Leaderboard

Ornithologists and biologist all believe that they have been extinct for nearly a century but us old time Plumas County prospectors know that they are alive and well and thriving. I am referring, of course, to the Plumas Kwail. This is a very unique bird and is quite important to the local prospectors. It is unique in that it hibernates in the winter and emerges each year about the first of April. it is important to the knowledgeable Plumas County prospector because it is known to pick up and swallow the densely scattered small sunbaker gold nuggets that are so abundant here in Plumas county. All you have to do is sneak up on one of the birds and jump up and scare it, then detect it's droppings. If you by chance find a covey of Plumas Kwail a multi ounce day is common. I will post a photo forthwith.

4-1-21, EL PASO, TX. - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- Consolidating the former "Big Three" of metal detecting (Fisher, Garrett, and remnants of White's Electronics) into one cohesive engineering force, the United States manufacturers are aiming to put themselves back on the map with a brand new detecting technology. With Minelab leading technological developments in metal detecting for the past two decades, U.S. companies have struggled to meet the performance benchmarks set by the Australian company. In recent years we have even seen companies that in the past, took the crown of metal detecting, be pushed aside as they were run into the ground by poor leadership or unmanaged engineers who struggled to complete projects. Sources say that this strategic alliance was formed sometime in 2015, when the GPZ 7000 was released and it became clear that Minelab threatened to dominate the world detecting market. Luckily these companies had such great foresight to meet that challenge. "We're really excited to share this technology with the world," said engineering manager Gerhard Fischar. "This new platform has the potential to revolutionize metal detecting for customers across the planet." The new patents show that this unique process involves feeding two oscillators through a low pass filter. This signal is then transmitted into the ground through a coil, which is able to pick up shifts in one oscillator, creating an audible tone for the treasure hunter. Recent FCC filings have revealed some detailed photos, drawings, and specs which follow below. Main circuit board photo, showing sophisticated layout of major components and groundbreaking design: Mechanical design, featuring organically-sourced components and easy-to-operate controls: Detail photo of metal detector coil (NOTE: this is a production model, not a prototype): To release this new detecting technology to the world, the Garrett arm of the company plans to use its marketing muscle and get the machine into the hands of respected YouTube personalities across the world. Steve Moore, director of marketing, said "We've already taken this turn-on-and-go detector out to some civil war sites, and I tell you what, this machine can hunt. Now I won't say who it was, but one of our more popular testers found a shot shell on their first hunt, and seeing that video footage in 4k with all of SUBSCRIBE NOW notifications will make you a believer. And I am pretty sure it wasn't even planted this time." Our office reached out to Minelab about this new competition, a receptionist advised that the engineering and marketing teams were out "crushing tinnies" and unavailable for comment at the moment. An unnamed source provided information on specs of this new detector, which follow below. Name: "RELICMASTER BF-Pro PLUS MAX F97" Price: $849.99 MSRP, $459.83 MAP, $34.21 eBay Weight: 6.7 lbs Technology: Differential Dual-Osc-Sense™ Frequency: 80kHz Batteries: D Cell (12) Runtime: 23 minutes Coil Type: Concentric, 3/4" Plywood Waterproof: IP23 rated, can withstand tears from crying and lint from extended closet stays Release Date: April 2026 Manufacturing Location: Juarez, MX We'll be following up on this exciting development as it looks like the USA is back on the map when it comes to metal detecting.

This was our first test with her out in the Mojave Desert, and all I can say it is very easy to walk about detecting with this one. Firstly, there was no stooping over with a scoop to pick up bad targets with this detector, they were all the real thing! And GeoSense works amazingly well, love being able to go with her automatically and easily keeping up with wherever I detected, it was a breeze. I've detected with others that were unwieldly and hard to control in the desert, but I can say this one is really something special. We walked for a couple miles on the edge of a dry lake looking for meteorites and she really showed her stuff. She almost seemed to know her way over the salty ground, and picked up anything I threw at her. She easily found nuggets of every size left behind by many others, and was very quiet and hardly made any noise anywhere I went, even in the most briny parts of the ground covered with white salt, underneath the buzzing high tension power lines that cross parts of the dry lake, and even going over hot rocks did not seem to bother her much. She's quite a detector and we are finally really lucky to have one like this! All I can say is wow, everyone should have one like this for detecting! June is a great detector dog, we rescued her from the pound, and one day I hope to find a GPX 6000 too. Happy April 1st!

I’m cross checking within myself making sure I’m dividing the usual pre-release jitters of a product that I’ve been involved in for quite some time now and what is actually going on here, this release is very different to any release I have ever been involved in to the point of almost total exclusion. I understand about hold ups and marketing process, there are a million little things that need to be sorted along that stressful path to ramping up production and having adequate stock on hand, in parallel to that process the marketing guys have to get the word out and let everyone know what it is they have on offer, I get all of that. I also get that I’m not be needed this time round, that the product release is being managed differently and fair enough. But after watching some of the recent super crappy YouTube clips and having numerous people I know talking about how they held the detector at shows etc and others seeing it being used in various locations around the country I find myself asking WTF?

Minelab GPX 6000 Data & Reviews Minelab GPX 6000 User Manual Minelab GPX 6000 Accessories and Spare Parts GPX 6000 INTRODUCTION GPX 6000 Learn #1: What's In The Box - Unboxing of the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #2: How To Set Up Your Detector - Learn how to set up the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #2.1: How To Charge the Battery - Learn how to charge the battery on the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #3: How To Get Started Quickly - Learn how to get started quickly with the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #3.1: How to Adjust Volume & Backlight - Learn how to adjust the volume and backlight on the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #4: How To Connect the Bluetooth Headphones - Learn how to connect the ML100 wireless headphones to the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #5: Intelligent Automatic Operation - Learn how to reduce unwanted interference when the GPX 6000 is configured for intelligent automatic operation. GPX 6000 Learn #5.1: Automatic Sensitivity - Learn about Automatic Sensitivity on the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #6: Coils - Learn about the three coil options for the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #7: Double-D EMI Noise Cancel - Learn how to perform a Double-D EMI Noise Cancel on the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #8: Advanced Ground Balance - Learn about advanced Ground Balance on the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #9: Using Manual Sensitivity - Learn how to adjust Manual Sensitivity on the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. GPX 6000 Learn #10: Turning the Threshold Tone On / Off - Learn how to turn the Threshold Tone on and off on the Minelab GPX 6000 gold detector. Source: https://www.minelab.com/usa/LearnGPX6000

With all the experienced gold detectorists out there, all the gold detecting channels 50k-100k subs, all the dealers who could be showing the unit off while knowing what they are talking about - they choose to give this opportunity to a no name relic hunting channel in Florida where 6000 will see zero usage? And let a guy who doesn't appear to have ever detected for gold nuggets a single day of his life, who will probably never use a 6000 and has likely never touched a 7000, and is looking at it like it's some kind of perplexing mystery stick give his opinion on wether it's an improvement over old tech or not? I mean, you could have gotten virtually the same thing by grabbing any random Joe off the street, his opinion means zero to me. Just...what? No words for the amateur hour this entire release has been. I'm honestly embarassed for them watching this kind of stuff.

$6000 worth of gold, spread out over the next 6 years, is just over a half-ounce of gold per year missed by the previous technology (at today’s spot price). That's doable .

As most know I’ve been talking about buying a Tarsacci but referring to sitting on the fence on doing it. I believe that sitting on that fence so long it has caused a rash . I had to do something so today I got with Aaron and I ordered the Tarsacci with the beast coil. I don’t know yet when I’ll get it but one good thing the rash is better. Chuck

Nope and TBH I’m over the whole process.

So now my staff/I am supposed to train customers: on their detector. on the tools we use. on the rocks we look for. on the elevations we like to stay at. on the kinds of gold our detector hits best at. on the sounds to ignore/investigate. on the way to properly recover the target. on the way to tell lead/hot rocks/cold stones from gold. on the way to staying in the zone/proper mindset. but now we have to teach them plants??? Wait a minute. I could of sworn the GPX-6000 had a video showing "How to become an Expert, just turn it on". They don't need dealers anymore. Cabela's, Amazon, Sportsman's, Target, Dick's and Walmart can do that. I might as well start looking for a new job....

Looks less like an official Minelab video, and more like Debbie doing a favored person - a favor. Too bad Rob or Doc or Bill or Gerry do not rate.

GB I’m old enough being I’ll be 80 here in May . As far as Bell goes I retired from Southwestern Bell with 35 years of service and my mother did with 37 years service. That Lady will turn 99 in November. She has been retired longer than she worked. How many of us will ever do that! GB I’m not going to say I knew Fisher are Bell because that would be a lie . But I was at the Little Big Horn and to say that horse was the only one that came out it alive is not true, If I’m going to tell one why not make it big.haha Chuck

Hey, Gerry do a deal with Klunker, I am sure you could get a partnership going helping him market his golden bird, plenty of downunder managers will be begging for employment once this rebadged Kiwi forces detectors into extinction.

IMO faint treshold variations are the most sensitive way to detect deep targets. You don't need a real audible signal response like you would need if the treshold were off.

Nobody believes them anyway, just like nobody believes official testers. Just wait for them to get into end users hands, add a month for time to get valid comparative info, and you are good to go.... or not. You guys all think it's Minelab being just so horrible. Anyone follow the Fisher Impulse AQ saga? I think half the time people think Minelab is so bad simply from not having dealt with the other people enough. No matter how much this seems like a clown show, Fisher wins the crown on this one. That was the craziest metal detector thing I've been involved in yet, and I've been involved with a few. This video was not much, but I do think it was Debbie on her own. The official videos have now been posted, and are far more professional.

If the DD performs really well in salt then a ton of Northern (and other parts) Nevada will be a renewed playground. Also, people in some renowned "hot ground" areas in AZ will discover to be true what I've been saying for years but cannot seem to convince anyone of: some of the gnarliest hot ground down there is actually just salty and not "hot". Sometimes a little of both.

Usually towards dusk. Some the parks here close at sunset but most of the time people don't care. Digging mat and hand digger is good around here. I use a 12x12 piece of rubber roofing for my mat, it doesn't blow around, always lays out flat even after being rolled up in my pouch and it's water proof so dirt doesn't stick to it. I don't mind chatting it up with some the people if they are curious, got some good leads on different places from them and even permissions on places. Probably the worst time to hit a park is during the day on a weekend when most are packed.

After watching, I was going to comment but Jasong said it all, perhaps ML are giving us a message here?😬

I am careful to look after our rights, and so prefer not to detect grassy areas when bone dry. Too much risk of turf damage. So I actually like the rare rains in my area, and hit the parks hard when the turf is moist. Easier digs, and less likely to leave dead spots. As far as time, I am rabid about avoiding people, so a rain storm helps me more than hurts. Early, late, whenever.... my main goal is to avoid eyeballs, and I generally leave when more than a few show up. I do not like at all being watched when I'm doing any kind of urban metal detecting.

Think of when people who frequent parks are active: 1) hikers, runners, and dog walkers: before work in the morning; after work in the evening. 2) young people getting in fun and exercise: after school, and particularly in the cool months since it's warmer in the afternoon. 3) people on lunch break just trying to find a hiding spot or escape from the rat race. It's kind of like when is the best time to go shopping. 9-11 and 2-4 seem to be less busy. But even at busy times you can detect in less the busy parts of parks. I (being retired) like to hit the parks during the week and the schools on weekends. In fact I'm getting ready to go to a school shortly! As far as weather, the worse the weather the less people that will be in the park. Even cold (but still above freezing), cloudy, and windy days are decent for detecting (possibly preferred) but not for fair-weather 'athletes'. Regarding digging, I prefer the slopes and hilltops (which drain quickly) in the first day or two after a rain. And plugging before a rain is the optimal time if your climate or the time of year is such that such activity might lead to damage. Right now here in my part of the Midwest it's not much of an issue since the ground is still moist and we get rains frequently from now until the summer heat season.

I figured I needed a smaller coil for the Apex, so ordered and it just showed up. Ground is thawing so should be able to use very soon. I like this detector and this coil makes it a real featherweight. 2 lbs 7.7 oz or 2.48 lbs with scuff cover. I like small coils and this is a sweetie, well made, and nice to buy a coil and a cover for reasonable price for once, $119 plus $10 for scuff cover. Garrett part# 2223800 Garrett 5" x 8" Ripper coil for Ace Apex Ace Apex with Ripper coil

Fisher and I reached an agreement - they decided to proceed with production of AQ Limited units but felt that it would be best if they dealt directly with the buyers. Since this was a change from what had previously been agreed between us, it was necessary to reach a new agreement. This was done and my list of waiting buyers is now with them and I have received an acceptable compensation for my work in marketing the Limited. I will continue to be a FTP dealer and am very hopeful that my experience with this project over the last nearly 4 years will induce potential buyers to chose me as their dealer.

Just my opinion...It has all the characteristic of a small coil. Depth is above normal for it's size but still shy of the big coil. If your hunting difficult water it's a much better choice. And I only use the AQ because it is Deep...So the bigger coil is my favorite. If I remember correct, on a buried yard stick nickel I could get it at 15 .. faint at 16.. all metal, which is very good for it's size And it does come with it's own rod so changing coils is very easy.

Congratulations Chuck! Take your time learning the MDT, has a tough learning curve mostly with the audio language. Don’t let this learning curve discourage you, patience is key eventually it’ll all fall in place. I see you ordered the lager coil, that’s good you don’t need the stock coil. If you get in trouble with the settings, Aaron will help you. Don’t hesitate to call him for help or support, Same with other Tarsacci users out there, we’ll do our best to help. I’m just now getting back to swinging the Tarsacci, took time off for two knee replacements. It’ll be a little while longer to detect for long periods, until then just take the the Tarsacci out maybe 20-40 minutes if that. Usually, I sit and rest and enjoy the sites. Have patience, enjoy the learning process especially the audio. For inland, highly recommend Mix mod. Don’t give up, it’s a long learning process might as well turn it onto a positive experience. Congrats Chuck! Paul

Next you'll be telling us you knew Gerhard Fisher when he was developing his first detector. Or was it Alexander Graham Bell? Trade me your common silver for my 'odd' clad, face denomination even up?

The question is not so much “am I missing gold” It’s “am I missing $6000 worth of gold?”

A person could easily tell salty and boron laden hot ground just by learning the type of plants growing in an area. Saltbush or shadscale, and iodine bush are good indicators of this, as they are the most salt tolerant shrubs in the Great Basin desert.

Steve to answer your question of why I never report on a detector well that is a good question. I was one never to talk about what I found are where I found it. It’s just hard to break old habits. When I hear people get so excited about finding a silver coin and I’m thinking what’s the big deal. I’m sure it’s a big deal to them. For me silver was a common find and clad was the oddity when I first started detecting. Dancer You named off relic beach and park asking what I done. I never had a name it was treasure when it came out the ground and location had nothing to do with it. At one time I done lots of research on treasure lost and the history that went with it . I just gave away my two box detector that I had to a younger treasure hunter. The Best! Chuck

No current assays, soil sampling, drilling, or geologic mapping. Everything in their presentation is historic. They need to show some kind of results first. That Dutch Flats area produced some placer nuggets, but it's been claimed since before I started detecting for gold.

The quickest way to go out of business is to try to please everyone all the time - as it's an impossibility. If the GPX6000 doesn't tickle your fancy because you are happy with what you currently operate - no big deal - keep on using what you have but I'm sure deep down you will be wondering (and that itch will get bigger over time if current early performance reports are verified) - am i missing gold because i am using 6+ year old technology?

Seems like you get lots of detectors, but rarely report about using them. Be nice to hear what you think of the MDT once you get in some hours. Congrats on the new purchase, and hope it cures your rash!

Thank god for that! Personally, I want it on. All my detecting life I have been focusing on listening to threshold variations. It would be odd to just turn it off. This also bothers me on the GM, but since the GM only detects shallow stuff anyhow I have accepted and got used to it.

https://www.minelab.com/usa/LearnGPX6000

I have the Garrett Carrot ....The Fisher pulse .......the Whites TRX ......all 3 are all very good pinpointer’s ........and will get the job done ........I love all 3 .........good luck

Always remember to bring plenty of water when the ground is dry as a bone. Once you have the item out of the ground and hole filled in add a little water to help everything seal properly. That way it is less likely to kill the grass in a nice area of the park. Good luck and happy hunting

I usually target parks during the week days, either early in the morning (daybreak until the park goers start arriving) and some in the evening. Usually parks are a little less busy during the week. On weekends, I steer clear of parks for that same reason. I look for aged school grounds on weekends and holidays. Of course, my work schedule doesn't always cooperate with that plan.

This video was just posted from Detexpert featuring Debbie Smikoski from Minelab USA. Bill

I hope this is appropriate to share, but I thought it is something you don’t see everyday. I found it at my local park, a few inches down. I cleaned it up very nice, and I’m sure it is still strong enough to use. It says made in England. I was wondering if any had an idea on an age. Any guesses welcome!

Captain Henry Every was a 17th century pirate that took an Indian trading vessel and disappeared with it’s passengers, gold and silver aboard and was the subject of a worldwide manhunt but was never found. And then came along a detectorist who may have helped solve a part of the mystery: https://www.tampabay.com/news/nation-world/2021/04/01/ancient-coins-may-solve-mystery-of-murderous-1600s-pirate/?outputType=amp EDIT: Alternate link: https://apnews.com/article/ancient-coins-may-solve-mystery-1600s-pirate-f5a6151b74e0dcf96de585eab451f90c And here's a pic of the detectorist in the article if anyone cant see it:

Midalake I have no pride I’ll take it . I’ll email you my address but above all spell my name correct on the check. To me you sound like a gentleman with unlimited resources so just leave the amount blank and I’ll fill it in for you. haha The Best To You and let all your treasure come up silver and gold. Chuck

Nice looking bird, Klunker, but I speak for many who want to see a picture of the golden scheisse being panned!

Did someone say Canyon Diablo? This is 210g iron i found at the crater. Now before anyone gets the idea they can hunt for meteorites at the crater, you can NOT !!! I was lucky to be remodeling the kitchen on the ranch where the caretakers of the crater live. So this was a once in a lifetime chance, and i was very happy with my finds. I personally think Glorieta meteorite is a famous pallasite that is one of the most beautiful out there.

Photo of a Plumas Kwail as promised

There might be a 'play' of getting permission in exchange for information. I know the properties around Rye Patch that are claimed by some of the larger mining companies are surface open without consequence. A smaller mining company might care more than the large ones.

Agreed, Steve, but there is one nugget of information that confirmed what I suspected about how this detector operates. In the video at time index 7:04, Debbie states that settings that were user adjustable on the GPX 5000 are being adjusted continuously and automatically behind the scenes on the GPX 6000.

I have the Fisher F Pulse and a Whites TRX no longer made. Both used AA batteries. Most others use 9v. TRX can actually use either. The TRX (VLF) was deep and tip only detection. It was good but I liked the build quality of the F Pulse better and didn’t need two so sold it. I think some guys like them as they may be more sensitive to small gold from some posts I’ve seen. F Pulse (Pulse) again uses AAs, good solid build quality. Waterproof, 3 year warranty I believe. Has decent depth and sensitivity. I know it does not seem to detect small pieces of foil so may not be good on micro gold jewelry or small gold nuggets. Otherwise I have no complaints so far. Oh, and when it is on vibrate mode, it is also quiet when turning on and off. The Whites beeped on vibrate which I also found kind of annoying. I have also noticed the Minelab Pro Find (VLF) seem to get a lot of complaints and see them for sale a lot. I’ve wanted to try one but hesitant. The Nokta Makro Pulse Dive (Pulse) also seems like a nice option, especially if you use one of their detectors with the green headphones. Pairs with headphones and switches automatically between detector and pin pointer. Also rechargeable, waterproof.

I learnt something from the videos - The threshold tone can be turned off or on in both the manual and automatic sensitivity modes. In the manual it only states that - Manual sensitivity has a threshold tone and auto sensitivity has no threshold tone what it should say is Manual defaults to a threshold tone and auto defaults to no threshold tone but you have the ability to turn the threshold tone off or on.

For me, it does not. Whether the Carrot is surrounded a medium or large amount of my orange clay, the beeping/vibrating stays relatively steady and slow (just like your putt-putt-putt). It might increase somewhat with more of the orange clay next to it, but the change is not very noticeable. I like your dual pinpointer idea and it's something I've considered. Use the Fisher F-Pulse on max sensitivity to get a good idea where the target is, then use the Carrot (or XP Mi-4) for the final homing in. I'd like to do it your way, GB_Amateur, but the TRX is almost the cost of a new detector now, so yeah, I'll have to find a different machine for that.

When I've noticed the Carrot falsing in wet ground (on max gain), it seems to be a low frequency (timing, not audio!) putt-putt. Does that rate increase as you go deeper? As I get closer to a real (metallic) target that frequency increases. I hope I'm not beating a dead horse (don't tell PETA) when I say that I use the White's TRX in conjunction with the Carrot when coin hunting. Each has its pluses. I start with the broad spatials sensitivity of the Carrot and switch over to the TRX for fine location. And if I have trouble finding a small target after it's out of the hole I go back to the broad angle sensitivity of the Carrot to finish the job.

Times can vary greatly subject to things like events , weather and tides. Wet weather provides some increase in depth sometimes but isn't the best for making the hole disappear ! Except on a beach.