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Hi, every once in a while I try googling GPEX to see what shows up. I saw this thread. GPEX was my fathers company and forum, Larry Amey. Sadly, my Dad passed Sept 29th, 2016. That is when the forum started declining. My sister & brother in law kept it going for a while. I too wished they had passed it on to one of the loyal followers on the forum. It was not intentional to stop it, it just fell by the wayside in busy lives. My Dad was so proud of the forum and his company. Mining and claims were in his blood, he loved it. I lived in BC and for years would try to convince him to move from Ontario. I sent him a vial of gold chips and said "If you find it, they will come". He moved shortly after and then soon after began obtaining and working claims, buying and selling and founding GPEX and the forum. I wish it was still up so I could pop in and look every once in a while. Drink a coffee, pan some gold, buy a claim and send a fond thought to my Dad. Thank you, Leah

Ring # 5 with the AQ. This ring was at least 12" in the packed mud and it has been down there for a very long time. It was barely auditable. The ring did not have any gold markings but tested as 14k. I would NOT have hit this with the NOX. I was running the machine hot. Settings were: Sensitivity=7, Delay=8, ATS=5, ALL METAL. I went slower than usual to keep the chatter down for the setting above. The location is where I have found rings in the past

Lowes sells these. Also heard guitar hangers work well but feel those might be a little pricier option.

I guess someday we can answer that question....I just hope mine never ends up on my workbench..😬 ...And speaking of Willie, not seen him post in a while. LOL......Heavens no...., I retired several years ago from that repair stuff. In fact when I get this next batch of batteries done I'll be done for awhile. I think.

I’ve not had time to test any gold. However the 3.9 gram 14k I found today was still in the 5 digit range. Waves were pushing pulling a lot today so I got to use it in some good moving water. It handled very well. Coil control was better than the standard. Not nearly as much flipping or being pushed up. Could be a few things.... added weight, design it self or fully filled epoxy. I didn’t think I’d like that the ears was not dead center... but this one works the coil connector allows you to run it right up the shaft cutting down on cable vibration. Out of the water ... I honestly didn’t notice the weight.

Hello all, I've been lurking for a while and I've enjoyed all the equipment reviews and inside info. so I figured I would join in the conversation. I've been metal detecting for 16yrs with a focus on civil war relics and, pre civil war coins.

That's a Nice Oldie.....Most are not use to seeing Gold rings that do not have a Finesse, Makers mark or Hallmarks. But In the USA before 1906/1907 it was not required or the Law. I know for several years it was rare for me to find them with nothing until I came across this one old beach. I would bet I have 40 unmarked gold rings from this spot. With no mark and the design of the ring ..helps me date the them. Dubbed the Jeweler's Liability Act, this 1906 law outlined specific restrictions for the packaging, labeling and sale of gold and silver items with purity marks in the United States. ... It became illegal to sell something as a specific purity of silver or gold if the item was not actually made of the stated purity

Floor stands aren't a bad option either if you don't have wall space.

I will give this a try. You have several options. 1. One option is to just use the external speaker so you both hear the same thing..... 2. Another option is to get a pair of Bluetooth ATPX low latency headphones. Pair the headphones to the onboard Bluetooth transmitter in the Equinox control unit so the digger portion of your duo has wireless headphones. The person operating your Equinox can use wired headphones plugged into the plug-in port on the back of the control unit. 3. Another option is to obtain a WM08 module and do the same as in number 2 but your WM08 will be connecting via line of sight to the Wi Stream transmitter (not Bluetooth). That might cause out of range or out of line of sight problems for the digger. Optimally, the WM08 should be used by the detector operator so that the module and transmitter are within range. I may be exaggerating this line of sight thing but you could try it both ways. 4. Get two WM08 modules. The Equinox can handle up to 4 WM08 modules. Line of sight might still be an issue. 5. Get one WM08 module or one set of Bluetooth APTX low latency headphones or earbuds AND another brand of Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz wired headphones and transmitter like the Garrett EZ Lynks, Quest, or Tronds and plug the wired module into the plug-in on the back of the Equinox control box and use them in place of wired headphones. Unfortunately, I don't believe that an Equinox can have its internal Bluetooth transmitter and Wi-Stream transmitter operating at the same time. It seems to be one or the other but not both simultaneously. That would be an easy way to handle it but............I can't get it to work on my Equinox and I have tried in the past for this same reason you brought up.

Occasionally, we'll get a ring that is so delicate that if you drop it on a hard surface they will break into multiple pieces. This one tested as a 14k so I was a little surprised that there was so much tarnish and erosion of the filler metal.

Pure contextual reply. 🙂 I'm completely aware we have it great here in the USA. Take for example the people that found all that gold in Israel, they got a "just be glad we didn't put you in jail". Some countries are really tough, I've been to a few of them. I've also been on eBay since 1997.

I have a trick that I have not seen anyone else do. I use triangulation to guage depth. This dosent work on very faint targets but it is a valuable weapon in the arsenal. After I locate the target and pinpont it with multiple sweeps I then lift the coil and tilt it at about 15deg and sweep it on the 15deg plane and visualise where I get the srongest target. Then repeat multiple times from different angles. I then draw the lines in my head and where the lines intersect will give me an accurate target depth and location. Then I can dig like a mad man and not damage the nugget.

UPDATE..... As I had just finished posting my last response on this subject, First Texas has just called me and said that they have built me a new AQ and it is being water / pressure tested this week. Shipping will be shortly thereafter. Thank You FT for listening to our concerns!

Looking for something I can put my detectors on rather than leaning them against a wall. Not sure if anyone makes a rack similar to a fishing rod rack. Getting lazy in my old age and don't want to make one.

Hmmm. I did say 'Nothing really to do with hotness' ... which probably doesn't translate transatlantically. It means: 'not much to do with hotness'. Hence my statement giving an example of one common correlation: - strong ground ,and '90' GB ( machine dependant) So ... I'll try and explain it. Ground signal comprises two components: A 'Zero degrees' component, caused by the microscopic iron and rusted iron that is spread throughout the ground. A '90 degrees' component, that's attributed to the electrically-conductive minerals ( carbonates/chlorides/sulphates etc ) dissolved in the water in the ground. These two add together, in Vector fashion. Meaning there is one ground signal, that has a phase relationship to the detectors transmitted signal. It's possible for the detector to measure this amplitude, and the phase. This is often done by resolving the single ground signal into its two constituents, 'zero degrees' and '90 degrees' , then doing some mathematics. The phase is ( after some manipulation ) what is presented as Ground Balance' . The strength of the 'zero degrees' signal is presented as the 'mineralisation strength'. As examples: *Mild ground ,typical UK stuff: 'Zero degrees' = 10 units; '90 degrees' = 2 units Phase is 11.3 degrees, GB display reads '70'. Mineral bargraph reads "1 bar, 0.03% magnetite" ----------- *Tennessee devil dirt: 'Zero degrees' = 1000 units; '90 degrees' = 2 units Phase is 0.11 degrees, GB display reads '89'. Mineral bargraph reads "5 bar, 3% magnetite" ------------ *Some weird salty ground, maybe where "Monte" lives 'Zero degrees' = 35 units, '90 degrees' = 35 units Phase is 45 degrees, GB display reads '40' . Mineral bargraph reads "2 bars, 0.1% magnetite" I hope that made sense ( and I hope it's reasonably correct, I don't want Carl moaning too much ).

https://www.centrevilleelectronics.net/parts.htm frequently has the battery holders in stock (currently "Temp" out of stock), and https://centrevilleelectronicsnw.com/shop (northwest) has them in his store for $19.95. What they say about a fool and his money! There does appear to be a run or hoarding of Whites though. Before Christmas there were many of the TDI-SL both new and used on E-Bay, CraigsList - now nothing for quite awhile. On one of the Australian boards there has been discussion about how difficult it is now to find any used Whites detectors over there. Maybe they're becoming collector's items? WooHoo!

Let me use the rings found from the site I started finding the unmarked gold rings as a example ....how I date them from that beach. I use pictures, any history of the area, the design of the rings, coins found, type of stone / the cut, then the wear on the ring .... script types... and previous dated rings found to narrow down the age of a unmarked ring. This beach opened to the public in the 1890's. But like you said that does not put the ring found at that date because maybe that beach was used earlier or even someone in their 60's could have lost there gold ring from there early years. At this spot the oldest dated gold ring I know of is 1857, the oldies dated I found is 1861, then I have several others dates, 1877, 1881, and a few 1890's. I think because I have found so many from the late 1800's to the 1960's, I can get fairly close on the age and time period of a ring but would not call myself anything more than a good guesser..Just like every beach is different, so can be the styles wore in different time periods from different areas.

I guess I should not fly with those batteries. TSA would think they are a bomb....lol

Welcome aboard Scarfoot ! I just gotta ask ,,,,do you call your detector "My Little Friend" ? Oh , that's right , my mistake I thought you said Scarface ! Guess I should change my welcome aboard accordingly.. Now I understand the question about the misplaced pick .......... Just kidding. What do detectorists and prospectors do in their spare time ???? PICK on each other ! My friends tell me I "Ain't Right" but they really don't know how much.

I finally got the opportunity to test the foil hat at the farm field with the microwave tower nearby. Unfortunately, it was a fail. Absolutely no EMI reduction could be seen with the hat fitted, and grounding the hat had no effect. The 'strategy' of placing my body between the control box and tower still worked reasonably, I'm still optimistic that there's a solution somewhere. Obvious problem: My foil hat is just that - there's a dirty great open hole at the bottom, that is an easy entry for microwave signals. So I will try and do the simplest experiment and just use a sheet of regular kitchen foil wrapped around as much of the control pod as practical. I can also easily join it to the detector ground with my dongle. Another unknown is the internal wiring to the circuit ground. It's not inconceivable the ground on the USB port has EMI filtering on it, thus seperating it from the true circuit ground at RF frequencies. Hence connecting to it has no effect. Unfortunately, accessing the ground pin on the coil connector is not so easy. I have M12 plugs and sockets, and could make a short extension that would give me access to that pin, I've got to be neat, though, as the extra cable could just as easily make EMI pickup worse. There's also the possibility of putting a proper braided wire screen on the coil cable, and joining it to circuit ground with the extension cable. Another oddball idea: as my body will absorb EMI , can I improve 'body shielding' somehow. I have some foil-backed foam sheet that's for thermal insulation purposes. Could I fit a sheet of that stuff inside my coat ? I could easily hold it in front of the detector. It's a reflector, though, not an absorber, so may not be what's needed. Do I put the foil sheet on my back, or on my chest? Which brings up the business of RAM : radar absorbent material. You've seen those photos taken inside EMI test rooms, where the walls are lined with spiky foam tiles, to absorb RF energy? They're made from carbon-loaded foam, so they conduct electricity, in a bad way. What they don't absorb is reflected, and the odd shape of them means the reflected RF gets spread around, and bounced onto another bit of the foam, to be re-absorbed, etc. So .... another experiment would involve using conductive foam sheet to cover the control pod. Experiments I've done in the past showed that those black plastic bags used for electrostatic protection of electronics boards/computer hardware etc are not very good conductors: good enough for their design purpose, but not much else. So not suitable for shielding. But the 'crunchy' foam used for storing computer chips is better.

I’m a photographer/writer/artist out of Northern California. I have been metal detecting for about 20 years. Mostly gold nuggets. Just getting into relics and coins with my newly purchased Equinox 800. Felt it was time to join the site since I’ve been enjoying the members and knowledge shared for months. This whole Equinox thing is new to me as all I’ve ever detected with are the GPX Pulse Induction machines. I hope to learn and share the hard knock knowledge I am sure to receive from trying out a new form of detecting. Thanks for having me as a detectorprospector member and thanks for all the knowledge and inspiration I have already gained from everyone here.

This!! These statements aren’t talked about in the Nox manual, but I accidentally stumbled on this effect while fiddling with the new F2 IB when it became available. I’m running F2-0 every hunt for ultra deep and partially masked/co-located targets passed over by many previous hunters (including myself) in heavy, non-ferrous trashy sites with moderate levels of deep iron, big and small, but I don’t detect in “blanket” ferrous sites that often. At F2-0, I haven’t dug any more iron than I had dug with my Explorer SE for 9 years. If F2-0 IB is not considered “Off”, I wonder if there would be anything to gain if minelab offered a negative IB (i.e. F2 -1) ...possibly even better clarity/repeatability of ultra deep, whisper targets??? Also, at the sites I typically hunt, I’d rather hunt with the least amount of iron bias looking for ultra deeps, as opposed to try and lower my recover speed below 4. In my typical ground I hunt, I don’t like the audio effect (more noisy/somewhat delayed) of signals when I try lowering recover speed below 4.

Tonight I read this story and wondered if anyone here had seen this. I think I would have about died if I would have uncovered it, and sure wouldn't have just let someone take it from me. Here is the link to the story: https://www.yahoo.com/news/bronze-age-spear-found-metal-202457797.html Gorey, Jersey

Welcome Chuck, Well, you've already been learning the harder of the two; PI's! So the Equinox, which can have a bit of a learning curve, should be a little easier on you! Tons of info on the forum about it! We will be expecting some very well written posts, and artistically photographed finds from you!😁 Glad you found your way here! Good luck!!👍👍

I thought New Jersey too and figured you never know what washes up on those beaches hahah.

Found 15 to 18 inches deep... That must have been at the raw edge of detection depth, and in saltwater no less, which is damn Impressive.

This was my best sunbaker from 2012. It has 1.5 ounces of gold with a total weight of 3.5 ounces.

The targets were scarce but crazy good today. Two more firsts for me and a cast wreath which is number two for this site. I have been detecting for many years and have never found a site like this. Gold coin number 2!! Holy smokes.

Bars are the same between the 2 machines.

Sounds like GB value has something to do with 'hotness'. This is a topic/issue that comes up frequently -- the difference between ground phase (as measured by a Ground Balance number/value) and mineralization level. They are different measurements. However, suppose we collected (from around the world would be great) measurements of both quantities for hundreds of sites with the same detector type (e.g. Fisher F75 which seems to be the 'standard'). Then we make an X-Y graph/plot with one axis delineating ground phase and the other the mineralization value. Will the plot look like someone blasted it with (tiny) shotgun pellets or would there be a correlation -- i.e. discernable pattern with the datapoints grouping in certain places on the plot? My guess is the latter, and your example ("...'hot' ground has close to zero phase lag, hence reads '90'...") is consistent with my expectation.

Thanks for posting Leah. Sorry to hear about your dad's passing . I never met him but think we would have been friends if I had...

New to this forum and have already found a lot of useful information. A bit about myself. I’m 68 and have been detecting since 1986 off and on. Mostly on, but off the last two years. I’ve had a few higher end White’s in the past, but for the last I don’t know how many years, detected in the water with a Fisher CZ-20 and then a CZ-21. Decided to get out of detecting about 2 years ago and sold all my equipment. Felt naked without a detector, so I ordered an Equinox 600 and a Garrett pin pointer which should arrive tomorrow. Also ordered a Sito scoop. All the ground here in Maine is currently frozen and covered with snow, but I should be able to hit some non frozen ground at the coast soon to try and learn this detector. Not planning on getting out to detect as often as I have in the past as age and a sore back seem to be catching up with me. In any case, I look forward to future conversations and sharing information with you all.

I actually wonder why Minelab even called it a GPX 6000. It isn't remotely the same as any of the other GPX range of detectors. Hell....it wont even take the other GPX detector coils. Guess the only similarity is the color & the coils are white & round. 😂 G4G

The Gain. and Delay. Some of those micro targets would sound like nothing at 11 uSc with the Gain at or below preset. The TDI broke me of the "maxed out" habit. cjc cjc

Don’t know, just quoting Willy, and Alexandre has said similar things. I suspect the old blue units were not sealed in a similar fashion, being true prototypes. Whatever, Just passing on what was said previously.

I would be inclined to stick my face in here and say that the above set of digs are those of a skilled pulse hunter. No elongateds, nothing outsized--good job. At the same time I would have to concur with Steve and say there are plenty of good targets, crosses, upended rings and earrings that will hit twice. We are always playing the odds with this hobby and its here that an even wider skill set comes in--where? site quality? target context? sand texture? and quite a few other target features. When I run the "Cuda" with it's great optimization (after decades) I can tell by how strong and clean a signal is--pretty much what it's made of. When someone uses the term "detector expert" I think of Steve--and very, very few others. (maybe Carl Moreland and Bill Lahr). Im also no stranger to playing "devils advocate" --the buying public deserves it but on this one--a superb gold hunter's machine that (like any) comes with a learning curve--I lean towards focussing on what it can do rather than what it can't. As Gigmasters unfair video shows us, the VLF- alumni hoards need to be kept at the gate. They want and expect too much. cjc

I've just downloaded the Anfibio user manual to see what they say about the mineralisation meter .... they basically say nothing. It has 5 bars, and it wouldn't surprise me if it closely followed the F75 scaling, two bars per decade, and similar scaling. However as it's a selectable freq machine, you need to consider which freq is being used, and then consider if N-M recalibrate the scaling when the user changes freq, or does it give a different reading for each freq? And re: GB values .... GB has nothing really to do with 'hotness', though it's probably true that 'hot' ground has close to zero phase lag, hence reads '90' on an F75 ( and probably other machines with that GB scaling ).

So did I. But then I realized it has a different pronunciation. Ours is Joyzee.

Just saying... these copper 'asbestos roof tile pegs' are the devil. They sound SOOOO GOOOOD at 8"!!! I have about 15 in my collection now. 😄

As ugly as it was before the clean up I would have bet it was silver. Good recovery on that one!

Good point, Chuck. Theoretically either, but since the update that introduced F2, I have no use for the FE filter, the answer is F2=0. To clarify, I haven't been knowingly fooled by a pure iron signal being iron + a non-ferrous target with IB engaged. The point of engaging IB is to mitigate falsing in the first place. It is not foolproof, but when it works, it is dramatic. I encountered a deep, large ferrous target last week that rang out with a nice pure high tone and 30ish target ID at 4 khz, 5 khz, 10 khz and 15 khz single frequency (the quality of the signal degraded at higher frequencies). When switching to Field 2 Multi with IB engaged, the target rang up as pure ferrous. It is the iffy mixed ferrous/variable TID signals you gotta dig if IB is engaged. It could be falsing ferrous that still got through the "filter" but it could also be mixed ferrous and non-ferrous targets in the hole or a mixed metal target. Gotta check it out in that case. HTH

Hey Scarfoot You came to the right place because we have guys like you that love to relic hunt . On what you said you’ve been at it a while. So you just jump in anytime you have something to say . I myself is a big lover of show and tell so just anytime you got something to show we want to see it. The Best To You! Oh I forgot we glad to have you too . Chuck PS You have to forgive me my mama drop me on my head when I was a baby and my wife took over where she left off .

Very wise advice. Make sure to wear some kind of eye protection since when you read/hear what their rake is you're in danger of your eyes popping out of your head.

Temp warmed up along with a low tide during the day.

I’ve been waiting for a lighter Minelab GPX model with discrimination, mainly for relic hunting. When I first read about Minelabs new 6000 model, assumed it had discrimination. As more information rolled out, It was disappointing to see that was not the case. I hope Boykin is right, Maybe we’ll see a discrimination model in the future. Would like to see a future GPX model similar to the GPX 6000, same performance only with a discrimination feature and same type handle/battery setup. Most relic hunters using the GPX 5000 for relic hunting will make the switch I know I will, Guess my GPX 5000 will still be my main relic detector. Good work on the Forum Steve! Paul

The beer bottle washers are not to replace the inner teardrop washers which just need to be in good condition. I use the beer bottle washers on the other side of the teardrop washers. They provide a large degree of shock absorbing properties, impossible to over tighten which allows the coil to be adjusted easily while swinging but its not that loose that its floppy. The beer bottle washer is a perfect fit - both inner hole and outer diameter - no need to cut to size. I do home beer brewing so buy the large grolsch style bottles by the dozen - the bottles come from China and i replace the cheap silicon seals with quality European seals. The cheap China seals are the ones i use on the Equinox coils. I have given some to a few mates who are still using them. I have no proof that they actually will stop coil lug cracking but i cant see them doing any harm and makes easier coil position adjustment on the fly when detecting.

Gerry I’m sure I’d be hard pressed maybe to find a 4500 but so many dealers are sitting there with a number of 5000. All the hype about the new toy coming out sooner than soon . Minelab just may have to lower the price on the 5000 for the dealers to move them. I said something to my wife about buying 6000 and she told me to go ahead that I had the money. When she’s in a generous mood like that again I’m going to find out where. Chuck

Like other machines, the Nokta MF machine will come out probably within one week of my next detector purchase.

Hey Guys, Great comments from all you and Thanks for the better explanation about the patch lead. I'm still a bit stumped, Nugget Finder is not endorsed by Minelab, but they somehow got around and built the cable that will just plug right in. This would be nice for X-coils, Coiltek or anyone else that would like to design coils for the GPZ or future detectors. I 100% agree about aftermarket coils, their company loyalty to Minelab and the fact with them, Minelab is selling many more detectors. I'm still selling Coiltek, Nugget Finder and Detacc searchcoils for detectors that are 15 years old and older. All these additional coils give the end user many more options on gold types, ground mineralization, ground terrain, more depth, more coverage, weight, greater sensitivity to small gold and on ...... I think Coiltek, Nugget Finder and many other companies, plus others that are newer should be able to prove their worth to Minelab as down the line it would only increase more sales. Just my thoughts. Hope I didn't offend anyone originally, that was no my intentions whatsoever. Rob

This was a two day hunt a few years ago in the water when a small storm moved just enough sand to make these targets come to light with my PI. They were all about chest deep so fighting the incoming tide made it difficult and finally unable for me to detect. On the third day the depth was reduced to about my waist and only a few coins remained. The fourth day brought nothing. The area containing the targets was rectangular, about 25 by 100 yards long. I dug quite a bit of trash... this was some of it, but would sure like to do it again only deeper. Four gold rings and quite a few silver.