Minelab GP series better than GPX?

[au79ramona 10]

I currently have a Whites TDI detector. I am taking a trip up to a claim in northern Nevada to do some nugget shooting. I was planning on purchasing my first PI detector to take out on this trip. The claim owner told me i should get a GP 3000 or GP 3500 because the newer Minelab GPX series dosent work up there. He says that after they scrape the surface of the ground with a bulldozer that the soil composition is changed and the GPX series wont pick up nuggets, but the older GP series will? Does this make any sense? Im new to nugget shooting and have only used a detector to check tailings piles while drywashing. I wanted to invest in a PI detector so i would have a little more depth when searching for nuggets. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[fredmason 1,135]

The 3500 is a great machine and easy to use...

there are plenty of people using Minelab 5000 machines in Northern Nevada and finding plenty of gold. I have to question the claim owners knowledge if he really said that.

Many respected nugget hunters have added the new SDC2300 to their stable---ask Bill Southern about it

Unless you are a full-time nugget hunter you may want to reconsider the idea that any detector is an investment...for most they are a expensive toy! I can hear the yelling now..but that is the reality for 90% of nugget hunters...

fred

[azblackbird 203]

I currently have a Whites TDI detector. I wanted to invest in a PI detector so i would have a little more depth when searching for nuggets. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

How many hours do you have on your TDI?

[Nugget Shooter 4,614]

Your friend is mistaken....

[au79ramona 10]

I'm not sure why I said I have a Whites TDI, I have a Whites GMT lol. I was figuring if a Gp3500 could find the gold than a Gpx5000 should find it as well. He said it was something about the electronics being different. I bet it was probably just user error

[boulder dash 1,243]

Make sure the batteries are installed correct!!

[El Dorado 964]

What a bucket full of Bull*hit.

[Buckeye Boy 140]

Comparing two detectors usually comes down to what you are looking for and where. I own a GP3000 and GPX5000 both are great detectors. I have not found any circumstance where the 3000 outperformed the 5000. The 5000 will find smaller gold and at a greater depth. I have found many small nuggets (1/2 gram) with 5000 that the 3000 along with the Gold Bug 2 could not pick up. The 5000 also handles bad ground when the 3000 strugles. With all that said the 3000 and 3500 are still great detectors and would have found a large percentage of the nuggets my 5000 has found. I would recomend any of the GP or GPX machines and also have a 3000 I would part with if you are interested.

AJ

[FlakMagnet 412]

I think it is fairly obvious that if you have owned either a 3000 or a 3500 and now own a 5000,

the 5000 is the superior detector.

And, as AJ has noted, all these detectors will pick up a fair-sized piece of gold.

What is kind of funny about these "comparisons" we talk about, is that we are speaking about very subtle differences.

The margin of difference between a 3500 and a 5000 are in increments that need to be experienced.

It is through experience with different soil conditions and the variations in the size and character of the gold that is found

that one can begin to appreciate where the gains have been made with the newer machines.

So, with that being said, for me the way the 5000 handles mineralized soil

and the refinements that have been made to the electronics

make it a much better machine.

hope that helps...