Minelab GPX5000 tips, settings and questions

[GOLD Billyen]

Here's a question.
So you find the gold...where do you sell it and what % of the current gold price do you get to keep?

 

[Shane]

You made a good choice. If you get out and use it your a lifer not a loafer.
Plus its one of a few hobbies that can actually make you money rather than cost.
My fishing habit cost me $85000 for the boat alone! 7g was a drop in the pond for this one!

 

[Guest]

The original question was:

If anyone has some tried and tested settings for the Sadie coil on the 5000 I would like to hear from them.
My area has fairly quiet soil and very fine gold mostly quite deep.

Cheers.

There was a reply as follows:

settings for noisy ground below if thats any help as a reference plane

8 x 6 " sadie
special fine
deep
motion v slow
rx gain 8
audio boost
audio tone 38
stabilizer 2
signal 17
target vol 8
response norm
tracking slow

In my post I should have been a bit more specific to what I was trying to say I guess. Not saying that the above settings aren't any good in "very hot/noisy" ground as I have seen/read of plenty of experienced people like JP that recommend similar setting for very hot ground, high EMI etc. although the rx gain would be cranked a little higher if possible.
I was trying to respond to the original question & in particular "My area has fairly quiet soil and very fine gold mostly quite deep". This suggests to me that a much higher stabiliser setting could be achieved while maintaining a smooth threshold & optimum audio function settings for depth.

" Its a noisey waste of time, Minelab should have never put that feature in the gpx. This setting is the main reason why people have trouble running the machine quiet." I personally think that Minelab should of made the stabiliser FP (factory preset) on general search mode 8 and not 10.

This sort of contradicts what the stabiliser function is all about? Maybe they are trying to run at a gain level that is too high to begin with for the conditions? Maybe, even though they are experienced prospectors, they don't fully understand the stabiliser function especially if they moved up to the 5000 from a SD/GP series detector. It seems to be a bit of an unknown to a lot of people I think as it is a relatively new function that many don't seem too sure about. I know going from a SD up to the 5000 was a huge learning curve for me & I'm still reading/learning something new almost daily at the moment.
I have spent a fair bit of time gathering information from various sources; forums, detecting peers (experienced & relatively new also), Minelab advice, etc.; to get an average of general settings to use as a reference - many of which are close to the FP settings but not always exactly the same.
For stabiliser settings the average was 8 as a preferred setting Roscoe so I think you might be on the money there. I have been running mine at around 8 & can achieve a smooth threshold even in moderately hot ground around Hill End.

Smooth thresh hold is the name of the game for consistent nugget hunting on red hot ground....and that's where most people miss their nuggets. (see it all the time)

I have no doubt that dropping the stabiliser in extremely hot ground/high EMI etc. is the go to smooth your threshold but the original question was for "fairly quiet soil" so there is no way I would be running around with a stabiliser setting of 2 in fairly quiet soil when you could achieve more optimal audio function settings & still maintain a smooth threshold.
Will post my comments much more clearly now :lol:

 

[WalnLiz]

No probs mate... in mild soil run your gain as high as possible and the stabilizer a click or 2 below. Can run gain as high as 18 in some soils....though not many. These low mineralization areas do not need any tweeking of the 5000 to achieve max depth. Heads Up settings were for a particular spot in Nundle and if you ran any higher setting than 4 on the stabilizer you were wasting your time. ( the difference between 2 and 4 is very insignificant by the way).

Wal.

 

[GOLD Billyen]

Here's a question.
So you find the gold...where do you sell it and what % of the current gold price do you get to keep?

"cough"...didn't get a answer..."cough".

 

[Drbean]

Hey mate as for when you get money back , better get
to know that machine to all you 5000 owners what a load
Of bollics you can't tell me that this machine is that good
specially after seeing one over the past weeks against a 2100.
Why gold you asked analog vrs digital ..
Well let's see most transmission is digital these days so my
old girl doesn't get interference win win.
Signal OK 5000 can pick up fne gold !
Are you looking for .1 grammars if so keep pressing GB .
While your coin that I'll pick up the .5 grammars upwards.
Proven on weekend 2100 boomed targets , and 5000 struggled
to even come close to the party not to mention I would of kept
walking .OK I'm not making friends with 5000s at moment put
take your hand off your wallet and pride.
To date I've found over and above 4 ounces in 1800 months with
my old 2100 .not saying you won't find gold but geez these things
should be **** loads better and I ain't seeing it .
For all those that own one tuck your pride in I know you've paid
top dollar but holly crap minelab have done there PR but not there
Moneys worth .all this is what I've seen and been field tested .
Welcome to here from anyone that has a different view we are all different. Dr

 

[Drbean]

OK the one thing I should of said is OK I'm not
saying you won't find gold but just seems to be
harder than easier for the money.Dr

 

[dwt]

doc doc dont worry about the 5000's just get the flux capacitor going so we can go back to 1884 n grab some GOLD.....
You all have heard stories about the one machine that out performs others,eg a brand of motorcycle, every now and then you get one that really flies,car models, some times you just get one freakish car that goes like a bat outta hell and lasts for ever,pretty much everything out there just has one model or unit that seems to be freakishly awesome "this gun shoots as strait as dye out of the box" "this whipper snipper has lasted me for 20years where all others ive seen have died after 2" freakish tools and equipment are out there everywhere, i believe the Dr's 2100 to be that model,have i found gold that the Dr has walked over....no.....has the Dr found gold that ive walked over....no..... has the 2100 found .gram nuggets...yes....has the 5000 found sub gram nugget.....yes,is the 2100 clear on .gram nuggets HELL YEAH without a doubt i would of dug those signals.....was the 5000 clear on a .gram nugget...yes to a certain extent i had to adjust the rx gain up from 9-12 and then it was clearer,would i of still dug the target....yes....did the 2100 kick the 5000 ass in a depth comp.....yes....same size coils 2100 having 14"dd 5000 having 14"mono...did i sit there and adjust settings to try and enhance depth.....no.....so in a nutshell the 2100 seems to have the same legs as the 5000 but, as i said earlier A FREAKISH MODEL......,after seeing it with my own eyes i believe so 8)

 

[RottenRon]

Hi guys.
I've just bought a Garrett ATX because after hiring one for a week, decided it was really easy to use, gave dam good results, especially for the price.

All the points made in previous post here are valid, but here's something worth considering.

I bought the Deepseeker version with the extra 20" mono coil and hard case on top of the standard 10x12 DD coil. Best price I found was $3,700 delivered.
The standard version with the DD coil only, I could have got for $3,070 delivered.

Now I don't know about anyone else, but considering the ease of use, similar performance and waterproof to 3m of the ATX, saving over $3,000 compared to the GPX5,000 was a no brainer.

I must admit, I haven't found any yellow yet, but considering some of the small bits of rubbish I've found at depth, it's only a matter of time. It would help if I actually walked over some too I guess.

There's also one other great feature I like about the ATX, it packs up in seconds to around 22" long, that's around 65cm in the new money. Great when I fly back and forth between Melbourne and Brisbane.

That's my reasoning anyway, besides after I told the missus I could save $3,000 by buying the ATX, she seemed a lot happier. I didn't have the guts to tell her that was my intention all along.

Good luck all.
Cheers, Ron.

 

[Guest]

Big statement - my old SD2200D must have been one hell of a machine. I could even find the sub 0.5 grammers with it but my 5000 is much much clearer on ALL signals. It runs much smoother too & has picked up gold that I missed with the SD2200D & also a GMT. Must have it set up good?
Don't understand why digital transmission would affect the 5000 over the SD. Interference comes through the coil & isn't affected by what processes the signal whether it be digital or analogue. The only reason the SD might be quieter is less sensitivity. My SD2200D was affected by EMI but not to the same extent as the 5000 - using DD'S on the SD would help too.
Nothing wrong with the old SD's. Would have loved to keep mine but lets be fair dinkum in the right hands a 5000 would run rings around them. In the wrong hands it won't matter what detector you swing - may as well be a broomstick & a dustbin lid. Sounds like Drbean has the 2100 running sweet though. From all reports the SD's will go as deep as a 5000 but struggle on the deep smaller bits that the 5000 will still sniff out. If your picking up sub grammers at depth with a SD you're doing something right.
What you find might also be more to do with the operator & their research too than the detector. There is a GPX user on another forum who got 5 ounces in one very nice afternoon
Out of interest what settings are you running dwt & do you use a booster at all? Seems strange that the SD would be out "booming" the 5000 as in my experience with my SD the 5000 was much louder/clearer in signal on all sized targets but especially on the smaller ones.

 

[the duck]

its a bit like tatts saying when will i win first division .Well first you need to buy a ticket then the more tickets(research and hard work) the more chance you have
A common misconception in this hobby is i will buy a 300 dollar machine and when i have found enough gold i will buy a good detector, wrong
the problem with the cheap detector is when you get your good one you have to go back over the ground you have already been over,seems to make more sense to do it once properly
Best do it for getting out in the bush, away from your computer, get exercise and fresh air and see your ahead already

 

[HeadsUp]

Here's a question.
So you find the gold...where do you sell it and what % of the current gold price do you get to keep?

"cough"...didn't get a answer..."cough".

some people sell gold nuggets on ebay

some hide it under the mattress because they think gold might hit 5000 per ounce one day ( and maybe will )

some store it in a bank safety deposit vault with location details given to their solicitor and a few family members in case they passed on without anyone knowing "where grandads gold ended up"

and some people save up their fine alluvial gold so they can get their mercury fillings replaced with gold ones.

what % you get ?

gold varies in purity around different parts of the country , could be 92 % in one location , 98 % in another or 87 % somewhere else

in theory the sell price would reflect that but some people pay much higher prices than gold bullion value for nugggets

 

[loamer]

Seems the average we are getting quoted at the moment is spot price less 12 - 14%, just depends and only ever cash sales. That is for smaller stuff and not 'nice' (jewellery) nuggets. The deals get better if being used as a swap for gear, about less 10% which covers the 'never, ever, ever' GST.

 

[Roscoe]

Drbean you definitely injected some more life in this post. You have also shown that you don't have to invest a lot of dollars into a machine to find gold. I do believe that you have a lot of time on that machine and you know how it ticks. Someone once stated its not the gold your loosing its the gold you have at the end of the day or some thing like that.

DWT, Why where you only running a gain of between 9 and 12? Was there a lot of EMI on the day or was the ground hot or a combination of both? Would you be able to let us know you settings on the day? I can only think of one main logical answer as to why Doc. was digging more gold and that is the DD coil. I often question the use of mono coils when you have to drop down to such low gain levels or change down to timings such as enhance or sens. smooth. just to get the machine running smooth. I always wonder if putting the DD coil onto the 5000 and running in mono mode or DD mode would greatly improve your chances. The DD coil is far less susceptible to ground and EMI, which in turn you could run your 5000 then at much much higher gain rates. DWT, would you and doc. be revisting the same ground soon? as i have a couple of settings you might wont to try just to see if the Doctor is leaving gold behind?

 

[dwt]

Big statement - my old SD2200D must have been one hell of a machine. I could even find the sub 0.5 grammers with it but my 5000 is much much clearer on ALL signals. It runs much smoother too & has picked up gold that I missed with the SD2200D & also a GMT. Must have it set up good?
Don't understand why digital transmission would affect the 5000 over the SD. Interference comes through the coil & isn't affected by what processes the signal whether it be digital or analogue. The only reason the SD might be quieter is less sensitivity. My SD2200D was affected by EMI but not to the same extent as the 5000 - using DD'S on the SD would help too.
Nothing wrong with the old SD's. Would have loved to keep mine but lets be fair dinkum in the right hands a 5000 would run rings around them. In the wrong hands it won't matter what detector you swing - may as well be a broomstick & a dustbin lid. Sounds like Drbean has the 2100 running sweet though. From all reports the SD's will go as deep as a 5000 but struggle on the deep smaller bits that the 5000 will still sniff out. If your picking up sub grammers at depth with a SD you're doing something right.
What you find might also be more to do with the operator & their research too than the detector. There is a GPX user on another forum who got 5 ounces in one very nice afternoon
Out of interest what settings are you running dwt & do you use a booster at all? Seems strange that the SD would be out "booming" the 5000 as in my experience with my SD the 5000 was much louder/clearer in signal on all sized targets but especially on the smaller ones.

im not saying the 2100 is a better machine than my 5, and im not saying the 5 is better than the 2100,(my level of expierence wouldnt allow that) from what I have seen when we have been out detecting together,the Dr's 2100 seems to be highly sensative too small targets but without the worries of highly mineralised ground and EMI, in the AREA we are searching(FIIK) .I have no doubt in the HANDS OF A PRO a 5000 would be extremly impressive to see in action,and could possibly run rings around the Dr's 2100..........As for my 5 i am running settings strait from the book supplied by minelab,and bouncing between other ones supplied to me by other forum members,(thanks guys)each time a target is located(that we believe to be a gold target) by the Dr or myself it is not ripped strait out of the dirt,we each put our coils over it at different depth intervals and then i start to play with different settings to try and achieve the optimal from my 5 ,eventually recovering the target. I am currently running the booster that came with the 5 but have also experimented without it as well. Am i content with the current performance of my 5......honestly no.....but i know with constant use of the machine i soon will,and as for a broomstick & a dustbin lid, well i've been there before mate i could send you a picture of my first homemade sluice,now thats a bloody broomstick...do i love my 5000...dam bloody strait,do i enjoy going out with Dr and learning from him (even if that means helping him dig his gold) dam bloody strait......will i master my 5000 one day.......DAM BLOODY STRAIT.........Is the Dr finding more gold than me...........yes 8)

 

[dwt]

Drbean you definitely injected some more life in this post. You have also shown that you don't have to invest a lot of dollars into a machine to find gold. I do believe that you have a lot of time on that machine and you know how it ticks. Someone once stated its not the gold your loosing its the gold you have at the end of the day or some thing like that.

DWT, Why where you only running a gain of between 9 and 12? Was there a lot of EMI on the day or was the ground hot or a combination of both? Would you be able to let us know you settings on the day? I can only think of one main logical answer as to why Doc. was digging more gold and that is the DD coil. I often question the use of mono coils when you have to drop down to such low gain levels or change down to timings such as enhance or sens. smooth. just to get the machine running smooth. I always wonder if putting the DD coil onto the 5000 and running in mono mode or DD mode would greatly improve your chances. The DD coil is far less susceptible to ground and EMI, which in turn you could run your 5000 then at much much higher gain rates. DWT, would you and doc. be revisting the same ground soon? as i have a couple of settings you might wont to try just to see if the Doctor is leaving gold behind?

the emi in the area we are searching is high, sometimes to the extent of auto tuning anywhere and upwards of every 10mins,the ground is hot enough that if you are not cautious about the way you move the coil and bounce over little hot rocks you will get a very sharp quick response through the speaker,very difficult and hard ground to detect but as they say "fortunes favour the bold",you will have to forgive me for not posting the settings i was using, as i had the 5 out today and was messing with the settings here at home,i will however recover those settings and post them tomorrow night.... 8)
ps minelab mono coil 14"x 10" or 12"

 

[GOLD Billyen]

Here's a question.
So you find the gold...where do you sell it and what % of the current gold price do you get to keep?

"cough"...didn't get a answer..."cough".

some people sell gold nuggets on ebay

in theory the sell price would reflect that but some people pay much higher prices than gold bullion value for nugggets

I saw that on ebay. I saw prices 50% to 100% higher than the price of gold.

I never knew that a nugget in it's raw form would be more valuable that it'self.

Hell...I was going to find a bunch of big ass nuggests and melt them down. Not now.

 

[lost a bit]

Hey mate as for when you get money back , better get
to know that machine to all you 5000 owners what a load
Of bollics you can't tell me that this machine is that good
specially after seeing one over the past weeks against a 2100.
Why gold you asked analog vrs digital ..
Well let's see most transmission is digital these days so my
old girl doesn't get interference win win.
Signal OK 5000 can pick up fne gold !
Are you looking for .1 grammars if so keep pressing GB .
While your coin that I'll pick up the .5 grammars upwards.
Proven on weekend 2100 boomed targets , and 5000 struggled
to even come close to the party not to mention I would of kept
walking .OK I'm not making friends with 5000s at moment put
take your hand off your wallet and pride.
To date I've found over and above 4 ounces in 1800 months with
my old 2100 .not saying you won't find gold but geez these things
should be **** loads better and I ain't seeing it .
For all those that own one tuck your pride in I know you've paid
top dollar but holly crap minelab have done there PR but not there
Moneys worth .all this is what I've seen and been field tested .
Welcome to here from anyone that has a different view we are all different. Dr

Drbean if you have only found 4 or so ounces with the 2100 in 150 years ( 1800 months) I would look at an upgrade.

I have been out with Mbasko on more than one occasion and watched him walk over the same spot time and time again with his 2200 and whites all for no result, then he turns up with the new 5000 and in the same spot bingo picks up two for the morning, yes I realise its a matter of swinging the coil in the right spot and luck does play a part. also understanding the settings and how they work with each other is very important, they say your detector will talk to you and that is so true. I purchased my 5000 in April 2013 and spent a lot of time wandering about finding junk and wondering why I bought the bloody thing and then bingo a nugget jumped under the coil. it all flowed from that one nugget and things just started to fall into place. I have put in unknown hours and yes the 5000 has paid for herself, you need to learn the machine and spend the hours in the bush if you are serious about making your money back and some, or you treat it as a hobby that might make you rich.
lab

 

[dwt]

Hey mate as for when you get money back , better get
to know that machine to all you 5000 owners what a load
Of bollics you can't tell me that this machine is that good
specially after seeing one over the past weeks against a 2100.
Why gold you asked analog vrs digital ..
Well let's see most transmission is digital these days so my
old girl doesn't get interference win win.
Signal OK 5000 can pick up fne gold !
Are you looking for .1 grammars if so keep pressing GB .
While your coin that I'll pick up the .5 grammars upwards.
Proven on weekend 2100 boomed targets , and 5000 struggled
to even come close to the party not to mention I would of kept
walking .OK I'm not making friends with 5000s at moment put
take your hand off your wallet and pride.
To date I've found over and above 4 ounces in 1800 months with
my old 2100 .not saying you won't find gold but geez these things
should be **** loads better and I ain't seeing it .
For all those that own one tuck your pride in I know you've paid
top dollar but holly crap minelab have done there PR but not there
Moneys worth .all this is what I've seen and been field tested .
Welcome to here from anyone that has a different view we are all different. Dr

Drbean if you have only found 4 or so ounces with the 2100 in 150 years ( 1800 months) I would look at an upgrade.

I have been out with Mbasko on more than one occasion and watched him walk over the same spot time and time again with his 2200 and whites all for no result, then he turns up with the new 5000 and in the same spot bingo picks up two for the morning, yes I realise its a matter of swinging the coil in the right spot and luck does play a part. also understanding the settings and how they work with each other is very important, they say your detector will talk to you and that is so true. I purchased my 5000 in April 2013 and spent a lot of time wandering about finding junk and wondering why I bought the bloody thing and then bingo a nugget jumped under the coil. it all flowed from that one nugget and things just started to fall into place. I have put in unknown hours and yes the 5000 has paid for herself, you need to learn the machine and spend the hours in the bush if you are serious about making your money back and some, or you treat it as a hobby that might make you rich.
lab

150 years (1800) months!!!!! maybe the good Dr is really from ("back to the future") but im leaning more towards a TyPe'O......I spent the best part of 15k on a motorcycle,and a trip to Alice Springs to compete in the Finke Desert race,dropped the crankshaft bearing Day 1 200mtrs before finish line,never once did i presume that i was going to take home 10k prize money and the title of "King of The Desert", but i loved every minute of it,sometimes it aint about the costs or expenses. I have sent a gernzie out to another forum member who has gladly accepted our offer on a day with the coils,a second opinion on the performance of the Dr 2100 is whats needed here i think.....and well done on finding enough gold to recover the cost of your 5 mate ,its not easy to do 8)

 

[Guest]

Hi guys.
I've just bought a Garrett ATX because after hiring one for a week, decided it was really easy to use, gave dam good results, especially for the price.

All the points made in previous post here are valid, but here's something worth considering.

I bought the Deepseeker version with the extra 20" mono coil and hard case on top of the standard 10x12 DD coil. Best price I found was $3,700 delivered.
The standard version with the DD coil only, I could have got for $3,070 delivered.

Now I don't know about anyone else, but considering the ease of use, similar performance and waterproof to 3m of the ATX, saving over $3,000 compared to the GPX5,000 was a no brainer.

I must admit, I haven't found any yellow yet, but considering some of the small bits of rubbish I've found at depth, it's only a matter of time. It would help if I actually walked over some too I guess.

There's also one other great feature I like about the ATX, it packs up in seconds to around 22" long, that's around 65cm in the new money. Great when I fly back and forth between Melbourne and Brisbane.

That's my reasoning anyway, besides after I told the missus I could save $3,000 by buying the ATX, she seemed a lot happier. I didn't have the guts to tell her that was my intention all along.

Good luck all.
Cheers, Ron.

I purchased a GP 3500 with 3 coils for $1800. I need to thank many people who have promoted every machine on many forums except the GP's
which in turn many go unsold on Auction sites and its when I pounced.

I have modified the machine and it includes a smooth timing switch and extra sensitivity switch.

Mono coils can be run no worries and have an amp pushing out the signal. In all I paid $2600. This includes the 3500, the modification and the
amplified little ripper wireless battery and headphone Kit which I was lucky to obtain from Ismael. Its an amazing piece of equipment and I am
very confident it won't leave much. The 3500 and mod only cost me $2200. The coils I received with the unit includes the 11DD, 15x12 Minelab
Mono and 450mm Coiltek DD. The last 2 coils retail for a combined total of about $700.

I can tell you now with the Mod and amp plus the mono coil the 3500 is a different machine and I think I can impress some users who own
newer machines considering what this setup cost me.

The threshold hums smoothly by the way.

In the end each to there own. We are all different. We all perceive things differently and all have different ways of doing stuff.

As long as your out there its all it matters and part of the issue of finding gold is that you need to walk over it.