A
Anonymous
Guest
Has anyone tried using the GQ SS for nugget hunting, I live in the desert and was wondering how it would be here in the desert. I am reffering to the GQ SS no the V2.
Tom B
Tom B
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
A
Anonymous
Guest
[No message]
A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Tom,
A GQ SS can be used in some places with little or no trouble, but there will be other places such as around Octave AZ where the ground will make hunting very difficult. About the only way to hunt these bad areas is to simply raise the coil to minimize the ground response. Of course, there will be a wide variation of conditions between the two extremes.
I have tried a GQ SS clone in such areas so I am fairly certain of the results.
As examples of what to expect, I have found I get a lot of ground response around the flats at Rich Hill. Again, this will require you raise the coil to minimize the ground signals. Hunting can be frustrating if you are not careful and keep the coil elevated and level. I have much less of a problem hunting on the sides of the hills in the same general area. However, where they have scraped the ground with equipment, generally, the ground signals are much worse again.
In some areas around LSD just west of Phoenix the GQ should work just fine with a mono coil in many locations. The ground response will generally be quite low until you hit red clay, and then it becomes troublesome again. The same holds true for some areas west of Quartzite.
I would recommend the GQ be converted to use DD coils if possible. This would make hunting a whole lot easier.
The double filter on the GQ SS V2 plus a DD coil is a great combination that seems to work quite well in every place I have tried. So, if the dual filter can be added that that is a plus.
I moved a GQ V2 pc board into a different light weight case, used light weight LI Ion batteries and made a very light coil. The control box was mounted under the forearm similar to where White's mounts their boxes.
The results were a machine that weighed in at about 3 lbs. This machine was basically rebuilt for a lady friend to use who is unfamiliar with PI's and did not want to lug around much weight.
I wished I would have taken pictures of her using it because it was quite different. She would simply hold on to the S rod just a little above where the lower and upper rod connect and not even use foam handle or the arm rest. In fact, the arm rest was taken off while in AZ to lighten the machine even more.
BTW, she used this machine in several places in AZ including the Rich Hill area. the machine was left in the dual filter mode simply because my new switch broke while we were down there. Her biggest complaint was the machine was too sensitive. Since she naturally hunted slowly, she had no problems with the ground signals even when she had the coil close to the ground.
Reg
A GQ SS can be used in some places with little or no trouble, but there will be other places such as around Octave AZ where the ground will make hunting very difficult. About the only way to hunt these bad areas is to simply raise the coil to minimize the ground response. Of course, there will be a wide variation of conditions between the two extremes.
I have tried a GQ SS clone in such areas so I am fairly certain of the results.
As examples of what to expect, I have found I get a lot of ground response around the flats at Rich Hill. Again, this will require you raise the coil to minimize the ground signals. Hunting can be frustrating if you are not careful and keep the coil elevated and level. I have much less of a problem hunting on the sides of the hills in the same general area. However, where they have scraped the ground with equipment, generally, the ground signals are much worse again.
In some areas around LSD just west of Phoenix the GQ should work just fine with a mono coil in many locations. The ground response will generally be quite low until you hit red clay, and then it becomes troublesome again. The same holds true for some areas west of Quartzite.
I would recommend the GQ be converted to use DD coils if possible. This would make hunting a whole lot easier.
The double filter on the GQ SS V2 plus a DD coil is a great combination that seems to work quite well in every place I have tried. So, if the dual filter can be added that that is a plus.
I moved a GQ V2 pc board into a different light weight case, used light weight LI Ion batteries and made a very light coil. The control box was mounted under the forearm similar to where White's mounts their boxes.
The results were a machine that weighed in at about 3 lbs. This machine was basically rebuilt for a lady friend to use who is unfamiliar with PI's and did not want to lug around much weight.
I wished I would have taken pictures of her using it because it was quite different. She would simply hold on to the S rod just a little above where the lower and upper rod connect and not even use foam handle or the arm rest. In fact, the arm rest was taken off while in AZ to lighten the machine even more.
BTW, she used this machine in several places in AZ including the Rich Hill area. the machine was left in the dual filter mode simply because my new switch broke while we were down there. Her biggest complaint was the machine was too sensitive. Since she naturally hunted slowly, she had no problems with the ground signals even when she had the coil close to the ground.
Reg
A
Anonymous
Guest
A lot would depend on what,and where location your going to hunt in.
Although not really familure with desert hunting, I do realize that it can change considerable from place to place.
Mr. Bill
Although not really familure with desert hunting, I do realize that it can change considerable from place to place.
Mr. Bill
A
Anonymous
Guest
Tom B
I used one out at the Hill and around LSD back when they first came out. Reg's comments below are right on. I also had the Goldstrike with me that trip and found that in some places one worked better (smoother) than the other and also places where neither was worth a tinkers d**n.
Have you had a chance to try out the Coinstrike on nuggets? I'm curious how it handles the hot rocks in that ground.
HH Tom Z
I used one out at the Hill and around LSD back when they first came out. Reg's comments below are right on. I also had the Goldstrike with me that trip and found that in some places one worked better (smoother) than the other and also places where neither was worth a tinkers d**n.
Have you had a chance to try out the Coinstrike on nuggets? I'm curious how it handles the hot rocks in that ground.
HH Tom Z
A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Jackpine
About two weekends ago I found a flat nugget about 1/4" X 1/4" with my treasure mate at a creek near Wickenburg, it was hiding in a crack in the rocks. I did test the C$ on it and it did sound off an inch away.
finding that nugget gave me gold feaver, thats why I am pestering the PI folks. The C$ ran quite but I don't think I was getting alot of depth. Friend of mine told me that he has hunted the same area with his GB 2, but soil conditions are a real roller coaster in that area. Tom B
About two weekends ago I found a flat nugget about 1/4" X 1/4" with my treasure mate at a creek near Wickenburg, it was hiding in a crack in the rocks. I did test the C$ on it and it did sound off an inch away.
finding that nugget gave me gold feaver, thats why I am pestering the PI folks. The C$ ran quite but I don't think I was getting alot of depth. Friend of mine told me that he has hunted the same area with his GB 2, but soil conditions are a real roller coaster in that area. Tom B
A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Tom,
Migrating from a VLF to a PI has its limitations and advantages. With a VLF, one is used to being able to ground balance (GB) quite well in many areas. You might have to be changing it all the time, but it generally does a good job.
On a PI, it is a little different story. Any PI with no GB will generate a ground response if the conditions are right and the delay is short enough.
Increase the delay and the ground signal reduces dramatically. The ground signal also reduces a lot just by raising the coil a little. Unfortunately, so does the sensitivity to real small gold nuggets.
I have found that the ground signal on my GQ clone is very similar to certain gold nuggets in the 1/4 oz range. So, if you advance the delay until the ground is no longer a problem, then you will have a very difficult time detecting nuggets 1/4 oz or less.
That is the bummer of the hobby.
Now, if you ground balance so you get minimum reponse from the ground, then there will be some nuggets that probably will have a reduced sensitivity. Again, they will be about 1/4 oz or so, depending upon the PI and just how the GB is done.
Take a GQ and modify it to accept a DD coil and now the ground signal becomes much less of a problem without the loss of depth on certain nuggets. I posted how this mod can be done on this forum some time back. Is a modded GQ perfect? Nope, but it sure is a lot better than a PI without the mod. In many places, the ground signal is minimal when using a DD as long as you sweep the coil fairly level. In some places the ground signal becomes almost non existant regardless of how the coil is moved. Keeping the coil level isn't as critical as with a mono coil but it does help in the worst of conditions. Compared to a mono coil, the DD is a lifesaver in places such as around Octave.
Is a DD coil the ultimate answer? Nope, but it is a great alternative and allows a lower priced PI to work effectively in areas not easily hunted with a mono coil. A PI with a DD coil may respond much less to the ground but will still "see" certain Basalt rocks that may be ignored with GB. So, there is some limitation with a DD also.
Still, for 1/3 the price of a typical top line ground balancing PI, a GQ V2 with a DD coil works quite well. Take a regular GQ and mod it to accept the DD coil it will approach the ability of the GQ v2 but not quite. The GQ V2 does have some other changes that are not obvious, besides the two filter circuitry.
Reg
Migrating from a VLF to a PI has its limitations and advantages. With a VLF, one is used to being able to ground balance (GB) quite well in many areas. You might have to be changing it all the time, but it generally does a good job.
On a PI, it is a little different story. Any PI with no GB will generate a ground response if the conditions are right and the delay is short enough.
Increase the delay and the ground signal reduces dramatically. The ground signal also reduces a lot just by raising the coil a little. Unfortunately, so does the sensitivity to real small gold nuggets.
I have found that the ground signal on my GQ clone is very similar to certain gold nuggets in the 1/4 oz range. So, if you advance the delay until the ground is no longer a problem, then you will have a very difficult time detecting nuggets 1/4 oz or less.
That is the bummer of the hobby.
Now, if you ground balance so you get minimum reponse from the ground, then there will be some nuggets that probably will have a reduced sensitivity. Again, they will be about 1/4 oz or so, depending upon the PI and just how the GB is done.
Take a GQ and modify it to accept a DD coil and now the ground signal becomes much less of a problem without the loss of depth on certain nuggets. I posted how this mod can be done on this forum some time back. Is a modded GQ perfect? Nope, but it sure is a lot better than a PI without the mod. In many places, the ground signal is minimal when using a DD as long as you sweep the coil fairly level. In some places the ground signal becomes almost non existant regardless of how the coil is moved. Keeping the coil level isn't as critical as with a mono coil but it does help in the worst of conditions. Compared to a mono coil, the DD is a lifesaver in places such as around Octave.
Is a DD coil the ultimate answer? Nope, but it is a great alternative and allows a lower priced PI to work effectively in areas not easily hunted with a mono coil. A PI with a DD coil may respond much less to the ground but will still "see" certain Basalt rocks that may be ignored with GB. So, there is some limitation with a DD also.
Still, for 1/3 the price of a typical top line ground balancing PI, a GQ V2 with a DD coil works quite well. Take a regular GQ and mod it to accept the DD coil it will approach the ability of the GQ v2 but not quite. The GQ V2 does have some other changes that are not obvious, besides the two filter circuitry.
Reg
A
Anonymous
Guest
Eric/Reg
Will the GOLDSCAN 5 be an improvement on GQ V2 in harsh Australian ground conditions at the goldfields.
Thanks Billm
Will the GOLDSCAN 5 be an improvement on GQ V2 in harsh Australian ground conditions at the goldfields.
Thanks Billm
A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Bill,
The Goldscan 5 has electronic ground balancing, while the Goldquest doesn't. The Goldquest relies on the use of a DD coil and a two stage high pass filter for use in difficult ground. We won't really know if either will handle the worst ground in Australia, until one is tried out there. I have a large tray of Australian iron mineralised gravel, with which I did workshop tests, plus various hot rocks etc. This obviously doesn't fully simulate field conditions but the results for the Goldscan 5 are good, even with a mono coil.
Bill Crabtree will soon be taking the Goldscan to the Arizona goldfields for initial trials, so we will see what happens there in the first instance. He will also try it with both mono and DD coils.
Eric.
The Goldscan 5 has electronic ground balancing, while the Goldquest doesn't. The Goldquest relies on the use of a DD coil and a two stage high pass filter for use in difficult ground. We won't really know if either will handle the worst ground in Australia, until one is tried out there. I have a large tray of Australian iron mineralised gravel, with which I did workshop tests, plus various hot rocks etc. This obviously doesn't fully simulate field conditions but the results for the Goldscan 5 are good, even with a mono coil.
Bill Crabtree will soon be taking the Goldscan to the Arizona goldfields for initial trials, so we will see what happens there in the first instance. He will also try it with both mono and DD coils.
Eric.
A
Anonymous
Guest
I had one of the first versions of the GQ SS back almost 2 years ago.
To be honest you will realy need to use a DD coil to make it work best especially in areas where the soil is hot...not black sand mind you but like say around The LSD the volcanic hotrocks and soil drove me nuts with the mono coil.
Eric now has DD coils available and this will help tremndously. I did very well with the first versions of the GQ SS.....especially with a DD coil.
Reg iscorrect that raising the coil a few inches helps also and it did not reduce depth in ground hardly at all.
The advantage of the PI, for me, was using it in dry creek beds with black sand. here the VLF was worthless basically. However in low mineral areas up around the prescott area the GQ would not run and here the GMT or Gold Bug II and suck were alot better.
Scott
To be honest you will realy need to use a DD coil to make it work best especially in areas where the soil is hot...not black sand mind you but like say around The LSD the volcanic hotrocks and soil drove me nuts with the mono coil.
Eric now has DD coils available and this will help tremndously. I did very well with the first versions of the GQ SS.....especially with a DD coil.
Reg iscorrect that raising the coil a few inches helps also and it did not reduce depth in ground hardly at all.
The advantage of the PI, for me, was using it in dry creek beds with black sand. here the VLF was worthless basically. However in low mineral areas up around the prescott area the GQ would not run and here the GMT or Gold Bug II and suck were alot better.
Scott
A
Anonymous
Guest
[No message]
A
Anonymous
Guest
Reg,
What you and Eric have done with the Goldquest seem to be real improvements over the original equipped with the mono coil. Would I recommend the original for AZ as Tom B asked above? No Way!!
That was his question and I gave my answer.
Tom Z
What you and Eric have done with the Goldquest seem to be real improvements over the original equipped with the mono coil. Would I recommend the original for AZ as Tom B asked above? No Way!!
That was his question and I gave my answer.
Tom Z
A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Tom
A lot has been changed since you first received your Goldquest in 02/2003. It was mainly set up for beach hunting gold jewelry then.
The new Goldquest SS V.2 still retains it's great beach sensitivity, with circuit modifications on it to deal with nugget hunting areas better.
We have had continuous upgrading to the circuitry, mainly from the input of Reg, and some help from customers like yourself. It
A lot has been changed since you first received your Goldquest in 02/2003. It was mainly set up for beach hunting gold jewelry then.
The new Goldquest SS V.2 still retains it's great beach sensitivity, with circuit modifications on it to deal with nugget hunting areas better.
We have had continuous upgrading to the circuitry, mainly from the input of Reg, and some help from customers like yourself. It
A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Tom,
I can certainly understand your answer Tom, and I would have a tendency to agree with you to a point. If a person expects to jump out of a car and instantly start hunting with a super quiet machine, then this PI isn't for them. It could or would get frustrating until you know the tricks. If a person doesn't know what to expect, or the best place to use this PI, or not willing to adapt or spend some serious time with it, then yes, one should avoid using a non ground balancing PI if only a mono coil is available.
When I first tried the a non ground balancing PI, it was the unit before the GQ, the beachscan. When I first tried it, I didn't like it that much because I was used to using a VLF with decent ground canceling, so it was sort of like going backwards, since the PI did respond to the ground quite strongly in many areas and there wasn't much I could do, or so it seemed that way.
However, after spending some time with it, and once I knew what to expect and how to minimize problems, I started to change my mind. What really helped was I noticed the PI seemed to love areas the VLF's hated, and it didn't respond to some of the rocks or black sand that drove my VLF fits.
Also, I found many areas where the PI didn't generate much of a ground signal, and noticed why, so I would look for these areas to hunt more often. As I said, it seemed that areas that were the worst for VLF's and gave the VLF fits, were the places where the PI was the quietest. So, I could now easily hunt areas that were difficult before.
Finally, after using it for some time and going through the learning curve, I actually prefered the PI in most areas even though it did respond to the ground in many of them. Part of this reasoning was I could hunt areas with the PI with ease that were almost impossible to hunt with a VLF, and the PI simply seemed to go deeper.
At the time I was mainly hunting the Gold Basin area and on the flats, you could run into some really bad hotrocks that would cause about any VLF to scream once you hit them. These rocks would or could cover fairly large areas. I know, I tried several different VLFs there over them and finally would just try to avoid the areas. That was until I tried the Beachscan, and it worked great over the same area and had almost no ground signal. So, instead of trying to avoid these spots, I would look for them to hunt with the PI. I would usually get a strong response once I came off the piles of rocks and hit the red ground, but if I raised my coil and increased the autotune speed to max (something I had added) at that time, the ground signal was much less of a problem and I knew what it was.
So, I just learned to use a non ground balancing PI and actually didn't mind, once I knew the tricks of what I had to do to minimize the ground signals. I prefered it over my VLF's which included, the GB 2, the XT 18000, the Tesoro LST, the Tesoro Lobo, and a couple of others.
This movement from a Gold hunting VLF to a non ground balancing PI was as distinct as going from a typical coin hunting VLF to a gold hunting VLF. There is a marked difference in how they respond when at or near max sensivity.
Now, I would probably agree with you today and caution a person that there is a definite learning curve to using a non ground balancing PI equipped with a mono coil. Does it still have a place where even it excels? The answer is yes, they will generally work very well in active stream beds, over most hotrocks, or over areas of concentrated black sand with little or no ground response. Hit a water washed area where most of the clay has been washed away and you will generally have a very quiet detector and not experience much of a ground signal, if any, until you hit the spots of clay.
Here in Colordo, I can hunt the active stream beds with ease and the non ground balance PI is usually quiet as a church mouse even when using a mono coil. Walk up the sides of the banks into areas of plain dirt and now, the PI becomes quite noisy if it has a mono coil. There will be some ground signals with a DD coil also, but not nearly as bad as with a mono coil.
Reg
I can certainly understand your answer Tom, and I would have a tendency to agree with you to a point. If a person expects to jump out of a car and instantly start hunting with a super quiet machine, then this PI isn't for them. It could or would get frustrating until you know the tricks. If a person doesn't know what to expect, or the best place to use this PI, or not willing to adapt or spend some serious time with it, then yes, one should avoid using a non ground balancing PI if only a mono coil is available.
When I first tried the a non ground balancing PI, it was the unit before the GQ, the beachscan. When I first tried it, I didn't like it that much because I was used to using a VLF with decent ground canceling, so it was sort of like going backwards, since the PI did respond to the ground quite strongly in many areas and there wasn't much I could do, or so it seemed that way.
However, after spending some time with it, and once I knew what to expect and how to minimize problems, I started to change my mind. What really helped was I noticed the PI seemed to love areas the VLF's hated, and it didn't respond to some of the rocks or black sand that drove my VLF fits.
Also, I found many areas where the PI didn't generate much of a ground signal, and noticed why, so I would look for these areas to hunt more often. As I said, it seemed that areas that were the worst for VLF's and gave the VLF fits, were the places where the PI was the quietest. So, I could now easily hunt areas that were difficult before.
Finally, after using it for some time and going through the learning curve, I actually prefered the PI in most areas even though it did respond to the ground in many of them. Part of this reasoning was I could hunt areas with the PI with ease that were almost impossible to hunt with a VLF, and the PI simply seemed to go deeper.
At the time I was mainly hunting the Gold Basin area and on the flats, you could run into some really bad hotrocks that would cause about any VLF to scream once you hit them. These rocks would or could cover fairly large areas. I know, I tried several different VLFs there over them and finally would just try to avoid the areas. That was until I tried the Beachscan, and it worked great over the same area and had almost no ground signal. So, instead of trying to avoid these spots, I would look for them to hunt with the PI. I would usually get a strong response once I came off the piles of rocks and hit the red ground, but if I raised my coil and increased the autotune speed to max (something I had added) at that time, the ground signal was much less of a problem and I knew what it was.
So, I just learned to use a non ground balancing PI and actually didn't mind, once I knew the tricks of what I had to do to minimize the ground signals. I prefered it over my VLF's which included, the GB 2, the XT 18000, the Tesoro LST, the Tesoro Lobo, and a couple of others.
This movement from a Gold hunting VLF to a non ground balancing PI was as distinct as going from a typical coin hunting VLF to a gold hunting VLF. There is a marked difference in how they respond when at or near max sensivity.
Now, I would probably agree with you today and caution a person that there is a definite learning curve to using a non ground balancing PI equipped with a mono coil. Does it still have a place where even it excels? The answer is yes, they will generally work very well in active stream beds, over most hotrocks, or over areas of concentrated black sand with little or no ground response. Hit a water washed area where most of the clay has been washed away and you will generally have a very quiet detector and not experience much of a ground signal, if any, until you hit the spots of clay.
Here in Colordo, I can hunt the active stream beds with ease and the non ground balance PI is usually quiet as a church mouse even when using a mono coil. Walk up the sides of the banks into areas of plain dirt and now, the PI becomes quite noisy if it has a mono coil. There will be some ground signals with a DD coil also, but not nearly as bad as with a mono coil.
Reg
A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Tom,
Do you still have your GQ? If so, have you considered modifying it so you can use DD coils?
It isn't that hard for someone who is familiar with soldering and has good soldering techniques. However, many people are hesitant and I understand that. It will make a big difference.
I can help if you are interested. Just drop me an email.
Reg
Do you still have your GQ? If so, have you considered modifying it so you can use DD coils?
It isn't that hard for someone who is familiar with soldering and has good soldering techniques. However, many people are hesitant and I understand that. It will make a big difference.
I can help if you are interested. Just drop me an email.
Reg