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modded GP 3500 final testing

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Post  MS Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:05 pm

Well it's been a while now since I had my unit modded and my last test was to use the detector back over at Wedderburn were I had so much trouble with ground noise before.
Well the unit handled the ground much better and even was able to use mono coils on the hot ground.
I didn't find any gold there but did dig lot's of targets which was a change.
I have picked up enough gold with the unit now to have full confidence in these mods and it can easily find down below 0.1 of a gram with my largest bit to date a 8 gm specimen.
I have dug down 3 ft to rusted chisels etc and it handles 12'' to 24 " mono's fine and also my 16" DD.
I was going to upgrade soon and keep this detector as a spare but don't think I'm far behind the latest so won't bother now.
I know some are against mods but mine done by Woody have been very good and have done everything he said they would do and I find the unit easy to use with just a few different timing settings I use.
Anyway I haven't posted anything on this subject for a while and said I would after I have put it through all final test's so there it is .
If anyone has a 3500 which I fully admit is a great unit straight from the factory but would like to improve the performance these mods do work.
Also it's interesting to see the price of second hand 3500s are well up on the $2700 I paid for mine nearly a year ago.
Mark
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Post  yellowmellow Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:35 pm

How did you think the modded gp3500 stacked up against the standard gp3500 performance wise.

I am just concerned about modded gp3500 that it would void the warranty.

But i guess its what suits you better.

Cheers,

Tim
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Post  MS Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:09 pm

Hi Tim
I would expect any modification could void warranty .
I had none with my unit so that wasn't a problem.
Also Woody offers warranty on his work so that made me happier to go ahead.
I wouldn't say mods are the be all and end all, but do make a difference and when you get used to your machine first un-modded you will easily see the difference.
The 3500 is a great unit in my opinion and easy to use,and you can seem to pick the sounds of your target and can follow the change in ground noise.
I like that and the mods have settled this down to a point were it's more stable but you can still pick it and it's here that I have found most of my gold as I think others have not heard the targets, a bit like being hidden in ground mineralization runs.
Anyway it does get a bit confusing when people are saying different things but mine are fine and I'm glad I took the plunge.
Mark
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Post  yellowmellow Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:17 pm

MS,

I might get used to the gp3500 first then maybe modded up by Woody.

Cheers,

Tim
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Post  goinbush Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:56 pm

Hey Mark couldn't agree with you more . My mods were also done by Woody,great solution for us poor people who don't have the bucks to shell out for a 4500 CHEERS GOINBUSH

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Post  Jonathan Porter Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:08 pm

I have to say I am very skeptical about any sort of modification done to a Minelab detector, this is not to rain on anyones parade as I'm sure there are plenty of people who are in the boat of not being able to afford the latest and greatest, however I am in the fortunate position of having regular discussions with those people who develop the detectors and I can assure you the claims made on the net are oft times bordering on the ridiculous.

I loved my GP 3500 and in a lot of ways really miss it as it was the last of the true analogue audio Minelab PI's (beautiful audio), if it wasn't for Enhance or the ability to make changes to things like the Gain or Motion settings I would still be using one (a bog standard one that is drunken ).

What exactly is wrong with a GP 3500 that would make you want to have it modified? or for that matter what exactly do the modifications modify?

I say this because there have been remarks in this thread that read like sales pitches for Woody's so called mods and have to wonder what is the driving force behind them?

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Post  tom-vmdpa Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:37 pm

hi just got my 3500 a few months back and it reminds me of a great 2200d i had only quieter,after several tests i couldn,t be happier and would personally never even think about changing it.small gold doesn,t appeal to me and i found the manual tune set anti clockwise for deeper target response suits my every need . i believe some detectors are better than others in there own series and perhaps mods help then,as i said i am more than satisfied with the performance of mine. hope it keeps working well for you ,happy hunting tom.......

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Post  MS Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:54 pm

Hi Jonathan
The reason I joined this forum was I had a GP3500 and found it noisy in
the areas I was working and was looking to do better and find some gold.
I saw on here some discussion on modding and made the phone call and
spoke to Woody, I admit I was new to these machines but took the chance
and got the work done.
To be honest I don't feel surprised my unit is better than before as I paid to get that result.
I have more options with timings as do others with the new GPX units but not to that degree.
I don't know the ins and out of exactly what has been done
electronically nor do I really care but it works much better than
before.
I did get my unit sent back off to minelab before as I thought
something was wrong with it but it came back with some components
replaced but the operation was the same.
I have carried out heaps of tests myself and have posted as such.
The only test I hadn't done was back at Wedderburn which is the most noisy ground I have ever come across.
I did that last week and this is the reason for my post.
Forums are places for people to discuss detectors and prospecting and that is what I'm doing.
It's funny how some think there must be a reason more than this ,especially when talking about mods.
I think enough people on here know me well enough to see I have nothing to sell or gain
My personal view of the quiet settings on the newer GPX is a dumbing
down and loss of depth, I don't believe a GPX will beat my unit by much
and be worthwhile especially when your consider the extra cost involved.
I beleive this is where the mods come into play and that is a cheaper option to gain improvements over a standard unit.
I live in Adelaide and have no problem if someone wants to have a
detect with me on a local field to prove me wrong all they will need to
bring is a stock standard 3500 and a GPX.
Mark
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Post  Jonathan Porter Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:20 pm

Mark I am happy for you if you feel your detector is better, but I have to ask the question in what way have your timings been altered? Are you trying to tell me that you now have different timings or timings that are similar to Enhance?

What exactly has been done to your machine that makes it so much better than original, I don't mean in technical terms but surely the modder gave you some info on what the new switches or improvements were actually doing? Just for the record, if you are noticing a big depth difference between Enhance and Normal timings then the ground is too quiet for Enhance to be of any use.

There is a massive demand here in Australia at the moment for 4500's (gold rushes in the Sudan also taken into consideration) because the word is out on how good they really are and I can just about guarantee you the reason the demand is so strong is due to the Enhance timings which I can also just about guarantee you no modder can emulate, this is also born out by the amount of Monoloop coils being sold which used to be a majority to DD's and now has swung the other way round with over 80% of coils now being sold being Mono's (probably more like 90%).

This is no way a personal attack on your experiences as I have found you to be straight forward and honest but at the same time I too have an opinion of what the modders are doing based on my intimate association with the company that manufactures the detectors and also the claims being made and feel duty bound to keep the subject in balance.

Regards

JP
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Post  MS Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:34 pm

Jonathan
I don't know what timings and filtering have been made but understand Woody has chosen the best 3 to use via a 3 way switch, I have one for small gold, one for med and one for large deep.
I use the med and large deep gold settings,depending on what coil being used, also I have a second switch for extra sensitive , this I leave on all the time.
So basically I use two settings with 3 coils to cover what I'm doing.
In hot ground My unit didn't like mono's at all , now it does and I find them more sensitive and they go deeper than the DDs I was stuck with using before.
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Post  Inhere Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:43 pm

"back at Wedderburn which is the most noisy ground I have ever come across."


G'day MS,
Seeing you never found any gold, could I ask you what area you did the test in?
I have done quite a bit of work there over the years.
Some areas I could use a mono on the old Extreme and some are just too noisey.
So If I know what area you are writing about, I would have a better idea whats happening.

BTW, more timings??? Can you switch off and revert to standard?
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Post  MS Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:27 am

Hi Inhere
I will not give locations of spots as they were kindly given
to me to try and have been proven gold producing areas before.

I can say 3 areas were tried again and one is a heavily
mineralised ironstone capping leading down a slope to existing diggings in a
gully, the ground changes the further you go down the hill and ends in a thick
covering of wash mixed in with white and red clays.

Another is a weathering quartz reef on a hill leading down a
gulley with ironstone and angular quartz everywhere .

The last is along a creek line with white clays mixed in with
wash at differing levels also red clay patches.

The termite nests in the ground caused me a lot of trouble
before but this time were a lot less noisy.
A lot of the ground was been pushed and scraped with dosers
and if you put a magnet to the ground it soon picks up heaps of iron stone.
And yes I was disappointed not to find gold on the day I went
back there but remember it has been well worked over but I will be back as I’m
sure they didn’t get it all.

Regards Mark
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Post  shanea1 Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:47 pm

Hi all

I have a GP3500 and I'm new to detecting , I go detecting near Avoca the ground out there is hot ground , I been using DD coils for a couple of months and I wanted to buy a Mono coil . I heard on a GP3500 its a bit hard to use. But I thought I will bite the bullet and give it a try so I brought a NF 12 x 7 mono . Well the first day out I found 3 small bits of gold modded GP 3500 final testing Affraid .
As a learner I found if I use it slow and you understand what you hear it works great modded GP 3500 final testing Icon_cheers I dont think I get my one Modded.

Shane

Been Detecting for about 5 months every second saturday 9 small nuggets from 3 gram - .1 grams modded GP 3500 final testing Icon_biggrin

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Post  MS Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:51 pm

Hi Shane
Sounds like your doing fine and good choice with the 12" elipt NF coil,that coil suits the GP units well .
Regards Mark
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Post  Inhere Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:49 am

Hi MS,
I didnt want the locations of spots mate, just a general area.
I doubt if there is any spot on public land that I and several thousand other people have not had a swing over down there.
I've been detecting down there for years.

How about Beggary hill, did you try that with a mono?
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Post  MS Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:20 pm

Re _ Inhere ...Yes a close friend of mine took me to an area that he was a 1/3 partner in and yes it was in the Beggary hills area.
Heaps of gold come off but has been well worked over by them and someone else since has removed about 10 to 15 ft off the exact location of their claim.

Its sound like you have been there before so I don't need to tell you how mineralised this ground is and I'm sure the iron content would be the highest in Victoria if not Australia.
Regards Mark
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