I got my GPZ 7000 Today and I am stoked

[hAyyoUinAU]

Any tips anyone has, feel free to drop your opinions. I have yet to power it on. Waiting for batteries to charge and then I will be updating it and testing it out in the field tomorrow.

Still got the SDC 2300 atm, deciding on whether to sell it or not.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Kozi M]

Hope you can wait for the batteries to charge.

 

[BigWave]

Do the training course. I'm no expert as I only used one part time for a few weeks in the GT and in FNQ, but learned so much from mates (thanks tryhard1968) and a pro. Very different from my GPX4500!

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Yeah I think I am one step ahead by not having used anything other than the SDC 2300 in regards to PI detectors.
From all the research I done, what worked and applied for the 4500 and 5000 series doesn't really apply to the ZED.
Its a whole new system.

I will follow the advice to leave it in default settings and not muck around too much at first.

I have seen plenty of videos of guys messing with settings and making it much worse.

Thanks for the advice, and yes that Battery takes forever to charge....good thing it came with 2

Also hate the harness...lol. I could see it being used for a long day session, but I only do 3 hour stints, so I think I can handle it for now.

Couldn't get over the size of the bag it comes with...lol...Bigger than a cricket bag..lol

GPZ, in a SDC body would be the killer of all detectors... but please....not for a few years Minelab... I'm broke...lol

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Father and Son. :Y: :Y:

 

[Ramjet]

I am very jelly hAyyoUinAU. A couple of dream machines you have there. All the best for your future hunts.

 

[Lanky]

if you can handle the weight i don't think you will use the 2300 anymore! The 7000 will be loud and clear and shallow 0.05gm pieces like the sdc but covers a larger area each sweep i only kept my sdc for compactness in the backpack on wet hike ins!

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Thanks Ramjet.

And yeah Stru, I can't see myself using the SDC unless I want to get wet. And not into swimming for gold. The compact aspect of it is great.
But I agree, I don't think after tomorrow I will be using the SDC again. It's hard using something that you know is not penetrating as deep as the ZED or 4500s etc etc

But the SDC is a proven work horse... tough unit, and it surely finds the gold...and the buggets.. hahaha

SDC 2300 ------------- RIP
GPZ 7000 ------------- WELCOME

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Wonder if this GPZ 7000 battery will ever charge.....

 

[Northeast]

Spot on I reckon :Y:

"Yeah I think I am one step ahead by not having used anything other than the SDC 2300 in regards to PI detectors."

 

[Ridge Runner]

Congrats, On owning the best of the best.

John.

 

[Syndyne]

Congrats on the new big blue purchase hAyyoUinAU!

There's some great reading and highly invaluable information in regards to tips and tricks on the GPZ7000 thread here: www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11703

I've personally not run my machine in the goldfields since the new update was released, but I'm hearing good things all the time. There's not much it'll miss even in factory settings, but the odd little tweak here and there once you know it can really make it shine. It takes some time to become comfortable with it, but rest assured if all is right like the ground balance etc. and you walk over a target you won't miss it.

A little advice I can offer is to get a good sized pick (something with a 70cm handle length would be ideal) also to carry a good pry bar and long handle shovel for those nice deep targets because they will come. The other thing I'd suggest would be to grab a hip stick rather than use the supplied harness. While they work fine, I'm not really a fan of the Minelab harnesses as I find them a little too cumbersome and sloppy, so instead I just use a light camelback water backpack and the hip stick. I can swing the Zed comfortably all day over an 8-10hr stint with minimal effort.

I hope it pulls the goods for you for many years to come and I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing of your detecting adventures :Y:

Kindest regards,
Shauno.

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Thanks Shauno
Very useful information. And I must agree with the hip stick over the harness. I tried the harness and while I can see how it takes the weight off your arm and shoulder and distributes it, I didn't feel comfortable so will use the hip stick. It works quite well when I tried it.

Great tip on the larger pick. I upgraded mine thinking exactly the same thing... although no shovel or pry bar. But I can see all that coming along...

I will let you guys know how my first day detecting goes, going to hit a spot I got gold with the SDC and see if there is anything I missed. I would be very surprised if the SDC found it all.

So many places to prospect, possibilities are endless.

Love hearing people say things like, "Oh you won't find no gold there, that place has been flogged" bahahahaha... maybe, but not by me. lol
Always good to keep positive in the AU game.... only way to be.

I really do appreciate any help and comments. Thanks again

Rick :Y:

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Thanks Ridge Runner.

True that on best of the best. Poor Mr Garret would be rolling in his grave. Bahahaha

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Nah... all good.

I have nothing against Garrets or Whites or any others... each to their own

Whatever makes you happy and brings in the AU

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Would be cool to get a target and dig out an old Garret. lol

Sorry. I will stop now

 

[Ridge Runner]

Thanks Ridge Runner.

True that on best of the best. Poor Mr Garret would be rolling in his grave. Bahahaha

Well it is the best Gold getter on the market, big machine, big holes and big GOLD,

I wish you well, Hope you find a Whopper.

J.

 

[Northeast]

Default settings are a good place to start but...

Roughly what size are the bits you are chasing and what type of ground are you in?

If less than a few grams then the first gold mode choice would be High Yield.

If you think there might be larger bits don't be afraid to use General.

Normal or Difficult ground mode? At all times (if you can) run in normal. Difficult can hide/mask/fade out many targets - that's my personal findings anyway. And even marginal targets in Difficult pop a bit more in Normal. But if the ground is too mineralized then Normal will just drive you nuts.

Sensitivity as high as you can whilst still having a smooth threshold unless... If you have found a few small bits and trying to clean up a patch then really turn up the sensitivity as it can make a few more stand out. But again it can get pretty noisy, is hard to put up with for long and can sometimes make so much noise it masks the little targets.

And then there is the ground smoothing, semi auto balance, Ground balancing and ferrite balancing all of the Ground Mode and Gold Mode combinations you are going to use.

There is heaps to learn and default settings are a great place to start but don't be afraid to try different things - especially on un-dug targets.

I really hope you find enough in a few trips that you can keep the SDC too :Y:

Have fun

 

[hAyyoUinAU]

Perfect. Thank you

Also with the Ferrite balancing it seems that its best to do it with all 3 modes at first in case I want to switch modes mid run.

Is that correct?

And the ground is pretty good, and the gold is nice size ;-) with the SDC, no sub grammers..... strange that because I can pull out the tinniest birdshot from 1 foot down with the SDC... even staples a few inches down scream. I think its just this patch, its big stuff. No complaints here

So I will try General with Normal and go from there I gather... obviously making sure threshold is sweet

 

[Northeast]

Ground balancing and ferrite balancing - this is just what I do.

High yield/normal - ferrite balance with the figure 8 method and then off to the side just pump the coil a few times.

Change to High yield/difficult and do the same.

Change to general/difficult and do the same.

Change to general/normal and do the same.

Apparently the Z remembers the ferrite balance and the ground balance for all the combinations you do - in my case I just do those 4. I haven't really used extra deep and severe much but if I was to use them during a session for some reason I would just G and F balance at the time.

The reason I do those 4 is that I often change combinations with identified targets just to check/test.

Once they are all done I simply head off detecting in the combo that I think fits what I am chasing for the day and where I am. And don't hit the quick track button for 20 or 30 minutes to let the auto tracking do its thing.

In the past I would ferrite check every 45 mins or if I reckon it's getting out. Jonathon Porter's words are something like 'maintain perfect ferrite balance at all times'. I haven't had a lot of time to play with the semi-auto balance as yet.

If you have found so far that you're patch is predominantly larger pieces I would personally run General gold mode and, if the ground allows, run in Normal ground mode. My reason is that the larger pieces I have found (6 and 11 grams) were simply not picked up in High Yield/Difficult but they were picked up in General/Difficult - tested when still un-dug and they just didn't make a peep in High Yield. Which supports the user manual and the fact that High Yield is targeted for smaller nuggets down to sub gram.

But in the end use what you feel comfortable with and experiment. I'm confident that you'll pick up pieces you've missed with the SDC.

I should add that much of what I do and know has been gleaned from Jonathan Porter's words gathered from lots of different places on the WWW. And a lot of trial and error out in the field