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GPX 6000 Speaker Audio Feedback Fix - My Experience


Dutchman4

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I have been told that it is worth while getting this update even if you dont have the problem with the internal speaker (or dont use the internal speaker) - as explained to me by a person in the know at the same time as doing the speaker fix they give the unit a thorough service so i dropped off my 6000 at Minelab , Adelaide with coil and battery attached.

After two days it was ready to picked up.

So the service report read -

Control box - Full service check on control box with no fault found. Cleaned all internal connection and pins. Audio modification completed.

Battery Pack - Service check on battery with no fault found.

11 inch coil - service check on coil with no fault found.

A few people i know have had this work done and swear that the machine is running a lot more stable - so i am keen to test it out as soon as the weather cools down a bit.

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I doubt anyone would be disappointed by the fix, it made a world of difference to mine as I’m a speaker user when I can but it also improved my experience using my Torus Bluetooth speaker, again the detector threshold remained more stable.  I recently tested it in a spot I had no end of stability issues even using the Bluetooth Torus and was doing regular factory resets to try keep it stable and I didn’t have to even noise cancel once the entire time I was there.

I think those that don’t want to do it because they think they may lose some sensitivity or depth have it the wrong way around, by not doing it they are the ones losing depth and sensitivity by having such an unstable detector.  We all know EMI causes sensitivity loss, this is no different.  Auto May just run higher when not being affected by self generated EMI too.

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  • The title was changed to GPX 6000 Speaker Audio Feedback Fix - My Experience

Mine's been to that repair shop twice. The first time was a couple months before they released that report in Australia. The repair shop said they could not find anything wrong with the machine but replaced my coil out of precaution anyways. The second time I just shipped in the control box in right after the report came out. I've probably sent in 7-8 detectors to the repair shop. They always do a great job. My best experience with the minelab repair shop was when I sent in my 2300 with only 6 months left on the warranty and they sent me a brand new machine. Still have not had a chance to test my updated 6000 out except in my yard so the jury is still out for me but I'm very happy to here that it has worked well for some of you. 

Quote from the Minelab report "Minelab has identified infrequent cases where users hear audio feedback when using the internal speaker." 

My machine was acting crazy with and without the speaker..I like to use my headphones so I'm hopeful that it fixes the emi thing as well...

strick 

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5 hours ago, jasong said:

This is the idea I've been trying to preach about for years, in terms of where metal detectors can continue to improve, and why we aren't at a brick wall yet with detector advancement. Less EMI means more "effective" depth. Not just running higher gains, but allowing our own brains to more accurately process the most relevant information. Human brains, no matter how skilled a person is, have limitations when it comes to sensory overload where we have to listen to or see lots of data. The more there is, the more assumptions the brain makes. Even when sensory input is minimal, our brains still trick us by making assumptions and throwing away data (magic/visual illusions work like this). EMI is useless noise, and our brains will inevitably begin to discard the useless noise without our conscious mind realizing it - discarding some of the good signals along with the noise. Especially signals that very closely resemble the noise (edge of detection targets, other faint signals). This is what sensory adaptation is, and not even the most talented detectorist on the planet can avoid it - it's inevitable for us all even if we don't realize its happening.

Thanks for sharing this important element and a very interesting "read" especially the "auditory" section of the "sensory adaptation" link.  It all makes sense that if you have a warbly/noisy threshold then after hearing that for a while your brain tunes it out when in fact that transition/break in the threshold is exactly what you should be listening for.  It puts a whole different light on "effective" gain/sensitivity. 

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My machine is currently being shipped back to me, but I am happy with the ease of this process. I was notified they received it on Jan 19 at 10:52am and was then notified on Jan 20 at 8:46am it was fixed and shipped. So fixed and shipped in less than 24 hours.

The perfect scenario is this issue didn't exist in the first place, but I am glad they are fixing it and in what seems like a fast manor. 

As has been said, it seems like a good idea for performance and resale value to have this fix performed while there is warranty remaining. 

 

 

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It would be great to have some real answers about what impact the fix has for BT-only users. I suppose it is hard to convincingly quantify, and the reports of better threshold even without using the speaker could be a placebo effect. I guess we all want to believe that everything always gets better after a fix. The 6000 is a highly sensitive machine per design, and the threshold can be difficult to handle at times, even without any fault in place.

GC

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12 minutes ago, Gold Catcher said:

It would be great to have some real answers about what impact the fix has for BT-only users. I suppose it is hard to convincingly quantify, and the reports of better threshold even without using the speaker could be a placebo effect. I guess we all want to believe that everything always gets better after a fix. The 6000 is a highly sensitive machine per design, and the threshold can be difficult to handle at times, even without any fault in place.

GC

That is a tough question to definitively answer due to so many variables in the field that could impact before and after repair comparisons.  Only time will tell when more and more reports come in from users in the field with repaired machines.  I do share your placebo effect concern but I need to spend more time in the field with my machine to evaluate this. 

If I had a schematic showing the two components that were replaced and their location in the circuit path, when the speaker is enabled and not enabled, then that would help to understand the potential for overall threshold stability improvement.  Other posts about this topic seem to indicate that two unshielded "Inductors" were replaced with shielded inductors.  If these two inductors are always part of the circuit regardless of speaker being used or not then it could explain an overall threshold stability improvement and reduced EMI sensitivity.  Most inductors contain a small coil of wire that can essentially act like a micro antenna.  Any electromagnetic field could induce an unwanted voltage in the coil part of the inductor and introduce EMI.  The source of that unwanted field could be the speaker, the transmit part of the detectors coil or over the air EMI.  If the inductor is shielded then that unwanted energy is shorted/shunted to the ground plane and wont reach the coil inside the inductor, thereby reducing EMI sensitivity.  This is just my possible explanation of how their could be an overall performance improvement to the detector but I need to spend much more time in the field under actual conditions to support this.   

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2 hours ago, Gold Catcher said:

It would be great to have some real answers about what impact the fix has for BT-only users

I will be able to do just that later this coming week. I am sending mine off on Monday. I am also hoping that my NF 12x7 mono coil will arrive later this same week as well. I am hoping that combined, the 2 'fixes' will improve things a lot. A friend has had the audio fix done and swears that it makes a noticeable difference without using the speaker, either BT or wired headphones only. We will see....

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