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

11 hours ago, PhaseTech said:

Sorry Rick, can't help with running videos (at the moment) but a few finds are starting to be shared. This one was from WA, accompanied by this note:

Hi Nenad,

This is the first time out with the E1500 and got these three in the first hour. The machine ran really good, nice and stable. The targets stand out, and it’s easy to use. The design of the stem and control box is really nice – well built. The display is unreal and can be seen in broad daylight. Just went and bought the 14x9” Nugget Finder – will give that a go as well.

This is good machine, I’m able to tilt it and it stays quiet. The ground where the nuggets came from is where we are working and has been pushed. Going to go to some ground where it has only been detected. Well done to AlgoForce, top unit, can’t wait to see what they bring out next.

(Prospector in W.A.)

 

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

Just now, wltdwiz said:

i would love to see more videos with Simon hunting

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

2 hours ago, Aureous said:

There are a few murmurs of discontent floating around regarding the E1500 in hot ground and I was hoping to see some actual field reviews of this detector, but apart from a couple short remarks and Simon's testing.....NOTHING. If I am to part with my $$ to buy one, I'd rather hear from an actual user here in Australia first.  

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

21 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

I believe that the veterans have deserved it as they have fought to save us all from all the evil in this world.

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

Gold now at it lowest US dollar price in 2 years, despite what the so called " EXPERTS " predicted ! 
https://california-gold-rush-miner.us/gold-price-3/?fbclid=IwAR3s2SNqcEKgCwW7TnEfCrL6kD7aqd_6TXLKdaTitbH3ceLfte8j1z1bBao

So much for the so called experts saying the gold price is going to rise! 🤣

Since they announced this, the price has just fallen like a stone to be now under $1700 USD for the first time in over a year! 🙄

Well done "experts", you have mozzed us all!

Rick

Pull the skid plate off and check to see if the previous owner has put a bit of sticky back foam sheet in there to help stop the " drumming " hollow noise. The other possibility is that the skid plate is slightly mal formed.

Wouldn't hurt to do this anyway just to clear any dirt out of the skid plate.

Rick

It scored 4.6 / 10 on the IMDb score. That tells you just how ordinary the show is!

Rick

James,

Nice fix for those who may have issues! Glued on strip of bicycle inner tube may also work well ?

I've had no problems at all with my GPZ shafts, and mine is first week release. Now over 7 years old and thousands of hours of use, including 18 months in the wilds of WA, so my camlocks must be good ones.

Even when I had the boat anchor ( GPZ19) attached, I had no issues. Couldn't be happier with my ZED, and even more so now thanks to the brilliance of the X coils! 

Rick

13 hours ago, nugget said:

I agree with that statement.To me if I or anyone else on this forum bought a top of the range car and had the amount of problems as i've had with this detector and all the add ons that go with it they would be crying blue murder.Its fine to say Minelab stand by their products but do they really.The quality of this stuff is 2 dollar shop standard and at no point have Minelab come out and admitted that they dropped the ball and made some serious mistakes.Sadly its just another faceless money grinder.To hell with quality.This is not a dig at the power of the 6000,but the lack of respect for their returning customers.They know we'll come and buy because they have no other competition as far as the serious detectorist is concerned.The trouble starts there no competition, pretty well a monopoly and with most monopolized situations the rot sets in.   

Got to agree Nugget.

If you have a look at the results of the poll, you get a fair idea of the scale of the problems with the 6K. I personally have heard of many faults that have not been reported on the forums.

Quite clearly, IF you get a good one, they are a good detector, not withstanding the ongoing twisting shaft issue. However, the shear amount of issues with this release well and truly put it in the Lemon category. 

I'm sorry, but Minelab's silence, and the general dismissive attitude towards those who care to raise these issues, is just not on! We are talking about the " Ferrari " of detectors here, not just a $100 Aldi special.

If I was still a Minelab dealer I would be disgusted, and out of respect for my customers, I would refuse to sell this product until Minelab did a complete QC audit and fixed the issues! It is poor behaviour by Minelab to continue to sell a product that they know has an unacceptable failure rate. 

Furthermore, as a buyer of Minelab products for 22 years, it has decimated any idea I had of ever owning one, UNTIL the QC issues are completely addressed. I sincerely hope that Minelab learn from this debacle and put a lot more effort into QC in future releases.

Rick 

Just now, oneguy said:

I may have already said this but like the above post....mine was also from the first batch to hit the US and zero problems after one year of use and 100+ nuggs.  I parted with mine for personal reasons (too wild for my tastes) but no quality or performance issues outside of the wild threshold.....

Interesting comments guys! My GPZ is from from the very first batch and I have had zero issues in over 7 years and thousands of hours of use, including in the harsh WA outback.

Maybe Minelab put a bit of effort into QC at the start of a new model and then it falls away ?

Rick

41 minutes ago, GR Guy said:

Don’t get me wrong in a perfect world it would get great all these options. But you can’t say in one breath that counterfeiting exists of a metal detector and then say the coil is off limits though. I’m pretty sure Minelab would put a fair amount of work into their coils as well as the other hardware in a product. 

Sorry to burst your bubble GR Guy, but Minelab have never made good coils. They have only ever been adequate!

Why do you think aftermarket companies like Nugget Finder, Coiltek and now X Coils have done so well ? It's because they make good coils.

Rick

Jason, good to see your comparisons with the CC vs 6K. It just confirms how good the CC coils are on the ZED ( I have the 17CC ) and reinforces to me that the performance gains from the CC coils will surpass the 6K, without all the issues associated  with the 6K.

I've done away with the WM12 completely and just use a guitar lead plugged between the ZED and an SP01 enhancer, with my twin speakers plugged into the SP01. Voila, no lag at all ! Yes, you are " tied " to the detector, however the guitar lead is very stretchy, and after 20 years of GP and GPX detectors I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me.

I dislike the WM12 module, very fussy about where you put it to avoid dropouts.

Rick