Smigo

I have always wondered why Minelab didn't make longer shafts for the detectors given there are so many taller people that detect like Aussies and USA detectorists. There was a shaft maker here who made lower shafts and complete shafts here for Minelab detectors, Otto. Im not sure they do anymore. I always found Minelab shafts too short for me. But, whites Tall Man stems, shafts, did, do, fit Minelab PI detectors and many earlier ones like the XTerra. I do still have a Whites Tall man stem which I swap over from my XTerra to my Garrett 24k depending on which I take out. I used to use it on my GPX 5000. I had 2 but stupidly let one go when I sold my 5000 due to health issues and just kept 1. I regret the decision. But to this day dont get why Minelab never after all these years made a longer lower shaft for tall people as I know from yrs of detecting others who complained about it. They dont care and dont listen. Take the handles from the SD2000 all the way through to the 5000. They break and are utter crap. Thats why I got wooden jarrha handles that were made by guys with a brain that lasted and never broke for my GPXs. Break smake think Minelab, they'll buy another, another, another...kaching.. kaching...ka..... Bucks!$$$$

All finds are good finds detecting.. 👍👍

And that's why I threw my garrettt gold trap in the bin? Stupid plastic crap!

I often detect in quartz mining areas. With lots of broken out quartz thats like glass and cuts the bottom of coils out really fast. Razor blade stuff. After yrs of doing so I wear leather gloves. Not because im a sook, but because i have cut my hands on it seeing blood squirt out like from a water pistol. Some detect in areas like open ground , others have areas to there liking. Thats mine. Dig a hole or grab what I do where I go and see how long you last until you look for gloves and a skid plate to stop your coil getting destroyed in a ridiculously short amount of time or go to hospital. Nobody is immune from what I do unless you are superman! I wear sunglasses too. Not just for the sun, but to me they are my eye skid plates. A few times when not wise not wearing them cut my face from flying shards of glass sharp quartz. Baddly too at times. Once I had to go to hospital to get a bit removed from an eye. It aint fun that I can tell you. A bit sticking out of your eye, 2 hr drive to the hospital trying like insane not to blink. Ill tell you, you blink without trying over and over and over every minute, it was one of the most painful things I went through, then a thing holding your eye open as they remove it then 2 weeks with an eye patch on hoping you can see again. Chuckle away.....

Glad I live in a really small town here in Vic mate. 99% Old style Oz and not because its 99% westerners. We have people from all corners of the globe. But we live as 1 aussies . We get along and respect each other. Small yes, but great little place. I didn't want to come or be here as my last home was 8 times or more bigger. But covid work from home and stuff forced us out. Now, when travelling to shop there, last place, here has not much so its a big travel, I see the change of people. Now im glad I dont live there. Its stuffed up. We go to sleep here hearing nothing, no hoons, no burnouts like last town, no screaming, no violent fights, no police. Its like we stepped back in time when we first came to central Victoria in the early 1990's. I think we'll hang here till we die. If it goes that well 😆

Yes I saw recomdations of what to do. Im still here trying in Aus to find things. I appreciate your recommendation. I am still perplexed as to why Garrett released this here with no coil covers!? But will for sure take on board your idea. Thanks for taking the time to reply 👍👍

I don't think I'll do the contact Garret thing. I swear this is true. I contacted them about 2 mths ago asking about getting a coil cover for the 10x6. I told them how I none are here in Aus and even though I can find some overseas nobody will sell or ship me one. The reply. Honestly was this. Hi sorry to hear that. If you dont mind what shape you use as a skid plate you could get a pot plant drip tray bottom and glue it on and use something like that.

Yep that is a winner winner chicken dinner bit 👍 Once out with my misses I heard her scream something out in Italian and I thought she'd found a nugget so yelled back "good on you ill be there in a minute I just got a signal" she screamed something out again so I went to her saying how big is it? She had disturbed a bulldog ant nest and one stung her. 😂

Garrett send me an Axiom. If I find something with it then it must be good because im not! 😁

I think Tas is not detector friendly from footage and pictures iv seen. Not been there though. Hard hat time 😅 On the main topic I got zero interest in the new stuff coming out. Bit nowdays like fishing. Most lures are designed to catch fishermen not fish! 😉

No it's not mate. But the 24k I have cruises pretty well in the hot ground with the DD, the DD does not in the Quiet stuff. The Concentric does though, quiet as a church mouse. Odd but im with it now. You having any issues on the internet mate lately? Im having crazy issues. It took a few goes just to get right on this thread. Im on another forum, not gold, but as here Im struggling to get on an post! I don't go hardly anywhere else buy am struggling with everything, banking, ebay, forums... My connected bars show part connect and an X left hand corner bottom. Im having serious issues.

Hi mate. I had a Nox 800 about a yr ago maybe, I couldn't use it in gold mode other than in a single frequency. Was real unstable otherwise. I heard of a few others say the same thing here in Vic on the goldfields. But maybe Minelab sorted that out and you can use it now in multi. I don't know. The open web coil drove me insane, its screaming out for an enclosed round, but that's just my opinion others I dont think care. Maybe there is one for it now, but I don't know as I haven't kept up with stuff much these days other than what im interested in. On coins and relics though it was very good and impressed me. I found though that for me, the open web coil and instability in gold mode was a deal breaker and I sold it. Maybe that's fixed though now, one would hope so. I do like the 24k. Had another go, 1 specie, read good 89, smashed it till one tiny bit left and id say around another .1 to .2 in pyrites. Crappy pic I couldn't get a focus lock on it. All that for.......😆 Beautiful place though. Small diggers dam below where I was and a rock wall in the distance. Not sure what that was for, maybe an old dwelling was above it? Don't know, wasn't an ore paddock. Big open cut. See up the higher section a tree across it, that's been there since I can recall. About 25 yrs ago when I was younger and I'd say stupid but I think I still am that, I once rather than go around the cut walked over it to get to the other side. Damn if you fell you'd be in serious trouble with all the jagged broken quartz at the bottom. Its about 30 feet deep in that section. You couldn't pay me enough to do that these days! Good luck out there mate 👍

Hey guys. Been waiting to get out for a while. Some health issues but finally out! Did a drive to a place I love from years ago. Awesome day weather wise. Loved it. I down graded due to my health but any day swinging a detector to me is bliss, especially where I went. See nobody, hear nobody and all alone. In my element. Used the Garrett 24k with the 6" and it cruised on half Sat, 7 sens Audio Boost 2. Dug heaps of targets, several surprised me up to about 8" deep for their size. Damn lead. 😆 Ended up with 2 Specimens, 1 id guess from experience has close to 1/2 a g, the other lucky to be .1 and a tiny .1 bit free gold. No record breaking but was a great day. Was really surprised though how the 6" handled the area. Expected to be running it around 5 to below. Tried above 7 and other settings but just a little too chattery and picking up too many real little hot rock chips. Its amazing with this just what 1 step down sens does. 80% vanished and it ran so much better than on 8! Anyway, didn't get rich 😆 but was a ton of fun. Drive in. Big drop off to the right. Nearly there. Arrived and the spot. Good fun and happy I can still swing something. 👍

Note to self. Never buy a Bounty Hunter. Tick....👍

That's even worse. At least the guy I knew his had a red and green led light on his 👍

😂 Classic!

I know a guy that got a long range detector 10 years back. It would point one way. Turn it off, turn it on it'd point another way. 😁 He payed over a grand Oz for it too. He took it to some guy that knew detectors repair wise to check it out. It was just simple circuits that chose random directions.

Have a friend who has dug dozens of shafts with drives off of them on the goldfields here, he lives in the bush too old days style. Even looks like an olden days digger!

Im probably too spoilt where I am comparing Tas to Central Victoria

I think you are right about hitting a wall and diminishing returns. There's a lot of places that dont have much more to give, many virtually nothing. I pay a lot of attention to all the good areas I know about from over the years. What I have noticed is less and less signs of any action. Many have had people there as you can tell but not much if anything had come out. Many nothing, no signs whatsoever of any digs. There was some good activity when the coiltek and Nf flat winds came out, I had some fun with those but thats had its run too. Nothing to date has had anywhere near the impact the SD2000 had. My 2 cents worth.

The 2000 was mind blowing wasn't it. Id never seen one and I was out with an FT16000. A guy wandered over with one to say g'day. Then he showed me it in action and we tested it against the 16000 with some bits he had. A week later I had a 2000 😁

Good one. First time I've seen any Tassie goldfields. Not very detector friendly is it.

Yeah. I know one other that got an issue that was a horrid weird lump thing on his lip the size of a marble. Took several weeks of antibiotics to clear up. Yep, bit of water in my pill bottle I carry. Or just wait till back at the car if it don't fit. There's some seriously bad stuff in the ground. I knew a guy once that got real sick digging a shaft. Was he said exactly what the diggers in the trenches got in the wars, trench fever. Was real sick for quite a time.

Everything is out to get us mate. Mostly small other than ocean things, even then there's small jellyfish and octopus that have it in for us. Im thinking we were not very welcomed here and they have kept up the rage 😆

Yes, you are correct, wasn't virus, was bacteria. I call everything I get sick from Virus. Damn ill tell you what. For that 12 months I struggled to even add things up in my head. Before that I could do it within seconds. After I really had to think about it.