New GPX 5000 and 4800 views

News is starting to come through re 5000 and 4800. Minlebal have added new video. http://www.minelab.com/aus/members/welcome-members/videos This will answer a lot of your questions. Acan

For those wondering, you need to log in to view the video.

Personally, I find the aesthetically design to be a little out-dated. But the video suggests the new machines will be an improvement over the GPX-4500 with 8 timings available on it. The decision to supply both coils (mono & DD) is also welcome. I think I'll be hiding mine in a control box environmental cover though. It's either that or I'll start a paint-customizing service like those who create works of art on the sides of surfer's panel vans.

Cheers.

yep i agree

the brown one in that fake photo looked heaps better

Howdy,
The control box and coils now have a 3 year warranty.
Yet I don't consider the extra cost of upgrading for this and a couple of extra timings, a little more stability, a few tweaks, and an extra coil worthwhile. Maybe when field reports begin to come in I may need to reconsider, but they will have to be very good for me to ditch my 4500.

After I had a blown component replaced in mine it has been running as smooth as silk and is super sensitive...I had to buy an expensive alternate part, but it was a blessing in disguise.

Cheers
Grey

"I had to buy an expensive alternate part, but it was a blessing in disguise"

Yes I was sort of hoping for something that sounded more like the next generation of machine rather than a refinement of the current type....early days yet , it may have some surprises to be uncovered.

What went wrong with your 4500

alchemist wrote:Howdy,
The control box and coils now have a 3 year warranty.

Cheers
Grey

does that include the extension you normally get when you join the adventure club?
normaly it's five years all up on the control box

cheers

fencejumper wrote:

alchemist wrote:Howdy,
The control box and coils now have a 3 year warranty.

Cheers
Grey

does that include the extension you normally get when you join the adventure club?
normaly it's five years all up on the control box

cheers

The Adventure Club doesn't seem to be touted any more but I believe you get your training day still. I don't know what the story is with the Adventure Club anymore. The detectors from Minelab had varying National (Australian) warranties (2 years for the VLFs and 5 years for the PIs) so they eliminated the 5 year warranty and made all detectors united under a 3 Year International Warranty. Your older purchase with the 5 year warranty is still in effect but all the recent Minelab detectors now have a 3 Year International Warranty.

i thought i remember getting the extra time on the box with the 4500 thru the adventure club

No adventure club here.
2 years warranty on the box, 1 on the coil.
The main transistor blew twice, now using a different make to what Minelab use, it seems to be much happier.
This varieties made under license to International Rectifier, you'd think they would do a worse job, but no.
Then again I could've just struck it lucky, a perfectly matched part for the rest of the circuit.

There must be something more to these new units than a fancy pants paint job. A fortnight and we shall know?
Grey

Warranties offered by manufacturers are meaningless. They may be good but what most people don't realize is manufacturers must provide a warranty on what they sell in line with legislation. (what warranties they offer on paper and/or advertise are nothing to do with the warranty they must provide under law)

Consumers have statutory warranty rights under the law. If you pay $6700 for an electronic item you can expect it to perform for maybe 5 years or more for an item such as a metal detector or fridge.

Any company is expected to make good to a consumer if the item does not perform as could be expected relative to the price and what can be expected of the item and its expected life.

So i am not saying Minelab warranties are not OK or that their service on faulty equipment is not fair.
What i am saying is if you have a problem with any item you buy, look at the warranty and then visit the Fairtrading website and read up on how to approach and deal with statutory warranty issues.
Tributer

Anyone else appreciative of the new "Upside Down" front end cap of the GPX-5000?

Marco, I think you should think things through a little more logically before you post, what's the first thing you do when you want to make a settings change on the front end cap? Try sticking your arm in the cuff lift the coil up in the air and take a peek at the front panel again.

JP

Marco's not necessarily berating it JP, just because he's not hot on the racing stripes and advertising down the side, as a few are I might add.

The upside down silkscreen shows that the Minelab designers are detectorists too, a very good thing. I don't think the marketing guys are though........! Minelab should now offer a not so wordy control box cover, they'll sell like hot cakes.

Cheers
Grey

Hi Tributer,
You are spot on in regard to warranty issues mate. I think the term is called "implied warranty" & it means that if a high value item such as this was to fail in an unreasonably short time (before say 5 years) then the manufacturer has a case to answer regardless of the "official" warranty supplied with the item, due to the expectation that such an item would last that long without a major failure. A good one to remember!!

Having said that, I would have to add that Minelab have always dealt with me honorably & have sometimes repaired for free items like failed batteries that were well out of warranty.

Jonathan Porter wrote:Marco, I think you should think things through a little more logically before you post, what's the first thing you do when you want to make a settings change on the front end cap? Try sticking your arm in the cuff lift the coil up in the air and take a peek at the front panel again.

JP

Porter, the leash is now off my friend so be wary where you swing your lip from now on.

I know why they did it, Johnathan. It's pretty obvious.
I posted this to show the others who have not seen the new detector in person.
If flipping the display panel upside down was so useful, they would have done it years ago. Perhaps this was YOUR suggestion to do this? Eh?

Hi
To be honest I often lift my arm up with the detector attached to alter settings and it's difficult to see and read the front switch panel upside down, I have thought for a while now why they don't reverse it, now they do and I think it's a good idea and makes detecting easier.
Mark

nero_design wrote:

Porter, the leash is now off my friend so be wary where you swing your lip from now on.

I know why they did it, Johnathan. It's pretty obvious.
I posted this to show the others who have not seen the new detector in person.
If flipping the display panel upside down was so useful, they would have done it years ago. Perhaps this was YOUR suggestion to do this? Eh?

Not my suggestion Marco but its a good idea even if it looks a little funky!! My suggestion was to move the Tracking/Fixed switch back to the top which they have done thank goodness. As for swinging my lip, so long as it is an 18" one over a 16" one thats fine with me. Lighten up mate, its pretty obvious by your recent posts your nit picking.

JP

and then again, why not mount a rear vision on the stem..........just defrosting the segment.

I would of thought that if you knew your machine well enough you would know where all the switches are with your eyes shut !

I do as I would imagine most do. But a quick glance to make sure they haven't been bumped sure beats walking around in cancel mode

Where the switches are placed is not an instinct we are born with like breathing, you learn thier placement over time. Someone with the machine in thier hands for the first time doesn't

Are you still able to flick between fixed and tracking?

Shinegold wrote:Are you still able to flick between fixed and tracking?

Yes, the switch used to be at the top but was moved down for some reason, the Tracking/Fixed switch is the most used switch on the detector so needs to be within easy reach. Probably the biggest issue I had with it being further down on the 4500 was it forced people to twist the detector slightly sideways so they could peer around the front to see the switch which then blew the ground balance completely thereby rendering the detector blind to any targets present until the GB stabilized again, now it's a simple matter of reaching around without looking and flick the first switch at the top whilst keeping the coil level.

JP

Thanks JP, that's reassuring. So it's like it used to be on the 3000. You keep them in line!

does it go deeper on big targets?

Hi all ,
There supposed to be a video released showing why Bruce Candy thinks the new GPX is the best. I can't wait to see that one. There's been rumors getting around that the new GPX's have the same circuit board as the 4500. The only difference is the upside down end cap and a software upgrade that gives the extra timings and more increments in the gain. Can someone verify these rumors before I blow my doe.
Cheers

as nobody has had one in thier hot little hand yet, let alone pulled one apart you can bet your left one it's just rumours..probably tracable back to the
antiminelab forum run by huego and the clingons

The bromance between Dougie and Hugo continues but since the release of the new GPX's the Clingons have gravitated away from that forum. Not a peep from them in the last few days.

Undertaker wrote:Not a peep from them in the last few days.

I noticed that. They usually bemoaned patent applications for some reason... possibly because they needed access to certain claimed patents for their own "forthcoming" machine/detector (You know the one).

Speaking of patents, there's 10 patents listed on the brochure for the GPX-5000 (bottom of the rearmost page)... perhaps if you could compare these patents with those on the 4500, you might get an answer to your last question (I honestly don't know how many patents are applicable on the 4500). No doubt one of those patents relates to the included Monoloop coil though.

I notice with the marketing of this machine there has been mention of "the gpx depth advantage" but not gpx 5000 depth advantage is that saying somthing, when i read that, it makes me think hang on whats going on, because its not saying it goes any deeper it cleverly just says with the gpx depth advantage etc etc im not sure if thats a marketing mistake or they arnt prepared to say on paper it goes deeper than the 4500 but may hint at it while being able to point out they never said it goes deeper,

Just a theory

Nero,

Yes, I know the one. Lets hope their new machine comes to fluition, I'd like there to be some real alternative, but I fear Minelab have cornered the PI patents. If this were not the case we would of seen a competitive machine years ago.
I'll have a look at the patents on the new gpx and compare with the 4500 ones, thanks for the tip.

Remember the GP series detectors. The GP Extreme was superseded with the GP3000, so many prospectors sold the old to buy the new. If you take a GP3000 apart you will find the circuit board says EXTREME. So there you have it the only difference between the Extreme and the 3000 was software. HELLO!!!!, come in spinners!

Gollstar, good observation, its the GPX depth advantage, that would include the 4500