Gold Catcher

I concur, Rob. The NF12 is worth every penny (IMHO) and a great upgrade for the 7k. It is more sensitive and less prone to EMI than the stock coil and runs remarkably stable. The 6k/7k combo is probably the "gold" standard of modern detecting and I use both detectors religiously. The 6k has brought me many hours of fun detecting and many (smaller) nuggets. I am still waiting for a bigger one though (>10g). Here, the 7k wins, but I also had it a lot longer so no fair comparison 🙂 I have no doubt that I will find >10 g nuggets with the 6k/17 as well, I just am busy recovering the really small stuff with it.

Simon, what a great story and thanks for the wonderful pics. Such a beautiful area. I bet there must be some really important things on her SD card. Please keep us posted and let us know when she hears the news. Also, she might be thrilled to read "her" story on DP. I would send her the link so she can see how this story was shared with prospectors around the world. I actually thought of this story every now and then since you first posted it and wondered what ever happened to this saga. You are a good man Simon, may the Gold Goddess reward you handsomely 🙂. GC

9.25 pm here (US PST). But late for me 🙂

I know direct comparisons are not worth much, but I still would love to see how the 6k/17, 7k/NF12 and the 7k/18 X CC would measure up. Half gram in undisturbed ground at depth would be perfect, with both the 6k and 7k run at max.

I always use hipstick and even guide arm for the 17. But that's because I believe strict coil control is 90% of the game.

It's a great coil, Rob. Very similar to the 11 inch coil with respect to fast gold sensitivity, just covering more ground. I love it and use it a lot in open fields where I know the gold is shallow. It has a bit more depth than the 11 inch coil but definitely not a match to the 7k/NF12 in depth, at least not IMO and I have done several head to head comparisons (for whatever it's worth).

Same for me. I mostly use sensitivity 7/normal/threshold on. What an awesome machine! However, Auto 1 can be quite unstable and most 6k users I have asked also prefer sensitivity 7 or 8 over the auto modes, at least at Gold Basin/AZ where I just got back from. I could run the 7k/NF12 in HY/Normal/Sens 15/smoothing off and it was considerably more stable than the 6k in auto1. So, at least at Gold Basin two "Kings of Detectors" for me. I found some nice small pieces and specys, but don't feel like posting them after seeing Gerry's stunning pic 😁

Yes the 6000 is a game changer for RP. So 100% agreed!

In hotrock rich areas frequent GB can make a big difference. I also wonder if X drift issues are at play with the auto tracking of the 6k. I noticed that the same hotrock can lead to different audio responses when you come back to it. One reason why I like the semi auto GB option of the 7k

Awesome finds, Gerry. IMO, the 6000 earns the title" King of Detectors" for conditions/grounds/gold types that are conducive for optimal 6k performance. But there are other situations and circumstances where the 7k/NF12 outperforms any other detector. Yet, in other situations a good VLF is the King as I am sure you are well aware. So, I would rather call the 6k a "Conditional King". And IMHO, every current ML detector earned this title. GC.

I use the SP01 religiously with the SDC and the 7000. I haven't tried it with the 6000 yet, mostly because I enjoy running the 6000 cable free with the BT headphones that are pretty decent. The signal/audio processing of the 6 is pretty good, so I am not sure if another filter is really needed. For the SDC on the other hand the SP01 is an absolute game changer. Should come in the box! GC.

I use my hipstick/bungee/guide arm for the 14DD and 17. It helps to maintain strict coil control after hours of detecting and prevents fatigue.

It is only natural that every high end new ML gold detector will be compared with the flagship 7000. Nothing wrong with that. And when you bare in mind the price tags of both machines why should one not ask the question: which one is "better", especially when the budget is only allowing to purchase one. I think we all agree that the 6k is the best all-round high end detector ML has ever made. With the exception of VLF needs and the outright depth advantage of the Z (that is very useful at times but comes at the expense of all the light weight fun the 6k has!), the 6K is the best option for beginners and experts alike and certainly the best value for the money. And, in the 1-6 inch depth range (where most US gold is usually found) the 6k is unbeatable. GC.

Congrats, Rob! Very nice. For the same reason you stated I keep my Z/NF12. It for sure punches deeper than any 6k settings/ configuration, no question. I don't think the 17 would have heard it neither. IMO, the 17 is focused on shallow fast gold just as the 11 but covering more ground. Kind of a unique feature for a big coil. Re usage %, I would say I use the 6k 70% of time and the Z/NF 30%. Haven't use the 14 stock in ages. The 6k is so much more fun overall, but will not reach Z depths. GC.

Auto 1/Normal/Threshold on are my to go settings for the monos. At times when the EMI is bad (mostly weather, wind type EMI) I go to Manual and dial back in gain, in particular with the 17. In NNV, manual/high gain I only do in very dry conditions and in particular with no wind related EMI. As Steve said, low gain will almost loose nothing for shallow gold but will take a hit in depth (at least in my experience). The normal/difficult change (if needed) is mostly for improved ground response IMO, not so much for EMI. Saturated wet NNV ground requires the 14 DD in salt mode (RP area), although some people still run the monos there regardless. Strict coil control and slow swing speed is a must under all conditions. Using the monos/high gain in salt-rich NNV grounds after heavy rain leads to "salt howling", regardless of how slow you are swinging. Use that if you don't mind getting insane or already are. GC.

I get 8 hours with headset. But the batteries need a few charging cycles to perform at peak. GC.

You have a good point. I would if I had to feed my family from it. GC

Not sure about that. Car theft is common even without keys left. It is an equal nightmare scenario to come back after detecting and the truck is gone. I always have my keys with me and at a safe place in my backpack.

I still wonder if/how the Geosense technology is impacting GB stability/performance beyond what other detectors do, i.e compared to the Z when running in semi-auto. The fact that a factory reset is more often needed with 6k makes me wonder whether X-drift issues are at play with the 6k. I have noticed that the factory reset not only helps with EMI, but also makes the ground response better. This seems to suggest that some sort of drifting is going on that the regular GB can't handle once it is too far off without reset, despite Geosense.

I pump the coil briefly each time before I go over the same target. This helps to keep the GB from tuning small stuff out, but it does not avoid it completly. If a signal disapears, in particular when changing the approach angle, or if it is not repeatable/symmetrical, it is almost always mineralization (and/or GB is off). This happens to me with the Z when I do GB with the machine being oversaturated. This makes ghost signals appear which almost always go away if I cut back on gain before GB. Btw, nice going with 98 nuggets! I am just about half of that with the 6k alone. But I also use the Z in between, so I have an excuse 😉

We will get there too eventually, we are right on track. And then those sub gram GM/6000 nuggets will come in handy, unless you are willing to get worthless currency change back when paying. If nothing changes from the current course we will be back to the Wild West in no time, and then the old wisdom will come to life again: You can keep your gold and silver if you are willing to give away your lead. Get ready guys!

Well said, Norvic. Having used the 6000 for quite some time now I can say that this detector is without doubt the most sophisticated but yet easy to use detector I have ever come across. I don't question that some unfortunate users have problems due to technical issues with the detector itself. However, I also speculate that some users are not operating the detector correctly, or are in environments where the detector is challenged to begin with, in particular when using the 11 or 17 mono coils. The enormous sensitivity of the technology comes at a price and you need to be fully aware of that. Strict coil control, slow swing speed, not changing coil height while swinging, avoiding bumps, frequent noise cancel and every now and then factory resets work all great for me in concert to avoid most of the issues that I have heard on the forum. I even can live with the bit EMI that the speaker is producing, although I often use the BT headset anyway. Just like Steve said I can hear through EMI pretty well for the most part, unless it really gets too crazy. But this is not different to the SDC or 7000 where you also need to learn how to listed through threshold chatter. SDC users know this very well and so do all the HY/normal/smoothing off users out there. It is always said that the 6000 is great for beginners who want a high end machine. I totally agree with that. But I also believe that it actually takes some experience to "calm down" or trouble shoot the 6000 in case it runs unstable, something new users might not be very familiar with. GC

Perfectly said, Randy! Hope to see you at Gold Basin in 4 weeks 🤠

My 6000 was working perfectly straight out of the box. It was one of the first in the US to arrive. Perhaps the following production batches started to have some of these issues? I never had any quality issues with any ML detector I bought, aside the well known battery issue with the first SDC models. I am sorry to hear that you guys have so many problems with it. Bummer!

This is hilarious, Gerry 😁