advice please on what accessories for a newbies GPX5000

G'day to all forum members/users.

I am new to the caper and have been attempting to improve my knowledge base and am enjoying reading a great deal of the forum questions/replies......now it is my turn to throw a question or two out there, I do hope to receive some replies to assist me.

What would people suggest in relation to the B+Z Booster Vs Rooster Booster - pro's & con's?  

What would people suggest in relation to the Pro Swing 45 Harness Vs a Hipstick - pro's & con's?

I am finding the traditional Minelab Harness to be bulky and hot/sweaty and I have been getting a lot of back pain after a few hours of detecting, so I am personally leaning towards an aftermarket canvas type harness with a hipstick.

I have joined the PMAV and am looking forward to attending my first meeting shortly and have attended a training session up at Bendigo. I am just hoping to get some advice on these questions, of which, any will be gratefully received.

Regards, Trev

Hi Trev and welcome to the forum,


I don't have answer for booster ? as I never use them especially on 4500's  & 5000's

If I'd had a choice between harness or hipstick , from what I'v heard, I'd choose the Harness setup the stick on this takes the weight of both you hip and shoulder .

You mentioned you have  a training day with Bendigo make shore to ask these guy's they may have some answers as well  

Cheer MickAu

G'day Mick, thanks for that. I have already done the training day......didn't ask them as I hadn't been out much in the field before then and wasn't aware of how sore my back was going to get. Also wasn't aware of the two varieties of booster I mentioned at the time. Looking forward to my first PMAV meeting on tuesday next, so I have lots of questions to ask them if I can.
Cheers Trev

Hi Trev
Welcome aboard..

I have used the pro harness, works well, but makes ya sweat!
The hip stick, well I have never used one, but know of a lot that love them..

The booster, same deal, never used them.. I use the sennheiser in ear headphones..
Sorry I couldn't be of help..
But I reckon you will get more reply's tomorrow ..

Also love your avatar.. Love the appy's

G'day Trev and welcome to the forum. I bought the pro swing harness last year and found it pretty comfortable compared to the conventional one, but I do find it a bit hot in this warmer weather. I have not used the hip stick so I can not really comment on this and I haven't used either of the Boosters, but have used the Detec booster on the earlier detectors and found it ok. As Mick said I found the audio on the 4500 & 5000 very good and never bothered with a Booster. Hope this helps you some, but I am sure you will get some other replies from the other members also. Good luck in your adventures and hope to hear of your finds as they come.

Cheers.

Mike.

Thanks for that Jen,

Yes I am hoping to get some advice. It looks as though the members on here are pretty good at sharing the benefit of their knowledge, I like the idea of that.

The photo is not my horse, but he is a looker, goes by the name of Ochoco Ox and he was the Sundance 500 foal of the year in 2011. Imported from the US of A, he is a bull and stands in Nthn Victoria.

Cheers, Trev

Thanks for that Mike,

I don't hear as good as I used to, bit of industrial deafness I reckon, so I was reading a little about boosters and thought they might suit me. As for the harness, I find the bulkiness of the back section to cause me to sweat in this warmer weather and the waist straps a little bulky. I would like to wear a camelbak type product as well and found what looks to be a reasonable harness at JP's aurumaustralis site.

I do hope to crack it for my first find soon........if anyone hears an almighty boom, it won't be an overhead plane or an earthquake, it will be me going off my nut when I do.

Cheers, Trev

I use the original harness with the hip stick, my shoulders are not good so I put all of the weight to my hips via the hipstick by loosening the top straps. I have also used the b&z booster with twin speakers for years as it really brings out those quiet signals.

Hi Trev, Welcome to the forum , good luck out there ..cheers Mick

Hi Trev and welcome to the site mate. I to recommend the Sennheiser Head Phone that Jen mentioned as I also have hearing problems like you, suffering from industrial deafness, 11% loss in both ears. I find that these head phones bring in the sound very clear and sharp. They are the same sort of phone that joggers use on their I-pods and fit right in your ear. Great for summer months, no sweaty ears, not like the heard that comes with the 5000. Here is the link for the hear phones :- https://golddetecting.forumotion.net/t20084-sennheiser-in-ear-headphones?highlight=sennheiser+head+phones
I have also heard the Pro Swing is great for people with back problems. But I can not speak personally about them as I have never used one.
wombat

G'day Tricky 1, thanks for that.

I wasn't actually sure whether or not you could fit a hipstick to the original harness and perhaps I may also need to adjust the straps - I may have had them pulled too tightly?

I do like the sound (pardon the pun) of using twin speakers and a booster (B+Z or Rooster) am still waiting to hear the sweet sound of gold, or perhaps I have already and have not registered it

I have managed to find a range of trash though from a small piece of foil, air gun pellets, .22's, wire and a rusty old 6" spike at approx 14" depth (that sounded like the welcome stranger as I dug down).

goldenhero wrote:Hi Trev, Welcome to the forum , good luck out there ..cheers Mick

G'day Goldenhero/Mick,

Thanks for that, it does appear to me from my short time using this forum, that many, if not most users are quite friendly and are open to sharing their respective experiences and knowledge. I do like that, particularly seeing that we are talking about gold here.

Good luck to you and all the other members and those who have responded to my post.

Cheers Trev

Wombat wrote: Hi Trev and welcome to the site mate. I to recommend the Sennheiser Head Phone that Jen mentioned as I also have hearing problems like you, suffering from industrial deafness, 11% loss in both ears. I find that these head phones bring in the sound very clear and sharp. They are the same sort of phone that joggers use on their I-pods and fit right in your ear. Great for summer months, no sweaty ears, not like the heard that comes with the 5000. Here is the link for the hear phones :- https://golddetecting.forumotion.net/t20084-sennheiser-in-ear-headphones?highlight=sennheiser+head+phones
I have also heard the Pro Swing is great for people with back problems. But I can not speak personally about them as I have never used one.
wombat

G'day Wombat, thanks for that.

I will have a look-see at the Sennheiser Head Phones that both yourself and Jen have recommended.

That is why I posted the questions......to hopefully hear back from experienced users and I am glad to hear from those who care to give me their version of preferred accessories and other associated advice. Ta muchly.

Cheers Trev

Welcome Aboard, I run a single speaker and a booster I have found both to be good as I have to wear hearing aids. I wear the standard harness in combination with a hip stick. I used to have a lot of back problems till I started using the hip stick which I love.
Cheers Dave.

Cadian wrote: Welcome Aboard, I run a single speaker and a booster I have found both to be good as I have to wear hearing aids. I wear the standard harness in combination with a hip stick. I used to have a lot of back problems till I started using the hip stick which I love.
Cheers Dave.

G'day Cadian / Dave....(seems to be a lot of Dave's and Mick's on here)

Could you tell me which booster you use, is it the Rooster or the B+Z?

How do you find the single speaker and have you considered using twin speakers, or is that overkill?

Does the bottom connector for the Hipstick connect up to the waist band/belt of the Harness or do you fit it onto your own belt or waist of your pants?

Sorry if that seems a silly question.....It is because I wasn't sure if or how, a Hipstick could be used on the Standard Minelab Harness.

Cheers Trev

Trev.
1. The booster I use a coiltek Booster which is a battery and speaker combined which from memory cost about $80.00.
2  I find the single one is fine for me, but I don"t believe twin speakers are a over kill.
3  I made my own hip stick, I made a ball on one end of a fishing rod for the shaft which I attached to a slot in the waist band which I made on my harness.
Sorry it took so long to get back but I had a computer crash.  
Cheers Dave.  

Cadian wrote: Trev.
1. The booster I use a coiltek Booster which is a battery and speaker combined which from memory cost about $80.00.
2  I find the single one is fine for me, but I don"t believe twin speakers are a over kill.
3  I made my own hip stick, I made a ball on one end of a fishing rod for the shaft which I attached to a slot in the waist band which I made on my harness.
Sorry it took so long to get back but I had a computer crash.  
Cheers Dave.  

G'day Dave,
Thanks for your reply/info - it all helps me to make a decision as to which accessories would suit me.
Sorry to hear abour your computer gremlins, they can do that (or others can make them do that).

Off topic, I did feel for you in your topic of "has this happened to you" regarding the deeply buried drill cap you dug up.
That must have been quite an effort for you and a big let down to boot.

I am still yet to find any gold myself....but I am thinking of going into the scrap metal business, as I am finding bits of iron trash in many forms , so at least I am able to find something. Time and effort will bring me some rewards, so I am not daunted by that and know that it will come as I get more experienced.

cheers and thanks again for your input, Trev

Just like to say that I have found my first piece of gold  
It is nothing to write home about, I would need the Hubble Telescope to take a photo of it, only match head size but I was impressed that the 5000 was able to find something so small.
I did a bit of a search in the immediate area and turned up several lead shot gun pellets, so I may have to keep my scrap metal licence as well.

Congrats on your first gold find G'day Gold and hope there will be many more to follow.

Cheers.

Mike.

Mike54 wrote:Congrats on your first gold find G'day Gold    and hope there will be many more to follow.

Cheers.

Mike.  

Thanks Mike,
It did my confidence the world of good.
I had been thinking that it was only a matter of time, still there is nothing like proof.
I now have to find the second and so on piece, hopefully much larger than the "Welcome Small One" I have so far

Cheers, Trev

Great Trev, You are now up and running with your first bit which always seems to take forever.  Hopefully they will now came thick and fast.
Cheers Dave  

Cadian wrote:Great Trev, You are now up and running with your first bit which always seems to take forever.  Hopefully they will now came thick and fast.
Cheers Dave  

Yes Dave, I have finally troubled the scorer

It took me about 20 hours all up to do so and I have heard and read that the first one is the most difficult to come by (for most people anyway).

Am now hoping that I can zero in on the next one(s) a lot quicker than the first  

Afterwards, I did try the immediate area and only found 3 or 4 lead shot pellets, I will return there and give it another once over and see how I go, also plan on doing a much larger search in that vicinity before moving on to another area.

T'was a little windy on the day, so I was using my Minelab issue headphones, am epecting to receive my booster and twin speakers I ordered in the next few days, so looking forward to going over the ground with my new kit.

The find, as little as it was, has done my confidence the world of good and I am keener than ever now.

Thanks again for your kind sentiments,

Cheers, Trev

Hi Trev
Congrats on your first gold find.  
Doesn't matter what the size was, it was Gold!!!!!


Nope never felt the earth move

When you found the nugget that is

I am sure there will be many more gold nuggets coming your way.

Jen58 wrote:Hi Trev
Congrats on your first gold find.  
Doesn't matter what the size was, it was Gold!!!!!


Nope never felt the earth move

When you found the nugget that is  

I am sure there will be many more gold nuggets coming your way.

Thanks for that Jen.

No I didn't actually get too carried away, thought the piece was a little too small for that.

I'm waiting for a decent find (one that doesn't require an industrial microscope) before I start a hollerin' and a yellin'.

It was most satisfying though all the same......but as a beginner/novice I guess I am easily pleased....just happy to know that my settings, technique and listening ability actually enabled me to find a piece.

I am on the hunt for its big brothers and sisters now......in fact the whole extended family......I am hoping that it wasn't an orphan.

Cheers, Trev