From the bag of tricks...

[bado1 117]

Since the introduction of the GPX, and it's designed compatibility with mono coils, the DD coil doesn't get much love anymore. There are certain situations though that the DD shines and one should, IMO, be in everyone's bag of tricks.

 

Here in Arizona, the ground is fairly mild and a mono coil on a GPX does the job very well in most areas. In areas of high iron trash and EMI, though, the mono's struggle... sometimes to the point of uselessness. So, yesterday afternoon, I went to such an area armed with a 8" DD on my 4500. This particular little gully is right next to a road and some big power lines. The high amount of trash and EMI render a mono coil useless here. Even certain settings on the DD can't handle the EMI and targets are lost in the warble.

 

I set up the machine like this:

 

Front Panel- Cancel, Fixed, Special, G

Back menu- RX Gain-12, Stabilizer-10, Iron Reject-5, Motion-slow, Audio-normal, Sens Extra

 

The threshold was smooth and stable.

 

The reason I chose this gully is because I knew most everyone else had avoided it or struggled in it. The SDC, for the most part, can handle the EMI but does not have Iron Reject so it can be frustrating for them as well. The greatest strength of the GPX is it's versatility.

 

Anyway, pulling the DD out of the bag of tricks payed off ...

 

 

I was able to avoid digging iron trash but I did dig a couple of bullets.

 

Tip: When running in Cancel your signal will be inverted. Small gold will give a low-high response. If you don't like that just go in to settings and switch to "inverted" so you get the regular high-low.

 

Dean

[Mike C... 10]

Good job Dean Mike C...

[beatup 55]

nice work Dean

[SkyWalker 26]

Thanks for the info.

[Gerard 12]

Dean,

 

Great Work! I agree...The GPX is the SwissArmy knife of Metal detectors ! ( That Analog beast is still an amazing machine!!! ) These days I normally run a Coiltek 14 Elite... but that coil in really trashy areas is useless. I bought a "DETECH 8" DD" for my 4500 exactly for working those "no go" areas like you mentioned ! Some of these old 1800s mining areas are so junky with iron trash everywhere the Mono coils just are overwhelmed and can't handle so many targets in a small area! And for years like most people I also had avoided those areas ! I tried using my "sadie coil" in those areas (another go to coil!!!) that was better but, still wasn't perfect.... "you could spend a week in one 10'X10' area digging only trash" So I bought that little 8"DD to see how that would work in those "No Go" areas .... I found that the little 8" DD is a great coil !!! and fun to use! and the only coil that really works in there = So that litte 8"DD is my goto coil is in my bag of tricks now too... Plus that little 8"DD is"Water-Proof" where as the All of my Minelabs & Nuggetfinders (even the Sadie coil) aren't water proof !!! (only water resistant)... So Yes in deed the 8 DD is a must have Combo to have in your bag of tricks for all of us running the GPX machines!

 

Glad to see that little DD paid off for you !!! = Congrats on the beautiful finds!!!!

 

Gerard

[LowPoint 20]

Hey Dean,

Wish I would have known you where out in that power line wash area, I might have been able to catch up to ya to do some detecting together. I have hunted that wash almost up under those power lines with my mono coil, and because I only have an older Minelab GP-3000 I wasn't able to null the noise out. The obsessive noise from the EMI forced me upstream far enough away to where I could finally hear my threshold. I have been thinking about going back over that way again, but don't particularly look forward to the thick manzanita brush to fight thru over there. And this time of year there is the added concern of it being a Rattlesnake haven as well!!! Good finds. Gary

[bado1 117]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Hopefully, sharing tips and tricks like this will help put more gold in all our pokes.

 

Gerard, we have the same trick in our bags. Great combo!

 

Gary, never have seen a snake of any kind in that area. They have got to be there...just have never seen one. It's getting hot down that way too. Time to look a bit north .

 

Dean

[LowPoint 20]

"Yep", Tis the time to migrate out of the lower hot desert areas and search out some spots up where it is, and will be cooler and more tolerable during the summer. I've got a few spots up north that I have worked over the years, but over time they have become less productive. Sure wish they where like apple trees and reproduced more gold every year. I guess we just need more extreme monsoons during the season, or at least a good 5" rain down pore all at one time in these washes.

I may have to get me one of those high-fangled GPX 5000's with all the "bells and whistles" just to make up the difference between my GP-3000 capabilities and those boastfully-taunted by other users. Food for Thought. Gary

[dick ward 25]

Thank you for the information. That's what the forums need. A little show and tell, some bragging and the sharing of information.

[Tom H 28]

Great post Dean, and nice gold

Those power lines will really wonk the machine out. Will have to try it next time

I did that under the power lines at the Q off Tom Wells road last year. Got a bunch of targets....no yellow ones though so it was not hunted that hard.

Tks.

Tom

[Chris Gholson 647]

Excellent post Dean! It also feels to me that since the release of the GPX machines, the 'ol DD coils haven't gotten much attention. The Mono coils on the GPX are incredible and my choice for most situations, but as you've shown, they are still a powerful tool to have in the arsenal. When interference is an issue or abundant iron trash, the DD's can definitely net a few nuggets that may go overlooked by the monos...Congrats on the new gold and thanks for the reminder!