GPX 6000 Early Impressions

[VicR]

I picked up my 6000 on Monday and have had 3 days of trying out the new toy.

First day - i took it to a local prospecting area well known for EMI and tried the 11" mono - the closer i came to the EMI area the less stable it became till it was unusable so i switched to no threshold and lowered the sensitivity - which seemed to work as it was a lot quieter but was capable of sounding off on buckshot. The second day - in same area i tried the 14" DD which totally tamed the EMI so i could run it on manual 10 sensitivity with a threshold. So i am wondering which is better - 11" mono with no threshold and low sensitivity or 14" DD with high sensitivity and a threshold?

Also on the second day a friend had his GPZ7000 and we tested a sub gram nugget and a 3 gram nugget. Both machines  achieved very similar results - for example on the 3 gram nugget both detectors gave a iffy signal at 24cm but very clear signals at 23cms. Not a real scientific test i know but left us thinking both machines were very similar performance wise.

Today i went to the beach to see how the DD coil performed in wet and dry sand - while there was occasional background warbles (i used no threshold) there was no problem in hearing targets loud and clear. Not sure i would use it for my beach work because of the lack of discrimination but for people who like digging everything, are hunting chains or need a bit more depth - it worked. Note - this was not a black sand beach.

Likes -

With the 11" coil its a breeze to swing - a bit heavier with the 14" but still good.

No Sore Shoulder - & with no cords easier to be ambidextrous

Set up time and tuning time is minimal.

No cords , no battery back pack, no bungy cords - i did not get caught up in thick scrub.

Headphones are comfy.

Headphones paired easily (better than the Equinox).

Confidence in performance tuning.

Option of having threshold or no threshold. (switched to no threshold when pin pointing - made it easier sometimes with the 14" coil).

Did i mention how light it is?

Dislikes -

None so far.

Could do better (no deal breakers)-

A case for the headphones would have been nice (like Equinox).

Also a car cigarette lighter charger is not included.

Wires on Headphones look pretty flimsy - time will tell if they are up to the job.

A few times the rubber headphone socket protector unintentionally opened - its not a real firm fit.

 

In summary - I have a smile on the dial - just need to get to some decent gold fields - maybe will be able to do that this weekend.

 

[orgone500]

1 hour ago, VicR said:

 

A few times the rubber headphone socket protector unintentionally opened - its not a real firm fit.

This. The cover I have on order should fix this.