Gold Catcher

Another head scratcher:  how a preliminary draft manual got leaked for the world to see

Interesting. Looks like the 11 inch mono is the preferred to go coil with best sensitivity. The 14DD is more for troubleshooting situations and is stated to be (only) the second choice. Clearly very different to the GPZ, and more reaching into SDC territory from this preliminary look.

25 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The price! And lack of 100% accurate ferrous discrimination.... or any discrimination at all. Don’t toss your VLF yet! 

Good advice and I never would. Nothing beats my GM (5 in) when I need to discriminate for shallow small gold. But, Gerry's recent praise of the Nox (6 in) as a superior small gold sniffer makes me wonder if I am behind the curve with the GM. I am not a relic hunter but perhaps the next Nox generation would be the perfect choice to complete my "gold" fleet. 🤔

6 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

One nice thing about the GPZ was it being relatively rain proof.

Looks like a nearly perfect machine thus far. Have not seen anything yet that I don't like.

1 hour ago, VicR said:

does anyone have experience using noise cancelling headphones while detecting - especially for gold?

I use the Bose Quiet QC20 when it's windy, works great! JP tipped me off on that when I saw them in one of his posted pics.

Nice going GoldTree. Persistence and adherence to detector rules (i.e. always check holes) pays off. Dismissing targets because of sounds has never paid off for me, and clearly would not have paid off for you in that situation. 😁 

Can't wait to be wireless. Let's see if a booster would be needed at all. Would be great to get away without any cables.

Thanks. If that's the only requirement then lets hope they will make some nice rugged ones made for prospecting.

I like freedom of choice as well. I just hope the integrated Bluetooth feature has not something unique custom build for ML that you can't do with others when using the 6000. In that case, you would be limited to just use cable.

I hope they are more rugged than the previous ML headphone models which I find fragile. Something sturdy like the Grey Ghost would be great so I wouldn't have to constantly worry

8 hours ago, sturt said:

Potential purchasers of the new 6000 (when it gets here) will need to be careful how they throw it around, because the feet at the rear of the detector comes off the battery cover,

It never occurred to me to throw an expensive detector around (or any detector or equipment for that matter). Not sure what your guy's intentions are when spending 6-10k that at some point needed to be earned. I love my machines too much to treat them like sh.t. 😵 Now, accidental drops that's another matter. Never had any issues with that.

49 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I hate to admit it, but going into 60, my body shifted gears. I went from feeling 30, to feeling my age, seemingly overnight. I’ve been pounding the ergo drum for a decade, and it’s been very much about me getting detectors for my latter years. I have all the detecting power I need starting with GPX 5000. I could go back to one, and still feel like I can find gold just fine. Anything better is gravy from my perspective.

There is just no way anymore, that I want to deal with harnesses and bungees in rough mountain terrain. That stuff is fine on an Australian flat. 45 degree and worse hillsides and canyons thick with vegetation? Not so much. The GPX 6000 addresses my major concern, which is not finding gold with the newest Minelab model. For me, the ergonomics is what I’ve been after now for years. I’m not concerned over the nitty gritty details of max performance. I’m doing this now, finally, for fun, not money. Great ergonomics will keep it fun, instead of being work. Great ergonomics will extend my useful years left for detecting.

Some of us are running out of steam, and this can help with that. New machine enthusiasm does also genuinely help motivate me to get out. I don’t see how I can lose with this one. I’m investing in being nicer to my body, to preserve what I have left for as long as I can. I’m kind of wishing now that I’d had that epiphany at a younger age. Who knew... you can wear your body parts out!

That is the best justification for buying the 6000 that I have read on this forum thus far. Well said Steve. The performance/weight (ergonomics) ratio appears to be the best of all ML machines ever made. Even for the <60 folks a hugely important factor. I use the GPZ mostly on flat "Aussie like terrain" as you said. But this covers only about 30% of all grounds that I usually hunt. For the remaining 70% the 6000 will be a godsend. From that perspective, the US $5999 price tag appears to be on the lower end. From all that we know about this machine including options included in the box, the price tag could have easily been in the $8000 range.

14 minutes ago, mn90403 said:

This is an interesting little story about Mineral Park, Arizona.  It tells about a geologist who was told to find ore or be fired.  There is a bit of history about fine gold recovery also.

Thanks for sharing, Mitchel. Great write up and story. I guess he eventually found that soft ore. But not a very flattering description of our brotherhood....

"Metal detectors are used to find gold nuggets by weekend prospectors. In Gold Basin during a winter weekend, they’re like ants combing the hills with their detectors"

17 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Sales law says the price should be $5999,

Spot on. But I was told an additional 99 cents 😉

2 minutes ago, afreakofnature said:

I think the pros will be buying this when it first comes out.  They will get it paid off right away.  The noobs and weekend warriors will buy too if just getting into the game, they wont make their money back in gold. The weekend warriors like myself who already bought into the Z will wait and if reviews come back solid we will be buying the used gear for half from the noobs that gave up. 🤣. That’s kind of what I saw with the Z. After the first few years with the Z there was so many used ones for sale and some really cheap. Usually came from people who bought it went metal detecting for like three days and decided it wasn’t for them.  Bonus for us! 🤣🤣

Don't count on buying mine 😉

33 minutes ago, afreakofnature said:

Now if the wife comes with me camping then I’m like in luxury because she likes doing all that in field, even cleanup and everything else that comes with lux camp life.

Lucky you! If there is no 24h room service, my wife won't go...

Then your day will be miserable....😉. Jk of course. Thus far I only had instant coffee on my trips but Norvic gave me an inspiration. Perhaps I will find more gold that way too....

22 minutes ago, Norvic said:

I`ll check the Gaggia out GC, obviously your a connoisseur of top coffee

I lived in Italy for a few years and that's all they had! I doubt anyone would drink from something less there... 😉 Take a look at this one. You might need your full 2000W for that one though.... But yeah, awesome to have a great espresso in style in the bush!! Will definitely start doing the same. But might be a lower end machine considering how much I spend for my detectors....

Get the Gaggia espresso maker. It's the Minelab of all coffee machines 😁

6 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Minelab - The most hated name in detecting!

Thanks, Steve. I think those bumper stickers still would make ML look the best when compared to the other ones 😁. Love and hate seem to have a close connection. Perhaps a clever marketing strategy?

"Love and hate are intimately linked within the human brain, according to a study that has discovered the biological basis for the two most intense emotions."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-prove-it-really-thin-line-between-love-and-hate-976901.html 

36 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Seems like with GPZ it was months before we could even buy a skid plate

That would be a definite bummer. How would we enjoy the 6000 without skid plates on the provided coils??

Stunning indeed. And so clean!

This is actually a better link, it shows you how it works

https://my-geos.com/

4 minutes ago, afreakofnature said:

you can always press the $50,000 button

Get the GEOS insurance and they will cover all emergency rescues. Small annual fee but peace of mind.

https://www.geosworldwide.com/

I try to pack as light as I can but this depends on the "mission". In river canyons I always carry a foldable shovel and rock hammer next to my pick and crevice tools since I usually do some raking and digging first at strategic places to get close to bedrock and also to remove all the surface trash before I start detecting. This sounds labor intense and has no guarantee that you actually will find gold then, but if you just go to a river here in Northern California Motherlode country and start detecting, even at the higher up benches, you will just pick up the trash of the 10.000's of miners who have been there before. This is especially true for the large and "famous" ones, like the American River, Merced and Yuba river. And the miners were messy...! In the desert however with long detecting walks I am very minimal since everything remains on my body while detecting/digging. Camelback (3 l), wallet, keys, first aid, extra sun screen, pick, scoop, pin pointer, crevice tool, sometimes extra light jacket, headlamp (!), salt tablets, 2 energy bars (that won't melt!), small battery for re-charging the WM12 (if needed), SP01, hipstick, small belt bag with jeweler's loop and gold container, belt pouch for trash, dust mask with high filtration (!). The only "luxury" item I always have with me is a Garmin Inreach Explorer+ with GPS and dual satellite communication/SOS feature. Never go without it. For longer missions I also take my Iridium Extreme Sat phone. I always like to call my daughter and wish her good night when I am away 🙂