VicR

I dont think any one market is being favoured over another - there's no stock of the small elliptical equinox coil at the local Minelab distributor in Adelaide, South Australia which is where Coiltek manufacture their coils - so just being local does not mean we get priority. With a new product release the sales team will give production a forecast of what they think they will sell - no sales team would forecast that a new product will be the biggest selling product in the companies history - so its just going to take a while for manufacturing to catch up with demand.

There where some coil covers here for sale but have sold out. May have missed out on conversation re chips in coil - has someone x rayed them and there is no chip?

I inquired yesterday re a ETA for the 17" Mono coil for the 6000 (in South Australia) and the distributor does not have a date yet when they will have them - said Minelab were having chip supply issues and where concentrating on making the 6000 rather than accessories at the moment. Still a very large backlog of orders for the 6000 as well - suggested i could sell mine at a premium at the moment but that's not going to happening - too many adventures planned. Every detecting day my shoulder thanks me for the 6000 - but now other body parts (legs) are starting to complain because i am detecting longer.

I picked up my 6000 on Monday and have had 3 days of trying out the new toy. First day - i took it to a local prospecting area well known for EMI and tried the 11" mono - the closer i came to the EMI area the less stable it became till it was unusable so i switched to no threshold and lowered the sensitivity - which seemed to work as it was a lot quieter but was capable of sounding off on buckshot. The second day - in same area i tried the 14" DD which totally tamed the EMI so i could run it on manual 10 sensitivity with a threshold. So i am wondering which is better - 11" mono with no threshold and low sensitivity or 14" DD with high sensitivity and a threshold? Also on the second day a friend had his GPZ7000 and we tested a sub gram nugget and a 3 gram nugget. Both machines achieved very similar results - for example on the 3 gram nugget both detectors gave a iffy signal at 24cm but very clear signals at 23cms. Not a real scientific test i know but left us thinking both machines were very similar performance wise. Today i went to the beach to see how the DD coil performed in wet and dry sand - while there was occasional background warbles (i used no threshold) there was no problem in hearing targets loud and clear. Not sure i would use it for my beach work because of the lack of discrimination but for people who like digging everything, are hunting chains or need a bit more depth - it worked. Note - this was not a black sand beach. Likes - With the 11" coil its a breeze to swing - a bit heavier with the 14" but still good. No Sore Shoulder - & with no cords easier to be ambidextrous Set up time and tuning time is minimal. No cords , no battery back pack, no bungy cords - i did not get caught up in thick scrub. Headphones are comfy. Headphones paired easily (better than the Equinox). Confidence in performance tuning. Option of having threshold or no threshold. (switched to no threshold when pin pointing - made it easier sometimes with the 14" coil). Did i mention how light it is? Dislikes - None so far. Could do better (no deal breakers)- A case for the headphones would have been nice (like Equinox). Also a car cigarette lighter charger is not included. Wires on Headphones look pretty flimsy - time will tell if they are up to the job. A few times the rubber headphone socket protector unintentionally opened - its not a real firm fit. In summary - I have a smile on the dial - just need to get to some decent gold fields - maybe will be able to do that this weekend.

Great information to know.

Well maybe not one video but maybe say 3 on the functionality of the 6000 cutting out the spin, gloss and actors then having some regional highly experienced experts give their take on the 6000 with some tips on what to expect for their particular region without a dictated script. I would love to see Minelabs marketing plan (not to be confused with advertising plan) - if they have one -to understand their rational behind their fairly disjointed product launch of what is a extremely important product for the company. I'm guessing their prime focus is technology and product development with marketing possibly being a bit of a poor cousin afterthought. Anyway can't wait to pick up my 6000 on Monday - hopefully it will turn out to be as good as the girl of my dreams. Beach detecting I always get asked what has been my best find - I always say my wife - it gets a laugh from the ladies.

Maybe more the mannerisms and style of photography rather than straight out looks. Finding the big nugget is straight from All Aussie Adventures but then he would have some sort of stupid misadventure which would negate all the good work. Anyway I digress - I think it would be much better to have one large clip rather than 13. If you cut the theatrical nonsense it would be half the time to view as well and half the cost to produce.

Unfortunately the guy in the Minelab videos looks like Russell Coights All Aussie Adventures which puts me off the videos a bit. All Aussie Adventures is a comedy show about Russell who believes he is a real Aussie with an intimate knowledge of the bush but in reality knows bugger all and gets himself and the people he is trying to impress with his bush skills into all sorts of predicaments. I think I will stick to the manual.

Just received another phone call from Miners Den Adelaide. ETA for my 6000 has changed from mid next week to its here ready to be picked up. Thats good news but I'm currently 2 days drive away so will pick it up first thing Monday morning and have cleared my calendar for the rest of the week for local detecting to get a feel for the new machine.

Just had a confirmation from Miners Den Adelaide I should be able to pick up my 6000 on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. $7999 AUD. Wife was in the car when he confirmed the price. Lucky I had already told her how much it was otherwise I would now be in the dog house.

A good review of Minelabs current patent applications & you are correct - they are a hard read. Minelab have applied for 4 patents so far his year (6 last year) so they are definitely serious about keeping ahead of the pack and not becoming a sitting duck in business by resting on their laurels.

OK - so there is a group on this forum who will be early adapters (me included) who will be getting the 6000 hopefully this month and another group who will wait to see some real world reports from people using this machine. So my question is what should the early adapters be doing in the field and reporting on? One thing i will be doing is using threshold and when i find a target see if i can still hear it without the threshold - it should be easy to get meaningful data. Also on same target switching between manual and auto sensitivity. What works best? The big one is will the 6000 find gold other detectors cant see - will need a few mates with a Z, SDC, goldmonster and 5000 to test this one out on targets. Any other ideas?

Come on guys, reading the last 3 pages is a bit depressing - look on the bright side & the bigger picture. Last year i was blocked because of Covid and corresponding state border closures from doing any real gold prospecting in Oz (my home state has very little accessible gold fields) - i stayed home and caught up with all the home renovations🙄. This year - i have many trips planned - with or without the GPX6000, this year is going to be a ripper compared to last year . I wish everyone luck & good health & i am looking forward to reading all about your great finds & adventures over the next 6 months. Cheers.🙂

Minelab also markets the Etrac and CTX above the Equinox - sold my Etrac after 2 years of using the Equinox. I was getting much better results with the Equinox. Most of our club members who had the CTX are now using the Equinox. Not saying the 6000 will be better than the Z but that Minelab is not immune from using marketing spin when it suits them - the truth is out there just waiting to be unmuzzled.

We all have a little bit of Indiania Jones in us - otherwise we would be safely crocheting rather than detecting.🙂

I don't have the investment in a Z , SDC or 5000 - I'm sure if i did i would be hanging back to see how the 6000 goes in the real world - so i am jumping right in early (like i did with the equinox with no regrets) and there's a chance i will be able to pick up my pre ordered 6000 end of next week. I'm looking forward to a cordless, lightweight, simplified gold detecting world. I will keep the 4500 as a backup for when i go to the Aust. goldfields but that may go too when the lightweight son of Z is released in a few years.🙂

...... also interesting is "Maximum depth is achieved by having the threshold tone on" "To toggle the Threshold Tone on/off, long press the Ground Type button." Just my preference i would prefer a separate on/off button for threshold rather having to be in the know that you can do this on the ground type button. Wonder why a threshold would give you more depth rather than no threshold?

The new user manual is much better than the original draft version. Geosense-PI is mentioned - "..provides maximum depth by monitoring your detecting activity and environment - it automatically tracks and removes unwanted ground response, so minimal user input is required." I wonder what bits of "your detecting activity" is being monitored?

The quickest way to go out of business is to try to please everyone all the time - as it's an impossibility. If the GPX6000 doesn't tickle your fancy because you are happy with what you currently operate - no big deal - keep on using what you have but I'm sure deep down you will be wondering (and that itch will get bigger over time if current early performance reports are verified) - am i missing gold because i am using 6+ year old technology?

I learnt something from the videos - The threshold tone can be turned off or on in both the manual and automatic sensitivity modes. In the manual it only states that - Manual sensitivity has a threshold tone and auto sensitivity has no threshold tone what it should say is Manual defaults to a threshold tone and auto defaults to no threshold tone but you have the ability to turn the threshold tone off or on.

Page 17 of GPX6000 Manual - if inbuilt speaker sounds muffled or scratchy speaker cover can be removed by owners and " gently clean the speaker with a soft damp cloth or rinse with clean water to remove build up of dust and dirt" so big thumbs up to Minelab for making the speaker easy to service and waterproof.

I used the old Minelab 15 pin pointer for many years with no issues and converted to the 35 mid last year. The 35 is much more powerful and works every time for me using a 9 volt rechargeable battery. With both i turn on away from anything metallic and the ground, waiting for the single ping balanced signal before using - if you dont get the single ping balance signal the pin pointer will not work even though the light is on. - if the 35 is picking up ground minerals and buzzing on everything i just dial down the sensitivity a notch or two and it then works fine - much like you do on a detector when you are getting too much interference. I found that it is too easy to accidentally press the sensitivity adjustment buttons while using in a hole - sounds like you have hit on a target. As with most detectors the more you use it the more you get use to it. I immediately noticed the 35 has made locating targets faster for me compared to the Minelab 15 because it locates targets at a greater distance. Its interesting how peoples experiences of the same product can be so diverse. Some peoples experiences of the 35 sound like its a complete dud - i wonder if this is a quality control issue for Minelab?

"Enter the FINAL contest for the chance to win a Minelab T-shirt, Hat, Water Bottle, Headphones, PRO-GOLD Kit, Detector Carry Bag, Backpack, Prospector's Pack and Go-Pro Hero 9. Competition ends April 2, 2021. T&Cs apply." Thankfully the end is nigh for these lame Minelab GPX6000 promos - it all comes to an end on April 2 and maybe we will get some decent official information from Minelab after the end of the promo date - but it will be interesting to see if they ever do explain in detail what Geo - Sense is and how it works. Getting some interesting reliable whispers from people who have had training on the GPX6000 on actual goldfields in South Australia - all good so far.

The GPX11 and GPX14 are listed on the brochure as being trade marked but they are not listed on the Australian Government IP trademark website - i wonder where or how they are trade marked?

Well there is nothing about discrimination, target location, swing speed adjustment and mineralisation type in the GPX6000 manual. Possibly the video is old wish list information before there was more concrete (albeit limited) information about the 6000.