flakmagnet

To be honest, I don't dig everything…and I sometimes have incredible second thoughts about it. But I do dig most targets, especially the unusual sounding ones as well as the 'good sounding' ones and the ear-busters. As I mentioned in another thread, the almost two ounce piece I found at 14" could have been found with a Radio Shack detector and it almost blew my headphones off.

me neither…we have seen this charade.

Happily I am fortunate enough to have a GPZ and an Equinox 800 (corrected. Thanks Chase) and don't really have to worry about any upcoming detectors. I do think there will have to be substantive changes in the next ML gold detector though - especially if it is more likely to be released in 2021. This is a fun discussion though, I always learn something in these threads.

haha Fred, we all have our definitions I guess. For me, someone following me in order to take advantage of the research and footwork I have done, is a rip-off. I get it about not going public, but even you might agree that those Goldhound videos were some of the best ever done of what is our hobby and their living. Hope you are doing well...

I think you misread the post: I said people were trying to follow them and find where they were detecting (which is a ripoff, no?)

what a waste of time...

Those guys were, and are, wonderful generous gents who had so many people trying to follow them and essentially rip them off, they stopped making their incredibly educational and entertaining videos. It was our loss but I certainly don't blame them. For those that don't think there's any more surface gold around, check this out, it's from last year.

Go Simon, Go...

Phrunt, Steve is a bottom-liner, but don't let that fool you, he's just as big a dreamer as we are and he's been at it a hell of a long time. Keep dreaming...

I agree Jasong. There is no point in another expensive detector, especially with GPZ-type weight without some sort of major advancement. It is hard to imagine there are no improvements in the ML pipeline…that is not how they do business. How often have we heard JP relate he was working on an upgraded detector even as ML's latest public release was fairly recent? That is how they roll their R&D. It may be some sort of discrimination, or a number of other possibilities that are seemingly within ML's capability. The physical depletion of surface gold is our problem. Yes there are a lot of us who are older and less inclined to go further afield looking for new ground, but that is not the point as far as new detector technology is concerned. That is for the customer to deal with and should not be a reason for ML or whomever, not to continue to pursue their technological advancement, especially in the face of the jumps in electronic and computing capability that continue apace every year.

That is the problem…is it a nail or…? Also, you have no doubt seen Rob Allison's posts and videos…he finds rather eye-popping gold in Arizona with incredible regularity…some of them quite big. Anyway, good hunting.

All I can say is that the almost 2 oz nugget I found at 14 inches…totally screamed. I was not in a wash. I personally know of other people who have had the same experience.

I don't think anyone is saying that weight alone is the issue (except maybe after six or seven hours into a hunt). Best wishes...

However it goes it will be interesting. It would be cool to see an Equinox-like ZVT detector that's for sure, but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm not sure why they would essentially go backwards, at least as far as the platforms go. Who is going to want to pay for a lighter housing and a little bit of new tech on a machine that's already essentially out there? If there were a substantial price drop along with it (7000's here are being resold for under $6k), perhaps that might be something but not sure it would further the ML brand as such from their business side. I think a new release is going to have to be a jump in everything; tech (including coils that address the x-coil advancement), weight and yes, a better price.

Hi Norvic, yes I believe ML did the best they could to make the 7000 as lightweight as possible…they had to know they had heavy internal components. Just thinking that nowadays, there are more compact possibilities as the internal's have probably shrunk in the ever-changing electronic R&D rush forward. Hope all is well with you.

I think they would be a large step ahead if they solved their silly ergonomics. Even though it is not a problem for you, a rather sizable majority have been outspoken about the design weight among other things, and if they want to sell lots of units, this should be one of the key areas of change.

Just wow...

Here's the thing; if you are Red Dirt Digger or Reg or JP who not only have the inclination and the time to get out and detect, they have the know-how and they have the ground where success (i.e. paying off their detectors), is possible. Don't think most of us are in that situation. There is no way I will ever pay off my detector(s), and that was never the hope. If you try to be economically prudent with buying detectors and hunting for gold, you are in the wrong hobby. What my detector allows me to do is to get out into areas that I would not usually go, to test my skill and luck and try my hand at finding something…it is the hunt that you cannot put a price tag on. I am lucky in that I have been able to pay for my detectors mostly with gold I have found. But the majority of the gold I have found comes from about three summers of dredging in the Mother Lode of the Sierra Nevada's in the late 70's, spending 10 hours a day underwater. As a friend once commented it's like voluntarily going to Leavenworth under water (a famous prison where they used to crack rocks all day). At one time I had accumulated about five pounds of gold and at todays prices, because I saved most of it, that has helped pay for most of my detectors. Nowadays I do not have anywhere near that amount of gold, but I do have years of fantastic enjoyment of new places, new experiences and new people. That has been worth everything.

certainly would be nice to hear from Nuggetfinder or Minelab. But I've spent a lot of time out in the sun over the years so I'm probably hallucinating.

Wow you are focused and thinking about what you're doing. Any gold hiding in that area will not be able to hide for long. It will be an interesting next chapter, please include us.

Jason, from the shadow width, it looks sort of 'normal' Mid-year? sigh...

In case anyone else has a problem seeing the image:

No image shows up…you tease.

I have a telescoping shaft for the 800 and have had no problems with it at all. No wobble, it doesn't get clogged up with sand from the beach, no problem adjusting the shaft to the length that I prefer. All in all it has been a perfect add-on. I'm sure either type of shaft will be a help.