Minelab GPX 4500 setting questions

jamie said:

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

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Sounds to me like your on the right track Jamie. You definitely need a good, stable threshold to pick up on those slight breaks. I find it helps with concentration too & have found silent or no threshold VLF's + settings like Bogenes/silent threshold on PI's off putting.
Threshold breaks can let you know when a lot of important things are happening under the coil like ground variation (changes in mineralisation can be a good thing when looking for gold) & most importantly those faint &/or deep signals.
It's all about finding your own happy place & if that means using less sensitive settings or coils to suit conditions then to me that is far better than persevering with something you find unusable/unworkable!

sorry i should of explained myself a little clearer i think, still have a audible threshold, not to loud but not silent, nice annoying mosquito sound for lack of a better term, but i like a little instability in the threshold to keep me on my toes so to speak

Yeah mate I understood what you were saying & agree with it.
The silent threshold bit was just to reinforce that & how I also like to be getting "feedback" when detecting.
I've seen where people have used silent or low threshold sound machines, like an ATX for example, then complain that the Minelabs are too "noisy". In my opinion they don't understand what a good threshold can be telling you. Each to their own though.

Noisy ground made worse by moisture, and you put a very sensitive coil in a sensitive timing and you can guess what will happen.

Ignore the number of your Rx, just set it to where your detector is happy. If you're not comfortable running a very low gain, then go to an 8" or 11" standard mono (eg detech, commander, advantage).

Alternatively, go Sens Smooth and crank your settings back up. If you run your machine dead smooth you will miss stuff. You want to be on the edge of chatter.

mbasko inverted defiantly will not suite everyone its taken me a good time to get used to it
By running it in inv it just seems to run quieter

Thanks guys.
There's some good suggestions offered. To be honest I've given most of them a go to some degree. Guess I just need to keep trialling different settings, and perhaps persisting a little longer. I tried inverted for about an hour but didn't find an improvement. However, I think I'll need to explore other settings along with Inverted. There are a lot of finer adjustments with Search mode, Audio type, Tune frequency, Target volume, etc to try (over and above Soil timings, Rx and Stabiliser).
I've been finding in the wet that shallow gravels on the sides of hills more stable than gullies wich seem to have pockets/puddles of silt or clay that are more wet, often mossy and extra noisy. The signals over such pockets are strong. Upon digging I certainly notice the soil coming out of the hole is just as noisy as the soil in the hole, and quite often if the pocket is small the centre of the hole quietens but the edge of the hole gives a signal. The detector is obviously picking up the difference in ground mineralisation, with moisture causing greater sensitivity. I ground balance when I hit such pockets and signals disappear. Then the ground beyond the hole becomes noisy so I have to ground balance again to move on. But it seems that this is all I'm doing and my concentration does drift. I do try to listen through the noise. I find the false targets caused by moisture being wider and broader so I listen for shorter sharper target signals. It is a lot harder to maintain concentration.
With conditions like this I tend to keep to the hill sides and gravels.
I also do switch to the 11" Commander and agree they are certainly more stable, but still quite noisy when compared to use on dry cool ground.
I've only got 10 months experience so very much still learning the finer skills. This is my first winter of detecting and experience with deeply soaked wet ground. I'm sure you more experienced guys are accustomed to the winter and wet conditions. Appreciate all your insight on how to deal with it. Cheers Dignit

Dig'n-it,
I fully agree with your insights re wet clay/ground noise. In these conditions you will likely lose faint but "real" signals and avoiding the area may be the best bet after the big wet, and based on your experience last weekend, it sounds like it's getting worse.

Dig n-it and BigWave PM SENT

I had a problem that old hand helped me with, wet ground, charcoal. Every dry season, for thousands of years, the dry grass has been burnt by either lightning or the local black fellas, and makes the evo, s squeel all day. I dumbed down my settings. Rx gain 7, stabaliser down to 5. Enhance. With those settings, with the 14 x 9 evo, I was still getting the occaisional warble, and stutter, but was able to detect. I also tried the the commander 15 x 12 mono, and it wasnt that much different. I would still go for a swing using those settings. Every now and then, I found a spot where the warble and stutter stopped, so upped the gain and stab, gain 9, stab 7 or 8, re ground balance regularly, and youre away. I think the trick is to be aware, and stay switched on, ground balance when ever the noise go, s quiet or picks up.

I put up a question last year- do you prefer wet or dry ground. https://www.prospect
ingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7596
Its interesting to see what has happened since the introduction of the new style coils.
Last year it seemed wet ground was ok,now not so good.
Amazing what happens when we make "progress"

Sorry messed up that link,will try again
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7596
See how we go,flying blind here
8)

mardymoose said:

I put up a question last year- do you prefer wet or dry ground. https://www.prospect
ingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7596
Its interesting to see what has happened since the introduction of the new style coils.
Last year it seemed wet ground was ok,now not so good.
Amazing what happens when we make "progress"

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The thing is with the new style coils is that they are definitely a lot more sensitive & getting better results in most conditions. Like everything where you gain in one area there can usually be losses in other areas but the beauty of the GPX is the amount of settings you have at your disposal to combat adverse conditions & the ability to change the coil if there seems to be no other practical option.
What worked last year in wet/damp ground will still work this year & if that means going back to a normal type mono coil then so be it. The old style mono's found gold then & will continue to for a long time yet. A new, more sensitive alternative won't change that.
The big thing for me to come out of this thread is - Don't be scared to adjust or lower your gain (rx) + stab to suit the conditions. A lot of people can be reluctant to do it thinking they will have huge losses in depth but if you can't "hear" the finer points of what's happening then it's pretty redundant to keep a high gain anyway.

Mbasko l agree with you completely. We are creatures of habit,yet change is good if it improves results as seems to be the case.

Running in normal soil timing obviously is fairly noisy. Does anybody know what setting adjustment can be made on the rear (lcd) that will make the machine more stable to use without losing to much debth.

When mine gets cranky I start by holding dowwn the switch on startup. That takes me back to factory settings.

I almost always have it switched to ENHANCE. This eliminates almost all hotrocks and a lot of bad mineralised ground. Depending on the coil you have on, at this point it should be runnning almost silent if not adjust your threshold to get a low buz.

If the ground will allow it I take the RX GAIN higher. My usual setting is 12. I take the STABLIZER up as high as I can with it running smoothly, usually 16 but others will dispute that. The manual will tell you to be within 2 points between RX GAIN and STABLIZER I think but the signal seems sharper the higher you go.

Don't forget to ground balance on startup and often after that.

I hope that helps,
Phil

did a training day he said you will never be able to use normal in the gt use enhance and adjust rx gain and then stabiliser, i usally use 11 rx if i can and adjust stab till it goes quiet

but i have never found jacks so who knows lol

I found my first piece the day I walked away from the training day but I changed my settings from what was suggested at training day after a few hours.i walked over the same area with the changed settings and found my first piece. I guess using the suggested settings it is a great way to start and learn the detector. Since then I have had other members suggest settings they use and they are all great. I also like to tweek them settings a little and have had, not life changing but some success.

Howdy guys have been using the 4500 with 14 mine elite, going well, but can only seem to get the machine running smoothly in enhance mode, too noisy in normal any tips thanks

This may help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_XAclUxlMQ

Cheers

You have answered your own question. Your machine will run muuuuuch quieter in enhance and give very little awy in depth
Jim