Looking For Deep Search Machine: Axiom Or GPX 5000

[Steve Herschbach]

19 hours ago, Onnolulu93 said:

Hey steve !

thanks for the reply.

I have to say i’m more of a minelab fan, but not a fanatic.

You only spoke about coil choice, but the minelab has many flaws due to its age that the axiom compensates quite well (waterproof, weight, ergonomics, ease of use, iron check..) and i’m quite sure that the machine will be soon supplied with a variety of coils due to the popularity it will inevitably gain.

So i say, if you think that the Axiom compared with the GPX in same coil setup are comparable, I would totally go for the Axiom for the above written reasons.

what do you say ?

I say it is your decision to make. They are both capable machines. They are very similar in performance yet very different in ways that should make a decision easy. In GPX 5000 you have a detector with a multitude of settings and coil options for people that thrive on complexity. It is the better machine for using very large coils for long hours with its balanced harness and bungee system. The Axiom is a far easier detector to master by comparison and favors those who prefer an all in one package. In general it’s better used with medium to smaller coils. Simply look at both machines and the features they offer, and I highly suggest you look at both operating manuals. I would hazard a guess that many GPX 5000 owners never really mastered all the setting interactions. They just found a few settings that worked or were suggested on the internet and stuck with those. But that same complexity also means an ability to adjust for a wide range of conditions and targets. The Axiom on the other hand has a more limited set of controls, but you are also less likely to be lost in the weeds and perhaps running settings wholly inappropriate to the situation. Only you can decide which system better suits you.

It can be noted that even Minelab decided the 5000 had gotten too complex for many people, and they went 180 degrees with both the 7000 and 6000 in that regard.

https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-guides/minelab-gpx-4000-4500-5000-manuals-timing-charts/

 

GPX 5000 Quick Start Tutorial

Garrett Axiom Quick Start Tutorial

[Onnolulu93]

8 hours ago, Erik Oostra said:

Hello Onnolulu.. Have you tried the larger coils available for your Equinox 800? Like the Minelab 15x12'' or the Coiltek 15'' and the recently released 18'' coils.. If it's depth you're after these coils could be worth considering, especially if your soils are mild.. It could be a much cheaper option before you make the jump to the 'dig it all' PI world.. 🙂  

Thanks for the tip Erik, I actually never saw before this 18” by Coiltek ! It would make a big difference for sure !!

Would it punch deep like a PI ? 

[Onnolulu93]

12 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I say it is your decision to make. They are both capable machines. They are very similar in performance yet very different in ways that should make a decision easy. In GPX 5000 you have a detector with a multitude of settings and coil options for people that thrive on complexity. It is the better machine for using very large coils for long hours with its balanced harness and bungee system. The Axiom is a far easier detector to master by comparison and favors those who prefer an all in one package. In general it’s better used with medium to smaller coils. Simply look at both machines and the features they offer, and I highly suggest you look at both operating manuals. I would hazard a guess that many GPX 5000 owners never really mastered all the setting interactions. They just found a few settings that worked or were suggested on the internet and stuck with those. But that same complexity also means an ability to adjust for a wide range of conditions and targets. The Axiom on the other hand has a more limited set of controls, but you are also less likely to be lost in the weeds and perhaps running settings wholly inappropriate to the situation. Only you can decide which system better suits you.

It can be noted that even Minelab decided the 5000 had gotten too complex for many people, and they went 180 degrees with both the 7000 and 6000 in that regard.

https://www.detectorprospector.com/magazine/steves-guides/minelab-gpx-4000-4500-5000-manuals-timing-charts/

 

GPX 5000 Quick Start Tutorial

Garrett Axiom Quick Start Tutorial

Thanks steve, you are right. 
GPX might be too complex for the use most people (included me) plan to do. 
 

[blackjack]

On 11/13/2023 at 12:33 AM, Chase Goldman said:

If you are after relics in mineralized soil, the Axiom punches as deep as the now discontinued GPX 5000.  I sold my GPX 4800 once I proved this for myself on a couple of multi day relic outings.

The GPX 5000 discontinued ? That's news to me, as it is still on Minelabs Australian website, If it's been discontinued in the U.S. then I'm sure the same will happen here.

[TTT2866]

We've sold a sold a couple of Axiom detectors and they have all had issues. User or manufacture error, cant say. I'd go for a secondhand 5000 any day. 

[Chet]

Detectors such as the GPX 5000 and GPZ 7000 are designed with power, sensitivity and signal processing to operate with a wide range of coil types and sizes. They work exceptionally well with larger coils for large deeper targets. 

The video above is not a balanced demonstration. The GPZ 7000 is at a disadvantage with the 14 x 13 DOD coil vs the 15 x 12 mono on the GPX 5000. 

The 15 x 12 mono coil uses the full surface area for transmitting and the full surface area for receiving. The GPZ-14 DOD coil uses one half of the surface area for transmitting and one half of the surface area for receiving. 

A better test would have used the GPZ 7000 GPZ-19 coil with different detector settings. The GPZ-19 coil was designed for deeper larger targets. It is so heavy that it isn’t used much. 

Newer gold detectors that have been designed with smaller batteries, smaller coils and special signal processing are excellent for gold nuggets at shallower depths. They can perform well at depth with larger coils when available.

The GPX 6000 will perform quite well on larger deeper targets with larger coils. I have air tested my GPX 6000 17” x 13” mono coil with my GPX 5000 and found the GPX 6000 a bit better than the GPX 5000. 

I build some coils for my GPZ 7000 and the GPX 6000; the GPX 5000 is used to test and balance the coil windings before they are used on the newer more expensive detectors. 

The AXIOM will probably work well with larger coils when they become available.

In my opinion the lightweight and simple operation of the GPX 6000 with the currently available Minelab GPX 17” x 13” coil would serve you well for a wide range of detecting.

[Steve Herschbach]

On 12/11/2023 at 7:57 PM, blackjack said:

The GPX 5000 discontinued ? That's news to me, as it is still on Minelabs Australian website, If it's been discontinued in the U.S. then I'm sure the same will happen here.

No the GPX 5000 has not been discontinued

[Steve Herschbach]

10 hours ago, Chet said:

Detectors such as the GPX 5000 and GPZ 7000 are designed with power, sensitivity and signal processing to operate with a wide range of coil types and sizes. They work exceptionally well with larger coils for large deeper targets. 

The video above is not a balanced demonstration. The GPZ 7000 is at a disadvantage with the 14 x 13 DOD coil vs the 15 x 12 mono on the GPX 5000. 

The 15 x 12 mono coil uses the full surface area for transmitting and the full surface area for receiving. The GPZ-14 DOD coil uses one half of the surface area for transmitting and one half of the surface area for receiving. 

A better test would have used the GPZ 7000 GPZ-19 coil with different detector settings. The GPZ-19 coil was designed for deeper larger targets. It is so heavy that it isn’t used much. 

Newer gold detectors that have been designed with smaller batteries, smaller coils and special signal processing are excellent for gold nuggets at shallower depths. They can perform well at depth with larger coils when available.

The GPX 6000 will perform quite well on larger deeper targets with larger coils. I have air tested my GPX 6000 17” x 13” mono coil with my GPX 5000 and found the GPX 6000 a bit better than the GPX 5000. 

I build some coils for my GPZ 7000 and the GPX 6000; the GPX 5000 is used to test and balance the coil windings before they are used on the newer more expensive detectors. 

The AXIOM will probably work well with larger coils when they become available.

In my opinion the lightweight and simple operation of the GPX 6000 with the currently available Minelab GPX 17” x 13” coil would serve you well for a wide range of detecting.

Nice post Chet. Hard to beat the GPX 6000 for getting the gold that’s left in many well pounded  locations, which is generally small gold. And it does do ok on larger stuff. In air tests though I’d comment that the 6000 is kind of like a high frequency VLF and excels in air testing. I’d still bet on a GPX 5000 with the appropriate large coil and timing for multi ounce more solid gold. It would probably tip 6000 though for specimen type gold so as usual there are no hard and fast answers.

And yeah at end of day the GPZ is a real depth monster for the kind of gold that pays the bills. If I had to actually make a living with a detector and could use only one, it would be a GPZ. It just sucks that the coil situation has been so klutzed up by Minelab, absolutely not what I expected when they said it was the platform for the next decade or more when it came out. To me that meant more coils and software updates, not one coil then crickets. But it still represents the pinnacle of gold detecting technology to this day, at least in my opinion.

[Chet]

Hi Steve

The GPX 6000 does well when there is larger gold. The attached photo is a 16g nugget on top of the pick. It was found at 12” depth with the 17” x 13” coil.

The other photo is my split with the land owner for one weekend of detecting. We divided the nuggets by alternating on the weight with me getting the 16g then he got the next one a 12g etc…….

Over many years I have found more total weight with the GPX 5000 and GPZ 7000. I like the performance of the GPZ 7000 over the others. The GPX 6000 is the preference for lightweight and finding small shallow nuggets.

Attached is a photo of my latest coil for the GPZ 7000. I haven’t had it in the field yet. I designed it with a Noise Cancel switch which reverses the polarity of the balanced receiver coils. Air tests inside the house with a tremendous EMI level with the Noise Cancel switch ON it out performs the Minelab GPZ-19 coil. It weighs 3 pounds vs the GPZ-19 at 4 pounds. 

Have a great day,
Chet

[phrunt]

When my 8" coil on the GPZ has found a 4-gram nugget at around 9 inches that was a quite loud target a 16 gram at 12 inches doesn't seem all that deep, a fantastic find though! 

I don't know how much my soil type has to do with it but I didn't think that was deep a 1 gram nugget can easily be found at that depth.

I've found a 1.7 gram nugget much deeper with the 15" concentric coil, it felt twice that depth, the target was loud and I expected junk, JW came over to see what all the roaring of my speakers was about and saw the dig, he seemed more confident it was gold than I did, unfortunately I didn't have my phone with me that day but it was in ground without shallow bedrock like I normally hunt.  I tried that same spot with the shallow bedrock right next to the deep ground a few days ago with the GPZ 6000 and 10x5", waste of my time that was, I went over my best ever patch find for the better part of 6 hours with the 10x5" that day for the first time, I hadn't been back there since when I first found it in this 20 meters by 20 meter area and found absolutely nothing that I'd missed with the 8" and 15" CC.  I needed my 15" back on for that deep ground next to it as the 10x5" was useless for that but left it at home as I wanted to force myself to use the 6000.  

For me at least in my ground nothing comes close to the 7000 for depth, the 6000 is a good small shallow gold hunter though and the VLF type weight makes it nice to use but no match for the 8" coil for that task as it has more depth with virtually the same sensitivity.  

Minelab really should have released more coil sizes for the 7000 and they'd have some super happy customers, I guess they will do it now with the 8000 if it ever comes out.

For me the GPZ is by far the best detector for depth and almost on par for small gold sensitivity, if not slightly better in many cases depending on nuggets composition, I think the 5000 is better than the 6000 for depth due to the large number of coils available but less sensitive, the detection holes on certain gold are what let it down, and the 6000 is ideal for smaller shallow gold but I've never once found a bit of gold with it that I thought to myself, wow, that was deep and my GPZ may miss that, it's just not happening, maybe I just don't find enough gold to make that decision but the GPZ always shocks me 🙂

I don't know enough about the Axiom to comment on it, never had one but I do know experimental big coils were not that great on it, but then again that may have been a faulty detector it was being tested on.