to a different area and I wanted my GPS find spots but this was not supposed to work with this software.  I looked anyway and voila ... they were there!

All of the Find spots were still readable (after I enabled the GPS) and I could go to them with ease.  I went to a location where I had found a couple of nuggets in the past.  I pumped up the sensitivity to 15, put on High Smoothing, threshold about 25, volumes 12 and 12 and went at it.  It was still stable with a slow swing and after about 30 minutes I got a distinct target under the edge of a bush.  I foot scraped and dug a little and moved it.  I knew it was small and expected to have the same small target problem I was having all night.  How do I get it in the scoop and hear it?  Well, this one was different.  I got it down to the sand and knew it was not trash and there this little seed nugget (.5 grains) was in my headlamp.  Who needs a Monster when you can find them like this?  haha

At least it wouldn't be a skunk!  I gave it a Find Point and it recorded next to the others and I was happy.  I'm thinking now it might be possible to go back to the old version that is compatible with Xchange2 and download this.  I haven't tried it yet.

The hunt was on the area for another 30 minutes and then it was off the our most recent patch to see if this new upgrade would help find more nuggets there.  I drove about a mile and started hunting.  It was at this point that I would say that about 80% of our ironstones are not sounding like a nugget (sensitivity is now on 10).  All of our trips before these ironstones had to be dug and now I was swinging over them and most were silent but some still screamed with the coil directly on them.

I tried switching off the Locate Patch and then swinging on the ironstones.  They screamed at me with it off.  I turned the Locate Patch back on (without a new re-tuning) and they still screamed at me.  I tried walking away and getting the old ground memory back but they still screamed.  It is probably necessary to use the ferrite ring as your last step for using any of the new (or old) settings changes with the exception of sensitivity. 

It was now 8:30 AM and the temperature was at 90.  Time to get out of there.

I like the update.  I just don't know how much faster you can swing the 14.  I didn't even take the 19 with me.  I only briefly turned on the Salty Soil.  

One of the things I was thinking about that night is the sounds and music.  A sound is not necessarily music but they are similar because they are waves.  If anyone has ever been in a band or played music you know how to listen for a certain instrument and in some cases hear the specific notes and style of instrument.  Some of us need to listen to a solo, some a quartet and some can listen to an orchestra.  When comparing this to style of detector signals and sounds you just don't want noise or static or filters to mask your instrument (nugget sound).  Once we know what a nugget sounds like and we recover the nugget then we are hooked.  It becomes easier and we find more and more if it is still there.  I think anyone with very hot settings likes to hear the full orchestra!  A conductor can do that and must do that to make beautiful music.  Not everyone can be or wants to be a conductor.  We just need that sweet note of success.

This software won't bring back nuggets that have been removed.  It will help us eliminate more of the noise.  It will help the GPZ give us that nugget sound on more of the remaining nuggets so we can have a new technology patch while they last.

[phoenix]

Terrific report Mitchel.   Thanks very much. I normally run difficult and I sometimes change over to Normal until I can`t bare the noise anymore, and Locate Patch definately quietens the detector down in Normal and you are right, you don`t get anywhere near as many hotrocks, but in these early days I think Normal/Locate Patch is losing sensitivity to Difficult/High Yield.   I still don`t quite understand what this Locate patch setting is meant to do. I got out into the great unknown yesterday with the 19" coil and I didn`t get any gold, but i got more birdshot with High Yield/Difficult than I got with High Yield/ Normal/Locate Patch.          If I am understanding this Semi Tracking setting, I think it`s terrific. Once you tune out the ferrite ring it stays tuned out. But it may be possible I`m missing the point of Semi-Auto as well. I don`t understand why Minelab says it`s for expert users. To me it seems everybody should be using it.  Dave

[mn90403]

Dave,

Thanks for the read.  I know it gets long when I see it and try to find parts of it.

Let me make it clear that I was testing High Yield, Normal, Locate Patch.  I took it out of difficult for the entire night.  I did change the Sensitivity a few times.

Mitchel

[phoenix]

hey Mitchel.   No probs mate. What I wrote was not any way directed at anything you wrote. It was just my own rambling observations of this update so far.  As time goes on I`m sure I will learn more.  cheers Dave

[beatup]

great report it was a read

[mn90403]

Thank you JW.  

The Zed lets us hear a few different sounds that have been silent on other detectors.

I hope everyone is able to set up the Zed to their liking and can hear the sweet sounds of success.

Mitchel

[Andyy]

Yes, very good and detailed report, Mitchel.  The way Locate Patch gets rid of some of the ironstones, is interesting.  The question I come up with is whether Locate Patch is better to rid of these ironstones or if it is better to go into Difficult.  My experience previously, is that Difficult usually doesn't help too much with the ironstones, more with the ground noise.  I guess I'll have to build upon your tests and others with my own.  Just another reason to get out into the full moon weekend.  

[Randy Lunn]

Thank you Mitchel, a super report. This is really helpful to get a sense of the new settings and to set realistic expectations. I hope to get out soon, but with this heat in SoCal I may have to wait for a full moon. Do you need to take any special precautions with animals or bugs at night?

[mn90403]

Randy,

The other night with a bright moon there really was not any problems.  In the past I had a few problems with the moths that are attracted to light.  They would get inside the car.

There are a few roos about.  They are not the Australian roos mind you.  It is a little rat.  http://www.ocregister.com/2009/08/25/kangaroo-rats-still-leaping-in-oc/

During the day we have seen a couple of rattle snakes around but if you are looking in front of your coil swing then they won't be a problem.  At night it is cool and they are less active or in a hole somewhere.

Mitchel

[Andyy]

9 hours ago, Randy Lunn said:

Thank you Mitchel, a super report. This is really helpful to get a sense of the new settings and to set realistic expectations. I hope to get out soon, but with this heat in SoCal I may have to wait for a full moon. Do you need to take any special precautions with animals or bugs at night?

For bugs, just use a green or red light.  I prefer green.  It is invisible to the bugs.