Aureous

A friend has owned one since August and he reckons it has almost the same sensitivity of the 11"! Goes noticeably deeper on bullet sized targets (or bigger) than the 11" though. A couple YT test-patch videos show the 17" matches the 7000 using the standard 14" DOD on every target. An 18" round flat-wound coil should beat the 7000 theoretically. I expect that this size is one that Coiltek will be working on. When I pick up my 6000, a 17" ellip coil will be my next purchase.

Yes, quite an amateurish effort compared to what Minelab do in the M/E or African market. I think NM need to upgrade their promotional efforts now that they've 'modernized' the detector they want to sell. But, the previous iterations of this detector are really quite good and I can only imagine that the current 'GF2000' is the same in performance. But, nuthin beats actual in-field testimony....

I am writing up a beginners guide to gold prospecting with a metal detector and I feel compelled to include this in the IB-VLF recommended section....but I can't speak to anyone who's used one. The high frequency Kruzer and Racer, yes.....but not the GF2000. Looks pretty good and going by its predecessors it SHOULD be good. But thats not the same as hearing from a user. I've trialed the Gold Kruzer and the AU Gold Finder, both of which are very capable so I'd imagine this is in the same league???? Anyone????

With perhaps 5 pounds of quartz (guesstimate), it leaves a US$ value of $364,000. A realistic 'unique specimen' value might drag its value over $500K. But $1M???..... all depends on how much someone with deep pockets really, really wants it.

A $2 part that should come supplied with a multi thousand dollar machine I would suggest. But I already have one spare here for when I collect my own 6000

What about powerline interference? Does the DD coil handle that well enough?

Two points, Minelab have a huuuge markup from actual production costs and the end wholesale price of the product. The 4500 was something like 350% so its likely that hasn't changed. BUT, Minelab have huuuuge overheads with a world class R&D dept which swallows lots of money to provide us all with cutting edge detection tech. There's no doubt that ML are doing 90% of all of the actual R&D advancements in metal detector technology....no one else comes close. So, with that in mind, lower costs in manufacturing become crucial. 2nd point is that China is no friend to Codan and Minelab. Both parent and child companies have been hacked and spied upon extensively. With Codan being a world class comms company and lots of military contracts/connections, the electronics manufacturing (PCB, power supply, screen etc) had to be placed in a friendly country (Commonwealth, ASEAN, English speaking) with excellent quality control and strong, anti Chinese security measures. Malaysia is the only country that 'fits the bill'.

Given that I started this topic, I suppose that even my ACTUAL direction was that I was hoping to shake Garretts tree and get something to drop out... ...and on that note, Steve, how do you 'see' the worldwide marketplace in regards to sales numbers, dealer networks etc? IS Garrett the number 2 metal detector manufacturer in the world now? Surely Minelab will be number 1... If that's true, I suppose it makes my 'case' that the No.2 brand should have such a sensible prospecting PI in their lineup. Without true competition, the consumer suffers...

Running a major forum can be a huge headache with things getting 'heated' quite quickly and Steve runs a tight ship under very trying circumstances more often than we all appreciate. Keeping subject matter focused helps to keep that ship off the rocks lol. There has been a sh*tload of angry words exchanged in the past when the ATX was released and even for years afterwards. ML VS Garrett rivalry is not a pretty sight and I'm certain Steve wants to see no more of it.... thats pretty much all there is to it....frustration, not anger.

I think I remember Bob Podhrasky having a couple forum memberships in past years? Plus Vaughn Garrett too??? Dunno if they've continued this measure, but it would make huge sense to keep track of public demand and points of view on their products if they did. Company's can only grow if they pay attention to their customers.

Yeah, which is precisely why a bias control with better coding and coils will 'close the gap' somewhat. But, a single Ch PI will never beat a machine with 2-3 simultaneous channels running independent timing codes. This is why Minelab will remain 'King' due to their strong patent protection philosophy. But, if that one single channel was fully focused on that one desired target-size range in that one desired in-soil depth....plus being 1/3 the cost of a new Minelab, then it becomes a desirable machine.

I did a number of SxS tests with a GP3000 and a GPX4500 when I owned an ATX and found it heard everything that the ML units did UNTIL it reached roughly a 3-5 gram size limit (depending on density of the gold) and then the ML units 'galloped away'. BUT, on undug targets, not on a test patch, the ATX could find gold that the 4500 couldn't hear. It excelled at thin, wiry bits and rough hackly specimen type gold better. I used it on several patches I'd hammered to pull an extra 30-40 bits. But then the weight and awkwardness of the damned thing completely f&%ked an already worn out shoulder and I was destined not to use a PI detector for 3 years. So, to my mind, given a new set of timing codes with a bias adjust (like the QED), with aftermarket coil support, it most definitely has a place in the market.

That perfectly sums up the situation Steve. The price-point gap in the prospecting PI market is a huge opportunity for ANY manufacturer right now and Garrett is the only one able to exploit it....unless FTP has the Impulse gold more advanced than we are lead to believe. Lost opportunities......

What is Garrett thinking I wonder, to advance the evolution of the ATX circuit? Its a good, solid detector for a single channel PI circuit. If it was removed from the big, heavy, bulky ridiculous housing with the big, bulky, heavy, ridiculous collapsing stem setup, I'm sure it would sell a heap more. Collaborating with a well known and respected coil manufacturer to make available the proprietary plugs and specs would also help heaps. A good coil range sells detectors as we all know. My thoughts also stretched to how the QED (also being a single channel PI) can be adjusted to have faster or slower sampling with relevant timings to either find small gold/targets OR bigger, deeper gold/targets. Seeing how Minelabs patents (MPS) don't allow for multi-channel detectors to be built by any other company, I suspect that this adjustable concept is the logical step to make? Use a small coil: fast sampling/timing. Use a large coil: slower sampling/timing. Garrett has a very good PI circuit in the ATX....why not actually (FINALLY) turn it into the quality prospecting PI that it was supposed to be? Most of the engineering is already done so I'd imagine the cost of doing the rest wouldn't be a huge financial burden. God knows the Fisher Impulse Gold isn't on the horizon any time soon so perhaps a well positioned gold prospecting PI detector with ground tracking and great sensitivity should be a focus for Garrett? Especially now that Whites range of prospecting PI's are now gone from the marketplace. They have the 24K to cover the entry level high frequency VLF side of their 'lineup' so now its time to offer a practical prospecting PI as well. Undercut Minelab's high price point by a good margin (which won't be hard to do) and I would suspect that sales should flow, especially in Africa. I think I know Steve's thoughts on this....what about everyone else?

Yesterday afternoon I went out for 4 hours with the 24K on a spot I'd been recently thrashing with the 4500M (got 21 bits there for 3gm) and found a further 8 teeny bits for .5gm incl a little specie. I hadn't used it for 6-7 months and it was quite fun to get so many small targets which included about 30 bird shot, wire and a un-fired percussion cap. My poor shoulder was thankful for the rest too....my 4500M weighs over 3kg and the teeny weight of the 24K was like it wasn't there at all lol I'll have to do this more often....

No gold yet Simon? Thought ya would have shown some Kiwi Yellow by now.... If I ever have to get rid of my 24K, it will be a sad day. Think I might give it a run soon to give my 4500 (and my shoulder) a rest. Did Nel ever announce their snake coil for the 24K??? I dont see it on their website yet. The little 6" ellip DD is a must have for here in Oz.

I owned a 4500 for a few years, then got a shoulder injury and had to go back to a lighter VLF machine....first a GB2, then a 24K. After surgery and healing, I decided to mod my 4500 and wow!...what a difference. Ive now found 3x as much gold as I did before it was modded. Since using it again last Sept, my 4500 has found me 721 bits of gold weighing over 5.6oz. No way in a million years would I bother with an unmodded 4000 now. My next step up is a 6000 though 😏

I am told reliably that one 6000 option being trialed by Coiltek is a version of the Elite 9" round. A smaller bundle-wound coil is also being considered. Probably a Joey-sized 10x5.

NE, that seems pretty decent. The AS70 might be one finally worth buying lol. The stock ML headphones seem very good too....I couldn't detect any lag worth mentioning. That certainly gives me confidence. Thanks heaps :-)

I'm using a modded 4500. The 6000 is yet to come....hopefully by the end of the year Damned bills....🚽

NE, Ive only tried a friends 6000 for a trial and I'm slowly putting gold aside to pay for one.....but bills keep getting in the way 😞 I dont have any ML wireless headphones to try but Ive used all the same brand types from the transmitter brands Ive tried. So far, none have been fast enuff for my liking. If it aint as quick as a set of corded headphones, I wont bother. Gold wise, yeah Im doing OK I spose....nuthin like the good old days though lol. Im sitting at 5.6oz for the year so far....477 bits, 8.5 grammer is the biggest.

Ok, well here's just a few from the past 2 months.....

Transmitter plugged into the detector and then the same brand headphones or earbuds paired to the transmitter.

Im more Ballarat way but I'm curious....how do you compare the 6000's own wireless headset to the AS70? Better speed? Just curious as to its latency...

Yeah NE, I was trying everything I could to make them worth the $$ I paid. But that fraction of a second difference just sh*ts me to tears lol I thought I hit the jackpot last year when M-Pow made a new transmitter and 'Plus' earbud set combo....it looked like exactly the thing I was looking for, so I could wear my old army slouch hat....but NOPE. That slight delay was just enuff to irritate me and revert back to std headphones.