I stumbled across the following and it sort of validated my take (see Random Thoughts & Brainfarts) on Minelab’s marketing orf late.
International Detector Center (IDC) Part Ways With Minelab
There’s no question ML makes a great product but the company might want to take a step back and look at the goodwill or lack thereof in the way they deal with their distributors/dealers and customers. There’s only so much they can put up with before they say “who needs this aggravation”.
Releasing the X-TERRA PRO when there are still a lot of tekkies waiting for delivery of the Manticore seems to be the hair that broke the camel’s back and it will be interesting to see where this leads in the days and weeks ahead. Competition is great but the urge to jump the gun and tease the end user will sooner or later come back to bite you in the ass and that goes for ALL the manufacturers. JMO.
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DIGSTOCK
Seems to be a lot of chatter, both good and bad, about the recent Digstock event in North Carolina and it will be interesting to see how Digstock 2024 and similar events will fare in the future. The “natural hunt” thing has always been baffling for me in that participants seem to be paying a helluva lot of money ($215 this year) for an individual to get permission for you to hunt someone’s land and that fee doesn’t inlcude travel, lodging and meals.
Understand I haven’t been to an organized hunt in years so this is just my take from afar but I’d have to find something extraordinary to throw away that kind of money and yes I know you can meet a lot of of cool tekkies and THing greats but all that fades with a long drive home and an itemization of expenses. On the other hand if money is no object go for it and have fun.
Just one non-participant’s view from afar.
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A WORD TO THE WISE
Just finishing up with a chemotherapy treatment of the scalp (emulsion) and now waiting to see how it all comes out. Pretty ugly noggin right now but that goes along with moi anyway. Do yourself a big favor and make good use of sunscreen and headgear. I can’t go back but you have time to avoid similar problems down the road.
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Anxious to get out with the Simplex and see if there’s someway I can recoup that old feeling. Time will tell….Have one for me and Rodney Strong!
Stout Standards 
Love your way with words! That ‘aggravation’ for instance, presumably that’s as in…”be five minutes, just going for an aggravation.” I’ve got a feeling this ML thing will end in tears before bedtime.
No I meant aggravation not drink Bubba….
I was thinking more along the lines…Wally is full of ‘aggravation’. Geddit?
Good and wise words about hats and sunscreen.
Ah, now I get it…thanks for the clarification.
The natural hunts spanning so many miles and waiting for a machine for ever – are for young folks. The mind wants to venture out but the body reminds me to just enjoy what I have in hand and disregard the two birds in the bush sort of thingy. Not bragging and certainly not smarter than others, just the old body is winning lately over me trying to run with the young guns.
Hopefully they will offer two coils with that new detector soon because their inventory boats will come in and sales won’t. This is long winded but that’s another thing that happens to older folks.
Tony my old body won the race a long time ago and you maybe “long” winded but mark me “short” winded, as in out of breath.
Is it true that the Digstock areas were 9 to 15 miles long? If so who can detect such an area or even pick out a few productive spots. I would rather search for the Lost Dutchman mine in a weekend vacation than walk those miles
I can’t answer that first question though I doubt it, and while it’s nice to hunt supposedly “unhunted” ground no way am I walking any distance after paying that kind of money. I would demand a golf cart.
paying that kind of money should come with a meal, a room,
and “suitable” entertainment! tough to catch a break these days!
I’m just sayin’..
(h.h.!)
j( spring is here!) t.
I agree. Apparently given the turnout a lot of tekkies have “that kind of momey”….
The Digstock fee is absolutely way too high in my opinion. I stopped doing my annual seeded hunt because the ones running it upped the entry fee to $125 per person. That’s a lot of money to pay for the “privilege” of digging a few silver dimes.
Good advice regarding the hat and sunscreen. I’ve pretty much stopped using headphones because after 40 years of detecting I’ve come down with tinnitus and have the suspicion that it’s from detecting with headphones on.
I agree Ed. Hunt fees are much too high or at least I think so. Guess we are from a different era….
I’e often wondered if I had tinnitus. I get a constant ringing sound almost every evening (and yes even without the wine)….
My ears have a hissing sound in them just about all day long but it’s more noticeable in the evening when my surroundings are less noisy.
Mine is definitely just in the evening. I will also add that I have a “white noise” machine that has a great rain sound and it runs all night when I turn in. Maye that has something to do with my problem?
guess the “rooster” was crowing too loud! switching
can be good for the soul.
(h.h.!)
j.t.
Moving on up….
So many new machines, I just don’t get excited about them anymore. As for hunt fees, ugh, they just keep going up, but people are paying them. I love the camaraderie and the vibe at the hunts, its more of a social event for me, but everyone has their own reasons for attending. I think Digstock does a great job—they’re organized, have tons of prizes and swag to give away, they put on a great display of finds, work with local historical societies to document finds, have a decent amount of vendors, and secure sites that yes, are big, but are researched ahead of time, and maps are handed out with old home sites and sites of interest marked on them, and are usually available to view on your phone. Best of all, they have lots of portable toilets, and have them placed at a few different spots on the property 🙂 I’ve heard the property owners get a decent amount of money to allow the hunts on their property, so I’m sure the hunt fees reflect that cost. Bottom line is that yes, I think the hunts are expensive, but who else is putting forth the effort to have these hunts? Not a lot of people want to be bothered, and I’d rather pay someone else to do it and pay a few bucks than have to organize something like that myself. JMO, agree, disagree, go, don’t go, to each their own.
Well said Diva and thanks for filling in the blanks. Helps to know all the details and it goes a long way in justifying the entry fee.
Can’t remember the last organized hunt I went to but I also can’t remember what day it is. Happy Hunting….
One thing nice about living way out west in the soggy (finally) land of Kalifornia, there really is no incentive for me to drop $1500 to attend an even on the other coast. Don’t really feel left out either. From what i heard, it was interesting to say the least, but a disappointment to most.
I think id have more fun at my clapped out erased town site and the parks out here. Plus, with Kalifornia gas prices, that $1500 will keep my little Fiat going for at least a week! 😂😂😂
If I were you Matt I’d work at getting a few permissions near the vineyards. Make friends, connections, etc..