araratgold

I have just watched the video below, that Simon has already commented on. Gotta say , I'm pretty disappointed with those results, even given the EMI. Having just dug a 1.6 grammer from a carefully measured 16 inches, and an 0.14 grammer from 3 inches, with my ZED / 22CC X coil ( which only has an 11 inch centre receive coil ), I would have expected much better from what is effectively a 10 inch round coil. And yes, I know, my ZED / 22CC cost me about $8500 second hand. I'm sure that a 4000 / 4500 / 5000 would get that 2 grammer much deeper, and they can be got from less than $2K second hand for a 4000 ( have just seen one for $1600 ), and they include 3 speeds of automatic ground tracking, numerous performance settings, and the ability to run AI and DD coils. Having said all that, it appears to be okay for a " cheap " machine, and certainly blows the QED out of the water! For me, however, it's all about raw performance, and I could not tolerate a machine with limited depth capabilities, and no auto tracking, which is a must for patch hunting where you don't want to be ground balancing every couple of minutes. Hopefully, ALGO MK2 or MK3 will have auto tracking, and more punch, and then I would most certainly consider one! Cheers, Rick

I use a 17 inch round spiral for patch hunting in WA. No heavier than the standard coil, but 40% more area in the coil, which equates to a lot more ground covered, and more sensitive than the standard. Follow up on patches with the 17CC or 22CC ( I now solely use a 22CC ). Even the big 22CC is super sensitive, got an 0.14g crumb at 3 inches with it last week. 😁 Last time in WA I was getting crumbs that would not even register on my scales that read to 0.01 grams, with the 17CC. Rick

Yes, there is no doubt Dr Bruce Halcro Candy is an absolute genius. 👏 Don't know the other guy, but obviously a very smart man as well. Rick

Considering that there is at least 100 of them out there, the reports have been scant. Those reports I have seen have emphasised the ergonomics, and cheap price, but not much else. My guess is that if you came in to an area behind anything more recent that a 4500, your chances would be limited, at best. There are currently 2 here in Victoria for sale second hand at the moment, that I know of. I really hoped that this would be something special, with auto ground tracking, given the pedigree of the maker. Maybe future models will be! Rick

Thanks Norvic for that. The lack of automatic ground tracking is a deal breaker for me, as I would mainly want it as a lightweight patch hunter in WA, then follow up with ZED and X coils. Your mention of " GBing often in noisy ground " kills any prospect for me. No doubt others will find a use for it though, especially if they don't already have a detector. Rick

Thanks Nenad, that is slightly encouraging. However, working small areas of pushed ground is a whole lot different to patch hunting, where the ground varies constantly. Patch hunting in hot variable ground is what I would like the Algo to be able to do, time will tell I guess. Here's hoping ! Rick

Trouble is, Simon's ground is largely deathly quiet. What we really need is some evidence of its ability to handle nasty changeable ground. If it can't do that, there is not a lot of point buying one for many places in OZ. I would love a lightweight patch hunter, but it needs to be able to handle bad ground, and not have to be re ground balanced every minute. Rick

Same here Aureous. I'm heading to WA in 2 months for at least 3 months, and was thinking of one as a lightweight patch hunter ( as I did with the QEDud ), but unwilling to part with the dollars if it cannot tame the fierce and ever changing WA ground ! Rick

One thing that stood out for me is that the SDC easily beat it on all targets with the 14x9 Coiltek vs 12 evo, and the 6000 with its standard 11 inch smashed it for depth. The SDC does have another advantage, that is automatic ground tracking, and also has exceptional handling of mineralisation. Will be interesting to see how the AlgoForce E1500 goes with bigger coils, in real ground conditions. Interesting too in this test is just how poorly the QED did ! Rick

I've done lots of night detecting out from Alice Springs and in Western Australia. Never had an issue so long as you take some basic precautions, like carry your GPS. Can't beat the cooler nights in the desert, when the EMI is minimal. We also set up a flashing beacon like on the top of mines vehicles, which can be seen for some distance from the car / quad / camp, just as a closer reference point. Depending on the terrain and trees, you can see it for a mile or so. Rick

I remember many years ago ( 2001 ) when I was a relative new chum, I walked around with my GP Extreme / mono coil in cancel mode for about an hour. Somehow the switch had been knocked in transit. I wondered why my unit was running so quiet until I discovered why ! Gave myself an uppercut and didn't do that again ! Rick

That's great for you guys in the US. Here in OZ, we get NO military discount from Minelab, which is a bloody OZ company ! Talk about getting "shafted" ! 😠

Got to agree with James Beatty ( page 1 ) in regards HY / Normal. I have been using the 22CC X Coil for about 6 weeks now, had a 17CC previously. They are crazy sensitive for a big coil, with my smallest so far being an 0.17 gram crumb ( pictured ) at 3 inches that gave a nice dig me signal in Normal HY, and was still there in Difficult. So far I have not found a place around Ararat Victoria that I could not run in Normal, and a number of faint targets in Normal basically disappeared in Difficult. Moral of the story, run in Normal if you can, only go to difficult if the ground is really bad. In fact, I would rather go to " locate patch " mode and stay in Normal, than go to difficult, which is what I did occasionally in Western Australia ! Just my two bobs worth ! Rick

Good to see that Garrett didn't go down the path that Minelab went with chipped coils ! Kudos to them ! 👏

Got to agree with D4G. That whole area between Leonora and Laverton is one of the most heavily detected areas in WA, including myself, and has been for more than 20 years. My bullshit meter has gone full scale on a 2 ounce surface piece still being there after all that ! Rick