Aureous

Of course, the ideal situation is a 6000 with all the operator controls and coils (current and future) of the Axiom....probably sumthin that the 6000 shoulda been from the start but yeah.....Minelab with their wringing every last penny from the customer attitude (eg coil chips) and focus on dumbing down the user-interface to appease beginners (more new customers) and African buyers have put that concept in the bin.

This wouldnt happen to be a certain Tony and Lisa? To be completely fair, the Axiom is looking more and more like a solid competitor to the 6000. It has far more user options (although the 6000 is more likely to be a beginner favorite due to its almost compete automation) and leaves the operator more in control. Coils are going to be a winner for the Axiom and sensitivity is almost on par as well. If a beginner wants a detector to get started and get results, get the 6000. If you want a machine that also gets results but will 'grow' with you, as you learn how to run it more effectively, get the Axiom. My 2c worth.....

I hope your evaluation of the 12x7 is a premonition of my own experience next month.....only been waiting since June. I will be using nothing else for a long time methinks, even though I was lucky enuff to receive a 'good' 11" with my 6000. Been there, done that. I was a big fan of buying new gear, eating steak, drinking whiskey each night on the good weeks......not a fan of eating 2 year old spaghetti from a tin and not even a beer for a wash-down on the bad weeks.... Always best to have a back-up source of income before heading out 'professional'. Thankfully, these days even 5 grams of gold a week with a 6000 can keep you in food, fuel and a little grog if you live rough in the bush.

Maybe Im missing something in this very long thread, but GB states that in other locations, the Axiom runs amazingly well? Im thinking that the knock noise is a coil axis issue due to the severe soil. In these mineral soil conditions, the soil becomes conductive like salt but worse. In the zinc soil I mentioned, the Geologists could run a DC current thru the dirt for several meters. The earth field becomes amplified also. But like you said Steve, without physically being there, its all guess work and we could all be completely wrong....

Interesting issue GB....Not owning an Axiom, but with 8 months behind a 6000, I can state that there IS some ground that it absolutely hates. Remembering my many years prospecting in WA, regarding that silty ground and the fine laterite soils, SOME are totally unstable to various detectors and perfect on others. I remember walking away from a laterite patch near Ora Banda using a 3000 and went back the following year with an old 2100 and it was fine. Here in Vic, Ive found several patches of near-surface orange clay, that when moist, are a 'walk away' situation. No amount of dumbing down the detector will help. But Ive used a Gold Bug 2 on these patches without issue. Go figure.... Initially, I looked at the video and thought... "he kept tracking off in that noise???" But you later said it was equally hopeless with it on so there's goes that theory lol. As shown above, there seems to be some benefit occasionally in switching to a manual ground balance machine and trying again, but it seems very likely that the soil on that patch has either a sodium or aluminium content. Both of which are soluble with water flow and deposit in upper layers of the soil profile once the ground water evaporates. If anyone has ever tried to use a detector on bauxite-derived silt, you'll get the picture. Its like a wet beach x10 as far as noise goes. Ive learned from a couple geologists that even zinc infused silt does the same. I'm imagining that this is your issue. I very much want the Axiom to be the detector that everyone uses as a bench mark for years to come and shakes ML from their comfort zone, so I hope your future evaluations bring a smile to your face.

Yes, I agree....the 7000 is way too heavy for me. 40+ years of swinging detectors has totally made my shoulder unsuitable for use with a heavy detector. The 6000 is perfect and the Axiom seems even better than perfect as far as weight is concerned. I'm now waiting for the Nox800 to be discounted before buying one to replace my old T2.

As I mentioned some time ago, I got direct info stating that ML's lawsuit was regarding the Legend and SMF in particular. Someone within ML (3rd hand) even suggested that the code for the Demod/mod switching was directly copied via active computer sampling which is a complete headf*ck method of deconstructing code....something that only monumental electronics-guru's brains are capable of. If true, then NM have some seriously smart guys working for them.

That was Just a gentle prod to get to see the Axiom in action more here in Oz, thats all. BTW, if ya aint older than 60, we're the same gen..... I done learned that noo-fangled video thingy so its never too late to learn 😉

Remember Norvic, if it aint on video, it never happened.....we all wanna see what you think/see/find with the Axiom in 'real time'. <thumbs up with big grin>

This is a massive point of contention, one that ML have never dealt with. The most expensive detectors SHOULD come with the best consumer experience. THEY DO NOT.

First thing next year, its getting sent off to get the fix done. I'm desperately trying to reach the 800 piece mark for 2022 and don't want the detector out of my hands until its done. Haven't reached the 800+ mark since 2014 and I want to attribute it all to the 6000. Getting the detector back will probably coincide with the NF 12x7 Xceed coil being available lol.

Pretty cool Youtube channel of a West Australian chopper-muster pilot chasing gold via Robinson R44...... well worth a look:

Fairly sure it was a single print run in 1979 and not reprinted since. Although you can print off your own via the net now.

Mine is a reprint from 1979 via Peter Bridge's publishing company 'Hesperian Press'. Its printing was paid for via a very gracious gift of significant $$ from none other than Charles Garrett. It was intended to spur interest in buying more Garrett metal detectors of course....I think it worked.....

i was thinkin the same thing......<rubbing chin, staring strangely> Either way, its what I want, what I paid for back in June, what broke my patience strain-gauge......

TBH Steve, I'm genuinely surprised that you say both the Infinium and the ATX are dual channel PI's.....I've never seen that published on any Garrett website, maybe I missed it or maybe its more 'secret squirrel' stuff. In fact a great many years ago, a certain Garrett exec who came to Oz when the Infinium was released here stated publicly that it was only a single channel machine. Doesn't really matter much now either way, coz the Axiom is the focus of our attention. The older units can now gracefully fade away into obscurity lol.

Not 100% sure, but sounds utterly ridiculous. Ive never known Minelab to sell ANY IP to ANYONE. The Whites TDI was a single channel, single voltage PI. It was a modified Eric Foster design and nothing to do with ML. Whites had nothing else PI-wise on the drawing board before their closure (Carl Moreland would assist in this) as far as anyone has heard. What IS CERTAIN, All of Minelab's older PI patents have now expired (MPS and DVT- you don't see those acronyms on any ML detector label anymore), and this is why Garrett can finally make a dual channel, dual voltage, fast sampling PI detector....FINALLY. Unless some out-of-character strange 'Secret Squirrel' deal was made behind closed doors, I see this "IP sale to Whites' idea as being extremely unlikely.

Wow, thats excellent news! If the Axiom can keep up with the 6K, then the aftermarket coils from Detech will add a positive direction as well. Seeing that Garrett didn't go down the greedy BS chipped-coil direction, its a real win for Axiom owners! Cheaper, better and more coil options without the ridiculous pricetag! Win, win and win!

It was quite amusing to see the vast quantity of crap, utterly useless and idiotic. SMH

Ive heard more than a few ppl say that Quest make a pinpointer that Minelab should copy....so that they get it right....

I was gonna buy a Nox800 in the new year......now I'm thinkin the 900.....Or maybe if the old stock 800's drop in price, I'll still gonna get an 800. We'll see.

TRUTH! Steve has been instrumental in applying actual field knowledge to several company's products...which is absolutely critical. I know from personal experience with 3 diff detector company's that too many 'yes men' have too much influence and field testers advice can be ignored. I know for a fact that many of JP's suggestions have fallen on deaf ears at Minelab. Basic weight reduction strategies for the GPZ7 is one glaring example. Without the high profile field advisors like Steve, Gerry and JP, much of what is obvious to us, becomes irrelevant nonsense to them. To this day, I am stupefied that all manufacturers don't have dedicated IT staff to interact with the customer base via Forums and social media. Both they and we could learn a lot from each other.

Nokta may 'bleed' very bad next year if the Minelab lawsuit against them bears fruit. I haven't searched the whole gamut of legal-eze on the suit, but if its directly attributable to the SMF patents, then the Legend will vanish along with a lot of their $$.

Yeah I heard that...a mate has a Nox800 and uses it in 40khz only with a 6" coil and does well with it. Hunts reeflines and mullock only, which is what the VLF's 'shine' on anyway. Mineralization is not the HF-VLF's friend lol. Good finds and nice country BTW.

Perfectly sums it up lol