New Minelab

G day all
I have just been reading some of the latest reports on the codan website and can't see anything to indicate any new detectors released this year.
They talk more about increasing production for the high level of orders on hand, which makes perfect sense to me, but what about a replacement for the 2200v2? or are they making them again?

Any thoughts?
Anyone know anything that we don't?

Brett

Looks like no new detectors due to ML making unprecedented volumes of GPX 4500 for an empty market that doesn't need them.

Looks like a big mess to me. Someone keeps dropping the ball.
Everyone suffers for a lack of vision.

Minelab never give a release date until VERY shortly before...not even to thier dealers.
Any release date floating around the forums...even the model names are based on speculation, guesstimation and wishfull thinking

Good day All.
Well said madtuna
Cheers Greg

If people are waiting for up to 3 months to get their 4500 then I would suspect that Minelab cannot keep up with the demand out there. Why bring out a new model before all the orders are filled for the 4500's? Putting 2 and 2 together i would think that Minelab are caught between a rock and hard place trying to keep up with current orders and trying to assess when things are going to level out before putting a new model on the market. How long does R&D take before a new model is released? I doubt even the company contracted test pilots out there would even know the answer to that one. Their job would only be to report back on any possible improvements to the machine and make suggestions. I think the questions have got to be asked are ...how many 4500's are currently on order with Minelab? If its a shiteload and we are talking maybe hundreds or thousands on order ?.....then my guess is that they haven't got the ouput to keep up with the greater demands of producing 4500's let alone a new 5000 or whatever. Just some thoughts....

Mal

Lets say ML release a new model next month , the season is just starting
as many don't detect much over summer due to heat and fire risk.
How many of us really would like to head out with a new machine and have
to go through the working out phase which I would assume for most would
mean being less competent out in the field and missing Nuggets.
I would have liked to upgrade this year but not before the select few
have put the unit through it's paces and given it the thumbs up.
Also for me having a video released is of great assistance and would
allow the necessary knowledge prior to purchase and use.
The way I see it ML will release with no notice and then a few months
down the track the feedback comes in and videos are released , this now
looks like it's getting too late for me this year and I would be better
off using what I have and know how to use.
I can understand why ML hasn't released it's new model yet but it would
be good for them to allow some form of feedback to us and supply test
units for the few to use and start operational videos so at the very
least they can be released together if not before.
Anyway just my thoughts on the matter and looks like no new unit for me
this year
Mark

TIMELINE
2009: Demand for GPXs reached a crescendo last August.
ML did nothing to increase production to meet demand.

2009: Demand for SD 2200v2 rises.
ML discontinued them from production August 2009 but has not supplied since March 09.
ML does not remove them from websites or brochures.
2010: SD 2100v2 & SD 2100v2 are still on websites & brochures.

2009: Demand for GPXs continues into early 2010.
ML does nothing to increase production to meet demand.

2010: Suddenly ML stops making all large coils to concentrate on GPX production.
GPX market plummets due 2 countless fakes pouring out of China.
ML refuses to increase ML 15x12" coils to meet demand.
ML continues to make GPXs even though the market is drying up.

2010: Unprecedented & massive demand for ML 15x12" coils.
ML refuses to increase ML 15x12" coils to meet demand.

2010: China starts to produce fake ML 15x12" coils.
ML refuses to produce ANY ML 15x12" coils to meet demand.

2010: No demand for GPXs online or from dealers. Market has bottomed out.
Detectors stockpiled and confiscated by African Customs Officers sold back into the market @ half price.
More fake GPXs flood the Sudan - this time from Europe.

ML continues to ramp up GPXs to meet a massive release.
But there is no longer an interest in the GPX. Only larger ML coils.
With GPXs now selling for one third their usual price in Africa, nobody wants to pay top dollar.
Australian sellers on eBay unable to sell GPXs even at retail price because of the fakes.

What will happen when all these new detectors reach the stores and overseas distributors?
Will ML be forced to release new detectors to generate an income to offset expenses of the old?
Why don't NF & Coiltek sell their own coils to meet demand?

I don't get it.

Maybe they are busy working on these new Detector Thongs so we can detect as we walk all day long..........

Harb,
Can you get one for the left foot too, so you can double the ground you cover ?
Jig

yeah the left one is also available, and a centre swinging one is still under development they are having trouble getting beta testers

How many of us really would like to head out with a new machine and have
to go through the working out phase.
I would i dont mind taking one for the team M8,by all meens stand around and wait for feed back but in reality you will still buy one.
My understanding (or what large hairy birds have yelled) is they have ramped up production to meet supply, but whats to say the new model isnt being made at the same time.
Think about it when the 4000 was replaced with the 4500 how many people wanted the latest model after ordering the 4000 .......heaps (i know i would), they had 4000 sitting on the selves for months (if not years) all dead money to companies. Do you think they just say are bugger it lets release the new one eh, and then start making them think youl find they have stock already sitting on the shelf.
With the demand still high and the expectation of a new model (you dont see ford or holden refussing to release a new model because last years one was popular do U) to me this seems a golden opertunity for Coden to slide the new one into the market and continue high sales.
Have anyone noticed that the 4000 was removed from ML site but 2200 were still available, think youl find the same will happen to the 4500 there was a time when most models were still avaiable from ML but things have changed i feel.
As MT has said it is pretty well straight to the point,basically dealers are the last to know rumours are ripe at the monent,so when i flick the switch on my new machine ill then know it has been released.
Have a look at Flea bay nothing over $6G (ive seen recently) bubble has burst maybe .
But anyone who sold there 4500 expecting the new one (like me) id be grabbing a second hand 4000 or cheap 4500 just incase it doesnt come out soon, and the up side of that is you have a back up machine just in case when the new one goes back for a recall .

Celeste interesting stuff about the China ones etc, anyone know of any photos etc of these machines.
Regards
John

If i was the Minelab accountancy/business planning team i would say keep selling 4500's until demand drops off dramatically before releasing a new model. There is no competitor out their who will take their market share, so why rush in a new model now.

When 4500 demand falls, then they can do the usual thing and release a new model knowing all the serious prospectors will upgrade. I am betting there will not be a new model release before October.

However it has been at a point for some time where time swinging and researching areas is 90% the secret of success rather then the machine.(you don't need the latest model to patch hunt and find a good patch in WA for example, an Extreme will do fine.)
The only exception is where you are maybe stuck detecting the flogged fields and diggings and then a machine that hears the small gold at depth is an advantage.

So maybe the serious prospectors will not upgrade as easilly as they have in the past when a model does arrive? Maybe its time to hang on to the 4500 until the 5500 or 6000 is released. (unless the model has a special deep gold signal setting/frequency that works well)

Tributer

freshwater wrote:

Celeste interesting stuff about the China ones etc, anyone know of any photos etc of these machines.
Regards
John

hi john
steve put up a link under the topic fake 4500
there just a vlf machine with GPX 4500 F written on them.
cheers chris

Harb,
That would add a new dimension to going out for a swing.
Jig.

G'day Celeste.

I liked your last post,got a good laugh out of that one. "Minelab China,Minelab China,Now we've got the Lions coming in from Africa to take there share.But you're right.Minelab do have their hands full at the moment,but I'm sure there busy trying to work it all out as we speak.One thing is a certainty though;just like you can't stop new mods coming in,neither will they stop a new model detector coming in also.Technology will keep moving forward whether we like it or not. The longest Minelabs gone in between producing a new model detector is around two and a half years.So come this April, makes it two years already.Now i hope i don't end up making a fool out of my self by saying that,I will bet my bottom dollar,that even after all the problems Minelabs facing at the moment,i can assure you a new model GPX awaits us,just around the corner.As to when,anyone's guess is as good as mine. My only regret is that,why have all the other major company's like,Garret,Fisher and Whites,let Miinelab monopolize the pulse induction Industry,when they could have given them a good run for their money and ours, beats the hell out of me.

Happy Prospecting.

"why have all the other major company's like,Garret,Fisher and Whites, let Miinelab monopolize the pulse induction Industry"

kon61,
You can bet your sweet bippy they are trying. It must be harder than it looks, or maybe they are having trouble with patents.
Jig.

Hello Harb.

Again,I just can't stop laughing.Why didn't I think of that Invention?,"Metal detecting,whilst fine tuning my soccer skills,with the melon sized hot rocks in the creek.


Happy Prospecting.

My thoughts are if they keep making 4500's and selling them in Australia then people like me that want to upgrade from a 2200, GP or 4000 won't want a GPX 5000 or whatever it will be called unless it's a big jump in tech. If it's just a 4500 with a few new bells and whistles then i would rather the in as new condition 4500 on ebay for $3500 to $4000 of which there will be a few if they keep making them.
So i reckon they have to bring out a new one this year ah i think.

Celeste not many people managed to for see the price of gold skyrocketing so quickly
and the demand for detectors explode why would Minelab be any different.
they might not need 4500's in Sudan and other places with virgin ground but they want them. If you were in charge of sales at Minelab would you be telling them they only need a cheap vlf?

Brett

I have just deleted several replies as they did not relate to the original comment. Lets keep the personal issues out of it .

Jeff

Agreed


Bill

Must be the weather and lack of detecting I reckon, everyone seems to be getting a bit testy lately. Nother couple of weeks should sort that out.
cheers
Brett

A new Minelab??? Whilst we sit and think about what Minelab would bring out, it would be interesting to hear what you want from a new detector. As we saw with the 3500, it was generally bells and whistles stuff.

Personally I liked the 2200 and thought that could have been improved on as it was a very stable machine. Do you think we are going the right way?

Jeff

Has anyone ever stopped to think about the "bells and whistles" rubbish that is often typed without any consideration to what actually is offered??

I bet most haven't.
For mine, most all of the Minelab offerings from the GP Extreme up have had some sort of advantage, regardless of the size of it. The GPX4500 has had the biggest jump in performance so far as far as I am concerned with the release of "Enhance" timings, which gives us the opportunity to glean nuggets from ground that was previously difficult to work, and consequently many nuggets came to light. I know this from personal experience and no-one can convince me otherwise.

I will say that anyone who thinks their older machine is the best, then the power be with them, but have a swing of the latest offering and make up your own mind. I look forward to any "bells and whistles" offered in the future as I'm sure it will benefit me. Let's see what comes to light. Cheers.

Jefgold wrote:As we saw with the 3500, it was generally bells and whistles stuff.Jeff

"Bells and Whistles stuff" I reckon that if you only detect a couple of times a year that might be what you could say, probably not notice much difference.

But if you detect a lot, then call em bells & whistles or performance gains or whatever you want, every model was better than the last one. I'm not talking depth improvement I mean better & quieter easier to use machines, and the GPX4500 is in a leauge of its own. Not just smoke & mirrors bell & whistles, its like comparing a Kingswood to a Ferrari.

cheers dave

I wholeheartedly agree Dave. Spot on.

if I had a heart I'd whole heartedly agree too

I loved my extreme, paid for itself over and over and I parted with it with some reluctance to buy the 4500..but now? give me bells and whistles any day and I'll gladly ring and toot them all over the paddock.

I've pulled gold from places where I couldn't run my extreme and gold from places where I damn well know my extreme had covered the exact same spot and come up empty...thankyou enhance, thankyou stabilizer thankyou all the other bells and whistles.

Any improvement in the next model and Ill go hit those same spots again

All experienced operators finding gold reguarly see the value of getting a little more edge by upgrading every time a new model arrives. However many many people who are new to the hobby or only get out occassionally need to really have a bit of money to buy a new machine. If you can't afford the best the older models are very capable and success is possible if you know the machine, spend lots of time actually moving the coil on the ground and research out spots to try.

In regard directions..it would be good to see a new model with some new dedicated settings and maybe a new frequency or some way that will gain some depth and improve signal response for deeper gold. (Also having better quality connectors on cables and connectors on the control box and fixing the batteries so you can replace them would help.)

Tributer

I remember a lot of talk about the 4500 now having a back lit screen where the 4000 didn't..does anyone actually use the back light? I'd gladly forsake a back light for simple things like rubber boots on all flick switches.

As Trib said, the battery is a big sore point. Especially when you can buy any number of after market ones that are smaller, cheaper outright and replacable or repackable at minimal cost.

I also agree about the connectors.. something more robust and that fat fingers can negotiate.

Above all, any improvement in the ability to minimise EMI without sacrificing depth or sensitivity is worth an upgrade by itself.

Well my wish list goes like this:

Rubber booted switches

EEprom memories so you can pull the power and still maintain last switch position settings

User Namable/definable memories, and plenty of them, maybe 20 or so

Memory card up and downloadable settings transfer

Mil spec connectors

Rubber armour coating on external surfaces

High intensity Led lighting pointing down the shaft for night time use

Software passwords for anti theft protection

Possibly coils with memory addresses , so when fitting the coil up to the detector it talks to the detector and loads saved settings for that coil

Blue tooth TX for cordless earpieces

ill have a small cap with one sugar,takeaway pls.
Just thought as everyone was asking for stuff i might sneak a free coffee on the list.
regards