Northeast

We’re back, baby!! Woohoo! Glad DP is back up and running 😀

And comfort 😊 Great pics Mitchel - there sure is a whole lot of area to swing a coil. Congrats on beating the skunk. 2 sayings come to mind from your post - Never judge a day by the weather. - No rain - no rainbows. Enjoy your sleep - if the kids let you!

Good questions. Quite a few would like to know, myself included. I do agree with this. As an end user, and if I was a shareholder, Minelab's public communication policy is confusing. Understandable that they keep upcoming products under wraps but I am not sure what the threat is in releasing details of a coil range for an already released product. If anything, releasing the likely future coil sizes would deter aftermarket competitors. If Minelab plan to make an 8" coil for the GPX6 then it would seem likely that NF, Coiltek, etc would not want to replicate that and be trying to vie for the same piece of pie. Formal communication from Minelab re: current supply issues would also be nice. From an end users perspective that would be great. But from a corporate and shareholder perspective there is very little benefit from what I can see. Minelab are a business, not a charity and although we may think that 'the customer is always' right and they should give us what we want, there are about $150 million in sales per year in Africa that would suggest the Africans are just fine with Minelab's customer service and product offerings. They are no different to McDonalds/KFC/Hungry Jacks. Nutritionally those companies are doing very few of their customers any favours and they are charging quite handsomely for it. Phillip Morris, Peter Jackson and whatever cigarette companies are in the States - they are doing the same. Unfortunately it is the sad reality of big business.

Unfortunately not yet re: the 17”.

Hi Phrunt. Nope, no SPO1 at this stage. I had been waiting for the SPO2 for the QED but the QED is gone so that's irrelevant now. And haven't seen Pat on any of the forums lately either - don't know where the SPO2 got to? Using the Bluetooth receiver and using my preferred ear buds I actually have the Volume on the GPX6 turned down to its lowest level. This is regardless of what Manual or Auto Sensitivity setting I am in. It is actually too loud if turned up. On a really windy day or near running water I am thinking I might need to turn it up by 1 notch but that would be it. Perhaps the combination of not using the speaker and having the GPX6 volume right down may be why I am having very few issues with EMI except for when I am near to an obvious source? It will be interesting to see what settings I can run in when I am in W.A. in a while and (I am guessing) miles away from any EMI sources. In saying that I am unsure how close I will be to mine sites and I dare say they might be little oasis of terrible EMI? 🤷‍♂️

Yep. You've put it more succinctly than I did. I think we aren't losing much by running in manual Sensitivity 1 or 2 when required, and are perhaps gaining a lot more in having a neat and tidy threshold. Na, it really is simple 😀

Considering the frequent mention of EMI troubles with the GPX6000 I thought it might be interesting to make a topic specifically for it as it may provide some answers/options for users. The poll might also give us an indication of what users think may be the biggest contributing factors to EMI for their locations or GPX6's. With a little feedback and data maybe it is something Minelab can update for us? I generally don't find EMI bad on my GPX6 in the locations I use it. I was within a few kilometres of the centre of Bendigo (about 100,000 people) last weekend and was able to run in Auto 1 with only a little mess to the Threshold. At another location not far from a tower (NBN or mobile - not sure) I pretty much had to use Sensitivity 1 the whole time if I wanted to use the Mono 11" coil. BUT, this allowed a really stable threshold and performance was still fine with gold found. I actually carry my phone (iPhone) with me and have it turned on. Always in my L) pocket. I have tried turning it off and turning it off and leaving it in the car but don't feel it made any difference at all. I do find the in-built speaker creates a noisier threshold and more frequent noise cancels are required. Since having the Bluetooth receiver and using my preferred out-of-ear ear buds I have found EMI much less of an issue. Be interested to hear others thoughts and work arounds. Cheers, N.E.

I see quite a few mentioning EMI troubles with the GPX6. Very likely that the amount of EMI experienced in the States is far more than what I get here in country Victoria but the following may still be relevant. In the time that I have been using the GPX6 I have found that Manual Sensitivity 1 provides a very smooth threshold yet does not really lose much in getting a target response. The response is certainly quieter at Sensitivity 1 than Sensitivity 9 for example, but it is also much easier to hear through a smooth threshold than a noisy one. There have been many times that I can run Auto and Auto Plus without issue or maybe have to put up with a little mess in the threshold. There have been times where dropping to Manual Sensitivity 1 is the only way to continue detecting, but I've continued to find gold. Possibly worth testing a few targets pre-dig in Manual Sensitivity 1 and seeing if they are still detectable. Might give you a bearable alternative for the times that EMI is driving you nuts. The ease/speed of setting changes is one of the little bonuses of the GPX6.

My choices exactly 👍

Will be a great refresher for you. Enjoy the time, we will all still be here when you get back 👍

Thanks Chuck, and to you too. You can spend your Father’s Day in your comfortable new furniture! We celebrate our FD on the first Sunday in September. Might have to organise another gold hunting weekend away with one of the kids; perhaps they’re good luck 🍀

Hi GC. We all hunt different ground and have different techniques I suppose but I can’t see anyone with a GPX6 and a GPZ7 ever using anything except the GPX6 for patching hunting - especially so when the 17” coil comes out and if you are searching open ground. Once a patch is found there is no reason to swap out - I would just keep using the GPX6. For the most part it will find a large percentage of the gold and I feel it is a bit more efficient in recovery of targets than the GPZ7 due to the mono coil. Handy if there is a bit of rubbish to deal with too. Lastly, if I had a GPZ7, I would definitely still make a pass in General/Difficult just to see what other pieces it might light up. There is always going to be some sizes, depths, density, shapes, porosity of gold pieces that will be picked up better by one detector over another. I certainly wouldn’t be selling a GPZ if I could afford both as, like you, I loved what the GPZ could do. But I think you’ll find the GPZ will become a ‘specialist’ use detector and not your daily drive. Will be interesting to see what the final outcome will be for you 😉

It was certainly nice to have her out there with me. Actually it was a great weekend all round just the 2 of us. She has not long had her L plates (learner driver) so she did some driving, we stayed at my cousins, moved sheep, went fox shooting, visited my sister, found some gold and generally enjoyed each other’s company. The sort of weekend where you go back to work for a rest 😄 Just on the GPX6. My daughter handled it with ease. The solid coil cover made it much easier than the Equinox 11” spoked coil to get through some of the long grass. And the target response is so sharp she found it easier to pinpoint. I’ve previously mentioned my mum has a GPX6. Well, she is currently in Far North Queensland and called me this morning. She is winning the gold tally of her little group which includes 2 5000’s and a 7000. Mum is just short of 70 yrs and only gets out about half the time that the others do due to the heat and she is not as super keen as the others. Currently mum has 24 grams of gold and is hoping to get that up to an ounce either before they leave or when they get to JP country in about a week and a half. Mum’s sister was so impressed with the GPX6 (especially ergonomics) she ordered one and it arrived a few days ago. Her sister is 80 and had been lugging a 5000 around! 😲 What does all that mean? Not much 🤣 Except that my mum’s happy and is finding gold with a beeper that is great at pinging on metal, is simple to use and she can physically stand to use due to its great design. So…thanks Mr Herschbach for your pushing, prodding, poking, guiding, arguing, advising, testing, miles travelled, emails written and phone calls made. My mum, Aunty, daughter and myself appreciate it 🙏 Oh, and thanks to Minelab too 😉

Couple of hours Friday evening and Saturday morning. Only a couple of hundred meters from a ? NBN tower so running Auto or high Manual Sensitivity on the GPX6 was a bit impossible. However, running at Manual Sensitivity of 1 still got the goods. Minelab headphones Friday and the Soundpeats Bluetooth receiver this morning - both worked a treat. Used the speaker when I worked with my daughter for a little while and had to noise cancel twice. The Threshold certainly gets out of tune after a while using the speaker. Daughter tried the Equinox 800 for a bit but only got junk. Going over her spots with the GPX6 produced multiple more targets, some gold and a cranky daughter 😂 Gave her the GPX6 for half an hour and she got her first 2 bits of gold ever. Only small but she was happy. Maybe, just maybe, it is the start of someone in the family that might join in a regular hunt. All up it is 6.53 grams not counting the 2 quartz pieces and the bit of gold splashed on the iron stone. Comes out of the ground super shiny.

A found piece Mitchel. The GPX6 is crazy sensitive. It really is almost finding Gold Monster size bits.

Don’t be sorry, it was the same brand but a different device. 100% my fault for not reading its specs properly. Happily it has already found a home on our TV. Watched a fishing show late last night, didn’t keep anyone awake and it worked perfectly. All’s well that ends well 😉

Ok, so these turned up on Thursday - actually early - excellent! These things are much smaller and lighter than I was expecting which is nice. They easily sit in a top pocket or could be velcroed to a harness or something. Played with them Thursday night and they both connected but at home the GPX6 was going crazy with EMI so got out this arvo for a couple of hours to really see if they work properly. The SoundPeats - connect easy, very good sound quality, bring up the Bluetooth + sign on the GPX6. Used them for about 2 hours and they did not drop out a single time. Very happy with them. Obviously no comment re: battery time as yet. Not that it this is a downside for me, as I only brought these for detecting, but I cannot get them to Transmit from either the TV or the GPX6. If I wanted them for that I would be returning them but like I said, I have no intention for using them for anything except detecting. Maybe I need to clear device history or something but I won't bother. Another thing to note is that the audio coming through is just perfect using the Philips Sports 'sitting just out the ear' ear buds. Even a tiny bit louder and they would be too loud and this is with the GPX6 audio turned right down. Someone using in-ear ear buds might actually benefit from using a booster to turn the volume down a little. Most of you would know but these are purely a Transmitter/Receiver - there is no Volume control. The TaoTronics - I connected these at the end of the detecting session just to see if they work. One thing I have found is that I have to Factory Reset the GPX6 before trying to connect a different Bluetooth device otherwise it just keeps searching for ages. After a Factory Reset it connects quite quickly. The TaoTronics did connect and the audio was clear and a little louder than through the SoundPeats device (a little too loud). But, it would not connect with the Bluetooth + sign. After getting home and checking the Amazon write up I found this: LOW DELAY: Low Latency for High-fidelity Stereo Sound, lag-free content streaming in transmitter mode. Low Latency supported Bluetooth receiver is required. So, they are Low Latency but only in Transmitter Mode - missed that one. Incidentally, they do work perfectly well in Transmitter Mode and will therefore be used for TV so someone can watch the footy or a movie and not have the TV distracting someone else. So, a big YES vote for the SoundPeats being used as a Receiver for the GPX6. A big NO vote for the Tao Tronics due to no Low Latency when used in Receive mode. A medium YES vote for the little bits of yella found for the evening 😀 0.64 grams.

Here is a speaker but certainly bigger than a WM12. https://www.denon.com/en-au/shop/bluetoothspeakers/envayamini# It is water resistant and Low latency. I don't think you are going to find what you require as anything that is a speaker and has Low Latency should be here http://www.aptx.com/product-listing?product_category=10&aptx_type=3 I have the Filter set to Low Latency and to Speaker so absolutely everything ever available should be on that page. Have spent a fair bit of time looking through here and many of the items listed on the entire site are no longer available so it seems to be an exhaustive list.

Just ordered this https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08ZMPD4N1/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and this https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B01EHSX28M/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The TaoTronics and Soundpeats versions of a Low Latency Receiver - both about $35 Australian dollars. Apparently going to be here by this Friday but I'll believe it when I see it. If all goes well though, will be able to test on the weekend. I was keen on the Trond but at $66 I figure I'll get 2 for just over that price and have a back-up unit and a stand-in device if one runs out of battery. I'm still letting the Avantree unit AS70 be delivered (late July) and as long as it works will be the main unit due to the clip that it has. Exciting times 😉

No need to be sorry. We are all learning here and a reminder to check the specs of items is just as good as a review. Could save people some coin 😉👍

Not sure if you have purchased yet GotAU - I can't see on the Amazon that it is Low Latency although I might have missed it?

Thanks Norvic 👍 I am being particularly fussy unfortunately. At $130 they are a reasonable solution although the dust/rain thing is a concern. The little Bluetooth receivers should be able to be kept in a plastic bag in the top pocket if need. And having a few spares at $40 each is easy enough too. Cheers, N.E.

Hi JP - could you please advise which Avantree you are using? There are a few to choose from? Did wonder that! Thanks for the clarification 👍

Hi 1515. I did see this on the other thread. From memory it is to be used on a GPX6 when you can get your hands on one? Have you ever tried to pair it to an Equinox or Vanquish? The Receiver/SPO1 is certainly neat and tidy 👍 Actually just checked Australia Amazon and the TaoTronics is available here (currently unavailable in the US). I might be asking for a refund on the Avantree I've ordered that is delayed and get a Trond and a TaoTronics to take on the trip. Always good to have a back-up.

Thanks Matt. Reckon the Saturn Pros might be the earlier version of the 'Lock' just from the outside appearance. If I was able to use just one of them as the Receive unit that would be OK. Although not keen to buy the Transmitter if not required. Have seen the TC17 on the Avantree website. Might be a good option - thanks for the headsup re: the bump/rub issue. 1 vote for the Trond - thanks 👍 Thanks for looking but it is the ear buds that sit right in the ear canal that I am trying to avoid. You're right, there are slim pickings for most of these things. Some genuine Low Latency bone conduction headphones would be great but I just cannot find anything like that. I've tried my wife's Trekz and they work on the Equinox but the latency is an issue.