GPX 4500 Depth Question Newish User

[Machineman]

I was testing my 4500 today on a 2 gram nugget at 7"-8" and a 1 gram at 6"-7". I was able to hear the 2 gram with the gpx with all my coils 6x10 coiltec 14"x9" advantage and 11" dd commander. None of them could hear the 1 gram. Possibly a faint signal with the 6x10 coil. Does this sound about right? 

The soil is not too mineralized I was able to run the dd at 13 with no ground noise and the monos at 11 or 12.

Also I have been detecting a new area lately and have found 9 nuggets from .6g to 2g. Picture below. The smallest was hiding under a bullet so doesn't count as a gpx find. Using the gpx. All of them were within 4"-5" from the coil in bedrock areas. I know there must be some under the areas of shallow gravel but I can't seem to find any there.  I'm getting ground noise and false signals only. 

Thanks

[Goldseeker5000]

Machineman, you seem to be doing things right. You are getting the gold. Are you testing with using all timings and search modes? Each timing will give you better results for the type of gold you are searching for, whether it is small deep gold or small shallow gold, deep large gold, high mineralization, low mineralization, hotrock infested areas etc., Play with each setting and even make a small card with your results to refer back too. Also each nugget you find, when you find it write it down on a notepad so the info is fresh in your mind to refer back too. This will help you learn the strengths and weaknesses of your 4500. I too have been surprised by the 5000 not hitting on certain types of gold, but this is why we all have backup detectors to hit on all types of gold, ie PI's and VLF's. Try testing in deep mode if the 4500 has that setting like the 5000 does. Also  if you have a questionable signal, slow down to a snail pace to try and strengthen it and or increase the gain temporarily to determine the target signal. Remember to layer (rake) the gravels back and detect each layer. You might want to look into getting yourself a Nugget Finder Sadie coil 6x8 mono. Very sensitive to small gold. It is a must have coil. Do you have my book? https://goldseekeradventures.com

[Machineman]

Thanks for the advise I have the coiltek 5x10 and it does much better on small gold. In the pictures above I found the top 3 nuggets with the nugget finder advantage 14" and the bottom picture was with the coiltek 5x10 same area and about the same amount of different ground covered. I working a creek that I dont think has been hit before long hike in and steep canyon. Takes me 2 or 3 days to recover before I go back. Next time I am going to try my 11dd stock coil one way and then switch to the 5x10 on the way back and cover the same ground to see what happens. I will be covering mostly ground that I hit with the advantage coil. 

[jasong]

You should be able to hit a 1 grammer of relatively sluggy gold like that at 6-7" with the 14x9 NFA and 4500 in mild ground. That was my go to coil on the 4500 for years. I'd almost say the 6x10 should hit it too. But it all really depends on your ground mineralization.

What timing are you using and where do you have your stabilizer set? Threshold level? You should be able to run the 14x9 a click or two higher sensitivity than the max you can run the 6x10 if your ground is medium/hot.

It's been so long since I've run the 4500 I can't remember which way the stabilizer goes, but if you set it so the threshold is too stable, you'll definitely lose depth quickly on the deeper ones. And if you are running in say Enhance vs Sharp, you'll also lose depth on those 1 grammers at depth.

If you can't run in Sharp or Sensitive Extra at 11 or 12 gain and need to use something like Enhance instead, then I would say your ground is on the upper side of medium, if not hot. At least in terms of US ground. 

[phrunt]

Doesn't sound too bad to me however I'm in very mild soils and can get a fair bit better than that.  Your 14x9" would be the deepest of your selection I would think so it's odd your 6x10" was the only one to hit it, even if it was a faint signal.

the stabilizer is the opposite to what you think, from memory if you run it with high numbers it smooths out the threshold and low numbers takes away the filtering, I ran mine as low as I could handle but default is fine.

The others have covered everything I can think of, especially in regards to timings.  My GPX mostly used sensitive extra as it suited my ground and gold type, I only changed timing when I was in difficult locations which was quite rare as I was avoiding them when there is so much easier ground about with gold 🙂  Save them for another day.

I always found this thread handy

It has a little Decal you can print and laminate and stick it on your detector, I found it useful.

This is also useful

 

[MSC]

My friend uses a 4500, I used a 5000 for years, the advise above is very valuable, stick with that.