Aureous

Yes, quite right Rick. The years are a blur when you're old

Nukem, talk to a dealer who there at the conference. Tell them that you heard about the 3 different machines including a new Pulse gold unit due out this FY. If you know them well enough, you'll tell right away if its true. I've heard it from 2 dealers and confirmed it with a 3rd. The SDC is almost 5 years old and the GPZ is 4 years old in November. They are BOTH due for a replacement this FY. ML upgrades their units in each market niche every 4 years on average.

Remember guys, the info was that there are 3 detector types due out from ML this financial year. The Vanquish series is just one of them. The GPZ is due for replacement in November (4 years is up). The SDC 2300 is overdue by almost a year. Something to think about ?

NHNZ, I havent used the ground scan much but I can see that it functions as advertised. Yes I love the threshold on the 24K, it never wavers in most ground conditions, only in hot ground or salty ground. The 6x4DD still isnt being advertised yet?

Yes, the QED is more of a task to get running well if you're used to Minelab PI's....if its all green pasture to you, with zero PI experience, the QED will suffice nicely. Get some in field training with Reg or Stinky Pete and you'll find its a great unit at a great price. But get some flat-wound mono coils to run on it, the 9" Elite and 14x9 Evo worked great on mine.

Interestingly, the AU$12,995 price tag would indicate a gold prospecting unit in the same vein as the GP7000, same $$ number that I was told a few days ago. No coin/relic machine would sell for that $$

Jasong, the dealers would be 'raked over the coals' if any of this was made public....ML know it will happen but they have to make it look like they're keeping a lid on it ? Apparently other forums have more details.... seems to confirm what Ive said.

Also, with ML having a 4 year cycle between major prospecting unit releases, the Zed stands at 3 years 6 months right now.....something extra to think about

Please note that Codan-Minelab's core tasks from FY16-18 were "To lessen dependence on the GPZ 7000" and create a "Wider metal detector product range" which was done by the R&D team over those 2 years.... the Investor presentations run to end of each financial year and that ends in 7 weeks. Hence the release of the info at the dealer conference a few weeks ago. 2 dealers have now confirmed the replacement of the Zed. When this will happen???... they both say before the end of this year. With 3 machines due out, its a matter of which comes first.

Ive used every single detector mentioned on this thread, for ease of use the 2300 is best. Best value for $$: QED (but more self training is needed to get the best out of it) and the 4500/5000 is of course a great option. For the QED and GPX, use spiral wound coils only, otherwise you're flogging the same depth capabilities of everyone else for the past 10 years. The QED is a killer with the small 9" coiltek elite and any big coil when adjusted to a wider pulse train and coil match.

Yes, the Oz fed Govt provided a grant to develop the new Countermine system, but thats a separate dept within Codan and nothing to do with the Dealers conference 'unveil' of the 3 new 'consumer' dept detectors. My guess is replacements for the 3030. 2300 and the Zed. Seems like the Zed replacement will be 1st off the rank, to combat the new 1st Texas PI. It must be 'Vanquished' apparently...

Yes, the 'silence' from the usual testers is always an indication of 'probability'

Plus 'THAT' video isn't from Minelab anyway. With grammar like that, it would be a huge joke for it to be associated with such a renowned company. ML don't have that video anywhere on their site nor any other info that I can find.

Phrunt, the info I heard was good. You may note that I said there were 3 machines due out by ML before the end of the year. One is indeed a replacement for one of the current lineup of coin/relic units (my bet is the 3030) but the main point is the GPZ replacement, it IS exactly what Jin quoted,even down to the suggested RRP. A handful of testers have been busy with the prototypes for a couple months now. The depth advantages and 'other' features are 'astounding' they reckon. My guess is release within 3 months....

The dealer also noted that the Z was only 2/3 through its 'life expectancy' as a new detector....but methinks Minelab can smell some potential competition in the PI prospecting arena and hence the 'Vanquish' name.... they wanna smash the competition before it starts.

Re-copied my post from elsewhere on this forum: I'll say what I know (third-hand) from a dealer. The Vanquish is the new Gold prospecting detector that is an evolution of the GPZ7000. It will have an astounding price-tag, which has become typical of Minelab. We'll probably faint when its announced ? Very cryptic, but Ive heard that there are 2 more detectors due out before the end of the year also, one to possibly to replace the SDC2300 and another to replace the CTX3030. One thing that WAS stressed about the new mega-prospecting machine, it will have astounding depth capabilities and will pull gold from thrashed locations like a cash register ? They are THAT confident. We will await the facts when they arrive.... Whether this is mis-information or not, I dunno. But the dealer in question has a stout reputation and has never BS'd anyone before

I'll say what I know (third-hand) from a dealer. The Vanquish is the new Gold prospecting detector that is an evolution of the GPZ7000. It will have an astounding price-tag, which has become typical of Minelab. We'll probably faint when its announced ? Very cryptic, but Ive heard that there are 2 more detectors due out before the end of the year also, one to possibly to replace the SDC2300 and another to replace the CTX3030. One thing that WAS stressed about the new mega-prospecting machine, it will have astounding depth capabilities and will pull gold from thrashed locations like a cash register ? They are THAT confident. We will await the facts when they arrive....

Hi NHNZ, your desire for the Monster in NZ is well founded. The mineralization over there is next to nothing I hear and so, the monster will NOT chirp, pop and fart like they do here in Oz. Hence you could run the monster in max gain settings and get amazing results. But, the 24K is no slouch and will better the monster in some conditions with more solid shaped gold. The thicker and more shotty stuff, the 24K with its 6" concentric coil will get you some serious depth. Its really a toss-up whether the 24K or the monster would be best for your NZ conditions. What I like most over the monster is that the 24K has a wonderful threshold buzz that is rock stable (not the BS digital beep of the monster) and a zappy analogue type beep for the targets.....takes me back to the 80's when I 1st started detecting. The iron ID is very reliable on anything larger than a nail and the numbers on-screen dont lie. The 24K is fully capable of finding ALL of the gold that the monster can, thats for sure. Its just a matter of ground conditions giving you a bonus over the monster or not. The coils are all shielded differently due to the added coil amperage/voltage so none of the old goldmaster coils can be used on the 24K. the new 6x4DD 24K coil is due to be available at the end of this month. Im getting one!

Hi again everyone, I've had a few weeks off the goldfields and just spent another 7 hours recently, so 42 hours use, 84 bits of gold and 760+ pieces of junk (mostly lead shot). Loving it ?

Seems incredibly obvious to me that for a Gold prospecting version of this detector to be successful, it NEEDS to not only have a quality ground balancing system (tested worldwide), but if it has to be a single channel detector, and this seems to be suggested by the variable pulse delay control, it MUST have a variable sampling speed as well. A 7uS delay seems incredible but the sampling speed needs to be SDC2300-like to make it desirable within that price range. Perhaps the pulse width/sampling rate could be made fully adjustable to allow big coils for deep, large nuggets as well. And on that note, they'd be incredibly dumb to build a machine with proprietary coils and not allow all Minelab compatible coils to be used.....almost all serious detector prospectors will either use, or have a few ML type coils in the cupboard. A huge selling point if they're smart....unless they decide to increase the coil voltage/current to boost the coils field....in which case they WILL need to market proprietary coils.....the wait for more info is stressful lol

Probably only 1 in 500 of us Oz prospectors have ever used a high frequency VLF, let alone own one. A friend told me that less than 10 of the 24k have ever been sold in Australia so far. Thats why I'm not letting the 'cat out of the bag' so much as yet. Ive left a lot out of the story so as not to create a rush lol

Just over 2 grams there, the ground conditions are mild and suit a high frequency VLF. With almost everyone using PI's here, the tiny targets are not heard at all. Maybe only 20% of these could be heard by an SDC2300. Even so, the soil isnt completely un-mineralized and the gain has to be left around 7 or sometimes 6. The XGB system and the coil current increase, coupled with that 6.5" concentric coil is all that was needed to get the gold flowing again ?

Yes, the key facts to recognize here, is that almost everyone in Oz uses PI's. This leaves all the tiny gold for me and a few others. Select ground that isnt terribly mineralized, and believe me, this isnt easy, and you have a huge number of targets to chase. I started using high frequency VLF's again after a break of several years using PI's exclusively. I got a shoulder injury which forced me to select a lightweight detector. I chose a Gold Bug 2 and since 2013, Ive found well over 5,000 bits of gold. The gold has started to dry up near me and so I trialed a Gold Monster but didnt really like it much. Now switched to a 24K and MAN!....what a machine for this type of work. I'm going over all the same ground like its new again.

Well, Ive now gotten 15 hours of use with the 24K and now have 45 bits of gold and well over 500 pieces of trash all on heavy-hit ground. I am finding lumpy, rounded bits of gold and lead shot at 3+ inches quite commonly. The depth increase over the older Whites Goldmasters and the Fisher Gold Bug 2 is now quite apparent. I really must drag myself away from the 6.5" concentric coil for a while to properly test the 10x5DD coil in some hotter ground.....one day, when the gold gets harder to find perhaps ?

Jim, I run the 24K almost solely in fixed GB. Think I will take your advice and flatten the coil to the ground when searching my scoop contents. Doubtlessly it IS because of the XGB tracking as you say ☺️