Minelab GP3500 tips, settings, questions

I would like to get a mono coil for my GP3500 and would like to know what you would recommend as a suitable mono coil. I will be going to Clermont to look for gold over xmas (planning ahead) and would like to add a mono to my kit.

hi
the nugget finder 17x11 mono is a great all rounder, not sure how much experience you have so may I suggest, if you have never used a mono on a 3500 before you should borrow one to try first as there a lot harder to use than a dd on a 3500 (can be pretty noisey and a lot of false signals in hot ground).
regards

Rodstar - I agree with trashmagnet - 100%. Hire or borrow a mono for the 3500 and then run it on mineralised ground. I borrowed a mates 3500 and ran a mono for a day - I wanted to drop kick the shizer out of it - wacked on a DD - beautiful, smooth and quiet. Don't worry about the reports on the GPXs with monos beating everything. Yes, they are very good and have unique settings, and especially good with monos. I still however run a big DD on my 4500 for deep gold on mineralised ground plus you get the benefit of being able to use discrimination with a DD - the monos can't. I have said this many times - I am amazed what the 3500s with a 14" DD can find with regards to consistently detecting small (wheat size) gold. Not my thing but truly mazing.

thanks for the advice guys I will hang onto my $$, just wasnt sure if I should have one in my kit, sounds like a mono might be a pain in the butt on the 3500. if i get a chance i will hire one out and give it a go.

As a side note my 14" DD arrived yesterday so i wacked it on and strolled down to the park to play around with it. First target was a threepence 1943 then a two center lol

But then I found that my minelab pro point really upsets the 14"DD coil, i found i have to switch the 3500 off each time i use the pro point.....must be a coiltek/minelab compatabilty thing?

Hi Rodstar,

I use a 16" Coiltek mono on my 3500, it never comes off. Very sensative on small bits, and booms in on the bigger bits. I was a DD sook for a long time but found the more I played with the mono the more confident I got.

To be fair I never thought I would master it, long story short its paid for itself many times over

Jim & Kerrie

Jim - where do you detect?

Rodstar - Jim makes a very valid point and it supports the advice - hire one or borrow one to see what you think. I would even set up a mini test pit if you can. The issue with the 3500 is that there are only limited settings that say the 4000 series onwards can deal with. The DD sook thing is a true observation - the 4500 came with a DD as standard on first release. It took me a while to learn to love the monos and I wont get into a brand war, but the Nugget Finder mono series convinced me. I got a 2.9 grammer on the first outing so it paid for itself. Just have to spend more time on the ground balance.

Thanks guys, when i get a chance I will hire one out and see how i go. I was thinking of having a plug in the back yard where i can lift the plug out and drop various items in to see what sound they make.... might do that on the weekend.
Rod

Hi all,

Loamer, we fossick in Central Australia (east of Alice Springs) Rod, if you fire up your 3500 in your back yard it will pick up interference from your house and drive you mad

You need to go somewhere thats not built up to practice mate. The most important thing with the 3500 is to let it warm up, autotune and ground balance often. Keep your swing low and slow and you'll be right mate.

Jim & Kerrie

Not sure if i already posted this.

Went out today with my modified 3500.

Have used the machine now for a total of about 20 hours.

It seems the machine works more better once it warms
up which is about 30 minutes.

Whats your thought on this?

Thanks

My mate has a standard 3500 - he told me they are good to go straight away. If anything, the longer they are on and as the battery drains, the performance drops off. can't say about a modded 3500 but should there actually be a difference with modern electronics? I certainly know if my 4500 is not performing straight away, its usually an EMI heavy area or day.

HI all,

Mine (unmodded 3500) definitely is better if allowed to warm up for 15 minutes or so, don't know why? the 3500s are generally not susceptible to EMI either

Jim & Kerrie

Yep after a while i found the 3500 became more quiet and stable so it's
not my mind playing up.

Best thing to do I think is unplug the coil lead when I get into town and start up the
detector and let it run until I get to the detecting spot.

Can you do this by unplugging the coil lead and let the detector run while in the back of the ute?

The 3500 modded by Ismael is a very sensitive detector and the coil that works well with it is the
14" NF coil which is going to be the main general coil.

Hi all,

I just sit mine away from the car, switch it on and wait for around 10min, do an auto tune then I'm off

Jim & Kerrie

Thanks Jim.

No good to unplug coil and leave running.

The way you do it Jim is the best way.

Wolfau said:

Thanks Jim.

No good to unplug coil and leave running.

Click to expand...

Yeah, heats up the whole Tx circuit, because the energy isn't being pushed to the coil. think of it like a 2.4Ghz remote control, remove the antenna heat, bad..

Also the way these circuits work, within 30-60 seconds you're at the maximum temperature warm up not required, basically you're charging up capacitors and discharging between 4-15 volts..
Wouldn't worry about a warmup.

Just needing some advice and info on having the detector serviced.

I have a second hand GP3500 which I got in Kalgoorlie. Green as they come I just snapped it up and when out to search for a nugget or two. Did not happen!

Moved from Kalgoorlie back to NSW and I have not used the machine in years. Hope to use it in the near future over sea's.

So what's the go with have and getting the a GP3500 serviced.

Where do I send it?

Do I need to send it?

What do they do to it?

How long do they take?

How much?

I'm new to the forum and to detecting so thanks for your reply's.

Where do I send it?
Contact Minelab first. Address/contact details here:
http://www.minelab.com/consumer/contact-us

Do I need to send it?
Probably not but if you are unsure of how its running its not an altogether bad idea. Where in NSW are you - someone might be able to check it first?

What do they do to it?
They will give it a check over & in particular anything you may be concerned about I.e too noisy/spurious sounds etc. replacing any faulty parts they may find, they will do any updates for the model that are available & check + give it a re-alignment if required + performance test.

How long do they take?
Generally less than 2 weeks depending on how busy they are.

How much?
I sent a SD2200D down & it come in under $200 - would be very dependant on any actual faults found.

When I sent the SD2200D down the technician rang me to explain what they had done & I received it back the following day.

Give Minelab Service dept. a call. They'll give you accurate info.

Thanks for that.

For under $200 and a spring clean I guess I cant complain. I'll know that all is good then. That's if it is good! I don't have any concerns. Just the fact I read detectors are serviced and I'm thinking why. I understand if there's a fault but other wise I was not sure why. But now I do.

I'm in the Balranald area of NSW. Do you know any one that checks them here?

Thanks again

Minelab are the only service agents. Send it to them, if others tinker with your detector, if you ever do need to have it repaired, they will not touch it. They have all the correct parts and schematics for them, you can't go wrong.

AuMan