29 minutes ago, GotAU? said:

Relic hunters already know this, but I’d think that many who search for nuggets and natural gold would have dismissed detecting in those plowed fields like the one Reg found that nugget.  There are probably several disturbed places like roads, plowed and fallow fields, etc, where many detectors just simply haven’t been because we (beginners at least) just assume that the area is too disturbed.

I know I would have, but not anymore! Good job Reg, you showed many of us not to assume and dismiss the types of areas one ca can find narural gold!

There are a few places with worked fields I’d love to have a go, but the junk to gold ratio scares me off (aswell as them being private property).

Yes, I have a subscription to GG&T now for 2 years. Has been a great source of information and have read some great stories in there, especially around my areas of interest. If there are any other Australian magazines anyone could suggest would be great.

2 hours ago, Gold Catcher said:

The nice thing is that the 17 inch is almost as sensitive as the 11 inch for small gold.

I agree. Little bit harder for pinpointing just for the size but still as sensitive.

47 minutes ago, DSMITH said:

I picked up a couple of these and they are a great bag they have two exterior zippered pockets to keep coils and other things in the main compartment will actually hold two detectors

Kellyco Red Elite Metal Detector Bag

★★★★★

1 Review

$39.99

$36.99

 

That looks almost exactly the same as the Minelab bag.

I’ve seen a few people use these before:

https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/toolpro-toolpro-safe-case-long-black-1335-x-405-x-155mm/566671.html?cgid=SCA01131104#start=2

I know it’s an Australian link, but thought I’d share anyway. I’m going to get two when I can, for both my GPX6000 and GPZ7000. You do have to remove the lower shaft off the 7000 to store it but I think they’d be great for long travel and through rough terrain.

They’re quite reasonably priced especially compared to their Pelican counterpart (over $1000 here) and almost the same quality. 
 

Photo attached to show an example.

As I stated previously, a 10x6 or a 12x8 would be great for this machine. I love the standard 11in coil now for its edge sensitivity (absolute fire when you’re all the way up to it in a gully!). Fingers are crossed. Then maybe something like a 22in Mono or DD for covering the flats.

Will have to wait and see though.

Red tape, red tape and more red tape. And fighting others for the same ground aswell as fence jumpers. And long, and I mean LONG wait times for approvals. I know of a lease that’s been pegged and still waiting for approval with the application being lodged in 2014. It varies state by state mainly, this is only the experience I have of my own state.

4 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Having spent my entire adult life running businesses, I have a short list of culprits where it comes to business dysfunction:

1. Management
2. Management
3. Management

Was that Tom Dankowski in the video?  He wins my prize for engineer geek speaker.

If I could heart this Steve, I would.

Also, to anyone out there wondering why a company may be losing people? People don’t leave a job because they don’t like it, they leave the management.

3 hours ago, phrunt said:

So what's this Hipstick the guy is using in the new Season 7 of Aussie Gold Hunters, some sort of alternative brand, home made one or is it the new version 2?   He'd better not swing too far out, his harness may strangle him.  I suspect this is one of the cheap counterfeit Ebay ones JP mentioned.

I’m going to say custom made as they also use completely different shafts on their GPX machines among other things (unless they’ve since upgraded to GPZs)

A mate has the Zoleo aswell and it appears to work well. Reasonably priced too considering the communication it allows compared to a full blown satellite phone. I’ll be getting one as soon as I start remote travelling more often.

I can’t complain about the GPX17 at all, it’d nearly have to be my favourite coil for the machine. I got this little tiny one the other week in Clermont, it was barely a threshold break, but it was repeatable and down about 3 inches. Would the 7000 have heard it with the NF12 on? No, I don’t think it would have, at least not to my untrained ears.

I know metal eyelets are a contentious issue among many detectorists, I have both a GPZ7000 and a GPX6000 and wear zipsider lace up boots with metal eyelets and don’t have an issue with hearing them (mainly when the coil gets caught up under a fallen log or amongst a clump of grass and I’m in full prospecting mode I have an issue).

I use boots from this company: 

https://www.mongrelboots.com.au/#

for both work (work in a coal mine) and detecting. Tough as nails and comfortable straight out of the box. 

The X6 was never intended to replace the Z, rather than compliment it. If I’m wandering billy goat country and gullies, I have the X6 on, if I’m in wide open spaces where I know there’s deeper gold, I’ve got the Z on. 
 

Nice piece!

After using the supplied headphones with the GPX6000 over the past month, I will definitely be going the third party earbud route with a LL bluetooth receiver. They are hot, cumbersome when walking through heavy bush and actually hurt my ears. The audio they put out is of quality, but their comfort leaves little to be desired.

I’d like a 12x8 mono (or even a 10x6) elliptical for those FNQ creeks and gullies where I can poke the front of the coil into places the round coil won’t go, and would also like to see something a bit left of field, maybe an 18” round mono or bigger for those vast, open spaces though understand if this can’t be done.

I’m yet to use the GPX17 though so can’t comment on the larger coils for the 6000.

I use the headphones provided with the GPX6000, though will be going to ear buds with an APTX LL receiver when I get the chance. Hot, sweaty ears are a no for me.

The provided headphones work well, with a surprisingly large receiving distance from the machine. Also have a nice crisp, clear tone.

30 minutes ago, geof_junk said:

I am not too slow at learning😁 but I have been bitten by the yellow face jumping jack ants too many times. To me they are the worst sting I have had. We have Bull ants over an inch long and they need to be avoided but I would prefer  a bit from them than the Jumping Jacks that are less than half an inch but jump a good six inches to get me.

Have you spent much time in Far North Queensland? The jumping ants here are easily an inch to an inch and a half long and have been known to put people in hospital. I avoid those things at all costs. They look weird compared to a normal ant and almost like they have an extra joint in their body

I did a quick google search to find this but this is what they look like.

3 hours ago, geof_junk said:

I will not say what I and other Aussy have put up with in Aust. but if you are worried about that list DO NOT COME TO AUST and steal our GOLD😄 ☠️😁

I’m yet to see anything scary here in QLD, except for big mother paper wasps that were about as big as my thumb. I’ve heard some pretty out there stories though, some that would properly make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

Just a thought on the EMI/feedback here…I heard this the day you first showed me the 6000 JP and my new one did it the other day just after I picked it up aswell. 

General detecting with the external speaker wasn’t to bad, but the moment I put the detector down to dig, man oh man the feedback/EMI, whatever you want to call it, went off its head, bad enough I couldn’t hear the target in the scoop. As soon as I picked the machine up and started detecting, all was good again.
 

It never did this with the headphones (love the complete wireless set up by the way, I just dislike headphones completely due to sweaty ears 😖). The headphones also take the guess work away with any EMI that may be created by the speaker, and again are a good thing, just not my cup of tea.

Pretty sure it does, just above the lock nut on the shaft it should strap on. I remember someone posting some photos somewhere of it attached 🤔

5 hours ago, GotAU? said:

Should’ve seen the ones I had to hide from my wife!  I turned off Google’s ad sense in my browser settings and now  I am getting a lot of ads for clothing she nor I would never wear! 😦

There are some VERY questionable things people call clothing, or undergarments. Facebook has been full spamming me with that for the last 6 months and it is damn annoying.

That is one of the most odd shaped nuggets I think I’ve seen. Can anyone explain how it would end up that shape?

24 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

NF-Zsearch: $1200

XCoils (in Australia) $1600+

36 minutes ago, Rob Allison said:

 

P.S.  Yes, the EMI on the GPX 6000 can be a pain.  The best method is to try tuning often if needed to keep the EMI to a minimal amount.  If you are close to any EMI source, then there isn't too much you can do besides maybe lower the sensitivity down, moving to the DD coil and such. 

 

Are you using the external speaker or headphones?

2 hours ago, Norvic said:

Yeah JP no drama I was just avin a go, but thank you for the offer. I reckon most of us will fit those clips to stop the miss alignment of the 6Ks shaft, I have seen non-metalic ones but can`t remember where ... CRAFT disease. Tourists are up the gulf I suspect, very few around here. 

I’ve just come back from Georgetown. The caravans I saw travelling on that road past Mount Garnet and between Georgetown and Forsayth was mind boggling. I reckon the whole population of south eastern Australia is hiding up there.