From Equinox 800 to GPX 4500

[Bontje]

Hi all, a year ago, I started off with the Minelab Equinox 800. I found some fun stuff on the beaches of SA but more exciting things on the fields in Eastern Germany. I also tried my luck in finding gold in Mount Crawford and, more recently, in Talbot, VIC. Nothing but scrap and a noisy experience. Therefore I bought a 2nd hand GPX 4500 via Minersden. It's on its way via mail (!) and I'm very keen to re-explore the SA goldfields (to start with).

PS - If anyone has a plot of land not too far away from Adelaide (max 2 hrs drive) or knows someone who has, where in the past gold was found - Happy to pop by and give it a go! : )

Greetings from Adelaide, Vasco

 

[Nightjar]

Bontje, The GPX4500, no doubt in my mind the greatest detector released by Minelab. Sit down and read the manual, read it again and again.
Here are a couple of handy PDF's.
Good luck, with patience you will be rewarded.

 

[Bontje]

Bontje, The GPX4500, no doubt in my mind the greatest detector released by Minelab. Sit down and read the manual, read it again and again.
Here are a couple of handy PDF's.
Good luck, with patience you will be rewarded.

Thanks @Nightjar much appreciated

 

[Nightjar]

Thanks @Nightjar much appreciated

Here is the last settings I used for the 4500 with the original 14" Mono in the Leonora area.
GPX-4500

Front Panel

Search mode = General

Timings = Enhance

Ground balance = Fixed

Coil RX = Mono

Rear Digital

Back Light = Off

Battery Test = 8+

Volume Limit = 10

GB Type = General

Special Smooth (When front timing is set to “Special”)

Manual Tune = 95

Motion = Slow

RX Gain = 7/8

Audio = normal

Tone = 50 (your choice)

Stabiliser = 7

Signal = 10

Target Volume = 10

Response = Normal

Tracking = Medium

Iron Reject = Off (This function only operates with DD coils)

 

[Nightjar]

Oops! 11" Commander Mono, was thinking about the Z.

 

[Bontje]

Here is the last settings I used for the 4500 with the original 14" Mono in the Leonora area.
GPX-4500

Front Panel

Search mode = General

Timings = Enhance

Ground balance = Fixed

Coil RX = Mono

Rear Digital

Back Light = Off

Battery Test = 8+

Volume Limit = 10

GB Type = General

Special Smooth (When front timing is set to “Special”)

Manual Tune = 95

Motion = Slow

RX Gain = 7/8

Audio = normal

Tone = 50 (your choice)

Stabiliser = 7

Signal = 10

Target Volume = 10

Response = Normal

Tracking = Medium

Iron Reject = Off (This function only operates with DD coils)

Not sure what kind of coil I have (waiting for delivery), but I assume it comes with the standard coil (I'm buying a 2nd hand GPX).

Do you reckon the listed settings can be used for both 11" and 14" coils?

Or is it specific for the 11" Commander Mono.

Cheers

 

[Nightjar]

Not sure what kind of coil I have (waiting for delivery), but I assume it comes with the standard coil (I'm buying a 2nd hand GPX).

Do you reckon the listed settings can be used for both 11" and 14" coils?

Or is it specific for the 11" Commander Mono.

Cheers

Bontje, Settings are for the 11" Commander Mono, if you machine arrives with a 11" Double D coil go out and buy a Mono.
Each for their own some people swear by the Double D, me when I sold the 4500 after 10 years of use the Double D was still in its wrapping, never used.
However I did only ever detect in WA.

 

[Gold Mbr2020]

Here is the last settings I used for the 4500 with the original 14" Mono in the Leonora area.
GPX-4500

Front Panel

Search mode = General

Timings = Enhance

Ground balance = Fixed

Coil RX = Mono

Rear Digital

Back Light = Off

Battery Test = 8+

Volume Limit = 10

GB Type = General

Special Smooth (When front timing is set to “Special”)

Manual Tune = 95

Motion = Slow

RX Gain = 7/8

Audio = normal

Tone = 50 (your choice)

Stabiliser = 7

Signal = 10

Target Volume = 10

Response = Normal

Tracking = Medium

Iron Reject = Off (This function only operates with DD coils)

Hi NJ, do you have a audio enhancer of some sort as your volumes seem pretty low as does the Rx Gain (hi mineralization?). The hi mineralization I assume is why you set Sensitive smooth also? I've read blogs and heaps of info on this forum and others, Youtube, read the manual several times (maybe should read it again), and in 3yrs found nothing with the 4500 but I'm reconsidering selling it and maybe I should persist again. Been quite frustrating.

 

[Jarrod84]

Settings for any machine are to suit the conditions and ground on the day, not the coil, not the town. Factory settings are fine, just read the manual so you understand the main things and why you would adjust them ie too much emi, too much ground noise etc

 

[Nightjar]

Hi NJ, do you have a audio enhancer of some sort as your volumes seem pretty low as does the Rx Gain (hi mineralization?). The hi mineralization I assume is why you set Sensitive smooth also? I've read blogs and heaps of info on this forum and others, Youtube, read the manual several times (maybe should read it again), and in 3yrs found nothing with the 4500 but I'm reconsidering selling it and maybe I should persist again. Been quite frustrating.

Dual external speakers with an enhancer (Nenad version I think, was long time ago.)

 

[Nightjar]

Hi NJ, do you have a audio enhancer of some sort as your volumes seem pretty low as does the Rx Gain (hi mineralization?). The hi mineralization I assume is why you set Sensitive smooth also? I've read blogs and heaps of info on this forum and others, Youtube, read the manual several times (maybe should read it again), and in 3yrs found nothing with the 4500 but I'm reconsidering selling it and maybe I should persist again. Been quite frustrating.

If you haven't found any gold in 3 years, you're not walking over it. The 4500 is a tried and proven gold finder, if it is there in the ground.
A few nice pieces from one of our searches.

 

[Deano]

If you haven't found any gold in 3 years, you're not walking over it. The 4500 is a tried and proven gold finder, if it is there in the ground.
A few nice pieces from one of our searches.
View attachment 10450

“Nightjar”, I heard that some 4500’s were made in Australia and some 4500’s were made in Asia, there was a split production between the two places. If you know, which 4500’s were better, the Australian ones or Asian ones, or were they both exactly the same.??

 

[Nightjar]

“Nightjar”, I heard that some 4500’s were made in Australia and some 4500’s were made in Asia, there was a split production between the two places. If you know, which 4500’s were better, the Australian ones or Asian ones, or were they both exactly the same.??

Deano, Have no idea about any difference. Bought our 4500 when they first hit the market and used them faultlessly for 10 years before upgrading. Gold from 0.05g to 25g found, one patch alone gave up 150+ pieces.

 

[grubstake]

“Nightjar”, I heard that some 4500’s were made in Australia and some 4500’s were made in Asia, there was a split production between the two places. If you know, which 4500’s were better, the Australian ones or Asian ones, or were they both exactly the same.??

Subsequent to the introduction of the GPX series in 2006, rapid expansion of Minelab's production capability became necessary to meet a dramatic surge in demand from prospectors in African/Middle Eastern goldfields. Since 2010, much of Minelab's consumer detector production has been undertaken by Plexus Inc., in Malaysia.

Early 4500's were Australian-manufactured, with later production Malaysian-sourced. Later models had circuitry incorporating some minor improvements introduced with the GPX-5000, which came out a couple of years after the launch of the 4500.

I think diehards believe the Aussie-made 4500's are better, but this may just be local loyalty.

 

[Hawkear]

I once had a 3000 (Australian made, I presume) that was uncontrollable out of the box and had to be replaced.
I think there is a test point on detectors for circuitry testing but wondering if a full performance test is done on each before being boxed up for sale.

 

[Hamsy]

Bontje, The GPX4500, no doubt in my mind the greatest detector released by Minelab. Sit down and read the manual, read it again and again.
Here are a couple of handy PDF's.
Good luck, with patience you will be rewarded.

It has taken me years to get my head around my 4500, and when you find settings that work in a particular place, write them down, as, if like me you only go out every few months, you'll forget what the settings were.
Following is one of my experiences, followed by an article written by Pat Cullinen

Wet day at Clermont: 12" Nugget finder coil:
Custom, Enhance, Fixed
Special Sens Extra
Auto tuned to 103
Hi-Trash
Motion Med
RX 9
Audio quiet
Tone 40
Stab 8
Signal 8
Target Volume 6
Response Inv
Tracking Slow
Iron reject 7

Pat Cullinan
soil timing; use enhanced for mineralise groundt
RX gain amplifies signal, if you can hear it it is working
Auto tune removes EMI Hold in AIR and find noisy spot. Can repeat several times if still noisy. Ground balance: on clear ground and not on target, sometimes might need to do every three or 4 m metres.
Threshold carries the signal and has to be balanced i.e. quiet hum. use fixed tracking, if changing ground balance again. When switching on machine auto balance and GB again.
Motion: use slow or very slow and swing slow
Stabiliser: keep high from the start, lower the RX before The stabiliser, the lower the stabiliser number the more it squeezes the waves down together.
Patch hunting: faster swing turn down RX If too noisy.
Custom deep and general setting nothing to do with the ground, if using Deep swing slower.
Special settings just change the pulse width.

Use Specific Ground Balance in very hot ground. When moving to new ground - Hold coil 30-45 cm above ground, change switch from fixed to tracking, when low pitch tone starts, pump coil no ground contact, when noise subsides, change switch back to fixed.

Custom mode has Hi-Mineral mode
Keep threshold as low as possible but still audible

Use Quick Track button when pin pointing

If still noisey, select Special extra, Salt-Coarse. Or Sens Smooth for small, shallow targets in severe soil and can iron out hot rocks.

Auto tune first and then manual tune turning dial slowly, coil vertical, 10cm above ground. Before tuning, turn 360 degrees locating noisiest direction.