Steve Herschbach

There is little doubt you are correct about this Jason - the way you initially connect with the younger crowd is via social media. Forums I think tend to be for people who are already at it and looking for more and deeper information. Youtube videos if done right can be incredibly informative. The main problem from the business perspective is there are no simple answers these days. The media landscape has fractured to an amazing degree. Back in the day all you needed was a yellow page ad and maybe some newspaper or magazine ads. Radio was a step up, and TV too expensive for most. Now there are countless ways to reach people, who at the same time are more savvy at avoiding advertising. My wife and I prerecord anything on the tube that might have ads and just blast through them. On my truck radio when an ad comes on I just switch stations. For people like me - you can't reach me. I have to seek you out. And if I am looking to find out about something I know little about, I am probably going to Google it and follow the links. Too a large degree as far as I am concerned if I can't find your company or product on Google, you don't exist. Tough times for companies and all they can do is pursue every avenue they have the time and money to pursue as best they can. If I had advice for any company it would be to be sure their websites have all the information on their products any person would ever want to find and answer every email same day or next day at latest.

Compared how?

Very nice Bob! I have seen similar pontoon boats at Cabelas and Costco for $400 - $600 and thought they would be a heck of a good idea for a dredge platform. Are the floats a bladder in a protective shell or tough single layer models? Google "inflatable pontoon fishing boats"

Here are a couple more pictures of Mills Creek and this inflatable pontoon dredge on the creek. This was a very short lived experiment. I put it together and then after this outing decided that the advantages of being inflatable were not nearly as important to me as the durability of marlex. I had to worry about the pontoons being against a rock and vibrations from the dredge motor or movement from water action wearing away at the float fabric. This would be a great way to go for somebody flying remote in a small airplane or for some extreme back country backpacking expedition, but I decided right after this outing to sell the inflatable pontoons and go back to marlex.

You do need a subscription to access articles online but that's not the problem. They did a makeover of the ICMJ website and it looks real nice. But the search, links, and navigation are really messed up. The link in Fred's post is now broken, and all the old links on my website that point to the ICMJ website that I have checked are now broken. It may be the website navigation has been fundamentally changed and all old links have broken, which is a website disaster. Worse, I could not seem to get to this article using the search function or even manually navigating there. The links go to the wrong articles. I gave up and that's a bad sign. Hopefully they get it straightened out. I sent an email letting them know which was acknowledged.

You did a good job on it, and shooting video and posting it does take effort, so thank you!

It is a bit depressing digging a brown 1985 quarter thinking it is "new coinage" and then realizing it may have been in the ground for over 25 years!

Well, I think there are many opportunities worldwide for detector companies. I do unfortunately think we are at or maybe even a hair past the zenith in the U.S. The main reason may ironically be the great success detecting has enjoyed over the last 10-20 years. I have been doing this over 40 years now and I personally feel like I am in a "cleaning up the leftovers" phase. If you are after gold nuggets, silver coins, old relics, whatever, you face a depleting resource. The resource depletes faster than the technology improves, and it is just a fallacy to think that deeper always means more finds. We also face the problem of very slow but almost inevitable closure of detecting areas. One bad apple and another site closed. I have always counted on jewelry to keep me going as I get older and less able to roam the hills. Unlike most finds it is a renewable resource. Even there however sheer competition is having an impact, as well as the shift to tungsten, mood rings, and other jewelry fashioned from "non-precious" metals. A final unappreciated headwind may be the continued decline of true enthusiast dealers. Some of the growth in the industry was definitely driven by those face to face dealers who go to club meetings, sponsored events, and "made it happen". Somehow I doubt Amazon does anything to grow the hobby. I started detecting as a kid and just enjoyed finding stuff with a detector, and it was a long time before it was more than just a fun hobby for me. I am sure there are still kids who would try it and enjoy it just like I did. For most people after all it is just a hobby they either enjoy or do not. Add it all up and I am still sure detectors will continue to be sold but it is very hard for me to imagine it as a growth industry in the U.S. from here on out. Those seeking growth had better be addressing the global market.

The main thing I noted in the video besides good practices is that the soil is extremely moist. This is actually critical. Bone dry hard ground is tough to work in and plugging in dry ground is not a good idea as the chances the grass will die goes up dramatically. I try to do all my deeper detecting work in parks during whatever rainy season there is and just use the screwdriver / popping method during dry periods. I love the finds this guy is making in the following video, but frankly I am horrified that he is using a shovel in a park. I don't care that maybe the grass will heal - in this case that's not really the point. It's more about the idea of the wrong person seeing a guy digging pits in a park with a shovel. This it what closes parks to detecting. How not to do it...

I get those deep sweet signals out in the desert from time to time that sound exactly like a large deep nugget. They are ones that usually require I get the shovel, and every one so far has turned out to be a mineralized spot that finally just disperses out into a pile of hot lumps. The only thing good about them is they have been fairly rare for me, as I seem to have no solution but to dig them. I can indeed use settings that alleviate or eliminate them, but then I go crazy thinking that maybe I have talked myself out of digging that big nugget. So I dig them. There is a hot signal out there also that turns out to be this particular type of shattered rock. It is a hot rock, but they are always broken into shards, like they exploded underground. Weird.

How to do it...

All great suggestions, and I will repeat a couple in my own list: Ferrous discrimination Salt mode Small coil More memory for tracks and find points Import/export function (XChange 2) Brighter screen Clock on screen with audio alarm set User button flips between at least two saved "programs" made up of any combination of settings

And that is indeed an exceptionally fine example of disseminated "invisible" gold. The GPZ really shows its magic on that stuff. Congratulations and thanks for posting!

I have yet to see a multi purpose VLF detector selling for over US$1000 that is any better than dedicated prospecting detectors selling for under US$1000. In fact the dedicated models so far have a history of being better prospecting machines for less money. The XP Deus version 3.2 coils are a good example. I saw nothing to convince me that they are any better for prospecting than a basic $499 Gold Bug detector. In fact I would rather have the Gold Bug. Same story with the White's V3i. Great on paper but the GMT or even MXT would be better gold prospecting choices. The Deus V4 update was very specifically aimed at improving its capabilities for gold prospecting. Early reports on this forum by Condor are promising. You will hear more after the elliptical coil is available as most people appear to be holding out for it. To be honest, I have doubts it will equal dedicated models but all it really has to do in my opinion is be "close enough". For many people the appeal of multi purpose is compelling as long as it does not cost too much and as long as they don't feel they are giving up too much of an edge to get that "do it all" versatility. Bottom line - too early, jury is out.

It does help if people have questions that the questions are specific. When I am asked what I think of the 48 kHz GMT vs 45 kHz GM1000 my immediate thought is they are both metal detectors with similar features and performance. I can go find gold with either. I have a GM1000 so I don't necessarily need a GMT. If I had a GMT I would not necessarily need a GM1000. Is the Gold Monster 1000 the new detector with new features that is so advanced it automatically obsoletes all detectors in its class? You no longer need look at or even think about any other VLF? I get the feeling that is what people would like to hear. Wouldn't it be nice if life were that easy! Sorry, no. In my opinion it is nice to have a "big gun" like a GPZ or GPX as a primary unit. It can also be good in addition to have a mid frequency (13-20 kHz) detector to deal with trashy ground and/or a higher frequency (30-80 kHz) unit for tiny or specimen gold. For people who can't afford or do not detect enough to need the big gun the mid or high frequency detector can be the primary unit. Mid frequency detectors are better "all around" units and so better for those wanting a general purpose machine. Higher frequency detectors are generally dedicated prospecting models and so a better choice for those wanting a detector purely for prospecting. Therefore in general for "prospecting only" a big gun or a high frequency unit can serve best either separately or together. Mid frequency offers more versatility (coins, relics, jewelry) for those who desire such things. When having multiple detectors the key is they should all be as different as possible. If you already have a big gun a second machine should specifically do something it can't do well. Therefore the idea of getting a mid frequency or high frequency detector. In the same way, if you already have a 30 - 80 kHz machine getting another one adds no real capability per se. Better then to get a mid frequency or a big gun. For people who have never had a high performance VLF looking at their very first one, I should hope the reviews point out the obvious advantages that the Gold Monster 1000 offers them, especially when operating in very difficult ground conditions.

I made fairly specific comparisons to the Gold Bug 2 in my previous posts on the subject. I do not have a GMT to compare to but performance should be comparable. Again I hope my previous posts would serve to enlighten people on the subject. It just as always will depend more on the ground conditions and operator than anything. This is a 45 kHz single frequency metal detector and no rules of physics have been broken. Anyone that is considering the various alternatives and unsure at this point what they want to do should just sit back and wait for more reports from more varied sources to roll in. It's not like I have the complete picture by any means. I did some marathon posting the last few days. The stage now belongs to JP and I am hoping to hear more from him while I take a short break for a couple days. First Impressions Thread - How Does The GM1000 Compare To Similar Models? Sensitivity Thread Including Notes On Gold Bug 2

Here it is! http://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/mastering-the-gold-monster-1000 "Savvy operators will be able to work the GM 1000 in surprisingly noisy ground once they come to terms with the methods I’ve described above. It takes practice but the effort is well worth it because these two Auto functions in combination with Zero threshold really does allow this detector to work in ground a VLF has no business working in - areas that I would consider to be MPS and MPF territory. In the quieter soils, Auto+ lifts the sensitivity to levels that surprised me, behaving like a much higher frequency machine Although not a ‘deep-punching’ machine like an SDC 2300, the GM 1000 still ‘holds its own’ on the shallow surface gold crumbs missed by the more powerful Minelab detectors."

Early days still. I was first person that Minelab let talk but more will be chiming in any minute. I still have not been able to make myself go to the trouble yet of stopping and shooting videos. Frankly, it's just extra work. I have good intentions but so far have not got around to it yet. Since no units are in the publics hands yet obviously nothing available there.

In defense of the OP I added the product link to aid forum users in obtaining more information. Of course just the question drives traffic but let's assume it was an innocent question. That is the most powerful mobile LRL I have ever seen!

Just imagine for a moment if this actually worked as advertised. Condor hit the nail on the "common sense" head - would not the people selling them be using them to get filthy rich? If I invented one I would never need but the first one to fill vaults full of all the gold I would find. There are always excuses about how these people are getting rich but staying silent, but we all know just how much that does not fit with human nature. People would be backing up on Bill Gates lawn dumping a truck load of gold just to brag about how rich they were getting with their whiz bang treasure detectors. The use of terminology is interesting. Ionizing radiation that can penetrate 115 feet of concrete is going to kill you fast. And magnetometers by definition can't do anything but measure magnetic fields and so only work with things that have magnetic properties or effects. TITAN GER 400 GOLD DETECTOR AND LOCATOR DESCRIPTION: *RADAR LONG DISTANCE- can penetrate up to 2.5 kilometer even your inside the moving car or in helicopter. *ION RADIATION SYSTEM- it can penetrate all type of soil even concrete up to 115 feet *3D IMAGING VIA TABLET- this would allow you to see the treasure accurately in dept up to 115 feet the system will automatically calculate the exact dept of treasure *MAGNETOMETER SYSTEM- it can determine what kind of precious metal down under whether it is gold,diamond any other precious metal or stone.

Good luck with your new coils. I really hope you will have a chance later to report back on how they worked out for you on this thread, so others may have the benefit of your knowledge. Thanks!

So apparently you strap this thing to your leg and walk around, and it sends underground images to a tablet device. Given the other products, good luck with that.

In fact this one just spells it out....

Welcome to the forum Joseph. This may not be entirely fair to the company involved but you asked so this is my honest answer. When I see a company sell products like the ones pictured below I think "Long Range Locator" and my interest ceases.

Well Andyy for what it is worth I revere engineers as the magician/gods of our civilization. I toured Cape Canaveral and the sum brilliance of what engineers working together can do is jaw-dropping awe inspiring. Anyone that ever gets the chance needs to go see the products of our space program up close and personal. Plus my wife was a Project Management Engineer and my daughter has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. I'm laughing with you not at you! I am a computer nerd that somehow ended up in sales and marketing...