mn90403

Let's see how many nuggets the GPZ has missed that the Gold Monster will find! You won't want to use the Equinox on a GPX, 2300, Z or Monster patch ... go find some trash.

Yes, the GPZ is not being used on very many virgin or lightly detected patches in the US. It seems that a big 18" NF got deep gold and we found out about it. A couple of years ago we were some of the first ones in Alaska with the 7000 and big gold wasn't jumping out at us in Nome! The posting of finds has changed a bit in the last couple of years. People are keeping more quiet about the big nuggets I think. (Maybe that is just an antidote or excuse!!) The videos I have seen from Australia show much bigger gold for the Zed from time to time but they are still getting huge nuggets with the GPX from time to time as well so it isn't the detector. Mitchel

Does anyone know unit sales of any of the detector companies? If they are public then their public filings would list such things. How many E's does Minelab think they will sell? How many 7000s, 3030 and others have been sold? The private companies won't tell. Mitchel

You can pre-order in some places and it says: Minelab EQUINOX 800 Series Metal Detector Sku: 237-37200002 Now Only: $899.00 (or $42.00 bi-weekly)* *No ship dates yet (TBD). Please check back for more info soon! Availability: Out of Stock

All of this is making me dizzy. I have a Gold Bug Pro but it sits at home or sometimes in the car without use because I have a 7000 and 2300. Will I be able to find more gold where I have been hunting or do I still have to find new locations? (I know new is the default answer but you know what I mean.) I'm assuming that the E will handle trash better in all of its modes and might make a few pieces of gold visible in a slaw patch? We haven't had much discussion HERE on the coins, relics and other things people use detectors for. Is it really going to give me more pennies and quarters at the beach ... or a ring I would miss at less than 10 inches with the 3030? Mitchel

I had/have an old Pro-Find and I think it was the worst product I've ever used from Minelab. I very rarely use a pointer now. Mitchel

I was not meaning to think opposite or just one way or another about any company as much as I was saying Minelab had painted itself into a corner but it doesn't look that way now. They have breakout products. They are reinventing themselves in 3-4 years and not like the 15-20 years of other companies. All of the other companies in the market space will have their own troubles gaining, keeping or losing market share. Much of that market share can be from brand loyalty and other can be from innovation. An additional amount of market share will come from 'Made in USA' or 'Not Made in USA' folks. Whites's (who made my first detector) and the other brands need a 'practical MBA' to keep them relevant. Electronic innovations happen all the time and someone needs to keep up with them in all of those companies to know what can be applied to detecting. It makes features we desire less expensive and lighter. Mitchel

Steve, You are right that this is just a general business article. Mike sees the connection between other technology companies like computers and phones and I think it applies here. I think this applies to Minelab as much as anything. Look at what they had just a few months ago ... the most expensive 'line' of metal detectors in the industry. Sure we could argue it was the best technology but what could be next for them along those lines? (More expense when competitors are gaining market share?) Now they have somewhat 'reinvented' themselves with lower price, lighter, potentially more functional detectors that have excited the industry. They have staved off technical obsolescence. They are relevant in every discussion about metal detecting for gold, relics and beaches. This will result in some cannibalization. The alternative business plan would be to ignore the much larger market. That market is now an international collection of metal detectorists seeking to replace an existing detector with a maximum 'bang for your buck' purchase. Their new products can also appeal to the newbie market as well. Innovate or die. Mitchel

The CTX and Explorers/Etrac have a choice of response rather than Normal. I like smooth or long. Is that available on the Equinox? Mitchel

Detector Interference Free (DIF) technology! We'll see upon release and use. Mitchel

Can you carry this with a 7000? That is my question and will it find one of those .2 or .1g nuggets that are so hard to pinpoint? Mitchel

Norvic, What an easy way to be rid of him, eh? (I bet he doesn't think it was your idea all along!) Mitchel

This was sent as an email but is also a web page: http://minelab.newsweaver.co.uk/FlyerIRL/huvrs090xkj1rrl3s4sxyo?email=true&a=11&p=52335006

Steve, Don't go there. We care about YOUR opinion and not theirs ... whomever THEY may be. Mitchel

Competition is now driving the market. You have to be mindful of the competition and try to be better than it even at the expense of your own line. Minelab will suffer from some cannibalization: In marketing strategy, cannibalization refers to a reduction in sales volume, sales revenue, or market share of one product as a result of the introduction of a new product by the same producer. The only feature I have not seen mentioned that I will miss is GPS. If my phone doesn't interfere with this unit then I guess I won't miss it on the detector. Mitchel

Steve, I keep reading the Impact thread (although it bores me) and know your comments about multipurpose and agree. That is why I ask what does 'gold' mean? Several things come to mind and I know there will be a wait but there are also a lot of people at Detectival now and they must be able to use one, right?

Who field tested these so far?

Wow! Price points are below what I (we) expected. They are competing with themselves now. Should I order an 800 or a Monster? What do they really mean when they say gold? How small and how good is the id? If they perform like other Minelabs then this one already has me ...

Steve posted it!

I saw a posting of two different detectors a 600 and an 800 with the price being $649 and $899. The second one has 4 modes including gold.

The Minelab site or YouTube for me. Google tracking is enough without a social tracking on Facebook.

Norm, There is never enough gold in a patch for several GPZs. You are good at solo hunting. Don't share your patches! Mitchel

Sep 2017 News from the UCLA Meteorite Gallery One of a series of monthly letters sent to visitors to the UCLA Meteorite Gallery and to others who requested to be on the mailing list. The Meteorite Gallery (Geology room 3697) is open with a docent present every Sunday from 1 until 4 with the exception of the last two Sundays in the calendar year. And it is open every work day from 9 until 4 but without a docent. It is not open Saturdays. We remind you that our website address is:http://www.meteorites.ucla.edu/. There you can find a map of our corner of the UCLA campus and instructions for parking in structure 2. At 2:30 on Sunday September 17 the speaker at our Gallery Event is Professor David Jewitt. His topic is "From the Edge of the Solar System". Dave Jewitt is well known for his discovery of the Kuiper-Belt objects. He has been awarded the prestigious Kavli and Shaw Prizes and numerous other awards. For more information visit:http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jewitt/David_Jewitt.html. Summary: We have discovered that a new comet, C/2017 K2, is active at record distance from the Sun. The comet was discovered at 16 AU, beyond the orbit of Saturn, and was later found on images when it was at 24 AU. It appears to be making its debut in the planetary region, following 4.5 billion years in the frigid Oort cloud. He will discuss the new object and describe what we know about the outer realms of the solar system. The lecture is in Geology 3656, just 40 yards west of the UCLA Meteorite Gallery. Our next Gallery Lecture will occur on Sunday October 22. The speaker is Mark Fries, a scientist at the NASA Johnson Spacecraft Center in Houston. The title of his talk is: "How to find meteorites with weather-radar observations of fireballs: Opportunities for "citizen science" in the US and worldwide". The US maintains a nationwide network of Doppler weather radars, and it is possible to find meteorite falls using their freely-available radar imagery. This talk will describe what a meteorite fall is, how frequently they occur (Spoiler: About once per year in the US!), and instructions so that anyone with internet access can find them.

WTG. Much better than I did in 2 days of detecting around there! Mitchel

JW, I think that the fringe area on the 14 coil is huge. The centering of a small target on the center of the coil or the edge is indeed a challenge. You know a target is there but how do you get it in the scoop? I'm left sometimes thinking the target is not there any more but I keep moving the pile until it comes back! It is really a shock sometimes how far the final scoop (with the target in it) is from where I think it should be. Sometimes it gets tracked out before I find it. (Then I am sometimes really, really shocked at how small the target is!) I've used the 14 far more than the 19 but I have recovered small targets with it. My impression is that the coil windings are so far apart that when the received signal gets under the center of the coil it 'triangulates' very quickly and I see it directly under the center of the large coil. This is a bit different than a 19" round Nugget Finder coil that I have for my 5000. I can remember pinpointing with the outside of the coil (the edge) quite easily but it would also center pinpoint for me. Mitchel