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Minelab Gold Monster Is Junk


Aureous

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On 2/14/2021 at 7:50 PM, Ridge Runner said:

Think about this ; Do you ever feel in the past that Minelab has let us down on any detector they have come out be it for coin are gold detecting?

 I’ve had their coin detectors more so than gold detectors and that’s because I don’t live in gold country. But I still find myself putting out the money for a gold detector and my reasoning behind this is when I do find myself where gold is I want the best.

 I may never own the 6000 but I’ll always own a Minelab if I’m serious in what I’m looking for.

 Chuck 

The only ML offering I can honestly say was junk is the GM1000. Owned one for a month and that was a month too long. I was way better off keeping my GB2. So glad I upgraded to the 24K. Cant wait to try the 6000 though!

minelab-gold-monster-1000-auto-plus-sensitivity-setting.jpg

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14 minutes ago, Aureous said:

The only ML offering I can honestly say was junk is the GM1000

That' a matter of oppinion. The GM has found me good gold in shallow ground and IMHO the processor combined with iron meter makes it superior over the GB2 (which I also own), in particular when used in somewhat more difficult ground. True, the Nox 800 is probably a better joice, but I would not call the GM junk. It all depends on what else you've got in your fleet and how well it fits in. With the 5 in coil the GM makes a great bedrock scraper. 😁

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2 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

That' a matter of oppinion. The GM has found me good gold in shallow ground and IMHO the processor combined with iron meter makes it superior over the GB2 (which I also own), in particular when used in somewhat more difficult ground. True, the Nox 800 is probably a better joice, but I would not call the GM junk. It all depends on what else you've got in your fleet and how well it fits in. 

In totally mild conditions, it was OK....but in almost ALL my regional goldfields, it was noisy as hell and the GB2 and 24K beat it easily coz they didn't need to be dumbed down like the GM1000 to make the noise bearable. Im sure if ML made the audio analogue instead of digital, it would have been way easier to pick actual signals instead of ground noise and hot rocks. Honestly, I found the old Eureka Gold to be a far better ML VLF machine.

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2 hours ago, Aureous said:

The only ML offering I can honestly say was junk is the GM1000. Owned one for a month and that was a month too long. I was way better off keeping my GB2. So glad I upgraded to the 24K. Cant wait to try the 6000 though!

I don't think the Goldmonster is a piece of junk and actually feel the opposite. My 10 year old (now 13) has been able to use it on his own and find gold. Maybe it's not for you, but it gets me out in the goldfields with my son and we have a great time using it. In trash infested areas he can use the discrimination and kick out gold. The SDC was way to heavy for him. I really enjoy using it the beat the skunk when we go out! It will find gold!

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1 hour ago, matt said:

I don't think the Goldmonster is a piece of junk and actually feel the opposite. My 10 year old (now 13) has been able to use it on his own and find gold. Maybe it's not for you, but it gets me out in the goldfields with my son and we have a great time using it. In trash infested areas he can use the discrimination and kick out gold. The SDC was way to heavy for him. I really enjoy using it the beat the skunk when we go out! It will find gold!

If I go to some of the hydraulic mine pits none of my detectors are of any use, but the GM. I hunt in deep but use the iron meter to discriminate, after some minor scraping to get clear ID's. The GB2 is completely useless in these areas as the grounds are highly mineralized and it goes off everywhere. The iron reject of the GB2 is a joke, but granted it is using an ancient technology. The GM is such an easy machine, but you need to actually  properly condition it to function at peak performance. The processor and automatic tracking works great but I often reduce sensitivity to get it stable. I have the version where you can do the quick track which really helps. The GB2 works only well in super mild soil, at least for me. But then however, is is a real shallow gold sniffing beast! As said, the Nox/ 6 inch will give you more bang for the buck, also due it's versatility. I will wait for the next gen Nox before I pull the trigger. Since I am not a relic hunter, the GM works fine thus far to fill my needs. But back to the topic, I wish the 6000 would come with some sort of discrimination feature. I realize this will not be possible with the new DD coil, but to me there is a real need for a next gen.PI to have some sort of iron meter.

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16 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

They do, the Gold Monster 1000.  It's lighter and better at tiny gold than a GPZ.

Minelab makes a variety of detectors to do a variety of tasks.  Just like Ford has a multiple sizes of trucks and then even the same size truck has different packages based off of your driving style.

The GM1000 is only better  at finding super small gold and porus gold, not in the same category as the GPZ

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14 hours ago, Gold Catcher said:

That' a matter of oppinion. The GM has found me good gold in shallow ground and IMHO the processor combined with iron meter makes it superior over the GB2 (which I also own), in particular when used in somewhat more difficult ground. True, the Nox 800 is probably a better joice, but I would not call the GM junk. It all depends on what else you've got in your fleet and how well it fits in. With the 5 in coil the GM makes a great bedrock scraper. 😁

I agree 100% Gold Catcher.

When I hear someone say a detector is junk, but only used for a month?  I think the owner did not give it due justice.  Typically, it is the operator who has issues, but I don't think so in his case.  He likes the extra fine tune features the GB-2 and 24K possess, so he knows those detectors.  Or maybe the unit was bad to begin with.

I too was not a big fan of the Monster at 1st, but it grew on me the more I used it and I starting seeing its finer points in some situations.  My issue at first coming from VLF detectors than needed adjusted all the time.  Now I realize, like most folks, the Gold Monster 1000 is a fine tool for most applications.  And as others have mentioned, it is truly one of the best detectors to hand to a friend, family or buddy who does not hunt as often, since it's so User Friendly.

GM-1000 is the #1 selling VLF gold detector in the US, so I'm certain "junk" does not get mentioned often when compared to the amount of Success it provides the majority.

Heck, I'm a NOX fan myself when it comes to VLF gold detectors, but will admit, the biggest piece of gold I found in 2020 was with a customers Gold Monster 1000.  Boy it's a hard pill to swallow when you hand over a 10+ ozt specimen with over $5000+ you just dug with someone else's detector.  But I got to find it, so that's what counts most.

GM10001D.jpg

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12 minutes ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

I agree 100% Gold Catcher.

When I hear someone say a detector is junk, but only used for a month?  I think the owner did not give it due justice.  Typically, it is the operator who has issues, but I don't think so in his case.  He likes the extra fine tune features the GB-2 and 24K possess, so he knows those detectors.  Or maybe the unit was bad to begin with.

I too was not a big fan of the Monster at 1st, but it grew on me the more I used it and I starting seeing its finer points in some situations.  My issue at first coming from VLF detectors than needed adjusted all the time.  Now I realize, like most folks, the Gold Monster 1000 is a fine tool for most applications.  And as others have mentioned, it is truly one of the best detectors to hand to a friend, family or buddy who does not hunt as often, since it's so User Friendly.

GM-1000 is the #1 selling VLF gold detector in the US, so I'm certain "junk" does not get mentioned often when compared to the amount of Success it provides the majority.

Heck, I'm a NOX fan myself when it comes to VLF gold detectors, but will admit, the biggest piece of gold I found in 2020 was with a customers Gold Monster 1000.  Boy it's a hard pill to swallow when you hand over a 10+ ozt specimen with over $5000+ you just dug with someone else's detector.  But I got to find it, so that's what counts most.

 

Wow this is incredible, Gerry! And thanks for your excellent comments. Can't beat the results, can you? 👍I wanted to post a pic with the GM 5 in coil loaded with tiny small gold pieces that I found with it. But after the pic you just posted, I somehow don't feel like it anymore...😉

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9 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

I agree 100% Gold Catcher.

When I hear someone say a detector is junk, but only used for a month?  I think the owner did not give it due justice.  Typically, it is the operator who has issues, but I don't think so in his case.  He likes the extra fine tune features the GB-2 and 24K possess, so he knows those detectors.  Or maybe the unit was bad to begin with.

I too was not a big fan of the Monster at 1st, but it grew on me the more I used it and I starting seeing its finer points in some situations.  My issue at first coming from VLF detectors than needed adjusted all the time.  Now I realize, like most folks, the Gold Monster 1000 is a fine tool for most applications.  And as others have mentioned, it is truly one of the best detectors to hand to a friend, family or buddy who does not hunt as often, since it's so User Friendly.

GM-1000 is the #1 selling VLF gold detector in the US, so I'm certain "junk" does not get mentioned often when compared to the amount of Success it provides the majority.

Heck, I'm a NOX fan myself when it comes to VLF gold detectors, but will admit, the biggest piece of gold I found in 2020 was with a customers Gold Monster 1000.  Boy it's a hard pill to swallow when you hand over a 10+ ozt specimen with over $5000+ you just dug with someone else's detector.  But I got to find it, so that's what counts most.

GM10001D.jpg

I agree,light, easy to use, and finds gold. l will probably never give up  my GM 1000.

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The GM1000 struggles in most Oz goldfield conditions and needs to be used only in very mild ground. The digital audio overcompensates and produces way too many clicks and pops which resemble a target....the GB2, Gold Kruzer and the 24K all have analogue type audio with a smooth threshold tone and mineralization noise is far easier to discern. When you have to dumb a detector down to below 50% gain to cope with even moderate mineralization, I figure its not for me. Gerry is right, I know my detectors enuff to know what to expect from a unit and if it aint right for me, I move on and choose another. So glad I chose the 24K! But having said that, my modded 4500 is killing it for me right now...

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