Input wanted from GPX and GPZ owners

[bcfromfl]

Hi everyone --

A few weeks ago, I purchased a used GPX4500. Because of a few, minor missing parts, I wasn't able to test it out stock before I sent it to Woody for his mods. I also ordered his signal booster/enhancer and compact batteries. I've got the machine back now, and trying to understand how to use it, and all the settings. I've got hundreds of hours under my belt with VLFs, but, as you know, this is COMPLETELY different. To say I'm a bit overwhelmed would be putting it mildly! I've read through the manual a few times, watched the DVD, and copied as much additional info off the web as I can find, including Steve H's instructions.

Anyway, if I could get a bit of input on the depth I'm getting on an air test, that would be helpful in at least letting me know I'm on the right track. With a Jefferson nickel and a Coiltek Elite 18" mono coil, I'm getting 24" with it basically on Deep and Normal. How does that compare with what you all can get with a large coil?

Also, I'm limited right now to testing in my yard as I learn how to use it. I've got nearby power lines giving me fits. In one direction they're about 50 yards away, and the other direction, about 100 yards. I can get it tuned and get repeatable signals, but what I'm wondering is if the electrical interference might actually overwhelm the potential of the circuitry to be as sensitive as it normally could be? I know it makes detecting faint signals challenging just because of the audio problem, but is there also a circuitry issue?

Thanks loads!

 

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[Lanny in AB]

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the GBP in California. That must have been some nasty soil you were hunting around in. I've not experienced troubles like that with mine, but I've never hunted that area either.

Could you not get it to ground balance at all? Was there anyone at the club property that had used the GBP before that gave you any advice? Did you try a small coil?

I've hunted some of the most extreme ground anywhere, but in that area it was with older VLF's that would not operate in the hot ground, and so when I went back, I took a PI and had fantastic success, lots of fat, sassy nuggets.

Which part of California were you hunting in? (You can PM me if it's sensitive info.) Maybe someone here can jump in about the mineralization in that area and perhaps give some insight to the mineralization. I'd love to hear more about it as California is one place still on my list to nugget hunt in one day, so any info. would be appreciated.

All the best, and stick with it as you'll get your 4500 coil over the gold one day,

Lanny

 

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[Tesorodeoro]

Thanks, Lanny. I wish I could accompany you on one of your adventures to the north! I've learned much from reading your stories over the years.

For now, I've conceded that I'll have to pay a pretty penny to have access to rare ground in Arizona. Unfortunately, I can't test my 4500 to my satisfaction anywhere near where I live (powerlines everywhere), so I'm going to have to learn fine-tuning in the field. It'll require four days total there and back in the car, too! The lengths I'm willing to go through to find something shiny I can roll around in the palm of my hand!

Build a big faraday cage and move it around!!

 

[leadnugget]

yes, the cancel mode with a mono coil on you would be lucky to hear a silver dollar sized chunk of metal.
something else. ground balance. when balancing the detector. start in tracking. pumping up and down, when its balanced, on the down stroke click it over to fixed. this should give a little more sensitivity. rebalance as needed. unless the ground changes alot then tracking might be better.

 

[bcfromfl]

Hi Lanny -- thanks again so much for your help. The New 49ers own acres and acres of property along mostly the Klamath and Scott Rivers, and Indian Creek. To increase my chances of success, I brought an inflatable rubber raft so I could cross over to the other side of the rivers, where fewer folks go. I was using the stock elliptical coil with the GBP, and going over mostly exposed bedrock cracks and in-between boulders. I could find spots without signals to ground-balance, but there were so many "hot spots" actually within the bedrock and boulders, it just became impossible. In one spot, there was a slight crack, making me think a nugget had slipped down inside. I had brought a hammer and chisel, and spent over an hour banging away at this giant boulder, only to realize that I was chasing a hot spot within the rock. I found no gold with the detector, not even after I switched to discrimination. A location I went to near the Scott River was the location of a giant hydraulic operation. Actually two large areas, separated by a few hundred yards. I did find a couple tiny shards of bulldozer scrapes, so, I know I was tuned as best as I could, but no gold. I spoke to a landowner who told me he used to see guys with metal detectors crawling all over the pits looking like a giant anthill.

I've still maintained my membership, but I may never go back. At some point, I'll have to transfer my membership to someone else. These properties are mostly appropriate for dredging, but there's no sign that will ever be allowed again. Plus, I'll never be a dredger anyway.

I've read elsewhere that northern California is terrible for VLFs because of the extreme mineralization associated with the area. The only gold I found on the New 49er property (I spent 2-3 weeks each trip, three years in a row) was by mucking pay dirt to a sluice on one claim, and using a giant 3" PVC sucker tube on another claim to reach deeper water. I'm too old for that stuff any longer! The largest piece I found was after moving probably 3-4 yards of overburden to get at the pay, where I lucked out with a 0.18gram piece shaped like a grain of rice. Rest of the gold was fine, maybe a couple flakes.

I've always lived in the wrong spot in the U.S. to follow my dream of gold prospecting. So, my only chance to do it is by basically outfitting myself for expensive "expeditions," over the past 40 years. I've dreamed of finding a nugget I could roll around in my hand, so, with this modded 4500, I've gone all out while I still have a few years left (hopefully) to do it. Dreams die hard!

 

[bcfromfl]

yes, the cancel mode with a mono coil on you would be lucky to hear a silver dollar sized chunk of metal.
something else. ground balance. when balancing the detector. start in tracking. pumping up and down, when its balanced, on the down stroke click it over to fixed. this should give a little more sensitivity. rebalance as needed. unless the ground changes alot then tracking might be better.

Hey...another good tip. Woody recommends not using tracking to increase sensitivity, but your method is interesting.

His mods are really impressive, with what little experience I have with the machine. I got his full package of 2022 upgrades. I also bought his signal booster/enhancer, which really seems to smooth out the operation even more, while boosting the audio on targets. I'm ready...just wish I had more confidence in what I'm doing with the tuning!

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Hi Lanny -- thanks again so much for your help. The New 49ers own acres and acres of property along mostly the Klamath and Scott Rivers, and Indian Creek. To increase my chances of success, I brought an inflatable rubber raft so I could cross over to the other side of the rivers, where fewer folks go. I was using the stock elliptical coil with the GBP, and going over mostly exposed bedrock cracks and in-between boulders. I could find spots without signals to ground-balance, but there were so many "hot spots" actually within the bedrock and boulders, it just became impossible. In one spot, there was a slight crack, making me think a nugget had slipped down inside. I had brought a hammer and chisel, and spent over an hour banging away at this giant boulder, only to realize that I was chasing a hot spot within the rock. I found no gold with the detector, not even after I switched to discrimination. A location I went to near the Scott River was the location of a giant hydraulic operation. Actually two large areas, separated by a few hundred yards. I did find a couple tiny shards of bulldozer scrapes, so, I know I was tuned as best as I could, but no gold. I spoke to a landowner who told me he used to see guys with metal detectors crawling all over the pits looking like a giant anthill.

I've still maintained my membership, but I may never go back. At some point, I'll have to transfer my membership to someone else. These properties are mostly appropriate for dredging, but there's no sign that will ever be allowed again. Plus, I'll never be a dredger anyway.

I've read elsewhere that northern California is terrible for VLFs because of the extreme mineralization associated with the area. The only gold I found on the New 49er property (I spent 2-3 weeks each trip, three years in a row) was by mucking pay dirt to a sluice on one claim, and using a giant 3" PVC sucker tube on another claim to reach deeper water. I'm too old for that stuff any longer! The largest piece I found was after moving probably 3-4 yards of overburden to get at the pay, where I lucked out with a 0.18gram piece shaped like a grain of rice. Rest of the gold was fine, maybe a couple flakes.

I've always lived in the wrong spot in the U.S. to follow my dream of gold prospecting. So, my only chance to do it is by basically outfitting myself for expensive "expeditions," over the past 40 years. I've dreamed of finding a nugget I could roll around in my hand, so, with this modded 4500, I've gone all out while I still have a few years left (hopefully) to do it. Dreams die hard!

If you were detecting in the Klamath/Scott river area, you were not far from some nice detectable gold.

 

[Lanny in AB]

I've chased hot signals in the bedrock with my BugPro and found native iron as well as other iron-inclusion hotspots, disappointing after all that hammer and chisel work, especially when on the digital ID it falls in the range of a gold target, but I've also found nuggets that way. When I ran the 5000 over the same spots, most (not all) of the signals disappeared.

If there's enough iron in the bedrock, a detector will signal its presence.

It sure sounds like you were in some streaky-hot bedrock, not much fun to hunt with a VLF when the mineralization is extreme, better to have a PI for sure. Downside to a PI is the limited discrimination, so if you head back and there's lots of trash/metal splinters on/in the bedrock or in the surrounding soil, you'll be doing lots of work recovering and ID'ng those targets (get a magnet on a wand, as it will save TONS of time in trash rich areas), but you have to sort through the trash to get to the gold.

Ignoring the iron/steel targets in such areas is the great strength of a VLF, but if the ground is too hot, make sure you get in all the groundwork possible with that 4500 well before you head to the goldfields so you can learn (as much as is possible) what iron/steel sounds like vs. the generally softer sound of gold or lead.

You'll still get fooled sometimes, but if you work hard at getting hundreds of hours in on your 4500, your brain will remember quite a few things to help you out when you get to gold country. And, having a super-magnet on a wand to quickly fish through the dirt/scrub the bedrock is an amazing time saver for ID'ing iron/steel trash targets.

In addition, watch as many YouTube videos/online posts on how to run that 4500 in gold country.

All the best, and go get some sassy gold!

Lanny

 

[beekbuster]

Ahhh....the SDC. When I got my 6000 and used it enough to see it's capabilities I was VERY impressed. The 6(000) will outperform the SDC in getting more depth and even smaller gold, fantastic ergonomics and it's one sensitive sob, period. So I was thinking I'll sell the SDC and put it up for sale but nobody wanted to pay my price and everyone was hyped up on the 6 at that time. What I'm getting at is as impressive as the 6 is, and it is, it can be a wild sob that needs a lot of noise cancels and extra coil control and even then the machine can get unstable. One day I was ready to head out to my spot(s) and just didn't feel like "fighting" with my 6 and basically just wanted to enjoy some sun and an easy pleasurable hunt. I KNEW my old SDC runs very stable in this particular ground so I took it out and talk about a nice STABLE no dickin around hunt and came home with 3 nuggies. So my SDC isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It'll be there when I decide I just want a nice enjoyable hunt instead of being way too serious and doing battle with the 6000 in the process. Like BB mentioned, I like my SDC, it ALWAYS runs stable. I also like the 6, it's very impressive. Both have their place in my arsenal........JMO

Ahhh....the SDC. When I got my 6000 and used it enough to see it's capabilities I was VERY impressed. The 6(000) will outperform the SDC in getting more depth and even smaller gold, fantastic ergonomics and it's one sensitive sob, period. So I was thinking I'll sell the SDC and put it up for sale but nobody wanted to pay my price and everyone was hyped up on the 6 at that time. What I'm getting at is as impressive as the 6 is, and it is, it can be a wild sob that needs a lot of noise cancels and extra coil control and even then the machine can get unstable. One day I was ready to head out to my spot(s) and just didn't feel like "fighting" with my 6 and basically just wanted to enjoy some sun and an easy pleasurable hunt. I KNEW my old SDC runs very stable in this particular ground so I took it out and talk about a nice STABLE no dickin around hunt and came home with 3 nuggies. So my SDC isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It'll be there when I decide I just want a nice enjoyable hunt instead of being way too serious and doing battle with the 6000 in the process. Like BB mentioned, I like my SDC, it ALWAYS runs stable. I also like the 6, it's very impressive. Both have their place in my arsenal........JMO

The coil on the sdc is exceptional. Small enough to get in cracks and the edge throws a very nice detection range. I would scan the cracks with the coil on its edge and pick out the pickers in the bedrock cracks. I have picked up a few others gave up on, I think they were not convinced it was a real target. sdc handles any ground, you just swing slower. Even the ground that is as red as a tomato. I intend on replacing the one I sold with a new one once I get more more play time.

 

[beekbuster]

I've chased hot signals in the bedrock with my BugPro and found native iron as well as other iron-inclusion hotspots, disappointing after all that hammer and chisel work, especially when on the digital ID it falls in the range of a gold target, but I've also found nuggets that way. When I ran the 5000 over the same spots, most (not all) of the signals disappeared.

If there's enough iron in the bedrock, a detector will signal its presence.

It sure sounds like you were in some streaky-hot bedrock, not much fun to hunt with a VLF when the mineralization is extreme, better to have a PI for sure. Downside to a PI is the limited discrimination, so if you head back and there's lots of trash/metal splinters on/in the bedrock or in the surrounding soil, you'll be doing lots of work recovering and ID'ng those targets (get a magnet on a wand, as it will save TONS of time in trash rich areas), but you have to sort through the trash to get to the gold.

Ignoring the iron/steel targets in such areas is the great strength of a VLF, but if the ground is too hot, make sure you get in all the groundwork possible with that 4500 well before you head to the goldfields so you can learn (as much as is possible) what iron/steel sounds like vs. the generally softer sound of gold or lead.

You'll still get fooled sometimes, but if you work hard at getting hundreds of hours in on your 4500, your brain will remember quite a few things to help you out when you get to gold country. And, having a super-magnet on a wand to quickly fish through the dirt/scrub the bedrock is an amazing time saver for ID'ing iron/steel trash targets.

In addition, watch as many YouTube videos/online posts on how to run that 4500 in gold country.

All the best, and go get some sassy gold!

Lanny

I have found an iron inclusion and I was digging for days thinking there would be a gold nugget in there somewhere. 4500 makes a real nice sound on nuggets, and guessing the target correctly is not that difficult, though I have walked over whoppers on the surface just because a signal that blows my ears off is hard to distinguish and hardly ever gold. Thats why Ray Mills has that 20 pennyweight nugget and not me. Old habits die hard.

 

[oneguy]

The coil on the sdc is exceptional. Small enough to get in cracks and the edge throws a very nice detection range. I would scan the cracks with the coil on its edge and pick out the pickers in the bedrock cracks. I have picked up a few others gave up on, I think they were not convinced it was a real target. sdc handles any ground, you just swing slower. Even the ground that is as red as a tomato. I intend on replacing the one I sold with a new one once I get more more play time.

I put on that 5x10 Coiltek and makes the SDC a little more "friendly" in tight brush and ergonomics in general...not a lot, but a little. I noticed no difference in air test performance between the stock and the 5x10 except the 5x10 may be a little more sensitive than the stock on the edges The 5x10 isn't waterproof and you also can't fold up the SDC with that coil.
So true about that SDC being stable ANYWHERE it seems? It sure handles the HOT ground. I'm hanging onto mine.....

 

[bcfromfl]

I just got back last week from my first nugget-shooting trip...a 4,000-mile round-trip sleeping in my car! The first day I tried horsing around the 18" mono coil I had bought, but it proved not to be a good match for the terrain...just too many obstacles to get a good swing and cover ground. So, the first day was primarily a waste. I put on the 8" Commander mono the second day, and I found my first piece -- a 1.75 gram nugget just half-an-inch in the ground. The last day there were just 45 minutes left in the weekend, and I was pretty discouraged! All-of-a-sudden I got a banger of a signal, that sounded to me like it was a rusty tin can or something. I started digging, and didn't see anything, so started wondering what was going on! I held the coil off the ground to try to help pinpointing, and it still banged loud and clear. There were a few rocks that required me prying them out with the pick. Finally, after going down about 8", I had pulled it out of the hole into the pile. I scooped it up in the green scoop, and started narrowing down what it might be. Then I saw it. I gasped! It was a "legitimate" nugget! The scales showed it to be 8 grams!

I didn't experiment, but I'm pretty sure I could have heard this target in the vicinity of 18-20" with the 8-inch coil...it was that loud!

I've searched for gold for 40 years, and only ever found small amounts of fine stuff. All I ever wanted was a decent nugget to roll around in the palm of my hand, and admire! Hope this is the start of more to come!

I apologize for my photography skills! Thanks again everyone for your help!

 

[leadnugget]

happy to see you had a productive trip. nice chunky nuggets.

 

[arizau]

I just got back last week from my first nugget-shooting trip...a 4,000-mile round-trip sleeping in my car! The first day I tried horsing around the 18" mono coil I had bought, but it proved not to be a good match for the terrain...just too many obstacles to get a good swing and cover ground. So, the first day was primarily a waste. I put on the 8" Commander mono the second day, and I found my first piece -- a 1.75 gram nugget just half-an-inch in the ground. The last day there were just 45 minutes left in the weekend, and I was pretty discouraged! All-of-a-sudden I got a banger of a signal, that sounded to me like it was a rusty tin can or something. I started digging, and didn't see anything, so started wondering what was going on! I held the coil off the ground to try to help pinpointing, and it still banged loud and clear. There were a few rocks that required me prying them out with the pick. Finally, after going down about 8", I had pulled it out of the hole into the pile. I scooped it up in the green scoop, and started narrowing down what it might be. Then I saw it. I gasped! It was a "legitimate" nugget! The scales showed it to be 8 grams!

I didn't experiment, but I'm pretty sure I could have heard this target in the vicinity of 18-20" with the 8-inch coil...it was that loud!

I've searched for gold for 40 years, and only ever found small amounts of fine stuff. All I ever wanted was a decent nugget to roll around in the palm of my hand, and admire! Hope this is the start of more to come!

I apologize for my photography skills! Thanks again everyone for your help!

Nice finds.
A pretty short story for a 4,000 mile trip. Which states were you detecting in and where were they found?

 

[Lanny in AB]

Hey! You finally did it!!

Congratulations, and all the best on getting that nice chunk of sassy gold,

Lanny

 

[bcfromfl]

Nice finds.
A pretty short story for a 4,000 mile trip. Which states were you detecting in and where were they found?

Hi arizau -- I talked about it a little earlier in this thread...guess you missed it. I was in NW Arizona for a three-day weekend -- long drive for me! Left on a Tuesday, returned home the following Tuesday.

 

[Gravelwasher]

Congrats on the nice nuggets!!
Such a good feeling to finally see what you have been dreaming of for so long.
Detectors in general are like most things, the more time you use it the better you get.
At 1st it seems like a simple operation, but over ten years detecting and I am still learning a lot about it.
I suggest you take your detector out as often as possible and dig for whatever is in the ground. This will help you learn all sorts of things about detecting in general that will much help when detecting for gold.

More big nuggets to you)

1st pic(7714) targets with a GPX5000 and 17x13 coil
2nd pic (1587) targets recovered with GPX6000

 

[beekbuster]

8 grams is one fat nugget! way to go. Its impossible to say how deep you could have detected it as there are so many variables. Hot ground drastically reduces the depth the detector will reach. Ive dug 1.2 gram nuggets over a foot deep with the 4500 multiple times, because the conditions were right. I dug a 2 ouncer 16" and it was near the detectors limit because the ground was so hot. Anyway about it..........CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

 

[beekbuster]

And, having a super-magnet on a wand to quickly fish through the dirt/scrub the bedrock is an amazing time saver for ID'ing iron/steel trash targets.


All the best, and go get some sassy gold!

Lanny

Roofing supply stores have exceptional magnet wands. I was looking at them last time I was at the roofing supply house. The one I want is shaped like a hockey stick. They also have the round head ones. very durable and good quality