Female prospector with GP3000

Hi everyone

I have been sifting through all the posts on this forum to gain a better understanding of prospecting. I am a single female and recently purchased a GP3000. (My new hobby ensures i will stay single!!).
I had a lesson with the guys at coiltek and the settings they suggested are very different from the field manual. I think i have learnt that upon hearing a loud signal, if it goes silent it is junk - is that right?
I have found lots of bullets, metal bolts and an old digging shovel which could be circa 19th century (or not?)
I often go out prospecting with my teenage daughters, one who loves the idea of gold hunting, the other busy catching butterflies!!
It would be nice to know if there are many other female prospectors around Victoria? Not for any other reason than curiosity.
Can someone advise how deep the GP3000 will detect? I only have a mono coil and am uncertain if i should be using the disc switch or all metal?
Also should the settings be fixed or tracking? Is the noise made by a bullet find the same as if i came across gold? I have been trying to fine tune and have experimented with placing different objects on the ground and sweeping over them, eg nail, gold ring etc, i cant seem to differentiate the tones, they all sound the same.
I love prospecting, i love nature and wildlife and i love the idea of family time in the bush. Even though i have not found any yellow targets, i am confident my day will come. I am persistent and committed and am getting very good swinging a pick!!!
I recently followed a map by Doug Stone in Creswick and ended up at a revegetated part of the forest. There was lots of quartz in what looked like trenches, is this a result of machinery digging up old trees and should i perservere in these parts?
More recently i was speaking to a guy who claimed he knew a spot and could guarantee i would find minimum 10 ounces of gold. I then asked him how he came to know this information, and he said experience. I questioned whether that meant findings and he said yes. he then went on to tell me that his dad has the latest GPX - the 10000 model. I have looked at minelab website and done google searches for GPX 10000 and found nothing. Is he full of crap?
Well if you have read my entire post, thank you for your patience and attention, if you care to respond to any (or all) of my points then i would be most grateful. Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated...

hey lirhiki, the bloke is full off crap, i havn't had much to do with the 3000 have you looked at getting JP's dvd for the gp's? that would be a great starter for you... i have tryed to get my wife to go out detecting with me but she has other things to do as she tells me . there's a lot off people who will help you out with your settings and that wich is the best thing about this forum. the grounds are easy to read once or someone tells you or shows you. it's hard to do it over the net as i would rather take someone out and show them what to look for, then it will be set in there head and then they'll be looking for the signs off reefs ect.
i hope i can help you out one way or another
cheers
stoppsy

Hi PM me,

Might be able to help you with your first bit.

Cheers DINGO

Hi Stoppsy,

Hows the dam goin

getting JP's dvd for the gp's?

Can you please tell me how i can get a copy of this?

Thanks

not good at the moment... it's done but the bottom off the dam is about 2 to 3 foot deep allready. we hit a under ground water chanel and it filled up the bottom off the dam pretty quick. i'll be going back over the dam walls in a few weeks or a few days when i get a chance. i think we should off dug it a bit wider as i think we just nicked a reef off big rocks. i went over it once with the 8" mono then the 14 N/F and nothing.. it's got me bugged
cheers
stoppsy

lirhiki wrote: getting JP's dvd for the gp's?

Can you please tell me how i can get a copy of this?

Thanks

you can buy them off ebay or a detector shop if they have them in stock... i have one for my gpx 4000 and it's great to learn how to set your detector up for different grounds ect.
cheers
stoppsy

lirhiki wrote: getting JP's dvd for the gp's?

Can you please tell me how i can get a copy of this?

Thanks

You will find his phone number on his website below, or you could contact him here through the PM system.
www.aurumaustralis.com

lirhiki wrote: getting JP's dvd for the gp's?

Can you please tell me how i can get a copy of this?

Thanks

You wont need it Lihiki, did you get my PM, strewth I'm still trying to get my lips around you name. How is it pronounced.

Cheers DINGO

Welcome ... welcome
I too have just got a 3000 and still learning how to tune it, you will find much info here that will hopefully see you on the yellow rock .... have fun and dont be afraid to ask
Cheers

Gday Lirhiki


I would go along with you getting a copy of Jp's dvd as often it is far easier to learn something when you see it for yourself, apart from that if you are anything like me it might take a couple of looks at the dvd and it will sink in, and its always there for you to go back and look at again if necessary, often what will happen is when you encounter a situation while detecting you will then remember what you saw done and try it for yourself.

The 3000 is a capable machine, but like all pi machines the descrimination is unreliable and will give you all sorts of signals that you will find hard to interpret, so it is usually better to switch it off, and dig everything you hear, this way you will also quickly get to learn the sounds different objects will make, you will also find it easier to come to terms with the machine if you just use either the standard coil or a small mono coil, once you start to recognise ground noises and such you can graduate yourself up to a bigger coil, someone else detecting in your neck of the woods would be able to give you the heads up on the best type to use there.

I very much doubt that the bloke who told you that he would guarantee that you get at least ten ounces at his spot is genuine and personally I would be wary of someone making such a statement, for a start most prospectors who had a spot that could produce 10 ounces each time you went there would be keeping it very very quiet and not offering to take someone there with them until they had cleaned it out pretty well, I would think, also if he does not know even something as basic as a detector model number you would have to wonder, follow your instincts and give this person a wide berth I would say.

Detecting is very much a learning game and like anything worthwhile it will take you time to learn the ropes, take your time, learn as much as you can and enjoy the experience, it could aslo be worth your while to do some one on one training with someone in your area, in the mean time if you have any questions ask.

cheers

stayyerAU

opps

WTF
This why Lirhiki is asking ... you know some people take people at their word, but may have to learn that there are some morons who lie,or will rip you off as soon as you look at em .... SO maybe we can prevent this happening and then the world is a sane place again
Cheers
and Lirhiki ... keep asking your questions

Are you a bit Blond sounds a bit suss [/quote]

Shelby i am not in the least bit blonde, and am offended by your shallow insinuations. Even if i was blonde i was not the one making the comments and being a novice i thought i should ask the question as there may be a detector that is referred to as a 10000 even if it is not labelled one. Therefore i would argue that hair colour really has no bearing on intelligence. It is more likely that the guy passing on this information is a moron and that is all you needed to say. Byron is right in saying that people are often taken at their word, and it is a shame that there exists people who lie, cheat and take advantage of others. Given the responses i have received, this guy is not being truthful and i will keep a wide berth, thanks to all who have been honest in their replies and helpful in me gaining an understanding of the world of prospecting!!!

Lirhiki (non blonde)

shelby23, it's just like you asking about something you don't know anything about and someone bulls##ted to you about it, so then you go and ask someone who knows about it, would that make you blond as well?... there is no such thing about a stupid question... we are on this forum to help people out and enjoy what they are getting into, i love helping people out it don't matter how silly the question sounds as long as i can put them on the right track.
cheers
stoppsy

lirhiki, i sent a PM as well to help you out
cheers
stoppsy

lirhiki hi
i had a 3000 for a few years and they are a very capable machine. if you are using a mono coil you will find the machine quite noisy and you should turn the gain down to quiet the machine down. also using a mono coil the discrimination all metal switch dosen`t work,the discrimination feature only works with a dd coil.another prob with mono coils is that it can be very hard to pin point a small target and actually get the target in your hand.
while you are learning how to detect i would suggest you try using a dd coil. you will find the 3000 is a compleatley different machine with a dd.heaps quieter and you can crank up the gain.also the discrimination works very well on the 3000 as long as you are within about 6" of the target and will most times tell you if the target is ferrous or non ferrous. the standard 11" dd coil that comes with all minelabs is a good place to start and because there are so many of the things around you should be able to get one pretty cheap.
and yes there are other female prospectors , my missus comes out with me about every second or third day with her 4000 and sometimes she comes home with gold and i don`t
pm me if you like if you have any questions about the 3000
cheers
dave

phoenix a question if I may, how do you turn the "gain" up and down on a gp3000

davsgold hi
i had to go back and look at the manual. i used the term gain because thats what it is on gpx machines. the dial on the 3000 is the "level adjust".
a quote from the minelab manual
"When set fully clockwise, it is unlikely the detector will 'balance out'
genuine targets, but some ground noise may still give false signals.
When set fully anti-clockwise, the detector will 'balance out' ground
noise effectively, but some faint, weak target signals may be missed
after repeated sweeps of the coil."
cheers
dave

G'day Phoenix.

From what i could remember,wasn't the Level Adjust on the 3000 designed to work only when the machine was in Tracking but not in Fixed mode?.

Cheers kon61.

I see what your getting at now phoenix, I don't think the 2 are doing the same thing though.

"i had to go back and look at the manual. i used the term gain because thats what it is on gpx machines. the dial on the 3000 is the "level adjust".

Level Adjust has more to do with detecting in tracking, and sets the pausing effect at the desired level. Also the level adjust knob has a second function in that when using the discrimination mode with a DD coil, it sets the discriminator level.

I think that the gain knob on the GPX models is a different thing alltogether.

I think that some of the modders of the gp series possibly did add a gain function as one of the mods.

cheers dave

ps: I don't want to hijack the original post so thats all, if more disscussion on "level adjust" verses "gain" lets start another thread.

hi
i only ever used my 3000 in tracking and yeh , the "level adjust" quietened the machine down in tracking mode. in my mind "level adjust" translated to sensitivity or "gain" of the machine
cheers
dave

phoenix wrote:hi
i only ever used my 3000 in tracking and yeh , the "level adjust" quietened the machine down in tracking mode. in my mind "level adjust" translated to sensitivity or "gain" of the machine
cheers
dave

The Level adjust controls two things, the amount of signal strength required to pause the Ground Balance, if set too high then even faint ground noise could pause the GB thereby making the detector noisy and the other thing it controls is the level of discrimination. If the detector is used in Fixed GB (Highly recommended with the GP extreme and GP 3000) then the pausing effect is turned off and only the level of discrimination adjustment remains. Generally speaking a setting point between 12 and 1 O'clock is preferred for the Level adjust on the GP extreme and GP 3000. On the GP 3500 the level adjust was removed and factory set internally.

Hope this helps,

JP

Gidday Lirhike,
I would suggest joining a club around your area. There is a lot to learn in this hobby, such as reading the ground you are searching, there is no use being in a area where there was no gold! Also how to set your machine up for the conditions and ground you are detecting in. If you were to ask the majority of blokes and women that have been detecting for a few years you would find (if they were honest) are still learning! Buy JP's video it is worth it as you will see and hear what is happening as he teaches you about the 3000. Ask Questions on this forum the people on here are a great bunch and most can not do enough for you
Cheers Dave

Lirhiki.
Welcome to the forum, the guy who said he knew where to find the gold is full of it as he would dig it out himself & there is no such detector as the 10000. he may have other motives to take you & your daughters bush. I have a gp extreme & it performs well so the 3000 is better I also had JP's unleasing the gp 3000 & I learned so much from this dvd. I wrote all the settings down & take them with me every time.
Cheers Greg

Mastering The GP3000... By Doug Stone

Enjoy

http://www.mlotv.com/view/624/minelab-mastering-the-gp3000/

just watched it ...... bluddy good

yep me too - certainly makes a difference, explains a few things too!!! thanks Ararat.

if you are using a mono coil you will find the machine quite noisy and you should turn the gain down to quiet the machine down

.

Hi Dave and thanks for your advice, it turns out i do have the standard dd coil that came with the unit and not a mono as i thought it was called.

Oops