Search the Community

Just got the official announcement! 🥳

This is what I read from the report: Promote new products & expand channels to market • Release next generation of detectors across recreational, gold and Countermine over the coming 6 to 18 months • Grow recreational market share via expansion of retail distribution footprint in US & Europe, leveraging eCommerce channel • Enhancing high-powered marketing, branding and consumer experience capability, while reinforcing brand presence and reputational strength overtime Any thoughts???? what do they mean by next gen, next gen of GPZ 7000? 😗 Here is the link: https://codan.com.au/ left is the report

News is getting around that Dave Watters has lost his ML dealership and will no longer be able to sell Minelab products. The Miners Den group were the largest sellers of Minelab product in Australia, bar none. They had shops in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Bendigo (where they originally started). Adelaide has closed already, not sure about the Sydney and Brisbane locations, if they have been divested of ownership or closed. There is some suggestion that MD was a bit behind in payments to Minelab but this is pure speculation I suspect. But Dave and Co were the biggest promoters of Minelab product, with online advertising on social media, weekly internet TV show etc etc... It may suggest a big shift away from dealerships to maximize profits, if even Miners Den is being shoved aside. A warning to all dealers I think. MD is going to continue, with Nokta being a major player. I imagine that Algoforce and Garrett should be talking as well.

See here I haven't read it yet other than a quick flick through, looks like we'll be waiting until FY2026 at least for a new GPZ, if there ever is one, they maybe just talking about a well overdue Multi frequency Gold Monster, seeing the Nox 800 and especially the Manticore are better than it even though they're coin and jewellery detectors or just more VLF's seeing that's a big part of their business at the moment, and models to compete with Noktas endless flow of new models, perhaps even an Algoforce competitor at the lower end of the PI market where they have a big gap.

Just a reminder. Minelab offers a 15% discount on any Minelab metal detector from the MAP (minimum advertised price) to U.S. active or honorably discharged members of the military. Proof of past or active service is required and must be verified by providing a copy of a DD 214 or Military ID to qualify. The discount applies only to a metal detector purchase - parts and accessories do not qualify. With discount the $799 Gold Monster 1000 is only $679.15. The Minelab GPZ 7000, normally $7999, ends up being $6799.15, a savings of $1199.85

I see the Minelab GPX 4500 is being discontinued. If the price goes down is it worth it to pick one up or has what replaced it that much better? Perhaps a premium will now be asked for the remaining new GPX 4500's? Is now the time to buy??

24% off all Prospecting detectors and supplies Nov 26th - Nov 28th, free shipping over $100. Be sure to use code GM24K 20% off all Sports products except new Vortex, free shipping over $100, good thru December 6th. Code Cyber20 https://garrett.com/store/

This was posted by Josh Reinke on Facebook yesterday. Update on the ICMJ: "As many of you know, the ICMJ has gone bankrupt. I have been waiting to find a replacement before making an announcement. As of now, no such luck. Here are the main contributing factors to this issue: -40% increase in printing bill the first month I took over. -All except one writer retired as soon as I took over. --20 year old business infrastructure that had to be redesigned. -60% increase in cost of doing business over the course of the 3 year term I was involved. It is very sad, this is very hard on all of us as a community and I apologize it has gone this way. I personally am $90k in debt because of this magazine, I put all of my means into it but it simply wasn't enough. Please do not ask me what I'm going to do. I don't know yet. I am trying to find someone to take over and continue the magazine. Yes, this will take deep pockets, no it's not for everyone. If you think you might be interested let me know. As I'm sure you all can imagine, this is not fun for me, my family and I are going through a hard time and appreciate your support, not anger. When we took over the magazine we thought it would change our lives for the better. Soon after, i realized I was working for free. Yes that's right, I ran the ICMJ for free for 3 years, I never took a check at all. I tried everything I could think of to revive it but no such luck. God bless everyone. Thanks On a positive note, the RGM (www.reinkegoldmining.com) is still growing and will now get all of my attention! I'm not going anywhere, the mining community is my home and I am going to continue providing my services."

You have to have Facebook to watch this video but Aussie Detectorist one of the Minelab dealers in Australia was sacked as a Minelab dealer, he's blaming his dealership being revoked because he's been selling other brands such as Algoforce and Garrett and recommending them for those that suit them best. Facebook link I noticed the Minelab dealer (Lost Treasures) near my old place in Brisbane abruptly stopped selling Algoforce recently too, no idea why. I hope this isn't a sign of the future, one thing I've liked about Multi line dealers is they can be honest about which detector suits you best, it's not like many Minelab dealers are going to point you to another dealer to buy a detector better suited to your needs that they don't sell if that situation popped up. Pretty sad.

I have been working out of town lately and when I got home and was going through my mail I noticed that I haven't gotten my ICMJ since August. So I tried to call them and all I get is a busy signal, so I attempted to contact them online and nothing, the website is not responding. Does anyone out the know what's going on with them? Please only respond if you know.

I look forward every month the the great articles in ICMJ’S PROSPECTING AND MINING JOURNAL Does anyone know what might be happening with ICMJ? For me the online September issue never showed up. I've emailed them with no response and called them and their voicemail is full. Hope all is ok.

Garrett is giving away two detectors plus a a gold nugget from Freddy Dodge. https://garrett.com/garrett-gold-challenge? WIN SOME OF FREDDY DODGE’S GOLD! You’ve seen Freddy Dodge for years on Discovery Channel TV shows like “Gold Rush” and “Gold Rush: Mine Rescue with Freddy and Juan.” Now, you have a chance to win your own Garrett prospecting gear and some of Freddy’s gold! WHAT DO I WIN? Grand Prize: A brand new Garrett Axiom Lite pulse-induction gold detector; MS-3 Z-Lynk wireless headphones; a Garrett Deluxe Gold Pan Kit; a Garrett Nugget Scoop; two bags of Pioneer Paydirt to sift; a valuable gold nugget from Freddy Dodge’s personal collection; and various memorabilia autographed by Freddy and other professional gold prospectors. Second Prize: A brand new Garrett Goldmaster 24k metal detector with two searchcoils; a Garrett Deluxe Gold Pan Kit; two bags of Pioneer Paydirt to sift; a Garrett Nugget Scoop; and various memorabilia autographed by Freddy and other professional gold prospectors. To enter see “Garrett Gold Challenge” Contest Terms & Conditions document on the page link above for full details. WHEN WILL THIS TAKE PLACE? Winners will be drawn on or about Thursday, November 21st. You must enter on or before November 20th. Garrett will then coordinate shipment of prizes to the winners.

This is a personal and U.S. centric perspective. When I started detecting over 50 years ago these were the main companies (alphabetical order): Compass Fisher Garrett Tesoro White’s Compass eventually went under, and was replaced by a newbie from Australia… Fisher Garrett Minelab Tesoro White’s Then much later Tesoro faded away and was replaced by another newcomer…. Fisher Garrett Minelab White’s XP And finally just a couple years ago, White’s shut their doors, with another newcomer becoming a major player…. Fisher Garrett Minelab Nokta XP Now again, this is just my personal opinion, and probably premature. The fact however is that First Texas (Fisher, Bounty Hunter, Teknetics) has been dying for ten years. Basically rehashing old product, with new attempts failing before they make it out of the starting gate. Given their marketing efforts, or l should say lack thereof, they are increasingly invisible and irrelevant. This was hammered home to me by the last three marketing questionnaires I got from XP and Minelab. They asked about the competition, Garrett, Nokta, each other, and even Quest. But no mention of First Texas brands. Clearly Minelab and XP no longer consider them to be competition. And unless Fisher pulls a rabbit out of their hat, and soon, I agree. But as far as I know all they have cooking is a PI and that’s not going to save the day. They need a top tier multi to get back in the game. Frankly, I think they are dead man walking - just my opinion. That being the case I really think we only have four serious competitors right now. Quest might be able to enter the ranks, but not yet. They have some good product, but no real visibility in this market. So for whatever it is worth, I think we are down from a Big 5 to a Big 4 at the moment. Either Quest or First Texas could reclaim the fifth position if either can advance their game beyond where they are at this time. Detector Company Movers and Shakers 2023 - the Big 4 Garrett Minelab Nokta XP

For the shareholders out there the Codan investor report came out today, things are looking positive across the board. Communication is really becoming their key business though, and that's shown in results and investment. I guess metal detectors one day will be a much smaller part of their business and they're prepared for that. The good news for us is they are intending to invest further into making more recreational and gold prospecting detectors in the future. You can read the full report here. No hints of any imminent releases unfortunately for those still hanging on for the GPZ 8000, might be holding on for a while yet. Interestingly if you follow many social media methods the older GPX series are having a massive resurgence at the moment due to the mods on them being highly successful, people selling their 6000s' and even 7000's to have a 5000 or 4500 again modded. Some even swapping their 6000 or 7000 detector to get an older model, Minelab won't like that, not good for sales that discontinued models are gathering the buying public's attention. The good bit is if they have no competition, at least they're having to compete with their own older discontinued models so it may drive some new innovation and another product to market.

In regards to Tom Dankowski’s statement regarding myself….https://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,152652,184080#msg-184080 I find this very interesting especially since I did NOT purchase the modified Tarsacci unit from Dimitar, I bought it used from a third party, who Dimitar custom made it for. Therefore, I had no said “agreement” with him. The gentleman called me recently and informed of his interest in selling the unit in order to free up some cash for the latest XP flagship. The gentleman suffers from significant hearing damage working around heavy equipment and being a professional musician. He could NOT differentiate the high tone from the mid tone. I suspect the same is for others…. This modification cuts the learning curve down SIGNIFICANTLY! I didn’t see a need for the unit until he sent me video samples of which I immediately noticed BIG difference in audio. My only intent was for the Tarsacci community to realize how much better the audio (((could))) be. However, things being as they are with Dimitar he is not in the habit of listening to his customers, just as he hasn’t, regarding a small coil, BEAST coil cover, arm strap, extra lower rod, hard copy manual, all of which I endlessly lobbied for to him for you guys (and you know who you are). Very strange this statement is made about me especially since I’ve done nothing but promote the Tarsacci. Even though I’ve pulled the forum due to maintenance cost and bad Tarsacci sales my YouTube videos bring Dimitar TONS of FREE promotion. Before I pulled them they were getting almost 5,000 minutes a month in view time. Now that I brought them back, in only 2 weeks people have spent over 31hrs have watching them. What people don’t realize is subscribers mean NOTHING, it’s VIEWERS. 80% of my viewers are NOT subscribers, Dimitar doesn’t get that….. And there’s more aspects, tricks of the Tarsacci that haven’t been addressed anywhere on the forum or YouTube that I still to publish yet, lack the motivation… APL

I recently heard from a reliable source at Garrett that they have already stopped production on the ATX, Sea Hunter, and Golden Eye Cache Coil for the GTI 2500. Next in line is the 2500 itself and the AT Gold. The AT MAX and Pro models are still available with no current plans to discontinue. Only the Marketing Department knows why. It makes me wonder if they’re going to produce a Submersible Axiom, now that they have a waterproof pod. Is the Vortex replacing the AT Gold? 25 kHz is better than 18. I really liked the Ground Balance Window on the Gold. You could hunt a big wash full of black sand and still find metal. The last time I checked, there were very few detectors left for Deep-water Diving, the Sea Hunter, the Pulse Dive with the small coil, and the Excalibur. Maybe diving with a Metal Detector isn’t as popular as it once was. BTW, don’t call Customer Service and ask about the Vortex. The answers are above their Pay Scale!

I saw this and wondered if they’re talking smf or just several single frequencies. Anyone heard anything?

When I started this forum most people did not know that Bounty Hunter, Fisher, and Teknetics were in reality all the same company - First Texas. That holding company purchased those brands to trade off the cachet of their established names and brand following. It is therefore ironic to me that they are now abandoning the separate brands to a large degree. The once separate websites now all point back to just one - the new First Texas umbrella website. The old Bounty Hunter website http://detecting.com/ The old Fisher website http://www.fisherlab.com/ both redirect to subsections on the main First Texas website. The old Teknetics website is still up at https://www.tekneticsdirect.com/ but no doubt the new First Texas Teknetics subsection will replace it someday. First Texas is obviously abandoning small dealers fully now in favor of big box and direct sales. They have been repeatedly selling various models direct on Amazon and the FT website at under dealer cost. Hard to be a dealer when your number one competitor is your supplier. The Teknetics site long since morphed into factory direct sales and now the new site has everything factory direct, often with huge discounts. The main FT website does have a dealer application page still. It mentions a dealer listing page but I have not been able to find one. Maybe that is because of this requirement: To earn a spot on our dealer website page, dealers must have placed orders for a minimum of 20 units and sustain an annual sales goal of 100 units. Your dealer listing on our website will exclude your website address if your landing page promotes detectors from other brands. 100 units a year plus no mention of other brands on landing page specifically excludes small dealers. Only sell 80 a year? Too bad. I'm a businessman and business is business so I am not posting this as a swipe at First Texas. More a recognition of things changing with the times. The fact is many so-called dealers are just order takers competing on under the table price discounting out of garages and basements, not real brick and mortar operators. I understand why the companies, and not just First Texas, will be weeding these people out. Everything will go big box and factory direct eventually with only a few of the biggest online independent dealers hanging on over the next ten years. As price competition heats up so will the need to cut extra pockets out of the distribution chain. First Texas might be ahead of the curve on this a little but they are not the only company making these moves. Minelab is heavily promoting direct sales via Amazon and Garrett has a new factory direct website. My advice to anyone thinking of becoming a small metal detector dealer? Don't. Great deal on the Fisher F70, regular $375 and below dealer cost at $199 - almost makes me want to buy one, it's such a smoking deal! https://firsttexasproducts.com/products/fisher-f70-metal-detector-with-dual-coil-and-coil-cover-combo?variant=47452772335896

I know many of you are aware, but I'm posting this for those who may not be familiar with the situation in the US regarding service. Until the end of 2023 Detector Center was the sole service provider for Minelab, providing warranty and non-warranty repairs of its detectors. Starting Jan 1 2024, Minelab has taken this role back in house for warranty repairs. However I just wanted to post a short blurb that Detector Center is still here.... we continue to complete non-warranty service of your favorite Minelab - be it a gold machine, coin detector, or water hunting detector, etc. Basically, if it's under warranty - get it taken care of by Minelab. But if it's out of warranty we can help.... as the techs are here and we continue to stock the vast majority of the parts needed to fix these detectors. Now in regards to some our favorite older detectors (15 years old and older) sometimes we run into the situation where there simply are no parts to be found.... unless we have something to salvage from another detector. So if you need a repair on something older, it is best to give us a call and talk with one of the techs to get a feel if its repairable or not. Also we can sell you some small parts that are otherwise hard to obtain through your dealer.... not all are listed on our website so don't be afraid to ask if something you need is not listed.... ? In the event you need to set up a repair it's easy - just go to https://www.detectorrepair.com and follow the links to set up the repair... or give us a call at 814-283-4270 to discuss your options. Thanks for your time everyone, and to Steve for letting me post this here.

Can anyone confirm whether or not the warranty is transferable, thanks.

Just a reminder. Minelab USA offers a 15% discount on any Minelab metal detector from the MAP (minimum advertised price) to U.S. active or honorably discharged members of the military. Proof of past or active service is required and must be verified by providing a copy of a DD 214 or Military ID to qualify. The discount applies only to a metal detector purchase - parts and accessories do not qualify. This discount is not available in conjunction with other special promotions or individual dealer concessions. With discount the $899 Equinox 800 is only $764.15. The Minelab GPZ 7000, normally $7999, ends up being $6799.15, a savings of $1199.85

I bought a used atx off ebay. I was disappointed to say the least by its performance. The seller agreed to pay for repairs to make it right. I shipped the atx to Garrett for repair, and explained that the coil seems overly knock sensitive even on stable ground. They replaced some battery trays and o rings and sent it back. The ebay seller reimbursed me for the repairs, and he was off the hook. I convinced myself the atx worked better than before, but I was still not confident in it. I had to assume this is just how the Atx performs. Against all advice and even my own gut feeling, I ordered a new 8" mono coil for it. Everything I've read about the 8" coil was mostly negative, and suggested it was noisier than the DD coil I already have. To my surprise, that new 8" mono coil runs so much smoother than the DD coil. It is a pleasure to use, and gave me confidence in the ATX. This however made me think I was right about my DD coil being faulty, and my window for having the ebay seller pay for that was long gone. I emailed Rusty at Garrett with my concerns and disappointment, that I felt they did not properly diagnose my atx when I sent it to them. Rusty replied with an email, that truly showed he understood my concern, and he actually cared about this situation. After a long conversation on the phone with Rusty, he too was curious why the 8" mono ran so much smoother than the coil I sent to them to check. He flat out said, he's sending me a new DD coil. I thanked him and reassured him that if there wasn't a SIGNIFICANT difference in performance, I would ship it back to him at my expense. The first part of the video is the original DD coil in question. I start out in stock sensitivity of 10, then bump it to max 13. I show the frequency scan and ground balance for that one to show its done, but to keep the video short, I skipped showing that part on the 2 new coils. It was however done on all 3 coils. All video was shot in the same spot at the same time. 1st coil is original DD coil. 2nd coil is new 8" mono. 3rd coil is new DD that Garrett sent. I can't help to believe, the original coil is faulty, after doing this test.

Well, judging from their wording on their results for H1, I don't think those hanging out for a new GPZ have much to look forward to, nor those thinking that Minelab has something up their sleeve to target the Algoforce. You can read the full report here. "RoW revenues continue to remain remarkably resilient, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. Newly released products of Manticore, Equinox 700|900 and X-Terra Pro have contributed to the growth in first half FY24 revenues. However, as the first anniversary release date of these products passes, revenues are expected to normalise during the second half."

Hey Gang, I got some news that will make Doc's Detecting even more responsive to my customers than ever before. We have always prided ourselves on Great Customer Service and fast shipping. We have recently made some major purchases and plans for the future. To be clear I have never used any illegal drugs in my life, never even smoked. That's not that kind of high I'm talking about. But the ol' Doc ain't as young as he used to be. Carrying boxes up on the top of 12 foot high warehouse shelving, by having a 50 lb box on one shoulder and one hand on a shaky ladder is getting a bit too scary. So started looking at Fork Lifts, but I would have to widen my aisles and we really don't put things on pallets. We stack the boxes full of SWINGY THINGYS, SAGA Swing Arms etc on upper shelves, and as we need them we bring down a box, open it, put it in a large clear plastic bin that we pick from to fill orders. So in talking to the FORKLIFT company the salesman says, you don't need a Fork Lift, you need an ORDER PICKER. I said, "I am the ORDER PICKER!" He said no, let me send you a picture. So I went to California Wednesday and picked up my new ORDER PICKER. It's only 29 inches wide. The tray in front will carry over 200 lbs, so it will easily take 4 or 5 boxes of merchandise up with me to put on shelves or retrieve a couple off of a high shelf safely. The bottom below the tray will carry 360 lbs, so you can move a quantity of merchandise around the warehouse to where you want to store it. This would have been the bomb when I was putting up Christmas tree lights on the house this past Christmas Season. More BIG NEWS Below the Pictures. At the end of 2024 we will be moving to a NEW WAREHOUSE that I purchased that is being built as we speak. This Warehouse Complex, is really cool. There are 29 units and you actually purchase your unit. It's a gated complex. It's like a Home Owners Association. There is a really great Club House with roof top party area with bar-b-q grills and the like. Inside there are meeting rooms and areas that can be used for like a mini show. The Complex is called "The Stack." It is located 3 miles from my home in the hottest new area of Henderson. It is 1/2 mile from the Henderson airport and The Raiders Practice stadium and the two large Amazon Warehouses. I must be crazy to think I can keep doing this stuff forever, but I love it, and I see no end in sight. You guys have helped Doc's Detecting Supply grow at an amazing rate and I am eternally grateful. I thank you for your support and I will continue to try to bring you some of the best innovative accessories in the Detecting Prospecting Industry. Doc

It almost seems like I'm the only one with issues with these companies. And that's not a bad thing. I'm actually glad to hear most people have good experiences with them. If @steve herschbach would like to remove this post, I am fine with that. My issues will work themselves out, and honestly I don't want to hurt any company that does a good job for the majority of their customers. My issues may be big misunderstandings, along with lack of communication. And I feel wrong for starting this thread.