GPX 5000 Mods Video

[PeterInSa]

Thanks Gg, 

Re (I have 2 Micks modded machines,the question on the 18”elite my does well with the mods)

Thats a relief, I can still use my new 18" Elite, $650 Aud coil.

 

and Re ( The 9”. 14” elite you can run them with the mods but you but you can’t push the inputs too high.You will lose sensitivity.And they eventually will go silent)

Will have to watch this with my 14"x 9" Mono Goldstalker.

Re Max Sensitivity, is that an air test or just a setting for each coil eg RX Gain 15 for  one coil, 13 another (coils  potentially different)

 

[Gold Ryder]

Thought I would share what Im running my Mod with 15" evo for settings. If anybody has better settings Im all ears. But these seem to run smoothest for mine. But like I said I have alot more testing to do.  On the back Im running fine gold or salt gold.  Running in deep. RX 4, stabilizer 3.   I was told if you run you're RX to high to cant get enough TX power on the front.  Mick recommends 7 but I find it is to noisy and limits my TX for sure.   Mine likes 160 +\- 10 on manual tune.  On the front I run fixed, mono, deep, special and on Micks mod switches I run his toggle on "everything else",  Frequency switch on standard mostly,  TX gain I can run 3 oclock all day and I can bottom it out at times depending on EMI and ground mineralization, but generally I run about 4:30 to 5 oclock without to much issue. So far these settings give me the smoothest best running machine.  I will continue tweaking the next few weeks as I get more time on it.   

[Northeast]

I know detectors and the 'this is better than that' debate can be hotly discussed and end up in sour feelings between parties.  So, I ask these questions with some reservation but they are questions coming from a genuine position and not trying to stir anyone up, bait anyone or get anyone in hot water with companies they deal with.  

Would love to hear thoughts from the likes of @Steve Herschbach @RONS DETECTORS MINELAB @Jonathan Porter @Gerry in Idaho @Rob Allison  @PhaseTech  and anyone else who has used stock and modded detectors before and feel they have a genuine and knowledgeable opinion one way or another.  Also, 100% understand if anyone wishes not to comment as some of your livelihoods depend on the detectors you sell and the relationships with your chosen manufacturer.  

1)  What are your general feelings about the mods being done?  Do you think it is legitimate that the stock models can be improved upon by 'back yarders'?  

2)  Have you used a modded detector?  Which ones?  A positive experience?  

3)  Do you think/know if some of the aftermarket mods have actually ended up being used by the original manufacturer in the future models of that detector or other detectors?  

Cheers, NE.   

[phrunt]

A bit like asking Colonel Sanders if he enjoys sneaky Big Mac 🙂

 

[Tony]

I'm neither a "yes' or "no" to modded detectors. I still use a stock GP3500 which I'm more than happy with. I can slap on a 20" mono or 6" mono depending on what I'm after. My (educated) choice is to use stock Minelab detectors. I have faith in the Minelab engineers and the $$$ they spend on R&D. The variable GAIN could be useful but not the way you think.....the stock 3500 has a higher GAIN input stage than the detectors that followed it. If anything, I could do with LESS GAIN than what is set within the 3500. I have seen first-hand a modded 4500 v stock 4500. The modded detector detected a test nugget slightly deeper than standard when right over the KNOWN test hole......but all around the test location was a lot of falsing that generated identical "target sounds". I can't see people digging just the true "targets"......and leaving the ground noise behind as it can't be done. A high GAIN that is generating ground noise can't always be remedied by GB. And there's EMI to also add to the mix. Then there's the substantial cost of the mod and the fact that modders need to be very careful when heating to remove and add components. Overheating can degrade component specs quite easily without obvious damage.

So each to their own I guess. The focus of these mods seems to be orientated to smaller and smaller gold which is the path that Minelab is on. I haven't really answered the specific questions but have seen a modded 4500 v standard 4500 (mine) and my decision was an easy one to make. Granted this was some years ago but I'm still staying with stock detectors.

[PeterInSa]

Re ( but have seen a modded 4500 v standard 4500 (mine) and my decision was an easy one to make. Granted this was some years ago)

Was it Mick's Mod or someone elses, and some years ago was definitely not his latest version. 

 

 

 

[Tony]

26 minutes ago, PeterInSa said:

Re ( but have seen a modded 4500 v standard 4500 (mine) and my decision was an easy one to make. Granted this was some years ago)

Was it Mick's Mod or someone elses, and some years ago was definitely not his latest version. 

 

 

 

Either Mick or Woody's, I'm not sure but I have seen recent mod videos and I'm still seeing/hearing the same. This is my opinion only and subject to change at any time 😁

There's no right or wrong in all honesty. It's what you want from your detector that you currently aren't getting (maybe).

*** Mick would be my choice though ***

[geof_junk]

If you can use the detector at it's max in the area that you hunt then modding it, maybe worthwhile if not stick with standard design as a modded machine requires more attention.

[Jonathan Porter]

Thanks for all the tags and mentions. Triggered?🤔 maybe! I do get a little tired of the direction this forum is taking, all the little click baits and white anting. It’s a shame, but hey that’s the new social media world we live in right? All aimed at an instant reaction, no holds barred and no boundaries, made worse if you disagree or have ever got offside with a mod.

I’ve only seen a few modified detectors come through over the years, one guy swore by his modded machine saying it was outperforming a 7000 in Vic on test beds ect, he was convinced he was going to clean up in Clermont on all his old patches. A week later he came back in and bought a new 4500 as his modded one was unusable.

I had two good mates, who have since passed 😞, who both swore by the modded 5000’s they owned, but I never got to use them or try them, other than a brief look at another mates one in 2019 who has also since passed 😞 (yes lost 3 good mates in a very short space of times 😞), and his howled and screamed like a banshee (could have been operator error as he was not the best at reading instructions and I wasn’t prepared to sift through all the knob and switch positions trying to find the sweet spot).

Fundamentally there are a few key things here mods are attempting to improve on with the performance of a mass produced product, my thinking is why don’t these modder’s just make a better mousetrap? 🤨 At least Algo are having a go. 

Signal to noise ratio. There’s no point to ramping up gains and tweaking clock frequencies if it can’t actually be used in the field on ground with no known targets. Test beds will always show skewed results because you KNOW the target is there, therefore you can subtly modify your swing speed, range of motion and accuracy of the coil sweet spot dead centre over the target.

I see this constantly, brilliant results on a test bed but zero results in the actual field. All real testing I do is on known patches over many hundreds of hours of field work going over varying ground types to give a BIGGER picture idea of where the advantages lie. Test beds are for rudimentary checks only and represent less than 1% of my time spent. I have hundreds of known patches that I use all around the country dependant on where I am. Locally here I am extremely intimate with these areas with more than 25 years of frequent visitation. This methodology is extremely time consuming and requires massive commitment. But it’s the only way to truly get a bigger picture idea behind any advances. Results on many unknown missed targets in a variety of ground types tell the real story. 

4500 and 5000 Stabilizer control. None of the mods make any sense if the Stabilizer can’t be pushed past default of 10, this control alone limits true target-signal depth due to the raising of the noise floor masking edge of detection. A GPZ can be run on Audio Smoothing OFF, High = 10, Low = 15 and Off = 20 and provides a very BIG advantage in and of itself, the main difference being the 7000 is a lot less prone to EMI whereas the digital GPX series from the 5000 back are VERY prone to EMI. Variation in the threshold at lowest noise floor levels kill depth, more often than not you’re completely unaware of it. If a mod addressed that then it would be worth looking at.

Just my 2cents 💰