jjbond Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Content removed by Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandtrap Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Hi, Approximately 1 1/2 years ago, I personally took in my 2200 and my 4000. I wanted the 2200 checked out as to my wanting to sell it, and it to be in perfect condition... The 4000 would run for awhile, and then a digital bar, similar to ones used on most items you purchase, would pop up, rendering the machine inoperable.. Visiting the Minelab place in Vegas, I was treated very well, and 3 days later, both my machines were handed back to me by the electronic technician, Hans Voss. I sold the 2200, and my 4000 has given me no problems. I have nothing but praise for the way I was treated, and the way the problem I had was corrected.. That is all I have to say--good service.. My lucky week, as I did win a pretty sum while there, visitng relatives and gambling.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelbubble Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Hi folks....Earlier this year, I purchased a GPX-4500 from a dealer who had just received it back from Minelab in Las Vegas where Bill (the technician) did the "under 1200 serial number" recall/upgrade (and strangely enough, his paperwork says he fixed a broken rod as well but no rods or shafts were sent, just the control box..hmmm). I have a very low serial number, one of the first ones off the assembly line it appears (serial # 0075). When it came back it had a huge chunk of dried silicone (applied in between two capacitors to give them stability) that was floating loose, rattling around. There is no way the tech would not have heard it as he was packing it up and using that all mighty powerful "diagnostic port/quick track port" that never seems to get used before they box up and ship them back to us...... anyways, I digress.It came back from Las Vegas Minelab service dept where they did the recall upgrade with the above mentioned loose parts inside, an easy fix but this week, on only it's 2nd trip out of the house to my claims in central BC it blow'd up... blow'd up reeeeal good..... look at the quality of their work in the pictures at the following link (you can click on "All Sizes" above each picture to zoom in)......... ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING!!!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/78424919@N00/sets/72157622456434546/There's a story that goes with it..... read about it at:http://goldandcoindetecting.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=1941&view=findpost&p=11741Has anyone had anything come back from the Las Vegas Minelab shop recently that didn't come home with more problems than it left with? I remember reading for a period of time that there were numerous issues with items coming back not repaired or worse off than before they left. If the "American Pride Is Job One" tech there let's this type of work out the door and is continuing to do so, I will just send it to someone who can fix it..... Minelab in Adelaide, Australia. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Minelab fan and would never bash them but this is OVER THE TOP.Hopefully this won't even be a service dept. issue. With this printed circuit board this heavily thrashed, it's lost it's integrity and they should just send me a new control box. Obviously this one went through some modifications due to being one of the first ones made.I'm torqued..... took time off work, cancelled plans, made arrangements to meet someone for the weekend and Monday for some fun before the snow starts and then this....... (Maybe I'll pick up a Garrett Infinium locally for the weekend, it's almost rainy season anyways, or pickup a new 4500 and sell the replacement when it gets back from them.)Any good or bad experiences with Las Vegas as of late folks? If so, then it's headed to the land down under, where women glow and men plunder? (Men at Work)PS: This is not in any way a reflection on the dealer I purchased it from, it was returned from Minelab (not unpacked) and immediately shipped to me. I am happy with the dealer and in no way do I hold him responsible for this tragic example of American workmanship/service quality.Thanks folks.Jenniferhello jennifer I had a problem with mine ser.# low 60s..Dealer sent it in when it came back.the dealer and I went hunting we set down to rest awhile I set my machine down and reached over to turn it off,at that same instant it started to smoke it would not fire up again..I sent it in and requested from the dealer my money back or a brand new machine.the dealer made a call to Los vegas and within 4 days I had a brand new machine with the ser# in the 1230swhy didn't you request a new machine...on the same note if you open anything thats made today you will have the same complaint... hoss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbond Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Content removed by Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbond Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Content removed by Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugwhiskers Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Quote by WheelBubble (Hoss)...on the same note if you open anything thats made today you will have the same complaint...By way of comparison have a look at the following link:http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Most of their boards sell for around $100 and the reliability is legendary.The price and quality comparison, lightyears apart.regardsbugwhiskers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelbubble Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Quote by WheelBubble (Hoss)...on the same note if you open anything thats made today you will have the same complaint...By way of comparison have a look at the following link:http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Most of their boards sell for around $100 and the reliability is legendary.The price and quality comparison, lightyears apart.regardsbugwhiskersIt is still man made .....they can break.....If it's a great product maybe minelab should take a look...btw. I don't have anything against minelab they are great product for what they do..It's the quality control that is lacking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbond Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Content removed by Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugwhiskers Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 People are missing the point... it's not about the quality of the built board in the factory, it's a shame when a $100.00 Chinese computer mother board is of a higher quality or higher standard of QA when it leaves the factory or service department than a $6,000.00 detector. We all realize that things break, but we assume that when they do, they come back from the service department in BETTER shape than they went in, not worse.. and we assume that if they are in the service department, they won't come out looking like this (peppered with cold solder joint splatter laying on the electrical contacts of other components), or covered in possibly conductive orange goo/fluid which appears to be coming up from underneath the white sealant... possibly coming from the breaking down of the material the board is made of:or like this, with surface mount devices not properly installed, they're suppose to be laid flat on the printed circuit board and soldered, not laid on their end and covered in goop to fall off later....I just finished replying to someone who said "oh the tech was probably just confused".... I think ANYONE who took the time to look at the pictures I posted a link to would VERY QUICKLY realize that this is not about a tech being busy or confused... you don't let a product leave with chunks of solder stuck on the legs of components or floating loose (which is what killed it, when they came loose it shorted out).Check out the reply here with two pictures if you don't have the time to look at the full link of pictures I already provided.....http://arizonaoutback.ipbhost.com/index.ph...amp;#entry40299and here's a link to all the pictures:http://www.flickr.com/photos/78424919@N00/...57622456434546/I should be on the hills prospecting with my GPX-4500, not sitting here debating the return on investment for the price we pay for the "best". JenniferI take my hat off to you Jennifer Bond.There are many supposed prospecting forums that are nothing more than covert ML marketing tools. Posts such as yours would be deleted immediately and your butt banned.There is only one way to jerk the slack out of a company that is resting on it's laurels and monopoly and that is to publicly shame them into action.regardsbugwhiskers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted September 27, 2009 Admin Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Hello Jen and All, I can almost guarantee that Minelab will be looking at this post. Maybe they will post something here, or send me some information. Will keep you updated on what I hear in the near future. Wishing you the best on your GPX-4500 Jen. Talk with you later,Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlakMagnet Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Jennifer,Your experience is a tough one and I hope you get it resolved soon.It, for sure, is a quality control problem and will be rectified..I look forward to hearing how things turn out and more importantly,your experiences with your fully functioning 4500 when you finally get out into that beautiful country up there.Do not let this upset you too much...I am not trying to minimize your plightit is mightily frustrating for sure, but on the scale of life-changing events this is small.I know you know what I mean.best wishes,Flak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Porter Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 By way of comparison have a look at the following link:http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Most of their boards sell for around $100 and the reliability is legendary.The price and quality comparison, lightyears apart.regardsbugwhiskersThis is typical of the anti-Minelab brigade in the form of our two favourite Minelab haters Doug and BugWhiskers. How the heck can you compare a metal detector to a PC mother board? Maybe this is why the QED still hasn't surfaced after ALL this time? I bet you any money you like the PC mother board would be cactus after a very short while if it was even slightly subjected to the sort of treatment one of Minelab's metal detectors cop each and every day for years on end. The paint is there for a reason over an above security, in Jennifer's case there is obviously a problem which I am sure Minelab will very quickly address, after all it's a VERY big part of their track record and I seriously doubt if Minelab are about to go back on the excellent way they treat their customers any time soon. Jennifer I can understand your frustration and disappointment but also feel you are not giving Minelab a chance to come good before you put it up on the forums, but at the end of the day that is your call and is understandable considering what you have experienced. Going by what "Montana" Bob said on another forum his issues which seem almost identical to yours were addressed to his satisfaction about 8 months ago, to my mind it seems your unit is directly linked back to that time frame. It is disappointing that it has happened especially if it has ruined any plans you may have had along with your faith in the product, but at the end of the day there is only so much that can be done in a short time frame and one of those things is constructive dialogue with the people directly concerned with addressing your problem.Here's hoping there is a speedy result to your issues so you can get out and use your 4500 before the snow begins to come down. RegardsJP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugwhiskers Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 This is typical of the anti-Minelab brigade in the form of our two favourite Minelab haters Doug and BugWhiskers. How the heck can you compare a metal detector to a PC mother board? Maybe this is why the QED still hasn't surfaced after ALL this time? I bet you any money you like the PC mother board would be cactus after a very short while if it was even slightly subjected to the sort of treatment one of Minelab's metal detectors cop each and every day for years on end. The paint is there for a reason over an above security, in Jennifer's case there is obviously a problem which I am sure Minelab will very quickly address, after all it's a VERY big part of their track record and I seriously doubt if Minelab are about to go back on the excellent way they treat their customers any time soon. Jennifer I can understand your frustration and disappointment but also feel you are not giving Minelab a chance to come good before you put it up on the forums, but at the end of the day that is your call and is understandable considering what you have experienced. Going by what "Montana" Bob said on another forum his issues which seem almost identical to yours were addressed to his satisfaction about 8 months ago, to my mind it seems your unit is directly linked back to that time frame. It is disappointing that it has happened especially if it has ruined any plans you may have had along with your faith in the product, but at the end of the day there is only so much that can be done in a short time frame and one of those things is constructive dialogue with the people directly concerned with addressing your problem.Here's hoping there is a speedy result to your issues so you can get out and use your 4500 before the snow begins to come down. RegardsJPGood on you JP, trying to defend the indefensible. How about attacking the ball and not the player.As always, sycophantic fanaticism rules your head and consumers rights take a back seat.Jennifer is talking about damage done by incompetent repair staff and/or poor manufacture, not harsh handling by the user.regardsbugwhiskers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbond Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Content removed by Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 The early S/N units had a series of capacitors replaced, 10nf for memory. It is hard to hand solder these caps through the White paint and these pics sort of show it. The balls of solder are created when a hot air rework tool is used, The silicone? falling off is strange as they use a hot melt glue on most units. Be careful with the Mylar strips as they can crack at the connector. I have a fix video on youtube if you want to DIY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbond Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Content removed by Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbond Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Here's hoping there is a speedy result to your issues so you can get out and use your 4500 before the snow begins to come down. RegardsJPJP (and others)... as I've stated, I have not contacted them because it just happened so I agree, they have not let me down or failed to work on the issue at this time as I've not called them on it (it's the weekend). That's why I'm not having a coronary embolism about them letting me down and my having to sue them etc.... I KNOW they will take care of this.... I have full and total faith in the company and the products... maybe subconciously that's why this bothers me more than maybe it should... because I know that it's not even remotely close to being the norm.... Minelab AND Codan are great products, I have experience with the Codan line from my alternate personality (ham radio) None of my posts were meant to flame Minelab or to incite a riot and let me be the first to say that it was not to get a bunch of Knob Knocking contests going between Pro-Minelab and Pro-Fancy Arse (but still imaginary detector in Aus) crowd.... we all love Minelab... if you don't, get out of my thread... SHUCKS... does this mean I have to give you back this "Minelab Lovers Anonymous/Chief Promoter" ID Card that you gave me earlier.... (Praying to myself that this doesn't turn into another death match thread between lovers of Minelab, QED, MPI, Nugget Finder, and Coiltek) Thanks all..... and thanks to JP, Steve and to Doc for some specific help/answers they all gave me "off forum"... thanks guys.Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbond Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Good on you JP, trying to defend the indefensible. How about attacking the ball and not the player.As always, sycophantic fanaticism rules your head and consumers rights take a back seat.Jennifer is talking about damage done by incompetent repair staff and/or poor manufacture, not harsh handling by the user.regardsbugwhiskersHi Whiskers..... thank you for your post, but in all fairness to Minelab (and JP), JP is correct. A less emotional (and a less reactive) person would have kept her lips shut till she talked with them on Monday or Tuesday as to not unduly reflect on their business reputation. That being said I think this issue is clear enough that it doesn't really matter who or what caused it. I just needed to talk about it with someone so I made the posts, and I also needed to get some info on other owners experience with items recently back from the Vegas shop. I wanted to have this info going into my call with them on Monday so that if I needed to (if they insist on fixing this one), I would be prepared either way if I wanted to state to them that I would be sending it to Adelaide instead.So with all due respect, I appreciate you watching my back and defending me but JP's right (a stronger person than I, possibly would have kept it confidential until after talking with Minelab).Cheers Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbond Posted September 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Content deleted by Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlakMagnet Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 "...Thank you all for your thoughts and your input and thank you Rob for not vaporizing me as Whisker pointed out others may have. ..."Rob's board being what it is...open, is also the reason we get to read ridiculous writings by the likes of bugwhiskers and Doug. But it's easy to sift through the trash.Let's see what ML comes up with Jennifer, I am sure they will make it right.Flak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Jennifer,I am going to go out on a limb here and tell you that I am sure Minelab will make this right. I have never seen them let any of their customers down. Also, in the meantime, I have a GPX4500 that has been used 1 time by Trevor when he came over from Australia, and he promptly found that 1.8 ounce nugget, after finding a .1 gram, yes I said point one gram nugget the day before.Point being I know the machine works amazingly. I would be happy to send it to you as a loaner until this gets sorted out with your machine. At least it will get you out in the field and the machine obviously already has some good ju ju on it after finding the 1.8 ounce nugget.Doc1-800-477-3211 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 BTW, if you decide to take me up on my offer, please email me the address where you want the loaner sent.Thanks!Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubstake Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 I want to add something about minelab, I just resently got a used 4000, the switch, {on/off} is bad sometimes it comes right on sometimes you have to play with awhile. Anyway its used, not in waranty, I emailed minelab, and Bill Branin got right back to me, he said send it in, they would put a new switch on it for free, along with some other componets. So to me thats great service, since it is used and has no waranty. I haven't sent it in yet, but will soon, Pondmn sent his in for the same reason, and they put the new toogle switch on and gave him a new button groundtracking handle, because his switch on it was bad. Now I call that going the extra mile. Bill Branin wasted no time getting right back with me, but its about a 20 day turn around on them. Grubstake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 Jennifer and Doc. I pitched my fit on an Australian forum where I figured it would get attention from the right people to get some action. The fact that the first time I sent mine in it came back without the screen visible told me that the technician didn't even bother to turn the detector on after doing the recall repair. This told me that he was rushed as it was during the height of the recall repairs. My concern was that this was happening to others and had to be addressed. I assume that Jennifers problem initially occured during the same time frame. I was personally contacted and assured that changes were taking place and this seems to be the case as recent repairs seem to be of better quality and care taken to inspection before returning. There also seems to be no real problems with GPXs manufactured after the botched first 1200 . I'm sure this turned out to be a real nightmare for Minelab. They had a similar problem with the GPextremes when they first came out and it seemed they had gotten a good handle on following gp models quality control. The extremely high tech nature of the GPX's apparently leave little room for error. One poorly made part from one of many suppliers and the things just can't perform the way they are designed to . We do have a right to pitch a fit if problems aren't resolved to our satisfaction and if it means embarressing them into action then so be it. Sometimes there seems no alternative and it helps vent our frustrations.----Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lon Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 DocThat is just way to cool good things happen to good people. Minelab will make it right. them things happen not only by minelab it just sucks when it happens to you or someone you know. good luck ps I think i will wait to have mine #63 upgrade done. it is still working fine for nowLon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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