XP GOLD MAXX POWER (GMP) - Field Test

Had the Gold Maxx out a bit more for learning and discerning iron from conductors. My area of choice has been hard to get onto with recent weather bringing out more people to my favorite grounds.
I do feel however that both conductor vs. iron is getting better (slowly) as well as depth capabilities too. I have to admit the depth is a tough one for me at the moment as my "ears" here a faint repeatable and in most cases with my SE, I know more often than not I have a deep-ish target.
With the GMP however, I am finding small conductor bits in the 1" to 5" depth range. And this is GREAT! Why?? Because all these items are almost always have iron in close proximity. And while my SE would fly right past, the GMP picks them right out.

Yes-The SE will do its best to chirp when a large target (such as a coin) is near iron, and with depth and mineralized soil to contend with, the SE is a beast in most conditions.
However I am more and more impressed with the GMP as I garner more time and learning with this machine. I can't wait to get on some inland old grounds and really put this machine thru it's paces.

More detail later on a few past outings-Just wanted to give a quick update and bring this incredible thread back to the top.

What was once impossible..... is now easy and obvious. BUT.......... if : You don't know...what you don't know........ it continues to appear/look impossible.
-Thomas Dankowski

The XP GMP technology is well over a decade old; yet, to date.........nothing has come close to it's unmasking abilities. I hunger for the next GMP technological advancement............ and would like to see it in the $800 GMP analog-based platform......... so more detectorists can afford............. use.......... and experience it's priceless attributes.

Quote

NASA-Tom
Re: XP GOLD MAXX POWER (GMP) - Field Test
February 22, 2015 11:07AM Registered: 8 years ago
Posts: 6,820
The XP GMP technology is well over a decade old; yet, to date.........nothing has come close to it's unmasking abilities. I hunger for the next GMP technological advancement............ and would like to see it in the $800 GMP analog-based platform......... so more detectorists can afford............. use.......... and experience it's priceless attributes.

Agree 100%. The one thing that is amazing to me is the unmasking abilities working nearly 360 degrees around a target. (And with depth!) While the SE might-might hit it from one small angle, the GMP can unmask a good target 180 to the 270 degree range really well. And oh yeah... All this with the standard loop!

What was once impossible..... is now easy and obvious. BUT.......... if : You don't know...what you don't know........ it continues to appear/look impossible.
-Thomas Dankowski

Got hold of one today for testing.... Managed to get an hour on pasture and it impressed me right away, something raw about it just appealed to me... Looking forward to reading through this topic and getting out for some long hunts.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2015 11:47PM by Ziggy.

Got back onto some favorite old grounds that have given up Mercs-Barbers and Seateds... No old coins however did pretty good with conductors hanging out next to old iron chunks.
This area has a ton of rusted iron nails that go back more than a hundred years. The choice coins depending on location are hanging out in the 4" to 10" range. (With most probably in the 6"-8" range)

What makes this more of a challenge is a bunch of modern trash mixed in to this entire area. Tuff hunting to be sure. On today's test coin I buried at 5", it produced a good sharp tone about 2/3'rds around it. however the tone was very faint in the headphones. So I went about in that area listening for the exact same sharp and faint tone. Some all iron holes were dug but happily a few small conductors among the iron pieces. Very Very Happy about that!!!!!!!!!! More work to come but so far very good results.

If anybody has any comments on tweaking my current settings, I would love to hear it!! Thanks all.



What was once impossible..... is now easy and obvious. BUT.......... if : You don't know...what you don't know........ it continues to appear/look impossible.
-Thomas Dankowski

It takes a special (priceless) mindset..... to envelop/appreciate digging conductive items that are NOT coins (the primary target in which you are after)......in carpets of nails........ to fully appreciate the accolades of this technologically advanced (older) platform. For many/most.......... it is all-too-often ...... too easy to 'write-off' these exact performance attributes..... as "bad hunt/bad day/bad results"........ and become discouraged........ because no "coins" were found.

SilverPeter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Got back onto some favorite old grounds that have
> given up Mercs-Barbers and Seateds... No old coins
> however did pretty good with conductors hanging
> out next to old iron chunks.
> This area has a ton of rusted iron nails that go
> back more than a hundred years. The choice coins
> depending on location are hanging out in the 4" to
> 10" range. (With most probably in the 6"-8"
> range)
>
> What makes this more of a challenge is a bunch of
> modern trash mixed in to this entire area. Tuff
> hunting to be sure. On today's test coin I buried
> at 5", it produced a good sharp tone about 2/3'rds
> around it. however the tone was very faint in the
> headphones. So I went about in that area listening
> for the exact same sharp and faint tone. Some all
> iron holes were dug but happily a few small
> conductors among the iron pieces. Very Very Happy
> about that!!!!!!!!!! More work to come but so far
> very good results.
>
> If anybody has any comments on tweaking my current
> settings, I would love to hear it!! Thanks all.
>
>
> [i900.photobucket.com]
> iron2010/422e9eaf-43a0-41ee-aa49-f57fe60c08fc_zpsz
> al8wbf7.jpg

Set your Freq Shift to OFF in the middle.
Lower the Iron Threshold to about 3
See if you can get a little more out of the Ground knob without falsing too much.
Also, I personally would lower the Iron Volume to the 3rd or 4th line if not just have it at 0 (this is personal taste though)
I am sure you will like the results, just get used to it. The goodies will pop out!

Quote

goldmanjace:
Set your Freq Shift to OFF in the middle.
Lower the Iron Threshold to about 3
See if you can get a little more out of the Ground knob without falsing too much.
Also, I personally would lower the Iron Volume to the 3rd or 4th line if not just have it at 0 (this is personal taste though)
I am sure you will like the results, just get used to it. The goodies will pop out!

Thanks a ton on the settings help. Will be able to try those out in a week or so and will come back here and report my findings. Appreciate it!!

Quote

It takes a special (priceless) mindset..... to envelop/appreciate digging conductive items that are NOT coins (the primary target in which you are after)......in carpets of nails........ to fully appreciate the accolades of this technologically advanced (older) platform. For many/most.......... it is all-too-often ...... too easy to 'write-off' these exact performance attributes..... as "bad hunt/bad day/bad results"........ and become discouraged........ because no "coins" were found.

Tom thank you for the note big time. Yes I have to admit I have mystified a few people HOWEVER when they see the result of this machine and careful practice/use, they are pretty amazed at the findings....
Speaking if which here's a few goodies from the last time out. All of course found with 100+ year old iron. Unbelievable that a tiny crushed shell casing can be eeked out from a glob of old iron nearby. Amazing!!



What was once impossible..... is now easy and obvious. BUT.......... if : You don't know...what you don't know........ it continues to appear/look impossible.
-Thomas Dankowski

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you are going on a relic hunt for your first
> time out (especially in a nail-infested
> area)....... I recommend a Disc setting of around
> '9' , iron volume down to zero, a Sens setting
> almost touching the 'red' area........ and your
> option of 2-tone or 3-tone. This should provide
> the quickest learning curve. It would also be best
> to have Silencer on '0' ...... which provides
> maximum unmasking abilities; yet, this can only be
> determined by YOU........ due to 'fatigue' factor.
> How much noise can your brain process whilst on a
> steep learning curve. And there is a tremendous
> 'unmasking' difference between a Silencer setting
> of '0' vs '1'........... and especially '2'.


Just bought a GMP
and am selfishly moving this to the top so I can find it easily.

Quote

> Just bought a GMP
> and am selfishly moving this to the top so I can
> find it easily.

nate53:
Congratulations on the GMP. Reading this thread will get you light years ahead with this machines operation.
I thought my Bandito was a beast among in the iron carpet... But the GMP will make you a convert to a whole new world of detecting.
Pulling conductors out of the "worked out" - "Iron infested" sites will leave you amazed.

And I believe Mfr's are trying/wanting this to become the 'norm' ................. and then advance to the next level(s). Game-changing/major-attributes to be gained with just this one sect of technological (energy/R&D resource-focused) advancement.

I think my site may not benefit from using the GMP as much as I had hoped. I can see the usefulness in nail infested sites, those that were occupied 100+ years ago and not since. Unfortunately my site was first occupied about 150 years ago but has continuously been occupied since. Meaning that not only is it littered with nails, worse yet it's littered with aluminum. I located what must have been the remains of a burned down buildiing today, pieces of china, heat stressed glass, molten and cooled lead with dirt and sand embedded, all indications of a building fire. But I have never heard such continuous, incessant chirping of a detector. Every sweep, every where I tried was non stop mid-high tone. At first I tried to listen only for solid high tones but never heard any, just this mid-hi chirping. I started digging every mid-hi and in an hour I had enough aluminum to take a bag to the recycler. All I can say is this site could have been a poster child for Budwiser et. al. Cans, bottle caps and pull tabs without end. Amazing. I guess I'll be digging the entire acreage after all. At least I don't have to concern myself with all the nails.

Lot's to learn,

Steve A



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/2015 05:01PM by nate53.

Tom, not sure if my personal testing of the gmp belongs here, by all means move it to where it belongs if need be.

Day 2 with the gmp. I decided to go to a location on my site that I suspected might not have so much aluminum. I was correct. Right in front of the house, one hour of searching and not one piece of aluminum. Previous occupants must have done all their drinking in the back .

Set up: Wireless phones so freq. switch up on 1
Sens: at red line
Thresh: 6
Silencer: OFF
Ground: 9:30
Iron volume: 0

I determined to dig no low or mid tones. With this set up I didn't expect, and did not hear any low tones. Starting out I heard what I describe as mid-hi chirping. No strong, long tone of either pitch. Since the mid and high tones were about equal in length and intensity I dug all those mid-hi chirps.

My first object was an old belt buckle, next the drive chain link, then the clevis and last then the cultivator point. I was very surprised at the mid-hi chirp on the clevis and the point both have significant mass and were about 3" and laying flat. I would have expected a strong mid or no tone at all given the level of iron disc I was at.

I picked up a couple of steel bottle caps after the cultivator point and all of the caps gave a short mid with a strong hi very much like my Infinium pulse machine.

I then moved away a few feet and deciding that this mid_hi pattern was always going to be iron/steel, given my setup, so I ignored further mid-hi. I shortly came across a strong hi with no mid chirp and dug a clad penny. A few inches away I hit another such penny, a strong mid tone with no chirp, another Hi which was a clad dime, and then another penny, with no further Hi's in that vicinity. I was not going to dig the strong mid but decided to any way and found the 12d nail. Interestingly, all the coins were in a circular area about 18" in diameter, the nail was dead center and putting the coins within about 6" from the nail and there was no influence of the nail on any coin tones or vice versa, all were distinct as though it was the only item in the area.



I don't offer this experience as a means of information for others, as I have only just begun this intoxicating hobby of detecting and have no knowledge to offer. I post in hope that the distingueshed panel of experts will find something of which to inform me. Does my experience sound normal for this machine and the settings I have utilized?

My site is 1.3 acres sitting on a massive Dolomite dome with exposed Dolomite scattered throughout. Most of the lighter objects were found in the grass roots not more than 1" deep. I heard no difference as I dialed the ground pot from far left (9:00) to 12:00 so I selected 9:30.

Looking forward to your collective thoughts.

PS was going to post pictures of today's finds but haven't figured that out yet.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2015 02:30AM by nate53.

Your site sounds like a nightmare of a site....... with all of the aluminum and melted lead. These are non-ferrous targets that the GMP will love. . . . . . and. . . . . . . to the point of finding the heavily masked aluminum and melted lead that other units may never see.

My greatest question/concern at the moment is......... do the mid/high tones change with a different 'ground' setting.......... especially around the 12 - 1 O'Clock position (going into the red a range a bit)?

Tom,
No change. Ran the machine over a couple of previously scanned areas, one known to have heavy AL trash and one with little or none. Also ran it over a rock out cropping; each area was scanned with ground in far left (9:00), straight up (12:00) and far right. There was no change in tone pattern, frequency, intensity etc. The rock area was silent in all settings. I thought about doing a video but I have no idea how to post it.

I'm just wondering if I can safely ignore mid-hi chirps which heretofore have been iron only? Or do I risk missing masked high conductor?

Ok........ it sounds like a severely trashed out site. Yes, you will miss good targets that warble between mid-to-high tone; yet, right now....... it is not worth your time to recover those targets at your site........... due to the extenuating circumstances. At a later time...... you may delve into those targets.

On nearly the exact same note.......... a couple of days ago, , , , I hunted a 1941 house site. Still occupied. Very nicely maintained lawn. Was seeking to find some wheat pennies and Mercury dimes. In short order............ the back and side yards were completely unhuntable. Apparently, the occupants had buried their trash...... nearly on a daily basis........ for several decades. There was not a square inch of soil that was sans trash. I am not interested in 1941, 1951, 1961 trash. Had the site been 1841............ then I would be interested in 1841, 1851, 1861 trash.

I did (could) hunt the front yard........... and walked away with 7 wheats, a 1943 Mercury dime and a silver 1942 P War Nickel.

((( Mission accomplished )))

Moral-of-the-story = There are plenty of sites on planet Earth that are completely unhuntable.

Then I am a candidate for the next advancements in MD technology. I look forward to more testing.

I think my plan forward is search only highs until the entire place has been scanned then selectively revisit as time allows.

Thanks for your input Tom. I've gotten an intense, crash course in the GMP!

Having full knowledge on the GMP is critical.
Having full knowledge on local 'conditions/dirt' is just as critical!

This machine is amazing in the nail beds. Took my gmp out for the second time and all I can say is "Wow" I love the F75 but this gmp seems to be a notch better. I think every target i dug today had iron in the same hole and or near by. Its evan hard to use a pinpointer because of the abundance of iron . It is the most talkative machine I ever used.
I had to slow my swing way down and this has help me isolate the targets better. I think my next outing at this site I will go with the 2 tone
corey

As time accrues on the GMP....... I find myself nearly exclusively having iron volume turned completely down....... and staying in 3-tone (even though you only hear two of the tones...... because iron volume is suppressed).
And, i ONLY use the GMP in extremely heavily iron infested sites. If iron content is less....... I use other units.

Interesting read on the last several posts. Agree that the monster strength abilities of the GMP is in the fields of ancient iron.
The most fascinating thing here is that the GMP requires a little different mindset when using it. (As compared to other detectors)
Meaning that the approach to acquiring conductive targets is different than perhaps using a traditional coin-relic machine.

I have to say from personal experience, that it is totally worth the learning curve. And you will enjoy the additional "vocabulary" that this machine will bring you.
I also believe that the use of the GMP makes me a better detectorist when using my other primary machine.

What was once impossible..... is now easy and obvious. BUT.......... if : You don't know...what you don't know........ it continues to appear/look impossible.
-Thomas Dankowski



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2016 04:26PM by SilverPeter.