JW. Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 New to gold detecting here, been coin shooting for 3 years and the gold bug finally bit... These forums are to blame... I started out with a SD2100 and found that I needed the adjustability of the GPX and did an upgrade. All I can say is WOW. This machine makes my Explorer feel like a toy! I have about 40 hours in on the GPX and still getting familiar with the sounds and settings. This and the other gold forums have been great sources of info and inspiration.So, I have been trying to air test an elusive sub gram bit of yellow goodness with a variety of coils in the typical California airwave interference of the Sierras. Not that I just want to find small gold, the larger nuggets are more worth the time in my opinion... Otherwise I would have bought a VLF gold machine to find everything.In the photos posted here and on other forums I see different ways of winding the coil cable up the lower shaft. Some are straight up, no wrapping at all up to the upper shaft, in fact a large majority of photos have been like this. The other option is to wrap it up the lower shaft as well.Does the wrapping of the coil cable around the lower shaft effect the sensitivity of the machine? And if so then running the coil cable straight up the lower shaft is better than wrapping it around the lower shaft right?Thanks and great site here Rob!HHJW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shep Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 JW, I was learned a long time ago to run straight up the lower shaft and secure. Don't know if it makes sense, but it does to me (the less metal near the coil the better). In JP's latest DVD he coils his, but then I noticed a couple of things, I wish to question him on, but want to watch it a couple more times and write my questions down.Suppossibly, if it is secured and no possible chance of movement, you're probably okay. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW. Posted July 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Thanks Shep, I noticed that when my cable bends as I set the machine down I get just the faintest of tones, I think it may be time to run it straight up the rod, or at least test it out and see if anything changes.HHJW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubstake Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 I always run mine straight up the lower shaft, and start the wrap passed the nuckle on the upper shaft. Grubstake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 JW. Some say it makes a difference , some say it doesn't. On the really tiny gold I say it does. A few wraps won't make a noticable difference , but I've seen guys put all the wraps on the lower shaft. This can make a difference. I run it straight up the lower shaft to above the knuckle just as most people do, and why not?----Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted July 13, 2007 Admin Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Hello JW, Thanks for joining the forum! I'm just like Montana, run the coil cable straight up the lower shaft until you hit the "Knuckle," or part between the upper and lower shaft. From the Knuckle I start wrapping the coil cable. You want to get it tight as possible, with as little cable movement for the best results. If you wrap the coil cable on the lower shaft, you could be loosing sensitivity to smaller gold. I've seen some that had the coil wire actually touching and bouncing off the searchcoil. This will create false targets! Take care,Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW. Posted July 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Yeah, looks like straight up is the way to go. If suddenly I can hit my little nugget I will be sure to post my findings. I'm hoping this will do the trick but if it doesn't I will have to try some of the settings from the Comparison thread.Thanks a bunch guys, gonna rewrap that cord tonight!HHJW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted July 13, 2007 Admin Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Hello JW, Just curious where you purchased your Minelab? Also, forgot to mention a roll of electrical tape does wonders for fastening the coil wire to the shaft. It's also good for re-wrapping your searchcoil cover if you're not using the Coiltek coil tape. Keep us updated on what you find with the GPX-4000! Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shep Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 Rob, question? Is there a difference w/ "coiltec tape" and what Doc sells? I wore the tape in several places on that 14" round (took a couple of trips). Cleaned under the coil cover and rewrapped w/ the tape I got from Doc; had to redo after one trip. Should I go back to electrical tape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted July 14, 2007 Admin Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 Hello Shep, The white tape is the Coiltek tape. Doc and I both sell it. It comes on the coils when you purchase them, but you can purchase a roll seperately if you want a heavier duty searchcoil tape. Electrical tape is also fine, but when it's hot out it don't hold as well. Also, electrical tape can get really sticky and attract dirt and grim. Shep, you're too hard on stuff! Stop bumping your coil into rocks, brush, trees .... LOL. Take care,Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW. Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Rob,I got my machine from Greg at TransBay Metal Detectors, aka au4greg. He let me do a trade in and some payments. He is local here in the Bay Area, I live in Oakland and his thing is really beach, turf, demo stuff so he didn't have much experience with the GPX, so i'm working on educating myself as best I can until I can hook up with some CA gold hunters.So far the toughest thing has been finding open hunting ground that still produces... Been finding lots of bullets and stuff in washes and creek beds, just no gold yet. But hey I can't complain about hanging out in the woods and getting fresh air and exercise!HHJWI heard that electrical tape has just enough graphite in it to make an issue with the machine when used on coil covers... Maybe the cheaper tape has less graphite... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted July 17, 2007 Admin Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Hello JW, The GPX-4000 has a greater learning curve over the prior models, but with enough practice you will get it down. I suggest purchasing the new "GPX-Factor DVD" set that I sell. It three hours worth of information stickly about the GPX-4000 metal detector. As far as electrical tape, used to use it for years and never had a problem. What I hated was the fact it got real sticky when it got hot. It also would attract tons of dirt and grim. I suggest the stronger Coiltek tape. One roll will last you several years, maybe even more. Wishing you the best out there,Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave wiseman Posted July 18, 2007 Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Saw a fellow that had the gray foam pipe insulator on his detector shaft.......Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW. Posted July 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Saw a fellow that had the gray foam pipe insulator on his detector shaft.......DaveThat was to keep it from freezing right? Actually I found something that works pretty well, plastic microphone cable holders, the clip matches the rod radius and there is a little spot for the cable to pass through.The photo shows a more modern cable clip for microphone cables. Should still work though...HHJW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted July 18, 2007 Admin Report Share Posted July 18, 2007 Hello JW, Looks like those will work good. The most important factor is to keep the searchcoil wire from bouncing around on the shaft. Over the years I've seen just about everything used to secure the searchcoil wire. When I used to sell Fisher Metal Detectors, they used to sell a "velcro type sleeve" that was about a foot or so long. This worked great for covering and securing the searchcoil cable. If you used a couple of them, you could pretty much cover the entire shaft (upper and lower). Thanks for sharing the picture. Take care,Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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