GPX 6000: First impressions

I have just returned from a two week trip out from Wiluna where I was using the GPX 6000.

As we all know by now, the machine is light and easy to swing. I have been having physio for a crook back and used it with a hip stick. With this setup I was able to detect for long periods without any problem. The only issues were minor but probably worth mentioning. Firstly, the Quick Trac button needs to be activated with the right index finger. I found this a little unwieldy and certainly not as convenient and comfortable as using the thumb as with previous Minelab detectors.
Secondly, the inside of my right index finger became quite sore after a few days detecting where it contacted the junction between the handle and screen. Neither of these are big issues and before the next trip I will place a small strip of adhesive backed foam rubber at this point.

The headphones paired easily. However on two or three occasions, the Bluetooth connection dropped out and took some fiddling to reconnect. The headphones are very comfortable. In fact, several times I walked away forgetting that they were still on my head.

The detector is easy to setup and easy to operate. First up I would say that it is deadly on small gold and loves hot rocks. Another issue is that you cannot get close to Zeds or 4500s.

If you are looking for a detector that purrs along quietly, then the 6000 is probably not for you. Most of the time I was in difficult ground mode and manual sensitivity set at 9 or 10. I prefer to operate with an audible threshold and it was fairly chattery. I am sure that there are more optimum settings that could be used, but I didn’t experiment and stuck with the settings that were working.

My general impression was that I was getting good depth on tiny nuggets with these settings. For the last three days of the trip the ground was quite damp due to a couple of heavy rainfalls. The damp ground did not seem to have any effect on the depth of the bits that were dug. Unfortunately, no big targets were detected.
On a couple of occasions, it was impossible to ground balance the detector on the ground that I was on. Maybe reducing the sensitivity could have helped, but I chose to move away to where it would balance.

The above comments are from a first time user on a machine that was straight out of the box. I have no doubt that with more use and reading more informed comments will enhance the machines’s performance.

In spite of much time lost to travel, rain delays and sorting solar and electrical problems in the camp, I came home with just over half an ounce.

GPX 6000, I love it!

Can't afford a new detector, a bit rich for me.

Manual sensitivity & chattery threshold, sounds like my GP set in sensitive shallow.

Must try it next time out, might get some of that fly sht...

Hi pebbles,I'm not sure why it would be so chattery out there in woop woop?
Any idea's why, storm activity?
Half an ounce is not to be sneezed at, well done.


cheers moredeep

For the first day or so the detector was doing some spiking, due to some approaching weather. The two Zeds and one 4500 were similarly affected.

I suspect that the unstable threshold was probably due to my using high sensitivity in the manual mode. It was not a huge problem however, and the little nuggets were readily detectable.

Since returning, I have read somewhere that the actual sensitivity of the machine in the manual mode remains the same from zero through to 10. Turning down the dial may be a form of audio smoothing.

Anyway, that is something that I can check out on my next trip.

Good on ya Pebbles, thanks for the feedback/update & well done on the gold finds.

Cheers Kon

Early days yet with the 6K, but I`ve switched from manual sensitivity to using either auto or auto+, but with a threshold and difficult. I suspect whatever magic that is going on in the 6K, Geosense? it is pretty dam good and letting it "have its head" is working for me at present. Of course with time, varying ground and experience one changes how we set our detectors.

I believe it's like the Gold Monster where Auto and Auto + can actually be more sensitive than the highest manual sensitivity should the conditions allow it.

Hmmm nah something much more then the GM offers is going on in the 6K, something we have not experienced before, Geosense I don`t believe is just a marketing ploy, from the varied shapes and sizes of the gold recovered not only is the sensitivity being continuously "scanned" but timings and GB also. A total new experience, much like the Z was at first, MLs on a winner as per norm with all their new releases.

well i bit the bullet and got one, took it across to WA untried,found over 4grams on the first day,yes it was chattery but you soon got used to it,it certainly let you know when you went over a target,i found that it didnt like the wet ground after we had a fair bit of rain,but once the ground started drying out it was fine,had to keep g/balancing a lot.I didnt find much difference in whether you dumbed it down or ran it flat out,but that just might have been the area we were in.

Good onya tirp,4 gms on the first day gotta be happy with that.
It took me 4 days in WA to get 4 gms.
Looking forward to more reports.
Thanks for posting.


cheers moredeep

I can assure you tirp, that neither the SD series, all the way up to the GPZ 7000, like wet ground. Even more noisy they become under saturated ground conditions, in areas of high mineralization.
Like with all new model detectors hitting the market, the more ground time one spends using them over different localities/various type ground, the greater an understanding one acquires, of their detectors capabilities.  Well done on the gold finds.

Cheers Kon.