Aureous

Wireless... its what I use for everything these days. BT transmitter: Avantree Relay or Audikast units. Headphones: Nokta BT, Minelab ML-80 or 100 and Creative Soundblaster V2. These combos provide super speed, without lag and great sound quality/sensitivity. My 'go-to' setup is normally the Relay and Nokta combo. Best Ive used.

3.5 hours in the morning, when its cooler. 5 minutes travel time. Easy lol

Yes, on 'busy' diggings, where gold was aplenty and thieves skulked about in the dark, everyone was armed and the business of 'keeping your powder dry' required at least one shot being discharged every day....not only to show that your claim had protection, but your powder supply was functional. Since using the GM2K, Ive found a lot more black powder percussion caps as well as lead shot. Some are very tiny, meant for small 'pepperbox' type revolvers I suspect.

They sure were....nah I never knew the guy, but that suspiciously looks like a young Tony Mills in the background? The short guy with the blue shirt and brown pants?

Nice find Simon! It really gives hope that Nokta has a great R&D team with big brains on hand and can give Minelab a run for their money. Competition gives all us end-users a better product, sooner

I was wondering if this was the same 'Kingy' I met in Meeka back in the early 90's....looks like it was. There were a few such blokes back then, Jonny P in the Kimberley was an ex Italian POW who came back to Oz after the war and took to prospecting as a way of life. He had a freezer full of beef with a huge golden bottom layer with 100's of ounces in it, as well as numerous milk powder tins full of $$ notes and 'small stuff' (anything from crushed species to bits under 5 grams or so). The gold buyer in Halls Creek often handled his gold 'a tin at a time'. If any Aussies here remember the Sunshine instant milk cans, you'll know just how much gold they could handle....probably a kilo I reckon. He slept with a big black dog and a loaded Carcano rilfe. Another guy was 'Eric the Viking', a prospector from Victoria who went bush every winter to WA. He had a hugely successful miners right claim at Havelock and got 100's of ounces from it, plus 2 patches in WA that yielded a few 100oz as well. He often drove around with a shoebox full of gold under his seat. Alex Kamp was another pro prospector who kept a large 'kitty' of gold under his bed. I saw a couple army .30 ammo cans full...he was always armed. 'Pommy Dave John' was also a legend in WA on his leases (Wilsons or Goanna Patch...cant remember now) with his table often covered with gold after a 'good days pushing'.... all gone now but legends still.

@dig4gold, I couldnt agree more... no sense in chucking it out if its only split on the edge....it will wear out on the section of the cover most at risk while the rest is only mildly affected. Reinforcing it is wise (Araldite-Epoxy glue) and practical. I just rotate the cover 90 degrees and secure with a dot or two of silicon....it will then start wearing out in that location lol. After a few individual splits, its 'throw out' time and I'll put on the replacement. Another 4 hours this morning (gonna be 35 degrees C here) for 19 bits...over 1gm. Another lazy AU$200

I hope Nokta realise that without a type of ground noise filter, the Goldex+ wont be a big seller in the West. The Gold Monster 2000 has set a new benchmark that they will have to emulate.

Finally, after 14 weeks of use, the first coil cover on mine has split and as usual, the split is on the edge. I have simply rotated it 90 degrees and applied a couple dabs of silicon to hold it in place. Plenty of 'meat' left on it to keep going. Once it splits again, its a toss-out and I'll apply the included replacement. After that, the NF version will get a run. Usually NF make these from ABS so they should last a lot longer.

Something else that needs to be said, is that whatever detector this becomes, its NOT necessarily going to be called the GPZ8000. It might not even be ZVT pulse tech, but something else....although we should expect new patents being lodged if its new tech. Remember, Alf promised us 'Leapfrog' technology. So maybe its a new design, new naming concept as well. But, still more likely to be an evolution of ZVT methinks. As usual, we will see in due time....

Nope. Because ML have (for the past several years) patented everything to a miniscule detail, the innovations and design of EVERY new detector by EVERY manufacturer has to be navigated like an orienteering exercise. Its a long standing focus of Minelab to delay and obscure every rival from bringing a 'good' detector to market before they can. The 'Patenting of everything' is their weapon. This is why they're always ahead and can charge whatever $$ they want. Also, their R&D dept is perhaps 5-10 years ahead of everyone else up until now....

The European commentators are still suggesting 'Patent issues' are holding the release up...

Some chatter from various local and international dealers are hinting at the imminent promo schedule of the promised 2nd Gold Prospecting detector from Minelab. I am suspecting its the long awaited GPZ7000 replacement. Alf Ianello (Codan CEO) promised its release before the end of this financial year and that time-frame only has 4 months to go. Given the release months in years gone by, I am betting on an April date, provided that all the tech and testing has been finalized. 'Leapfrog tech' level 2 bets are now open....

One thing that I havent seen as yet with the L2, is the ground suppressor function still there?....and is it any better than the original L1 version? Does it show any potential to rival the Gold Monster 2000 and maybe will this function have a major part to play in the Goldex+ when its released I wonder???? 🤷‍♂️

Yes, 'my money' is on April 2026 for the Z8K. Bets are now open....