Minelab GPX 4500 information and questions

[max power]

Hi people I haven't been on for a while
I went for a scratch around Graytown on the weekend and this is it after 5hrs in the heat!
I also had a few strange signals that would disappear after a few swings of the coil but when I ground balance away to the side the target signal is there again I had a dig but turned up with nothing and ideas?

 

[davent]

I experienced the same problem here last week with my tdi, when I swung left I was getting false signals. In the end, I turned it off, then back on and re set everything. That fixed it. But but I had to shut it down 1st. Also, because the grass is getting longer, when I brushed the cable against the spear grass, I sometimes got some noise.
I also found s.f.a, some boot tacks, a piece of wire, a bottle cap andmother tiny bits of junk....

 

[goldwright]

Hi people I haven't been on for a while
I went for a scratch around Graytown on the weekend and this is it after 5hrs in the heat!
I also had a few strange signals that would disappear after a few swings of the coil but when I ground balance away to the side the target signal is there again I had a dig but turned up with nothing and ideas?

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/3005/1452426591_picture11.jpg

Sounds like ground noise mate, once broken up the signal breaks up. It's okay to dig a few phantoms just to be sure it is not a deep small target.

 

[Dignit]

Hi people I haven't been on for a while
I went for a scratch around Graytown on the weekend and this is it after 5hrs in the heat!
I also had a few strange signals that would disappear after a few swings of the coil but when I ground balance away to the side the target signal is there again I had a dig but turned up with nothing and ideas?

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/3005/1452426591_picture11.jpg

Hi max power
I have a 4500 too. Got it Aug last year.
I get that sought of ground noise regularly around the golden triangle. I've dug plenty of phantoms but now getting use to the different sounds. I run ground balance in fixed and when I get a suspicious ground noise signal I press in the quick track button and hold it while I swing over the potential target. If it disappears its ground noise. If it doesn't I dig. I've tested this approach many times with a small 0.25 nugget sandwiched in some clear sticky tape and a string attached. I drop it in a hole or just drop it on the ground to reassure myself. I have never ground balanced out the small gold nugget so am confident this works. The 0.25 was my first nugget found and serves as a good tester if I ever get unsure. Good luck with finding your first bit. It's just a matter of boots on the ground and learning the area and your machine. You will find gold.
Cheers

 

[max power]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and the tips, I will definitely put them into practice next time I go which will be soon I hope and I'll report back.

 

[Nugget]

I took the GPX 4500 out on Saturday using the supplied 11" Commander Mono coil, no gold unfortunately (it's a pretty sad area) but I have to say I was extremely impressed with the stock coil's performance in highly mineralised ground.

With well researched settings the 4500 screamed on mouse poo bits of iron and tin at an easy 3-4 inches, and then in terms of depth on the larger targets I dug down around 1mtr (give or take a few inches) through thick clay and rock to unearth an old tin can which was sitting vertically. Around 2 hours wasted on that hole but I was quite happy that it was picked up at that depth. It gives me real confidence in the detectors abilities.

With the odd setting tweak here and there to maintain a nice steady threshold, the coil was remarkably stable in pretty harsh and constantly changing ground conditions.

So, I guess my advise to anyone buying a GPX 4500 / 11" Commander Mono combo, don't be too quick ditch the stock coil because she's not a bad bit of gear

Nugget.

 

[Heatho]

Did you get a commander DD with it too Nugget? If you did don't discount that coil for certain conditions and use of certain timings also. It punches deep in harsh ground and helps tame emi in trying conditions. It's sensitive too, just not quite as sensitive as the mono.

 

[Nugget]

Yes I did Heatho and I plan on using it on my return visit to discriminate out some the junk down by the creek. You can walk 2 feet without picking up a nail or piece of wire.

 

[Tathradj]

I am going out this coming weekend to gain a few tips and tricks with my new beast.
With all the research I have done, The two coils supplied are quite up to the task.
But just think of the advantage you have over the stock standard coils with a higher end
larger coil.
Highly advised to get used to the standard coil's first.
Now I will look forwards to digging 1 meter deep holes through hard pack. :8

 

[Heatho]

Listen for the real subtle targets, dig everything but most screamers are unlikely to be gold in most places, some will be but as Nugget found out today, if it's not a 10 ouncer once you get down to half a metre it's mostly gonna be a can or a horseshoe. Could be a 10 ouncer though if yer lucky.

I haven't even cracked a grammer yet.

I'll be back out for a looksee at the end of next month with a few of the fellas, will hopefully crack my grammer then.

 

[Nugget]

as Nugget found out today, if it's not a 10 ouncer once you get down to half a metre it's mostly gonna be a can or a horseshoe.

Agreed, I had a hunch it was going to be trash but seeing as it was near old diggings I figured it was worth the effort.

It only gave a very faint signal at first but an obvious and semi-consistent break in the threshold. IMO 'tis better to dig than to go home wondering

 

[Heatho]

as Nugget found out today, if it's not a 10 ouncer once you get down to half a metre it's mostly gonna be a can or a horseshoe.

Agreed, I had a hunch it was going to be trash but seeing as it was near old diggings I figured it was worth the effort.

It only gave a very faint signal at first but an obvious and semi-consistent break in the threshold. IMO 'tis better to dig than to go home wondering

100% right mate, could just have been that 10 ouncer you werre looking for.

 

[Digginholes]

Nugget, Your not the only one who has dug a deep hole for trash, when I got my 45 I had a sweet sound and dug down close to a meter to find an old chisel in a mullock heap, the deeper I got the more excited I was until I found out I'd spent 45mins digging a huge hole for nothing.
It definitely gives you a bit more faith in the machine though.
I have also been able to find birdshot at about 6" with the minelab 15x12 coil

 

[jamie]

a meter deep is pretty impressive, when i got my 4500 it came with the 14" coiltek elite, 11" ML DD and the 15x12 ML mono, i found gold with the DD but am struggling with the elite to use it (me having settings wrong) but going out this weekend and will continue on and learn it, i still haven't tried the 15x12 mono

 

[davent]

Just got back from Tennant creek, was using the 14 x 9 evo mostly, and its super sensitive, dug several small pieces of wire, like from a very worn wire brush, screamed, and deep, very hard to find in the scoop! Also picked up some very small gold with it, .01 grams as well as a 5.98 nuggy.
Recommend this coil with total confidence, had some trouble with noise, was told it was , pherics.....what ever that is, worse on windy days.
Interesting how another bloke using a 4500 could use totally different settings to my 4500, however, even though my settings seem to dumb down the machine, i was still finding as much gold as most people there.

 

[Heatho]

Dave, a lot of people make a big fuss over settings, there are many settings that will work in any given situation depending on timings and coil choice. Absolute optimisation of settings for a particular situation on tiny gold is a tad more difficult but hey if your finding gold your settings are correct.

When you have bad EMI or ground noise or both things can get a bit tricky too but that's just a matter of learning what the different controls do.

Luck is the most important component along with getting your coil over spots where no-one else has swung it.

 

[davent]

Yeah, one bloke was setting his 4500 at 14 gain and 9 stab. He was also using a NF evo.
I tried it on mine, but was way too noisy, beeps and squeeks everywhere, and the sigmals where I found gold were very fieghnt.
I was running stab on 6 or 7 and gain on 8 or 9, occaisionally in early morning I could run my gain at 10 and stab on 8.

 

[Nugget]

I was running stab on 6 or 7 and gain on 8 or 9

That's pretty well what I ran most of the day, sensitivity and depth wasn't an issue so I'm not too concerned by running a lower setting on the GPX if conditions require it.

 

[davent]

Depth and sensitivity cant be effected toooooo much by those setti gs, the 6 grammer was deep, and the point 1, s were singing at those settings, so I, d rather run smooth and quiet than put up with beeps every few steps.
Im actually going to get a commander 11" mono for those days when the evo is just to touchy, and I do have a few of those days, at one particular place.

 

[PhaseTech]

Good idea to keep 1 or 2 non spiral wound coils in the arsenal just in case. I still have a 16" Mono NFA, and 8" Detech mono. In terms of EMI I find the new gen coils to be as good if not slightly more immune to EMI compared to the older coils. The 11" Detech ultra and 15" Evo solid run super stable.