GPX5000 Modifications

[sand surfer]

i should have looked a bit harder last night NE
dean may still sell them
https://doubledleather.com.au/product-category/metal-detecting-gear/

he has a very good harness as well (the gpx/gpz pro harness) i can vouch for that one
well made fully adjustable and very comfy to wear

 

[sand surfer]

cord free ,battery to detector

pro sonic sender hooked up and sticky velcro stuck to the battery bag

 

[IBGold]

N.E ok I weighed the battery set up including the lead to the detector it is 540 grams I use a different cover set up it is a hard cover made out of ABS plastic with the Battery holder and Spo1 holder on slide mounts you will get the idea from the photo's.

Regards, Ian.

 

[woomera]

My lightweight setup with a battery holder I use a steelphase sPo1

 

[Northeast]

Sorry for my tardy responses.

Thanks SS. I have leccy taped the big Minelab battery to the side of the DD cover to give it a try It is heavy and makes the detector want to tilt to the R) but I will give it a go this week and see how I fare. Have altered the harness a little to try and get it comfortable. Only have the 12" NF Evo attached at the moment. The 19" Evo will be interesting!

Also thank you IB. I appreciate the photos and the weight. I just got out the Booty Booster that was tucked away in a box and will also give that a whirl this week. Have a Bluetooth Sx unit off the battery and have placed the Booty Booster on the BT Rx side of things to lessen the weight hanging off the detector.

And Woomera, thank you also. That system is just so simple but effective I am surprised there are not more commercially available.

 

[Northeast]

My lightweight setup

Hi Woomera and anyone else that may know the answer.

I have purchased all of the necessary bits and pieces to make something very similar to what Woomera has posted above. Simple and effective.

1 query if I can please. I am attaching the audio to a 3.5 mm jack and am assuming that what Woomera has above is a mono audio plug rather than a stereo audio plug. The reason I am thinking this is that the wiring diagram that had been posted elsewhere for the GPX plug shows 4 wires - a battery postive, a battery negative and 2 X audio. A stereo jack would require 3 cables as per below...

Stereo Mono

I have tried to search GPX audio elsewhere and it seems to suggest the audio is mono but just wanted to double check.


Also, I do have another query.

The 2 X audio wires - I assume it matters which wire is connected to the ground or the audio at the 3.5mm jack end?

As per image below, wires will come from GPX connector pins 2 and 3 - but which ones attach to which at the 3.5 mm jack - or doesn't it matter?




Hoping someone can help

Cheers, NE.

 

[user 4485]

Audio is mono.
You can use a TRS jack but it only needs to be wired to the tip (T) & ring (R).
The sleeve (S) connection only acts as a switch in the Minelab battery. Stereo (TRS wired) headphones have the sleeve connected, the Minelab battery circuit picks that up & won't allow the battery amp to boost the sound so as not to deafen headphone users.
When wiring a speaker you still use a stereo (TRS) plug but wire only tip (T) & ring (R). With no circuit on the sleeve connection the battery then allows the amp to switch boost on for the speaker.

For what your doing it won't matter which wire goes to what connection on the jack but if using TRS only wire tip (T) & ring (R).

 

[Northeast]

Perfect, thanks mbasko, really appreciate it
I’ve bought stereo and mono 3.5 mm jacks as they are cheap as chips and covered all bases. I’ll use the metal mono ones as they are better quality

 

[woomera]

Hi Woomera and anyone else that may know the answer.

I have purchased all of the necessary bits and pieces to make something very similar to what Woomera has posted above. Simple and effective.

1 query if I can please. I am attaching the audio to a 3.5 mm jack and am assuming that what Woomera has above is a mono audio plug rather than a stereo audio plug. The reason I am thinking this is that the wiring diagram that had been posted elsewhere for the GPX plug shows 4 wires - a battery postive, a battery negative and 2 X audio. A stereo jack would require 3 cables as per below...

Stereo View attachment 14236 Mono View attachment 14237

I have tried to search GPX audio elsewhere and it seems to suggest the audio is mono but just wanted to double check.


Also, I do have another query.

The 2 X audio wires - I assume it matters which wire is connected to the ground or the audio at the 3.5mm jack end?

As per image below, wires will come from GPX connector pins 2 and 3 - but which ones attach to which at the 3.5 mm jack - or doesn't it matter?

View attachment 14238


Hoping someone can help

Cheers, NE.

I used the mono socket wiring the setup you posted will work good luck

 

[Northeast]

Well, that was a ‘bum puckering’ moment. But it works!!

The last bits for the battery build finally turned up.

Lessons learnt.
- soldering tiny crap is hard.
- check, check and check again before soldering.
- a multimeter provides great peace of mind.
- I won’t be going into the electronics manufacturing business any time soon!

But, it works, so that is nice. And it is light, easy to change out to a new set of batteries, charging these batteries is easy and safe and can be done off a USB outlet.

Probably a market for someone with far better skills than me.

I will always be taking a back up battery to have in the car as confidence in the solders holding up under field work is not high

I had been running with the big Minelab battery taped to the side of the detector - so I wasn’t attached by the bungy to the harness. Almost a kilo less weight than I have been carting around


Thanks for all of the advice along the way