Is a New Minelab worth it?

Hi All
Golds a strange game.We walk around with $2000 to $6000 machines and every 2 years we hear the call the new gpextreme gp3000 gp3500 gpx4000 gpx4500 is out.Well the truth is Minelab is the only game in town.There not cheap but when you think about it the price of a gp3000 is now half of the latest.
So what happens every two years
1Extremely skilled Electronics Engineers find something they didnt know for the previous 2 years and the previous 10 years
2Extremely Skilled Electronics Engineers manufacture some thing different because the same wont sell

I love Capitalism even though the world will alway go through the boom and bust cycle,to truly trust a manufacturer is something I would never do.
So what have we got,well I dont know.Because of the lure of gold each two years a new mystery box appears with no actual reference to the previous specifcation wise.
Gold is a strange game
Me personally I'm not buying anymore.Not complaining what Ive got is good ,but like any consumer for me to buy what you next have to offer ,I need to know what you are selling
Cheers Dig

Me personally I'm not buying anymore.Not complaining what Ive got is good ,but like any consumer for me to buy what you next have to offer ..."

Yeah, BUT what if they come out with the same technology as the GPX 4500 put in a smaller housing with much more compact and lighter weight total all in one package being the housing, battery, and speaker(maybe also a light hipmount) in about the size of an Explorer or E-Trac??? Are you still not buying anymore?? Having only a shoulder bungee attachment in a small grab and run mini size GPX 5000 or 5500 metal detector the size of about an Explorer or Infinium LS without all the combersome wires and heavy duty harnesses? I know I want one!

Hey Dig

Before I part with my hard earned cash I really think there needs to be a shift from the current platform of technology in detectors into something that goes deeper and runs quiter. On the current platform all we seem to get is filtering systems that quieten the machine in mineralised areas but at what cost in performance??? and depth. I really do think that the current platform in technology has been stretched as far as it can go...we need competition to generate new technology to go further with new models.... not one company keeping the base line platform and just adding more bells and whistles to each new model.

thats my thoughts anyway...

Ray

Hi Dig, I know the latest minelab machine costs more straight up, but if you trade up each time a new machine comes out it costs a lot less to keep up with the latest and greatest super dooper nugget scooper.

These days a couple of ounces will usually cover the trade-up costs and keep the gold flowing in.

Its the same with coils, selling your old coil means you'll probably only have to shell out less than half the cost of the latest and greatest new coil.

Cheers, Jim.

My thinking,
If it is finding you Gold, then don't stuff with it or replace it.

My thoughts on the newer generations of Detectors to come SOON:

Phased Out will be the use of an Audio Signal, and Phased In will be Visual Signals, giving the user a small screen with a Visual X-Ray type image of what is below the surface, and it's possible construction material.

Given the fact that Ground X-ray machines are already in use in Archaeological research now, they will be down-scaled to a suitable version to be hand held by a single user and be in a price range similar to the GPX4500's now.

In the mean time i will stick with my GP Extreme !


Corey....

Gday folks,,,,,Here,s my twobobs worth....Imagine this,,,an old mate tells me about a spot below an old gold reef in a small valley with highly mineralised gravel wash afoot deep over a clay layer... He and many many others did the area thoroughly so he told me how to get there because it is a waste of time he said ....I did the area to the best of MY ability with an sd2200d , and then a GPextreme , both with small and large DDs as that is all that can be used ...{very very noisy on monos }....Found a few small nuggets over a few weeks and then gave the area up as worked out ....Went to the {exact }same area with a 4500 & 16" NFmono in enhanced and pulled out 2 dozen nugs to cover the cost of the 4500 ...90% of the signals were very subtle and reqd a few inches scraped off to give a good signal....Was it me or the machine ??? The machine I,d say as my hearing is not as good today as it was ..Am I happy with the ability to quiet down the machine so as to be able to hear the deeper or fainter signals ? You bet I am .....Still have both my old machines because I can,t part with them but they don,t get used by me these days ....Very good machines indeed ,BUT not as good as the new one ....Cheers

Im with you younomad,
I hope the guys and girls keep their gp,s Ive been working some old scrappings ect. And Im finding what they have missed....Thats using a 4500 and a 24+12 NF..The way to go..Tec.is a wonderful thing..will look closely at the new one WHEN it gets here...Will have to be a gooden to beat the 4500...Good luck all..Bob

When I bought my 4500 I also got Jonathon Porters seta project,watched the whole dvd and set up my detector with the mono settings Jonothan had recomended and went to a small patch we had found north of coolgardie.We are both very experienced detector operators and we flogged the small patch to death with gp3000s.We got about 12 bits for about 1oz.there was nothing left that we could find.I we back with 4500 and scored onother 10 bit for 15grms and was blown away at the depth these nuggets were coming from.I took my 3000 as well and each target I could not hear with the same style of mono coil and the signals were so clear I found it hard to believe that the 4500 was that much better.On larger gold,10grams and above I am not sure about being deeper but I know this much,they run with a mono as quiet as other detectors are with dd coils so the targets are not masked by ground noise and very easy to hear.I have a 2100,3000,3500 and 4500.I have had good finds over the years with all of them and good memories as well so I have not traded them in.Well done to minelab over the years,when the 2000 came out it was $4995 to buy,I paid $5750 for my 4500 brand new so price has only gone up 20% in 15 years for the latest .wish the car companies could do the same.SO I think if you are passionate about your prospecting and dont want to leave gold for the next operator with a 4500 they are worth it.Just want to say this is a great forum and have read many of the comments,and learnt a few things as well.Thanks to you all

hi all ... have to agree with the positive answers above. my gpextreme served me well for five years. plenty of nuggets. upgraded to 4000, very impressed with smooth, though the other modes were useless in comparison. upgraded to 4500, very impressed with enhance, other modes were still useless in comparison. proof of the pudding .... just finished a trip to clermont qld, was going over old ground, and not too optimistic of getting much, but after 20 days detecting i had 8 ounces in the kick. i found the 4500 in enhance and inverted (that is - fishing for the big ones) returned me 64 nuggets for 250 grams. mostely down deeper, up to 21 inches with a 17 by 12 inch NF eliptical mono (same coil for last three years).
noted that the general and normal modes of detecting are extremely powerful, but way to noisy to use effectively, if minelab can quieten more modes down to match ENHANCE i will definately be first to buy ... kev

Well done Kev!!

I think half the fun is a new toy to play with

If I was to justify all the stuff I buy, i'd be in big trouble

I like the process of getting something new and making it do its thing, and I don't really see it being any different to buying a flash set of golf clubs.... some people spend a lot more than that on a set of custom clubs.
Its a bit like upgrading computers.....some do, some don't, but the ones that dont' miss out on all the newer features and things that make the experience a better one...... even though they will both do similar things.
I do feel though, the the confidence spike a new machine gives you is worth the extra bucks in boosted enthusiasm.

G'day Fellow prospectors;
Although Minelab Electronics [or should i now say Codan Pty Ltd]still use the so called "drip feed"method of detector electronic advancements,meaning that,each new model of detector is improved by at least 10%,[and I'm being lenient when i say 10%]do not other major detector manufacturers do the same on their models,whether it being VLF or PULSE?.We all know that the greatest leap of between 200 to 300% for working in highly mineralized ground, was introduced when the SD2000 came about 15 years ago,which i paid $4900 for mine at the time.Isn't an extra grand or so, worth paying today,for the GPX 4500 or for the coming 5000, considering the leaps and bounds in technology,over the SD2000.Or is their anybody out there,who truly believes that the new upcoming model will be inferior in technology than its predecessor?.If that were the case we would all still be using the GPX4000. Regardless of any problems that each model has had in the past,once the problems were ironed out,lets face it,we were left with a better machine than the previous model.One last word before people start getting stuck into me for my post,I am not associated with Minelab or Codan in any way,shape or form,but just another fellow prospector who has spent a sh't load of money and a lifetime enjoying an incredibly fascinating and wonderful hobby, that hopefully sees me through to my nineties. Cheers kon61

spot on kon61.

its only filthy money.

better to have the enjoyment of being out in the bush enjoying yourself with the current you-beaut-best
than watching those around you drag out the gold pieces while you stick to your favourite oldtimer machine, covering much the same ground, knowing you are good, and knowing you didnt leave any behind deliberately, and pissed off that nature doesnt grow the nuggets a lot faster. etc etc

and no. i am not some filthy rich a#@X&(le that doesnt have to worry about the cost, i save my pennies to be able to enjoy my hobby ... kev

G'day Kevlorraine2;


How right you are at that!. Life is to short no! Make time,to do the things you enjoy in life,for we all know that time,waits for no one.


Cheers kon61