Been out of the game for years, nothing seems to be new.

Haven't been prospecting or visiting these forums for years, surprised to to have come back and there's no new flagship minelabs on the market. Not much activity online either.

Wanted to go panning but it looks like they've closed of parking for the main panning area in Adelaide. Not sure where to go panning let alone gold detecting seems so restrictive here.

Can anyone fill me in on what's new? Why no new minelabs? Is gold getting harder to find? They used to release a new detector every two-ish years.

G'day Shinegold, welcome back to the forum.

Minelabs flagship is still the current GPZ 7000, but getting a bit long in the tooth. Its been almost 4.5 years since its release, with no hint of any new model release.
Some new coils on the market, coming from several major coil manufacturers, for some current & past model/series Minelab detectors to spruce things up a bit, but that's about it.
As for the gold side of things, yes, gold is getting harder to find by each passing day. We can't keep going back to our old gold producing haunts & expect them to keep producing using the same equipment over & over again, for the use of current metal detecting technology is all but exhausted. (the detecting technology side of things, but not what still might be left in the ground to find just out of reach)
I hope my pessimistic views have been of some help to you, but things are what they are & metal detecting technology is what it is. Hence this might also explain the slowing down in forum contributions (gold wise that is) 

Cheers Kon.  

Thanks Kon, the new coils on the market... who knows if they get better performance.

One thing I didn't think about till now is that the GPZ can update the software hence no need for new releases. The 4500 had an upgrade though I want to use the fine gold timing on the 5000.

You may not remember this but way back when the SD2100 was released, it was announced by Minelab that this was to be the standard 'base' model, and that as advances took place the 2100 would be able to be updated. Well, that went out the window of course with the introduction of the SD2200d, and new PI machines were produced on a regular basis. Obviously a more successful business model, so it figures that a new version of the GPZ or a totally new concept replacement would be the more profitable way to go.

I have to agree with Reg on this one. Software to make things run smoother maybe (such that of cosmetic touch ups), but Its going onto 4 years plus now for the GPZ 7000, with no real significant advancements in coil or software technology in sight, tells me that's a sign of stalemate, end of the road chum, kaput. To put it simply, If Minelab could have, they surely would have by now. Who knows, but something must be brewing in the pipe-works.  

Cheers Kon.

I have to say, I was in the same situation as Shinegold, having been through a hiatus in my gold detecting career of about 4 years (due to personal circumstances),and the biggest change I have noticed is the huge drop in gold-related participation in this forum compared to 4 years ago. What this means is unclear, but I have to qualify this a bit and say that this is the only forum I have come back to after that 4 years (since it has always been the best one from my point of view). So as to what's happening on the other gold fora, I can't say.
On the hardware side of it, as far as the GPX series machines go, the biggest difference I have seen is the advent of better coil technology like the Coiltek Elite, the NF Evo series coils and the Detech DD Ultimate. These are clearly more advanced coils than when I left off 4 years ago.
They are the standout changes I have noticed, or so far picked up on.

G'day goldendream

This forum is & always has been, one of the best "gold detecting/prospecting forums" in Australia. Shame that a hand full few, were keen on degrading it.
Few are the ones that go out of their way, towards participation of putting up their story/gold finds for all to read, in fear of being discriminated against (as was once so often occurring in the past, losing more than one good participating member.)
Several people on here have asked, what ever happened to the good o'll days?  The answer is simple, things are constantly changing, so do we as people.
I say we must all learn from past experiences, so that we don't repeat the bad ones, whilst at the same time, moving forward to bigger, better & brighter things in life, for life is just to short to argue for the sake of arguing, then holding on to grudges.
If any person (including myself) is not prepared to follow the laws of "respect for one another" as set down within the rules governing this forum, then they  should not be on here.
Innuendo/contempt, ignorance or arrogance from one member to another, will not be tolerated.  All I ask from members, is to think carefully about the consequence or repercussions your words might have, before one goes off putting up their post. It is not a lot to ask for.    
Picking on one another's faults, is the easiest thing one can do, but learning from one's faults, so that we don't repeat them again & again, is the hardest.
Respect is earned. We all owe it to our selves to learn from it & earn it.

Cheers Kon.  

goldendream wrote:I have to say, I was in the same situation as Shinegold, having been through a hiatus in my gold detecting career of about 4 years (due to personal circumstances),and the biggest change I have noticed is the huge drop in gold-related participation in this forum compared to 4 years ago. What this means is unclear, but I have to qualify this a bit and say that this is the only forum I have come back to after that 4 years (since it has always been the best one from my point of view).

Forum activity on every forum has dropped, I agree, that's what got me thinking. I wonder what that really means. When I was out in the goldfields years ago, most prospectors were old. I wonder if it has something to do with that. The SD 2000 generation is the detecting equivalent to the baby boomers generation.

Kon61gold wrote:G'day goldendream

This forum is & always has been, one of the best "gold detecting/prospecting forums" in Australia. Shame that a hand full few, were keen on degrading it.
Few are the ones that go out of their way, towards participation of putting up their story/gold finds for all to read, in fear of being discriminated against (as was once so often occurring in the past, losing more than one good participating member.)
Several people on here have asked, what ever happened to the good o'll days?  The answer is simple, things are constantly changing, so do we as people.
I say we must all learn from past experiences, so that we don't repeat the bad ones, whilst at the same time, moving forward to bigger, better & brighter things in life, for life is just to short to argue for the sake of arguing, then holding on to grudges.
If any person (including myself) is not prepared to follow the laws of "respect for one another" as set down within the rules governing this forum, then they  should not be on here.
Innuendo/contempt, ignorance or arrogance from one member to another, will not be tolerated.  All I ask from members, is to think carefully about the consequence or repercussions your words might have, before one goes off putting up their post. It is not a lot to ask for.    
Picking on one another's faults, is the easiest thing one can do, but learning from one's faults, so that we don't repeat them again & again, is the hardest.
Respect is earned. We all owe it to our selves to learn from it & earn it.

Cheers Kon.  

That's interesting. I've gotta say, I like this forum, it has some of the best content, good you good rid of any disruptions, it explains most of the drop in numbers on this one. Still, there are lower numbers on every forum, including coin forums.

Facebook groups for gold detecting, coin detecting, old gold mine exploration, are more prevalent than ever. l believe that they attract a younger audience of people, who are newer to gold prospecting, than the old style forums.

For my way of thinking Facebook seems to be very impersonal with less controls whereas the forum feels like an extended family.