Reg Wilson

You can't keep a conspiracy theorist down. The same guy who suspected Minelab was monitoring GPZs believed the moon landing was faked, and that no plane flew into the Pentagon, but was absolutely convinced that the story of Noah's Ark was totally factual. Very strange the way some peoples minds work.

You just got to love the odd conspiracy theory. Now these are not my thoughts, but are those of an acquaintance who shall remain anonymous. He had suspicions that Minelab, since being taken over by Codan, a manufacturer of military radio equipment, had the ability to include in the GPZ7000 a transmitter, capable of relaying information back to the manufacturer. This he maintained was a simple task for a company experienced in radio technology. Such an ability would enable Minelab to gather all sorts of useful information, on hours of use, settings used, area and location detected, and if the owner was using the total GPS package, record of finds and position of such. This scenario is highly unlikely, however the technology to achieve just such a situation surely exists and could well be a future development.

Flakmagnet, no I do not believe the GPZ7000 GPS system could be monitored, but there are some who have posted this theory on other forums, claiming that their patches had been raided after they had used the GPS system, and suggested that they had been monitored. I had a patch that I had discovered in a rather remote, seldom visited area cleaned out some time back, however it was because someone had seen my vehicle coming out of a barely discernible track, and recognizing my van, had decided to backtrack me. Next day, raked out.

Very funny dave, but the 7000 has GPS for that purpose. There are those that believe the GPS is monitored.

What is that attachment on the back of the armrest on the 7000?

When I got the 19" coil for my 7000 Guy's rush was one of the places I visited. It is on private property, and the owners are reluctant to let anyone on as it has been visited without permission many times. It takes contacts and some sweet talking to get on. Years ago I pulled a 14oz color there using a 'Candy' tricked up PI and a custom built 25" mono coil. John Hider-Smith who was with me at the time, returned some time later and dug a bit around the 30oz mark. JR Beatty, John, and Jim Stewart dug another about the same size, with Jim's big home built coil on a modified 2100, if memory serves me correctly. It is a granite bottom, very mild, so I was able to use the more sensitive settings as recommended by Jonathon Porter, but had no luck. I am of the opinion that the equipment used earlier on this patch, being modified for big gold at depth would have had equal or better performance than a standard 7000. A modified 7000 with even larger coil could be a different story.

All of that gold is well worn. The reef or reefs that shed it may be long gone. I would be more excited if some of the gold were raggedy.

Syncline, Have been updated on that spot. It had been raked, but not dozed. That is why you can see an edge on the video. If it had been dozed the white clay bottom would have been more clearly exposed.

Dug a big hole at the base of a tree with the 7000, when I came to a large root. Dug around and below the root. Had a pretty major excavation which took some time to accomplish. In frustration I dragged out the GPX with a small coil to try and pinpoint this illusive signal. Discovered that the root was giving a signal on the Z, but nothing on the GPX. An annoying fault with the 7000 is that for whatever reason it sometimes registers a signal from tree roots. That machine came very close to being modified with a pick.

Stay away from 'long range' detectors. They are a scam. Have seen lots of people who claim to be able to divine, (dowse) but have never seen any one prove that they could. Big money ($1,000,000) has been offered here in Australia for anyone who could display proof of divining. So far it has not been done. You will hear many people make claims about divining both for water and gold, and in the case of water in particular, but according to a driller I knew he said that success in such situations was purely coincidence as water was common in drilling situations. Different water at different levels.

Not surprised Beatty, you give away too many secrets.

Thanks Steve for being very fair and unbiased in regard to the QED. I just hope that one day you guys will get a chance to try it for yourselves. What excites me is the fact that Howard is constantly working on improving an already capable machine.

At an area called 'Patchy flat', not far from Dunolly in Victoria I was detecting with a couple of mates. (these guys are well known by JR Beatty, and he can vouch for this story) An area had recently been skimmed off by a dozer to remove rusty cans and other rubbish from a depression era prospecting camp site, and a windrow of dirt and rubbish had resulted. John had detected a 40 oz lump the previous day, and was systematically gridding the area, when he heard a huge signal in the end of the windrow. Taking it for just a tin can he moved on, as that windrow was full of junk. Some time later an old bloke called Kiwi Russell (deceased) heard that same signal, but dug it. He dug through the windrow and into the ground below to uncover a 250oz nugget.

Iain, same thing happened to a mate of mine. Sent it back, but same thing kept happening. I was lucky, as mine never played up. Maybe yours had some laksa spilled into it during manufacture.

Got a bit of a belly there bud. You been drinking that Aussie beer?

There is nothing to stop him taking the gold out of the country. Happens regularly.

Could be difficult to ground balance, especially around trees.

So that's what flew over my place! It sent the dogs mad. By the time I rushed out it was disappearing over the trees. I just caught a glimpse of the red ML logo on the tale of the chopper.

Well done mate. You should have learned by now that having the most expensive machine is not necessarily the 'be all to end all'. Being in the right place is. Your 4500 and 18" elite is a great combo, and so close in performance to a Z that the difference is negligible, plus you have a weight advantage and the ability to use a large range of coils. Just think of how much gold you will have to find to make up that extra expenditure, and as you have found, it is not getting any easier to find. Some of my best finds could have been got with a VLF. You have to be in the right place.

Ah, yes, the RB7 Red Barron, found quite a bit of gold with one of those. Had mine hip mounted. They had a damned good discriminator.

There's no doubt that there is something special about the wilds of Ozz, but the days of finding easy gold here are gone. Sure there is still good gold to be found, but unless you are prepared to outlay big money on a lease or claim, and have the know how to put the pegs in the right area, you may be in for a generous helping of disappointment. I have met a number of folk from the USA who have come here with the idea that they will pay for their holiday and take some gold home. Well, twenty years ago that may have been a possibility, but these days...... The detector shops and the manufacturers would have you believe that the gold is just everywhere, waiting for you to come along and pick it up. So do the gold tour operators. Metal detectors these days have evolved to find smaller and smaller gold. This may be great for the hobbyist who likes to go hope with a few specks, but those few specks don't cover your costs, if that is what you are hoping for. By all means come to Ozz for an unforgettable experience, but unless you have contacts to get you on good ground, or you hit a real long shot, the reality is that you will be very lucky to find much at all.

https://open.abc.net.au/explore/69517 I spoke to a few friends in Wedderburn about the Buttericks find, but being 70 odd years ago only a few of the older folks knew much about it. Wedderburn was where I found my first small color with a Whites 6000D at a spot called Schicer gully. In later years I found some better colors, and a 60oz patch. At one time I found two 14oz bits in the one gully. Ian Jaques (one time publican and owner of the Logan hotel) and I worked together for a few years, and found some really good gold in the Wedderburn area. My best piece being 23oz. The buttericks gold was associated with an indicator which ran from behind the ANZ bank southward towards the state school across the road. Various attempts were made to locate more gold in the close vicinity, but were mostly unsuccessful. Norm Fitzpatrick, a magistrate from Warnambool somehow got permission to sink a hole in Wilson street outside Buttericks house. The 20ft. shaft from all reports was a 'duffer'. Max Knight tried sinking his hole behind his property. (the old bank building) but it also proved a disappointment. Some suspected the run of gold went across the road under the Anglican church, and it was said that the Vicar would get down on all fours, and put his ear to the stone steps to hear any tunneling below. Neighbors were tunneling in all directions trying to pick up the run, and suspicion was rife as to who was tunneling where. Butterick's indicator runs roughly north south under the town of Wedderburn, and how much gold is still down there will probably remain a mystery.

Paul, watch out for drop bears and crocodiles.

If bulldust was gold, all you blokes would be millionaires.

Fred, despite my unfortunate reputation as a bit of a stirrer and even troublemaker, I have enormous respect for Steve for the way he runs this as one of the few serious remaining gold and prospecting forums.