Reg Wilson

I have to agree with Steve on this one. I can't for the life of me see how anyone could give it five stars. I have been detecting since 1979 and have yet to use a detector which would rate five stars. The GPZ definitely has a depth advantage over every thing else so far, handles most ground types, and has good signal response and definition. The negatives are, obviously weight, poor screen, very high price, and poor build quality and reliability with some machines.

While I was lucky with with my GPZ and got one that functioned beautifully, some of my friends were not so lucky, and had all manner of problems, some of which were resolved either by being returned to Minelab, the introduction of the 'magic ring' and the little dance that accompanied it, or a soft ware up date. Not really good enough.

I give it a 4 star rating because of the above. (PS I sold mine)

I would like to begin this review with a bit of background.

A couple of years ago I received a phone call from an old prospector that I had not seen since since the late 1980s when I was involved in testing a prototype pulse induction detector developed by Bruce Candy, one of the original Minelab team. I had tested one of Bruce's earlier VLF prototypes of the GT16000, in the process of which I turned up a 98 oz nugget in a patch of over 300 ozs. It was while I was in London that I picked up a newspaper and read of a new type of metal detector developed by Eric Foster of Pulse Induction Technologies. This detector was finding Celtic gold treasures at depths not achievable with VLF machines. Naturally I was quite excited and on returning to Australia, then to Adelaide, passed on the information to Bruce. Some months later I had a PI prototype from Bruce in my hands.....and the rest is history.

My old prospector acquaintance explained to me that he had met a most interesting electronics 'wiz', who had developed over many years a very compact pulse induction detector, and that he needed someone with experience and credibility to test it for him. Naturally I was curious and the introduction was made. I visited Mr. Howard Rockey who lived not far from me, just out of Ballarat, one of the worlds most famous gold towns. He was a very friendly man who impressed me with his enthusiasm for his project. After showing me his detector (which I must admit looked a little simplistic and perhaps unfinished) we proceeded to his back yard for a demonstration. He had a tiny piece of gold in a clear plastic pill bottle which he tossed onto his lawn. I noticed all the electric wires in the area and thought, "this will be interesting". He turned on the detector, did a quick ground balance whilst explaining to me that his detector was manual GB, then swung it over the target. The response was crisp and very positive, and I have to admit I was a bit taken aback. I then had a play with the machine myself, moving the target to different positions and distances from the coil. I noticed that it ran smoothly despite all the obvious electronics in the area. He explained that it even ran smoothly inside the house.

I left Howard's home with a prototype and over the next few weeks the machine received extensive testing as I familiarised myself with the different settings and mannerisms of the QED. It was quite different to the detectors that I had been used to - it achieved the required performance through procedures new to me. The more I used it, the more I liked it. As its functions became more familiar, my confidence grew. Out in the field, the first small bit of gold turned up after a few days, and I then knew that this was a viable gold hunting machine.

The current PL2 QED is quite an improvement on that first prototype (which I still have and prize greatly) as it has better balance and has some additional features. The mode has been extended, and auto ground balance added (not auto ground tracking). The battery system is now lighter and charging much easier than the earlier version. The controls can be accessed  with the thumb with one hand, making adjustments easy.

I won't go through the functions here as that information can be found within the operations manual, but I will give a few reasons why I enjoy using this detector. Firstly, it is very light and well balanced - I give the machine a very high rating for its ergonomics. Secondly, the target response is extremely positive even on tiny targets, and when fitted with a small mono coil it performs as good if not better than other specialist small gold detectors. Thirdly, although small in size it does not lack power when matched with even very large coils, and comes close to matching even the most expensive of the bigger heavier detectors, punching surprisingly deep.

In summing up...this is not the perfect detector...nor is any other detector I have ever used to this point. The QED suits my detecting style in that I can use any size coil I wish for different circumstances, covering more ground while prospecting new areas. I know that with its sharp signal response I will miss very little. I am confident that this machine will also do the 'low and slow' hunting out of deeper and more elusive targets in previously proven ground.

3/2021 Update - Quality Issues