Jin

kiwijw, I always remove the battery after detecting but should it catch fire while attached to the detector then I guess the whole lot would go up. Doesn't really concern me its the risk I take. Probably never experience a battery fail but aware they do happen from time to time

As far as weight its slightly heavier but nothing to worry about. I remember reading that with the battery setup like mine was similar to the zed in weight. The first time I picked up my mates zed I thought my god how heavy is this thing. So I guess its nowhere near as heavy. 

Not sure if Jaycar (Australia) sell the minelab 5 pin connector. I bought mine from eBay. I ordered 3 at a time after messaging him and only paid for one lot of postage. Having spares was handy. Recently damaged my power cord to the battery (yes I still use the regular battery now and again) cut off the damaged connector and fitted one of the spares. Saving $$$ from having to replace the lead.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-Pin-line-male-gold-plated-connector-pin-suitable-for-Minelab-GPX-power-lead/183563634004?hash=item2abd3ec554:g:yjIAAOxy3yNThBQq:rk:4:pf:1&frcectupt=true

6 hours ago, phrunt said:

Thanks for this thread, I appreciate all the information in it, It just never crossed my mind to do this stuff, I didn't know the batteries like that existed! Other than EMI it's the main annoyance with the GPX being strapped up, making it into a "normal" detector would be outstanding.  I don't even wear headphones as I hate being strapped up, even wireless ones bother me having something on my head, I don't wear sunglasses for the same reason.  I started wearing my first hat in my life when my dealer gave me a Minelab one, only because I like Minelab gear so much. ? yea, I'm weird.  ?   

Just be warned Phunt these batteries can catch fire. I store mine in a little steel change box with a piece of cement sheet on the bottom and a plastic bag full of sand on top of the batteries. If the battery explodes then hopefully the sand will extinguish the fire and the steel box will contain everything.

"I wouldn't recommend the Floureon lipos. The quality control is terrible. Stick with something like the Hobbyking brands."

True, I'm onto my second set of Floureons Got a year and a half out of the first set. At less than $100 for two batteries, it doesn't bother me. One decent battery can cost far more than that. I like to carry a spare. I've heard that there's no guarantee the better batteries will last anyway. This is what works for me anyway, never tried the better brands so maybe I'm miss informed.

23 hours ago, Northeast said:

Hi Jin,

Thanks for showing that system.   There have been a few discussions re: wireless systems for the QED on other forums recently.  It seems the bluetooth models are prone to interference whilst the Wi-Fi systems aren't.

Looking at the connectors the receiver really needs to be plugged into a booster doesn't it?  Can't really plug a set of ear buds or headphones into that male plug? 

I assume you are using the system of - GPX - Transmitter - Receiver - SP01 - Bose earbuds?

Cheers, NE.

Hi Northeast, as jrbeaty said a female/female adaptor is all that is required. I'm using the system you quoted except for the earbuds. Mine are sourced from hearing specialists. On par with the bose but from my research the ones I chose to go with. Slightly dearer at $500. As far as the xvive I paid around $170 a pair but that was around 12 - 18 months ago. I usually buy my stuff from eBay and wait for discount codes. Cheers Rick

Going Wireless on my GPX4500

http://golddetecting.forumotion.net/t23694-going-wireless-on-my-gpx4500?highlight=wireless

Also jrbeaty (member here gave me a few pointers) 

The battery and 5 pin plug i bought of ebay. 

Not really my business but a really good set of earplugs like the bose noise canceling earbuds are far more effective at hearing subtle changes in the threshold than speakers or the koss 30's. 

Heres a picture of the battery next to the minelab battery. Its a 7.4V 8000mAh FLOUREON LiPo Battery. 

Just thought id share the wireless system I've been using successfully for a while now on my gpx4500.  My previous wireless system suffered from broken wires and finally one of the units gave up the ghost. I didn't want the Garrett Z-Lynk or the Pro Sonic so did research into other units. I wasn't sure they would work but fortunately, they did.

Was looking for something robust and small that could handle the beating my equipment gets from detecting hilly thick scrub. Did a lot of research and found the "Xvive U2 Guitar Wireless System" They are robust and the connectors swivel which is really handy when fitting the receiver to the steelphase booster as it hugs the unit nicely. The lag time is not noticeable at only 6 ms. I seem to get a good day of detecting out of them and recharge time is pretty quick, although I rarely let them go flat. I'm using a light lipo battery as the power source for the detector which I tuck under the detectors cover. So much easier being wireless than getting snagged on bushes and branches. Also easier to dig targets not being attached to the detector.

Xvive U2 Guitar Wireless System

Comprising of two simple and small 1/4 jack connectors that act as transmitter and receiver, the U2 is ideal for stage, home and studio use and can also connect via Bluetooth to your favourite devices, using 24 bit resolution to capture every detail in real time - uncompressed, natural, clean tone with no delay at a range of up to 100ft/30m. 

It uses 2.4 GHz frequency and uses WI-FI spectrum. It is digital and the sound would be as though you are using a cable. You can use up to 4 units at a time. To eliminate any possibility of interference from other devices using the 2.4 GHz frequency, we recommend the Xvive U2 wireless system not be placed within 1m of another U2 Wireless system, and more than 3m away from any WI-FI devices such as Internet Routers, Portable Hot Spots etc. 

Featuring a rechargeable lithium battery with approximately 5 hour life at full charge. 

Includes a transmitter and a receiver. 

Charging cable is included. 

The Tech Specs 
Brand: Xvive 

Model: U2 

Suitable For: Electric guitar, Bass guitar and Electric Acoustic instruments with an EQ with Pickup. 

Range: Up to 100ft/30 metre line-of-sight transmission range 

Delay time: 6 ms 

Frequency Response: 10Hz-20kHz 

Channels: 6 compatible (Legal for use in Australia and New Zealand) 

Resolution: 24-bit Delta Sigma, 2.4GHz broadcast 

A/D conversion: 24-bit low-noise system 

Dynamic Range: 105dB 

Play Time: Approximately 5 hours with rechargeable lithium battery 

Recharge Time: Approximately 2 hours when flat 

Input/Output: Side-mounted 1/4-inch Jack connector ins and outs on receiver/transmitter 

Thanks for sharing all these great videos JR. At a guess, how many ounces do you reckon the Bismark found? 

Any thoughts on this coil re gold hunting? Been out for a while. Is it flat wound? Don't really see anyone mention using one. I liked my 24" dd but it was heavy. Picked up the 22" dd and noticed it was so much lighter. Would like to buy another dd but unsure what to get. Also looking at the commander 18" dd or anything else anyone may recommend.

"Beer Can sounds are my favorite"

Not for me, was detecting in an old dozed areas (red streak gully-  Dunolly) a while back. Thought it was futile to detect the dozed areas so I concentrated on the bits around the trees that the dozer missed hoping that something may have been missed. Put on the 18" Elite and went into normal timings with the gain flat out. I then got this great sound up against a half rotted stump. I should have known better as the ground was not that hard in this spot as it was around most of the other trees.  But as I went deeper it got louder so I kept digging. After 10 minutes I couldn't work out where the target was among the stump roots so came at it from the other side. It didn't take long to work out it was actually in the middle of the hollow stump. A little disappointed when a beer can appeared. 

Sorry to take the thread off track, but on the advice offered before, I thought id try the Nox using a lower sensitivity. Giving it a run on the front nature strip (not gold-bearing country). I used park 1 and lowered the gain down to 8 (think FP is 20) The machine was stable and quiet.  Within minutes I got a nice signal that read  #22, which was a $1 dollar coin. A target number of #17 revealed a fifty cent coin and a #15 revealed a pull tab. A few squashed bottle tops read #21. I think id watched too many youtube videos and had the wrong impression as to how fast to swing the coil. This time I went slowly and the targets were distinguishable unlike before were I was hearing signals all over the place. I know this is not mineralised soil but it still showed me what the nox is capable of when the sensitivity is turned down a bit. So thanks again for the helpful advice. Looking forward to SLOWLY learning this machine.

On 9/11/2018 at 1:52 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

Lower the sensitivity as much as is required to get the machine to settle down.... end of story. Remember you are learning, and you can work on boosting the sensitivity as you get more used to the sounds, but for starting out let’s just get the machine to run halfway clean over the ground. 

As always Steve, good advice, thank you. I did own the V Sat for a while but basically couldn't understand how to operate it and sold it. So not much experience with VLF's. Next time I go out ill take the nox along and try what you suggested and lower the sensitivity right down and see if it makes it easier to use. 

I'm going to have to sit down and read this thread thoroughly I think. After two days of swinging the nox over gold bearing areas, I hated it. Tried gold 1 and 2, even tried lowering the gain. ....For anyone reading this - its more likely the user not the machine :)

Found a nice little lead pellet and tried it out as a test piece in another location where there was lots of ironstone/quartz rubble. Seemed to have trouble picking it up unless close the coil (11").  What worried me was the changing numbers when sweeping over the lead. I was getting a range of numbers. Id had the opinion that I could just swing the coil all day and when a target read somewhere in the range of 1 - 3 then it may be lead or gold. (small gold or lead) With the machine farting and burping every second swing and showing lots of 11- 13 numbers, I wasn't going to start digging everything so only dug low numbers. Also whats with the target response? With the 4500 I get a target and within 2 seconds I know where it is. The nox coil takes me ages to work it out. I know where the sweet spot on the coil is its just that it seems like its appearing /disappearing so quickly its hard to pinpoint, anyway sort of got a bit confusing by the end of the day. I don't know, I sort of gave up after a couple of days and wished id taken my 4500 with me. I think the problem is that I still don't know what the real difference between ground noises and targets are yet with the nox. I must admit a few times i was worried that the depth capabilities were quite poor so i cranked it up to 25 but in the mineralised ground, it was pretty noisy so i settled on about 17. Anyway ill keep persevering and do some more reading, hopefully in time I'll get my head around how this thing works. 

Reg, What can I say. You're correct in everything you mentioned in your post.

phrunt, I just recently bought the Equinox 800. Only taken it out once and put it back in the cupboard because lost interest in it. I'm going to give it another run next week targeting some mines to see if it will pick up anything (tiny) that the miners may have dropped when taking stone from a reef. Just interested to see if I can find gold with the Nox.

Yes, its been a very good coil for me also. Most of my finds have been with the 18". The first year I only used it once but when I gave it another go and realised it can pick up sub grammars (smallest found was 0.06) it was my go-to coil. The coverage is great and its found me 4 patches so far . Unfortunately, I'm getting rid of the whole setup shortly as I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a Zed. A few friends have them and I know there a heavy but I feel I'm slightly disadvantaged swing 10-year-old technology.  I was very close to buying the QED also but sort of got the impression that it was maybe on par with the 4500 which I already had. 

Yeah going well now. I did have it go into overload once on this last trip which it hasn't done for a while. I soon worked out it was because I was leaning on the machine while the coil was on the ground. This was while digging with the pick in the other hand. At least I've worked out why now. I think I got into a lazy habit of trying to recover targets quicker without putting the machine down. Now I just kick off 2 - 3 inches with my boot. I still think it has something to do with using the machine (4500 with 18" Elite) Normal timings on a high gain RX (15) and other maxed out settings. Sort of makes me feel the coil when pressed up against high mineralization can't handle it. Who knows I'm no expert it's just the feeling I have.

Don't get out much at the moment, so this was a welcome surprise. Come in at 14.5 grams.

Whats growing in the pot? Looks like parsley. I suppose the chicken wire is to keep the kangaroos and rabbits from eating it. Not sure why anyone would go to that much trouble growing stuff in the bush unless it was pot.

Thanks guys for your comments and recommendations. After reading the thread/post by Steve I decided on the Equinox 800. Have just placed an order for one so looking forward to a different type of detecting from which I normally do. (Gold)

Lately, I've been experiencing the coil overload problem. Its hard to say whats causing it but it happens often. Probably not the best thing to do but I tend to slightly lean on the detector as I'm digging a target with the coil firmly against the ground. I've done this for a while with no problems before. It only shows the overload signal or shuts down when the coil is pressed against the ground. I've noticed it happens when using different coils as well. The only thing that has changed recently is the settings I use. I often have the rx gain flat out at 15 (gpx 4500) and other setting quite high also. Is it possible that the more extreme settings (when the coil is in contact with the ground) are the cause or is likely a problem with the machine? 

Sorry if this thread has been discussed before. (I did have a look around the forum but couldn't find a comparison between machines)

I've decided to have ago at coin/relic hunting. When talking to a dealer that regularly detects I got the impression that the 3030 was still an all-round better machine than the equinox. The purchase price is not part of the decision, more so id like to purchase something I'm going to be happy to keep as i learn more about relic hunting.

My wife and I regularly head off on short trips and would like to go to other areas other than the gold fields all the time. I'm thinking the ability to detect beaches/parks and old historic sites would be nice. Although I've often thought id love to have something that could go over old-timers gold camps and discriminate out the iron better than the gpx4500.

So the question is what would most people get? The 3030 or the Equinox 800. Or would there be some other machine that would be worthy of consideration?  

Many good points to consider Reg, thanks. 

Northeast, No only 5gms this trip.  I was referring to the patch and some of the sizes of gold found in it. Yes, it was great to get back to detecting and find my back was ok afterward. (bulged disc - lower back)

Just got back from 2 days detecting at one of my old patches. Wanted to try out my new earbuds and see if the flogged to death ground had anything left.

This was the spot that originally questioned whether larger gold is found higher or lower on a slope. I was able to find 3 more bits ranging from 0.07gms - 0.40gms all towards the top of the slope. So far the gold has ranged from 0.07 higher up and around 2gms midway down and 5gms towards the bottom of the slope. I did find a 16gm bit about 50m away but it wasn't in line where all the other gold was found.

The gold found here is from a reef but the smaller bit was more worn than any of the other bits. Normally digging down just under the surface you get into a quartz wash but higher up where these bits were found the gold is sitting in clay. Leading me to believe the ground may have changed its shape after the gold was deposited.

On another patch nearby I was also able to find a 4.25gm bit id missed before. After being restricted to light duties because of a bulged disc for the last 2 months it was great to be back detecting.