Picture of GPX-4000 WOW - WOW - WOW !!!!

[DOC]

Yes I am in complete agreement on that. There has to be a better way.

We dealers are kept completely in the dark so there is no way for us to forewarn users of what was to come.

I felt strongly that there would be a new machine coming but I felt it could have been anytime within the next 6 months. My thought was that it would probably be after the first of the year. I was wrong.

Think of us dealers, you may have 1 GP3500, I have 4 I have to get rid of.

DOC

 

[Jonathan Porter]

G'day Doc and all, it never ceases to amaze me the amount of bleeding hearts involved in this hobby. I have to agree with Steve Herschbach on this subject, no-one in their right mind buys a new car, computer or whatever and expects it to remain current after the fact even for 6 months let alone 18 months. I think by now all Minelab dealers world wide should have enough nounce to know that around the 18 month mark they need to be informing their customers there is the potential for Minelab to be bringing out a new model in the near future (6 months or less etc).

On the subject of batteries for the GPX, I would say the battery is a non-regulated Lithium Ion that will charge to 8.? point something volts and then discharge from there (hence the Minelab information of 7.? point something volts). I would also say the five pin plug is for charging purposes as the charger is built into the battery unit, plus to cut out the possibility of someone accidently attaching the battery to a previous Minelab PI.

I would be interested to know where you (DOC) get your figures from with regards to the GPX4000's depth capability on small nuggets, I have noticed decent performance on small gold but nothing like what has been claimed in a previous thread. The GPX represents a change in Minelab thinking which is a trend they have been demonstrating throughout their product range for some time now (Xterra series etc) and as such could hold a lot of potential for us Gold prospectors because of user definable parameters, rather than the guess work of a knob or pot. There are also a lot of other options on offer which have up till now been out of reach because of impracticality of switches bristling out of the control box every where.

One option that springs to mind with the GPX is the ability to switch the response (invert the signal) from High/Low on small targets to Low/High, testing on a target in situ (86 gram piece along with other decent sized pieces before digging commenced) I was able to graphically demonstrate quite a respectable increase in depth just through changing the response, this idea has been available with the Nugget Finder XP coils for some time now and now has a lot of potential on larger nuggets with Mono coils as well, this is because a High/Low response is more recognisable as a signal than a Low/High.

Hope this helps explain a few things about the new GPX4000.

JP

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Jonathan,

You mentioned one of the new features that most caught my eye. The ability to reverse the hi-lo and lo-hi tone response using any coil.

Funny thing about depth of detection. It often is not a case of making the machine detect deeper. it is in getting the operator to actually hear the target. This is most apparent in the novices I watch. I'm convinced they are getting over targets, but their untrained ears simply are not recognizing those faint clues more experienced ears pick up.

So anything that reduces background noise or enhances target response, or both, leads to a perception of greater depth of detection. It sounds like the GPX-4000 offers settings to both reduce background noise in some areas, and enhance signal response. The ultimate goal is a machine that runs dead quiet but really sounds off on legitimate targets.

We will see how it all works out, but it sounds to me like the GPX-4000 could really help novice operators get up to speed faster. It will be especially helpful in that a professional can develop settings for an area that work well, and then if they are nice guys, pass those settings on for others to use in the same area. A dealer could literally preprogram the machine for optimum use in a local area, giving a new owner a much better chance of success.

Steve Herschbach

 

[impactco]

Some higher resolution pics here:

http://www.reedsprospecting.com.au/Gpx%204000.htm

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi,

Now that I've seen both ends of the unit, I am disappointed there are so many knobs and switches left on the GPX-4000. LCD menu systems can be annoying at times, but the big benefit is in getting rid of knobs and switches that can get knocked out of adjustment in thick brush. They are also areas prone to collect water and dirt. I've had units temporarily go bonkers due to one drop of water getting in a switch, grounding out the control. Does not hurt the unit, but puts you temporarily out of action until you dry the control box out.

Let's face it, once you get the machine properly set up, there is little need to fiddle with controls. I've run all day in places never using more than the on/off switch. I think it would have been nice to see all the controls incorporated into the LCD system along with the ability to store several custom programs. Hit the on/off switch, choose the program, off you go. Default to last used program and ground balance settings, and basically you could just turn the machine on and off.

I do not understand why so many switches and knobs had to remain.

Steve Herschbach