A
Anonymous
Guest
O.k....where to begin....o.k....in the beginning....there was Eric Foster...nahh that is too early..let's move up in time.
First of all the GQ SS is an Eric Foster Pi machine...for thos that did not know.
It was a machine based on one of his previous beach machines. It incorporated some improvements of Erics and Reg Sniffs that mad it more sensitive to very small gold...specifically small jewelry.
It was not designed specifically for nugget hunting...but quickly found a second niche as a good nugget hunter. However it was a bit weak on very small nuggets. However, with some improvements from reg Sniff and with his mod it can be a screamer....keeping up with the GP in sensitivity...if coils sizes ares the same.
Now, I have to address some points prior to continuing this saga.
My GQ SS is no longer a stock machine. It has been modified for extra sensitvity especially to nuggets from 1 grain to .4 grams.
These mods were from Reg and include some extensive work including a very serious background in electronics assembly and about $600.0 in specific equipment in order to do the improvements. These are not something that can be done by a person with Radio Shack equipment.
I did the some of the mods my self but had to purchase about $550.00 of proper equipment to do it.
Please note that i will not mod anyones equipment....don't ask. However I need people to know what to expect if they get a stock GQ....it is great but not quite as hot as mine.
The hope is that Eric will incorporate and improve on these mods in the next GQ.
Also, Reg may do the mods for a fee.....but I can not speak for him.
Back to the current GQ SS Extreme (as I call it). To put it in simple terms..it rocks. I have no need to purchase a GP extreme now. I have sensitivity that can pick nuggets as small as I care to chase. This is with the current stock 11" mono....and I am comparing it to a GP 8" mono which is not fare to the GQ as the 8" GP coil is more sens to smal;l gold.
However, I have two coils coming. An 8" mono from Eric and a DD from Reg. The 8" mono is a stock eric coil. This will increase sensitvity to small nuggets even more as will the custom Reg DD. The DD will also help with bad ground.
Now the stock GQ does not have a ground compesate circuit and relies on SAT to tune out the ground. This works well.....but does take time to get used to. The ground responds more slowly than a target and the audio is obvious...once you have a few hours on it. Also...tuning up the SAT will help alot as it makes the ground tune out faster and make tarets a sharper pop when found.
There is also a possibility that the future GQ will have an improved ground filter option which will improve this even more.....trust me
As far as ground and hotrocks etc....the GQ, like most PI's, rocks in the bad stuff. Basalt is still fun as I found out yesterday....this is the harder one to ID verses iron stone. However BAsalt will tune out quickly as the coil is raised where as a target will not dissapear as quick....and usually Basalt is fairly shallow and can be kicked asside.
Iron stone is easier...once you hit a few you will hear that they are mushy.....they will also tune out quickly iwith the SATup or even better will dissapear with an improved filter ground improvement.
The only ground that has been a pain was up in Prescott. ground that is just dirt like...tan...or brown.....in and of itself does not bother it but the rocks contained in it can. I think this just do to the ground rersponse is very different between the dirt and these rocks. I used to run into this in Maine. We would get into areas where the soil was not that mineralized but all the darn granite rocks were very positive compared to the soil. They would hit hard...but remove from the soil and on their own theyw ould not respond at all.
In this area is wher the VLF's run great...so if I get into this situation I will use my VLF. Now I may not have the problem in the future as there a mod done to help the GB issue but I have not been back since the. However these wer very isolated areas.
Bottom line is that with some improvements the GQ is a scream. It is very lightweight and fun to use. The last mod I will do is to remove the 8 AA batteries from the add on battery box and add a 5 pin connector so that I can use the 12 volt gell cell from my Golden HAwk....that I carry on my belt.
The Golden Hawks battery is small when compared to the GP's and I don't mind having that on my belt. Plus with some of the mods I need the extra current and battery life.
Scott
_________________
...atleast you don't shovel the heat....!
First of all the GQ SS is an Eric Foster Pi machine...for thos that did not know.
It was a machine based on one of his previous beach machines. It incorporated some improvements of Erics and Reg Sniffs that mad it more sensitive to very small gold...specifically small jewelry.
It was not designed specifically for nugget hunting...but quickly found a second niche as a good nugget hunter. However it was a bit weak on very small nuggets. However, with some improvements from reg Sniff and with his mod it can be a screamer....keeping up with the GP in sensitivity...if coils sizes ares the same.
Now, I have to address some points prior to continuing this saga.
My GQ SS is no longer a stock machine. It has been modified for extra sensitvity especially to nuggets from 1 grain to .4 grams.
These mods were from Reg and include some extensive work including a very serious background in electronics assembly and about $600.0 in specific equipment in order to do the improvements. These are not something that can be done by a person with Radio Shack equipment.
I did the some of the mods my self but had to purchase about $550.00 of proper equipment to do it.
Please note that i will not mod anyones equipment....don't ask. However I need people to know what to expect if they get a stock GQ....it is great but not quite as hot as mine.
The hope is that Eric will incorporate and improve on these mods in the next GQ.
Also, Reg may do the mods for a fee.....but I can not speak for him.
Back to the current GQ SS Extreme (as I call it). To put it in simple terms..it rocks. I have no need to purchase a GP extreme now. I have sensitivity that can pick nuggets as small as I care to chase. This is with the current stock 11" mono....and I am comparing it to a GP 8" mono which is not fare to the GQ as the 8" GP coil is more sens to smal;l gold.
However, I have two coils coming. An 8" mono from Eric and a DD from Reg. The 8" mono is a stock eric coil. This will increase sensitvity to small nuggets even more as will the custom Reg DD. The DD will also help with bad ground.
Now the stock GQ does not have a ground compesate circuit and relies on SAT to tune out the ground. This works well.....but does take time to get used to. The ground responds more slowly than a target and the audio is obvious...once you have a few hours on it. Also...tuning up the SAT will help alot as it makes the ground tune out faster and make tarets a sharper pop when found.
There is also a possibility that the future GQ will have an improved ground filter option which will improve this even more.....trust me
As far as ground and hotrocks etc....the GQ, like most PI's, rocks in the bad stuff. Basalt is still fun as I found out yesterday....this is the harder one to ID verses iron stone. However BAsalt will tune out quickly as the coil is raised where as a target will not dissapear as quick....and usually Basalt is fairly shallow and can be kicked asside.
Iron stone is easier...once you hit a few you will hear that they are mushy.....they will also tune out quickly iwith the SATup or even better will dissapear with an improved filter ground improvement.
The only ground that has been a pain was up in Prescott. ground that is just dirt like...tan...or brown.....in and of itself does not bother it but the rocks contained in it can. I think this just do to the ground rersponse is very different between the dirt and these rocks. I used to run into this in Maine. We would get into areas where the soil was not that mineralized but all the darn granite rocks were very positive compared to the soil. They would hit hard...but remove from the soil and on their own theyw ould not respond at all.
In this area is wher the VLF's run great...so if I get into this situation I will use my VLF. Now I may not have the problem in the future as there a mod done to help the GB issue but I have not been back since the. However these wer very isolated areas.
Bottom line is that with some improvements the GQ is a scream. It is very lightweight and fun to use. The last mod I will do is to remove the 8 AA batteries from the add on battery box and add a 5 pin connector so that I can use the 12 volt gell cell from my Golden HAwk....that I carry on my belt.
The Golden Hawks battery is small when compared to the GP's and I don't mind having that on my belt. Plus with some of the mods I need the extra current and battery life.
Scott
_________________
...atleast you don't shovel the heat....!