Dud 5000 or freaky good 3500??

Hi all, joined because ive been reading about settings for the 5000 for over 2 weeks and nothing is working for me. I've come to the conclusion that i either have a dud 5000 or i had a freaky good 3500. I'm using the 17x11 NF. after experimenting for weeks on my new 5000 with every setting recommended by everyone here, and actually now understanding what the settings are actually doing, I have come to the conclusion that my 3500 is WAY more sensitive to sub grammars at depth. This year i got lucky and found some good gold along a 3km stretch with the 3500. got 794 bits from 0.1 to 170 grams. heavily mineralized ground with some areas in lovely deep loam. I know the gold is there!!, but the 5000 got only surface pingers that i grew tied of digging. I only got them by running high gain and putting up with the chatter over the richest ground. I also found the 0.2-0.5 sizes were less detectable at depth. I thought i was getting nice little 2 inch deep 0.3 size targets and they would turn out to be 0.1 sub surface or surface targets. maybe my 17x11 has seen its day? maybe my detector is faulty?

My suggestion is to use the Minelab 11" Commander mono that came with your 5000, make sure that you have the front switch on special and fine gold in the back menu, start of with all the other settings in the back menu in FP and go from there.

Also make sure that you have the ground balance set correctly, and use the auto tune if you are unsure about how to manual tune.

As you say it maybe a dud, did you buy it 2nd hand or brand new from a dealer? I have see brand new duds and nothing you can do will make them work properly except take them back to where you bought them, if new, and get it replaced.

cheers dave

[quote="davsgold"]My suggestion is to use the Minelab 11" Commander mono that came with your 5000, make sure that you have the front switch on special and fine gold in the back menu, start of with all the other settings in the back menu in FP and go from there.

Also make sure that you have the ground balance set correctly, and use the auto tune if you are unsure about how to manual tune.

As you say it maybe a dud, did you buy it 2nd hand or brand new from a dealer?  I have see brand new duds and nothing you can do will make them work properly except take them back to where you bought them, if new, and get it replaced.

cheers dave[/quotThanks for the input Dave, The Fixed tracking i was already familiar with as the 35 has fixed or tracking option. so im on fixed and im a fanatic ""over- balancer" always had it on fine gold, I got it new a few weeks ago. Idea was to go steady through my old spots and hopefully survive through summer out here. I started with the 11 mono on 8 stabilizer and 11 gain and i got gold but they were obvious targets and i found the coil to be a pinpointing nightmare. Ill try again tomorrow with the 11 mono with my new knowledge of timings

ive heard the 15 mono commander is a good coil, dont like the weight so its still in its box, whats your thoughts on that for 0.5 up at 3 inch plus?

Yes the 15" mono is a good coil just a bit heavy, I still prefer the 11" mono for the small stuff.  Try the RX gain on about 15 and the stabalizer on 4 for small shallow gold with the audio on boost using the 11" mono.

Use the bigger coil for deeper ground chasing the bit bigger bits, RX gain on around 12 to 13 and stabalizer on about 8 and the audio on deep, use the special and fine gold setting or enhance may help if the ground is a bit to noisy for the fine gold setting.

cheers dave

PS if it continually keeps on going very erratic for no reason, it my be a problem with the machine, if it is doing the same thing with a few different coils it points to the machine if it is only playing up with one coil it points to the coil being at fault.

ive never had the stabilizer that low. I will try that, cheers Dave what is the science behind such a low setting?

and i haven't totally given up on the 5000, things like a low stabilizer level im yet to experiment with. I actually like all the options on the 5. Ive also found small stuff on the top that i missed with the 35. I want to use the 5 to get the half gram plus bits at deeper depth that i know are still there in the deeper loams. hopefully the 5 will come through for me

Hi
You could try a 14"x7" giving extra ground coverage you need with excellent sensitivity to under 0.5g.Ive found some amazingly small deep bits one of these.

Hi Rodger,

Don't forget to try Normal timings if the ground allows it. At the moment we are pulling bits at ridiculous depths that Fine gold isn't even showing a hiccup on.
6 to 8 inches and even more before it's a confirmed target and not a ground noise in normal, but fine gold still doesn't give a whisper.

You may dig a few extra ground noises, but you quickly work that out and the rewards are worth it.

A GPX5000 is much more than just Fine gold.

Cheers,

Steve

very interesting post Steve. The norm settings are on my list for tomorrow

madtuna wrote:Hi Rodger,

Don't forget to try Normal timings if the ground allows it. At the moment we are pulling bits at ridiculous depths that Fine gold isn't even showing a hiccup on.
6 to 8 inches and even more before it's a confirmed target and not a ground noise in normal, but fine gold still doesn't give a whisper.

You may dig a few extra ground noises, but you quickly work that out and the rewards are worth it.

A GPX5000 is much more than just Fine gold.

Cheers,

Steve

G'day Rodger

What Steve says is correct, normal timing gives you full depth, but also much more ground noise/hotrocks in some areas, you need to be selective as to where to use which timing. Using the normal timing is very similar to what your 3500 was doing, if you have most other settings on the 5000 in FP, that is one of the benefits of a 5000/4500 over the 3500, lots more choices.

If the ground is very mineralized then your not going to benefit by using normal timings, this is where the smooth timings are best, either fine gold or enhance.

The main claim to fame for the GPX5000 is the fine gold timing, pretty much all the previous detectors back to the GP3500 can be imitated by using different combinations of settings with the 5000.

Anyhow good luck out there and I hope you can sort out whatever the problem is that your having with your new 5000.

cheers dave

Rodger i completly agree 100% with madtuna and davsgold ,the biggest mistake i made with my 5000 in the beginning was becoming special /fine  reliant ,cause of it's smoother  running ability ,compared to my old 3500.Hence i spent some unnessary time in that timing mode ,only to realize by experimenting  that gosh    i could of been in bloody Normal all along .cheers hugh62 .

cheers for the advise guys, Ive spent the last 2 days experimenting with different coils and settings. I found 3 smallish targets with the 3500. the 5000 had no problem picking them up and i did find a low stabilizer level allowed for more gain without chatter. The 11" mono did not find a cracker on my 3500 spots this time. I am positive the sub grammars are there. Maybe the 6000 will start to uncover them? After visiting several old areas i have given up trying to outdo my 35 which was half the reason i upgraded. Most of the people who rubbished my limits with the 35 had limited knowledge and the others (professionals i know) i am certain they have convinced themselves of a mathematical untruth, which is, the last major improvement with depth is still the sd2000 and the second major improvement was the 3500. Not forgetting the extreme which i seen lots of gold with. Im gonna need some convincing to believe otherwise.
Cheers Rodger

G'day again Rodger

I am a little unsure about whether your going to leave the 5000 in the cupboard or the 3500 by your comments???

Your right though about the SD2000 being a huge leap forward and the 3500 was also a big set up the ladder as well, and for what it's worth IMO the GPX4500 was the next big leap and the 5000 was only a small step forward, I know there's plenty that wont agree, but hey that is like I said IMO.

Well if you really want the 5000 to perform and maybe out do the 3500 then try this with a larger coil like your brand new Minelab 15x12 Commander mono coil on the 5000, set the RX gain at 4 or 5 and the stabalizer at 15 or 16, the audio in normal or quiet, the motion in very slow, and the soil timing in NORMAL, most other settings have in FP or there abouts.

You can have the the machine in tracking for this or fixed which ever you prefer, go low and slow, be prepared for the odd hot rock and the odd ground noise just like the you would have with the 3500.

The biggest benifit of the 5000 over the 3500 is the ability to have control over the RX gain and Stabilizer when operating in settings like I have just suggested, instead of using the smooth timings.

Give it a go next time your out in the field or over a favorite old patch.

cheers dave

I have tried the 15" and found the 17x11 NF mono outperformed on smaller targets. have not been able to determine on 2+ nugs at 3" plus. The hot rocks are gone with the 5!! very smooth and lightweight compared to the 35. 5000 is VERY good in hi min ground. On 35, I dig quite allot of hot rock and ground. Crossed the same ground with the 5 and it was quiet as a mouse.

Hi Dave, Rx gain 4-5 and stabilizer 15-16. Are you sure? Cheers, Hermann.

Best thing ive found to test is a shotgun pellet (12g) we all know how they sound. Ive found the maximum depths with my settings. There is not much difference no matter what extreme you go to. The 35 is worth every penny for those who cant afford the 5. Trust me!!

Theres a 35 in the LA post office for $2800... cheap and efficient

Hermann wrote:Hi Dave,  Rx gain 4-5 and stabilizer 15-16.  Are you sure?   Cheers,  Hermann.

G'day Hermann

Yes, with big coils in deep ground, using normal timings looking for big gold, this way your getting full depth a bit like to the 3500 etc but with some more things to adjust, like audio, and motion etc to get the machine to run a bit better.

cheers dave

Hi Dave, Thanks for that, I thought it may have been a typo. Cheers, Hermann.