phrunt

It certainly is a very sensitive detector.

Yes, the adapter is a proof of concept adapter for testing, not what the final version would look like obviously.

It normally wouldn't matter, for someone in the US buying the detector the dealer would have covers and they'd add one to their purchase at the time and they cost next to nothing, I was so keen to get one I had it sent from the USA and didn't think about covers at the time, and I'm very glad I did as it's rapidly become my favourite Gold VLF.   The local dealer I'm sure at the time when they stock the detector will have coil covers and it would be no big deal for someone buying it then.  It's more my fault than anything for not thinking about it 🙂

The Aussies haven't been able to sort out the customs issue yet, and don't know if customs has destroyed the parcel, they're waiting to find out as Australia Post has now opened an investigation into the case to see what has happened.

The Serious Detecting package is on it's way so that's a good start, they didn't have a 10x6" cover but they had the 6" Whites coil and a cover for that, and when Garrett comes out with a 6" coil I'll order that too and just buy a cover for the 10x6" at the time as I am sure the Garrett coil will have improvements over the Whites, I want to buy every coil they make for it. 

The scratches on it are purely cosmetic and just look worse than they are due to it being a glossy black surface, I'm just fussy with this sort of thing but I'm sure the coil is tough enough to take it, many brands of aftermarket coil say you don't even need a coil cover, maybe the Garrett survives fine without one.   In fact my two Ace detectors don't have one, and I'd never even noticed and I've put those coils through their paces 🙂

I'm actually quite surprised how sensitive the 10x6" coil is, I only used the 10x5" on the Gold Monster a few times and put it away never to be used again and stuck with using the 5".   The 10x6" is doing remarkably well on my small gold tests, exceeded my expectations on that and it's absolutely not bump sensitive even at highest gain with the SAT off.  Running with the SAT off is working well here.

You'll see how much I like the detector by how much effort I'm going to for it, it's a fantastic detector.  Quite a few detectors I've bought and used them for a few days to try them out then put them in the cupboard only ever to be seen again if I want to compare their performance to another detector, not this one, this is becoming my primary gold VLF and I am genuinely very impressed by it.  I haven't even read the manual yet, I just used Steve's videos to get an idea and off I went.  It's really easy to use. 

I'm under some Covid restrictions at the moment where I can't leave my region into the next, and the next region is where the gold is, even though it's only an hours drive away I'm not legally allowed to drive there.   That's expected to end in under a week and I'll be off like a kid to a candy store to find my first 24k gold!  I'm itching to go. 🙂

24 minutes ago, Geotech said:

I wish I weren't the only person at FTP reading this thread.

Print it and stick in anonymously up on the wall in the lunch room or slip it under the king kahunas door 😉

A lot of what they could have done to the F75/T2 was done to the Simplex.  Nokta have done a great job of taking old technology and modernizing it with their detectors, they've started a rather successful detecting business by doing just that, all those sales could have been First Texas sales.  I even consider my Simplex a modern T2.

What year was it they last released a new detector, and I mean a new detector... not a slight modification of an existing model?   And what detector was it?

The F75 came out in 2007, 14 years ago and not much has changed with it in that time, The T2 came out before that, no idea when and it's had some minor enhancements.... either way, it's old!   These are their "current" flagship coin, relic and jewellery detectors.

Their "current" flagship gold detector the Gold Bug 2 came out in 1995, 27 years ago and has had little change since.  It's first upgrade was a few months ago and that seems to be due to the parts required to make it were no longer in production from the suppliers.

Aside from the Impulse AQ that was more of an acquisition than their own creation.

I don't mean to be negative or rude, but realistically..... how long are people willing to wait before losing hope.  In most parts of the world they only exist as cheap clones as they've been on the market so long they're easy targets to duplicate. 

How about we put this into a bit of perspective......

Back in 1995 when the Gold Bug 2 hit the shelves, this was a flagship TV

And this was a very cool phone.

Wow look, no cords!

And when the F75 came out, TV's were huge with Sony's Flagship TV

And phones were really powering ahead, Apple released their first Iphone.

Now that's a big step in phones.  It had a colour screen and a camera!  And some apps and internet connectivity!

Then we skip ahead to now.....

This is a modern TV

You can get any size you dream of 🙂

and a modern phone, look at all them cameras!  This phones got as much power as a room full of servers in 1995.

Technology generally moves forward.... just not at First Texas.

A little more perspective.....

Yup, that's an early model Iphone.... 😉

So while I wish First Texas the best, it's really hard for me to be enthusiastic about their future unless I become nostalgic about detectors and want to buy a new old model, although I haven't been doing it long enough for that to matter and I did do that when I bought a Gold Bug 2 a year or so ago, I even did a post about buying an Antique detector at the time. 🙂

Yes their detectors are still capable, but imagine if they were innovative and kept improving them, making real new models and developing the technology...  Like TV's and phones have, and some other detector brands.

I would love nothing more than for them to prove me wrong and come out with a killer multi frequency detector with all the latest bells and whistles and blitz the competition!  Even if they stuck with single frequency they could have made a Gold Bug 3 and took the prospecting VLF users by storm by modernizing it, as in really making it modern with wireless audio (that'd be a first for them) and all the other features we expect in a modern detector.  

In my short time detecting I've seen two companies collapse because they were not innovative, I don't want to see a third fall and I'm not a First Texas hater, I own five of their machines, I wouldn't part with any of them.

I feel better after that vent 🙂 Partly because I've been hoping a Gold Bug 3 was in the future, then after 27 years they released the Gold Bug 2.01 and destroyed all hope of that happening.

Yes, hopefully they can sort out something where adapters are made for people like has been the case with the GPZ coils for some time now.  Since that started there has been no issues with people making their own adapter badly and the good number of coils sold since with no problems.   There is no such thing as no risk when doing this sort of thing though but it's sure been mitigated by this approach and likely the only viable thing for the 6000 coils I think.  It's best people are aware of possible detector damage and so on, I completely agree, it does show how desperate people are to use other coils though.

They're not being sold for now so disclosure about risks involved is not yet necessary although I think it's somewhat obvious seeing you are opening a coil up to do it, this video is nothing more than demonstrating it can and has been done and I think it's pretty cool how quickly it was achieved to get where it's at already.

The Coiltek thing is interesting, I've not seen that post either but I'm sure it would have spread like wildfire on the 6000 FB groups if it was posted, good on Coiltek if they are going to be doing it though, good news for owners that's for sure.

I remember Geotech saying the TRX was a complicated pin pointer to produce, which I guess would mean less profit margin and charging more for it would limit the sales.  Difficult scenario they would have to juggle, and if there was massive demand for the TRX they might produce it, but were they selling very well, or did most who want one already have one and the trickle of people wanting a new one or a replacement may not be enough to justify making it.

The 24k was very different, Garrett didn't have a competing product and gold detectors are big sellers, especially in other countries outside of the USA and Garrett has the worldwide reach to take advantage of those markets.

Unfortunately for me my attempt to get a skid plate for my 10x6" coil and the 6" concentric coil has failed miserably, A dealer in Brisbane Australia had one of each left over in stock and agreed to send to me in NZ, it was shipped and Australian customs decided that the Whites coil and 2 skid plates are dangerous goods and has rejected the parcel, I hope that doesn't mean they destroy it 😞

Looks like I won't be getting the 6" Concentric, or even a skid plate for my 10x6".  It's getting scratched up already without one so I'm going to have to improvise and make something to protect it as in my rocky areas it won't last long without a cover.

I don't know what they could possibly think is dangerous about a detector coil, do they think it's frisbee that you throw at people and pull it back with it's cord so you can throw it again and again.....  It didn't even get a chance to leave Australia.

Out of frustration I've also ordered a 24k 6" Concentric from Serious Detecting in the US, so if the Aussies can somehow solve the other problem I'll have two of them.   That's not such a bad thing. 

All I know now is my 7000 with 8" coil will win hands down in an area the 6000's 11" coil is too big to hit the soil due rocks or whatever, so having different size coils can turn a loser into a winner regardless. 🙂

Let's not forget the 7000 has concentric coils!

I doubt it would be such a drama this time around, most people know the positives and negatives now and it's sorted itself out over time.   Those that want to use them will, and I'd suspect most of those initially would be the same people that use them on their GPZ's 🙂

Just now, dig4gold said:

So the chip is going from the inside of the coil to the outside in the form of an inline coil cable adapter & able to be interchanged between ML GPX coils & X coils?

That's right, the chip is removed from the original coil by surgery 🙂 And then an adapter is made in a similar way to the GPZ X-coil adapter, up near the control box the original coil cable is cut, and the chip is added inline as part of the plug that goes into the detector so the adapter becomes a universal adapter to run the X-coils.  All early days so far but progress for those that want different coils and are willing to do the adjustments necessary.

Love it when there is multiple bits of gold in one hole.  Nice post, thanks.

I guess it probably has bad blocks on the eeprom, so when it's being flashed the image is corrupted.  Normally flash tools verify the flash though ensuring that it is fine with CRC checking and report if the flash fails.  If it is a faulty eeprom I can only imagine they'd swap out the control pod for you, not worth fixing.

Just now, afreakofnature said:

I see, not built in the coil.  So maybe sacrifice a coil for a chip to build an adapter plug.

You could still use the original coil without the chip.  Just some open heart surgery 😉

2 minutes ago, afreakofnature said:

🤔. A chip and an adapter, not just a chip?

The chip goes into an adapter, maybe I worded it so it doesn't make sense 🙂

I was doing some reading on various forums about First Texas and there was posts around 2013 to 2017 or so saying Dave J was busy working on a new detector and they'll be releasing a new detector soon....  I don't know how long soon is... but that was quite a number of years ago.   I can't remember the exact dates of these posts but it was many years ago. 

So I can't get enthused by rumours about them coming out with a new detector. 

12 minutes ago, afreakofnature said:

Is that one of yours, unchipped?

No, it's in Russia, and it's using the chip from a standard coil, the chip from the standard coil was removed to do this, and they would require an adapter to run.

At some point I'll certainly be using one with these coils, I want small coils for my detecting, this 15x10" is one of my favourite coils though, I like elliptical shaped coils for detecting here with our rocky terrain.

Yup, this is what was called partially spiral wound, instead of being laid out completely flat like a fully spiral there is a layer of flat windings over another layer of flat windings.

Here is a video of the GPX 6000 running a 15x10" X-coil, a test over a little nugget.

No, I don't have the 6" coil yet, this is the 6x10" stock coil, although it's very sensitive for the size of it.  It's very light so it's not epoxy filled but it's certainly not knock sensitive.  I really like it. 

strick has done his excellent X-rays inside the GPX 6000 coils now, he's put them into his awesome "What's in your coil" thread.

You can see the dreaded chip in the coils too 🙂

Thank you for that strick! I've been waiting for these 🙂 It'd be good to see sometime if the 17" is fully spiral wound.

I've wanted the 24k since Whites released it, it was all too hard to get with Whites and their very limited worldwide distribution, Garrett is making that easier and has a much larger distribution network around the world so the 24k is becoming more accessible now than it was.   I had this one sent from the USA to get it quickly as the New Zealand dealer isn't likely to have any until next year, although I think that'll change when they start getting people asking for them 🙂

I was pleased to see it came with rechargeable batteries to get me up and running fast, a good brand too being Duracell AA NiMH.

So a few photos.... starting with the box.

Whites fans will be pleased to see all the references to Whites on the box.

That looks like Steve's scoop to me 🙂

And the box contents

The charger and car adapter, lighter socket to USB adapter and also a power socket with various countries that is like a phone charger really, it just converts the AC to DC 5v 2.1 amp USB power, so you can use any USB charging adapter that can output the 2 amp's to charge your batteries. The charger will also charge on a common 1 amp USB port, it's just going to be slower.  Very handy as I can charge the batteries in my Caravan or anywhere really with USB charging.   The charger can also charge AAA batteries as well as the AA's required for the 24k, quite handy.

The 12v alligator clips charger to lighter socket is very good quality too, nice thick cables and inline fuse.  Even the little lighter socket to USB is a good quality product, came in a little package showing it's got a 2 year warranty.  It's made by Aukey and has 2 x 2.4amp USB ports on it for fast charging.

The charger has Micro USB and USB-C support, so you can use your phone charging cable if you've got one of the many Android phones using Micro USB and forget to bring your Garrett supplied cable.

This is the batteries inside the mounting box that slides up into the back of the 24k.  They're easy enough to put in there.

The battery box has a nice Whites logo on it.  You'll see I've already used the little plug they supply to cover over the headphone socket, Good to keep the dust and weather out and I'll likely leave it in there forever.  The speaker on the 24k is excellent, nice loud volume so I see little need for headphones unless I'm next to a loud river or something detecting.

The screen's nice and big, easy on the eye, every icon and bit of writing is oversized, quite good for people that need glasses I would guess.  The buttons are nice and easy to use and you'll note they left the Whites logo on there. 

The coil's nice, I haven't weighed it yet but it feels light as a feather, and the detector is very well balanced with the batteries under the arm cuff, I've never used one of the Whites detectors with the box under the arm cuff, but I'm seeing how nice the balance is with this style detector.  Garrett also supplied little feet to stick onto the bottom of the box so you're not resting the plastic box directly onto the ground, quite a good idea as I generally hunt in very rocky areas.  One thing I noticed almost straight away as you don't have to put effort in when you put it down to prevent it from falling over, it naturally wants to sit upright. 🙂

And the back of the control pod, again another Whites logo

I think they've done a good job paying homage to Whites, while also putting their own touches on it, a very impressive detector.

Now for the meat and potatoes, I took it down behind my house to the river and fired it up, I had no idea what I was doing as I'd only used it for a few minutes but I took a couple of videos comparing how it was operating compared to my Equinox with the Coiltek 10x5" Nox Coil.   Take these videos with a grain of salt, I've spent 5 minutes using the Garrett 24k but I found it very easy to use and understand, it can just be a turn on and go detector by the look of it.  It handled the ground well, and I was very happy with the sensitivity of it,  I absolutely can not wait to get the smaller coils for it, especially the concentric coil.

I had put the Coiltek 5x10" Nox coil on the Equinox so it was more like comparing apples with apples and tested both detectors on a small #9 lead pellet.  The 24k certainly had the edge on air test depth.

The ground performance seems excellent too, I love how quiet it runs, the threshold is very smooth, it's also interesting you can run it right next to the Nox with no interference for either detector, both run fine right next to each other.  The build quality of the Garrett seems excellent, the shaft nice and solid and nothing feels flimsy.

In this video I take both for a little walk around showing how they handle this difficult ground that's covered in hot rocks.  The 24k was completely free of knock sensitivity, something I'm going to find very beneficial with the areas I hunt being rocky.   Both detectors have their settings maxed out, the Equinox is on 25 gain.

Now I've got to get the batteries charged up so I can use it properly, at least they had enough charge in them from the factory for me to take it for a test run.  We are in a 2 week Covid lockdown at the moment, we are expected to come out of the worst of it on Wednesday so hopefully I can go find some nuggets with the 24k soon, judging by my first impressions of it I am sure I will be able to achieve that quite quickly.

yea, I bought an old bunch of Ipad screen protectors from a big box store when the model was old and they just wanted to clear the screen protectors out, I got them for 7 cents each so I grabbed about 30 and just cut them to size for my detectors.

Found this article from 2018, I missed it at the time so others may have too, pretty interesting, Looks an easy find for a metal detector but I'd imagine most would dismiss it as junk and move on without digging.

Workers found large number of ancient coins at a construction site in Baishui county of Weinan, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on Nov 9, and archaeologists said most coins belong to Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Zhao Zhangfeng, director of Baishui cultural relics office, said that police received the report of the discovery around 11 am on Nov 9, and police soon arrived at the site and cordoned it off.

Archaeologists later arrived at the site and collected about 100,000 coins, weighing 460 kilograms. A few coins date back to Tang Dynasty (618-907), and most are of Song Dynasty.

Zhao said that few people could have so many coins at that time, and initial analysis showed that the coins belong to the old-style Chinese private bank that buried the coins during wars.

Continue reading here: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201811/13/WS5bea3daca310eff30328853b_1.html