Minelab GPX 4500 setting questions

Hi,
Looking for some advice on settings for my GPX4500.

As I can't do the real stuff (i.e. look for gold) I am going down to my local river and trying my luck to find as much rubbish I can find.

I quite often get some real howlers but have got to the point if I can't dig it out of the sand after about 8 inches or so I leave it and move on. I have found bottle tops bullets and nails. Found a pair of underpants as well - not via the detector.

I think there is either a lot of metal bits in the sand or the rocks under the sand are sending off these signals.

Is this to be expected and/or can some one suggest some good setting for playing around in the sand.

Any help appreciated,
Richard

Hi Richard,

if your in a creek with that much rubbish, you should move out to better ground, meaning somewhere with less people. or higher up. gold is where you find it, not where you think it should be.

talk to a metallurgist if you can find one, they will blow your mind on gold and it history.
may help you with where to look.

Paul

Which coil are you using, DD or Mono? If anywhere near suburbia or power lines try the DD, will be be heaps smoother and you can discriminate iron out.

Hi,
No option on location.

I am not really looking for gold (none there) just trinkets.

I am using a Mono coil. I will give the DD a go.

Richard

Hi all just looking for any tips on the best settings for a minelab 4500 with a 12inch nf evo coil am getting a lot of false signals in the damp ground in the whipsticks area any help would be appreciated.

From what I've read with these new coils in these types of conditions you've got a few options to try:
- lower your gain rx + adjust stab to suit
- try quiet audio
- use special timing sensitive smooth
- if all else fails try a normal mono or even a DD coil

PP we are using a 12 evo and a 15 eve on 4500s stab 9 rx ,9 motion vs , target vol 12 , signal 18 , vol limit 16 , audio normal ,response inv , track med,i am using enhanced and running in fixed tracking . Using the coil on the ground but ground balance often see how you go with these regards john

John, Im finding my 15" spoke easier to use than 14 x 9 evo.
Swung it around for a few hours today.
Started on rx gain 9 and stab 9. Too noisy, dropped rx gain to 8, stab down to 6. Later ran rx on 9 stab on 8, still occaisional burp, but very useable. Found some copper from a bullet and a boot tack at about 1 foot.

Dave yes I would expect that the 14x9 is a sensitive coil good on small gold
I like using the 15 evo spoked nice to use good ground coverage and great depth on larger target ,smalls it picks up 0.2 thats good for a 15 coil and its not to heavy ,
as I have said before you have to adjust the detector to the conditions, like driving a car in snow or sand or mud you drive to the conditions so with the detector if its noisy try sweeping slower if that does not worth then start backing some setting off

Thank for the info guys i will give them a try next time i am out hopefully this weekend

PP. Sensitive Smooth is generally too extreme. You are most likely to be able to operate in Enhanced except in really bad ground.

Yes BW but the whole point of the question here was to get options to tame issues with the false signals in the current damp ground conditions. Some damp ground can be akin to very bad ground even though when dry it might be ok. The ground may also have a moderate to high saline content?
To explain more - if it's a continual problem then sensitive smooth may be an option if other options aren't having a good enough or any great deal of effect. Use your settings to suit the conditions -that's what they're for! I would try the options I listed above in pretty much that order of elimination but if I wasn't wanting to exclusively use the new type coil/s then I'd just use a less sensitive coil - they've been known to work ok for years.
If indeed the ground is saline, & there are some saline soils in goldfields too, then rain can leach salt out of these soils. Salt coarse (GPX4500) or salt gold timing (GPX5000) can be useful too but not something anyone would normally suggest unless on a salt lake. A DD or salt coil may also be options with the GPX4500 if it's bad enough?
Either that or just wait for it to dry out again

Pirate pete said:

Hi all just looking for any tips on the best settings for a minelab 4500 with a 12inch nf evo coil am getting a lot of false signals in the damp ground in the whipsticks area any help would be appreciated.

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Hi PP
Great question. I for one, and I know of others too, are having the same problems.
Chuky boy and I were in the Whipstick on Sunday and struggled too.
I'm reading the replies with great interest.
You are not alone.
I typically use Deep, Enhanced, Fixed, Mono, Quiet Audio, Very Slow to Slow, Rx and sensitivity to suit (both turned down in the wet), Target Vol 12 (use headphones), Signal 17, Normal. Even with turning the Rx down to 8 I still struggled with false signals on wet clay. I worry about turning down the Rx any lower for fear of not punching deep enough. I constantly ground balance in the wet. In fact the wet clays force you to.
I'm sure I haven't found the right settings for the wet yet and is why I'm coming home empty handed. Very frustrating.

old hand said:

PP we are using a 12 evo and a 15 eve on 4500s stab 9 rx ,9 motion vs , target vol 12 , signal 18 , vol limit 16 , audio normal ,response inv , track med,i am using enhanced and running in fixed tracking . Using the coil on the ground but ground balance often see how you go with these regards john

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Hi Old Hand
What search mode are you in?
Sounds like you may be in General.
Most interested. Just bought myself the 15 Evo spoked today and run the 4500.
Cheers Dignit

Hi dig_it glad to hear i am not the only one having this prob as you say bloody frustrating. Thought it was just me glad i am not alone lol that would be even worse lol.

HI front panel top switch mono ,GB fixed ,soil timing enhanced ,search mode if I went and picked the detector at the moment it is in deep but it depends on what ground I am working .I think to get to know the coil and best settings is to use normal and not deep, experience helps a lot I have been detecting for 36 years and I am still learning at times my detector is noisy but you listen through the noise.
I have found running inverted in response makes a big difference , I altered a detector for a person who is using a 4500 with a 12 evo not having much luck now they will not take it out of inverted they are finding gold just about ever outing . regards john

your not alone mate tho i was using a different coil, the 14' camo elite and was having a hard time trying to get it to run quite,even with settings someone sent me, ended up swapping to a DD, i am still new to the 4500 but cant get my head around the elite coil, so watching this post with interest

John how does running in inverted help with ground noise? Or do you just prefer the signal?
It may suit some peoples hearing etc. as far as target response goes but won't suit everyone.
I reckon you've hit the nail on the head though "At times my detector is noisy but you listen through the noise" A lot of people just want their detector to run dead quiet all the time. There are people I know who run their machines "hot" or a bit noisy on purpose & are very successful. Myself I prefer to find a happy medium somewhere to suit the atmospheric/ground conditions on the day. Too much noise can be fatiguing over a few hours.

i find if my detector is running with a little noise to it i concentrate better, not just waiting for the break in threshold but really listening for the changes and checking even the slight maybes, whether thats right or wrong seems to suit me so far, but the mono was over the top last week

Hey guys is any body using the 15x12 that came with the 4500 and if so which setting have you found best for general hunting in Nsw ?
i have had it running petty well (I think)but have since lost the settings I was running and haven't been swinging in a while, hopefully I can get out again in the next few weeks and have a swing