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Thanks for the insight Nenad, it's good to hear from someone that was involved in doing these things. Yes, these TV shows are the best marketing detecting companies can get to the newer to detecting people, they sell the dream to them and make detecting seem so fun and exciting. I've been watching a UK one lately, River Hunters, not because I really like the show but it runs through the history of the finds and even the history of the things they don't find that they want to find 🙂 I find the history of the objects interesting as I think it'd be great to hunt with a detector on Europe, a place with so much history. They use Garrett's in that show and every time they use their pinpointer the shiny new black GARRETT words are in your face, somehow the angle they hold it is always just right for the words to show. Anyone who's owned a Garrett AT knows those black words only last a few weeks before they rub off so they're obviously using new pinpointers all the time though out the seasons. They also only use Garrett AT Pro or AT Max detectors as they need waterproof being river hunters. Garrett makes its way into most of the metal detecting TV Shows, I watched Rebel Gold before this, and they used Fisher F75's with obviously plugs throughout the episodes of the detectors, it wasn't a very good show 😜 The Garrett ATX even made it into a season of Aussie Gold Hunters where the Gold Gypsies stopped using their GPX 4500 and GPZ 7000 completely and both started using an ATX, seemed an odd move but by next season they were back on the GPX/GPZ combo so Garrett must have sponsored them or something for that season and it didn't work out. I guess to keep all of these shows entertaining they have to have an element of fake in them, people would tune out quickly following me around detecting, they'd be bored to death. Pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, small nugget, pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, pellet, etc etc.

Keith/Lunk would be a great option, frankly better than I at this point. He gets around more to more locations, detects more these days, and really knows his business. Gets my vote for sure. A few answers - 1) IS GPS NECESSARY/BENEFICIAL ON A PI UNIT? I find using a GPS to be incredibly beneficial, and having it in my face continuously as part of the detector even more so. I was also very surprised how paranoid prospectors are, how many think it is tracking them or sending info somewhere, and so refuse to use it. So while I’d love it, time and money probably better spent elsewhere. If it is implemented, make it compatible with Garmin software export/mapping options, instead of doing some proprietary thing. 2) IS COLOR SCREEN MORE PREFERRED? ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES Not needed. Even a screen is optional, unless GPS implemented. 3) ARE YOU OK WITH AN EXTERNAL CABLE AROUND THE SHAFT? I prefer this. Internal cables create more issues than they solve. Anyone who has cable snagging issues, needs to learn how to wrap and tie a cable properly. 4) COILS - SIZES AND SHAPES (3 PLEASE) 6x11, 9x14, 13x17 (roughly) 5) IS 10 FT WATERPROOF GOOD ENOUGH? More than enough, and not needed if it adds weight and expense. Rainproof is all 99% of genuine prospectors actually need. Benchmark to match or exceed GPX 4500 performance in less than 5lb total under $2000 package. The GPX 4500 last sold for $2699, and Minelab could move fast to reintroduce a stripped down version under $2000 to stymie perceived competition, should they choose to do so. The 4500 weighed 5.3 lbs, but that did not include the 1.7 lb backpack mounted battery. Balance is extremely important for large coil options, so a rear mount, under elbow, straight shaft configuration desirable. And ability to adjust both control box and handle location to get good balance with any coil is a plus. Even then, and optional harness and bungee would be a good idea for 12 hour days with a large coil. I’ll echo that Minelab GPX coil compatibility would be looked on very favorably by a large number of people, making a switch over, or purchase as a second detector, a more viable option. Straight up, I have a GPX 6000, but am in the market for a detector that more or less matches the GPX4500 not just in performance, but ability to handle certain hot rocks and salt ground, places where the GPZ and GPX 6000 struggle in various ways, and that the 4500/5000 handle with ease. I simply do not want another detector with separate battery and no speaker. Even an ATX would do what I need, if it were not a boat anchor. It’s just a matter of time before I have a Fisher, Garrett, or N/M model to complement my GPX 6000. It’s just who does it first. Unless Minelab beats you all to the punch, which at this rate is not impossible either.

I'm very excited about this Nokta PI, gold prospectors desperately need it, even ones that are so stuck with one brand need it perhaps not even because they'll buy it, competition is a wonderful thing, their preferred brand maybe holding out new models for years as they really have no need to release them, why rush, they've got nothing to worry about now. Nokta are not likely to beat them, but it's nice for everyone to have another horse in the race. Competition drives innovation. Nokta have proven themselves with the Legend, I had my doubts, they crossed the finish line in style, the Legend is better than I expected it to be, and I may end up owning one. If they can surprise me the same with a PI I'd be so happy. There is a detector made in a guys garage in Australia, one single person has made it, it's not a GPZ, it's not a GPX 6000 but the QED is a decent detector for a significantly lower price and it runs GPX coils, if one man can do this, what can Nokta do? Even if they just made a QED with a quick track ground balance and a good build quality for the right price they'd be on a winner. They have an opportunity here to make an affordable detector for the masses, a PI that people who detect occasionally can afford, lets face it the GPZ, GPX 6000 and even the GPX 5000 prices aren't really hobby prices for the normal user, from what I've seen most who buy one never even find enough to pay off their detector. Nokta can and I hope will change that and it will shake Minelab to their core even if it's competition only to the older GPX series by performance, if it's priced right it's going to be a very good seller as it will be a detector for the average user with the average budget. It's a numbers game, what percentage of gold is missed by a Gold Racer user that's found by a QED user, that's missed by a QED user that's found by a GPX 4500 user, and missed by a GPX 4500 user that's found by a GPX 5000 user, and missed by a GPX 5000 user that is found by a GPX 6000 user, and missed by a GPX 6000 user that is found by a GPZ 7000 user and the story goes on. If a Nokta Gold PI user can get into that queue in a reasonable position for a price that's affordable by most people they're on a real winner. I really hope they succeed, there is a huge gap in the market for an affordable PI prospecting machine, I want Nokta to fill it. A side benefit is they could further develop the line to include a PI for salt water hunters and also target the relic hunters. They should not blur the lines, they need multiple PI's just like they need multiple VLF's, don't make a waterproof diving PI for prospectors, we don't want another ATX or SDC2300 design detector.

I posted this to another forum about my first hunt with the Legend today. Even with all the negativity surrounding the Legend I couldn't help but try it out along with the Deus II and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Out of the box its depth is comparable to my Equinox but its separation was lacking. I primarily hunt civil war relics in mild ground so lead and brass are my main targets so I ran both detectors over a bullet surrounded by square nails. The Equinox hit it in all modes and it wasn't until I switched to all-metal and lowered the 1st tone break to 7 that the Legend started unmasking like it should. So I took it out for quick hunt on my property that's seen the likes of F75, T2, Tarsacci, Deus 1 & 2, Equinox and GPX 4500 and 5000. Now we all know you can't find everything so I hate when people say a detector found something the others didn't which just isn't the case. Everything I found the Deus II or Equinox would have found but the speed and ease at how I was finding tiny lead and bullets was the surprising part. I primarily ran Field M2 All-Metal with the 7 tone break and would check signals with Prospecting in the Custom mode notching 1-10. I used the Equinox in the same manner. The Legend was extremely stable, I ran it wide open and it was quiet as a mouse. It falsed very little requiring me to spend less time investigating ghost signals and after awhile the prospecting mode was so effective I just stayed in it. Now there is no modern trash at this site, very little EMI but enough to bug my Deus II, and very mild soil. I'm also looking just for relics, not coin shooting, prospecting, or beach hunting but the same hunting everyone else around here does. The Legend is NO Deus II but its performance today and excellent ergonomics made it one of the most fun detectors I've used in a long time. If the updates keep coming this will be fantastic machine for people with my narrow area of detecting interest.

Post any tips when switching coils or "going from mild to hot ground "or" Big coil 18 plus size" detector settings that need switching? Or any thing else" that comes to mind?When operating the Minelab Gpx-4500/5000's... The Guy's w/ the Zed's are the 1%.and deserve a $10g machine! I watched some "Aussies" $$$Payoff their Zedz in 90days! upon it first debut ..Im sure there's a "Bunch" of newbies' like"Me" out there/on here...that got into p/i/ during the last 24months. Because we could finally $$$ afford to! And at $2600 for a gpx45! Thanks Minelab and Rob'sDetector's! I "appreciate" all posts/responses I've Read thruout the "forum" archived&current and take heart of "Everything" I can on these Great Machines! And Feel Blessed" to be Carrying one! Just like my "Mates Down Under" Thanks! Cheers, Ig Hot Ground Balance below;

Yup, just depends what you are doing. For me, the GPX 6000 is hands down best detector, basically the only detector I will use in 2022. Anything else will just be dabbling. If I actually did have to pick my personal second place alternative to the GPX 6000, it would be the GPZ 7000. Next alternative would be GPX 5000. Gets a bit fuzzy after that. SDC 2300? GPX 4500? It’s a good thing I passed on the Deus 2. I really just don’t use a VLF much these days. The only one I consider a keeper still is the Equinox, and so if I could only own two metal detectors right now, it would be GPX 6000 and Equinox 800. Between the two I could do any type of detecting there is, and feel like I’m running a decent option. I like the 24K for sniping small gold, and DFX Bigfoot for jewelry, but could live without both of them, as being niche units I rarely use, if at all. But just too good to let go.

I have the Nugget Finder 12x8 Evolution. I have used it more than my NF 17x13 on my GPX 4500 since I got it around 2 years ago. The 12in length I find "good enough" for decent coverage and the 8in width is very handy any place you'd use an 8in round coil like on the SDC2300. I have found nuggets nearly as small as my SDC with the NF coil, though once nuggets get any larger, the GPX and 12x8 finds nuggets a bit deeper. In my area, mineralization is high and most gold is the flat water-worn type, so I tend to use the GPX to find the deeper nuggets the SDC misses. I prefer to use this 12x8 coil over my 8x6 NF Sadie mono coil nearly 100% of the time. I might put on my Sadie if working really tight places like bedrock or extremely rocky areas.

Hi all, I'm ready to buy my first detector and have narrowed the choice down to two. Mainly based on price but some advice could help point me in the right direction. My choices are the GPX 4500 & SDC 2300, within $100 of each other. Most of my hunting will be in the Golden Triangle of central Victoria, Australia. The GPX seems to be more versatile but the SDC appears to be easier to master. It appears both will find gold in the right hands so I suppose my quandary revolves around which one will give me the broadest chance to find gold in quantity and size. Cheers in advance, Benny.

I do have a gpx 4500. I am going to bring better chisels and try it again. Thanks

I have a ML GPX 4500 and want to buy a control box cover that has a battery pocket. So, I need a shorter power cord...any idea where to get one (and ensure it meets specs)?? And, any suggestions on the best headphones? ...Killer Bee Wasp?

Thanks, I also love the monster. I have done fairly well with it. I will try the manual 10 idea. I have used at GM2, vsat, gmt, Infinium, xterra 705 and GB pro. Now my current lineup GM1000 and GPX 4500 have found more gold than all those before. I turned my GB pro into a pinpointed sort of thing for when I am using the GPX. Not sure how this will turn out but fun anyway.

Iron reject. Noticeably missing from the GPX 6000. I would have been happy if ML would have just ported over the algorithm from the GPX 4500/4800/5000 intact (no improvements or other R&D needed). But alas, it was left off the 6K. So Nokta, here's a chance to grab not only prospectors but hot dirt relic detectorists (not an insignificant number of relic detectorists in the US who use the GPX/TDT/ATX machines) who are weary of the old GPX/ATX form factor and who ML chose to cut loose with the introduction of the 6000.

On Sunday JW and I went back to one of our old detecting spots, it's the place I've been to the most and have detected it with various detectors all the way back to my GPX 4500 and Gold Monster and JW goes much further back than that with his detectors. It seems no matter how hard I try there is always more gold to be found in this spot, especially when new detectors or coils are involved. The place is heavily covered in shotgun pellets and unless you've got extreme patience you're going to miss some tiny gold by ignoring the small surface pellets which means you'll likely ignore the smaller surface bits of gold also. I used to dig and recover everything that beeped but I've lost patience for that in this spot, remarkably JW did just that on this day, he had a good handful of pellets where as by rejecting everything that moved in the first couple of pick scrapes I only ended up with about 10 pellets all day, I certainly detected a hundred or more though. It's good going detecting with JW, you can't buy experience and he has a lot of it so I always end up learning quite a bit on days detecting with him, he's a wealth of knowledge on the local areas. As I was seeing the GPX 6000 for the first time I took along my little test sticks that Geotech sent me for testing my QED on shotgun pellets to compare the result to other coils and detectors. I only bothered with the #9 and #6 lead shot as they especially the #9 are the most difficult for detectors to pick up. So JW turned on his GPX with the 11" Mono coil and we went to see how it responds on those pellets, it wasn't meant as a scientific test I just wanted to get an idea of how the GPX compares to the 12" CC and obviously other coils I'm using. Unfortunately the GPX was a bit unstable when first turned on, JW has been normally using headphones with it and not the speaker but we needed to use the speaker so we could both hear the response. A few retunes and me turning my phone off helped a bit but it wasn't overly stable, we pressed on and tested anyway in manual and auto+ and the results were somewhat of a surprise to me and not what I was expecting. Unfortunately the little #9 pellet fell off the stick into grass somewhere in the area as I was walking around so not as much testing was done as I would have liked to have done. I guess I'd hyped the GPX 6000 up in my head to be much better than it ended up being by comparison to what I've got and I guess I did this due to all the talk of Gold Monster type sensitivity with it, there is no chance its as sensitive on tiny gold as a GM, it is however like a supercharged GM once the gold is a bit bigger. I'm pretty confident with my current setup and coils along with the fact I can run in HY/Normal with a high gain and not be troubled by EMI so I'm really not missing much, if anything at all so I'm quite glad I didn't let my excitement of a new product make me jump onboard with a GPX prior to at least seeing one in action. I really don't think I need one now so that saves me some money, the light weight was fantastic though, it felt like a VLF in weight, although it seemed to me build strength has suffered a bit because of the weight, it's lost that solid feel of the GPZ. It's not that I don't like the GPX, I thought it was fantastic, I just don't see the cost / benefit ratio adding up at all. In saying all of that the difference for someone in hotter soils could be very different, the GPZ performance in difficult on small gold as is not near the performance it has in normal so the 6000 may well shine then, the difference in mild soils is less telling especially with the coils I have to use on my 7000. I'll wait and see what future coils add to the 6000 and revisit the idea of getting one then if necessary, I am sure JW will want to get his hands on the 10x6" X-coil once it's released. We decided enough messing around and started detecting, I just turned on the detector right where we dumped our backpacks and started detecting there, I figured I may even find the missing #9 pellet, and it was not even a couple of minutes and I had a target, it survived a couple of pick scrapes so I was confident it was less likely to be pellet and started to get a bit excited, surely not, gold already? It did turn out to be a little nugget. My photography skills let me down, it's sitting o nthe coil above the O in X-coils 🙂 I went over and saw JW and showed him the nugget, he was about 50 meters away I guess, we were both surprised I got one already, especially with how often we have detected this spot. He was in the middle of recovering a shotgun pellet at the time with the 11" Coil still on. I went back to the spot and detecting around it hoping there might be another one, and there was! This time I was more prepared as once I was confident it wasn't a surface pellet I turned on the video on my phone to capture it. I'm no Hollywood producer, so you'll have to put up with my rudimentary video skills, I didn't do any editing just stitched a couple of parts together to make it a single video. I'm pretty sure this is the photo to match the video 🙂 and the nugget. I kept detecting around the little area and had a 3rd target, this is getting weird, I just don't understand how we both have missed these in the past, that's gold prospecting for you. As I was again confident I had a nugget I also filmed this one. This was the one I think, hopefully the photos match up to the video, it's hard to tell as all the gold bits look similar size 🙂 This is the area my first 3 pieces came from, the hole in the front of the photo is the second piece I found, the pick is where the 3rd piece was and the second bit was behind that rose bush between where the pick is and the big rock. They're all sort of running down hill from each other. At the end of this video I looked up and showed the dirty great big high voltage transmission lines above us, these seemed to act up a bit on the GPX where as I was completely immune to them with the GPZ, JW had all three GPX coils with him to try them out at this spot, he'd never even used the 17" or 14" DD before and the 17" felt a bit heavy without a harness which he didn't have with him and also acted up more with the EMI. After the morning part of the day and him sifting through a handful of shotgun pellets and finding 3 little bits of gold he decided he'd give the 14" DD a go after lunch. He was very dedicated, digging so many pellets to get his bits of gold where as I was ignoring all these little surface to a couple of inch type targets aiming instead for deeper targets, I wasn't hunting the bedrock instead going for the grassy deeper soil areas. We were discussing the depth advantage these Concentric coils give us so I wanted to stay off bedrock and hunt the deeper ground hoping to find something. We were now on 3 nuggets each and decided we'd have some lunch. Once the DD was on his GPX is really quietened down, it ran really nice, the performance on small gold seemed good too, and we were able to detect near each other without the GPX being bothered by it, the GPZ is no issue, especially with the Concentic coils. I'd just found my next piece of gold and walked over to JW who was now able to detect quite close to me and he was digging a target, his first deeper bit of the day and it was with the DD, a similar size to my pieces, it was good to watch the recovery. You'll see someones quite substantial dig hole just below my smaller dig hole where my coil is sitting, this was my next nugget. My smallest bit of the day, a reasonable depth too, and the target really stood out, unmistakable. Whoever dug the hole below it missed this one. Hard to see the dig hole in the photo. Here is a photo of the power lines, it's a shame they look a lot further away in the photo than they really are. It's only a short walk up to them, I once found a piece of gold right under them with my Gold Monster, I've not taken any of the Concentric coils up under them but I should, it handles other power lines fine and I may find gold others have missed with detectors that struggle more under them. Things were starting to dry up for both of us now, we had 4 nuggets each at this stage so we stopped for a drink and snack and decided we would walk over a little gully into an area I haven't detected as much, I'd been over there with my Equinox some time ago, I don't recall finding anything except a zillion pellets. As I was largely ignoring shallow targets I was likely missing some small gold but I wasn't worried about that, it was too hot to recover so many targets when almost all of them would be pellets, I admired JW's determination doing that, his pellet collection was getting huge. I then had a quite shallow target, but it was not a pellet, I thought it might be a boot tack as it was a loud booming signal. I figured I'd recover it as you never know, at least it's not going to be a pellet. The hole was quite shallow, and it turned out to be a bit of gold, glad I dug that one. It really screamed too. Around a similar time JW had found his 5th nugget too, we were neck and neck all day, once one was ahead the other caught up, the challenge of keeping up with JW on gold finds works as a good motivator to me, the little competition is pretty fun but I rarely could keep up with him, this time I managed to. Anyway, here are the weights of mine This is the second last nugget I found, the smallest one of the day which is no surprise as I was avoiding shallow targets on purpose, it was the one that had someone elses dig hole just below it. This is quite funny, two the exact same weight, vastly different looking nuggets though. and my total, almost a gram! And here are JW's nuggets, mostly smaller than mine with him targeting those surface targets but it's hard to tell in the photo, we checked his smallest one on my coil and I was able to get it. We just put all his nuggets on the DD coil, 3 of them were found with the 11" Mono. The biggest one was with the DD. So all in all a fun day out, and we both managed to get some nuggets in a place that we didn't expect to really get anything much if at all so can't complain about that. These last two photos are just some shots of the area we were detecting, the grass is quite an annoyance but smaller coils handle it fine, I just use the GPZ to squish it down as I run over it, JW has a bit of trouble with the shaft twisting on the GPX doing that sort of thing.

I went back to the exact same location hoping there would be some more myself and JW missed on that occasion and I had a feeling I hadn't cleaned out the area where I found them last time, the grass is often the hindrance but its dying off now and getting easier to get closer to the ground, summer has well and truly kicked in and it was so hot when I went I couldn't even last half a day, I ended up only detecting for about 2 to 3 hours before I said bugger it I'm going back to my campsite by the lake for a swim. This was my camp site. and my daughter having a swim to cool down. Anywhere on the hills in the background could have gold, there is some heavy old timer work all along the lake, including Quartz reef hearingbone tailings that you can go and view which you can read about at the link. While I was away detecting my wife and daughter decided they'd take my little Keene A51 sluice out, I was pretty proud of them, they managed to get it in the creek and setup and up and running. They dug a little hole and ran some gravels and found a bit of gold, pretty well done for their first time ever doing it without my assistance and they've never really shown much interest in doing it. The day was so hot I think they just enjoyed being in the creek. This is their little setup, and the little hole they dug. Their gold for a couple of hours. I ran my settings a little different this time, I usually run in high yield, normal with my gain on 18, and my audio volume on 3, while I was doing that last time and found the 5 bits JW found a very small nugget with his GPX 6000, and we waived it over my coil and the response was OK, then I bumped my sensitivity up to 20 and what a difference it made, it went from a response to a very good target signal so I figured I'd put up with the messier threshold of 20 on the sensitivity and see if it makes any difference for me. I also ran my audio volume up higher on the GPZ from my usual 3 (when using the SP01) It's surprising the difference a little bit of extra sensitivity can make, not only to target sensitivity but also to how the threshold sounds, on 18 it seems very stable, 20 is a bit messy for me but I can live with it. I believe these would be somewhat similar to Steve's insanely hot settings which JW runs all the time. This area has a lot of shotgun pellets so I obviously dug a lot of targets, usually ignoring any target that moves as a near surface find but my first good target was only a few steps away from where I found the nuggets the other week that were earlier in this thread. This is it's dig hole, it was reasonably deep, just above the part where my scoop turns to it's handle. I managed to capture it and the second nugget of the day on video which you can view below. A couple of photos of the dig hole, I'm puzzled how I missed that one the other day, I doubt it was anything to do with the settings, more likely my ability to cover ground effectively. I'm using the same coil, the prototype 12" Concentric X-coil. Hopefully this coil comes to market, I've been very happy with it, prior to the 12" CC the 15" CC was my favourite as it's given me very good results but a bit big for a lot of places I detect, the 12" is a reasonably good size and feels very light, but I still need my 8" or other smaller sizes for a lot of places, they can't make Concentric coils smaller than 12" unfortunately. This area is wide open spaces with few obstacles so it's proven to be a good place for the bigger coils and with the area having a good amount of small gold at depth so the concentric coils have been working out well. All the smaller gold on the bedrock areas is long gone from years of JW, myself and others hitting it quite hard so now it's mostly about trying to find the deeper small bits that previous detectors couldn't find and the GPX 6000 and GPZ with Concentric coils seem to be doing this. This is a photo of the first nugget and it's weight This next nugget was a real surprise to me as you can tell if you watch the video, I don't know how it's been missed all those years by everyone, it was such an easy target, perhaps it was dismissed as junk being such an easy shallow target. This was its dig hole, only a few inches down, it was past the point it'd be a pellet but not by all that much, I was expecting a little bit of junk metal to be honest so I didn't do all that much filming on this one. It turned out to be the biggest one I found in this little patch area Not bad at half a gram. Weird it's been missed all these years in such a hammered spot. Thats nugget hunting for you, it's very hard for a little coil to cover many acres of ground and not miss some of it. The next good target of the morning was a bit different, I left that spot as it was just too hot for me, I really can't stand heat so I went back towards my car. You have to cross a little creek to get back to the car and a couple of years ago I found a 1 gram nugget and some other littler nuggets right next to the creek using my GPX 4500 and Nugget Finder EVO coil, afterwards that same day JW checked the area out too using his GPZ and 10" X-coil and found a fair few smaller bits I'd missed in this little 20 foot by 40 foot area between a dirt road and the creek. I wanted to see if I could find anything we'd both missed and it was cooler by the creek and it has the only shade in the area from the trees lining the creek. It turns out I had missed a little guy right near where I found the bigger one, only a couple of feet away from my dig hole from the 1 gram nugget. The coil is sitting where the nugget dig hole is. Nice and shady. And this is it, a bit blurry, must be the focus problem from that glorious shade 🙂 And it's weight. That was enough for me, I was satisfied with my day and figured I had close to a gram so time to leave and have that swim I'd been dreaming of. My total, almost a gram! And my total from this little area... it seems you can never get it all, especially me!

I will add one comment, prior to the 6000 release Nz was receiving Gpx 4500, 4800 and 5000 detectors for crazy prices imported from a guy in Nz that had a friend in Africa that was a Minelab dealer, he was accepting Tradeins on 6000's prior to its release and importing them to Nz to resell on our auction site similar to Ebay. Myself and JW both purchased very cheap Gpx 5000s imported from Africa from this guy that were Gpx 6000 Tradeins, mine I even had the tracking number from a city in Africa. I had the local seller send mine to the Minelab service center in Nz for a health check and new housing as the Africans treat them like a tool and the housing was really beaten up so I wanted it replaced, I still have the original housing. One thing that took me by surprise was prior to the 6000 release there was a steady flow of GPX detectors coming in and being sold on our auction site. After it was released there has never once been another one, the Africans either stopped trading in their older models or the Nz importer stopped doing it, seeing they all sold its anyone's guess why it came to a hault. My guess is when it's a years wage or more to get a 6000 is it a worth while transition to the 6000 to find smaller gold their 5000 may miss when the the 5000 might find the bigger stuff the 6000 may miss along with the other benefits of the 5000 over the 6000. Minelab may have targeted the African Market with the simplicity of use which I have no doubt they achieved first with the Monster then the 6000 as my 5000 and others from Africa had the switch positions suitable for the ground painted onto the housing so they remember where to have them but they failed on the pricing, its a struggle for people in rich countries to justify paying the 6000 price let alone the years wages of their target market in Africa. You only have to look at their website to see the images of African models posing for photos with detectors and no digging tools with the GPZ, GPX and GM 1000 to see their target markets. From what I've heard the GPZ wasn't very popular in Africa, I'm guessing the price is the reason along with the success of the tried and true Gpx series, its perhaps why they used the GPX branding for the 6000 which in essence is really nothing like the previous GPX detectors and just causes confusion more than anything especially when it cones to the hundreds of Gpx coils on the market. Greed knows no bounds. I will add this isn't a beat up on the 6000, its reality, put yourself in their position. A years wages... If they are successful enough to earn the average wage. I feel sometimes we in lucky countries lose reality of what it's like for others, don't we Minelab......

At one time I was up to 10 detectors. Currently I'm down to 3 that I use consistently and 4 that I don't and will eventually sell in the Spring or use them as loaners to family members. It just gets to the point that you can't keep up with making sure all the batteries are charged and all the accessories are organized properly. The detectors I use consistently are the GPX 5000, XP Deus 1 and Equinox 800. In reserves I have a Whites XLT, Garrett Apex, Minelab eTrac and GPX 4500. The XLT is actually a good loaner for someone who has little detecting experience. I can set it up and let them go hunt without having to constantly help them with dig or don't dig signals. As for the others in reserve, I see me selling most of them in the Spring when the market for used machines gets better. Currently I have both the Legend and Deus 2 on order. One or both of those may prompt me to sell either/both of the Deus 1 and Equinox 800 since they are both out of warranty. That will of course depend on performance.

Purchased a GPX- 4500 package and an additional 12" round NF Evolution coil from Chris at AZO and took it for it's maiden run today. It was toasty in Central AZ today but I just had to give the new set up a go for a few hours. Not a bad first run... scored three little nugs. Totally HOT set up. Dean

I can't sell my detectors, I just can't bring myself to do it. The ones that don't get used anymore are nothing but decorations but I'd not part with them. I parted with my QED as I didn't like the direction the business was going or how it was being run along with the weak build quality of the detector and the fact I bought it for high EMI detecting to complement my GPX, then I purchased a GPZ which took over that role and left the QED in the dust for performance in and out of EMI. Although a painful thing to do as it's the only detector I've ever parted with I felt good parting with it to someone who genuinely needed a detector and instead of selling it to them I swapped it for their AT Gold which they were unable to use in their area due to ground mineralisation. It felt nice they got a reasonable deal for a detector I'd never use, for a detector they wanted to get rid of because they were never be able to use it. In saying that I'll probably never use the AT Gold either. I probably should part with some detectors though, I have two Gold Bug Pro's and two Teknetics T2's, I should part with one of each of them I guess but I find reasons to keep them, like I've done a switch mod on one of my GBP's and one is original still, and one of my T2's is the old sparky one prior to the electronic EMI modifications First Texas has done so I've pulled it apart and performed my own EMI mods with EMI paint and copper shielding which did seem to improve it, and my other T2 is a more modern T2 green which has the official EMI mods. So because of differences between them I like to have both. I have a GPX 4500 and a 5000, the 4500 should really go I guess but it's an older Aussie made one which I find more sparky on the little gold than the 5000. The list goes on and so do my excuses, I always find some reason to not thin the herd..... I think I have a problem 🙂

Thanks for the post Gold Catcher, it's good to see you doing prospecting trip posts, nice photos too. That sounds like terrain well suited to a GPX 4500/5000 with a DD coil, that's something missing out of your excellent range of detectors, how does the SDC handle the crazy hot rocks in that area? Your junk/pellet vs gold ratio is great, I wish that was my ratio on the average day prospecting 🙂

You do have a GPX don't you? Try it on that, maximum sensitivity makes a pretty obvious difference in high EMI with the GPX 4500/5000. The manual doesn't say so, the results do. I might be right, I might be wrong but I'm not going to tell people they're wrong when I don't know myself. It certainly can't hurt to do it, and if it does improve things great, if not it wastes a second of your time. I see a benefit doing it with my Vanquish, so that's good enough for me. I can stand under power lines with my Vanquish and prove to myself it makes a difference. Also Phil Beck from Minelab did this Treasuretalk on the very point of discussion, although it was with the GPX. https://www.minelab.com/community/treasure-talk/four-tips-to-help-your-detector-auto-tune-or-noise-cancel Info for the GPX seires. Change settings to enhance noise if required. If operating at a lower gain or in Cancel mode it may be advantageous to increase the gain, or switch to Mono or Double D mode. Similarly changing the Motion setting to a faster setting will allow any noise to be more easily located by the detector. You can safely switch these settings back after the Tune is completed. Enhance any difficult noise sources. If you are still able to hear some remnant interference after an Auto Tune then you may need to move the coil to enhance those signals either by turning around to face the noise source or by tilting the coil away from horizontal. Remember that large signals will be located and avoided easily. It is the small and intermittent signals that are difficult to locate. You'll also note Nenad in the comments at the bottom of it pointed out cranking the gain up helps, although Phil had already indicated that in his article. The manual for the GPX doesn't mention this.

I'm up at Gold Basin now for another 1-2 week stint. I was told this morning that a newbie with a Gpx 4500 just found a four ounce nugget up here a few days ago. I think I am going to need a longer lower shaft for my 5000 when running that 25"NF DDX coil. Everything on me was setting it off. Even my glasses.

The big difference is when you get into an area with hot rocks a GPX 4500 just can't handle, and a GPX 5000 Fine Gold setting just makes them go away. If it were not for those rocks, and that one setting, a 4500 would do me fine. If you don't have them where you hunt, you'd never know. Unfortunately, it's my biggest problems with both the GPZ 7000 and GPX 6000, and why I'm still looking for that "other PI." Luckily I can just hunt other places rather than get a GPX 5000 or an ATX, both of which solve the problem. I just want a GPX 5000 or ATX in a nice package.... too much to ask?

Bugger, I really hope that's not your GPX Geof 😞 Looks like a write off. It's a shame it wasn't a tough old metal GPX 4500, it would be photos up of the damaged 4x4 more so than the damaged detector.

I personally look at the price of detectors by if I think I would be able to get value out of them and not necessarily financial value, either in finds or enjoyment. For detectors like the Deus I would mostly use for coins and jewellery although it seems it's quite a good prospecting detector too, I just don't like the available coil sizes for prospecting and if they wanted to make it a more realistic prospecting detector for me personally, I'd need smaller coils, the typical 5"/6" round and 10x5" would do the trick. So as a coin/jewellery detector would I get value out of it's price? Most likely, I've paid for my other VLF I mainly use for this so many times over now with coins and jewellery that it'd be reasonable to think I'd turn a profit on the Deus, that's without even taking into consideration the value I'd get out of it as entertainment. If I was for example to take my boat out for a spin every week the fuel cost alone would end up costing what the detector costs me in no time, would I rather use the boat or the detector? Depends... most likely I'd end up enjoying using the detector more and use it far more frequently so the money I save on fuel for the boat would quickly pay for the detector. A boat can be rewarding too, you can catch fish which if you're good at it can turn a profit on the day I would think, not for me but perhaps for someone good at it 😛 My efforts a couple of weeks ago. Unlike gold though, the little fish you have to throw back so even though I caught two fish only the one in the photo was a keeper. Virtually all hobbies cost money, many are expensive, very few can pay for themselves which detectors can. Detectors are one of the few hobbies I know of that can be profitable, and if the cost of the detector is part of the consideration of purchase then you can often justify the purchase cost by the returns in finds. Gold Detectors for me are a bit different, I'd struggle to ever pay a non-VLF gold detector off in finds, maybe one day but so far I've only paid off my GPX 4500 and a coil for it I guess but I'm not in an exceptionally good gold location.... I'd take me a lot longer to pay off my more expensive gold detectors so for them it's more about the enjoyment of doing it than the returns although the chance of a return is always possible, and that's what makes the hobby a challenge and enjoyable. So is the cost of the Deus a problem? Yes and no, it is expensive for a VLF, but is it worth it? I think it probably is and I look forward to hearing how the early adopters go with it and their opinions on it before I make my decision.

Buying a new or used ATX is not too difficult since there are always some on Ebay USA. Finding a used GPX 4500 is a much rarer occurrence. Finding a new GPX 4500.....they were discontinued here in the USA in 2020. Finding a good deal on a used GPX 5000 is very easy to do and new ones are still available here too.