Minelab GPX5000 tips, settings and questions

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I think of the stabiliser as a bit like a noise gate but sort of not, JP recommends turning the stabiliser way up and gain down to compensate for instability.

The lower the setting on the Stabiliser the more oomph a signal needs to give a change in the threshold, the higher the number on the stabilser the less oomph it needs, ooomph in my words refers to target size and distance from coil.

Just don't set it too wild and you should have no probs, 2 numbers apart between Rx and stab is just a safe workable setting for most situations.

It's a compromise though, turn the stab up and ypou may need to turn gain down, turn stab down and you can run a higher gain.

Running high gain is really not that important as it's only recieve gain, the timings controls Transmit gain and can not be adjusted within the timing.
 
Minelab Knowledge Base said:
GPX 5000 & GPX 4800: What is the purpose of the Stabilizer control?

The Stabilizer function controls the point at which faint variations in the Threshold begin to be heard. These faint variations can either be ambient noise or faint target signals. As you increase the Stabilizer control, faint target signals will become louder, but the noise level will also increase, which may potentially hide a desirable target signal. The Stabilizer allows you to mask these faint variations to provide a perfectly stable threshold, improving your ability to identify faint target signals.

The Stabilizer is best left in the FP (factory preset) position until the soil conditions in the location are determined. Once the Rx Gain level has been set for the local conditions and other audio settings have been selected, the Stabilizer can then be used to fine tune the Threshold stability.

To find the optimal position of the Stabilizer, ensure that the coil is being swept across the ground. One number below the point at which the threshold begins to chatter, is generally the best setting.

The effect of the Stabilizer could be seen as having a similar effect to that of the Rx Gain control. However, the Stabilizer affects the audio processing only and does not change the Receive (Rx) signal, so should be used as a final stage fine tune. After making any adjustments to the Stabilizer, if the ground conditions change or you wish to change coils, you may need to reset the Rx Gain, but before doing so, return the Stabilizer to the Factory Preset setting first. This will ensure you select the most appropriate Rx Gain level to suit the conditions, and then you can fine tune using the Stabilizer.

Tip: By turning the Stabilizer control close to minimum (anti-clockwise) the threshold will be very stable, but you will have lost a lot of sensitivity to smaller targets. This can be a desirable feature in certain scenarios such as looking for large nuggets in a high-trash area, or using the GPX 5000 and GPX 4800 to search for coins or treasure.

Tip: We would recommend the best order for setting these controls are:
1. Select an appropriate Search Mode
2. Select the desired Audio Type
3. Adjust Rx Gain until the threshold starts to break up
4. Adjust Stabilizer to smooth out the threshold.
Click to expand...
 
I try and keep my rx as high as I can stand,,,,, as a base I will start about 12 rx and 9 stab.
If its noisey I will lower my stab. if its quiet and get my rx up around 16 so much the better.
 
I have tested by winding either up towards maximum and I have found any figure past the midway figure between FP and Maximum to be of no advantage.
 
Thanks so much for the replies guys. Its really appreciatted.

This is not as complex as it may seem after all.
 
I am thinking of upgrading my shafts on the GPX to carbon fibre.

Has anyone done this and if you have which brand of detector shafts
did you end up purchasing?

Love the weight and strength of carbon fibre.

THanks in Advance.
 
Wolf,,,,, as has been stated, ground, coils type and each operator has there preferences.
When I got mine I had help setting it up then left it.
I was too scared to play with anything. Don't be scared.
Its a great machine and really if you walk over it your gonna hear it.
 
Brutus and me said:
Wolf,,,,, as has been stated, ground, coils type and each operator has there preferences.
When I got mine I had help setting it up then left it.
I was too scared to play with anything. Don't be scared.
Its a great machine and really if you walk over it your gonna hear it.
Click to expand...

Your right. I don't think the 5000 is as complicated as people make them out to be.

Hopefully by my 3rd outing I will find my 1st piece with the GPX.

Thank you for replying.
 
what works for one , does not work for another, practice and patience, an learn your machine !
 
Have had carbon upper shaft for a long time only advantage that I can see is the weight with smaller coils . With larger coil it may have some advantage on the performance of the larger coils .At the moment I am using the standard 45 shafts all works good regards john :)
 
I made my own only cost me $100,but finding the right sized camlock and coil connector was difficult,super light and stiff as;-)
 
old hand said:
Wolfau where are regards john :) state town
Click to expand...

<---- I have updated my profile.

Was up at Maldon, Castlemaine on Friday.

Just ordered a new Mine-lab arm kit because where it clips
in place rusted away and broke off and as your detecting
the detector wants to drop from the back.

Will be up and around Talbot on a regular basis though
whether its during the week or weekend.
 
I'm with old hand here, see too many blokes buy extras before they even go out.
.

Spend a season with what you have and you will soon know what you require, if anything.
 
I have owned and used a gp3500. I also
own ismaels wireless battery that sits
Besides the control box of the 5000. Its
An impressive system.

There are a few different shaft types hence
Why i made this post.

The idea behind this was to drop some weight
Caused by the battery by adopting a carbon
Fibre shaft which is not as heavy.
 
I always carry a bit of lead with me when I head out to unfamiliar ground. Bury it at a depth you can easily find it and get to work fine tuning your detector. Swing your detector above and tweak settings until you have the best depth and clarity possible. You may be surprised to find cranking the settings up to the max does not achieve best depth in many scenarios. It's also good to know your detector is working well. If it can find lead it'll find gold!
 

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