Steve Herschbach

Well Joanna, thank you for the solid reply to my not so welcoming post. Big thumbs up for being up front! You will have to forgive me as I get inundated by marketers and outright spammers so much it has made me pretty touchy on the whole subject. Kind of shoot first and ask questions later. You definitely get my vote on that - I am a reader not a viewer myself. I will leave this all for the competent members here to consider, and simply say to you, welcome to the forum. I do admire the work you have done on multiple levels and wish you success.

Yeah, the articles and such look solid. That's really not what is bugging me about it. I did not post links to phaze-9.com on purpose so you have to Google it to see where this all fits together as a business. I guess you can look at it as various magazines owned by some corporation where the main goal is to make a buck, but where the magazines themselves are good and interesting to people.

Well, I was casting a skeptical eye the moment Chuck posted this old school large coil PI dressed up as something new. You are with Focus Speed? Or are you with phaze-9.com? Because it looks to me you are less a detectorist and more a savvy digital marketing type. Focus Speed looks like a "content creation" front for phaze-9 to promote various detecting related product, one of quite a few other fronts set up for the same purpose on other subjects. "Phaze-9 is unique because, unlike other marketing firms, Phaze-9 holds a portfolio of online publications in various niches." "Product Placement - Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is where we can promote your products by putting them on display in our articles and social media posts Paid Social Media Posts - We have the social media influence and site traffic to help take your marketing to the next level." All very slick and well done, kudos for that, but I'm not partial to this website participating in this type of shell game promotion. I get hit up almost daily by people trying to sign me up for the "guest post" garbage. Normally I'd just delete the thread and block you as a spammer, but people have taken time to post on this thread so I thought I'd open it up for the group to see before doing anything. Hey, I was in marketing, nothing personal, I even admire the slickness and competency on display. But are you really Joanna or just one of the minions? Is Joanna really a detectorist or more of a content creator? Joanna Jana Laznicka Founder of nonprofitinformation.com, vc-list.com, and many more online publications. A Czech / Canadian who lives in Orange County, California https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlaznicka?

I'm sure there's better detectors out here using better hardware and software Well then I guess you'd be wrong. People here know better and spouting off a bunch of nonsense is not going to impress anyone. You sound like a rep for one of the scammers. I would go so far as to say most people here could care less also about patents and such - if better way of finding gold exists they seek it out and use it. Period, end of story. Anyway, just had to interject so that no newbies get sucked into the garbage Mark is peddling.

Audio lag has zero effect on target depth or tiny target sensitivity. It’s merely the difference in time between the target being detected and you hearing it, nothing more.

Those who torch the testers for flaws in product releases display their ignorance of the process for all to see. When I see comments like “what were the testers doing” my first thought is “you have no idea what you are talking about”.

As explained in this very thread (see first post in thread) I have no interest in paid advertising or “collaboration”. Especially the dreaded “guest posts”. Well, maybe guests posts for $10,000 a placement? Dealers are welcome here only as participating members that add value to the forum by helping members with their questions, posting their own detecting stories or finds, etc. The payback is free advertising rights in the Classifieds. But it’s a fine line I guess since if you get perceived as only being here to sell, then you get the boot as being a spammer. Anyway, if you are a real detectorist or prospector with knowledge and stories to share, and just happen to also be a dealer, you are welcome. If you just want to advertise, not so much. This guy is a good example of a dealer who answers member questions and posts great stories and finds… https://www.detectorprospector.com/profile/182-gerry-in-idaho/ So if you are for real tell us in a new thread who you really are, your name, your experience, finds you’ve made. In other words, introduce yourself as being the real deal. If on the other hand you are just Joe from marketing, then I will wish you good day and leave it there. P.S. CKG makes a very nice pouch, I bought one recently.

In my experience the follow the black sands feature is one of the most quoted/talked about yet one of the least used and least useful features ever put on a metal detector. Trying to do the same with the Axiom numbers would be an even less fruitful endeavor. A potentially better solution: Dip Needles on eBay

https://www.goldballarat.com.au/detectors/display/746-minelab-gpx-4500-gold-detector-includes-free-training From https://www.facebook.com/ReedsProspectingAustralia/photos/yes-its-true-but-they-will-only-be-available-for-a-limited-time-basically-when-t/1163545865774415/?_rdr “Reeds Prospecting 4 days ago · YES, it's true, but they will only be available for a LIMITED TIME. Basically, when this last stock of GPX-4500 is gone, Minelab does not have plans to re-start production, so this is One-Off return for the GPX-4500, $3,499”

Exactly what happened to me, Gold Bug to GM2. The Goldmaster II was what really blew the doors off nugget hunting in Alaska since we generally have mild mineralization and small gold. That 50 kHz was the magic solution. The first year I had a standing order for all the GM2 units White's could ship me and sold them as fast as I could get them.

I have seen zero information yet saying this is anything more than clearing out some old units found someplace. All this talk of a reintroduction of the 4500 is cart way ahead of the horse. Maybe it is, but specific people who seem they might know say otherwise. I guess we’ll see.

Here is the states just like Australia it depends where you are as far as ground and gold as there is no magic setting that works best everywhere. What worked for me in Alaska is 100% different than what works in California Mother Lode. My go to mode in mild Alaska soils was Sharp. Even Alaska though is a huge and varied place, with some places having hot rocks as bad as I’ve seen anywhere. I'm also a skeptic of engineers who bench test and declare what works or “is better” without extensive field use, as the list of declarations I have from engineers about what worked in the lab and failed in the real world is a long list indeed. Had another one happen in just last year, amazing engineer lab results, giddy excitement - fail in the field. Sometimes the engineers remind me of the YouTube air test brigade. Take ground out of the equation and you have removed the single most important factor detectors deal with. What works brilliantly in the lab often fails the worst in really bad ground.

You can see both Gold Scanner models in the catalog images I posted, with and without meter. I tried the AU52 but it was even less stable than the GS models. I think they had lots of coil issues and were trying to design high gain units using components maybe not quite up to the demands. Not sure, but Compass was on last legs and before I got to try the AU2000 they were gone. Too bad as innovative stuff, but luckily for me the White’s Goldmaster II arrived in time to take over in my shop. I sold more of them in my first year than all the Gold Scanners total that I ever sold. Far more stable which meant more efficient for nugget hunting.

Good for you George. Maybe some photos or at least some description for context of these detectors you post about getting? “Hey I got this” does not tell younger members much. I also had one of the first ones back in 1991 in Alaska since I was a Compass dealer. The Gold Scanner Pro was the first detector I was genuinely successful with finding gold nuggets. It was a twitchy touch sensitive detector in jacked up all metal mode but brought home the goods with a patient operator. The meter running in full time disc while detector was in all metal made it an effective dual mode unit. https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-mining-journal/first-gold-nugget-with-a-metal-detector/

Yup.

Well I’m also not insisting I am right about the GPX 5000, in fact I’d be happy to be wrong. There have been mixed messages, seems like there was an official notice to discontinue, then that got rolled back. If they are still finding GPX 4500 sitting in corners years later it could go in for some time. Makes a person wonder about their inventory control though.

Instead of finding the few places you can possibly get a GPX 5000 look at all the places where they are out of stock and listed as discontinued.

5000 was discontinued, out of stock almost everywhere now, excepting the counterfeits. I doubt there is an idle production line sitting just waiting to be fired up. It's a very expensive detector to produce so there are better routes to go if they want to compete in the low end market.

For the battery sleuths here is an upscale of an internal photo I found. Unfortunately the cable obscures part of the label but somebody can probably figure it out. Click or double click for larger image.

https://theringfinders.com

Sources say it’s a temporary clearance of found stock, not a return to production. They were discontinued in 2021 and if this is found stock as is being said they would be several years old. Still waiting to hear from our dealer members if it’s even available here, and at what price if so. If it is as appears a small stock found in a back room they may not bother with shipping to U.S.

Limited time only? Some old stock found, not a return to production? Three coils, low price? U.S. also or Oz only?

Oh dear, unrest among the peasants, people on the internet voicing opinions on things they know little or nothing about - what are we to do!

Six months every year of winter keeping me from doing what I like to do. Dark winters and gray rainy summers. Vast clouds of mosquitos and biting flies in summer are also something I don’t miss. Died and went to heaven in Nevada as far as I’m concerned. Now I’m just another thread hijacker.

Started a business with a school chum and dredging buddy while still in high school. Turned into one of the largest small scale mining and metal detecting supply shops in the country. Expanded that into a general power sports (ATVs, boats, snowmobiles) business over the years, ending up being one of the largest dealers or top dealers for many product lines. For instance we were the number one dealer for Ski-Doo snowmobiles in North America, largest Keene dealer for decades. etc. Now three locations split into three sub-business, Alaska Mining & Diving Supply, Alaska Motorsports & Equipment, and Alaska Mining Superstore. Celebrating 50 years in business next year. More details if you are interested: https://www.detectorprospector.com/topic/21927-alaska-mining-superstore/page/3/#comment-235167 I also got regulations passed in Alaska allowing for the creation of recreational mining businesses on state mining claims, then created my own, Moore Creek Mining, LLC, while also engaging in a couple million bucks of hardrock exploration with a couple Canadian firms on the claims. Lots of stories about that on my Mining Journal pages, look for anything with Moore Creek in the title. Had my fingers in various other pies but those were the two biggies. End of the day I did ok for a dumb high school kid from Alaska.