We've Got VLF and PI and Now ZED - What Don't We Have?

[Rick K - First Member]

What we don't have is the perfect gold detector and chances are we probably never will. If we did have it however what would it be like and what would it do?

Here's my list.

Weight - doesn't need to be a featherweight – perhaps around 3 pounds maximum.

Power – lithium ion battery pack rechargeable in place or out of the detector – with spare batteries costing less than $100.

But what does it have to do?

Depth – of course more is better – but performing as well as the ATX overall would probably be enough.

Sensitivity to small gold – as good as the minelab SDC.

Ground tracking – combination of AutoTrak and ground grab - with no ground balance system induced "holes" where certain targets can't be detected because of the ground balance setting.

Mineralization – should ignore it as well as a GPX 5000.

Hot rocks – same as above.

Discrimination – positive identification of ferrous material to depth.

Price – now I am really dreaming – $1500 for the non-waterproof lightweight field model and $2500 for the waterproof ruggedized one.

So can this miracle machine ever actually be developed? It would take some new and different technology since induction balance VLF machines can't do it and conventional pulse induction machines can't do it (the GB "holes") and the GPZ can do a lot of it but it costs an absolutely silly amount of money and weighs a ton.

There would be no particular reason to hope that this will never be developed except for one thing – $$$ - currently in Africa they are buying thousands of gold detectors a MONTH. My imaginary miracle machine could make its developers an enormous pile of money.

I will bet the price of a decent dinner at the best Mexican restaurant in Globe, Arizona that several companies are feverishly striving to develop just such a device. I know we all wish them luck.

[Steve Herschbach]

Just give me accurate ferrous/non-ferrous discrimination on the GPZ and I will be ecstatic. Of course that will probably be 20K!

[klunker]

There is no question that "Rick's Magic Mining Machine" Is certainly possible but there needs to be more competition in the upper end detector class to make it happen. The detector market is also miniscule compared to other computer-electronic markets that there is not much incentive to gear up to produce a quality gold detector for tight wad miners like me.

[NuggetBob]

Well sunshine up my nose! Put me on the list for a magic wand too!

[Steve Herschbach]

A more realistic comment from me would be to once again hope that Garrett will put the ATX into a dedicated dry land prospecting box weighing under 4 pounds and selling out the door for under $2000. Minelab could do exactly the same thing with the SDC 2300 but I will not hold my breath for that. Garrett not doing it though is just crazy in my opinion.

[Rick K - First Member]

The only thing I can figure with Garrett is either they figure they will only sell so many ATX's anyway so why not stick with the high-priced armadillo model. Either that or to try to get the price down in competing for governmental anti mining gear they ordered way too many of these sets of moldings that they're now using for the ATX and they just have to get rid of them somehow.

On the other hand they likewise stubbornly refused to make a land only version of the Infinium – so go figure.

If a reasonably priced new technology detector appears it will be on account of one thing – the African market.

[Rick K - First Member]

Of course gold detectors are swell – but here's what I really want. I wrote this a while back and actually sent it off to a guy who designed metal detectors and got a very nice response back. I can't claim that he wrote "great idea Rick will get right on it". But I got the distinct impression that he didn't think I was nuts.

Here's what I wrote him

__________________________________________

Where this needs to go.

Ok, let's perform a small thought experiment.

What if I walked out on my 3 acres or so of AZ desert with a truly intelligent detector. I would ground balance and "initiate a session". As I got visual or Aural feedback from the detector, I would imput the results of my "analysis" of the signal in terms of whether I thought it was just ground noise (low value assigned by the machine - simce I Had no direct observation to input) or whether I kicked it out of the way, determining that it was a hot rock, or whether I dug and ID'd it (high value assigned to the data by the machine because of my direct observation).

After a bit of this, the machine starts modifying its operating parameters to take account of the data it's gathering as well as the data I'm inputting. So,instead of me having to notch out .22 LR cases manually, it would do it for me and if I found more of them outside the limits of the notch, it would analyize and compare GB and other factors to compensate.

For gold, if I was lucky enough to find it, it would consider the reading for a nugget in the context of other current and historical (formthe site) data and tune operating parameters accordingly.

oK, where and when can I Buy this and why does this make me sad that I'll soon be 68?

[Norvic]

Don`t know Rick I think we`ll get such a detector, but by then we may be a wee long in the tooth. A 4lb GPZ with non-internet moving map software on its screen will do me now whoops and a packet of youth pills.

An old codger said to me when I was a youth "Youth is wasted on the youth" I got quiet insulted then, but I know what he was on about now.

[beatup]

All i can say is one can only dream such a detector will one day be made but i won't hold my breath, i will just have to use what i have now and be well schooled in how my detectors work for me now.